Dialogue
Entretien or interview: a job interview, a media interview and upkeep
Practise a French job-interview dialogue and distinguish entretien d’embauche, interview and entretien des vélos. Includes maintenance picture cards.
- B1
- 12 lines
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In short
Use un entretien d’embauche for a job interview and une interview for a media interview. A published conversation can also be called un entretien. With an object such as a bicycle, l’entretien means maintenance or upkeep.
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What is the difference between entretien and interview?
Camille has applied for a journalism internship. The editor asks about a piece she prepared for a student magazine. Read the exchange, then hide Camille’s lines and answer from the English prompts.
- Editor
Bonjour Camille. Merci d’être venue pour cet entretien.
English
Hello Camille. Thank you for coming to this interview.
- Camille
Bonjour, merci de me recevoir.
Greet the editor and thank her for seeing you.
English
Hello, thank you for seeing me.
- Editor
Vous avez posé votre candidature pour notre stage en journalisme. Pourriez-vous me parler de votre expérience ?
English
You’ve applied for our journalism internship. Could you tell me about your experience?
- Camille
J’ai écrit pour le magazine de mon université. J’ai aussi réalisé une interview avec un réparateur de vélos.
Mention your university magazine and your interview with a bicycle repairer.
English
I wrote for my university magazine. I also conducted an interview with a bicycle repairer.
- Editor
Quel était le sujet de cette interview ?
English
What was the subject of that interview?
- Camille
L’entretien des vélos. Je lui ai posé des questions sur son travail et sur les réparations les plus courantes.
Say it was about bicycle maintenance, his work and common repairs.
English
Bicycle maintenance. I asked him about his work and the most common repairs.
- Editor
Vous avez enregistré la conversation ?
English
Did you record the conversation?
- Camille
Oui, avec son accord. Ensuite, j’ai préparé une version écrite.
Say you recorded it with his permission, then prepared a written version.
English
Yes, with his permission. Then I prepared a written version.
- Editor
Et sous quel titre l’avez-vous publiée ?
English
And what title did you publish it under?
- Camille
« Un entretien avec un réparateur de vélos ».
Give the title: “An interview with a bicycle repairer”, using entretien.
English
“An interview with a bicycle repairer”.
- Editor
Très bien. Avez-vous des questions sur le stage ?
English
Very good. Do you have any questions about the internship?
- Camille
Oui. Pourriez-vous me dire quels sujets je pourrais traiter ?
Ask politely what subjects you could cover.
English
Yes. Could you tell me what subjects I could cover?
| Phrase | Meaning | Clue |
|---|---|---|
| cet entretien | this job interview | Camille is applying for an internship. |
| une interview avec un réparateur | an interview with a repairer | Camille asks questions for a magazine. |
| l’entretien des vélos | bicycle maintenance | The topic is looking after bicycles. |
The magazine title uses entretien for the same exchange that Camille first calls une interview. Both work in this media setting. The distinction is about context: a serious interview can still be une interview, and a published conversation can still be un entretien.
What else does entretien mean in French?
The repairer’s subject
Find:
La journaliste interviewe la réparatrice. La personne interviewée explique son travail.
The journalist interviews the repairer. The person being interviewed explains her work.
Interviewée describes the person answering. The verb is interviewer.