Examining the impact of self-promotion on job interviews: a case study of Malaysian fresh graduate teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine how a particular cohort of applicants, who were seeking teaching positions in an international school were working with students experiencing learning difficulties, responded to the job interview question "why should we hire you." By analyzing their responses, the aim was to understand how these teachers engaged in self-promotion to create a favorable impression of the interviewer. A qualitative research approach was utilised to analyse the data collected, which consisted of interviews conducted with five successful candidates. The findings of this study indicated that these candidates encountered challenges in effectively demonstrating self-promotion during their job interviews, despite being ultimately successful in obtaining positions. Furthermore, the results revealed a lack of confidence among the candidates, potentially stemming from their limited proficiency in employing appropriate vocabulary to convey their goals and strategies effectively. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the teaching curriculum incorporate self-promotion techniques to better equip undergraduate students for job interviews and enable them to effectively respond to standard interview questions, thus allowing them to showcase their capabilities more confidently and successfully.