12 Common Phrasal Verbs for Job Interviews in English

12 Common Phrasal Verbs for Job Interviews in English

Let’s dive into 10 common phrasal verbs you might hear or use in a job interview in English.
We’ll explain what each one means and give you real-life examples that can help you impress interviewers.
Also, if you want to improve your English job interview skills, don’t miss out on my free training on how to confidently answer “Tell me about yourself,” the most common job interview question.

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01. Carry out:
To finish or do a task or responsibility.

Example:

• “In my last job, I carried out market research to find out what customers liked so we could improve our social media.”
• “I successfully carried out a market research project, talking to 350 customers to get their feedback on our product.”

02. Take on:
To accept or start doing a responsibility or task.

Example:

• “I took on a leadership role and managed a team of 5 people for our biggest ad campaign.”
• “In my previous job, I took on the responsibility of leading a team of 8 employees and helped increase their productivity by 20%.”

03. Bring about:
To cause something to happen or start a change.

Example:

• “I brought about a 15% increase in sales by simplifying our marketing strategies.”
• “I introduced a cost-saving measure that reduced our expenses by 12%.”

04. Follow up:
To get in touch or take action after the first contact.

Example:

• “I followed up with potential clients for market research, which helped us improve our user platform.”
• “After attending the career fair, I followed up with potential employers by sending them thank-you emails within 24 hours.”

05. Set up:
To create or organize something.

Example:

• “I set up and managed an efficient filing system to improve how we organized and found documents.”
• “I set up an online customer support system, which reduced response time by 28% and increased customer satisfaction.”

06. Carry through:
To finish or complete a task or project successfully.

Example:

• “I carried through a complex project from start to finish, meeting all the deadlines.”
• “I successfully carried through a complex project even with a tight deadline.”

07. Work out:
To solve or find a solution to a problem.

Example:

• “I led my team in working out logistical issues to ensure smooth event coordination.”
• “I worked with different teams to solve supply chain problems, which led to a 12% reduction in delivery time.”

8. Figure out:
To understand or solve something.

Example:

• “I figured out how to reduce our processing time by 25% through better workflow management.”
• “In my last job, I figured out a more efficient way to track our inventory, which saved the company both time and money.”

9. Turn down:
To reject or refuse something.

Example:

• “I turned down a job offer from another company because I wanted to stay with my current team and continue working on the project we started.”
• “I had to turn down several supplier proposals that didn’t meet our quality standards.”   

10. Bring in:
To introduce or start something new.

Example:

• “I brought in new ideas to simplify our workflow and improve productivity at our data call center.”
• “I started a new marketing strategy that increased web traffic by 30% and attracted more customer leads.”

11. Step up:
To increase your effort or take on more responsibility.

Example:

• “I stepped up as team leader when a colleague was away, ensuring the project was completed.”
• “During a staffing shortage, I stepped up and took on additional responsibilities to keep the work flowing and meet project deadlines.”

12. Look into:
To investigate or examine a situation or issue.

Example:

• “I looked into customer feedback and did a thorough analysis, which helped identify key issues and led to a 17% increase in customer satisfaction within three months.”
• “As part of my job, I looked into customer complaints to find areas where we could improve our service.”