English for job interviews in the US: phrases that work

An interview in your second language is hard, even when you know the job well. The good news: American interviews follow a predictable pattern, and a small set of natural phrases covers most of it. Here are the most useful ones, with notes on what American interviewers are listening for.

1. "Tell me about yourself"

This is almost always the first question. The interviewer wants a short, professional story, about one minute, not your whole life. A simple structure is present, past, future:

• Present: "I'm currently a project coordinator at a logistics company, where I manage schedules for a team of twelve."
• Past: "Before that, I worked in customer service for five years, so I'm used to solving problems quickly."
• Future: "Now I'm looking for a role where I can take on bigger projects, which is why this position caught my eye."

2. Talking about your experience

Americans expect you to talk about your own results directly. It can feel like bragging in some cultures, but here it's normal and expected. Use "I", not only "we":

• "I was responsible for…"
• "I led a team of…"
• "One thing I'm proud of is…"
• "As a result, we cut costs by about 15%."

For "Tell me about a time when…" questions, answer in four steps: the situation, your task, the action you took, and the result. Interviewers call this the STAR method, and many of them listen for it.

3. Strengths and weaknesses

For strengths, give one or two with a quick example: "I'm very organized. In my last job, I set up the shared calendar the whole office still uses."

For weaknesses, choose something real but not central to the job, and show what you're doing about it:

• "I used to find it hard to say no to extra work, so now I check my priorities with my manager each week."
• "English is my second language, so I take extra time to review important emails. It's made my writing much clearer."

4. Buying time and asking for clarification

Pausing to think is completely fine. Silence feels longer to you than to the interviewer. These phrases sound natural and professional:

• "That's a good question. Let me think for a second."
• "Just to make sure I understand, are you asking about…?"
• "Sorry, could you repeat the last part?"
• "I haven't done that exactly, but I've done something similar…"

5. Questions to ask at the end

Almost every interview ends with "Do you have any questions for us?" Saying "No, I don't" can sound like you aren't interested. Prepare two or three:

• "What does a typical day look like in this role?"
• "What would success look like in the first three months?"
• "How does the team usually work together?"
• "What are the next steps in the process?"

About pay: in California, employers must tell you the pay range for the job if you ask, so it's fine to ask politely: "Could you share the pay range for this position?" Many people save detailed questions about salary and vacation for a later interview.

6. Small talk and the follow-up

Interviews often start with a minute of small talk: "Did you find the office OK?" or "How's your week going?" A short, friendly answer is perfect: "Yes, thanks, it was easy to find. It's been a good week, thank you."

Within a day, send a short thank-you email: "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I enjoyed learning about the team, and I'm excited about the opportunity." It's a small habit that many American employers notice.

Practice out loud

Reading these phrases helps, but saying them out loud, with someone asking real follow-up questions, is what makes them come naturally under pressure. Juliet runs mock interviews with feedback on your answers, pronunciation and body language as part of Business English coaching ($70 per hour), online or in person on LA's Westside.