Writing for a job interview: the best tips

With that in mind, here in this article, we have gathered the best tips for you to rock your essay. So, grab a pen and paper to write down the tips, and stay with us until the end. Good reading!

The dreaded job interview essay

Let’s imagine the following situation: you are looking for an opportunity in the market, and you are called to do a job interview. He is very happy with the opportunity and tries to prepare himself, researching information about the company, sorting out his clothes, doing simulated interviews with friends in front of the mirror, and sleeping a few hours the night before the interview because of anxiety.

So, the big day arrives, and you feel prepared, confident, and believe that everything will work out. But if the recruiter asks you to write an essay as part of the selection process assessment, will you be prepared?

Most candidates find it very difficult to write an essay for a job interview. But, usually this happens either because they are unprepared, or because they don’t know very well how an essay structure works.

Therefore, to help you with this task, check out the step-by-step guide that we have prepared for you in the next topic. And don’t forget to practice at home. After all, you must have heard the phrase “practice makes perfect”.

How to write an essay for a job interview?

In summary, writing an essay involves exposing your ideas objectively and succinctly, so that the recruiter can assess your writing ability, your creativity, and also the level of argumentation.

The objective is for you to expose and organize your arguments, so that you defend the central idea, regardless of the proposed theme. Got confused? So how about a complete structure to guide you? Check out:

starting from scratch

Generally, when a company requests an essay with a central theme, it sends you a text, or an excerpt from a text that will guide you in this step. In this sense, your first task is to carefully read the proposed texts and highlight the most relevant words.

If the theme is free, in this first step, you will define the theme you will use. Also try to think if it is a topic that you master and are comfortable talking about.

Then, write down whatever comes to your mind about the topic on scratch paper. Put everything even without judgments, because at this stage you are just warming up to start writing.

Already with the content on paper, start organizing your ideas and ordering the keywords you will use and create your script.

Finally, it’s time to define your thesis: think about the central theme, what do you think about it? What arguments are you going to use? What are you going to say first, because you consider it more important? What will the outcome be?

Tips:

• • Be mindful of the proposed time to turn in the essay, and don’t be embarrassed if you need to use all the time. As long as you don’t go over the deadline, it’s all good.

• Do not forget the title, and ensure that it is related to the proposed theme. Certainly, this will enhance your text, especially if it is a title that instigates the curiosity of those who will read it.

Introduction

It’s time to put your hand in the dough, and start writing your essay for a job interview.

There are some ways to start an essay, but the main one is the one that has the objective of leading the reader to the main subject of the text. So, you can start your essay with:

• • A question on the topic, just don’t forget to answer it throughout the text.
  • The presentation of an important concept about the proposed theme.
  • Some quotation from an author that you like a lot, and of course, that has to do with the subject.

• Or some statistical data on the topic that you read on some site recently.

Tip: always try to read magazines or newspapers to keep up to date, even on your cell phone.

Development

The development is nothing more than the part where you will expose the arguments to debate the idea of ​​the main theme. From the second or third paragraph you will start answering that question asked in the introduction, for example.

When developing the theme, you must present both positive and negative aspects. If you started the text explaining a concept, for example, in this step you will expose the cause of the problem, or talk a little more about the concept.

Remember that the arguments, negative and positive points must be related to the central theme. Be careful not to sound incoherent, and end up creating an essay where the paragraphs do not talk to each other.

The text needs to be fluid and objective.

Completion of essay

After presenting your thesis, arguing and exposing positive and negative points, it’s time to close with a golden key and tie everything you expressed in the previous paragraphs.

Therefore, your conclusion should contain the summary of what was presented throughout the development, in addition to presenting the solution to the problem that was discussed in the essay. Just be careful not to present a new idea or argument, after all, we are concluding the subject.

You can use a few sentences to wrap up your essay. Such as:

• • “In view of the facts presented…”
  • “Due to the aspects presented…”
  • “Taking these aspects into consideration…”

• “According to what has been observed…”
• Among many others.

Some essay topics for job interview

It is very difficult to predict the topic of essay in job interviews. However, there are some themes that are “clichés”, and only serve to verify the writing and argumentation capacity of the candidates and, depending on the position, to evaluate creativity. Among the most common are:

• • Who am I?
  • Why should I be hired? Or, why shouldn’t I be hired?
  • A subject related to the vacancy and/or the sector of activity.

• If it is a vacancy for the creative area, an essay presenting a project, for example.
• Information about the current economic, financial or job market, among others.

And if you are asked to choose a free topic, always choose to talk about work, your area of ​​expertise, your career, a little about what you researched about the company, or about your performance in the segment in which you operate.

In addition, it is always important to choose a subject that you really master, and that can expose some personal and professional experience without so much difficulty.

Below, we separate tips for the two topics that most fall into evaluations of selective processes for job vacancies. Check out:

Job Interview Writing: Who Am I?

We’ve prepared a step-by-step guide for you to rock your “who am I” essay. Check out:

First paragraph: start by introducing yourself, saying your name, age and education. Comment on your passions that are compatible with the position, and talk about why you chose the area and what motivates you. Remember that this is the introduction to your essay.

Second paragraph: comment on the main stages of your career, what lessons you learned and which are related to the skills and competencies required by the position. Also, mention what was the biggest learning in your career, and how you got there.

Third paragraph: here you will talk a little about your dreams and your future. You know that question “where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years”? Try to answer this question objectively, and that has to do with the position for which you are running. Also talk about how you intend to achieve your goals.

Fourth and final paragraph: talk about what you need to learn to achieve these goals. That is, what changes and improvements do you need to make to your personality or skills that will bring you closer to those dreams? If you’re already doing something to change, even better! Mention this in the essay and close with a flourish.

extra tips

• • Don’t think that writing “who am I” is the same thing as a cover letter.
  • Write about your dreams, passions, ambitions and achievements.

• • You will usually expound on several topics to answer this question, so be careful to be consistent. Organize yourself into a rough draft before you start writing so you don’t look like a bad fruit salad.
  • Be careful not to show arrogance and always write the truth.
  • Finally, beware of too much formality or too much informality.

Why should I be hired?

Another question that appears a lot in selection processes is the famous “why should you be hired?”. And you need to impress the recruiter with your answer. Avoid cliché answers that do not demonstrate any difference.

What makes you different to offer the company? What makes you the ideal candidate for the position and for that company?

With this question, recruiters want to assess your ability to sell yourself, that is, personal marketing is of fundamental importance here. So, take the opportunity to showcase your strengths. Just, again, be careful not to sound arrogant.

Ask yourself: what value can I add to the company?

Therefore, when preparing your answer, the most important thing is to focus on the needs of the company. In addition, some points are fundamental and should be highlighted:

• • Value your knowledge, your skills and your job and life experience.

• • Highlight your knowledge and, if necessary, mention numbers and results you obtained in previous companies.
  • Bet on the cultural fit, and show that your values ​​and attitudes are aligned with those of the company. For this, you will need to research the company very well beforehand.
  • Present your main behavioral skills.

• Demonstrate that you have all the necessary skills to meet the job requirements. And if you don’t have exactly all of them, but still consider yourself the ideal candidate for the position, demonstrate that you are thirsty to learn and that you will do everything to improve yourself in aspects that are not within your full capacity.
• Finally, use your creativity to respond naturally, with ease and confidence.