英語で候補者プロフィールを書くには（B2）：軸になる3つの質問、間接疑問文、根拠

質問で展開する候補者プロフィールは、三人称で書く150〜190語の短い物語です。第一印象、それを覆した根拠、決定、その後の結果という順に進みます。3つの質問が読み手をこの段階へ導くので、質問は正しい形で書く必要があります。“Who approved the emergency budget?”には“did”が要らず、“Could you tell me where the regional office is?”では平叙文の語順を保ちます。このテーマはB2（中上級）レベルで、英語で面接をする人、受ける人、同僚について書く大人向けです。

この記事が向いている人

英語で出来事を語れるけれど、人への評価がまだ“great”や“confident”のような形容詞頼みになっている中上級の大人。
英語で面接メモや候補者の要約を書く採用担当者、チームリーダー、面接官。
英語の面接に備えて、より鋭い質問をし、丁寧に線を引けるようになりたい求職者。
まだ早い場合：文章を段落ごとに組み立てるのがまだ難しいなら、先に構成と評価を練習するB1の4段落の部屋の描写から始めましょう。
簡単すぎる場合：間接疑問文や根拠に基づく評価がもう自然に使えるなら、自分の実績を根拠で示すC1の応募メールに進みましょう。

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単語カード

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.

会話

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.

文の形

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

追加の練習

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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3つの質問と4つの段階

1つの質問が1つの段落を始め、物語を一歩進めます。どの段階にも理由が必要です。オペレーション職の候補者を描いたプロフィール例から引用します。

第一印象：“What makes a candidate memorable?” “The panel’s gut feeling had initially favoured another job-seeker, whose answers sounded more confident.”
反対の根拠：“Why did that answer matter?” 習慣やテスト結果など、観察できるものを示します。
決定：“What happened next?” “She got the job.”
その後の結果：時の表現と結果。“Three months later, her team adopted the same one-question review.”

印象と根拠を分ける表現

考えが変わった理由が見えてはじめて、その変化に説得力が生まれます。それより前に起きた背景には過去完了を使います。“The company had recently lost two coordinators.”

印象：“seemed”“sounded”“appeared”。“His answers sounded more confident.”
根拠：“showed”“revealed”“demonstrated”。“Her concrete routine showed how she separated emotion from evidence.”
“gut feeling”：考える前に湧く直感のことです。それだけでは証拠になりません。
“foolproof”：失敗しないように作られた。“The supposedly foolproof scoring sheet failed when two criteria contradicted each other.”
つなぎの言葉：“however”“as a result”“three months later”。

直接疑問文：5つの形

日本語は語順を変えずに文末に「か」を付けて質問を作ります。英語では助動詞を主語の前に出します。例外は主語をたずねる質問だけです。

“be”“have”や助動詞を先に：“Why has the launch been delayed, and when can the supplier restart?”
ほかに助動詞がなければ“do”“does”“did”：“What does the role involve, and why did the previous coordinator leave?”
“who”や“what”が主語なら“do”“did”は使いません：“Who approved the emergency budget?” “Who did you call?”と比べてみましょう（こちらの“who”は目的語です）。
否定疑問文は予想を確かめるときに使います：“Didn’t the agency send the revised figures yesterday?”
前置詞は文末に残ります：“Which department are you applying to?” 日本語は「どの部署に」と助詞がすぐ付きますが、英語の“to”は最後に来ます。

間接疑問文：平叙文の語順

丁寧な前置きのあとは平叙文の語順に戻し、“do”“does”“did”を取ります。Yes/Noの質問には“if”か“whether”が必要です。日本語の「決定したかどうか」の「かどうか」にあたります。

“Could you tell me when the second interview starts?”（“when does the second interview start”ではありません）
“Do you know whether the panel has reached a decision?”
“Would you mind telling me why the position became vacant?” 慎重で改まった言い方で、デリケートな話題に向いています。
“I wonder”や“I’d like to know”のあとはピリオドで終えます：“I wonder why the timetable changed.”

手ごわい質問とフォローアップ

2人の同僚が、候補者に使う前に面接の質問を試しています。聞いてみましょう。月曜の会議はなぜなくせるのでしょう？フォローアップの質問はどんな安全策を引き出すでしょう？

“more than a puzzle … would”の最後の“would”は“would tell me”の代わりで、動詞の繰り返しを避けています。

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.

自分に合った方法でこの単元を学ぶ

話し合ってみたい質問

理由と例を挙げて、声に出して答えましょう。

“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?”

よくある間違い

下書きで次の点を確認しましょう。

“Could you tell me where is the office?” 正しくは“where the office is”です。
“Who did approve the budget?” 主語をたずねる質問に“did”は不要です：“Who approved the budget?”
“I wonder why did the timetable change?” 正しくは“I wonder why the timetable changed.”です。
理由のない考えの変化：“At first the panel doubted her, but then they liked her.” 根拠を書きましょう。
“She was amazing.” 代わりに面接官が実際に見たことを書きましょう。

1日10分の練習法

自分の分野で架空の候補者を決め、週末にプロフィール全体を書きましょう。

3分：仕事の質問5つを、それぞれ違う前置きで間接疑問文にします。
3分：1つの出来事を2つの向きでたずねます：“Who called the client?” / “Who did the client call?”
2分：軸になる3つの質問を決め、段階ごとに1行メモします。
2分：“showed”か“revealed”を使って根拠の文を書きます。

次のステップ

B2では次に、健康の知らせにメールで返信する、50語の下書きを物語に広げる、アドベンチャー研修についてバランスのよい文章を書く、という練習に進みましょう。C1では応募メールで自分の実績を根拠とともに示します。

よくある質問

間接疑問文の語順はどうなりますか？

平叙文の語順で、“do”“does”“did”は使いません。“Where is the regional office?”は“Could you tell me where the regional office is?”になります。Yes/Noの質問には“if”か“whether”を付けます。

英語の疑問文で“do”や“did”を使わないのはどんなときですか？

“who”“what”“which”が主語のときです：“Who approved the emergency budget?” 目的語なら“did”が必要です：“Who did the panel choose?”

面接で答えたくない質問を英語で丁寧に断るには？

短く断ってから、関係のある話題に移りましょう：“I’d rather not answer that if you don’t mind, but I’m happy to discuss my relevant experience.”