• What is important when choosing a job?

Skill, Passion, Salary/benefits, location, company reputation,

Job flexibility, position

Scene: Claire and Ben are final-year university students.

Claire : So, Ben, have you made up your mind about what kind of job you
want?
Ben : No, not yet. I’m going through the employment pages in the
newspapers.
Claire : Didn’t you want to work for a bank?
Ben : Well, yeah, I did. The working conditions are good, but I don’t
want to be stuck behind a desk all day. It doesn’t seem very
exciting…
Claire : But it’s well-paid! And it has good job-security…
Ben : That’s true. And I need to start paying off some of my debts!

1) Has Ben decided on a job yet? Not yet, Ben is still through the employment pages in the
newspaper.

2) Why isn’t he keen on working for a bank? Ben doesn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all day
and doesn’t seem very exciting for Ben.

3) What does Claire think are the benefits of working for a bank? Well-paid and has good job
security

POSITIVE: Rewarding, well-paid, fringe benefits, equal opportunities, promotion, varied,

overseas transfer opportunities, job security

NEGATIVE: Long working-hours, stressful, monotonous, challenging

b. Teacher
Teacher is a noble job.
c. Astronauts
Astronauts are a job related to astronomy and a challenging job.
d. Popstars
Popstars are a job in the entertainment field.

Questions about your job

1. Do you work long hours? Are you typical in your company? No, I don’t. I work according to
working hours because I want to have free time for my family.
2. Why did you choose your present job? Was it a difficult decision? Because it suits my
passion. I think no, it suits my skills.
3. Do you get any fringe benefits with your job? Yes, I do. Sometimes I get fringe benefits
when I succeed in achieving company targets.
4. Do you think you’ll ever work abroad? Yes, I do. I really want to work abroad to gain
valuable experience.

Questions about working in general

5. What are the three most important things to think about when choosing a job? Salary,
Skill/Passion, and Company.
6. If you could choose any job in the world, what would it be? I want to be HRD (Human
Resource Department) because I am like to meet many people.
7. When you were a child, what did you want to be? When I was a child, I want to be a doctor.
8. Does anyone you know have an unusual job? No, I don’t. but I know it through internet,
that is sleep executive.
9. Would you like to ‘escape the rat-race’, and do something unusual? Of course, yes. I want
to explore something outside the ‘escape rat race.' Doing something unusual could bring
new challenges and fulfilment.
10. What are the pros and cons of working overseas? Pros of working overseas: get a high
salary and usually get benefits or job security. Cons: work pressure is heavier and there is
little rest time and cultural and language differences
11. What kind of work environment do you like?
12. What if you have you have a boss who doesn’t understand his employees?