Word exercise for interview

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Table Of Contents

B. Job Interview Questions & Advice

1. to
   be de rigueur

2. to
   screen out the dead wood

3. to
   give smb baseline information

4. to
   ace one’s phone interview

5. to
   come across more upbeat and enthusiastic

6. to
   go off on a tangent

7. succinctness
   _n

8. to
   have throat lozenges handy

9. crib
   notes

10. to
    get the jitters

11. security
    blanket

12. voice
    timbre and inflection

13. a
    screening

14. follow-up
    questions

15. to
    feel formulaic

16. to
    pass smb on

17. in-person
    gig

18. embrace
    the opportunity

1. Answer
   the questions.

1. Why
   do companies conduct phone interviews?

2. How
   long is an average phone interview? Why?

3. In
   what way does a phone interview differ from a face-to-face one?

4. What
   kind of homework should be done before an interview?

5. What
   is a correct way to answer questions during an interview?

6. How
   can a person know, whether they have done well or not?

1. Replace
   the words and phrases in italics by those from the text.

1.
Phone interviews are necessary
in many organizations. 2. If you want to
do well in
your phone interview, you have to prepare thoroughly. 3. Remember,
the interviewer has only your words and the sound of your voice with
which to judge you. You will seem
more optimistic
and enthusiastic if you stand. 4. Use cheat
sheets
to have your answers written just in case of getting
afraid.
5. The timbre and intonation
of your voice is critical. 6. A phone interview is brief, sometimes
20 minutes or less. It is oftentimes a
sorting-out
rather than an interview. 7. When you get the chance for a phone
interview, grasp
the
opportunity.
It’s practice for the main event.

Section III

Vocabulary exercises

1. Read
   the text below and select the best option from the words in
   brackets.

Most
jobs are advertised as current ________
(position/application/vacancies). They appear in the local and
national ________ (press/bodies/resource), trade ________
(contacts/journals/resource), and specialist career publications. In
addition, many professional _________
(bodies/contacts/agencies) offer an appointments service which
can help job seekers find a suitable _________
(position/application/vacancies) in a particular ________
(industry/ladder/schemes). Recruitment _________
(bodies/contacts/agencies) hold details of a wide range of
vacancies, and possibly local training _________
(industry/ladder/schemes). The Internet is a valuable _________
(press/journal/resource) — not only for vacancies but to find
background information on companies. Approximately one third of jobs
are never advertised, but may be found by approaching a company
directly. This is called a speculative ________
(position/application/vacancy), and is common among students starting
at the bottom of the career ________ (industry/ladder/scheme).
Finally, don’t forget to use your personal ________
(bodies/contacts/agencies)!

1. Match
   the verbs (1-10) to the nouns (a-j) to make word partnerships.

1. This
   text describes a typical selection process, but in the wrong order.
   Rearrange the sentences so that the paragraph makes
   sense.

• and
  applicants are interviewed.

• These
  are sorted

• After
  that a final short list is drawn up.

• and
  finally an employment contract is signed.

• Next,
  appointments are arranged

• and
  one of them is selected.

• Firstly,
  a vacancy is advertised

• The
  candidates on the list are interviewed again,

• and
  applications are received.

• A
  job offer is made to the successful candidate,

• and
  suitable candidates are invited for interviews.

1. Complete
   the text with the words and phrases from the box.

These
days many applicants submit their (1) _________ speculatively to
companies they would like to work for. In other words, they do not
apply for an advertised job but hope the employer will be interested
enough to keep their CV on file and contact them when they have a
vacancy. When replying to an advertisement, candidates often fill in
a / an (2) __________ and write a / an (3) _________. The employer
will then invite the best candidates to attend a / an (4) ________.
Sometimes candidates will take a / an (5) __________
before
the interview to assess their mental ability and reasoning skills.
These days it is normal for successful candidates to have to work a /
an (6) _________ in a company. This is usually three or six months;
after that they are offered a permanent post.

