You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for today's lesson on collocations.
You can use to make a good impression in a job interview.
A job interview is both an opportunity and a challenge, and facing the interview with confidence requires certain skills and language.
In today's lesson, we'll hear two interviewees demonstrate some of these skills and language.
They'll use chunks of natural language that we call collocations to talk about their abilities.
But what exactly is a collocation?
Well, it's a combination of words that often go together.
Rather than always learning individual words, you can learn these natural chunks of language.
Think about the noun career.
Do you say follow a career at something?
No, we say pursue a career in something.
That's a collocation, and you should learn those words together as a natural combination.
As you listen to the two different interviews in this lesson, try to pick out some of these collocations and we'll discuss them later in the debrief.
In the first interview we'll hear Dale interviewing Carla for an accounting job at an insurance company.
Dale is asking Carla about her weaknesses and her career plans.
Two common tough interview questions.
In the second interview, we'll hear Sophia interviewing Joseph for a management job.
She asks Joseph to talk about his interpersonal and leadership skills and his attitude to personal development.
As you listen to the dialogues, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What is Carla's ultimate goal in the insurance industry?
Two, what does Joseph say about his relationship with direct reports?
Three, what two qualities does Joseph say help him in leadership roles?
All right.
So Carla, we've discussed some of your accomplishments and such, but could you tell me what you feel is your greatest weakness?
Okay.
Well, I would have to say that I've needed to work on my meeting skills.
As in, my group meeting skills.
I'm not what you would call shy, but I am a bit of a thinker.
So in group settings where everyone's talking, I sometimes find it difficult to participate fully.
But I must say I've discussed this with one of the senior accountants at Signal and I'm actively working on it.
How so?
Well, the big thing for me is preparation.
So if I can get a meeting agenda ahead of time, I can have time to prepare and head in with my key points written out.
That has helped a lot.
All right.
Better preparation is always a good thing, for sure.
Now, switching gears here, I'd like to ask you about the future.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years, Carla?
Ten years?
Okay well, my goal all along has been to build a solid career in the insurance industry and eventually reach the executive level with a major firm.
I've been with Signal for a while, so now I think it's time to take on new challenges, which is why I'm here.
And in the medium term, I see myself taking an expanded role in management.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and collocations Carla used in her interview.
All right.
So Carla, we've discussed some of your accomplishments and such, but could you tell me what you feel is your greatest weakness?
Okay.
Well, I would have to say that I've needed to work on my meeting skills, as in my group meeting skills.
I'm not what you would call shy, but I am a bit of a thinker.
So in group settings where everyone's talking, I sometimes find it difficult to participate fully.
But I must say I've discussed this with one of the senior accountants at signal and I'm actively working on it.
Dale's question is one that every interviewee feels nervous about answering.
It's about a weakness or something you're not good at.
In this situation you need to choose a real weakness that isn't too serious for the job you're interested in.
And then you need to describe it in a way that doesn't ruin your chances for the job.
Carla chooses to talk about her group meeting skills, which she says she needs to work on.
That's a collocation for gently saying that you're not good at something.
Carla goes on to explain this weakness using some minimizing language to soften her statement, with words such as a bit of and sometimes.
This helps to make the weakness seem less serious.
And, more importantly, she also talks about how she's trying to improve in this area, which is essential if you want to show the interviewer a positive approach to development.
To do this, Carla says she's actively working on this weakness.
So what are some other collocations we can use for describing weaknesses and explaining how you're trying to improve?
Well, besides talking about the need to work on, or actively working on, something you can use to have room for improvement and to take steps to improve something,
Let's practice these expressions with some more examples.
Over the past year, I've taken steps to improve my public speaking skills.
Well, I realize that I need to work on my ability to delegate effectively.
I took a course three months back and I'm still actively working on improving my writing.
I believe I have some room for improvement when it comes to taking feedback and criticism.
Carla mentioned she's working on her group meeting skills.
And now Dale wants to know exactly what that means.
How so?
Well, the big thing for me is preparation.
So if I can get a meeting agenda ahead of time, I can have time to prepare and head in with my key points written out.
That has helped a lot.
All right.
Better preparation is always a good thing, for sure.
If you're going to mention generally that you're working to improve on a weakness, you'd better be able to explain exactly how, just as Carla has done.
She talks about the importance of preparation before heading into or going into a meeting.
And it sounds like Dale is satisfied with her answer.
So now Dale wants to switch gears or change the topic.
Let's listen.
