Shadowing Practice: How to Conduct a JOB Interview With Confidence! (Structure, Steps and Sample Questions) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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So you have an interview to conduct with a new hire, you're a new leader, you've never conducted an interview before,
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and you probably have a lot of questions about how to conduct a job interview.
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How can you tell if someone's a good fit?
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How do you know what questions to ask?
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Well, in this video, I have got you covered with some practical advice on how to conduct a job interview.
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So let's get straight into it.
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The first thing I want to talk about is the interview structure.
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So what stages or structure should the interview follow and ideally there are three stages to every job interview.
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Generally when you conduct an interview, the interview will last one to two hours and the candidate will meet with two to three people.
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Now the first stage of the interview is where you ask the candidate questions.
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You need to know if they're going to be a good fit
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and you do this by asking them the right questions and by asking them good questions during the interview.
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It helps you understand more about who this person is.
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Will they be a good fit for the job?
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Will they be a good person to hire for the company?
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And you only have a short amount of time to do this.
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So generally interviews go for one hour.
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So you only have 20 to 30 minutes within that one hour time frame to ask the candidate questions.
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And this means you really need to ask them good questions.
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So you don't waste your time and you don't waste their time either.
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The second part to a job interview is where you sell the job and the company to the candidate.
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And for this, you need to remember that a job interview is a two -way process.
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It's not only you asking the candidate questions to see if they're going to be a good fit.
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You need to be able to sell the job and sell the company to the candidate as well.
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In the current market, job candidates have a lot of choice.
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They could be interviewing with many different companies and every one of those companies are offering different benefits or different incentives.
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So sometimes you really have to fight for the good candidate, to fight for the candidate that you want.
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Now the third part of the interview should be where the candidate asks you questions.
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Now I do recommend that you tell the candidate at the beginning of the interview.
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They can stop you at any time throughout the interview
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and ask you questions about something they would like to know more about.
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But if they have additional questions, and it's very likely they'll have additional questions, especially after you have explained what the job is about,
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what the company is about, it is a good idea for you to have the last
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part of the interview allocated for them to ask you additional questions.
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You want them to walk away from the interview being well informed, having a full picture and a full idea of what the job is about,
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whether they would like it or not, what the company is about, whether they would fit into the company.
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You want them to have as much information as possible
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so they can make the best decision if and when you offer them a position.
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So those are the three stages that interviews generally follow.
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Next, we're going to talk about what questions you should ask during the interview.
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But before we get into that, if you like what you've learned so far in this video,
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there are two things you can do to help my channel.
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The first is to hit the like button at the bottom of this video.
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This tells the algorithm that people like you like this video, so they'll show it to more people on YouTube.
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And the second thing you can do is to subscribe to my channel.
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So every week I release videos to help you advance as an emerging leader, and I would be honored to share my future content with you.
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Now let's move on to questions you should ask during the interview.
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Most people who are new to job interviews
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or conducting job interviews have no idea of what questions they should or they need to ask during the interview.
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The last thing you want to do is not ask the right questions
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and end up with a new hire who just isn't a good fit for your team.
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In a moment, I'll share with you 15 sample questions that you can use for your next job interview.
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But first, I want you to think about what is required in the job.
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What does this successful candidate need to do?
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What qualities or strengths do they need to convey in that job?
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What experience do you want them to have when they step into that new role?
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These are the things that you need to think about when preparing for your job interview.
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But the good news for you is most of this work has already been done when you crafted the job advertisement.
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Whether it was you, whether it was the HR department,
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there has been thought put into what is required for the person you are about to hire.
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So I recommend you get out that job advertisement, look at what competencies are talked about or mentioned in
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that job ad and include them in the questions that you create for the job interview.
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And I recommend that you think not only about what you currently need, not only about what you need right now for the job,
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but what could you potentially need next year in two years time or even five years time.
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You need to think about this in the long term or more the medium term as well.
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So you can make sure that you hire the right person for the job now,
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but also the right person for the job in two years time
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or five years time because the jobs evolve and people should be able to evolve with the job as well.
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Ideally, you want to hire somebody who has future potential in that role or in the company.
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So here are some sample questions that you can ask the job candidate.
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Now, I have these written down because there is no way I am going to remember them.
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So if you're stuck for questions to ask and you need inspiration, these are 15 questions that you can use.
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Question one, tell me about yourself.
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Question two, what do you know about our company and why do you want to work here?
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Question three, what do you know about the job you're applying for?
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Question four, what skills and strengths can you bring to this position?
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Question five, what is the most interesting project you've worked on in your career or past position and why?
