Skills: choosing the right candidate.

1. Read the text and do the exercises.

An employer has several options to consider when he wants to hire a new employee. First of all, he may look within his own company. But if he can’t find anybody suitable for the position he will have to look outside the company. If there is a personnel office in the company, he can ask them to help him to find a qualified applicant. The employer can also use another valuable sources, for example, employment agencies, consulting firms, placement offices and professional societies. He can also advertise in a newspaper or in a magazine and request candidates to send in resumes
or CVs.

The employer has two sets of qualifications to consider if he wants to choose from among the applicants. He must consider both professional qualifications and personal characteristics. A candidate’s education, experience and skills are included in his professional qualifications. These can be listed on a resume. Personal characteristics, or personality traits must be evaluated through interviews.

 

Vocabulary:

1. an option – выбор

2. an employer – работодатель, наниматель

3. an employee – служащий, работающий по найму

4. to consider – рассматривать, принимать во внимание

5. to be suitable for the position – соответствовать должности

6. valuable source – ценный источник

7. employment agency – агентство по найму

8. two sets of qualifications – два вида характеристик

9. to evaluate through interviews – оценивать через интервью

10. a trait – особенность, свойство

Comprehension Questions:

1. Which options should an employer consider when he wants to hire a new employee?

2. What service does Personnel Department provide?

3. How can new employees be found outside the company?

4. What qualifications does the employer consider in choosing an employee?

5. What is meant by ‘professional qualification’ for a job?

6. What personal characteristics does the employer take into account when choosing an employee?

2. Choose the necessary word and put it in the sentence.

a) to advertise, b) resume, c) employee, d) applicant, e) qualification,
f) Personnel Office, g) personal

1. We are going to interview three … for the position.

2. If you need applicants for this position, … in a special section of the local newspaper.

3. Personnel Office will help you find a new ….

4. All the information about the staff of the firm can be found in ….

5. She has a good … for the position: a university degree, excellent work experience.

6. If you are an applicant for the position, you have to write your ….

7. Don’t ask him… questions, it will be impolite.

3. Translate into English:

1. Его должность в компании очень важна.

2. Работодатель ставит цели, принимает на работу, увольняет.

3. Руководитель этой команды – очень талантливый программист.

4. Кандидаты на должность должны прислать СV и пройти собеседование.

5. Кандидаты на должность должны иметь хорошую теоретическую подготовку и знание иностранных языков.

6. Вам будет предложена достойная зарплата и социальный пакет.

4. Every applicant should distinguish between the following notions which somehow reveal similarity. Do you know the difference between them: study the definitions and make up sentences using these words.

1. A wage is a regular payment for work done, usually weekly.

2. A salary is a fixed regular payment to employees, usually monthly or yearly.

3. A perk is money or/and goods given as a right in addition to one’s salary or wages.

4. A bonus is an extra payment over and above salary given to an employee as an incentive or reward.

5. A CV(curriculum vitae) is a brief account of somebody’s previous career.

6. An application form is a form listing qualifications and personal details which somebody completes to apply for a post.

7. To appoint – means to choose somebody for a job.

8. To apply for – means to make a formal request.

9. To fire – means to dismiss.

10. To be made redundant means to be dismissed from a job because one is no longer needed.

11. A post is the same as a position.

12. A vacancy refers to an unfilled position.

13. Experienced means having knowledge gained through working.

14. Trained means having practical skills in doing smth

15. Full-time means working a complete normal working week.

16. Part-time means – working less than a complete working week.

5. Choose the correct word:

1. My friend is an engineer; he gets a wage/salary of $45,000 a year.

2. The perks/bonuses of this job include a company car, a mobile phone and language training.

3. When you come for your interview, don’t forget to bring a copy of your CV/application form.

4. If you want to appoint /apply for the job, you should write to the company immediately.

5. I was made fired/redundant when the company closed down.

6. My friend is a(n) experienced/trained engineer; he has worked for several engineering companies since he left University.

6. Read the dialogue. What questions do you think an interviewer and an applicant could ask at a job interview? Write at least five questions for each of them.

