Работодатель сказал, что эта вакансия подойдёт тому кандидату, который умеет спокойно общаться с людьми.

Breakdown of Работодатель сказал, что эта вакансия подойдёт тому кандидату, который умеет спокойно общаться с людьми.

с
with
сказать
to say
человек
the person
что
that
спокойно
calmly
этот
this
тот
that
общаться
to communicate
который
who
вакансия
the vacancy
работодатель
the employer
подойти
to suit
кандидат
the candidate
уметь
to know how to

Questions & Answers about Работодатель сказал, что эта вакансия подойдёт тому кандидату, который умеет спокойно общаться с людьми.

Why is it подойдёт and not подходит?

Because подойти here is the perfective verb meaning to suit / to be a good fit.

  • подходит = imperfective, is suitable / suits
  • подойдёт = perfective future, will suit / will be suitable

In this sentence, the employer is making a judgment about the vacancy as a match for a certain kind of candidate, so подойдёт sounds natural: this vacancy will suit that candidate.

Russian often uses the perfective future when talking about whether something will work out as a match.


Why is кандидату in the dative case?

Because the verb подойти in the meaning to suit / to fit / to be appropriate for takes the dative.

So:

  • вакансия подойдёт кандидату
  • literally: the vacancy will suit the candidate

This is similar to other Russian patterns where the person affected is in the dative:

  • Мне нравится = I like it
  • Ему подходит эта работа = This job suits him

So кандидату is dative singular of кандидат.


Why does it say тому кандидату, который... instead of just кандидату, который...?

Both are possible, but тому ... который is a very common correlative pattern in Russian.

It means something like:

  • that candidate who...
  • the candidate who...

Here тому points forward to the relative clause который умеет.... It helps link the two parts clearly.

Compare:

  • подойдёт кандидату, который умеет... = will suit a candidate who knows how...
  • подойдёт тому кандидату, который умеет... = will suit that candidate / the candidate who...

Using тому makes the sentence sound a bit more structured and formal, which fits the business context.


Why is it который, not кто?

Because который is the normal relative pronoun for who / which / that after a noun.

You already have the noun кандидату, so Russian uses:

  • кандидат, который умеет... = the candidate who knows how...

Кто is not used this way after a noun in standard Russian.

So:

  • correct: кандидат, который...
  • not natural here: кандидат, кто...

Why is который in the nominative form?

Because который is the subject of the clause который умеет спокойно общаться с людьми.

Inside that clause, the person who умеет is the candidate. So:

  • который = who
  • умеет = knows how / is able

Since it is the subject, it stays in the nominative singular masculine form: который.

Even though кандидату is dative in the main clause, the relative pronoun takes its case from its own role inside the relative clause, not from the noun before it.


Why is it умеет общаться, not может общаться?

Because уметь means to know how to / to have the skill to, while мочь means to be able to / can.

  • умеет общаться с людьми = knows how to communicate with people, has that skill
  • может общаться с людьми = can communicate with people, is able to do it

In a job context, умеет is better because it emphasizes a learned ability or interpersonal skill, not just possibility.

So the sentence is talking about the kind of candidate who is skilled at calm communication.


What does спокойно mean here?

Спокойно literally means calmly.

In this sentence, it suggests communicating:

  • in a calm way
  • without getting upset
  • in a composed, steady manner

So спокойно общаться с людьми means something like:

  • to communicate calmly with people
  • to interact with people in a calm, composed way

This is especially natural in descriptions of workplace skills.


Why is it общаться с людьми? Why do we need с?

Because the verb общаться normally takes с + instrumental to mean to communicate / interact with someone.

So:

  • общаться с людьми = to communicate with people
  • общаться с коллегами = to communicate with colleagues
  • общаться с клиентами = to interact with clients

The preposition с here means with, and it requires the instrumental case.


What case is людьми?

Людьми is the instrumental plural of люди.

The basic form is:

  • люди = people

After с, you need the instrumental:

  • с людьми = with people

This is an important irregular noun to remember:

  • nominative plural: люди
  • instrumental plural: людьми

What is the difference between вакансия and работа here?

Вакансия means vacancy / job opening / position available, while работа more generally means work or job.

So:

  • эта вакансия = this vacancy / this open position
  • эта работа = this job / this work

In hiring language, вакансия is more precise because the employer is talking about an open position, not work in general.


Why is there a comma before что and another before который?

Because Russian uses commas to separate subordinate clauses.

Here the sentence has two embedded clauses:

  1. Работодатель сказал, что...

    • comma before что because it introduces a content clause: that...
  2. ...тому кандидату, который умеет...

    • comma before который because it introduces a relative clause: who...

So the commas are required by standard Russian punctuation.


Can the word order be changed?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the original order sounds natural and formal.

Original:

  • Работодатель сказал, что эта вакансия подойдёт тому кандидату, который умеет спокойно общаться с людьми.

Possible variation:

  • Работодатель сказал, что тому кандидату, который умеет спокойно общаться с людьми, подойдёт эта вакансия.

This version is grammatical, but it sounds more marked and less neutral. The original sentence presents the topic more smoothly: first the vacancy, then the type of candidate.

In formal written Russian, the original order is the most straightforward.


Is подойти always about physically approaching something?

No. Подойти has several meanings, and one very common one is to suit / to be appropriate / to fit.

For example:

  • Он подошёл к окну = He approached the window
  • Это платье тебе подойдёт = This dress will suit you
  • Эта вакансия подойдёт кандидату = This vacancy will suit the candidate

So in your sentence, it has nothing to do with movement. It means to be a good match.


Could we translate спокойно общаться с людьми as to deal with people calmly?

Yes, depending on context, that can be a good natural translation.

Literally, общаться is to communicate / interact / socialize. In workplace language, it often means handling communication with others well.

So possible English renderings include:

  • to communicate calmly with people
  • to interact calmly with people
  • to deal with people calmly

The best choice depends on the kind of job being discussed.

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