b2 Unit-3
b2 Unit-3
b2 Unit-3
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Warm Up
3.2 Reading Comprehension-I
3.3 Listening Comprehension
3.4 Reading Comprehension-II
3.5 Speaking
3.6 Writing
3.7 Vocabulary: Walk-in-Interviews
3.8 Grammar: Articles (A/An, The)
3.9 Let Us Sum Up
3.10 Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
The objective of this unit is to tell you what ‘walk-in’ and ‘phone’ interviews are.
First, we will describe what walk-in interview is, how it resembles and/or differs
from a normal interview, and why some advertisers ask candidates to come for
walk-in interviews. Next, we shall take up ‘phone’ interview, its emergence and
need in modern times, and how to prepare to face ‘phone’ interviews. We will
also give you practice in an aspect of grammar i.e., articles – a/an, the.
3.1 WARM UP
Activity 1
Read the following advertisement and answer the questions given below it:
1 Have you heard of this term ‘walk-in’ interview? What does it mean?
2 Why do you think advertisers sometimes ask candidates to come for a
‘walk-in’ interview?
3 What is ‘phone interview’? Why do some advertisers resort to this
technique?
2 ‘Walk-in interviews’, as the name suggests, by-pass all the steps involved
between the advertisement and the interview. The employer advertises
the situation vacant asking the candidates just to walk-in for interview on
a specific date and time. For instance one may ask the candidates to walk-
in with their applications/CV on a particular day at a specified time say
on Monday the 6th November between 10.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. All the
candidates who report at the time may be interviewed the same day.
3 Let us think of some of the reasons for asking candidates to come for a
walk-in interview. There can be many reasons for an employer for taking
this short cut.
4 The employer may be a small businessman who does not have the
secretarial staff necessary to handle the paper work involved in the long
recruitment process. He may be the sole person to make a decision about
the selection and does not need a panel of experts to help him here. This
shortcut is an effective means of cutting costs as it saves time, money and
manpower.
5 Another reason can be that the vacancy is for a short period and the
advertiser is aware that not many will be interested or the job may be of
specialized nature and not many applicants with this special qualification
might be available in the job market.
6 We also find that some jobs require a candidate having a good personality
and presentable figure and in such cases the employers may ask
candidates to come for a ‘walk-in’ interview to judge for themselves the
suitability of the candidates for the job.
7 However, walk-in interviews are like any other face-to-face interview and
you’ll require the same set of skills and documents to face it.
Activity 2
Read the text once again slowly this time and attempt the following questions:
1 Suggest a suitable title for this text.
…………………………………………………………………………
2 The writer describes the following three things in this text. Number them
in the order in which these occur in the passage:
21
Recruitment-II 1 What must you do if you are to face a phone interview? You have to take
certain steps to ensure that it proceeds smoothly. First, note down
carefully the date and time of the telephone call and the name of the
interviewer. Make sure that the date and time given are of your country or
of a foreign country. If it is a foreign country then ask for their local time
as well as this might be different.
3 When the call comes, use the techniques of telephone conversation that
we have discussed in a later block. Some of the important ones are as
follows:-
4 Next, you should ensure that your ideas are well organized. This is all the
more essential in case of telephone interview. In the previous unit we
suggested “STAR” structure as a way of organizing your thoughts to
achieve logical development of ideas but there are other different ways of
organizing our ideas depending upon the topic and what we want to
achieve and who our audience is.
Activity 4
1 What are the steps you must take before attending a phone interview?
…………………………………………………………………………..…
………………………………………………………………………..……
……………………………………………………………………..………
…………………………………………………………………..…………
……………..……………………………………………………………….
22
2 List some of the techniques of telephone conversation to bear in mind Phone and walk
during a phone interview. -in interviews
…………………………………………………………………………..….
………………………………………………………………………..…….
……………………………………………………………………..……….
…………………………………………………………………..………….
………………………………………………………………..…………….
.…………………………………………..…………………………………
3.5 SPEAKING
Activity 5
1 Take a look at 10 desirable traits that most employees look for in their
candidates. Think of how many of these you possess and how you would
illustrate them at your job interview with examples from your education,
activities, work or life experience. Practice how you would talk about
these with your study partner.
i Problem-solving skills
ii Ability to work under pressure
iii Ability to focus on projects
iv Leadership skills
v Positive attitude
vi Definiteness of purpose...clear goals
vii Enthusiasm...high level of motivation
viii Sense of humor
ix Time management
3.6 WRITING
Activity 6
Some people believe in working for a company for a long time while others
believe in changing jobs quite frequently.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both these views and give your own
opinion. Write about 250 words.
23
Recruitment-II …………………………………………………………………………..…………
………………………………………………………………..……………………
……………………………………………………..…………………………….…
…………………………………………………………………..……………….…
………………………………………………………..………………………….…
……………………………………………..…………………………………….…
…………………………………..……………………………………………….…
………………………..…………………………………..………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………..………….
