Choosing a career

Task 1. Read the text and tell about your personal myths about choosing a career. Use the ‘Key Language’.

Do you think you know everything about choosing a career? Many people think they know the right way to go about picking an occupation, but they often wind up choosing a career that is unsatisfying. Here are the myths of choosing a career:

1. Choosing a career is simple. Career planning is a multi-step process that involves learning enough about yourself and the occupations which you are considering in order to make an informed decision.

2. A career counsellor can tell me what occupation to pick. A career counsellor, or any other career development professional, can’t tell you what career is best for you. He or she can provide you with guidance in choosing a career and can help facilitate your decision.

3. I can’t make a living from my hobby. Says who? When choosing a career, it makes perfect sense to choose one that is related to what you enjoy doing in your spare time, if you so desire. In addition people tend to become very skilled in their hobbies, even though most of the skill is gained informally.

4. I should choose a career from a ‘Best Careers’ list. Every year, especially during milestone years, i.e. the beginning of a new decade, there are numerous articles and books that list what ‘the experts’ predict will be ‘hot jobs’. It can’t hurt to look at those lists to see if any of the careers on it appeal to you, but you shouldn’t use the list to dictate your choice. You need to take into account your interests, values, and skills when choosing a career. Just because the outlook for an occupation is good, it doesn’t mean that occupation is right for you.

5. Making a lot of money will make me happy. While salary is important, it isn’t the only factor you should look at when choosing a career. Countless surveys have shown that money doesn’t necessarily lead to job satisfaction. For many people enjoying what they do at work is much more important. However, you should consider earnings, among other things, when evaluating an occupation.

6. Once I choose a career, I’ll be stuck in it forever. Not true. If you are unsatisfied in your career for any reason, you can always change it. You’ll be in good company. Many people change careers several times over the course of their lifetimes.

7. If I change careers, my skills will go to waste. Your skills are yours to keep. You can take them from one job to another. You may not use them in the exact same way, but they won’t go to waste.

8. If my best friend (or sister, uncle, or neighbour) is happy in a particular field, I will be too. Everyone is different and what works for one person, won’t necessarily work for another, even if that other person is someone with whom you have a lot in common. If someone you know has a career that interests you, look into it, but be aware of the fact that it may not necessarily be a good fit for you.

9. All I have to do is pick an occupation... Things will fall into place after that. Choosing a career is a great start, but there’s a lot more to do after that.

10. There’s very little I can do to learn about an occupation without actually working in it. While first-hand experience is great, there are other ways to explore an occupation. You can read about it either in print resources or online. You can also interview those working in that field.

Key Language

Before reading the article I was sure that…

My biggest misconception was…

I’ve changed my mind and decided…

If I had to choose my future job now, I would…

Task 2. Steps in Choosing a Career. Fill in the table with the italicized words.

Make a list of occupations to explore, conduct informational interviews, assess yourself and set your goals, write a career action plan, explore the occupations on your list.

	Steps	What to Do?
		Your values, interests and skills, in combination with certain personality traits, will make some careers especially suitable for you and some particularly inappropriate. Some people choose to have career counsellors but many opt to use free career tests that are available on the Web.
		Look over the lists of occupations that you want to take. They are probably rather lengthy. You have to come up with a much shorter list, consisting of between five and ten occupations. Circle occupations you may have considered previously and that you find appealing.
		For each occupation on your list, you will want to look at the job description, educational and other requirements, job outlook, advancement opportunities and earnings.
		You now need to gather more in-depth information. Your best source of this information are people who have first-hand knowledge of the occupations in which you are interested. Identify who they are and conduct informational interviews with them.
		Now that you have set your goals, you will need to decide how to reach them. A career action plan will help guide you as you pursue your long and short term goals.

Task 3. Read the text. For each of the empty space (1–8) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

What is a Career Action Plan?

A Career Action Plan is a road (1) _________ that takes you from choosing an occupation to becoming employed in that occupation to (2) _________ your long-term career goals. Developing a Career Action Plan is the fourth step in the career planning process. You must complete the following steps first.

Do a thorough self-assessment.

· Completely explore viable career options which were identified during the self-assessment.

· Choose an occupation after considering all the options.

Setting and reaching your goals.

· Break your goals down (3) _________ short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals are goals you can reach in one year or less. Long-term goals are ones that are attainable in one to five years.

· In order (4) _________ your goals, you will have to get around any barriers you may face. List those barriers and your solutions for dealing with them.

You should set both long-term and short-term goals:

· Long-term goals: these are goals that you should be able to achieve (5) _________ about three to five years.

· Short term goals: these are goals that you should be able to reach in one to three years.

In order for your goals to be achievable, they must (6) _________ certain criteria.

Your goals must be:

· Conceivable: you must be able to put your goal (7) _________ words.

· Achievable: you must have the attributes, energy, and time (8) _________ your goal.

· Believable: you must believe you can reach your goal.

· Achievable within a Certain Time Frame: you must be able to state how long it will take you to reach your goal.

· Clearly Defined: you must know exactly what your goal is.

· Flexible: you must be willing to modify your goal as necessary.

1 A trip B movie C map D sign

2 A reaching B spending C coming D bringing

3 A out B to C over D into

4 A to reach B to spend C to learn D to discuss

5 A at B in C on D into

6 A ask B have C meet D learn

7 A into B over C under D to

8 A to draw B to accomplish C to forget D to review

Task 4.Consider the elements of the job and describe your dream job using the ‘Key Language’. Write your plan.

