6.

18

LISTENING - JOBS

LISTENING 1 – INTERVIEW

1- You will hear five shorts extracts in which people are talking about
interviews they attended.

For questions 1-5, choose from the list (A-H) the advice each speaker received

For questions 6-10, choose from the list (A-H) the problem each speaker
encountered

Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3 Speaker 4 Speaker 5

Task 1 Task 2

Mind your body language Feeling unwell

Arrive early for the interview Having the wrong

information

Wear the right clothes not having the right

personality

Show interest in the prospective employer arriving late for the interview

Hide your enthusiasm for the job having a slight accident

Practise the interview beforehand not having the right qualifications

Think of an unusual situation being unable to answer

questions

Control your nerves Being unhappy about the pay

Script

Speaker 1: I was told the best way to prepare for an interview is by going to the
company's website and finding out everything you can about them. The idea, of
course, is that it creates a good impression and proves that you are keen on
working for them because they can see you've done your homework. The trouble
was that they hadn't done theirs - the web page hadn't been updated for over a
year, so I asked all these questions about products they didn't produce and
subsidiaries that no longer existed. They must have thought I wasn't very well
prepared. It wasn't my fault, though, and I kind of lost enthusiasm for the job once I
found out what had happened. I mean, it's a bit slack, isn't it?

Speaker 2: So there I was the night before, in the living room talking to the dog. A
bit strange, you might think, and you'd probably be right. But I was getting ready
for the next day, you see. The dog was the interviewer, and I was trying out all my
questions and answers on him. I'm not sure that's what the writer of the article had
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in mind when she said, 'Rehearse the situation with a friend', but it seemed like a
good idea to me. Anyway, it was all a bit of a waste of time, really. I overslept the
next morning and by the time I got there they'd already taken somebody on.

Speaker 3: 'Now you're not to get all uptight and on edge, like you normally do,' was
what my mum said. And that's more or less what the careers teacher told us at
school: 'Projecting self-confidence at an interview is vital for success'. Those were
his exact words. So I put on my best suit to give me that confidence, cleaned my
shoes and off I went. Well, my hands were shaking so much, you wouldn't believe it.
I nearly spilt my coffee down my trousers. I think I managed to hide it, though.
Course, what I couldn't hide was the fact that I'd failed my maths GCSE. They
wouldn't take me on without it. Shame, really - the money wasn't too bad.

Speaker 4: 'Don't lean back in your chair', he says. 'If you do that, it might look as
though you're trying just a bit too hard to cover up your nerves. Either that or you're
not interested in the job.' So according to this Dr Benson, it's advisable to lean
forward, keep your legs uncrossed and smile confidently. Well, I did all that. In fact,
I smiled so much my face began to ache. But they somehow seemed to realize that
I don't normally walk around with a permanent grin from ear to ear – they said they
were looking for lively, bubbly people for their sales team, and they weren't
convinced that I fitted the bill.

Speaker 5: I saw this video in the university careers office where they
recommended imagining the interviewer in the bath, playing with a plastic duck, of
all things. The idea is that they're only human, so there's nothing to be frightened
of. So, anyway, I thought about the type of questions they might ask me and I got to
the interview about half an hour early so I could go over the answers I was going to
give. But, bath or no bath, the interviewer turned out to be not so human after all. It
was like an interrogation, and the things he asked were really tricky - nothing like
what I'd prepared for. I just didn't know what to say. I felt pretty sick about the
whole thing afterwards, I can tell you.

Answer key

Speaker 1: D & B Speaker 2: F & D Speaker 3: H & F

Speaker 4: A & C Speaker 5: G & G

LISTENING 2 – JOBS

1- Listen to eight people talking about their jobs. Audio

1- Which job is each person talking about? How do you know?

2- What does each person like and dislike about their job?

3- Why is the speaker doing each job?

