A live-in job interview is a listening test and a speaking test at the same time. In this lesson, Selamawit, a 21-year-old Ethiopian woman, sits in a Dubai villa while Madame Fatima explains the conditions of a live-in maid job: salary, working hours, days off and a trial period. Then Fatima asks for Selamawit's passport for visa processing.

If you have searched for English for a domestic job interview, or for phrases to ask about salary and documents politely but firmly, this guide is for you. It is a language guide, not a summary of the story: we will look at the words, the tone and the questions you can prepare before a conversation like this one.

The situation and your learning goal

In a live-in interview, the employer usually speaks first and gives a lot of information quickly. Your job as the candidate is to catch the key details and check anything you are not sure about. At B1 level, you do not need long, complicated sentences. You need short, clear questions and the confidence to repeat terms back.

By the end of this guide you should be able to:

  • follow a spoken interview and note salary, hours, days off and trial period;
  • ask clarification questions and repeat conditions to confirm them;
  • use calm, direct English to ask about pay and identity documents;
  • recognise pressure tactics, such as "take it or leave it" wording;
  • use vocabulary like visa, passport, agent and labor office correctly.

Useful English for this situation

The phrases below come from the interview. Each one is a model for a particular job: introducing conditions, warning, stating a payment rule, listing skills and making a firm request. Remember that a phrase occurring in the recording does not make it fair or suitable in every context — we are studying tone as well as meaning.

Let me tell you the conditions

Fatima uses this to introduce the terms of the job before Selamawit can respond. It signals "listen first, then answer". It is neutral in itself, but it often opens a one-way explanation.

  • Verified example from the recording: "Let me tell you the conditions."
  • Extension example (added for practice): "Let me tell you the conditions, and then please ask me any questions."

That second version is a good model for an employer who wants a real conversation. As a candidate, you can respond with: "Thank you. Could I check a few details?"

There is no negotiating after

This warns the listener that the terms are fixed. It has a take-it-or-leave-it tone: polite words, but very little space for discussion. Recognising this tone matters as much as understanding the words.

  • Verified example from the recording: "There is no negotiating after."
  • Extension example (added for practice): "The salary is fixed, but we can talk about the days off."

If you hear a fixed-terms warning, you can still ask for information without arguing: "I understand. Could you confirm the salary in writing?" Asking for confirmation is not the same as negotiating, and it protects you later.

The first salary comes after three months

This states a delayed payment condition clearly. Notice the time expression: "after three months". Payment timing is one of the most important details to catch, because it affects your money and your choices.

  • Verified example from the recording: "The first salary comes after three months."
  • Extension example (added for practice): "The first salary comes after one month, and then it is paid on the fifth of each month."

Useful follow-up questions: "Is that a trial period?" "When exactly will the first payment arrive?" "Will the payment date be in the contract?"

I can clean, I can cook, I can wash

Selamawit lists practical skills in short, repeated phrases. This is effective interview English: simple, specific and easy to follow. Repeating "I can…" gives your answer a clear rhythm.

  • Verified example from the recording: "I can clean, I can cook, I can wash."
  • Extension example (added for practice): "I can clean, I can cook, and I have two years' experience with children."

You can also add experience: "I worked for a family in Addis Ababa for one year. I looked after two children."

I want my passport and my salary

This is a firm request about documents and owed pay. It is direct, not rude. The short structure — "I want X and Y" — is easy to remember under pressure.

  • Verified example from the recording: "I want my passport and my salary."
  • Extension example (added for practice): "I need my passport back today, please, and I would like to confirm when my salary will be paid."

Softer versions include "Could I have my passport back, please?" and "Could you confirm when I will be paid?" Use the softer form first; use the direct form when you have already asked and nothing has changed.

Vocabulary you will hear

Learn these words in groups, not as a list:

  • Documents: passport (your official travel and identity document), residence visa (permission to live in a country for a longer period), papers (a general word for official documents).
  • Money: salary (fixed money paid regularly), wages (money earned for work, often paid weekly or monthly).
  • Time and conditions: trial period (a first period of work to test whether someone is suitable), days off, working hours.
  • People and offices: agent (a person who handles paperwork or arrangements for someone else), labor office (a government office that handles workers' rights and complaints).

A useful distinction: your passport belongs to you and identifies you; a visa is permission linked to a country and a period of time. An agent may help with paperwork, but handing over a passport is a separate decision from using an agent.

How to use the language

  1. Listen for numbers and time words. Salary amount, hours per day, days off per week, trial length, payment date. Write them down.
  2. Repeat terms back. "So the salary is paid monthly after a three-month trial period — is that correct?" This checks understanding and creates a shared record.
  3. Ask one question at a time. Short questions are easier to answer and harder to avoid.
  4. Separate information from pressure. "There is no negotiating after" is pressure. "Could you confirm the payment date?" is information.
  5. Stay calm and specific. Name the document or the amount: "my passport", "my salary for March".

Common mistakes and practice

Typical B1 difficulties in this situation:

  • Missing fast payment details, such as a three-month delay, because you are still thinking about the previous sentence.
  • Sounding either too aggressive ("Give me my passport now!") or too soft to be heard. Aim for calm and direct.
  • Confusing visa, passport, papers and agent, or saying "visa" when you mean the physical document in your hand.

Try these practice tasks:

  • Role-play: one learner gives pay, hours and trial terms; the other asks two clarification questions and repeats the conditions back.
  • Listening for details: read a short employer statement aloud and note salary, hours, days off, payment date and any document request.
  • Rewrite the complaint: turn "You never pay me!" into "Could you confirm when I will be paid?" and "I need my passport, please."
  • Sort and build: group the vocabulary into documents, money, time/conditions and people, then write a short worker–employer dialogue using at least five terms.

Now listen to the lesson and follow the Selamawit–Madame Fatima exchange closely, especially the moment Fatima asks for the passport. Then try one response yourself: imagine you are Selamawit and say, calmly and clearly, "Thank you. Could you confirm the salary, the days off and when I will get my passport back?"