Самохина Т.С. Дианова Е.М. Upgrade Your Language Skills. Unit 3 (тексты)
Подождите немного. Документ загружается.
institutions teaching English, and challenged the existing standards of language
competence. The effectiveness of students' performance, which used to be viewed in
terms of linguistic effectiveness (grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, etc.) acquired new
dimensions of para-linguistic (body language, facial expressions, etc.) and extra-
linguistic competence (cultural awareness). The bottom line of this competence is
the effective usage of English for communication purposes in the future careers of
the students: thus performance objectives replaced purely educational objectives, or
learning the language for its own sake. To provide the students with this competence
in a constantly changing universe, teachers had to familiarize themselves with real-
life situations and new relevant areas of knowledge which might require the
knowledge of English on the part of our students. Innovative teachers had to acquire
computer and business correspondence skills, to learn about negotiations and
reports, and study the subject matter of customer service, business ethics and
international business culture. Without awareness of what goes on in the world of
business, we cannot claim to be effective teachers of communication in that world.
Before perestroika, when teaching the language, we used to go deeper, now we
probably have to go wider. But it was not only the approach which changed in this
way — our audiences changed too. Workers and engineers on the oil rigs of Russian-
American joint ventures, accountants of representative offices of foreign companies,
people who were going to work overseas, young managers who planned to take MBA
courses in Britain or the U.S. could not attend classes for years, laboriously studying
articles and tenses, practicing spelling and transcription. Their careers, and
sometimes their survival, depended on learning the basics really fast. So the time
span available for training became pitfall number one. However, it was not the whole
story: these people were mostly adults and not secondary school children, some of
them occupied high executive or administrative positions, so it was an entirely new
audience. How would you, for example, like to teach English to the President of
Russia? Would you set him home tasks and give bad marks? The teachers of
yesteryear had to make adaptations to an entirely new, demanding and extremely
busy audience for whom English was not a subject, but an instrument for career
advancement. Besides changing our teaching styles, teaching people like that also
meant leaving our familiar environment and school setting; it meant teaching on
location (how would you like going to Siberia?) or probably in a spaciou-
presidential office, run in-house or on-the-job training programs leaving the
familiar security of a classroom in which you are always the boss. While teaching
English one-to-one can be considered a real luxury (if "the other one" is pleasant
and teachable enough), we often had to teach English to a multi-level, multi-age and
multi-background group with different language backgrounds, different job
positions and characters. Sometimes this team, assorted and brought together for
different reasons, presented nothing short of "a Russian salad", which seemed to be
hard to digest at times. Most of the modern teachers, even those who teach at
schools and universities, subscribe to the opinion that now more than ever there ь
no such thing as a homogeneous class in terms of personality and ability. But ever
this challenge was easier to take than the fact that we did not know quite well wha:
kind of English was to be taught. Owing to the variety of teaching situations we founc
126
ourselves in, we could hardly expect to have books and ready-made materials for
each of them. Nobody could give us the right textbook, a plan or a program to teach
happily ever after: there was no ready-made course — we had to design it, tailor it and
get our students to like the way they looked in it! The worst thing in it was that the
planning of courses and the writing of materials require specialized background of a
kind which was glossed over or ignored in many university programs in applied
linguistics, English language teaching and teacher training. So all of us novice
designers and writers had to work on the basis of our best intuitions, trying to
bring ;ogether the complexity of human language with a wide variety of
circumstances in which our students might need to use English. Thus we learned
the concepts of needs assessment, audience analysis and course design through
information gathering and fact-finding. The bottom line of our professional success
was the affirmative answer to a very simple question: does the English that we teach
really work? Though we found the process of such learning hard, our pains paid off
in the end: those who survived the hard test of perestroika have become highly
competitive professionals who could design and develop courses for fee-paying
secondary' schools, universities, gymnasiums, business schools and multi-profile
private lessons. The teachers who survived the unrest and discouragement of the
first years of perestroika got their reward in full — they have become part of the
modern business world without giving up the occupation they love. There's hardly
any risk that these professionals may become redundant. If you want to be one of us
don't team up with the whiners: the harder you work the luckier you get!
