PRE-INTERMEDIATE

In company interviews: Units 13–15

Before you watch
1 Read the statements and tick ( ) the ones you agree with.
• I believe face-to-face meetings are the best meetings.
• If you use social media, sourcing the right candidate for a job is very easy.
• A company should describe its firing process clearly.
• I find managing my time very difficult.
• I use different methods for organizing tasks I have to do.

While you watch: Air travel

2 Watch the video. Tamar Brooks says that business travel has changed. What is the main reason?

Business travel has really changed in the last ten to fifteen years. What was a business trip to have face-to-face meetings,
due to the economic slowdown, due to the double dip recession, we have really discovered in the last five years that people
are trying to find alternative means for business travel. Therefore, whether it is in live meetings, on the web or in conference,
it is preferable to conduct conference calls at cost. But having said that, there are still reasons and the need for business trips.

3 Watch the video again. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones.
a Due to the economic slowdown, people don’t want to have meetings. T
b People prefer conference calls for cost reasons. F
c There is no reason to do business travel now. T
d Tamar used to travel once a week and now travels once a month. T

While you watch: Hiring and firing

4 Watch the video. What is the main challenge for Tamar when …
a … hiring staff?

Your main challenge you encounter with recruiting is finding the right ones.
And it uses various mechanisms to do that.
You use recruiting agents and you also use our networks, my network, your colleagues' networks,
people who know
b … firing staff?
When it s related to performance. See how long ths can take place.
5 Complete the description of the firing process with the passive form of the verbs in brackets.
a If targets are not achieved (not achieve), then the informal process begins.
b The employee’s activities are reviewed (review) on an informal weekly basis.
c Then the formal HR process are started (start).
d A monthly meeting is held (hold) between Tamar and the employee.
e The employee is given (give) a verbal warning and then a written warning.
6 Do you know the informal and formal processes for hiring and firing at your
company? Are they similar to Tamar’s company?

Company 3.0 Pre-intermediate © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014 INTERVIEWS 13–15

 INTERVIEWS 13–15
7 Watch the video. Complete Tamar’s method of managing her tasks.

Company 3.0 Pre-intermediate © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014

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While you watch: Time

I split out tasks by day, week, (a) month and
(b) quarter ahead. Then I can find the:
(c)urgent tasks – people scream at you!
Medium tasks done over a (d) longertime period.
Strategic (e) topics– I have three or four of these.
At the beginning of every day, I decide to do:
A number of (f) short termtasks.
One (g) mediumtask.
Every (h) week, I set aside time to start working on (i) topicslong, strategic
task.
 PRE-INTERMEDIATE

After you watch

8 Think about Tamar’s method of managing tasks in 7. Answer the questions.
a What are the advantages and disadvantages of this method?

b Would this method work for you in your job? Why? / Why not?

c How do you plan and organize your work? Write a short description using 8 to help you.