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  • Hi, Bob the Canadian here.

  • In this English lesson,

  • I'm going to go over some of the most common questions

  • that you will be asked

  • if you go for a job interview in English,

  • but before we get started though,

  • if this is your first time here,

  • don't forget to click that red Subscribe button over there,

  • and give me a thumbs up

  • if this video helps you learn

  • just a little bit more English.

  • So one of the first questions that you will be asked

  • in an English job interview is the question,

  • "How would you describe yourself,"

  • or another version of it would be,

  • "Tell us a little bit about yourself."

  • This is a very open question.

  • It's usually the first question in a job interview,

  • and you can answer it in a number of ways.

  • You can talk about yourself as a person,

  • or you can talk about your interests.

  • So you could say, "I'm a very outgoing person

  • "and I love working with others."

  • You could say something like, "I've always loved technology,

  • "and I can't wait to have a job

  • "where I can work more closely with technology,"

  • or you could say something like,

  • "I've always loved teaching other people new things."

  • That's what I would say if I was in an interview

  • and if someone asked that question.

  • So the first question you're going to get asked

  • is going to be a question about you,

  • just kind of a broad, open question

  • about who you are as a person.

  • The second questions that you will be asked

  • in the job interview

  • might have to do with why you want the job.

  • So the interviewer may ask questions like,

  • "Why do you want to work for us,"

  • or, "Why are you applying for this job?"

  • One of the best ways to answer this

  • is to know something about the company

  • and to say things like,

  • "I've always admired the work that you do

  • "in the community," or, "the work that you do

  • "for your customers."

  • You may also want to talk about something

  • that the company did recently that impressed you.

  • So you could say, "I was impressed

  • "by how well you did this recent job."

  • So you really want to know something about the company

  • so that you can connect your strengths

  • and your abilities with what they do.

  • So you can say, "I've always loved working with people,

  • "and I know that your company specializes

  • "in helping people.

  • "I would love to work with you

  • "so that I can use my talents

  • "to help your company do a better job."

  • The third question you might be asked

  • in a job interview is, "Why should we hire you?"

  • This would be a time to talk about

  • the things that make you a good worker.

  • You should say things like, "I am always on time,"

  • hopefully you're always on time,

  • "I an an efficient and organized person."

  • You should say things like, "I like solving problems,"

  • or, "I like getting things done on time."

  • Whatever makes you a good worker,

  • whatever skills and talents you have,

  • this is the question where you should answer those.

  • Usually when I answer this question,

  • I say things like, "I love learning new things,

  • "I love solving problems, I'm always on time,

  • "and I'm very organized."

  • All of those things are true.

  • It sounds a little bit boastful,

  • but that pretty much describes me.

  • The fourth question you might have asked

  • in a job interview is,

  • "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

  • Even though they are possibly hiring you to start soon,

  • they'll still want to know

  • what some of your long-range plans are.

  • This would be a good time to be honest.

  • If you don't want to work your way up in the company,

  • you should just say so.

  • You should say, "If I get the position I'm applying for,

  • "I could see myself still doing that in five years

  • "and doing it well."

  • But, if you are someone who wants to work your way up

  • in the company, you should tell them.

  • When you work your way up,

  • it means that you want to get promotions.

  • So perhaps you start as a worker,

  • and then you want to be a foreman or a manager,

  • and eventually work your way up

  • to be in the leadership of the company.

  • So be honest, just tell them

  • where you see yourself in five years.

  • The fifth question you might be asked

  • in a job interview is, "What motivates you?"

  • When we talk about motivation,

  • we talk about, what makes you want to work hard,

  • and what makes you get things done?

  • You could say, "I am self-motivated,

  • "I usually enjoy my work,

  • "and I work hard regardless

  • "of whether someone is telling me what to do or not."

  • So that would be self-motivated.

  • You could say, "I am motivated by having a good schedule

  • "and a good agenda,

  • "and by having a manager or someone in charge of me

  • "who is very organized."

  • Or you could simply say, "I am motivated

  • "by having a really good manager or boss

  • "who tells me what to do all the time."

  • So people are motivated in different ways.

  • You should be honest to the job interviewer

  • about what motivates you the best.

  • The sixth thing you might be asked in a job interview is,

  • "Describe your last job."

  • What they're looking for here

  • is just a quick and simple description

  • of what you used to do at your previous job.

  • So you could say things like,

  • "I was a fifth grade teacher at an elementary school.

  • "I was full-time, and every day

  • "I taught fifth grade students all of the subjects."

  • You could say, "I was a waiter at a restaraunt.

  • "I worked there for seven years.

  • "I was on the shift that worked throughout the weekend,

  • "and I really enjoyed my work and helping people."

  • So just be ready to describe whatever your job was

  • before you started to look for a new job.

  • So be honest, be open, maybe talk about the things

  • you liked about that job

  • while you are describing it.

  • The seventh question you might be asked

  • in a job interview is, "What led you to this career?"

  • The job interviewer will want to know

  • why you got an education in the field that you did,

  • or why you have been working in this field,

  • or how you got involved in that field.

  • So if you are a teacher, you will want to say things like,

  • "I've always loved working with kids,

  • "I've always loved teaching people new things.

  • "Teaching just comes naturally to me."

  • If you are a chef, you would wanna say,

  • "I have always loved food.

  • "I have loved preparing food

  • "and I have loved eating food,

  • "and so food has been an important part of my life,

  • "and I have become a chef

  • "because I like preparing food for other people."

