BEP 225 – Conducting a Job Interview in English (1)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on conducting an interview in English.

How do you assess potential employees? Or contractors? Or business partners? Or anyone, for that matter? Well, you can look at a person’s resume or CV. And for more information you can google someone. But that’s never enough to really get an idea about someone. What we rely on are interviews, which can be very powerful tools. Interviews give us a chance to meet someone face-to-face, to ask tough questions, to find out how they solve problems, and to really get a sense of how they interact.

Asking someone questions face-to-face is not only important for job interviews. There are a wide range of situations where interview techniques are useful. Say you want to build a relationship with a new supplier. You’ll want to ask some questions and get to know the company. Or maybe you want to contract a tech support company. You’ll want to do interviews to see who is the right fit.

Interviewing is a skill, just like being interviewed. And there are some excellent techniques that you can learn to become a better interviewer. Today, we’ll look at how to make someone feel comfortable, how to ask open-ended questions, and how to get someone to give recommendations and provide more detail.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Sandy and Lee interviewing Maria. Sandy and Lee work for an international fast moving consumer goods – or FMCG – company that is expanding into Asia. They are looking for the right person to lead this expansion.

Listening Questions

1. What aspect of Maria’s work does Sandy want to hear more about?
2. What does Sandy want Maria’s “thoughts” about?
3. Which idea does Lee want Maria to explain in more detail?

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