A Letter of Application

Mr Brown 15 Green Road

c/o Box 5791 Barford

Barford Evening Chronicle Kent

Dover Road

Barford

October 16, 2001

Dear Mr Brown,

I am interested in applying for the post of part-time office assistant advertised in yesterday’s Evening Chronicle.

I am 20 years of age in my third year studying business administration at Barford Polytechnic. My lectures take place in the morning and early evening, and I am available for part-time work between 12.30 and 5.30 every afternoon.

I speak good Spanish and I have some experience of office work, including filing and typing. I believe that I have a pleasant telephone manner and could deal efficiently and courteously with both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking callers.

I am available for interview any day after 11 a.m. and I can normally be contacted by phone every afternoon on Barford 57201.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

E.Arnold

Tasks

1. R

   Munchies

   Receptionists required for restaurant/hotel

   Evening/weekend work only

   Interested in tourist industry?

   Speak French, German or Italian?

   Looking for a permanent full-time post after the summer?

   Do you like dealing with people?

   Are you patient?

   If your answer is “yes” to all of these questions,

   We want to hear from you.

   ead the letter of application and then apply for this job in your own letter.

2. You would like a summer job and have seen the advertisement below. You want more information. Write to Club Sol. Use the prompts below.

Summer work

Waiter/waitress needed from June-September

Accommodation available

Good salary plus tips

Knowledge of foreign languages an asset

Write to: Club Sol, London SW1

• Available only June-September?

• Would prefer single accommodation, have to pay for it?

• Previous experience necessary?

• Working hours – shifts – weekends?

3. Choose a job from the box below and write a similar advertisement.

translator tourist guide zoo manager nurse

Consider these points when writing your advertisements.

• What does the company/employer do?

• What exactly does the job involve?

• What sort of person are you looking for?

• What range of skills must they have?

• What salary and bonuses are you offering?

• What is the application procedure?

• What is the most effective layout?

Vocabulary Exercises

Ex. 1. Put one of the following prepositions in each space in the sentences below.

at in for to off of

1. He has applied … British Airways … a job … an office manager.

2. This job advertisement looks interesting. I’ll send … an application form.

3. Have you filled … the form yet?

4. You must send … the form by 20 May.

5. He’s been … that job for two years.

6. She retired … the age of 60.

7. The use … a company car is a nice perk to have.

8. The sixty applicants were reduced … a short-list of four.

Ex. 2. Fill the gaps in the following sentences with the correct form of the phrasal verbs work up or work out. Make any necessary changes to complete each sentence.

1. I can’t … he left so suddenly without telling anybody. It really baffles me.

2. Here’s a calculator. Can you … much money we owe the part-time staff, please?

3. I’m afraid it’s just not … me and my new boss. We’ve had three rows already.

4. I can’t … enthusiasm for his plan. It just seems to me like a real waste of time and money.

5. Come on, come down. It’s not worth getting yourself all … such a small issue.

6. Sarah … the gym three times a week. I don’t know where she finds the energy.

7. I haven’t told Alex I don’t want to go to the party yet. I’m … it. He’ll be so upset when I do tell him.

8. It’s better for you to travel to work by train, I think. Using your car will … too expensive.

9. If you want to … appetite before dinner, why don’t you go and chop up some wood for the stove?

10. You’ve got it … , haven’t you? You know exactly what you have to do in order to get promoted, don’t you?

Ex. 3. Fill in the appropriate form of the word in brackets.

To be (success) in today’s job market, keep up with the latest (technology) developments. Improving one’s skills is vital. For anyone wishing to be more than a (type), a reliable (secretary) course is a “must”.

On (complete) of such a course, a person should have gained (familiar) with current word-processing packages, be able to write (fault) letters and take accurate minutes, have good (know) of shorthand and, last but not least, have a (courtesy) telephone manner. With such thorough (prepare), the newly-trained employee will be an asset to any modern (organise).

Ex. 4. Put these adjectives into two lists:

a) those that can be used to describe a job;

b) those that can be used to describe the qualities required of job applicants.

responsible challenging high-calibre well-qualified cushy demanding experienced innovative committed steady

competent rewarding ambitious confident exciting talented expanding time-consuming outgoing part-time

knowledgeable

Ex. 5. Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below.

