Vocabulary · Lesson 21

Job interviews: answer in three moves, then ask one useful question

A job interview is a professional conversation with a purpose. The interviewer needs to hear what you do now, one true example from the past, and why this role fits. You need one clear question about the work. This lesson is the B1 core path. B2 learners can use the same moves when they want tighter control of tone.

60–70 min coreintroduction · strength · weaknesspast story · polite question15–20 min listening and retrieval

NoticeSeparate the present role, the past example, and the reason.

DiscoverChoose evidence over a label, and past simple for a finished action.

BuildRepair duration, agree, and explain, then build two lines.

UseRun a short fictional interview and ask one polite question.

Can-do: By the end, you can give a 60 to 90 second introduction with your present role, a relevant past, and a reason tied to the posting; support a strength with a result; describe a weakness you are already improving; tell a past story as situation, task, action, and result; and ask the interviewer one polite question about the role.

Two-minute retrieval

You already practiced role language in Work and careers. Past simple and present perfect continuous decide whether a job is finished or still open to now. Register and formality is the later lesson if you want more distance in the question.

Reactivate the role and the time

1Name the role: “I a coordinator.”

2Maya still works at the clinic, and the five years continue up to now: “I here for five years.”

3The pharmacy job ended in 2024: “I there until 2024.”

Notice one short interview answer

Maya’s fictional answer at Harbor Clinic

“I work as a patient-access coordinator for Harbor Clinic. I schedule visits and explain arrival steps.”

“Before this role, I worked at a neighborhood pharmacy for three years.”

“Last March, about 30 percent of morning calls were missed. I was responsible for the morning schedule. I built a callback list and trained two colleagues. Within six weeks, missed calls fell to 8 percent.”

“I’m interested in this opening because the posting asks for shorter morning waits.”

Which two sentences are true now?
Which story is finished past time?
Which sentence answers “Why this role?”

Discovery check: label each move

1I work as a patient-access coordinator for Harbor Clinic. This move is the .

2Before this role, I worked at a neighborhood pharmacy for three years. This move is the .

3Missed calls fell to 8 percent. This move is the .

4I’m interested in this opening because the posting asks for shorter morning waits. This move is the .

Get to the root: three moves, not a life story

“Tell me about yourself” asks for a short professional frame, usually 60 to 90 seconds. Use three moves, in this order: what you do now, the past that matters for this job, and why this role. Then stop. Age, family, a full résumé, and unrelated hobbies do not answer the question unless the posting asks for them.

move	time	useful frame
present	now	I work as a coordinator for Harbor Clinic.
past	finished, and relevant	Before this role, I worked at a pharmacy for three years.
reason	this opening	I’m interested because the posting asks for shorter waits.

Two boundaries: do not start with your childhood, and do not list every job. One relevant past is enough. If the past job continues up to now, use I have been working or I have worked. If it ended, use past simple.

Frame check: what belongs in 90 seconds?

1The interviewer asked what Maya does now. She should say:

2The interviewer needs one earlier job that is finished. She should say:

3The posting on the table says the clinic wants shorter morning waits. Her reason is:

4The question was only a professional introduction. The line that does not belong is:

Strengths and weaknesses need evidence

A strength is a skill plus proof. “I am a great communicator” is a label. “I stay calm with upset patients. Last quarter I resolved 46 of 50 billing complaints within two days” is evidence. Use a number only when the event card gives it.

A weakness should be real, specific, and already changing. “I work too hard” hides the answer. “I am bad at English, so I cannot do the job” refuses the role. A useful weakness names the old habit and the repair: “I used to write very long updates. I now start with a three-line summary, and a colleague checks the length.”

Evidence check: label, repair, or invention?

1The card says Maya resolved 46 of 50 billing complaints within two days. Her strength is:

2Maya’s old habit was long updates. She already uses a three-line summary. Her weakness is:

3The interviewer asked for a real limit. The line that hides it is:

4The card has no money figure. The line she must not invent is:

Past STAR stories: situation, task, action, result

When the interviewer asks “Tell me about a time when…”, tell one finished story. The four parts are the situation, the task, the action, and the result. Some people call this STAR. The letters are only a memory aid. The story is what matters.

part	question it answers	Maya’s clinic story
situation	What was happening?	Last March, about 30 percent of morning calls were missed.
task	What was your responsibility?	I was responsible for the morning schedule.
action	What did you do?	I built a callback list and trained two colleagues.
result	What changed?	Within six weeks, missed calls fell to 8 percent.