The dialogue “A Job Interview”.

Interviewer: Hello, Miss Jones. Thank you for coming. Please, sit down.

Miss Jones: Thank you.

Interviewer: Firstly, where did you see the advert for this position?

Miss Jones: I saw it in last Friday’s Evening Post.

Interviewer: Now, have you brought your CV with you?

Miss Jones: Yes, here you are.

Interviewer: Thank you. Could you tell me a bit about your qualifica-tions?

Miss Jones: I have a University degree (engineering).

Interviewer: Fine. Could you tell me about any relevant experience you         have?

Miss Jones: Yes. I worked at Francobank as a programmer.

Interviewer: Would you mind telling me why you left?

Miss Jones: Well, the salary was fairly good, but there were no promotion prospects, so I decided to resign and look for something more challenging.

Interviewer: I see. Now, if you were to be offered a position, would you                   be able to start straight away?

Miss Jones: Yes, of course.

Interviewer: Excellent. Now, is there anything you would like to know           about us?

Miss Jones: Yes, I have a few questions. Could you please tell me what        the working hours will be?

Interviewer: Of course. The normal office hours are from 9 a.m. to
                   5 p.m., with an hour for lunch. But we are quite flexible             about this.

Miss Jones: That sounds fine. Could you tell me what salary I might              expect?

Interviewer: Well, the starting salary is $750 a month before tax. After           six months salary increases by ten per cent.

Miss Jones: Oh, that sounds good.

Interviewer: Well, do you have any more questions you’d like to ask?

Miss Jones: No, I don’t think so. When could I expect to hear from you?

Interviewer: We have a few more people to see, but we hope to reach a decision by Friday. We’ll be in touch by the end of the week.

Miss Jones: Thank you for your time. Good-bye.

Interviewer: Good-bye. And thank you.

7. Reproduce the situation in which the following words and expressions can be found in the dialogue “A Job Interview”.

To reach a decision, an advert, to be in touch with, a degree, promotion, to resign, challenging, relevant experience, to start straight away, to be quite flexible.

8. Say what you got to know from the dialogue about:

1. The applicant’s qualifications; 

2. Her previous working experience;

3. The reason why she had to resign;

4. The terms of payment guaranteed by the new company.

9. These phrases can contribute to a job interview. Say them in English.

1. Спасибо за то, что уделили мне время.

2. У вас есть соответствующий опыт работы,

3. Расскажите какое у вас образование.

4. Там не было никаких перспектив для профессионального роста.

5. Рабочий график может быть гибким.

6. Приятно слышать.

7. Я думаю. Мы придем к какому-то решению к понедельнику.

8. Когда можно надеяться получить от вас ответ?

9. Если вы примете меня на эту должность, я могу сразу же приступить к работе.

10. Мы свяжемся с вами в начале следующей недели.

10. Interview skills. Work in pairs. Decide which of these interview tips are more for interviewers and which are more for candidates.

· Be completely honest.

· Try to help the candidate to relax.

· Always wear your best clothes.

· Do not ask a lot of questions to which people can answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

· Listen carefully and make a lot of notes.

· Arrive half an hour early for the interview.

· Ask a difficult question at the beginning of the interview.

11. Act out the dialogue ‘A Job Interview’.

Direct and indirect speech

1. For each direct question below, tick the wrong indirect question and correct it.

1. What are your strengths?

a) Could you tell me what your strengths are?

b) Could you tell me what are your strengths?

2. What would your colleagues say about you?

a) I'd like to know what would your colleagues say about you.

b) I'd like to know what your colleagues would say about you.

3. How have you changed in the last five years?

a) Could you tell me how you have changed in the last five years?

b) Could you tell me how have you changed in the last five years?

2. You are interviewing someone for a job. How would you find out the following information ising indirect questions?

1. Their age                                                     5. Their weaknesses

2. Reasons for applying.                      6. Their qualifications

3. The reasons for leaving their last job 7. Their hobbies

4. Their strengths                         

 

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR – Conditionals

Conditionals are introduced by the conjunctions: if, in case, provided, unless, suppose, but for.