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LISTENING 3 – HOW TO CHOOSE AN EMPLOYEE

1- You’re going to listen to Jane Hurley, talking about how companies

decide who to employ. Listen and complete. Audio

· Jane explains that employers read a candidate’s ____________ before anything else

· Jane now finds jobs in _______________ for many students who graduate in arts
subjects

· According to Jane, globalisation has resulted in a need for ____________ in

employees

· Jane expresses concern about the level of ___________ required by some employers

· Jane recommends doing a ___________ because it may result in a job offer

· Jane quotes an engineering company where ______________ was an important part

of being on their staff

· In Jane’s experience, keeping to ___________ is crucial in all jobs.

Script

Good morning everyone. My name’s Jane Hurley and I work for Gradbiz Recruiters
where I’ve been matching job seekers to vacancies for over ten years. I’d like to
share some of my experience and insights with you today and hope that it may help
you find the right job. The first things you have to think about are your CV, or
resume, and your letter of application. These are what count when employers make
their initial decisions about you. As you can imagine, companies’ vacancies attract a
huge number of candidates for top jobs. And while, of course your CV is important,
it’s your letter of application that the employer will look at first. That’s where you’ll
be able to show how you’re different from the other 10 candidates who also have a
top class degree in business studies, or whatever the relevant degree may be. Try
getting a friend to read it to check that it’s got real impact.

Interestingly, while we’re on the subject of degrees, I know there’ve been a lot of
articles in the papers saying how hard it is for arts graduates to get jobs in the UK.
But actually, over the last ten months I’ve filled numerous vacancies in marketing
with arts graduates.

Before that, many were going into publishing, for example; jobs which might seem
more immediately suitable for arts graduates. So don’t decide to only apply for jobs
in statistics because that’s what you studied. I know I’ve just referred to the UK but
don’t forget that you should think internationally. Don’t limit yourself to looking for
 6.18

jobs in or near your home town, or in the UK. Globalisation means that many
companies work on an international level. And as English is often the company
language, you may not need to speak another language fluently, although obviously
it’s an advantage. What will be expected though is for you to be very conscious of
issues of culture in this cosmopolitan environment.

Another area I’d like you to be alerted to, and this concerns me greatly, is the high
standard of technical skills that lots of companies are demanding in their job
adverts. This is given a more prominent position even than communication skills,
which personally, I’ve always seen as very useful. It means being prepared for some
searching questions on this area that they’re now hot on at interview.

As new graduates, you’ll have your paper qualifications but you may not have very
much experience. If possible, I’d suggest you do a work placement during your
course. I’m sure many of you have that built into the structure of your course. Once
a company knows you and sees that you work well and can learn on the job, if they
have a vacancy, you might well be offered it. Working as a volunteer is also a
possibility but doesn’t always give you relevant experience. It’s worth getting the
job description for the role you’re applying for. Some companies specify very
particular skills for particular roles; it could be giving presentations or in the case of
one engineering firm I was recently in touch with, they saw teamwork as key to
most of the activities their workers were involved in. As you can imagine, I deal with
a whole range of sectors from the hospitality industry to manufacturing, and what
I’ve seen over my years in recruitment is that rather than vague skills like the ability
to take the initiative it’s the more concrete ability of being able to meet deadlines
that is needed in all sectors. An employee will need to show they can do that,
otherwise a company may lose their reputation and orders.

Answer key

1- Letter of application 2- Marketing 3- Culture 4- Technical skills

5- (work) placement 6- Teamwork 7- Deadlines

LISTENING 4 – APPLYING FOR JOBS

1- You hear two University students talking about applying for jobs. Audio

1 How does the man feel about applying for jobs?

A confident he will get the job he wants
B pleased that his CV looks impressive
C surprised to have received so many replies

2 The woman has delayed applying for jobs because

A she may do further study.
B she might take time off to travel.
C she could work in the family business
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Answer key

1-B 2-A

LISTENING 5 – HOLIDAY JOBS

1- You will hear five short extracts in which students are talking about
their holiday jobs

Choose from the list (1-8) the holiday job that each student did.
Choose from the list (A-H) the aspect of the job the student liked.

