Lesson 4

Oral test on the homework

Your hometask was to compose a story about the problems you’ve faced being at an interview. Tell your story to the class.

LEXICAL EXERCISES

I. Fill in gaps with a suitable word from a-c option:

1. You will be asked questions at an _____.

A. interview

B. application

C. interests

2. _____ can tell a person how you are feeling without you even having to speak.

A. Skills

B. Templates

C. Body Language

3. A person should _____ a company before going on an interview.

A. improve

B. research

C. career

4. A _____ letter should always be sent after you have gone on an interview.

A. cover-letter

B. friendly

C. follow-up

5. A _____ is a paper that tells employers about you.

A. resume

B. rough draft

C. template

6. Most jobs require you to have an _____ and/or experience.

A. interest

B. education

C. edit

7. A _____ is a job that you plan to have for a long time.

A. career

B. prepare

C. resume

8. It is important to _____ your resume to make necessary changes before you send it to a company.

A. rough draft

B. template

C. edit

9. There are _____ on your computer that can help you write letters.

A. templates

B. interests

C. final drafts

10. You will need to _____ a company to get an application from them.

A. contact

B. prepare

C. interview

II. Match terms written in bold with their correct meanings. Then read matched pairs aloud and put between the term and its definition the verb “is”.

1. prepare	A. Things a person is good at doing.
2. resume	B. To meet with someone from a company to talk about a job that you are trying to get.
3. skills	C. To get ready for something.
4. application	D. A letter that is usually sent with a resume when trying to get a job.
5. interview	E. A job that someone trains for and does for a living.
6. body language	F. A form that you fill out when trying to get a job.
7. follow-up letter	G. A paper that tells employers about you.
8. cover letter	H. The way your body can tell a person how you are feeling without using words.
9. career	I. A letter that is usually sent to someone after an interview.
10. contact	J. To call or speak with someone

III. Do you know what the following words mean?

Edit, education, final draft, improve, research, rough draft, template.

IV. Compose 10 sentences using terms from exercises 2 an 3 using as many terms as you can.

V. There are different views on how to organise a CV, most prospective employers would expect to see the following headings:

Education Referees Personal Details Profile

Additional Skills Interests Professional Experience

Jasper Bergfeld, a German graduate, is compiling his CV. He has collected the relevant details but now he must organise them. Look at the following points and decide which heading Jasper should put them under.

For example:

University of Stuttgart – degree in Business Information Management: answer = 'Education'

• Fluent in English: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Nationality – German: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Concept AG – Assistant Project Manager: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Excellent communication skills: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Full driving license: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Diploma in English with Business Studies: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Skiing and windsurfing: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Computer literate: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Able to work on own initiative and under pressure: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Responsible for customer service: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

• Dr H. Mayer, University of Bath: (Education, Referees, Personal details, Profile, Additional skills, Interests, Professional experience)

BBC Learning English. http://bbc.co.uk

VI. A Human Resources Manager has drawn up a shortlist of applicants he feels would be suitable for a vacancy in his company. Look at the descriptions of the candidates he plans to invite for interview.

• Hamed has a can-do attitude and is able to meet deadlines

• Tomoko is a self-starter who can work on her own initiative

• Ivan is able to multi-task and has a proven track record

• Li is an effective team player with a customer-focused approach

• Cristina is numerate and computer literate

which candidate...

is good with figures?

co-operates with colleagues?

is good at working on his/her own?

can finish a job on time?

has a good rapport with clients?

has a history of success?

has a positive approach?

has IT skills?

can cope with several jobs at the same time?

BBC Learning English

http://bbc.co.uk

VII. It's always a good idea to try to predict what questions you will get asked in an interview and prepare some answers before you go in. Here are some examples of quite common interview questions. Match them with suitable responses.

Why did you choose this company?	I always support my colleagues and believe we should work toward a common goal.
What are your strengths/weaknesses?	I have excellent time management, but I can be impatient for results.
How would your friends describe you?	Because I think I will find the work environment both challenging and rewarding.
What is your greatest achievement?	Leading the University football team to the national championships.
How well do you work in a team?	People say I’m sociable, organised, and decisive.
Where will you be in 5 year’s time?	My aim is to have a position in the Management Team.

BBC Learning English

http://bbc.co.uk

VIII. Working in pairs make a dialog using the questions from the exercise 7 and perform it to the class.

Grammar

Study the information about the Future Continuous Tense in Appendix for self-study.

Listen to the explanation of the difference between the Future Simple and the Future Continuous from BBC Learning English (04:39 min).

SPEAKING PRACTICE

I. Discuss the problem of being nervous at an interview. How to avoid of being nervous? For this task you should use the previous and this lesson new vocabulary and its explanation.

II. Working in pairs. Acting an interview. One student plays a role of an interviewer and another student – a role of an interviewee. You should take into account the logical structure of an interview.

Homework

Refresh vocabulary from the first 4 lessons of the section.

Refresh grammar information about the Future Simple Tense and the Future Continuous Tense.