BEP 259 – Difficult Interview Situations 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on dealing with difficult interview situations.

Imagine you’re in a job interview, answering questions about your experience. Things seems to be going pretty well, but suddenly you say something you wish you hadn’t. Maybe you mentioned a big mistake you made at a former job. Or perhaps you said something bad about your former employer. You watch the interviewers face to see how she reacts, and your heart starts to race.

These are not unusual situations. We’ve all faced them. And if you stay calm, there are some good ways to recover. In today’s lesson, we’ll look at some useful techniques for these types of situations. We’ll look at admitting to a past mistake, explaining what we’ve done following a failure, and highlighting what we’ve learnt from the experience. We’ll also look at toning down a negative statement and emphasizing positive ideas after saying something negative.

We will hear two short dialogs today. In the first, we’ll rejoin Simon and Charlene. Simon is interviewing for a job as bank manager. In the second dialog, we’ll hear Sara and Nick. Sara is interviewing for a position as a buyer with a big retail chain.

Listening Questions

1. What mistake did Simon make at his previous job?
2. What did Simon do after making a mistake?
3. What does Sara think her previous employer needed to do better?

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