Practising Job Interviews in

the ESL Classroom

One of the main tasks of many ESL classes is to
prepare students for job interviews in English. This is
particularly true of English for Specific Purposes or
vocational English classes. Here are two lessons that
help students prepare for job interviews including
printable handout materials:

1.-Lesson plan for English for

Specific Purposes

Teaching ESL or English for Specific Purposes classes almost always includes preparing
students for job interviews. There are a number of resources on the site focusing on the type
of language used during job interviews. This lesson focuses on helping students practice job
interviews with each other while using prepared notes helping students recognize appropriate
language to be used during the job interview. There are three essential parts to dealing with
job interviews for students:

 Raising consciousness as to what expect in job interviews

 Having students carefully reflect on their own skills, strengths and weaknesses
 Providing pragmatic language skill guidance on appropriate language including
tenses, vocational vocabulary, and standard application documents such as the resume
and cover letters

This practicing job interviews lesson plan helps with providing pragmatic language skills for
the job interview through extensive note taking combined with appropriate tense and
vocabulary review.

Aim: Improve job interviewing skills

Activity: Practicing job interviews

Level: intermediate to advanced

Outline:

 If you haven't already done so, discuss the job interviewing process in detail with
your students. Make sure to mention and / or help students understand that the job
interviewing process in the United States (or another country) is probably very different
than in their own native country. Discuss the differences in detail, suggest that students
think of the process as a game in which rules must be followed to help them get over
possible frustrations with the job interviewing process.
 Take a look at some standard job interviewing questions and replies. Here are
some examples:

 How long have you been in current position? - I've worked here for two
years.
When did you join XYZ Inc.? - I began work at XYZ Inc. in 2003.
Why would you like to work at ABC Ltd.? - I'd like to work at ABC Ltd. because I'd like
to use my experience in a customer service setting. etc.
 Ask students / work with students to review the various tenses used to answer these
questions. Review the concepts of:
  Present perfect (continuous) to speak about work experience up to the
present moment
 Present simple to discuss current job responsibilities
 Past simple to discuss past responsibilities
 Use of conditional forms to imagine situations at work
 Introduce the concept using specific vocabulary to more specifically define
responsibilities and capabilities)
 Pass out the job interview worksheets (copy and paste into a document and print out
for use in class.
 Ask students to complete both sections 1) as interviewer 2) as interviewee.
Encourage students to focus specifically on tense usage and specific job vocabulary while
completing this task.
 Circulate around the room helping students with the task, providing specific
vocabulary, etc. Encourage students to write questions and responses beyond the cues
provided on the worksheet.
 Give each student a number. Ask even number students to find an odd number
student.
 Have even number students interview odd number students, asking them to refer to
their worksheets when they get stuck.
 Have even number students team up with a different odd number student.
 Ask odd number students to interview even number students. This time, students
should attempt to use their worksheets as seldom as possible.
 Discuss the practice sessions in detail.
 As a variation / extension, ask student interviewers to spend five minutes after each
interview taking notes on strengths and weaknesses of the interview and share the notes
withe the student interviewees.

Job Interview Practice - Worksheet

Use the following cues to write out full questions for a job interview.

1. How long / work / present?

2. How many / languages / speak?
3. Strengths?
4. Weaknesses?
5. Past job?
6. Current responsibilities?
7. Education?
8. Specific examples of responsibility at past job?
9. Which position / want - like to have / new job?
10. Future goals?

Use the following cues to write out full responses for a job interview.

1. Current job / school

2. Last job / school
3. Languages / skills
4. How long / work / current job
5. Three specific examples from past job
6. Current responsibilities
7. Strengths / weaknesses (two for each)
8. Why are you interested in this job?
9. What are your future goals?
10. Education

2.- Job Interview Lesson for ESL

Students in ESL classes (and some EFL classes) will eventually need to take job interviews as
they integrate into society. It can be a touchy subject for many students as they societies
they have come from may have very different employment environments. Also, students
may be under pressure to find a job financially. In any case, job interviewing can make the
best students nervous for a variety of reasons. One of the best ways to deal with this is to
explain that job interviewing is a game, although an incredibly important game. It's
important to pragmatically understand the rules and not get up in the difficulties of the job
market. At the end of this lesson, you will find a number of links that students can visit to
help understand job interviewing and improve their skills written especially for English
learners.

Aim: Improve job interviewing skills

Activity: Simulated job interviews

Level: intermediate to advanced

Outline:

 Distribute the work sheet to students in the class. Students should follow each of the
instructions carefully.
 In groups of three people, choose one person to interview for the positions, one to
interview the job applicant, and one to take notes on the job interview.
 Review notes taken after each interview and have students ask their opinion on how
they could improve your job interviewing skills.
 Have students switch roles and either interview another person, or take notes. Make
sure that all students have taken notes AND interviewed so that they can understand the
job interviewing process better.
 While students are in their groups, have them note disagreements on good job
interviewing technique. At the end of the session have students to ask other students
their opinions on these disagreements.
 As a follow-up activity, have students go online and find a few jobs they would like to
do. Have them write down their qualifications as practiced in class.

Practice your job interviewing skills in English using this exercise:

Job Interviewing: Directions

1. Visit a popular employment web site such as monster.com to search for positions.
Put in a few keywords for jobs that you would like. Alternately, find a newspaper with
jobs offered listed. If you don't have access to job listings, think of some jobs that you
might find interesting.
2. Choose two jobs from the list of positions you have found that you would like to
apply for. Make sure to choose jobs that match your skills in some way. The jobs do not
need to be identical to the jobs you have had in the past, or to the subject you are
studying at school. However, the jobs you choose should be related to the jobs you
have done in the past, or the jobs you would like to do in the future as they relate to
your studies.
3. On a separate piece of paper, write down your qualifications for the job. Think about
the skills you have and how they relate to the job you would like. Here are some of the
questions you should ask yourself when thinking about your qualifications:

 What tasks have I done at past jobs that are similar to the tasks required in
this job advertisement?
 What are my strengths and weaknesses and how do they relate to the tasks
required in this job advertisement?
 How do I relate to people? Do I have good people skills?
  If I don't have any related work experience, how does the experience I
have / studies I've done relate?
 Why do I want this job?
2. As a follow-up activity, go online and find a few jobs you would like to do. Write
down your qualifications as you have practiced in class. Pretend you are interviewing.
Take both sides, both as the person interviewed and the person interviewing