EPISODE 74
LEVEL B2

READING COMPREHENSION

 

Social referrals                                                                                                                                          

Career-minded (concentrated on pursuing a career) people know that having a wide circle of friends can be a good thing in the job market. Almost half of UK employers offer staff an incentive (motivating/ stimulating factor) to get friends and associates to make job applications. Growing enthusiasm for social networking has made “personal introduction” (recommendation of a friend) popular. The market is very aware of the power of the word of mouth (method of recommending). Employers measurably benefit from referral (advice on types of recruits) programmes as they can cut recruitment budgets. Keeping costs down isn’t the only attraction of employee hiring schemes (employment programmes). Just as important are the benefits that flow from appointing (nominating sb to a post) someone who is known to share the values of the culture they are joining. Recommendations are valuable as they provide candidates with the required skills. Recruiters must also plan for how to deal with appointments that go wrong even if referred candidates go through the same testing and interview process as other candidates. To limit their financial exposure (money invested in something), some employers pay bonuses only after a referred candidate has completed a probationary period (trial period). Sometimes employers organize meetings during which they talent scout (look for ambitious candidates) and in this way increase the talent pool (a number of highly skilled employees).

 

EXERCISE 1

Decide if the sentences are true or false:

 

  1. Career –minded people understand that the career is the least important.
  2. The referral of a friend to a company is a method of employing him.
  3. When bosses increase the talent pool, they look for unskilled workers.
  4. Appointing a candidate means organising a meeting with him before the job interview.
  5. Employees who bring new recruits to a company are usually rewarded with a job promotion.

 

EXERCISE 2

Use the words to complete the paragraph:

 

INCENTIVES   REFERRAL   TALENT SPOT    BONUS   PROBATIONARY PERIOD    NETWORK

 

Companies can save a lot of money by encouraging to find new recruits for them. To do this, they usually offer the employee financial 1. …………………………..  Some companies are so well-organised that they have set up employee 2.……………………… programmes to advise on the type of recruits the company urgently needs. They wait until the new recruit has completed a 3.……………………….. before paying the employee their4. ………………………….If an employee uses their free time to 5.……………………………. and 6.…………………………… potential recruits, they can earn a lot of extra money on top of their salary.

 

 

ENGLISH IN USE 

 

Prepositions:

 

Remember that a lot of words in English are followed by prepositions which we need to learn by heartJ

 

Benefit …….. FROM

Look ………… FOR  new recruits

Be referred …………….BY a friend

Go ……………….THROUGH testing

 

 

EXERCISE 3

 

  1. be responsible …………………. tasks
  2. be …………….. charge …………………..a team
  3. to approve …………….a project
  4. to be cautious……………rewarding employees
  5. to be encouraged ……………….the bosses
  6. a talent ……………. managing people
  7. an influence ……………… employees
  8. a demand ……………… products

 

 

 

Speaking focus:

 

1.Describe ways in which companies find new but experienced employees in your country.
2. What Internet resources do some employers provide for employees who want to refer friends and contacts as potential job candidates?

 

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

There are many idioms used in business, such as:

  • Slim down = cut the number of jobs and become smaller
  • Branch out (into sth) = start to do a new activity
  • Be in the doldrums = not be growing or doing well
  • Buck the trend = succeed in doing sth where most others are failing

 

 

 

EXERCISE 4

Complete the sentences with a suitable idiom:

 

1.Our company had to …………………………. considerably. Many employees were made redundant.

2.Retail sales had fallen off in recent decades and after being ……………………….. for a number of years we were forced to economise.

3.More and more people are …………………………….. now and are opting for bicycles instead of cars.

4.The company is now hoping to ………………………….. in an attempt to get new customers.

 

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

Mr Howard is moving to London to head up ( = be in charge of) the company’s new sales operations.

There are growing rumours, as yet unconfirmed, that Scottish ABC Company is planning to buy out ( = buy a company so that you own all of it) its rival.

Property company has announced plans to hive off (= separate one part of the company from the rest) its residential department in order to focus on commercial business.

 

EXERCISE 5

Build your own sentences with the following phrasal verbs:

 

1.To head up

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

2.To buy out

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

3.To hive off

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

NEWS

 

Recruiting Junction, a leading recruitment process outsourcing firm can help you reduce your recruitment cost and time by 50%. We have expertise in providing a range of professional RPO services to staffing and consultancy firms in the US.

These include sourcing, screening, negotiating, lead generation through opt-in email lists and campaigns. We combine speed, efficiency, flexibility, professional service, and lower cost with the latest technology to furnish the best candidates for your firm.

Recruitment process is a key function of human resource management team in any organization. It is a critical process, which includes sourcing, assessment, interviewing, and sometimes new-hire administration and orientation.

 

 

GLOSSARY:

Outsourcing – looking for resources outside the company

Opt-in – to tend to choose sth

Efficiency – being able to work hard and produce good results

To furnish – to equip, to provide

Key – basic, fundamental

Assessment – evaluation

 

 

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>>Answers

 

KEY TO EXERCISES 

 

Ex. 1

1.F
2.F
3.F
4.F
5.F

Ex. 2

1.incentives

2.referral

3.talent scout

4.probationary period

5.network

6.talent spot

 

Ex. 3

  1. For
  2. In / of
  3. Of
  4. About
  5. By
  6. For
  7. On
  8. For

 

Ex. 4

1.slim down

2.in the doldrums

3.bucking the trend

4.branch out into

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