Goal guide: career
What to say in a job interview in English, how to describe your experience on a CV or LinkedIn, and the phrases that make remote work and promotions easier. With exercises, practice options and prices checked on 25 October 2026.
Prepare five or six work stories with the STAR method, practise them aloud until they sound natural rather than memorised, and do at least two mock interviews with a person who can comment on your answers. Use AI interview practice for repetition in between. Once you have the job, the phrases that matter most are for status updates, asking for help and disagreeing politely.
Sample answers for a B1 to B2 speaker: clear, specific, short. Change the facts; keep the shape.
They want: Your work now, one achievement, why this job.
I'm a project coordinator with five years' experience in logistics. I manage shipping schedules for about forty clients at a freight company in Lisbon, and last year I led our move to a new tracking system. Now I'm looking for larger projects, and your expansion into Northern Europe is exactly the kind of work I want to do.
Tip: Present, past, future, in 60 to 90 seconds.
They want: That you know the company and the role fits.
Two reasons. Your work on recyclable packaging, which I read about on your website, is the kind of project I want to join. And this role combines planning with client contact, the part of my job I enjoy most.
Tip: Use a real detail from the company's site or news.
They want: Self-awareness, and proof you fix problems.
I used to say yes to every extra task, so I sometimes had to rush to meet deadlines. Now I agree priorities with my manager every Monday, and when a new request comes in, I ask which task should move.
Tip: A real weakness, not central to the job, plus the fix.
They want: A positive reason that points forward.
I've learned a lot there, but there's limited room to grow into project management, and I'm ready for bigger projects.
Tip: Never criticise your current employer.
They want: Interest in the work itself.
Yes, two. What would success look like in the first six months? And what are the next steps in the process?
Tip: Always ask at least one.
For "Tell me about a time when ..." questions, tell a short story: Situation, Task, Action, Result. An answer to "Tell me about a time you solved a problem under pressure":
Situation
Last March, two days before a product launch, our main supplier told us half of our order would arrive a week late.
Task
I was responsible for making sure every store had stock on launch day.
Action
That morning I called three other suppliers, found one that could deliver most of the missing stock within 48 hours, and agreed with the sales team which stores would get it first.
Result
All forty stores opened with stock, and launch-week sales were 12% above target. Since then we've kept a backup supplier for every launch.
Why it works: past simple, "I" for what you did ("we" only for team results), a number in the result, and under 90 seconds spoken. Prepare five or six, each showing a skill from the job advert.
Asking for a repeat is normal, and a short pause sounds thoughtful.
To clarify
To buy time
Start each line with a strong verb, then add a result:
| Instead of | Write | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I am very hard-working and motivated person. | Completed a data analysis certificate while working full time. | Missing "a"; and show it, do not claim it. |
| Worked in sales department during 3 years. | Worked in the sales department for three years. | "The", and "for" with a length of time. |
| Assisted to client meetings. | Attended client meetings. | False friend: "assist" means help. |
| Manage a team of five. (a past job) | Managed a team of five. | Past tense for past jobs. |
| Actually I work as a marketing manager. | I currently work as a marketing manager. | False friend: "actually" means "in fact". |
CV or résumé? British English says CV; in the US a résumé is the short job document, and a CV usually means a longer academic one. Many English-speaking employers do not expect a photo, date of birth or marital status, but check local habits.
LinkedIn: the headline says what you do and what you specialise in, for example "Supply chain coordinator | Supplier management". Write the About section in the first person: what you do now, one result, and what you are looking for.
"Quick update on the website project: the design is finished, testing starts on Monday, and we're on track for the 15th. One risk: we're still waiting for the final text from marketing."
Done, next, risks. Useful: on track, slightly behind, blocked by.
"Have you got five minutes? I've rebuilt the report twice, but the totals still don't match. Could you point me in the right direction?"
Show what you have already tried.
"I see your point, but I'm not sure it will work with our budget. Could we look at another option?"
Too direct: "That won't work." Disagree with the idea, not the person.
Across time zones: put the zone in every deadline ("by 3 pm CET on Thursday"), one request per message, and say when you will reply: "I'll pick this up first thing tomorrow, my time."
In a review, use "I" and numbers: "This year I led the move to the new CRM, and response times fell by a third." On promotion: "What would I need to show to move into a team lead role?" On pay: "Based on the responsibilities, I was hoping for something closer to €58,000. Is there any flexibility?"
Moving abroad often means proving your level. IELTS says the UK's Skilled Worker route now requires B2 (IELTS for UKVI with 5.5 in each component), with B1 kept for people already on the route before 8 January 2026. ETS says its workplace test, TOEIC, is used by more than 14,000 organisations. Cambridge certificates do not expire, but organisations decide how recent a result must be. More in our exam preparation guide.
