Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан

Павлодарский государственный университетим. С. Торайгырова

Факультет филологии журналистики и искусства

Кафедра теории и практики перевода

JOB HUNTINGУчебное пособие

для студентов переводческих и филологических специальностей

ПавлодарКереку

2009

УДК 811’111(07)ББК 81.2Англ-9 Д42

Рекомендовано к изданию учебно-методическим советом факультета филологии журналистики и искусства

ПГУ им. С. Торайгырова

Рецензент:Г.Х Демесинова – кандидат филологических наук, заведующий

кафедрой теории перевода.

Горячих Ю.М.Д42 Job hunting : учебное пособие для студентов переводчиков и

филологов / Ю.М. Горячих. – Павлодар : Кереку, 2009. – 94 с.

В учебном пособии рассматривается одна из важных тем курсов деловой язык и культура речевого общения – поиск работы и поведение на интервью

Учебное пособие рекомендуется студентам и преподавателям.

УДК 811’111(07)ББК 81.2 Англ-9

© Горячих Ю.М., 2009 © ПГУ им. С. Торайгырова, 2009

Introduction

One of the subjects offered as an elective course for “Bachelors of Translation and Interpretation” is Business English. Analyzing the sphere of possible activity of our graduates we may underline that our graduate should have a widely developed personality with a vast background of knowledge in different spheres of a human activity.

And among important abilities he/she should be ready to prepare all necessary papers for job hunting and going through the interview.

This manual presents information about job hunting and interview processes.

It consists of 3 parts (1 Preparing papers; 2 Interviewing; 3 After-in-terview actions) and 2 enclosures.

Only for students of Pavlodar State University named after S. Toraigyrov

Unit 1 Preparing papers

1.1 Part 1 Resume and CV writing

The first step in job hunting is to look through the advertisement which suits you perfectly.

Job advertising in a newspaperJob opportunity: Executive Secretary to the Managing Director

Prestigious western financial institution seeks an executive secretary to the managing director to provide full administrative support to the director, to maintain contacts with major clients according to high professional standards, to fulfill secretarial duties and handle PR matters in the office.

MAIN REQUIREMENTS: fluent English, age 24-30, good typing skills, PC literate, solid secretarial experience with top executives for at least 2 years. Please fax (095 222 22 22) your resume to Mrs. Jane Brown, Personnel Manager.

If you like it you should study it carefully and single out all basic features and demands indicated in it. And writе your resume or CV pointing out all the necessary qualities you possess.

RESUME/CV – a document that shows brief information about an applicant.

But don’t forget! Everything should be laconic. Don’t write stories showing your narrative abilities or statements from your phrase book.

Resume writing is like advertising. You are selling yourself to a prospective employer, and competing against other applicants who are also trying to sell themselves.

So the challenge in resume writing is to be more appealing and at-tractive than the rest. This means that your resume must be presented pro-fessionally, clearly and in a way that indicates you are an ideal candidate for the job, i.e. you possess the right skills, experience, behaviour, attitude, morality that the employer is seeking.

HINT: Put yourself in the shoes of the employer: write down a description of the person they are looking for. You can use a job advert to orientate your own resume to. The better the match the more likely you are to be called for an interview.

These CV and letter principles apply to all career moves - full-time jobs, part-time, internal, external, promotions, new jobs, career changes, in-ternships and work experience placements - wherever an employer or deci-sion-maker is short-listing or interviewing or selecting applicants - the short-listed candidates will invariably be the people who have the best CV's and best covering letters.

Presentation and order is important, as it is in advertising, and most people get it wrong. When you are selling anything you need to get to the key points quickly. The quicker the reader can read and absorb the key points the more likely you will be to make a sale. A well presented resume also indicates that you are professional, business-like and well organized.

The structure suggested below sells your strengths first and provides personal and career history details last - most people do it the other way round, so you have an opportunity to stand out from them and make a much better impression.

Always try to use as few words as possible. In resume writing, like advertising, "less is more". This means you need to think carefully about the words you use - make sure each one is working for you - if any aren't, remove them or replace them. Never use two words when one will do.

For you to knowA 2004 UK survey by the Royal Mail postal service of HR depart-

ments in large organizations in the legal, retail, media and accounting sec-tors identified these other resume pointers:

1) Incompletely or inaccurately addressed resumes and resume cover letters were rejected immediately by 83% of HR departments;

2) Resumes and resume cover letters addressed to a named person were significantly favoured over those addressed to a generic job title by 55% of HR departments;

3) A curious fact! Over 60% of HR departments said that the inclu-sion of a photograph with the resume adversely affected their opinion of the applicant. But remember! Nowadays the majority of the leaders demand a photo on the resume

Depending on the purpose of the applicant there are two types of re-sumes you may write.

Here on the first place you put your personal information then goes objective and education and experience.

Sample 1.1 Resume

Name Emily Alison BigginsAddress 47 Putney Hill

London SW164QXTel.: 4577865Date of birth: 15 July 1970Age: 27Marital status SingleNationality British

ObjectiveTo secure a full-time position that offers a variety of tasks, in which to use my secretarial skills and knowledge of foreign languages.

EducationDatesCollege

Qualification

1993-1994Oxleigh Secretarial CollegeCollege Road, Oxleigh Secretarial Skills RefresherCourse: Shorthand (90 w.p.m.) Typing (60 w.p.m) Book-keeping Grade One. Word pro-cessing.

DatesCollegeQualification

1987-1992South Thames College, London.Secretarial Courses; Shorthand grade2; Typing Grade 3.

EmploymentDatesCompanyPositionResponsibilities

1995-to presentPhilip Wilson Publishers LTD.Secretary of the Sales ManagerTaking shorthand; typing and filling correspon-dence, maintaining diaries, office support, etc.

Other Skills and OccupationsI now work regularly as a volunteer for the Red Cross. I also have a clean driver’s licence and a good knowledge of Spanish and French. My personal interests include classical literature reading, independent travel, modern jazz and swimming

References Are available on request

But nowadays all personnel managers prefer to get information quicker and they prefer another structuring.

So here are the parts of a well-written resumeApart from 'Title', use these sub-headings or similar:Title Simply your photo and name followed by the word 'Resume' or 'CV'

or 'Curriculum Vitae'.Objectives It is a short and clear stating of the position you are applying forPersonal ProfileFive to seven high impact statements that describe you. These are ef-

fectively your personal strengths. Be bold, confident and positive when you construct these key statements. Orientate the descriptions to the type of job you are seeking. If you have a serious qualification and it's relevant, in-clude it as the final point. Look at the examples shown to see how these statements use powerful words and professional business vocabulary.

ExperienceThis is not your career history. It's a bullet points description of your

experience. Make sure you orientate these simple statements to meet the re-quirements of the reader, in other words ensure the experience/strengths are relevant to the type of job/responsibility that you are seeking. Again try to use powerful statements and impressive language - be bold and check that the language and descriptions look confident and positive. If you are at the beginning or very early stage of your career you will not have much or any work experience to refer to, in which case you must refer to other aspects of your life experience - your college or university experience, your hob-bies, social or sports achievements, and bring out the aspects that will be relevant to the way you would work. Prospective employers look for key indicators of initiative, creativity, originality, organisation, planning, cost-management, people-skills, technical skill, diligence, reliability, depending on the job; so find examples of the relevant required behav-iours from your life, and encapsulate them in snappy, impressive state-ments. Go for active not passive descriptions, i.e. where you are making things happen, not having things happen to you.

AchievementsHigh impact descriptions of your major achievements. Separate,

compact, impressive statements. Ensure you refer to facts, figures and timescales - prospective employers look for quantative information - hard facts, not vague claims. These achievements should back up your Personal Profile claims earlier - they are the evidence that you can do what you say. Again they must be relevant to the role you are seeking.

Career HistoryA tight compact neatly presented summary of your career history.

Start with the most recent or present job and end with the first. Show start-ing and finishing years - not necessarily the months. Show company name, city address - not necessarily the full address. Show your job title(s). Use a generally recognised job title if the actual job title is misleading or unclear.

Personal DetailsUse these sub-headings to provide details of full name, sex (if not

obvious from your name), address, phone, email, date of birth, marital sta-tus, number of children and ages if applicable, driving licence (hopefully clean - if not state position), education (school, college, university and dates), qualifications. Keep all this information very tight, compact and concise. If you are at a more advanced stage of your career you can choose to reduce the amount of personal details shown as some will be implicit or not relevant.

Date the resume, and save as a file with some indication of what type of job it was orientated for, as you may develop a number of different resumes.

Remember! Experience is in everything we do - especially in the most important

areas such as maturity (grown-up attitudes) and emotional intelligence, communications, creativity, responsibility, determination, integrity, com-passion, problem-solving, etc - these are the qualities employers really seek - so if you are leaving school or college or university and putting together your first resume, then look for the relevant transferable learning in your life experience You'll not have a career history, but you can certainly illus-trate and prove that you have qualities gained and learned from your life experience, that employers will recognise and want.

Sample 1.2Resume Sample

Bill Bloggs - Resume Objectives:

Full-time job of an Executive Sales ManagerPersonal profile 

Experienced and innovative general manager with sophisticated sales, cus-tomer service and business administration skills. High personal integrity, and able to relate to and create trust in all. Highly articulate, confident and persuasive team-builder, able to motivate

and communicate to achieve exceptional business performance. Dependable and reliable in supporting and enabling team effort to produce genuine long-term sustainable development. Persistent and flexible approach to the mutually beneficial achievement of business plans and personal goals of staff, suppliers and customers. Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering.

ExperienceOver 20 years proven expertise in industrial purchasing, manufacturing, logistics, business development, marketing, sales and service. Background in a wide range of industries, including construction, plant hire, pharmaceutical, hygiene services and industrial process control. Executive accountability for P&L, strategic planning, staffing, and sales development etc., for a $60m international technology business, in a $3bn UK plc. International General Manager since 1991. Management of change within the demanding and pressurized business en-vironment. Implementation of modern management practices, concerning personnel, IT, reporting systems, and partnership customer-supplier relations, etc.

AchievementsAs production control executive with XYZ Corporation introduced pc-based systems to reduce lead-times from 7 months to 3 days, and inventory by 80% from $4.7m to $750k. As materials manager with ABC Inc. introduced systems to reduce lead-times from 3 months to 7 days, and inventory from $6m to $2.5m, and 12% reduction in $12m procurement costs. As operations manager with Newco Inc. a 10% reduction in £7m procure-ment costs. As general manager for Bigco Int. business achieved growth from $800k to £5m, increased new customer growth from 20 to 600 per annum.

Career history1991-present XYZ Corp. General Manager. 1988-91 ABC Inc. International Operations Manager. 1973-88 Early career development with Newco Inc., Bigco Int., Mainco plc.

Personal detailsName Bill J. BloggsAddress 17 Hill Lane, London NW25 0DBTel: 0208 971 5900e-mail billbloggs@hotmail.comDate of birth: 09October, 1953

Marital status: singleEducated:

University of Wales 1973-1977Southtame College 1974Hertstone College 1972-73Sidmouth School 1965-72

ReferencesAre available upon request (or phone numbers and address of a ref-

eree)

August, 2001

Sometimes for some leading positions resume is not enough and you should write your curricular vitae (CV). This is a more detailed paper which shows all your skills and abilities, experience and even preferences.

Sample 1.3 John Smith - CURRICULUM VITAE Experience

Executive accountability for corporate performance and profit. Strategic management in a variety of major B2B corporations. Management of extensive marketing services and sales organizations. Overseas business operations and management - Far East, Europe. New business development, start-up and trouble-shooting.

SpecializesB2B Sales and Marketing. Sales organization development. Export and international trade development. Online and Internet business development.

Career history1997-present - Great Co plc - sales and marketing director 1992-97 - XYZ Inc - sales director 1987-92 - Good Co plc - operations manager, director 1983-87 - ABC plc - sales manager

  Responsibilities and achievements Great Co plc

Sales and Marketing Director of $300m industrial services market leader, comprising 200,000 customers, 12 regional service centres, large call-cen-tre, and 500 sales and marketing staff. Increased sales by 125% and gross

margins by 10% 1999-2003. Increased market share from 12% in 1997 to current 27%. Successful establishment of overseas distribution in Europe and Middle East in 1999 and 2001, creating extra $25m business at current levels. Developed and launched new E-Trade online business, representing 50,000 customers and $30m revenues producing 14% net profit by 2006.

XYZ IncSales Director of architectural and construction products market leader, comprising 120 sales staff, 15,000 customers, 4,000 products and $220 sales, generating 12% net profit. Increased sales by 75% during tenure. Au-tomated all sales ordering and delivery processes producing 20% cost sav-ings after 2 year investment recovery. Opened new overseas markets in Middle East and China (joint venture), 1994 and 1996, producing new $35m new business at 13% net profit annually at current levels.

Good Co plc Operations Manager and later director, of market leading micro-electronics controls systems supplier, comprising three home and seven overseas Euro-pean service centres, 130 technical and service staff, 1,200 customers, in-cluding over 300 government and defence departments and installations. Rationalised parts and processes 1988-91 improving trading margins by 10%. Introduced new recruitment and training procedures reducing staff turnover from 25% to 10%. Implemented new integrated systems for sup-ply, installation and servicing activities, saving 25% pa. Negotiated suc-cessful contracts for several royal palaces and ministerial offices, home and overseas. John Smith 15 Long Road London SE37 4BF Tel 0207 0025 3388Email john@johnsmithsemail.net January 2004

1.2 Résumé’s covering letters

Together with the resume you should send an explanation – covering letter. Where you should denote:

1) The source you get information from2) Give a brief description of your experience singling out those they

need3) Express your readiness to give any information they want and to

go through the interview4) Thank for attention and express your hope for a positive answer

Résumé’s cover letters must be very professional and perfectly pre-sented. Use a smart good quality letter headed paper, and ensure that the name and address details and date are correct and personal for the recipient of the resume. Do not use scruffy photocopies - ideally do not use photo-copies at all - resumes cover letters should look individual and special for the job concerned.

Look at what the job advert is seeking. Ensure that the key skills, at-tributes and experience are reflected in the cover letter as well as your re-sume. Draw the reader's attention to the fact that your profile fits their re-quirements. Make the cover letter look like a special and direct response to the job advert and personal profile that is sought.

Keep résumé’s cover letters brief and concise. The reader will make assumptions about you from what you write and how you write it and the quality of your cover letter presentation.

Ensure you lay the letter out neatly on your own good quality letter headed paper, with your own address top right or centre-top. Avoid fancy fonts and upper case (capital letters). Use a single font 10-12pt size, maybe bold or underlined for the reference or heading if you use one.

Sample 1.4Full name and address details.DateReference if required.

Dear (Mr/Mrs/Ms Surname)

(optional heading, bold or underlined - normally the job title and or reference if they've asked you to quote one)

I enclose my resume in respect of the above reference (or state position ad-vertised and when it appeared).

