Can I practise the interview in German, French or English?

What the language setting actually changes

On the setup screen, the language selection is displayed as a row of four buttons: DE, EN, FR and IT, alongside the job title and company size. The language is set to match the language of the site, so a user reading the French section will begin in French. The setting can be adjusted before the session starts with a single click.

From there the setting runs through every step. The eight questions of a session are generated in that language from your CV and the job advert, and this holds even when the CV or the advert is written in another one: a German CV and an English advert still give you French questions if French is what you picked. That is deliberate, because it mirrors a common Swiss situation, where the paperwork is in one language and the conversation is in another.

The voice then speaks solely in that language, including the brief line that says which panel member is asking when several people sit on the panel. The written evaluation of each response and the closing debrief come in the same language too, so a French session stays French from the first question to the final note.

In German the register adapts to the company. For a firm with up to 50 employees the panel may use "du", which is how many small Swiss companies talk; for larger firms it stays with "Sie". French, English and Italian keep the formal register throughout.

What the score can judge in a second language, and what it cannot

When evaluating a response, three aspects are considered: substance, structure and fit with the role. The score is based on a transcript of what you said. This has an unexpected result: the tool does not assess your command of the language, including pronunciation, vocabulary or grammar. Language is not a factor in the scoring at all.

In practice this cuts both ways. An answer in careful B1 French that names a concrete project, a result and why it fits the role can score well, and that is useful news for someone who fears their French is not good enough: content carries further than polish. But the tool will not tell you that you used the wrong gender for "poste" or that your German word order drifted. A real panel in Geneva or St. Gallen hears all of that.

So treat the score as a measure of whether your argument survives the move into another language. If your English answers score clearly higher than your German answers to the same questions, the gap is in what you manage to say under pressure, not in how it sounds, and that is precisely the gap worth closing before the real interview.

Which language to practise in: read the advert, not your comfort

The advert usually tells you. Adverts naming French as a requirement ask for at least one further language in 61.8 per cent of cases, German in 41.7 per cent and English in 42.3 per cent. Adverts naming Italian ask for a second language in 69.4 per cent of cases, German in 58.2 per cent. Adverts naming German are the most self-contained, and even there 41.0 per cent ask for another language, English in 33.7 per cent and French in 14.0 per cent.

The level asked for is rarely modest. Of all language requirements stated in those adverts, 73.4 per cent are at professional level, 21.6 per cent conversational, 3.9 per cent native and 1.1 per cent basic. A professional-level requirement is a strong hint that part of the interview will happen in that language, even when the first round is in another.

If the role is in the Romandie and German is listed, practise in French first and add a German session. If the role is in Zurich and French is listed as an advantage, a short French session is enough. For roles where English is the working language, the separate page on job interviews in English in Switzerland covers how often English appears alone and what that means for the conversation.

Rehearsing a switch between two languages

A session does not switch language halfway through, and the voice will keep speaking the language you set. Real Swiss interviews do switch: a hiring manager in Fribourg may begin in French and say, "let us continue in German for a few minutes". The way to rehearse that is two sessions for the same role, with the same CV and the same advert.

Begin by running the first session in the main language of the job. Next, launch a second session in the other language. Although the questions will differ between sessions, they come from the same material, so you meet your own projects and the same requirements again in the second language. It is here that most people identify the real problem: they can explain their last role in one language, yet have never done it in the other.

Keep the second session honest. Answer at the pace a panel would expect, do not stop to look up words, and read the feedback afterwards for what went missing, not for spelling. Two or three rounds of this, a few days apart, usually do more than a single long session.

Where this is the wrong tool

Swiss German dialect. The voice speaks standard German. If the team talks Züritüütsch or Bärndütsch and you want to follow small talk before or after the formal part, a colleague, a neighbour or a language exchange partner will serve you far better than any simulation.

A language exam. Certificates such as fide, Goethe or DELF have their own formats, examiners and marking scales, and an interview score says nothing about how you would do there. Use the official practice material or a course.

Pronunciation and grammar coaching. Because the score reads a transcript, it cannot correct how you sound. A teacher can, and for someone whose language level is the real obstacle, a few lessons will do more than any number of mock interviews.

Relaxed conversation practice with no job attached. To get used to speaking French or German aloud, a free general voice assistant suffices and costs nothing. The practice interview earns its place when the conversation has to focus on your CV, a specific advert and a panel that asks the way Swiss employers typically do.

What it costs to practise in more than one language

Languages are not charged separately. Without an account you can answer one question to try the format. A free account gives five questions on the day you sign up and five a month after that, which is enough for one language but tight for two. The subscription, CHF 15 a month or CHF 95 a year, covers 40 questions a month, or 80 on the yearly plan, with eight questions per session, so two languages for the same role fit comfortably.