Today we are going over 100 questions about jobs.
I will be answering them.
My esteemed colleague, Tom will be asking me the questions.
This is going to help you build your vocabulary for talking about jobs, about your work history
for answering questions.
Pay attention not only to vocabulary but to the sentence structure.
And be sure if you’re answering the questions yourself as you go along, pause the video
if you want to practice how you put the sentences together.
So let me get my earbud and let’s call up Tom.
How many jobs have you had?
I have had so many, it would take a very long time to try to count them and figure that
out.
What’s been your least favorite job?
My least favorite job was probably being a secretary.
Why didn’t you like it?
I didn’t like it because my only job was to do what other people told me to do.
And I like to come up with things to do.
How did you get to work for this job?
For this job I took the subway, I lived in Cambridge, I took the subway into Boston and
it took about 25 minutes.
Click here or in the video description to get a free cheat sheet, the sounds of American
English, it’s a great reference tool and even I use quite a bit.
Why did you take that job?
I took this job because it had health insurance.
What were some of your job duties for this job?
So my boss didn’t do emails; my job was to read his email out loud to him and then
type in his replies.
I also dealt with student files and that kind of thing.
What qualified you for this job?
I had good computer skills and I am a very organized person.
I had also been an assistant to somebody before.
So, I kind of knew what I was getting into.
What was to process for being hired for this job?
This job was at a big university in the US so there was a very structured process.
I saw them posting online, I sent in my materials, that’ll be a cover letter and a resume.
I had two rounds of interviews with H.R. and with the person who would be my boss and then
they gave me a formal offer.
How long were you at this job?
About two years.
What’s the best part of this job?
The best part was definitely the health insurance.
I needed that.
Why did you leave this job?
I left the job because I decided to move out of Boston.
Was the job stressful?
No.
Not at all.
Did you like your colleagues?
I did.
There were couple of other women who worked in the office with me.
It was a very small office and they were very friendly.
Have most of your jobs been as employees or contractors?
I had way, way, way more jobs as contractors than as an employee.
What’s been your favorite job?
I would have to say the job I’m doing right now.
Why did you take that job?
Well.
I didn’t take it.
This is my own business that I developed from creating a Youtube channel.
Started out as a hobby and now it’s grown into my business.
Are you full time or part time?
I am mostly full time at this point.
But I definitely started very much so part time because it was a hobby.
Does the job have benefits?
Yes I do give myself and my employees benefits.
What’s the best thing about this job?
The best thing about this job is, it’s totally my own creation, and I love that.
And I get to meet and have conversations with people all over the world.
What’s the worst thing about this job?
The worst thing about this job, I guess is that, it’s all on me.
No one is paying me a salary.
It’s all on me to make the financials work.
What are some of your daily tasks?
The main thing that I do right now is create Youtube videos.
And work with the editor, and teach my students.
What qualifies you for this job?
Yeah.
That’s the thing that’s great about Youtube is nobody had to say: “You’re qualified!”
I could just start making videos.
But it’s my background in opera singing that I bring into my focus on spoken English.
Who is someone who supports you in doing this job well?
I would say my husband David is incredibly supportive and he’s a great person to bounce
ideas off of.
Do you like your colleagues?
Tom, I love my colleagues.
I have the absolute best colleagues in the world!
In case anyone wasn’t sure, Tom is my colleague.
If you were to switch jobs now, what are some of the factors you would consider?
Probably the main thing I would consider of course, salary is important, but right now
I enjoy so much flexibility.
And I have young kids, so I feel like that would be really important to me.
What was your first job?
My first job?
Would probably have to be babysitting.
How old were you when you took that job?
My first babysitting job I was in middle school so probably about 12.
Did you like it?
No!
What were some of your job duties?
Obviously, keeping the kids alive, trying to keep them happy and healthy, entertained,
and sometimes cooking, presenting them with a meal.
Feeding them if need be.
Cleaning up, changing diapers.
Did anything get in the way of you doing your job well?
Actually, my first babysitting job was for a little boy.
And his older brother who was in high school was also in and out of the house.
And that voice distracted me and made me nervous.
I don’t know if it prevented me from doing the job well.
But it was definitely a factor that made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Who is someone who supported you in doing that job well?
My dad, because I was 12, so I couldn’t drive, so he had to pick me up and drop me
off.
What was the process for being hired for this job?
This job, my first babysitting job, someone at church approached my dad and asked if I
would be available.
And my dad decided I would definitely absolutely do it.
So, I wasn’t even asked.