Study support
A paragraph consists of no less than three sentences which treat the same topic.
When changing to the next subject or point we usually change paragraphs. This
change is often indicated by a word or a phrase that links it with the previous one.
The first sentence in the paragraph usually introduces the new subject and the
other sentences in the paragraph develop, specify or support this sentence. To
make a well-formed paragraph it is also necessary to use linking devices or
connectors which make it easier to read and understand paragraphs and whole
texts. A piece of writing is coherent if it is clearly organized and has a logical
sequence of ideas. A paragraph or a section of a text is cohesive if the sentences in
this piece are well constructed and well linked together.
Tasks
1. As you can see, the text given above is not split into paragraphs and it is difficult to
comprehend the main points. Read the text very attentively and split it into paragraphs
(no less than 7). To make this assignment easier, use the Study support.
2. Look at the paragraphs and explain why you have split the text the way you did. Did you
take a lead from any special words which to your mind indicate the transition from one
paragraph to another? Compare the paragraphing that different students made in
different ways and discuss the reasons for decision making.
3. Write out all the linking devices and comment on their meaning and their functions. The
classification of linking devices as to their function is to be presented in the vocabulary
list at the end of the present section.
4. The text given above presents an optimistic outlook on teaching profession. However,
opinions may differ. Find below the responses of a pessimist who holds the opposite
127
PART 3. Practical Guidance to Job-seekers
Learning Objectives:
1. Work out a plan for job hunting.
2. Compile a portfolio for effective job search.
3. Learn the strategy for being an efficient interviewee.
Section 1. Pathways to Getting a Job
If you are approaching the end of your university course and have not started your
job hunt, it's time to get busy! We hope that after making a personal inventory and
carrying out market research, as outlined in the previous sections, you've made up
your mind what career path to follow. However, it is not sufficient just to know what
you'd like to do: it is necessary to collect your resources, focus your energy and
launch an effective job-search campaign. Though a lucky chance is what you may
strongly hope for, it is not good to bank on it alone; a successful job hunt is a
combination of planning, tireless persistence and faith.
The pathways leading to a gainful employment may be different for different
people in different cultures. The success of each one of them depends on the
economic situation in the country and in the world, the personal qualifications of a
ob-seeker and the condition of the industry in which a candidate would like to be
nlaced. But, for all the differences, there are some pathways which exist in Russia as
in most other countries all over the world.
Help wanted ads are universally recognized because they provide an immediate
connection between a job seeker and his potential employer. Depending on the
reputation and position of the company, they may place their ads almost anywhere,
from highly respectable newspapers and magazines to a lamp post near the metro
station. The latter may promise to pay you a thousand dollars a month, but the fact
that they don't specify any professional background or qualification requirements
should caution you against trusting them too much.
Other ads may offer you work in advertising promotion, which sounds very
promising but may mean nothing more than slipping advertising flyers into mail
boxes, or handing out free samples of a new product. Another notorious catch is to
offer the job of a personnel manager to a candidate who does not realize that his only
responsibility will be to recruit other unfortunates to sell such products as Herbalife.
It may also be not mentioned in the ad that the job will involve a substantial cash
investment. As you can see from the above, it is always necessary to clear up the
information given in the ad by contacting the advertiser. If the information is denied,
it is likely that the motive of the advertiser is to hook another victim for a scheme
which is not quite legal or fair.
At the same time, there are many sources from which you can pick out a very
reliable ad; for example many western companies place their ads in Career Forum,
Exclusive Personnel and Moscow Tribune — free newspapers which can be picked up
in big supermarkets, restaurants and hotels. These newspapers also publish ads
135
placed by employment agencies. In times of economic prosperity, these ads may be.
numerous; they look very inviting and offer you a lot of lures and promises. But in
time of recession, the companies do not offer you a lot and place the emphasis on
the qualifications, work experience and personal qualities they desire. Thus ads can
serve as a very accurate indicator of the situation in the economy and the labor
market. But no matter what the situation might be, a potential candidate has the
right to ask for information about the potential employer, salary and other job
characteristics.
