Unit 3 Applying for a Job

Team Project

Prepare a recruitment dossier

You work in the careers advice center of a University. It is your job to advise students about career choices and to provide information about employment opportunities.

With your team:

1. Select a medium- to large-sized company in your town/city.

2. Consult the company’s corporate website for general, background information

3. Contact the Human Resources (HR) department of the company.

4. Ask for copies of any job advertisements that they have posted recently.

5. Ask for information about the process involved in hiring new employees.

6. Gather information on selection procedures and the short-listing of candidates.

7. Present your findings to the rest of the class.

From “The European”

Student’s book

Unit 4

Job Interview

Lead-in (Speaking – Reading)

1. Have you ever passed an interview? What is a job interview? What you need to be prepared for in the course of job interview? What are the questions being most frequently asked? How to deal with inner tension when passing the interview? What are common recommendations to the applicants?

Discuss these questions in groups of two-three students (you have five minutes for discussion). After the group discussion, one student from each of the group will be requested to make a short presentation of the conclusion made (not more that three minutes for every presentation; not more that 12 minutes for all the presentations).

2. Read the text given below. Write out all the words you do not know the meaning of. Pay special attention to the underlined words and word combinations.

A Job Interview

A job interview is a process in which a potential employee is evaluated by an employer for prospective employment in their company, organization, or firm. During this process, the employer hopes to determine whether or not the applicant is suitable for the role.

Role A job interview typically precedes the hiring decision, and is used to evaluate the candidate. The interview is usually preceded by the evaluation of submitted résumés from interested candidates, then selecting a small number of candidates for interviews. Potential job interview opportunities also include networking events and career fairs.

The job interview is considered one of the most useful tools for evaluating potential employees. It also demands significant resources from the employer and allows the candidate to assess the corporate culture and demands of the job.

Multiple rounds of job interviews may be used where there are many candidates or the job is particularly challenging or desirable. Earlier rounds may involve fewer staff from the employers and will typically be much shorter and less in-depth. A common initial interview form is the phone interview, a job interview conducted over the telephone. This is especially common when the candidates do not live near the employer and has the advantage of keeping costs low for both sides.

Once all candidates have been interviewed, the employer typically selects the most desirable candidate and begins the negotiation of a job offer.

(The text is retrieved from the Internet at http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_interview

as of 5 March 2012 and modified as compared with the original)

3. Using the vocabulary you have made up give a brief summary on the text (not more than four sentences for five minutes).

Step 1 (Listening –Speaking-Writing)

1. While watching the video piece “Twelve Top Tips for Successful Interviews” make up the list including twelve top tips for successful interview. Then make up another list according to priorities you consider to be the most important, important, less important. Give the reasons explaining your choice. Discuss these lists in groups of two-three students (you have five minutes for discussion).

After the group discussion, one student from each of the group will be requested to make a short presentation of the conclusion made (not more that three minutes for every presentation; not more that 12 minutes for all the presentations).

2. Watch another video piece “Answer to Five Toughest Job Interview Questions” and make up the list of five toughest questions in the course of job interview and preferable answers for them.

3. Role-play: Using your note-making of previous activity dramatize in pairs conducting the interview:

Student A is an interviewer asking five toughest questions

Student B is an interviewee answering the questions

(you have eight minutes for this activity).

Step 2 (Reading-Speaking)

1. Read the paragraph about interviewing process. You will need to learn all the words you don’t know the meaning of. Pay special attention to the underlined words and word combinations. Working with your bilingual dictionary write translations of the underlined words and word combinations.