Describe a time you gave advice to others
You should say:
- Who you gave the advice to;
- What advice you gave;
- Why they needed your advice (whether they took your advice);
- And explain how useful the advice was (the result).
Sample Answer
Off the top of my head, the first person I can think of is my co-worker Lisa. We knew each other because of a part-time job I had last summer, where my job responsibility was mainly selling portable power banks. Lisa started the same job three months after I did.
I still remember Lisa’s first day at work; our boss set a target sales number that morning, which wasn’t anything new, but after we worked for a whole morning, I noticed Lisa was struggling. She had barely sold anything to customers in the store. I could tell she was worried sick about failing to meet the target. So, I went up to her and suggested that she go out and find deals instead of just waiting in the shop for customers. I also taught her some sales tricks, like telling the customers the price of a product right off the bat instead of asking them if they are interested. That way the customers have less room to back out of a sale.
Lisa was pretty dedicated and passionate. She took my advice and sold several power banks in the afternoon. Even though that’s not a lot of sales by any stretch of the imagination, it was still a successful day for a rookie. She was over the moon that day and even treated me to dinner for her gratitude. I was just proud that I could help her out; it was a good moment for the both of us.
Vocab Highlights
off the top of one’s head: from the knowledge you have in your memory
power bank: a portable device that can store electricity for charging phones, cameras, laptop computers, etc
be worried sick/be sick with worry: to be extremely worried
set a target: If someone sets you a task or aim or if you set yourself a task or aim, you need to succeed in doing it.
right off the bat: immediately or right from the start
back out (of sth): to decide not to do something that you had said you would do
by any/no stretch of the imagination: used to emphasize that a negative statement is true
rookie /ˈrʊki/ (n): a person who has just started a job or an activity and has very little experience
be over the moon: If you say that you are over the moon, you mean that you are very pleased about something.
for the both of us = we are considered to be one unit, even though there are two separate people. the both of us/them/you appear to be an American grammatical innovation/abomination which is only very slowly being accepted by the U.K.