Rewrite each with a strong verb and a result. Invent details here; use real ones on your CV.
Item 4 also fixes the preposition: participate in, not to.
"Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague." Put A to D in STAR order.
C, D, B, A: Situation, Task (your responsibility and deadline), Action (with "I"), Result (with a number). Note that it never criticises the colleague.
A good mix: two or three mock interviews with a person, and AI or self-study in between.
Good for: Real pressure, unexpected follow-ups, and feedback on content and tone, using your job advert.
Limits: Costs more than AI; value depends on the tutor. Send the advert ahead and, if the tutor agrees, record the session.
Good for: Plenty of repetition at any hour for little money, until your answers flow.
Limits: AI can be wrong, is no substitute for a person's view of how you come across, and some tools give no pronunciation feedback.
Good for: Writing your STAR stories, reading them aloud, recording yourself and listening back. It costs nothing.
Limits: No one tells you what is unclear.
Prices from providers' own pages and the US App Store on 25 October 2026; they change often. We have not taken lessons on these platforms. The order is not a ranking.
Human tutors
Preply: 25 or 50-minute lessons; tutors listed $3 to $100 per 50 minutes (Preply averages: $22 non-native, $28 native). Paid trial, then a subscription to one tutor, billed every 28 days for at least 4 lessons.
italki: pay per lesson, 30 to 90 minutes; italki says $4 to $60 an hour. Up to 3 discounted trials.
Suits: Preply for a weekly routine, italki for one-off mock interviews.
Human teachers, lesson packs
Shares an owner with LearnEnglish.life, so it gets no score.
One to one, 25 or 55 minutes, with teachers you pick from profiles; job interview preparation sits in its Business English category. The cheapest English teacher charged $4.63 for 25 minutes. Three free 25-minute trials with different teachers, no card.
Watch out: quality varies, interview specialists may charge more, and pack lessons expire after a year.
Native-speaker tutors on demand
Cambly says all its tutors are native English speakers, available around the clock or by booking. A 30-minute trial costs $1; one-to-one plans start at $83 a month for 30 minutes a week (in US dollars; prices vary by country).
Suits: a last practice the evening before; unused weekly minutes expire.
AI interview practice
Tospeak (shares our owner): an AI video tutor in the browser with a Job Interview topic, no booking. After adult lessons, a recap lists up to 3 corrections of your own sentences. $20 a month for up to 60 minutes a day. No pronunciation feedback.
ELSA Speak Professional: mobile app with a Job Interview coach and pronunciation feedback. Praktika: AI avatars with role-plays such as job interviews. Speak: free-talk roleplays and AI lessons based on your goals, only for native speakers of 15 languages. Prices are in the table.
| Option | Format | For interviews | Price | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preply | Human tutor | Mock interviews | $3 to $100 per 50 min | Paid trial, subscription |
| italki | Human tutor | Pay-per-lesson mocks | $4 to $60 an hour | No changes within 24 hours |
| See Guru (shares our owner) | Human teacher | Job interview prep in Business English | From $4.63 per 25 min (single lesson) | Quality varies by teacher |
| Cambly | Native-speaker tutors | Practice at short notice | $1 trial; one-to-one from $83 a month | Weekly minutes expire |
| Tospeak (shares our owner) | AI video tutor | Job Interview topic | $20 a month | No pronunciation feedback |
| ELSA Speak Professional | AI coach app | Job Interview coach | $159.99 a year | Mobile app only |
| Praktika | AI avatar app | Interview role-plays | $9.99 for one month to $119.99 a year | Trial length not published |
| Speak | AI tutor app | Free-talk roleplays | $17.99 a month or $83.99 a year | Speakers of 15 languages only |
App prices: US App Store or US website, and they vary by country and offer.
About 20 minutes a day. With only one week, combine weeks 1 and 2 and keep one mock interview.
Week 1
Prepare your material
List five or six skills the advert asks for; write a STAR story for each and a 60 to 90-second "Tell me about yourself".
Week 2
Say it aloud
Practise each story aloud, record it, cut it to under two minutes. Add AI practice daily, then a first mock interview.
Week 3
Add pressure
A second mock interview with follow-ups. Prepare your questions. Test camera, sound and light.
Week 4
Polish and rest
Update your CV and LinkedIn. Final mock two or three days before; rest the day before.
Want a practice plan for your budget and time? The quiz suggests a format and a shortlist.
We read providers' prices, help pages, terms and app store listings on 25 October 2026, without taking lessons; See Guru and Tospeak facts come from their own sites. Sample answers and exercises are our own. Check before you pay: Preply, italki, Cambly, ELSA Speak, Praktika, Speak, See Guru, Tospeak. More in our editorial standards.
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