ESP Course Syllabus

Interviewing Techniques for Job Searcher Prefaration

By : Edi Suprayetno
Course Participants

: College graduation

Program/ Major

: Business Management

Students Input

: Able to communicate in Basic General English

Number of Students

: 6 Students

Time

: Evening Class

Place

: Indoor and Outdoor

Type

: Private Class

Course fee

: Rp. 250.000/ students/month

Length of Course

: 2 Months (16 meetings)

Time allocation

: 1,5 hour per meeting

Course Description: Interviewing Techniques is an applied course designed to

develop basic relationship building, interviewing, reporting, problem-solving and
decision-making skills with diverse clients. The focus is on fundamentals and
techniques that cut across multiple interviewing situations.
Required Textbook:
Stewart, C.J.. & Cash, W.B. Jr. (2006). Interviewing: Principles and Practices. 11th
Edition. . McGraw Hill Publishing. ISBN: 0-07-298-776-6.
Course Objectives:
After joining the course students hope will be able to :
1. Examine and understand the formulation and use of various types of question in
various practices.
2. explore various approaches in job interview and able to answer the interviews
question fluently based on the the field the apply.
3. Pass the job interview and get the job they apply.

Learning Activities
Meeting
1-2

3-4

Topics

Resources

Introduction to job
Interviewing
o Definition of
Interviewing
o Types of
Interviews
o Barriers to
interviewing
o Basic
interviewing
skills
Attending,
Active
Listening
o

Stewart and Cash

Chapter 1, 2,

Interpersonal
Communication
o Relationship
o Collaborative
o Self in
Relationship
o Environmental
Impact on
Relationship
o Verbal and
Nonverbal
Interactions
o Role of
Diversity
o Empathy
o Demonstrating
Understanding
o Feedback
Formulating
interview
questions

Stewart and Cash

Chapter 3

Situation and
Context
o Time of Day,
Week, and
Year
o Place
o Surrounding
or Setting
o

Activities
Discussion Questions:
Role play : In partner act a job interview
1. Consider an instance when you were
interviewed for example, a job interview,
school admission, school project, or sports
event. Jot down the things that stood out in this
interview:
Things that made it difficult or
uncomfortable
Things that made it welcoming and
comfortable
Types of questions you were asked
On the basis of your memory:
a. What were the characteristics of the
interviewer?
b. What made the interview memorable?
c. Had you been the interviewer, what would
you have done differently?
Discussion Questions: role play
1.

Imagine you are an eyewitness to an incident.

You have been asked to be interviewed. Please
respond to the following situations:
You are asked to come to the office of the
interviewer, located far from where you live.
The traffic is heavy, and you have to park a
couple of blocks away. The office is in a dirty
building, you dont have directions provided.
There is no one to greet you, and you aimlessly
wander around until you reach a room with a
number of cubicles and messy desks. You spot
the individual you agreed to meet behind a
desk. The person greets you warmly and invites
you to sit down.
You are at home when the incident takes place.
You have been so busy that you have been
unable to even tidy up the house. You are just
about to start dinner and have a paper due in
the morning.
You have an interview at a professional office
close to your home. There is parking in the
building and a directory when you enter. You
walk into a professionally decorated office with
a staff member who greets you and calls you by
name.
In each of the given scenarios:
a. How might you feel before being
interviewed?

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b.
c.

How might the surroundings affect the

interview?
Which scenario is best suited for an
interview, and which is the worst suited?
Why?

Assignments:
1.

5-6

Structuring the
Interview
o Planning
o Opening
Techniques
o Body of the
Interview
Closing the
interview
Handling
difficult
situations
Questions and
Their Uses

Stewart and Cash

Chapter 4

A short 2-3 page reflection

paper summarizing a fifteen
minute interview of your
choice.
a. Conduct a 15-minute
interview with anyone
and on a topic of your
choice.
b. Submit the questions
that you used in your
interview and provide a
general summary
explaining how
effective you were in
probing and obtaining
information based on
the level of response
from the interviewee.
c. Write down your
thoughts regarding the
following:
i) What type of
interview did you
conduct?
ii) How effective do
you think you
were in probing
and obtaining
information?
Explain.
iii) Do you think your
way of
interviewing
applies to any
profession? Why?

