Jobs

Choosing a job is one of the most important decisions in our life. Our career can influence not only our
financial situation, but also other aspects of our life, such as us health, psychological well-being,
family and social life.
a) typy povolaní (fyzická a duševná práca), voľba povolania, jej motivácia
There are many different professions nowadays and in general they can be divided into two broad
categories:
a) manual jobs (traditionally called also “blue-collar jobs) where workers use their physical skills
more than their intellectual skills. Typical examples of these professions are builders,
construction workers, miners, masons, plumbers, truck drivers (lorry drivers), cleaners etc.
Having a manual job can be quite demanding, because workers often have to spend their working
time in noisy environment (e.g. in factories) or in the open air (e.g. on a building site). Moreover,
labourers and manual workers are at a higher risk of injuries than people working in clean offices.
The salaries are not very high and manual workers usually cannot use their creativity, so they
often complain of having a monotonous and tiring work.
b) intellectual jobs (traditionally called also “white-collar jobs”) which require higher levels of
education and more advanced intellectual skills. Typical examples of this category can be
scientists, bank managers, CEOs (chief executive officers), lawyers, stockbrokers, economists,
journalists, psychologists etc. These jobs can be quite well-paid but they require high levels of
intelligence, creativity, social skills, flexibility and good problem-solving strategies or decision-
making strategies. If you want to become successful in one of these intellectual jobs, you should
be prepared to study at university and you have to be very hard-working, goal-oriented and
responsible.
The choice of our job can be influenced by a lot of factors such as our education, previous work
experience, skills, interests, personal qualities or current economic situation in our country which can
be reflected in the structure of labour market, unemployment rate and the salaries offered in different
fields of work. Needless to say, when we choose a job we also have to take into account our priorities
related to what is more important to us: having more time for our family or having a good career;
earning a lot of money or having a job that fulfils us and so on.
b) trh práce (ponuka pracovných miest a nezamestnanosť, rekvalifikácia, žiadosť o
zamestnanie, profesijný životopis, prijímací pohovor)
The labour market is influenced by global economic situation and also by technological changes. In
general, we can say that it is easier to find a job in big cities because there are more job opportunities
in cities than in the countryside where the unemployment rate is higher. Many state institutions and
private companies offer their employees also the possibilities of staff-retraining so that they could
acquire new skills and work more effectively. Employees are motivated not only by salaries, perks
(various benefits offered by employers) and work conditions but also by the prospects of promotion
which can contribute to their professional and personal growth. When we think about the changes in
the labour market, we can say that while in the past, most people used to work in traditional
professions in industry or agriculture, today more and more people tend to be employed in services.

When we are looking for a job, we should be prepared to take the following steps:
Firstly, we have to search for all kinds of available information about different job offers or vacancies.
We can visit a variety of websites on the Internet, we can ask our friends or relatives if they have any
useful tips and we can get information also from job centres in the area where we live.
Secondly, when we find an interesting job offer, we have to write our CV and letter of application and
send these documents to the company or institution in which we want to apply for a job. Our CV
should include our personal data (such as the date of birth, permanent address, phone number, email),
educational background, work experience, qualifications, computer skills, language skills, personal
qualities and fields of interest relevant to the job we apply for. It might be a good idea to include also a
reference or a letter of recommendation written by our former employers or teachers. In the
application letter we should clearly state where we found the job offer, which position we are applying
for and the main reasons why we want to work for the company and why we are suitable candidates
for the chosen position.
Thirdly, we should prepare for a job interview. Before a job interview, we should find as much
information about the company as possible to show our potential employer that we know about their
activities and achievements. We should be prepared to answer different questions about our
motivation, previous work experience, skills, strengths and weaknesses, our ideas about the salary and
questions like “Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?”, “Why have you chosen our company?”,
“Why did you quit your previous job?” etc. When we speak about our previous job, we should not be
too critical towards the employer we worked for but we should mention that we want to gain more
experience and face more challenges which can contribute to our personal as well as professional
growth. When we are invited to a job interview, we should not underestimate the importance of our
body language (non-verbal communication) such as facial expressions, gestures and keeping the eye-
contact. Furthermore, we should put on more formal or semi-formal clothes, not old or casual clothes
because for many employers the dress code is quite important as well. In general, we should try to give
the impression that we are self-confident, smart and communicative but not arrogant, overconfident or
too talkative.
Last but not least, if the employer is willing to employ us, we should study the work contract carefully
before signing it. The work contract is a legal document containing our duties and responsibilities,
working time, perks and other benefits, salary, the time when our employment starts, whether it is a
permanent or temporary work contract for a fixed period of time etc.
Job interview questions
1. Why do you want to work here? 6. Why should we hire you?
2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 7. What’s your greatest strength?
3. What’s your dream job? 8. What’s your greatest weakness?
4. Are you willing to fail? 9. What are your salary expectations?
5. How much do you expect to get paid? 10. How do you handle stress and pressure?
c) pracovný čas a voľný čas (efektivita práce, nové technológie)
Working time can differ in various professions – in some cases, it is more usual to have regular
working hours (for instance in one of those “nine-to-five” jobs in state institutions) , while people
having other professions (nurses, policemen, waiters, taxi drivers
Working conditions have improved considerably due to modern technologies. Hard and dangerous
work in factories is done by robots instead of people and computer technologies made our work in
offices much easier, faster and more effective. In addition, computer technologies enable us to
communicate with our colleagues or business partners via the Internet, email or interactive video
conferences. In some professions, computer technologies help us also get rid of unnecessary
paperwork. However, rapid technological progress can also have huge and unpredictable impact on the
structure of labour market, especially with the advance of artificial intelligence. Experts warn us that
in case of some professions which are traditionally done by people, human beings might be sooner or
later replaced by intelligent robots. In an ideal case, employees will also have shorter working hours
and they could have more free time thanks to modern technologies and increasing effectiveness of
production and work process in general.
d) pracovné príležitosti doma a v zahraničí, pracovné podmienky (mzda, sociálny systém)
Nowadays, people often look for better job opportunities abroad. The reasons include higher salaries
or lower unemployment rate in economically developed countries as well as higher standard of living
or better working conditions in foreign countries. We have been witnessing this phenomenon also in
our country especially since we joined the European Union in 2004. The situation when qualified
workers and educated people leave their homeland in order to find employment in foreign countries is
called “brain drain”. We should not underestimate potential negative long-term consequences of this
phenomenon because if this trend continues also in the future our country can lose a considerable part
of its qualified labour force which might mean that we will suffer from the lack of people who are able
to work in certain professions such as doctors, IT experts, nurses or factory workers. Needless to say,
it can have rather negative impact on our national economy and on the situation in domestic labour
market.
e) kariéra verzus rodinný život
In the past, it was common that women didn´t have the same career opportunities as men and it was
usually the father of the family who earned the living for his wife and children while mothers were
responsible mainly for raising the children and housework (they were called “housewives”). The
situation has changed a lot and nowadays women are equal to men also in terms of educational
opportunities and career options. Many traditionally male-dominated professions are today open also
for women (e.g. surgeons, police officers, soldiers, judges, top managers or politicians). As a result,
many women have to solve the dilemma between having a successful career leading to high salaries
and high levels of independence and job satisfaction and investing more time and energy into their
private or family life. The choice whether we – women as well as men – focus more on career or
family values depends mainly on our priorities, education, personality traits, attitude to life and ideas
about our future.