In the past, I occasionally joined a volunteer group to help underprivileged students with their English interviewing skills.

In a nutshell, we taught them how to write a proper CV (in English), how to dress up for a job interview as well as how to interact during the interview.

What is their greatest weakness? You might be surprised, but it’s not their English skills. Instead, it’s their lack of confidence.

1.) Some girls felt “inferior”, because they did not attend top-tier schools and were worried that they would be discriminated against during the interview.

My response was simple. Firstly, if a hiring manager wanted to hire candidates from certain elite schools only, then you wouldn’t be invited to the interview anyway. Hence, nothing to worry about. Secondly, if you were invited to the interview, at the end of the day, how you performed during the interview would be the key focus. Therefore, no need to fret over whether the other candidate is from an elite school or not.

2.) Worreid about getting the grammar wrong or weak vocabulary knowledge.

The key thing about conversational English isn’t the grammar. It’s about effectively conveying your message across in a clear manner. As a matter of fact, many foreigners suck at grammar anyway. My tip? Stick to basic vocab and worry less about grammatical mistakes. As I often say, “You know more than what you think.”