You will see that I have the required skills, capabilities and experience for this position, notably (state two or three attributes briefly).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely(Signature)(And below print your name - not hand-written)

Enc: resume (CV) reference (2) if you have any

In case your resume was written for unadvertised position

It is perfectly fine to send speculative resumes to potential employ-ers, i.e., not in response to any advert. In this case you should get the name of the senior person responsible for staffing decisions in the area you wish to apply. (Call the company to find out the correct name and address de-tails.) In these cases obviously you won't know precisely what skills they are seeking, but you should be able to imagine the attributes that they might need. Here are some examples - include two or three in your cover letter that best match your own profile and their likely interest:

- reliable and dependable;- decisive and results-driven; - creative problem-solver; - team-player; - technically competent/qualified (state discipline or area); - commercially experienced and aware; - task-orientated; - excellent inter-personal and communications skills; - sound planning and organizational capabilities; - loyal and determined.Again, ensure you lay the letter out neatly on your own good quality

letter headed paper, with your own address top right or centre-top. Avoid fancy fonts and upper case (capital letters). Use a single font, maybe bold or underlined for the reference or heading if you use one.

Sample 1.5 Heading

Date

Inside address

Dear (Mr/Mrs/Ms Surname)

(optional heading, bold or underlined - in this example you would normally refer to a job title, and include with the word 'oppor-tunities' or 'openings', for example: 'commercial management oppor-tunities')

I am interested in any openings in the above area and enclose my resume.

You will see that I have skills and capabilities that enable me to make a sig-nificant contribution to an organization such as your own, notably (state two or three attributes briefly).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely(Sign)(And below print your name - not hand-written)

1.3 Asking for a reference. Refusing to be a referee, Reference

When you fill in the last paragraph of a resume you may- write the name and address of a person who can characterise you

or- attach the references

But before writing the name of a person you should have their permission to do it. You should write a letter or phone this person and ask him\her to give some information about you. It is better to ask homme de grant renom (a person with a good reputation) your dean, deputy dean, diploma thesis supervisor or scientist your employer, colleague.

Sample 1.6Dear Mrs Fowles

As you know, I will be leaving school this summer. I am now looking for a job and will soon be making a number of inquiries and send my applica-tions.

I should be grateful if you would agree to act as my referee should I need one. Please let me know if you would have time to do this. Yours sincerely

Bob Carrington

If you are sure about the position you are going to apply for the best way to reach the aim is to send a job description list as an enclosure for the reference fits the demands and shows to the employer that you are a perfect candidate for the position.

This person can write a reference and send it directly to you or just wait if the firm wants to ask him to write the paper about you.

Sample 1.7Уважаемый господин Лоу!

Джил Браун

Джил Браун подала заявление на должность ответственного за рекламирование торговой марки.

Она назвала Вас в качестве своего поручителя, и я был бы Вам признателен, если бы Вы направили нам рекомендательное письмо. Должностная инструкция и рекламная брошюра компании прилагаются.

Я был бы Вам признателен, если бы Вы в течение нескольких дней подготовили и выслали нам ответ. Это даст возможность осуществить окончательный отбор кандидатур в кратчайшие сроки.

Искренне Ваш

Джон Брентон

Менеджер по подбору персонала

Приложения: 1 Должностная инструкция (1) 2 рекламная брошюра компании (2)

But sometimes if the person can’t characterize you in a good way or doesn’t remember you well he/she can send you such a letter:

Sample 1.8

Dear Roger

Thank you for your letter asking me to act as your referee.

I am afraid to say that I have to decline. We have not met for several years, and I think I do not know you well enough to be able to speak authorita-tively on your behalf.

I am sorry not to be able to help you but I wish you the best of luck with your job hunt.

Yours sincerely

Prof. Cooper

Don’t be offended it is better not to get any reference than to get a bad one.

Reference letters When writing a reference letter never include any negative criticism

or defamatory comments as this could constitute libel. If you have nothing good to say about a person it is better to say nothing at all, and simply de-cline to write a reference letter.

The same applies to giving references over the phone - negative ver-bal references could be deemed slanderous. It's better to approach requests for writing references letters positively - everyone has at least one or two good qualities which can be mentioned.

Reference Letter Structure1) Addressee name and address if known;2) Date; 3) Salutation; 4) Confirm dates, job title(s) capacity, and salary and benefits details if required;

5) Confirm that the person's performance and attitude was (at all times) satisfactory/exceeded expectations or standards; 6) Briefly explain the person's responsibilities (op-tional); 7) Briefly describe their skills/qualifications/strengths/characteristics (optional); 8) State that you would willingly re-employ the per-son if the opportunity arose (optional, and very re-assuring for the reader); 9) Offer to provide more information if required (op-tional); 10) Yours faithfully (or 'Yours sincerely' if writing to a named addressee);

If your organization has policies for managers writing reference let-ters for employees or ex-employees, follow the rules (for instance requiring reference letters to be approved by HR department).

If you require a reference from your employer it sometimes helps to draft one yourself for your manager or HR department - many managers do not have the time or are unsure about what to write, so ask if a draft refer-ence letter would be helpful.

Here are some templates for reference letters Sample 1.9

Date

Dear Sir,

I confirm that (name) is/was employed as (position) with this organisation from (date) to (date/the present day), and was/is paid (salary, plus bonus and benefits as applicable).

Her job of (position) carries the following responsibilities (describe briefly the job).

(Name) is skilled in (details of skills) and is also (characteristics - eg reli-able dependable, a good communicators, etc).

I would happily re-employ (name) as I consider him/her to be a valuable member of the team, who consistently achieved good results and delivers all expectations.

Yours faithfully, etcIf the addressee is not known or the reference letter is required for

general purposes, use 'To whom it may concern', instead of 'Dear Sir or Madam'. Obviously if the addressee is known then use the full name and address as this will increase the professionalism, and thereby the credibil-ity, of the letter.

Ensure you are acting within your authority if you are writing on be-half of an organisation using the official letterhead. If, as a manager you wish to give a reference but are not permitted to do so by your organisation - which would be very unusual - you might consider providing one in a per-sonal capacity on your own private letterhead.

It's a matter for your own discretion how much praise and positive information to include in the reference letter, hence the optional items.

Sample 1.10To whom it may concern

Miss Julia Rose

I write to advise you that Miss Julia Rose who is currently a student at the University of Brighton has been in touch with me to say that she has ap-plied for one of the posts in your company and has asked me if I could act as a referee for her and submit this reference to you.I have to say that I am very happy indeed to do so.

Julia has worked for us each summer holiday since she left school and I think that the best way of describing her is as a very positive person.She is a very serene person and with the confidence to deal with any prob-lems that arise from time to time either on her own initiative or, by asking a superior how a particular matter should be dealt with.

I have also found her an extremely willing person and one who never com-plains whilst she also has the ability to work independently, and in 1994, indeed, we sent her to a number of cities in Great Britain in order to carry out research in connection with the firm's business.

I have to say, therefore, that I have absolutely no doubts in recommending her to you.I am absolutely sure that she will serve you well and will also mix in well with other colleagues.

I do hope that the foregoing is of help and if I can assist further, please, do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully

Sarah Taylor

Sample 1.11Dear Mrs. Bridge

Henry James

Thank you for your letter of 15 February, asking a reference for Henry James. It is a pleasure to offer comments on this individual.

I have known Henry for over 12 years, since he joined our company. We have both worked in the same department.

Henry is a natural leader and organizer. He inspires enthusiasm among other members of our team. He listens attentively to the opinions and desires of others and compromises when required.

He has shown himself to be responsible and trustworthy, both as a per-sonal friend and as a valuable member of the community. It was a great pleasure to work with him. I believe he would be an effective contribu-tion to your team.

If you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Richard Snow

Character reference. Testimonial

Certain situations require character reference letters of a more per-sonal nature, such as character testimonials or references relating to court proceedings, or for a position in non-business organisations such as coun-cils, trusts, clubs, or societies.

In these cases follow the same principles: do not defame a person in writing or verbally when providing a reference; state only positives or noth-ing at all. Writing a character letter or testimonial:

1) Don’t denote the addressee; omit the salutation Dear, use the phrase: То whom it may concern instead.

2) Give your opinion and your characteristics to a person describing his personal qualities

3) Describe his working abilitiesIf you need a personal or character reference always ask the writer if it would

help to provide them with a draft. Writing reference letters is time-consuming and diffi-cult for many people - offering to provide a draft may sound cheeky, but it is often nec-essary and much appreciated by the reference giver.

Sample 1.12 Character reference letter Date

To whom it may concern

I confirm that I have known (name) for (number) years.

(State relationship - social, business, working together in some other capac-ity, club, activity, project, etc.)

At all times I have found (name/him/her) to be (state characteristics - eg, dependable, reliable, hard-working, conscientious, honest, peace-loving, courteous, etc - to be as helpful as possible think about what the reader will most prefer to see, in terms of satisfying concerns, or seeing evidence of relevant required skills or characteristics).

I'm happy to provide further information if required (optional).

Yours faithfully,

Sample 1.13 То whom it may concern

Ms. Maria Trubetskaya

Maria Trubetskaya asks me to write this testimonial for her based on the four years that she has been working for our publishing and bookselling group. During this period she has done a wide variety of jobs for us ranging from bookselling and sales promotion, to PR and the organization of cul-tural events such as poetry readings and book launches.

Her knowledge of Russian cultural affairs and the language itself was the reason that we first employed her; she gave us enormous help when we

were negotiating with the Tretyakov Gallery in order to acquire the retail rights. Her power of persuasion and her gift for understanding the minds of our prospective partners were extremely helpful. She also has an excep-tional command of the English language, so that she is the ideal person to handle any form of negotiation or promotion, whether cultural or commer-cial, involving both the Anglo-Saxon and Russian speaking worlds.

Her launch of the Belarusian Cultural Centre was a significant success. It was the first time that this important republic had official representation in the UK. In addition to an inaugural visit by the republic president himself, she managed to get a wide variety of leading bankers, politicians and busi-nessmen to attend the opening.

To sum up, Maria Trubetskaya would be ideal for any organization inter-ested in promoting itself through media in the Russian speaking areas and elsewhere. She has a very pleasant and attractive personality, and I can vouch for her character and honesty, as well as her ability to achieve re-sults.

Robert Owen President

1.4 Part 4 Application and final placement

Sometimes before going through the interview your future employer can ask to fill in an application form specially designed by the company. Remember! Your data in resume and in an application should match!

Sample 1.14

Application for Employment

Surname and initials Post title Post reference no

department

Home telephone number

Work Telephone number

Current or latest work experienceState approximate number of employeesName and address of employer

Position held From (D/M/Y) To (D/M/Y)

Notice required If p/t, hours per week weeks per year

Please summarise your current duties and responsibilities

Salaries are assessed according to the level of qualifications and experience brought to the job and only within the range advertised. If there is a level below which you would not accept the offer, please indicate the amount: £ (per annum/pro rata*)

Previous work experienceList your experience in order, beginning with the most recentDates of employment Organisation

(include number of employees)Job title and main role(s) Full or part time?

If part-time, give % full time (eg 0.5)

From(D/M/Y)

To(D/M/Y)

Education and qualificationsCompleted higher education and professional qualifications, giving highest qualification first. If period of study was longer than normal to obtain the qualification, explain (eg part-time study)

Period of study Academic qualification(s) Subject(s) Level/grade Institution/ProviderFrom

D/M/YTo D/M/Y

From D/M/Y

To D/M/Y

Professional qualification(s) Subject(s) Level/Grade Institution/provider

Further/higher education/professional qualification(s) currently being undertakenQualification/Level Subject(s) and method of study

(eg full-time, part time, distance learning)Exam/end date Institution/provider

Membership of professional bodiesProfessional body Period of membership Grade obtained

Further information in support of your application Please provide any further evidence of the extent to which you meet each of the selec-tion criteria specified for the job. Of particular interest would be: how you have kept your knowledge and skills up to date; examples of your achievements; any profes-sional activity; and training (subject and level).

Confidential (* delete as applicable)

Post title Post ref no (see advertise-ment)

Faculty/School/Department Location

Personal informationSurname Given names Title

Address

Email Post code

Tel no (day) May we contact you at work? Y/N* Tel no (evening)

National Insurance no Current salary

References Please give details below of two relevant referees, one of whom must be your current or most recent employer.

Title/Name Title/Name

Position Position

Working relationship and date(s) Working relationship and date(s)

Address Address

Post code Post code

Tel no (day) Tel no (day)

Email Email

Fax no Fax no

May we contact this referee prior to interview? Y/N* May we contact this referee prior to interview? Y/N*

Where did you see this post advertised?

Equal opportunities monitoring information

We are committed to our equal opportunities policy to ensure that all applicants are treated on the basis of their merits and abilities, and that unfair and unlawful discrimination is eliminated. We positively welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Date of Birth: / / Sex: male M female F Nationality:

Ethnic Origin: Please tick/hi-light one of the choices below:

White ● British English● British Irish● British Scottish

● British Welsh● British Other (please specify): IrishOther White background (please specify):

Black or Black British

● Caribbean● African● Other Black background

(please specify):

Asian or British Asian

● Indian● Pakistani● Bangladeshi● Other Asian background

(please specify):Mixed

● White and Black Caribbean● White and Black African● White and Asian● Other mixed background (please specify):

Chinese or Chinese British● Chinese● Other Chinese background (please spec-

ify):

Other ethnic background (please specify):

Disability is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as a physical or mental impairment that has a sub-stantial long-term effect on ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Please tick/hi-light the choices below as appropriate:

You do not have a disability or special need Need personal care supportDyslexia Mental health difficulties

Blind/partially sighted Other unseen disability, eg diabetes, epilepsy, asthmaDeaf/hearing impaired Disability or special need not listed above

Wheelchair user/mobility difficulties please specify:

Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria will be contacted to discuss any support needed during the se-lection programme and employmentHave you ever been convicted of a criminal offence which has not become ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Of-fenders Act 1974? Yes/No*

If yes, please give details on a separate sheet.

The University will seek an Enhanced Disclosure through the Criminal Records Bureau for the successful applicant in respect of positions which involve substantial access to children and/or vulnerable adults.

Note: If you are convicted later, during the application process, you must inform the Personnel Department of the details.The information on this form will be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 to consider my employ-ment by the University of Brighton, and, if appointed, may be processed by computer or form the basis of manual

records. If used for the production of summary statistics, it will not be possible to identify individuals and I consent to the information being used for these purposes.I understand that providing false or misleading information anywhere on my application will disqualify me from appointment or if appointed will render me liable to dismissal without notice. I declare that the information I have given is to the best of my knowledge true and complete. Signed: Date: (type name if submitting electronically)

Now after sending all necessary papers, filling in application and go-ing through necessary tests the only thing left is to wait and prepare for the interview.

BUT be ready to get a negative answer. From the interviewers' standpoint when writing to unsuccessful inter-

viewees, it's essential that they do not write anything that could carry a lia-bility for claims of discrimination, libel or defamation of character. And generally if you were unsuccessful on the stage of application or resume they could send you a rejection letter offering a feedback where they can indicate basic points of your failure.