1. Complete
   the sentences with a suitable item from the box.

1. The
   starting salary of the successful _________ will be decided on the
   basis of qualifications and experience.

2. Our
   company has ____________ for a graduate in economics.

3. The
   interview panel will draw up ___________ of only five candidates.

4. It
   is usual to ask your previous employer for ___________ when you
   apply for a job.

5. For
   high performers, a good _________ is not all that matters. They need
   a challenge as well.

6. They
   hired __________ to attract some executives from a rival company.

1. These
   words are often used in job advertisements. Match the
   words (1-7)
   with their definitions.

1. Complete
   the extracts from job advertisements using words from ex. VI.

1. You’ll
   need to be very _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, as you’ll be working on financial
   budgets.

2. As
   part of our sales team you’ll be working independently, so you
   have to be self-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and self-_ _ _ _ _ _.

3. We’re
   looking for someone who can work on ten projects at once. You must
   be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

4. We
   need _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ journalists who are very good at their job and
   extremely _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to find out as much as they can.

5. You’ll
   be researching developments on the Internet, so you have to be _ _ _
   _ _ _ _ _-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. You must be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to work on
   your own initiative, and be a _ _ _ _- _ _ _ _ _ _ _. But as part of
   a team of researchers, you need to be a good _ _ _ _- _ _ _ _ _ _
   too.

1. A
   Human
   Resources Manager has drawn up a shortlist of applicants he feels
   would be suitable for a vacancy in his company.
   Look
   at the descriptions of the candidates he plans to invite for
   interview and answer the questions.

1. Hamed
   has a can-do attitude and is able to meet deadlines

2. Tomoko
   is a self-starter who can work on her own initiative

3. Ivan
   is able to multi-task and has a proven track record

4. Li
   is an effective team player with a customer-focused approach

5. Cristina
   is numerate and computer literate

Which
candidate…

1. is
   good with figures?

2. co-operates
   with colleagues?

3. is
   good at working on his/her own?

4. can
   finish a job on time?

5. has
   a good rapport with clients?

6. has
   a history of success?

7. has
   a positive approach?

8. has
   IT skills?

9. can
   cope with several jobs at the same time?

1. Match
   the descriptions (1-10)
   to
   the adjectives (a-j)

A. Look
at these types of people. Which do you think are the most desirables
for companies to employ?

B.
Think and answer the questions:

1. Which
   three qualities listed above best describe you?

2. Which
   of the different types of people have you worked or studied with?

3. Which
   of the different types of people do you think are easy or difficult
   to work with?

1. Read
   the text below and select the best option from the words in
   brackets.

If
you have _______ (gained/reached/arrived/achieved) the
interview stage, your CV and letter of application must have
been ________ (effective/important/impressive/significant)!
The company now wants to know more about you. But there is still more
work to do if you want to get that job! Make sure you have __________
(researched/discovered/inquired/examined) the
company as thoroughly as possible — use the Internet, company
reports, recruitment literature etc.  _________
(remember/remind/imagine/summarise) yourself
of why you applied to this company. Make a list of the skills,
experience, and interests you
can   __________ (show/present/offer/demonstrate) the
organisation. Finally, try to ________
(ask/suggest/give/predict) the
questions you will be expected to answer — imagine you are the
interviewer!

1. Here
   are some examples of quite common interview questions (1-6). Match
   them with suitable responses (a-f).

1. During
   the interview, always be positive about your previous experiences.
   Never offer negative information! Instead, sell yourself using
   active, positive words. In the exercise below, match words from the
   left to the right to make ‘power phrases’.

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4.1

1
do … homework

2
trial run

3
first impression

4
body language; boost

5
firm handshake; eye contact

6
criteria

4.2

1
speak up
2 recruiting
3 fill
4 on
5 under pressure
6 professional development

4.3

1
talk us through

2
offer the position; an ideal fit

3
(paid) leave

4
panel

5
shortlisted

4.4

1
overviewing outlining

2
leaving notice

3
superior supervisor

4
in-office in-house

5
begin start

6
trainer trainee

Hello everyone!

Here are some exercises on the vocabulary of the CV and job interview. Yeah I know again…

To be used at your convenience. Oh and the keys are provided as well.

Hope it can help some!

Have a nice one,

Take care,

Key.

Writing practice