Listening practice
A Job Interview Excerpt: B2 Listening
A candidate explains why she applied and backs it up with an example.
- Age
- Ages 18+
- Level
- B2
- Skill
- Listening
- Time
- 30 min
- Format
- Interactive
- Listening
- Dialogue
The voice is your device's built-in speech synthesis, not a recording, so it sounds different on every phone, tablet and computer. Dialogues use two voices where the device has them. The transcript is always one tap away.
1. Before you listen
Read the question, then listen to the whole script once and choose the answer.
2. Listen
Play the whole script or one line at a time. Try the questions before you open the transcript.
Transcript
- Interviewer:Line 1 · Transcript hidden
- Candidate:Line 2 · Transcript hidden
- Interviewer:Line 3 · Transcript hidden
- Candidate:Line 4 · Transcript hidden
- Interviewer:Line 5 · Transcript hidden
- Candidate:Line 6 · Transcript hidden
- Interviewer:Line 7 · Transcript hidden
- Candidate:Line 8 · Transcript hidden
3. Listen for detail
Listen again and answer the five questions.
4. Dictation
Play each sentence and type the missing words. Capital letters and punctuation don't matter.
- 1.This role would let me work on fixing those problems , rather than just dealing with the consequences.
- 2.Within two months, those calls about forty per cent.
- 3.Honestly, persuading people it was .
- 4.The product team had other priorities, so I had to with data before anyone took it seriously.
- 5.I'm comfortable with spreadsheets, but I'd need to with your analytics tools.
5. Your turn to speak
Answer two interview questions about yourself: “Tell me about a problem you solved” and “What would you find most challenging in a new role?” Use a real example and say what the result was.
Printable worksheet
The tasks, the transcript and an answer key on a separate page.
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Name: ______________________ Date: ____________
A. Before you listen
What is Sofia's main reason for applying?
- ☐ a) She wants to earn a higher salary
- ☐ b) She wants to work from home
- ☐ c) She wants to fix problems at their source
B. Listen for detail
- How long has Sofia worked in customer support?☐ a) About two years☐ b) About four years☐ c) About six years
- What were many customers calling about?☐ a) Resetting their passwords☐ b) Late deliveries☐ c) Mistakes on their bills
- The number of these calls fell by around forty per cent.☐ a) True☐ b) False
- What was the hardest part of the project for Sofia?☐ a) Rewriting the instructions on the reset page☐ b) Persuading people it was worth their time☐ c) Collecting the most common questions
- Sofia already knows the company's analytics tools well.☐ a) True☐ b) False
C. Dictation: write the missing words
- This role would let me work on fixing those problems , rather than just dealing with the consequences.
- Within two months, those calls about forty per cent.
- Honestly, persuading people it was .
- The product team had other priorities, so I had to with data before anyone took it seriously.
- I'm comfortable with spreadsheets, but I'd need to with your analytics tools.
D. Speaking
Answer two interview questions about yourself: “Tell me about a problem you solved” and “What would you find most challenging in a new role?” Use a real example and say what the result was.
Transcript
Interviewer: So, Sofia, thanks for coming in. Could you start by telling me why you applied for this role?
Candidate: Of course. I've been working in customer support for about four years now, and over that time I've become more and more interested in the reasons behind the problems customers call about. This role would let me work on fixing those problems at the source, rather than just dealing with the consequences.
Interviewer: That makes sense. Can you give me an example of a time you did that in your current job?
Candidate: Sure. Last year, I noticed we were getting dozens of calls a week from people who couldn't reset their passwords. I collected the most common questions, took them to the product team, and we rewrote the instructions on the reset page together. Within two months, those calls had dropped by about forty per cent.
Interviewer: Impressive. What would you say was the hardest part of that project?
Candidate: Honestly, persuading people it was worth their time. The product team had other priorities, so I had to back up my argument with data before anyone took it seriously.
Interviewer: And if you joined us, what do you think you'd find most challenging?
Candidate: Probably the technical side. I'm comfortable with spreadsheets, but I'd need to get up to speed with your analytics tools. I've already started an online course, though.
Key phrases are in bold.
Answer key
- A. c) She wants to fix problems at their source
- B. 1 b) About four years · 2 a) Resetting their passwords · 3 a) True · 4 b) Persuading people it was worth their time · 5 b) False
- C. 1 at the source · 2 had dropped by · 3 worth their time · 4 back up my argument · 5 get up to speed