11B: Interview for a Job

In order to improve your fluency and listening skills, it’s absolutely essential that you know and are able to pronounce the verb have in its two different forms. Have has a strong pronunciation /hæv/ when it’s a main verb (meaning own, possess, etc.) and a weak pronunciation /həv/ or /əv/ when it’s an auxiliary verb.

Notice that there are three main differences:

1. As a lexical word, the strong form (that is, the main verb) is normally stressed. On the other hand, the weak form (the auxiliary), which is a function word, is usually unstressed.
2. In the weak form, the full vowel /æ/ is turned into a schwa /ə/.
3. The /h/ is very often dropped because of elision in the weak form.

Let’s see some examples:

1. I have a dog. His name is Mr Bones. /aɪ ˈhæv ə ˈdɒɡ/

2. My parents have said that they like him. /maɪ ˈpeərənts əv ˈsed/

Have (strong form)

1. And what we have here are a set of creatures that are predators. They’re very difficult to deal with, you wouldn’t really want to cross them. They have these very strong aggressive qualities.

2. Because it has a strong sense of its utility, history has an incredibly important function to play in society

Have (weak form)

1. New bookshops have opened in central London before, of course, but nothing that matches Borders in scale and ambition. /ˈbʊkʃɒps əv ˈəʊpənd/

2. Phillip was said to have fought his campaigns by marriages. /tu əv ˈfɔːt/

In addition, the sound /v/ is sometimes dropped too (elision of v). So, believe it or not, this leaves the verb have pronounced just as a single phoneme /ə/ -no more, no less-, as you can see in the following recording:

So, we think that the whole poem must have been something between twelve and fifteen thousand lines long. /mʌst ə biːn/

SPEAKING STRATEGY Job Interviews
Thank you for coming to the interview.
Let's begin.
Now, a practical question: Have you...?
Great. / That's interesting.
One last question... We'll contact you next Tuesday.

Goal check

1. Summer School Assistant

Questions for the interview:

1. Have you ever worked with children before? Can you describe your experience?
2. What age group of children are you most comfortable working with?
3. Can you tell us about a time you managed a group of children?
4. Do you have any experience with team sports or organizing games?
5. How would you handle a child who is not following the rules during a game?
6. Why do you want to work as a Summer School Assistant?
7. Are you comfortable working with children aged 7 to 13 years old?
8. Do you have any teaching or mentoring experience?
9. How would you ensure the safety of the children under your supervision?
10. What do you think makes you a good fit for this position?

2. Clothing Store Associate

Questions for the interview:

1. Have you worked in retail or customer service before? If yes, where?
2. How would you greet a customer who walks into the store?
3. Can you describe a situation where you helped someone solve a problem?
4. How do you ensure good communication with customers?
5. What interests you about working in a clothing store?
6. Are you familiar with the latest fashion trends?
7. How would you handle a difficult or unhappy customer?
8. Why do you want to work as a Clothing Store Associate?
9. Are you comfortable working flexible hours, including weekends?
10. How would you prioritize tasks during a busy shift?