Professional Interview Skills in English

Programme Overview

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for B2-level job seekers who need to prepare for professional interviews in English. Whether you're applying for your first international role, changing careers, or seeking advancement, this course will give you the vocabulary range, structural frameworks, and strategic preparation to succeed.

What You'll Learn

Over 20 sessions, you'll develop the specific language and strategy needed to excel in behavioural interviews—from self-introduction to final mock interviews. You'll master the vocabulary, grammar, and communication techniques required to:

• Answer behavioural questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
• Build 8 language banks containing 15-20 powerful vocabulary items for each competency area
• Create 8 flexible stories that can answer 30+ different interview question variations
• Handle difficult questions about weaknesses and failures professionally
• Deliver a polished career narrative that links your experience to job requirements
• Ask intelligent questions that demonstrate engagement and research

Each session uses authentic interview questions as a framework for teaching language, ensuring you learn vocabulary, grammar, and structures in realistic professional contexts.

Course Structure

The course progresses through five phases:

1. Foundations — Interview basics, STAR method, understanding competency categories, and strategic question recognition
2. Building Language Banks — Eight units creating systematic vocabulary for teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, communication, adaptability, time management, conflict resolution, and achievement
3. Integration and Challenging Questions — Strengths, weaknesses, and career narrative
4. Employer Questions and Non-Verbal Communication — Motivation, fit, and virtual interview skills
5. Mock Interviews — Three structured mock interviews: first attempt with detailed feedback, intensive targeted refinement of weak areas, and final demonstration of mastery with comprehensive assessment

Key Learning Approach

• Recognize that many different questions ask for the same underlying competency
• Build a "language bank" of powerful vocabulary for each competency area
• Create flexible stories that can answer multiple question variations

Result: 8 prepared stories + 8 language banks = ability to answer 30+ different interview questions

PHASE 1: FOUNDATIONS

Unit 1: Interview Basics & Self-Introduction

What you'll learn:

• Interview structure and what interviewers look for
• "Tell me about yourself" framework: Present → Past → Future
• Grammar: Using present, past, and future tenses in sequence
• Vocabulary: 8 professional adjectives to describe yourself

Practice: Create and deliver your 90-second self-introduction

Unit 2: The STAR Method

What you'll learn:

• The STAR framework: Situation, Task, Action, Result
• Why vague answers fail and what interviewers listen for
• How to structure complete, impressive answers

Practice: Create 2 STAR responses with guidance
Focus: Clear structure and logical flow

Unit 3: The 8 Competency Categories Explained

What you'll learn:

The 8 core competency categories that interviewers assess:

1. Teamwork & Collaboration
2. Leadership & Influence
3. Problem-Solving & Decision-Making
4. Communication
5. Adaptability & Change Management
6. Time Management & Organization
7. Conflict & Difficult Situations
8. Achievement & Initiative

Additional content:

• What interviewers look for in each category
• Examples: 3 question variations per category (24 questions total)
• How to recognize which category a question belongs to

Practice: Categorize 12 questions with teacher guidance (covering 4 categories × 3 questions)

Unit 4: Strategic Question Recognition & Experience Audit

What you'll learn:

• Advanced practice: Categorize 12 additional questions independently (covering remaining 4 categories × 3 questions)
• Recognizing compound questions (testing multiple competencies)
• Understanding how one story can answer multiple questions
• Auditing your experience: Which categories do you have strong stories for?
• Strategic planning: Prioritizing which 4-5 categories to prepare deeply

Homework: Draft rough outlines for your strongest 3-4 stories

PHASE 2: BUILDING LANGUAGE BANKS

One unit per competency category

Unit 5: Teamwork & Collaboration Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize 5-6 different teamwork question variations
• Action verbs: collaborated, coordinated, facilitated, contributed
• Result adjectives: successful, effective, productive, cohesive
• Process adverbs: collaboratively, diplomatically, constructively
• Quantifier patterns: "completed ahead of schedule", "increased team efficiency by X%"
• Grammar: Collocations and sentence patterns for teamwork

