Online job interviews in English: phrases for every situation
Job interviews on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet are now normal, especially with Gulf and international companies. The problem is that a dropped call or a frozen screen throws you, and your English disappears at the same moment. Here are the phrases you need for each situation, so you can handle it calmly.
At the start: check everything works
To check the sound: Hello, can you hear me clearly?
To check the video: Can you see me all right?
When the sound or connection drops
Don’t pretend you heard. Ask politely for a repeat. It’s better than answering a question you didn’t catch.
When their audio breaks up: Sorry, you broke up for a second. Could you repeat the last part?
When the video freezes: I think your video has frozen, but I can still hear you.
When you’re back after a drop: Sorry about that, my connection dropped. I’m back now.
When someone is on mute
When you can’t hear them: I think you’re on mute.
When you forgot to unmute: Sorry, I was on mute. As I was saying…
When you need to share your screen
They may ask you to show past work or a file. These phrases make it smooth.
Before sharing: Let me share my screen. Can you see it now?
When you finish: I’ll stop sharing now.
The day before
Test the same app with a friend, pick a quiet spot with the light in front of you rather than behind you, and keep the interviewer’s number or email in case the call drops completely.
An online interview is still a real interview. Dress as you would for the office, and look at the camera when you speak.
How to describe your experience in English: 3 simple rules
“Tell us about your experience” is the heart of the interview. Many people know what they did, but describe it with weak verbs or the wrong tense, so their experience sounds smaller than it is. Here are three simple rules that make your experience sound as big as it really is.
Rule one: pick the right tense
For a job you’ve left, use the past simple. For your current job, use the present or the present perfect.
A past job: At my last company, I handled customer complaints for the Cairo branch.
Your current job: I’ve worked as a sales coordinator for two years. I manage orders for forty clients.
Rule two: use strong verbs
Instead of “I was responsible for”, start with a verb that shows what you did. Useful ones: managed, led, improved, reduced, trained, built.
Not: I was responsible for the new employees.
Say: I trained twelve new employees in my first year.
Rule three: add a number
A number makes an achievement real and easy to remember: how many people, what percentage, how much time you saved.
Not: I made the reports faster.
Say: I cut the time to prepare monthly reports from five days to two.
Try it on your own experience
Write three sentences about your current or last job: the right tense, a strong verb, and at least one number. Then say them out loud until you know them.
You don’t need difficult words. A short sentence with a strong verb and a number beats a long paragraph.
What to say in the first and last minute of an English interview
The first impression forms in the first minute, and the last impression in the last minute. In those two minutes nobody asks about your experience. It is just simple small talk, and that small talk trips up many people in English. Here is what to say at the start and at the end.
When you walk in and say hello
Smile, say your name clearly, answer the usual “how are you” and ask it back.
Greeting: Good morning. I’m Ahmed Hassan. Nice to meet you.
Answering “How are you?”: I’m very well, thank you. How are you?
The small questions before it starts
The interviewer may ask about your journey or the weather to break the ice. Answer in a sentence or two, not one word.
About the journey: Yes, it was easy to find. The traffic was lighter than I expected.
When they offer you something: Just water, please. Thank you.
When the interview ends
Thank them for their time, confirm you want the job, and ask about the next step.
Thanks: Thank you for your time. I really enjoyed our conversation.
Showing interest: I’m even more interested in the role now.
Asking about next steps: What are the next steps in the process?
The thank-you message afterwards
Send a short email the same day. Few people do, which is why it gets noticed.
A short example: Dear Sara, thank you for meeting me today. I enjoyed learning about the team, and I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards, Ahmed.
Practise the two minutes
These phrases are short, so learn them and say them out loud until they come naturally. When the start feels easy, you relax and the rest of the interview begins with confidence.
Nobody gets hired for a greeting alone, but a calm start makes everything after it easier.
6 common English mistakes Arabic speakers make in job interviews
Many English mistakes Arabic speakers make are not gaps in knowledge. They are word-for-word translations from Arabic. The interviewer usually understands you, but these small slips make you sound less sure of yourself. Here are six that come up again and again in job interviews, each with the correct form.
Since needs the present perfect
In Arabic we say “I work here since 2020”, so we carry it over word for word. English needs a tense that links the past to now.
Not: I am working here since 2020.
Say: I have been working here since 2020.
Agree is a verb, not an adjective
Agree is already a verb, so it does not need “am” before it.
Not: I am agree with you.
Say: I agree with you.
Discuss takes no "about"
We say “discuss about the plan” because of the Arabic, but discuss takes its object directly.
Not: Let’s discuss about the budget.
Say: Let’s discuss the budget.
Good at, not good in
The preposition is “at”, not “in”. It is one of the most common slips in CVs and interviews.