Another popular area for job hunting is provided by the Internet. Man
companies nowadays put job announcements and company profiles on-line. If yuo.
take full advantage of this modern resource and "let your fingers do the walking" yuo.
will maximize your time spent on job hunting.
"Situation wanted" ads are placed by the job-seekers who expect the employers to
contact them. Some cynical job hunters claim that these ads will never get you gainful
employment. However, in this country as in any other place in the world, people who
are looking for job opportunities place their ads into the situation wanted column of
different newspapers and magazines. For example, domestic help or private lessons in
Russian and English are very often advertised in such newspapers as Moscow News
and others. You probably know a number of people who managed to find very decent
clients through the ad which they placed in some office or educational institution. If
you decide to try this pathway, pay attention to the phrasing of your ad: don't make it
too personal or superior; make it businesslike! To stay out of harm's way,be sure you
interview every potential client over the telephone before you make an appointment.
and ask professional, detailed questions which may show you the seriousness of his
intentions, and demonstrate your professional competence.
Employment agencies in this country are often criticized and called on the carpet
for their ineptness. The reason for this criticism is that in most cases they arrange a
kind of "blind date" between a potential employer and a candidate.It is true that
most of the agencies are interested in top level executive professionals, and are not
too keen on young graduates with no work experience. It is especially true for private
employment agencies which operate on a fee-paid basis, with the fee being paid
either by the employer or the applicant. But that again depends on the situation in
the job market: when business is active, employment agencies can help you a lot to
find a job, especially in the field of administration.
Most countries have State Employment Service, which plays an extremely
significant role in times of recession. The staff of the service does counseling and
testing for those people who need to upgrade their skills to find a job on the
modern job market. Though it is not very likely that at present a graduate of a
foreign
languages department may have to apply to the State Employment Service
for a job we should not forget about it.
For all the value of the pathways mentioned above, many experts will tell you that
most of the best jobs are not even publicly advertised: these job vacancies belong to
the so called "hidden job market." There are two ways to reach this market: by
networking and "cold" calls.
136
Networking is one of the most popular business words nowadays. Broadly
speaking, it involves establishing a system of valuable connections which can bring
you interesting career opportunities. In contrast to "good old boys" connections,
which sometimes imply nepotism, networking is healthy and productive. If done
correctly, it can be mutually beneficial for those who make referrals and for those
who get them. Every one of you has his/her personal network already which
includes:
• family members,
• school contacts such as present and former instructors, group chums, members
of administration,
• business acquaintances like clients, former employers,
• social acquaintances like friends, tennis partners and so on.
A list of people who may be helpful to you in your job search may be enlarged by
geometrical progression as one person is a link to another. However, no matter how
large, this network may work only if you observe the three golden rules:
• Project your career ambitions: let people know what you can do and what you
would like to do!
• Excel in everything you do; there is no such thing as a small job: people will
remember you if you are a hard and diligent worker!
• Socialize if you want people to remember you: a telephone call to congratulate
your former professor at Christmas may bring you an excellent job opportunity; a
business card given at an exhibition may find its way into the hands of the perfect
client!
It is true of course that your loving parents will do their best to find you a job
irrespective of your abilities and qualifications, but remember: the imperative of the
market economy is that everyone earns what he takes home, so it will still be up to
you to keep the job that you get.
Cold calling is often used in selling to describe making the rounds of potential
customers without previous appointments. Thus in job hunting American experts
use this term for making contacts with potential employers without any invitation on
their part. Cold calls are not for the timid: you must be aggressive and pushy in
presenting yourself either in person or over the telephone, to convince the potential
employer that you are just the one that they want. Besides legwork and telephoning
it includes sending your resumes or letters of application to companies which you
identify for yourself through a variety of sources. Though chances are rather slim,
you may still hope to be in the right place at the right time.
