TOEFL Speaking Take an Interview – Part Time Jobs

In the “Take an Interview” task the interviewer will ask you four questions about the same topic.  You’ll have 45 seconds to answer each one. You must answer as soon as the question is finished. You won’t be given any time to prepare your answers. Note that on the real test you won’t be able to read the questions.  You will only hear them.

Introduction:

You have agreed to take part in a research study about working working. You will have a short online interview with a professor. The professor will ask you some questions.

Question One:

First up, I’d like to get your opinion on this topic. A lot of people think it is a good idea for university students to work a part time job in addition to taking classes, while others believe it is better to focus only on studying. What do you think? Why do you feel that way?

Sample Answer, Question One:

Personally, I think it’s a fantastic idea for university students to have part-time jobs. That’s because when students spend all their time on campus are trapped in a certain bubble. They are talking to people that are very similar to them and usually also have similar interests. However, if we go to a job a few times a week, we’re gonna meet people from totally different walks of life, and we’re gonna interact with them on a regular basis in a very meaningful way. As a result of this, we can actually do a lot of learning when we’re not in class. We can learn about the world, we can learn about opinions that are different than our own, and, ultimately, that can lead to a lot more success in our life.

Question Two:

Next, I’d like to learn more about you. Can you describe a time in your life when you learned about a job that you thought would be good for you? Maybe you met someone with that job, or perhaps you read about it in a news article. What was the job? Why did it appeal to you?

Sample Answer, Question Two:

Well, a few weeks ago I talked to my friend, and I learned that he had just gotten a job at a local bookstore. And that actually appealed to me quite a lot, because I enjoy reading, like, more than almost anything else in life. So to be surrounded by books and to have an opportunity to recommend some of my favorite books to interested shoppers sounded really appealing to me. Not only that, but I learned that as part of his job, he got to actually organize events for customers, like, for example, he put together a weekly book club,  which was immensely popular, and it turned out to be very rewarding for him. So I thought that someday I might like to get a job in a bookstore myself.

Question Three:

Interesting! Now, are you someone who cares about how much money they make? Or is that something you don’t think about very much?

Sample Answer, Question Three:

Yeah, I guess you could say I’m someone who cares about how much money they make. While it would be nice to say that money is not something I ever think about, honestly, I have bills to pay every month, just like most people in the world. And on top of that, there are fun things I want to do which cost a whole lot of money. For instance, I want to take a long holiday overseas during my vacation period each year. But if I didn’t make a lot of money, that would be completely out of reach, especially since I also have to pay a mortgage bill every month. So, you know, basically, I am someone who cares about how much money he makes.

Question Four:

I just have one more question. A lot of people believe that in the future it will be harder for new university graduates to get jobs because AI will perform so many basic tasks. On the other hand, some people think that AI will actually create more jobs for new graduates. What do you think about this?