………………………………………………..…………………………………….
Listen to the teacher talking about Walk-in-Interviews (tape script-2). Fill in the
blanks while listening to the talk.
Walk-in Interviews are becoming increasingly popular these days. They help
companies and organizations to 1 ………….……………………..to meet their
2
……………………. In today’s business world where growth and 3…………
………….is the mantra, companies sometimes need staff 4……………
………….for time bound projects. For these kind of needs they may not want to
wait for the 5…..……………………….adopted for regular appointments.
If you are in the process of getting ready for the job market and are ready with
your profile, self assessment and all set to 16 ………………………….you have
made in your CV, you stand a good chance of being able to
17
………………………….of a walk-in interview. A lot of the questions you will
be asked are similar to the regular interviews.
24
In order to be successful in such interviews candidates need to be in 18………… Phone and walk
…………………at all times. The interviewers are aware of the fact that these are -in interviews
impromptu affairs and review the candidates accordingly. However, candidates
whose basic skills are well developed and have
19
…………………………………and general 20 ……………………as well as
suitable skill sets have a good chance of success in such interviews. Another
important factor is your ability to 21 …………………… and to present yourself.
If these are well developed, they give you the 22……………………………..and
comfort to deal with the needs of walk-in interviews.
We use a/an only with singular noun/noun phrase. The noun in the noun
phrase can be counted, e.g. a synopsis, two synopses, a process, two
processes, a candidate, two candidates.
A/an is not used before uncountable nouns e.g. money, milk, gold, sugar,
etc. However, we can count water, sugar by using appropriate countable
nouns before them e.g. a glass of water, a bag of sugar.
The most common use of the is refer to a person/thing/event that has been
mentioned once.
The is used to refer to things which are unique, i.e. things of which there
is only one in the universe.
Examples: the sun, the Earth, the Himalayas, the Ganga, etc.
We use the before countable nouns when we wish to refer to the whole
system,
25
Recruitment-II Example: “Who invented the computer?”
Examples: The poor (people) get poorer and the rich richer.
the old, the homeless, etc. (poor and rich are both
adjectives)
The names of regions, islands, oceans and newspapers generally have the
before them:
Example: the Middle East, the Andaman and Nikobar islands, the
Atlantic Ocean, the Times of India.
In superlative constructions:
Example: the fastest, the most expensive, the best, the worst
No Article
Activity 8
1 Read the passage and insert a/an, the at the appropriate place.
Hina: Right, you all know why I’ve called this meeting. The Funtime
Park has had ………… serious drop in income over …………..
last 6 months. Liza has circulated ……… report in which she
makes it clear that she feels this is only …….. temporary setback
and she expects ………… Park to return to profitability in ………
first half of next year. Now, we have three options facing us: one
is to close ………… Park completely; ……….. second is to keep
it open but on ……….. much reduced scale and therefore cut cost
and ……… third, is to continue as before. I think we’ve all had
time to analyze the figures so I’d like to confine this meeting to
your assessment and conclusions. Hiten, how do you see it?
Hiten: Very dimly, I’m afraid. I see no evidence that the Park will return
to profitability next year or for that matter at any time in the
foreseeable future...
Liza: I don’t believe you have read ………… single word…
Hina: Liza, you’ll have ………….. chance to give us your point of view
in …………. second. Let Hiten finish first…
Hiten: Right, as I was saying I’m afraid Funtime is ………lost cause.
We’ve already lost nearly Rs. 4,00,000 in the last 4 months. We
can’t afford to continue absorbing those sorts of losses. I think we
should close it down as soon as possible and liquidize our assets.
Hina: So, let me just summarize. Hiten is for closing ……… park as
soon as possible and selling off ………….land and property. Is
26 that right?
2 Fill in the gaps in the paragraphs with a, an, the, Ǿ (no article)
All meetings have something in common. …………most important is
………. agenda, ……….. next is the role of ………..Chairperson. ………
efficient chairperson will adhere to ……….agenda and time, and focus
only on ………. purpose and reaching the desired objectives of …………
meeting.
3.10 ANSWERS
Activity 2
1 Walk-in INTERVIEW
2 ii- Normal procedure for recruitment, iii- What is walk-in interview,
i- Reasons for asking for walk-in interview
4 Walk-in interviews, as the name suggests, by-pass all the steps involved
between the advertisement and the interview. Some of these steps are:
advertising the vacancy and inviting applications; sorting out candidates
to be invited for interview; preparing a brief synopsis of these candidates;
deciding members of the interview panel; contacting these members and
seeking their consent and availability; fixing the venue, date and time of
interview; informing the candidates of these details, etc. They can be time
consuming and expensive. A Walk-in interview is relatively economical
and easier to conduct.
