A job interview and a first day at work in Spanish, in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
An interview in a second language is mostly predictable. The same six questions come up, the answers are short, and the hard part is the half hour afterwards when somebody shows you the coffee machine and you have to make conversation. This page has the interview, the first day, the words for pay and holidays, which change a lot between countries, and the phrases you use to ask for help without looking lost, for Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina.
Before the interview: your CV
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV | el currículum, el CV | el currículum, el CV | la hoja de vida | el currículum, el CV |
| To apply | postularse, aplicar a | echar el currículum, inscribirse | postularse, aplicar a | postularse |
| HR | RH, Recursos Humanos | RRHH, Recursos Humanos | Gestión Humana, Talento Humano | RRHH, Recursos Humanos |
Hoja de vida is what a CV is called in Colombia, and if you ask for a currículum there, people understand you but know at once that you are foreign.
The questions you will be asked
Interviewers use usted in Mexico and Colombia, tú in Spain, and vos in Argentina, so the same question arrives in three shapes.
| The question | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tell me about yourself | Hábleme de usted. / Háblame de ti. / Contame de vos. (Argentina) | Answer with work history, not biography. Two minutes |
| Why do you want to work here? | ¿Por qué quiere trabajar aquí? / ¿Por qué te interesa el puesto? | |
| What are your strengths? | ¿Cuáles son sus fortalezas? / ¿Cuáles son tus puntos fuertes? | |
| And your weaknesses? | ¿Y sus debilidades? / ¿Y tus puntos débiles? | |
| What’s your availability? | ¿Cuál es su disponibilidad? | Means both start date and hours |
| When could you start? | ¿Cuándo podría empezar? | |
| What salary are you looking for? | ¿Cuál es su expectativa salarial? (Mexico, Colombia) / ¿Cuáles son tus pretensiones salariales? (Spain, Argentina) | Aspiración salarial is also used in Colombia |
| Do you have a work permit? | ¿Tiene permiso de trabajo? |
How to answer
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I have five years’ experience in… | Tengo cinco años de experiencia en… | |
| I’m interested because… | Me interesa el puesto porque… | |
| I’m organised and I work well in a team | Soy organizado / organizada y trabajo bien en equipo. | |
| I’m still learning | Todavía estoy aprendiendo. | A usable answer to a weakness question |
| I’m available immediately | Tengo disponibilidad inmediata. | |
| I’m looking for between X and Y | Mi expectativa está entre X y Y. | Give a range, it is expected |
| What would my duties be? | ¿Cuáles serían mis funciones? | Ask this. Interviewers expect questions |
| What are the next steps? | ¿Cuáles son los siguientes pasos? |
Tú, usted and vos at work
| Speaking to | Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The interviewer | usted | tú | usted | vos |
| Your boss | usted at first, often tú later | tú | usted | vos |
| A colleague your age | tú | tú | usted or tú, depending on the city | vos |
| A client | usted | usted or tú, depending on the sector | usted | usted with older clients, vos with the rest |
| Someone much older | usted | usted | usted | usted |
In Spain people use tú with almost everyone. If you use usted with a Spanish colleague or a manager, it sounds stiff, and people can take it as distance. If you start formally, someone will say puedes tutearme or aquí nos tuteamos, and you switch.
Colombians keep usted inside friendship. Bogotá colleagues who have shared an office for ten years still say usted to each other, and people in Medellín and on the coast use vos and tú more. Start with usted and follow the person in front of you.
Mexicans move from usted to tú quickly with people at your level, and keep usted with the boss, clients and anyone older. In Colombia and parts of Mexico you will hear people addressed as doctor and doctora with no medical degree involved; in Colombia it is a title of respect for anyone senior, and answering to it is normal.
