Ứng viên nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc.

Ứng viên is a noun, meaning candidate or applicant.

It is written as two syllables with a space, because standard Vietnamese writing separates syllables, even when they function together as one lexical item. So:

• ứng viên = candidate / applicant

In this sentence, ứng viên is the subject.

Vietnamese usually does not use articles like a, an, or the.

So Ứng viên nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc could mean:

• The candidate talks about work experience
• A candidate talks about work experience
• The applicant spoke about work experience

The exact English article depends on context.

If Vietnamese needs to be more specific, it often uses other words instead, such as classifiers or demonstratives, but in many ordinary sentences, no article is needed.

Nói means to speak, to say, or to talk.

When you add về, it means about, so:

• nói = speak / say
• nói về = talk about

In this sentence:

• Ứng viên nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc = The candidate talks about work experience

If you said only Ứng viên nói, that would just mean The candidate speaks / is speaking / says something, without telling us the topic.

This is a noun phrase.

• kinh nghiệm = experience
• làm việc = working / to work

Together, kinh nghiệm làm việc means work experience or working experience.

A useful thing to notice is that Vietnamese often puts the main noun first, followed by words that describe or narrow it:

• kinh nghiệm = experience
• kinh nghiệm làm việc = experience related to working

This is different from English, where we usually say work experience.

Originally, làm việc is a verb phrase meaning to work.

But in kinh nghiệm làm việc, it functions like a modifier for kinh nghiệm, similar to how English uses work in work experience.

So although làm việc is verbal in origin, the whole phrase behaves like a noun phrase:

• kinh nghiệm làm việc = work experience

This kind of structure is very common in Vietnamese.

By itself, the sentence does not explicitly mark tense.

Vietnamese does not change the verb the way English does. So nói can mean:

• talks
• is talking
• talked
• sometimes even will talk

The time is usually understood from context, or from extra time words or markers such as:

• đã = past
• đang = ongoing
• sẽ = future

For example:

• Ứng viên đã nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc. = The candidate talked about work experience.
• Ứng viên đang nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc. = The candidate is talking about work experience.
• Ứng viên sẽ nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc. = The candidate will talk about work experience.

Yes, it is natural, especially in a fairly neutral or formal context.

It sounds like something you might read in:

• a textbook
• interview instructions
• a report
• a listening exercise

Because ứng viên is a fairly formal word, the sentence feels appropriate for job interviews, recruitment, or professional settings.

Yes. Ứng viên means candidate, so it can be used in different contexts, such as:

• a job applicant
• an election candidate
• a candidate for a position

In this sentence, because the topic is kinh nghiệm làm việc (work experience), it most naturally refers to a job candidate/applicant.

The basic sentence order here is still quite familiar:

• Ứng viên = subject
• nói về = verb phrase
• kinh nghiệm làm việc = object/topic phrase

So the overall structure is basically:

Subject + Verb + About + Topic

What feels different is mostly the internal structure of the noun phrase:

• English: work experience
• Vietnamese: kinh nghiệm làm việc literally something like experience of working

So the sentence order itself is not unusual; the main difference is how Vietnamese builds noun phrases.

Sometimes, but not always.

• nói về = talk about
  This is the most natural and general choice here.

• nói đến = mention
  This often means to mention something rather than discuss it in detail.

• thảo luận về = discuss
  This is more formal and suggests a fuller discussion, often between people.

So:

• Ứng viên nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc. = The candidate talks about work experience.
• Ứng viên nói đến kinh nghiệm làm việc. = The candidate mentions work experience.
• Ứng viên thảo luận về kinh nghiệm làm việc. = The candidate discusses work experience.

For a basic sentence, nói về is the best fit.

A learner-friendly breakdown:

• Ứng viên → roughly ung vee-en
• nói → roughly noy
• về → roughly veh
• kinh nghiệm → roughly king nghee-em
• làm việc → roughly lahm vee-ek

A few pronunciation notes:

• Vietnamese is tonal, so the tones matter a lot.
• ng in ứng and nghiệm is a very common Vietnamese sound.
• viên and việc do not sound the same; the endings are different.
• kinh nghiệm is a common word pair, so it is worth practicing as a chunk.

If you want to sound natural, it helps to learn the sentence in rhythm groups:

• Ứng viên | nói về | kinh nghiệm làm việc

Normally, no. That would sound unnatural here.

You need về because the meaning is talk about a topic:

• nói về kinh nghiệm làm việc = talk about work experience

Without về, nói usually expects a direct quoted statement or a different structure. So for this sentence, keep về.

Yes, it is very natural and very common.

In job-related contexts, kinh nghiệm làm việc is exactly the kind of phrase you would expect to hear.

You may also see related expressions such as:

• kinh nghiệm = experience
• kinh nghiệm nghề nghiệp = professional experience
• kinh nghiệm trong công việc = experience in work / on the job

But for work experience, kinh nghiệm làm việc is a standard and natural choice.