What the song is about
A slow, serious
interviewer meets a fast, nervous
candidate. The candidate shows a CV, praises themselves, tells a small lie about their weakness, and finally accepts the minimum wage and a free pen. At the end the interviewer says the classic polite brush-off:
"Don't call us. We will call you."Useful words
- CV (British English; American English often says résumé): a document listing your education and work history
- experience: work you have done before
- team player: someone who works well with other people
- job vs. career: a job is the work you do now; a career is your working life and progress over many years
- candidate: a person who applies for a job
- motivated: wanting to work hard
- strength / weakness: what you are good / not so good at
- punctual: always on time
- salary: the money you earn, usually per year
- minimum wage: the lowest pay allowed by law
- to hire: to give someone a job
Useful expressions
- Tell me about yourself. A typical first interview question.
- I work till I drop. An idiom: I work until I am completely exhausted. Till is an informal form of until.
- Don't be too shy. Imperative with don't for friendly advice.
- With all due respect is a polite phrase used before saying something the other person may not like.
- What do you expect? Here it asks what salary you want.
- When do I start? Asks for your first working day.
- Thank you for coming. / Have a nice day! Polite phrases for the end of a meeting.
- Don't call us, we'll call you. A humorous way of saying you probably did not get the job.
Grammar
- Present perfect: Where have you been? asks about your past up to now.
- Past simple: You worked in a shop? is a statement used as a question, with rising intonation. This is common in speech, but in writing say Did you work in a shop?
- Superlatives: the best candidate, your greatest strength.
- Adverb + adjective: highly motivated.
- Future with will: I will take it!, We will call you. (will for decisions made at the moment and for promises)
- Let's + verb: Let's talk about salary. is a suggestion.
- Must for a guess: It must be fate. means I am sure it is fate.
Careful: words chosen for the rhyme
- Where have you been? rhymes with begin. In a real interview this sounds like "Where were you?". Instead, say Tell me about your work experience.
- Let the magic begin! is a joke for the rhyme. Don't use it in an interview.
- since the days of my youth is old-fashioned and poetic, chosen to rhyme with truth. Simply say I have always been punctual.
- I never sleep late is there to rhyme with fate. It means you get up early, but it is not a typical interview phrase.
- I work too hard is a famous cliché answer. The song laughs at it, so give a real weakness in a real interview!
