Introduction
There might be lots of people being interviewed for a job who have similar qualifications and experience to you. It’s important to stand out. In this episode, Pippa and Phil talk about how to show you’re excited about company or job.
Transcript
Note: This is a transcript of a spoken conversation and is not a word-for-word script.
Phil
From BBC Learning English, this is Learning English for Work, our podcast that helps you improve your English in the workplace. I’m Phil.
Pippa
And I’m Pippa. In this series, we’re talking about job applications and each step in the journey of getting a job in English.
Phil
We talked in the last episode about the all-important job interview and talking about yourself in an interview. So if you missed that make sure you listen.
Pippa
Today we’re talking more about interviews and how to show not just that you can do the job, but that you’re excited about working for the company.
Phil
To get a full transcript for this episode to read along, visit our website: bbclearningenglish.com.
So, Pippa, this episode is about job interviews and other ways you can make a good impression, right?
Pippa
Yeah, it can be really competitive when you’re trying to get a new job and there might be lots of people who are interviewing for the job who have very similar experience and qualifications to you.
Phil
Yeah and so while knowing how to sell yourself, that’s talk about your strengths, is really important, there are other parts to an interview that can help make you stand out and look better than the other candidates.
Pippa
And a really important aspect of this is showing that you’re interested in the job and excited about the company.
Amy Evans
Make sure you research the company that you’re applying for and their values, the work that they do, any sort of specifics to that company.
Phil
This is Amy Evans. Amy works in recruitment at the BBC World Service and she’s sharing her experience with us as part of this series. And her advice to research the company might be obvious, but it can be forgotten.
Pippa
Yeah, we can be really nervous about an interview and having to explain our own experience. But interviewers will usually want to see that you understand what the company does and are interested in it. They might even ask you why you’re interested in working for the company.
Amy Evans
It’s really good to be prepared to talk on why you’ve applied for the job, what’s your knowledge of the company because most places are going to ask you that.
Phil
You obviously don’t need to know everything. But if there’s a new product or initiative the company are introducing that would be a useful thing to talk about.
Pippa
Or Amy mentioned values. This is usually a list of guidelines for how a company works and can often be found easily online. And they might be useful things to know and reference in your answers.
Phil
Of course, you might not be asked about this stuff. But you can still mention it.
Amy Evans
You can mention things in your answers. So you can say ‘from my research I know this about the company and therefore I think I would be a good fit’ or things like that.
Pippa
Usually, at the end of interviews, or certainly in the UK, you’ll be asked if you have any questions for the panel. And I sometimes panic about this because I don’t know what to ask.
Phil
Yeah and you do see some business coaches advising people to prepare a really intelligent question for this part. But Amy says people shouldn’t be too stressed about this.
Amy Evans
My advice is always don’t feel as though you have to ask a question. You’re not being marked at all on what questions you ask once the interview has finished. If you have a genuine interest in something, then feel free to ask it. Equally, you know, if you’ve done your research on the company, you know, and there’s something that quite interests you, you could ask about it.
Phil
So, Amy says the questions part at the end of the interview is a good time to use your research, if you haven’t already.
Pippa
Yes. Or you can ask more about something your interviewer mentioned in the interview. Maybe a new project that will be part of your role. You just want to show that you’re enthusiastic about the job and you’ll be a nice person to work with.
Phil
Now, some interviews will be very formal, but others will be much more conversational, so it can be difficult to know what kind of language to use when you’re talking to interviewers, particularly at the end of the interview when the main questions are over.
Amy Evans
Try and, yeah, read how the panellists are speaking to you. If they are being quite formal, then obviously you can keep your answers quite formal, but if they are being a bit more sort of personable and conversational than you can react to that and base your answers around it. I think it’s just about making sure, yeah, you’re sort of reading them on a human level and trying to connect to them whilst also getting across the important information you want them to know out of the interview.
Pippa
Picking up on how formal or informal a conversation is can be really difficult. So, if in doubt, I’d say always stay formal and always make sure you’re using polite, friendly language.
Phil
Now, as a top tip to remember, make sure you research the basics about the company and the team you’ll be working with. You want to have things to say if they ask and if they don’t ask, you can show you’re excited by the role by mentioning them at the end of the interview.
Pippa
Yeah, again, it’s all about your research and preparation for the interview. And if you missed our episode about preparing for your interview you can listen back now on your podcast app or on our website: bbclearningenglish.com.
Phil
That’s it for the this episode of Learning English for Work. Next time, we’ll be talking about how to communicate with the company after your job interview and hopefully accept your offer.
Pippa
Bye for now.
Phil
Bye.