Discussion Questions: Role Play

1.

Kelsie is a newspaper journalist planning to

interview several individuals regarding their
experiences as students at a local university
a. How should Kelsie prepare for this task?
b. Outline his game plan and possible
questions for the interviews
c. What might be some challenges?

2.

Elliott is employed at a local hospital as a

nurse. He interviews a woman after a minor
tour bus accident. She is a visitor from another
country and speaks another language, so Elliott

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o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Open-Closed
Questions
PrimarySecondary
Questions
NeutralLeading
Questions
Problems with
Question
Formation
Bipolar or
Yes-No
Questions
Multiple
Questioning at
Once
Leading
Questions
Loaded
Questions
Irrelevant
Questions
Ineffective
Probing

asks one of the other passengers to interpret

some of the questions he needs to ask.
a. What difficulties is Elliot likely to face?
b. How might this influence rapport during
the interview?
c. How might it influence the information
obtained during the interview?
d. How might it influence the interviewers
behavior?
e. How might it influence the interviewers
interpretations, or how might the
interviewer account for bilingualism when
making observations and interpretations?
f. What are the ethical considerations you
might be concerned about?
Assignments:
Plan your informational
interviewing session and
make an appointment with
a professional of your
choice.
The purpose of the
interview is to learn about
the operational aspect of the
professional role and gain
an understanding on the
associated professional life.

7-8

Survey Research
o
o

Using interviews
for data collection
in survey research.
Structuring
research questions.
o Analyzing
interview data
for research
purposes.

Stewart & Cash,

Chap. 6

Discussion Questions:
1. John has been contracted to develop a survey to
explore a communitys beliefs about immigration.
What might be some important considerations John
should take into account to make sure he designs a
survey and survey process that is culturally
sensitive and representative of the community?

Assignment:
Class topic: Fast Food
Restaurant Satisfaction Survey
1. Review an example of
types of questions asked and
how answered in some sample
fast food surveys
(e.g.,
http://www.smartgirl.org/reports
/2217380.html
http://www.questionpro.com/aki
ra/showSurveyLibrary.do?
surveyID=237&mode=1 )
2. The class will decide on
some aspect(s) of
satisfaction to survey (e.g.,
facilities, food, service,
etc.). The class will then

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3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

9 - 10

Employment
and Recruiting
Interviews

Stewart and Cash

Chapter 7 and 8

decide what key pieces of

information they want from
the survey. Next, the class
will decide what format of
questions they want to use
in the survey. Also, the
class will decide whom
they want to survey (e.g.,
specific age groups, for
specific restaurants, etc.)
Each member of the class
will write at least five
questions to be included in
the first survey draft.
The class will then evaluate
all the questions and select
the best for the final survey
that will provide the
information that is needed,
while also being wellwritten, not too long, easily
administered, etc.
The class will consider
whom to ask to complete
the survey and how
representative are they of
people who eat at fast food
restaurants, etc., and a game
plan for how to find people
who meet your criteria.
Each member of the class
will ask at least five people,
according to the protocol
arrived at by the class, to
complete the survey. Each
class member will turn in
his/her results.
The class will compile and
summarize the results of the
survey.

Discussion Questions:
1.Melissa is employed as a human resource
executive of a large corporation. Three individuals
from one of the smaller departments apply for a
leadership position. Melissa is asked to assess the
three candidates who are all equally qualified.
She decides to develop interview questions,
observe their work, and consider testing
materials that will help objectively identify
who might be more successful in the new
position.
a. How might these three assessment
methods assist in identifying the most
appropriate candidate?
b. How might Melissa organize her interview
to obtain the most helpful information?

