# Ep. 5 - Job interview vocabulary

An episode of [Breakout Business English - Improve your vocabulary and confidence using English at work.](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1616739393), 4 Nov 2022, 25 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2022761/episodes/11629683-ep-5-job-interview-vocabulary.mp3

Send us Fan Mail Today we're talking about job interviews. We’re going to look at some vocabulary that you can use to improve how you perform in your next job interview. Or, if you’re writing a CV, cover letter, or a resume, these are words and phrases that you should think about including. Whether you're a student, a graduate, or someone with a lot of experience, job interviews can be scary. Especially if you're not a native English speaker. Hopefully today we can make them a little easier for you! I work with people from all over the world to improve how handle job interviews and hopefully you will find some of that in today's podcast. If you want to work with me as your personal English coach to improve your English then feel free to contact me at www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com/contact Support the show Book a coaching session with me at: https://www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Breakout Business English Podcast, helping you to communicate better at work.
[0:09] SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone, my name is Chris, and I'm an online business English coach and tutor.
[0:16] SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for stopping by.
[0:20] SPEAKER_00: And today's topic is job interviews.
[0:24] SPEAKER_00: Specifically, we're going to take a look at some of the vocabulary that you can use to help improve how you perform in your next job interview.
[0:36] SPEAKER_00: Or if you're writing a CV or resume, maybe these are words that you could think about including.
[0:46] SPEAKER_00: A few days ago, I was discussing an article with a software developer I work with who is currently looking for a new job.
[0:56] SPEAKER_00: The article referred to a survey of recruiters that was done in the US a few years ago.
[1:04] SPEAKER_00: They were looking for both the most and least popular words that recruiters like to hear in job interviews.
[1:13] SPEAKER_00: So I thought I would make a great vocabulary list to use for today's podcast.
[1:20] SPEAKER_00: So today, let's take a look at some words that you can use in job interviews or when writing your CV or resume.
[1:30] SPEAKER_00: And maybe at the end we'll take a look at something that you should avoid using.
[1:38] SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's get started.
[1:42] SPEAKER_00: Our first word today is communication.
[1:46] SPEAKER_00: Communication is a word that I know a lot of you will already know.
[1:52] SPEAKER_00: However, we're going to underline the importance of it today.
[1:57] SPEAKER_00: In case you don't know, communication means to speak or write to other people, to convey ideas and to allow information to flow between people.
[2:11] SPEAKER_00: Being a good communicator has always been important.
[2:16] SPEAKER_00: However, now that more of us than ever before are working remotely, it's more essential than ever.
[2:25] SPEAKER_00: Recruiters want to know that you are good at communicating.
[2:30] SPEAKER_00: They want to know that you make it a priority to communicate with your colleagues and teammates and that you value the communication that is offered to you.
[2:43] SPEAKER_00: Let's take a look at a couple of sentences that you could use in a job interview.
[2:50] SPEAKER_00: I know the importance of communication and building great high quality relationships with my colleagues.
[3:00] SPEAKER_00: One more time.
[3:01] SPEAKER_00: I know the importance of communication and building great high quality relationships with my colleagues.
[3:10] SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you could say, I consider myself to be a great communicator, not only in communicating my ideas to others, but also in facilitating communication between colleagues.
[3:26] SPEAKER_00: One more time.
[3:28] SPEAKER_00: I consider myself to be a great communicator, not only in communicating my ideas to others, but also in facilitating communication between colleagues.
[3:41] SPEAKER_00: And one more.
[3:44] SPEAKER_00: I make communicating a priority, and know that conflicts at work are often simply the result of a failure to communicate properly.
[3:56] SPEAKER_00: I make communicating a priority and know that conflicts at work are often simply the result of a failure to communicate properly.
[4:08] SPEAKER_00: Our second word today, maybe you noticed it a moment ago, is to build.
[4:16] SPEAKER_00: Building as a verb is a fantastic word to use in job interviews, CVs, resumes, or cover letters.
[4:26] SPEAKER_00: If you're talking about teams, relationships, departments, professional networks, etc., then of course you can use words like make, produce, or maybe put together.
[4:40] SPEAKER_00: However, I really like build for a couple of reasons.
[4:46] SPEAKER_00: When we think of buildings, we think of strong, tough structures that stand for many years.