Practice: Create 1 STAR story that works for multiple teamwork questions

Unit 6: Leadership & Influence Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize leadership question variations
• Action verbs: led, directed, motivated, delegated, mentored, guided
• Result adjectives: inspiring, decisive, empowering, strategic
• Process adverbs: strategically, proactively, confidently
• Quantifier patterns: "led a team of X", "improved team performance by Y%"
• Grammar: Past simple leadership verbs with result clauses

Practice: Create 1 flexible leadership story

Unit 7: Problem-Solving & Decision-Making Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize problem-solving question variations
• Action verbs: analyzed, identified, resolved, evaluated, assessed, determined
• Result adjectives: effective, innovative, practical, data-driven
• Process adverbs: analytically, systematically, carefully, thoroughly
• Quantifier patterns: "reduced costs by X%", "solved issue affecting Y customers"
• Grammar: Using causal language ("which resulted in...", "leading to...")

Practice: Create 1 flexible problem-solving story

Unit 8: Communication Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize communication question variations
• Action verbs: presented, persuaded, negotiated, clarified, articulated, explained
• Result adjectives: clear, persuasive, diplomatic, professional
• Process adverbs: clearly, diplomatically, persuasively, professionally
• Quantifier patterns: "presented to X stakeholders", "persuaded X people"
• Grammar: Reported speech for conversations ("I explained that...", "I suggested that...")

Practice: Create 1 flexible communication story

Unit 9: Adaptability & Change Management Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize adaptability question variations
• Action verbs: adapted, adjusted, transitioned, modified, transformed, pivoted
• Result adjectives: flexible, resilient, positive, seamless
• Process adverbs: quickly, smoothly, positively, efficiently
• Quantifier patterns: "adjusted to new system in Y timeframe", "maintained productivity during change"
• Grammar: Past continuous + past simple for interrupted situations

Practice: Create 1 flexible adaptability story

Unit 10: Time Management & Organization Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize time management question variations
• Action verbs: prioritized, organized, planned, managed, scheduled, streamlined
• Result adjectives: efficient, organized, timely, structured
• Process adverbs: efficiently, systematically, proactively
• Quantifier patterns: "managed X simultaneous projects", "completed in Z timeframe"
• Grammar: Time expressions and sequencing language

Practice: Create 1 flexible time management story

Unit 11: Conflict & Difficult Situations Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize conflict question variations
• Action verbs: mediated, resolved, addressed, navigated, handled, diffused
• Result adjectives: constructive, professional, diplomatic, positive
• Process adverbs: calmly, diplomatically, professionally, objectively
• Quantifier patterns: "resolved conflict between X parties", "maintained professional relationship"
• Grammar: Staying positive while discussing negatives
• Special focus: Tact and professional register

Practice: Create 1 flexible conflict resolution story

Unit 12: Achievement & Initiative Language Bank

What you'll learn:

• Recognize achievement question variations
• Action verbs: achieved, exceeded, implemented, initiated, pioneered, spearheaded
• Result adjectives: significant, substantial, measurable, outstanding
• Process adverbs: independently, proactively, successfully
• Quantifier patterns: "exceeded target by X%", "increased Y by Z%"
• Grammar: Superlatives and comparatives in achievements

Practice: Create 1 flexible achievement story
Connection: How achievements combine with other categories

PHASE 3: INTEGRATION & CHALLENGING QUESTIONS

Unit 13: Talking About Strengths

What you'll learn:

• How to answer "What are your strengths?"
• Formula: State strength → Link to category → Provide STAR example
• Identify your 3 main strengths
• Map each strength to categories from Units 5-12
• Use appropriate language banks to support your claims

Practice: Deliver 3 strength answers with rich vocabulary

Unit 14: Addressing Weaknesses & Failure

What you'll learn:

• Strategies for "What's your weakness?" and "Tell me about a time you failed"
• Framework: Real weakness → What you're doing about it → STAR improvement example
• Vocabulary: Discussing negatives positively ("I've learned that...", "I'm working on...")
• Grammar: Present perfect for ongoing improvement
• Create 2 weakness answers using your language banks

Practice: Delivering difficult answers with professional tone

Unit 15: Experience, Background & Career Narrative

What you'll learn:

• How to answer "Walk me through your CV/resume"
• Extended answer using Present → Past → Future structure
• Grammar: Present perfect vs past simple in career narratives
• Vocabulary: Transition phrases between roles and experiences
• Using action verbs from all 8 language banks to describe past roles

