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Job Interview English: Questions & Answers
Ready-to-use English phrases for a job interview: how to introduce yourself, talk about strengths and weaknesses, ask questions, and close well.
Most interviews follow the same arc: a greeting, "tell me about yourself," a few questions about your strengths and weaknesses, why you want the role, your own questions, and a close. You can't predict every question, but you can walk in with a phrase ready for each stage — so your English is one less thing to worry about.
Greeting & first impression
Warm, simple, and confident is enough. Save the detail for later.
"Tell me about yourself"
Give a short summary — who you are now, a bit of background, and why you're here. Two or three sentences is plenty.
Note the collocation: have experience in a field, and three years of experience — not "experience of three years."
Strengths & weaknesses
For strengths, name one and back it with a quick example. For weaknesses, be honest but constructive — pick something real and say how you're working on it.
Why this job?
Connect what you want to what the company does. Show you've thought about this role, not just any job.
Your questions & the close
When they ask "Do you have any questions?", say yes — it shows interest. Then close warmly.
Common mistakes
"experience of five years". The natural order is a number + years of experience.
✓I have five years of experience in sales.
"I'm interesting in this job". You are interested; the job is interesting.
✓I'm very interested in this position.
A weakness with no fix. Naming a flaw and stopping there sounds negative — show what you're doing about it.
✓Something I'm working on is staying organized — I've started using a task planner.
Quick exercise
Complete each interview line with one word.
- Thank you for ___ me.
- I have three years ___ experience in marketing.
- I'm really ___ in this role. (interested / interesting)
- One of my ___ is problem-solving.
- I look forward ___ hearing from you.
Answer key
- having ("Thank you for having me" — a fixed phrase)
- of (three years of experience)
- interested (you feel it; the role is interesting)
- strengths (one of my strengths is…)
- to (look forward to + -ing)
Practice this in Recursio
An interview follows a predictable arc — greeting, "tell me about yourself", strengths and weaknesses, your questions, and the close. Save the phrases that fit your story to your word list in Recursio, and spaced review can bring them back so they come out smoothly on the day.
Build your word list in Recursio → · Free to start, on iOS and Android.