Condition		Subordinate clause	Principal Clause
Real		Present Ind. /Cont If I know English well	Will + Inf. I will(I’ll) get a high – paid job.
Unreal	Present/ Future	Past Ind. /Cont. If I were you	Would Could + Inf. Might I would take up courses in computing
Unreal	Past	Past Perfect If you had gone there	Would Could + have + Participle 2 Might You would have seen him.

1. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

‘If you don’t work harder at school, you 1)’ll never get (never/get) a good job.’ I remember my parents saying these words to me when I was at school. If I had listened to them then, I 2)....(not/become) what I am now. I 3)....(be) so much more if I had tried harder, I haven’t always been a tramp actually; when I left school I had a job as a milkman and if the hours had been easier, I 4)....(do) it for much longer, but I hated getting up so early in the morning. When I lost my job, I 5)....(cannot/pay) the rent, so my landlord said that if I 6)....(not/get) another job, I would be on the streets, and before I knew it, I was. I could have got another job if I 7)...(want) to, but at first I quite enjoyed the freedom of the outdoor life. If you sleep out in summer, it 8)....(not/be)too bad, but in winter it’s awful. If I 9).....(can/change) anything about my life now, I would get in touch with my family again, even though I know they would only say, ’If you ‘d worked harder at school, you 10)........ (not/get) yourself in this situation.’

2. Work with your partner. Complete the sentences below.

1. If my boss retired,........

2. I’ll get a promotion,.....

3. I would probably earn more money if...

4. If I had more time at work,.....

5. The company would have been more successful, if....

3. Translate into Russian.

1. If anyone objects to doing what he has been told, then he can get out of it – at once.

2. If you had come for talks, I would have explained you everything in details.

3. If I saw this applicant today, I would ask him about it.

4. Had you studied the rules of behaviour, you would have acted in another way.

5. If the manager had not been confused, I wouldn't have understood that I said something wrong.

6. If she hadn't had such a bad taste, she would have dressed more properly for a business tour.

7. If he had prepared his curriculum vitae more thoroughly, he might have looked more self-confident,

8. We would have given the vacancy to that applicant if he had more experience.

4. Open the brackets and use the correct form of Conditionals.

1. If the employer (want) to know more about you, he (contact) you.

2. If you (concentrate) on job hunting, you (find) a vacancy soon enough.

3. If you (be able) to market all of your strengths, the interviewer (appreciate) your skills and professional experience.

4. If the applicant (consult) the expert before the interview, he (produce) a better impression on the interviewer.

5. If I (prepare) for the interview better, it (not be) such a failure.

6. Mary (be) more successful if she (not be) so shy and nervous during the conversation.

7. She (get promoted) last year if she (not argue) with the boss.

8. If the boss (invite) me for the discussion, I (go) to his office at once.

9. If you (not decide) what sort of job you would like to do it (be) difficult to make a good choice.

10. If you (control) your manners and (choose) the proper clothes, you (feel) more confident. I'm sure.   

 

5. Connect sentences using Conditionals.

Model: You want to find a job. You look through ads in the newspapers.

– If you want to find a job you will look thorugh ads in the newspapers.

I did not get the job. I did not prepare all necessary documents.

– If I had prepared all necessary documents I would have got the job.

1. He will be able to settle the matter with the boss. He will return from his business trip today.

2. I did not have curriculum vitae with me. I could not remember the dates I was asked about.

3. John does not have a lot of life experience. He has to present the employer his potential abilities.

4. I did not stress my achievements. The head of the company did not appreciate my skills.

5. I decided to change my job. I have to read the business pages of professional journals.

6. I have good working knowledge of Microsoft Word. I'll mention it in my resume.

7. Some people think that clothes do not matter at the interview. They understand the importance of clothes when they don't get the job.

8. The vacancies are published. You can find sometimes very interesting proposals.  

 

 

Unit 3. HOW TO GET A JOB