A

references short-list qualifications experience vacancy apply fill in application forms interview applicants

In times of high unemployment there are usually very many (1) … when a (2) … is advertised. Sometimes large numbers of people (3) … , and send off (4) … for a single job. It is not unusual, in fact, for hundreds of people to (5) … to a firm for one post. This number is reduced to a (6) … of perhaps six or eight, from whom a final choice is made when they all attend an (7) … . Very possibly the people interviewing will be interested in the (8) … the candidates gained at school or university and what (9) … they have had in previous jobs. They will probably ask for (10) … written by the candidates’ teachers and employers.

B

commute increments prospects promotion commission

pension ambitious perks salary retire

Job satisfaction is important but I have a wife and a baby so I have to think about money too. If a job interests me, I need to know what (1) … it offers and also whether there are regular annual increases, called (2) … . I want to know if I will receive a (3) … when I (4) … at the age of 60 or 65. If the job is selling a product, I’ll ask if I’ll receive a percentage of the value of what I sell, called (5) … . It is also important to know if there are extra advantages, like free meals or transport, or the free use of a car. These are called (6) … or fringe benefits. Are the future (7) … good? For example, is there a good chance of (8) … to a better job, with more money and responsibility? Is the job near my home? If it isn’t, I’ll have to (9) … every day and this can be expensive. I am very keen to be successful. I am very (10) … . I don’t want to stay in the same job all my life.

C

perks headhunting salary non-smokers hand-shake worth

An oil-rich Sultan is searching for a non-smoking airline captain to become the highest paid chauffeur in the world. The pilot, who will fly the 40 million pound Boeing 747 used by Sultan Qaboos of Oman, can expect a package (1) … more than ₤ 200,000.

The health-conscious Sultan, who is offering a (2) … of at least £ 60,000, hates cigarettes, and prefers to surround himself with (3) … . Exact figures are secret, but (4) … include an expenses-paid luxury home, medical bills for consultants anywhere in the world, private schools for the children back home, free air tickets and two months’ leave a year. There would also be a handsome golden (5) … at the end of the two-year minimum contract.

Though applications are flooding into an exclusive London (6) … agency from all over the world, the Sultan is known to prefer a British pilot.

Ex. 6. Find the response from the list a–f to the stimulus statements 1–6.

1. I’ve just started a fantastic job with an advertising agency – the money’s great too.

2. It’s a job that is very unpredictable – it means I often have to think quickly.

3. The fly in the ointment is – my boss works all hours. He never leaves the office before 8 p.m.

4. It wouldn’t matter so much, but he expects all of us to do the same.

5. And there’s another manager who’s always ordering people about and setting us totally unreasonable deadlines.

6. I really like the job, but the work load is a problem. What do you think I should do?

a. So you’ve really got to be on the ball.

b. Someone who likes to throw his weight around, huh?

c. You must be over the moon!

d. You could try making a fuss and standing up for your rights – it could work wonders.

e. He is a workaholic, then?

f. He has no right to work you so hard. A real slave-driver!

Ex. 7. Give the English equivalents of the following words and phrases.

Заполнить анкету, заявление о приеме на работу, подать заявление с просьбой предоставить отпуск, быть преданным делу, быть хорошо осведомленным, быть уверенным в успехе, быть очень ответственным, быть в курсе новейших достижений в области технологий, вести протокол, владеть стенографией, быть расторопным.

Ex. 8. Translate into English.

1. Он заставляет своих служащих работать слишком много. 2. Ваше заявле­ние не приняли. 3. Представитель фирмы отобрал пять кандидатов из два­дцати человек, подавших заявление о приеме на работу. 4. Многие люди не верят в эффективность тестирования при приеме на работу. 5. Во время ин­тервью старайтесь не производить впечатления слишком самоуверенного или слишком скромного человека. 6. Интервью является довольно надежным ме­тодом отбора необходимых для фирмы служащих. 7. Даже из неуспешного интервью можно извлечь пользу. 8. Помимо зарплаты ему предложили до­полнительные преимущества (льготы): автомобиль фирмы и медицинскую страховку. 9. Мы с Томом не очень хорошо ладим. Он слишком любит ко­мандовать. 10. Накануне встречи нам надо хорошо обдумать, что мы скажем. 11. Пусть Патриция сама во всем разберется. 12. Его план не вызвал у меня никакого энтузиазма.

SECTION III