few weeks ago, I had a phone interview that I don't think I handled very well and I would appreciate your advice, especially if you've been in the same situation.
I was very qualified for the position and I fully expected that this interview would go very well. There were 2 interviewers, J (the manager), and Q (an IT engineer) on the other side of the phone. From any viewpoint, I had no trouble answering the questions of either J or Q. As noted, I was very qualified for the job and it was right in my wheelhouse, so to speak.
The problem was that it was extremely difficult to understand Q's questions. He was from India and while some people from India speak English clearly, Q did not. Everytime he asked a question, I had to ask him to say it again because I couldn't understand what he was asking. At one point about halfway through, J stepped in and helped "translate" a question, but he only did that once and never did it again.
It's been over a month now, so I have no illusion that I'm going to get an offer and I think it's because of the language barrier that existed during the interview.
So, have you ever had a language barrier to deal with during an interview? How did you handle it? Did you get the job even though there was a language barrier?
Thanks!
I was very qualified for the position and I fully expected that this interview would go very well. There were 2 interviewers, J (the manager), and Q (an IT engineer) on the other side of the phone. From any viewpoint, I had no trouble answering the questions of either J or Q. As noted, I was very qualified for the job and it was right in my wheelhouse, so to speak.
The problem was that it was extremely difficult to understand Q's questions. He was from India and while some people from India speak English clearly, Q did not. Everytime he asked a question, I had to ask him to say it again because I couldn't understand what he was asking. At one point about halfway through, J stepped in and helped "translate" a question, but he only did that once and never did it again.
It's been over a month now, so I have no illusion that I'm going to get an offer and I think it's because of the language barrier that existed during the interview.
So, have you ever had a language barrier to deal with during an interview? How did you handle it? Did you get the job even though there was a language barrier?
Thanks!