The action is past simple, and it is yours: I built, I trained. “The team was amazing” hides your action. Present continuous is for a plan that is not finished yet, so it does not answer “what did you do?” Keep the result inside the numbers you were given.

Story check: which part is this sentence?

1Last March, about 30 percent of morning calls were missed. This is the .

2I was responsible for the morning schedule. This is the .

3I built a callback list and trained two colleagues. This is the .

4Within six weeks, missed calls fell to 8 percent. This is the .

Ask the interviewer one useful question

Near the end, the interviewer usually asks if you have questions. Ask about the work: a typical week, the team, or what success looks like in the first six months. A polite frame is Could you tell me…? or Could you explain… to me?

In many U.S. interviews you may ask for the salary range for the role. Ask about the range, not the interviewer’s own pay. If the posting already prints the range, ask about the work instead. Do not ask the interviewer’s age, family, health, or religion. Those questions are not about the job.

Question check: the role, not the interviewer’s private life

1Maya wants the shape of the work week. She asks:

2Maya wants to know how the clinic will judge the first half year. She asks:

3Maya wants the schedule made clear to her. She asks:

4The line that asks about private family life, not the job, is:

Repair three patterns many Spanish and Portuguese speakers carry in

These are hypotheses to test, not a label for every speaker. Many Spanish speakers, and many Portuguese speakers, build these three lines from patterns that are normal at home. Check whether you do them too. The same idea is practiced on the Spanish and Portuguese language pages.

~~I have five years working here.~~ I’ve been working here for five years. Spanish tengo cinco años trabajando and Portuguese tenho cinco anos trabalhando put the time before an -ing verb. If the job continues, English uses have been working or the noun phrase five years of experience. If the job ended, use I worked there for five years.
~~I am agree.~~ I agree. Spanish estoy de acuerdo and Portuguese estou de acordo look like a form of be plus an adjective. In English, agree is a verb: I agree, I agree with you.
~~Can you explain me the schedule?~~ Could you explain the schedule to me? Spanish me explicas and Portuguese me explica put the person next to the verb. English explain needs the thing first and the person in a to phrase. In an interview, Could you is softer than Can you.

Repair 1: a job that continues

Maya still works here. Tap the auxiliary that needs been before the -ing verb.

Repair 2: agree is a verb

Tap the word that does not belong before the verb agree.

Repair 3: explain the thing to the person

Tap the word that puts the person in the wrong place.

Sound natural: stress the result and soften the question

Interview stresses the first syllable: IN-ter-view. Experience stresses the second: ex-PEER-i-ence. In a result, the number is usually the strongest beat: Missed CALLS fell from THIRty percent to EIGHT percent. Do not give every word the same force. The listener needs the result.

Say Could you as two clear words. A Wh-question about the role usually falls at the end: What would SUCCess look like? The fall sounds finished. A rise on that question can sound unsure. Pause between the four story parts so the listener can file them: situation, task, action, result.

Listen for stress, the verb, and the person

1. What does the duration line stress besides working?

2. What does the second line say about agree?

3. Where does the person belong in the request?

4. What should the listener remember from the last line?

Read the answer before you judge it

Fictional Northline Library posting

Events assistant · part-time · on-site, Saturday and Sunday

The library wants someone who can welcome visitors and keep a weekend workshop on schedule. Last year the workshop started late four times because reminder emails went out the morning of the event.

Jordan’s evidence card

Jordan still works as a front-desk assistant at a community center. He has been working there for four years. Last spring he wrote a reminder that went out three days early. Attendance rose from 40 people to 65. He used to arrive with no written plan. He now sends the host a checklist the day before.

