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  • Hey it's Annemarie with Speak Confident English and this is exactly where you

  • want to be every week to get the confidence you want for your life and work in

  • English. Today we are all about job interviews in English,

  • particularly power words you can use to effectively communicate that you are the

  • right fit for the job you want.

  • Right now you might be thinking that I'm going to share words like team player,

  • honest, hardworking, confident, loyal.

  • But no, none of those words are on my list. And here's why.

  • In a job interview,

  • you're expected to only use positive words to describe yourself.

  • Everyone knows that. You've probably heard the expression in English,

  • you're supposed to 'sell yourself.' Honestly,

  • I hate that word and the whole idea of selling yourself.

  • The truth is the interviewer doesn't want to hear words that you think describe

  • you. The interviewer wants to know two things.

  • Can you do the job well and are you the right choice for the position?

  • And today we're going to focus on the kinds of power words you can use to say

  • that yes, you absolutely can do the job.

  • And you're the right choice. Then at the end,

  • I'm going to share one word you should definitely avoid using in a job

  • interview.

  • Let's dive right into the eight power words you can use in a job interview in

  • English. With each word,

  • I'm going to tell you why it's a good choice and I'll give you an example

  • sentence starter that you can use when you are answering an interview.

  • Question number one is the word responsible or responsibility.

  • Every recruiter or interviewer,

  • every employer is looking for someone who is going to do their job and take

  • ownership of it.

  • What that means is they can rely on you to do the job you're supposed to do.

  • They don't need to worry that you might try to avoid doing work or give other

  • people all of your responsibilities.

  • When you're answering questions about your past experience using sentence

  • starters like it was my responsibility to or I was responsible for are great

  • ways to talk about what you've done in the past and that you took your job

  • seriously.

  • Number two is the word to collaborate or collaboration.

  • If you want to highlight that you work well with others,

  • then the verb collaborate does that perfectly. In fact,

  • the precise definition of collaborate means to work with other people to achieve

  • an end goal.

  • And here's a simple sentence starter you can use when you want to highlight a

  • past experience of collaborating with others:

  • in my last job I collaborated with to accomplish.

  • And then just be sure to include the key details that you need from your past

  • experience. Power word number three is initiative.

  • If you've been watching me for a while,

  • you know that I've done many lessons in the past on collocations.

  • Collocations are groups of words that native speakers naturally use together.

  • If you want my past lessons on collocations,

  • I'll leave links to those below the video.

  • I say all of that because the word initiative is often used with take.

  • To take initiative and what this means is that you do what needs to be done

  • without anyone asking you. For example,

  • if your team shares the responsibility of keeping your coffee break room clean,

  • if you see that the trash is overflowing,

  • if you're the kind of person that takes initiative,

  • then you just take the trash out. Even if it's not your turn,

  • even if nobody asks you do it because it needs to be done.

  • Similarly,

  • if you know that a colleague is struggling to meet a deadline and they could use

  • some help,

  • it means that you take the steps needed to offer specific help to your colleague

  • before she needs to ask for help. Honestly,

  • employers love people who take initiative because it also shows self confidence

  • and that you're a hard worker.

  • A great sentence starter to use with this word is I took the initiative to and

  • then share a specific example when you did something because you knew it needed

  • to be done. Power word number four is lead.

  • This is an obvious power word because it's the root of the word leader and

  • leadership and it means someone who inspires others to take action and here's

  • how you can use this in a sentence starter. In my previous job,

  • I led my team or I led my department on and then include the specific project.

  • Power word number five is resolved.

  • This one is all about problem solving.

  • When we use the word resolved,

  • it communicates that everyone who was part of the problem or disagreement was

  • satisfied in the end, and that is a very positive outcome.

  • Honestly, this is a powerful skill to have.

  • Not everyone is capable of finding a solution that makes everyone happy.

  • So if you have a specific story from your past,

  • here's how you can talk about it: when X happened.

  • So insert the specific problem or disagreement.

  • I resolved the situation by and then share the actions that you took.

  • Now before I get to power word number six,

  • I'm curious if you're starting to notice a theme with each word and sentence

  • starter? I'm asking you to highlight a specific story or example.

  • And here's why.

  • You can tell an interviewer that you're a great leader or you can show an

  • interviewer that you're a great leader by highlighting a specific experience in

  • your past. Which one do you think is more powerful?