[4:54] SPEAKER_00: We can make a sandwich, but if we build a house, it will be there for a long time.
[5:02] SPEAKER_00: We associate the word build with this idea of a structure that will last a long time.
[5:09] SPEAKER_00: Furthermore, buildings take time and effort.
[5:14] SPEAKER_00: If you talk about building something, then you're saying that you know it's going to take time.
[5:20] SPEAKER_00: You know it's going to take effort, but that's something you're willing to do.
[5:26] SPEAKER_00: And when you're done, the result, the product, will be strong, stable, and last a long time.
[5:35] SPEAKER_00: This word is really important.
[5:37] SPEAKER_00: So let's see it in a sentence.
[5:40] SPEAKER_00: I really enjoy building teams, helping people to connect with their colleagues and work together in a way that they may not have done before.
[5:52] SPEAKER_00: I really enjoy building teams, helping people to connect with their colleagues and work together in a way that they may not have done before.
[6:04] SPEAKER_00: Or you could say, I build great professional relationships with customers and clients that lead to significant benefits on both sides.
[6:16] SPEAKER_00: I build great professional relationships with customers and clients that lead to benefits on both sides.
[6:25] SPEAKER_00: In my last job, I built a team that achieved every KPI it was targeted for over the entire year.
[6:34] SPEAKER_00: In my last job, I built a team that achieved every KPI it was targeted for over the entire year.
[6:45] SPEAKER_00: Let's take a look now at the word created or to create.
[8:12] SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's take a look now at a great adjective.
[8:17] SPEAKER_00: This word is instrumental.
[8:20] SPEAKER_00: Instrumental.
[8:22] SPEAKER_00: This word means to be a part of something, to make something happen with other people, usually.
[8:31] SPEAKER_00: To have helped someone else to achieve something.
[8:35] SPEAKER_00: If you play a big part or a big role in making something happen, then you can say that you were instrumental in it.
[8:46] SPEAKER_00: For instance, the Ford Motor Company was instrumental in making cars as popular as they are today.
[8:55] SPEAKER_00: Or maybe successful athletes can be instrumental in promoting sport in their home countries.
[9:05] SPEAKER_00: We use instrumental when we want to talk about achievements which are not ours, but we were a big part of.
[9:14] SPEAKER_00: If you helped with something, were part of the planning, or were on a team which made something happen, then you can say that you were instrumental in it.
[9:27] SPEAKER_00: Here are a couple of great native sounding examples of how you might use this.
[9:36] SPEAKER_00: The company opened a new store last year, and I played an instrumental part in making that happen.
[9:45] SPEAKER_00: The company opened a new store last year, and I played an instrumental part in making that happen.
[9:55] SPEAKER_00: Or my presentation was instrumental in convincing the management team to invest in the European market.
[10:05] SPEAKER_00: My presentation was instrumental in convincing the management team to invest in the European market.
[10:14] SPEAKER_00: Remember, one rule with job interviews is that we need to show, not just tell.
[10:22] SPEAKER_00: It's great to tell your interviewer that you are great at sales, but why not tell a story about the time you were instrumental in helping your team to hit its sales target for the year?
[10:38] SPEAKER_00: Or that you played an instrumental role in securing a high-profile customer for your company.
[10:46] SPEAKER_00: Remember, examples are really important in job interviews.
[10:53] SPEAKER_00: Our next word is another verb, and that is to grow.
[10:58] SPEAKER_00: There are many things that you can talk about growing in a job interview.
[11:06] SPEAKER_00: Even more when you remember that the noun growth is just as, if not even more, powerful.
[11:14] SPEAKER_00: Talking about growth in your team or your company shows that things are improving.
[11:21] SPEAKER_00: If you grew the sales figures year over year, or you grew the amount of new leads coming into the office, then you were improving things.
[11:35] SPEAKER_00: Growing the confidence that your clients have in you, or growing the amount of revenue generated by your team.
[11:45] SPEAKER_00: If you have caused something positive at your workplace to grow, then this is a fantastic thing to mention in a job interview.
[11:56] SPEAKER_00: The other way that we can use this word is to talk about professional growth.
[12:03] SPEAKER_00: Recruiters love to hear people talking about their professional growth.
