Episode 03

Marcia calls the candidates to give them details of the interview.

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. You can also read the transcript.

Preparation

Transcript

Marcia: Hi, I'm Marcia Boardman. I'm calling from WebWare.

Daniel: Oh, hi, Marcia. Great to hear from you.

Marcia: You'll have already been told you've been shortlisted for interview ...

Sarah: Oh, yes, great ... hello? Can you hear me?

Marcia: Yes ... Is it OK if I call you now? Would you like me to call you back later?

Sarah: Erm, no, no, no, that's OK.

Marcia: Good. Well, we're very excited about meeting you. OK, I just want to talk you through the procedure for the day. Someone will meet you when you arrive, reimburse you for any travel expenses you may have, and then bring you up to meet myself and Philip Hart, the CEO.

Daniel: OK, sounds good. So, will you be the only members of the interview panel there, then?

Marcia: Yes, it'll be just me and Philip who will talk to you. The interview will be in three parts. First of all we'll ask you some general questions about yourself and your educational and professional background, then we'll move on to specifics.

Sarah: Oh, er, specifics? Erm, well, er, what kind of questions will you be asking?

Marcia: Well, it'll be very similar to the personal statement you submitted with your CV. We'll be expecting you to give actual examples of problems you've faced and solved, and of what you feel are your major successes in your career so far.

Daniel: OK, well, yeah, that sounds great. Can't wait!

Marcia: Then there'll be a chance for you to ask us any questions about the job itself or WebWare in general.

Sarah: Oh, erm, OK. I'll think of something!

Marcia: After that, we'd like you to give a short presentation on how you see WebWare as a company progressing, and how you see yourself taking us there.

Daniel: OK, so will I be expected to give, like, a formal-style presentation?

Marcia: It can be as formal or as informal as you like. There'll be a flip chart and a data projector there available. If you need anything else, just let us know.

Sarah: Oh, erm, OK, a presentation! Erm, I'll think of something. I haven't done one of those in a while ...

Marcia: Is that all clear? Great. So, Daniel, I'll see you at 11 a.m., a week tomorrow.

Daniel: OK, great, yeah, I look forward to meeting you! Thanks, bye.

Marcia: OK, so, Sarah, we'll be seeing you at 1 p.m., a week tomorrow. Best of luck!

Sarah: Oh, thanks. I'll need it!

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

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Hello Lusine,

'Taking us there' refers back to the idea of the company 'progressing'. If you visualise progress as a journey from the current position to a better place, then 'taking us there' is easy to understand, I think.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by nuam7273 on Sun, 13/01/2019 - 17:51

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what do you mean by moderation

Hello nuam7273,

That would depend on the context. If you are asking about the moderation we do on this site, it refers to the fact that all comments are read before they are published so that we can ensure that they are relevant, not spam and are in line with our House Rules.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

sorry if I say that the accent is not clear for me because I am foreigner that's why its difficult for me to understand from the beginning not all the videos are not clear just one was not clear for me the rest are good sorry for bothering you I apologize.

Submitted by nuam7273 on Sun, 13/01/2019 - 17:47

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the accent is not very clear so after I read the transcription I understand more I think they (HR and CEO) didn't like the answers of the candidate (Dane). He was not convincing
Profile picture for user Yousef Quftan Sharawneh

Submitted by Yousef Quftan … on Mon, 10/12/2018 - 16:09

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Exactly, it's complicated to me, it goes on quickly and I didn't pick up most of the collocations so I missed the whole and I couldn't repeat it or benefit it

Submitted by Luis Tomas on Mon, 03/12/2018 - 23:57

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Thank you. Very useful!

Submitted by Jules_RZ on Wed, 21/11/2018 - 19:47

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Hello! I have a question on this episode. Is it a typical thing in the UK or the USA that HRs outline the procedure of an interview? I mean, do they say the questions that candidates will be asked?

Hi Jules_RZ,

As far as I know, it is not common practice for HR departments to give candidates the questions they will be asked in an interview. In any case, the kinds of things that Marcia mentions, except perhaps for the presentation, are very common in such interviews, so I think most people who prepare well will have at least thought about how to answer them.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team