  • And that leads me to the next three power words you can use in your job

  • interview in English and the one word you should avoid.

  • Word number six is measure or measurable.

  • This is about being as specific as possible with your stories.

  • If you want to tell your interviewer that you increased sales last year,

  • that's fantastic,

  • but if you can make it measurable by saying that you increased sales by 7.9%

  • last year, that is even more powerful.

  • It gives you more credibility and provides stronger proof to your interviewer.

  • So if you want to use this word in a sentence, you could say something like,

  • the measurable result of my efforts was a 7.9% increase in sales last year.

  • Power word number seven is closely related and the word is result.

  • If you have a story about how you collaborated in the past or that you led a

  • team,

  • the interviewer will absolutely want to know what was the end result.

  • For example, if you have a story about a conflict that you help resolve,

  • what happened after the resolution?

  • Did the team successfully complete a project under budget?

  • Did you win an award for best marketing campaign of the year?

  • What was the final result of the action steps that you took?

  • This is a great word to pair with the other words on this list.

  • You might talk about an opportunity that you had leading a team and then at the

  • end you could say the result of that was and then share what happened in the

  • end. Word number eight is going to surprise you.

  • It's simply the word example.

  • It's kind of a weird choice, isn't it?

  • Every question in a job interview is an opportunity for you to share an example,

  • a real example, from your past that highlights that, yes,

  • you can do the job and you're the right choice.

  • Now let's get to that one word I definitely want you to avoid.

  • I'm curious, have you ever said,

  • I'm a great team player in a job interview? If you have,

  • it's okay, don't panic,

  • but in the future I want you to avoid using that word and here's why:

  • that sentence, I'm a great team player,

  • became so popular that now it's a cliche.

  • A cliche is a phrase or an opinion that is used so much that it loses its power

  • and that sentence has lost its power. It's no longer unique.

  • Everyone says it and the truth is you are unique.

  • You want your interviewer to know that you're unique and you have all the skills

  • necessary to do the job well.

  • The best way that you can stand out is to use power words that accurately

  • describe you and avoid using cliches. Now,

  • if you really want to show that you work well with other people,

  • then there was one word on our list that would be perfect for you.

  • Do you remember what that word is?

  • To collaborate or the noun collaboration.

  • Use those words instead.

  • With that you have eight power words to use in your next English job interview

  • and I've got two challenge questions for you today. Number one,

  • I want to know one word on this list that you could use in a job interview and I

  • want you to try using it in a practice sentence.

  • That sentence should include a story or an example of when you've exhibited that

  • behavior. In the past. My second question is,

  • what is one English job interview question that makes you super nervous?

  • I would love to know what it is so I can be sure to help you prepare how to

  • answer it. Well. With that, thank you so much for joining me.

  • If you found this useful,

  • please be sure to let me know and you can do that in three simple ways.

  • Number one,

  • give this video a thumbs up on YouTube and subscribe to this channel so you

  • never miss one of my Confident English lessons. Number two,

  • share it with friends on Facebook or LinkedIn.

  • And if you know someone who's preparing for a job interview in English,

  • go ahead and email this lesson directly to them.

  • I promise you they'll thank you. Have a wonderful week.

  • Thanks again for joining and I'll see you next time for your Confident English

  • lesson.

Hey it's Annemarie with Speak Confident English and this is exactly where you

Subtitles and vocabulary

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A2 US job interview job interviewer sentence power starter

8 Power Words for Your Job Interview in English

  • 9 0
    meowu posted on 2023/06/14
Video vocabulary

Keywords

weird

US /wɪrd/

UK /wɪəd/

  • adjective
  • Odd or unusual; surprising; strange
  • Suggesting something supernatural; odd.
  • Eerily strange or disturbing.
specific

US /spɪˈsɪfɪk/

UK /spəˈsɪfɪk/

  • adjective
  • Relating to a particular species, structure, etc.
  • Precise; particular; just about that thing
  • Relating to a particular thing.
  • Clearly defined or identified.
  • Stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.
  • Concerning one particular thing or kind of thing
absolutely

