When it comes to London, you don’t get a more English place. So imagine my consternation at having to apply for a job at an English-dominant company in the marketing industry!
At that time, my English skills were not quite at the professional level I hoped for, and I was heck nervous about the job interview. I was concerned that my English fluency would leave me in the lurch—so I set out to improve my overall English skills and become more fluent. I wanted to ace the interview and get that dream job.
Fluency in my career communication meant I had to learn basic fluency and also business communication to present myself as an asset and a great hiring choice.
Do you perhaps have to prepare yourself for the challenge of being interviewed in English when it’s not your native language? Here’s what worked for me.
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1. Understanding What Interviewers Look for in Business English Fluency
I realized that the best way to figure out which aspects of English I should focus on was to first understand what the interviewers were looking for. It also depended on the type of interview environment I would enter.
Being a career interview, I knew that I could expect business English to be used in spoken and written format. Of course, I had to work on not sounding like a Harvard business roundup. Here’s what I focused on:
Clear Communication
I worked on clarity when I spoke. English sounds quite different to my native Russian or Ukrainian that I grew up with, so I really focussed on clarity of articulation.
Watching several YouTube videos helped me address how the shape of my mouth during pronunciation would influence the sounds I produced.
But clarity is also more than just how clearly you say words. It’s also about expressing a thought clearly and without ambiguity. To do this, I practiced using short sentences, with a core idea behind everything I said, so I could avoid waffling on while I “searched” for words.
I also made a list of possible words that I thought the interviewers might use, such as:
Impact
Team player
Leadership
Skills set
Marketing environment
Of course, the words for your interview will depend on the type of industry you work in and what is most commonly expressed or discussed in the interviews for that.
Listening Skills
Next, and this isn’t solely a new professional language issue, but I worked on improving my listening skills.
There are two aspects to this particular skill. Firstly, it’s essential to really hear the interviewer without the distraction of thinking of what to say next or how to answer the next question. You need to truly hear them and understand what they are saying.
In addition, I had to learn to listen to the unique way in which different countries speak English. In London, I could expect a range of peculiar accents, from a more formal Queen’s English to anything as diverse as Cockney accented English.
I found that listening to English podcasts and watching real British TV helped me train my ear to different forms of spoken English.
Cultural Understanding
For an English interview, it was unlikely that we’d be heading down to the pub for a pint and a game of “footie on the tellie” (which is so typical of English culture). However, I had to get some insight into the way people spoke in England and what would be considered polite versus rude.
Professional etiquette isn’t the same across the world, and I knew that it included everything from how I spoke to what I wore and little things like whether I should accept an offer of refreshments or not.
While my interview was for a marketing position, I had no way of knowing just how formal or informal my interview would be, so I prepared for both options.
Grammar and Pronunciation
Nothing is more annoying than someone saying something really badly or pronouncing it so incorrectly that its meaning is lost. So I worked really hard on industry terms and business English expressions to ensure I didn’t end up with an “English” egg on my face.
Imagine if I had pronounced ROI as “roy” instead of “R-O-I” or spoke about “market intently” as what people wanted. (#EpicFail)
Body Language
Europeans and British people don’t always share the same body language cues, so I carefully watched the body language of female actors in British TV shows and the news to see how they moved, sat, stood up, and handled paper or documents.
While I didn’t want to “be” British, I knew it would tide me over with the interviewers if I didn’t seem too “foreign.”
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2. Practicing Common Interview Questions in English
A quick search of common interview questions in English and the addition of the business industry I specialize in gave me some great questions to prepare for.
Here are the ones I worked most on in preparation for my interview:
Most Common Job Interview Questions
“Tell me about yourself.”
“Why do you want to work here?”
“What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
“Can you describe a challenging marketing situation and how you handled it?”
Crafting Strong Responses
With the STAR method, I quickly created unique and powerful responses.
Situation – In exploring the interview environment, I could plan for all eventualities.
Task – Different tasks in my preparation helped me present my responses in an organic way that I could adapt to any interviewer.
Action – Once I knew the basics of my responses, I studied them, focusing on specific keywords my interviewers may use that would help me pick the right responses.
Results – When I felt confident in my responses, I tested the anticipated results by having Daniel, my husband, mock-interview me.
Focusing on Industry-Specific Questions (i.e., Marketing for Me):
Of course, I realized I would have to talk the talk of marketing, which was the job I was applying for, so I brushed up on the latest industry terms, applications, and methods.
I prepared a few answers about my past marketing campaign successes, how I leveraged data-driven results, and shared client stories.
