Today, throughout the series of interviews, the process of refining the questions and answers given was very visible. At first, there was some lack of information and protocol, specifically at the beginning and end of the interviews, with the briefing and debriefing process. The setup of the interview wasn’t really laid out, and the next steps weren’t really brought up. However, these things were changed for subsequent interviews, and both the interviewers’ and interviewees’ improvisation improved. The interviewers also made changes such as asking personal questions to get to know the interviewee better, and asking a question unexpectedly to test their response to an unforeseen situation. Interviewees were sure to respond quickly and with confidence, and to ask relevant follow-up questions. They also improved in their answering of questions, tailoring their language to the situation, and making specific choices in how they answered the questions, such as starting with their weaknesses when asked about weaknesses and strengths.
After the three interviews, we got to today, as an observer, I think that I saw a lot. Each interview was better than the last one and that shows a lot. When I have the chance to be the interviewer, I will use some of the things that I saw in class that other teams did when they were the interviewer. I really want to use the quick thinking skills that the other groups had when the interviewee would ask them questions. I was thinking I would get more personal with the interviewee and see how they react to those questions. Also, I would really focus on their vocab and how they word their sentences.
As an observer of the interview process I noticed it started off slow at first but picked up as the interview went on. What wasvisible these interviews was the comfortability of the interviewers and interviewees in this moc setting and with the observers. Something that I would do more differently in the future is peoject my voice more when being interviewed and take better notes when youre on the observing side of these interviews. Having to make things up on the fly is something that I noticed that the interviewers had to do so that is something that I am going to use. Also the feedback that ws given to those first 2 interviewing groups of the ” including the next steps, and taking diligent notes whilst being able to answer questions”
After going about the first round of interviews I had some time to reflect as to what I can do when it is my turn to be interviewed and as well do the interviewing. I think it was good to watch at first, it gave me an idea as to how formal this would be and how I should be acting during this. I should have answers at the ready and not have to think about them at all. If I have to take time to think about them then that can come off as if I am not prepared for this interview. One thing I would continue todo would be keep taking noting and figuring out what I may what to ask for questions that I had not before. I really enjoy the creativity of this assignment because it leaves a lot of room for us todo our own thing and can really make it fun. Some things that I may change is have a good understanding of everything I am doing prior to, from the job title all the way the the questions that will be asked during the interview.
What became visible after doing two interviews in class was that we needed more practice as a group to make sure we are on the same page together. To get on track we will try to meet as a group and go over how we can stay on track. What I would do again is to have good flow like we did in the second interview we did. Doing two interviews helped us because we were able to get the feedback but we were able to flow better as a group the second time around and I do think since we know what to do now we will flow like the second interview we had. What I might change in a future interview would be to have more flowing conversations and not have as many pauses and drag out the interview. Can always ask about the drive in and make sure the person interviewing feels comfortable and less nervous.
I feel as though the interview we conducted on Wes went very well. Everything felt like it went as planned and turned out good. One thing that became clear to me is that an interview team needs to do more preparation than I thought. It is very important for interviewers to be on the same page because it shows that the business has everything in order. Something I would do again is ask the “who are you question” but I would let the rest of my group know I am going to ask it so that we are all on the same page. As a search committee one thing I would change would be to have more knowledge on the business I am interviewing on behalf of so that I can give the interviewee good answers when they ask their own questions.
After being an observer for a few interviews in class, a few things stuck out most. At first the interviews started off slow and not very interactive but as soon as they started asking questions, the conversation flowed well and the interviewees were able to answer the questions with ease. One thing we will change for our interviews would be to ask more in depth questions regarding our role specifically and ask questions regarding situations and what the employee would do in certain situations. We also can determine what we are doing prior to the interview so we are not passing or stumbling to ask or receive questions, and so everything flows easier. The interviews improved over time last class and hopefully will continue to as well.