[12:08] SPEAKER_00: After all, if they can hire someone who is interested in growing professionally, then they will have an even better employee next year than they do now.
[12:22] SPEAKER_00: Explaining to your interviewer that professional, personal, or career growth is important to you shows that you like to learn, you want to improve, and you strive to become a better professional.
[12:39] SPEAKER_00: Here are a couple of ways that you could use this in an interview.
[12:46] SPEAKER_00: Professional growth is important to me.
[12:49] SPEAKER_00: I often study in my free time and I'm currently pursuing a professional certification.
[12:57] SPEAKER_00: One more time.
[12:58] SPEAKER_00: Professional growth is important to me.
[13:02] SPEAKER_00: I often study in my free time and I'm currently pursuing a professional certification.
[13:09] SPEAKER_00: Or my biggest achievement to date has been growing my team's lead conversion rate by 20% compared to the last financial year.
[13:21] SPEAKER_00: My biggest achievement to date has been growing my team's lead conversion rate by 20% compared to the last financial year.
[13:33] SPEAKER_00: Our next word is a really useful adjective.
[13:38] SPEAKER_00: And that word is effective.
[13:42] SPEAKER_00: If something is effective, then it gets results, it completes its task and it produces the output that you want.
[13:52] SPEAKER_00: You can use this as an adjective or as an adverb effectively.
[13:58] SPEAKER_00: Something could be done effectively.
[14:02] SPEAKER_00: We can use this to talk about teams that you've been a part of, professional relationships that you've built, changes that you've made to processes, or ideas that you've had and implemented.
[14:17] SPEAKER_00: If something has a positive effect, then we can call it effective.
[14:23] SPEAKER_00: And interviewers like to know that their staff are effective.
[14:28] SPEAKER_00: Here are some examples.
[14:31] SPEAKER_00: I build high quality, effective professional relationships across departments.
[14:39] SPEAKER_00: I build high quality, effective professional relationships across departments.
[14:47] SPEAKER_00: Or I found a more effective way for us to process sales, which saved the company a lot of time.
[14:57] SPEAKER_00: I found a more effective way for us to process sales, which saved the company a lot of time.
[15:06] SPEAKER_00: Or indeed, I found a way to process sales more effectively, which saved the company a lot of time.
[15:15] SPEAKER_00: Let's move on to a phrasal verb, and this one is to dive into, to dive into.
[17:18] SPEAKER_00: As always, with idioms, remember if you're using them with native speakers, then they will help you to sound more natural and to express yourself better.
[17:29] SPEAKER_00: However, if you try using them with non-native speakers, then there's always a chance that you will not be understood.
[17:40] SPEAKER_00: Idioms are usually the last part of the English language that people learn.
[17:46] SPEAKER_00: So non-native English speakers may not understand them.
[17:52] SPEAKER_00: So the idiom we're looking at today is to get your hands dirty.
[17:59] SPEAKER_00: One more time.
[18:00] SPEAKER_00: This is to get your hands dirty.
[18:04] SPEAKER_00: If you get your hands dirty, then you work directly with something.
[18:10] SPEAKER_00: This usually includes every part of a job.
[18:14] SPEAKER_00: This could be really useful if you are a manager.
[18:19] SPEAKER_00: You don't just want to manage salespeople, but when they have difficult customers, then you want to get involved in closing those sales.
[18:30] SPEAKER_00: You want to spend time stacking the shelves yourself and maybe even making some changes on the shop floor.
[18:39] SPEAKER_00: You might just be really excited to start a new job and want to get your hands dirty as soon as possible.
[18:47] SPEAKER_00: This is the idea that if your hands are clean, then you haven't actually been interacting with anything.
[18:55] SPEAKER_00: So pick things up, get involved, interact with your customers and colleagues, and get your hands dirty.
[19:04] SPEAKER_00: You could use it like this.
[19:07] SPEAKER_00: I know that the best way to earn my team's trust is to get my hands dirty.
[19:13] SPEAKER_00: So that's what I plan to do.
[19:16] SPEAKER_00: I know that the best way to earn my team's trust is to get my hands dirty.
[19:22] SPEAKER_00: So that's what I plan to do.
[19:25] SPEAKER_00: Or I really got my hands dirty last week and learned a lot about how the company operates.
