Section One: Introduction

What is an interview? 

An interview is where a person (or people in a group situation) sit down and ask questions to get information from another person(s).

Why do an interview?

Interviews can take place for all sorts of reasons:

• job interviews

• research interviews

• conduct and competency interviews (if there is an incident at work)

• for media and reporting

Section Two: How do we do one?

Part A: Purpose, types of questions and interview structure

The first thing is think about WHY we are doing one.

TASK ONE: We are going to completing an interview that sets you up for the year ahead. We will be focusing on getting to know each other, finding out what your strengths and weaknesses are and what you want out of English this year.

Write a list of questions that you think your teacher will ask you. For example, 

• Can you tell me your strengths and weaknesses?

• Can you tell me about what you like in English?

• How would you deal with challenges in English?

• Why do you want out of English this year?

Then you need to think also about how how you will enter and exit the interview - you can't just sit down without saying anything or get up and walk out when you end the interview because that would be odd. You could:

• Introduce yourself 

• Simply smile and shake their hand

• Have some questions ready for the interviewer - this is your chance to find out more about the job and whether it is right for you.

• Thank the interviewer (the person asking the questions) for asking you to come to the interview and tell them that you look forward to hearing from them soon.

TASK:

1. The purpose for which you will be interviewed is to form a plan to make sure you are successful in English this year. With a friend, write a list of 7-8 questions that would get asked.

2. Write down how you would answer these questions.

3. Write down 3-4 questions that you would ask your teacher about English and how they can help you this year.

Part B: Communication Barriers - things that make communication fail

Interviews can fall prey to communication barriers - things that get in the way of the flow of information. 

These could include technology freezing if you are using video conferencing software, language barriers - perhaps the interviewer is deaf and uses New Zealand Sign Language; how would that change the interview?, perhaps the interviewee is so nervous that they can't say much more than a very short answer. 

It's important to think about these communication barriers ahead of time so that you can overcome them. For example, New Zealand Sign Language could be sorted with an interpreter, a shy person could benefit from having a support person in the room with them. 

Read these tips on how to overcome communication barriers and these ones as well.

Task: Identify 5 or 6 potential communication barriers that could happen during your interview and say how they could be fixed.

Part C: Needs in an interview

Why do an interview?  Well, because you need information. If you're the interviewer, you need information if the person you're interviewing has the skills to do the job, will fit in at your workplace, and is willing to learn new things. An interviewee has similar needs. They might like to know how much they will be paid, what further training is on offer, which days they will be expected to work.

TASK: Brainstorm all the potential needs of the interviewer and then do the same for the interviewee

Part D: Expectations in an interview

Just like there are needs in an interview, there are expectations of how the interviewer and the interviewee will both behave. Below is a Monty Python (a very old comedy group from the UK) parody sketch which shows how NOT to behave in an interview. There is also another video on what you, the interviewee, should do.

Task: Once you have watched the videos, write 5  rules for how the interviewer should behave and 5 rules for how the interviewee  should behave. 

Part E: Examples

Check out these examples of  interviews so that you can see how interviewers structure their interviews, use their questions to get the interviewee to participate, build rapport and overcome potential communication barriers so that you understand what will happen. You might like to get someone to ask you questions at home as practice as well so that you feel prepared.

Section Four: Summary

• An interview's main job is to get information - both the interviewer and the interviewee NEED to get information out of the interview.

• To prepare for an interview, research some common interview questions and think about how you would answer them.

• In an interview, there are certain ways to behave. Both the interviewer and the interviewee have these EXPECTATIONS of how people will behave.

• A great interview allows the interviewee to participate and ask their own questions - so have some ready

• It is important to think about potential communication barriers and how they can be overcome

• Interviewees will have to slightly behave and react differently depending on whether they have a one to one interview or a panel interview.

Section Five: Assessment

• You will be assigned your own copy of the written assessment in the Google Classroom. 

• You need to plan and prepare for the interview and then do the interview (we can do this on Google Meet or face to face depending on where school is at .  Just email your teacher when you are ready to complete your interview)