Business English idioms Job interview Lesson 1
good morning
oh and in case i don’t see you good
afternoon good evening and good night
[Music]
business english idioms job interview
donna a human resources manager is
interviewing marina for a sales position
[Music]
tell me about your most recent work
experience
right now i’m between jobs in my last
position
i was a marketing associate at com tech
international
i was there for two and a half years
i know i’ve heard of them but i’m
drawing a blank right now
what do they do they produced
international trade fairs
they were bought out last month by a
much larger company
and all of us were let go i see from
your resume that you also worked in
sales for the company
yes that’s right it was a small company
so i wore many hats
it was very exciting what are you
looking for in a job
well i’m a real people person so i would
like to take a position
where i have lots of interaction with
different people
describe your ideal boss i work well
with all different types of people
but i guess my ideal boss would be hands
off
i prefer to work independently and not
to be micromanaged
tell me about a time when you had to
think outside the box in your work
when i was at com tech we didn’t have
any money to buy advertising
i put in place a program offering
magazines a stand at the trade show
in exchange for an advertisement in the
magazine
that sounds like a good idea tell me
what sparked your interest in our sales
position
i noticed from your job description that
it requires a lot of interaction with
the marketing department
i’m very interested in marketing so i
thought this would be a good stepping
stone
to a marketing position yes this would
be a good way to get your foot in the
door of the marketing department
[Music]
between jobs
out of work unemployed
[Music]
example barbara is between jobs right
now
she hopes to find a new job soon note
saying one is between jobs sounds better
than saying one is unemployed
to draw a blank to be unable to remember
example i can’t remember the name of the
hotel where we stayed in budapest
i’m drawing a blank
[Music]
to buy out to purchase an
entire business or someone’s share of
the business
example when victor’s company was bought
out by microsoft
he was able to retire
to let someone go
to fire someone
[Music]
example mepsteen industries let their
accountant go after he made a major
mistake calculating the company’s tax
bill
to wear many hats to perform many
different job responsibilities
to play many different roles example
there are only five employees at our
company so we all have to wear many hats
people person
who likes working with people a friendly
person
example you’re sure to like paul he’s a
real people person
hands off
not too involved passive
not interested in managing details
example don’t worry chris won’t get
involved in all of your projects
he’s a hands-off manager
micromanage
to manage too closely to be too involved
in the details
example helen gets involved in every
detail of her employees work
she has a reputation for micromanaging
[Music]
think outside the box to think
creatively
to think in a new and different way
example the small law firm is losing
business to larger rivals
the firm needs to think outside the box
and come up with some creative ways to
market its services
to put in place to establish
to start to implement example
next month the company plans to put in
place some new rules for filing expense
reports
[Music]
to spark one’s interest to raise one’s
interest
to cause one to become interested in
example
an article in the wall street journal
sparked don’s interest in investing in
brazil
[Music]
stepping stone
a way of advancing or getting to the
next stage a position
a product or an activity that comes
first and prepares the way for what will
come next
example jennifer views her position as a
human resource manager as a stepping
stone to a larger position within her
company
[Music]
get one’s foot in the door
to get into an organization to take a
position with an organization that could
lead to a bigger opportunity in the
future
example taking a job as a receptionist
is one way to get your foot in the door
of a company
[Music]
you