01 · Walk in with this
Buenos días, mucho gusto en conocerla.
Good morning, pleased to meet you.
Formal from the first word — mucho gusto en conocerla keeps the usted register going before you've even sat down.
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Job Interview
Introduce yourself, describe your achievements, and discuss salary — professionally, in formal Spanish, out loud.
Use usted with the interviewer from hello to goodbye — le agradezco, ¿me podría contar más...? — and don't switch to tú unless you're invited to. Skip the Spanglish: the verb is postularse al puesto, not aplicar para el trabajo, and you're muy motivado, not excitado (which means something else entirely). Back every strength with a concrete example — he liderado equipos de hasta diez personas — and keep money open-ended: estoy abierto a negociar según el paquete completo.
Below: the phrases for each stage of the interview, the mistakes that undercut a strong candidate — and a way to run the whole thing out loud, as many times as you want, with no appointment to book and no one judging.
The warm-up pack
The phrases that carry a Spanish-language interview from mucho gusto to the salary number — out loud, in usted, before it's for real.
01 · Walk in with this
Buenos días, mucho gusto en conocerla.
Good morning, pleased to meet you.
Formal from the first word — mucho gusto en conocerla keeps the usted register going before you've even sat down.
02 · Say thank you before your résumé
Le agradezco mucho la oportunidad de esta entrevista.
Thank you very much for this interview opportunity.
Opening on gratitude, not your background, is what a rigorous interviewer expects in formal Spanish.
03 · The one-line introduction
Mi nombre es Andrés y soy ingeniero de software.
My name is Andrés and I'm a software engineer. (Swap in your own name and title.)
This is the template, not the script — nombre plus soy plus role is the shape that carries, whatever job you actually do.
04 · State your experience like a fact
Tengo cinco años de experiencia en el sector.
I have five years of experience in the industry.
No hedging, no creo que — years of experience is the one thing you state flatly, then back up with examples.
05 · Name your strength
Creo que mi mayor fortaleza es la comunicación.
I think my greatest strength is communication.
Creo que softens it just enough to sound modest, not arrogant — swap in whatever your real strength is.
06 · Own the weakness honestly
A veces soy demasiado perfeccionista, lo reconozco.
Sometimes I'm too much of a perfectionist, I admit it.
Lo reconozco is the phrase that makes it sound self-aware instead of a rehearsed non-answer.
07 · Ask about the team
¿Me podría contar más sobre el equipo de trabajo?
Could you tell me more about the team?
One of the questions you're expected to ask back — silence here reads as disinterest, not modesty.
08 · Ask how they'll judge you
¿Cómo se mide el éxito en esta posición?
How is success measured in this role?
It's the question that makes you sound like you're already thinking about doing the job well, not just getting it.
09 · State your number
Mi expectativa salarial está en ese rango.
My salary expectation is in that range.
Said plainly, after they've named a figure — you're confirming, not haggling yet.
10 · Leave room to negotiate
Estoy abierto a negociar según el paquete completo.
I'm open to negotiating based on the full package.
Paquete completo signals you're weighing benefits and flexibility too, not just the base number — it keeps the door open.
11 · Close it properly
Fue un gusto conversar con usted.
It was a pleasure speaking with you.
Said standing, with a handshake if it's in person — the formal close that matches the formal open.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/job-interviewRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
Watch out
The part no phrase list can do
Isabella
Your conversation teacher for this pack
In the Job Interview pack, the final lesson sits you in a glass-walled meeting room on a Tuesday morning — two coffees on the table, a copy of your CV between you. Isabella plays the Head of Talent: warm but rigorous, usted throughout, taking notes and pausing a beat before each follow-up to weigh what you said. She asks for a strength and a weakness with real examples, slips in one tough behavioral question, and names a salary band. You handle all of it. Out loud. And you can run it again tomorrow:
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Job Interview is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Usted — always, and don't switch to tú unless the interviewer explicitly invites you to. Lock it in with forms like le agradezco and ¿me podría contar más...? for the whole conversation; mixing tú and usted in one sentence is the most common slip.
Keep it under a minute: buenos días, mucho gusto en conocerla, then le agradezco mucho la oportunidad de esta entrevista, your name and role (mi nombre es Andrés y soy ingeniero de software), and why you're there: estoy muy interesado en esta posición.
Name it, own it, and show you're working on it: a veces soy demasiado perfeccionista, lo reconozco (sometimes I'm too much of a perfectionist, I admit it), followed by estoy trabajando en delegar más tareas (I'm working on delegating more).
State a range and stay flexible: mi expectativa salarial está en ese rango (my salary expectation is in that range) and estoy abierto a negociar según el paquete completo (I'm open to negotiating based on the full package). You can also ask me gustaría saber qué beneficios incluye el puesto.
Say estoy muy motivado con esta oportunidad or me entusiasma — not estoy excitado, which carries a different, unprofessional connotation. Close warmly with fue un gusto conversar con usted and espero tener noticias suyas pronto.