Phrasal Verbs for Skills

Introduction

Discussing your strengths and weaknesses in interviews is a great time to use phrasal verbs.

Native speakers use phrasal verbs to sound more natural and expressive. They add colour and emotion to speech, and help it feel less formal.

Using phrasal verbs to describe your strengths and weaknesses will help you sound more authentic and relatable, and less robotic.

Let's look at some common phrasal verbs used for describing skills.

break down

Instead of saying simplify (or decompose, which is a common mistake, and should only be used for scientific contexts), use break down.

I can break down complex ideas for non-technical teammates.

take on

Use take on instead of accept when talking about jobs and responsibilities.

I’m happy to take on new responsibilities when needed.

pick up

Pick up means to learn a new skill, language or habit through experience rather than formal study.

I can pick up new technologies easily.

come up with

If you come up with a plan or idea, you think of, produce or suggest it.

I came up with a more efficient workflow.

rush into

Rush into has a negative connotation, meaning you act too quickly without careful thought.

I sometimes rush into tasks without asking questions.

hold back

If you find it difficult to give your opinions in discussion, you can describe this using hold back. This is better than saying 'stay silent', which sounds like you actively choose to say nothing.

I often hold back my opinion in meetings with more senior teammates.

put off

Put off means to delay something until a later time or date, and is usually used with tasks you don't want to do (homework, cleaning, difficult conversations).

I used to put off writing documentation until the last minute.