Job interview: Motivation for applying

💬 gostar always needs de before what you like: gosto de trabalhar, never gosto trabalhar. Before o or a, it fuses: gosto do hotel "I like the hotel".

💬 When "why" ends a question or stands alone, it takes an accent: porquê. At the start of a longer question you'll see porque é que instead.

💬 The h in hotel is silent, so it starts with the vowel: (oh-TEL).

💬 fama means reputation in general, not just celebrity, so boa fama is a natural compliment for a business. má fama means a bad reputation.

🇵🇹 Praising the employer's reputation is a safe, expected answer to "why us?" in a Portuguese interview. It shows you did some homework without sounding over the top.

💬 ficar is the usual verb for where something is located, not just "to stay". Onde fica o hotel? "Where is the hotel?"

💬 perto de casa has no "the" or "my": casa alone means your own home. Compare em casa "at home".

💬 Portuguese uses the simple past with já where English says "have you ever". Já trabalhou? works like "Have you worked before?"

💬 em + um fuses into num, the same way em + o becomes no. Likewise em uma becomes numa, as in numa loja "in a shop".

💬 em + um becomes num: num hotel. Likewise em + uma becomes numa: numa loja "in a shop".

💬 ção ends in a nasal sound, roughly (reh-seh-SOWNG) with the final "ng" barely there. Many job words share it: formação "training".

🇵🇹 Foreign candidates are often asked this out of genuine curiosity, not suspicion. A warm answer about liking the country goes down well.

💬 Language names are lowercase in Portuguese: português, inglês. The same word also means "Portuguese" as a nationality.

💬 After quero, just add the basic verb form, and you can chain several with e. Swap in: Quero trabalhar e aprender "I want to work and learn".

💬 The present tense entramos is used here for a near-future promise, which is very common in Portuguese. consigo is the formal "with you".

🇵🇹 This is the standard polite close to an interview in Portugal. Thank them with Obrigado or Obrigada, and a follow-up call after a week is acceptable if you hear nothing.

💬 obrigado changes to match the speaker, not the listener. A man says obrigado, a woman says obrigada.

💬 por + a fuses into pela, and por + o into pelo. Thanks always takes por: obrigado pelo café "thanks for the coffee".

🇵🇹 This is the standard, polite way to close an interview. Pair it with a handshake as you leave.