EST Kalaat Sraghna FINDING A JOB Naciri
1 Not so long ago almost any student who successfully completed a university degree or diploma course could find a good career quite easily.
Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to recruit graduates. However, those days are gone, even in Hong Kong, and
nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs.
2 Most careers organizations highlight three stages for graduates to follow in the process of securing a suitable career: recognizing abilities, matching
these to available vacancies and presenting them well to prospective employers.
3 Job seekers have to make a careful assessment of their own abilities. One area of assessment should be of their academic qualifications, which would
include special skills within their subject area. Graduates should also consider their own personal values and attitudes, or the relative importance to
themselves of such matters as money, security, leadership and caring for others. An honest assessment of personal interests and abilities such as creative or
scientific skills, or skills acquired from work experience, should also be given careful thought.
4 The second stage is to study the opportunities available for employment and to think about how the general employment situation is likely to develop
in the future. To do this, graduates can study job vacancies and information in newspapers or they can visit a careers office, write to possible employers for
information or contact friends or relatives who may already be involved in a particular profession. After studying all the various options, they should be in
a position to make informed comparisons between various careers.
5 Good personal presentation is essential in the search for a good career. Job application forms and letters should, of course, be filled in carefully and
correctly, without grammar or spelling errors. Where additional information is asked for, job seekers should describe their abilities and work experience in
more depth, with examples if possible. They should try to balance their own abilities with the employer's needs, explain why they are interested in a career
with the particular company and try to show that they already know something about the company and its activities.
6 When graduates are asked to attend for interview, they should prepare properly by finding out all they can about the prospective employer. Dressing
suitably and arriving for the interview on time are also obviously important. Interviewees should try to give positive and helpful answers and should not be
afraid to ask questions about anything they are unsure about. This is much better than pretending to understand a question and giving an unsuitable answer.
7 There will always be good career opportunities for people with ability, skills and determination; the secret to securing a good job is to be one of them.
I- COMPREHENSION (Base your answers on the text)
A- ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
1- What stages should graduates follow according to most career organizations to secure their careers?................................................................................
2- What personal abilities should job seekers carefully assess to get suitable jobs?................................................................................................................
3- How should job seekers make good personal presentations?............................................................................................................... .................................
B- ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR CHOICES
1- It used to be harder to find a good job in Hong Kong than in other countries………………………………………………………………………………
2- Interviewees should ask a question if they are not sure of an answer………………………………………………………………………………………
3- Job seekers should discuss their own abilities in relation to what the employer is looking for……………………………………………………………..
C- FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING THE SAME AS:
1- Hire (P.1)………………………………………………….
2- Future (P.2)………………………………………………..
3- Resolve (P.7)………………………………………………
D- WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THE TEXT REFER TO?
1- their (P.3) ………………………………………….
2- this (P.4)……………………………………………
3- them (P.7) …………………………………………
II- LANGUAGE (16 points)
A- REWRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES BEGINNING WITH THE WORDS GIVEN
1- “Is this the new secretary you told me about last week?” the manager asked.
The manager wanted to know…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………...
2- Qualified librarians must look after the library.
The library……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….
3- I got into trouble as I did not take his advice.
If…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………
B- PUT THE VERBS IN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE OR FORM
1- Instead of (resort)…………….…. qualified experts, the manager dealt with the problem individually.
2- Our firm generally (hire)………………………...skilled workers.
3- By the end of the year, we (complete)……………………… the project.
C- FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THE CORRESPONDING WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS
1- Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential markets; (moreover, however, therefore), …………………… they tell us about the competition.
2- The inflation rate rose by 1.25% (due to, because, besides)………………………..the rise in oil prices.
3- OPEC is lowering oil production (so that, in order, so for)…………………..………... to attract more foreign investors.
D- INSERT THE CORRECT ARTICLE (A- AN- THE- 0 ARTICLE)
1- My salary will rise at………………beginning of …………………… year.
2- I would like to apply for ……………………post of assistant pharmacist.
3- What………………….important invention!
E- REPLACE THE UNDERLINED WORDS WITH THE CORRECT FORMS OF THE WORDS IN THE LIST
(hire – application – C.V – candidate – appointment – experienced – references – turn down)
Harry did not hear anything for six weeks, so he phoned the company. They told him that they had received a lot of (1) requests for the job. After
looking at (2) the life stories of the (3) people asking for the job and looking at their educational backgrounds, they (4) gave the job to a qualified
candidate.
III- COMMUNICATION
1- COMPLETE THE EXCHANGES USING THE CUES BETWEEN BRACKETS.
Production manager: ………….………..………………………………………….... (wants to increase productivity and suggests increasing wages)
Financial manager:……………………………………………………………………………………………(disagrees with the production manager)
2- WRITE THE LETTER (10 points)
You are a student researching a company for your business class presentation. Write to Mrs Margaret Sims, the public relations director, of the corporation
you are researching, and ask for information about her company.
- What type of company ?
- Where is its head office ?
- How many sites does it have ?
- How many employees… ? What relationship is there between managers and employees? Hierarchy, familiarity…
- Do people have their own offices or do they work in open–plan offices ? etc…
