Section SUPPLEMENTARY READING

In this section you will find helpful information that might be of use for you in your future career.

Subsection HUNTING A JOB.

Text 1. Rules for Being Your Own Executive Recruiter.

· Know what you want to do and why you are hunting for a job. (Have a positive, professional and career-oriented reason ready if asked.)

· Begin with a simple script that can guide you until it becomes automatic: “Good morning, Ms. Jones, my name is Penny Moss. I’m a commercial loan officer with four years of experience successfully developing new business with midmarket companies. I am looking for a professsional growth opportunity, and I thought you’d be interested in talking with me.” Then let the other person speak, but be ready to react and keep the conversation going as interest develops.

· Engage your contact’s interest by a compliment about his/her company (if you have the basis for a valid one from your research) and a brief convincing line or two about what you can do for the company.

· Respond to signs of interest (What’s your major? Have you ever..? How much are you making? [Stall this particular one by saying something like “I am sure you could be competitive!” but recognize it as a “buy signal” and keep the conversation going.])

· Lock in the next step by setting up an interview, or at least another call. Never settle for “send me a resume” unless the request is linked to a more valid expression of interest, such as those just mentioned. Otherwise it is usually a brush-off and not worth your time and postage. Explain that you are only interested in current positions and a sensitive about circulating your resume without a specific job objective – then push for the particulars about what she/he has in mind. If nothing, forget it and make your next call.

· Gain “market knowledge” – find out what is going on in your industry, where the next opportunities are going to be in this contact’s opinion.

· Identify another good lead somewhere else if she/he doesn’t need you just now – don’t be bashful about asking questions such as:

- Whom do you know who could use someone with my preparation?

- Who is expanding their operation and might be staffing?

- Is there someone elsewhere in your company who might have an interest in someone like me?

- May I say that you suggested I call?

 

Text 2. Self-advertising.

The “Positions Wanted” columns of the classified sections are small because jobseekers read these pages more than employers do. While some people may find work by advertising their own talents, a more active approach will get more leads in a shorter time.

Outplacement firms.

Outplacement firms are a passive sort of executive recruitment organization at which you are assisted in identifying your potential and finding a place to use it. The firms are less worried about having a highly marketable candidate because they get paid for helping candidates, not placing them. A good outplacement organization has helpful knowledge of the job market and can assist, but it is not a service to purchase on your own. If your company provides it, use it and hope for the best; some are very good, others are little more than “feel good” oasis for executives on the rebound.

Using the Internet.

Internet job listings are heavily slanted toward high technology and other hand-to-fill job vacancies – much like executive recruiting. With that said, it is still a vast resource for shopping the job market that should not be overlooked. Check the advertised job posting sites, but don’t ignore such less obvious possibilities as your college’s placement service page. Specific companies also list employment opportunities on their web pages, as do government agencies and other kinds of institutional employers.   

Internet Tip To sample the job search possibilities on the Internet, try : http://www.job-hunt.org/ or enter the keywords “job listings” in your favorite search engine.

 

Text 3. Knowing the Hiring Situation.

The more you know about the background of the hiring, the better able you are to appreciate it and respond appropriately at the interview. For example, you would know why it’s important to be sensitive to a division head who fought to eliminate the position, or a manager who wanted a person with more experience than you have for the job.

Learning such things from research and networking help you to have a successful interview. This is not information you find printed in position announcements – it is more apt to reach you via personal contacts on the inside.

Sometimes your challenge comes from the outside. You can encounter a sophisticated interviewing situation created by a consultant brought in especially to shape up internal hiring practices. Writing in Industry Week, James Braham quoted an Apple Computer executive who described how his company worked with a consultant to develop “success models” and “behavior profiles” that illustrate “the skills and mechanisms people use to get things done [at Apple]”. The consultant stayed on to assist them in structuring their interview questions to get the right information. Some of the information would have come out anyway in the course of routine interview conversations., but the hiring team made sure that the important things were targeted – and that can make for a demanding interview.

While many hirings are still spontaneous, more companies are going to great lengths to define employee qualifications and determine if you possess them during your interview. If you expect that and prepare for it, you will have a leg up on your competition. You will improve your chances of remaining a contender after equally qualified but poorly prepared candidates slip to the background during the important preliminary selection process. Here is a step-by-step look at how a typical hiring develops.

Some of organisations have a policy of advertising all vacancies first to existing staff, so that people who want to apply for a promotion are given the first opportunity to apply. If there are sufficient applications the company may not advertise outside at all.

Other companies advertise all vacancies both in- and outside the company so that existing employees who want promotion have to take their chances alongside outsiders who apply.

 

 

 Subsection DID YOU KNOW?

 

Text 1. What is “for life” job?

At one time it was standard practice for many people to leave school, find a full-time job – starting at trainee level – and then, once fully skilled, stay in the same type of job until they retired.

Today the pattern of employment is far more varied and unemployment is far more widespread. There are no longer jobs “for life” – many people have two or more careers during their working life. No longer are all jobs full-time. No longer is it the case that once you find a job you will be secure forever – or required by your employer to do only the specific job for which you are trained.