Not: I’m good in Excel.
Say: I’m good at Excel.
Talking about your degree
You graduate from a university, not from a subject. Name the subject after it.
Not: I graduated from commerce.
Say: I graduated from Cairo University with a degree in commerce.
Asking someone to repeat
“Repeat” already means “say again”, so “again” is extra. A polite form sounds better in an interview.
Not: Can you repeat again?
Say: Could you say that again, please?
How to stop making them
Don’t just memorise the rules. Pick two mistakes this week, write three sentences about your own job for each, and say them out loud until they come out without thinking.
The goal isn’t to never make a mistake. It’s to stop making the same ones.
Why you freeze when speaking English, and 5 phrases that help
You know the words and you understand what people say, but when it’s your turn to speak you suddenly stop and the sentence won’t come out. This is very common, and the cause is usually not weak English but too little speaking. Here’s why it happens, and five phrases that buy you thinking time instead of silence.
Why you freeze
Most of us learned English through reading, writing and exams, and rarely spoke it. So when we speak, we try to build the whole sentence, perfectly, in our head before saying it, and we’re afraid of making a mistake in front of others. That pressure is what stops the words.
Five phrases that buy you time
When you need a few seconds to think: That’s a good question. Let me think for a second.
When you didn’t catch the question: Sorry, could you say that again, please?
When you forget a word, describe it: It’s the thing you use to… / It’s a kind of…
When you want to make yourself clearer: What I mean is… / Let me put it another way.
When you want to organise your answer: There are two reasons. First… Second…
How to practise
Speak every day, even for five minutes: describe your day out loud, or record a voice note to yourself in English. Don’t stop to fix every mistake. Finish the sentence first, then correct it.
The fastest way is speaking with other people in a small group, where everyone talks for most of the session instead of just listening.
Fluency comes from speaking a lot, not from waiting until your English is perfect.
How to answer “What are your salary expectations?” in English
The salary question is one of the most awkward parts of any interview, and in English it feels even harder. Many people rush to a low number or say “any salary is fine”. Here is a simple way to answer, and the phrases you need.
Before the interview: know your number
Look up pay for the same role in your city and at companies of a similar size, and ask people who work in the field. Then set a range: the lowest figure you would accept, and the figure you hope for.
Rule one: give a range, not one number
A range leaves room to negotiate and shows you’ve done your research. Make the bottom of the range close to what you actually want.
Example: Based on my research and my experience, I’m looking for something in the range of 18,000 to 22,000 a month.
Rule two: ask about the whole package
Salary is not everything. Health insurance, housing and transport allowances, and annual leave are all part of the offer.
Example: Could you tell me a bit more about the full package, like health insurance and allowances?
If you’re not ready to name a number
You can politely ask for the range they have in mind first.
Example: I’m flexible. Could you share the range you have in mind for this role?
Phrases to avoid
Don’t say “anything”, don’t apologise for your number, and don’t mention personal needs like rent or loans. Talk about your value and your experience.
Not: Anything is fine. I really need this job.
Say: I’m open to discussing it. What matters most to me is the role and the chance to grow.
Practise saying your number out loud before the interview. A number you say with confidence is taken more seriously.
The 5 most common job interview questions in English, and how to answer them
Most job interviews in English come back to the same questions. If you prepare your answers and practise saying them out loud, you walk in much calmer. Here are the five most common ones, each with a short model answer.
Tell me about yourself.
The interviewer doesn’t want your life story. They want one minute that links your experience to the job. Use this order: now, then before, then next.
Example: I’m an accountant with three years of experience in retail. Right now I manage monthly reports for twelve branches. Before that, I worked in audit. I’m looking for a role where I can grow into financial analysis.
Why do you want to work here?
Mention something specific about the company, then link it to what you do well. A general answer like “it’s a big company” convinces nobody.
Example: I read that you’re opening new branches in the Gulf. I have experience setting up reporting for new branches, so I can help from the first month.
What is your greatest weakness?
Pick a real weakness that isn’t central to the job, and say what you’re doing to improve it.
Example: I used to find it hard to speak up in meetings in English. So I joined a speaking course, and now I present our weekly numbers myself.
Tell me about a problem you solved.
Tell a short story in four steps: the situation, the task, what you did, and the result, with numbers if you can.
Example: Our reports were always two days late. I built a simple template and trained the team. Now we close the month on time.
Do you have any questions for us?
Don’t say “no”. Prepare one or two questions about the work itself; it shows you care.
Example: What would success look like in this role after the first three months?
One last tip: practise with your voice, not your eyes
Reading an answer isn’t enough. Record yourself answering, then listen back. You’ll hear where you pause and hesitate, and that’s exactly what to work on.
