How to ace a job interview in Spanish

So, you’ve been learning Spanish for a while and settled in your Spanish-speaking country of choice. It’s time to start thinking about buscar un trabajo (finding a job) as you’ll need something to pagar las facturas (pay the bills) so you can start your new life!

First of all, you’ll need to know some basic words to understand the oferta de empleo (job advert).

Now you’ve applied for the job and recursos humanos (human resources) have asked you to an interview, you need to be prepared for whatever preguntas (questions) the entrevistador (interviewer) might ask you. Let’s have a look at some common ones. *We’ve written these questions in the polite usted form but nowadays you might find bosses who ask you in the more informal tú form. 

• ¿Por qué le interesa trabajar en esta empresa? – Why do you want to work at this company?

This question gives you a chance to demostrar tus conocimientos (demonstrate your knowledge) about the company. Make sure you’ve done your deberes (homework) before the interview and found some things out about the business!

• ¿Me podría hablar de usted? – Can you tell me something about yourself?

Obviously, this isn’t meant to be about how amazing you are at playing videogames or that you love surfing on a Saturday afternoon! You should talk about your cualidades personales y profesionales (personal and professional qualities) which make you a good fit for the position.

• ¿Por qué deberíamos contratarle? – Why should we hire you?

This is very similar to the previous question. Again, make sure you talk about what you can aportar a la empresa (contribute to the company) in both personal and professional terms. Talk about your experience laboral (professional experience).

• ¿Por qué renunció su último empleo? – Why did you leave your previous job?

Potentially una pregunta trampa (a trick question) you need to be careful to balance honesty with tact here. Don’t say you had problems with your compañeros (colleagues) or your jefe/jefa (boss) but try to say something like, “Quiero un nuevo desafío” (“I want a new challenge”). That way you can then give a more positive answer!

• Cuénteme sobre un problema o una situación difícil que resolvió en su carrera laboral – Tell me about a problem or difficult situation you resolved in your professional life

Try to think of un ejemplo (an example) which shows how you did something to mejorar el rendimiento (improve productivity/output) in one of your previous jobs. That way you get to show off your habilidades (skills) again.

It’s customary nowadays for the interviewer to say ¿Tiene algunas dudas o preguntas? (Do you have any queries or questions?) at the end of the process. This is your chance to bring up anything which wasn’t mentioned during the main interview. Here are some ideas of things you might want to find out before you aceptar el puesto (accept the job).

There you go – a whole set of questions and consejos (advice) to help you land your first job in the Spanish-speaking world after you’ve been studying Spanish for a while! It’s a good idea to make sure you get all the papeleo (paperwork) you need to stay in Spain after your Spanish course ends sorted in good time. That way, you can focus on your job hunt and practising speaking to get yourself ready for your interviews! ¡Buena suerte! Good luck!