When preparing for a job interview, one must determine the persona they want to portray

to the company they are hiring for. Each company will be looking for different qualities in a
person that they believe are beneficial to the position. Because of this, being interviewed
creates uncertainty of self in a specific job environment. A persons sense of self varies based
on context, environment, and social setting (p. 124, 4th edition).
Often times offices are looking to hire candidates that are confident, show initiative, have
skills relative to the job requirements, are humble, and show a willingness to learn
(http://www.nytimes.com/, How to get a job at Google). Knowing this, an interviewee may alter
their own sense of self in order to fit the wants and needs of the interviewer in that specific
environment, revealing the variability in the concept of self. Thus, this leads to the question of
what is self? Psychologists will break this concept down into two parts, the basic existential
self that puts one apart from another individual, and the categorical self in which one
recognizes that they are an object in the world (Lewis, 1990). Much debated amongst social
psychologists is what the concept of self is and if it can be defined as one specific thing. Is the
self defined by how one acts, what one believes, and the motives and traits one portrays while
in private? Those with a greater psychological orientation tend to believe so while, on the other
hand, those with a greater sociological orientation tend to see self as fundamentally a social
concept (p. 125, 4th ed.). Being that it is a social setting, an interviewee tends to alter their
personality based on the company environment and the relationship that they develop with the
interviewer and later other employees. In preparation for an interview, one must determine the
level of confidence, humility, aggression, leadership, and comfortability they want to portray.
The job I will be applying for is the position as a Speech Pathology Language Assistant
for an elementary school in central Indiana. This is a position that requires working with children
in grades Kindergarten through fourth grade and children diagnosed with autism. The first
round of interviews will be with the principal of the elementary school and the certified Speech
Therapist that I would be collaborating with for the job. The interviewer is the person asking
these questions.
Question 1: Why should I hire you?
I believe that I would be the best person for this position and the most beneficial to the
team of staff members and colleagues based on my educational background, my experience
working with children of all ages and children with autism, and my interests in advancement of
speech pathology practices. For this position it would require one-on-one work with clients of
ages four to twelve years old. Through my previous work in an elementary school I have ample
knowledge of the temperaments and personalities of children of this age group and thus am
able to allow them to feel comfortable interacting with me where they are able to enjoy their time
and learn as well. Working in a kindergarten classroom allowed me to gain experience in
teaching children to read, write, and sound out words and learn various teaching techniques. I
also have a degree in linguistics, know many different languages and dialects to aid with sound
accents, and am taking advancement classes to pursue a masters program to further my
education and knowledge in this area. Through working in a school environment I often worked
with other teachers, parents, and classrooms and thus am comfortable with public speaking.
Im very creative and like to take initiative in developing fun, new, and exciting ways for lesson
planning.
Question 2: Why do you want this position?

I have always loved working with children and have a passion for language and helping
others. This position is a perfect mix of all three of these passions and I would love to advance
my knowledge of learning and teaching techniques by that of a professional in order to provide
opportunity for career growth. I would love to form relationships with the students I am working
with, as each child has their own sense of self and their abilities, and would like to instill
confidence in each child that they are able to do anything they set their mind to and work
towards. Speech impediments and deficiencies are nothing to be embarrassed about and are
easily overcome with proper practice and drive. I am interested in learning which teaching
tactics work better than others and by being able to work one-on-one with each client I can
discover the methods that make each individual successful while being able to share my own
ideas as well.
Question 3: Do you have any questions to ask?
As an assistant will I be able to work interactively with the children on my own or are my
primary duties assisting the Speech Pathologist with paperwork? What is the schools
philosophy on teaching and technology practices? How many clients do you currently have and
do the children usually work in groups or one-on-one? Would I get to interact with the parents
so they can better help their child? How often do you see one client per week? Does each child
have a different lesson plan that fits their own independent pace? Does the school district allow
each employee good benefits and opportunity for growth? Would I have the freedom to explore
my own teaching tactics and have the agency to develop my own lesson plans?

Lewis, M. (1990). Self-knowledge and social development in early life. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.),
Handbook of personality(pp. 277-300). New York: Guilford.