How to write a candidate profile in English (B2): guiding questions, indirect questions and evidence

A question-led candidate profile tells a short third-person story in 150–190 words: first impression, contrary evidence, decision and later result. Three guiding questions carry the reader through, so they must be well formed: “Who approved the emergency budget?” needs no did, and “Could you tell me where the regional office is?” keeps statement word order. This B2 (upper intermediate) topic is for adults who interview, are interviewed or write about colleagues in English.

Who this is for

Upper-intermediate adults who can tell a story in English but whose judgments about people still rest on adjectives such as “great” or “confident”.
Recruiters, team leads and panel members who write interview notes or candidate summaries in English.
Job-seekers preparing for interviews in English who want to ask sharper questions and set polite limits.
Too early: if planning a text paragraph by paragraph still feels hard, start with a B1 room description in four paragraphs, which practises planning and evaluation.
Too easy: if indirect questions and evidence-based judgments already come naturally, move on to a C1 covering email that proves your achievements with evidence.

Open the sample pages

Word cards

gut feeling — noun phrase

an instinctive reaction that comes before conscious reasoning

Maya's gut feeling favoured the confident applicant, but the work sample pointed elsewhere.

foolproof — adjective

designed to prevent failure or misuse

The supposedly foolproof scoring sheet failed when two criteria contradicted each other.

light-hearted response — noun phrase

a deliberately amusing answer to a serious or awkward prompt

Owen gave a light-hearted response, then supplied the evidence the panel actually needed.

geek — informal count noun

an enthusiastic expert in a specialised subject

As a transport-data geek, Maya noticed that the route numbers followed an obsolete map.

work-life balance — noun phrase

the proportion and relationship between paid work and personal life

The candidate asked about work-life balance because the advertised rota included frequent weekends.

the point of something — noun phrase

the main purpose or reason for an activity or object

The point of the second interview was to observe collaboration, not reward the fastest answer.

good-natured rivalry — noun phrase

friendly competition without hostility

A good-natured rivalry between the two design teams improved both proposals.

job-seeker — count noun

a person actively looking for paid employment

The library opened a quiet room where job-seekers could attend online interviews.

Conversation

owen If you had to remove one meeting from our week, which would you choose?

maya The Monday status meeting. Its point is to uncover risks, but the dashboard already shows them.

owen How would you stop quieter colleagues from losing their chance to raise a concern?

maya I would give colleagues fifteen minutes to write down risks and ask the project lead to respond publicly by noon.

owen That answer tells me more than a puzzle about imaginary animals would.

maya Exactly. A demanding question should reveal judgment and consequences, not just reward confidence.

Language pattern

What makes the profile coherent?

Each guiding question advances one causal stage: first impression, contrary evidence, decision, and later result.

The model uses questions as structure and evidence as the reason for change.

gut feeling
the point of
however
as a result
three months later

More practice

Why the obvious answer was wrong

An interviewer listens to a candidate across a table in a bright office.

The interview that changed the shortlist

What makes a candidate memorable? For Dara Malik, it was not a polished slogan. During an interview for an operations post, the panel asked what she usually did after a bad day at work. Dara admitted that she first took a silent walk around the building. Then she checked which decision had created the pressure and wrote one question for the colleague most affected.

Why did that answer matter? The company had recently lost two coordinators after repeated last-minute schedule changes. The panel's gut feeling had initially favoured another job-seeker, whose answers sounded more confident. Dara's concrete routine, however, showed how she separated emotion from evidence without pretending that stress never existed.

What happened next? In the practical task, a supposedly foolproof timetable produced two overlapping deliveries. Dara asked the warehouse lead to explain the constraint, revised one dependency, and preserved the drivers' breaks. She got the job. Three months later, her team adopted the same one-question review after difficult shifts, and avoidable schedule changes fell sharply.

Four kinds of direct question

auxiliary and modal inversion

Place be, have, or a modal before the subject in a direct question.

Why has the launch been delayed, and when can the supplier restart?

do / does / did

Add do, does, or did before the subject when a present- or past-simple question has no other auxiliary.

What does the role involve, and why did the previous coordinator leave?

negative question

Use a negative auxiliary to show surprise or check an expectation.

Didn't the agency send the revised figures yesterday?

preposition at the end

Keep a verb's dependent preposition at the end of an ordinary question.

Which department are you applying to?

subject question

When who, what, or which is the subject, use no do or did.

Who approved the emergency budget?

indirect word order

After the opening phrase, use subject before verb and remove do or did.

Could you tell me where the regional office is?

if / whether

Use if or whether to embed a yes-or-no question.

Do you know whether the panel has reached a decision?

answer boundary

Decline an unsuitable question politely without ending the exchange.

I'd rather not answer that if you don't mind, but I'm happy to discuss my relevant experience.

The complete indirect-question family

Can / Could you tell me…?

A polite request for information followed by statement word order.

Could you tell me when the second interview starts?

Do you know…?

Ask whether the listener has a fact; keep the embedded clause uninverted.

Do you know who manages the research team?

Do you think…?

Invite an opinion before an embedded question.

