Zainab AlSaeed 201201524

Rhea Fitzpatrick
Word Count: 1,413

Individual Assessment Cover Sheet

Assessment Title:

Part 2 Reflection

Program Title:

Electives

Course No.:

GSP 5203

Course Title:

Market Yourself

Student Name:

Zainab AlSaeed

Student ID:

201201524

By submitting this assessment for marking, either electronically or as hard copy, I confirm the
following:

This assignment is my own work

Any information used has been properly referenced.
I understand that a copy of my work may be used for moderation.
I have kept a copy of this assignment

Zainab AlSaeed 201201524

Rhea Fitzpatrick
Word Count: 1,413

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Part 1: ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
Part 2: ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Part 3: ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
References .................................................................................................................................................... 7

Zainab AlSaeed 201201524

Rhea Fitzpatrick
Word Count: 1,413

Introduction
In the 2nd of December, I have done a simulated job interview as a part of Market Yourself
course. I was applying for a trainee position in experience program offered by BAPCO. This
report will discuss in details my experience in doing the simulated job interview as well as it will
talk about my past experience in doing other interviews. A comparison will be included
representing the similarities and differences between my past experience and the simulated
interview. Moreover, the report will demonstrate the resources I have used to prepare myself
for the interview and how they helped me practically to be successful interviewee.

Part 1:
The very first step to get ready for the interview is writing a Curriculum Vitae and a cover letter.
I was familiar with the CV as I have done my own CV last semester with the help of my English
tutor. I knew that a CV should contain the basic important information about my-self and it
should not include any irrelevant or unnecessary information. I was thinking that the job seeker
could have one CV and he/she can apply to multiple jobs with it. However, in the class I learned
that a good CV will increase my opportunity to get the interview by writing it specifically to the
position I am going to apply to. In the class we had a discussion about the content of a good CV
as well as we looked at some examples of good and bad CVs. So, first I read the advertisement
of the training program and understand the requirements of the company BABCO. Then, I
started to rewrite my CV based on the requirements of the trainee position as well as the
discussion we had in the class.
The cover letter was easy for me because it is like the summary of the CV besides there was a
template which explains what to write in each section exactly. So, the process of writing the
cover letter was smooth and easy and it did not take long time to finish. After finishing the CV
and the cover letter, I was ready to prepare for the interview because I learned many helpful
tips from the class and other resources in how to be a successful interviewee. I consider the
interview as the stressful part of the assessment as it was the first job interview I had. Also, I
was not expecting some questions so I get nervous while answering them.
In my opinion, the process of writing the CV, cover letter and doing the simulated interview was
very helpful. I learned new tips and how to use them in marketing myself to the company I am
applying for beginning from the CV and ending with the interview. The opportunity of being an
interviewee was useful because I had my own experience and I had the chance to apply what I
learned in the class practically. In the future, I will use what I have learned and I will improve
myself to be better interviewee by preparing more. The most important thing about this
experience is; while doing the interview I discovered that I need to improve myself in managing

Zainab AlSaeed 201201524

Rhea Fitzpatrick
Word Count: 1,413

the stress and anxiety caused by the interview. As well as, I should not get nervous if I was not
expecting some questions.

Part 2:
In this section I am going to share my past experiences in the field of personal interviews. I had
4 different interviews before the simulated job interview and they are;
1. Register for collage (RCSI)
I was applying for a medical student position in RCSI. I prepared to the interview by doing
research about the history of this collage in Bahrain. Also, I prepared myself to answer basic
medical questions by doing research about diseases and medications. The interviewers were
two professors from the collage and I had to talk with them in English. I think it was a successful
interview since the collage offered me a seat in the medical program.
2. Register for collage (University Of Bahrain)
The aim of this interview is to get a seat in the university as a Biology student. There were three
interviewers and they asked me various questions about myself, the major I am applying for
and general question to test my knowledge and behavior. The interview was easy for me since I
had a previous experience as well as I had to talk with my native language (Arabic) which
helped me a lot in reducing the stress while talking. I got the seat which proves that I did well in
the interview.
3. Scholarship interview
The purpose of this interview was to get a scholarship. There were three interviewers from the
ministry of education and I had to talk in Arabic. They asked me about myself, the reason of
applying, why should they offer me the scholarship and other general questions about my
education. I managed to overcome the stress by doing research and being confident about
myself.
4. Speaking test as an interview
I did this interview as an assessment for English course at Bahrain Polytechnic. The tutor was
the interviewer and he asked me to talk about one of my projects in details; the process of the
project, the difficulties I faced and how did I overcome them. I was not talking about myself
explicitly but talking about the problems and solutions showed a part of my personality.