  • If you work in the computer field,

  • you'll wanna say, "I've always loved numbers

  • "and math and logic,

  • "and I have always loved technology,

  • "and so it was a natural fit for me

  • "to go into the field of computer programming."

  • So when they say, "What led you to this career,"

  • you'll wanna talk about your interest in the area

  • and your education a little bit.

  • The eighth question that you will probably be asked

  • in a job interview is,

  • "What is your greatest strength,"

  • or, "What are some of your strengths?"

  • You'll want to be honest here.

  • You really need to know yourself.

  • If your strength is solving problems, you should say,

  • "I am a really good problem solver."

  • If your strength is that you are good at planning things,

  • you should say, "I am really good

  • "at creating plans for big projects."

  • If your strength, or one of your strengths,

  • is that you are good with people,

  • that you enjoy talking with people

  • and encouraging them and motivating them,

  • you would say, "One of my strengths

  • "is that I work well with others.

  • "One of my strengths is that I enjoy

  • "working on teams or in groups with other people."

  • Talking about strengths naturally leads

  • to the next question where you'll be asked,

  • "What is your greatest weakness,"

  • or, "What are some of your weaknesses."

  • Again, here you need to be honest.

  • You need to simply tell them

  • what some of your weaknesses are,

  • specifically as a worker or as an employee.

  • So you should say things like,

  • "I don't work well with others.

  • "I work best on my own."

  • You should say things like,

  • "I get bored easily by repetitive tasks.

  • "I get bored easily if things repeat themselves,

  • "and I like having some variety in my day."

  • So notice I talked about my weaknesses,

  • but I also mentioned a strength after the weakness.

  • I think that is a good strategy,

  • when you get question number nine:

  • "What is your greatest weakness,"

  • or, "What are some of your weaknesses?"

  • A 10th question that you might be asked

  • in a job interview is,

  • "What is your biggest professional achievement?"

  • So what they'll wanna know

  • is something that you did at a past job

  • that went really, really well.

  • So I can't give you any specific examples,

  • but for this question,

  • "What is your biggest professional achievement,"

  • make sure when you go to the job interview,

  • you think about that time you solved

  • a really, really big problem

  • at one of your previous jobs,

  • or that time at one of your previous jobs

  • where you finished a really big project

  • and your boss was really, really happy.

  • So just be prepared to talk about something you've done

  • at a past job that went really, really well.

  • An 11th question that you might have in a job interview is,

  • "Have you ever had a big problem at work,

  • "and how did you overcome it?"

  • The job interviewer will want to know

  • what your problem-solving skills are like.

  • Many jobs have situations

  • where things don't go well,

  • and people need to think on their feet.

  • When you think on your feet, you're thinking quickly,

  • and you need to solve problems.

  • So make sure you go into the interview

  • thinking about a problem

  • that you had at a previous job,

  • and what you did to make that problem go away.

  • A 12th that you might be asked in a job interview is,

  • "What do you like to do outside of work?"

  • So you will want to be prepared

  • when you go to an interview

  • to talk about the things that you do for fun.

  • Even though it doesn't have anything to do with work,

  • this is a common question

  • that employers ask in job interviews,

  • so be ready to talk about your hobbies.

  • If you like to read, be ready to say

  • that you like to read.

  • If you like to go hiking,

  • be ready to talk about how you like to go hiking.

  • So certainly, when you go to a job interview,

  • you need to be ready to talk about your education,

  • you need to be able to talk about

  • your past jobs and experience,

  • but you also want to be able to talk about your hobbies.

  • Sounds kind of funny,

  • but they definitely will ask you this question.

  • A 13th question that you will most likely get asked

  • in a job interview is, "Do you work well with others?"

  • If you are applying for a job

  • where you will need to work on a team,

  • or where you will need to work closely with other people,

  • they'll want to know if you work well with others.

  • I'm not sure if you knew this,

  • I actually don't work well with others.

  • I work well by myself.

  • I am able to work well with others,

  • but I actually enjoy working by myself

  • more than I enjoy working with other people.

  • So be honest in your answer.

  • If you do work well with other people say,

  • "I work well with other people.

  • "I love working with other people,"

  • and then give some examples.

  • If you don't work well with other people,

  • I would say you should answer it this way.

  • You should say, "I prefer to work on projects

  • "or tasks by myself,

  • "but I am able to work with other people when I need to."

  • So that's the 13th question,

  • "Do you work well with other people?"

  • The 14th question that you will probably be asked

  • in a job interview is,

  • "Do you have any questions for us?"

  • Wherever you are applying for a job,

  • they will want to know

  • if you have any questions about their business.

  • This is a great time to ask about

  • how many hours per week you would need to work,

  • it's a good time to ask,

  • "What does a typical day look like,"

  • if you were to be hired for that job.

  • It's also a good time to have done some homework

  • on this company.

  • Wherever you are applying,

  • you'll want to know a little bit about the company

  • so that you can ask intelligent questions.

  • So the 14th question that you will probably be asked is,

  • "Do you have any questions for us,"

  • or, "Do you have any questions?"

  • Well, thank you so much for watching this English lesson

  • about some of the most common questions that you will hear

  • during a job interview.

  • I'm Bob the Canadian,

  • and you are learning English with me here on YouTube.

  • If this is your first time here though,

  • don't forget to click that red Subscribe button below,

  • and give me a thumbs up

  • if this video helped you learn

  • just a little bit more English,

  • and if you have a bit of time,

  • why don't you stick around

  • and watch one or two more videos?

  • (relaxing music)

Hi, Bob the Canadian here.

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