It is very hard to predict the way you will find your dream job. Some people will
tell you that they really got where they are through sheer good luck. They may be
right, but never forget that it is not enough to get a lucky chance: you must know how
to keep it. While you are praying for Lady Luck not to pass you by, it's worth while
trying to put together all the approaches mentioned above into a multi-profile job
hunting campaign, and start implementing it straight away!
137
A Plan for Launching an Effective Job-search Campaign
Design a plan for your personal job-search campaign, share it with your fellow
students and discuss in class.
Study support
A plan cannot be a plan if it is not structured properly. However, this structuring
can be based on different principles. If it is a plan of a certain course of action it can
be arranged in a step-by-step sequence in which the actions are placed one after
another. Numbering is very effective in a plan, same as sentence starters denoting
sequence such as first(ly), second(ly), finally.
A plan like this tends to be a little simplistic when used for the complicated
campaign in question. We can successfully start with the initial assumptions for
taking a certain course of action, such as the economic situation in the country and
the condition of the industry in which we intend to look for a job. Another valuable
assumption is provided by evaluating personal qualifications of a job-seeker.
The assumptions mentioned above can serve as a basis for a certain course of
action using concrete ways of job hunting which can be evaluated as effective or
ineffective, depending on the assumptions mentioned above.
When writing a plan, do not forget to give a name to each section. Your
computer can help you with a lay-out if you use bullets and numbering.
Section 2. Writing for the Job
Study support
A job-seeker's portfolio contains a resume, application forms which you may be
requested to fill out, an application letter which is frequently enclosed with your
resume, and letters of recommendation obtained from teachers and colleagues.
Different companies may offer you their own sets of forms to be filled out and
submitted, as well as different psychological and professional tests. The advice
given below, however, can help you learn the basics for presenting your personal
details, qualifications and skills on paper.
A. Resume
Make Your Resume a Tool for Getting a Job Interview
There is a lot of controversy and debate about whether a resume is necessary, or
whether it is a sheer waste of time. Many employment consultants, particularly in
this country, will tell you that employers are just likely to provide you with a standard
application form where the necessary facts are to be included and all your efforts to
create a resume will be wasted. It is true that for a variety of routine or low-paying
jobs, resumes are not needed. Thus, if you are applying for a temporary waitressing
position during the summertime, you will probably need no fancy resume, and the
job will be yours with no extra formalities. But if you are a career-minded individual
exploring various opportunities in the area of administration or teaching, a resume
will undoubtedly improve your chances of getting the job you want. Most of the
companies placing a job ad in the newspaper will never invite you for an interview
before they have seen your resume. But even if a resume was not specifically
requested, be sure you have one in your folder when going to a job interview, no
138
matter what position you would like to get, and leave it with your potential employer NO
that he may consider you as a candidate later, even if a job was not offered to you
mmediately.
Types of resumes. You have probably heard that the word "resume" is an American
'.ariant for the British '"curriculum vitae" or "CV". However, Americans also use the
name CV for resumes which are compiled by individuals in academic fields, as
well .is in the professions of law, medicine and the sciences. Such a CV may feature
the scholarly background of a professional, together with universities attended,
degrees earned, professional positions and published works. If you apply for an
academic position, your CV should also include the record of your academic
achievements: all :he details about your educational qualifications, grades, and
areas of research in which you specialized. Thus, it might be a good idea to
mention the topic of your course and graduation project, together with the grade
you earned for them.
By contrast the word "resume" is more often used internationally by people
applying for managerial and executive positions. The most traditional resume is a
chronological resume in which work experience and educational background
highlights are listed either in chronological or reverse chronological order in a
sequential fashion year-by-year. For a candidate with work experience in one line of
work, with no big time-gaps between different jobs this type of resume is probably
the most appropriate.
A functional resume gives emphasis to general work skills, without specifying the
dates and all the places of work. This type is recommended for those people who
have miscellaneous jobs and skills, have been self-employed for a long time, or enter
the work market after a long time-gap. The choice of the type of resume depends on
many things such as job objectives,and educational and professional background. All
this proves that there is no such thing as a model resume to copy: you can learn the
basic rules, but it's up to you to learn to sell yourself on paper.