[19:32] SPEAKER_00: I really got my hands dirty last week and learned a lot about how the company operates.
[19:41] SPEAKER_00: Okay, so far we've been talking about words that you should use.
[19:47] SPEAKER_00: Every word we've discussed today can be used to show a recruiter or an interviewer how valuable you can be to their business.
[19:58] SPEAKER_00: However, there are definitely words that you should not use.
[20:03] SPEAKER_00: Now, when thinking about words that you should not use in a job interview, there is a theme.
[20:11] SPEAKER_00: And this theme is that you should never reduce your experience or make it sound unimportant.
[20:20] SPEAKER_00: Your interviewer is looking for reasons to hire you.
[20:25] SPEAKER_00: They need to find someone to do a job.
[20:28] SPEAKER_00: Your main task is to tell them why they should hire you.
[20:34] SPEAKER_00: Your task is not to give them reasons to reject you.
[20:40] SPEAKER_00: With that in mind, one word that you should not use in a job interview is only.
[20:48] SPEAKER_00: If you're using the word only to describe your achievements, then you're saying that they are not very good or not very important.
[21:00] SPEAKER_00: You might feel like you need to apologize for your lack of experience or qualifications.
[21:07] SPEAKER_00: However, if you are in a job interview, then you are at least being considered for a job.
[21:14] SPEAKER_00: Everything you say in a job interview should be explaining either how great you are or how you would be great at the job you are interviewing for.
[21:27] SPEAKER_00: Let's take a look at what I mean.
[21:31] SPEAKER_00: Instead of saying I only have two years experience in this industry, why not say I have two years experience in this industry?
[21:44] SPEAKER_00: Instead of I've only completed three projects, try saying I've completed three high quality projects that I'm really proud of.
[21:56] SPEAKER_00: Finally, instead of I only have a high school level education, think about replacing this with something like I have three years more work experience than my peers.
[22:13] SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's finish off with a little bit of a vocabulary quiz.
[22:20] SPEAKER_00: Which word can we use to show that we make things that take time and effort, but when they are finished, they are strong and high quality?
[22:32] SPEAKER_00: I'll give you a second.
[22:35] SPEAKER_00: This word is build, to build.
[22:40] SPEAKER_00: For instance, I built a really great client list at my previous company, and I'm excited to do the same here.
[22:50] SPEAKER_00: Question two.
[22:52] SPEAKER_00: Which word beginning with the letter C can we use to show that talking to people and regularly keeping colleagues informed is important to us?
[23:05] SPEAKER_00: Take a moment to think about it.
[23:08] SPEAKER_00: That word is communication.
[23:11] SPEAKER_00: Communication.
[23:14] SPEAKER_00: For instance, communication is a core part of any team, and I plan to make it a focus of my work here.
[23:25] SPEAKER_00: Communication is a core part of any team, and I plan to make it a focus of my work here.
[23:34] SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's move on to question three.
[23:37] SPEAKER_00: Which word beginning with the letter C can we use to talk about making things, be that teams, customer lists, or new ways of working?
[23:53] SPEAKER_00: You've got a couple of seconds more.
[23:56] SPEAKER_00: That word beginning with C is create.
[24:01] SPEAKER_00: Create.
[24:03] SPEAKER_00: For instance, I've helped to create a culture of professionalism in my current team.
[24:13] SPEAKER_00: I've helped to create a culture of professionalism in my current team.
[24:20] SPEAKER_00: Okay.
[24:21] SPEAKER_00: I work with a lot of people every day to prepare them for job interviews.
[24:27] SPEAKER_00: Working on job interview theory, creating and crafting great answers to job interview questions, and making sure that they present themselves, their experience, their stories, and their ideas in the best way possible.
[24:46] SPEAKER_00: I hope you find some of the vocabulary that we discussed today valuable.
[24:52] SPEAKER_00: If you're on Apple Podcasts, then please feel free to leave a review.
[24:56] SPEAKER_00: It really helps me out.
[24:58] SPEAKER_00: And that's it for today.
[25:01] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I will speak to you again in the next episode of the Breakout Business English Podcast.
[25:11] SPEAKER_00: Thanks a lot, everyone.
[25:12] SPEAKER_00: Talk to you soon.

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