Lesson 4. Describing a personality

Warm up

I. How does your company recruit people?

II. Read this article about Chris Jones. Do you agree with his opinion?

European industry needs more “character”, expert warns

“European industry needs to give as much importance to the character and personality of its managers as it gives to their qualifications!” claimed business consultant Chris Jones at the annual conference of Human Resources Managers in Birmingham yesterday. “When selecting staff for top positions, companies should first identify the ideal personality profile that the job requires. It's not enough to be just well-qualified and hard-working -other qualities are equally, if not more, important. The modern manager must be imaginative, outgoing, communicative, and innovative in order to succeed in modern business.”

Active vocabulary

I. Look at the following adjectives. They all describe a person's personality. Is each word positive, negative, or could it be both?

easy-going	single-minded	bossy	open-minded
narrow-minded	enthusiastic	sociable	goal-oriented
practical	charming	inconsistent	analytical
understanding	self-confident	supportive	ambitious

II. Take it in turns with your partner to define these words. Try to guess the word. Look at the following examples:

easy-going: I think this is a positive word. These people are not difficult to work with. They are flexible, cooperative, and so on.

single-minded: This word could be positive or negative. It can be a good thing to concentrate on only one objective or thing, but this word also describes somebody who does this too much.

Listening

I. Listen to four people describing their new managers.

1. First write the adjectives they use to complete column A.

2. Now listen again. How do the four speakers describe the qualities of their managers?

II. Complete the sentences in column b. The first is an example.

	A	B
1)	______________________________ ______________________________	She’s got everybody working well. She always lets you know_______________.
2)	______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________	She lets ______________________if she thinks they’re good. She doesn’t allow anybody________________________.
3)	______________________________ ______________________________	He wouldn’t allow_________________. He’s got us all talking_______________ and money.
4)	______________________________ ______________________________	He makes everybody________________ at work. He lets you do things____________.

Speaking

I. What qualities or characteristics are important in your line of work?

II. Your company needs to employ new staff. Discuss with your partner what personality profile would be suitable for each of the posts below.

• chief accountant

• telephone salesperson

• training manager

• maintenance technician

• sales rep

• receptionist in the front office

• laboratory technician

Writing

Choose two of the jobs from Speaking and write two short texts describing the appropriate personality profile for each job. Use the language in the example below to help you.

Personality profile

A chief accountant must be a patient and practical person. They are responsible for the company accounts and should be goal-oriented and capable of working under pressure. Good communication skills are required. The accountant must be analytical and capable of independent work.