In this lesson, we’re going to be looking at the language to use when talking about your job. We’re not going to focus on vocabulary, though. Here, we’re going to focus on how to ask and answer questions about your daily work routine. You’ll learn that the present simple tense is the most important tense when talking about your work, your duties and your responsibilities. So it’s important for you to know how to construct the tense in all its forms: the positive, the negative and the question forms.

During a job interview, it’s very important to understand the questions an interviewer asks. Often, the interviewer will use the present simple tense to ask questions. The applicant will also respond by using the present simple. This is because they are talking about tasks that are done every day, not only right now and not only in the past. One of the main uses of the present simple tense is to talk about daily routine.

SITUATION

You are now going to listen to an extract from a job interview. Mark is the manager, and Joanne is the applicant, the person who wants the job. Joanne is applying for a job as a Quality Assurance (QA) Specialist at a software company. When you listen to their conversation, listen out for the present simple tense verbs used to talk about Joanne’s daily routine.