| Hello. Is this the Triple A Employment agency? |
| Yes. |
| Hi. I rang before. My name's Andrew. Andrew Peterson. |
| I rang you earlier and gave you my personal details. |
| If you remember, I'm that student looking for work during the summer holidays. |
| Oh, sure. Actually, I have your file right here. |
| But... we still need to add some further information. |
| Yeah, that's what they told me, and that's why I'm ringing. |
| What do you need to know? |
| Well, we have to know your main level of education. It's a degree, I suppose. |
| Yes, but I'm still doing it, in engineering. It's quite interesting. |
| Some of my friends are studying computing though, so I'm interested in that, also. |
| Well, I'll just write in your main degree subject. Engineering. |
| We usually have a demand in computing though. |
| Have you worked with computers before? |
| No. I just do some programming for fun at the university, |
| but I almost got a job as a computer designer once. |
| Actually, the only job I've ever had was as a car salesman, believe it or not. |
| Well, at least you've had experience dealing with customers. |
| What about hobbies though? |
| Sometimes they can help develop useful skills. |
| Ummm... in my free time I don't do much - mostly study. |
| I play chess occasionally at the university chess club. |
| That's right next to the tennis courts, |
| but I'm not interested in that. |
| Chess helps develop analytical skills, so I'll put that down. |
| Of course, it's your main skills that employers want to know about |
| What would you say they are? |
| Well, I'm in my third year now, studying electrical machines and generating systems, |
| but I'd say electronics is my best skill |
| much better than, say, my machine skills, which aren't so good, actually. |
| Okay... machine skills are in demand, but so too are electronic ones, |
| so we might be able to find you a part-time job in that field. |
| But what sort of money do you expect to get? |
| Oh, anything really. |
| I'd want the standard payment, let's say. |
| What's normal? 1,000 a month? 1,500? |
| I'll just put $1,200, okay? |
| That's fine by me. |
| When can you start? Say, within two days? |
| Easily! Actually, less. |
| In fact, just give me a ring, and I'll be able to start immediately, |
| although I admit it'll take me a few days to get used to getting up early in the morning. |
| Okay! That's just about it, |
| unless you'd like to add anything else which may help with your application? |
| Ah, not really. |
| I ride a motorbike, but that's unimportant. |
| I'm friendly, but every applicant claims that, right? |
| I can speak another language. |
| Ah, that might be useful, depending on the language. |
| Is it Chinese? A Chinese speaker would go down well. |
| Spanish, I'm afraid. |
| You see, I grew up with some friends who came from South America. |
| Okay, I'll write that down, but I don't think it will help that much, sorry to say. |
| Well, thanks for your help, and hopefully I'll get a job soon, |
| but can I just ask one more question? |
| Sure! |
| What, basically, are employers looking for when they interview someone? |
| Oh, many things. |
| Being hardworking, diligent, and focused on your job is good, |
| but surprisingly, it often means you can't see the bigger picture, |
| or provide suggestions which help the company move forward. |
| That requires thinking for yourself, outside the box as they say, |
| and being free of the standard ways of approaching tasks. |
| Employers certainly value that. |
| I guess experience must help, though? |
| It depends. If it involved a routine job, one which didn't exercise your mind, |
| it might not mean that much at all. |
| But since companies are basically composed of people, |
| it is important to be able to get along with others. |
| There's no point in hiring someone whom the other employees don't like, right? |
| That just causes problems, |
| in fact, I would say that being friendly and approachable ranks far more highly than your academic qualifications. |
| Okay, and that's all assessed at the interview, right? |
| Yes, and your qualifications, experience, and approach to the job, |
| such as whether you can do different things, work overtime, or do long hours as needed. |
| But those latter qualities are pretty much standard. |
| What may be more important is based on the fact that things inevitably go wrong. |
| Mistakes are made, and someone's got to fix them in a way that creates the least disturbance. |
| People with demonstrated abilities to do this are certainly regarded highly. |
| I see. That's very interesting! |