Employment Agency: Possible Jobs

SALLY:   Good morning. Thanks for coming in to see us here at the agency, Joe. I’m one of the agency representatives, and my name’s Sally Baker.

JOE:       Hi Sally. I think we spoke on the phone, didn’t we?

SALLY:   That’s right, we did. So thank you for sending in your CV. We’ve had quite a careful look at it and I think we have two jobs that might be suitable for you.

JOE:       OK.

SALLY:   The first one is in a company based in North London. They’re looking for an administrative assistant.

JOE:       OK. What sort of company is it?

SALLY:   They’re called Home Solutions and they design and make furniture. (Q1)

JOE:       Oh, I don’t know much about that, but it sounds interesting.

SALLY:   Yes, well as I said, they want someone in their office, and looking at your past experience it does look as if you fit quite a few of the requirements. So on your CV it appears you’ve done some data entry?

JOE:       Yes.

SALLY:   So that’s one skill they want. Then they expect the person they appoint to attend meetings (Q2) and take notes there …

JOE:       OK. I’ve done that before, yes.

SALLY:   And you’d need to be able to cope with general admin.

JOE:       Filling, and keeping records and so on? That should be OK. And in my last job I also had to manage the diary. (Q3)

SALLY:   Excellent. That’s something they want here too. I’d suggest you add it to your CV – I don’t think you mentioned that, did you?

JOE:       No.

SALLY:   So as far as the requirements go, they want good computer skills, of course, and they particularly mention spreadsheets.

JOE:       That should be fine.

SALLY:   And interpersonal skills – which would be something they’d check with your references.

JOE:       I think that should be OK, yes.

SALLY:   Then they mention that they want someone who is careful and takes care with details (Q4) – just looking at your CV, I’d say you’re probably alright there.

JOE:       I think so, yes. Do they want any special experience?

SALLY:   I think they wanted some experience of teleconferencing.

JOE:       I’ve got three years’ experience of that.

SALLY:   let’s see, yes, good. In fact they’re only asking for at least one year (Q5), so that’s great. So is that something that might interest you?

JOE:       It is, yes. The only thing is, you said they were in North London so it would be quite a long commute for me.

SALLY:   OK.

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SALLY:   So the second position might suit you better as far as the location goes; that’s for a warehouse assistant and that’s in South London.

JOE:       Yes, that would be a lot closer.

SALLY:   And you’ve worked in a warehouse before, haven’t you?

JOE:       Yes.

SALLY:   So as far as the responsibilities for this position go, they want someone who can manage the stock, obviously, and also deliveries. (Q6)

JOE:       That should be OK. You’ve got to keep track of stuff, but I’ve always been quite good with numbers.

SALLY:   Good, that’s their first requirement. And they want someone who’s computer literate, which we know you are.

JOE:       Sure.

SALLY:   Then they mention organisational skills. They want someone who’s well organised.

JOE:       Yes, I think I am.

SALLY:   And tidy? (Q7)

JOE:       Yes, they go together really, don’t they?

SALLY:   Sure. Then the usual stuff; they want someone who can communicate well both orally and in writing.

JOE:       OK. And for the last warehouse job I had, one of the things I enjoyed most was being part of a team (Q8). I found that was really essential for the job.

SALLY:   Excellent. Yes, they do mention that they want someone who’s used to that, yes. Now when you were working in a warehouse last time, what sorts of items were you dealing with?

JOE:       It was mostly bathroom and kitchen equipment, sinks and stoves and fridges.

SALLY:   So you’re OK moving heavy (Q9) things?

JOE:       Sure. I’m quite strong, and I’ve had the training.

SALLY:   Good. Now as far as experience goes, they mention they want someone with a licence, and that you have experience of driving in London – so you can cope with the traffic and so on.

JOE:       Yes, no problem.

SALLY:   And you’ve got experience of warehouse work … and the final thing they mention is customer (Q10) service. I think looking at your CV you’ve OK there.

JOE:       Right. So what about pay? Can you tell me a bit more about that, please …