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Maria was nervous. She had never had a job interview in English before, so she asked her friend Tom for advice. Tom had worked as a manager for five years, and he had interviewed many candidates. 'What do interviewers usually ask?' Maria said. Tom smiled and told her that most interviews follow a simple pattern.
'First, they'll ask about your experience,' Tom explained. 'Why did you choose this career? What have you learned from your last job? Then they usually ask a harder question, like: What would you do if a customer complained about your work?' Maria wrote everything down carefully. She wanted to know exactly what kind of questions would be asked so she could prepare good answers.
On the day of the interview, Maria arrived fifteen minutes early. The interviewer, a woman called Ms. Patel, was friendly and asked clear questions. Maria was asked about her strengths and weaknesses, and she was also asked how she would handle a difficult team member. She answered calmly because she had already thought about these situations with Tom.
At the end, Ms. Patel asked, 'Do you have any questions for me?' This is a moment that many candidates forget to prepare for. Maria asked about the training programme and the team she would be working with. Ms. Patel looked pleased. A good candidate, she later told a colleague, is someone who asks questions as well as answering them.
Two days later, Maria received an email. She had got the job! She called Tom immediately to thank him. 'The secret,' Tom said, laughing, 'is simple. If you prepare well, you will feel confident, and if you feel confident, the interviewer will notice.' Maria agreed completely — and she promised to give the same advice to her younger sister before her first interview next month.