JOB INTERVIEW.- Session 1.- Writing a CV.

Let's learn how to write a good Curriculum Vitae.

A CV (or résumé in the USA) is a one or two page summary of your personal details, education, skills, achievements, work experience and interests. The purpose of your CV is to get an interview where you can sell yourself. A successful CV should be simple, concise and easy to read. It should be written with the prospective job in mind:

A CV should include:

• PERSONAL DETAILS: name, address, telephone, email, date of birth, nationality...
• EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS: including dates and places.
• WORK EXPERIENCE: including detailed data relevant to the job you are applying for.
• LANGUAGES: specify your command of languages: level, certification, etc.
• INTERESTS AND HOBBIES.
• OTHER INFORMATION: any other information that has not been included before and can be relevant for the job i.e.: driving licence, own car, computer skills...
• REFERENCES/REFEREES: two people that know you professionally so that they can give reference about your work when asked; you should provide as much information as possible about them (email, telephone, work address, etc.), so that your future employer can contact them easily.

Remember: A CV is generally one side of A4, maximum 2 A4 pages.

Are you ready to test what you have learned about CVs? Let's see.

VERB + -ING

• Some verbs are sometimes followed by -ing.

  I avoided talking to him.

• These include: admit, deny, dislike, feel like, give up, mind, avoid, discuss, enjoy, finish, mention, practise, suggest, take up, miss, understand, recommend.

Helpful tips

• After a preposition, we usually use -ing: I'm afraid of flying.
• We can also use the -ing form as the subject of a sentence: Gardening is great fun!

VERB + TO + INFINITIVE

• Some verbs are sometimes followed by TO + infinitive.

  James agreed to help me.

• These include: advise, choose, help, afford, decide, hope, agree, expect, invite, learn, manage, offer, plan, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, teach, tell, want, would like.

VERB + INFINITIVE (WITHOUT TO)

• Some verbs are usually followed by an object + bare infinitive (without to).

  I let him take my book home for one night.

• These include: let, make, help.

VERBS FOLLOWED BY EITHER -ING OR TO + INFINITIVE

• Some verbs can be followed by either -ing or the full infinitive.

  I started liking / to like Sarah after she helped me with my problem.

• With some verbs, the meaning is the same or nearly the same.
• These include: begin, continue, hate, like, love, prefer, start.
• With some verbs, the meaning changes.
• These verbs include:

  remember

  • have a memory in your mind: Do you remember seeing that film?
  • do something you are/were planning to: You must remember to lock the door.

  forget

  • not be able to remember a past event: I'll never forget meeting the President.
  • not do something you are/were planning to do: Don't forget to invite Mary to the party!

  stop

  • stop an action: I stopped working for them because I started my own business.
  • interrupt an action to do something else: It's difficult to concentrate if you have to stop to answer the phone every five minutes.

  try

  • do something to try and solve a problem: If you have problems sleeping, you should try doing yoga.
  • make an effort to do something: I tried to say I'm sorry, but she wouldn't listen.

Let's test some of the things that we have learned in this lesson. Are you ready?

English has sounds that are not found in other languages. Also, the sounds of English are not always pronounced as they are spelled or shown in writing. Speakers of English as a foreign language find it difficult to pronounce and recognize some sounds because in connected speech sounds change and blend with each other, consonants and syllables get lost or become almost inaudible, and the pronunciation of a word changes depending on whether it is stressed or not.

• /ɜː/ (girl): When pronouncing this sound, your lips, tongue and jaw should be in a  relaxed position. These are some examples of words where you can find this sound: shirt, were, burn, heard, bird.
  • Now try to pronounce the following sentences: The girl heard the bird. The nurse works on Thursdays.
    • Common spellings: IR (bird), ER (her), UR (hurt), OR (work), EAR (heard).
• /əʊ/ (phone): To pronounce this sound, you mouth has to be relaxed and then you have to move your lips to a round shape. You have to move your tongue up. These are some examples of words where you can find this sound: boat, coat, rose, throw, no, ago, sold, though, own, coast, both, most, owe.
  • Now try to pronounce the following sentences: I sold the boat not so long ago. Most roses grow well along the coast.
    • Common spellings: O (most), O-E (rose), OE (toe), OA (coat), OW (own).
• /eə/ (chair): To pronounce this sound, you need to open you mouth at firs and then relax your lips. You need you put the back of your tongue down a little and then relax it. Examples where you can find this sound: share, wear, stairs, where, bear, care, fair.
  • Now try to pronounce the following sentences: She always wears fairly expensive hair accessories.
    • Common spellings: ARE (square), AIR (stairs), EAR (bear), ERE (where).
• Schwa /ə/ (computer): This vowel is used in unstressed syllables. You need to relax your tongue and lips if you want to pronounce this sound correctly. These are some examples of words where you can find this sound:
  • Weak A: away, above, animal.
  • Weak E: waiter, paper, burden.
  • Weak O: actor, police, condition.
  • Weak U: until, support, future.
    • Now try to pronounce the following sentence: The actor had a cappuccino with sugar and an apple.
    • In words like paper, actor, waiter, the final R is not pronounced in many accents.

What do you do? This is the question we ask when we want to find out about someone's job.

There are different ways in which you can answer this question:

• One of my responsibilities is to make sure that projects are finished on time. I'm also in charge of budgets.
  • In charge of / responsible for + NOUN or VERB + ING
  • Responsibility + TO + INFINITIVE or VERB + ING
    • One of my responsibilities is to make sure...
    • One of my responsibilities is making sure...
• There are many expressions with the word "work". Let's see some examples:
  • Johanna works or has work.
  • Johanna goes to work (by train, by car).
  • Johanna leaves for work (at 7 every morning).
  • Johanna gets to / arrives at work (at about 8).
  • Johanna is at work (until six).
  • Luckily, she doesn't get ill very much so she's not often off work.

Let's hear from different workers. They are going to tell us about their jobs:

Kevin: I'm an office worker in an insurance company. It's a nine-to-five job with regular working hours. We all have to clock in /clock on and clock out / clock off every day.

Thomas: I'm in computer programming. There is a system of flexitime in my company, which means we can work when we want, within certain limits. It's ideal for me as I have one young child.

Tania: I work in a factory. I work in shifts. I may be on the day shift one week and the night shift the next week.

Martha: I work in an advertising agency. I commute to work every day, like thousands of other commuters. I like going to the office and working with other people, but working from home using a computer and the Internet is becoming more popular: it's called teleworking or telecommuting.

My work involves...

• + NOUN: human contact, long hours, team work...
• + ING: solving problems, travelling, dealing with customers...