Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from
SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com. Congratulations! You got the job. Let's talk about it.
"Congratulations! You got the job." What wonderful words to hear. But what comes before that? A job
interview. When you hear those two words, how do you feel? Does your heart begin to beat? As
you start to breathe heavily, do your palms get sweaty? Well, if you feel nervous about
a job interview, don't worry. Millions of people around the world also feel the same way. In fact,
if you didn't feel nervous for a job interview, it would be a little strange. But never fear,
today I am here to help. The best way to ace the interview and get the job is to practice.
So today, my husband Dan and I have a fun role play interview for you. My husband,
Dan, is the hiring manager at a graphic design firm and he is looking for a new
graphic designer. Maybe that will be me. I will be answering these questions, giving you a sample
answer and some tips for each question. Like always, to help you with this important lesson,
I have created a free PDF worksheet with all of these top 10 interview questions, sample answers,
and most importantly, there is space for you to write your own sample answer. I want you
to write that out and practice it. Say it out loud three times so that you can prepare for
your job interview and ace it and get the job. All right. Are you ready for the job interview
to find the perfect candidate for the graphic design position? Let's see question number one.
Dan: Hi, Vanessa. Thank
you for coming in today. Why don't you start by telling me a little bit about yourself?
Hi, Vanessa. Thank you for coming in today. Why don't you start by telling me a little
bit about yourself? Vanessa:
Certainly. First of all, I've always been labeled as artistic so it just
made sense to study graphic design in college. Then when I graduated,
I moved to Chicago and worked for a fast paced design team, making marketing brochures for a
big insurance company. It was great, but now that I have the experience,
I would love to work with a more local business where I can have more contact with the clients.
Tip: keep it brief and professional. They don't need to know that you go kayaking every weekend
and that you visited 30 countries. But as they say, you never have a second chance to
make a first impression. So make sure you sit up straight, smile, be pleasant, and make them think
"I would be crazy not to hire you." Let's go to question number two.
Dan: I see. So why are you interested in this job?
I see. So why are you interested in this job? Vanessa:
I want this job because I'm passionate about graphic design. I see myself working in this
field long term because it involves hard work, creativity, and innovation. And from my research,
it seems like your company also has these same values. I'm excited to work for a
company that shares the same values I do. Tip: this answer shows your long term
commitment to the job and to the company. Also, it shows that you did some research
about the company in advance. This will put you a notch ahead of other candidates
so make sure to do your research in advance. All right. Let's go to question number three.
Dan: That's
great. How did you hear about this position? That's great. How did you hear about this
position? Vanessa:
I read about your company, and I've been interested in working here for several
months. I hoped that a graphic design position would open up so I created
an alert on LinkedIn to let me know if that happened, and I got an alert, and here I am.
Tip: this answer shows that you were proactive about finding a job, especially a job in this
company. It shows that you care about them and it makes them feel good about themselves
as well, which hopefully is all true. All right. Let's go to the next question.
Dan: So tell me, what are your biggest strengths?
So tell me, what are your biggest strengths? Vanessa:
Some of my biggest strengths are my creativity and my ability to learn quickly. I'm also good
at working with clients and I'm a good listener, so this means that I listen to
exactly what my clients want and I make sure that the final designs reflect the heart of
their business. Finally, I'm very punctual, so I always can meet the project deadlines.
Tip: be confident, but don't brag. In this situation, it is absolutely necessary to say
what you are good at, what are your strengths. Do not downplay your strengths. Also, notice
that in this answer, I gave some adjectives. I'm creative, I am a good listener, but I also
said why they're important. "This means that," you can always add this phrase in your answers
to give a good example. "This means that I will listen to your clients and I will have designs
that reflect the heart of their business." Why are those traits important? They're just words. Well,
you are going to show concretely how they will affect the company. Don't forget to include that
phrase, "This means that your clients will always be satisfied because my designs will reflect the
heart of their business." Beautiful answer. All right, let's go to the next question.
Dan: Okay. What are your biggest weaknesses?
Okay. What are your biggest weaknesses? Vanessa:
My biggest weakness is that in my former role, I had a more specialized skill set,
and I understand that for this job I will need a more generalized skill set. So I look forward
to learning quickly and figuring out what all of those tasks are so that I can do my best.
Tip: this is the most difficult question in an interview, in my opinion, so you need to
be very careful and prepared about how you're going to answer this. You could say, "Well,
sometimes I'm late." Or, "Well, sometimes I just forget about what I'm supposed to do," You will
not get the job. Instead, you need to choose a weakness that you can frame in a positive
way. So notice in my answer I said, "Well, in my previous job I had a specialized skill set," and
then I showed growth. I showed an understanding of how I can get better. "I understand for this
job I will need a more generalized skill set, and I'm excited about learning new things."
So this shows you understand how to get better. Let's take a look at a couple of other examples
because I think this is a tricky one. If you say that you are shy talking in front of large groups,
how could you frame this in a more positive way? You could say, "I'm not yet comfortable
speaking in front of large groups, but to help myself with these public speaking skills,
I'm going to weekly Toastmaster meetups. I have a weekly speaking coach that I meet with to help me
with this skill." You're showing growth and you're showing how you understand that you can get better
in the future. So make sure you answer this with that growth mindset. "Yes, I have this weakness,
but I am working on making it better." Key. All right, let's go to the next question.
Dan: Thank you.
So where do you see yourself in five years? Thank you. So where do you see yourself in
five years? Vanessa:
In five years, I see myself continuing in the graphic design field, but with
greater responsibility, like taking on a leadership role of training junior
level designers who join the staff. Tip: when you answer this question,
you need to show your commitment to the company. Even if you are not 100% sure that you will still
be in this position and still working for this company, this is your chance to fake it till
you make it and say that you are interested in staying in this position and potentially
benefiting the company with your increased experience. So in my answer, I said that I'm
interested in leadership and I would be interested in helping junior level designers come into the
staff and be well trained. This might be something different for you, but make sure you do not say,
"In five years, I'm interested in becoming the manager." Well, maybe that guy's, the manager.
