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Ex.5. Five people talk about their jobs. Match the jobs (1-5) to the people (a-e) and put the words in brackets into the correct grammatical forms.
1.accountant
2.postwoman
3.flight attendant
4.software developer
5.teacher
a)Obviously, my work involves ………(travel) a lot. It can be quite physically
………..(tire), but I enjoy ………..(deal) with customers, except when they become violent. Luckily this doesn’t happen often.
b)I like ………(work) with figures, but my job is much less ……….(bore) and routine than people think. The work ………(involve) a lot of human contact and teamwork, working with other managers.
c)Of course it involves getting up quite early in the morning. But I like …...(be) out in the open air. And I get a lot of exercise.
d)You’ve got to think in a logical way. The work can be mentally………(tire), but it’s very satisfying to write a program that works.
e)I love my job. It’s very ………..(stimulate) and not at all ………(repeat): no two days are the same. It’s good to see the children learn and develop.
Ex.6. Using an English dictionary to find the meaning of a word that you do not understand is a simple way to improve your dictionary. But it is also a good idea to see if you can work out the meaning from the context. Guess the meaning of the words in bold and explain them.
What do you do?
To find out what someone’s job is you say “What do you do?”. Here Kerstin talks about her job:
“I work for a large European car market. I work on car design. In fact, I run the design department and I manage a team of designers: 20 people work under me. One of my responsibilities is to make sure that new model designs are finished on time. I’m also in charge of design budgets. I deal with a lot of different people in the company. I’m responsible for coordination between design and production: I work with managers at our manufacturing plants.”
Types of job and types of work
A full-time job is for the whole of the normal working week; a part-time job is for less time than that.
You say that someone works full-time or part-time.
A permanent job does not finish after a fixed period; a temporary job finishes after a fixed period. You talk about temporary work and permanent work.
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Ways of working
I’m an office worker in an insurance company. It’s a nine- to-five job with regular working hours. We all have to clock in and clock out every day. In this company even the managers have to, which is unusual.
I work in a car plant. I work in shifts. I may be on the day shift one week and the night shift the next week. It’s difficult changing from one shift to another. When I change shifts, I have problems changing to new routine for sleeping and eating.
I’m in computer programming. There’s a system of flextime in my company, which means we can work when we want, within certain limits. We can start at any time before eleven, and finish as early as three, as long as we do enough hours each month. It’s ideal for me as I have two young children.
I’m a commercial artist in an advertising agency. I work in a big city, but I prefer living in the country, so I commute to work every day, like thousand of other commuters.
Working from home using a computer and the Internet is becoming more and more popular, and the agency is introducing this: it’s called teleworking or telecommuting. But I like going into the office and working with other people around me.
Ex.7. Tell the group about a job of one of your relatives. Use the words and word-combinations from the exercises above in speaking about the nature, type of his/her work and way of working.
Ex.8. Read the text bellow and write out the words in bold in your dictionary, explain their meaning.
Recruitment
When a company (employer) needs to recruit or employ new people, it may decide to advertise the job or position in the appointments section of a newspaper. People who are interested can then apply for the job by sending in a letter of application or covering letter (US cover letter) and a curriculum vitae or CV (US resume) containing details of their education and experience. A company may also ask the candidates to complete an application form. The company ‘s Human Resources department will then select the most suitable applications and prepare a short list of candidates or applicants, who are invited to attend an interview. Another way for a company to hire is by using the services of a recruitment agency (US search firm) who will provide them with a list of suitable candidates.
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Ex.9. Complete the following passage about the role of search firms in recruiting using the word-box. Write out the functions of the search firms.
to hire |
qualities |
job |
position |
company |
post |
suitable |
applicants |
interviewing |
candidates |
Headhunters or executive search firms specialize in finding the right person for the right 1____. When a company wishes to 2____new person for an important 3____it may use the service of such a firm. The advantages for the 4_____ are that it does not have to organize the costly and time-consuming process of advertising, selecting and 5_____suitable 6_____. In some cases, the search firm may already have a short list with the appropriate 7_____ for the 8_____. If this is not the case, then it may act as a consultant, advising on or even organizing testing and simulations to evaluate the candidates’ 9_____ in order to select the most 10 _____ person for the job.
Ex.10. Let’s follow the process of applying for the job with Fiona Scott who has read the advertisement in a newspaper. Read it and analyze, if there is an information about salary, material incentives, responsibilities, required qualifications and personal qualities.
“PREFER A CAMPING TRIP TO A COCTAIL PARTY?”
PATAGONIA has a new position open: PUBLIC AFFAIRS ASSOCIATE.
Job is based in Munich. Candidates must have substantial PR/Press experience and strong writing skills. They must have serious proficiency in technical sport (skiing, kayaking, climbing…) and outdoor experience. German mother tongue. Environmental background a plus. No glamour…it’s a gritty job! Patagonia is a
Californian company which designs and distributes functional outdoor clothing.
Send CV with pictures to:
Nathalie Baudoin
Patagonia Gmbh
Reitmorstrasse 50
8000 Munich 22 – Germany
The interviews will be in Munich during the last week of February.
Fiona Scott decides to apply for the job at Patagonia. Study her CV carefully to see how she has presented the information about herself. Where do you think each of the headings should be placed?
References |
Activities |
Personal Details |
Education |
Skills |
Professional Experience |
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CURRICULUM VITAE
1 Personal Details Fiona Scott
52 Hanover Street Edinburgh EH2 5LM Scotland
Phone: 0131 449 0237 E-mail:Fiona.scott@caledonia.net 2______________
1991-1992 |
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry |
|
Diploma in Public Relations |
1988-1991 |
University of London |
|
BA (Honours) in Journalism and Media Studies (Class II) |
1981-1988 |
Bradfield School, Brighton |
|
Levels in German (A), English (B), History (B) |
3_______________ |
|
1995-present Public Relations Officer, Scottish Nature Trust. |
|
|
Responsible for researching and writing articles and all aspects of |
|
the Trust’s activities and ensuring their distribution to the press. |
|
Editor of the Trust’s monthly journal. |
|
In charge of relations with European environmental agencies. |
1992-1995 |
Press Officer, Highlands Tourist Board |
|
Preparation of promotional materials and brochures. |
|
Co-ordination of media coverage |
Summers of |
The Glasgow Tribune newspaper |
1990 and 1991 |
Two three-month training periods as assistant to the Sports Editor |
|
Arranging and conducting interviews |
|
Preparation of articles covering local community sports events |
4_______________ |
|
IT |
Office 2000 and Windows NT, Excel, Internet, PowerPoint |
Languages |
Fluent German and proficient in French |
Additional |
Driving license (car and motorcycle) |
5_______________ |
|
Cross-country skiing, rock climbing and swimming Ski Instructor (grade II)
Secretary of the local branch of “Action”, an association organizing sports activities for disabled children
6_______________ |
|
Geoffrey Williams |
Brenda Denholm |
Professor of Journalism |
Sports Editor |
University of London |
The Glasgow Tribune |
Next step, Fiona Scott has undertaken, is the letter of application.
Note:
The letter of application can be as important as the CV in that it often provides the first direct contact between a candidate and an employer.