Attending a job interview

To begin with I’d like to say that at now I have a vague idea about my future career and I am unable to give a detailed account of the activity it will involve. But it is evident that getting a job depends on many factors. First of all you are required to write correctly an application letter or covering letter (US cover letter) and curriculum vitae or CV (in US resume). As far as I can figure it out I have to send them to a personnel officer and I will be invited for a job interview. A company may ask candidates to fill up a standard application form.

There are different approaches to applying for a job. Some people try to look for a chance to develop and demonstrate their true potential. Another people are sure that their qualifications and experience speak for themselves. Sometime candidates think they are so brilliant at whatever they do and the interviewer would be lucky to have them working in his company. At the interview applicants will be asked their reasons for wanting the job, and have to answer questions about their academic career and other activities. They will often be asked questions which seem to have no point but which are intended to reveal their personality and general suitability for the job. From the candidates’ point of view, interviewers can seem both bewildering and artificial.

It is common knowledge that a good interviewer knows what to say, what to ask, when to be silent and for how long. Too much silence during the interview will make both the interviewer and the candidate uncomfortable. If the interviewer begins the encounter by bombarding the candidate with direct and specific questions, a pattern will be set that will be hard to break. Later, even when more indirect or less-structured questions are asked, the candidate will stick to the brevity initially established.

Every interview has its nonverbal overtones. There are variations in facial expression, movements of the body, tensions, changes in the quality and volume of the voice, and changes in enthusiasm. Such nonverbal clues should be weighed with care. You should manage yourself wisely and differentiate yourself from other jobseekers. I am sure all candidates must have asked themselves some questions: e.g.: What does the interviewer want me to say? Would I be better being more natural? Can I be natural in this artificial situation? etc.

Of course I will be very nervous and anxious, but still I’ll be able to think my strategy thoroughly, because doing well in an interview may be an important part of getting a good job. Every applicant keeps in mind that he/she should be properly dressed for demonstrating respect and consideration for those with whom they interact. So a good business suit will be the right thing to wear. It is necessary to pay attention to hairstyle, nails and choice of cosmetics. It is needless to say that chewing his/her nails during the interview can be very off-putting and only highlight their nervousness. Everybody knows it’s so annoying, the way the applicant keeps fiddling about with her or his hair.

Today, graduates can expect to make dozens of applications for jobs and get short-listed for interviews two or three times before they find satisfactory work. We can see in our modern world, the industrial scene is changing so quickly that many workers with special skills find that these are no longer needed and they must re-train for new jobs.

Topical vocabulary

the working population	работоспособное население
a wage which is paid monthly	ежемесячная заработная плата
unemployment statistics	статистика безработицы
a job centre	служба занятости
to get a job	устраиваться на работу
an application letter	сопроводительное письмо
as far as I can figure it out…	насколько я понимаю …
a personnel officer	сотрудник отдела кадров
a standard application form	стандартная форма заявления
to be invited for a job interview	быть приглашенным на собеседование
to apply for a job	подавать заявление о приеме на работу
to look for a chance to…	искать случай, чтобы …
true potential	реальный потенциал
to be brilliant at smth	блестяще в чем-нибудь разбираться
a candidate = an applicant	cоискатель, претендент
questions which seem to have no point	вопросы, не имеющие отношения к делу
smb’s academic career	научная карьера
to reveal smb’s personality	раскрыть индивидуальность
general suitability for the job	профессиональная пригодность
to bewilder smb	ставить в тупик; сбивать с толку
artificial	неестественный
an encounter	встреча
to set a pattern	подавать пример
an overtone	намек, подтекст
consideration	предупредительность, уважение
fiddle about her or his hair	крутить волосы
to get short-listed for interviews	быть занесённым в перечень претендентов
satisfactory work	работа, которая устраивает
the industrial scene	положение дел в промышленности
to re-train for new jobs	проходить переподготовку

Exercise1.