4.

2 Interview: openings
Silvia: Hello. I’m here for an interview with Mr Lewis. My
name is Silvia Carnali.
Receptionist: Ah yes, Ms Carnali. Nice to meet you. I’m
afraid Mr Lewis is in a meeting at the moment.
Silvia: That’s quite all right. Shall I take a seat and wait
over there?
Receptionist: Yes, I’m sure he’ll be out in a minute. Can I
get you anything while you wait?
Silvia: No, thank you, I’m fine. Actually, have you got a
company brochure or something I could read about
the company?
Receptionist: Yes, of course. Here’s a recent company
brochure.
 4.2 Interview: openings(續)

Silvia: That’s great. Thank you very much. By the way, do

you know how many people are being interviewed for
this job?
Receptionist: As far as I know, there’s only two of you
scheduled for today, although I think there might be
another candidate tomorrow morning. That’s it, I think.
Matt Lewis: Hello. You must be Silvia Carnali. I’m Matt
Lewis.
Silvia: Yes, that’s right. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Matt: I’m sorry I’m late. Our meeting overran a bit.
 4.2 Interview: openings(續)

Silvia: That’s okay. I was just admiring the office.

Matt: So, Silvia – may I call you Silvia?
Silvia: Of course.
Matt: How are you?
Silvia: I’m very well, thank you.
Matt: Would you like a coffee or a drink before we begin?
Silvia: No, thank you, I’m fine.
Matt: Okay. Well, let’s go into my office then, shall we?
 4.2-2 Interview: openings(續)

Karl: Good morning. My name is Karl Osborne. I’m Head of

Production here at the theatre. It’s nice to meet you at
last.

Alex: Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too, Mr Osborne.

Karl: Please, call me Karl.

Alex: Thank you. And I’m Alex.

 4.2-2 Interview: openings(續)

Karl: So, Alex. Did you have any trouble finding us?

Alex: No, no trouble at all. Your directions were excellent.

Karl: How did you get here?

Alex: Well, I got the train to Liverpool Street and then I got
the tube.

Karl: So you managed to avoid the rain then? I can’t

believe the weather at the moment!
 4.2-2 Interview: openings(續)

Alex: I know. It’s awful, isn’t it? Still, it’s supposed to get
better by the weekend.

Karl: Let’s hope so. So, Alex, how did you find out about us?
We’re quite a small theatre and we didn’t advertise the
position in a lot of places.

Alex: You were highly recommended to me by a friend who

works here. He heard about the job and suggested I apply.
Karl: Oh really, who was that?
 4.6 Interviews: an effective answer
The first thing I do is make sure I’ve got a really clear
picture of what I need to achieve. Let me give you an
example . Last year I managed a project to archive all our
old customer billing records, which were in huge piles of
paper in a storage room. So I needed to be really clear
about what information was important. I always speak to
everyone involved before I take any action. In this case, I
spoke to the admin staff who were actually going to use the
archive, as well as to their boss, to find out what they
needed. I always use project management software to help
me keep track of what I have to do and when I have to do it.
This was really important with my archiving project,
because I was managing quite a large team of people.
 4.6 Interviews: an effective answer(續)

But I also make sure I keep an eye on whether my team

are actually doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and
don’t just rely on the software. And I deal with unexpected
situations as they come up. For example, several members
of my team went on sick leave, and I had to get some
temporary workers in and train them up quickly so I didn’t
miss any deadlines.