Job interview

If you want to prepare for an English job interview, there are many good course books with separate units for this topic.

Total English Pre-Intermediate Unit 9

Total English Intermediate Unit 9

Language Leader Intermediate Unit 2

You can find vocabulary, listening and reading tasks related to the world of work.

If you have a job interview coming, the first thing you can do is to find typical job interview questions and perhaps sample answers on the internet.

Some typical interview questions:
What are your strengths and weaknesses?

What do you know about our company?

What attracted you to this organisation?

Why did you leave your last job?

Why do you think you are the ideal candidate for this position?


Don't forget to check some killer questions too, these are more difficult questions asked by the interviewer to find out how you would think and react in a given situation.

Killer question examples:
Can you tell me something you've never told anyone before?

What reading material would I find on your coffee table?

Draw me a pie chart showing how you spend an 8-hour day.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years' time?

Who was the person who has most influenced you so far?

How do you handle criticism?

In case you don't feel like preparing for the interview individually, you can enrol in a job interview training in one of the language schools so you can practise dialogues with a professional teacher.

Our language school also organizes these kind of courses: Job interview training

Furthermore, if you are an entrant and this is going to be your first job interview, it is also worth reading some DOs and DON'Ts so that you know how to behave.

DOs:
- Greet the receptionist or the assistant properly, this is how you make the first impression

- Make sure you know exactly where the location of the interview is
- Dress smartly
- Arrive 10 minutes earlier
- Do research about the company where you are going for the interview, if it has an English website too, you should start with that
- Shake hands firmly

- Make good eye contact with the interviewer

DON'Ts:
- Don't chew a gum
- Don't sit down until invited to
- Don't tell jokes during the interview
- Don't smoke even if the interviewer offers you a cigarette
- Don't use slang words
- Don't ever lie or exaggarate

You can download some materials from our website which help you prepare for an English job interview:

Job interview training materials download