Practice: 2-3 minute career story with smooth transitions

PHASE 4: EMPLOYER QUESTIONS & NON-VERBAL

Unit 16: Motivation, Fit & Questions to Ask

What you'll learn:

• "Why do you want this job?" — linking strengths + examples + goals
• "Why should we hire you?" — summarizing your top 3 categories
• "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" — professional career goals
• Developing 6-8 intelligent questions to ask the interviewer
• Questions to avoid (salary, benefits in first interview)

Practice: Intonation and confidence when asking questions
Role-play: Full Q&A exchange

Unit 17: Virtual Interview Skills & Non-Verbal Communication

What you'll learn:

• Video call etiquette and technical setup
• Body language: posture, eye contact with camera, gestures
• Voice: pace, clarity, enthusiasm, volume
• Eliminating verbal fillers: "um", "like", "you know", "basically"

Practice: 15-minute mock interview with focus on delivery
Recording and review (if possible)
Immediate feedback on presence and professional image

PHASE 5: MOCK INTERVIEWS & REFINEMENT

Unit 18: Mock Interview - First Attempt

What happens:

Full 30-minute realistic interview covering:

• Self-introduction
• Background/CV walkthrough
• 4-5 behavioral questions from different categories (random selection)
• Strengths and weaknesses questions
• Motivation and fit questions
• Your questions for the interviewer

Assessment areas:

• Use of language banks (vocabulary richness)
• STAR structure quality
• Grammar accuracy
• Fluency and confidence
• Non-verbal communication

Detailed feedback provided after the mock interview

Unit 19: Targeted Feedback & Refinement

What happens:

Full 50-minute focused practice session

Comprehensive feedback review from Unit 18:

Identify 3-4 priority areas for improvement:

• Vocabulary gaps in specific competency areas
• STAR structure weaknesses (missing elements, vague details)
• Grammar errors that impact clarity
• Fluency issues (hesitation, fillers, pace)
• Non-verbal communication (eye contact, posture, energy)

Intensive targeted practice:

• Vocabulary enhancement: drilling missing words and phrases
• STAR refinement: rewriting and practicing weak answers
• Grammar correction: forming sentences correctly
• Fluency drills: reducing fillers, improving pace
• Delivery practice: confidence and presence

Strategic review:

• Ensuring all 8 stories are interview-ready
• Mental preparation techniques for interview day

Unit 20: Final Mock Interview & Assessment

What happens:

Final 30-minute realistic interview

• Student demonstrates all improvements from Unit 19
• Teacher plays a different interviewer style with different questions
• Focus on demonstrating mastery and confidence

Assessment areas:

• Improved use of language banks
• Strong STAR structure throughout
• Grammar accuracy
• Fluency and confidence
• Professional presence

Final Assessment (remaining 20 minutes):

• Compare performance: Unit 18 vs Unit 20
• Celebrate specific improvements
• Summary of strengths to leverage
• Recommend ongoing practice areas
• Discuss next steps for continued development
• Confidence building and final encouragement

Programme Benefits

Strategic Approach

• Not memorizing 40 answers → Creating 8 flexible stories with 8 language banks
• Not learning random vocabulary → Building systematic vocabulary sets per category
• Not guessing at questions → Recognizing patterns and responding strategically

Language Development

• ~140 vocabulary items taught deeply across 20 units (7 per unit average)
• Grammar, collocations, pronunciation for each vocabulary item
• Systematic repetition: introduced → practiced → integrated → tested

Real Interview Readiness

• Confidence from thorough preparation
• Flexibility to handle unexpected question variations
• Professional vocabulary that impresses interviewers
• Calm delivery from extensive practice

What You'll Have at the End

✅ One polished 90-second self-introduction
✅ 8 STAR stories covering all major competency areas
✅ 8 language banks with 15-20 vocabulary items each
✅ Answers prepared for strengths, weaknesses, and motivation questions
✅ 6-8 intelligent questions to ask interviewers
✅ Experience with 3 full mock interviews with progressive improvement
✅ Confidence and skills to succeed in English-language job interviews

Ready to Begin?

This programme will transform your interview performance through systematic preparation, strategic thinking, and powerful English language skills. Let's get started with Unit 1!

