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What are common mistakes to avoid during a Spanish interview

Ace Your Job Interview in Spanish: Key Phrases and Vocabulary: What are common mistakes to avoid during a Spanish interview

Common mistakes to avoid during a Spanish interview include:

  • Mixing the formal “usted” and informal “tú” forms in the same conversation, which can come across as disrespectful or confusing.
  • Overusing slang or casual language that might be inappropriate for a professional setting.
  • Directly translating from English, which can lead to errors, for example, using “asistir” to mean “assist” instead of “attend.”
  • Forgetting gender agreement between nouns, articles, and adjectives, such as saying organizado instead of organizada if you are female.
  • Misusing verbs like ser and estar, which have different uses depending on permanence or temporary states.
  • Confusing the prepositions por and para, which serve different grammatical roles.
  • Neglecting accent marks, which can change word meanings and pronunciation.
  • Using redundant phrases that repeat meaning unnecessarily, like subir arriba (to go up upstairs).
  • Using English loanwords without adaptation, which can sound unnatural.
  • Overusing subject pronouns unnecessarily, since Spanish often omits them due to verb conjugations indicating the subject.
  • Incorrect word order in questions; for example, it’s more natural to place the verb first in many Spanish questions.
  • Misusing personal “a” before direct objects that are people.

Avoiding these mistakes will help to present yourself clearly, professionally, and respectfully in a Spanish interview, showing good command of the language and cultural awareness.

References

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