A job interview is one of the most stressful and high-pressure situations you experience in your working life. With such high stakes, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. So you prepare by anticipating what questions you’ll be asked and planning how you might respond.
In this lesson, we’ll hear how a couple of interviewees respond to typical – but challenging – interview questions. And as they respond, the speakers use some useful expressions that we call “collocations.” Learning collocations is a great way to expand your active vocabulary and sound more natural and confident.
But what exactly is a collocation? Well, a collocation is simply a group of words that we usually use together. It’s like a “chunk” of language that you can plug into a sentence. For example, you might have heard the expression “to take an approach” to something. We always use that verb “take” with the noun “approach,” so you can remember them together. Collocations sound natural, and they make language learning efficient, because you can learn chunks of language rather than individual words.
As you listen to the two different interviews, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.
In the first interview, we’ll hear Dale interviewing Carla, who is applying for an accounting job at an insurance company. Carla is talking about her experience, knowledge, and accomplishments. In the second interview, we’ll hear Sofia interviewing Joseph. Joseph is applying for a management position at the company where he works. He’ll talk about his approach to work and his problem-solving skills.
Listening Questions
1. How much experience does Carla say she has in the field of insurance?
2. What special accomplishment does Carla mention?
3. How does Joseph say he has decreased stress in his department?
2. What special accomplishment does Carla mention?
3. How does Joseph say he has decreased stress in his department?