TASK SHEET 1 The Interview
Did 'assistant' in the advertisement mean 'Personal Assistant' - another word for
Describe and compare the
places in both pictures. What do
you think usually happens in
these places?
Describe and compare the
people in both pictures. What do
you think they might be
discussing about?
Discussion
1. Which of the two locations in the pictures is not a good place for an interview? Give
reasons for your answer.
2. What are some of the questions that are asked in almost every interview?
3. Imagine you are going to be interviewed for a job with a large international organization
next week. How could you prepare for the interview?
READING
The woman at the reception desk looked surprised when I told her why I had come. 'Take
a seat over there,' she said, and pointed to some chairs where three young women were
already sitting. They gave me a strange look. One of them giggled and whispered
something to the other two. They seemed to find something amusing about me. I sat down
and spent a few minutes looking at the advertisement again. I had come across the
advertisement in the local newspaper and had immediately sent them a short letter about
myself. A few days later I had got back a short note asking me to come for an interview.
They hadn't sent me an application form to fill out or even asked for a photograph.
Suddenly I remembered that I had signed my letter 'Chris Neale'. Had they assumed that
'Chris' meant 'Christine' and not 'Christopher'?
'Secretary'? Was this a job that only women could get? I hadn't personally come up against
that difficulty before.
A man in his early thirties came out of one of the offices and asked the three young women
if they had come about the advertisement. He didn't seem to notice me.
'Where's the other girl who applied?' he asked, looking at a list.
Discuss these questions.
1. Is the person who wrote the story a man or a woman? How old could he or she be?
2. Without looking at the advertisement again, describe the job that is advertised.
3. Now describe the things a person in such a job might do at work.
4. How do you think the writer felt after he spoke to the woman at the reception desk?
5. Explain what you think made him feel the way he did.
6. Do you think there was some kind of misunderstanding? If so, explain what the
misunderstanding was and how it perhaps came about.
7. Give some examples of 'typical jobs for women' and 'typical jobs for men'.
8. What happened before the writer went to the interview?
9. How do you know this happened before the interview?
SPEAKING
1. Are the jobs below usually done by men or women? Why do you think this is?
astronaut, coal miner, dancer, lorry driver, nurse, pilot, police officer, shop assistant,
surgeon
2. There are many jobs in which a knowledge of English is essential or desirable. Name
some of these jobs and say why English is important for them.
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
Watch the video presentation on “Top 10 Interview Questions For Nurses” and answer
the 10 questions on your own.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EolhEMdcMf8&t=24s
Read the government leaflet and do the exercise below.
AT THE INTERVIEW
Certain questions frequently come up. So
it's worth thinking about the answers
beforehand.
'Why did you leave your
last job?'
• Try to be as honest as possible without
appearing to criticize your previous
employer. If you weren‟t happy or found
the job boring, say that you didn't think
you could make full use of your true
abilities.
• Be as positive as possible. Emphasize
any experience you think is relevant to
the new job you are looking for.
'What exactly did you do
in your last job?'
• Don't just give the name of the job. In a
few brief sentences, describe the main
duties and responsibilities the job
involved. Offer enough information to give
a clear picture of the job and then see if
your interviewer has any further
questions.
Exercise – Choose the best answer.
1. If you are asked why you left your last
job, a good answer would be
A. They just didn't appreciate my true
abilities.'
B. 'I felt I could offer more than the job
required.'
C. To be honest, I found the job boring.'
D. 'I don't want to criticize my employers. I
won't say anything.'
2. When asked what your last job was, you
should
A. say something like 'clerk' and wait for
more questions.
B. give as detailed a description as
possible of exactly what you did.
C. try to make it sound as important as you
can.
D. give a short but reasonably clear idea of
what you did.
• Be sure to mention any promotion or
advancement you had.
'Why do you want to work for us?'
• This is your chance to show you've
found something out about the firm
before the interview. Pick out something
about it that interests you in particular.
• Don't talk only about what you hope to
get from the firm. Emphasize what you
can do for them, as well. Explain how
what you have done in the past will be
useful in the new job.
Remember these things, too.
• Try to relax and be yourself. This is
very important.
• Try to get a conversation going. Don't
just answer 'Yes' or 'No'.
• If you don't understand something, say
so clearly.
• Don't just answer questions. Ask a few
yourself.
• At the end, thank the interviewer for
seeing you.
3. When you are asked why you want the
new job, it is a good idea to
A. say what you know about the firm and
how you think you can help it.
B. concentrate on the advantages of the
job from your point of view.
C. tell the interviewer how lucky they
would be to get you.
D. say nothing about the pay and the
other benefits you hope to get.
4. You are advised to
A. answer only the questions you are
asked.
B. answer questions with 'yes' or „no‟.
C. show when you haven't understood
something.
D. be reserved and formal in your
behaviour.
LANGUAGE STUDY
Exercise 1
A. Where did you come across this information?
1. Come across the street with me.
2. Your name came up again in a conversation.
3. The submarine came up slowly in the darkness.
4. This letter came about two days ago.
5. How did this misunderstanding come about?
6. The submarine came up against a dark sky, so nobody saw it.
7. Have you ever come up against this problem?
8. The boy went upstairs and then came down with a book in his hands.
9. The boy came down with a bad cold.
10. I almost passed out when I heard I had won first prize.
11. Oil comes into the engine through the blue tube and then passes out through the red
one.
12. The patient was given an anaesthetic and didn't come to for three hours.
13. The woman came to the door and looked at me.
B. Match the meanings a-g with the phrasal verbs used in A.
a) meet or face a difficulty e) be talked about, mentioned or
b) happen discussed
c) regain consciousness f) fall ill with
d) find by accident or hear about g) lose consciousness
Exercise 2. Rewrite the second sentence in each pair. Use no more than five words
including the word in bold. Do NOT change this word. An example is given (0).
0. All students face the problem of phrasal verbs.
come All students come up against phrasal verbs.
1. Is it the first time you've heard of phrasal verbs?
come Have you ever_____________ phrasal verbs before?
2. Are you as interested in them as I am?
find Do you ____________interesting as I do?
3. Do you use them well?
good Are you ____________ them?
4. I have the impression you know something about them.
seem You ____________something about them.
5. What is another way of saying 'I fell ill with a cold'?
came How can I say 'I ____________a cold'?
6. What about 'We often discuss this subject in our lessons'?
comes What about 'This subject ____________our lessons'?
7. Some examples even amuse students.
find Students ____________amusing.
8. I think we've discussed phrasal verbs enough now.
stop Let's ____________now.
9. If you study any more, you may lose consciousness.
pass You may ____________if you go on studying.
10.Why don't you rest a little now?
break Why don't________________now?