Xiaoyu introduces herself. The manager wants to know what she has done, why she is leaving, and whether she will work late.
The manager
请坐。先简单介绍一下你自己。
Qǐng zuò. Xiān jiǎndān jièshào yīxià nǐ zìjǐ.
Do sit down. Tell me briefly about yourself.
Xiaoyu
我叫林小雨，今年二十四岁，学的是中文。
Wǒ jiào Lín Xiǎoyǔ, jīnnián èrshísì suì, xué de shì zhōngwén.
My name is Lin Xiaoyu, I am twenty-four, and I studied Chinese.
The manager
以前做过这样的工作吗？
Yǐqián zuò guò zhè yàng de gōngzuò ma ?
Have you done this sort of work before?
Xiaoyu
在一家小公司做过两年，主要负责翻译。
Zài yī jiā xiǎo gōngsī zuò guò liǎng nián, zhǔyào fùzé fānyì.
Two years at a small firm, mainly on translation.
The manager
为什么想换工作？
Wèishénme xiǎng huàn gōngzuò ?
Why do you want to change jobs?
Xiaoyu
因为那家公司太小，所以学不到新东西。
Yīnwèi nà jiā gōngsī tài xiǎo, suǒyǐ xué bù dào xīn dōngxi.
The firm was too small, so I was no longer learning anything new.
The manager
我们这儿有时候要加班，你能接受吗？
Wǒmen zhèr yǒushíhou yào jiābān, nǐ néng jiēshòu ma ?
We sometimes have to work late here, can you accept that?
Xiaoyu
可以，不过希望提前告诉我。
Kěyǐ, bùguò xīwàng tíqián gàosu wǒ.
I can, provided I am told in advance.
The manager
会的。你什么时候能来上班？
Huì de. Nǐ shénme shíhou néng lái shàngbān ?
You will be. When can you start?
Xiaoyu
下个月一号。
Xià gè yuè yī hào.
The first of next month.
The manager
好。我们这个星期五以前给你打电话。
Hǎo. Wǒmen zhè gè xīngqī wǔ yǐqián gěi nǐ dǎdiànhuà.
Good. We will call you before Friday.
做过 says you have done the job, without saying when; 做过两年 adds the length. It is the answer expected to 以前做过吗. Take care not to say 做了两年, which would tie the work to a definite period and suggest you might still be there. In an interview, the shade of meaning counts.
到 marks the thing gained here: 学不到, to study without anything sticking. The form is gentler than a direct complaint, which is why it is used. It belongs to the same family as 找不到 and 买不到: the verb states the effort, 到 states the result, and 不 denies it.
学的是中文 amounts to saying "what I studied was Chinese". The 的是 construction isolates what you want attention on and puts it at the end. You meet it everywhere: 我买的是这个, 他说的是真的. It is livelier than 我学中文, which states without underlining.