Day one: introducing yourself
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hi, I’m Ana, today is my first day | Hola, soy Ana, hoy es mi primer día. | |
| I’m new | Soy nuevo / nueva. / Acabo de entrar. | |
| I’m joining the design team | Voy a trabajar en el equipo de diseño. | |
| Nice to meet you | Mucho gusto. / Encantado / encantada. (Spain) | Answer: igualmente |
| What do you do here? | ¿En qué área estás? / ¿A qué te dedicas aquí? | |
| Who should I talk to about…? | ¿Con quién tengo que hablar para…? | |
| Where’s the toilet? | ¿Dónde está el baño? | |
| Can you show me? | ¿Me puedes enseñar? (Spain) / ¿Me puedes mostrar? (Mexico, Colombia) / ¿Me podés mostrar? (Argentina) | Enseñar means both teach and show in Spain |
| What time do people leave? | ¿A qué hora suele salir la gente? | The most useful question of the first day |
Asking for help without seeming lost
The learner’s instinct is to apologise and then guess. The better move is a short, specific question, which is also what a competent new colleague does in any language.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Can I ask you something quick? | ¿Te puedo hacer una pregunta rápida? | |
| How do you normally do this here? | ¿Cómo lo hacen normalmente aquí? | |
| I’d rather ask than get it wrong | Prefiero preguntar antes de equivocarme. | A line that buys you a lot of patience |
| I don’t know yet | Todavía no lo sé. / Aún no lo sé. | |
| Let me check and I’ll confirm | Déjame revisarlo y te confirmo. / Lo reviso y te aviso. | Te confirmo is used constantly in Latin American offices |
| It’s done | Ya quedó. (Mexico) / Ya está. (Spain) / Listo. (Colombia, Argentina) |
The office words
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boss | el jefe / la jefa | el jefe / la jefa | el jefe / la jefa | el jefe / la jefa |
| Colleague | el compañero, el colega | el compañero (colega means a mate and a workmate is compañero) | el compañero | el compañero |
| Meeting | la junta, la reunión | la reunión | la reunión | la reunión |
| Shift | el turno | el turno | el turno | el turno |
| Salary | el sueldo, el salario | el sueldo, el salario | el sueldo, el salario | el sueldo |
| Payroll, payslip | la nómina, el recibo de nómina | la nómina (also the payslip) | la nómina, el desprendible de pago | el recibo de sueldo |
| Benefits | las prestaciones | los beneficios sociales | las prestaciones, los beneficios | los beneficios |
| Year-end payment | el aguinaldo, paid in December | las pagas extra, usually summer and December | la prima, paid in June and December | el aguinaldo, paid in two halves, June and December |
| Holidays | las vacaciones | las vacaciones | las vacaciones | las vacaciones |
| A long weekend | el puente | el puente | el puente | el fin de semana largo |
| Sick leave | la incapacidad | la baja | la incapacidad | la licencia médica |
| Contract | el contrato, de planta for permanent | el contrato indefinido | el contrato a término indefinido | el contrato, efectivo for permanent |
Junta in Mexico is the everyday word for a meeting, and reunión is understood there too. Nómina in Spain is the payslip itself: ya me ha llegado la nómina means the pay is in. Prestaciones in Mexico are the legally required benefits, and the word appears in every job advert, where prestaciones de ley means the legal minimum and superiores a las de ley means better than that.
Lunch and coffee
Spain. A coffee and something small mid-morning, taken out of the office with colleagues, then lunch at two or half past. Many offices empty for an hour or more, and the menú del día at a nearby bar is the normal lunch. Going down for a coffee when you are asked is how a new person gets to know the team.
Mexico. La comida is the main meal, at two or three, either out or brought in. Comida corrida is the set menu near the office. Birthdays mean cake and a short gathering, and being called over for it is a genuine invitation.
Colombia. Lunch is early, around twelve or one, and often a corrientazo, the set lunch of soup, main and juice. El tinto, a small black coffee, circulates through the office all day, and someone will ask ¿le provoca un tinto?, do you fancy a coffee, which is the Colombian and Venezuelan use of provocar.
Argentina. Lunch is around one and can be short. El mate is shared in many offices, passed round a group from one cup and one straw, refilled by whoever brought it. Taking it when it is handed to you, drinking it all and handing it back is the correct behaviour. Saying gracias when you take it means you are done and want no more, so do not say it until you mean it.
