General Listening Quiz

Which factor is most crucial when looking for a new job? Rank the following points in terms of importance and then discuss your reasons:

• opportunities for promotion or advancement
• working hours
• vacation days
• pension plan
• interest level
• salary
• benefits such as health and life insurance
• sick or maternity leave

“bone up on” = study hard before a test
“I suggest you bone up on your typing skills before going to the job interview.”

“work your fingers to the bone” = work extremely hard
“My father worked his fingers to the bone to provide for our family and send me to college.”

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the recording:

• lead (noun): information that will help you find a solution to a problem or situation
  – Although my sister has a few job leads, she knows that finding work these days will be difficult.
• look up (phrasal verb): improve or get better
  – More companies are moving their offices to this area, so the job market is looking up.
• in a nutshell (idiom): used when summarizing something in a very short, clear way
  – Business has been very slow over the past several months, and it will be difficult to maintain our current workforce. So, in a nutshell, we’re going to have to let some of our workers go.
• provide (verb): give, supply, or furnish
  – The company provides health insurance for all full-time employees.
• kind (noun): sort or type
  – Working at a restaurant my whole life isn’t the kind of job I really want to do.
• reasonable (adjective): fair or sensible
  – I think it is reasonable for a person to ask questions about the company and its future during a job interview.
• earn (verb): make or bring in
  – I need to earn more money to buy a house.
• in the end: finally, after a period of time
  – Even though the company was able to reduce costs, the result was the same in the end, and the company went out of business.
• boom (verb): grow rapidly
  – Gold mining boomed for more than 20 years in the valley.
• era (noun): a period of time
  – The internet started a new era of finding jobs online.
• land a job (idiom): find a job
  – It is sometimes difficult to land a job without much experience.
• sprout (up) (verb): grow suddenly
  – A number of small software companies sprouted up in our area as a result of the demand for new computer applications.

What are ten common questions asked during a job interview in your field? How would you personally respond? What suggestions and advice can you come up with to answer such questions? What questions would you ask the interviewer to show you are informed about the company and you are serious about the position?

Use the internet to find two services where you can post your resume in order to find a job. What kinds of options do these services provide? Is there a cost associated with posting your resume?