5/24/2015

MARKET
YOURSELF
GSP 5203

ASSIGNMENT 1, PART 2 REFLECTION

TUTOR: LAURA LOBATO

By: Yahya Isa Saif | Ya7ya04

On Thursday 21st May 2015, I attended a simulated interview for BAPCO Assistant Manager
Graduate Training Programme. In this interview, I gave the interviewer a hard copy of my CV and letter
of application; it was a very valuable experience for me for many reasons. First of all, I learned that the
letter of application and CV should sell my ability to perform the job and explain why I am the best
candidate for the job; also I learned that the letter of application and CV should show the specific skills
and experiences related to the job with evidences. When I read the job advertisement, I found that the
job requires some skills such as, communication skills, practical skills, and work experience. So, I
mentioned the relevant skills in the letter where I explained each skill separately with showing how I
gained it; for example I mentioned that I gained the communication skills through working with different
student and tutors. Since, I focused in the CV on the related practical skills and work experience where I
listed the industrial companies that I work in, and I explained the nature of each job. I learned from the
tutor that the layout of the CV and letter is very essential because it could affect the job opportunities
negatively if they were not well prepared; so I added a professional picture to the CV, and I chose an
appropriate space alignment and the font size for CV and letter; now I have a professional CV and letter
that I can use them in the future. I learned that the interviews require applying some techniques and
practicing. Also, to enhance occupational opportunities I should read the job advertisement and
research about the job to figure out the job duties, the required skills and qualifications, the company
mission and vision because the interviewer may ask me about these information. Also, I learned that I
should practice the most common interview questions to answer them correctly, and prepare good
answers for hard questions like what is your greatest weakness.
When I completed the interview I remembered two events in my life. The first event was a poster
presentation for Material Science course (presentation about Carbon Fiber). The tutor invited seven
engineering tutors to attend the presentation in order to ask me and classmates about the posters.
During the presentation, the tutors asked me several theoretical questions about Carbon Fiber and
some related topics about Material Science; I answered the entire questions in detail for example l
explained the microstructure and mechanical properties of the material where I demonstrated my
knowledge about Carbon Fiber and Material Science. The same thing happened in the interview where I
demonstrated my knowledge of the company and the job requirements such as I explained the nature
of works in mechanical section in Bapco. This happened because I always prepare myself for any event
that I will participate in it because I am hard-worker and good learner, and doing several presentations
at Bahrain Polytechnic developed my communication skills. The second event happened in the university
as well, the tutor asked from me to speak in front of classmates to explain an engineering lesson (it was
a kind of oral test). Actually, I did not feel good about it because I was very nervous. Also, at the
beginning of the interview I was under pressure because it was the first interview for me and the second
question was unexpected so I looked a little bit nervous during the interview. This happens occasionally
because of my nature (sometimes I cannot control pressure); in the future I will put a lot of time into
preparation to overcome nervous.
In order to learn the interviewing techniques I have read two articles 10 Interviewing Rules by
Carole Martin and Interviewing Techniques and Tips by Randall S. Hansen; these articles helped me in
preparing for the interview through demonstrating the type of the questions that I may asked during the
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interview (common type of the questions), the techniques that I should follow them to answer the
interviewer questions correctly such as, how to answer the questions in a positive way, what to wear
and how to manage stress. I followed most of the mentioned advices in the articles for example the
articles suggest conducting a research about the company and nature of job; I did a research about
Bapco and I memorized the Bapco aims, mission, vision and values, also I asked an engineer in Bapco
about the nature of works in mechanical section; this helped me answering the interviewer question
(what is the nature of job in Bapco?) correctly during interview. Beside the practice questions that were
provided by the tutor I followed the advice prepare responses through practice on answering the most
common interview questions, and I practiced more questions like (Why should we hire you?). The most
important advice that I followed was give a specific example through preparing the stories before the
interview. When the interviewer asked about my skills I mentioned each skill with a real life example
such as I explained in detail a problem that I solved it after mentioning problem-solving skill; I think this
supports the information and makes them more realistic. I followed the articles suggestion where I
asked some insightful questions during interview because asking questions indicates to my interest
about job and company.
For future interviews I will apply a strategy before and during the interview. First I will read the job
advertisement to know the required skills and experience for the job. Then I will research and ask about
the company and job including company mission and vision, average salary in Bahrain to discuss the
salary and nature of job. Based on the research and the information from advertisement I will prepare a
specific letter and CV that would sell my skills and qualifications for the job. Also, I will practice
answering the most common interview questions, and prepare some insightful questions related to the
job. During the interview day; I will wear appropriate cloths (suit for private companies or traditional
cloths for government jobs habit in Bahrain). I will attend the interview before half an hour, and I will
ask all the questions. From the simulated interview; I faced a problem about confidence and hesitating
where I was a little bit nervous, to overcome this issue I will practice interviewing more through doing
online video interviews using http://www.hirestream.me/graduate.

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