Tough job interview questions

Job interviews are always a nerve-wracking experience, especially when we’re asked tricky questions that may make it hard to find the ‘correct’ answer. Here are a few of those tricky questions and some suggestions on how to answer them:

·         Where do you see yourself in ten years? - This is a great opportunity to showcase your goals and dreams. You can be honest about the things you want to accomplish and where you want to be in your career. Don’t be afraid to shoot for the stars!

·         What is your greatest strength? - Of course, we know you have many strengths, but it is important to choose the strength that is important for the job. Think about what skills the interviewer is looking for and choose your strength that fits most with the job.

·         What is your greatest weakness? - We all have weaknesses, and that’s okay! If you are asked this question on an interview, you can talk about an area where you need improvement, but make sure to talk about the steps you are taking to make improvements.

·         Why do you want to work here? - Make sure to have a great answer to this question by studying the company’s Mission, Vision, and Values.

·       Tell me about a time you made a mistake. - Mistakes are not our best moment, but don’t worry! If you are asked this question, be honest and tell your interviewer about a time you’ve made a mistake, but make sure to mention what you learned from that experience, and how you will avoid it happening again.

Best of luck on your interviews, you got this!

Alix Ruggiero

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Job interview prep: Can you tell us about yourself?

Job interviews can be a nerve-wracking experience for everyone, that’s why it’s important to prepare, prepare, prepare! This month, we prepared answers for a very common question that is simple, yet surprisingly complex. “Can you tell us about yourself?” is a question that is almost always asked in an interview, yet often is answered with too much, or too little information.

A “hack” to this question is a simple formula. Think of “Present + Past + Future”.

●     [Present] Introduce yourself by stating your full name and any current job, education, activity.

●     [Past] Talk about anything you have done in the past! It can be your past schooling, classes, activities.

●     [Future] Talk about your goals and dreams for the future. They can be short or long-term goals.

The answer to this question is commonly referred to as an “elevator pitch”. Imagine you are stepping into an elevator and someone asks you to tell them about yourself. You only have from floor 0 to floor 20 to answer this question. That’s only about 30 seconds, so you have to make it count!

Here is an example of my “elevator pitch” about myself:

Preparing your answer to this question will help you nail it when you are asked in an interview. It can also help you think about how you will apply your skills and experience to your new position in the future!

Here you can watch some of the student's videos from the International Trade 1 class. The first one is by Kelly Araújo:

   

This second video is by Pablo Serrano:

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More recommendations to learn English having fun

Alix Ruggiero, our language assistant, sends us some more recommendations from NYC of apps to have fun and learn English. Why don't you try them?

"Hello everyone! I hope you all have been doing well during this time. I wanted  to share some recommendations for apps and websites that can keep your mind, body and soul entertained and at ease during this time.

If you want to feel like you’re traveling... Google Arts & Culture

Google Arts & Culture is an amazing way to feel like you are traveling the world from the comfort of your own home. Visit world-renowned museums, churches, and landmarks, view masterpieces, listen to culture classes and more!

If you want to stay active... Down Dog

Down Dog is a great app that offers yoga, barre, and high intensity trainings that you can do anywhere. You have access to expert trainers that can guide you through each workout.

If you want to calm your mind down...  Headspace

Headspace is an excellent guided meditation app that helps you relax, calm your mind, and think positive thoughts.

If you want some inspiration… Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day is a good way to get a daily dose of inspiration and some vocabulary practice all in one!

If you want to have fun with your friends... Houseparty

Houseparty is a really cool way to video chat with a few friends at a time and has games and activities built into the app for maximum fun!

If you want to learn to make something delicious... Project Foodie
Project Foodie is a recipe app to help you create delicious chef-inspired meals with experts guiding you step-by-step through the process."

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AN ERASMUS EXPERIENCE IN TIMES OF COVID-19

At the end of February our Erasmus students took their flights to their host countries excited to start their work placements. Sadly, some of them haven't been able to finish or even start this experience and had to come back home.

However, two of our students are still in Poland since they had the opportunity of "teleworking" and even though the situation is not ideal, they are learning a lot!