Sample 1.15Rejection letter for unsuccessful resume or job applications

Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms

(job title) vacancy

Thank you for applying for the vacancy (above/for ....).

I am sorry that on this occasion you have not been successful in (applica-tion/resume)

When we receive a particularly good application that is not successful - as yours is - we offer to give the applicant some constructive feedback about their application, and we would like to make this offer to you. If you'd like this to happen please let us know by (phoning/writing/emailing - as appropriate) and we will be in touch.

I wish you all the best for the future.

Yours sincerely, etc.

Feedback template example - for use after job application rejec-tion

This example of feedback points can be amended and added to suit your situation.

Sample 1.16Feedback to applicant recruiting manager to

completeReference #Date Unsuccessful job applications can be upsetting, so we try to be as helpful as we can in giving a bit of feedback to all un-successful applicants. Below we've indicated the main rea-son(s) why you didn't succeed on this occasion, and we hope that this will help you to take something positive from the ex-perience, and to be successful in the future. In return please feel free to give us your comments about how we conducted the recruitment. It's a difficult process for all concerned and we welcome your views.

relevant reason(s) indicated with a tick

Your application letter and/or CV could have been presented more professionally and neatly. Your experience was required to be more rele-vant to the job vacancy.We needed to see a clearer understanding of the job's priorities.We were seeking, or managed to find, an appli-cant who had better formal qualifications.You were actually over-qualified and too capa-ble for the job.We were seeking, or managed to find, an appli-cant whose current commitments or location or earnings requirements were more suited to the vacancy.Please give us your feedback about the way we conducted the recruitment by also completing and returning the attached sheet in the envelope pro-vided.

Or you can get thisSample 1.17

Dear Ms L. Jones

Position of a Sales Manager

Thank you for you application for the position of Sales Manager. You may

be interested to learn that we had over two hundred applications.

We read with interest your resume detailing your qualifications and rele-vant work experience. You certainly have an impressive range of skills and qualifications. Your application was among the thirty which we considered for interviews. But we have been looking for a person with experience in our field. It is with regret, therefore, that we have to advise that you have not been successful in your application. We wish you well in search for a suitable position.

In the meantime, however, we will hold your resume in our database. If in the future a more suitable position for a person with your particular skills and qualification comes available, we will be in contact with you directly.

Thank you again for your interest.

Yours sincerely

Peter GreenPersonnel Manager

In case of a positive answer you’ll be called and invited for the interview. That also demands well-developed skills to present your abilities (see unit 2).

1.5 Tasks Task 1 Make up a resume on one of the given job advisements (see ap-pendix) Task 2 Make up a resume applying for the position of an interpreter –translator:a) your personal one (as a university graduator);b) as if you were an experienced interpreter-translator. Task 3 Translate into English and make an appropriate layoutУважаемая миссис Браун!

Вакансия на должность исполнительного секретаря управляющего директора

Я заинтересована в должности исполнительного секретаря управляющего директора, вакансия, на которую была объявлена вчера в газете the Moscow Times.

Как видно из прилагаемого жизнеописания, я работаю в подобной должности около двух лет. Должность личного секретаря президента компании, которую я занимаю в настоящее время, предполагает, в том числе, исполнение обязанностей, упомянутых в Вашем объявлении, а именно: обеспечение полной административной поддержки президента, ведение работы по линии общественных связей в офисе нашей, пусть и небольшой, компании.

Я бы с удовольствием воспользовалась возможностью работать в такой известной компании, как Ваша. С моей точки зрения, работа в новом окружении - это еще одна возможность испытать свои силы.

Я была бы рада встретиться с Вами и обсудить эту вакансию в любое время. Была бы очень признательна Вам, если бы Вы пока звонили мне не по рабочему, а по домашнему номеру телефона. С нетерпением жду Вашего ответа.

Искренне Ваша

Ребекка Уилтон (Мисс)

Task 4 Place the given covering letter into the right order

Encs. Yours sincerely. John SmithI read some prominent newspapers published in Russia and was pleased to find out that Glencore is about to win the Russian metallurgical market. I am looking for a new challenge in my career as a Sales Manager Assistant, with the possibility of a managerial position in future, and wondered whether you might be looking to employ extra staff.As you will see from the enclosed resume, I have sufficient experience in metals trading business and have a wide network of contacts in the Russian market. My previous employers include companies where I have acquired an in-depth knowledge of the metallurgical business in my home country and Russia.Mr.Jones. If you think I may be of service, I would be extremely interested to discuss the possibility of my joining you. I look forward to hearing from you.I have been watching with interest your company's expansion over the past few years and have admired the company's work on a number of occasions.

With this new step on the company's part, this seems an ideal time to con-tact you.Task 5 Write your own covering letters on your 3 resumes.Task 6 Write a letter of asking to be a referee:a) your university professor;b) your ex-co-worker.Task 7 Write a letter refusing to act as a referee. State the reason.Task 8 Put the parts of the reference on their places Jim Manson Marketing ManagerI regret that she had to leave us for family reasons.Mrs Cowie worked for me for 2 years as my personal assistant. During that time she delt efficiently with my general correspondence, telephone calls and other routine paper work. She also proved herself to be a resourceful and hardworking researcher.То Whom It May Concern. Jo CowieShe is a communicative person and works well independently. She is thoughtful and pays due attention to detail. She was punctual and fre-quently worked late when we had a deadline to meet. I would recommend Mrs Cowie as an outstanding researcher and PA, and feel sure that she would be a valuable asset to her future employers.Task 9 Write a reference on your group-mate:a) as an ex-employer;b) as a co-worker. Task 10 Write your reference Task 11 Write a testimonial or a character letter on your friend (to a VIP club, university society, court, etc)Task 12 Create your own application for the position of the inter-preter-translator/teacher

Task 13 Translate the letter into English with an appropriate layoutУважаемая мисс Джоунс!

Благодарим Вас за Ваше заявление с просьбой принять Вас на объявленную вакантную должность менеджера по продажам. Возможно, Вам будет любопытно узнать, что мы получили более двухсот заявлений. Мы с интересом ознакомились с Вашим резюме, в котором Вы сообщаете нам о своем образовании и соответствующем опыте работы. Несомненно, Вы обладаете солидным набором навыков и высокой квалификацией.

Мы отобрали заявления только тридцати кандидатур, которых мы планируем пригласить на интервью; в это число входило и Ваше

заявление. Но нам был нужен человек с опытом работы именно в нашей отрасли.

К сожалению, мы вынуждены Вам сообщить, что остановились на другой кандидатуре. Желаем Вам успеха в поиске работы.

Мы будем хранить Ваше резюме в нашей базе данных. Если в будущем у нас появится вакансия для человека, обладающего Вашими навыками и квалификацией, мы обязательно свяжемся с Вами.Еще раз благодарим за проявленный Вами интерес.Искренне ВашПитер ГринМенеджер по персоналу

Task 14 Make an appropriate translation with an appropriate layout Dear Mr Ramsay

Thank you for your letter of 13 October inquiring about employment op-portunities with our company.

Unfortunately, we have no available positions which would appropriately match your background and qualifications.Your resume will be kept on file for ninety days. If any opportunities arise, we will contact you.

Your interest in our company is appreciated and we wish you every success in achieving your employment objectives.

Yours sincerely John PyleTask 15 Write a refusing letter for the position of an interpreter

UNIT 2 Interviewing

Job interviews are easier for the interviewers and the interviewees if you plan and prepare questions and answers, and use proper interviewing techniques. On this page are job-hunting and job interviews tips, samples of tough interviews questions, and answers, for interviewers and interviewees. There's also an outline of the group selection recruitment method, the most effective way to recruit people for most jobs.

Job interviews are critical to the quality of an organization's people. Good job interviews processes and methods increase the quality of people in an organization. Poor job interviews methods result in poor selection, which undermines organizational capabilities, wastes management time, and increases staff turnover. Here are samples of interviews questions asked at interviews. Many interviewers and interviewees are keenly inter-ested in 'tough' interview questions and certainly interviewees need to pre-pare answers for 'tough' questions. However, from the interviewer's per-spective asking 'tough' questions is not usually helpful. Interviews should not place undue pressure on interviewees, because people tend to withdraw and become defensive under pressure.

We learn more about people when they relax. It's better therefore to focus on 'good' interview questions rather than 'tough' ones.

Good interview questions encourage interviewees to think about themselves and to give the interviewer clear and revealing information as to the interviewee's needs, capabilities, experience, personality, and suitability for the job. The best interview questions are therefore the questions which most help interviewees to reveal their skills, knowledge, attitudes, and feel-ings to the interviewer.

Much of this guidance also applies to students seeking internships and work experience placements. Effective interview techniques, and the processes surrounding interviews, apply to all situations involving candi-date selection, whatever the position and situation.

2.1 Part 1 Interviews tips - for interviewers

You must make notes of the questions you intend to ask - otherwise you'll forget.

Decide the essential things you need to learn and prepare questions to probe them.

Plan the environment - privacy, no interruptions, ensure the intervie-wee is looked after while they wait.

Arrange the seating in an informal relaxed way. Don't sit behind a desk directly facing the interviewee - sit around a coffee table or meeting room table.

Clear your desk, apart from what you need for the interview, so it shows you've prepared and are organised, which shows you respect the sit-uation and the interviewee.

Put the interviewee at ease - it's stressful for them, so don't make it any worse.

Begin by explaining clearly and concisely the general details of the organisation and the role.

Ask open-ended questions - how, why, tell me, what, (and to a lesser extent where, when, which) to get the interviewee talking.

Make sure the interviewee does 90% of the talking. Use 'How?' and 'What?' questions to prompt examples and get to the

real motives and feelings. 'Why?' questions place more pressure on people because they suggest that justification or defence is required. 'Why?' ques-tions asked in succession will probe and drill down to root causes and feel-ings, but use with care as this is a high-pressure form of questioning and will not allow sensitive or nervous people to show you how good they are. Think about how your questions will make the interviewee feel. Your aim and responsibility as an interviewer is to understand the other person - not to intimidate, which does not facilitate understanding.

High pressure causes people to clam up and rarely exposes hidden is-sues - calm, relaxed, gentle, clever questions are far more revealing.

Probe the cv/resume/application form to clarify any unclear points. If possible, and particularly for any position above first-line jobs, use

some form of psychometric test, or graphology, and have the results avail-able for the interview, so you can discuss them with the interviewee. Al-ways give people the results of their tests. Position the test as a helpful dis-cussion point, not the deciding factor. Take care when giving the test to ex-plain and reassure. Ensure the test is done on your premises - not sent in the post.

Give interviewees opportunities to ask their own questions. Ques-tions asked by interviewees are usually very revealing. They also help good candidates to demonstrate their worth, especially if the interviewer has not asked great questions or there is a feeling that a person has for any reason not had the chance to show their real capability and potential.

2.2 Part 2 Interviews tips - for interviewees

Research as much as you can about the company - products, ser-vices, markets, competitors, trends, current activities, priorities.

Prepare your answers for the type of questions you'll be asked, espe-cially, be able to say why you want the job, what your strengths are, how you'd do the job, what your best achievements are.

Prepare good questions to ask at the interview. Related to the above, request a copy of the company's employment

terms and conditions or employee handbook before the interview, in order to save time covering routine matters during the interview.

Assemble hard evidence (make sure it's clear and concise) of how what you've achieved in the past - proof will put you ahead of those who merely talk about it.

Have at least one other interview lined up, or have a recent job offer, or the possibility of receiving one from a recent job interview, and make sure you mention it to the interviewer.

Make sure your resume/cv is up to date, looking very good and even if already supplied to the interviewer take three with you (one for the inter-viewer, one for you and a spare in case the interviewer brings a colleague in to the meeting).

Get hold of the following material and read it, and remember the rel-evant issues, and ask questions about the areas that relate to the organisa-tion and the role. Obtain and research: the company's sales brochures and literature, a trade magazine covering the company's market sector, and a se-rious newspaper for the few days before the interview so you're informed about world and national news. Also worth getting hold of: company 'in-house' magazines or newsletters, competitor leaflets, local or national newspaper articles featuring the company.

Review your personal goals and be able to speak openly and hon-estly about them and how you plan to achieve them.

Ensure you have two or three really good reputable and relevant ref-erences, and check they'd each be happy to be contacted.

Get into an enthusiastic, alert, positive mind-set. Try to get some experience of personality tests. Discover your per-

sonality strengths and weaknesses that would be indicated by a test, and be able to answer questions positively about the results. (Do not be intimi-dated by personality testing - expose yourself to it and learn about your-self.)

Think about what to wear.

2.3 Part 3 Job interview questions and answers

These are samples of questions that interviewers ask interviewees, with suggested ideal answers and reasons and purposes of the questions, to help interviewers and interviewees alike. See also the questions to ask at in-terview for ideas and suggested questions for the interviewee to ask the in-terviewer, which are extremely important.

Question Ideal Answer  Purpose of questionHave you ever dealt with a customer mak-ing an unrealistic de-mand?

or

Can you give me an example where you've had to deal with a customer who has made an unrealis-tic or unreasonable demand?

or

How do you deal with difficult customers?

Obviously if you have a real example with a good positive successful outcome for the customer and sup-plier then use it (it's a good idea to think about and prepare an example for this type of question in ad-vance). Ideally exam-ples should include the following elements: Central to this process is being able to fully understand the cus-tomer's position and feelings, without nec-essarily agreeing with them. Explaining this difference between un-derstanding and agree-ing at the interview helps the interviewee to demonstrate capabil-ity to deal with these types of difficult situa-tions. Good sympa-thetic questioning skills, and a good un-derstanding of the op-tions available to the

The interviewer asks these interview questions give the in-terviewee an opportu-nity to demonstrate firstly how they decide that what is realistic and what is unrealistic, and secondly how to explain to the customer why the demand cannot be met, and hopefully better still suggest an acceptable alternative course of action, preferably which re-sults in the customer being more satisfied than if the issue had not arisen in the first place.

It is a fact that the greatest customer ser-vice challenges also of-fer the greatest oppor-tunities to delight the customer, and intervie-wees who demonstrate such a philosophy are generally indicating great potential and value to a prospective

supplier organisation in solving problems, are also vital for being able to adapt and develop mutually agreeable so-lutions. An excellent answer or demonstra-tion of excellent capa-bility would include a very positive result in which the customer's satisfaction and loyalty was increased to a higher level than be-fore the complaint or request (which is actu-ally more easy to achieve than most peo-ple imagine).

employer.

(Any question that invites you to de-scribe/explain/com-ment on a 'negative' situation, for exam-ple, "Why did you leave your last job?, if the reason was that you were being bul-lied, or that you lost your temper at your boss and were fired)

When asked a question which inten-tionally or unintention-ally exposes a 'nega-tive' situation or expe-rience or reason (for example for having left your last job), you should provide a posi-tive interpretation and reflection of the experi-ence. This means ob-jectively (without emo-tion or bias) demon-strating understanding of the behaviour (which was directed at you that caused you to leave, or your negative behaviour that caused you to leave). For in-stance if you were bul-

The purpose of these questions may be unwitting, that is to say the interviewer has no idea what they might be uncovering. Or the question might be to in-tentionally put pressure on the interviewee in an area of weakness, or vulnerability, or past failure or mistake.