Email and chat in the first week
| You want to write | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Ms García | Estimada Sra. García: | Colon after the name, not a comma |
| Hello team | Hola equipo: | |
| I’m attaching… | Adjunto… / Te adjunto… | |
| I look forward to your comments | Quedo atento / atenta a tus comentarios. | Mexico, Colombia, and very common |
| I look forward to hearing from you | Quedo a la espera de tu respuesta. | Spain, Argentina |
| Best regards | Saludos. / Un saludo. (Spain) / Saludos cordiales. | Saludos is safe everywhere |
| Warmly (informal) | Abrazo. | Argentina, between colleagues who know each other |
| Got it | Listo. / Anotado. / Vale. (Spain) / Dale. (Argentina) | |
| I’ll get back to you | Te confirmo. / Te aviso. |
What you will hear on day one
| You will hear | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bienvenido / bienvenida al equipo. | Everywhere | Welcome to the team |
| Te presento a… | Everywhere | This is… |
| Tutéame. / Aquí nos tuteamos. | Spain | Use tú with me |
| Cualquier cosa me dices. | Mexico, Colombia | Anything you need, tell me |
| Cualquier cosa me avisás. | Argentina | The same |
| ¿Ya te dieron los accesos? | Everywhere | Do you have your logins yet |
| Tenemos junta a las diez. | Mexico | We have a meeting at ten |
| No te preocupes, aquí todos empezamos así. | Everywhere | Don’t worry, everyone starts like this |
Ten sentences you can say tomorrow
- Hola, soy Ana, hoy es mi primer día. Hi, I’m Ana, today is my first day.
- Tengo cinco años de experiencia en atención al cliente. I have five years’ experience in customer service.
- Me interesa el puesto porque quiero trabajar en este sector. I’m interested in the job because I want to work in this sector.
- Tengo disponibilidad inmediata. I can start immediately.
- Mi expectativa salarial está entre esos dos números. My salary expectation is between those two numbers.
- ¿Cuáles serían mis funciones exactamente? What exactly would my duties be?
- ¿Con quién tengo que hablar para pedir vacaciones? Who do I talk to about booking holiday?
- Todavía no lo sé, lo reviso y te confirmo. I don’t know yet, I’ll check and confirm.
- Prefiero preguntar antes de equivocarme. I’d rather ask than get it wrong.
- Tenemos junta a las diez, ¿te veo allá? We have a meeting at ten, see you there? (Mexico)
Questions people ask
Should I use usted in an interview? In Mexico and Colombia, yes, and keep it until you are told otherwise. In Spain use tú; usted with a Spanish interviewer your own age is awkward. In Argentina vos is normal even in formal interviews.
What is a “hoja de vida”? A CV, in Colombia. The word currículum is understood but hoja de vida is the word in every job advert.
What is “aguinaldo”? A year-end payment. In Mexico it is a legal entitlement paid in December. In Argentina it is paid in two halves, in June and December. Colombia has la prima on the same two dates, and Spain has las pagas extra, usually in summer and December.
How do I answer the salary question? Give a range and say it is negotiable: mi expectativa está entre X y Y, es negociable. Being asked directly is normal in all four countries, and if you refuse to answer, the process stalls.
Is “junta” only Mexican? As a word for an ordinary work meeting, effectively yes. Elsewhere la junta means a board or a governing body, and the meeting is la reunión.
What does “quedo atento” mean at the end of an email? “I remain attentive”, meaning I’m waiting to hear from you. It is standard in Mexican and Colombian business email and sounds slightly formal in Spain.
Can I leave at the end of my hours? In Spain and Latin America both, leaving on time is common in some offices and noticed in others, and the honest way to find out is to ask on day one: ¿a qué hora suele salir la gente?
How do I say “I’m still learning the system”? Todavía me estoy familiarizando con el sistema. It is the phrase colleagues use themselves, and people are as patient when they hear it as they would be in English.
Practise these words
trabajo, puesto, jefe, compañero, reunión, sueldo, contrato, experiencia, empezar, preguntar, equivocarse, vacaciones, turno. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.