LingoflyThe job interview in Ukrainian
A conversation with the employer in Ukrainian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Розкажіть коротко (korotko) про (pro) себе (sebe).» — Tell me briefly about yourself; «Досвід роботи (dosvid roboty) чотири (chotyry) роки (roky), останні два (dva) — програмістом.» — Four years of work experience, the last two as a programmer. 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 conversation with the employer. 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.
- Dosvid roboty chotyry roky, ostanni dva — prohramistom.Four years of work experience, the last two as a programmer.
- Хотів проєкти більші за розміром і відповідальністю.Khotiv proiekty bilshi za rozmirom i vidpovidalnistiu.I wanted projects bigger in scale and responsibility.
- У нас випробувальний термін два місяці.U nas vyprobuvalnyi termin dva misiatsi.Our probation period is two months.
- Zrozumilo. A hrafik roboty i vidpustka?I see. And the work schedule and vacation?
Lines one by one
| Ukrainian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Розкажіть коротко (korotko) про (pro) себе (sebe). | Rozkazhit korotko pro sebe. | Tell me briefly about yourself. |
| Досвід роботи (dosvid roboty) чотири (chotyry) роки (roky), останні два (dva) — програмістом. | Dosvid roboty chotyry roky, ostanni dva — prohramistom. | Four years of work experience, the last two as a programmer. |
| Чому (chomu) ви (vy) звільнилися з (z) попередньої роботи (roboty)? | Chomu vy zvilnylysia z poperednoi roboty? | Why did you leave your previous job? |
| Хотів (khotiv) проєкти більші за (za) розміром (rozmirom) і (i) відповідальністю. | Khotiv proiekty bilshi za rozmirom i vidpovidalnistiu. | I wanted projects bigger in scale and responsibility. |
| У (U) нас (nas) випробувальний термін два місяці (Vyprobuvalnyi termin dva misiatsi). | U nas vyprobuvalnyi termin dva misiatsi. | Our probation period is two months. |
| Зрозуміло (zrozumilo). А (a) графік роботи (hrafik roboty) і (i) відпустка (vidpustka)? | Zrozumilo. A hrafik roboty i vidpustka? | I see. And the work schedule and vacation? |
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 noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.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 Ukrainian in this situation?
“Розкажіть коротко (korotko) про (pro) себе (sebe).” (Rozkazhit korotko pro sebe.) — Tell me briefly 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.