SPEAKER 1 SPEAKER 2 SPEAKER 3 SPEAKER 4 SPEAKER 5

1) factory worker a) A receiving positive feedback

2) waiter in hotel b) flexible working hours
3) worker in tourist information office c) supportive employer
4) cleaner in hotel d) good pay rate
5) dairy farm worker e) friendships with workmates
6) tour guide f) how easily they got the job
7) supermarket checkout staff g) good work experience for later career
8) fruit picker h) variety of tasks

Answer key

Speaker 1: H & E Speaker 2: G & B Speaker 3: D & H

Speaker 4: A & D Speaker 5: F & A

LISTENING 6 – A TOY DESIGNER

1- You will hear a man called Tony Hopkins giving a presentation to

students about his work as a toy designer. Audio

Tony thinks that writing ______________ when he was at school was the strangest
thing he did

Tony uses the word ___________ to describe how he thinks of designing toys

To play Tony’s first game people used a(n) _________________ to move a shuttlecock

Tony’s first game didn’t fit in with the ______________ of the first company he applied
to

Tony is surprised when getting a(n) _______________ stops people designing toys
 6.18

Tony is sure that people must be ________________ with aspiring toy designers if they
want to help them

According to Tony, asking for ____________ from companies is important

Tony feels it’s vital for new designers to be ____________ with companies if they want
to work with them

Script

Hi, I'm Tony and I'm here to talk about being a toy inventor. Although I never
studied design or technology, I've always come up with out-of-the-box ideas. Like,
while I was still at school, I wrote stories for comics, cartoon captions and, most
bizarrely, jokes for radio. I think I've got the knack of seeing the funny side!

Toys have always been my thing - how they're designed and put together and
what's actually enjoyable about them. I get a buzz from trying to work something
out - other people call it problem-solving but I think of it as doing a puzzle. My
breakthrough came about by chance, though. I was watching a game of badminton
when I started thinking about different ways a shuttlecock moves.

Then I thought of this table-top game where you punch it forward with a glove. I
wanted to make loads of money, so I looked on the net for big companies I thought
might take it up.

The first one was friendly and made positive comments but my idea didn't really
suit their brand image. They recommended a different one, who were keen to adopt
my prototype and it all kicked off from there. I'm now a freelance inventor but I still
send my ideas to different manufacturers and there are no guarantees they'll be
accepted. It's not what I'd call a secure existence!

You're all looking for unusual careers like mine, so here are some things I've
learned. Don't give up. I know some incredibly creative people but they throw in the
towel at the first rejection -1 don't get that at all. If I get turned down, I always
revisit it immediately - come at it from a different perspective. You need people to
bounce ideas off who will be supportive and understanding but honest - that's vital.
Friends or family don't want to be negative but telling white lies isn't helpful.

Check out what companies specialise in. It may seem obvious but people often
don't - they just go for a name they know, which could mean you start off on the
wrong foot. Companies don't want you to submit the same idea several times,
however much you might have amended it. They won't necessarily give advice but
should provide feedback on why they've turned you down; if not, request it - though
sometimes you may have to accept that an apparently good idea isn't going to
work.
 6.18

Any company will take time to assess an idea - whether it's practicable, functional
or saleable. You must be determined but first and foremost you need to be patient.
There's a huge difference between being persistent and making a nuisance of
yourself. If they get annoyed, they'll think it's easier to work with someone else. It's
a fascinating job and in the modern world of digital games it may seem old-
fashioned, but there is a market out there and it's a creative and exciting job to do.
So ... any questions?

Answer key

1- Jokes (for radio) 2- Puzzle 3- Glove 4- Brand image 5- Rejection

6- Honest 7- Feedback 8- Patient