How long were you at that job?
That first babysitting job was probably only about six months.
What’s the strangest you’ve ever had?
The strangest job I’ve ever had.
There’ve been some strange ones.
I think maybe I worked as a landscaper so maybe that one.
Why was it strange?
It was strange because I only did it for one week.
Why did you take that job?
I took the job because, my friend her aunt owned this company and she was like, hey,
we need a landscaper for this first week of summer.
And I was like, “Sure, sounds fun.”
What were some of the duties associated with that job?
We would go to Home Depot, but the flowers we needed.
And then go to the Burger King because we were planting beds between the road and the
Burger King parking lot, and then we would plant all day.
Did you like the people you worked with?
I did, because it was just my one friend that I knew from cross country in college and we
had a lot of fun.
Was it a full-time job or part-time?
This was full-time.
It was 40 hours for that one week.
How did you get to work?
I think I met her somewhere, with my car.
And then she would be there with her aunt’s pickup truck and we’d go and do the job.
Why did you feel qualified for this job?
I didn’t really.
So I just did whatever people told me to do.
What was the process of being hired for this job?
Yeah, this was very unofficial.
I never did any paperwork.
I’m sure it was ‘under the table’ and not legal, and I was paid in cash.
What was the best part of this job?
The best part of the job was playing the radio as we planted all day, just top 40 hits, we
would sing along and it was fun.
What was the worst part of the job?
The worst part of this job was after we would plant the beds, we had to water everything
and the hose was so heavy, I had to wrestle with this thing everyday.
What’s the easiest job you’ve ever had?
The easiest job I ever had was probably in college.
I lived in a small group house.
And I was hired to be the house cleaner, by the college, to the house cleaner of the house.
How did you get that job?
I think I lived with five people and we all knew that one of us had to do it.
And so, I volunteered and applied at the college.
What were some of the duties for this job?
Vacuuming, scrubbing toilets, cleaning the kitchen sink.
All those good things.
Why did you take that job?
I took it because I lived at the house so I thought it would be an easy thing to do
between studying and that kind of thing.
How long were you at this job?
This job I did for one year because that’s how long I lived in the house.
What was the best part of this job?
The best part of the job was they paid you this set amount of money expecting that you’d
be cleaning a lot, but I was in college and all of our standards were really low.
So even though I kept it somewhat clean, I was not cleaning as much as they were paying
me for.
What was the worst part of the job?
Cleaning toilets.
Did you have any other jobs in college?
Yes, I did.
I was a tutor for math and physics.
What was the process of being hired for that job?
For the physics tutor position, I was taking a physics class, and my professor asked me
if I would tutor somebody in the class who needed some extra help.
How long were you at that job?
That was one year.
What was the best part of that job?
The best part of that job was working one-on-one with somebody and being able to help them.
What was the worst part of that job?
The same.
There was some pressure there.
I felt like if she didn’t do well, that it was my fault.
How did you get to work for this job?
I think we just met in the science building, so I just walked across campus.
Why did you feel qualified for this job?
I wouldn’t have thought of myself as being able to do that.
But my professor, when he asked me, he said you have one of the highest grades in class
would you be willing to do this.
And that sort of gave me a confidence boost.
Why did you leave this job?
I left the job because we both finished the class.
Have you had any jobs that you absolutely couldn’t do now?
Yes, I have been paid to sing opera on a stage before and I absolutely cannot do that now.
Why could you not do that now?
I couldn’t do that now because I haven’t sung a note in probably two decades.
What was the best part of that job?
The best part of that job was, I love classical music.
Just the feeling of singing; having the instrument in your body.
It’s very cool.
What was the worst part of that job?
The worst part of that job was probably having to audition constantly.
Why did you feel qualified for that job?
Well, I went to graduate school for opera performance.
But also, you know, they decide whether or not you’re qualified.
They’re hearing like one hundred sopranos and deciding if they like you.
What is the best-paying opera singing job you ever had.
The best gig I ever had was with The Boston Lyric Opera.
What was to process of getting that job?
That one so, there was a church outside of the Boston area and they had soprano for a
performance that got sick last minute, and I was asked to step in and to it.
And the person who was running that liked my voice and so she actually sent me to audition
because her nephew is the conductor.
And so I think that connection might have helped me get that job.
Why did you leave this job?
I decided to stop pursuing opera because it just didn’t really feel like me anymore.
I went to graduate school for it.
I love music, I love singing.
But I never really saw myself as doing it for my career.
Did you like your colleagues?