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c. What techniques can Melissa utilize?

d. Given that the individuals are equally
qualified, what areas might Melissa focus on to help
determine the best fit for the leadership position?
e. What would make the interviews/assessment
of these individuals different from interviewing
individuals who are not equally qualified for a
position?
f. How might the interview/assessment be
differentYou are employed in a human resource
department and your job is to conduct the exit
interviews of individuals leaving the company.
2.Today you are going to interview Julie, a 62-yearold woman, retiring after 42 years with the
company. She has worked in the same department
throughout her career, outlasting many others who
have come and gone. She is a great historian of the
events in and the evolution of the company over the
decades.
a. Develop a list of questions that would be
important to ask during the exit interview.
b. Why did you choose these questions and how
will they help you gain the information you need
and facilitate closure for Julie.
c. Discuss any ethical concerns that could arise.
Assignments:
Assignment:
Create a list of the most
valuable types of information to
be gathered during a job
interview of a candidate for a
job.
Create questions that will collect
this information when posed
verbally in a face-to-face
interview.
What are some considerations to
make sure that questions are (1)
legal, and (2) unbiased?

11 - 12

o
o

o
o

Performance
interviews
Establishing
objectives and
giving
constructive
feedback
Persuasive
and sales
interviews
Negotiation
Skills

Stewart and Cash

Chapter 9, 10, 11

Discussion Questions: role play

1. Sally, a manager at a local retail chain, has
been supervising a group of employees for the
past seven years. There have been complaints
about Michael one of the chains employees
arriving late for work. Sally has confronted
Michael over the years, attempting to
encourage him to change his work ethics.
One day, a customer files a complaint with
Sally, stating that she had to wait 15 minutes
for the store to open because no one was there.
Sally is upset about the phone call and quickly
calls Michael into the office.
a. Discuss what is likely to impede Sally
from being objective in this situation.
b. How can this lack of objectivity influence

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c.

d.

communication and intervention?

Provide an example of when your personal
objectivity was challenged, how you
handled it and what impact it had on the
given situation?
If it were found that Michael was not
responsible for the incident, how might
that change Sallys view of Michael?

Assignments:
Assignments
1. Informational Interview
Paper Due
2.

Plan, conduct, and

analyze a volunteer
interview due next week
See attached guidelines for the analysis of the
interview.
13 - 16

Counseling
and health
Care
Interviews
Coun
selin
g
appro
aches
Goals
of
couns
eling
interv
iews
Phase
s of a
couns
eling
interv
iew
Ethic
al
Issue
s in
couns
eling

Stewart and Cash

Chapter 12-13

Discussion Questions:
2. Joe, a counselor in private practice, has been
counseling Liza for the past three weeks.
During each visit, Lizas story is a repetition of
the earlier weeks, discussing similar events and
leading to identical outcomes: she discusses the
issues she faces with her boyfriend, the ensuing
arguments, and the resulting frustration she
feels. Joe interprets her story as having themes
and discusses with Liza the possible meaning
or core issues.
a. What are some of the areas Joe may
consider in determining themes? How
should Joe interview Liza to identify the
recurring themes? How should Joe discuss
his thoughts with Liza?
b. What will happen if Joe doesnt
demonstrate to Liza that he has heard and
understood her story?
c. What concerns might you have if Joe
refers Liza to another therapist based on
his belief that counseling is not
progressing because Liza continues to
repeat same story?
2. David, a seasoned counselor in a local
community health setting, has been working as a
counselor for many years.
a. Describe the benefits and opportunities if
David were to obtain one of the following
types of supervision:
Individual Supervision: One-to-one
supervision by an individual with
more experience.
Group Supervision: Supervision by
more experienced colleagues.
Peer Supervision: Two or more
colleagues sharing feedback and
support.

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b. What are the strengths and drawbacks of

each of these models of supervision?
3. What are some ethical considerations regarding
types of information gathered in counseling settings
and the protection of that information?
Assignments:
1.

Final Project
Interview Analysis Due

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