Advanced Interviewing Skills - Lesson 3 (t)

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SkimaTalk Official Course

Advanced Interviewing Skills Lesson 3: Describing Your Accomplishments

1.  Describing Your Strengths

2.  Describing Your Areas for Improvement

3.  Describing Your Accomplishments

4.  Describing Your Leadership Abilities

5.  Bringing it All Together

Advanced Interviewing Skills

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Today’s Lesson!

Session Guidelines

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Your session with your SkimaTalk instructor will be structured as follows:

Introduction / briefing

Practice interview – “accomplishments” (info. on page 11)

Teacher feedback / discussion

5 min

10 min

5 min

5 min

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Repeat practice interview

Spend 2 – 3 minutes reviewing the content on pages 5-8. Answer any student questions.

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Preparation�

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Many Interviewers Will Ask About Your Accomplishments

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The question can take many forms, such as:

l  “Please describe your top accomplishments.”

l  “What result are you most proud of?”

l  “Please describe a time when you made a positive impact on your company.”

l  “If we asked your boss about your most important contributions, what would he or she say?”

The “Accomplishments” Question is a Chance to Demonstrate your Value

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“I implemented a new software program.” “I established a sales office in China.” “I trained 5 new employees.” “I launched the company’s new website.”

Discuss specific results:

Always Support Your Accomplishments With Data

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“My most important accomplishment is launching the company’s new software product. This product has led to…”

“57% increase in revenue” “85 new customers” “35% increase in customer retention”

And Focus on Accomplishments that are Relevant to the Job

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“My greatest accomplishment is growing the company’s Facebook

page by 500%. Our marketing campaigns are now viewed by more than 10,000 fans, which

translates to more leads for our sales team.”

“My greatest accomplishment is introducing a new inventory

tracking process. The new process has saved the company 10 million

dollars in warehouse costs.”

Relevant accomplishment Irrelevant accomplishment ✓ ✗

Employer need: increase the number of marketing leads

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Are You Ready?�

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Preparing For Your Interview

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You should spend 30 minutes preparing for your SkimaTalk session. To prepare, please take the following steps:

Read the job description for your practice interview (page 11).

Write down three accomplishments that are relevant to the job. Make sure you also write down the data points to support your accomplishments.

Practice answering the following question out loud: “What are your top accomplishments? What impact did these accomplishments have on your company?”

Practice Interview: Job Description

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Employer: ABC Co. – A leading software company. Job Title: Social Media Manager

Overview of Role: The Social Media Manager is responsible for managing the company’s social media accounts and creating successful social medias campaigns. Key Criteria: l  Creativity. l  Experience with popular social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). l  Strong organizational skills. l  Attention to detail. l  Able to work independently.

Interview Question

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Question: Please describe your top three accomplishments. Be sure to provide relevant details about the impact of each accomplishment.

Teacher version only

Teacher Instructions: 1.  Ask the interview question, and then listen to the student’s response. A “good” answer

will include the following: •  3 specific accomplishments. •  The impact of each accomplishment, supported by data.

2.  Discuss the student’s response. Focus on: •  Content: did the response include all the required information? •  Vocabulary and pronunciation: were there any errors? •  Structure: did the answer flow logically? •  Impact: did the student impress you with his/her accomplishments?

3.  Ask the student to answer the question again, utilizing the feedback from your discussion.

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End of Lesson We Hope You Enjoyed It!