In any case, interview-ers learn a lot about an interviewee's emotional maturity (increasingly a much sought-after at-tribute) when the inter-viewee is invited to ex-plain, comment, and show their feelings

lied say so, but do not be critical or bitter, and emphasise the positives from the experience (which not least would be that you thought it best to leave rather than continue in a situ-ation that was not do-ing anyone any good). If you behaved badly then you should ideally explain what you did and why, and how you have learned from it and that you will not make the same mistake again.

In general the approach is the same for most situations when dealing with questions that ex-pose weaknesses or failures or opportuni-ties for bitterness: you can (and should) ex-plain what happened (to lie or distort would be wrong) but do so without bitterness or recrimination, and demonstrate forgive-ness, tolerance and self-development achieved from the ex-perience.

If you were the guilty party it helps to show that you had the

about a past 'negative experience.

Emotionally mature people are able to talk objectively and hon-estly about 'negative' experiences, and inter-pret them into positive experiences.

A good interviewer can confidently form a good impression of any interviewee who dis-plays good emotional maturity.

courage to take some action to make amends, even for 'lost cause'.

How would you re-spond if you were of-fered the job?

Think before the interview and during the interview: How would you actually re-spond to this question? If you'd accept the job and you are really happy and free to do so, then say so. You have little to gain from being evasive. If you have other options or commitments that need proper and fair consid-eration before accept-ing the job offer then say so (it does not put you in a very good light if you demon-strate that you are pre-pared to treat an exist-ing employer or an-other potential em-ployer badly). If you need more information (about package, expec-tations, responsibilities, etc) then say so. If the interviewer is being ag-gressive or provocative (as can happen in cer-tain sales interviews particularly) you could say that actually the only way to find out for sure is to make the offer, i.e., "...make me the offer and I'll tell

This is not an ac-tually great question to ask (if you are the in-terviewer) or to be asked (if you are the in-terviewee) because it suggests that the inter-viewer might not offer the job to someone who is not certain to accept it.

This is not great indica-tion of a good, confi-dent grown-up high-quality employer (or interviewer).

If you are strong and mature you'll be able to deal with an employer who feels the need to ask this question, other-wise you might not find this type of employer mature enough for you.

you..." (the interviewer will not normally fall for that one of course but at least he/she will see that you can stand up for yourself, which most tough-nuts will respect).

What would you do if you had to deal with an angry customer?

Basically the an-swer is to empathise, understand, and as quickly as possible ob-tain the customer's trust in your promise to try to resolve the matter. And then set about finding the facts and resolving it, working within whatever poli-cies and processes are in place for the particu-lar problem. The im-portant thing is to re-member the difference between understanding and agreeing - you need to understand without necessarily agreeing or pre-judging the outcome (unless of course you can actually resolve it an agree it there and then). And you need to apologise without pre-judging whatever investigation you need to do or ar-range. Finally, take re-sponsibility for seeing the issue through to the finish, when at the end

This type of 'sce-nario' question is good because it enables an interviewee to demon-strate experience, tech-nique, and awareness of why a certain behav-iour is appropriate for a given real situation that can arise in the job.

Demonstration of ex-actly the same experi-ence is not necessary, what matters is the ability to adapt and ap-ply technique and be-haviour, which could come from different re-lated experiences, for example dealing with difficult or upset peo-ple in any other situa-tions.

The interviewee must demonstrate knowledge and/or experience of appropriate technique, behavioural and emo-tional awareness and capability, and the abil-ity to match a good

of it hopefully the cus-tomer is more de-lighted than they have ever been, (which is of-ten what happens when you do things prop-erly).

technical emotional and constructive response to a particular emo-tional (and probably process-based) chal-lenge.

What will you bring to the job/company if we employ you? Imagine what your ob-

jectives will be if you were in the role, and orientate your answer towards meeting them, on time, on budget, and with style (especially to improve motivation and morale and to avoid unnecessary dis-ruption and unhelpful side-effects).

Try to focus on the par-ticular priorities and re-quirements of the role, the targets and aims, (which means you need to ask what they are if your are not told) and also if possible, focus on working style and behaviour attributes that fit the preferences of the interviewer, since most interviewers prefer people like themselves.

For example (assuming that the points illus-trated are relevant):

This tough inter-view question is an op-portunity for the inter-viewee to relate their strengths and capabili-ties to the priorities of the job function, and to the aims and priorities of the organization.

The interviewee must therefore demonstrate an understanding of both sides of the ques-tion - the needs of the employer, and how to apply their own skills, capabilities, experi-ence, style and strengths to the situa-tion.

It's a good question, and also a great oppor-tunity to show how good you are, and how you will add positively to the mood and atti-tude of people you'll work with.

This question invites good specific solutions and suggestions in re-

"I can see clearly that quick results are a pri-ority - and that's some-thing I'm good at gen-erating, because I have good abilities and ex-perience to interpret situations, and then a strong focus on activi-ties which will achieve change and results in the necessary areas."

"I'm diplomatic with people too, which means I can generally bring people along with me; if needs be though I can be firm and determined enough to convince people who need a bit of extra encouragement."

sponse to stated organi-zational requirements.

As such it will quickly show up the candidates who understand what's needed in the role and how to make it happen.

Certain interviewers and situations will also be seeking indications of the candidate's per-sonal style when work-ing with others - no-tably whether the can-didate will be an asset to the team in terms of motivation and morale.

If you are the inter-viewer make sure you explain earlier in the interview what the situ-ation requires in terms of results, parameters and attitudinal factors.

Tell me about the culture at your last company/employer. If the past culture was

good them explain how and why in terms that the interviewee is likely to identify with, for example:

"The culture encour-aged people to develop, grow, take responsibil-ity. People were coached and mentored

The proper pur-pose of this tough ques-tion is to see how you interpret and explain culture, which provides an opportunity for you as the the interviewee to demonstrate how you feel about and re-act to whatever culture was in place. It's a po-tential trap for intervie-wees who would be negative and critical

towards quality and productive effort. All of this helped me a great deal because I identify with these val-ues, and respond to these opportunities."

A good answer, in re-ferring to a non-sup-portive culture would be to express the posi-tive aspects (eg lots of freedom for me to take initiative, responsibil-ity, find new ways to contribute, a free mar-ket allowing the good workers to naturally excel and develop rep-utation and internal working relationships, etc.)

and apportion blame, eg 'the culture was not supportive and so it didn't help me to per-form' (not a good an-swer). The culture question also invites comments from the in-terviewee about man-agement style, and again is a trap for nega-tive respondents who criticise their past boss (bad answer), rather than accentuate the positives and demon-strate positive behav-iour in negative situa-tions, which is a highly desirable trait.

Tell me about your life at College or University (or even your time in your previous job).

The question is an opportunity for you to demonstrate the qualities that the inter-viewer is seeking in for the job, so orientate your answer towards these expectations (without distorting the truth obviously).

In your answer, empha-sise the positive behav-iour, experience and achievements (ideally backed up with exam-ples and evidence) which will impress the

A big open ques-tion like this in an in-terviewer is a huge op-portunity or huge trap. It can be a tough ques-tion if not approached properly.

Interviewees should have the sense to refer to previous experiences that indicate capability and behaviour of the sort that the role re-quires.

It's a trap for intervie-wees who look regret-

interviewer because of its relevance to the role requirements.

The interviewer is looking for the same capabilities and behav-iour in your college (or university or previous job) life that they want in the job.

Your emphasis should be on your achieve-ments, and how you achieved them, that are relevant to the job re-quirements.

Interviewers with spe-cial interest in behav-iour and personality may also use a question like this to assess your self-awareness and ma-turity, in the way you consider your answer and relate it to your own experience and development.

fully or negatively on past experiences, criti-cise or attribute blame, or display 'someone else's fault' attitudes.

College and University are environments which provide lots of opportunity. Good ap-plicants will be able to demonstrate that they have used the opportu-nity to learn and de-velop, whether their ex-periences were all posi-tive and successful or not.

What do you want to be doing in 2/5/10 years time?

Or:

Where do you want to be in 2/5/10 years time?

It's not easy to answer this in terms of job expectation - no-one can realistically predict what job will be required in 5-10 years, let alone whether they will be right to do it, so I'd avoid specific job aims or claims, unless you actually have a

This is a com-mon tough interview question, and it com-monly trips people up into making over-ambi-tious claims about their future potential and worth. It highlights feelings of delusion, and a need for security if they exist.

very clear plan, and are seeking a job and ca-reer which clearly of-fers predictable and structured progression.

For most people and roles, which are largely unpredictable, this question is best and easiest answered in terms of the sort of sit-uation you'd like to be in, which should rein-force all the other good things about yourself, for example:

"Making a more signif-icant contribution to whatever organisation I'm working for. To have developed new skills, abilities, matu-rity - perhaps a little wisdom even. To have become better qualified in whatever way suits the situation and op-portunities I have. To be better regarded by my peers, and re-spected by my superi-ors as someone who can continue to in-crease the value and scale of what I do for the organisation."

"I'd like more responsi-bility, because that's a

The question encour-ages the interviewee to think and express their plans and aspirations, future direction, needs and wishes. Some peo-ple find it more diffi-cult to answer than oth-ers, depending on their personality.

Some people are able to plan and see clear steps along the way, which would be more commonly exhibited by people whose work in-volves this approach.

Job roles which require a higher level of adapt-ability and flexibility are unlikely to attract candidates who are meticulous planners.

The question is a pow-erful one because it prompts the intervie-wee to think and visu-alise about themselves and how they expect and want to change.

result of personal growth and progres-sion, and it's important for my personal satis-faction."

"I have no set aspira-tions about money and reward - if I contribute and add value to the or-ganisation then gener-ally increased reward follows - you get out what you put in."

"Long term I want to make the most of my abilities - if possible to build a serious career, but in this day and age nothing is certain or guaranteed; things can change. I'll do my best and believe that oppor-tunities will arise which will enable me to keep contributing, increasing my worth, and developing my ability in a way that benefits the organisa-tion and me."

Employers will re-spond well if they see that you are mature, in-dependent, self-moti-vated; that you will make a positive and growing contribution, and that you under-

stand that reward (fi-nancial, promotion, re-sponsibility, etc) will always be based on the quality and value of your input.

Give an example of when you had to set-tle a dispute between two individuals.

This depends on your relationship to the two people, so seek clarification if this is not clear, but broadly the aim is to first take any heat out of the situ-ation by calming the individuals. Then firmly arrange a three-way discussion later in the day or an early op-portunity in the future, in a suitable environ-ment (closed meeting room), at which you can facilitate a proper discussion of the is-sues, so as to arrive at an agreed positive way of going forward or compromise. It's im-portant to understand each person's stand-point and feelings, without agreeing with them, unless the argu-ment concerns a clear breach of policy or wrong behaviour, in which case the trans-gressor should be counselled separately, after which the three-way meeting can be

The interviewer is using this tough question to test the in-terviewee's experience and ability to diffuse conflict, and also to step back and take an objective view, rather than getting involved and taking sides, which is the natural tempta-tion. Objectivity and facilitation are impor-tant skills of a good manager, and this ques-tion will identify whether the intervie-wee possesses them. This question will also put pressure on the in-terviewee's ability to manage people, be-cause it provides a tricky people-manage-ment scenario.

held to mend relation-ships. Arguments come in all shapes and sizes - a more specific answer is possible in response to a more specific sce-nario.

What is your ideal job?

Mindful of the trap possibilities, the interviewee would al-ways do well to qualify the question by asking for a timescale (at what point in my career?) before answering. This shows that some con-sideration is taking place rather than a knee-jerk, and that the question is producing a serious response rather than a fanciful one. Aside from this, the best answer to the question, as for any in-terview question, is to use the opportunity to sell the strengths of the interviewee as a poten-tial asset to the organi-sation. This would pro-duce an answer that creates a picture of a loyal, results-orientated person, making a sig-nificant contribution to the organisation (status and level would de-pend on timescale). If the answer is poor it will trigger a probing

This is a good and tough interview question, and the an-swer would almost al-ways trigger a more specific follow-up question, asking 'why?', and then probing the reasons for the choice. From the interviewer's standpoint, the question is open and vague, which for certain pur-poses (see the next para re traps) is a good thing. If the question is intended to elicit mean-ingful information about the interviewee's career plans, then some timescale should be at-tached (ie 'what would be your ideal job in 3/5/10 years time?') The question exposes interviewees who seek only personal gratifica-tion ('outputs') from a role (money, status, es-teem, excitement, glamour, security, etc) rather than seeking op-portunities to make best possible use of

follow up that puts pressure on the inter-viewee to justify a daft response. If the answer is impressive there probably won't be a follow-up as there's nothing to probe and the interviewer can move on. Wrong an-swers would include: 'boss of my own com-pany' 'your job' 'the top salesman on half a mill a year' 'CEO of this company' (unless you can justify the claim) a pop star, a railway en-gine driver, a film star, etc Good answers would include: 'A man-ager or executive with this organisation in (function relative to ex-perience and skill set) where I have the re-sponsibility and ac-countability for using my skills and efforts to achieve great results, work alongside great people, and get a fair reward.' 'I'd like to be-come an expert in my field (state function if relevant), where I'm able to use my skills and abilities to make a real difference to the company's perfor-mance.'

their effort, skills and experience, in con-tributing to the perfor-mance/quality/results of the organisation for which the role is per-formed ('inputs'). The question is a po-tential trap for people who are more con-cerned with what they get out of a job rather than what they put into it. Employers do not re-ally want to recruit gratification-orientated people. These people are generally not self-starting nor self-moti-vating. The question also gives indications as to how realistically the inter-viewee sees them-selves. Some people vi-sualise highly fanciful and unrealistic jobs, which is a warning sign to a potential employer. Others visualise jobs that are clearly remote from the job being ap-plied for, which indi-cates that some falsifi-cation or delusion is present.

Why do you want this job?

Reflect back the qualities required and job priorities as being the things you do best and enjoy. Say why you think the company is good, and that you want to work for an or-ganisation like it.

Opportunity to sell yourself and show you understand what they're looking for in the role. Make sure you hit both of these hot buttons. It's a touch question if you've not prepared the answer.

What did you achieve in your last job?

Prepare a num-ber of relevant exam-ples and explain one (two or three if they're punchy and going down well). Make sure you feature as the insti-gator, or the factor that made the difference. Examples must lead to significant organisa-tional benefits; making money, saving money/time, improving qual-ity, anticipating or cre-atively solving prob-lems, winning/keeping customers, improving efficiency.

Another tough question which will ex-pose a lack of prepara-tion or relevant experi-ence. The question and answer show whether any achievements have been made, and what values are placed on work. Shows motive - whether process, re-sults, accuracy, secu-rity, social, etc. Shows understanding of cause and effect, pro-active vs passive.

How would you ap-proach this job? How would you do it?