The structure of a resume. As you may already know, a traditional resume most
often includes such sections as professional background, education and personal
background or details. Some employment consultants recommend including a line
for "career objective" at the top of your resume; others argue that if you indicate
your career objective, you might reduce your chances of being viewed for a different
position in the same company. It makes sense to indicate your career objective when
you send your resume to an employment agency, just to facilitate the search process
for the recruiters, but it is not necessary to emphasize it when you send your resume
with a letter of application in response to a specific help-wanted ad. Two other small
sections that can be included are "hobbies" or "interests", which can show your
personality in a better light, and "references" where you can just mention
"references on hand" or "references available on request", indicating that you can
provide them at a job interview.
Obviously it is not the number of sections, but their contents which causes a lot
of difficulties even for an experienced resume writer. The question is: what is to be
put in and what is to be left out? A conscientious resume writer will laboriously try
to include even,' subject that was studied at school and every little job that he ever
139
performed. However, we must never forget that personnel officers are inundated with
resumes, and what they appreciate is brevity and conciseness. Even a top executive
with a lot of work experience cannot be allowed more than a two page resume, to say
nothing of a young graduate, whose limit is a page. If you have tried your hand at
various jobs in different companies, don't just list previous jobs with lots of difficult
company names (which are very often incomprehensible for your potential
employer), but give the information about what you did in this company, together
with the evidence that you were able to develop certain skills. For example, if you
worked as a teacher of English, you should specify the aspect of the language you
taught, the level of your audience, your familiarity with certain teaching aids, etc.:
— teacher of English to preschoolers, familiar with
modern
communicative methods of teaching.
If you worked as a PA, you can specify what you did and what skills you developed
as in:
— PA to General Manager responsible for:
• Business correspondence,
• Customer service,
• Arranging meetings and presentations.
The second criterion to be used in selecting relevant information for your resume
is the requirements of your potential job. Experts will tell you that every effective
resume is to be tailored to the needs of the job: you should stress that you have the
skills they require, such as communication, organizing paperwork, course design
and others.
Another area for conflicting opinions about the anatomy of a resume is the
personal section. Especially in the U.S., with its strong movement against different
kinds of discrimination, applicants are not recommended to include information
about marital status and age. At the same time it is quite clear that most of the hiring
decisions are not made on an age-blind basis: your age will show anyway from your
year of graduation. It is very important to concentrate on the skills that you have,
such as language skills and computer skills, which can be a very useful asset in your
job search.
Presentation. You may be surprised at the number of mistakes people make in
their resumes: you may come across a resume in which an applicant claims to have
excellent typing skills, but makes a spelling mistake in her own name. Poor computer
skills manifest themselves in badly laid-out resumes with no margins and a poor
structure. A resume should be easy on the eye — use bold type for headings and bullet
points for noteworthy achievements. The text should be arranged into thought
groups or blocks under each heading so that your potential employer need not spend
hours trying to decipher it. A good resume is easy to skim: unless you want yours to
go into the wastepaper basket keep it short and neatly laid out!
Do not resort to any gimmicks to make your resume stand out of the crowd:
plain white A4 paper with neat laser printing is best for your goal. Remember, there
is no such thing as a standard resume; your creativity and common sense are your
basic assets!
Inu
140
E.Galkina demonstrated excellent abilities in English. She was a diligent, hard -
working and creative student who always excelled in all the tasks and exercises. She
combined her studies at the University with the career of a high-school teacher
and managed to do it very successfully.
E.Galkina is a highly intelligent young professional, and a fast learner who is
always ready to develop and grow. Her teaching abilities are also excellent as she
can teach English to different age groups in different settings. She also has a
pleasing personality which combines tact and modesty with strong motivation and
perseverance.
In the future I can see E.Galkina in any people-oriented job which can give her
an opportunity of self-fulfillment.
Professor (Name)
Moscow State Pedagogical University.
Home phone: ...
E-mail: ...
