The job interview in English
The classic interview questions and what they look for, the STAR method, the tenses for telling your story and the phrases for asking people to repeat or buying time.
- 24 cards
- 3 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Questions
- Sort and link
A few cards from the deck
STAR method: what is it?
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A way of building an answer in four parts: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
It prevents rambling: set the context, your task, what you personally did (I, not we) and what came out of it, ideally with a figure.
The recruiter asks: "Tell me about yourself." What does he expect?
- A summary of your path, linked to the job
- Your CV read out line by line, in order
- Your personality and hobbies, leaving work aside
- Your life since childhood, so he gets to know you
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A summary of your path, linked to the job
It is an opening question: a minute or two is expected, centred on the path that leads to this job.
I … studied Java … my first semester and I … used Python … two years.
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I have studied Java since my first semester and I have used Python for two years.
Since introduces a starting point (since September), for introduces a length of time (for two years). Both take the present perfect.
Behavioural question: what is it?
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A question that asks you to tell a real past situation, often introduced by "Tell me about a time when…".
The recruiter judges your past conduct to predict the next. A general answer ("I always work well") is worth nothing without an example.
To "What is your biggest weakness?", which answer fits best?
- Claiming that you have none at all
- A real weakness and your plan to improve
- A fault that makes the job impossible to do
- A strength in disguise, like "I'm too much of a perfectionist"
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A real weakness and your plan to improve
The recruiter looks for self-awareness. A real but manageable weakness with a concrete action is reassuring; a strength in disguise is a dodge they have heard a hundred times.