Shakespeare at a job interview: you don’t need perfect English to get a job

Would William Shakespeare, the person who was the most skilled communicator of all time, ace his interview if he were trying to get hired in 2023?

I hate to insult all you Shakespeare lovers out there, but probably not.

Imagine this scene:

Interviewer: “So Will, what are your strengths?”

W.S.: “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.”

If you were the interviewer, you would probably be thinking something along the lines of “Thanks but no thanks Malvolio.”

You don’t need advanced English for job interviews

The reason I bring up Shakespeare is that many of my clients are preoccupied with whether their English is good enough to interview. They think they need to become another Shakespeare (perfect/advanced English) in the time they have left and they know they can’t.

But they’ve got it all wrong. You don’t need to be the 2023 version of Shakespeare to do well at an interview. And in fact, you should definitely avoid his elaborate sentence style and complicated, ornate language.

Your English doesn’t need to be perfect before an interview.

What level of English is good enough for an interview?

The most important thing to the listener (the interviewer) is comprehension. Do they understand you? How hard is it to understand you?

If your English level is beginner or lower intermediate they will probably not understand you well enough to evaluate your skills.

But if this describes you, you can still do your best to prepare. Some jobs require less English than others.

If your English is intermediate or upper intermediate, they will probably understand you unless your accent is heavy. If you have a heavy accent, there are ways to improve your accent before your interview.

Do you worry about your English before interviews?

Interviews are hard for everyone, especially if English isn’t your native language and your interview will be in English.

The best way to do well in your interview is to prepare. BUT. I know it’s hard to prepare when you feel like your English just isn’t good enough and it won’t be good enough before the interview.

Don’t let your English anxiety stop you from preparing.

I’ve been working with non-native English speakers who are preparing for job interviews for years, so I have a lot of experience with this issue. I think it’s important for you to know that you do not need perfect or advanced English to get a job.

Many employees of famous companies, like Microsoft, Cisco, Amazon, etc., have intermediate or upper intermediate English and accents. This is very common. So obviously they interviewed without perfect English.

You can prepare for your interview and do well without waiting until your English is perfect. But there are a few things you need to work on.

How to interview well in English

When I listen to someone, I’m noticing two main things, their content and their delivery. Content is what you say and delivery is how you say it. I’ll break down some elements of each:

Plan your strengths

You need to think about what your strengths are and plan how you’re going to talk about them. What are you good at? What successes have you had? What projects have you led?

Create a list for yourself, going back through your resume, and then create answers.

Doing this planning will get what you want to talk about clear in your own mind. It’s hard to be clear with your interviewer if you don’t have what you want to say planned in advance.

Prepare your answers

After you have your strengths listed, you should prepare answers to introductory interview questions and also answers to behavioral questions.

Don’t write down every word of each answer or you’ll sound like a robot, but create notes that you can practice with and then use during the interview.

The more you work on your answers before your interview the better prepared you’ll be to answer questions, even ones you weren’t expecting.

Clear, structured answers

Clarity in your language is much more important than perfection. I wish I could repeat that over and over until everyone heard it.

Shakespeare’s language is complex, with uncommon words, long sentences, metaphors, references to historical figures, etc. I’m an educated person (and I actually was an English major in college) but I find listening to his plays tedious and frustrating.

I prefer simple language: short sentences and linear structure.

Don’t add complicated words to seem smarter. Don’t talk about the project, talk about how you worked on it, and then go back and talk about the project again. Stick to a beginning - middle - end structure for your stories, also known as the STAR method.

If there’s one rule I could force you to follow, it would be this one. Clarity will impress your interviewer much more than perfection.

Slow down

Many non-native English speakers think that speaking fast will help them sound smarter and more fluent.

I often do mock interviews with clients and they give their answers so quickly that I can’t understand them at all. But then, when they slow down, the same answer is totally clear.

Speaking fast:

• increases your pronunciation mistakes

• decreases clarity

• makes you sound nervous or self-conscious

These aren’t good things in an interview.

Slow down and your words will be much easier to comprehend. This will help Americans and other non-native speakers understand you.

Practice with another person

Don’t let your English anxiety keep you from preparing at all or keep you from practicing your answers with another person. The more practice you can do with another person - preferably a native speaker - the smoother your language will be.

I’d be happy to listen to your answers and give you feedback.