Identify the two or three main issues and say how you'll deal with them, which shows you can focus on what's important. Likely to be planning and organising, ensur-ing all the communica-tions and relationships are working well, re-viewing and measuring

A tough question if the interviewee has not prepared. Shows if you've thought about what job requires and entails. Role and situa-tion needs to have been explained well to en-able a good response. Exposes people who can't actually do the job.

activities and resources against outputs and im-proving where possi-ble. Emphasise your personal strengths that are very relevant to the role requirements.

What are your strengths? 

Prepare three that are relevant to the requirements of the role. Be able to analyse why and how you are strong in those areas. Mix in some behav-iours, knowledge and experience and well as skills, and show that you understand the dif-ference. Style should be quite confidence rather than arrogant or over-confident.

Shows whether candidate has self-awareness, and can identify what strengths are relevant to role. Shows if candidate has thought and planned. A glaring omission if not planned as this is such an obvious question that everyone should be prepared for. Strengths should obviously relate to the needs of the em-ployer and the role.

What are your weaknesses?

Start by saying that you don't believe you are actually 'weak' in any area. Acknowl-edge certain areas that you believe you can improve, (and then pick some relatively unimportant or irrele-vant areas). If you must state a weakness these are the clever ones that are actually strengths: not suffering fools gladly; sometimes be-ing impatient with other people's sloppy work; being too de-

A tough question if answered without proper thought. A trap for the unsuspecting or naive. Will show up those who've not pre-pared as this is another obvious question to ex-pect. Will also prompt follow-up questions probing what the candi-date is doing to im-prove the weakness, which is worth prepar-ing for also. 

manding; refusing to give in when you be-lieve strongly about something; trying to do too much, etc, etc.

What would your ref-erences say about you?

Another oppor-tunity to state relevant strengths, skills and be-haviours. 

Potential trap to draw out weaknesses - don't fall for it.

How do you handle tension/stress?

Say that you tend not to get tense or stressed because you plan and organise prop-erly. Say you look after the other things that can cause stress - health, fitness, diet, lifestyle, etc. Talk about channeling pres-sure positively - think-ing, planning, keeping a balanced approach.

Exposes people who can't deal with pressure or don't recog-nise that lifestyle issues are important for good working. Exposes the misguided macho ap-proach that stress can be good. It ain't.

What was the last book you read and how did it affect you?

Be honest, as the interviewer might have read it too. There's no shame in admitting to lightweight reading material if that's what you like - put it in con-text, why you read it, and give a positive re-sult, whatever it is. Be able to give an intelli-gent reaction to what you've read. Don't be too clever or try to im-press as nobody likes a smartass.

Will provide an-other perspective of the interviewee's personal-ity that may not other-wise surface. Opportu-nity to demonstrate skills , aptitudes, spe-cial interests, self-de-velopment, analytical ability, self-awareness. May expose feelings or issues that can be probed further. 

What does/did your father do for a living?

Tell the truth - be proud whatever he

Exposes the over-protective and in-

did. Don't be judge-mental, ashamed or critical. 

secure. Can expose emotional hang-ups or triggers if any exist, which can then be probed further.

Tell me about a big challenge or diffi-culty you've faced; how did you deal with it?

Avoid anything deeply personal or seri-ously emotional unless you are in complete control of your feelings about it. Try to prepare an example that's work-related and rele-vant to the role. 

Can expose emo-tional raw nerves or sensitivities. Opportu-nity to show proof of being able to achieve results in the face of difficulty. Is this person actually experienced are they just saying they are. (Experto Credite - Trust one who has proved it)

Tell me about some-thing recently that re-ally annoyed you.

Don't get trapped into admitting to a tem-per or loss of control. Say you tend to get more annoyed with yourself than with other people or other situations. Annoyance isn't very productive, so you tend to try to understand and concen-trate on finding a way around a problem or putting things straight.

Exposes hang-ups and style of man-agement and communi-cation. Exposes anyone who believes it's okay or even good to get cross with other people. It ain't.

Give me some exam-ples of how you have adapted your own communicating style to deal with different people and situations.

Prepare this as one of your strengths, as there's not a single job that won't benefit from good adaptive communication skills. Give examples of how you've been detailed and given written con-

Exposes single-style non-adaptive communicators, who don't understand or adapt to different peo-ple and situations. 

firmation for people who need it. Give ex-amples of how you ver-bally enthuse and in-spire the people who respond to challenge and recognition. Think of other examples of adapting your style to suit the recipients. Give examples when you've had to be task-driven, process driven, people-driven, and how you change your style ac-cordingly. A chance for you to truly shine.

Can we check your references? Yes. 

Exposes people who are not comfort-able about having their references checked, in which case probe. Ex-poses people who've not had the foresight to organise an important controllable aspect of their job search, which is a bad sign.

What type of people do you get on with most/least?

Say generally you get on with every-one. Say you respond most to genuine, posi-tive, honest people. If pressed as to people you don't get on with, say

Exposes hang-ups and prejudices. May prompt issues to probe, in which ask why.

Excellent answer - now can you give me an example that wasn't so good?

You may be hit with this if you're too contrived or clever, in which case give an ex-

Will knock a lot of people off guard, and expose any tenden-cies to confront or ar-

ample of something that didn't quite go so well, but make sure you present it posi-tively and say what you learned from it. Don't try to stick to your guns and maintain that you're perfect - show a little human weakness.

gue. 

Give me an example of when you've pro-duced some poor work and how you've dealt with it.

Don't admit to having produced poor work ever. Say you've probably made one or two mistakes - every-one does - but that you always do everything you can to put them straight, learn from them and made sure you'll not make the same mistake again.

A trap - don't fall in it.  

What do you find dif-ficult in work/life/re-lationships (etc)?

Pick a relatively irrelevant skill and say that you don't find it as easy as you'd like, so you're working on it (don't just make this up - think about it and be truthful). Don't own up to a weakness in an area that's important to the role. As with the weaknesses question, you can state certain difficulties because they are actually quite acceptable, even com-mendable, they'd in-clude: suffering fools

Another trap to expose weaknesses, and an opportunity to show strengths instead if played properly. 

gladly, giving up an impossible task, toler-ating unkind behaviour like bullying, having to accept I can't help cer-tain big problems in the world, etc.  

How do you plan and organise your work?

Planning and writing a plan is very important. I think how best to do things before I do them, if it's un-known territory I'd take advice, learn from pre-vious examples - why re-invent the wheel? I always prioritise, I manage my time, and I understand the differ-ence between urgent and important. For very complex projects I'd produce quite a de-tailed schedule and plan review stages. I even plan time-slots for activities that aren't in themselves organised, like thinking time, and being creative, solving problems, etc.

A great opportu-nity to shine and show management potential. Planning and organis-ing is one of the keys to good work at any level so it's essential to ac-knowledge this. Ex-poses unreliable people who take pride in fly-ing by the seat of their pants.

How much are you earning?/do you want to earn?

Be honest about what you've been earn-ing and realistic about what you want to earn.

Exposes unreal-istic people. An oppor-tunity to demonstrate you understand the ba-sic principle that every-one needs to justify their cost. Extra pay should be based on ex-tra performance or pro-

ductivity.

How many hours a week do you work/prefer to work?

It varies accord-ing to the situation. I plan and organise well, so unless there's a cri-sis or unusual demand I try to finish at a sensi-ble time so as to have some time for my fam-ily/social life/outside interests. It's important to keep a good balance. I start earlier than most people - you can get a lot done before the phones start ringing. When the pressure's on though I'm happy to work as long as it takes to get the job done. It's not about the number of hours - it's the qual-ity of the work that you do; how productive you are.

Exposes the clock-watchers and those who attach some misplaced macho pride in burning the candle at both ends.  Look for a sense of balance, with flexibility to go beyond the call of duty on oc-casions when really re-quired.

Do you make mistakes?

Be honest. Yes of course on occasions, but I obviously try not to, and I always try to correct them and learn from them.

Anyone who says they don't make mistakes either isn't telling the truth, or never does anything at all. Whatever, a 'no' here is a big warning signal.

(Follow above ques-tion with) - Can you share your mistakes with others?

Absolutely I can - I get the guidance I need, and it may help prevent others from making the same mis-take.

Shows whether the person can take re-sponsibility and guid-ance. A mature, posi-tive approach to learn-ing from mistakes is a great characteristic.

(Ack. LL)

How to do measure your own effective-ness?

By the results that I achieve, and that I achieve them in the most positive way. If there isn't an existing measure of this I'll usu-ally create one.

Exposes people who are not results ori-entated - more con-cerned with process, re-lationships, airy-fairy intangibles.

How do you like to be managed /not like to be managed?

Be truthful, but express positively. I'm generally very adapt-able to most manage-ment styles. In the past I've helped my bosses get the best out of me by talking to them and developing a really good understanding. I work best when I'm given freedom and re-sponsibility to take some of the load off my boss's shoulders - they have enough to deal with. Do not re-spond to the negative and give any example of how you do not like to be managed.

Indicates ability to cooperate and man-age upwards, also how management attention you'll need. Exposes potential awkwardness. Only the most experi-enced and capable managers will be seek-ing difficult dominant types, and only then for certain roles requiring a high level of indepen-dence and initiative.

What personal goals do you have and how are you going about achieving them?

Prepare for this - be able to state your personal and career goals - keep them rea-sonable, achievable and balanced. Explain how you see the steps to reaching your aims. An important part of achieving progress is planning how to do it.

Exposes those with little or no initia-tive. People who don't plan or take steps to achieve their own per-sonal progress will not be pro-active at work either. People who don't think and plan how to progress will tend to be reactive and

Be able to demonstrate that you've thought and planned, but also show that you are flexible and adaptable, because it's impossible to pre-dict the future - the im-portant thing is to learn and develop, and take advantage of opportu-nities as they come along. 

passive, which is fine if the role calls for no more, but roles increas-ingly call for planning and action rather than waiting for instruc-tions.

How do you balance work and family/so-cial commitments?

Say balance is essential. All work and no play isn't good for anyone, but obviously work must come first if you want to do well and progress. Planning and organising my work well, and getting results, generally means that I have time for my outside interests and there's no conflict.

Can expose those with outside in-terests that may prevail over work commit-ments (keen sports-people, etc., who can-not put work first.) In-dicates whether the in-terviewee has balanced approach to life. Obses-sion with work to the exclusion of most else is not generally a good sign. 

Why should we ap-point you?

You have a choice here as to how to play this: you can ei-ther go for it strongly, re-stating your relevant strengths - behaviour, experience and skills, or you can quietly con-fidently suggest: I don't know the other appli-cants, so it would be wrong for me to dis-miss their claims. However, I am sure

Pressure ques-tion - opportunity for interviewee to clearly and confidently stake their claim. Look again for the interviewee to state relevant strengths in behaviour, experi-ence and skills. Look also for good eye-con-tact when pledging hard work, loyalty, de-termination, etc.

that I have all the main attributes the role re-quires, which, com-bined with determina-tion and positive ap-proach, should ensure that I'd be a very good choice. (If management progression/succession is seen as a benefit then you must refer to your willingness to develop and take on greater re-sponsibilities in the fu-ture.) 

What can you do for us that other people cannot?

I don't know the other applicants, but generally I excel at . . . (pick your strengths that most fit with what they're seeking). Intro-duce some behavioural and style strengths as well as skills, and show you know the differ-ence between them.

Pressure ques-tion, and one that en-ables the stars to shine. Look for awareness in the interviewee that they know what their relevant, even special, strengths are, and can link them to benefits that they would bring to the role. 

Tell me about yourself.

You must re-hearse this one. Have ready a descriptions of yourself and why you're like it. Don't just spout a lot of standard adjectives, say why you are like you are. Don't ramble on and tail off. make a few clear statements and finish.

Will show whether applicant has self-awareness - a criti-cal skill that not every-one possesses. Will also show if applicant can think and present a complex case clearly and to the point. Also shows confidence and security levels, and 'grown-upness'.

What makes you mad?

Nothing really makes me mad - it's not

Exposes poor self-control or unrea-

a good way to deal with anything. Certain things disappoint or upset me - rudeness, arrogance, spitefulness (pick any obvious nasty traits or behav-iours, particularly be-haviours that you be-lieve your interviewer will personally dislike too.)

sonable aversions, fears, and insecurities. Exposes lack of toler-ance and emotional triggers. Clever inter-viewers may infer or encourage a feeling in the way they ask the question that it's okay to get mad. Don't fall for it.

What do you think of your last boss/em-ployer?

Don't be critical. If possible be generous with praise and say why, giving positive reasons. If there was a conflict don't lie, but describe fairly and ob-jectively without point-ing blame.

Exposes back-biting, bitterness, grudges, inability to handle relationships. Exposes people who can't accept the company-line.

If you won a million on the lottery what would you do?

Probably save most of it, give some away, maybe a small treat for myself but nothing excessive. I could handle it I think because I'd always want to work, I'm quite sensible with money, maybe start my own business if I could be really sure to make a success of it.

Exposes the foolhardy, the irrespon-sible and the dreamers. Opportunity to demon-strate level-headedness, morality, work ethic, intelligence to know that money doesn't buy happiness.

2.4 Stress and pressure interview questions

When dealing with questions that put pressure on you or create stress, be confident, credible and constructive (accentuate the positive) in your answers. And make sure you prepare. Stress and pressure questions come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Three commonly used types of pres-sure questions are those dealing with weakness and failure; blame; and evi-dence of ability or experience.

Weakness and failure questions "Tell me about your failures....", "What are your greatest weaknesses......".They are the interviewer's equivalent to "Are you still beating your

wife?..".Don't be intimidated by these questions - you don't have to state a

failing or a weakness just because the interviewer invites you to."I don't generally fail", or "I really can't think of any" are perfectly acceptable answers. Short and sweet, and then wait smiling for the come-back - you'll

have demonstrated that you are no mug and no pushover. If you are pressed (as you probably will be), here's your justification answer, or if you wish to appear a little more self-effacing use this as a first response:

"I almost always succeed because plan and manage accordingly. If something's not going right I'll change it until it works. The important thing is to put the necessary checks and contingencies in place that enable me to see if things aren't going to plan, and to make changes when and if necessary....."

or "There are some things I'm not so good at, but I'd never say these

are weaknesses as such - a weakness is a vulnerability, and I don't consider myself vulnerable.  If there's something I can't do or don't know, then I find someone who can do it or does know."

Do you see the positive orientation? Turn it around into a positive every time.

Blame questions

Watch out also for the invitation to rubbish your past job or manager, especially in the form of:

"Why did you leave your last job?", or "Why have you had so many jobs?"

The interviewer is not only satisfying curiosity.   If you say your last boss was an idiot, or all your jobs have been rubbish, you'll be seen as someone who blames others and fails to take responsibility for your own actions and decisions.

Employers want to employ people who take responsibility, have ini-tiative and come up with answers, not problems. Employers do not want to employ people who blame others.

So always express positive reasons and answers when given an op-portunity to express the negative. Never blame anyone or anything else.

