Contents

Методична розробка має на меті розширити та поглибити знання студентів з теми “Applying for a Job”, яка є складовою частиною курсу “Ділова англійська мова”. Структура вказівок включає: 1) принципи складання резюме і супровідного та рекомендаційного листів; 2) вказівки щодо основних аспектів проходження співбесіди при влаштуванні на роботу; 3) комплекс вправ для закріплення навичок ділового листування та самоконтролю опрацьованого матеріалу. Окрему цінність мають рекомендований список літератури до теми і нормативні зразки супровідних листів, рекомендацій та резюме, а також розширений перелік характерних запитань потенційного роботодавця під час співбесіди. 3

У курсі ділової англійської мови тема “Applying for a Job” є однією з найвагоміших, оскільки перспектива працевлаштування є важливою для всіх студентів відділення прикладної лінгвістики. Враховуючи актуальність методичних вказівок, слід зазначити, що вони можуть бути також використані при викладанні англійської мови для студентів інших спеціальностей ІКНІ та НУЛП. 3

Job applications and CVs 4

Any letter almost inevitably puts the writer on show. This is never more crucially the case than when you are trying to make a favourable impression on a possible employer. Moreover, many employers are actu­ally looking for people who ‘can communicate effectively^’. A large part of effective communication takes place on paper. Letter-writing skills are therefore an asset to an applicant, so the letter of application is doubly important because it gives the applicant an opportunity to demonstrate those skills. 4

In many cases, a letter of application will be accompanied by a curriculum vitae (CV) giving details of your background, education, previous experience, etc. The two should be thought of together. Part of the purpose of the letter is to point out key aspects of the CV, but it can also include material that does not fit within the schematic framework of a CV as well as giving a more general impression of your personality, interests, and capabilities. 4

Preparations 4

You will need to give serious thought to the question of what precisely it is that makes you a suitable candidate for the job for which you are applying. There are three basic questions to ask: what training and experience do I have?; what skills have I acquired in addition to my formal training?; what is it about me as a person that would make me an asset to this employer? These questions can be used to produce notes that will form the basis of both the letter of application and the CV. 4

The answers to the first question should cover the whole of your formal education and training and the jobs you have had. You should also note any activities, such as voluntary work or periods of foreign travel, that have filled the time when you were not actually being educated or employed. The second question should be used to state in a rather more detailed way what you actually did in each of the positions you have been employed in and what you gained by doing them. When I worked as an A for B, in addition to the usual work of an A, the job involved C and I learnt how to do D. Organizational, supervisory, or training skills, for instance, are often acquired in the course of doing a job, even though the original job description did not include any of these. It is also quite possible that you have acquired other skills outside work. Acting as, for instance, a school governor or a referee for local sports teams might have enabled you to acquire skills that could be usefully transferred into working environment. 4

The third question is in some ways the most difficult to answer - at least for people who prefer to be self-effacing and are inhibited about putting themselves forward. A list of adjectives that honestly and accurately describe your positive personal qualities will usually suffice: I am honest/hard-working/painstaking/easy to get on with, etc. It may help to ask a trusted friend for his or her honest opinion. 5

Having made these notes, you are in a position to compose your letter of application and CV. 5

Letters of application 5

The general guidelines for writing business letters apply equally to letters of application. Letters of application should be carefully written, prefer­ably typed or word-processed, and presented on good-quality paper. The opening paragraph should refer to the particular post for which you are applying and mention where you saw the advertisement for the job or who or what prompted you to apply. The main body of the letter should be devoted to giving as positive a picture as possible of your own abilities and suitability for the post, and of the job itself. It is important to give reasons why the job appeals to you. Finally, you should end by mentioning anything enclosed with the letter that has not been mentioned before and state your willingness to attend an interview and to provide any further information that might be necessary. 5

All this, however, should be kept short. You need to make an impression without taking up too much of the reader's time. A typical letter applying for an advertised post might look like this: 5

99 Western Road 5

Aylesbury 5

Bucks 5

HP19 9QY 5

Tel 01296 123456 5

23 May 2001 6

Mr Christopher Wray 6

Personnel Manager 6

ZPT Enterprises 6

273-278 Lincoln St 6

Royston 6

Herts 6

CB27 8HY 6

Dear Mr Wray 6

Post of personal assistant to financial director 6

I am writing to apply for the above position advertised in the last Wednesday's Guardian. 6

