VI. According to the text, are the following statements true or false?

1. Some companies hire people because of their attractive appearance and fashioned clothing.

2. Heads of Air lines and police do not pay any attention to your appearance

3. Men in Air France shouldn't be taller than 1.70 m.

4. Good-looking people are often more successful than others.

5. British airways does not allow its pilots to work if they are 20 per cent overweight.

6. Attractive women have problems reaching managerial positions.

7. According to some psychological research people's abilities are closely connected with their appearance.

8. Employers' attitudes to 'unfair' recruitment practices have not changed.

VII. Match the words from the text with their definitions.

1) to matter	a) a person that you work for
2) to hire	b) to need
3) promotion	c) characteristics
4) employer	d) the long-term plan for your professional life
5) to require	e) to put in order of importance
6) career	f) to be important
7) authority	g) to give employment to someone
8) qualities	h) a person who applies for a job
9) to rank	i) the power to give orders
10) applicant	j) a movement to a more important job, with more responsibility and money.

VIII. Complete the following passage about the role of head-hunters in business, using words from the previous exercise. Change the form of the words where necessary.

Head-hunters, or executives search firms, specialise in finding the right person for the right job. When a company wishes to .......................... a person for an important position, it may use the services of such a firm, specifying the skills and ........................ which it ................... of the future employee.

The head-hunter contacts executives with the right .................. profile, and provides the company with a shortlist of suitable candidates. In the way, the ................ does not have to go through the preliminary stages of interviewing and selecting ...................... itself.

LISTENING

I. In this interview, you will hear Francis Wilkin, an Executive Search Consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates, talking about his job. Listen and take notes under the following headings:

1) the role and status of the head-hunter;

2) areas of corporate and personal specialisation;

3) the distinction between executive search companies and recruitment agencies;

4) the type of people head-hunters target;

5) methods used to identify candidates;

6) the 'craft' and 'art' of headhunting.

II. Listen again and answer the following questions. Francis Wilkin mentions the following figures. What do they relate to?

1) 50%

2) £60,000

3) 15,000

Speaking

a) Discuss the following points with your partners and then speak out individually on each.

1. Do you think appearance should dominate over mental abilities?

2. In your opinion, is morphopsychology a useful recruitment technique?

3. How would it feel to be 'headhunted'?

4. Is the poaching of senior personnel from a company simply part of executive life, or is it an unethical activity?

5. Do you think that appearance of the staff is a part of a brand image?

6. Do you think that many people are able to change their appearance to get a highly paid job?

b) Make a 2-4 minute report on one of the following topics:

1. Mental abilities are more vital than someone’s appearance.

2. Morphopsychology is not a very useful recruitment technique.

3. Few people are able to change their appearance to get a highly paid job.

Writing