Interview Skills 10 - Concluding The Interview

Hello everyone and welcome to EnglishPod.

My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine and if you've been following along with us recently, you'll know that we

have a series about interviewing in English.

And so today we have the very last episode of that series.

That's right.

Today is the last part of our interview series and we're basically just saying goodbye and

we're doing some other things when you're leaving an interview.

It's very important the things that you say.

That's right because this is the last thing that you're going to do in the interview so

it's what your interviewer will remember.

So let's take a listen to today's dialogue and we'll be back in a moment.

Well Rebecca, is there anything else you need to know for now?

I don't think so Mr. Parsons.

I think you have covered all the main points for me.

Okay, well listen.

Here's my business card with my mobile number.

If any other questions spring to mind, don't hesitate to contact me.

Of course you can also call Ms. Childs too.

Great.

When can I expect to hear from you?

Well we are finishing the short list interviews tomorrow so we will certainly have a decision

made by early next week.

Ms. Childs will call you to discuss more on Monday or Tuesday.

How does that sound?

That sounds perfect.

Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me Mr. Parsons.

The pleasure is all mine Rebecca.

I hope to hear from you very soon.

Absolutely.

Thanks for coming Rebecca.

Goodbye.

Alright, great.

So really good things from Rebecca.

She said some very interesting things, key things there.

So why don't we take a look at those on Language Takeaway.

Language Takeaway.

At the beginning of the end of the interview, Rebecca says, listen, I think you have covered

all the main points for me.

So this is after Mr. Parsons asks her if she has questions.

And this word covered is very important.

That's right.

So if we talk about cover, to cover the main points or to cover a topic, it means to discuss

it thoroughly or to have it finished.

Right.

So if I still have questions, we have not covered everything.

But if I did ask all the questions that I have, then we've covered everything.

So the verb here is to cover.

That's right.

Okay.

So Rebecca says, well, you know what, here's my business card with my mobile number.

So this word business card, key element of any interview or any business situation.

As you say, a key part of any business interaction.

So a business card is a very small card, usually thick, and it has a person's name, job, phone

number and sometimes email address now on the card.

So the information can change, but it's a contact card basically for one person.

That's right.

So it's important to have around, especially in situations like this.

Okay.

And moving on, he also told her that if she has any other questions to not hesitate and

to contact him.

This is a very common phrase.

Don't hesitate to contact me or don't hesitate to ask.

That's right.

So to hesitate means to be nervous about something or to maybe not do it because you're uncomfortable.

So, you know, Marco, I want to ask you something, but I'm not sure if I want to ask you, maybe

you'll be angry or so.

I'm hesitating.

Right.

Okay.

The verb here is to hesitate.

You have doubts.

I have doubts.

And so he says, don't hesitate to contact me.

That means any questions, any issues, please call me.

Okay, very good.

And Mr. Parson said that they are finishing the short list of interviews tomorrow.

So what does it mean a short list?

Well, a short list is something we talk about during the interview process because the interviewer,

so in this case, Mr. Parsons will have a long list of people who want the job.

And maybe after the first interview, he will cut the list down to a very small number of

people, 10 or 15.

And that is called the short list.

So those are the people who did well on the first interview, but who maybe should come

back for a second or third interview.

That's right.

Okay, very good.

A lot of great things there.

Why don't we take a break?

Let's go back and listen to the dialogue.

Let's see what Mr. Parsons and Rebecca said.

And we'll be back with some really good phrases that you can close off an interview with.

Well, Rebecca, is there anything else you need to know for now?

I don't think so, Mr. Parsons.

I think you have covered all the main points for me.

Okay, well, listen.

Here's my business card with my mobile number.

If any other questions spring to mind, don't hesitate to contact me.

Of course, you can also call Ms. Childs, too.

Great.

When can I expect to hear from you?

Well, we are finishing the short list interviews tomorrow, so we will certainly have a decision

made by early next week.

Ms. Childs will call you to discuss more on Monday or Tuesday.

How does that sound?

That sounds perfect.

Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me, Mr. Parsons.

The pleasure is all mine, Rebecca.

I hope to hear from you very soon.

Absolutely.

Thanks for coming, Rebecca.

Goodbye.

All right, we're back.

So now let's take a look at those phrases we mentioned on Fluency Builder.

Fluency Builder.

So let's go back to the beginning where Mr. Parsons is talking about questions that Rebecca

might have.

And so Mr. Parsons says, if any other questions spring to mind, don't hesitate to contact

me.

So this phrase, spring to mind, is very interesting.

What does this mean?

Well, basically if something springs to your mind or springs to mind, it means that it

comes very suddenly and quickly into your mind.

It just pops into your head.

Wow.

So to spring or springs in this case is like jumping.

So something hits your mind very quickly, comes into your mind very quickly.

