Job interview: a speed date!
Chiara Sabatini, Italy
Tell the students they are going to practise for a job interview and let them prepare the desks in two rows or an inner and outer circle facing each other (10 + 10, for example).
Prepare the 10 interview questions on 10 different slips of paper and hand them out to the 10 students in one row; these will be the interviewees first.
Leave some time for them to think about their possible answers.
Indicate the row of students sitting who will have the 10 questions (interviewers) and the others who won’t (interviewees).
Start the activity by telling them they have two minutes for each question. Then they have to change seats to sit opposite another student and a new question. You can set a timer to keep track of the time (set any time limit you think suits your class best).
The interviewees shift from one chair to another, moving along the row.
When the students return to their starting position, where they answered their first question, they all swap roles: the ones with the questions pass them on to their classmates and become the ones to answer the questions.
Job interview questions
(Here is an example, of course, you can change them according to the levels and needs of your students)
- Tell me about yourself.
- What interests you about this position?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Can you describe a challenging situation at work and how you handled it?
- How do you work under pressure?
- What skills or experiences make you a good fit for this role?
- Why do you want to work for our company?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- How do you handle working in a team?
- Do you have any questions for us?
Follow up: at the end of the activity you can ask your students who they would have hired and why.
In my experience this activity works very well with 16–19 year old students who are starting getting ready to have their first real job interviews. Giving them the questions before the activity, lets them plan how they could answer in advance and this is particularly beneficial for shy students who will become more confident and their self-esteem will improve. In this way they have more control over the information they want to give and it helps create a more relaxed learning environment.