Nam Đỗ Blog

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Andrew: 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. 
Woman: 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?
Andrew: 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. 
Woman: 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 got?
Andrew: Oh, anything really. I’d want the standard payment, let’s say. What’s 
normal? 1,000 a month? 1,500? 
Woman: I’ll just put $1,200, okay? 
Andrew: That’s fine by me. 
Woman: When can you start? Say, within two days? 
Andrew: 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. 
Woman: Okay! That’s just about it, unless you’d like to add anything else which 
may help with your application? 
Andrew: 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. 
Woman: Ah, that might be useful, depending on the language. Is it Chinese? A 
Chinese speaker would go down well. 

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Andrew: Spanish, I’ m afraid. You see, I grew up with some friends who came from 
South America. 
Woman: Okay, I’ll write that down, but I don’t think it will help that much, sorry to 
say. 
Andrew: 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? 
Woman: 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. 
Andrew: I guess experience must help, though? 
Woman: 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. 
Andrew: Okay, and that’s all assessed at the interview, right? 
Woman: 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. 
Andrew: I see. That’s very interesting 

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