Now, switching gears here, I'd like to ask you about the future.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years, Carla?
10 years?
Okay well, my goal all along has been to build a solid career in the insurance industry and eventually reach the executive level with a major firm.
I've been with Signal for a while, so now I think it's time to take on new challenges, which is why I'm here.
And in the medium term, I see myself taking an expanded role in management.
Dale is asking about Carla's career outlook, or where she sees herself in the future.
And the key here is to show that you're ambitious, but realistic.
To do that, Carla says she wants to build a solid career in insurance.
That's a good general way of showing she's ambitious, but more specifically, she wants to reach the executive level.
You'll notice that both these collocations use strong active verbs, build and reach.
But Carla needs some short and medium term goals on the way to her larger goals.
So she mentions taking on new challenges, which means looking for a job or role that is new and difficult.
And she talks about an expanded role in management, which means greater responsibilities.
Carla's shorter-term goals fit in with her long-term goals, and she's described them all with collocations that include active and ambitious verbs.
Let's try some more collocations with strong verbs for discussing your career outlook.
Besides to build a career and to take on new challenges, you can use to pursue a career and to expand responsibilities.
Let's give these expressions a try.
It has always been my ambition to pursue a career in the banking industry as a financial advisor.
Over the next 10 years, I would like to continue to build a career in the IT field.
I think I am ready to expand my responsibilities and move into a more senior role.
Well, we've heard Carla tackle two fairly tough questions, one about her weakness and one about her career plans.
She's handled them well, using some great collocations to soften her weakness and strengthen her ambitions.
And this should show the interviewer that she's a good candidate for the job.
Now let's move on to our next interview.
Remember, we'll hear Sophia interviewing Joseph for a management position.
Now, Joseph, you mentioned a bit earlier that people look to you in times of stress.
I'd just like to follow up on that a bit.
I'm curious how you think you deal with other people.
You know, co-workers, direct reports and such.
Well, I think I can say and other people would back me up on this that I connect really well with people.
That's one reason they come to me.
I've got great relationships with my colleagues and with my direct reports.
I really think I'm sensitive to their needs.
I mean, getting the most out of people involves making sure their needs are met first, wouldn't you say?
I see.
So, would you say then that you're a natural leader?
You know, honestly I wouldn't say I'm a born leader, but I'm definitely a strategic thinker and I'm generally quite empathetic.
I think those qualities really help.
There's a lot of leadership skills that I've had to learn the hard way.
For example, I wasn't always good at delegating tasks, but I've learned how to handle that.
Okay.
And were these skills, these leadership skills, something that you decided to work on yourself?
Yes, for the most part.
I had encouragement from a mentor, but I'm generally very eager to learn and well develop continually.
And so I've done a lot of that on my own.
But I'm also very open to undertaking training in those areas that I might need to work on more.
Now let's go through Joseph's interview again and look at the collocations he uses to show he'd make a good manager.
Now Joseph, you mentioned a bit earlier that people look to you in times of stress.
I'd just like to follow up on that a bit.
I'm curious how you think you deal with other people.
You know, co-workers, direct reports and such.
You might remember from our last lesson that Joseph talked about how people rely on him in stressful situations.
Sophia wants to follow up on that topic or discuss it further.
So her question is about how Joseph deals with people, including direct reports, which are people who Joseph supervises.
Let's hear how Joseph responds.
Well, I think I can say and other people would back me up on this that I connect really well with people.
That's one reason they come to me.
I've got great relationships with my colleagues.
And with my direct reports, I really think I'm sensitive to their needs.
I mean, getting the most out of people involves making sure their needs are met first, wouldn't you say?
The issue here is Joseph's interpersonal skills.
And good interpersonal skills are absolutely essential in most jobs, especially in management.
Joseph starts by mentioning that he connects with people, which is a great way of saying that he enjoys good relationships with his colleagues.
And because Sophia asked specifically about direct reports, Joseph mentions that he's sensitive to their needs.
That means he understands and can respond to what people need.
Notice that he connects this with getting the most out of them, which means helping them to be productive.
In this way, he's showing how his interpersonal skills don't just benefit himself or others, they benefit the company.
What are some other ways of talking about your interpersonal skills?
You can use the collocation to interact effectively and also talk about your people skills.
Let's practice these expressions.
I believe I'm quite sensitive to the needs of the people I work with, and this makes me a good manager.
I feel I have the ability to interact effectively with people at all levels of the company.
As a customer service rep with Fulton, Inc., I showed that I can connect with people really well.
