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In a conversation

Prepare for a Job Interview (2)

I'm going to get there early and make sure I have my best outfit all washed and ironed way ahead of time. If I wait for the last minute, I know I'll panic!

Yeah, preparation is key. Remember to call the interviewer by their name. People like to hear their name spoken out loud. But don't over-do it. OK... So what are you planning on wearing next Tuesday?

Well, I want to look good, but I don't want to look too stuffy. I was thinking about nice jeans and a sport coat.

Ummm... I'd recommend erring on the conservative side when it comes to clothes. I read somewhere that fifty-five percent of another person's perception of you is based on how you look. I'd say go with a suit and tie.

Fifty-five percent huh? Then I guess it's better to be over-dressed than under-dressed.

Yeah. I'd say a dark suit with a conservative tie. But the one main thing that I can't stress enough is confidence. If you need a clarification on something, speak up and ask... But don't turn into a blabbermouth.

Do you think I should tell him how terrible it is working at Shimomatsu Publishing? I bet he'd get a kick out of that!

Actually, when I interview people, I hate it when they badmouth previous employers. I think it's bad form and I also think "Is this what you're going to do to me one day?"

Good point. Peter, you are a true friend and I value your input.

Call me right after the interview and tell me how it went, OK?

Absolutely.

(https://www.shanbay.com/speak/courses/lcnsc

tip: you can listen to it)

up 1: how about "tell me how it will have gone"?

up 2: Since "went" is OK, how about "tell me how it has gone"?

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  • 4
    In future you'll be talking about the past.
    – Lucian Sava
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 9:48
  • 1
    Call me at lunch-time tomorrow and tell me what you _________ for breakfast.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 12:32
  • @Tᴚoɯɐuo How about "what you will have eaten for breakfast"?
    – Zhang Jian
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 15:11
  • 1
    will have eaten is a prediction. By this time tomorrow I will have spent three hours on the beach under a palm tree. You cannot predict something after-the-fact. So, tomorrow, at lunch-time, I cannot predict what I ate for breakfast earlier in the day.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 15:51
  • @Tᴚoɯɐuo So "tell me what you have eaten for breakfast" is also right?
    – Zhang Jian
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 2:01

1 Answer 1

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The request for you to call is being made in the present (they are asking you now), and they are asking you to do something in the future (call them) at a specific time (after the interview). When that condition is met, the interview will have already taken place and be in the past, so it is quite correct that they ask you to tell them how the interview went.

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    Similarly, if you were going to watch a play, I might say, "Call me during the intermission and tell me how it's going" (present tense, because the play is not yet over).
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 11:27
  • @J.R. How about "Call me during the intermission and tell me how it will have been going"?
    – Zhang Jian
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 15:15
  • @ZhangJian I don't think there's anything really wrong with that purely in terms of its syntactic construction—but almost nobody would ever say it that way (and they'd be looked at strangely if they did.). My immediate response at reading it is, "No, that's totally wrong!" But I think it may be an idiomatic response. It's simply not how any native speaker would phrase it.
    – Jason Bassford
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 15:27
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    @ZhangJian - Egads, no! No one talks like that. Besides, in this situation, it’s the phone call that will be in the future. So, we might ask: Will you call me during the intermission and let me know how it’s going?
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 16:22

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