Tara’s ESL BLOG: Job Interviews in English – An Introduction

Job Interviews: Oh, how we hate them!

But they are a necessary evil as we say. Luckily, I know how to make it as easy and pain-free as possible – even if English is your second language!  The number one thing to remember is that in a job interview you are technically “marketing” yourself to the employer. So make sure to present yourself – and your English skills – in the most effective way by preparing for the interview with an experienced coach. When preparing for a job interview with me, we go through each step of the process, giving you the tools you need to truly market yourself during the interview instead of just reciting memorized information about yourself. The key is to look good, sound good, and most importantly feel good about what you are saying to the interviewer. So how do we do it?

Prepare, practice, present!

• PREPARE! Create intelligent responses to current business questions based on YOUR real life experiences. The more you contribute to this process, the better your responses will be.
• PRACTICE! Master the pronunciation and cadence of these responses in order to ensure being understood. Having a good, clear accent can make all the difference during your interview.
• PRESENT! Build confident response time and natural fluency through no-script “Mock Interviews”. Responses that you believe in – not just memorized robot words!

1. What do you think ''a necessary evil'' means?

• Something bad or unpleasant that we accept in order to get a result that we want
• Story about a snake and an apple in a garden
• Job Interviews are evil
• Someone who is not nice
• Something bad or unpleasant that we can't avoid in order to get a result that we want. Some other things that are considered ''a necessary evil'' are: Money, Jobs, Having a House, or Taxes for example.

2. What do I mean by ''marketing'' yourself?

• You should open a market and sell fruit
• You should take a Marketing class at a university
• You should emphasize your best qualities
• You should go check your Facebook page right now
• You should emphasize your best qualities. Your ''look'' should be clean and professional. Your words should make sense, be well thought-out and ''sell'' your most relevant qualifications to the interviewer. The employer is investing in YOU - remember that.

3. What does the phrase ''it can make all the difference'' mean?

• It is able to be different
• It can make you happy
• It can differ in many ways
• It can help you immensely
• It can help you immensely. Having a good accent and enunciating your responses clearly will not only impress the interviewer, but also allow you to tell them all the reasons why you are the best candidate for the position.

4. What does ''mock'' mean''

• Real or True
• Fake or Pretend
• Cold or Frozen
• To do or make
• Fake or Pretend. ''Mock Interviews'' or ''fake'' practice interviews are a very useful part of the Job Interview Program. You can make mistakes, try new things and see what is the best response style for you.

Interested in preparing for a Job Interview with me? You will also receive an Mp 3 recording of every session – as well as a typed script of your responses – allowing you to prepare as much as you like or need.

Contact me today at [email protected] and don’t forget to watch out for more blogs!

Coming Soon: The Preparation Process and Interview Questions & Answers