My team, Millers Thrillers, posed as an interview committee last class and interviewed a potential candidate. I feel that we did a pretty good job with introducing ourselves and making the candidate feel invited, as well as explaining the position and how the interview process will work. When it came down to question time I felt as though our questions were well thought out and important to the position. We finished off by asking if the candidate has any questions and then told the candidate when they will likely hear back from us and what the next steps are. All things considered I think we did a pretty bang up job with this interview, if I were to change anything it would probably be to use more professional body language during the interview and to just practice it out to make it more coherent and fluid. I’m looking forward to watching and learning from the interviews that will be conducted today and will use all the information I learn to help make our project the best it can be.
After being an observer in class for a few interviews, a few things stuck out to me. The interviews started slow and weren’t very interactive but as the time passed, the conversation started to flow better and being more communicative. Questions being asked were very in depth and specific to their individual roles. Going forward, our questions will be more specific and in depth to ask the interviewee so we. can get a better understanding of their abilities. And we will have our questions lined up and ready to go so we are not slow or stumbling on words. Overall the interviews went well and hopefully continue to do so.
After being an observer and an interviewer I feel like I saw a lot of similar ideas that I plan for my interview in a sense but each group found a way to make the interviews their own. The Goofy Dumplings when they interviewed me asked me questions like, “Who is Wesley Chandler? What’s your work with your degree? How can you help the company?” It felt like somewhat of a real interview in a sense. The plan for our teams interview is to get the know the interviewee more. See what their work ethic is like, how they would act around their coworkers, and see how they would benefit for our team. For the interviewer I want to see how long it’s going to take them for a response, and if they are willing to give the effort we are looking for.
I felt as though the interviews although impromptu were done very well, I was the interviewe for Fantastic Team Five. My partner and I, prior to having the interview, discussed the questions which I wanted to ask the interviewers, however, I wish we had spent more time preparing for the questions the interviewers would be asking. Luckily for myself I have had quite a few experiences in situations when I’ve had to improvise. As the interviews progressed there were minor adjustments made and different questions asked by different sets of interviewers. I found that being personable and introducing yourself properly can set the tone for the whole interview, it allows the interviewers to become acquainted with you and familiar with your name. One question that I really enjoyed was the “who are you?” question I really felt if you come unprepared this could be a make or break answer for an interviewe.
During our Tuesday class I saw a lot of improvement in the both the interviewers and interviewees as the class went along. As an observer, I was able to also see how the committee prepared themselves prior to having the interviewee come into the room. I found this correlated with how the actual interview went as they set themselves up in a way that was usually the order in which they would ask their questions. Another thing I noticed about the interviewers was that they improved each time. This is because they were able to observe and absorb areas which went wrong in prior interviews and were then able to fix it.
As one of the interviewers, I think overall our group did pretty well. We came up with good questions before the interview and made sure we asked everything. I thought the questions we asked were thoughtful and important questions that may appear in a real-life interview scenario. I also thought that the other groups and interviewees did well and it showed how well people are able to adapt to different questions asked during the interviews. The interviews weren’t always perfect, but you could see the improvement as the interviews went on and I think that helped everyone see what could be fixed for next time.
I thought the interviews went pretty well once everyone got over the initial awkwardness of it. All the interviewees had great responses to all the interviewers’ questions, with some questions more complex than others. They needed to make stuff up on the fly, too, to fit into the interview questions. I thought the search committees asked good questions, some I’ve even gotten before in an interview. The way we set up the room helped and made sense despite the little room we had. I felt like it could’ve helped us to use the rubric we made the previous class for our practice interviews. It was a bit clunky to have a group conducting the interview, but at the same time it would’ve been too much to be doing one on one interviews.
The interviews went well today, I was originally really worried about how they’d go and what questions we’d ask but the interviews turned out fine. It was nice seeing how prepared everyone was and mature about it all, too. As an interviewer I felt decently prepared coming in and working alongside my group mates, too. We also improved as went along with how we carried ourselves and the wording of the questions and who should talk and when. The flow of the conversation felt natural and as if we were in a n actual interview as well.