US /ˈæbsəˌlutli, ˌæbsəˈlutli/

UK /ˈæbsəlu:tli/

  • adverb
  • Completely; totally; very
  • Completely and without any doubt
  • Used to express complete agreement or certainty.
  • Yes; certainly; definitely.
  • Used to express strong agreement or affirmation.
  • Used to emphasize the agreement with a statement.
  • Completely; totally.
  • Used to add force to a statement or command.
  • Considered independently and without relation to other things; viewed abstractly; as, quantity absolutely considered.
  • Used for emphasis; very.
  • Used to emphasize a statement or opinion.
  • Without any doubt; completely.
  • Used to express complete agreement or affirmation.
opportunity

US /ˌɑpɚˈtunɪti, -ˈtju-/

UK /ˌɒpə'tju:nətɪ/

  • noun
  • Time, situation when a thing might be done; chance
  • A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.
  • A chance to do or achieve something in business.
  • A set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.
  • A favorable time or occasion for doing something.
  • A favorable juncture of circumstances.
  • A situation or condition that provides a job prospect.
  • A possibility of employment or promotion.
  • A situation or occasion affording some advantage.
  • Scope for exercising a talent or skill.
  • A time or situation in which something can be done.
initiative

US /ɪˈnɪʃətɪv/

UK /ɪ'nɪʃətɪv/

  • noun
  • A new plan or process to achieve something or solve a problem.
  • Ability to come up with solutions by yourself
  • New plan or idea that is meant to fix a problem
  • The ability to assess and initiate things independently.
  • The first step or move toward something.
  • A procedure enabling a specified number of voters by petition to propose a law and secure its submission to the electorate or legislature for approval.
  • A procedure enabling citizens to propose laws and submit them to the electorate for approval.
  • A new plan or process to achieve something or solve a problem.
  • other
  • The ability to assess and initiate things independently.
experience

US /ɪkˈspɪriəns/

UK /ɪk'spɪərɪəns/

  • noun
  • An event at which you learned something
  • Thing a person has done or that happened to them
  • An event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone.
  • Knowledge gained by living life, doing new things
  • Knowledge or skill gained from doing, seeing, or feeling things.
  • other
  • An event or occurrence
  • other
  • An event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone.
  • Something that happens to you that affects how you feel
  • other
  • An event or occurrence which leaves an impression on someone.
  • An event or occurrence which leaves an impression on someone
  • other
  • Knowledge or skill that is gained from doing something for a period of time
  • Previous work in a particular field.
  • Knowledge or skill gained from doing something.
  • Knowledge or skill gained from doing, feeling, or seeing things
  • other
  • To encounter or undergo (an event or situation)
  • To have something happen to you
  • To have something happen to you
  • verb
  • To gain knowledge by doing things
  • To have something happen to you.
  • other
  • Knowledge or skill gained from doing something
positive

US /ˈpɑzɪtɪv/

UK /ˈpɒzətɪv/

  • adjective
  • Completely certain or sure that something is correct or true
  • Showing agreement or support for something
  • Favorable or advantageous.
  • Being sure about something; knowing the truth
  • Indicating the presence of a disease or condition.
  • Carrying a positive electric charge
  • Having the charge produced by electrons
  • Having a good effect; helpful or useful
  • Being good or useful
  • Expressing a quality without comparison
  • Greater than zero
  • Showing the presence of a particular substance, disease, or condition
  • Feeling sure that something good will happen; optimistic
  • Showing a photographic image in natural colors or shades.
  • Showing that a chemical is present in a test
  • noun
  • A photograph in which the tones correspond to those of the original subject.
  • A photograph in which light areas are light and dark areas are dark
achieve

US /əˈtʃiv/

UK /ə'tʃi:v/

  • verb
  • To succeed in doing good, usually by working hard
  • To successfully bring about or accomplish a desired result or aim.
  • other
  • To succeed in reaching a particular goal, status, or standard, often after effort or perseverance.
  • other
  • To successfully bring about or accomplish a desired result or aim.
curious

US /ˈkjʊriəs/

UK /ˈkjʊəriəs/

  • adjective
  • Wanting to know more about something
  • Attracting interest by being strange or unusual
confidence

US /ˈkɑnfɪdəns/

UK /'kɒnfɪdəns/

  • noun
  • A feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.
  • The feeling of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future.
  • A secret that is told to someone.
  • Feeling that you can do well at something
  • A secret that is told to someone.
  • Feeling you can trust someone
  • other
  • The feeling of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future.
  • The feeling of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future.
  • The quality of being certain of something.
  • A feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.
  • The state of trusting someone or something.