Welcome back to Skills 360 for today’s lesson on tips for succeeding in a job interview in English.
In our last lesson, we talked about preparation for introducing yourself and questions about strengths and weaknesses. That’s all about you as a person, or your character. In this lesson, I’d like to home in on what you’ve done, or your actions and behavior.
The first big question you’ll get about what you have done pertains to achievements. As in, “what achievements are you most proud of?” Or “tell us about a recent achievement?”
Now, when you think back on your accomplishments, what should you choose to discuss? Well, rather than boasting about purely individual accomplishments, think of something that connects to the bigger picture. Or state why your accomplishment helped the company.
Welcome back to Skills 360 for today’s lesson on how to look at how to prepare for an interview in English.
When I say “prepare,” I’m not talking about making an appointment at the hair salon or picking out a clean shirt. I’m talking about doing some research, anticipating what you’ll be asked, and practicing how to respond. Yeah, I know I’m always going on about preparation, but this time it’s not just a suggestion, it’s essential. If you do it right, you’ll be able to head into the interview feeling relaxed and confident. And that will increase your chances of landing the job.
Now here’s the thing: most interviews cover the same basic territory. Sure, you might get a couple of curveballs, but for the most part you can predict what questions you’ll be asked. And that means you can plan your answers. I don’t mean script your answers. It’s pretty tough to appear authentic and natural while delivering a memorized response. But you can outline your answers and practice your delivery.
So how do we go about doing that? Well, let’s start by talking about how to introduce yourself in an job interview in English. The old “tell me about yourself” question. It’s amazing how many people are thrown by this question, or fumble through an awkward response as they wait for the real interview questions. But first impressions are important! And you need a good answer for “tell me about yourself.”
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on second round interviews in English.
You may know all about the basic English job interview questions. And you might be comfortable talking about your basic qualifications and experience. But most companies don’t stop the selection process after one round of interviews. They create a shortlist and invite a few outstanding candidates back for a second interview.
In many cases, that second interview is what we call a behavioral interview. Interviewers will ask questions about how you acted or reacted to challenges in past work, and how you dealt with or adapted to different situations. In this way, they can find out whether you have the right attitude, approach, and abilities for the job.
The behavioral interview is a special opportunity to demonstrate soft skills, such as leadership, or how you take a principled approach to problems. You might also want to show that you can remain calm in conflict. In many cases, the STAR approach can help shape your responses. This is when you describe four things: the situation, the task, the action, and the result. And in this kind of English interview, you have to be careful, because some interviewers will try to give you leading questions to get you to reveal mistakes or problems.
In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Kat, who is applying for a job with a private healthcare company. She is being interviewed by Denise. Denise is asking Kat some tough behavioral questions, and Kat is doing a good job of demonstrating some important soft skills.
Listening Questions
1. What example does Kat give of how she showed leadership and went above and beyond?
2. What situation does Kat describe in response to a question about an unpopular decision?
3. What attitude or attribute does Kat demonstrate when describing a situation of conflict?
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on succeeding in a technical interview in English.
While we have lots of lessons on job interviews in English, nearly all of them are about the first round of an interview, or the initial screening interview. If you succeed at that, you’ll get called back for a second interview. And it’s the English interview skills for these 2nd round interviews we want to look at now. Today, we’ll focus on the technical interview. And in the next lesson, we’ll look at the behavioral interview.
Just like any interview, preparation for a technical interview is key. And you can think beforehand about how you might show things like innovative experience or a learning attitude. You might also decide to highlight certain attributes that you think are beneficial, like being a team player.
But what about the problem-solving part of the technical job interview? Can you actually prepare for every possible problem? No, you can’t. But remember that the purpose is not to trick you, or make you feel stupid. The interviewers just want to see how you approach problems. So it’s important for you to start by clarifying the question, and then clearly explaining your solution.
In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a software developer named Kevin, who’s doing a technical interview for a new job. Kevin not only has to face questions about his experience, but he also has to explain a solution to a technical problem. He’s being interviewed by Mick. We’ll hear how Kevin navigates the interview.
Listening Questions
1. What kind of experience does Kevin demonstrate when he talks about an exciting project he worked on?
2. Besides having a happy client, why was the project so successful?
3. When Mick gives Kevin a technical problem, what is the first thing Kevin does?
In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn how to talk about abilities in english.
There are lots of opportunities at work to talk about your abilities. And I don’t just mean job interviews. That’s an obvious one, but there’s also work planning, project meetings, and just discussing who should do what on a daily basis.
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?
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?
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?
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?
