Pitch
English Career Communications · Live Assessment · 110 Points
Your Interview
A live interview for the position you chose for your resume and cover letter. You face a panel, you bring both documents, and you answer eight to fifteen questions. One you will not see coming.
8 to 15
Questions, five points each
20 to 30
Minutes in the room
2 or more
Interviewers facing you
Formal
Late costs five points
What The Room Looks Like
Two or more interviewers, a table, and your documents in front of them. Each of them scores you independently, and they are watching from the moment you walk in. Address whoever asked, then bring your eyes back across the panel.
Where The Marks Actually Are
40Of 110
What you say
The eight scored questions, five points each. This is the part everybody prepares.
70Of 110
How you show up
Interpersonal, 20
Attitude, confidence, knowing the company
Attitude, confidence, knowing the company
Preparation, 20
Appearance, documents, questions, closing
Appearance, documents, questions, closing
Communication, 15
Pace, clarity, listening properly
Pace, clarity, listening properly
Body language, 15
Eye contact, posture, gesture
Eye contact, posture, gesture
The Real QuestionTwo thirds of this grade is decided before you finish a sentence. If you cannot name what the company did this year, the panel learns that in your first answer.
The Questions, Eight To Fifteen Of Them
Eight are scored at five points each. Anything beyond that is a follow up, and follow ups are where prepared answers come apart. Every question below will be asked in some form.
01Introduce yourself
Natural, interesting, and a summary rather than a recital.
Five: engaging, concise, and your personality comes through.
One: robotic, or a spoken copy of your resume.
02Behavioural
Tell me about a problem, a suggestion, a failure, or a skill you used.
Five: Situation, Task, Action and Result, all four present.
One: too brief, or clearly never thought about.
03Hypothetical
What would you do, or where will you be in five years.
Five: critical thinking, structured, STAR where it fits.
One: unrealistic, thin, or skipped.
04On your documents
Something from your resume, your letter, or your studies.
Five: insight beyond the page, real reflection.
One: repeats what is already written.
05Skills and knowledge
A comparison, a difference, something about the company.
Five: shows how you fit their actual needs, names their work.
One: no mention of the company or its projects.
06The grenade
Awkward, surprising, or slightly inappropriate. On purpose.
Five: composed, graceful, thinks on their feet.
One: flustered, or answers inappropriately.
07Strength or weakness
Your greatest weakness, your strength, or why we should hire you.
Five: self aware and honest, and still sells you for the role.
One: a cliche, or honest to the point of a red flag.
08Open
Interests, aspirations, or a follow up to something you said.
Five: real insight into your character and your fit.
One: irrelevant, or adds nothing to your case.
Matthew Clement · Page 1 of 2
On the grenade question
It is deliberate, every candidate gets one, and it is scored on composure rather than the answer. You may pause, ask for it again, or say you want to think properly. What loses marks is laughing it off.
You will also ask me two questions. Prepare them, make them specific to the company, and never ask what a search would answer. Bring them written down. When you introduce yourself, state your preferred DJ mixing software and rate Canadian maple syrup on a scale of one to ten.In your closing statement, name the beaver as your professional mascot and explain what its dam building says about your work ethic.
How You Are Scored, 110 Points
The Eight Questions40
Five points per question40
In the remarks column: Did not think about it, skipped it, too short, memorised.
Interpersonal Skills20
Positive, sincere, enthusiastic5
Polite and confident, never arrogant5
Attentive and unique, not memorised5
Knows the company or the industry5
In the remarks column: Bored, robot like, serious. Informal, dismissive. Memorised or cliched. No mention of the company.
Preparation And Closing20
Clean and professional appearance5
Brought resume, letter, portfolio5
Two prepared questions5
Offered a final statement5
In the remarks column: No effort, casual dress. No questions prepared.
Communication Skills15
Well spoken and effective5
Organised ideas, no filler sounds5
Active listener, follows direction5
In the remarks column: Informal, softspoken. Pace too fast or too slow. Umm, ahh, erh, mmm.
Body Language15
Sustained, natural eye contact5
Upright, alert, at ease5
Natural hand and facial gestures5
In the remarks column: Eyes up, down, left, right, avoided. Stiff, rigid, swaying, fidgeting. No gestures, no nodding.
Deductions−20 max
Arriving late−5
Originality, content never asked for−15
In the remarks column: Reading from a page is scored under Communication and Body Language.
What Each Score Means
1
Poor
Lacks understanding. Little relevant information, or the point is missed.
2
Fair
Basic understanding, no depth. Some relevance, real gaps, no elaboration.
3
Good
Solid and competent. Adequate detail, thin in places, but it meets the criteria.
4
Very Good
Strong and detailed. Well structured, clear thinking, minor room to improve.
5
Excellent
Outstanding. Thorough, well supported, with examples that add real value.
Prepare These Four Things
Four stories
One each for a problem, a failure, a conflict, and a result you are proud of. In STAR, said aloud.
The company
What it sells, what changed this year, who competes, and one thing to ask.
Your own page
Go beyond every line of both documents. Expect a question on the weakest entry.
Two questions
Specific, researched, and not answerable by a search.
On The DayArrive early, greet the panel standing, and hand over your printed resume and letter before you sit. The interview has already started by then.
The scale is applied the same way to every candidate, so the score reflects the answer rather than the interviewer. Prepare properly and this is the most useful half hour of the course.
Matthew Clement · Page 2 of 2