You applied – sich bewerben – for a new job and they invited you to come in for an interview – das Bewerbungsgespräch. In a short English course we will help you be prepared for all eventualities – Möglichkeiten.
Now it is important to make a good first impression – erster Eindruck – and to be prepared. It helps to read up on the company, to know some of the key dates, current projects and customers. Look at the company´s website, their social media and recent press releases – die Pressemitteilung – to get an understanding. Furthermore, you should be prepared to answer questions about your salary expectations – die Gehaltsvorstellung. It might help boost your confidence if you prepare your outfit in advance. By researching the company you can find out about the dress code as well to know what is apropriate – angemessen. Make sure to arrive at the company 10 – 15 minutes early, its important to be on time. Use those to calm youself, take a deep breath and focus on the task in front of you.
Another tip, dont talk negatively about your previous employers. Companies want to hire problem solvers, just focus on what gained – erhalten – your job and what comes next. Also, have specific examples ready of how your previous work experience might be relevant to the new job position.
Common Interview Questions
Here are a few of the most common – häufig, gebräuchlich – interview questions. It is not necessary to memorise all the answers but it helps of you take time before the interview to have answers ready. Keep your answers short and concise –prägnant – and make sure to maintain eye contact. On top of that, while it seems tempting to embellish – ausschmücken – on your skills, interviewers usually find honesty more refreshing.
- tell me about yourself – explain your current role, major achievements and responsibilities, summarise previous experience and how it helped prepare you for this job
- what is your greatest strength/ weakness?
- How do you handle failure – Fehlschlag / success – der Erfolg?
- What can you contribute – beisteuern – to our company? Why should we hire you and not someones else?
- What applicable – relevant – experience do you have?
- Describe what motivates you and how you would motivate a team.
- What major challenges or problems did you face and how did you handle them?
- Why do you want this job?
- What would be your ideal company culture?
- Where do you see yourself in fiv/ ten years from now?
It is also important to have some questions ready you can ask yourself. This shows that you came prepared and that you ar serious about the position.
- What departments does this teamwork with regularly?
- Can you explain some of the day-to-day responsibilities this job entails – mit sich bringen?
- What does the career path for someone in this role usually look like?
- What do you like best about working here?
Hopefully that helps you in preparing for a new job, best of luck!
