Episode 05

Sarah goes for her interview. How do you think will she do?

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. You can also read the transcript.

Preparation

Transcript

Marcia: Hi, Sarah. I'm Marcia Boardman. We spoke on the phone ...

Sarah: Oh yes, I remember. I was having a bad day!

Marcia: ... and, erm, this is Philip Hart, our CEO.

Philip: Hello!

Sarah: Hello, it's very nice to meet you both. 

Philip: It says on your CV that you do voluntary work.

Sarah: Well, when I have time, yes! I do work at a centre for children with difficulties.

Philip: That must be very interesting.

Sarah: It's rewarding and challenging.

Marcia: Sarah, can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

Sarah: I'm assistant sales director for a chain of language schools.

Philip: So this post would be quite a change then.

Sarah: I don't think so, honestly, because the skills are the same, despite the product.

Marcia: Why are you thinking of moving on?

Sarah: Well, I've come as far as I can in my current position, I feel, and I'm 28 now and would love to take on some more responsibility.

Marcia: OK, um, let's move on to managing people. Can you give us an example of when you had to deal with a particularly difficult managee?

Sarah: Well, yes, I had two people working for me who didn't get along at all. They had no shared values, different temperaments and used to argue a lot. It looked like it was impossible for them to work together. So, I sat down with them and we talked about their differences and their problems, and after that things went much more smoothly.

Philip: How would you deal with a rapidly changing and uncertain global market?

Sarah: Oh, that's actually something I wanted to talk about in my presentation, but I'd say to stay flexible and to diversify markets and sales strategies.

Marcia: It says on your CV you speak French and Spanish.

Sarah: Yes, I do. I lived in both France and Spain for a while.

Philip: Any plans to learn other languages?

Sarah: I'd love to try!

Marcia: Erm, OK. Can you tell us about a time you had to close a particularly challenging deal?

Sarah: Well, the biggest contract I won – and the thing I'm most proud of professionally – was with a large university in India, to provide language training. The contract was full of technicalities and the client was very picky! But I still pulled it off.

Marcia: OK, erm, do you have any questions for us?

Sarah: Yes, about your ethical policy and your carbon footprint. I was wondering whether you are planning to reduce your carbon footprint and whether all your products are ethically sourced.

Philip: That's a very good question and that's something we're moving towards at the moment.

Marcia: OK, well, let's move on to the presentation.

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

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Submitted by fajaraji25 on Tue, 08/08/2023 - 16:07

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Her good points are be prepared for the interview, answered the questions properly, and showing the interviewers that she is has growth mindset and good skills for managing people. I do not think that Sarah showed the bad points on her interview.

Submitted by illusionalself on Fri, 25/11/2022 - 19:50

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Sarah was spot-on, down-to-earth, and humbled by the opportunity of meeting the interviewers. All questions were answered in a positive light and I am sure she gave Marcia and Phillip the right impression. She also likes to dwell in environmental matters, which is a contemporary issue that everyone should be invested on.

Submitted by jyoti Chaudhary on Thu, 21/04/2022 - 13:02

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What were Sarah's good and bad points?
she is good at the interview and gives a good impression. she looks very confident and positive. she gave an adequate answer to every question. I don't think there is any bad point in it.

Submitted by Azrin Razak on Thu, 13/01/2022 - 01:08

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Sarah answers very impressive. She is well prepare and looks confident.

Submitted by Azrin Razak on Thu, 13/01/2022 - 01:04

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Sarah looks confident and honest during the interviews. Her answer also very impressive.

Submitted by Kenny Cheng on Sun, 18/07/2021 - 14:15

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Sarah well prepared for the interview, she replied to the interviewers' question concisely and to the points which also matched what she mentioned on the CV, which I think she has impressed the interviewers. She responsible to questions not haughty nor humble, keep suitable eye contact and smiling face.

Submitted by AgaZ on Fri, 22/01/2021 - 22:53

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Sara looks and behaves like a pro. She answers smartly on question s. She cares about the climate and environment which confirm that she is a responsible person.

Submitted by Fabz N on Mon, 19/10/2020 - 01:32

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Sara was a good candidate. She saluted the interviewers, dressed according to the formal situation of the interwiev, and answered confidently. She know how to handle management problems using dialogue as the main tool to solve it.

Submitted by Jean Bombeur on Thu, 15/10/2020 - 13:01

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That was cool ngl

Submitted by Moody on Thu, 17/09/2020 - 14:10

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Sarah did a typical interview,she was great ,i admire he and she triggered the admiration of the interviewers , i can't find any weak points of Sarah during interview , she had a proper formal uniform , suitable body language , maintain eye contact with a slight smile on her face . She prepared herself perfectly before the interview,she gave short good answer for the questions in accurate and confident way with hesitation,she remained calm and natural, and she has read about likely future company and that's indicates about her professtionlizm .