Interviews

High-intermediate

What are the three best ways to find a job in your city?

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

(be) a good/great fit (expression): be a perfect match, have the experience to do something well
– Mark is a great fit for this class. Everyone enjoys his comments, and he works very well with the other students.

loathe (verb): hate
– My brother really loathes his job. He says it is so boring, and the boss criticizes his work all of the time.

mention (verb): talk about something
– You should mention your job experience overseas when you interview for that teaching job.

feel stressed out (expression): experience a high level of anxiety, worry, and/or stress.
– Ashley has felt stressed out in her job for the past three weeks because the company isn’t doing well. 

insist (on) (verb): demand that something is true or something should be done
– If you don’t insist on better working conditions, nothing will change in your job.

do something on the spot (expression): do something immediately
– Emily’s job interview went so well yesterday that the company hired her on the spot. Actually, she starts work tomorrow.

a red flag (expression): a warning sign of a dangerous or questionable situation
– Watch out for any red flags in interviews with potential employers. If they say one thing about the company in an interview, and you read something different on their website, this might be a sign of concern.

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.

Randall: In this video, Aubrey and I are going to be talking about one of our favorite activities: [Oh, yeah.] job hunting. Oh, that’s really exciting. And when you think about job hunting, the past versus now, what are some ways in which people can find jobs most successfully? Aubrey.

Aubrey: Yeah. So I guess in the past, you know, you would need to go into a place, get an application, or take your resume in with you. Um, now, most places like you can’t even apply in person. You have to apply online . . . which just makes it easier.

Randall: I mean, even if you walk into the store, they might say, “Oh, go to our website, fill out the application.”

Aubrey: Exactly. Yeah, that’s how most places are right now. And then they make you fill out like a personality quiz to see if you’re going to be a good fit. I loathe job hunting to the point where I’ve been in jobs that I hated for way too long because I didn’t want to look for a new job.

Randall: No, I think there’s a certain level of stress that results when you’re out there looking for a job.

Aubrey: Yeah. And I’ve mentioned on another video, um, my very first job that I ever had, I was really stressed out about job hunting. You were insisting that I get a job and be productive, so I went into a place, they hired me on the spot and I was like, Great, don’t have to worry about this anymore. Which, you know, it was a mistake. I shouldn’t have taken that job. It ended up being a good fit, but you know, that’s a red flag when they hire you on the spot, right?

Randall: And there are other ways of finding a job. For example, if you have friends that work at a particular company, maybe you can get a reference and so forth, but it seems like everything goes through the Internet these days. There’s something that you have to do online to apply to secure a job in that way as well.

Aubrey: Exactly.

Think about these questions and discuss them with a partner if possible:

1. How has job hunting changed over time in your country?
2. What role does a person’s online presence on social media affect their ability to get a job?
3. If you have ever had a job, how did you find it? In what ways did you like or dislike the job?

The following activities deal with related topics to give you additional language practice.

• First-Job Experiences – Interview
• Job Hunting – Conversation
• Job Hunting – Vocabulary
• Part-Time Job