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Continuing our series on english for job interviews, in this lesson were going to look at what happens when is you’re asked back for a second round interview.

Congratulations! You were successful in your first job round interview, and you have been called back for a second interview. What should you expect? The key word is more – there will be more questions, more pressure – and, of course, more likelihood that you will get the job.

An important function of second-round job interviews is to find out whether we fit with the employer’s company culture.

In this lesson of English for interviews, we’ll study how to demonstrate that we are a good match with an organization. In addition, we’ll review some other useful second-round interview skills, such as summarizing the previous discussion and referring to something you forgot to mention earlier.

We’ll listen to Sherry’s second interview with a big international accounting firm, Grimshaw and Keene (GK). The interviewer is George Tan, an Asia-Pacific key account manager.

As you listen, pay attention to how George and Sherry establish that she is a good fit for the organization, and try to answer the following listening questions.

Listening Questions:

1. George describes GK as both “high-pressure” and “tremendously rewarding,” but he is concerned about whether or not Sherry is ready to “take the plunge.” What does he mean by that?
2. What does Sherry say is one of the things that most attracts her to GK?
3. What is George’s major concern about Sherry’s work experience?

Download: Podcast MP3

This is the second in a two-part Business English Podcast series on discussing previous experience in workplace English job interviews. It is one of an ongoing sequence of ESL podcasts that covers the whole interview process.

In the first part of this series, we examined a bad example of everything that can go wrong when we talk about our previous experience. We used the theme “Don’t let your guard down!” to highlight the importance of maintaining an appropriate level of formality and professionalism, even when the interviewer is attempting to strike a casual tone.

In part-two, we listen to a better interview performance by someone who has prepared to talk about their previous experience more effectively. In this good example, Sherry Shen, from Hong Kong, is interviewing with a multinational accounting company for her first job after graduating with a Master’s in finance.

It’s her first round of interviews, and she is being asked all the standard questions by an HR officer. Although Sherry is an all-around good candidate, her resume has some problems. Her grades aren’t great, and there is a gap with no employment between her college and graduate school careers. As you listen, focus on the following questions.

Listening Questions:

1. Does Sherry let her guard down, or does she answer briefly and to-the-point with an appropriate level of formality?
2. Does Sherry seem well-prepared to talk about her experience?
3. How does Sherry account for the gap in her resume?

Download: Podcast MP3