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Number six, have you ever been in a position where you had to perform a challenging task
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or do something that was new to you?
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How did you handle it?
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What did you learn from that experience?
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And the topic of this question should be linked to the required competencies for that job.
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Number seven, can you tell me about your current job?
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Number eight, what are the best and worst things about your current job?
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Number nine, why are you leaving your current job?
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Number 10, how would your boss describe you?
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Number 11, how would your co -workers describe you?
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Number 12, Can you tell me about any skills or competencies that you don't have yet, but you would like to develop?
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Number 13, can you tell me about something that's not on your resume or your LinkedIn profile?
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14, what are your future career goals?
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15, do you have any questions for me?
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So as I mentioned, you can pick and choose from these questions, choose the ones that are most relevant to you.
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If you can think of other questions that you want to include
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because of the competencies that are required for the job you are interviewing for,
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well then replace some of the questions I've mentioned with those questions instead.
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Now, I also recommend you to share the questions with the interviewee beforehand.
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A lot of companies don't do this.
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They want to keep the questions secret.
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They don't want to share them with the job candidates coming for the interview.
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They want it to be a surprise for them to see how they react.
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But my thoughts about this is it's a bit unfair for the job candidate.
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They're coming to the job interview.
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They're going to be stressed they're going to be really nervous.
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When people are stressed you don't get a good picture of who they really are.
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They have a mask on because they want to do such a fantastic job and win that job interview.
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So they're going to show you a version of themselves
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that they want you to see or that they think you want to see.
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And this is how nerves and stress can sometimes mask a person's true potential or a true personality.
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You need to see the version of them without stress.
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You need to see the version of them in a normal, stress -free, relaxed environment.
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Of course, they're going to be somewhat nervous and stressed.
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It's a job interview at the end of the day.
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There's probably a lot riding on them winning this interview.
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But as much as you can, you want to see the version of them that is the true them.
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And sharing the questions with the candidate in advance helps to bring their stress levels down
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because they know what to expect and they can prepare better for the job interview
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if they know what questions you're going to ask them.
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Now, you don't have to share all of the questions.
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You don't have to share the 15 questions that you're going to ask them.
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But even by sharing five questions that you could ask them or that you will ask them, it will help to relax them.
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It will help them to walk into that job interview a lot more relaxed,
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a lot less stressed, and it will help them to show the true version of who they are.
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I want to put a quick break in this video to see if you have downloaded the Leadership Evaluation Toolkit.
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This is a free download from my website, a 35 -question self -assessment to see where you stand as a leader.
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It is very much focused on visibility to see how visible you are as a leader.
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I'll put the link on the screen at the bottom here
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and it's also in the description below if you want to click on it and go straight to that resource.
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If you have decided that the person you are interviewing is a good fit for the job, if they have answered the questions really well,
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then you can move on to selling the job and selling the company to them.
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So this is the second stage in the interview structure.
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You have to remember that the person sitting in front of you, the person interviewing for this job may have other interviews lined up after yours.
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They may be looking at other companies and other jobs.
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You may not be their first choice. So you, part of your job during the interview is to sell the job to them
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and to sell the company to them as well.
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You need to convince them why they should work for you and the benefits of working with you.
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Start by explaining in your own words what does the job entail.
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What will their day -to -day duties be?
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What are their responsibilities?
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Who do they report to?
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What does the team or department do?
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How many people are in the team?
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How do they fit into the team or the structure?
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Then you can move on to the company and start selling the company to them.
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So talk about what the company does.
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Of course, they should already know this, but hearing from you helps to give a bit more clarity to what the company does.
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What are the values of the company?
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This is really important so that person can see if they will fit into the company.
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What are the goals for the department or the company?
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Where is the company located?
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How many employees does the company have?
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This is basic information that the interviewee probably already knows about, but it's nice for them to hear it directly from you.
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And the most important thing you need to talk about and tell the candidate is how much does the position pay?
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Let's talk about that in more detail.
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It's a bit of a controversial topic.
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Many companies do not share salary range openly during the interview process.
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I guess they feel that they have better bargaining power if they don't reveal or share this information during the first interview.
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But my opinion on this is it's not fair to the candidate.
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You need to give them an honest and a transparent interview process.
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They have spent hours preparing for this interview.
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They may have even spent days or weeks preparing for this interview
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or at least stressing about it anyway you need to tell them how much they could be earning.
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This is probably the most important question they want answered during the interview.