The number of people working part-time has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, not just in Britain but also throughout the European Union. This is one of the consequences of the growth in the service industries. In retailing, catering, hotel work, health care, banking and education many jobs are now part-time.

The main difference between working part-time and full-time is in the number of hours worked. A part-time employee will work fewer than the standard operating hours of the company. In some cases, two part employees might job-share one full-time job, and do the work between them. Typical shares are:

· One partner working mornings and the other afternoons

· Alternate day working

· Shares of two and a half days each

· One partner working a three-day week and the other a two-day week and then alternating.

Text 2. Why do employers and employees prefer part-time staff?

Employers may prefer part-time staff for several reasons.

1. The company wage bill is reduced. If part-time staff are employed for evening or weekend work they are not eligible for the over time rates which would be paid to full-time staff. The employer also saves on National Insurance payments if part-time staff earn less than the lower earnings limit.

2. Part-time staff are more flexible – they can be used to cover for absent staff and work extra hours when the company is busy or wants to open longer hours.

3. There may be more people willing to work part-time in the areas where there is a skills shortage. Therefore a company prepared to offer part-time jobs can recruit the people it needs. 

One argument in favour of part-time workers used to be that employers could pay them less per hour and refuse to offer them fringe benefits such as profit sharing or subsidized mortgages. They also had less job security as they had fewer legal rights. The situation has now changed and the European Court has ruled that most part-time workers have the same rights as full-time workers.

Employees may prefer to work part-time for several reasons.

1. They can have a greater say in the days and hours they work. This is often important for mothers of school children for example.

2. Part-time work enables a person to earn some money and still have time for leisure.

3. It’s better than being unemployed.

4. It is a useful way of earning some money, for those who cannot work full time, e.g.[11] students, those who are disabled or ill, or pensioners who want supplement their pension.

 

Text 3. What is the difference between employed and self-employed status?

It is easy to think that you are employed if you work for somebody else and you are self-employed if you work for yourself! But life is not so simple. For example, what would be your status if you applied for and accepted the job advertised below?

 

Keyboard operators Required urgently Must be capable of inputting data at minimum of 40 keystrokes per minute. Only freelance operators should apply. Ring Claire Southern for details On 01891-930849   Data Processing services Ltd. Marsh Lane Hightown

 

In this case you would actually be classified as self-employed – and your rights, responsibilities and obligations, so far as tax and National Insurance are concerned, would be different from those of someone with employee status.

Being self-employed is not a status restricted to people who run their own business in the sense of owning property and stock and perhaps employing their own staff. Millions of people work from home in a wide range of occupations, and many of them are classed as self-employed, e.g. the hairdresser who has set up shop in one room of the house (or visits clients in their own homes), the freelance bookkeeper who does the accounts for other small businesses, the woman who holds clothing and the artist who takes on freelance work from various publishing companies.

People who work on a freelance basis hire out their skills to anyone who will pay them – a freelance photographer, for instance, might be contracted to do a specific job for a newspaper, or may take photographs of events on the chance that he can sell them.

Text 4. What are the factors contributing to the number of people employed?

Your job opportunities depend on a number of different factors. They can depend on you – your skills, your qualifications, your experience. However, they can also depend upon the area in which you live or want to live, or the type of industry in which you want to work. Factors which can influence employment opportunities include:

· Historical considerations, i.e. events that have happened in the past to lead a particular industry to become established in one particular area;

· Geographical considerations, e.g. industries being set up in regions near the port, near the canals, in an area with a lot of natural resources etc.

· Cultural considerations, e.g. in some areas there is a tradition of family-run businesses, and it may be difficult for an outsider to obtain employment in one of them.

In addition there are certain factors that affect employment opportunities no matter where you live.

· Industry-wide changes (such as the overall decline of the manufacturing industries and growth of the service industries and/or the introduction of new technology) have taken place throughout the UK.

· The political and economic policies of whichever government is in power also have the power to affect the availability of jobs. If the Government tries to stimulate the economy by giving financial incentives to small businesses, then jobs in that area will grow. If, on the other hand, it encourages growth in the public sector, employment opportunities will increase in areas such health, education and social work. 

Text 5. What working conditions should you take into account while hunting a job and why?

Nowadays a very common seventeenth birthday present is a course of driving lessons. Although 40 years ago it was unusual for anyone who wasn’t very well off (and normally middle aged!) to have a car, today a ‘set of wheels’ is of great importance to almost everyone over seventeen. Not only is it important for social reasons, it canals have a big effect on your job opportunities. If you live in a city you should have access to a number of jobs which might all be within your reach by means of public transport (although you might not like the thought of travelling on a crowded tube during rush hour). If you live in a small town or in the country your job opportunities might be limited by the transport available to you, although your quality of life might be better. If you have your own car job opportunities may improve although you still have to take into account the cost of the petrol, depreciation and maintenance of the vehicle.  

Many Training Enterprise Councils (TECs) and colleges now take into account the ‘travel to work’ area when setting up new training provision, as people who are unemployed cannot be expected to travel great distances to undertake a course of study. One alternative is for them to arrange for classes to be held at out-centres away from the main campus.

