B2 · Unit 22 · 46 words, 3 texts with translation
Interview for a management job
Get ready for an interview for a management position: talk about your career, your education, your personal qualities and teamwork.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
El de, la de, lo de: an article instead of a noun
You already know how to choose between un and el (A2, unit 18), and you know lo que — "what" (B1, unit 15). Now the article works on its own, without a noun.
Why you need it. English doesn't like repeating a noun either: "my position and Sonia's", "the one from the bar". Spanish keeps only the article and adds de.
| Form | What it replaces | Example |
|---|---|---|
el de | a masculine noun | mi puesto y el de Sonia — my position and Sonia's |
la de | a feminine noun | mi mesa y la de Nuria — my desk and Nuria's |
los de, las de | a plural noun | los de la oficina nueva — the ones from the new office |
lo de | no noun at all: "the thing with…", "that business about…" | lo de ayer — what happened yesterday |
The article takes its gender and number from the noun you didn't repeat. De + el become del: el del bar — the one from the bar.
Lo de is the most common of them all. It doesn't replace any noun: it names an event, a matter or a topic that both people already know about.
- ¿Qué tal lo de la entrevista? — So how did the interview go?
- Siento lo del otro día. — I'm sorry about the other day.
- Lo de Germán ya está arreglado. — The thing with Germán is sorted out now.
- Lo de trabajar los sábados no me gusta. — I don't like this whole working-on-Saturdays thing.
After lo de you can also use an infinitive, as in the last example.
About a person, el de, la de sounds casual: la de recursos humanos — the woman from human resources. You say it about someone among friends, not in front of them.
A common mistake is mixing up lo de and el de. Lo de Ana — the thing with Ana. El de Ana — Ana's: her desk, her phone, her report, whatever you were just talking about.
Es informático, but es un informático excelente: a judgment needs an article
You already know that after ser you name a job without an article: soy traductora (A1, unit 10; A2, unit 18). English always needs "a" here ("I'm a translator"), Spanish doesn't. Now let's see when the article does show up and what it changes.
Without an article you put a person in a group: you answer the question "what does he do?". As soon as you add a judgment or a detail, the person becomes "one of them", and you need un, una.
| Question | How to say it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What does he do? | ser + job | Es informático. — He's an IT specialist. |
| How good is he at it? | ser + un, una + job + description | Es un informático excelente. — He's an excellent IT specialist. |
| Which one exactly? There's only one | ser + el, la + position | Es la directora de recursos humanos. — She's the head of human resources (the only one). |
- Vicente es camarero. — Vicente is a waiter.
- Vicente es un camarero muy bueno. — Vicente is a very good waiter.
- Mi hermana es una arquitecta que conoce toda Valencia. — My sister is an architect who knows all of Valencia.
- Nuria es la jefa. — Nuria is the boss (we only have one).
The same rule works for positions and roles: Quiero ser jefa de equipo — I want to be a team leader (no article); Quiero ser una buena jefa — I want to be a good boss (with an article, because now there's a judgment). After trabajar de and estar de (unit 21) there's no article either: lleva diez años de gerente ("he's been a manager for ten years").
Compare with English. English says "a" both times: "he's a doctor" and "he's a good doctor". Spanish drops the article for the bare job and brings it back as soon as an adjective or a detail appears.
A common mistake is losing the article when you add a judgment: not ✗ es gerente muy bueno, but es un gerente muy bueno. The other way around is less strict: without a judgment people usually skip the article, for example soy especialista en ventas — I'm a sales specialist. With an article when you add a description: soy una especialista con experiencia.
La señora Soler and un tal Robles: articles with titles and surnames
In English you say "Ms. Soler is here" and "Hello, Ms. Soler" with the same words. In Spanish these are two different patterns, and the difference is the article.
Talking about someone — with an article. Talking to them — without.
| Situation | How to say it |
|---|---|
| About the person | La señora Soler está en una reunión. — Ms. Soler is in a meeting. |
| To the person | Buenos días, señora Soler. — Good morning, Ms. Soler. |
All titles before a surname work the same way: el señor Navarro, la doctora Ruiz, el profesor Gil. Unlike English ("Dr. Ruiz called"), Spanish puts el or la before the title when you talk about the person.
Three cases with no article:
- a first name without a title: Nuria me ha llamado (in casual speech you may hear
la Nuriain some places, but don't say it yourself); donanddoña— they go before a first name, not a surname: doña Concha vive en el segundo;- signatures and introductions: Soy Mercedes Soler, directora de recursos humanos.
A whole family — los + surname, and the surname doesn't change: los García — the Garcías (English adds -s, Spanish doesn't).
Un tal — "some, a certain": you don't know the person, you've only heard the name. El tal — "this… guy": the person has already been mentioned.
- Te ha llamado un tal Robles. — Some guy named Robles called you.
- Hay otra candidata, una tal Teresa. — There's another candidate, someone called Teresa.
