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First Job Interview

After losing his job, Mert starts looking for a new one. A few days later, NovaTech calls him and invites him for a job interview.

Mert is excited, but he is also nervous. This is his first job interview in three years.

The interview is on Monday morning at ten o’clock.

On Sunday evening, Mert chooses a clean shirt and prepares his CV. He also reads about NovaTech online.

“This company looks interesting,” he thinks.

On Monday, Mert arrives fifteen minutes early. He waits in the reception area and looks at his notes.

A woman from Human Resources comes to meet him.

“Hi, Mert. I’m Elif. Please come with me.”

They go into a small meeting room.

Elif smiles and says, “So, Mert, can you tell me about yourself?”

Mert suddenly feels very nervous.

“Well… I’m 26. I worked at a technology company for three years. I was an operations specialist.”

“Great,” Elif says. “What did you do in your last job?”

Mert thinks for a moment.

“I worked with my team. I answered emails and helped with different problems.”

His answer is very short.

Elif asks more questions.

“What are you good at?”

“I work hard,” Mert says.

“Can you give me an example?”

Mert stops. He cannot think of a good example.

“Not right now,” he says.

At the end of the interview, Elif asks, “Do you have any questions for me?”

Mert shakes his head.

“No, I think that’s all.”

The interview lasts about thirty minutes.

When Mert leaves the building, he is not sure how it went.

The next afternoon, he receives an email from NovaTech.

“Thank you for your time, but we decided to continue with another candidate.”

Mert feels disappointed.

For a few minutes, he just looks at the email.

Then he opens his notebook.

“What could I do better?” he thinks.

He writes down three things:

Give longer answers.
Prepare examples from my old job.
Ask questions at the end.

Mert understands something important. He has work experience, but he also needs to learn how to talk about it.

Luckily, NovaTech is not his only chance.

He has another interview on Thursday.

And next Monday, he has an interview with another company.

Mert closes his notebook and smiles.

“Okay,” he says. “Next time, I will be better prepared.”

The first interview did not give Mert a job, but it gave him something useful: experience.

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Important Words

English	Türkçe
job interview	iş görüşmesi
nervous	gergin
prepare	hazırlanmak
CV	özgeçmiş
reception area	resepsiyon / bekleme alanı
Human Resources	İnsan Kaynakları
meeting room	toplantı odası
answer	cevap
example	örnek
candidate	aday
work experience	iş deneyimi
disappointed	hayal kırıklığına uğramış
ask questions	soru sormak
prepare examples	örnekler hazırlamak
receive an email	e-posta almak
be prepared	hazırlıklı olmak

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Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks

Use the words below.

candidate – nervous – interview – example – Human Resources

1. Mert has a job __________ at NovaTech.
2. He feels very __________ before the interview.
3. Elif works in __________.
4. Mert cannot give a good __________.
5. NovaTech decides to continue with another __________.

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Exercise 2 – Choose the Correct Answer

1. When is Mert’s interview?
   a) Sunday morning
   b) Monday morning
   c) Friday afternoon
2. How early does Mert arrive?
   a) Five minutes early
   b) Fifteen minutes early
   c) Thirty minutes early
3. What was Mert’s old job?
   a) Operations specialist
   b) Teacher
   c) Designer
4. What does Elif ask Mert to give?
   a) A phone number
   b) An example
   c) A photo
5. What does NovaTech send Mert?
   a) A rejection email
   b) A new contract
   c) A second interview invitation

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Exercise 3 – True or False?

1. Mert has had many job interviews in the last three years.
   True / False
2. Mert prepares his CV before the interview.
   True / False
3. Mert gives long and detailed answers during the interview.
   True / False
4. Mert asks many questions at the end.
   True / False
5. Mert has two more interviews after NovaTech.
   True / False

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Exercise 4 – Match the Words

1. nervous
2. candidate
3. work experience
4. prepare
5. disappointed

a. hazırlanmak
b. aday
c. gergin
d. iş deneyimi
e. hayal kırıklığına uğramış

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Exercise 5 – Translate into English

1. Mert iş görüşmesi için hazırlanıyor.
2. Görüşmeden önce gergin hissediyor.
3. Elif İnsan Kaynakları’nda çalışıyor.
4. Mert iyi bir örnek veremiyor.
5. Bir sonraki görüşmede daha iyi hazırlanmak istiyor.

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Answer Key

Exercise 1

1. interview
2. nervous
3. Human Resources
4. example
5. candidate

Exercise 2

1. b) Monday morning
2. b) Fifteen minutes early
3. a) Operations specialist
4. b) An example
5. a) A rejection email

Exercise 3

1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True

Exercise 4

1. c
2. b
3. d
4. a
5. e

Exercise 5 – Sample Answers

1. Mert prepares for a job interview.
2. He feels nervous before the interview.
3. Elif works in Human Resources.
4. Mert cannot give a good example.
5. He wants to be better prepared for the next interview.