Zainab AlSaeed 201201524

Rhea Fitzpatrick
Word Count: 1,413

On one hand, my previous interviews and the simulated job interview share with similar points
which are;
In all the interviews I was talking about myself and representing to the interviewers the reason
of being a strong candidate to get the position or the seat. Moreover, the type of the interviews
I did was face-to-face interviews which I think is better than the telephone based interviews for
the reason that dealing with people directly allows me to express my thoughts effectively. In
addition, in all of the interviews I did research about the organization I am going to apply for;
searching about the history, achievements, the mission and vision besides the awards of that
organization.
Also, all the interviews were falling under The Panel Interview type which is an interview with
two or more interviewers from the hiring company asking one candidate pre-established
questions. (Carter, "Different Types of Interviews", 2013)
On the other hand, there are several differences between my past experiences and the
simulated interview which are;
First, the aim of my previous interviews was getting an entry level as a student not as an
employee. Furthermore, the language of the interviews differ; in some interviews I had to talk
in my native language which I think it helped me in handling the stress and to be confident
when answering the questions. Unlike English, talking in Arabic is more comfortable for me
since I can express myself with correct words without any concerns about language and
grammar mistakes.
In addition, there were unexpected questions in the simulated interview unlike the other
interviews such as; what will you do to benefit our company if we hire you? How will you use
your knowledge in the real work environment? etc.

Part 3:
One of the most important things that helped me in getting ready for the interview is doing
research. I looked for articles and videos about job interviews. I learned new tips for different
resources such as;
1. YouTube video:
("8 common Interview question and answers - Job Interview Skills", 2014)
This video helped me in preparing my own answers by knowing the proper way to answer some
common interview questions. As well as it gives me examples of bad and good answers.

Zainab AlSaeed 201201524

Rhea Fitzpatrick
Word Count: 1,413

2. YouTube video
(Spencer, "How to Ace an Interview: 5 Tips from a Harvard Career Advisor", 2013)
I learned from this video that the interviewee has to be confident no matter what the situation
of the interview. Also, I have to research about the company I am going to apply to as well as
the job description and responsibilities of the position.
3. Article:
(Carter, "Interview Planning", 2013)
This article helped me in planning for the interview by follow some steps which organize what I
am going to say in the interview.
4. Article:
("Interviews - dos and donts", (n.d))
The appearance of the interviewee could affect the interviewer not only his answers. The
interviewee should be polite, smart and formal in the interview by following some steps.

All of the resources above help me to understand the process of the interview, to improve my
communication skills and to be successful interviewee.

Conclusion
To sum up, I consider the simulated job interview as a new and helpful experience for me.
Throughout the process of this assessment I have learned many new things about interviews
which will help me to get my dream job in the future. Furthermore, the interview helped me to
discover my strength and weaknesses and I will improve myself by overcoming my weaknesses.

Zainab AlSaeed 201201524

Rhea Fitzpatrick
Word Count: 1,413

References
8 common Interview question and answers -Job Interview Skills. (2014, June 29). Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mHjMNZZvFo&oref

Carter, M. (2013, August 13). Interview Planning. Retrieved from

http://www.orchard.co.uk/Blog/Interview-Planning-1535.aspx

Carter, M. (2013, June 11). Different Types of Interviews. Retrieved from

http://www.orchard.co.uk/Blog/Different-Types-of-Interviews-1536.aspx

Interviews - dos and donts. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/getajob/interviews/Pages/Interviewsdosan
ddonts.aspx

Spencer, L. (2013, March 27). How to Ace an Interview: 5 Tips from a Harvard Career Advisor.
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHDrj0_bMQ0