Programme designed for B2 (Upper-Intermediate) level English learners
Individual units can be adjusted based on your specific needs and progress

Programme Overview

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for HR professionals, hiring managers, and team leads who need to conduct job interviews in English but lack confidence in their language skills. Whether you're interviewing candidates for the first time in English or want to sound more professional and polished, this course will give you the grammatical accuracy, vocabulary range, and functional phrases to succeed.

What You'll Learn

Over 20 sessions, you'll develop the specific language skills needed to conduct professional interviews—from question formation to managing challenging conversations. You'll master the grammar, vocabulary, and communication techniques required to:

• Form questions correctly using all major tenses and question structures
• Listen diagnostically to identify complete vs incomplete answers
• Probe systematically when candidates give vague or evasive responses
• Manage interview flow including redirecting, time-keeping, and pacing
• Use professional assessment language to evaluate and compare candidates
• Handle sensitive moments and difficult conversations diplomatically

Each session uses authentic interview scenarios as a framework for teaching language, ensuring you learn grammar, vocabulary, and phrases in realistic professional contexts.

Course Structure

The course progresses through five phases:

1. Question Formation Mastery — Building grammatical accuracy across all question types
2. Diagnostic Listening — Identifying answer quality and probing effectively
3. Managing Interview Dynamics — Flow, time, difficult candidates, and interruptions
4. Assessment Language — Describing, comparing, and recommending candidates professionally
5. Mock Interviews — Three structured mock interviews: first attempt with detailed feedback, intensive targeted refinement of weak areas, and final demonstration of mastery with comprehensive assessment

PHASE 1: QUESTION FORMATION MASTERY

Unit 1: Interview Opening & Structure Communication

What you'll learn:

• Professional opening phrases and welcome language
• Explaining interview structure clearly using present simple
• Setting expectations: "This interview will last...", "I'll be taking notes..."
• Transition phrases between interview sections
• Grammar: Present simple for procedures, future forms for outlining structure

Practice: Delivering professional interview opening (2 minutes)
Focus: Clear communication and professional tone from first moment

Unit 2: Past Simple Questions - Specific Events

What you'll learn:

This unit establishes the grammatical foundation for asking about specific past situations and completed actions. You will master the structure of past simple questions, understanding how auxiliary verbs work in question formation and recognizing common errors that undermine professional credibility.

The core structure taught is: Question word + DID + subject + base verb. Through systematic practice, you learn why the auxiliary 'did' carries the past tense marker, which means the main verb must remain in its base form. Common errors addressed include missing auxiliaries ("What you did?"), double past tense markers ("What did you decided?"), and incorrect word order.

You develop fluency with question patterns for exploring candidate experiences, understanding how different question words (What, How, Why, When, Where) combine with 'did' to elicit different types of information. The focus is on forming questions that sound natural while being grammatically accurate, essential for maintaining professional credibility during interviews.

Practice: Forming 30 past simple questions correctly with immediate correction and repetition until accuracy becomes automatic.

Focus: Grammatical accuracy in asking about completed actions and specific incidents, building the foundation for all subsequent question types.

Unit 3: Present Perfect Questions - Experience Over Time

What you'll learn:

This unit develops your ability to ask about career experience, repeated situations, and ongoing relevance using present perfect questions. You learn the critical distinction between asking about a specific completed event (past simple) versus asking about experience accumulated over time (present perfect).

The structure taught is: Question word + HAVE/HAS + subject + past participle. Through contrastive practice, you understand when each tense is appropriate: past simple asks about what happened in a finished time period, while present perfect asks about experience that connects past to present or about unspecified times.

Particular attention is given to past participle formation, including common irregular forms that frequently appear in professional contexts. You practice choosing the correct tense based on what information you're actually seeking from the candidate, understanding that tense choice affects the type and quality of answer you'll receive.

Practice: Choosing correct tense for 25 different question scenarios, with explicit reasoning about why each tense is appropriate.

Focus: Understanding which tense matches which question purpose, enabling you to ask precisely what you mean to ask.

