Introduction to the Express to Impress Podcast

Hello!
It’s Kristine here with the Express to Impress, and today I’ll be talking about interviewing in a second language. Speaking in a second language is tough; interviewing is tough. Doing both of them at the same time? Well, it can feel like walking into the lion’s den. It’s not for the faint of heart. And yet, there’s a lot of brave souls out there who are willing to do what it takes to land a job in their second language.

So, today, I want to tell you a story about when I interviewed in Spanish, which is my second language, and share my top five tips for how you can succeed in an interview in your second language. Then we’ll look at the idioms I use in this episode.

During my final year of college, I did what many students do. I attended classes while working part-time at an internship. As graduation neared, the company offered me a full-time position, but I did not want to start my career there. So I graduated and kept working as an intern while searching for jobs. I had an income and leverage as I set out to land a job I really wanted. I applied for some jobs in Spanish and some in English. I’m not a native Spanish speaker, but I studied it in high school and college, earned a minor in Spanish, and studied it abroad in Costa Rica and Mexico for about 15 weeks total. My Spanish was the best it had ever been, but I was not fluent by any stretch of the imagination. My biggest challenge was figuring out what verb tense to use. I did love the idea of being fluent in Spanish one day, and I figured that landing a job in Spanish could help me get there. Plus, I’d worked so hard to learn Spanish! I didn’t want to be like so many people who study another language for years and then forget everything. So, I applied for a job that required Spanish--and landed an interview!

To prepare, I checked out audiobooks by Isabel Allende in Spanish. I listened to them every day and every chance I could. I also volunteered at a nonprofit organization where I helped Spanish-speaking children with their homework. I felt more comfortable speaking in Spanish with children than adults because kids are just so accepting, and they were excited that I was spending time with them, and they didn’t mind that my Spanish wasn’t perfect.

If I got the job, I would be meeting with pregnant teenage girls and their families regularly to explain, in Spanish, the resources available to them so that the girls could have healthy pregnancies and births. The employer wanted to make sure I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and test my Spanish language skills, so they had me shadow a potential coworker. I tagged along and entered families’ homes, sat on their couches, listened, and exchanged pleasantries. I also observed a prenatal class led in Spanish, which would be part of my job responsibilities. It was an incredibly intimate work setting. While I was excited to envision a new path for my life, I was out of my comfort zone and felt intimidated. I knew I didn’t need to be fluent to land the job, but I only understood about 50% of what they were saying in Spanish. This was prenatal vocabulary after all! Not exactly textbook Spanish!

I knew I needed to improve my Spanish a lot to do well at the job. But even though I felt in over my head, I showed enthusiasm and confidence to the woman I was shadowing. I passed the initial screening, and the employer called me in for an interview. When I arrived, I saw a long rectangular table filled with my interviewers! I sat down and told them I wanted the job. I told them I loved the idea of...

Full transcript at http://www.express-to-impress.com/podcast/.

Infographics at https://www.pinterest.com/ExpresstoImpress/.