As you will see from my CV, which I enclose with this letter, I have considerable experience as a secretary and personal assistant. I am cur­rently working as a personal assistant to Mr John Clarke, managing director of Perkins and Hodge Ltd in Aylesbury. My work there includes running the company's payroll database in addition to organizing Mr Clark's appointments and general secretarial duties. I have a full range of sec­retarial skills, including shorthand and audio-typing, and have also been on several courses to improve my knowledge of computers, especially the handling of databases. 6

Two aspects of this post attract me in particular. First, I should like to gain more experience on the financial side to build on the skills which I have developed in running my present company's payroll. Secondly, I should like the greater scope and responsibility offered by a larger com­pany with international connections. 6

I believe that I have the qualifications for this post. In addition, I am efficient, hard-working and – so other people tell me – easy to get on with. I would welcome the chance to discuss the job further with you at an interview. If you require any further information, please get in touch with me at my home address, given above. 6

I look forward to hearing from you. 7

Yours sincerely 7

Signature 7

Judith Greene 7

The situation is slightly different if you are writing speculatively, per­haps writing to several companies in the hope that one of them has a vacancy. The basic principles remain the same, however. The following is the sort of letter that a school- or college-leaver might usefully write when trying to find an opening. 7

6 Harbour View 7

Newport 7

Pembbrokeshire 7

Wales 7

SA 43 3 PF 7

22 April 2011 7

The Editor 7

East Wales Observer 7

PO Box 9987 7

Pontypridd 7

CA36 8JJ 7

Dear Editor 7

I am writing to ask whether by any chance there is a junior post at the East Wales Observer for which I might be suitable and could apply. 7

I have just completed a course in English and Journalism at the University of the West of England and gained a 2.1 degree. While I was at school and college I took every opportunity that came my way to gain experience as a journalist. I edited my school magazine and, after working previously on the social and sports pages, also became editor of the university newspaper in my final year. I have had work experience with several newspapers and magazines, including a three-month placement with the Bristol Evening Echo. 7

My special interest is in sport, particularly rugby. My ultimate aim is to become a sports correspondent or sports editor, but, to be frank, I have never wanted to do anything else but be a journalist. I should be willing to consider any post that would enable me to get a first foot on the ladder. I am energetic and hard-working, I think I have an eye for a good story, and I am never late for deadlines. 8

I should also mention that I hold a full driving licence and am fluent in Welsh. 8

In addition to my CV, I enclose two specimen pieces that I have written reporting on events in the Newport area. If you have an opening - even the merest chink in a door - I would be most grateful if you would get in touch. 8

Yours sincerely 8

Signature 8

Neville Johns 8

or 8

Margaret Collins 9

Practice 9

A CV is a visiting card for employment purposes. You should always have one to hand, and it should always be up to date. For suggestions on how to begin compiling a CV. 10

Unless you are applying for several identical jobs at the same time, each individual job application should be accompanied by a slightly different version of your CV, one that is specifically angled, as far as possible, towards the job in question. Do not simply copy out your basic or most recent CV. Check it carefully to make sure that it is up to date. Then check it again to see whether, by making small adjustments to what you say about yourself, you can highlight aspects of your training or experience that are particularly relevant to the post you are applying for. 10

For this reason, it may be helpful to keep your basic CV in a skeleton or all-purpose form that you know has to be filled out or rearranged before you send it out. You should keep a copy of every version that you do send out - together with a note of who you sent it to - both so that you know what interviewers have in front of them if you are called for interview and to save time if you apply again for a similar job. All this is much easier to do if you use a computer or word-processor. 10

A CV is a potted history of your educational and working life. The standard layout for a modern CV lists your educational achievements and professional appointments in reverse chronological order. The point of listing these in reverse order is to give prominence to your most recent and presumably most senior appointment. At the mid-point of your career, you will not want what you did at school or the series of small and relatively junior jobs that you did after leaving school or college to head the list. You should also briefly list your interests outside work and give the names of two referees (having first checked with the people involved that they are willing to provide a reference – see ‘Job references’). If, for any reason, you do not give the name of a referee from the organization that you are currently working for, it is usually advisable to explain why in your letter of application. 10

The whole CV should, if at all possible, fit onto one side of a sheet of A4 paper. A typical CV might look like sample 1 and sample 2: 10

Margaret Collins 11

This form of CV works to best advantage if you have a reasonably long and continuous working life behind you. It may look a little sparse at the beginning of your career. Likewise if, for any reason, there have been gaps in your working life, then a chronological presentation will tend to highlight them. 14

