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visits from job seekers. Most employers do not want their competitors to know vacancy information, turnover rate, position’s salary and other information the company may not want revealed. That is why some people send out their resumes in response to every ad, figuring that even though they clearly do not match the req, the advertiser may have other open reqs.

Out of a pile of resumes, the employer identifies a few candidates to bring in for an interview. After one or more rounds of interviews, a job offer is made to the best candidate. If he or she declines, the offer is made to the second best candidate. If s/he also declines, the employer may choose to sweeten the offer to the first candidate, make an offer to the third best candidate, invite more people for interview, or solicit more resumes.

Before you start your job hunting campaign, it is your first responsibility to identify the careers and jobs for which you best qualify. Focus on skills that you have acquired in school or college, in jobs, from hobbies and interests. Decide if you are good at making decisions, or you may be better at original thinking, or at following directions. Make an inventory of your accomplishments and marketable skills and then decide which specialty within your chosen career appeals to you most. If you are enrolled in a nursing program, decide if you want to work in a large hospital, a nursing home, or a state health agency. What kind of patients do you want to care for – geriatric, pediatric, psychiatric? Once you have a general direction, you can begin your actual search.

Put all this information together to create your personal dossier, or placement file. It should contain information about you that substantiates and supplements the facts you will list in your resume and letter of application (or cover letter): letters of recommendation, unsolicited letters – those awarding you a scholarship, praising you the employer of the month/year, or honoring you for some community service; copies of these letters are made to send out to prospective employers. But be very selective about these kinds of letters if you do not want to crowd your dossier with less important items that will compete for attention with your academic recommendations. The dossier also contains biographical information, a listing of your job experiences, and your transcripts*.

The most important part of your dossier is the letter of recommendation section. Whom should you ask to recommend you? Your present or previous employer is a logical choice. But if you are successfully employed and are looking for a new position only for advancement or better salary, you may not want to tell your present employer that you are looking for a new job. You have the right to request the prospective employer to respect your confidence until you become an active (and also a leading) candidate. On the other hand, if you are at loggerheads* with your current employer and want very much to find a more suitable position, you need to prepare the prospective employer as honestly and professionally as you can with the least damage to yourself. No sure solutions exist.

Make sure that you ask permission of all the people whom you are going to list as references. This is not only a courtesy, but also gives them time to write an appropriate letter for you. It is important to stress that you need a strong letter of recommendation – a general or weak one will hurt your chances in your job search.

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EXERCISES

3.Study the text and try to find answers to the following questions.

1.What are the main steps in obtaining a job? 2. What is the basic purpose of job hunt?

3.How can a position become open? 4. Do employers give all information on vacancies they have? 5. What is the decisive step in filtering candidates? 6. What is your first priority in a job hunt campaign? 7. What information should your placement file contain? 8. Who can be your reference?

4.Replace the words and phrases in italics by those from the text.

1.Increased workload requires increasing the personnel. 2. A requirement lists skills, knowledge and experience required of and desired in a candidate. 3. Most employers do not want their competitors to know information on openings. 4. Then decide which specialty within your chosen career you like most. 5. But be selective if you do not want to fill too full your dossier with less important items. 6. The dossier also contains your biographical information, a listing of your job experience and your student’s record in school or college, listing courses, credits, grades. 7. You have the right to request the prospective employer to respect your assurance of secrecy. 8. Ask permission of all people whom you are going to list as a person who can offer recommendation.

5.When asking for someone’s opinion on a particular topic, you usually ask Do you think questions. There may be different cases here.

a)Do you think goes after the question word

•Questions on the subject of a sentence follow this basic rule:

who, what, which (the subject) + do you think + predicate of the sentence

e.g.: Who do you think are the recognized leaders in the field?

• Questions on any other part of a sentence follow this basic rule: when, where, how, who, what, which + do you think + direct word order

e.g.: What else do you think I could do?

b) Do you think begins a question

•Do you think + direct word order

e.g.: Do you think it is waste of time writing to organizations that might have no openings?

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6.Change these questions into Do you think ones.

1.Who can provide a lead to a possible job?

2.What should be the most widely used recruiting strategy in business today?

3.Which specialty within your chosen career appeals to you most?

4.Who can help you in your job search?

5.Who has the upper hand in the hiring process?

6.What may help you identify your marketable skills?

7.What might be worthwhile to include in your “friendship letter” to close friends?

8.What is a typical career path for someone coming in at my level?

9.What is the alternative to advertising?

10.What is the key to an effective job search?

11.What is the first thing to do if you are laid off?

1.How and where can I learn about possible jobs?

2.What should I start my job search with?

3.I want to leave the Department. When could I put in for a transfer?

4.How is the hiring done?

5.What obstacles would I face in the job?

6.Which professionals should I contact for networking?

7.Where does a person like me fit in this company?

8.What kind of compensation could I expect in the first year?

9.Who do I set face-to-face informal meetings with?

10.What are people looking for when taking a job?

11.Why are the job searchers often ineffective?

12.How large are the chances of finding real employment?

13.What do most people tend to do when they leave their jobs?

14.Who are your strongest marketable allies?