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If they walk out of the interview not knowing the salary range
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or how much you could be paying them and they walk into another interview that tells them immediately,
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directly they're going to be earning $80 ,000 a year and they get that job offer,
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it's an easy decision of which job they're going to take.
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You don't have to give the exact salary to the job candidate
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and I recommend that you don't
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because it's very likely after you conduct the interview you will need to consult with the HR department
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or other managers or leaders of the company as to how much you want to pay this person.
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So I recommend you give a salary range between $50 ,000, $60 ,000 or $60 ,000, $80 ,000 or $120 ,000 to $150 ,000.
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Whatever the salary range is going to be, the person interviewing for the job needs to know how much they could be paid.
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They need to know whether it's going to be worth their time to continue the interview process with you.
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The final part of the interview is where you open the interview up for the candidate to ask you questions.
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As I mentioned this is something you should tell them they're able to do all throughout the interview process
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but if they have additional questions
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and it's very likely they'll have additional questions at the end
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you need to allocate some time for them to ask you those questions.
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Now, well -prepared candidates will ask you questions.
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They will have questions prepared that they want to ask you.
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But sometimes people clam up, sometimes people get nervous, or maybe you have already answered the questions that person has prepared in advance for you.
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So you may need to prompt them to ask you questions by saying things like, what did you think about the company?
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How do you feel about the job?
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Is there any information we've discussed that you would like me to elaborate on?
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This prompt can help them to relax a bit
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and to trigger their mind into thinking about what questions they could possibly ask you.
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It basically makes their job a little easier during the interview.
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Because remember at the end of the day, you want to get to know the real person.
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You don't want to know the person who is hiding behind stress and nerves.
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You want to help them relax so you know the real person you could potentially be working with.
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And at the very end of the interview, you need to inform the candidate of the next steps.
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When should they expect to hear an answer from you?
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Who will contact them with an answer?
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Who can they contact if they have any additional questions?
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You should then review their contact details, their email address and their postal address and walk them to the elevator,
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thank them for the time and say goodbye.
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I know it can be really daunting to conduct a job interview as a new manager or as a new leader,
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but I truly hope that this video has given you some really good guidance and direction on what to do,
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what to ask and how to just go about it in general.
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Another topic that many emerging leaders want to know about is how to give negative feedback.
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This can be a really stressful situation, especially if you've never given negative feedback before, or even if you've given it before,
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you might just be really stressed or nervous about it.
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So in this video, I share an easy, simple three -step structure to follow to help you give negative feedback when you need to.
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Thank you so much for watching.
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If you like this video, hit the like button, subscribe to my channel, and I'll see you in the next video.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “How to Conduct a JOB Interview With Confidence!”. This video has 205 sentences and 2888 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:41. The speaker talks fast, about 197 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 93% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 40 of its 205 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hire verb | /ˈhaɪɹ/ | To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment. |
| salary noun | /ˈsæləɹi/ | A fixed amount of money paid to a worker, usually calculated on a monthly or annual basis, not hourly, as wages. Implies a degree of professionalism and/or… |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| feedback noun | /ˈfiːdˌbæk/ | Critical assessment of a process or activity or of their results. |
| earn verb | /ɝn/ | To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| potentially adverb | /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/ | In a manner showing much potential; with the possibility of happening in a given way. |
| mask noun | /mæsk/ | A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection. |
| nerve noun | /nɝv/ | A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics. |
| inform verb | /ɪnˈfɔɹm/ | To communicate knowledge to. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| emerge verb | /ɪˈmɝd͡ʒ/ | To come into view. |
| prompt verb | /pɹɑmpt/ | To lead (someone) toward what they should say or do. |
| advertisement noun | /ˈædvɚˌtaɪzmənt/ | A commercial solicitation designed to sell some commodity, service or similar. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get out verb | To leave or escape. | |
| hide behind verb | To use someone or something as a shield in order to avoid taking responsibility for something; to avoid attention by using someone or something as a shield. | |
| line up verb | /laɪnˈʌp/ | To align; to put in alignment; to put in correct adjustment for smooth running. |
| walk away from verb | To abandon or leave; to shun; to refuse. | |
| write down verb | To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How can you tell if someone's a good fit?
- How do you know what questions to ask?
- Question three, what do you know about the job you're applying for?
- How did you handle it?
- What did you learn from that experience?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've never conducted · have explained · you've learned |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | would be honored · is required · been done |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who are · somebody who has · ones that are |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should be · should ask · should or |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 42 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, they're, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, advertisement /ˈædvɚˌtaɪzmənt/, ideally /aɪˈdi.ə.li/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/
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 hire, salary, relax.
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.