There is an alternative. It involves abandoning chronology, grouping your experience under different headings, and including a brief personal profile. At this stage in your career, what you have done is not very much and what you are really selling to an employer is your personal ability and potential. Thus, the personal profile takes pride of place. The resulting document might look something like this: 14

Mark Baker 14

Flat 321 14

Charles Bradlaugh House 14

Hale Road 14

Tottenham 14

London N17 B68 14

Tel: 020 8808 1657 14

e-mail: marcus@tottenham.fiendish.com 14

Profile 14

Imaginative website designer with wide-ranging IT skills. Enthusiastic and energetic, used to operating independently but also as part of a team. Able to explain complicated technical matters in simple terms. Also used to problem-solving. Currently still working for an agency in an IT capacity, but looking for a permanent job, preferably in website design. 14

Training 14

Diploma in Website Design from North London College 14

NVQ in computer skills and database management 14

Skills 14

Website design Database management 14

Website management Computer maintenance 14

Computer graphics Data inputting 14

Experience 15

Voluntary work in website design for children's charity 15

Agency work (3 years) in London in database management and data inputting, especially six months with Winchester Wines setting up and running customer database 15

Work experience with UVP Electronics, Battersea 15

Education 15

A levels Information Technology 15

Craft Design and Technology 15

GCSEs 5 at level C or above: English, Maths, IT, 15

Art, Religious Education 15

Activities 15

Leader of church youth group Member of brass band 15

Interests 15

Cinema Surfing the Web 15

Referees 15

Mrs Diana White Rev. Peter King 15

Technocratics Agency 84 Gilpin Road 15

874 Seven Sisters Rd Edmonton 15

Finsbury Park London N16 2UK 15

London N8 4RT 15

Practice 15

Job references 17

Employers and educators are not the only people who are called upon to write references to support job applications. Young people especially often call upon those they know to help them by providing what are basically character references for potential employers, so that writing a reference for someone is a task that could fall on almost anyone. 17

Writing to referees 17

First a brief word to applicants. It is vital to check before you send in your CV that the person you want to act as a referee is willing, or is still willing, to do so. If you write to them and expect them to write back to indicate whether they are willing or not, it may be courteous to enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope (SAE). You should give them a brief explanation of why you are applying for the job and say that you will let them know how your application turns out. Such a letter might look like this: 17

Writing references 18

When writing a reference for someone, the most important thing is to be honest. If you cannot honestly recommend someone for a particular position, then you must say so – or, if you cannot bring yourself to spoil someone's chances, decline to act as a referee. 18

It is always possible that a reference will be followed by the employer. This may simply be to check that you exist and that you are who the candidate says you are - some applicants are not above faking references. But you may have to explain in more detail what precisely you meant by something you said or why you omitted to mention anything about this or that aspect of the applicant's work record or character. Not for this reason only, a reference needs to be written with care. Letters of reference should also be marked ‘Confidential’. 18

In the majority of cases, fortunately, applicants do have something to recommend them, and the referee’s task is to give an honest account of their good qualities, not necessarily overlooking any deficiencies but not highlighting them, and to show a degree of positive support. If someone deserves high praise then he or she should receive it. 18

The following might serve as an example of a general ‘character’ reference: 19

Margaret Collins 19

Here is an example of the sort of letter, slightly less positive in tone that an employer might write on behalf of an employee: 20

Confidential 20

Dear Mrs Thompson 20

Darren Anderson 20

Mr Anderson has been with us for three years first as a cashier then as a trainee manager in one of our supermarkets. There are at present no openings at junior manager level in our company, so he has decided to move on. 20

He has shown himself to be honest, capable, and hard-working. I believe he knows that he has the skills necessary to take on a more responsible position. 20

We are sorry to lose him and wish him well in his future career. 20

Yours sincerely 20

Dave Kent 20

Manager 20

Job Interview 21

If you want the job, sending a thank-you note helps keep you in contention by maintaining the lines of communication and reminding the interviewer of your interest. Likewise, if you're not sure if the job is for you, or if the interviewer seemed neutral or even critical of you, a proper thank-you can help maintain a constructive dialogue and get some positive results. Some interviewers express criticism as a way to test applicants; it doesn't necessarily mean they won't hire you. Showing proper initiative after the interview can be a decisive factor. Even if this particular job is not for you, a thank-you note still helps, since it ends the process positively. It also shows that you're professional and that you truly appreciate being considered for the job. If the interviewer likes you but this job isn't a good fit, there's a chance that he or she might get back to you later with another offer or may refer you to other people. Since the thank-you note helps to extend the time you're being considered for a job, it can also give you a psychological and practical edge when cultivating other prospective positions. It helps to be able to say that you're talking with other employers. 24