You don't want to take his job. And you don't want to say something completely irrelevant. "Where
do you see yourself in five years?" "Well, I've been thinking about taking a world tour. I'd love
to visit Japan and Poland and Brazil." They're not interested in your personal goals. Instead,
you need to talk about your professional goals in five years, ideally with that company in
a position that will benefit the company. All right. Let's go to the next question.
Dan: Okay. What experience do you have in this role?
Okay. What experience do you have in this role? Vanessa:
I mentioned that when I lived in Chicago, I worked for a fast-paced design company making
marketing brochures for a big insurance company, so I'm experienced making high level design pieces
on a tight deadline. I also interned for a small company right after college, making
their websites and setting up several graphic design elements for their social media channels.
Tip: for this question, have specific details in mind. Notice how I said I worked for a fast
paced design company, we had a tight deadline, I also interned. I gave specific examples of my
experience. I didn't say, "Well, I've been doing graphic design for a while. And yeah, I have a
lot of experience." You will not get the job if you say this. You need specific examples in mind,
and that will help you to ace the interview. Let's go to the next question.
Dan: Tell me, why did you leave your most recent job?
Tell me, why did you leave your most recent job? Vanessa:
I'm looking for a fresh opportunity that's more client-based. One of the advantages of working
in Chicago is that I got to work alongside other graphic design professionals, but I didn't get to
work directly with clients, and that's the part that's the most rewarding to me. I enjoy helping
local businesses transform their vision into a graphic design that truly represents their brand.
Tip: this is another tricky question because they're looking to see if you will say something
negative about your past job, your past coworkers, your past boss. This can really make it or break
it for you in the interview so make sure that you say something that states a skill that you learned
in your past job and how it can be applied to your current job. I especially use the phrase
"That's really rewarding to me." That means that I am personally fulfilled. And a company
wants you to be... Well, a good company, wants you to be personally fulfilled because you will
stay in that job and do a good job and have good rapport with your coworkers when you are rewarded,
when you feel like this is a satisfying job. So when you say, "Hey, I see working in this
company as something very rewarding to me because I love working with clients. That's what I missed
in my previous job so I'm excited to work with clients." Notice I didn't say anything bad about
my boss. "Oh, my boss. You should have heard about him. Oh my goodness." Nope. There's no bashing,
There's no negative talk about my past job. Just a skill or part of the job that I would
like to do differently in this company. Great. Let's go to the next question.
Dan: So why should we hire you?
So why should we hire you? Vanessa:
You should hire me because I can take on a lot of responsibility without much
supervision. I'm also innovative. I can come up with creative, fun ways to meet
your client's needs while upholding the positive reputation of this company.
Tip: for this question, for each thing that you state, you need to give a why. Why is
that important? "I'm a fast learner." Well, who cares? "I can do it without much supervision."
That is the why. Most managers do not want to be over your shoulder asking you, "Why didn't
you do the deadline? Come on, it's coming soon. What do you..." No, they want to be able to step
back and just let you do what you need to do. So you're telling them, "Don't worry. I got it.
You won't need to supervise me much because I can take responsibility and it'll be great."
For the next thing, I said, "I'm innovative." Well, why does innovation matter? Why do you
care that I'm innovative? I need to give a reason. And I said, "Oh, your clients will be satisfied
with my creative fun designs that will uphold the company's reputation." I'm not just thinking about
myself. I don't want them to say, "Oh, you're just the best designer. You're so great." No,
I want the reputation of the company to be the thing that stands out here. So the key is,
for each of your answers, you need to give "That means that you won't need to manage me
much because I can take responsibility. That means that your clients will be satisfied and
the reputation of this company will be upheld." You need to give a why for each of these answers.
All right. Let's go to our final question. Dan:
Thank you so much for your time. Before we go, do you have any questions for me?
Vanessa: Yes. Well, we covered a lot in this
interview, but I was wondering what would you like me to focus on during the first month on the job?
Tip: this question is a bit controversial. Some people say you should always have a question
prepared. Some people say you shouldn't ask a question. And the answer is, it's not black or
white, it's just your choice. But let's talk about two more questions you could ask. You could ask,
"What's a typical day look like in this role?" Or you could ask, "How is success measured in
this company?" It's a little bit more of a heavy question, but it shows that you care
about being successful. Or you could simply say, "I think we covered everything, but if anything
comes up, I'll let you know." Great. Well, what should you never, ever,
ever ask in a job interview? You should never ask something that is easily found on the company's
website. If there's anything publicly shown like who their clients are, these types of things,
do not ask this because it shows that you didn't do your research and the interviewer will think,
"I'm just wasting my time." So make sure that you do not ask something that is easily found online.
Dan: Congratulations,
you're hired. I'll see you Monday! Congratulations, you're hired. I'll
see you Monday! Vanessa:
Thank you so much. I'm really excited to start in this role. I'll see you on Monday.
Congratulations! You got the job. I hope that this interview lesson was useful to you. And you can
now download the free PDF worksheet and practice these questions yourself. All of the questions,
sample answers, and a section for you to write your answers to this question is on
the worksheet. You can click on the link in the description to download that today. I
hope it will be useful to you so that you ace the interview and get your dream job.
Well, thank you so much for learning English with me, and I'll see you again next Friday for a new
lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. The next step is to download the free
PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this free pdf, you will master today's lesson and never
forget what you have learned. You can be a confident English speaker. Don't forget to
subscribe to my YouTube channel for a free English lesson every Friday. Bye.