The job interview in Georgian
A candidate answers the employer's questions in Georgian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «გამარჯობა. მოგვიყევით საკუთარ თავზე.» — Hello. Tell us about yourself.; «გამარჯობა. სამი წლის სამუშაო გამოცდილება მაქვს.» — Hello. I have three years of work experience. Every line can be played right on the page. 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: a candidate answers the employer's questions. 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.
- გამარჯობა. მოგვიყევით საკუთარ თავზე.gamarjoba. mogviqevit sakutar tavze.Hello. Tell us about yourself.
- გამარჯობა. სამი წლის სამუშაო გამოცდილება მაქვს.gamarjoba. sami tslis samushao gamotsdileba makvs.Hello. I have three years of work experience.
- რატომ დატოვეთ წინა სამსახური?ratom datovet tsina samsakhuri?Why did you leave your previous job?
- შტატების შემცირება იყო. რეკომენდაცია მაქვს.shtatebis shemtsireba iqo. rekomendatsia makvs.There were layoffs. I have a recommendation.
- გამოსაცდელი ვადა ორი თვეა. მოგწონთ?gamosatsdeli vada ori tvea. mogtsont?The probation period is two months. Does that suit you?
- დიახ. სამუშაო გრაფიკი როგორია?diakh. samushao grapiki rogoria?Yes. What's the work schedule?
- ცხრიდან ექვსამდე. ზეგანაკვეთური ორმაგად ანაზღაურდება.tskhridan ekvsamde. zeganakveturi ormagad anazghaurdeba.From nine to six. Overtime is paid double.
- კარგი. თუ მიმიღებთ, ორშაბათს დავიწყებ.kargi. tu mimighebt, orshabats davitsqeb.Okay. If you take me on, I'll start on Monday.
Lines one by one
| Georgian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| გამარჯობა. მოგვიყევით საკუთარ თავზე. | gamarjoba. mogviqevit sakutar tavze. | Hello. Tell us about yourself. |
| გამარჯობა. სამი წლის სამუშაო გამოცდილება მაქვს. | gamarjoba. sami tslis samushao gamotsdileba makvs. | Hello. I have three years of work experience. |
| რატომ დატოვეთ წინა სამსახური? | ratom datovet tsina samsakhuri? | Why did you leave your previous job? |
| შტატების შემცირება იყო. რეკომენდაცია მაქვს. | shtatebis shemtsireba iqo. rekomendatsia makvs. | There were layoffs. I have a recommendation. |
| გამოსაცდელი ვადა ორი თვეა. მოგწონთ? | gamosatsdeli vada ori tvea. mogtsont? | The probation period is two months. Does that suit you? |
| დიახ. სამუშაო გრაფიკი როგორია? | diakh. samushao grapiki rogoria? | Yes. What's the work schedule? |
| ცხრიდან ექვსამდე. ზეგანაკვეთური ორმაგად ანაზღაურდება. | tskhridan ekvsamde. zeganakveturi ormagad anazghaurdeba. | From nine to six. Overtime is paid double. |
| კარგი. თუ მიმიღებთ, ორშაბათს დავიწყებ. | kargi. tu mimighebt, orshabats davitsqeb. | Okay. If you take me on, I'll start on Monday. |
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 Georgian in this situation?
“გამარჯობა. მოგვიყევით საკუთარ თავზე.” (gamarjoba. mogviqevit sakutar tavze.) — Hello. Tell us about yourself.. 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.