Test 2 - Section 3

SECTION 3

You will hear the beginning of a tutorial on a business studies course. The Tutor is discussing job interviews with two students Muriel and Dave. First look at questions 21 to 24. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.

TUTOR: Good morning. So, we’ve looked at various aspects of staff selection this term and I think by now you should all be beginning to see how much more there is to it than just putting applicants through a short interview or asking the right questions. So I think you should be ready for today’s tutorial on ‘matching the person to the job’. We’re going to talk today about the importance of choosing that all round right person.

MURIEL: Right. So we have to put ourselves into the role of the manager or supervisor?

TUTOR: Yes. And then we’re going to imagine how different applicants would fit into the team or group they have to work with…er … we’ll look at some examples later.

MURIEL: It’s just theoretical at the moment…

TUTOR: Yes. The point is, you can select someone - even a friend who has all the right qualifications… degrees… certificates, whatever. You can also check that they have a lot of experience… that they’ve done the sort of tasks that you want them to do in your office already, in a similar environment. But if they start work and you realise that they just don’t get along with everybody else, that … say, they’ve got sharply contrasting views on how something will work… well, with the best will in the world, you may be backing a loser

DAVE: Wouldn’t it be just a question of company training, though?

TUTOR: Not always. Particularly in a team situation, and I think it’s important to think in terms of that type of working environment. People have to have faith in each other’s ability to carry out the task their boss has set them. They have to trust that everyone will do their part of the job, and you can’t necessarily train people for this.

DAVE: But it’s like trying to find out what someone’s personality is like in a job interview… I mean you just can’t do that. Even if you try, you won’t find out what they’re really like until they actually start work.

TUTOR: Well, in most interviews you usually ask candidates questions about their hobbies and what they like doing in their spare time…that sort of thing…so employers are already involved in the practice of … well, doing part of the task.

DAVE: But it doesn’t tell you anything. It doesn’t tell you if they’re easy-going or hate smokers or whatever.

TUTOR: Well, arguably it does give you a bit of information about an applicant’s character.

Now look at questions 25 to 30. Now as the tutorial continues listen and answer questions 25 to 30.

TUTOR: Well, arguably it does give you a bit of information about an applicant’s character, but also … more and more employers around the world are making use of what are called “personality questionnaires to help them select new staff and

MURIEL: What’s it called?

TUTOR: A Personality Questionnaire. They have to be filled out by the candidates some time during the selection procedure, often just before an interview. The idea is actually quite old. Apparently they were used by the ancient Chinese for picking out clerks and civil servants, and then later they were used by the military to put people in appropriate areas of work. They’ve gained a lot of ground since then and there are about 80.000 different tests available now and almost two thirds of the large employers use them.

MURIEL: Which makes you think that there must be something in them.

TUTOR: That’s right. They ask the sort of questions that you might expect, like do you like working under pressure or are you good at keeping deadlines.

DAVE: And what if people can see through them and just write what they think the cmployer wants to see?

MURIEL: Well that’s always a possibility.

DAVE: I mean, it’s human nature to lie, isn’t it?

TUTOR: Well, that’s the point. Apparently it isn’t. These tests are compiled by experts and they believe that the answers can provide a few simple indicators as to roughly the type of person that you are … that people will generally be truthful in that situation.

MURIEL: And then you can go some way towards finding out whether someone’s say, forward-looking … a go-ahead type of person… or resistant to change.

TUTOR: Yes. And there are all kinds of fade out)

That is the end of section three. You will now have half a minute to check your answers.

Now turn to section four.