Do you think the role will involve international travel?

Do you remember…?

Ask someone to retrieve information from memory.

Do you remember where we saved the candidate notes?

Would you mind telling me…?

A cautious, formal request for potentially sensitive information.

Would you mind telling me why the position became vacant?

Do you have any idea…?

Ask for uncertain information, often when an answer may be difficult.

Do you have any idea how many applicants remain?

I wonder / I'm not sure / I can't remember / I'd like to know

Use statement word order after these non-question openings.

I wonder why the timetable changed; I'd like to know whether Friday is still possible.

Write a question-led profile

What makes the profile coherent?

Each guiding question advances one causal stage: first impression, contrary evidence, decision, and later result.

The model uses questions as structure and evidence as the reason for change.

gut feeling
the point of
however
as a result
three months later

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Three guiding questions, four stages

Each question opens a paragraph and moves the story a step, and each step needs a reason. From a model profile of an operations candidate:

First impression: “What makes a candidate memorable?” “The panel’s gut feeling had initially favoured another job-seeker, whose answers sounded more confident.”
Contrary evidence: “Why did that answer matter?” Give something observable: a routine, a test result.
Decision: “What happened next?” “She got the job.”
Later result: a time marker and a consequence. “Three months later, her team adopted the same one-question review.”

Words that separate impressions from evidence

A change of view convinces only when its cause is visible. Use the past perfect for earlier background: “The company had recently lost two coordinators.”

Impressions: seemed, sounded, appeared. “His answers sounded more confident.”
Evidence: showed, revealed, demonstrated. “Her concrete routine showed how she separated emotion from evidence.”
Gut feeling: an instinctive reaction before reasoning, never proof on its own.
Foolproof: designed not to fail. “The supposedly foolproof scoring sheet failed when two criteria contradicted each other.”
Connectors: however, as a result, three months later.

Direct questions: five patterns

English puts an auxiliary before the subject, with one exception:

Be, have or a modal first: “Why has the launch been delayed, and when can the supplier restart?”
Do, does or did when there is no other auxiliary: “What does the role involve, and why did the previous coordinator leave?”
No do or did when who or what is the subject: “Who approved the emergency budget?” Compare “Who did you call?” (who is the object).
Negative questions check an expectation: “Didn’t the agency send the revised figures yesterday?”
The preposition goes at the end: “Which department are you applying to?”

Indirect questions: statement word order

After a polite opening, use statement order and drop do, does or did. Yes/no questions need if or whether.

“Could you tell me when the second interview starts?” (not “when does the second interview start”)
“Do you know whether the panel has reached a decision?”
“Would you mind telling me why the position became vacant?” Careful and formal, for sensitive topics.
After I wonder or I’d like to know, end with a full stop: “I wonder why the timetable changed.”

A demanding question and its follow-up

Two colleagues test an interview question before using it. Listen: why could the Monday meeting be dropped, and what safeguard does the follow-up add?

Note the final would in “more than a puzzle … would”: it replaces “would tell me”.

Owen If you had to remove one meeting from our week, which would you choose?

Maya The Monday status meeting. Its point is to uncover risks, but the dashboard already shows them.

Owen How would you stop quieter colleagues from losing their chance to raise a concern?

Maya I would give colleagues fifteen minutes to write down risks and ask the project lead to respond publicly by noon.

Owen That answer tells me more than a puzzle about imaginary animals would.

Maya Exactly. A demanding question should reveal judgment and consequences, not just reward confidence.

Learn this unit your way

Questions to discuss

Answer aloud with a reason and an example:

“Should managers be allowed to hire mainly on gut feeling?”
“Do interviews unfairly favour confident, fluent speakers?”
“Which interview question would you most dread, and why?”

Common mistakes

Check your draft for these:

“Could you tell me where is the office?” Say “where the office is”.
“Who did approve the budget?” Drop did: “Who approved the budget?”
“I wonder why did the timetable change?” Say “I wonder why the timetable changed.”
A change of view with no cause: “At first the panel doubted her, but then they liked her.” Name the evidence.
“She was amazing.” Show what the panel saw instead.

A 10-minute daily routine

Invent a candidate from your field; write the full profile at the weekend.

3 minutes: turn five work questions into indirect ones with different openings.
3 minutes: ask about one event both ways: “Who called the client?” / “Who did the client call?”
2 minutes: plan three guiding questions, one line per stage.
2 minutes: write the evidence sentence with showed or revealed.

What comes next

Next at B2: reply to health news by email, expand a 50-word draft into a story, and write a balanced post about adventure courses. At C1, prove your achievements with evidence in a covering email.

Frequently asked questions

What is the word order in an indirect question?

Statement order, with no do, does or did: “Where is the regional office?” becomes “Could you tell me where the regional office is?” For yes/no questions, add if or whether.

When do you not use do or did in a question?

When who, what or which is the subject: “Who approved the emergency budget?” If it is the object, add did: “Who did the panel choose?”

How do you politely refuse to answer an interview question in English?

Decline briefly, then offer something relevant: “I’d rather not answer that if you don’t mind, but I’m happy to discuss my relevant experience.”