Types of work — paperwork, manual work, vocational (which helps people).

Professional training — required with job experience, may need some job training, not required.

Job experience — required, preferable, not required.

Working environment — comfortable, challenging, demanding; to establish good working rela­tionship, good rapport with colleagues.

Working patterns — to work fixed hours, to have nine-to-five job, to work flexi-time/to be on flexi-time, to do shift work (be a shift worker), to be a teleworker (work from home), to be self-employed, to be/to work freelance.

Social contact — limited, broad; socialize with workmates.

Physical demands — physically demanding, not very physically demanding.

Responsibilities — have to deal with the customers, make a research, work with numbers (figures), to deal with unpredictable situations, to work in a team, etc.

Promotion — good promotion prospects, may be passed over for promotion, a glass ceiling.

Job characteristics — positive: rewarding, interesting, dynamic, fast moving; negative: tiring, boring, mechanical, repetitive, a dead-end job.

Extra advantages — free meals, tips, perks, a car, a personal secretary.

Disadvantages — high stress level, heavy workload, have to meet the deadlines, to be snowed under, to be overworked and underpaid.

Key Language

It’s becoming increasingly popular in my country to…

More and more people are getting interested in…

I would prefer to have a job that…

I’m quite certain that…

If I were to decide/select, I would…

…is suitable/ideal/perfect for…

…is just what I need.

I seek a career in … (industry).

Job satisfaction is important to me because...

Task 5. Read the text. For questions (1–9) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

BRITISH MANAGEMENT

According to an article in Management Today, the British manager still stops work for tea. The French managing director of Novotel, the hotel group, tells what happened at his first management meeting when he took over its English operation in 1991:

‘The meeting was in the afternoon, and it got to about 3.30 and everyone started looking at their watches. I didn’t know what was going on. I turned to my secretary, who was English, and she said that they probably wanted to break for tea. I couldn’t understand it. In France we just carry on until we have finished. Now we always break for tea.’

I am not sure how many English managers now break for tea. Not that many, I imagine. Twenty years ago it was commonplace. I will never forget a Canadian sales director, pink with fury, telling me at that time how he had been offered tea and biscuits at three in the afternoon in Northampton: ‘I come three thousand miles, and take three taxis and a damn steam engine into the sticks, and I wanna do business, and this guy gives me a ‘nice cup of China tea and a biccy’. What IS he?’ Mind you, this was the same man who in Rome told his Italian agent that the Colosseum would make a nice parking lot.

It is not so much the cup of tea as the pint of bitter that managers from outside Britain find a bar to efficiency. In the article, a German manager tells how when he first took over a job in Britain, he discovered that at lunchtime and especially on Fridays, the majority of his management team left for the pub. He says: ‘I stopped that right away. Now they are not allowed off the premises. It didn’t make me very popular at the time but it is not good for efficiency. There is no way we would do that in Germany. No way.’

According to European managers the British are still too concerned with class and status. A German says: ‘People say that the class system is a hindrance to progress and then two weeks later you overhear them discussing a colleague and saying, ‘Well, he is not very well-spoken, is he?’ And another says: ‘I might earn three times more than my secretary. Here it is five times.’

Some criticisms are rather like those levelled at Japanese management. For example, talking about status, a Dutch manager says: ‘A director is God here. They respect him and think that he is right even when he is wrong. It’s quite difficult to have an open conversation. People will not say ‘I disagree’.’

Too great an interest in money is also criticised. A Dutch manager says: ‘My first impression on coming to Britain was that profit seemed to be the most important thing.’ And a Frenchman points out the difference between the UK and France: ‘In France there is no pressure on the bottom line.’

The French manager also points out a difference in educational standards: ‘In France all the secretaries, or personal assistants as we call them, would have degrees. You wouldn’t consider recruiting one without a degree. So, that means you can delegate much more to the secretaries in France. In the UK you cannot do that so much.’

1 In the middle of the afternoon________.

A everyone checked their watches

B hinted that it was teatime

C took a break

D noticed it was 3.30

2 In the past________.

A managers usually had a tea break

B offered visitors China tea

C wasted a lot of time drinking tea

D drank a lot of tea

3 The Canadian________.

A was impressed by the Englishman’s good manners

B had travelled a long way

C liked to do business

D considered his time was being wasted

4 Why did the Canadian say the Colosseum would make a nice parking lot?

A He had nowhere to park.

B He was joking.

C He was worried about Rome’s traffic problems.

D He was envious of Italy’s glorious past.

5 The German didn’t like his managers going to the pub because________.

A he was against drink

B they got drunk

C it made them inefficient

D he believed playing sports would be better for them

6 To stop them going to the pub, the managers________.

A were ordered to stay in the office

B were given free lunches in the office

C played team games in the lunch-hour

D had meetings at lunchtime

7 In Britain, managers are paid much more than their secretaries because of________.

A sexism

B education

C class

D elocution

8 English and Japanese managers are similar in that they________.

A are tactful

B like tea

C avoid disagreement

D have a superiority complex

9 In comparison with the British secretary, a French secretary________.

A is better paid

B has more status

C is better spoken

D can take more responsibility

Task 6. Your friend has sent you a letter saying that he is at complete loss with choosing his future profession. On a separate sheet of paper write your friend a letter where you tell him about the best ways to choose the occupation. Use the following ideas:

· how to prepare for choosing a profession;

· what to think of;

· whom to consult.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-29