"I was ready for more challenge", or"Each job offered a better opportunity, which I took", or "I grow and learn quickly and I look for new opportunities",  or "I wanted to get as much different experience as quickly as I could

before looking for a serious career situation, which is why I'm here."I great technique for exploiting the blame question trap is to praise

your past managers and employers. Generosity is a positive trait, so demon-strate it. Keep your praise and observations credible, realistic and rele-vant: try to mention attributes that your interviewer and prospective new employer will identify and agree with.  This will build association and commonality between you and the interviewer, which is normally vital for successful interview outcomes.  They need to see that you think like they do; that you'll fit in.

Prove it questions

These can be the toughest of the lot.  Good interviewers will press you for evidence if you make a claim.  So the answer is  - Be prepared.

Watch out for closed questions: "Can you do so-and-so?.." , "Have you any experience in such-and-such?..."  These questions invite a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer and will be about a spe-

cific area.If you give a ‘yes’, be prepared to deal with the sucker punch: "Can you give me an example?"The request for examples or evidence will stop you in your tracks if

you've not prepared or can't back up your answer.The trick is before the interview to clearly understand the require-

ments of the job you're being interviewed for.   Ask to see the job descrip-tion, including local parameters if applicable, and any other details that ex-plain the extent and nature of the role.  Think about how you can cover

each requirement with examples and evidence.  Wherever possible use evi-dence that's quantified and relates to commercial or financial outputs.

Companies are interested in people who understand the notion of maximising return on investment, or return on effort.  If your examples and evidence stand up as good cost-effective practice, they'll clock up even more points for you. 

Make sure you prepare examples of the relevant capabilities or expe-rience required, so that you're ready for the 'prove it' questions. You can even take papers or evidence material with you to show -having hard evi-dence, and the fact that you've thought to prepare it, greatly impresses in-terviewers.

If you don't have the evidence (or personal coverage of a particular requirement), then don't bluff it and say yes when you'd be better off say-ing, "No, however...."

Use "No, however ..." (and then your solution or suggestion), if asked for something that you simply don't have.

Give an example of where previously you've taken on a responsibil-ity without previous experience or full capability, and made a success, by virtue of using other people's expertise, or fast-tracking your own develop-ment or knowledge or ability.

On this point - good preparation should include researching your em-ployer's business, their markets and their competitors.  This will help you relate your own experience to theirs, and will show that you have bothered to do the research itself.

In summary, to deal with pressure questions: Keep control. Take time to think for yourself - don't be intimidated or led anywhere you don't want to go. Express every answer in positive terms. And do your prepara-tion.

Competency-based and behaviour interviews questions - 'how would you do this...?'

From the interviewee's perspective, these questions commonly start with a scenario and a question as to how you as the interviewee would deal with it. Or the question might ask you to give an example of how you have handled a particular situation or challenge in the past. Or the interviewer might ask how you would approach a current situation in their own organi-sation.

In these cases the interviewer will often judge your answers accord-ing to how much they agree with your behavioural approach. The questions may initially seem or be positioned as competency-based, but often the in-terviewer will be treating this really as a question of behaviour and style.

And as ever, without going to unreasonable lengths your answers should reflect the style expected/preferred/practised by the interviewer/ or-ganization. People like people like them.

“I focus on what needs to be done to achieve the task, to get the job done

Strong incentive, encouragement, clear firm expectations and timescales - the language of the achiever.

Alternatively, “I use persuasion, inspiration, leading by example, helping, provid-

ing justification, reasons, empathising with the situation and people who are doing the job”.

HR interviewers are often 'people-types' and will warm to answers that are sensitive, and take strong account of people's feelings, happiness, well-being, sense of fairness and ethics, honesty, integrity, process, accu-racy, finishing what's been started, having a proper plan, steady, reliable, dependable, etc. - the language of the fair and the disciplined.

Technical interviewers, eg., MD's who've come up through science, technical, finance disciplines, will warm to answers which demonstrate the use of accuracy, plans, monitoring, clearly stated and understood aims, methods, details, checking, measuring, reporting, analysing.

These are generalisations of course, but generally relevant in most interview situations when you are asked 'How would you ...?'

Obviously be true to yourself where you can. It's a matter of tint and orientation, not changing your colour altogether.

Occasionally you might meet a really good interviewer who is truly objective, in which case mirroring is not so useful - whereas confidence, maturity, integrity, flexibility, compassion, tolerance, pragmatism are, and as such should be demonstrated in the way you answer questions of a bal-anced mature non-judgemental interviewer.

Interviews can be a bit of a game, so when you see that it is, play it - the more you see subjective judgement and single-track behaviour in the in-terviewer, then the more advantage there is in mirroring the interviewer's style in your answers.

People like people like them. Which very definitely extends to as-sessing behaviour-based competency.

2.5 Questions to ask at interview - for interviewees

At job interviews it's as important for you the interviewee to prepare ques-tions to ask the interviewer as it is to prepare answers and readiness for the questions that the interviewer will ask you.

The questions that job candidates ask at interview provide valuable insights as to their attitude, maturity, capability and strategic understanding of the role and the organisation, so for interviewers, questions asked by in-terviewees form a significant and illuminating part of the interview process. As the interviewee, take full advantage of opportunities to ask questions. Asking good well-prepared and researched questions is your chance to demonstrate that you are better than the other candidates, and to show that you have a tremendous capability and understanding and potential, irre-spective of what the interviewer asks you.

Preparing and asking great questions at your own job interview dra-matically reduces any dependance that you might otherwise have for the in-terviewer to ask you 'the right questions'. It won't matter if the interviewer doesn't ask good helpful questions, or fails to prompt the sort of discussion that allows you to show how brilliant you are - instead, you can control this area of discussion yourself by asking the interviewer great questions that will make them sit up and realise what an excellent candidate you are.

A helpful although not absolutely essential aspect towards asking the interviewer good questions is good research.

A key to asking great questions at your interview is to ask questions that impress the interviewer. Most candidates just ask about routine details that they think they ought to know, or which they think of on the spur of the moment, but which will probably be provided in due course anyway in documentation about terms and conditions.

Instead focus on the job priorities and scope, on the organisation and ways to make a difference or an improvement. Try to think strategically like a manager, and for very senior positions, like the CEO. Focus on the organisation not on your own needs.

Try to prepare and ask questions that make the interviewer think to themselves,

"Wow, that's a good question - this candidate has really thought about the role, and understands the sort of issues we need them to handle/the sort of responsibilities/initiatives we want them to take."

Aim to ask questions that make the interviewer think (depending on what the organisation and role requires),

"Wow, that's an unusual question - this candidate is special - they are demonstrating to me that they understand people/understand about commu-nications/have great integrity/a strong value system/great humanity/matu-rity/a good strategic mind/etc, etc."

Think before the interview about what the successful candidate will be like - ask yourself beforehand, what great questions would the success-ful candidate ask? And then be that person.

When you research the job look into the sort of challenges the organ-isation is facing, and think how this affects the vacant role. What does the employer need from the successful applicant? How might the role be ex-tended to contribute more to the organisation if the job were performed by a suitably positive and capable person? (That's you incidentally.) The job advert or job specification might give you some clues. Do your research so that you understand as much as possible about the priorities of the job posi-tion, and the organisation and its situation, and then think about the ways that the role could be extended to provide greater support towards achiev-ing organisational challenges.

This sort of background thinking will help you to prepare questions that will seriously impress any interviewer, whatever the role. It is possible also to think of good positive impressive questions just by using what you know of the role and the sort of issues that face modern employers. The point is, you need to think about it and prepare beforehand.

Good questions to ask interviewers

These types of questions are certainly appropriate for interviewees to ask an interviewer at an interview for a junior-to-middle ranking role. For more strategic roles and executive responsibilities you'll need to raise the strategic perspective of some of these questions - use your judgement. Re-member, the aim is to make the interviewer think (always relative to the role), "Wow, that's a good question."

In any event adapt the wording and develop alternative questions to suit your own style and the situations concerned.

"I'm aware that this market is fast moving/competitive/ mature/ local/ regional/national/international; how is this affecting the strategic priorities and the demands on the role/vacant position?"

"Communications, internal and external, are clearly extremely im-portant in this organisation; what are the related priorities for this role?"

"I've read that you (the employer organisation) face a lot of competi-tion from XYZ (sector, company, whatever); what do you think are the main ways that the successful candidate can help the organisation deal with this threat?"

"Where are the priorities/What are the issues for this role/the suc-cessful candidate in terms of maintaining/developing/improving effective inter-departmental relations?"

"What are the priorities and challenges as regards areas for change and improvement facing the department/organisation/team within/connect-ing/relating to the role?"

"How might this role positively impact on/contribute to customer re-lations/organisational development/culture/staff morale/training and devel-opment/legislative anticipation/market development/sales development/business retention in ways that it's not done so far?"

"What are the vulnerabilities in processes/people/business retention/grow/ technology, ITC systems within the organisation/department that need to be attended to?"

"Of the main priorities and expectations attached to this role, which ones are well understood and measurable, and which are not?"

And so on.. You get the idea?Serious, strategic, thoughtful, facilitative questions. Questions that

amaze the interviewer - about things they might not have even considered. In fact the best questions should make the interviewer think, "My God, if this person can have this level of insight, and such a positive enlightened approach at the interview, just imagine what they'll be able to do when they get their feet under the table..."

Questions to avoid asking

Contrast the expansive, positive strategic questions above, about job scope and contribution to organisational effectiveness, with this stuff be-low. Interviewers will generally react negatively (secretly usually) to ques-tions such as the following examples, so unless you are a very junior per-son going for a very junior role with an employer who has not prepared in advance this type of routine information, avoid asking questions like these at your interview.

"How many weeks holiday do I get?.."

"When would I get a pay-rise?.."

"What are the lunch times?.." "What sort of car do I get?.." "What other perks are

there?.." "What are the pension ar-

rangements?.." "Do you have a grievance

procedure?.." "What expenses can I claim

for?.." "How soon before I could get

Do not ask these questionsThese are warning-sign questions to most interviewers. Do not ask these questions at interview unless you want to be seen as someone who cares more about the pay and perks than the job and the organisation, let alone making a positive difference in the place.

promoted?.." "When is going-home time?.."

and others like these

Generally speaking these questions suggest to the interviewer that the candidate is mostly interested in what the organisation can give the em-ployee, rather than the other way around. Interviewers want to meet and re-cruit interviewees who see things in terms of what the employee can do for the organisation.

Find another way to get this sort of information if you really need to know it at the face-to-face interview. Good employers will explain all this to interviewees during the interview or in written terms and conditions, which many employers will send out prior to the interview. As it has been suggested ask prior to the interview for a copy of the employment terms and conditions or an employee handbook. If they don't have this or can't send it, and you have a burning question about these sort of 'hygiene fac-tors', the best way to approach it is to ask something like:

"What's the best way for me to see the routine details about the em-ployment terms and conditions relating to this role? Do you have a hand-book or sample contract for example? I don't want to waste time here going through incidentals..."

By doing this you demonstrate several important things, that: you regard these things as secondary - implication being that you

regard doing the job as the priority you respect the value of time, since you appreciate there are better

things to concentrate on during an interview you understand the principle of efficient information management

and communication, on the basis that all this detail will be available some-where to read rather than have to waste effort asking individual questions

you are professional - because providing information like this in the way you suggest is the most professional way to do it.

Of course the job-grade and seniority of the vacancy and the size of the employer organisation will affect the significance and transfer of this sort of information. In an interview with a tiny little company for a junior clerk's position the interviewee can be forgiven for asking these sorts of questions relating to terms and conditions, not least because the company might not be professional or organised enough to have produced a proper handbook or contract, nevertheless, whatever the role and size of employer, the less time spent asking about all this sort of information the better. And certainly avoid the entire area in interviews for professional positions with

professional employers, especially in commercially competitive functions and industry sectors.

2.6 Salary negotiation tips for job interviews

The best time to negotiate salary is after receiving a job offer, and importantly before you accept a job offer - at the point when the employer clearly wants you for the job, and is keen to have your acceptance of the job offer. Your bargaining power in real terms, and psychologically, is far stronger if you have (or can say that you have) at least one other job offer.

If there's a very big difference between what is being offered and what you want, say more than 20%, you should raise it as an issue during the interview for discussion later (rather than drop it as a bombshell sud-denly when the job offer is made). Do not attempt to resolve a salary issue before receiving a job offer - there's no point. Defer the matter - say you'll need to discuss salary in due course, but that there's obviously no need to do so until and unless the company believes you are the right person for the job.

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it," should be the approach. The chances of renegotiating salary after accepting a new job, and

certainly after starting a new job, are remote - once you accept the offer you've effectively made the contract, including salary, and thereafter you are subject to the organization's policies, process and natural inertia.

2.7 Tips on what to wear for interviews

You'll see various research and general advice concerning what best to wear for job interviews. The sort of clothes, styles, colours, shoes, make-up, accessories, etc., are likely to have the best effect. Standard rules for dress code at interviews are mostly common sense:

- be smart; - coordinated; - clean; - tidy; - relatively under-stated.

However you can go further than merely adopting the standard recommen-dations to wear blue or grey suits, black shoes, white, cream, pale yellow and pastel colours for shirts and blouses; and to avoid black (too funereal - unless your interview is with an undertakers), bow-ties, Elton John specs and deer-stalker hats.

You can take a more sophisticated approach to your choice of dress and style at job interviews.

Your best choice of dress, clothes, colours and style at interview should actually depend on the role and what surrounds it.

For example, blue is thought by many people to represent formal business professionalism, which is fine for 'professional' job opportunities, but a smartly pressed blue business suit and crisp white shirt and tie won't help you much in an interview for a role requiring care and compas-sion, working outdoors in all weathers, managing down-to-earth labourers, being bubbly and creative, or teaching disaffected kids.

What we wear should be an extension of our personality of course, but also importantly, indicates to the interviewer our ability to recognise what the employment situation and job requires.

No-one ever got a job because of the way they dressed whereas lots of people fail to get jobs because 'something' about their appearance put the interviewer off - maybe just a bit - but enough not to get the job.

Dress in a way that projects you personality, sure, but not to the ex-tent that your appearance is inappropriate to the situation. For adventurous dressers, especially going for jobs that might call for a spark of individual-ity, it can be a fine judgement. A lot depends on the interviewer too - inno-vative interviewers in industries that are amenable to flair will respond more positively to people who look different. But process-orientated deci-sion-makers in structured environments will prefer people who look safer.

Employers want people who can do the job - that's a given - but they also badly need people who will 'align' and fit in - people who can 'get the beat' of the organisation and department. Empathy, trust, rapport, are all built on this initial platform, and what you wear and how you style yourself provide a great opportunity to start putting these foundations in place with the interviewer. Your interview dress code and visible styling help you show the interviewer (it's a conscious and unconscious effect) that you un-derstand the organisation's style and how to fit in with it; that you can adapt appropriately to your environment - it's a valuable ability and there's noth-ing to be achieved by creating doubts in this area.