I did.
Opera singers are cool people.
What was your most stressful job?
My most stressful job was in graduate school, I was the personal assistant to he head of
the Opera Department.
And she was a little bit of a diva.
Why was it stressful?
She was not very nice.
What was the best part of that job?
The best part of that job was probably being able to support the other people in my program
by helping the head of the program sort of run her life.
And run rehearsals and that kind of thing.
Did you like your colleagues?
I did.
There are two other people who worked in the Opera Department as coaches and I absolutely
adored them.
What was the hiring process like for this job?
For this job she told me that I was going to do it and I said okay because I was scared
of her.
How long did you have this job?
I had this job for either one or two years, I actually can’t remember, I think it was
only one.
What were some of your job responsibilities for this job?
For this job I had to organize rehearsals.
I also had to create and print the programs.
And she also didn’t do email so I had to read her her email and then type out her responses.
Did you have any other jobs in graduate school?
I did.
I worked for an Italian specialty food store.
How did you get to work for this job?
The store was located in the building next to mine so I just walked down four flights
of stairs and there I was.
What was the process of being hired for this job?
I think I saw a “Help Wanted” sign in a window, and I called.
And they were asking me where I lived and I told them I live right next door.
And I remember the woman who owns it was there and she said “Come down right now.”
So I came down, she was in the back office, and I walk in and she goes, “You got to
have two things to sell pasta: You got to have looks, and you got to have personality,
and I can tell you have both.
So I was hired.
What was the best part of this job?
The best part of this job was, at lunch I got an hour break, and I was allowed to take
something.
And they had really good sandwiches.
What was the worst part of this job?
The worst part of this job was, they never told me, despite me asking how much I was
going to get paid, and so, I didn’t figure it out until after I worked there a week.
I should have known better, and it was not very good.
Did you like your coworkers for this job?
I did.
There was a cook who worked in the back who’s very sweet.
And he actually even gave me some of the recipes once.
How long did you have this job?
This job, I believe it was about a year.
Why did you leave this job?
I left the job because I was going to do a singing gig and I had to leave town.
Are there any other jobs you’ve had in the past that you couldn’t do now?
Yes.
I, in another life was a computer programmer.
Why could you no longer do this?
I could not do that now because, though I studied that in college it’s been a very,
very long time and I think a lot has changed.
If you could go back in time and take a completely different path, what career would you pursue?
I thought about this sometimes and I’ve come up with actuary.
Why?
Because I love math; I also majored in math in college.
And I heard, it’s a not very stressful job that pays well.
If you couldn’t teach online and run your Youtube channel, what would you do instead?
At this point, I honestly think what I would try to do it get a job working for Youtube.
Why?
Because I’ve been on the platform for 14 years.
I know it.
I love it.
I love Youtube creators and I think I could offer something.
What is one other job you’ve had that you haven’t mentioned yet?
I ran a guest house and residence in Manhattan.
What was the process of getting hired for that job?
Actually, my friend had the position, and he was ready to leave and he asked me if I
would take over.
And then the board agreed to it.
How long did you have that job?
I had that job for two years.
Why did you leave that job?
I left that job because it felt like it was time for something new.
And actually, when I left that job, that’s when I started working full time on my Youtube channel.
What was the best part of that job?
The best part of that job was..
It was a small group of people that lived there.
And I loved them.
Some of them are still my best friends.
It was so fun living with people.
It had a great location in Manhattan.
I love New York City and it just felt like the world was at my doorstep.
What was the worst part of that job?
The worst part of that job is easy.
It was an old building.
It was like 150 years old.
Things were constantly going wrong with it.
And it was my responsibility to deal with that.
Did you like your colleagues?
I did.
I was the only person working there.
But there was a board who provided oversight.
And they were all really cool people.
What were some of your duties for this job?
So I ran the guest house, managed the bookings, did the laundry.
Met the guests, and then also the residents.
I collected rent and made sure everyone was happy.
Made sure everything was going well for everyone.
And then the building.
Tried to make sure the building didn’t crumble too much.
What made you well-qualified for this job?
Well, I had lived there previously as a resident so I understood the community a little bit.
I’m a friendly person and so I think it worked well to greet people and to make people
feel at home.
When would you like to retire?
Oooh, good question.
I, I would love to see myself retired in maybe about 10 years.
What do you want to do when you retire?
Okay.
I mean, cliché, but I want to travel.
Also I want to be able to do interesting things with my kids who will be like young adults
at that point.
Hopefully they will be into the same things I’m into.