Interesting interview topics
10 small talk topics for job interviewsAugust 27, 2016 Jennifer Scupi Interviews usually start with some "small talk" (casual conversation) before moving to the main topic. Show If you're about to go to a job interview in America or in any other English-speaking country, you should prepare for small talk. Small talk topics for job interviews in EnglishHow do you prepare for small talk? Here's how: Be able to answer questionsIf you're about to go to a job interview in America, or in any other English-speaking country, you should prepare for small talk.
Be able to ask questionsAnswering questions is part of every interview,but asking them is also important, even during small talk. You don't want to have a long silence during the conversation. If your interviewer isn't talking, it's time for you to say something. A question is always good. Write down a list of questions you can ask and look at it right before your interview starts or use the ones below. 10 topics you can ask questions about during small talk*Topics to avoid: politics, religion, money, family 1. Work How long have you worked at _________? What do you think of the company? Have you had a busy week? 2. Location: neighborhood/city/state Do you live near here? How long have you lived in _________? 3. Books or articles
Did you read the article about __________ this morning? I read the new biography of Steve Jobs. Have you read it? 4. Sports
Did you see the Red Sox game last night? Again, you may not interviewing in America, so make sure you know what sports are popular where you are interviewing. Remember, just because you like a sport does not mean that the interviewer will. 5. Arts and entertainment
Did you see the last episode of Game of Thrones? 6. News
Have you been watching the Olympics? 7. Travel
Have you ever been to Argentina? Are you planning to travel this Christmas? this summer/this Thanksgiving - use this if there is a holiday approaching 8. Tech stuff
Is the company using ________? 9. Random
I see you have a Starbucks downstairs. Do you like their coffee? 10. The weather It's boring, but if you can't think of anything else, it works. Okay, now you have 10 ideas for topics you can make small talk about in your interview. As you can see, the questions can be about any topic as long as it won't make the other person angry or unhappy. The main point is to keep the conversation going and keep the mood positive. One of the reasons I started my business is that in my past career I interviewed many talented people who didn't get the job because they couldn't communicate with me comfortably. This wasn't just because of their English. I realized that it's very common for people to ignore the small talk section of the interview because they think it's not important. But then they don't get the job and they blame their English. I'm telling you right now that your English is one factor in this process but it's not the only one. Making small talk is more of a culture thing than a language thing. For some reason English speakers like small talk so you just have to incorporate that into your practice routine. See this content in the original post Discover more from Interview Genie |