Chinese phrase
你以前做过什么工作？ nǐ yǐ qián zuò guò shén me gōng zuò
Meaning
What did you do for work before?
When to use it
Asks about a person's previous job or work experience. It is a common, neutral question in conversation, often asked when discussing a job change or past work.
Example dialogue
听说你换工作了，你以前做过什么工作？ tīng shuō nǐ huàn gōng zuò le nǐ yǐ qián zuò guò shén me gōng zuò
I heard you changed jobs. What did you do for work before?
我以前在一家广告公司做客户经理，做了三年。 wǒ yǐ qián zài yì jiā guǎng gào gōng sī zuò kè hù jīng lǐ zuò le sān nián
I worked as an account manager at an advertising company for three years.