Preparing for College Interviews
为大学面试做准备
Good morning, everyone.
大家早上好。
Today, my presentation will focus on the preparation for a college interview.
今天,我的演讲主题是为大学面试做准备。
After you have applied for a college you are interested in, there is possibility that you need to prepare for an interview before you are considered qualified by the college.
在申请了感兴趣的大学后,你可能需要在学校认为你合格前准备面试。
Then how do you prepare for an interview?
那么你如何准备面试呢?
Well, I’d say practice makes perfect.
我想说熟能生巧。
There are two ways you can practice your interviewing skills and responses.
有两种方法可以练习面试技巧和面试回答。
The first is by doing mock interviews with others who are also applying, or someone else who is willing to help.
第一种方法是与其他申请者或愿意提供帮助者进行模拟面试。
Mock interviews, I think, are a good first step to understanding what an interview will be like.
我认为模拟面试是了解面试情况的第一步。
Of course, the quality of the mock interview experience will depend largely upon how prepared your interview partner is.
当然,模拟面试的质量很大程度上取决于你的面试搭档准备得如何。
If you can find someone who is willing to read your application carefully, then you are likely to get a good mock interview.
如果你能找到一个愿意仔细阅读申请的人,那么你很可能会拥有一个优质的模拟面试。
The ideal person to team up with, I think, should be someone who is applying for the same school but has a very different background from yours, and who is willing to be tough when necessary in the interview.
我认为理想的合作搭档应该是申请同一所学校,但背景与你有很大不同,并且在面试中愿意在必要时表现严厉的人。
It can be difficult to find the right person, of course.
当然,找到合适的人选并不容易。
So I suggest, in order to make the mock interview work, first, it is not only fair but also good for you to switch roles with your partner.
所以我建议,为了让模拟面试奏效,首先,可以与你的搭档互换角色,这不仅公平,而且对你有利。
Second, if you read his or her essays and data sheets with an eye to seeing what his or her strengths or weaknesses are, what he or she will contribute to the program and the like, you will more readily understand how someone else will do this with you in a real interview.
其次,如果你在阅读搭档的论文和数据表时,能看到他/她的优点或缺点,他/她对项目做出的贡献等等,你就会更容易理解在真正的面试中其他人与你互动的方式。
What's more, your interview partner can tell you which responses were convincing and which were not, and why.
更重要的是,你的面试搭档可以告诉你哪些回答令人信服,哪些不可信,以及原因。
You have to be persistent and force your interview partner to be specific in noting what worked and what did not.
你必须坚持不懈,强迫你的面试搭档明确指出哪些有效,哪些无效。
For example, whether you wandered instead of staying focused, tried too hard to excuse some prior mistake, stayed too stiff, or pleaded rather than persuading.
例如,你要么目光游移,没有集中注意力,要么太努力地为之前的错误辩解,太僵硬,要么在恳求,而不是说服。
After all, the point is not what you say, but what your interviewer hears that determines the success of your interview.
毕竟,面试关键不在于你说了什么,而在于面试官听到了什么,这决定了面试的成功与否。
Now, let's come to the second way.
现在,我们来看第二种方法。
The second means of practicing your interviewing skills is to make sure that, if possible, you get an interview first with a school that matters less to you.
练习面试技巧的第二种方法是,如果可能的话,确保你先得到一所对你来说不那么重要的学校的面试机会。
This allows you to develop and refine your interview skills and get rid of your first interview nerves without too much at stake.
这可以让你提高和完善面试技巧,不需要承担太多风险,就可以让你摆脱第一次面试的紧张情绪。
l think that it is a good idea to use both approaches from time to time if you can.
我认为如果可以的话,时不时地使用这两种方法是个好主意。
Maximize the potential benefits by asking your partner questions about the mock interview or reviewing the experience yourself, you have to make sure that you understand what worked and what needed more thought, and why.
通过向你的搭档询问有关模拟面试的问题,或者亲自回顾经验,最大限度地发挥潜在优势,你必须确保你明白什么奏效,哪里需要更多思考,以及为什么。
Then you are going to benefit from those experiences in a real interview.
你会在真正的面试中受益于这些经历。
OK. To conclude, we have discussed how to prepare for a college interview.
好的。最后,我们讨论了如何准备大学面试。
You will get more interview experience through the approaches I suggested just now.
通过我刚才建议的方法,你会获得更多的面试经验。
Next time, we will focus on interview questions, both general and specific, that you are required to get ready for before an interview.
下次,我们将重点讨论面试问题,既有一般性的问题,也有具体的问题,你需要在面试前准备好这些问题。
Thank you.
谢谢!