So oh, I don't really have any ideas, Marco, for that party next week, but if anything

springs to mind, you should let me know.

Okay.

If you have any sudden ideas or anything you suddenly remember, that's what it means to

spring to mind.

Okay.

So taking a look at these expressions that Rebecca used when she's leaving, for example,

you know that you finished the interview and a typical question that you want to make is,

when can I expect to hear from you?

This is a great question at the end of an interview because it's basically a way of

saying, listen, I'm interested in this job.

When will you call me about it?

And so the phrase, when can I expect to hear from you means, when will you tell me your

decision?

That's right.

But it's a lot more polite and formal and better than saying, when are you going to

call me?

Yeah, you would never say that in an interview because it makes you sound desperate, like

you really need the job.

In this case, you know, when can I expect to hear from you?

It's like, oh, well, you know, I hope that you'll get in touch with me.

That's right.

Okay.

So she explained that they're shortlisting everything and that they will be in touch

with her very soon.

And she said, wow, that sounds perfect.

Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me.

Okay, so this phrase, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me, it's very

long.

But you know what thank you very much means.

The key here is for taking the time to do something.

Now what does this mean?

What's another way we can use this?

It's basically saying thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to talk to you.

I know you're very busy and I know you don't have a lot of time.

So thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me.

Right.

So you could even use this with a teacher at school.

You know, you have a question, your teacher is busy, but your teacher makes some time

to meet with you.

You say, hey, listen, professor or listen, teacher, thank you so much for taking the

time to speak to me.

You're just demonstrating that you appreciate the effort and the time.

And you're being very polite.

That's right.

Okay.

And then the last phrase, when Rebecca is leaving the room, they're shaking hands maybe

and Rebecca says, I hope to hear from you very soon.

You can say I hope to hear from you soon.

But in this case, she's saying, listen, I really want this job.

She doesn't want to say, call me, you know, call me tomorrow.

She says, I hope to hear from you soon.

I hope that this works out that I get the job.

Right.

So she's basically demonstrating a lot of interest saying, well, I really like the job

and I really would like for you to call me and give me good news.

So I hope to hear from you soon.

Exactly.

So let's listen to today's dialogue one more time and we'll be back in a moment to talk

a little bit more about how to end an interview.

Well Rebecca, is there anything else you need to know for now?

I don't think so, Mr. Parsons.

I think you have covered all the main points for me.

Okay.

Well, listen, here's my business card with my mobile number.

If any other questions spring to mind, don't hesitate to contact me.

Of course, you can also call Ms. Childs too.

Great.

Um, when can I expect to hear from you?

Well, we are finishing the short list interviews tomorrow, so we will certainly have a decision

made by early next week.

Ms. Childs will call you to discuss more on Monday or Tuesday.

How does that sound?

That sounds perfect.

Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me, Mr. Parsons.

The pleasure is all mine, Rebecca.

I hope to hear from you very soon.

Absolutely.

Thanks for coming, Rebecca.

Goodbye.

So this is a great way of ending an interview.

Rebecca did a really good job, and I think there are a couple of suggestions or tips

that you would like to give our users.

Yeah, well, one of them is don't, at the end of the interview, ask the person if you have

the job.

They'll say, we will be in touch, or thank you so much for coming in.

But if they don't say, we would really like to have you join this company, then you probably

shouldn't ask.

You should say, you know, when can I expect to hear from you?

That's more polite.

Because I think a lot of times, if you didn't get the job, it makes the interviewer feel

very uncomfortable.

But also, it's just a polite thing to do.

So be careful with that.

And I've also been told from people in business that if you do receive a job offer, don't

accept right away.

Say I will think about it, and I'll get back in touch with you.

Oh, OK.

Kind of like a strategy maybe to better negotiate the terms and conditions.

Exactly.

So you want to take that information, you want to go home, you want to think about it,

talk about it with your wife or your husband, and decide, is this something I want?

And then you can contact the employer.

Right.

Yeah, I think that's a very good idea.

And also, I think it's not a wise thing to call or contact the employer asking if you've

got the job or asking if they have any news yet, because I think that can be a little

bit annoying.

But if they say, we will be in touch on Tuesday, and it's a week later, and they never got

back to you, send a follow up.

Of course.

A follow up is an email or a letter or even a phone call where you say, listen, I'm really

glad I got to meet you today.

I hope that we have the opportunity to work together in the future.

Always be in touch.

Sincerely, and then your name.

Kind of like a reminder.

It's a reminder, like, I want the job.

Here's my information.

Let's do this.

Or at least if I didn't get the job, let me know that I didn't get it.

Yeah, exactly.

All right.

So a lot of great advice here.

Great things coming.

And we'll be back again with another series.

We're going to have a presentation series.

So be sure to keep an eye out for that.

And if you have any other questions or comments, we're always at EnglishPod.com where you can

find us.

We'll see you there.

Bye-bye.