Technical English II. Job interview. Working conditions.

UNIT 3. JOB INTERVIEW. WORKING CONDITIONS

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Technical English II. Job interview. Working conditions.

1. Listen to the Human Resources Director interviewing a candidate for the job of
system administrator assistant and complete the sentences.

- Harry Brink is ___DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

- Caroline has got a vocational diploma in ___COMPUTERING AND

INFORMATION TECNOLOGI

- Before Caroline left Grants, she worked as ____ASISTENT IT

ADMINISTRATER

- Caroline wasn’t able to continue working at Grants because __

- Caroline describes herself as ___RESPONSIBLE KNOW HOW TO WORK IN

TEAM HARD WORKING

2. Vocabulary. Use the following words to complete the sentences:

- Vocational training - Educational background

- People skills - Experience
- Certification - Fast-growing technologies
- Secondary school - Overtime
- Team - Under pressure

a. Some people prefer working alone, not in a ___TEAM

b. What is your ? Did you study at university?
c. We gave the job to Patricia Rose because she had a lot of ____ in handling cus-
tomer complaints.
d. I’m working late. I’ll have to do some ____.
e. Mr.Ross makes sure to get updates and information on _____.
f. It isn’t easy to work _____, especially when you are a new employee.
g. You will give technical support to our customers, so you need patience and good
_____.
h. I’ve got ___ as a 3D artist from F-technologies.
i. I finished ___ when I was 18. Then I did ____ in electronics.

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Technical English II. Job interview. Working conditions.

3. Choose the correct answer.

1. Amanda is hard-working / confident. She’s at the office from 7 am to 7 pm
every day.
2. It’s my first day at this job. I’m so lazy / nervous!
3. Is Dan responsible / knowledgeable? Does he always finish his projects on
time?
4. Tim is an excellent software tester. He’s very organised / relaxed.
5. Chloe isn’t a good marketing representative. She’s too quiet and outgoing /
shy.
6. You can’t offer such a low salary to a nervous / highly skilled candidate.
7. Lisa is showing me how to search for statistics. She’s very knowledgeable /
insecure about the Internet.

4. Listen to a radio presentation on interviewing tips. Which tips does the presenter
mention?

1. the importance of arriving on time

2. how to dress for an interview

3. how to greet the interviewer

4. how to answer questions

5. what documents to bring

6. organising your documents

7. which questions to ask the interviewer

8. the importance of smiling

5. Vocabulary. Choose the correct answer for each sentence:

1. I’m looking for a temporary / permanent job. I want to work in the same place for
a few years.

2. This job is probably for three months, It’s only a temporary / permanent job.

3. The retirement benefits / starting salary is €9 per hour.

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Technical English II. Job interview. Working conditions.

4. What are the retirement benefits / starting salary at your new job?

5. I really want this job. I hope they’ll hire / retire / fire me.

6. Mr.Anderson has worked in the IT department for 40 years. He’s going to hire /
retire / fire next week.

7. I’m worried the company will hire / retire / fire me for sleeping at my desk.

8. Does your company shifts / schedule / recruit many students?

9. The desktop support technicians provide 24/7 support, so they work in 12-hour
shifts / schedule / recruit.

10. Every Friday, the staff get their shifts / schedule / recruit of hours for the follow-
ing week.

6. Speaking. Which sentences are true for you? Why or why not?

1. I’m very ambitious. I want a good career.

2. I’m not very flexible about hours. I can only work for certain hours.

3. I’m very industrious. I work hard and get a lot done.

4. I’m fast learner. I don’t need a lot of explanations.

5. I’m not very good at multitasking. I can’t do more than one thing at a time.

7.Match the words in A to their definitions in B.

A B
1. Sensitive a. has got original ideas
2. Diligent b. pleasant and relaxed
3. Easy-going c. hard-working
4. Creative d. active, dynamic
5. Energetic e. is aware of other people’s feelings
and behaviour

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 Technical English II. Job interview. Working conditions.

8. Read the sentences and choose the correct answer.

1. Are you flexible about your hours?

- No, I don’t want to work shifts.

- No, I don’t want a temporary job.

2. Tom is very ambitious.

- He is also a fast learner!

- He is not interested in career.

3. Two support technicians were fired.

- Were they too flexible?

- Were they temporary workers?

4. My starting salary is low.

- Well, at least there aren’t any retirement benefits.

- Well, at least the work isn’t hard, and the hours are easy.

5. It’s great they hired Melanie as a 3D artist.

- Yes, she’s really creative.

- Yes, she’s sensitive.

9. Listening. Harry Brink (A) is interviewing Caroline Rand (B) a second time. Listen to the
dialogue and fill in the missing words.

A: Hello, Caroline. It’s nice to see you again. Please ___

B: Thank you, I’m glad to be here.

A: As I told you on the phone, we’d like to offer you the job, but I want to go over a few ___

B: Sure.

A: This job will require working at least three evenings a week. How do you feel about that?

B: It’s ___. I can be flexible about my time.

A: Good to know. Have you got any questions for me?

B: I’d like to ask, what salary can I expect?

A: Well, the starting salary is £18,000 per annum and you’ll work a 40-hour week. There may be
overtime if we have serious technical problems.

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 Technical English II. Job interview. Working conditions.

B: That seems fair. What about holiday time?

A: You get 22 days annual holiday leave and 10 days of paid sick leave. You also get ___ insur-
ance and retirement benefits.

B: I would like to ask you about opportunities for advancement. Do you send employees on cour -
ses?

A: We expect our staff to keep up-to-date on changes in the field, so we encourage our staff to
take certain courses.

B: It sounds like a perfect job for me.

A: Good. So, will you be able to start on __ at 9.00?

B: Yes, that will be fine. I’m looking forward to it. Thank you, Mr. Brink.

10. Complete the following sentences with the correspondent verbs in the correct form.

work overtime apply for fire earn leave hire be unemployed

a. If you want a job, you have to ___ it and send your résumé.
b. Ikea ____ 100 employees every year. That’s great news!
c. My friends ___ €1,300 a month, which is a good salary.
d. My boss always ____. He stays two or three hours after 6.
e. My sister ___ her job last year because she did not like the conditions.
f. Peter complained about his shift and the next day, the boss ___ him.
g. A high percentage of the population ___ and they cannot find a job.

11. Look at these expressions and find synonyms in exercise 10.

a) Dismiss __________
b) Quit __________
c) Give somebody the sack __________
d) Employ __________
e) To be out of work __________
f) Work extra hours __________
g) Wage __________

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 Technical English II. Job interview. Working conditions.

h) Curriculum vitae __________

12. Match the definitions in A with the correct words in B.

A B
1. A person who is being trained for a job a. Maternity leave

2. Period of absence for an employee when hav- b. Resignation

ing a baby
3. Leave employment because of age c. Sick leave
4. The act of leaving a job permanently d. Retire

5. Period of absence for an employee due to e. Trainee

health reasons
6. A period of time when a person is allowed f. Unpaid leave
away from work and he/she is not paid for

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