Job Interview in English | Business English Interview Lessons

BEP 291 – English Interview Skills 3: Goals and Expectations

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on talking about your goals and expectations in a job interview.

In a job interview in English, you’ll surely have to answer questions about your experience and your background. And you’ll be trying to convince the interviewers that you’re the person they are looking for. But what are you looking for? And how does the job you’re applying for fit into your plans?

Your goals and expectations matter. Interviewers want to know that you’re the right fit for each other. So you should be prepared to talk about your plans and what you’re looking for. You should also be ready to talk about the industry, and about the company you’re hoping to work for.

Today we’ll learn some of the techniques and language you can use to talk about your goals and expectations in an English job interview. We’ll look at how to answer a question about career goals, and to answer a negative question. We’ll also cover how to show knowledge about the industry and ask good questions about the company. And finally, we’ll look at how to give salary expectations and talk about your intangible priorities, which means what you’re looking for besides money and benefits.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Ryan, who’s interviewing for a job at a software company. He’s being interviewed by Sandra and Victor, who want to know about Ryan’s goals and expectations.

Listening Questions

1. What is Ryan’s career goal?
2. What question does Ryan ask about the company?
3. What are Ryan’s salary expectations?

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BEP 290 – English Interview Skills 2: Handling Difficult Questions

Advanced, Business English, Job Interview English / July 2, 2016

Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Edwin, and I’ll be your host for today’s lesson on dealing with difficult questions in a job interview.

In an English interview, even simple questions about your experience and background can be difficult to answer well. Even though you’ve done your preparation, you might feel nervous or uncomfortable. And then, to make it even more challenging, the interviewer asks you a difficult question.

Sure, everyone expects the question about a personal weakness. That’s one that you need to have a good answer for. But you might also get a range of other difficult questions that you can’t prepare for. And so you need to think on your feet and give the best answer you can.

Today we’ll look at some of the techniques and language for interview English you can use when faced with these difficult questions. We’ll learn how to answer hypothetical questions and leading questions. We’ll also cover softening language for talking about a weakness and stalling for time with a difficult question. And finally, we’ll look at how to explain how you’re different from other candidates and how to connect an idea back to an earlier idea.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Ryan, Sandra, and Victor. Ryan is interviewing for a job at a software company, while Sandra and Victor are giving him some difficult questions to deal with.

Listening Questions

1. How does Ryan answer the question about what he “would” do in a certain situation?
2. How does Ryan describe his weakness?
3. What does Ryan think makes him different from other people?

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BEP 289 – English Interview Skills 1: Talking about Experience

Advanced, Business English, Job Interview English, Popular Lessons / June 25, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on talking about your work experience during a job interview in English.

An interview in english might just be one of the most stressful experiences in our working lives. The stakes are high, because there’s a job on the line. And it’s our one and only shot to show people why they should choose us over all the other applicants.

So how do you convince someone you’re the best candidate? Well, you need to answer their questions, of course. But you also need to look behind the questions to see what the interviewer is trying to learn about you. And you need to take the questions as opportunities to impress.

Fortunately, there are techniques and language you can learn to help you make a great impression. You can highlight transferable learning from your previous experience. You can also highlight accomplishments and their impact as well as describing your personality. And finally, you can show why you want to work for the company. In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to use these techniques in a job interview.

In the dialog, you’ll hear Ryan, who’s interviewing in English for a job at a large software company. Two managers from the company – Sandra and Victor – are asking questions about Ryan’s experience and personality.

Listening Questions

1. What does Ryan say he learned at his previous job?
2. Ryan describes one of his accomplishments. What does he say was the impact of that accomplishment?
3. How does Ryan describe his own personality?

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BEP 282 – English Vocabulary for Job Interviews (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Job Interview English / January 31, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations you can use to make a good impression in an English interview.

A job interview is both an opportunity and a challenge. And facing an English interview with confidence requires certain skills and language. In today’s lesson, we’ll hear two interviewees demonstrate some of these skills and language. They’ll use chunks of natural language that we call “collocations” to talk about their abilities.

But what exactly is a “collocation?” Well it’s a combination of words that often go together. Rather than always learning individual words, you can learn these natural chunks of language. Think about the noun “career.” Do you say “follow” a career “at” something? No, we say “pursue a career in something.” That’s a collocation, and you should learn those words together as a natural combination.

As you listen to the two different interviews in this lesson, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the first interview, we’ll hear Dale interviewing Carla for an accounting job at an insurance company. Dale is asking Carla about her weaknesses and her career plans, two common tough interview questions. In the second interview, we’ll hear Sofia interviewing Joseph for a management job. She asks Joseph to talk about his interpersonal and leadership skills, and his attitude to personal development.

Listening Questions

1. What is Carla’s ultimate goal in the insurance industry?
2. What does Joseph say about his relationship with direct reports?
3. What two qualities does Joseph say help him in leadership roles?

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BEP 281 – English Vocabulary for Job Interviews (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Job Interview English / January 24, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations you can use to describe your capabilities in a job interview in English.

A job interview is one of the most stressful and high-pressure situations you experience in your working life. With such high stakes, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. So you prepare by anticipating what questions you’ll be asked and planning how you might respond.

In this lesson, we’ll hear how a couple of interviewees respond to typical – but challenging – English interview questions. And as they respond, the speakers use some useful expressions that we call “collocations.” Learning collocations is a great way to expand your active vocabulary and sound more natural and confident.

But what exactly is a collocation? Well, a collocation is simply a group of words that we usually use together. It’s like a “chunk” of language that you can plug into a sentence. For example, you might have heard the expression “to take an approach” to something. We always use that verb “take” with the noun “approach,” so you can remember them together. Collocations sound natural, and they make language learning efficient, because you can learn chunks of language rather than individual words.

As you listen to the two different interviews, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the first interview, we’ll hear Dale interviewing Carla, who is applying for an accounting job at an insurance company. Carla is talking about her experience, knowledge, and accomplishments. In the second interview, we’ll hear Sofia interviewing Joseph. Joseph is applying for a management position at the company where he works. He’ll talk about his approach to work and his problem-solving skills.

Listening Questions

1. How much experience does Carla say she has in the field of insurance?
2. What special accomplishment does Carla mention?
3. How does Joseph say he has decreased stress in his department?

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