One reason why colleges may set up out-centres is because people cannot afford the time to travel far. Mothers with young children, for example, often have to take them to school and collect them. Therefore they need to be working – or studying – close to home.

Time may influence your choice of transport. Rather than spend hours in a traffic jam you may prefer to travel by public transport and go from one city centre to another relatively quickly by train. Until, of course, there is a breakdown or a strike!

Your domestic commitments are likely to influence the time you are prepared to allow for travelling. An hour travelling to and from work every day adds up to ten extra hours in a week. You may think that it is worth this, however, if you have a super job with great prospects.

The cost of travel must be considered in relation to your proposed salary. If you had a job at home which paid $8000 a year (within walking distance or a short bus journey) or one which paid $10 000 but was 30 kilometres away you should consider your options carefully. If transport links are good and relatively cheap – and prospect excellent – you may decide to take the more distant job. If the expenditure on travel would be more than the difference in take-home pay and prospects were dubious you may decide nit to bother.

The term working conditions is sometimes used to describe physical conditions. Different places of employment have really different physical conditions. There is a vast difference between the physical conditions experienced by a bank clerk and a farmer.

However the term also refers to the description of the particular benefits of certain jobs, e.g. rates of pay, hours, holydays, eligibility to sick pay, pension schemes and redundancy pay. 

 

Text 6. What are the terms used to mean payment and extra payments and how do they differ from each other?

  The terms wages and salaries are sometimes used to mean the same thing. The most common way of distinguishing between them used to be as follows.

· Wage is the term used for the money paid to manual workers who are paid every week normally on Friday. Wages can vary from week to week since manual workers can be paid according to how hard or long they work. Manual workers can also be asked to work on Saturdays and/or Sundays and be paid overtime. Wages consist of a basic rate with additions for overtime or bonus payments.

· Salary is the term used for the money to be paid to clerical and managerial staff who are paid once a month. Some companies pay every four weeks (thirteen times a year); others pay every calendar month (Twelve times a year) Salaried staff may be expected to work late without being paid overtime.

 

Additional payment which can be paid to employees include:

· Commission, which may be paid on top of a basic salary (the method often used to pay sales staff, so that the more they sell the higher their commission); or at high rate instead of a wage or salary; so that in a bad week nothing will be earned;

· Bonus payments paid to staff as a reward for higher productivity or extra-effort at a busy time of a year;

· Profit-sharing schemes, organized by some companies, in which employees receive a share in any profits made and announced at the end of the year;

· Expenses – strictly speaking these are not really an additional payment as the employee might only be being reimbursed for money he or she has really spent (e.g. for petrol or entertaining). 

The total amount an employee earns from all the sources is known as gross pay.

Unfortunately for the employee however the total wage or salary has to have various amounts taken out. These are known as deductions. The pay which is then taken home (i.e. gross pay minus deductions) is known as net pay.

 

Text 7. What kind of career and training opportunities are there in organisations?

Employees may move within an organisation. When they first start work most people begin at the bottom of the career ladder, work hard and carry on to gain additional qualifications. As they gain qualifications and experience they apply for more senior jobs either in the same organisation or in a different one. Slowly they move up usually one level at a time undertaking progressively more senior job roles. Needless to say that some people are more ambitious that others and try to get to the very top whilst others are content to stay in an easier job lower down in the organisation.

In some organisations there may be a range of career opportunities open to you if you work hard. This is likely to be the case if you work for a large organisation with the hierarchical structure. This means that you can aim on your boss’s job – and after that for his or her boss’s job and so on! If the organisation has a flat structure – or is very small – the opportunities may not be as great to move ‘onwards and upwards’. You are also likely to be stuck if your immediate supervisor is not much older than you and likely to be in the job for several years yet! In this case you may have to look outside your organization for progression, assuming or course that you are suitably qualified to move on!

The type of qualifications required obviously varies tremendously from one job to another. Therefore when you start work it is likely that you will be offered training to:

· Learn specific aspects of the job,

· Understand health and safety practices related to your job,

· Obtain higher-level qualifications.

Some of large organizations encourage their staff to continue to study on a day-release basis at college. They may pay for them to study for a part-time degree or a professional qualification, such as the qualification for management accountants.

Sometimes these courses are available only in the evening, which can mean being fairly dedicated when you are tired from the full day at work and have to go on to study at night!

This sort of training is known as off-the-job training – employees study away from work.

An alternative is on-the-job training. In this case the employee learns at the workplace. This is often related to a skill aspect of the job, e.g. learning how to operate a switchboard or a particular type of equipment, learning a software package or how to use fire-extinguishers.

You may also be given the opportunity to attend short courses – to keep you up to date or to learn new skills.

If ever you can take advantage of training – paid by your employer – to develop your skills then you should seize the chance with both hands! Generally the range of opportunities is greater if you work for a large organisation than for a small one, because they will have a training budget especially for this purpose. However, there is nothing to stop you talking to the bosses of a small firm and persuading them that it will benefit both you and the company if you continue to study!