My people skills have really helped me as a manager because employees are happy working for me.
Let's get back to the dialogue, as Sophia connects the topic of interpersonal skills with that of leadership.
I see.
So would you say then that you're a natural leader?
You know, honestly I wouldn't say I'm a born leader, but I'm definitely a strategic thinker and I'm generally quite empathetic.
I think those qualities really help.
There's a lot of leadership skills that I've had to learn the hard way.
For example, I wasn't always good at delegating tasks, but I've learned how to handle that.
Sophia wants to know if Joseph is a natural leader, which means he has some kind of natural ability to lead or manage people.
It's a tricky question.
The easy way to respond is to say that, yes, you are a natural leader.
But that might sound too proud or arrogant.
So instead, you should try to talk about specific aspects of leadership you can demonstrate.
That's why Joseph says he's not a natural leader.
Instead, he discusses specific leadership skills, such as being a strategic thinker.
This collocation means that he can think about planning and direction.
He also mentions that he's empathetic or can understand how others feel, which supports what he said earlier about his interpersonal skills.
Those are natural tendencies, but Joseph also mentions specific leadership skills that he has learned, such as delegating tasks, which is what we call assigning activities or duties to other people.
So when you talk about leadership, be sure to talk about specific skills or abilities.
You might use expressions like to lead an effort, to take ownership, or to take the initiative.
Let's give these expressions a try with a few examples.
Last year, I had the opportunity to take ownership of the whole process for redesigning our website.
As a manager, I believe it is very important to be able to delegate tasks effectively.
There have been several times when I took the initiative to lead our group because nobody else seemed willing.
I feel I'm quite a strategic thinker, always planning the company's next move.
Joseph mentioned that he had to learn some of his leadership skills and Sophia picks up on this idea of learning, to ask about another important topic.
Okay.
And were these skills, these leadership skills, something that you decided to work on yourself?
Yes, for the most part.
I had encouragement from a mentor, but I'm generally very eager to learn and well develop continually.
And so I've done a lot of that on my own.
But I'm also very open to undertaking training in those areas that I might need to work on more.
Sophia's question is about whether Joseph decided on his own to improve his skills.
What she is really looking for is Joseph's attitude or approach to personal development.
Of course, what you want is to show openness to direction from others and a positive attitude to learning.
To show openness.
Joseph mentions that he had encouragement or support from a mentor, which is someone more senior who serves as your guide or advisor.
He also states directly that he's open to undertaking training.
So if he needs formal training or education, he's ready and willing.
In other words, he's eager to learn, which is another collocation Joseph uses to show his positive attitude toward learning.
In this way, Joseph is showing Sophia that he can develop the skills he needs but doesn't currently have.
So what are some other ways we can discuss our education and personal development?
Well, you might say you're a quick learner, or that you're open to new ideas.
And you could also use the expression to develop transferable skills.
Let's practice these collocations.
I've always been a pretty quick learner, which is why I can adapt to new jobs quickly.
Well, I don't have a lot of experience with that, but I'm really eager to learn.
One thing I tried to focus on at Abbott was developing transferable skills that I could apply in a management role.
As part of my ongoing professional development, I've undertaken training in conflict resolution and leadership.
I think I've shown that I'm very open to new ideas and that I value innovative solutions.
Joseph has done a nice job of talking about his approach to people, leadership, and learning.
And in this way, he's shown he's a good candidate for the management position.
Now, it's your turn to practice some of the collocations we've looked at in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, including the missing word.
Remember a collocation is two or more words that we commonly use together, so pay close attention to the words before the beep.
For example, if you hear, You can say I think it's definitely time for me to take on new challenges as a manager.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
As a salesperson, I think it's important to be able to connect with quickly and easily.
Answer.
As a salesperson, I think it's important to be able to connect with people quickly and easily.
Last year, I decided to undertake more in financial management and accounting.
Answer.
Last year I decided to undertake more training in financial management and accounting.
My plan is to build a... in advertising specialising in print media.
Answer.
My plan is to build a career in advertising specialising in print media.
I've had some difficulty with public speaking, but I've been actively on that.
I've had some difficulty with public speaking, but I've been actively working on that.
I think my previous employers would agree that I'm quite a strategic Answer.
I think my previous employers would agree that I'm quite a strategic thinker.
We've learned lots of great vocabulary and collocations for discussing weaknesses, career outlook and interpersonal skills.
We've also looked at expressions about leadership and personal development.
Hopefully these can help you make a great impression in your next job interview.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
