3 things that matter when you interview candidates in English

#1.  A candidate spoke with an accent I had trouble understanding during the video interview — does that say something about their suitability for the role?

Your candidate had a strong accent in a job interview. You could sometimes only understand half of what he said. 

Understanding somebody in a job interview is certainly crucial for a successful interview. But another question is whether you can tell where the candidate is from.

Would you treat a candidate with a strong Scottish accent the same way you would someone with a strong Indian accent, for example? 

Because there isn’t much difference in the topic of accent as such. Both accents can be hard to understand for German native speakers when you are not used to them.

Besides, a strong Scottish accent can be even harder to understand than the strong Indian accent.

It is up to you as the listener to use the right tools for listening. For example it would help to listen without thinking about the next question you want to ask. Paying full attention to what the candidate says makes it easier for you to get used to the accent. Maybe even wait a short while before you carry on talking to let things sink in.

Another tool that certainly helps in a situation like this is paraphrasing, checking understanding and maybe even asking for clarification.

Paraphrasing: Here you repeat in your own words what you understood your communication partner said. You can use it when you couldn’t understand key words or parts of a sentence.

• "Let me make sure I've got this right — you mean that..."
• "What I'm hearing is that you..."
• "In other words, you..."

Checking understanding: 

With checking understanding you ask questions to make sure that you understood what the candidate said. It is useful to avoid misunderstandings and when the candidate’s contribution doesn’t make sense to you.

• "Just to check I'm following — was that about X or Y?"
• "Can I just confirm what you meant by that?" 
• "Did I understand that correctly?"

Asking for clarification 

This is a slightly more advanced way of asking for repetition. You could also ask for certain sentences you didn’t understand.

• "Would you mind rephrasing that slightly? I want to make sure I understood the details."
• "I think I missed part of that — could you walk me through it again?"
• "Could you break that down a bit further for me?"

You can see that there are also useful tools you can use when conducting a job interview to make sure you understand strong accents. It doesn’t just apply to job interviews but every single conversation in English in business.
Want to practise these phrases in a realistic interview situation? Try it in a coaching session.

#2. I run the interview in English, exactly the way I would with a German candidate — isn't that enough when the candidate is from another country? 

During my working life I had a few job interviews in English in Ireland and a British company in Munich. It was a totally different experience to job interviews in Germany. The people were very friendly which made me feel comfortable immediately. 

It was more like talking to a friend in a way. That way trust was established rather quickly after a small talk phase. Here I mean not just the usual “Did you have any trouble finding us?” or offering beverages. It was more about myself, my hobbies, interests and made me feel as if they were really interested.

What does it mean now when you as a German native speaker in a company in Germany interview an international candidate in English?

Surely you have your own way of interviewing someone which also shows your company culture. And this is the interesting point. Because it also gives the candidate a hint as to whether the company culture is welcoming them as a person or whether their skills in particular are needed.

If the latter is the case, then you risk that the candidate might not feel comfortable in the job interview and reject your job offer. Or they might work with you for some time but not settle into the job properly. Or even leave the company at some stage.

So, you might want to invest some time in friendly small talk where you can show real interest in the person. 

The next point is your conversation style. Maybe you usually ask rather direct questions. Questions like these still come up in interviews:

“Where do you really come from?”

“Why have you changed jobs so often?”

“Why do you even want this job?” 

Or answer in a direct way like:

“That doesn’t quite convince me.”

“That’s not a good answer to my question.”

“That doesn’t match what you said earlier.”

They might not go down well with your international candidate and cause stress.

Surely, you might want to test how resilient and tough they are, but is it worth risking that a highly skilled candidate decides against the job?

Because in countries with a more indirect communication style like UK, Ireland, or so called high-context cultures like China, Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia etc. this direct way of asking questions doesn’t go down well. It could cause loss of face.

It means that you might want to adjust your communication style according to the international candidate a little. Soften the questions and try to ask them indirectly if you really need to ask them. 

For example:

“I can see a few companies you used to work for on your CV. Is it because you wanted to get an impression of different ways companies operate?” 

“What is interesting for you in the job we offer?”

Instead of the direct answers you might either leave them completely or say something along the lines:

Maybe you could add some more details to my question.

“If I understood correctly what you said earlier, how could you work on 10 cases a day, in addition on maybe 3 urgent cases without any overtime?”

It sounds much friendlier, shows that you are a competent speaker of English and conduct job interviews in a rather professional way. Moreover, you still ask for specific things you noted on the CV but in a welcoming way.

Not sure how your own interview questions sound to candidates from other cultures? Bring your real questions to a session and we'll reword them together.

#3. How do I know whether my 'gut feeling' about a candidate actually says something about their suitability — or whether I'm just applying my own cultural norm?

In my coaching with expatriates and expat spouses I have had situations where I thought I had established a good common ground with the client. My gut feeling told me that everything seemed to be fine. 

But then I found out that the client was friendly during the coaching but judged the situation totally differently. It never occurred to me in the situation. 

Due to their cultural background both of my clients would never have mentioned something that was different to their culture and so strange for them directly. Like for example mentioning that I have got to go because I need to catch a train.

And these examples also concern European cultures.

Hence don’t trust your gut feeling because it just gives you a good feeling regarding the polite atmosphere and relationship you have built at that moment. But it doesn’t give you an insight into how the candidate in a job interview for example judges the whole situation, about their skills and way of work.

Especially in high-context cultures, building a good and polite relationship is very important. But it also means that the candidate might not tell you if they don’t meet a deadline in a project or make a mistake for example. Because it could damage your relationship from their point of view and cause them loss of face.

The same applies to your invitation and rejection emails. Need wording that works for international candidates? See Business Writing.

Takeaway

Interviewing international candidates well takes more than good English. Three things make the difference:

Listen for meaning, not just words. 

A strong accent isn't a red flag. Use paraphrasing and clarification to make sure you understand, and give yourself time to adjust to how someone speaks.

Watch your directness. 

Questions that feel normal in a German interview can feel harsh to candidates from more indirect or high-context cultures. Softening them protects a good candidate from walking away.

Don't trust your gut across cultures. 

A friendly, polite interview doesn't always mean what you think it does. Candidates from high-context cultures may stay warm and agreeable while judging the situation very differently.

Interviewing international candidates soon? Let's prepare together.  Get in touch.