Job interview questions 25

Some questions asked by interviewers at job interviews are job-specific, relating to a particular post or field of work. Others are of a more general nature and encourage the candidate to talk about work experience, future goals and reasons for applying for the post. Open-ended questions give the interviewees the opportunity to express themselves, and give the interviewers the chance to assess the candidate’s responses. 25

Below are some questions that are frequently asked in job interviews: 25

Why do you want to join this company? 25

What do you think you can contribute to this job? 25

What changes would you implement if you got this job? 25

Could you tell us something about your responsibilities in your last job? 25

What do you see yourself doing in five years? 25

How do you see yourself developing personally? 25

What are your strengths and weaknesses? 25

If you could have your choice of any job, what would it be and why? 25

What are your short- and long-range goals and how do you expect to achieve them? 25

What does success mean to you? How do you measure it? 25

What motivates you? 25

Do you plan to further your education? If so, to what extent? What have you done to improve yourself during the past year? 25

How do you handle your reaction when you don't get what you want? Give me a couple of examples. 25

How do you handle stress? 25

What did you like most and least about your last job? 25

Do you prefer working independently or as part of a team? 25

What do you expect to experience in this job that you did not experience in your past jobs? 25

How do you feel about relocating? 26

What could you contribute to our facility? 26

Tell me about yourself. 26

What weaknesses in your work habits do you think you need most to work on? 26

Why do you believe that you are the best candidate for this job? 26

Why are you applying for a position for which you are obviously overqualified? 26

Why are you applying for a position for which you are obviously underqualified? 26

Why do you believe that you could handle this position? 26

You don't have the necessary experience or background for this position, so why would my organization benefit from having you in this role? 26

How soon would you be able to start this position if we offer it to you? 26

What exactly were you paid at your last job? (tell the absolute truth here no other answer is appropriate) 26

What is the minimum salary you will accept? 26

What salary range are you wishing to be considered for? 26

What are your financial needs? 26

Tell me about a time that you demonstrated initiative. 26

Describe a situation when have you motivated yourself to complete an assignment or task that you did not want to do? 26

Think about a difficult boss, professor or other person. What made him or her difficult? How did you successfully interact with this person? 26

Think about a complex project or assignment that you have been assigned. What approach did you take to complete it? 26

Tell me about the riskiest decision that you have made. What were your considerations in making that particular decision? 26

Can you tell me about an occasion where you needed to work with a group to get a job done? What were the challenges and difficulties and how did you face these? 26

Describe a situation when you or a group that you were a part of were in danger of missing a deadline. What did you do? 26

Tell me about a time when you worked with a person who did things very differently from you. How did you get the job done? Would you work with that person again if given the choice? 27

Tell me about a situation when you had to learn something new in a short time. How did you proceed? 27

Can you tell me about a complex problem that you solved? Describe the process you utilized 27

Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision. 27

Give me an example of a bad decision that you made and what you learned from that mistake? 27

Tell me about a time when something you tried to accomplish failed. What did you learn from that failure? 27

Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem. What did you learn from that mistake? 27

Tell me about a challenge that you successfully met. 27

Describe a situation when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done. 27

Please tell me about one or two unpopular decisions you have made. What were the positive and negative outcomes of those decisions? 27

What leadership positions have you held? Describe your leadership style. What aspects of your leadership style have you changed or deleted once you learned that these aspects were not successful? 27

Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem 27

Summarize a situation where you successfully persuaded others to do something or to see your point of view. Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion. 27

Give an example of when your persistence had the biggest payoff. 27

How have you most constructively dealt with disappointment and turned it into a learning experience? Please give me a concrete example in your life. 27

Contents 31

НАВЧАЛЬНЕ ВИДАННЯ

HOW TO APPLY FOR A JOB

МЕТОДИЧНІ ВКАЗІВКИ

до практичних занять

з дисципліни “Ділова англійська мова”

для студентів напряму 020303 “Філологія”

Укладачі Залуцька О.І., асист.,

Кулина О.В., асист.,

Шерстньова О.В., ст. викл.

Редактор

Комп’ютерне верстання

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