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So you chose a job ad, sent your resume to the company and they invited you to the interview. Are you nervous? Now try to imagine that you are a director of a company. What kind of a person would you employ? Tick the most essential features and give your reasons. Add your own variants.
- positive minded
- hard working
- with a good sense of humor
- intelligent
- sociable
- competitive
- self-motivated
- dedicated
- talkative
- experienced
- active
- determined to succeed
- enthusiastic
- brave
Select 3 traits of character which you consider to be the most important and say if you possess them.
Read the story about Samantha Bailey's job interview and say why she got this position though there were a lot of other applicants.
MY TRUE STORY
Samantha Bailey, 22, from May (home Close, Barnsley, South Yorkshire knew that her job interview would be tough but didn’t think so tough. This is her true story.
What I really wanted was to work in retail fashion — the glam side of the business. But, with no experience, it was difficult.
I spotted the advert for a fashion assistant at Etam in the job centre one lunchtime. I spent ages filling in the application form and made my boyfriend, Don, check it for mistakes. I crossed my fingers as I posted it.
The manageress, Gina Farrell, rang. They wanted to interview me. It was fate. I'd just bought a new, trendy black trouser suit.
Early the next Saturday, Gina led me up to her first-floor office. I hoped she couldn't feel my hand trembling as she shook it.
She introduced me to her supervisor, Alison Attersley. Then it started.
Why do you want a job? What skills do you have?
Bog-standard questions. But my mind went blank. I stuttered and stammered.
'We'll let you know,' Gina smiled, standing up. I'd blown it.
There must've been dozens of applicants. I bet they didn't let nerves get l о them.
Gina opened the door to show me out. Smoke billowed in. The corridor to the stairs was thick with it. There was no way through.
She slammed the door.
'There's a window in the corridor,' Alison said.
We all took deep breaths, then opened the door again. Gina stood on a chair and pushed the window. It was stuck. My eyes were watering. We roughed and spluttered.
Smash! Gina's hand went through the glass. We gulped fresh air.
Gina's arm was bleeding, so I bandaged it with a tissue from my handbag.
'Help!' yelled Alison. 'We're stuck.'
The window was too high to see out of. But someone yelled back — help was coming. So was more smoke.
'We need to stop it getting in,' I said.
It was coming across the landing, from the staff room.
Alison coughed. Gina looked worried. 'She's pregnant,' she whispered (o me.
Then there was the sound of sirens — fire engines.
'We might get rescued by a hunky fireman,' I suggested.
People are always saying I'm laid back. But even I was surprised how calm I was. I'd been more nervous about the interview than I was about being stuck in a burning building.
I started singing. Silly — I have a terrible voice. But it meant I was concentrating on the words, rather than our predicament.
'If you're happy and you know it...' I started.
Gina and Alison laughed, somewhat nervously.
If the fireman didn't hurry up, we could die. Die! I hadn't thought about that until now.
I sang louder.
We'd been there at least half an hour when a fireman appeared at the window.
We tried to figure out how the fire had started. Had everyone else got out safely? We wanted to know more about what was happening outside.
'Well, we do know one thing,' Gina said, 'and that's that the job's yours.'
I giggled, in spite of everything. This wasn't exactly how I'd imagined landing my dream job.
An ambulance took us to hospital. Gina needed stitches in her arm. And we all were given oxygen to help us breathe.
Apparently, the fire was confined to the staff room, but there was a lot of smoke damage to the rest of the building. The fire brigade thought it was started by an electrical fault in the fridge.
When the shop was reopened, a week later, I was there as a sales adviser.
That was three months ago, now. And I love it — no two days are the same. But thankfully, none are quite as dramatic as the day of my interview.
Samantha Bailey, 22
From Maythorne Close,
Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Vocabulary
sociable — общительный
competitive — конкурентоспособный
dedicated — преданный (делу)
determined to succeed — настроенный на успех
fashion — мода
glam side — очаровательная, эффектная сторона (часть)
to spot — увидеть, отличать (разг.)
to spend ages — потратить огромное количество времени
to fill in — заполнять
application form — анкета поступающего на работу
to tremble — дрожать
to shake hands — пожимать руки
to go blank — становиться пустым
to stutter — заикаться; запинаться
to stammer - заикаться; запинаться
dozen — дюжина
I bet — держу пари
to show out — проводить; выпустить
to take deep breaths — набрать побольше воздуха
to stick — застрять
to gulp — глотать
to bleed — кровоточить
to bandage — перевязывать
landing — лестница
fire engines — пожарная машина
predicament — затруднительное положение
to figure out — вычислять; понимать
to giggle — хихикать
stitches — швы
oxygen — кислород
electric fault — электрическая неполадка
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