Speakers 1, 2. Personnel officers.

They study resumes of all the applicants, ask them questions (both personal and professional) to find out their abilities, career goals and prospects. At the end of the game they are to choose the most suitable candidate for each job. They should be ready to justify their choice, pointing out weaknesses and strengths of each of the applicants.

Candidate 1: a woman, 40, divorced, has a son of 14. University graduate, a degree in Modern Languages (French and German), worked as a translator and as a teacher at school.

Candidate 2: a man, 56, worked as a personnel officer at Electronics Company, was responsible for training candidates.

Candidate 3: a young girl, 22. University graduate, Public Relations specialist, single, no job experience, good knowledge of English, French and German.

Candidate 4: a man, 35, graduate of Medical School, worked at Health Insurance Company as an agent.

Candidate 5: a man, 28, worked as an assistant to the sport editor, fluent French and good knowledge of German.

Make use of some of the questions generally asked at job interviews:

Personnel officers:

What are your career (professional) goals?

What qualifications do you get?

What’s your idea of a successful business person?

What didn’t you like about your last job?

What have you done to illustrate leadership skills?

Why did you choose this particular field of work?

What’s your idea of duties of someone in this position?

Candidates (applicants):

I’d like to try the position of a manager.

Would you mind touching on the subject of salary and benefits?

Is there any room for advancement?

What is the starting salary for this position?

PART 2

ARGUMENTS IN PRACTICE

DEFENDING OR REJECTING CLAIMS

From the following list of claims select the ones you find most controversial. Then try to defend or reject each claim. Can you give examples to support any of the claims?

1. It’s nonsense to claim that men and women are equal and have the same abilities to work.

2. Individual success at finding viable employment is more dependent on individual effort.

3. Money is the most important factor in choosing a career.

3. Some jobs do require a certain type of appearance.

4. For Russians, unemployment is the most important issue.

5. Unequal pay is wrong. Women should be paid as much as men for the same work.

6. Women’s job is to get married and to have children.

7. ‘A beauty lives an easier life’ (a saying which means, among other things, that attractive women have more chances to achieve professional success than less attractive ones).

8. There shouldn’t be more women in top managerial positions.

9. Work is a waste of time.

10. For people to be happy, they must have a balance between work and play (зд. досуг).

DISCUSSION POINTS

1. There are many factors you might consider preparing yourself for some career or looking for a job. Some people become doctors or lawyers, because these careers can offer them high income and high social status. Others think money is one of the most important factors. Some people regard personal satisfaction as the most significant thing in their future careers. Which of the following - being your own boss, high income, self- fulfillment, future prospects, flexible hours – is more important for you? Select three items and rank them in order of importance. Give reasons for your choice.

2. Which of the following occupations - doctor - farm-worker - policeman - lawyer - teacher- reporter - is the most important in your opinion? Which of them do you think earns more? Which of them do you think should earn more?

3. Young people are more career-minded nowadays than ever. But a tense competition makes it more and more difficult for them to achieve success. Look at the list of qualities below. Which of the qualities - ambition, ruthlessness, enthusiasm, energy, flexibility, physical attractiveness, intelligence, ability to work hard, sociability - do you think are important for making a career? Why?

4. Some employment practices are not ‘fair’. Discuss with your partners ‘unfair’ recruitment practices in Russia. Give 3-4 examples. Here's one point for you to start: You can’t find a job if you don't have the so-called ‘domicile registration’ (прописка по месту жительства).

5. There are certain people who are addicted to their work. These people are known as ‘workaholics’. Very often they have their own firms or companies. People say that they are ‘married’ to their businesses. They often say things like ‘time is money’ and ‘business before pleasure’. They are usually successful in their careers, but they often have dull personalities and are not fun to be with. Do you think it is necessary for a person to like his job to be happy? Can workaholics be really happy? Why or why not?

6. What do you think you are prepared to do as a part of your job? Rank the following factors in order of acceptability: spending hours getting to and from (commuting) your work; spending a lot of time travelling abroad; moving to live in another place away from your family; working in conditions where you are physically at risk; working regularly overtime without extra pay; working without holiday and sick pay; working with a very rude and demanding boss. Give your reasons.

 

Are Men Superior to Women?

 

Here is one person’s opinion: ‘There is no denying the fact that men and women are completely different. They have their own modes of behaviour, emotional needs and attitudes to work.

Society expects men and women to fulfill different roles and it’s really a kind of paradox, and, in terms of work, women continue to be regarded as second-rate citizens. At the same time, women have succeeded in many fields. Modern women become doctors, university teachers, company directors and even presidents of countries. In Russia a lot of women run their own businesses, get top positions in banking and even become politicians. What is more, they often succeed brilliantly in all these fields in addition to raising children. Why does it happen so? Maybe because they are much more conscientious and responsible than men? Men try to guard their so-called rights. ‘Women, they say, are weak and unreliable. They depend too little on cool reasoning (здравый смысл) and too much on intuition to arrive at decisions.’

Do you agree with this opinion? Haven’t women proved repeatedly that they are equal and often superior to men in almost every field? Don’t women feel satisfaction when they achieve a goal or solve a problem? Is ‘winning a race’ less important for them than for men?

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