Unit 4: Conditional Questions - Hypothetical Scenarios

What you'll learn:

• Second conditional structure: "What would you do if...", "How would you handle..."
• Third conditional for past hypotheticals: "What would you have done if..."
• When to use conditionals vs past questions
• Mixed conditionals for complex scenarios
• Grammar: Modal verbs (would, could, might) with conditional structures

Practice: Creating hypothetical scenarios and forming correct questions
Focus: Testing judgment and approach without requiring past experience

Unit 5: Open vs Closed Questions

What you'll learn:

• Open questions: "Tell me about...", "How did you...", "What was your approach to..."
• Closed questions: "Did you...", "Have you...", "Would you..."
• When to use each type strategically
• Converting closed questions to open questions for better answers
• Grammar: Question transformation techniques

Practice: Rewriting 20 closed questions as open questions
Focus: Generating detailed responses rather than yes/no answers

Unit 6: Probing & Follow-up Questions

What you'll learn:

This unit develops your ability to probe systematically when initial answers are incomplete or vague. You learn three categories of probing questions, each serving a distinct purpose in extracting complete information from candidates.

Follow-up questions expand on points already mentioned, encouraging candidates to provide more detail about specific aspects of their answer. Clarifying questions address ambiguity or unfamiliar terminology, ensuring you understand what the candidate actually means. Deepening questions push beyond surface descriptions to explore impact, consequences, and results.

The grammar focus is on question embedding and indirect questions, which allow you to probe while maintaining a conversational and non-confrontational tone. You learn how softening structures ("Could you tell me more about..." vs "Tell me more about...") affect the dynamic while still achieving your objective of extracting complete information.

Practice involves listening to incomplete or vague sample answers and forming appropriate probing questions in real-time, developing the skill of recognizing what's missing while the candidate is still speaking.

Practice: Listening to vague answers and forming appropriate follow-ups without script or preparation time.

Focus: Systematic probing to extract complete information while maintaining professional rapport.

PHASE 2: DIAGNOSTIC LISTENING

Unit 7: Identifying Complete vs Incomplete Answers

What you'll learn:

• Listening for the STAR framework: Situation, Task, Action, Result
• Recognizing when answers lack specific details
• Identifying missing elements in real-time while candidate speaks
• Red flags: excessive "we", vague generalities, missing results

Practice: Listening to 10 answers and diagnosing what's missing
Focus: Real-time analysis during conversation without disrupting flow

Unit 8: Recognizing Vague Language

What you'll learn:

This unit trains your ear to recognize when candidates use language that avoids commitment or specificity. You develop real-time awareness of linguistic markers that signal incomplete or evasive answers, enabling you to probe effectively.

You learn to identify hedging devices that candidates use (often unconsciously) to avoid direct statements about their role or results. Filler words and qualifying phrases that dilute clarity become recognizable patterns. You also learn to spot generalizations presented without supporting examples, and passive voice constructions that obscure who actually did what.

The training involves listening to sample answers and marking each instance of vague language, then discussing what specific information is being avoided and how to probe for it. This develops your ability to listen diagnostically while maintaining conversation flow, planning your next probing question while the candidate is still speaking.

Practice: Identifying vague language in 15 sample answers and articulating precisely what information is missing.

Focus: Spotting when candidates avoid giving concrete information, so you know exactly what to probe for.

Unit 9: Listening for the "We" Problem

What you'll learn:

• Distinguishing between team context and individual contribution
• Recognizing when "we" obscures personal role
• Patterns of deflection: "The team decided", "We all worked together"
• Probing phrases: "What did YOU specifically do?", "What was YOUR role?"
• Grammar: Emphasis structures to focus on individual action

Practice: Listening to team-heavy answers and extracting individual contribution
Focus: Getting to personal accountability and specific actions

Unit 10: Recognizing Quantified vs Unquantified Results

What you'll learn:

• Strong result indicators: numbers, percentages, timeframes, metrics
• Weak result indicators: "it went well", "successful", "positive outcome"
• Probing for metrics: "How do you measure that?", "What were the specific results?", "Can you quantify the impact?"
• Vocabulary: Measurement and outcome language

Practice: Comparing strong vs weak result statements
Focus: Pushing candidates to provide evidence of success

PHASE 3: MANAGING INTERVIEW DYNAMICS

Unit 11: Managing Time & Pacing

What you'll learn:

• Time signaling language: "We have about X minutes for this section", "I'm conscious of time"
• Transitioning between topics: "Let's move on to...", "I'd like to shift focus to..."
• Speeding up: "In the interest of time, could you summarize...", "Briefly, what..."
• Slowing down: "Let's take a moment to explore this further", "Tell me more about..."

