Many of the students who have signed up for a summer work program have an interview with an American employer coming up. Each of them feels the jitters before the interview. You're not the only ones, so you can take a deep breath and present yourself in the best possible light.
Here are some of the questions you may be asked at the interview:
- Tell me more about yourself? - If you're asked this question, you have many options for what to answer, and here are some of them – tell them in a couple of sentences what you study and where, whether you have brothers/sisters/pets, and what you like to do in your free time;
- What are you studying? - What your major is; you can add a favorite subject or why you chose this major;
- What do you like to do in your free time? - Hobbies, interests, all the things you do when you're not at university, including extracurricular activities – student organizations, etc.;
- Why do you choose this state? - It's natural for them to be curious why you chose this particular state out of all 52. Look up where the state is located, and you can always say you chose it because of the ocean (if it's on the ocean) or because you love the mountains (if it's a mountain state);
- Do you have any previous work experience in this field? - It's not a problem if you have no previous experience in a restaurant/hotel; you can highlight any job related to customer service, or your previous work in general. It's still good to talk about some kind of work experience.
- When can you start working? - It would be good to think about when you could start work, because this is very important to every employer. It's a good idea to plan this around your exams;
- Do you have any questions? - It's good to think of a few questions – it makes a good impression. You can ask them anything about the job itself that isn't clear to you yet. They'll be more than happy to answer your questions.
You can practice the possible questions in advance with a friend or in front of the mirror. The interview itself is a short conversation through which the employer aims to get to know you as a person and, of course, your knowledge of English. Don't treat it as an exam. But if you jot down your answers in advance, it will be much easier for you.