What we learned from this first interview process was that there are so many things that you are responsible for when you are interviewing someone. My group had the ability to do two interviews in class, the first one was a little bit rough and was harder than anticipated. We were the first group to go today, and really moved into this with no idea of what would be coming for us. We have all been interviewed before, but never were the ones doing the interview. After the feedback that we got, we were able to make adjustments to our interview process for the second interview, and that was much smoother. I think going forward we need to create a script of sorts, for the start and end of the interview, that way we are on the same page and are able to get the same information out to those who we interview in the coming classes. Besides that I think just being confident in interviewing, and removing the awkward pauses and filler words would make our interview that much smoother.
I was watching from zoom so the audio and visual was a little bit scratchy so I tried my best to stay on track with it. I was just observing because I was on the computer but I thought it went very well. I thought to myself as an interviewer I could use some of those points as tips and would probably use them in the future. As in the interviewee I would try my best to refrain from using those words like “um” and “uh” because it just sounds like you’re not prepared to answer the question. Speaking professionally was a big thing I pointed out that’s under-appreciated in interviews. You just can’t go into an interview talking loosely like they’re one of your friends.
I was watching from zoom so the audio and visual was a little bit scratchy so I tried my best to stay on track with it. I was just observing because I was on the computer but I thought it went very well. I thought to myself as an interviewer I could use some of those points as tips and would probably use them in the future. As in the interviewee I would try my best to refrain from using those words like “um” and “uh” because it just sounds like you’re not prepared to answer the question. Speaking professionally was a big thing I pointed out that’s under-appreciated in interviews. You just can’t go into an interview talking loosely like they’re one of your friends.
18 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 23”
Today, throughout the series of interviews, the process of refining the questions and answers given was very visible. At first, there was some lack of information and protocol, specifically at the beginning and end of the interviews, with the briefing and debriefing process. The setup of the interview wasn’t really laid out, and the next steps weren’t really brought up. However, these things were changed for subsequent interviews, and both the interviewers’ and interviewees’ improvisation improved. The interviewers also made changes such as asking personal questions to get to know the interviewee better, and asking a question unexpectedly to test their response to an unforeseen situation. Interviewees were sure to respond quickly and with confidence, and to ask relevant follow-up questions. They also improved in their answering of questions, tailoring their language to the situation, and making specific choices in how they answered the questions, such as starting with their weaknesses when asked about weaknesses and strengths.
After the three interviews, we got to today, as an observer, I think that I saw a lot. Each interview was better than the last one and that shows a lot. When I have the chance to be the interviewer, I will use some of the things that I saw in class that other teams did when they were the interviewer. I really want to use the quick thinking skills that the other groups had when the interviewee would ask them questions. I was thinking I would get more personal with the interviewee and see how they react to those questions. Also, I would really focus on their vocab and how they word their sentences.
As an observer of the interview process I noticed it started off slow at first but picked up as the interview went on. What wasvisible these interviews was the comfortability of the interviewers and interviewees in this moc setting and with the observers. Something that I would do more differently in the future is peoject my voice more when being interviewed and take better notes when youre on the observing side of these interviews. Having to make things up on the fly is something that I noticed that the interviewers had to do so that is something that I am going to use. Also the feedback that ws given to those first 2 interviewing groups of the ” including the next steps, and taking diligent notes whilst being able to answer questions”
After going about the first round of interviews I had some time to reflect as to what I can do when it is my turn to be interviewed and as well do the interviewing. I think it was good to watch at first, it gave me an idea as to how formal this would be and how I should be acting during this. I should have answers at the ready and not have to think about them at all. If I have to take time to think about them then that can come off as if I am not prepared for this interview. One thing I would continue todo would be keep taking noting and figuring out what I may what to ask for questions that I had not before. I really enjoy the creativity of this assignment because it leaves a lot of room for us todo our own thing and can really make it fun. Some things that I may change is have a good understanding of everything I am doing prior to, from the job title all the way the the questions that will be asked during the interview.
