The job interview in Catalan
We answer questions at the interview in Catalan. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Bon dia! He vingut per l'entrevista de la vacant.» — Hello! I have come for the interview about the job opening.; «Endavant. Explica'ns una mica la teva experiència laboral.» — Please do. Tell us a little about your work experience. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: we answer questions at the interview. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Bon dia! He vingut per l'entrevista de la vacant.Hello! I have come for the interview about the job opening.
- Endavant. Explica'ns una mica la teva experiència laboral.Please do. Tell us a little about your work experience.
- Tinc dos anys d'experiència en una botiga del centre.I have two years of experience in a shop downtown.
- I per què vol canviar de feina?And why do you want to change jobs?
- Perquè vull aprendre més i m'agrada el tracte amb la gent.Because I want to go on studying and I like working with people.
- M'agrada la resposta. L'oferta de feina és seva: demà parlem del contracte.I like that answer. The offer is yours: tomorrow we will discuss the contract.
Lines one by one
| Catalan | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bon dia! He vingut per l'entrevista de la vacant. | — | Hello! I have come for the interview about the job opening. |
| Endavant. Explica'ns una mica la teva experiència laboral. | — | Please do. Tell us a little about your work experience. |
| Tinc dos anys d'experiència en una botiga del centre. | — | I have two years of experience in a shop downtown. |
| I per què vol canviar de feina? | — | And why do you want to change jobs? |
| Perquè vull aprendre més i m'agrada el tracte amb la gent. | — | Because I want to go on studying and I like working with people. |
| M'agrada la resposta. L'oferta de feina és seva: demà parlem del contracte. | — | I like that answer. The offer is yours: tomorrow we will discuss the contract. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Catalan in this situation?
“Bon dia! He vingut per l'entrevista de la vacant.” — Hello! I have come for the interview about the job opening.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.