This is Eduardo and he has sent us some words about his experience:

Cześć (Hi) 

I'm learning a lot in this different Erasmus. 

First of all working remotely without knowing the company at the beginning is weird but you get used to it (I'll hope to visit one time before I go back to Madrid). 

The little that I visit of the city was so nice, I really liked it, but the best is the typical fat polish food, here they have a day called Fat Thursday, so you can imagine what means that. 

Although of this difficult situation I enjoying the time now, knowing more people each day, learning different tasks in the Marketing area and also a new experience in my personal life.

Do widzenia (Bye) 

We wish Eduardo finish his work placement happily and safe travels coming back home!

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Visit our International Negotiation bilingual class

Are you ready to visit our International Negotiation class? 

Our second year International Trade students will tell you all about it: their experience in a bilingual class, their favourite things about it, what helped them follow the class, the most important things they learned and some advice for the students that will follow the class in the following years. 

Don't miss it!

In collaboration with Alix Ruggiero, our BEDA Programme language assistant.

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Resources to Help You Keep Up with English Learning

Hello everyone! There are a number of free online resources to help you keep up with your English learning outside of the classroom. Here is a list of our favorite resources to help you practice your English reading, writing, listening, grammar and speaking skills, all from the comfort of your own home.

Learning Language with Netflix - This Google Chrome Extension helps you learn English while watching your favorite TV shows. On the application:

●     Subtitles are shown in two languages, allowing you to compare the original audio and text with a translation Spanish.

●     The extension allows you to listen to subtitles one at a time, and to change the playback speed.

●     There's a pop-up dictionary, and the extension suggests the most important words for you to learn.

Write & Improve - Write & Improve is a free tool for learners of English that marks writing in seconds.

●     Submit your work and Write & Improve will score it on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) scale, giving it a level from A1 (lowest) to C2 (highest).

●     Write & Improve also shows you the parts of your text that may need improvement. So you can work more on these areas and keep improving.

TedEd - Here, you can find a number of videos related to any topic you are interested in. Each video has a lesson with comprehension questions to check for understanding, open-ended questions and links to explore more.

News in Slow English - Each week, hosts discuss current news and American culture at a slow pace, focusing on key aspects of language learning, including listening comprehension, rapid vocabulary expansion, English grammar, common idiomatic expressions, interactive pronunciation and grammar exercises, and live speaking practice.

Games To Learn English - Play quick, simple, and fun games to improve your English vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension.

HelloTalk - Learn a language by chatting with native speakers around the world. Chat with native language speakers via text, voice recordings, voice calls, video calls, and even doodles!

Happy learning! 

Alix Ruggiero 

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A moment in search: Happy Women's Day

In EP Javeriana we keep working for equality. We invite you to watch this video about searches on the internet: The World is taking action and the World is speaking out. What are YOU doing? #GoForIt #EPJ

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ERASMUS+ 2020 KICK OFF

Hello everyone!

After a very busy month of February our Erasmus+ students are ready and eager to spread their wings and live new experiences.

María José and Natalia are getting ready to fly to the UK. It has been a very stressful beginning of the year because we didn't know what could happen because of the Brexit and how it would affect their internship.

Thankfully, everything has been set, and they are good to go and learn a lot about imports and exports.

Natascha and Luis Eduardo are going to go to Poland and be a little bit cold at the beginning; hopefully they are ready for it. They are going to be more involved in regards to marketing and also administrative work.

Finally, Luis is going to Ireland and enjoy the beautiful scenery they have. His internship is also closely related to administrative work.

We wish them all the best and hopefully they'll come back with a better knowledge of English and much more independent.

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Cambridge exams 2020

Certificating your English level is important for your CV. 

1. Test your English level if you are not sure about it.
2. 
   
3. Once you know what exam to prepare, take a real test to check your performance. Are you ready?
   

Come to our meeting Wednesday 29th January to learn more about it and find out about the registration period. It is a good opportunity for you!!

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Happy new year 2020!

The end of the year is a time when we always think of what we did, how we feel about ourselves… We also review our list of dreams or things we would like to do. 

It is a good opportunity to take stock of our lives and try to improve somehow. It is a good time to think of a new year resolution. Here we share some of our student's resolutions:

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