1 The words below appear in the text in Exercise 2. Find the words and guess their meanings. Use a dictionary to check your guesses. 1.address ……………………
4. inappropriately ……………………
2.performance ……………………
5. embarrassing ……………………
3.manners ……………………
2 Read the text and complete the sentences. How To Get (and Keep!) a Job If you met the Queen, would you know how to address her? What would you call her? Your
Majesty? Your Highness? It’s not something that many people know. For over 200 years, anyone
with a question on social etiquette in Britain has turned to Debrett’s, a famous British publishing
house. Recently, however, Debrett’s has started giving a completely different kind of advice –
how to do well in a job interview.
The company has started offering courses on “social skills” for young people who want to
improve their performance in interviews. It now offers courses on “social intelligence” for people
under the age of 30. The courses cover subjects such as how to dress properly for work, how to
speak to people on the phone and how to write business letters.
Debrett’s realised there was a problem when they heard about complaints from employers about
new employees. Employers claimed that universities put too much emphasis on academic
excellence and not enough on social skills. According to Debrett’s, while high academic marks
are important, manners, social intelligence and personal presentation are no less important.
Some problems which employers have faced include young employees dressing inappropriately
for work, drinking too much at work events and embarrassing their bosses in front of clients. As
one managing director, Amelia Higham, said, “Being a nice person to do business with is crucial
no matter what business you’re in.”
Some young people find it difficult to interact with others because they are used to
communicating on their mobiles or tablets. Years ago, many students had summer jobs that
involved working with a group – some picked fruit, others worked in factories. In Ms Higham’s
opinion, those jobs taught life skills. She believes that every teenager should have a summer job
and not “rely on the bank of mum and dad”. Another managing director, Linford Haggie, said,
“They are shy and scared. They don’t want to pick up a phone and have lost any people skills.”
He believes that schools and businesses should both play a part in helping them. The people in
Debrett’s obviously think they can help, too.
1.For over two hundred years, Debrett’s . .......................................................................................................... .
2.Dressing properly for work is a subject which . ........................................................................................... .
3.At work events, some young employees . ........................................................................................................ .
4.Amelia Higham believes that if students get a summer job, they . ....................................................... .
5.According to Linford Haggie, young employees sometimes avoid . ..................................................... .