So when you next prepare for a job interview, try to orientate your choice of clothes and style to that of the employer, and also to the way the interviewer perceives the role. Consider also the type of job and the service sector, and particularly the personality, skills and behaviour that is required in the role: For example is the role mainly extravert or introvert, detailed or conceptual, creative or processing, conforming or innovative, etc., and how does this affect the way you should be styling yourself and dressing for the interview?

If it helps you decide what to wear, think about how the existing em-ployees dress. Does the employer have a conservative attitude and culture

regarding dress code, or is the culture more modern and relaxed. It is as un-helpful for you to be dressed too conservatively and professionally as it is to be dressed not professionally enough. Try to get an idea of what people wear in the organisation so that you can reflect, within reason, the tone and style that fits in with the employer and the interviewer's expectations. Do the men wear ties or not? Do the women wear suits? Do they 'dress down' on Fridays? (This is particularly relevant if you happen to go for an inter-view at their offices on a dress-down Friday, when prior knowledge will help you to tone down a little and avoid sticking out like someone who doesn't fit in because they've not had the sense to find out before-hand.) Go see or ask if this will help you to feel more confident.

On the point of going and seeing, especially if you know very little about the organisation, it's often helpful to get a feel of the place and the people before deciding that the organisation is actually worthy of your tal-ents and commitment. If you live close enough to the organisation's offices or site it makes good sense to visit their reception or sales office as part of your pre-interview research, when you can pick up a few brochures, feel the atmosphere, and form a view of staff attitudes and style, etc. This will also give you a good indication of their dress code, especially if you visit when people are arriving or leaving work. Lunch-time visits are interesting too - at the start of breaks and when people return to work. It's amazing what you can hear and learn sometimes, simply sitting in a busy reception for a few minutes or approaching a reception desk and asking for a brochure.

As regards your own appearance for interviews, consider any jew-ellery and other bodily adornments too. No-one ever got a job because they wore an outrageously big fat diamond ring, or a nineteen-ounce gold chain over their shirt, but I bet there'll have been plenty of people who've not got jobs because they've erred on the wrong side of this particular judgement.

For the same reason, the number of body piercings displayed at inter-view is generally inversely proportional to the chances of successfully at-tracting a job offer, unless the job happens to be in a body piercing studio.

Tattoos are another interesting area. Attitudes to tattoos are certainly more tolerant than twenty years ago: even main board directors these days commonly will be hiding a little dragon or butterfly somewhere intimate on their person, however, given two equally-matched candidates at a job inter-view or group selection, the one with the short sleeves and naked ladies up each forearm is unlikely to get the nod. Safest bet - especially for customer-facing jobs (literally face-to-face) - is not to show too much tattooed skin at interviews unless you are very confident of yourself indeed.

The reality unfortunately is that most people, including interviewers, will tend to judge you with their eyes, not least because interviewers know that their customers and staff will do too. And, like all business decisions, recruitment decisions reflect on the people making them. Therefore when you are being interviewed the interviewer is not only deciding whether you can do the job, they are also deciding whether choosing you will reflect well or not on their own reputation. The less you challenge this area the more likely they'll feel comfortable deciding in your favour. Use your com-mon sense.

So, if the role and the organisation calls for someone to conform and behave according to strong corporate style and expectations then dress ac-cordingly. If the role and the organisation calls for individuality and fresh ideas then you have more licence to dress more individually, but still be-ware. It remains that most employers and interviewers, whatever they might say about welcoming fresh blood and challenging new ideas, will al-ways tend to err on the side of caution. Interviewers generally don't know-ingly take risks - they prefer safe options - safe non-threatening people, who appear and dress in a safe and non-threatening way.

I'm not saying you've got to become a de-humanised clone for the in-terview, or that there's no place for individuality, on the contrary actually - you've got to look good (and extremely smart too if it's called for) - and aside from this there certainly is a huge need for individual thought and be-haviour and innovation in all organisations - but that's after you've got the job and settled in. You've got to get the job first, and you'll do that most easily by appearing immediately like someone who'll fit in rather well, not by looking like someone who marches to a different tune or has no idea how to adapt to their environment.

Clothes, style, colours, jewellery, hair, like anything else that repre-sents you as the applicant (just as the quality and presentation of your CV for example), should project the 'fit' and congruence between yourself and the employer and the interviewer's requirements for the job, and also show that you can understand different situations and behave accordingly. Indi-viduality is great, but the job interview is not really the best place to start displaying a highly individual dress style, unless the role specifically calls for it, which in truth is very rarely indeed.

Look good, but under-stated. Project yourself and your personality in what you wear, but above all show that you are aware of what's going on around you, and that you can adapt to the situation and present yourself ap-propriately.

2.8 Tasks

Task 1 Prepare to a job interview as an interviewerTask 2 Prepare to a job interview as an interviewee

Unit 3 After-interview actions

3.1 Interview follow-up letter or email by intervieweeIf you are particularly keen to be offered a job and wish to increase

your profile and chances of receiving a job offer after attending interview, you can follow up an interview with a letter or email (and then a phone call) to reinforce your commitment and qualities for the job. The sooner the better.

Often jobs are offered to the most passionate and determined appli-cants, so this should be the feeling that your follow-up should try to con-vey, without giving the impression of desperation or crawling.

You should seek to focus your follow-up letter or email on the key performance aspects in the role that the interviewer believes are required for the successful applicant.

This type of follow-up enables you to show that you have considered and developed your thinking after the interview (a desirable attribute), and also enables you to re-emphasise your claim to the opportunity, bringing your name to the front of the interviewer's mind again. A good follow-up letter or email also enables you to demonstrate that you are persistent, pro-fessional, interested, possess relevant capabilities, recognise what the re-quirements and priorities are, are keen, and can sell yourself in a deter-mined manner, that probably the other applicants will not do.

Interviewers also respond well to applicants who really like the com-pany, especially if your reasons coincide with the reasons that the inter-viewer likes the company too, so it can help if your follow-up 'resonates' with the feelings of the interviewer about what is required for the role.

Sample 3.1 Dear Sir/Madam

Position

You interviewed me on (date) for the (role) position. I really want this job, so I'm taking the liberty of re-stating why I think you should choose me*:

You need someone who can produce new profitable business - a minimum (stated target level) a year. My track record proves I can do this. I know al-ready how I will do this for you. Moreover I'll help others around me to do it too.

You need someone who is very adaptable. Again my recent career history shows how I'm able to adapt to fast-changing situations - to identify and achieve new aims quickly. Put me anywhere - I'll adapt and create a new plan, and achieve it.

You need someone who can hit the ground running - I can do this - I have commitments from personal customers who have promised me business equating to (amount) by (when) should I take on this new role.

You might have seen better qualified applicants, or people with more rele-vant experience, but when it comes down to it, it's the person with the most passion and determination who is able to make a real difference. I'd urge you to give me the chance to prove I am that person.

Faithfully yours

( list 3-5 short points which relate your skills, knowledge, experience, achievements, character, attitude, to the results and effects they'll be seek-ing from the person appointed. It is very important that these points demon-strate that you have clearly understood and can deliver - specific measur-able things if possible - what they need for the role, for example:)

You could also follow up the letter/email with a phone call to ask what the interviewer thinks, and if there's anything else that you can do or provide to help the interviewer decide.

Persistence often pays off, especially in roles which require someone who can get results by making things happen, which applies to most roles in business and organisations these days, and certainly all management roles. In a way that will raise your profile, re-state your credentials and un-derstanding of the role's requirements, and thereby create a clear separation between you and the other job candidates.

3.2 Holding up letter

When the selection decision is delayed for some reason, when it is important to acknowledge about it you can get a holding up letter:

Sample 3.2 Name and address of candidate.

Date

Dear (Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss Surname)

Your interview on (date)

Thank you for attending the interview with us on (date) at (location) for the position of (position).

You presented yourself extremely well and impressed us very much, and the interview process is still ongoing. We will be in touch as soon as possi-ble to inform you whether we can offer you the position or not (or when and if we will need to see you again).

I thank you for the interest and enthusiasm you have shown thus far.

Should you have any questions meanwhile please let me know.

Best wishes, etc

3.3 Letter of rejection after the interview

If you were not successful at your interview you can get another variant of the letter/email.

Generally to avoid different lawsuits the safest way for the inter-viewer is to write an interview rejection letter simply saying thank you, and stating that the reason for the interviewee not being successful is due to there being better qualified candidates.

Sample 3.3Name and address of candidate.

Date

Dear (Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss Surname)Your interview on (date)

Thank you for attending the interview (or group selection event) with us on (date) at (location) for the position of (position).

While you presented yourself extremely well and impressed us very much, I regret that we are not on this occasion able to offer you the position, due to there being other better qualified (or more suitably qualified) candidates.

I thank you for the interest and enthusiasm you have shown and wish you all the best for the future.

Best wishes, etcAnd to help the interviewee feel better about his/her experience, and

also to leave him/her with a much more positive impression about the com-pany, instead of remembering it simply as the employer who rejected him/her the company can send an attached feedback asking the interviewee to feel it in for improving the recruitment process.

Sample 3.4 Applicant feedback template example - for use after job applica-

tion or interview rejectionfeedback from applicant................................... ref............................................. date......................   Please help us to improve our re-cruitment processes by giving us your feedback about the way we conducted the recruitment.

answer Yes or No

please give your comments

(applicant to complete)

Could we improve the way the job was explained in the advert? Could we have explained better the sort of person we were seeking?Were all of our communica-tions to you clear and profes-sional and polite?Were the recruitment ar-rangements and processes all explained clearly enough?Is the opportunity to receive and give feedback helpful to you?Would you apply for a job with us again?Do you have any other comments or suggestions?

3.4 Job OfferAnd in case of your positive presentation after the interview you may

get a job offerSample 3.4

Acme Technical EnterprisesP.O. Box 123 • Any City • Any State • 00000Phone 555-555-0000

March 1, 200x

John Q. Public123 Any StreetAny City, 00000

Dear John Q. Public,

JOB OFFER

Acme Technical Enterprises, Inc. is pleased to offer you a job as a Senior Engineer. We trust that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most valuable assets.

Should you accept this job offer, per company policy you'll be eligible to receive the following beginning on your hire date.

- Salary: Annual gross starting salary of $63,500, paid in biweekly installments by your choice of check or direct deposit;

- Performance Bonuses: Up to three percent of your annual gross salary, paid quarterly by your choice of check or direct deposit;

- Stock Options: 500 Acme stock options in your first year, fully vested in four years at the rate of 125 shares per year;

- Benefits: Standard, Acme-provided benefits for salaried-exempt employees, including the following;

- 401(k) retirement account;- Annual stock options;- Child daycare assistance;- Education assistance;- Health, dental, life and disability insurance;- Profit sharing;- Sick leave;- Vacation and personal days.

To accept this job offer:

1) Sign and date this job offer letter where indicated below;2) Sign and date the enclosed Non-Compete Agreement where in-

dicated;3) Sign and date the enclosed Confidentiality Agreement where in-

dicated;4) Sign and date the enclosed At-Will Employment Confirmation

where indicated;5) Mail all pages of the signed and dated documents listed above

back to us in the enclosed business-reply envelope, to arrive by Thursday, March 17, 200x. A copy of each document is enclosed for your records;

6) Attend new-hire orientation on Monday, March 21, 200x, begin-ning at 8:00 AM sharp.

To decline this job offer:

1) Sign and date this job offer letter where indicated below;2) Mail all pages of this job offer letter back to us in the enclosed

business-reply envelope, to arrive by Thursday, March 17, 200x.

If you accept this job offer, your hire date will be on the day that you attend new-hire orientation. Plan to work for the remainder of the business day af-ter new-hire orientation ends. Please read the enclosed materials for com-plete, new-hire instructions and more information about the benefits that Acme offers.

We at Acme hope that you'll accept this job offer and look forward to wel-coming you aboard. Your immediate supervisor will be Jane Doe, Depart-ment Manager, Engineering. Feel free to call Jane or me if you have ques-tions or concerns. Call the main number in the letterhead above during nor-mal business hours and ask to speak to either of us.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

John SmithHiring Coordinator, Human Resources

Enclosures: 6Accept Job OfferBy signing and dating this letter below, I, John Q. Public, accept the job offer of Senior Engineer by Acme Technical Enterprises.

Signature:_________________________________ Date:_____________

Decline Job OfferBy signing and dating this letter below, I, John Q. Public, decline the job offer of Senior Engineer by Acme Technical Enterprises.

Signature:_________________________________ Date:_____________

But some letters may not have parts for accepting or refusing it like this

Sample 3.6Dear Robin Bright

Position as a Sales Manager

Thank you for your visiting our interview for the post of Sales Manager on the 7th of August.

We are pleased to inform you that we were impressed by the range of your experience and after the interview our company made the decision to hire you for this position. We are informing you that your working hours are 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. with one hour for lunch. The starting salary of $15500 p.a. will be reviewed after a three-month probationary period. And you may start as soon as you arrive.

We are looking forward to your starting working with us hoping to become a good team.

Yours sincerely

Mrs. DouglasPersonnel manager

When accepting such job offers, you should include the following: - Thanks and appreciation for the opportunity; - Written acceptance of the job offer;- The terms and conditions of employment (salary, benefits); - Starting date of employment.

Address the letter to the person who offered you the position. Include your contact information and phone number, even though it is on file with the employer.

Sample 3.7Letter accepting a job offerJane Fieldstone 87 Washington Street Smithfield, CA 08055 (909) 555-5555

Date

Dear Mr. Barnes,

Job acceptance

As we discussed on the phone, I am very pleased to accept the position of Marketing Manager with Smithfield Pottery. Thank you for the opportu-nity. I am eager to make a positive contribution to the company and to work with everyone on the Smithfield team.

As we discussed, my starting salary will be $35,000 and health and life in-surance benefits will be provided after 90 days of employment.

I look forward to starting employment on July 1, 2007. If there is any addi-tional information or paperwork you need prior to then, please let me know.

Again, thank you.

Signature

3.5 TasksTask 1 Write a follow up letter on your interviewTask 2 Write a position rejection on the basis of a bad interview (create your feedback)

Task 3 Write a holding letter to the future employeeTask 4 Write a job offer (on the basis of the previous interview)Task 5 Write a job acceptance letter on the second job offerTask 6 Create your job offer and its acceptance on the basis of your profes-sion

Литература

1 Васильева Л. Деловая переписка на английском языке. – М. : Рольф, 2001. – 352 с.

2 Кумарова М. Новый бизнес английский / Курс деловой лексики английского языка. – М., 1997. – 245 с.

3 King F.W., Ann Cree D. English Business Letters. – Longman, 2003. – 159 с.

4 Career Resource Manual. – Washington, Peace Corps, 20005 www.obsearchtech.about.com6 www.about.com

Appendix A(referential)

Job advertisements

1 Customers Accounts Manager:This role will be responsible for managing the central customer administra-tion team which consists of 11 members of staff whose prime responsibility is to support the Customer Accounts Managers. The role will also be re-sponsible for managing the new business support team who work closely with the Business Development Managers.

