Ivana Truong

OL73
July 20, 2016

Interview
1. Tell me about yourself.
I am a student going into grade 10 and Im currently attending Pinetree
Secondary. Ive had volunteer experience in the past but now I want to
have some work experience in a real job.
2. Why do you want to work here?
When I come to Starbucks as a customer, Ive always enjoyed staying at
your store to relax because it has such a nice environment. Id love to
work and help maintain the stores environment and to cordially serve
customers with your good quality beverages and food. I also thought
Starbucks would be a good place to start my first job because I have all
the assets this job requires.
3. Why should we hire YOU? What can you do for us that someone else
can not?
I have excellent organization and teamwork skills. I will be able to keep
everything in their original places and maintain a clean and sanitary work
environment. I build relationships and communicate with others so we can
work well as a team. I am a fast learner. I can quickly learn the skills I
need for this job. If I am ever unsure about anything, or how to do
something, I will always ask and make sure I do it properly.
4. Describe some times when you were not very satisfied or pleased
with your own performance. What did you do about it?
Last September, I became interested in joining my schools volleyball
team. I had no experience with playing volleyball whatsoever. Throughout
the practices, I didnt do very well and my coaches always seemed
disappointed in me. So after the season ended, I regained some courage
and positivity and decided I would join a camp in the summer in
determination to improve my skills. In this camp, I worked on my passing,
serving and defence skills. I have improved very much since I first
started.
5. Give me an example of a problem you faced on the job or in school
and tell me how you solved it.
I mistakenly signed up for a few extra courses that were not required, so I
talked to the teacher and the principal about it. It wasnt solved at the first

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July 20, 2016
time I talked to them because they never fully removed the course from
my schedule, so I kept reminding them and I eventually had them taken
off from my schedule.
6. What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and
weaknesses?
My strengths would be time management skills and having an excellent
work ethic. I plan what to do with my time everyday so I wouldnt miss
doing any homework assignments. I also have a good work ethic because
once I start working on something; I dont want to stop working until I finish
it.
7. How would you describe your ability to work as part of a team?
Whenever I work in a team, the first thing I would do is to get to know
them better because I believe that by doing that, we would work more
comfortably together. As a team, everyone should have an equal amount
of work to do. No one should be doing all of the teams work as that is
unfair. As a team member, I will do my part and will strive to help others if
they ever need help.
8. What have you learned from your mistakes?
I learned that it was better to do more than to do less. Once I thought I did
enough for a small assignment when I could have done more, but I was
lazy. So I ended up getting a lower mark than what I could have gotten if I
had done more.
9. What was the best decision you ever made?
Joining the volleyball team I spoke of earlier was one of the best
decisions I have ever made. It was definitely challenging but I grew
stronger by facing them.
10. Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at
work or school that tested your coping skills. What did you do?
It was nearing the end of the school year and all my exams and projects
were due. Some of my teachers suddenly assigned last minute projects
and I wasnt even finished with studying for some of my exams or doing
the projects that were previously assigned. As well, I had scheduled a
piano exam at about the same time. What I tried to do was to manage my
time better and plan the priorities ahead, even though it was almost
impossible with the amount of work I had. Each day, I would spend an
hour or two to do parts of my projects then after that, I would study for my
exams. I ended up receiving very good marks for each exam and

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project.
11. How do you deal with competition? Are you a competitive person?
I am competitive once the competition starts. I do my very best in
competitions. Before the competition, I would prepare for it well. I would
try to find out about who I am competing against and see what I can do
beforehand to be better than them. For example, in track and field. I
attended practices regularly and worked on improving my jumps and
sprints. I also listened when my coaches informed us on who we were
competing against and what we had to do if we wanted to beat them.
When it came to the track meets, I tried to jump my farthest and run my
fastest. In the end, I made it to the provincials track meet.
12. What would you consider an ideal work environment?
My ideal work environment would be nicely decorated and there wouldnt
be a constant loud background noise (e.g. large machines). I would also
prefer lots of communication between workers and that everyone acts
positively towards each other.
13. Do you consider yourself to be a leader? What do you think are the
attributes of a good leader?
I am working on becoming a good leader. Some of the attributes I think a
good leader should have are: being helpful and positive towards others,
being able to take full control when needed, being able to lead everyone
efficiently and to success.
14. What do you do when people disagree with your ideas?
I would ask for their opinion, discuss on our thoughts and come to a
consensus.
15. Recall a time when you were assigned a complex project. What steps
did you take to prepare for and finish the project? Were you happy
with the outcome? What one step would you have done differently?
I collected all the materials I needed for the project and worked on it well
before the day it was due. Whenever I had questions, I asked the teacher
to make sure I was doing everything correctly. I was happy with the
outcome because I worked hard on it and made sure everything looked
presentable and organized. One step I could have done differently was
practicing the presentation a little more. Though the project looked great, I
didnt practice the speaking part enough.

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OL73
July 20, 2016
16. What motivates you to go the extra mile on a school project?
The end result of the project, like how it looks and also the mark I would
get. Also I dont like to say I am finished with any project without putting
hard work into it.
17. What do you see yourself doing five years from now? Ten years from
now?
Five years from now, I expect myself to be either in SFU, UBC or U of A
studying neurosciences. Ten years from now, I should have a
neuroscience career that I enjoy doing very much and own a house.
18. What is the most creative thing you have ever done?
I made a model of the brain using clay for a science project. It was colour
coded to show each of the six main parts of the brain. The teachers who
assessed my project were very impressed with the model.