A job interview in Turkish
An interview at a small company in Turkish. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Buyurun, oturun. Özgeçmişinizi okudum.» — Please, have a seat. I've read your resume.; «Teşekkür ederim. Beş yıl muhasebeci olarak çalıştım.» — Thank you. I worked as an accountant for five years. 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: an interview at a small company. 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.
- Buyurun, oturun. Özgeçmişinizi okudum.Please, have a seat. I've read your resume.
- Teşekkür ederim. Beş yıl muhasebeci olarak çalıştım.Thank you. I worked as an accountant for five years.
- Neden iş değiştirmek istiyorsunuz?Why do you want to change jobs?
- Eski şirket iflas etti. Kriz herkesi vurdu.The old company went bankrupt. The crisis hit everyone.
- Anladım. Burada haftada bir sunum yapmanız gerekiyor.I see. Here you need to give a presentation once a week.
- Sorun değil. Sunum hazırlamayı seviyorum.Not a problem. I love preparing presentations.
- Peki. Asgari ücretin üstünde bir maaş düşünüyoruz.Good. We're thinking of a salary above minimum wage.
- Avans imkânı var mı? Bir de deneme süresi ne kadar?Is there an advance? And how long is the probation period?
- İki ay. Kararı yazılı olarak bildireceğiz.Two months. We'll inform you of the decision in writing.
Lines one by one
| Turkish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Buyurun, oturun. Özgeçmişinizi okudum. | — | Please, have a seat. I've read your resume. |
| Teşekkür ederim. Beş yıl muhasebeci olarak çalıştım. | — | Thank you. I worked as an accountant for five years. |
| Neden iş değiştirmek istiyorsunuz? | — | Why do you want to change jobs? |
| Eski şirket iflas etti. Kriz herkesi vurdu. | — | The old company went bankrupt. The crisis hit everyone. |
| Anladım. Burada haftada bir sunum yapmanız gerekiyor. | — | I see. Here you need to give a presentation once a week. |
| Sorun değil. Sunum hazırlamayı seviyorum. | — | Not a problem. I love preparing presentations. |
| Peki. Asgari ücretin üstünde bir maaş düşünüyoruz. | — | Good. We're thinking of a salary above minimum wage. |
| Avans imkânı var mı? Bir de deneme süresi ne kadar? | — | Is there an advance? And how long is the probation period? |
| İki ay. Kararı yazılı olarak bildireceğiz. | — | Two months. We'll inform you of the decision in writing. |
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 Turkish in this situation?
“Buyurun, oturun. Özgeçmişinizi okudum.” — Please, have a seat. I've read your resume.. 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.