The successful candidate will have some supervisory experience and a track record at building systems and processes to ensure the effective management of all major account customers. We are looking for someone with a majority of the following skills: Strong administrative background, with at least 3 years experience in man-aging a medium sized team; High Level IT skills, namely Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook Adaptable/Flexible attitude; Results focused; Client facing experience; Able to work as part of a team whilst providing strong leadership; Able to challenge others at any level when necessary ;Proactive, innovative and creative; Excellent communication and presentation skills; Strong organisational skills with ability to multi-task; Analytical thinker; Able to understand financial analysis for the business; Able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines; Self motivated; Professional manner.

2 Personal Assistant/Trainee International Trading Con-sultant

We require a personal assistant/trainee international trading consultant to learn and develop the skills required to manage the work load of one of the bosses and help manage accounts and introduce new products to the range. As well as undertaking general administrative duties, requiring excellent computer literacy, much of the hard work involves managing forecasts, data, information, working under pressure, sorting problems and more!

Maritime Foods The Company Maritime Foods Limited provides innovative food products to major na-tional retailers, and trade internationally with over 15 countries

A well established company supplying food and non-food products to su-permarkets, the UK and European retail sector and further a field, this is a small team that gets big results.

We have close relationships with all the major supermarket chains because we have worked very hard at building those relationships. We know how to get close to the buyers; and we know how to source the best products at the right prices.

Our product range includes own label supermarket products across a number of categories including frozen and fresh produce, and we also have two of our own brands Dettoris Italian Food and Sweet Cred. The company is eclectic, fast moving, sales oriented; it is not so much about rules, regulations and people management as success, ambition and hard work. In this company if you can hack it, your career can develop depending on your passion and drive, determination and commitment to your duties. The role requires flexibility and the ability to multi-task. If you can handle the work load effectively, then you can expect to enjoy the rewards that come from working for this diverse company. As well as undertaking general administrative duties, requiring excellent computer literacy – this person will need to be able to accompany him on regular trips abroad, and so the ability to travel at a moments notice is a must! This means that while the social life may be sacrificed, this person will learn the process of initiating and maintaining relationships, network-ing and entertaining clients. Much of the hard work involves managing forecasts, data, information, working under pressure, sorting problems …all without losing your sense of humour! The Skills Intelligent and ambitious, diplomatic, tenacious, passionate, flexible, astute, full of initiative and stamina. A second language would be great but 'fitting in' in 'getting on with it' are much more important. A drivers licence is also essential and the willingness to work long hours across different time zones.

3 Office Junior

Office junior required, you need to have a minimum of 2 years within an office environment and be computer literate. You will be dealing with clients on the phone, looking after general admin, taking messages andassisting generally within the office.Must have good Word & Excel skills and be of mature personality. MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE OF DEALING WITH ELECTRIC COM-PANIES Overall Purpose: To be responsible for assisting in administration duties for both the REC department. Principal Job Responsibilities: ( non exhaustive ) Co-ordinating information from departments and preparing handover packs both electronically and hard copies both to be issued to customers Chasing up information from Contractors to be included in handover packs Scanning information and burning CD’s to be included in information packs Ensuring packs are prepared in a timely manner to meet customers dead-lines Typing of access arrangements as required Chasing engineers for information to be inputted in celltracker Applying for power quotes Applying for and checking utility plans Maintain database Build on client and business relationships Liaise with internal personnel as required To assist with obtaining BT lease lines To assist with any other duties as outlined by the power coordinator Working Relationships: Customers: As required Suppliers: All new and existing suppliers. (Regional Electricity Companies, Metering Firms, Electrical contractors, Generator Suppliers) Qualifications and Experience: (E = Essential, D = Desirable) E Administration experience D Good interpersonal skills, enthusiastic and friendly telephone manner. D Computer literate (PC/Microsoft) Literacy D Willing to assist in general office duties PLEASE ONLY APPLY IF YOU LIVE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF CHERTSEY, SURREY.

4 Part-time Receptionist / AdministratorMITIE Cleaning is an award-winning contractor providing blue chip clients and national and local government with a range of specialist services. We are a major part of MITIE Group PLC, a FTSE 250 company which em-ploys 28,000 staff in over 90 offices. MITIES’ successful growth continueseach year.We require a Receptionist/Administrator based in the Emersons Green of-fice, the purpose of which will be to provide and deliver an efficient and ef-fective Reception service together with administration support to assist the Health & Safety Manager, two Trainers, the PA to the Regional General Manager and all departments of the Bristol Office.The main responsibilities are:Reception: - To manage the Reception area by keeping the area tidy, to stock take Re-ception equipment and supplies and to order supplies when required. En-sure equipment is in working order at all times. Arrange for engineer through the appropriate personnel in cases of breakdown. To leave the Re-ception area each evening in a tidy and secure state. - To receive all incoming calls and either direct to the appropriate person, deal with caller personally or record in the message book. To welcome all visitors and introduce to the appropriate personnel. - Responsible for updating the electronic telephone directory and also the printed internal telephone list issued to all staff. - To open incoming post and date stamp and distribute. - To frank all outgoing post and ensure that franking machine is kept up to date with the current postage levels. - To receive faxes and distribute to appropriate personnel and to send faxes when required. - To be responsible for the meeting room bookings and catering and equip-ment requirements. To ensure that the Message Book is used in accordance with Company Procedure. - To compile and keep up-to-date an ‘Office Manual’ of all equipment to contain information such as: breakdown telephone numbers, supplier infor-mation, maintenance information etc.Administration: - To enter on to a database and accident book all accidents and deal with the administration relating to the accidents on behalf of the Health & Safety Manager and any other administration support required by the H&S Man-ager. Liaison required with the Health & Safety Manager and Group Head Office.

- To provide administration support to two Trainers – data entry, typing of training material, circulation of material and organising training events; data entry and monitoring of Site Safety Reports; production of a periodic reports. - To provide administration support to the PA to the Regional General Manager – could include typing and circulation of memos, letters, emails, reports, mail shots etc.- Ad hoc tasks as required by all departments to ensure the smooth running of the Bristol office – may include data input into the computer, filing, pho-tocopying, envelope stuffing, circulation of documents and mail shotsetc.Skills required:- Switchboard/Reception experience- Professional manner / Interpersonal / excellent communication skills - Quick learner / Team player - Able to work independently / Administration experience - Keyboarding skills (basic knowledge of Word/Excel/Email) - Flexible approach

5 Senior Sales AdministratorAn opportunity has become available for a highly professional Senior Sales Administrator to work alongside the Directors Group Administrator in sup-porting her activities. She is the person who ensures the Directors have to-tal confidence in the quality of all correspondence leaving her desk which could be routine letters, tender documents, presentations and highly confidential material.Working for one of Leicestershire’s impressive business success stories, our client has grown to be a market leader in the supply of a range of engi-neered and industrial products supplied to both UK and international cus-tomers. An opportunity has become available for a highly professional Se-nior Sales Administrator to work alongside the Directors Group Adminis-trator in supporting her activities. She is the person who ensures the Direc-tors have total confidence in the quality of all correspondence leaving her desk which could be routine letters, tender documents, presentations and highly confidential material. She ensures she is the interface with the major customers who are speaking to the Directors and project manages any needs they may have. She organises meetings, manages travel arrange-ments and generally ensures all runs smoothly. She needs a colleague to as-sist her in managing the volume of work generated from this team which includes the MD. The individual sought will be very comfortable dealing at a senior level, will possess first class communication and administration

skills, will of course be a wiz on a PC and will be looking to work in a high profile role.

6 Market- CampaignerGreenpeace International is a major non-governmental opponent to the re-lease of genetically modified organisms into the environment. Part of our campaign focuses on the international market for such GMOs from the su-permarket to the farmers, including commodity trade, processors, food pro-ducers, retailers and consumers.To conduct this campaign most efficiently, GPI is offering a one year con-tract for the position of a Market- Campaigner and advisor on genetically engineered food.Main Responsibilities:Gather intelligence on commodity and food markets with the aim of pro-viding the necessary information and contacts to campaigners and ge free business partners on segregation. Follow the legal/institutional environment of this business. Work with national campaigners to influence food producers and retailers as well as farmers and trade to go or stay free.Prepare, maintain and deliver target group tailored information for the food business on the risks and public rejection of food. Prepare, maintain and deliver target, group tailored information for public and private investors and analysts on risks and uncertainties of genetic en-gineering in agriculture.Prepare, maintain and deliver target group tailored information for farmers and land owners on risks and uncertainties of genetic engineering in agri-culture Bring together and communicate national efforts and business trends internationally and advise national campaigns on the development of market oriented campaigning.Promote organic solutions on all these areas and keep contact with this business.Person Specification:Background or affinity and good communication skills for this specific sec-tor.Able to build a network of contacts to business and their associations in this field. Attend conferences, fairs and other business events and facilitate the co-op-eration between national campaigners and major business partners.Be knowledgeable on GMOs and their market and be able to present Greenpeace's position on the issue at all levels described above. Experience/skills required:Excellent English if not mother tongue, additional languages and advan-

tage.Solid experience with computer editing and data-processing, e-mail and in-ternet-research.Ability to travel extensively.Entrepreneurial spirit and dedicationSpecial Notes :The position reports to the International Campaign Coordinator. This is full time, temporary position, from as soon as possible Extension of the con-tract beyond the first year is conceivable but cannot be guaranteed. Based in Greenpeace International, AmsterdamFor further information about this position please contact: Benny Haerlin, Greenpeace International, Genetic Engineering Campaign, Chausseestrasse 131, 10115 Berlin, Germany or email Benny.Haerlin@Greenpeace.Closing Date:If you wish to apply for this position, please send your CV and references to Lesley Hatton, Greenpeace International, Human Resources Department, Keizersgracht 176, 1016 DW Amsterdam, or email

7 Systems Librarian – Information Network devisionJob Summary

Responsible to the Director, Information Networks Division for the work of the Division related to ensuring that all systems are up-to-date, data secured and information accurately provided.

Distinguishing Features of Work:

- Participating in systems design, equipment evaluation and selection process.

- Ensuring that specified equipment is ordered and delivered without delay.

- Ensuring that site preparation, installation implementation and test-ing of systems are promptly effected.

- Effectively maintains and updates systems as and when required (e.g. passwords, IP addresses).

- Co-ordinates systems upgrades and develop/implement plans and procedures for system failures.

- Provides training, consultation and, advice to staff on system changes and implementation that directly affects them.

Minimum Experience and Training:

Considerable experience in professional library work, such as may have been gained in the next lower class, and training as evidenced by the possession of the Associate of the Library Association (ALA), BLA, Mas-ter’s Degree in Library and Information Science, BA and Diploma in Li-brary Science or any equivalent combination of experience and training. At least five (5) years experience working in a computerized library environ-ment.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Considerable knowledge of systems analysis and design, networking, computer hardware and software.

Considerable knowledge of Internet resources, software for library operations and microcomputer systems.

Capable in managing, collating and analyzing large amounts of data.

Knowledge and familiarization with computerized integrated library manual systems. Ability to instruct and make presentations to wide audi-ences.

Ability to communicate effectively both orally and written.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with other employees and the general public.

Understand, appreciate and effect the importance of time manage-ment.

Appendix B(referential)

Some tips and clichés for covering letter and reference writing

Covering letter- As you can see by the en-

closed resume, my experience and qualifications make me an excellent candidate for the position of….

- Как видно из прилагаемого резюме, по опыту работы и квалификации, я являюсь отличным кандидатом на должность…

- I hope to hear favorably from you.

- Надеюсь получить от вас положительный ответ

- I am writing in response to the advertisement for a (position) which appeared on the (newspaper) on (date)

- Данное письмо является ответом на объявление о вакансии (должность) опубликованное в газете (название) от (дата)

- I am interested in applying for the position of … advertised in (newspaper)

- Я заинтересован в должности…, вакансия на которую была объявлена в газете …

- I believe that my qualifica-tions and experience closely parallel the requirements outlined in your advertisement.

- Мне кажется, что моя квалификация и опыт работы соответствуют требованиям, предъявляемым к претендентам на эту должность, в соответствии с Вашим объявлением.

- A complete resume is en-closed.

- I would welcome the oppor-tunity to discuss my qualifications and career plans with you.

- Полное резюме прилагается.

- С удовольствием встречусь с Вами и буду рад обсудить свою квалификацию и профессиональные планы

- The position of …. is the type of employment that I am seek-ing.

- Работа в должности… как раз тот вид деятельности, которым мне хотелось бы заниматься

- I believe that my education, desire and enthusiasm would enable me to make an important contribu-tion to your company.

- Мне кажется, что я смогу внести значительный вклад в работу Вашей компании, применив на практике свое

образование и желание работать.

Recommendation/Reference- (name) was employed as a

secretary in the (sales, advertising..) during the period (date)

- (имя) работала секретарем в отделе (продаж, рекламы) компании (название) в период с … по…

- Her job performance was very good in every respect

- Она очень хорошо выполняла любую работу

- The quantity and quality of her job were consistently high.

- Ее работа всегда отличалась качеством и высокими количественными показателями

- She displayed accuracy thoroughness and initiative in carry-ing out all assignments.

- При выполнении всех заданий она проявляла такие качества, как аккуратность, тщательность, инициативность

- She possesses excellent word processing skills

- Она отлично владеет навыками работы на компьютере

- She worked harmoniously and effectively with other and was an important contributor to the suc-cess of the department.

- Она проявила умение работать с людьми, и успех отдела был бы невозможен без ее участия.

- It is a pleasure to recom-mend her for a secretarial position

- Я с удовольствием рекомендую ее на должность секретаря.

- She will be a very valuable asset to any organization

- Она будет очень ценным сотрудником для любой организации

- I believe she would be an effective contribution to your com-pany

- Мне кажется, что она могла бы стать ценным приобретением для Вашей компании.

- I am absolutely sure that she will serve you well and will also mix well with other colleagues.

- Я абсолютно уверена, что она будет хорошо работать, и найдет общий язык с другими коллегами

Contents

Introduction……………………………………….. 3Unit 1 Preparing papers…………………………………. 4

1.1 Resume and CV writing…………………………. 41.2 Résumé’s covering letters……………………….. 131.3 Asking for a reference. Refusing to be a referee,

Reference………………………………………… 141.4 Application and rejection………………………… 211.5 Tasks……………………………………………… 28

Unit 2 Interviewing ……………………………………... 322.1 Interviews tips - for interviewers ………………… 322.2 Interviews tips - for interviewees………………… 342.3 Job interview questions and answers……………... 352.4 Stress and pressure interview questions………….. 612.5 Questions to ask at interview - for interviewees………………………………………..

64

2.6 Salary negotiation tips for job interviews ……….. 692.7 Tips on what to wear for interviews……………… 692.8 Tasks……………………………………………… 73

Unit 3 After-interview actions……………………………. 743.1 Follow up letter/call………………………………. 743.2 Holding up letter/call……………………………… 753.3 Rejection after the interview……………………… 763.4 Job offer…………………………………………… 783.5 Tasks………………………………………………. 81

Literature………………………………………… 83 Appendix A Job advertisements…………………. 84 Appendix B Some set phrases …………………… 92