Practice: Conducting 15-minute interview segment with strict time management
Focus: Balancing thoroughness with efficiency

Unit 12: Polite Interruption Techniques

What you'll learn:

This unit addresses one of the most challenging aspects of conducting interviews in a non-native language: interrupting candidates diplomatically when necessary. You learn to use modal verbs and softening structures to interrupt firmly without appearing rude or damaging rapport.

The grammar focus is on modal verbs (Could we, May I, Would you mind if) combined with appropriate interrupt phrases. You practice the crucial technique of acknowledging what the candidate has said before redirecting, which maintains respect while reasserting control of the conversation.

Through repeated practice, you develop judgment about when interruption is necessary: when candidates ramble beyond usefulness, drift off-topic, or provide excessive irrelevant detail. You learn to interrupt decisively but kindly, maintaining the professional relationship while managing interview time effectively.

Role-play exercises have the teacher intentionally rambling or going off-topic, requiring you to interrupt in real-time without preparation. This builds the confidence needed to interrupt when necessary during actual interviews.

Practice: Role-play with teacher rambling; you must interrupt diplomatically without script or preparation.

Focus: Firm redirection without appearing rude or damaging professional rapport.

Unit 13: Redirecting Off-Topic or Rambling Answers

What you'll learn:

• Redirection vocabulary: "Going back to...", "Returning to my question...", "Specifically, I'm asking about..."
• The "parking lot" technique: "That's interesting, let's note that and come back if we have time"
• Refocusing questions: "What I'm really trying to understand is...", "The specific thing I need to know is..."
• Maintaining rapport while redirecting

Practice: Managing 5 different types of off-topic responses
Focus: Getting candidates back on track without losing professional relationship

Unit 14: Handling Difficult Candidate Behaviors

What you'll learn:

• Vocabulary for managing defensive candidates, over-confident candidates, nervous candidates
• Phrases for hostile or argumentative moments: "I understand your perspective, and...", "Let's focus on..."
• De-escalation language: "I appreciate your passion about this"
• Encouraging hesitant candidates: "Take your time", "There's no wrong answer"
• Grammar: Diplomatic softening with "seem", "appear", "might"

Practice: Role-playing 6 difficult candidate scenarios
Focus: Maintaining control and professionalism regardless of candidate behavior

Unit 15: Non-Verbal Communication & Video Interviews

What you'll learn:

• Vocabulary for technical setup: "Can you hear me clearly?", "Your camera seems frozen", "Let me share my screen"
• Managing technical issues professionally
• Explaining delays: "I'm just making a note of that", "One moment while I..."
• Body language vocabulary: maintaining eye contact, nodding, facial expressions

Practice: Conducting mock video interview with simulated technical issues
Focus: Professional presence in virtual environment

PHASE 4: ASSESSMENT LANGUAGE

Unit 16: Describing Answer Quality

What you'll learn:

This unit develops your ability to articulate observations about candidate performance using professional, objective language. You learn to describe what you heard in an interview using vocabulary that is specific, defensible, and appropriate for assessment discussions with colleagues or documentation.

The grammar foundation is using present simple for observations and descriptions, understanding how this tense choice creates objectivity. You build systematic vocabulary for describing strong answers (specific, detailed, concrete evidence with clear structure and relevance) and weak answers (vague generalities, superficial treatment, rambling delivery, or unclear connections).

Professional collocations are taught explicitly: how certain adjectives combine with certain nouns in professional assessment contexts. You learn the difference between evaluative language that is defensible and language that is merely subjective opinion.

Practice involves listening to sample answers and describing them using the professional vocabulary taught, then comparing your descriptions with assessment standards to refine precision and appropriateness.

Practice: Describing 10 answers using professional assessment vocabulary with attention to objectivity and precision.

Focus: Articulating observations clearly and objectively using language appropriate for professional assessment contexts.

