Business Skills How To Answer Job Interview Questions in English In most first interviews, there is a series of questions that you can be sure to be asked. We mention first interviews because in many jobs, people are often invited to attend second and even third interviews before being offered a job. In this document we are going to describe what questions are asked in the first interview and how to answer them in English. We are also going to share some useful phrases that would be worth practising and remembering. First of all, let’s see what these commonly asked questions are about: • • • • • • •

Background Current responsibilities Personal characteristics Proudest achievement Greatest strength and weakness Reasons for leaving your current job Questions you may have for the interviewer

Background ‘Can you tell me something about yourself?’ With this open-ended question, you’re being asked to give a brief summary of your professional background. You need to avoid the long and rambling reply. It’s essential you have a clear structure in mind. We all know that this technique is hard in our own language let alone doing it in another language – so beware! Briefly summarise: your current responsibilities your work experience; your education and professional qualifications, if relevant

“I graduated from Southampton University in 1989 and joined ABS Systems. After two years, I moved to JBC as an investment analyst where I was responsible for the pharmaceutical sector. Four years later I was promoted to senior investment analyst in charge of a team of 5 analysts. For the last five years, I have been with XYZ investments where I am responsible for the engineering sector”

Quantify your achievements: Where you can, use specific numbers. That way you quantify your achievements. This is especially useful where you want to show your added value. “In the two years I was in charge of logistics, our delivery times halved from 4 days to two days from receipt of the order.”

Current Responsibilities Some phrases for starting: • • • •

I’m mainly responsible for ……. My main duties include ………. I’m mainly in charge of coordinating………….. In addition to my financial responsibilities, I take care of organising …..

Verb-noun collocations When you’re asked about your current job and responsibilities, it’s useful to learn verb-noun collocations to describe them in English. That will make you sound more natural. There are many and you need to select the ones that are appropriate for your job. Here are some examples: handle calls/ meetings manage a portfolio/ a team organise schedules/ events coordinate events provide cover for deal with problems/clients oversee day-to-day management/ a portfolio of shares support key managers prepare agendas resolve conflict

Another way you could get useful collocations related to your job would be to look at the the key responsibilities in the job advertisement for which you’re applying. Highlighting the key phrases will help you enormously.

Personal Characteristics “How would you describe yourself?” The question that requires careful thought especially as you will probably be asked to provide an example to back up your response. Using dynamic phrases (usually adjective-noun combinations) will catch your interviewer’s attention. Phrases such as: detail-oriented adapt well to new situations broad-minded proactive resourceful thrive on challenge flexible thinker effective team member work well under pressure “I’d describe myself as a dynamic team player, with the ability to thrive on new challenges and work well under pressure”. For more phrases, take a look at this. Be sure to pick a few that most describes you and are appropriate to the job you’re applying for. Some phrases may need clarifying especially if they are buzzwords such as “risk taker”, “thrive on challenge”, “self-starters”. Clarifying what you mean by your choice of terms shows that you understand and ‘own’ your words; they are not words you’re using at random. Use expressions as these below: “In my management philosophy, I am a risk-taker. What I mean by that is I am willing to try new things and think in new ways”. “I definitely think it’s good to create a team of people who are self-starters. What I’m saying is that as a manager you should welcome people who are motivated, have ideas and who work well independently”. If your interviewer were to ask you to provide them with an example of a situation that could

demonstrate a particular characteristic, you may need to give yourself some time to think. Giving yourself time to think is important and the following phrases will help you gain precious thinking time: Mmm, let’s see….. That’s a good question ……. Just bear with me for a second…… That’s an interesting question. Let me see……..

Summarising a response Once you’ve given an example, summarising that response would give a strong impression of your orderliness and structure of thought. For example, you could say: “In a nutshell, I think this story clearly demonstrates my ability to prioritise tasks”. “In summary, taking the initiative has led me to success again and again in my career as I think this story illustrates”.

Proudest Achievement “Tell me about your proudest achievement.” With this question, the interviewer wants to know how you solved a problem. It’s not enough to simply answer with the outcome/result, for example: “I think my proudest achievement was when I increased our delivery times by 100% in six months”. The interviewer’s question above could be followed by these questions: “How did you go about fixing/solving the problem?” “What were the results?” Therefore, it is important that you give some background to put your achievement in context. So, state what the problem was; describe what was the cause of the problem; explain how you went about solving the problem Some expressions that could be used for giving the cause of the problem could be: It was down to/because of…….

The delays revolved around the issue of……. We finally identified the root cause as being …… The problem went/stemmed back from the time when……

Greatest strengths and weaknesses “What would you say are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” Let’s take strengths first. Depending on the job you’re applying for, you will be aware of the characteristics that are highly valued. These are usually highlighted in the job advertisement (ad). Take a look at the skills below taken from a job ad for an investment analyst: Ability to step back from time to time and think strategically and is willing to challenge Role requires good interpersonal skills, intellectual curiosity, strong work ethic and the practical ability to manage multiple work-streams and deliverables to deliver high-quality results. With that in mind, make a point of emphasising the characteristics they’re looking for. Don’t lie, though! Remember you will be asked to provide examples to back up your claims. How about your greatest weaknesses? In answering this question, it’s always important to sound sincere and demonstrate selfknowledge. First, identify something in your personality and work habits that can be interpreted as a strength AND a weakness. For example, being detail-oriented can be a positive, but being overly concern with detail can be a negative. First, use the positive side of the weakness. You could say: One advantage of this is ……… The good side to this is …….. Then, briefly identify the negative side: The downside to this is…… One drawback to this is…….. Finally, describe how you’ve started to overcome your weakness. “By being aware of my tendency to overwork, I’ve learned to pace myself more and to work less over time“.

Reasons for leaving your current job “Why do you want to leave your present/current job?” With this potentially sensitive question, one of the best ways of responding to it is to emphasise that you’re looking for bigger and different challenges. Stay positive – don’t say anything negative about your current company, job or boss. Focus on the future – here’s a great phrase: “My goal is to grow to be a stronger performer and contender in the workplace”.

Questions you may have for the interviewer Towards the end of the interview, candidates are often asked if they have questions they want to ask the interviewer. It’s very important to ask questions. By asking questions you: learn important information about the company and the position; demonstrate your knowledge about their company; show that you take the position seriously. Here are some questions you could ask: What’s the five-year plan for this company? How important does senior management consider the function of this position? Could you give me an overview of your organisational structure? What are the company’s strengths and weaknesses compared to its competitors? How will my performance be measured? By whom?