What to say during an

interview?
By Cok De Muladhara

1. “Tell me about yourself!”

Sering kali dalam menjawab pertanyaan pembuka dalam interview ini, para interviewee
justru melenceng dan justru menjawab dengan hal-hal yang tidak perlu. Cukup perkenalkan tentang
latar belakang keluarga, Pendidikan, pengalaman kerja, serta alasan mengapa kita adalah kandidat
yang cocok untuk posisi tersebut dan atau kelebihan yang sekiranya akan dibutuhkan atau berguna
di perusahaan.

Example :

Interviewer : “good morning (interviewee), so tell me bout your self!”

Interviewee : “Ok, first of all I’d like to thank you Mr/Ms (Interviewer) for this opportunity to be
interviewed by this company. My name is Andika Ardianta I was born on January 1st 1998 in
Denpasar. I am originally from Karangasem, but I currently live at (Tempat tinggal saat ini). In my
family, I am the firstborn of three siblings. My parents sent me to (nama TK atau Paud) when I was
(pada saat usia berapa) and then after I graduated I continue to learn at (nama sekolah dasar) and
manage to achieve a good grade among many students, and with the help of that I am able to
continue my midle school at (nama SMP) which is one of the best state midle school in the regency,
and afterwards I am also able to continue my highschool and study at (nama sma) which is also quite
a prestigious school in terms of education compared to my midle school. Through out my childhood I
was a very active kid. I always love to learn and question my self about everything in my
surroundings. I’d love to know about how things could work in their way and I like to know and
understand about new things. I receive many valuable experiences during my middle and high school
phase. Back then, I used to be a quite undoubtedly active member in many Organizations. Therefore
I also receive many organizational lessons such as team-working, management, networking and
many more. After Highschool I manage to be recruited to (Nama universitas) through scholarship to
learn about (nama jurusan) and then successfully graduated with the GPA of (nilai akhir IPK sesuai
CV) and received my bachelor degree. I then go for internship at (nama perusahaan magang kalau
ada) as a (posisi di perusahaan). *selebihnya terangkan soal soft skill dan hardskil yang kalian miliki
yang cocok dengan kriteria perusahaan. Serta bila perlu tambahkan prestasi-prestasi selama di
perusahaan magang”.

2. “Why did you choose this company?”

Dalam menjawab pertanyaan ini, usahakan melakukan penekanan yang meyakinkan si

interviewer bahwa kita sudah betul-betul mempelajari mengenai perusahaan tersebut dan tentunya
memiliki skill yang selaras dengan visi/misi atau sejalan dengan kebutuhan perusahaan.
Example :

Interviewer : “Then why do you chose this company?”

Interviewee : “The reason behind me choosing this company is because I mainly found that the job
description is perfectly aligned with my experience and qualifications. I greatly admire this
company’s work ethic, the positive and supportive yet well organized working atmosphere and many
more. I’ve learnt about the main goal of this company and I’d love to apply skills and abilities on
working towards achieving it. If you hire me, I will work hard to help your company business grow, to
continually improve, and to meet the expectations of your customers”.

3. “If you had to choose between this company and another, which would you choose and why?”

Tentunya kita akan memilih perusahaan yang kita datangi saat ini, hanya saja masalahnya
sekarang adalah bagimana cara kita meyakinkan bahwa alasan kita lebih memilih perusahaan ini
masuk akal dan terdengar meyakinkan. Poin-poin nya sebetulnya hampir mirip dengan pertanyaan
ke 2, begitupun jawaban yang mengikutinya.

Example :

Interviewer : “Ok, but If you had to choose between this company and another, which would you
choose and why?

Interviewee : “Even if there’s another company that would perhaps pay me with higher salary, I
would definitely still chose this company, Sir/Ma’am. I have researched your company in detail and I
have been impressed with your values, the way you treat your customers, and how you always strive
to improve. It has been my dream to work with your people. I am willing to learn from my more
experienced colleague. I Believe I can add more value to your company, and this will be achieved by
collaborating with the people in my team, and by focusing on the commercial goals of your
business”.

4. “How much should I pay you?”

Bila yang didiskusikan adalah gaji, otomatis hubunganya adalah dengan skill dan
kemampuan yang kita tawarkan ke perusahaan. Untuk itu, berusahalah untuk setidaknya ‘sedikit
merendah di awal’, namun tetap berani untuk menuntut gaji yang pas dan tidak dibawah UMR.
Kasarnya, tetap berani ‘menantang’ tapi tetap tau diri.

Example :

Interviewer : “Alright, I found that you are the perfect candidate for this role. How much do you
think should I pay you?”

Interviewee : “I am only a fresh graduate, but I do have some experience for this role that I got from
the previous company. So with all do respect Sir/Ma’am. I’d like to ask you to pay me at least
according to the minimum wage, as much as Rp 2.500.000 (two and a half million rupiahs) base. But,
as soon as I get promoted I’d like to receive a significant salary increasement according to my new
role and responsibilities along with my potential for the role.
*Note
Self attitude sangatlah penting saat interview nanti. Perhatikan dengan baik beberapa hal berikut
untuk memaksimalkan penilaian interview :

• Cara menarik kursi untuk duduk saat sebelum diinterview. Lakukanlah dengan halus
menggunakan ke 2 tangan agar terkesan lebih sopan
• Pose ketika duduk dan sikap tangan yang baik dan benar (duduk rapi, dengan tangan di atas
paha. Hindari terlalu banyak menggunkan isyarat tangan.)
• Arah tatapan mata. Berusaha untuk mengarahkan pandangan ke hadapan interviewer atau
audience. Kurangi menatap ke sudut ruangan.
• Sebisa mungkin jangan terlalu banyak jeda “eee….” Yang pada akhrinya membuat kita
terlihat tidak siap
• Berbicara dengan tempo yang normal dan JELAS.