Section 3. How to Make the Most of a Job Interview
If you've done your paperwork right, managed to arouse an employer's interest
and landed a job interview, your real work is just beginning. It's one thing to impress
somebody on paper or over the telephone, but it's another thing to impress in the
flesh. A job interview is a business appointment in which everything counts in
conveying a good impression. Experts will tell you that advance preparation is the
key to interview success.
Before the interview. Before you go to a job interview, find out all you can about
the company. This used to be a very difficult job at the beginning of perestroika, but
at present there is much more publicity about the operations of different companies.
Most of them will have the company's profile on-line, and publish brochures and
company reports. If you have gotten the interview through a recruitment agency or
through your network, don't hesitate to ask for information about the company. If
you cannot get as much information as you want, it makes sense to locate the
company's premises beforehand, so go by and look at the way the office and the staff
and customers look. Many young graduates, especially if they are applying for
several jobs, use a one-size-fits-ali approach because they don't realize that
companies are more different than they might think. If you apply for a job at an
educational establishment, it may be even easier to do the research by going inside
and talking to the students and staff.
Depending on the results of your research, you are supposed to prepare an
interview outfit that will make you look your very best. In most places you are not
expected to wear a Chanel suit, but even if you are fresh from school don't think that
your favorite blue jeans, an oversized sweater and screen-printed T-shirt will be right
for projecting a businesslike image. Things like that are out of sync in a business
office. If you want to teach, dressing more conservatively will help you make the leap
from a student to a teacher, and you will be taken more seriously as a prospective
151
candidate for whatever position you apply. At any age, a well-fitted suit or
coordinated skirt and blouse with matching accessories for females can make them
look and feel more self-confident.
For some reason, Russian young people tend to favor black and wear it in any
situation. Of course, nobody expects you to look like an open beach umbrella, but it
is very hard to look memorable in monochrome, and black is not the most cheerful
color for a business interview.
Russian women are notorious for wearing a lot of jewelry which is considered to
be a status symbol. Even if you don't feel fully dressed without it, leave yards of
golden chains, jumbo-sized rings and your collection of bracelets at home: less is
best! Aggressive scent that you may wear for a job interview can become more
aggressive in a closed space, and give your interviewer a headache. Exercise
moderation in your choices!
It is much easier to change your clothes than to change your appearance
altogether, and appearance does count: we all know that a good appearance
engenders a feeling of self-confidence and well-being. There is one thing that we all
can afford, and that is proper care in personal hygiene, which will give us a fresh,
clean feeling. We can easily spoil the effect of an exemplary appearance if our dai!\
routine does not include a shower, a change of underwear and the use of deodorant
and mouthwash. A woman's hands are regarded as a symbol of femininity. To look
attractive, hands must be perfectly clean, fingernails well-manicured, but never of
Dragon-lady length to interfere with efficient typing and other office routines. If you
are a female endowed with a beautiful head of hair which you like to wear loose, you
will do better if you put it up in a bun — at least for the interview. Don't go hard on
the make-up: at a close range, heavily applied make-up looks hard. After all you
don't want to look like a mannequin come to life!
Many personnel managers will confess that they often turn candidates down for
poor appearance; however, your looks alone will not help you get a job unless you are
mentally psyched and prepared for the interview. It makes perfect sense to go through
your resume once again and make sure you know the dates of important events.
Another thing you can do is go through your personal achievements to make up your
mind what you might want to present to an interviewer as an impressive argument in
your favor. Before the interview, give yourself a good rest, budget your time well.
prepare everything you need in advance, so as not to panic and get lost at the las:
minute!
During the interview. So you've finally made it: here you are at the door hopefulh
on time and the fun is about to begin. There are a lot of books written by professions..
career counselors with numerous recommendations about what to say, and what no:
to say and how to project a winning image. For all the value of these instructions,
they are very subjective and often culture-biased. Thus a well-establishec
multinational company may be truly interested in the career objectives of a potentia
worker, while a small Russian firm struggling with cash flow problems thinks more
about immediate survival than about what may happen in ten years from now
Western advisers always emphasize the need to be positive and enthusiastic, aiv.
152