Job Interviews in English: 3 Important Phrases to Impress Your Interviewer

Job interviews are intimidating enough when given in your native language, but they can be absolutely terrifying when taken in a second language.

Nevertheless an interview will make or break the chances of scoring your dream job.

Being an excellent interviewee is just as important for native speakers as it is for those studying English as a Second Language.

Good preparation will make the difference between success and failure. Let’s talk about leaders.

In your interview responses, leaders  refer to the strategic elements or key points you highlight at the start of your answer to set the tone and direction. Leaders are designed to capture the interviewer’s attention, immediately emphasize the most important message, and set the foundation for the rest of your answer.

Study and review these 3 excellent leaders to the most common interview questions.

In my experience…

Successfully speaking about your past experience is a bread and butter interview skill.  You want to be clear, concise, and to the point, but you also want to highlight relevant and outstanding experiences that make your story memorable for the interviewer.

A little bit about myself…

I have background in…

These are a few other ways to say, “In my experience…”

When preparing and organizing your response, the STAR Method is a tried and true way to structure answers to experience-based questions.

Situation: Describe the context briefly.

Task: Explain what you needed to achieve.

Action: Describe the steps you took.

Result: Share the positive outcome and impact.

Following this method will ensure that your responses remain clear and concise, while also helping you to focus on what to say and calmly deliver an excellent interview response.

My strengths include…

Knowing yourself and the value you bring to an organization is equally as important as the experience you bring.

The best interviewees can express their experience in a way that leverages their strengths and shows future managers how well they fit in the company culture. 

Hiring managers aren’t only interested in what you can do, but how you can do it for them.  

Another key skill for a successful interviewee is knowing how to align your strengths with the role.  To do this, you need to carefully review the job description.

Then, make a list of your strengths.  Once you have this list, you can begin matching it to the job description.

Select a few key strengths, usually two to three, and then go deeper into explaining each one.

Use concrete, real-world, examples to back them up (the STAR Method can be very useful when doing this too).

Finally, explain how each strength will benefit the company.

Link your strengths with the company’s needs to show how you’ve thought about how you can contribute to their team or projects.

Now, that interviewer knows how amazing you are, don’t forget to remain humble.  Strong language shows confidence, but humility shows your human intuition and the soft skills that you will need to build relationships and work with your new team.  Be strong, but humble!

One of my greatest weaknesses is…

During an interview, our main focus is to present our best selves and our greatest accomplishments. 

However, knowing your weaknesses and being able to present them as strengths is another very important interview skill.

It may feel daunting to talk about weaknesses, but when approached thoughtfully it is a great opportunity to show self-awareness, growth, and a willingness to improve.

Employers value candidates who understand themselves and can reflect on areas for improvement.  This shows a growth mindset.

A growth mindset is the belief that skills, intelligence, and abilities can be developed through effort, learning, and persistence.

Coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, a growth mindset contrasts with a fixed mindset, which is the belief that abilities and intelligence are innate and unchangeable.

People with a growth mindset see challenges as opportunities to learn rather than obstacles to avoid. They view difficult tasks as a way to stretch their abilities.

When answering questions about your weaknesses, pick a real, work-related weakness, but one that won’t prevent you from succeeding in the role.

Avoid weaknesses that are core to the job requirements (e.g., saying you struggle with deadlines for a project management position).

Instead, choose something manageable, like difficulty delegating tasks or overthinking details.

Then, you an describe steps you are taking to improve.

If practiced and planned correctly, this part of the interview will show that you are a dynamic employee who is ready to face the challenges of a new job. 

You will show maturity, adaptability, and responsibility as you turn your weaknesses into strengths. 

This article was written by Jacob Matlock, MS. Jacob has been teaching English since 2010, and online since 2016. He has taught 30,000+ lessons to 7,500 students all over the world and holds a Master of Science degree in Global and International Education.