Job Interview Greetings

I'm working with another ESL student on job interview preparation. Actually, the "job interview" is at a professional conference. My student has five short interviews with potential employers. With such short interviews, first impressions are particularly important.

When I practice with students, I try to create as "real" a situation as possible. So in this interview practice session, I extended my hand in greeting. My ESL student's handshake was a little weak and tentative. So we went over this little bit of body language and practiced a firm handshake.

It's these little things that English-speaking Americans (and probably other English-speaking countries' people) take for granted. However, these little things can make or break someone's first impression. As such, I feel that it's important to include these non-verbal forms of communication in my ESL lessons.

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Accents and Job Interviews

I often help my ESL students prepare for job interviews. I usually give my students a list of the most common interview questions and then we practice the answers during our sessions together.

Today as I was looking up the links for common interview questions on monster.com, I came across an interesting article called, "Do You Sound Right for the Job?" (I'm not going to put the link here because it will become obsolete in a little while. Monster is always moving around their pages. You can do a Google search for the article if you want to see the whole thing.)

One of the interesting points is how a slight accent can actually be an advantage. A thick accent will often work against someone in a job interview. The article also says that accents trigger emotional responses in us.

Dianne Markley, a professor at the University of North Texas at Denton, states in the article that job seekers with accents should "'First, relax. An accent is part of who you are. It connects you with your family and a particular part of the world. An accent is not a bad thing.'

At the same time, 'Be careful how you use the English language,' Markley cautions. 'Be sure to use good grammar. Speak slowly. Don't get frustrated if you have to repeat yourself. There's plenty of stress in job seeking. Don't add more by worrying about your accent.'"

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Sample Job Interview Questions

Many of my ESL students live and work in the U.S. (as opposed to those who are here in the U.S. specifically to study English). I give a lot of instruction on writing resumes, cover letters and preparing for job interviews. Below is a common list of job interview questions that we practice during our ESL tutoring lessons.

For more information, see Job Interview Skills for ESL Speakers.

Sample Job Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. What accomplishment are you particularly proud of?

3. Why did you leave your last position? Why do you want to leave your current position?

4. What did you enjoy most about your last/current job?

5. What was/is the most difficult part of your last/current job?

6. Where do you see yourself in five years?

7. Do you plan to pursue a graduate education?

8. Tell me about a time when you had to make a critical decision in your supervisor's absence. How did you handle it?

9. What are your strongest skills?

10. What are your weakest skills?

11. Tell me about the last time you had a short deadline and how you handled it.
12. When did you handle conflict with your boss, colleagues, or subordinates? Tell me about it.

13. What strengths do you bring to this job that other candidates might not?

14. What are your long- and short-term career goals?

15. Do you have any questions?

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Job Interview Skills for ESL Speakers

The job interview process in the U.S. is familiar to most American adults. We know we usually need to provide a resume and a cover letter when applying for a new job. We know that there are certain questions that we will probably be asked during a job interview ("tell me about yourself," "how do you deal with conflict," "what do you bring to the job that other candidates do not," etc.) However, this whole process is foreign to many people from other parts of the world. Fortunately, many of these questions can be prepared for and rehearsed by job applicants by studying information from such sites as monster.com. They have a great list of job interview questions and other pointers for job seekers.

Speakers of English as a Second Language have additional challenges to overcome when they are competing in the U.S. job market. Grammar problems, properly using modals, vocabulary limitations, pronunciation challenges, cultural differences, Visa issues, etc. These issues make it even more important that non-native English speakers thoroughly prepare for job interviews.

I usually send links to my students with information about the questions they should prepare for. They then work on the answers on their own time and we practice the answers during our tutoring session. Non-Americans often seem to have a tougher time tooting their own horns, so I often have to pull out more details for the answers so that the job seeker will shine in their interview. Of course, we also work on grammar, word choice, and other ESL issues for the interviews.

I'm currently working with a research physician from an Eastern European country. In her country, competition for positions is less and far less preparation is needed for a job interview. This whole process is new to her. Tonight, we worked on a few of the typical questions asked by most employers.