Shadowing Practice: Cracking the Job Interview Code - Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Okay, Aubrey, in this video, I want to talk about how to prepare for a job interview.
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There are certainly different ways to do that, the do's and the don'ts.
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Your thoughts on this?
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Yeah, so I guess an important thing is to research the company
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that you're applying for because you don't want to show up and not know anything.
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That's embarrassing.
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You need to know what job you're applying for
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and what the company culture is
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when you say company culture i think that's an important point could you elaborate on that yeah
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so you can get a general idea of the culture by
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following their social media by taking a look at their websites what they have as benefits
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obviously you're not going to have a complete picture of what that looks like until you've worked there.
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But, you know, based on what they have on social media, what they have on their website, you might get an idea of, okay, are they more business casual?
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Do they, is it a formal environment?
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You know, things like that.
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Okay.
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And those are great ideas.
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What about questions?
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What are some things that you should really consider before going to the interview?
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Questions you might be asked and questions perhaps you should ask.
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Yeah.
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So as far as things that you're going to be asked, there's always the typical ones, like tell us about yourself.
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What is your greatest weakness?
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So be prepared to have all of those answers lined up.
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Pretty generic.
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Pretty generic.
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You're going to be asked about your work history.
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And if you're leaving a job, they'll probably ask you why.
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Okay.
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And don't trash your previous company.
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Well, I think that's really important.
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I think people sometimes you know don't turn off their filter
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you know they they just you know just talk about things
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that they really should be more measured about one thing to remember in an interview
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and this did happen to me one time um is what company you're interviewing with on that particular day
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i had an interview
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and i was doing a mock training where i was talking to a client a client
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and it was like oh hey this is aubrey from what company am i am i training with oh no
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uh i'm here to call you about your training i did get
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that job but it was very awkward
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because i couldn't remember what the company's name was yeah and i think also you should be prepared for unexpected questions.
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For example, I might ask someone, if you were to join this company, what position or what role do you hope to play in the next two to five years?
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Oh, yeah, that's a that's an important one.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?
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That's a common question.
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I mean, you know, people are anticipating, as you mentioned, what are your strengths?
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What are your weaknesses?
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How do you resolve conflict and so forth?
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But I think companies are really going to ask more probing questions, especially if they know they have 52 other people.
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How are you going to stand out?
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What are you going to do differently than the 51 other people that are applying for the job?
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Exactly.
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And if someone asks you what book you're reading, because you said you like to read, just make something up because that's another thing that happened to me.
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I forgot what book I was reading.
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No, I would make things up.
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I would probably say you know what i've read a number of different books because if they catch you
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if they catch you in
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that small micro i i think it's more important to say you know what um that's really good what is
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that book i was reading recently i can't remember
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that i mean i would say something certainly you want to make sure
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because it's like they're like oh what are you reading right now?
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And I'm like, it's a book.
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It has a name.
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It's about something.
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I was just listening to it in the car.
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I don't know what it's called.
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And I think the other thing is you really have to have more than just superficial answers.
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In other words, you know, a lot of times people can say anything for five minutes, but then you better know something.
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You have to be able to say things.
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Let me ask you, what about questions that you could ask the company?
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Because sometimes people get caught flat -footed.
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Oh, I get a chance to ask.
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And rather than just asking, you know, how many hours am I going to work?
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You know, these really trivial type of questions.
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I think people should be more prepared to ask questions.
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And what type of questions do you think people could ask?
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Yeah, so it depends on what stage of the interviewing process you're at.
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Like one thing that was important to me, and I didn't bring this up in an initial interview, but is what benefits are offered,
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especially here in the United States where health insurance is part of your employment package.
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because otherwise health insurance is way too expensive and healthcare is expensive in this country.
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So what are my benefits?
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What kind of health insurance is offered?
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What are my options there?
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Is vision included?
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Is dental included?
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Those are things that are good to know, but I wouldn't ask them in the first interview.
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Good point.
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Like what does a typical day look like?
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That's a good question.
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Yeah, that's fair.
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What do you like about your job is a good question.
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So we've talked about these questions.
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Let me let's wrap things up by asking this.
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What should you wear and not wear?
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I mean, I'm talking about clothing, about hairstyles, about earrings, about whatever.
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How should you go into that particular interview?
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Yeah.
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So that's also going to depend on like what industry you're interviewing for and whether it's more formal.
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You definitely want to wear something nice.
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Like don't just wear your street clothes.
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But if you're interviewing like for a business job, you might be more formal than if you're interviewing for something else.
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Like if you're interviewing for a restaurant, you might dress differently.
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Like if you're interviewing in a medical field, you might wear scrubs.
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You know, it just depends.
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Okay.
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And what about you?
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You have blue hair.
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So how would that impact if you were looking for a new job?
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How would you approach that?
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um so I'd probably find out what the company policies are
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and whether or not I can even have blue hair okay um
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but it might be something I address at first it's like hey you know my hair is currently blue is
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that going to be okay should I change my hair like
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I'm perfectly willing to change my hair color you know just put
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that out there one time
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when I was looking for jobs I did go from blue
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to back to brown although I do want to let you know if you do want to go from blue to brown, it might turn green.
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Okay.
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Be careful with that one.
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Yeah.
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Well, thank you, Aubrey, for sharing some insights and thoughts on how to prepare for a job interview.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Cracking the Job Interview Code - Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: interview, interviewing, wear, hair, blue. This video has 123 sentences and 1234 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:11. The speaker talks at a natural 172 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 28 of its 123 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| generic adjective | /dʒɪˈnɛɹ.ɪk/ | Very broad; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups as opposed to specific instances. |
| weakness noun | /ˈwik.nɪs/ | The condition of being weak. |
| earring noun | /ˈɪəɹɪŋ/ | A piece of jewelry worn on the ear. |
| embarrass verb | /ɪmˈbæɹəs/ | To disrupt someone's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely. |
| hairstyle noun | The style in which someone's hair has been cut and arranged. | |
| scrubs noun | Clothing worn while performing surgery. | |
| superficial adjective | /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/ | Existing, occurring, or located on the surface. |
| trivial adjective | /ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/ | Ignorable; of little significance or value. |
| anticipate verb | /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/ | To act before (someone), especially to prevent an action. |
| microwave noun | /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/ | An electromagnetic wave with wavelength between that of infrared light and radio waves. |
| mock verb | /mɑk/ | To mimic, to simulate. |
| probe noun | /pɹoʊb/ | Any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc. |
| cloth noun | /klɒθ/ | A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes… |
| elaborate verb | /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/ | Тo develop in detail or complexity. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| line up verb | /laɪnˈʌp/ | To align; to put in alignment; to put in correct adjustment for smooth running. |
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. | |
| stand out verb | To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.). | |
| turn off verb | To power down, to switch off, to put out of operation, to deactivate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What is your greatest weakness?
- How do you resolve conflict and so forth?
- How are you going to stand out?
- What are my options there?
- What should you wear and not wear?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | might be asked · be asked · are offered |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've worked · i've read · we've talked |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should really consider · should ask · should be |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might get · might be · might ask |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 33 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: superficial /ˌsupɚˈfɪʃəl/, anticipate /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, elaborate /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like depend, generic, weakness.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.