Unit 17: Comparing Candidates Objectively

What you'll learn:

This unit develops your ability to compare multiple candidates using professional, objective language that is clear and defensible. You learn the grammatical structures and vocabulary needed to articulate relative strengths and weaknesses without relying on subjective impressions or vague preferences.

The grammar focus is on comparative and superlative structures: understanding when to use "more specific than" versus "the most specific," how to construct balanced comparisons using "while" and "whereas," and how to qualify comparisons appropriately ("slightly stronger," "significantly more detailed," "considerably less experienced").

You build systematic vocabulary for professional comparison: exceeded expectations, met requirements, fell short, outperformed, comparable to. The emphasis is on creating defensible assessments that colleagues can understand and verify, using language that references observable evidence rather than subjective feelings.

Special attention is given to balanced assessment language—phrases like "on balance," "taking everything into account," and "overall"—which allow you to weigh different factors professionally. You learn to articulate trade-offs when candidates have different strength profiles: one might be stronger in technical knowledge while another demonstrates superior communication skills.

Practice involves ranking three candidates with written justification, then presenting your assessment orally using the comparative structures and vocabulary taught. This mirrors real assessment discussions with hiring teams where you must articulate and defend your evaluation clearly in English.

Practice: Ranking 3 candidates with written justification, then presenting comparative assessment using professional structures.

Focus: Clear, defensible comparison using language appropriate for professional assessment discussions with colleagues.

Unit 18: Presenting Recommendations and Justifications

What you'll learn:

This unit develops your ability to present hiring recommendations and justify your assessment to colleagues or decision-makers. You learn the language structures needed to build a persuasive case for your recommendation while acknowledging limitations or concerns honestly.

The focus is on organizing your assessment clearly: opening with your recommendation, supporting it with specific evidence from the interview, addressing potential objections or concerns, and concluding with a clear recommendation statement. You learn transition phrases that guide listeners through your reasoning logically.

Grammar work includes using present perfect to summarize the candidate's career ("The candidate has demonstrated..."), conditional forms to address concerns ("If we provide X support, they would..."), and modal verbs to express appropriate levels of certainty ("They should be able to..." vs "They would definitely...").

You build vocabulary for strength of recommendation: strongly recommend, recommend with reservations, recommend for advancement to next stage, do not recommend at this time. The emphasis is on being clear and direct while remaining professional and objective.

Practice involves preparing and delivering 3-minute oral recommendations for different candidate scenarios, learning to articulate your reasoning clearly under time pressure while maintaining professional credibility.

Practice: Preparing and delivering 3-minute oral recommendations with clear justification and evidence.

Focus: Presenting clear, well-justified recommendations using persuasive professional language appropriate for hiring discussions.

Unit 19: Closing Interviews Professionally

What you'll learn:

• Signaling closure: "We're coming to the end", "I have just a few more questions"
• Inviting candidate questions: "What questions do you have for me?"
• Explaining next steps clearly: "We'll be in touch by...", "The timeline is...", "You'll hear from us within..."
• Final phrases: "Thank you for your time", "It was a pleasure speaking with you"
• Avoiding false hope or premature rejection

Practice: Delivering professional closing for various scenarios
Focus: Clear communication of process while maintaining positive candidate experience

PHASE 5: MOCK INTERVIEWS & REFINEMENT

Unit 20: Mock Interview Cycle - Assessment and Mastery

What you'll learn:

This unit comprises a complete mock interview cycle conducted across multiple teaching sessions, progressively building your confidence and demonstrating mastery of all language skills developed throughout the programme.

Session 1 - First Mock Interview (30 minutes):

You conduct a full realistic interview where the teacher plays a candidate with varying answer quality (complete, vague, rambling, defensive responses). You are responsible for all aspects: opening the interview professionally, forming grammatically correct questions across different tenses, probing when answers lack detail, managing time effectively, taking notes while maintaining conversation flow, and closing the interview appropriately.

Your performance is assessed across five key areas: question formation accuracy (correct use of tenses, auxiliaries, and word order), diagnostic listening (recognizing incomplete or vague answers in real-time), probing effectiveness (systematic extraction of complete information), time management (balancing thoroughness with efficiency), and overall professional tone and presence.

Detailed feedback is provided identifying 3-4 priority areas for improvement based on your individual performance.

