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 this episode on job interviews when switching careers.
You can't do the same thing for your entire life.
That's why you've chosen to make a change, to take your skills and experience and apply them to something new.
But this comes with a challenge.
How can you convince an interviewer that you've got what it takes to make the switch?
This is especially true for those of us who are more mature.
There's an old saying, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Well, your task in the interview is to show why this saying is wrong, and you need to demonstrate why an old dog brings a lot more to the table than a younger dog.
In today's lesson we'll rejoin Patrick, an accountant, who's interviewing for a position with an advisory firm.
Frank and Nina are conducting the interview.
We'll hear Patrick demonstrate some key interview skills.
He's going to answer hypothetical questions, highlight transferable skills and demonstrate research.
He's also going to make polite suggestions and ask good questions.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
Why does Patrick talk about his work developing junior accountants?
2.
What is Patrick's suggestion about training and development?
Three, what does Patrick want to know about the position?
Okay, so continuing on this theme, I'd like to give you a situation.
Say a junior accountant comes to you.
He's struggling with an audit on a small company.
He's not too sure about how to deal with some inconsistencies he's found.
How would you help him?
Okay.
Well, I'd have him describe the situation and tell me what he thinks is the best course of action.
And then I'd tell him to look for a precedent on that particular issue.
This way, I'm helping him learn how to deal with problems on his own.
I see.
So what you're describing is much like a mentoring relationship.
Does that sound right?
Yes, that's an apt way to describe it.
At my last position I was heavily involved in the development of junior accountants and I think my skills as a mentor will be extremely useful in another large organization.
Okay, so maybe you can give us some perspective.
Like most companies, we'll put one or two junior accountants on a large account with a senior lead, so the younger ones gain first-hand experience working with senior partners.
From what you've seen, do you think this type of training works?
Well, I think it's very effective in certain ways, but I do think that new recruits need a chance to debrief what they've learned outside of the project or regular work.
One way to do that is a semi-formal mentorship program, with each recruit assigned to a senior member who provides guidance.
It may be an idea worth pursuing.
Indeed.
That's an area of great interest to us.
And you've got hands-on experience with this?
Yes, I've benefited a lot from having a great mentor and I've had a close look at how your graduate development program works.
Of the major advisory firms, it's clearly the most well-known.
I understand that, with so many young accountants, training and development are huge concerns for you.
Too true.
It's something we, I mean senior accountants, have to put a lot of time and energy into.
Of course.
And the issue of time reminds me of a point I'd like to clarify, if I may.
Would it be appropriate at this point to talk about your expectations around billable hours for this position?
Ah yes, billable hours.
Nina, perhaps you can run us through this.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language Patrick uses to convince the interviewers that he's the right person for the job.
Okay, so continuing on this theme, I'd like to give you a situation.
Say a junior accountant comes to you.
He's struggling with an audit on a small company.
He's not too sure about how to deal with some inconsistencies he's found.
How would you help him?
Okay.
Okay.
Well, I'd have him describe the situation and tell me what he thinks is the best course of action.
And then I'd tell him to look for a precedent on that particular issue.
This way, I'm helping him learn how to deal with problems on his own.
Nina begins this part of the interview by asking Patrick to talk about an imaginary or hypothetical situation.
To introduce this situation, she uses the word say, which is a way of telling someone to imagine.
The situation involves a junior accountant who finds inconsistencies or problems when doing an audit.
An audit is an official review of financial statements and cash flow.
This type of hypothetical question is quite common in an interview situation.
Notice that in the response, Patrick repeatedly says, I'd, which is short for I would.
When we speak hypothetically, we normally use the word would.
Patrick outlines what he would do in this situation in a response that is brief and clear.
And he makes sure to say why he would do it.
Now, let's practice a few more ways of responding to hypothetical questions.
Notice how these answers use that important word, would.
Well, in that type of situation, I'd begin by talking to the employee in question.
There are two ways I would consider approaching that problem.
In fact, I've dealt with that situation before and here's what I'd do if it came up again.
In a case like that, I would request a meeting with the client.
Now, let's continue the dialogue.
I see.
So, what you're describing is much like a mentoring relationship.
Does that sound right?
Yes, that's an apt way to describe it.
At my last position, I was heavily involved in the development of junior accountants and I think my skills as a mentor will be extremely useful in another large organisation.
To Frank, Patrick's response seems to describe a mentoring relationship.
Mentoring is when someone with a lot of experience helps or guides someone new.
Patrick says this is an apt or appropriate way to describe his idea.
He then takes the opportunity to talk about how he was heavily or greatly involved in developing junior accountants in his last job.
And he goes on to say that these skills will be useful in another company.
When switching careers, you need to show how your skills will transfer to the new job.
This is exactly what Patrick is doing.
He's not just mentioning the skills he has.
He's showing how they have improved him more generally and can be used in other contexts.
How else can we highlight our transferable skills?
The organizational skills I've learned managing inventory can help me in other ways too.
Supervising a large staff has prepared me for other leadership roles.
My experience on the production floor has given me a good understanding of workflow and processes.
What I learned in marketing really helps me in sales.
Now let's listen as Nina asks Patrick for his opinion.
So maybe you can give us some perspective.
Like most companies, we'll put one or two junior accountants on a large account with a senior lead, so the younger ones gain first-hand experience working with senior partners.
From what you've seen, do you think this type of training works?
Well, I think it's very effective in certain ways, but I do think that new recruits need a chance to debrief what they've learned outside of the project or regular work.
