Job Interviews: How to Answer Authentically to the Toughest Questions

“Strong waves make strong sailors.” – English proverb Why do so many hiring managers ask open-ended questions in job interviews? What possibilities – and perils – do these questions present? How can job-seekers prepare for ten tough, yet common, interview questions? When answering seemingly broad interview questions, it’s often difficult to know where to...

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Job Interviews: Why Authentic Conversation is Key to Success

“Hiring is a manager’s most important job.” – Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005), American management consultant and author How do many job seekers self-sabotage during interviews? What qualities often make a successful job interview? Liz Ryan, founder and CEO of Human Workplace, has conducted many an interview. In ‘The Startling Truth About Hiring Decisions’, she...

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Bridging the Gap: How English for Professionals courses aid international engineers

As both lecturer and master lecturer, respectively, in the Engineering Writing Program and American Language Institute, I have worked with many international engineering students at USC (home of award-winning engineering publication, Illumin). To my knowledge, engineers sometimes find it difficult explaining key concepts to non-specialists, and speaking English as a second language often adds to...

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Teaching Matters: Explaining the concept of skill in relation to the workplace

“In business for yourself, not by yourself.” ~Ray Kroc (1902-1984), McDonald’s founder How do people get jobs in the United States? Internship season is almost upon us, and finding work is not always an easy thing – particularly in an uncertain economy. Many ESL students may be from countries where people are employed through families, political parties or...

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Resources: Dissecting an Advertisement

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” ~Dr. Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990), Canadian-American educator When looking for a job, it’s important to assess what employers really want from potential hires. This is a crucial step in drafting tailored resumes, or resumes targeted at a specific employment opportunity. Sometimes, however,...

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Resources: Links for ESL Teachers About Informational Interviews

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” ~Vidal Sassoon (1928-2012), British hairstylist and businessman   Late last year, we published a blog post on mock job interviews and self-evaluation. In connection to that, here are some helpful links we’ve found in the past for teachers and students alike to encourage networking and a better sense of...

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