Target Selection and Task Analysis:

How can you break this skill down?

Responding to interview questions requires:

1) concept recognition (identifying the question),
2) perspective-taking skills to read and connect the key details of a situation in order to recognize why this question is being asked,
3) repair strategies to seek clarification when the individual does not understand the question, request that the speaker repeat the question if needed, and/or request a moment to consider the question if needed,
4) generation of a response that is adequate (right amount of information), relevant (on-topic and applicable to the work setting), and appropriate (positive, not too personal, and taking into account the perspective of the employer), and
5) self-regulation to stay calm, and to avoid monopolizing, interrupting, fidgeting, or shifting away from the question topic
What sub-skill should you target first for the student to initiate? Given what the student can do presently, how will you present the task so that the student can perform steps within his capacity while learning a new step? 

At the most basic level, producing a response to an interview question requires that the individual: 1) process the words, 2) identify the question (internally) and 3) generate a response.  This simplified sequence may be the starting point for some students.  Determine what aspects of the response should be targeted first:  The adequacy of the response (“right” amount of information versus too little or too much), the relevance of the response (on-topic and applicable to the work setting), and/or the appropriateness of the response (positive, not too personal, and taking into account the perspective of the employer).
Below are examples of standard interview questions.  Pick a more concrete question and start there:

• “Tell me a little bit about yourself” (Though this is often the first question in some interviews, it is a really tough question because it is so open-ended. It might not be the place to start. What does this question really mean?  Does this mean give my entire history starting from childhood?)
• “Why are you interested in this position?”
• “Tell me about any work experience you have had.”
• “If you are employed, why do you want to leave your current job?”
• “If you were previously employed, why did you leave your previous position?”
• “What is your availability?”
• “Are you seeking full time or part time employment?”
• “When could you start working if you were hired?”
• “If hired, how long are you planning to stay in this position?”

As the student shows increasing competence in responding to standard interview questions, begin to target responses to more complex behavioral and situational questions. Support the student in connecting his strengths and positive experiences to the strengths and positive experiences/outcomes that the employer is looking for.  Engage the student in repeated opportunities to rehearse responses that adequately and appropriately describe these relevant strengths and experiences. 

Below are examples of behavioral and situational interview questions.  When you have assessed that the student is ready for these types of questions, pick one question and start your instruction there:

• “What are some of your strengths?” 
• “What are some of your weaknesses?”
• “Do you enjoy working with others?”
• “What’s the best part about working with a group or team?”
• “What’s the most challenging part about working with a group or team?”
• “Some people are not so easy to get along with.  Tell me about a time you had to work with someone in school or on the job who was difficult to deal with.”
• “Tell me about a time when you had a difficult project or assignment and you were not sure what to do about it.  How did you handle it?”

As the student develops competence responding to one question posed in one way, then move to that same basic question posed in a different way.  Support the student in connecting these questions (e.g., “Tell me about any work or volunteer experiences you have had,”“Have you had any experiences that are relevant to this position?” and “Tell me about your work history”) so that he develops a generalized concept of what this type of question is really “getting at.”  Then, move to other questions and variations thereof, so that over time, the student begins to acquire an understanding of the broad qualities (cooperation, teamwork, dependability, service orientation, and self-control) and experiences that most interviewers are assessing when they ask questions.

As the student demonstrates increasing comfort and success in responding to interview questions, target one verbal subfeature (e.g., intonation) or non-verbal feature (e.g., body positioning) at a time.  Don’t require that the individual sit with perfect posture and body positioning if he cannot perform those elements at the same time as he generates an appropriate verbal response.  Prioritize, and “pick your battles” carefully.