Vocabulary Words to Use During a Job Interview

Interview vocabulary that demonstrates leadership capabilities

You can use various interview vocabulary words to describe your leadership
capabilities, whether you're applying for a leadership position or a job
requiring a large amount of independent work.
 Negotiated: "In my previous job, I negotiated client contracts to find
a price point that worked best for their needs."
 Supervised: "I supervised a team of 10 product engineers throughout
the design and testing phases for prototypes."
 Coordinated: "I was responsible for coordinating department
activities in the absence of my direct superior."
 Monitored: "I monitored three of our major accounts to check for
transaction errors or outstanding debts."
 Managed: "I managed the daily activities of 25 employees during my
time as a sales manager."
 Pioneered: "I pioneered a new task delegation system to enhance
department productivity by 15%."

Interview vocabulary that demonstrates cultural fit

As you prepare for a job interview, you should note verbs or adjectives you find
in an employer's mission statement. You can use these words when you
answer interview questions about company culture or your previous
professional experiences. It allows employers to connect your qualities with
their company's overall mission.
 Accountable: "I always hold myself accountable to ensure that I meet
deadlines and own up to my mistakes."
 Open-minded: "I think it's important to be open-minded to new
ideas and opinions because your ability to take on new challenges or
roles influences your ability to evolve with your company to
accommodate its goals."
 Innovative: "In my previous job as an HR generalist, I worked hard to
create innovative onboarding procedures that significantly enhanced the
hiring process."
 Committed: "I am committed to providing superb customer service in
my role as a customer service representative."
 Respectful: "I believe that respect is key to maintaining coworker
relationships and customer satisfaction."
Interview vocabulary that demonstrates successfulness (éxito)
Like on your resume, a job interview is an environment where you can
highlight your accomplishments within your personal and professional life.
Using these interview vocabulary words helps employers learn more about how
you could contribute to the company's success.
 Accomplished: "I accomplished several things during my time
there, including scanning and organizing all files into a digital filing
system and creating an employee feedback channel."
 Resolved: "I resolved a product defect and made the design even
better in the process."
 Strengthened: "I strengthened our business's communication channels
by programming an internal system."
 Discovered: "I discovered a new reward system that motivated my
team to enhance their work efforts by 20%."

Interview vocabulary that demonstrates teamwork

When you use words or phrases that highlight your teamwork skills, you
provide employers with insights into how you could promote team efforts at their
company.
 Supported: "When working with coworkers on a project, I always
support their ideas and compliment them on their creativity."
 Collaborated: "I regularly collaborated with the customer service
and sales teams to refine product designs, address defects and gauge
consumer needs."
 Challenged: "I challenged my teammates to develop our ideas further
before finalizing our proposal."
 Delegated: "My teammates and I delegated tasks based on our
strengths to maximize our team efforts."

Questions you might have to answer in a job interview

1- Why do you want to work at this company?
Example answer: “This company has always been ahead of all oil
companies and it is the LARGEST oil company in Argentina. I want to
work here because I like oil engineering. This company is very
interesting to me, and people in this company are very competitive and
intelligent. It is a personal and professional challenge”.

2- What are your greatest strengths?

 To answer, follow the formula below:
1. Share one or two positive qualities and personal attributes: "I’ve
always been hard-working and organized. I’m a team player too, and I
like being part of a team”.
2. Back them up with examples: "...In my PRESENT job, I work for
many hours because I have to travel for several hours a day, and I work
with two other people. We organize our routes so that we can be more
productive. We all visit different fields so that we can cover more fields.
Twice a week, we meet at the office TO talk about problems and
solutions for those problems.
3. Relate them back to the role for which you’re interviewing: I
know that continuing to work in a team and in an organized way is my
goal. It will help me grow professionally and acquire knowledge.

3- What are your greatest weaknesses?

Consider using this formula for your response:

1. Select an actual weakness (not a strength) that's honest but
professionally relevant: "I’m very, very structured...”
2. Add context: "...I really like WORKING following instructions or
definite plans ...”
3. Provide a specific example:" ...For example, in my last job I had to
improvise solutions to problems. Even though I wasn’t comfortable doing
it, I was the leader at the time and I knew it depended on me and my
team, so I learnt to manage unexpected situations ...”

4- What are your skills for this position?

While this is similar to questions like “Why should we hire (contratar)

you?” or “What can you bring to the company?” it allows you to be more
specific about your work ethic, style and unique abilities as it
relates to the role. An impactful answer will discuss your hard and soft
skills, and how those skills benefitted your employer.

Example answer: “I can make anyone feel comfortable in a new

environment, which makes me a good fit as a human resources
representative. In my previous position, a new employee came to me
and told me that she didn’t think she was right for the company culture. I
took the time to talk with her and it turned out she had misunderstood a
list of volunteer opportunities her manager had emailed as being a very
long list of mandatory work she was expected to complete during
weekends. I was able to assure her that we did not have any such
demands, and she eventually signed up for one of the volunteer
positions and loved the experience.”
 5- Why should we hire you?
Use this time to reinforce your best qualities and skills and mention anything
else that didn’t come up during the interview. Practicing your answer in advance
will help you sound confident and reinforce your communication skills.
Example answer: “I think I’m a great fit for this job because I’m highly
deadline-oriented and I thrive in a fast-paced work environment. You mentioned
that you prefer weekly status updates over monthly updates and that’s
something I’m already doing in my current job. So, this job feels like a realistic
workload and something that would be an exciting challenge.”
6- Why are you leaving your current job?
Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of your current or previous role,
focus on the future and what you hope to gain in your next position.
Example answer: “While I value the experience I’ve gained from my current
role; I’d like to continue challenging myself by taking on more responsibilities.”

7- What is your salary range expectation?

“My salary expectation is between $00,000 and $00,000, which is
the average salary for a candidate with my level of experience in this city.
However, I have some flexibility.”(include negotiation options)

8- How do you work under pressure?

Example answer: “Throughout my career, I’ve discovered how to embrace
working under pressure. I find that routine can make us complacent, so I try to
look for challenges that push me to grow. One time, I was supposed to deliver a
project to a client in five days. A colleague who was working with another client
had the same deadline, but he had to take a leave of absence due to personal
reasons. I was asked to take up both projects at the same time. While I felt an
initial sense of panic, I came up with a very detailed time management plan
and found new ways to boost my efficiency that enabled me to deliver
both projects on time.”

Questions for practice

 Tell me something about yourself.
 How did you hear about this position?
 Why do you want to work here?
 Why did you decide to apply for this position?
 What is your greatest strength?
 What are your strengths and weaknesses?
 What do you know about this company/organization?
 Why should we hire you?
 What is your greatest accomplishment?
 What are your salary requirements?
 Do you have any questions for us?
 What are you looking for from a new position?
 Are you considering other positions in other companies?
 What is the professional achievement you’re most proud of?
 What kind of working environment do you work best in?
 Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

 Give an example of how you have handled a challenge in the workplace before.
 Give an example of when you performed well under pressure.
 Give an example of when you showed leadership qualities.