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7.Make short dialogs asking for and giving your opinion on these questions. To express your opinion, use the phrases below.

–I am convinced / sure / positive that … .

–I (really, strongly, definitely, absolutely) believe / think / feel / consider that … .

–I don’t think … .

–I figure out … .

–In my opinion … .

–It’s my opinion that … .

–From my standpoint, … .

–As I see it, … .

–I am inclined to think / tend to think that … .

–My sense / guess is that …* .

Model:

St. 1: What do you think people are looking for when taking a job?

St. 2: I am sure it depends. Some may look for money, others need excitement, still others just want to travel or relocate.

1.What are people looking for when taking a job? (Think of security, excitement, money, travel, power, prestige, or something else.)

2.Which technique works best in job hunt? (Think of direct application, advertising, networking*, applying to a recruitment agency. No single technique necessarily works best, be receptive to any one, or even to a combination of these sources.)

3.What are the shortcomings of hiring based on networking rather than education and experience? (Think of an incompetent employee who never quits or is not terminated, but never makes a meaningful contribution to the company.)

4.What hiring criteria are important and why? (Think of education, experience, intelligence, appearance, personality, being a team player, or something else.)

5.What is the biggest value of advertising? (Think of the amount of applicants attracted by ads as compared to other methods.)

6.What is the difference between an applicant and a candidate? (Think of whether all applicants applying for a position become candidates.)

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7.Is there any difference between duties and responsibilities on a job? (Think of the hints: duties are all specific tasks that you have to do because it is part of your job or your position; responsibilities are what is expected from the newly hired.)

8.In job ads you will see lists of qualifications (i.e. skills, abilities, and personal traits that fit a person for a position) required of or desired in a candidate for different jobs. Some of them are used with the verbs “to have”, others, with the verb “to be”. Note the possible omission of articles in job ads.

Below are the words used with the verb TO HAVE.

a)Match the attributes in A with the nouns in B. Make sure you know all the words. Use a dictionary.

Model:

Previous experience; presentation skills; (a) valid driver’s license, etc.

A

Previous; sound; commercial; good; valid driver’s; profound; 3+ years; interpersonal; managerial; relevant; fluent; working; thorough; presentation; solid; technical; excellent; industrial; computer; negotiating; strong; communication; proven; deep; management; superior; administrative; hands-on*; legal; higher; appropriate; extensive; diversified; broad.

B

Experience; (a) license; literacy; English (French, German, Spanish); skills; (a) command; (a) degree; education; (the) drive; knowledge; (a) background; (an) understanding; qualifications;

(a)track record*.

b)More than one word in A can go with the same word in B. For every noun in B find all appropriate attributes from A where possible.

Model:

English (French, German, Spanish, etc.) – good, fluent, excellent.

c) Match the words in A and B with the verb TO HAVE to form a verb phrase.

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Model:

To have 3+ years experience; to have (a) proven track record; to have higher education, etc.

9. Very often attributes follow the noun.

a) Match the words in A with their attributes in B.

Model:

Experience in business sales; (the) ability to cope well under pressure, etc.

A

Experience (in/with), (the) ability (to), knowledge (of), (a) background (in), (a) talent (for), talent (in), (an) understanding (of), familiarity (with), qualifications (for), (the) drive (for), (the) aptitude (for).

B

cope well under pressure; business sales; quality management; work without direct supervision; food industry; development of dealer networks; budgeting practices; travel; accounting; meet deadlines; developing countries; a law firm in the field; establish good relations with banks, officials and authorities; technical field and paperwork; administration; dealing with tax authorities and bank transactors; bookkeeping and accounts; learn and apply ideas and concepts; non-profit organizations.

b) Match the words in A and B with the verb TO HAVE to form a verb phrase.

Model:

To have (the) ability to cope well under pressure, to have familiarity with bookkeeping and accounts, etc.

10.Now combine the phrases from Exs. 8 and 9 to form, where possible, an extended verb phrase about someone’s qualifications.

Model:

To have 3+ years previous experience in business sales.

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11.Below are the qualifications that you may also need for a particular job. But they are used with the verb TO BE.

a) Match A and B. Make sure you know all the words on the lists. Use a dictionary.

Model:

Not afraid of working extra hours; able to use your own car; etc.

A

Not afraid of; fully aware of; experienced in; able to; highly competent in; familiar with; fluent in; willing to; apt to; responsible for; proficient in; strong in.

B

Hard work; electronic market; travel/ing extensively; work/ing rotating (or day, night) shifts / long (or extra, flexible) hours; all work connected with contracts; travel on short notice to crisis regions; legislation; use your own car; break into the national market; do routine (or exacting) work; develop positive staff attitude to health and safety at work; defining an effective marketing strategy; French (or any other language); interpersonal relations.

b) Match the words in A and B with the verb TO BE to form a verb phrase.

Model:

St. 1: To be able to use your own car.

St. 2: To be 25–40 years of age.

12.Personal traits are also used with the verb TO BE.

a)Check if you know all the words:

Flexible, computer-literate, customer-oriented, sales-oriented, accurate, dynamic, sociable, numerate, reliable, mobile, mature, self-motivated, conscientious, dedicated, enthusiastic, aggressive*, people-oriented, organized, hard working, patient, energetic, creative, out-going, highly motivated, people friendly, articulate, detail-oriented.

b) Form a verb phrase with the verb TO BE.

