E: Miss Sato, how do you do
My name is Jim smith.
A: How do you do, Mr smith
Thank you for asking me to come in.
E: Not at all. If you’ll take a seat. We can begin.
A: Thank you.
E: Well, Miss Sato, as you know, we are looking for an executive secretary with good English skills and some business background.
We looked over your resume and thought you might be a good candidate.
A: Thank you.
E: Today’s interview is for us to get to know a little about you. If needed, there will be a more lengthy interview later, so, if you’re comfortable, let’s begin.
A: Ok.
E: To begin with, why don’t you tell me about yourself, Miss Sato.
A: All right.
I am originally from Osaka and my parents and brother still live there. I am to Tokyo to attend college. My major was political science. For two years, I was on the college tennis team. I still play as often as I can.
After college, I spent six month in the United States studying English. I also used the opportunity to travel all over the country. After I got back to Japan, I stayed with my family for a few months and then came to Tokyo to work. I’ve been employed for three years with a major Japanese securities company. I’ve learned how to supervise other employees, and I am one of the people responsible for training new secretaries.
I also handle a lot of the English-language faxes and letters my boss receives, translating them and answering them for my boss.
Because I have quite a bit of overtime work, I don’t have many chances to do sports, but when I have time, I like to play tennis, swim and jog.
E: Is there some reason why you want to leave your present job
A: Well, I really do like my work and I got along well with my co-workers, but I think it’s time for me to make a change. You see, I like work that is challenging, and I think I am ready for more challenging work at this time.
E: How do you think working for a foreign company will be different from working with a Japanese company
A: I think that generally, foreign companies are more willing to give a great deal of responsibility to their employees. I think that once I prove myself to my competences, I will have the chance to do increasing difficult work assignments. This is what I hope for.
Mr. Smith , I’m a very hard worker and I take a lot of pride in my work. I think I can be a strong asset to your company if I’m given the chance to prove myself.
E: Where do you see yourself three years from now
A: Working for your company, Mr, Smith! As the administrative assistant in your firm!
E: Good answer, Miss Sato good answer! Seriously, though, are you interested in staying in a staff-level position, or would you hope to move into management someday
A: Well, I haven’t thought much about this. I think it’s too early to tell. What is most important for me now is to do the best possible job for the company and learn and develop my skills as much as possible.
If the company is happy with my work, then, I think I would like to consider other positions in the company. But again, the most important thing at first is to do my job well.
E: Fine, What kind of relationship do you think should exist between a boss and his or her employees
A: Well, a professional relationship, I think a company is a place to get work done. Certainly friendly, open relationships among all company employees are important, but I think an employee should be serious about his or her work responsibilities and have a professional relationship with the boss.
E: Miss Sato, what do you think your main strengths are, and also your main weaknesses
A: Regarding my weaknesses, I tend to take a lot of work home with me. I am learning day by day to try to find small ways to make my offic