Learn how to answer job interview questions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: A Relaxed English Job Interview |
| Braden: In this lesson, you’ll learn about job interview questions and answers and about Job interviews. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place in Big John’s office. |
| Braden: And it’s between Big John and June. |
| Barbara: Big John is the manager and June is an employee, therefore June will speak professionally and Big John will speak semi-professionally. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Big John: June. |
| June: Yes, Big John? |
| Big John: How are you doing? |
| June: I'm fine, Big John. Thanks. |
| Big John: Are you interested in a promotion? |
| June: Yes, I am. |
| Big John: I'm not going to ask you about past work history or experience because I interviewed you just a few weeks ago. But if you want it, the job is yours. |
| June: Like you said, I've only been working here for a few weeks. What position are you considering me for? |
| Big John: The assistant manager. The performance management king, or queen in your case. |
| June: Wow! Thank you. |
| Big John: You'll be my right-hand man, or woman, in your case. The captain of the ship when I'm not around, which as we both know, is often. |
| June: Wow. Aren't there more senior employees better suited |
| for this position? |
| Big John: Here's the thing. Corporate is pressuring me to fill the position, but I really don't want to interview those characters out there. |
| June: You mean, your employees? |
| Big John: Yes. I would have, but they scare me, June. |
| June: Okay. |
| Big John: So, do you want the job? |
| June: Yes, sir! Thank you! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Job interviews |
| Barbara: A job interview is a process in which an employee or potential employee is evaluated or interviewed by an employer. The purpose of the job interview is to determine whether or not the applicant is qualified for the position. |
| Braden: In our grammar point we are going to review the structure of a job interview. We like to talk now about some tips for preparing for the job interview. |
| Barbara: One of the most important aspects of a job interview is the appropriateness of how you are dressed. Appropriate interview attire varies greatly and is dependent on the job type. |
| Braden: For example, interviewing for a job at a local bank would require formal attire. For men, a suit or a collared shirt and tie with dress pants. |
| Barbara: For women a dress, a blouse and skirt combination, or dress pants and a blazer. |
| Braden: In contrast, applying for a job at a local bike mechanic shop appropriate attire could be a biking jersey, biking gloves, a bicycle helmet, and probably sunglasses. At least, that's what I was wearing when I got my job as a bike shop mechanic. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: assistant [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a person who helps (assists) |
| Barbara: assistant [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: assistant [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| captain [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the person in command of a ship. |
| captain [slowly - broken down by syllable] captain [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: ship [natural native speed] |
| Braden: water going vessel for transportation |
| Barbara: ship [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: ship [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| pressure [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the use of persuasion, influence, or intimidation to make someone do something pressure [slowly - broken down by syllable] pressure [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: position [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a place where someone or something is located or has been put |
| Barbara: position [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: position [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| interview [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a meeting of people face to face, esp. for consultation |
| interview [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| interview [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: character [natural native speed] |
| Braden: an interesting or amusing individual (slang) |
| Barbara: character [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: character [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| scare (someone) [natural native speed] |
| Braden cause great fear or nervousness in someone |
| scare (someone) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| scare (someone) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Barbara: In the dialogue, we heard the noun "performance management." |
| Braden: “Performance management” is a “a way of managing someone’s performance” Usually this is perceived as the bosses controlling their employees by giving them exact and specific tasks. |
| Barbara: For most people, this is just a new way of saying “micro-manage.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: performance management (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: performance management (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next topic is Have vs. Of in Conditional Forms |
| Braden: To be clear, it should always be written “have.” However, sometimes the pronunciation can be changed to “of” just because it’s easier to say. Could you give us an example? |
| Barbara: "I would of but they scare me, June." |
| Braden: But it should be... |
| Barbara: I would have but they scare me, June." |
| Braden: Just with the pronunciation, it can be switched to "of," but when you're writing, it's always needs to be "have." So could you break this down for us? |
| Barbara: I would have (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: I would have (fast) |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: So Barbara, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is Job Interview Questions and Answers |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase... |
| Barbara: Are you interested in a promotion? |
| Braden: In an interview, you'll usually go through some specific stages which have specific questions and answers. |
| Barbara: First, you'll introduce yourself, then talk about your education, then your qualifications and experience, and last about your willingness to work. As you can imagine, this requires a certain flexibility in your usage of tenses. |
| Braden: Stage 1 - The Ice Breaker - When you walk in the room the very first impression you make on the interviewer can have a great influence on the rest of the interview. |
| Barbara: It is important that you introduce yourself, shake hands, and are friendly. The first question is often a "breaking the ice" type of question. |
| Braden: For example, it could be “How are you today?” or “Did you have any trouble finding us?” or “What do you think of the weather today?” |
| Barbara: Don't be surprised if there is a friendly tone and answer the question without going into detail. The language you answer with should be simple but polite and always positive, |
| Braden: That’s good advice. You should always be positive in job interviews. GOOD answers would be like this, “I'm fine thank you, and you?” or “ I'm well, thank you.” BAD answers would be something like “So, so, “I’m okay.” or “Not so well.” Those aren't good answers because they are negative. |
| Barbara: On to stage 2 - Down to business. One of the first requests is when the interviewer says something to the effect of, “Tell me about yourself.” |
| Braden: This question is meant as a general introduction. Do not focus too specifically on any one area of your life. While it is important to give an overall impression of who you are, make sure to concentrate on work-related experience. That's what they really care about anyway. |
| Barbara: On to state 3 - Education. This question is typically framed something like this, “Tell me about your education background." or "What did you graduate in?" |
| Braden: Remember that if your education took place in the past, you need to use the past tenses, for example – "I attended the University of Iowa from 2000 to 2004." |
| Barbara: However, if you are currently a student you should, of course, use present tenses like, "I am currently studying at the University of Indiana and will graduate with a degree in Literature in the spring." |
| Braden: Make sure to mention your English studies, whether they were a part of your formal education or only a personal endeavor. This is very important because English is not your first language and the employer may be concerned about this fact. Address the issue by saying something like |
| Barbara: "I continue improving my English through courses at (university, online, company name, etc.)" Or by mentioning "I study English about X hours per week at EnglishClass101.com.” (you don’t have to mention us but we’d appreciate it!) |
| Braden: On to Stage 4 - Talking about experience, qualifications, and Responsibilities. This question usually takes the form of, “Can you tell me about your responsibilities at your last job?” |
| Barbara: The tip here is "be specific." One of the biggest mistakes that people make during an interview is speaking to generally about their job responsibilities. |
| Braden: For example, “I worked in customer service.” is far too vague. However,“I helped customers fill out their tax forms.” is much more descriptive of the actual tasks and capabilities that you have. |
| Barbara: Remember, your interviewer has already seen your resume so the idea is to give more details than what is there. |
| Braden: Language tips – When talking about current employment be careful to use the present perfect or present perfect continuous. This signals that you are still performing these tasks at your current job, for example – |
| Barbara: Cooper, Banks McKenzie has employed me for the last 3 years as a paralegal. |
| Braden: If you're talking about past employers use the past tenses to signal that you are no longer working for that company, for example – I worked as a receptionist at the Ritz while I was living in New York. |
| Barbara: In the PDF we’ve included a list of business-level words that help you express exactly what you did. These verbs are used to express responsibilities and tasks performed. |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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