Fortunately, I could get up to speed quickly as most marketing resources have English online blogs to check out.
3. Increasing My English Fluency for Business and Marketing Roles
To speak confidently and fluently, I had to increase my vocabulary, which is where flashcards of terms and industry words were a great help. If you are interviewing for a less technical job, you can try to use your new words in your daily conversations leading up to the interview.
Your language partner, friend, or tutor can help you with role-play activities that can take some of the fear of speaking English (with the English) out of the equation. Preparation helped me to be less stressed, which will help to boost my fluency. And it can do the same for you!
Thankfully, there are a few language learning apps that have specific lessons geared to helping you prepare for fluency during an interview process – so check out these resources before your big day.
Listening is as vital as speaking a language when it comes to business English and its applications. You have to hear the interview question, understand it, and then think about how to answer it. So speaking is only a third of the process!
I recommend listening to English podcasts or radio stations and then explaining what you heard to someone else. This is a great way to listen so you can hear, understand, and respond.
4. Enhancing Your Confidence in Speaking English
One of the best ways to improve your English is to speak it. Having conversations with friends, tutors, and in language communities will do more for you than a book will ever do.
And if you can’t have in-person conversations, then listening to native speakers is the next best thing.
So I joined language exchange platforms and I tried to get up to speed at international networking events where I could practice with other native English speakers.
Because I specifically wanted to learn English in the scope of marketing, I watched countless video lessons by marketing executives like Rand Fishkin, learning and listening to how English is spoken in my industry’s scope.
5. Tailoring Your Language Skills to a Marketing Job
It may sound strange to you, but in the weeks leading up to my job interview, I began to speak “marketing” in English to my friends and family.
I asked my kids what “brand positioning” their particular choice in clothing reflected today, and poor Daniel often had to hear me refer to a move on the soccer field as great “conversion practice.”
By using words that my industry required in daily life, I began feeling much more comfortable in using them and pronouncing them.
Who knew that marketing jargon like “sales funnel” and “buyer pain points” can be quite sexy when used in everyday English?
When I shared a new idea for the day, I treated it as a “negotiation” that I could practice in business English with my family. If my English was good enough to convince them and I felt that I was speaking smoothly enough, I would be able to do the same during my interview.
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6. Preparing for Practical English Skills in Marketing Interviews
A final aspect I had to look at was technology and my ability to speak to that in English. In addition to the industry specific terms, I also brushed up on my knowledge of popular tools used in marketing and how to discuss them in business English.
So I watched some tutorials in English about programs like Canva, PowerPoint, Slack, and productivity tools like Monday. Additionally, I practiced reading information in data form from spreadsheets, using specific niche terms like ROI, CTR, and KPIs.
7. Using Technology to Improve Your English Skills
Back in the day, language apps hadn’t really evolved to include business English yet, but today, there are amazing options available that you can use to prepare for your English job interview.
Babbel’s Business English Courses
Babbel is a popular language-learning platform offering 15 courses, focused on helping users become conversational quickly through practical usage and exercises.
The platform includes additional tools like podcasts and a browser extension, enhancing the immersive learning experience.
The Business English Course
Babbel’s Business English course is designed for professionals who need to communicate effectively in a work environment.
It’s particularly useful for individuals aiming for promotions or new jobs where English fluency is essential.
The course covers a variety of professional fields such as hospitality, tourism, marketing, and more, catering to different industry needs.
Why Babbel’s Business English Course is Essential
The course offers real-world business scenarios, vocabulary building, and listening practice, helping users gain confidence in professional communication.
Babbel provides a mix of self-study and live lessons, making it a flexible option for busy professionals.
Though not a standalone course, Business English modules are accessible within Babbel’s language courses and offer targeted learning for career growth.
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Key Insights and Considerations Before You Enroll
While Babbel’s Business English course offers solid fundamentals, it may not be advanced enough for some learners.
Combining Babbel with other resources, like tutoring or industry-specific material, is recommended to help you become fully fluent and comfortable using Business English in your job.
The Final English Prep
Preparing for fluency and presentation in English in a business setting requires that you work methodically. It’s not all about grammar or pronunciation—though, those matter too. You have to speak confidently, think in English, and reflect your amazing skills in English (even if it’s not your native language).
Work on your English fluency in how you listen, hear, understand, think, and answer. And remember, it’s not just about the interview.
You will soon have English-speaking colleagues when you get that dream job—so ensure you can have great conversations with them too.
Happy preparing!
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