Useful Language — Running the Interview

The phrases that carry an interview.

Tap the speaker to hear each one. Then listen to the full interview below.

Opening the interview

Thanks so much for coming in today.
Before we start, let me quickly explain how the interview will work.
We’ll have about forty-five minutes together, and there’ll be time for your questions at the end.
Could you start by telling me a little about yourself?

Behavioural questions and probing

Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult deadline.
Walk me through your role in that project.
Could you tell me why you chose that approach?
I’d like to know what you would do differently today.
What exactly do you mean by that?
Can you give me a concrete example?

Managing the conversation

That’s really interesting. I’m afraid we need to move on, though.
Let’s come back to that later if we have time.
I’d like to spend the next ten minutes on your experience with remote teams.
Sorry to interrupt, could I stop you there for a second?

Closing and next steps

Do you have any questions for us?
Is there anything you were hoping we’d ask that we haven’t?
What’s your notice period, out of interest?
We’ll be in touch by the end of next week, whatever the outcome.
Thanks again for your time. It was a pleasure meeting you.

Listen: a real interview opening

Sara: Thanks for coming in, Daniel. Before we start, let me explain how this will work — forty minutes, mostly about your experience, and time for your questions at the end.

Daniel: Sounds good. I’ve been looking forward to meeting the team.

Sara: Great. Could you start by telling me why you decided to leave your current company?

Daniel: Honestly? I enjoy solving problems, but I stopped learning about a year ago. I’d like to work somewhere that pushes me a bit more.

Sara: I see. Tell me about a time when you had to give difficult news to a colleague.

Daniel: Sure. Last spring I had to tell a teammate that his part of a project was being cancelled. I chose to tell him face to face, before the official announcement.

Sara: Could you tell me why you thought that was the right approach?

Daniel: He deserved honesty. Avoiding the conversation would have made it worse.

Sara: That’s a good example. I’d also like to know what you would do differently today.

Daniel: I’d involve him earlier. Waiting until the decision was final wasn’t fair on him.

Sara: Thank you, that’s exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for. Now, do you have any questions for me?

Notice how Sara turns direct questions into indirect ones (“Could you tell me why…”) and how Daniel uses gerunds and infinitives (enjoy solving, chose to tell, avoiding). Those are the two grammar points of this module.