One way to do that is a semi-formal mentorship program, with each recruit assigned to a senior member who provides guidance.
It may be an idea worth pursuing.
Nina wants Patrick to give them some perspective.
She's asking for his opinion based on experience, and what she wants to know about is how they train junior accountants.
Nina's company usually gives young employees first-hand or direct experience by having them work on projects with a more experienced lead, which is short for leader.
Patrick is going to give his opinion, but he must be polite.
He begins with a positive statement, saying that their training method is very effective in certain ways.
This sets up his suggestion, which he introduces with but.
Patrick believes that young accountants need to discuss or debrief their experience outside of individual projects.
His suggestion for this is a semi-formal mentorship program.
Patrick doesn't say directly you should do this.
He introduces his idea politely with one way to do that is.
And he follows his suggestion with it may be an idea worth pursuing.
This is a non-forceful and polite way of suggesting something.
In the following examples.
Notice how the speaker makes the suggestion polite with indirect expressions and softening words.
Have you ever considered outsourcing some of the menial administrative work?
Engaging the public through social media is one way you might be able to enhance brand awareness.
I think it might be a good idea to focus on employee retention.
There appears to be some room for improvement in marketing.
Okay, so what happens next?
Indeed, that's an area of great interest to us.
And you've got hands-on experience with this?
Yes, I've benefited a lot from having a great mentor and I've had a close look at how your graduate development program works.
Of the major advisory firms, it's clearly the most well-known.
I understand that, with so many young accountants, training and development are huge concerns for you.
Frank shows interest in Patrick's suggestion and asks whether he has direct experience with such mentorship programs.
Patrick has already mentioned that he has acted as a mentor, and now he reveals that he has been mentored as well.
So he does have direct experience with these programs.
Patrick then takes the opportunity to show that he has done some research about the company where he is applying.
He has had a close look at their graduate development program and says he understands that training and development are big concerns for the company.
It is absolutely essential to do some research before an interview.
The trick is finding the right opportunity to demonstrate that research.
Let's hear some more examples of someone showing that they've done some research to prepare for an interview.
I was interested to learn that you're one of the top 50 companies in the Midwest.
I must say that I'm impressed with your recent successes in South America.
I understand that 40% of your revenues come through government contracts.
Your fourth quarter results sure took shareholders by surprise, didn't they?
Now, back to the dialogue.
Too true.
It's something we, I mean senior accountants, have to put a lot of time and energy into.
Of course.
And the issue of time reminds me of a point I'd like to clarify, if I may.
Would it be appropriate at this point to talk about your expectations around billable hours for this position?
Ah yes, billable hours.
Nina, perhaps you can run us through this.
Nina agrees with Patrick's statement with the expression confirming that their senior accountants have to spend a lot of time and energy on training.
The subject of time reminds Patrick of something he wants to know or, as he says, a point I'd like to clarify, if I may.
That's a very polite way of introducing a question.
Patrick's question is about billable hours or the amount of time that should be directly billed to the clients.
But he doesn't come out directly and say, what are the billable hours?
He approaches the issue with tact, asking would it be appropriate at this point to talk about the issue?
Question asking is not a one-way street in an interview.
Sure, your first job is to respond to the interviewer's questions, but you should ask some good ones yourself.
It shows real interest in the position and an understanding of the type of work.
Listen to some more examples of interviewees asking good questions about the position or company.
How does your company like to reward its employees?
I'd be curious to know about your plans for expansion to the West Coast.
How would you describe the workplace culture?
What do you enjoy most about working for this company?
Frank finishes the dialogue by asking Nina to talk about billable hours.
The interview will continue, and Patrick will continue handling the situation well.
For us, it's time to shift gears.
Now, let's practice some of the language we've learned for answering hypothetical questions.
You'll hear a question, then you'll hear a prompt.
Use the words in the prompt to make a response to the question.
For example, if you hear...
What would you do if you found out that an employee was stealing?
First, would, discussion, employee.
You can say, First, I would have a discussion with the employee.
We'll play an example answer after each practice.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
How would you improve our brand awareness?
Would Begin Redesign Logo Answer I would begin by redesigning the company logo.
If you were put in charge of the company, what's the first thing you'd do?
Would Employee survey Find out Satisfied Answer?
I would do an employee survey to find out if they're satisfied.
As CEO, would you place a lot of importance on expansion?
No.
Expansion could weaken.
Answer.
No.
I think expansion could actually weaken the company.
What would you do about slumping sales?
Would Change Commission structure Salespeople Answer I would change the commission structure for salespeople.
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary and idioms from this lesson.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear, Tom is the technical on the project.
You can say, Tom is the technical lead on the project.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
Answer.
Our junior engineers are expected to achieve 80% billable hours.
As a senior manager, I was heavily in strategic planning.
Answer.
As a senior manager, I was heavily involved in strategic planning.
After 20 years in software design, Joe decided to another career.
Answer.
After 20 years in software design, Joe decided to pursue another career.
Answer.
A planning meeting was held to decide on the best course of action.
We've reached the end of this episode, the second in our two-part series on job interviews when making a career shift.
We've learned how to answer hypothetical questions, make polite suggestions and highlight transferable skills.
We've also heard how we can demonstrate research and ask good questions.
These are all important ways of showing a prospective employer that you're the right person for the job.
For more practice, premium members can access the online quizzes and study notes for this and other episodes in the new Learning Center.
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Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