- ¿Y quién es el tal Robles? — And who is this Robles guy?
Un tal sounds a little dismissive: "I don't know him, and I don't have to". You don't use it about someone you respect. English "some guy named…" has the same tone.
A common mistake is losing the article when you talk about someone: not ✗ Señora Soler me ha preguntado, but La señora Soler me ha preguntado. And the reverse: not ✗ Gracias, la señora Soler, but Gracias, señora Soler.
Words in this unit
el empleo — job, employment
Busco un empleo estable. — I'm looking for a steady job.
la candidatura — application, candidacy
Presento mi candidatura al puesto de gerente. — I'm submitting my application for the manager position.
la selección — selection, recruitment
El proceso de selección dura un mes. — The selection process takes a month.
ascender — to be promoted, to promote
Si trabajas bien, ascenderás pronto. — If you do a good job, you'll get promoted soon.
la promoción — promotion, career advancement
En esta empresa hay pocas posibilidades de promoción. — There are few chances for promotion at this company.
el/la gerente — manager
Mi hermana es gerente de una tienda. — My sister is the manager of a store.
el/la líder — leader
Ana es la líder del equipo. — Ana is the team leader.
el liderazgo — leadership
Tiene mucho liderazgo. — He has strong leadership skills.
el directivo — executive, senior manager
Los directivos hablan con todo el equipo. — The executives talk with the whole team.
la trayectoria — career, track record
Su trayectoria profesional es impresionante. — His professional career is impressive.
el experto — expert
Mi padre es un experto en coches. — My father is a car expert.
el/la especialista — specialist
Soy especialista en ventas. — I'm a sales specialist.
el empresario — businessman, entrepreneur, business owner
Mi padre es empresario. — My father is a businessman.
el arquitecto — architect
Mi prima es arquitecta. — My cousin (female) is an architect.
el informático — IT specialist, computer technician
Mi marido es informático. — My husband is an IT specialist.
formar — to train, to form
Esta empresa forma a sus empleados. — This company trains its employees.
la educación — education, manners
La educación es muy importante. — Education is very important.
el instituto — high school, institute
Mi hijo va al instituto. — My son goes to high school.
la academia — private school, academy
Estudio inglés en una academia. — I'm studying English at a private school.
el máster — master's degree, master's program
Estudio un máster en marketing. — I'm doing a master's in marketing.
la cualidad — quality (of a person), strength
Su mejor cualidad es la paciencia. — His best quality is patience.
el mérito — merit, credit
Ese éxito es mérito tuyo. — That success is to your credit.
el talento — talent
Mi hermano tiene mucho talento. — My brother has a lot of talent.
la inteligencia — intelligence
Admiro su inteligencia. — I admire his intelligence.
la disciplina — discipline
Para estudiar hace falta disciplina. — You need discipline to study.
la empatía — empathy
Un buen jefe tiene empatía. — A good boss has empathy.
emocional — emotional
Tiene mucha inteligencia emocional. — She has a lot of emotional intelligence.
la iniciativa — initiative
Tienes iniciativa y eso me gusta. — You have initiative, and I like that.
dispuesto — willing, ready
Estoy dispuesta a cambiar de ciudad. — I'm willing to move to another city (woman speaking).
positivo — positive
Es una persona muy positiva. — She's a very positive person.
superior — higher, senior, superior
Tengo estudios superiores. — I have higher education.
interno — internal
Hay una promoción interna en la empresa. — There's an internal promotion at the company.
internacional — international
Trabajo en una empresa internacional. — I work at an international company.
gestionar — to manage, to handle
Gestiono un equipo de seis personas. — I manage a team of six people.
evaluar — to evaluate, to assess
Van a evaluar mi trabajo. — They're going to evaluate my work.
contribuir — to contribute
Quiero contribuir al proyecto. — I want to contribute to the project.
implicarse — to get involved, to be committed
Me implico mucho en mi trabajo. — I get very involved in my work.
presumir — to show off, to brag
Mi primo presume de coche nuevo. — My cousin brags about his new car.
pillar — to catch, to get (understand)
Me pilló el atasco y llegué tarde. — I got stuck in traffic and arrived late.
estar a la altura — to be up to it, to measure up
Creo que estoy a la altura del puesto. — I think I'm up to the job.
poner a prueba — to test, to put to the test
Quieren poner a prueba mi paciencia. — They want to test my patience.
quedarse en blanco — to go blank, to blank out
En el examen me quedé en blanco. — I went blank on the exam.
por sorpresa — by surprise
Me hizo una pregunta por sorpresa. — He asked me a question out of the blue.
dar la talla — to measure up, to be good enough
Este chico no da la talla para el puesto. — This guy isn't good enough for the position.
arrimar el hombro — to pitch in, to do your part
Si todos arrimamos el hombro, acabamos antes. — If we all pitch in, we'll finish sooner.
el sector — sector, industry
Trabajo en el sector turístico. — I work in the tourism industry.
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