Summer has ended. Holidays are a distant memory, and it’s back to the grind. Summer gives us time to think and value what we want out of our lives and coming back to reality after the summer is often a wake-up call and people really start to re-evaluate what they want. Getting back to it, if you hate your job, isn’t fun. It’s the time of year when most people decide to jack in their jobs and look for something else.

Sweaty palms, shaking voices, and going red. These are all part and parcel of any job interview. The only way to feel a little more at ease is to prepare and know that you have done your best. The problem is, practicing a day before isn’t really going to help you. You need to take a little time and prepare beforehand. Learning under stress is not the most ideal learning environment. 

Any job interview is stressful. Let’s face it. But when it isn’t in your native language it’s even harder.

What to do if you have a job interview in English… 

How can you help yourself? I’ll be giving you some great tips on how to do this. So, if you are thinking about making a change in your career and that you may have a job interview in English soon, pay attention.

By the way…

WORKSHOP MONDAY 10th OCTOBER 2022 19:15 - 20:45

 If you do have a job interview in English over the next few weeks, and you’d like to join me and learn how to answer some of the most common interview questions in English as well as top interview tips and tricks, don’t hesitate to join my 90 min workshop:

“From job interview nerves to Fluent Confidence”: email:

[email protected] for more information

A piece of advice: 

First of all, it maybe obvious, but so many people do this, don’t lie about your level of English on your CV.  So many people do. The company will find out. You will get yourself in a mess. It just isn’t worth it. 

Let me tell you about when I used to go to a well-known multinational company to interview the candidates on the phone. No prior warning. Just a phone call to test their English and evaluate their level. If their level didn’t reflect what was on their CV, they were automatically out. Simple. No exceptions. It was one of the most radical yet effective ways to screen the candidates that I have ever come across. 

I did feel terrible sometimes performing this type of interview. Catching people out, unexpectedly on the phone was a tough way to test them. However, the posts they were applying for required them to spontaneously speak English at the required level so it saved a lot of headaches for both the company and the candidate.  

10 Top-Tips on how to prepare for a job interview in English

“By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail” Benjamin Franklin.

Interviews can be particularly stressful when they are not in your native language. The language is something else to be worried about. Let's be realistic.

It’s impossible to prepare and think about every single answer to every possible question you may be asked, but there really are many things you can do to prepare in advance.

1.Do NOT wait until a week before the interview to start preparing. Take time to prepare. Make sure you learn some adjectives and adverbs and their pronunciation to help describe yourself, your experience, and your achievements. Try and park very “beige” adjectives like “good/ bad”. Make your descriptions more colourful. 

2. Don’t learn answers parrot-fashion. It will be obvious to the interviewer. One answer won’t fit all types of questions, either. The best thing is to acquire vocabulary to be able to answer as many questions as possible. 

3. Make sure you practice some storytelling before the interview. Storytelling is becoming a really valued skill. It's so useful for many everyday tasks, especially interviews.

4. Think about the different types of questions that you could be asked such as open questions, competency-based questions, behavioural questions, etc. Think about the different topics: yourself, experience, your strengths, weaknesses, aspirations, how you would behave in certain situations, setbacks, and what you have learned from them. Areas for improvement. 

5. Make sure you know some phrases that will help you in the case you have some setbacks during the interview such as not understanding the question.  Silences are never good. 

6. Learn some phrases that buy you time, just in case you get asked a question that you have never thought about before. 

7.  Try recording yourself to see how you sound and see if you like how you answer. You may be able to identify certain things you repeat too much or mistakes you make. There will be things that you realise you have to improve. Make sure that your answers aren’t too long or too short. 

8. One thing that many candidats overlook is being able to explain their CV in English. Remember the details and dates. Practise.

9. Find someone to simulate an interview with and practise. 

10. Prepare a couple of questions in advance that you would like to ask the interviewer, just in case you have the opportunity. It will show that you have thought about the situation and that you are showing interest. 

It’s back to the grind (idiom)  - to go back to work / routine after a break. 

I have that Sunday night feeling. It’s back to the grind tomorrow. 

A wake-up call - something that alerts someone to a problem, danger or need and make them take action. 

Nearly crashing my car was a wake-up call. I mustn’t drive when I’m tired. 

To jack in their jobs - To jack something in - to stop doing something or to leave a job you aren’t enjoying.  Molly jacked in her job after the summer holiday. She couldn’t stand the stress any longer. 

To be part and parcel of - to be a feature of something that can’t normally be avoided - Stres is part and parcel of moving house. 

Get yourself in a mess - To get into a difficult situation. 

If you lie on your CV about your level of English, you will get yourself in a mess. 

To be worth it - The benefits are more than the costs - It will be worth making an effort to prepare for the job interview. 

Catching people out - causing someone to make a mistake to show that they cannot do something / are telling lies about something / do not know something. 

I used to interview people to check their level of English was just as they had said on their CV. I caught many of them out. 

Parrot-fashion - learning something from memory, repeating the exact words without necessarily understanding what you are saying

He learnt all his answers parrot-fashion and of course, when he was asked to elaborate on them, he wasn’t able to!

Setbacks - something that prevents a process from happening / going smoothly - Despite all the setbacks we had building the house, it’s now finished! 

Difference between a CV and a Resumé

A resumé is used more in the United States and is more of a self promotion / self-marketing document that highlight skills, experience and achievements.

A CV is based more on credentials, academic skills and professional experience.

We are generally seeing a more of a hybrid version between CVs and Resumés where now it is not recommended that a CV be more than 2 pages long. In the past, people with a lot of experience showed it off in the highest detail making their CVs longer than the Bible! Recruiters and employers don’t have time to read all that nowadays.  

The stages of getting a new a job 

Write CV / cover letter

Apply for a job

Go to an interview

Pass to the next round of interviews

Ask for an interview /Arrange an interview /Request an interview 

We don’t say to “Make” an interview the correct way to say it is to do an interview (as a candidate) 

Company

Hold an interview (company)  / Carry out an interview /Conduct an interview.

That’s all for this week folks! Thanks so much for reading and listening. I hope you enjoyed this week’s Woodside Weekly. If you did, please like and share with friends and family. Your support means a lot!

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