Session 2 - Targeted Refinement (50 minutes):

This intensive practice session focuses specifically on your identified weak areas from the first mock interview. Grammar correction work addresses any persistent errors in question formation, particularly auxiliary verb placement and tense selection. Vocabulary gaps are filled through drilling of missing probing phrases, assessment language, and redirection vocabulary that you struggled to access under pressure.

Functional skills practice targets specific challenges you faced: if you hesitated to interrupt rambling answers, you practice interruption techniques repeatedly; if time management was weak, you drill time-signaling language and transitions; if note-taking disrupted your flow, you practice efficient capture while maintaining eye contact and conversation rhythm.

Difficult scenarios from your first attempt are role-played multiple times with progressive improvement, and you receive strategic review to ensure all skills are interview-ready. Mental preparation techniques for interview situations are also introduced.

Session 3 - Final Mock Interview and Assessment (50 minutes):

The final 30-minute mock interview demonstrates all improvements from your refinement session. The teacher adopts a different interviewer style and presents new challenges to test your flexibility and mastery. You prove your ability to form questions correctly, listen diagnostically, probe systematically, manage dynamics professionally, and maintain confident presence throughout.

The remaining 20 minutes comprise your final assessment where performance is compared directly: Unit 20 Session 1 versus Session 3. Specific improvements are celebrated and documented. Your strengths as an interviewer in English are summarized clearly, and targeted recommendations for ongoing practice beyond the programme are provided. The session concludes with confidence-building discussion and encouragement for your continued development.

Focus: Demonstrating integration and mastery of all language skills developed across the 19 previous units through progressive mock interview performance.

Programme Benefits

Language Skills Development

• Grammar: Master question formation across all tenses, conditional structures, polite modals, embedded questions
• Vocabulary: Build systematic language banks for probing (40+ phrases), assessment (50+ collocations), and managing dynamics (30+ functional phrases)
• Listening: Develop diagnostic listening to identify incomplete answers, vague language, and missing information in real-time
• Functional Language: Open, question, probe, redirect, assess, and close interviews professionally in English

Professional Interviewing Skills

• Question mastery: Form grammatically correct questions across all tenses and structures
• Probing techniques: Extract complete information from evasive or vague candidates
• Time management: Balance thoroughness with efficiency in structured timeframes
• Assessment clarity: Describe and compare candidates using professional, objective language
• Difficult situations: Handle rambling, defensive, or challenging candidates diplomatically

Professional Confidence

• Conduct entire interviews in English without code-switching
• Probe systematically when answers are incomplete
• Redirect without seeming rude or losing rapport
• Take effective notes while maintaining conversation flow
• Assess candidates using clear, professional language
• Handle sensitive or difficult moments with diplomatic language

What You'll Have at the End

✅ Mastery of question formation across all tenses
✅ 40+ probing phrases for extracting complete information
✅ Diagnostic listening skills to identify incomplete or vague answers in real-time
✅ Techniques for managing time, pacing, and interview flow
✅ Professional vocabulary for interrupting, redirecting, and refocusing diplomatically
✅ Assessment language: 50+ collocations for describing candidate performance
✅ Note-taking system with abbreviations and shorthand
✅ Comparison language for ranking and recommending candidates
✅ Experience conducting 3 full mock interviews with progressive improvement
✅ Confidence to conduct professional job interviews entirely in English

Key Differences: This is LANGUAGE Training, Not Interview Training

✅ What This Programme DOES Teach:

• How to form questions grammatically correctly in English
• Professional vocabulary for interviewing in English
• Listening skills to understand what candidates are really saying
• Grammar structures for probing, redirecting, and assessing in English
• Functional phrases for managing all aspects of interviews in English

❌ What This Programme Does NOT Teach:

• How to assess technical skills (that's role-specific)
• What makes a good hire (that's business judgment and HR strategy)
• How to design competency frameworks (that's HR methodology)
• How to avoid bias or ensure fairness (that's HR best practice and compliance)

This is Business English training focused on the language skills needed to conduct interviews professionally.

Ready to Begin?

This programme will transform your ability to conduct professional job interviews in English through systematic language development, diagnostic listening practice, and confident application.

Let's start with Unit 1!

Programme designed for B2 (Upper-Intermediate) level English learners
Individual units can be adjusted based on your specific needs and progress