What became visible after doing two interviews in class was that we needed more practice as a group to make sure we are on the same page together. To get on track we will try to meet as a group and go over how we can stay on track. What I would do again is to have good flow like we did in the second interview we did. Doing two interviews helped us because we were able to get the feedback but we were able to flow better as a group the second time around and I do think since we know what to do now we will flow like the second interview we had. What I might change in a future interview would be to have more flowing conversations and not have as many pauses and drag out the interview. Can always ask about the drive in and make sure the person interviewing feels comfortable and less nervous.
I feel as though the interview we conducted on Wes went very well. Everything felt like it went as planned and turned out good. One thing that became clear to me is that an interview team needs to do more preparation than I thought. It is very important for interviewers to be on the same page because it shows that the business has everything in order. Something I would do again is ask the “who are you question” but I would let the rest of my group know I am going to ask it so that we are all on the same page. As a search committee one thing I would change would be to have more knowledge on the business I am interviewing on behalf of so that I can give the interviewee good answers when they ask their own questions.
After being an observer for a few interviews in class, a few things stuck out most. At first the interviews started off slow and not very interactive but as soon as they started asking questions, the conversation flowed well and the interviewees were able to answer the questions with ease. One thing we will change for our interviews would be to ask more in depth questions regarding our role specifically and ask questions regarding situations and what the employee would do in certain situations. We also can determine what we are doing prior to the interview so we are not passing or stumbling to ask or receive questions, and so everything flows easier. The interviews improved over time last class and hopefully will continue to as well.
Ryan Kelly
Prof. Jessie Miller
Communications 110
1 December 2023
Journal 23
My team, Millers Thrillers, posed as an interview committee last class and interviewed a potential candidate. I feel that we did a pretty good job with introducing ourselves and making the candidate feel invited, as well as explaining the position and how the interview process will work. When it came down to question time I felt as though our questions were well thought out and important to the position. We finished off by asking if the candidate has any questions and then told the candidate when they will likely hear back from us and what the next steps are. All things considered I think we did a pretty bang up job with this interview, if I were to change anything it would probably be to use more professional body language during the interview and to just practice it out to make it more coherent and fluid. I’m looking forward to watching and learning from the interviews that will be conducted today and will use all the information I learn to help make our project the best it can be.
After being an observer in class for a few interviews, a few things stuck out to me. The interviews started slow and weren’t very interactive but as the time passed, the conversation started to flow better and being more communicative. Questions being asked were very in depth and specific to their individual roles. Going forward, our questions will be more specific and in depth to ask the interviewee so we. can get a better understanding of their abilities. And we will have our questions lined up and ready to go so we are not slow or stumbling on words. Overall the interviews went well and hopefully continue to do so.
After being an observer and an interviewer I feel like I saw a lot of similar ideas that I plan for my interview in a sense but each group found a way to make the interviews their own. The Goofy Dumplings when they interviewed me asked me questions like, “Who is Wesley Chandler? What’s your work with your degree? How can you help the company?” It felt like somewhat of a real interview in a sense. The plan for our teams interview is to get the know the interviewee more. See what their work ethic is like, how they would act around their coworkers, and see how they would benefit for our team. For the interviewer I want to see how long it’s going to take them for a response, and if they are willing to give the effort we are looking for.
