Keep Answers Relavent
This one goes out to those of us who get nervous.
I recently had the incredibly awkward experience of sitting in on a friends interview. He won the battle for the job, so his answers overall, really did the job. However, one thing that I noticed was a tendency to travel into personal arenas when it was not necessary. So, my advice is to keep it relavent.
For instance: When asked for a reason why you have come to Tokyo to find work, it is best not to wander past your recent break up with a Japanese girl in Australia to your more recent relationship with an American outside of Tokyo landing at "but I always wanted to be here." Skip points XYZ and proceed directly to A, as in your answer.
My other suggestion is, think before you speak. Westerners in general have a habit of speaking quickly and without thinking. We tend to use the discussion as a place where are statements will be refined. We should have certain checkpoints for sexually explicit or work-inappropriate words and material, though some people who missed out on the 60's 70's 80's 90`s just need to catch up; however, in situations where you are communicating across cultures, thinking about what you are about to say is absolutely essential. It is essential to think both about what you want to say, the vocabulary you will use, and how it will be interpreted overall.
For instance (from a different interviewee): When asked if you are interested in learning about a new program, the reply "I could find myself doing something like that," would be wrong for several reasons. Firstly, "finding yourself" may be misinterpreted as traveling or just not understood at all. And "doing something like that" may be taken literally as something else but similar. Also, notice that "yes" was never said at all. A non-native speaker of English appreciates strong clues! Finally, if a native speaker is in the room, this reply seems both vague and uninspired especially if you answer before the full question has been asked and you follow it with five minutes of just as confusing speech defining how you meant your answer to be taken.
Recap: relavent and clear!
I recently had the incredibly awkward experience of sitting in on a friends interview. He won the battle for the job, so his answers overall, really did the job. However, one thing that I noticed was a tendency to travel into personal arenas when it was not necessary. So, my advice is to keep it relavent.
For instance: When asked for a reason why you have come to Tokyo to find work, it is best not to wander past your recent break up with a Japanese girl in Australia to your more recent relationship with an American outside of Tokyo landing at "but I always wanted to be here." Skip points XYZ and proceed directly to A, as in your answer.
My other suggestion is, think before you speak. Westerners in general have a habit of speaking quickly and without thinking. We tend to use the discussion as a place where are statements will be refined. We should have certain checkpoints for sexually explicit or work-inappropriate words and material, though some people who missed out on the 60's 70's 80's 90`s just need to catch up; however, in situations where you are communicating across cultures, thinking about what you are about to say is absolutely essential. It is essential to think both about what you want to say, the vocabulary you will use, and how it will be interpreted overall.
For instance (from a different interviewee): When asked if you are interested in learning about a new program, the reply "I could find myself doing something like that," would be wrong for several reasons. Firstly, "finding yourself" may be misinterpreted as traveling or just not understood at all. And "doing something like that" may be taken literally as something else but similar. Also, notice that "yes" was never said at all. A non-native speaker of English appreciates strong clues! Finally, if a native speaker is in the room, this reply seems both vague and uninspired especially if you answer before the full question has been asked and you follow it with five minutes of just as confusing speech defining how you meant your answer to be taken.
Recap: relavent and clear!
posted by j.day at
1:02 PM
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