Job Interview in Spanish: Dialogues and Vocabulary to Prepare
Mis amigos, if you have a job interview in Spanish coming up, you might be quite nervous about it, and you want to avoid a dialogue like this:
- ¿Me puede decir su nombre y por qué quiere trabajar aquí? (Can you tell me your name, and why you want to work here?)
- Well, eeehhhh mi…nombre… Maria Fernanda… Quiero… trabajo… muy interesante… (Well, erm my…name… Maria Fernanda… I want… work… very interesting…)
No, no, no! If you want to nail that job, you need to be prepared. In this video, I’ll help you ace that interview to get that job you want!
Meet Maria Fernanda, she is interviewing for a marketing position, and today we will be shadowing her to learn chunks in Spanish.
MARIA
Buenas tardes, tengo cita con el Lic. Castillo a las 4 pm.
(Good afternoon, I have an appointment with Mr. Castillo at 4 pm.)
RECEPTIONIST
¡Con gusto! ¿Cuál es su nombre y me puede indicar el propósito de su visita?
(With pleasure! What is your name and can you tell me the purpose of your visit?)
MARIA
Mi nombre es María Fernanda y vengo a la entrevista para la vacante de Gerente de Mercadotecnia.
(My name is María Fernanda, and I am here for the interview for the Marketing Manager position.)
RECEPTIONIST
¡Muy bien! Tome asiento.
(Alright! Have a seat.)
Awesome! Your interview process starts from this moment. Remember… las primeras impresiones son muy importantes (first impressions are very important). Now, let’s move on to the following stage.
RECEPTIONIST
Licenciada, el director está listo para recibirla. Sígame por favor.
(Ms., the director is ready to meet you. Follow me please.)
MARIA
Claro que sí.
(Of course.)
LIC. CASTILLO
Buenas tardes Lic. Morales. Tome asiento por favor. ¿Podría dar una copia de su Currículum?
(Good afternoon, Ms. Morales. Have a seat, please. Could you give me a copy of your CV?)
MARIA
Sí claro, aquí tiene.
(Of course, here it is.)
LIC. CASTILLO
¡Perfecto! ¿Puede hablarme un poco de usted?
(Perfect! Could you tell me about yourself?)
First common question you might encounter, tell me a little about yourself… Take a few seconds to think what would you tell. Bear in mind that they have read or not in advance your CV, so do not overthink this question. In 30 to 45 seconds, make a quick summary of yourself and your previous roles. Pause this video in here if you want to impersonate María and make up your own answer.
This is what Maria could have said.
MARIA
¡Claro que sí! Soy María, soy originaria de Veracruz. Inicié mi carrera en Mercadotecnia hace 10 años con la compañía de Spring Spanish, estaba a cargo de la estrategia, planeación e implementación del área Digital. Algo de lo que estoy orgullosa, fue del crecimiento que tuvimos en tan sólo 1 año. Con las estrategias adecuadas y la motivación del equipo, logramos los resultados antes de lo esperado.
(Of course! I am María, I am originally from Veracruz. I started my career in marketing 10 years ago with the company Spring Spanish, I was in charge of the strategy, planning and implementation in Digital. Something I am proud of, is the growth we had in one year. With the right strategies and team motivation, we achieved these results earlier than expected.)
Try to highlight your skills and achievements in this paragraph. Here, I only talked briefly about one position, but you might have taken different roles in the past, and you want to be able to recap and outline those in this first part of the interview.
Now, let’s move on with our next question:
LIC. CASTILLO
Gracias Licenciada, y ¿podría decirme por qué eligió aplicar a esta posición? ¿Qué podría usted aportar a nuestra compañía?
(Thanks Ms., and could you tell me why you chose to apply for this position? How could you contribute to our company?)
In this question, you need to be able to say WHY YOU? Why should you be considered for this position, and why would you like to do this job in this company specifically. Again, I will give you a few seconds to think about your answer before I share my alternative:
MARIA
Entiendo que para el puesto de Gerente de Mercadotecnia, ustedes están buscando gente comprometida y que tenga una mentalidad proactiva y de mejora continua. Debido a mi historial en mis roles anteriores, tengo una gran capacidad de identificar los riesgos y crear soluciones eficientes antes de que sean un problema. Tengo la certeza de que tengo las habilidades deseadas para este puesto y que puedo contribuir de manera positiva a la compañía para lograr sus objetivos estratégicos, de acuerdo a su Agenda de Mejora para el año 2030.
(I understand that for the position of Marketing Manager, you are looking for committed people that have a proactive and improvement-oriented mindset. Thanks to my work history in my previous positions, I have a great ability to identify risks and come up with efficient solutions before they become a problem. I am certain that I have all the required skills for this role and that I can contribute positively to achieve the strategic company goals, in alignment with your Improvement Agenda for year 2030.)
In this part, you’re not only highlighting your experience and desirable skills required for this position, but also you’re telling them that you have researched the company and future expectations. Using this type of chunks would help you sound confident and certain about what you’re talking about.
Speaking of certeza (certainty), it is very common to be asked this question:
LIC. CASTILLO
¿Dónde y cómo se ve en 5 años?
(Where and how do you see yourself in 5 years?)
This is a hard one! You might not even know what you are going to do this weekend, and they expect you to answer where you see yourself in the next 5 years…
Well, mis amigos, this is a tricky question. They want to know if your professional goals align with the company’s motto. They are expecting to find long term employees, rather than people that won’t commit. Then, take a few seconds and think how would you answer this question in Spanish?
Maria might reply:
MARIA
¡Qué buena pregunta! La realidad es que busco estabilidad en mi vida. En 5 años me veo trabajando en esta compañía, pero siempre progresando. No me gusta estancarme, así que buscaría la forma de siempre mejorar dentro de mi rol y seguir creciendo internamente. En 5 años me visualizo con más conocimiento, sabiduría y ejecutando un rol directivo en su empresa.
(What a good question! The truth is that I am looking for stability in my life. In 5 years, I see myself working for this company, but always progressing. I don’t like to stall, so I would look for a way to always improve within my role and keep growing in the company. In 5 years I see myself having more knowledge, wisdom and occupying a leadership position in your company.)
Wow! Maria is ambitious, but she is definitely trying to leave a mark here. Here are other common questions that you might hear during the job interview:
- ¿Cuáles son tus fortalezas? (What are your strengths?)
- ¿Cuáles son tus debilidades? (What are your weaknesses?)
- Cuénteme de alguna situación en la que realizó un excelente servicio al cliente. (Tell me about a situation where you delivered excellent customer service.)
- ¿Alguna situación difícil y cómo la resolvió? (Any difficult situation and how did you solve it?)
- ¿Cuál es su expectativa de sueldo? (What are your salary expectations?)
- ¿Tiene alguna pregunta para nosotros? (Do you have any questions for us?)
Some questions that you can and should ask your interviewer are:
- ¿Qué es lo mejor de trabajar en esta empresa? (What is the best thing about working in this company?)
- ¿Qué expectativas tiene la empresa dentro de mi departamento a corto y mediano plazo? (What are the expectations of the company in my department in the short and medium term?)
- ¿Qué planes de educación o formación tiene la empresa? (Which training and education plans does the company offer?)
- ¿Cuáles serían los próximos pasos del proceso de selección? (What are the next steps in the selection process?)
So, did you get that job? Well, hablemos de negocios (let’s talk business) then!
