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What Skills Do You Need to Get a Good Job?
Making a positive
career choice is a problem which worries many people nowadays.
What am I good at? How can I find a well-paid job? What kind of
knowledge and what traits of character should I have to succeed?
These are the questions that people often ask themselves.
Nowadays employers demand perfect knowledge, work experience, a
range of transferable skills and such qualities as efficiency,
punctuality, practicality, creativity and many others. If you
want to get a good job, you must convince your employer that you
are the best candidate for it. Choosing your future job you
should take into consideration your interests, abilities and
opportunities. Besides, you should know your employer's
requirements.
If you want to
become a good specialist, to keep your job and to get a
promotion, you should be competent. Competence is a requirement
for a person to properly perform a specific job. In other words,
it is a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior, the
ability to perform a specific role. Today executives and
managers don't only speak of skills and qualifications of their
employees, but of their competencies that measure a person's
appropriateness for a particular job. There are a lot of
competencies but as a rule they are divided into two large
groups: technical competencies and personal competencies.
Technical competencies comprise the skills and knowledge that
are essential in order for a person to do a particular job
appropriately (for example word processing). Personal
competencies include characteristics that people use together
with their technical competencies in order to do their work well
(for example, initiative and sociability). Competence
development is a long process that requires training and
personal development. Competence grows through experience.
The ability to
make the right decision is crucial in the world of business. A
well considered decision will lead your team to success; a poor
decision can result into failure. A good employee should
demonstrate problem-solving capability and think about what is
to be achieved and how it is to be achieved. Many companies need
people who can work effectively in different countries and
cultures, in other words, people who can function in a global
context. Therefore it is important to develop intercultural
competence. This requirement stems from the mass globalization
of business and the development of cross-cultural contacts.
Intercultural competence is the ability to understand people of
other cultures and to work effectively with them. A person must
remember that the traditions and customs that he or she is used
to may be inadmissible in another country. That is why one
should be aware of intercultural differences to avoid mistakes,
misunderstanding or offence and to achieve one's business goals.
Negotiating is
part and parcel of working life that is why negotiating skills
are essential no matter what kind of job a person has. The most
important thing is to take into consideration your personal
style and your partner's expectations and reaction. You should
be calm, reasonable, self-confident and convincing. You should
try to win your partner's favour and make him trust you. It is
useful to take into account all details: your speech, body
language, physical contact, eye contact, etc.
Relationship-building is a new popular term that means building
good relationships with partners and clients. You should
understand their needs and respect their rights. You should also
maintain good relationships with supervisors and peers. It is
very important to handle appropriately criticism and complaints,
to deal respectfully with cultural and racial diversity and
never to engage in harassment of any kind.
Modern life is
full of stress that is why it is essential to be able to cope
with stress and fatigue. When a person is busy achieving his
aspirations, he often forgets about work-life balance. Many
people suffer from the conflict between work and family. They
are too much preoccupied with their career and they have no time
for rest, pleasure and spiritual development. Don't forget that
if you want to make a career, you should be healthy and happy.
And if you want to be healthy and happy, you should not forget a
simple rule: don't overwork, take breaks and remember that we
work to live but not vice versa.
1. Complete each sentence (A—H) with one of the endings
(1—8):
A. Nowadays employers demand
B. Competence is
C. Today executives and managers don't only speak of skills and
qualifications of their employees, but of
D. Competence development is a long process that requires
E. A good employee should demonstrate problem-solving capability
and think about
F. Intercultural competence is the ability
G. Relationship-building is a new popular term that means
H. Modern life is full of stress that is why it is essential to
be able
1. their competencies that measure a person's appropriateness
for a particular job.
2. to understand people of other cultures and to work
effectively with them.
3. a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior, the ability
to perform a specific role.
4. what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved.
5. to cope with stress and fatigue.
6. perfect knowledge, work experience, a range of transferable
skills and such qualities as efficiency, punctuality,
practicality, creativity and many others.
7. building good relationships with partners and clients.
8. training and personal development.
2. Make a short summary of the text (5—7 sentences)
3. Read and translate the following proverbs and sayings.
Explain their meaning
• Business is the salt of life.
• A bird is known by his note, the man by his work.
• He works best who knows his trade.
• Business first, pleasure afterwards.
• If you won't work you shan't eat.
• All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
• A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
• Jack of all trades is master to none.
• No sweet without some sweat.
• Busiest men find the most time.
4. Answer the questions
1) Why is it difficult to make a positive career choice?
2) What should a person do if he or she wants to get a good job?
3) What should you take into consideration choosing your future
job?
4) Why is it important to be competent?
5) How many groups of competencies do you know? Say a few words
about them.
6) Why is the ability to make the right decision crucial in the
world of business?
7) What does the expression 'to function in a global context'
mean?
8) Why is it important to develop intercultural competence?
9) Are negotiating skills essential in business/in everyday
life? Why?
10) What are the secrets of successful negotiating?
11) What does the term 'relationship-building' mean?
12) Why do many people suffer from the conflict between work and
family nowadays? What are the ways to solve this problem?
5. Fill in the table
The rules that an employee must observe
•
to arrivive and to leave on time;
• to be be appropriately dressed;
• to follow chain of command;
The
skills that are essential for any job
•
to adapt to new environments;
• skills in time management (to be able to save and invest
time);
• strategic thinking (to predict the future development of one's
business and, at the same time, to focus on the present)
6. Read and translate the quotations below. Choose any
statement and comment on it
• Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do
his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could
do it no better.' (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
• 'It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why
take the chance ?' (Ronald Reagan)
• Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love
but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your
work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those
who work with joy.' (Kahlil Gibran)
• Work is a necessary evil to be avoided.' (Mark Twain)
• 'There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the
realization that we have accomplished something.' (Henry Ford)
• 'Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry,
frustration and resentment.' (Dale Carnegie)
• 'Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.' (Aristotle)
• 'Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day
in your life.' (Confucius)
• Competence, like truth, beauty, and contact lenses, is in the
eye of the beholder.' (Laurence J. Peter)
If you want to get a job you should convince the employer to
give you an interview. That is why your CV (Curriculum Vitae) is
of great importance. Practice in writing your CV according to
the plan below.
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is an overview of a person's
professional and academic achievements. It summarizes
educational and academic history, and may include details about
teaching experience, publications, and academic honours and
awards. There is no single correct format or style for writing a
CV In a CV, completeness is more important than brevity.
Typical Sections on a CV
1. Name, address, contact numbers, e-mail address.
2. Education (diploma or degree, type of qualification).
3. Work experience (put your present job first).
4. Dissertation.
5. Fellowships and awards.
6. Teaching Experience.
7. Research Experience.
8. Related Professional Experience.
9. Languages or other skills relevant to your field (e.g.
computer proficiencies).
10. References.
11. Other (miscellaneous personal information such as membership
in professional/ scholarly associations, travel or study abroad,
hobbies and interests).
Additional tips
• Make sure that the information in your CV addresses the
job description.
• Don't include skills which you don't have.
• Don't include some personal information if you feel that it is
not relevant.
• Use numbers and active verbs.
• Be precise and clear.
A.
Make a list of skills you need to get the job of your dream.
Discuss it with your group mates.
B. Read the text 'What Skills Do You Need to Get a Good Job?'
and continue your list.
Из учебного пособия
"Открывая
мир с английским языком. Современные темы для обсуждения.
Готовимся к ЕГЭ" Юнёва С.А. 2012г.
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