You are a third-year student interviewing for the role of Team Leader of the Peer Tutors in Student Learning Centre in the Office of Student Life at Ontario Tech. This role requires you to coordinate other peer tutors as you work together support students accessing tutor services at the center .You worked as a Peer Tutor in your second year, so you are familiar with the role, but the new role would require you to lead the Peer Tutor team. You have some notable competition among the group, including from a few fourth year students who have a strong record of university service and volunteer work. You really want the position because it comes with a pay raise, more hours, more responsibility, and the chance to develop your collaboration and leadership skills. These are all things you know would help you work towards your career readiness.

The job posting for the role focuses on the following competencies:

• strong leadership, collaboration and interpersonal skills;
• digital fluency is must, including the ability to use digital collaboration tools and other tech tools and social media for document tracking and communication;
• excellent time management skills and attention to detail;
• tact, diplomacy, and conflict management skills.

You submit for the position, and are invited to an interview with the Manager of Student Life. Slay!

In the interview, the Manager explains that Team Leader would require the successful candidate to lead other Peer Tutors in developing a new support program for first year students. The Manager elaborates that this would include a short webinar or podcast offering an 'insider perspective' to help first-year students navigate academic supports at Ontario Tech. The prospective candidate will be like project manager and will need to enable collaboration and cooperation among a diverse group of 7 other Peer Tutors to plan and execute the project.

The Manager then proceeds to ask you a series of questions about your suitability and skills for this role. Drawing on your personal experiences, please prepare written response to the following questions as if you were preparing the best possible interview answer with a reference list.

Part 1: Give us your Personal Pitch!

Interviewer: Tell me a little about yourself and what makes you suited for this role?

Your answer: 150 words

Part 2: Show us your Collaboration Skills!

Interviewer: This role requires collaboration skills. Can you tell me about a time when you used your collaboration skills to complete a project in an academic environment?

Your answer: 150 words or less

Part 3: Consider Digital Fluency and Collaboration!

Interviewer: Building on the last question, since you will be supporting other Peer Tutors in collaborative and group work, you also need to be digitally fluent for this role to support the overall project and communication. You can tell me about a time when you had to use your digital collaboration skills in a group environment and list/explain any specific tools or technologies you used to do this?

Your answer: 200 words

Part 4: Highlight Your Strengths!

Interviewer: The role of Team Leader requires strong time management and conflict resolution skills. Can you tell me about a time where you had to work with a diverse group of people to meet a project deadline and explain the strategies you implemented or steps you took to make sure the group was successful?

Your answer: 200 words or less

Part 5: Connect Transferrable Skills!

Interviewer: As a student, you are an insider into the kinds of things first year students need as the foundation for academic success. Is there anything else you want to share, or know, about success from your academic, volunteer, or employment experiences that you think makes you the best candidate for the role?

Your answer: 150 words or less