Recognizing and Correcting Errors in Interviews

Recognizing and Correcting Errors in Interviews Activity 1

WHY SHOULD YOU BE INTERVIEWED?

Instructions: Below is a partial excerpt from an interview found in the book Alternate Resumes for Teens, by Michael G. Howard. Most of the manager’s thoughts, on the girl he is interviewing, have been deleted. Answer the questions below for each part of the interview in bold.

Angela: “Hi, I just want to drop of my resume.”

Manager: “Do you want to see the manager?”

Angela: “No, that’s okay. Can I leave it with you?”

Manager: “You sure can. By the way, I am the manager and I do the hiring. I thought you may want to know that.”

1) Did Angela make an error in not wanting to speak to the manager? Explain. 2) Is the manager feeling positive or negative about Angela? Explain. 3) What is he looking for in a new employee?

Manager: “I have a couple of minutes now. Let me look over your resume.”

4) What do you think he is looking for in her resume?

Manager: “So, Angela is it? He asked, trying to break the ice. “I see you’ve done some babysitting.”

Angela: “Yes, I have babysat for a few families over the past two years” she replied, with a hint of confidence in her tone.

Manager: “Almost every teenager who applies here seems to have some babysitting experience. How has that prepared you for a job in retail?”

Angela: She nervously stared at the floor as she mumbles something about being a hard worker.

5) Why does he ask her that particular question?

6) Explain how and why her response was incorrect. Identify the mistakes she makes in her response.

7) How would you respond to that question?

Manager: “Okay, let me see what else you have here” he said, as his scanned the page. “So, you’re in grade ten?”

Angela: “Yeah, I finish in a couple of weeks and then I can work all summer.”

1 Manager: “That’s great but what about the fall? Christmas set-up starts pretty early these days. Can you keep working after you go back to school?”

8) Why is he asking her about her availability?

Angela: “Oh, I don’t know. I was just trying to get a summer job. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

9) What would be your reaction to her statement if you were the manager?

Manager: “Okay, well it doesn’t say anything her about how your education has prepared you to work in my store. What can you tell me about that?”

10) It is obvious that she did not include some important information in her resume. How would you respond to the manager’s question if you had left out important educational information?

Angela: “I don’t know. I don’t really like school that much. It’s pretty boring. But I am a really hard worker.”

11) What kind of concerns would the manager have in hiring someone who found school ‘boring’ and yet claimed to be a hard worker?

Manager: “Well you say here that you earned a Food Safe certificate at school. That’s great. It’s just too bad that we sell clothes instead of food.”

12) If you were in Angela’s place how would you respond to the manager’s comment to make yourself look more hireable?

Manager: “Okay, forget that. It says here that you have references available upon request. Who do you have that will act as a reference for you?

Angela:: “You mean like, their names?” she replied

Manager: “I mean who in your life. Would one of them be someone you babysat for?”

Angela:: “Yeah, I might be able to get someone like that.”

Manager: “But you haven’t yet? Who do have then?”

13) If you were the manager describe what you would be thinking concerning the girl’s response to their conversation about her references.

Angela:: “Well, I didn’t know I was going to be interviewed today so I haven’t really got them yet.”

Manager: “Angela, I hate to tell you this but this isn’t an interview, it’s just a screening. There are questions I might ask any applicant to decide whether I’d want to conduct a full interview or not. Here, let me ask you one last thing. Tell me what, on this resume, should make me want to interview you?”

Long pause.

2 Angela: “Well, I don’t know. I don’t have any experience so I guess nothing.”

14) Describe how you would have responded to Angela’s answer if you were in the manager’s position.

15) How could you respond to the manager’s question if you were in Angela’s place with the exact same resume in your hand?

Manager: “I would guess that 90% of these are from teenagers. Probably 75% have done babysitting. Most say they have references available upon request, but I’m starting to sense that’s the template talking. Do you know that you’re the fourth applicant today alone, and the day isn’t half over?

16) What is the manager suggesting that Angela do in the future in terms of her resume and in terms of what she has to say during the screening process?

He waited. It took a few moments but finally she looked up and said. “Okay, well thanks for your help. I’ll work on making it better. I appreciate your advice.” She turned and started to walk away.

Manager: “Angela.”

She stopped and turned back to see his hand extended and a smile on his face.

Manager: “Good luck with it. I’m sure everything will work out and you’ll find something very soon. Speaking of which, I heard through the grapevine that Denim Den may be hiring. You might try there. Ask for Susan. AFTER you’ve worked on your resume of course.”

Angela: “Thanks, I’ll do that. I would love to work there!” She smiled, turned and quickly skipped out of the store.

17) While the manager was very helpful in this scenario there is absolutely no guarantee that any manager would be that generous in giving advice. What would you do, or what steps would you take, to prepare for a screening in the hope of avoiding the kind of problems encountered by Angela?

He looked around, trying to remember what he was working on when she first came in, when another young woman approached him.

Lisa: “Hi, my name is Lisa Currie. As you can see from my resume here, I have great reliability for the summer and fall, I have experience working independently and on a team, and I just earned a customer service certificate in grade ten. May we review my resume in greater detail?”

Manager: “Lisa, you have no idea what a pleasure it is to meet you. Come on into my office.”

18) From reading the short paragraph above list three major items that Lisa mentions when she introduces herself.