Sawyer Ohman
CMM110-A
12/1/23
Journal #23
I felt as though the interviews although impromptu were done very well, I was the interviewe for Fantastic Team Five. My partner and I, prior to having the interview, discussed the questions which I wanted to ask the interviewers, however, I wish we had spent more time preparing for the questions the interviewers would be asking. Luckily for myself I have had quite a few experiences in situations when I’ve had to improvise. As the interviews progressed there were minor adjustments made and different questions asked by different sets of interviewers. I found that being personable and introducing yourself properly can set the tone for the whole interview, it allows the interviewers to become acquainted with you and familiar with your name. One question that I really enjoyed was the “who are you?” question I really felt if you come unprepared this could be a make or break answer for an interviewe.
During our Tuesday class I saw a lot of improvement in the both the interviewers and interviewees as the class went along. As an observer, I was able to also see how the committee prepared themselves prior to having the interviewee come into the room. I found this correlated with how the actual interview went as they set themselves up in a way that was usually the order in which they would ask their questions. Another thing I noticed about the interviewers was that they improved each time. This is because they were able to observe and absorb areas which went wrong in prior interviews and were then able to fix it.
As one of the interviewers, I think overall our group did pretty well. We came up with good questions before the interview and made sure we asked everything. I thought the questions we asked were thoughtful and important questions that may appear in a real-life interview scenario. I also thought that the other groups and interviewees did well and it showed how well people are able to adapt to different questions asked during the interviews. The interviews weren’t always perfect, but you could see the improvement as the interviews went on and I think that helped everyone see what could be fixed for next time.
I thought the interviews went pretty well once everyone got over the initial awkwardness of it. All the interviewees had great responses to all the interviewers’ questions, with some questions more complex than others. They needed to make stuff up on the fly, too, to fit into the interview questions. I thought the search committees asked good questions, some I’ve even gotten before in an interview. The way we set up the room helped and made sense despite the little room we had. I felt like it could’ve helped us to use the rubric we made the previous class for our practice interviews. It was a bit clunky to have a group conducting the interview, but at the same time it would’ve been too much to be doing one on one interviews.
The interviews went well today, I was originally really worried about how they’d go and what questions we’d ask but the interviews turned out fine. It was nice seeing how prepared everyone was and mature about it all, too. As an interviewer I felt decently prepared coming in and working alongside my group mates, too. We also improved as went along with how we carried ourselves and the wording of the questions and who should talk and when. The flow of the conversation felt natural and as if we were in a n actual interview as well.
What we learned from this first interview process was that there are so many things that you are responsible for when you are interviewing someone. My group had the ability to do two interviews in class, the first one was a little bit rough and was harder than anticipated. We were the first group to go today, and really moved into this with no idea of what would be coming for us. We have all been interviewed before, but never were the ones doing the interview. After the feedback that we got, we were able to make adjustments to our interview process for the second interview, and that was much smoother. I think going forward we need to create a script of sorts, for the start and end of the interview, that way we are on the same page and are able to get the same information out to those who we interview in the coming classes. Besides that I think just being confident in interviewing, and removing the awkward pauses and filler words would make our interview that much smoother.
Altirique McElveen
CMM110
12/1/23
I was watching from zoom so the audio and visual was a little bit scratchy so I tried my best to stay on track with it. I was just observing because I was on the computer but I thought it went very well. I thought to myself as an interviewer I could use some of those points as tips and would probably use them in the future. As in the interviewee I would try my best to refrain from using those words like “um” and “uh” because it just sounds like you’re not prepared to answer the question. Speaking professionally was a big thing I pointed out that’s under-appreciated in interviews. You just can’t go into an interview talking loosely like they’re one of your friends.
Altirique McElveen
CMM110
12/2/23
I was watching from zoom so the audio and visual was a little bit scratchy so I tried my best to stay on track with it. I was just observing because I was on the computer but I thought it went very well. I thought to myself as an interviewer I could use some of those points as tips and would probably use them in the future. As in the interviewee I would try my best to refrain from using those words like “um” and “uh” because it just sounds like you’re not prepared to answer the question. Speaking professionally was a big thing I pointed out that’s under-appreciated in interviews. You just can’t go into an interview talking loosely like they’re one of your friends.