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Model:

To be flexible, to be detail-oriented, etc.

c) Pick out 3–5 phrases from the above and explain their meaning.

Model:

To be flexible means to be adjustable to change or capable of modification.

13.Using the words and phrases from Exs. 8–12,

a)make a list of qualifications for your past, present, or prospective position.

b)working together as a group or in pairs, discuss the qualifications for your past, present, or prospective position.

Model:

St. 1: What are the qualifications for your present position?

St. 2: To have a good command of English and the ability to travel.

St. 3: To be mobile and apt to travel extensively.

14.Turn to Appendix 1 for job ads for different vacancies.

a)Read the job ads through and identify their parts (name of the company, type of position, responsibilities, working/office hours available, salary, etc).

b)Pick out a job ad. Make a list of qualifications that are essential, important, preferable, or irrelevant for an applicant regarding the ad of your choice. Use the words and phrases from the exercises above.

c)Working together as a group or in pairs, describe the qualifications necessary to win this position.

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15.Using the newspaper ads in Appendix 1 as a model,

a)write a job ad for the position you are having (hope to have or used to have): responsibilities, working hours, salary range, requirements for promotion, highest promotion possible, need for further education (advanced degrees, special training, on-the-job training), optimum age bracket, etc.;

b)describe the responsibilities for your current (previous or prospective) position. Work together as a group or in pairs.

Model:

St. 1: What is / was required of you at your present / previous job? (or: What are you responsible for now? What are your current responsibilities? What are / were the responsibilities for your present / past position?)

St. 2: I’m Senior Librarian at a research library of international importance. I’m responsible for serving scholars and undergraduate or graduate students, handling manuscripts and rear books, and communicating with visitors. My current responsibilities also include supervising junior librarians. It is also my responsibility that all entry-level librarians get hands-on training in the use of computers.

Text 2

16.Answer the questions before reading the text: 1. Where would you apply for a job in case you are unemployed? 2. What are the job search opportunities in your country?

17.Read the text. Is looking for a job a one-way or two-way traffic?

On the job market*: Networking, Recruiting Agencies, and Job Fairs

There are several ways of approaching the search: answer newspaper ads, place newspaper ads, respond to ads in professional journals in your major, attend job fairs and company open houses, mail blind letters and resumes, sign (register) with a professional employment agency, contact a job clearing house, read special business employment publications, etc.

One of the most successful techniques is networking, which involves contacting people you know, as well as people they know, to gather information and leads for the job. Employers ask their friends who ask their friends, and eventually a suitable candidate is found. This

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candidate is interviewed first, given preferential treatment and usually hired. The moral of the story is that no one likes to hire strangers, who are shot-in-the-dark. The business world is suspicious of strangers – there is too much at stake.

Another source to fill the recently vacated or newly created position is an inter-company move when one of the current employees already on staff, rather than a complete outsider, is promoted or transferred to fill the new opening. The benefits of internal hiring improves employee morale, reduces orientation time, reduces turnover and thus the company is able to better use of its human resources. But there is a potential set back to this: hiring in-house limits the number of potential candidates. Also, the lack of “new blood” can result in insular thinking and stagnation. There is also a domino effect. As one person leaves the position to fill another, a new vacancy is created.

A networking jobseeker cultivates the people already successful in the field and asks for mentorship and advice. Begin with your own contact network. Do not be afraid to ask people in your field for an inside view and practical advice. Establish contacts. Trade shows, conferences, symposia, etc. are a very effective way of meeting people in the field. Come, bring some resumes, make acquaintance, but do not give out the resume unless requested. Just prepare business-like cards that say “Looking for an entry-level position” where an ordinary business card has a job title, and pass these around. If you are an entry-level candidate, seek the advice of faculty in your major who do outside consulting, or who have worked in business, industry, or government. If you are an undergraduate student, take those steps well before your senior year, it will help you learn what specific courses make you more marketable.

Networking can be effective though it does require some effort. You need to talk with people, share your interests and experiences with them so that they may be comfortable offering your employment suggestions. You should also feel comfortable asking for their recommendations and even for introductions to other people.

Employers interested in hiring entry-level candidates typically send their reqs to the placements offices of reputable colleges who make them available to their students and alumni.

Employers interested in more advanced candidates sometimes send their reqs to selected recruiters. Recruiting agencies are third party recruiters hired by an employer to help fill a position. They get requirements from employers, then find candidates to match these requirements through advertising in newspapers, on Usernet, and within their internal databases of resumes. They also use networking to find candidates. Most blind ads are placed by recruiters. They save company’s time and advertising expenses by screening resumes and conducting preliminary interviews to select a few that are most likely to make a direct hit with specific needs of the client and be qualified candidates to handle the job. But they do not work for the job seeker. The recruiter represents the employer, so it’s not recruiter’s job to find you a job. However, a good recruiter can smooth the interview and hiring process, assist in negotiations, and prevent problems from becoming dead breakers.

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