5 There can be many reasons for an employer asking candidates to come for
a walk-in interview. The employer may be a small businessman who does
not have the secretarial staff necessary to handle the paper work involved
in the long recruitment process. He may be the sole person to make a
decision about the selection and does not need a panel of experts to help
him here. This shortcut is an effective means of cutting costs as it saves
time, money and manpower. Another reason can be that the vacancy is for
a short period and the advertiser is aware that not many will be interested
or the job may be of specialized nature and not many applicants with this
special qualification might be available in the job market. We also find
that some jobs require a candidate having a good personality and
presentable figure and in such cases the employers may ask candidates to
27
Recruitment-II come for a ‘walk-in’ interview to judge for themselves the suitability of
the candidates for the job.
3 MNCs cast their net wide for personnel and advertise their staff
requirement on their websites and these are browsed by those looking for
international exposure. Candidates apply using e-communication. Instead
of face-to-face interview these companies resort to ‘phone’ interview.
Moreover, there is only one interviewer at a time talking to the candidate
on the telephone although a conference call is also a possibility these days.
These employers are generally interested in the expertise of the candidate
and not so much in her/his looks and appearance.
5 How does ‘phone interview’ work? Simple. The interviewer fixes with
the candidate the date and time to interview him/her on the land line
number given by the candidate in the CV sent to the company and thus
this technique is repeated with all the candidates short-listed for interview
Activity 3
Activity 4
1 You have to take certain steps to ensure that a phone interview proceeds
smoothly. First, note down carefully the date and time of the telephone
call and the name of the interviewer. Make sure that the date and time
given are of your country or of a foreign country. If it is a foreign country
then ask for their local time as well as this might be different. Second,
before the call comes through make sure to secure the room where the call
is to be taken. It should be free from disturbance and distractions such as
noisy fans or air-conditioner, another telephone/cell phone, and so on.
The room ought to be comfortable, with a glass of water within your
reach, adequate but not very bright lighting, and note pad and pencil
handy. It is a good idea to keep a recorder nearby to replay later on what
you said. A copy of your CV and portfolio should also be kept in front of
you. The telephone instrument should be free from noise. If the interview
is taking place in your home then make sure that there is someone else
there to receive visitors or answer the door bell and ensure that nobody
disturbs you in your room till the interview is over.
Activity 5
Sample answer:
1 Leadership skills- I have been the Cultural Activities leader at school as
well as the Associate Secretary of the Students Union at College. The
positions have helped me understand the qualities that are required to lead
people in a collaborative manner. I work well in a team and am able to
infuse those working with me with energy and positivity…
Activity 7
Walk-in Interviews are becoming increasingly popular these days. They help
companies and organizations to 1source personnel to meet their 2immediate
need. In today’s business world where growth and 3achievement of target is the
mantra, companies sometimes need staff 4on short notice for time bound
projects. For these kinds of needs they may not want to wait for the 5elaborate
procedure adopted for regular appointments.
Usually successful walk-in candidates get an offer 12instantly, and are required
to join the company immediately. There are some 13disadvantages too, viz.,
many walk-in opportunities are temporary or short-term; or if otherwise, many
times companies find it difficult to 14retain these employees. For freshers and
candidates who are 15not employed currently, these opportunities help them to
get employed immediately.
If you are in the process of getting ready for the job market and are ready with
your profile, self assessment and all set to 16justify the claims you have made in
your CV, you stand a good chance of being able to 17tackle the requirements of
a walk-in interview. A lot of the questions you will be asked are similar to the
regular interviews.
30 Activity 8
1 Completed paragraph with a/an, the at the appropriate place.
Hina: Right, you all know why I’ve called this meeting. The Funtime
Park has had a serious drop in income over the last 6 months. Liza
has circulated the report in which she makes it clear that she feels
this is only a temporary setback and she expects the Park to return
to profitability in the first half of next year. Now, we have three
options facing us: one is to close the Park completely; the second
is to keep it open but on a much reduced scale and therefore cut
cost and the third, is to continue as before. I think we’ve all had
time to analyze the figures so I’d like to confine this meeting to
your assessment and conclusions. Hiten, how do you see it?
Hiten: Very dimly, I’m afraid. I see no evidence that the park will return
to profitability next year or for that matter at any time in the
foreseeable future...
Liza: I don’t believe you have read a single word…
Hina: Liza, you’ll have a chance to give us your point of view in a
second. Let Hiten finish first…
Hiten: Right, as I was saying I’m afraid Funtime is a lost cause. We’ve
already lost nearly Rs. 4,00,000 in the last 4 months. We can’t
afford to continue absorbing those sorts of losses. I think we
should close it down as soon as possible and liquidize our assets.
Hina: So, let me just summarize. Hiten is for closing the Park as soon as
possible and selling off the land and property. Is that right?
2 Completed paragraphs with a, an, the, Ǿ (no article) in bold:
All meetings have something in common. Ǿ most important is the
agenda, Ǿ next is the role of the Chairperson. An efficient chairperson
will adhere to the agenda and time, and focus only on the purpose and
reaching the desired objectives of the meeting.
31