Reading check: use only the card

1. Which line matches a job Jordan still has?

2. Which line is Jordan’s action?

3. Which result uses only the card?

4. Which question fits the end of this interview?

Build two interview lines

Build 1: a duration that continues

Maya still works at the clinic. Say the five years.

Build 2: a polite request

Ask the interviewer to make the schedule clear.

Notice and repair the interview line

Say the repair aloud after you find it. The wrong line is a pattern to recognize, not a line to memorize.

Contrast check: one repair for this context

1Maya still works at Harbor Clinic. The continuing duration is:

2The pharmacy job ended in 2024 after three years. The finished line is:

3Maya wants the schedule explained to her. The polite line is:

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

A six-week result

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Interview story68 wordsAbout 1 min

Last March, Harbor Clinic missed many morning calls. Maya built a shared callback list and trained two colleagues. Within six weeks, the number of missed calls fell from thirty percent to eight percent.

In the interview she described that result, then asked how the team measures success in the first six months. She did not ask about the interviewer’s family, and she did not invent a dollar figure.

Find it

Tap the 6 past simple verbs.

Check your understanding

1. What problem did the clinic have last March?

2. What did Maya do?

3. What did she ask at the end?

Crossword

Interview answer words

Tap a clue or a square, then type. Press Check when you finish.

Across

Down

Word search

Interview words

Find the word for each clue. Words run across, down, or diagonally. Tap the first letter, then the last.

a meeting where an employer asks about a job → ?
a skill plus proof → ?
a limit you are repairing → ?
what changed after your action → ?
make the schedule clear → ?
the verb in I ___ with you → ?

Sort it

Open, finished, or not English

Tap a word, then tap the box it belongs in. Press Check when the tray is empty.

Match up

Repair the interview line

Tap an item on the left, then its partner on the right.

Line to repair

Natural English

Practice without using a real job

You never need to reveal a real employer, salary, manager, age, family, health, immigration status, or other private detail. Use Maya, Jordan, Harbor Clinic, and Northline Library. A real example is optional.

Introduction: In 60 to 90 seconds, give Jordan’s present role at the community center, one relevant past, and a reason tied to the weekend workshop posting. Do not add age or family.

Strength and weakness: Give one strength that uses the 40-to-65 attendance result, then one weakness that names the missing checklist and the repair he already uses.

Past story: Tell Jordan’s reminder story as situation, task, action, and result. The action must be past simple and name what he did. Use only numbers from the card.

Question: Ask one polite question about the Saturday workshop. Do not ask the interviewer’s age or family.

Next use: Return tomorrow without this page. Rebuild one introduction, one result line, and one polite question from the Northline card before you reread the lesson.

Final production and check

Final production: run a four-minute fictional interview

Use the Northline card, not Harbor Clinic. One person is the interviewer. The other is Jordan. Give the introduction, one strength, one weakness, the reminder story, and one question. Then switch roles with a different detail from the same card so you cannot repeat the first answer unchanged.

Success check: Can the listener name the present role, hear a past action that Jordan did, recover only the 40 and 65 figures, and hear a question about the workshop rather than about private life?

Final check: choose the line that fits this interview

1. Jordan still has the front-desk job. Which duration is accurate?

2. Jordan shares the interviewer’s plan. Which line is English?

3. Which story line has Jordan’s action and the real result?

4. Which weakness matches the card?

5. Which question is polite and about the role?

Reflect: can you rebuild the answer without the page?

Explain the decision path

Complete these ideas aloud: A 90-second introduction needs... A strength becomes credible when... A weakness should include... The action in a past story uses... Explain takes the person...

Take one label, such as Jordan communicates well, and rebuild it as a situation, a task, an action, and a result from the Northline card.

Return tomorrow for the three-item retrieval check before rereading the lesson.

Thomas is writing a longer self-study guide, Your Interview in English, for Brazilian professionals. It is coming soon on the guides page.

Next-day retrieval

Return without rereading the page. Use the Northline card from memory: four years at the community center, still there; attendance from 40 to 65; one question about the workshop.

Three delayed checks

1. Which line says Jordan still has the job?

2. Which result is supported?

3. Which question can close the interview?