JAG03 Unit 9 Applying for a job Task 1 Speaking: A career in science A) Would you like to work in science? What skills and qualities would you need for such a career? B) Things you might do at work. Choose some of the items and construct sentences. Example: If I had to keep a record of everything I do, I would be very frustrated. § keep a record of everything you do § work as a research assistant in the lab § be responsible for projects § do experiments § write laboratory reports § be out in the field § answer the phone § give presentations § write scientific papers § make photocopies § arrange meetings for your boss § take the minutes at meetings § organize conferences Task 2 Cover letter A) Why should I write a letter together with my CV and what does such a letter contain? B) True or false? 1. Covering letter may even be two pages long. 2. It should be printed on an expensive paper. 3. Covering letter may be the body of an email with the CV as an attachment. 4. If you were a geology student applying for a job in finance, you would not mention your geology specialization in your letter. C) Structure of the covering letter Study the jumbled text and label each part according to its function. Then put the sentences in order. Qualifications Present situation Purpose Enclosing CV Further contact a) I have attached my resume for your review. b) If you require any further information, please contact me at 211-555-2424. c) I am currently pursuing my Master's degree in Analytical Chemistry. d) I have a Bachelor's degree in Analytical Chemistry and over four years’ experience working in a laboratory at Klein Pharmaceuticals. e) Please accept my cover letter and resume in response to the Analytical Chemist Position posted on your website. D) Sample covering letters https://www.higheredjobs.com/popup/CoverLetterSample3.cfm How effective are the letters in your opinion? Is anything missing? Highlight useful phrases. 1. Dear Mr. Scott, Please accept my cover letter and resume in response to the Analytical Chemist Position posted on your website. I have a Bachelor's degree in Analytical Chemistry and am currently pursuing my Master's degree in the same area. I have over four years’ experience working in a laboratory with experience in such techniques as High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Gas Chromatography. I believe I am an excellent candidate for this position because of my educational background and my direct experience in a laboratory setting. After graduating with my undergraduate degree, I began working at Klein Pharmaceuticals where I was responsible for performing HPLC in addition to other laboratory techniques. At Klein, I improved my organizational skills by maintaining accurate lab records, strengthened my attention to detail by auditing lab results in the Quality Assurance Department and enhanced my teamwork skills by becoming a member of the Safety Committee. I am confident that the skills that I have acquired will be a true asset to Baxter University. I have attached my resume for your review and look forward to discussing this position with you. If you have any questions or require any further information, please contact me at 211-555-2424. Sincerely, Janet Smith 2. Dear Ms Jones, I'm writing in response to your advertisement for a Digital Marketing Executive. My name is Susan Nelson and I'm a Social Media Marketing Assistant. I have had this job for the past two years and I believe I am the person you need for your new role. The bulk of my work involves designing and implementing online marketing campaigns across a range of channels. I am very comfortable using analytics to assess campaign success and drive future initiatives. I work with a range of social media platforms and tools for digital marketing. I have always worked in the retail industry and am familiar with the seasonal nature of business such as yours and have the skills to push your business forward through creativity and innovation. I would very much like the opportunity to both bring my experience and enthusiasm to this role while continuing to develop professionally and personally. Following initial research into your company I very much feel we would be a good fit for each other and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this position with you in person. Please find attached my CV. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Susan Nelson E) Grammar Put the verbs in the correct tense. The first one has been done as an example. Dear Sir/Madam, I (1) am writing (write) in reply to the advertisement which (2) ………………….……(appear) in the Western mail on 27 April regarding an opening for a Personal Assistant to the Director. I (3) ………………….……. (consider) that I am well qualified for this post. I (4) …………………………. (have) an RSA Certificate in Office Management. I (5) ………………………….. (be) fluent in French and have the French Chamber of Commerce language diploma. In 2002 I (6) …………………………… (complete) an in-service course in IT. At the moment, I (7) ………………….……… (work) as a travel guide for a large travel agency, where I (8) ……………………….. (work) for three years. Prior to guiding I (9) …………………………. (work) as an accountant. As my contract (10) ………………………..…… (expire) in October, I (11) ………………………..……(be available) to take up another employment from November onwards. I (12) ……………………..…….(enclose) a full CV and (13) …………………..…….. (be happy) to answer any further questions you may have. I (14) …………………….…… (look forward) to hearing from you. Task 3 Personality adjectives Find a few adjectives that describe you and a few others that describe somebody else you worked with: 1. decisive 2. determined 3. energetic 4. enthusiastic 5. fair-minded 6. flexible 7. hard-working 8. helpful 9. artistic 10. independent 11. patient 12. persistent 13. pro-active 14. empathetic 15. reliable 16. well organized Personality stories Choose one of the three topics below. Describe a situation from your life or your studies which illustrates that you possess the skills for the first, second or third type. What would such a story say to an employer? Talk in pairs or threes. 1. your “hard skills” - a concrete task you have done in your field of study when you applied specialized knowledge of the subject 2. your team-working abilities - a concrete situation when you worked in a team 3. how you organize time – an example of an activity/event which demanded time planning (adapted from: MCCARTHY, Michael, O\'DELL, Felicity. English Collocations in Use. 2005. 190 s. CUP. ARMER, Tamzen. Cambridge English for Scientists.2011. CUP) Task 4 Vocabulary Research collocations. Read these descriptions of their research by academics and then answer the questions below. a) Dr. Janeja: “We wanted to see if we could explain the fact that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.” b) Dr. Finstein: “Our research questioned the notion that larger mammals only appeared long after the dinosaurs had died out.” c) Prof. Li: “We carefully restricted our sample to people born within ten kilometres of the lake.” d) Prof. Simons: “We wanted to build on existing research and offer new insights into the effects of stress.” e) Dr. Andreas: “We really wanted to put into practice some of the research on e-learning to improve our present system.” f) Prof. Horza: “We were hoping to instigate a new type of investigation.” g) Dr. Tadeus: “We had no detailed plan at the outset; things developed as we went along.” 1. Whose team took a deliberate decision to do something? 2. Whose team wanted to further the understanding of something? 3. Whose team did not have a strategy for their research? 4. Who wanted to start something that had not existed before? 5. Whose team was interested in the application of something? 6. Whose purpose was it to establish a reason for something? 7. Whose research challenged an existing idea? (adapted from McCarthy, M.; O´Dell, F. Academic Vocabulary in Use. Cambridge University Press, 2008)