ELSAC Workout: Scholarship Interview Skills

ELSAC Workout: Scholarship Interview Skills

Get Writing Fit!

Tips for approaching a scholarship interview
Learn how to structure the self-introduction and answers for scholarship interview questions
2 practice activities included

Level: Intermediate
Time: approx. 30 mins
Suggested next workout: Scholarship Personal Statement

Extra support:

Work through the practice activities in order, by clicking on the tabs at the top of the next page. After completing all practice, the Result tab will summarize your workout. Record your results as proof of independent learning and as motivation to repeat the workout and beat your score. Practice makes you fitter!

Material developed by Hebe Wong, Charlotte T H Chiu.

*** All ELSAC Workouts ***

Overview Tips for Scholarship Interviews Dos and Don'ts of a Scholarship Interview Preparing the Self-introduction Task 1 Answering Potential Interview Questions Task 2 Result

Overview

Introduction to scholarship interviews
Tips for scholarship interviews
Dos and Don'ts in a Scholarship Interview
Preparing the Self-introduction
Answering Potential interview questions

Introduction to scholarship interviews

Shortlisted candidates for scholarship awards would be invited to an interview with the committee. The purpose of interviews is for the committee to know you better and provide you with the opportunity to exhibit aspects of yourself that has not been addressed in the Scholarship Personal Statement and CV.

Tips For Scholarship Interviews

1. Talk to people with prior scholarship interview experience
It is helpful to consult people with experience in attending scholarship interviews to get an idea of the rundown, atmosphere, and expectations of the committee. Information such as the following may useful:

How many questions would be asked?
How many members there are on the committee?
How long the interview would be, would candidates be expected to bring their previous work?
Whether academic or work experience should be highlighted to assist your performance?

2. Maintain a positive attitude
Being presentable and confident is essential to projecting a positive first impression. Dress in business formal, be polite, and speak in an audible and confident tone to show your assertiveness.

3. Know your strengths and weaknesses
Before attending an interview, reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. Evaluate how your strengths outshine your weaknesses and how you could utilize your strengths to improve on your weaknesses. It is best to admit to a weakness and explain your actions for improvement than claiming perfection.

Dos and Don'ts of a Scholarship Interview

	Do	Don'ts
Attire	(Click to find out more)	(Click to find out more)
Research	(Click to find out more)	(Click to find out more)

Preparing the Self-introduction

Typically, interviews would begin with a self-introduction. As this is an expected component of the interview, it is possible to prepare beforehand. A simple structure of the self-introduction is explained in the following diagram:

Scholarship program:	Community service award
Start with your name and year of studies.	(Click to find out more)
Explain your career goals.	(Click to find out more)
Talk about what you have done outside of school to achieve this career goal	(Click to find out more)
Explain how the scholarship would facilitate your pursuit.	(Click to find out more)

Task 1

Choose the most appropriate self-introduction by clicking on the circle:

My name is Peter Cheng and I am a third year student at the City University of Hong Kong. My favourite leisure activity is volunteering at charities and helping people. According to an article in SCMP, 61% of Hong Kong adults are suffering from mental health problem. Another article said that the number of mental health patients in the world has been on the rise for the past few years. Therefore, mental health problem is a serious issue and needs to be fixed. The scholarship would encourage me as I continue to serve the community. Thank you.	^a
I am Peter Cheng and I enjoy community service work. I have completed 300 hours of community service hours in the past two years cumulatively and have broken the school's record. I would feel rewarded if I am awarded the scholarship and would be motivated to do more community service work.	^b
I am Peter Cheng and I am a third year student in the psychology program. I believe the scholarship would facilitate my career goals of becoming a clinical psychologist so that I could provide professional services to underprivileged communities. Currently, I am working as a general clerk in the marketing department of The Heart Charity. My line of work allows me to serve people in poverty through raising awareness in the community. While I enjoy volunteering in charity events, I find that my passions for community service is beyond the roles of a participant. That is why I have chosen to be a part time employee at the charity, so that I could provide internal assistance to the organization and make changes that is more significant than being a mere participant of events. Ultimately, I would like to qualify as a clinical psychologist. My goals require me to attend the Master's training program in clinical psychology. The scholarship would provide me with financial assistance as I pursue my goals to service the community with professional knowledge.	^c

Answering Potential Interview Questions

While interviews require improvisation in your answers, it is possible to do preliminary research and find out the potential interview questions that may come up in the interview. Although you may encounter questions that you have not prepared for beforehand, you should attempt to keep the answers structured. Try to be as specific and relevant as possible in your answers. The following diagram explains the basic structure for interview answers:

Interview question:	What is your greatest strength?
Topic sentence: In one sentence, express the main points of which you would explain in further details.	My greatest strength is time management.
Explanation: Explain your main point.	Despite my role as a part time employee at the charity, I am able to organize my time in a manner which I could handle both charity work and schoolwork. I have achieved a GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0 last semester. I believe such achievement is due to my wise management of time.
Justification: Justify how your main point relates to the scholarship award.	This strength of mine shows that I am capable of continuing my service at the charity as I study for my master's in clinical psychology.

Task 2

When answering interview questions, start with a topic sentence, which should be the short answer to the question. Then, provide an example to explain the topic sentence. Finally, finish the answer with a justification of how the example is relevant to the question.

Drag and drop the sentences into its appropriate sequence to form the correct structure:

Interview question:	Tell me about a mistake you have made and what you have learned from the experience.
Topic sentence	⁽¹⁾
Explanation	⁽²⁾
Justification	⁽³⁾

This was an essential learning curve for me, especially since I aim to become a clinical psychologist in the future. I now understand the importance of prioritizing schoolwork. To achieve my career goals, I must keep up with my school grades. After communicating with my manager from the charity, I was able to share my workload with my colleagues who were extremely supportive of my endeavors.

As a full-time student and part-time employee at the charity, I once made the mistake of taking up too much work.

During the first few months of working at the charity, I was excited to participate in the events. I often volunteered to take up responsibilities and ended up spreading myself too thin. I was unable to focus in school due to the amount of work that I have volunteered to do at the charity. As a result, my declined performance at school during that period was reflected in my grades.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed this workout and improved your Scholarship Interview Skills. Your results are below. Record your results as proof of independent learning. Take a rest, then repeat this workout to beat your personal best, or try a different one.

Suggested next workout: Scholarship Personal Statement

Student's Name (Type in):

Final Result of Scholarship Interview Skills

Date:

Activity	Correct	Maximum	Percentage
Task 1	0		0%
Task 2	0		0%
Total Score	0		0%

Time Taken: