WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:05.450 Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast 00:00:05.450 --> 00:00:18.230 number 43. You're listening to English as a Second 00:00:18.230 --> 00:00:23.010 Language podcast. The podcast that helps you 00:00:23.010 --> 00:00:29.230 learn English every day. My name is Dr. Jeff 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:34.560 McQuillan coming to you from the Center for Educational 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:40.100 Development in Los Angeles, California. Visit 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:45.179 our website for more information on this podcast. 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:57.700 Our website is www .eslpod .com. Today's topic 00:00:57.700 --> 00:01:04.230 is Getting a job interview Lucy is going to talk 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:16.569 about her job interview. Let's listen in I've 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:23.769 finally landed my first interview well Actually, 00:01:24.269 --> 00:01:30.439 that's not really true I have been on many interviews 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:36.400 for part -time jobs. This is my first interview 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:43.379 for a full -time job. In less than two months, 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:51.200 I will graduate from Arizona University. After 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:56.959 a lot of back and forth, trying to decide on 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:04.219 a major, I finally decided to double major. I 00:02:04.219 --> 00:02:09.860 would study both political science and marketing. 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:16.719 These are not majors that usually go together. 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:25.849 In fact, most people thought I was crazy. After 00:02:25.849 --> 00:02:31.789 a lot of soul searching, I decided to combine 00:02:31.789 --> 00:02:39.830 my two main interests. One, politics, and two, 00:02:40.409 --> 00:02:47.969 getting a job. Those are my two priorities. I 00:02:47.969 --> 00:02:52.169 thought that if I get degrees in these fields, 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:58.360 I could cast a wide net when going job hunting. 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:05.240 And that's what I'm trying to do now. Since I 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:10.460 don't know if I want to work in the public or 00:03:10.460 --> 00:03:16.039 private sector, I've applied for jobs in both. 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:23.860 In the public sector, I could work for the government. 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:30.719 Maybe one day I could even be a speech writer 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:36.979 for the president. Okay, maybe I should shoot 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:43.259 a little lower. In the private sector, I could 00:03:43.259 --> 00:03:49.419 work for private organizations such as museums, 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:57.490 schools, or programs. Some of those are non -profit. 00:03:59.270 --> 00:04:05.889 Or I could work for a company. Everybody tells 00:04:05.889 --> 00:04:11.250 me that that's where the money is. I haven't 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:17.009 decided yet. I'm planning to apply for a lot 00:04:17.009 --> 00:04:23.160 of jobs, and we'll see what happens. What I want 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:29.980 now is just to get some job offers Then I can 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:42.279 start being picky Today Lucy talked to us about 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:48.480 her first interview She started by saying I've 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:54.579 finally landed my first interview. To land an 00:04:54.579 --> 00:05:01.420 interview or to land a job means to get, to obtain 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:08.079 a job. We use that particular verb landed usually 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:12.899 when we are talking about a job or an interview 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:19.439 that is often difficult to get. She said that 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:24.670 she has had many interviews in the past for part 00:05:24.670 --> 00:05:30.870 -time jobs but this was her first interview for 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:37.649 a full -time job. A part -time job is any job 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:44.810 that is less than usually 35 or 40 hours a week 00:05:44.810 --> 00:05:50.870 in the United States. A full -time job is something 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:57.129 that is 40 hours or more. 40 hours is the typical 00:05:57.129 --> 00:06:00.490 work week in the United States, Monday through 00:06:00.490 --> 00:06:05.290 Friday, eight hours each. Anything less than 00:06:05.290 --> 00:06:09.870 that in terms of hours is considered part -time 00:06:09.870 --> 00:06:16.250 jobs. Lucy said that she will be graduating from 00:06:16.250 --> 00:06:21.879 Arizona University in two months. And after a 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:26.379 lot of back and forth, trying to decide on a 00:06:26.379 --> 00:06:31.839 major, she decided to double major. A couple 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:36.860 of expressions there. The first is back and forth. 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:42.060 When someone says, I went back and forth about 00:06:42.060 --> 00:06:46.959 my decision, they mean they changed their minds. 00:06:47.259 --> 00:06:51.339 They weren't quite sure. Should I wear a red 00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:56.779 shirt or a blue shirt? I went back and forth, 00:06:56.839 --> 00:07:00.519 meaning first I thought blue, then I thought 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:05.220 red, and later I decided on blue. So that is 00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:09.459 going back and forth about a decision. A major, 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:14.759 you probably know, is a specialization at the 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:19.680 university. You can major in economics. You can 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:24.899 major in history. It's what you study for in 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:29.379 college or at the university. A double major 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:34.980 would of course be someone who has two specializations. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:41.199 In this case, Lucy has a double major in political 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:46.970 science or the study of politics. government 00:07:46.970 --> 00:07:54.269 and marketing marketing is selling goods and 00:07:54.269 --> 00:07:57.889 services selling things to other people in order 00:07:57.889 --> 00:08:02.509 to get them to buy it you have to market your 00:08:02.509 --> 00:08:06.910 project your your product it includes advertising 00:08:06.910 --> 00:08:12.550 for example is part of marketing In colleges 00:08:12.550 --> 00:08:15.730 we have majors and we also have in the United 00:08:15.730 --> 00:08:21.750 States minors. Minors is another type of specialization 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:28.470 but one that you receive less, take less classes 00:08:28.470 --> 00:08:32.610 for. So you could major in political science 00:08:32.610 --> 00:08:37.370 and minor in marketing. That means your degree 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:42.480 will be in political science with a minor in 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:47.220 marketing. It usually requires taking less classes 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:52.299 for a minor than for a major. Lucy said that 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:58.360 her two majors don't usually go together. To 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:02.279 go together here means that they're not usually 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:08.419 matched. They're not compatible. something that 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:11.879 goes together is something that matches or is 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:17.779 compatible for example a blue shirt and black 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:23.720 pants would go together but a red shirt and green 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:29.960 pants would not go together unless perhaps you 00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:36.659 are Santa Claus I don't know anyway Another expression 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:42.460 that Lucy used was soul searching. She said after 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:48.600 a lot of soul searching she decided on her priorities. 00:09:49.740 --> 00:09:54.159 Soul searching means thinking very seriously, 00:09:54.820 --> 00:10:01.720 very deeply about your decision. It usually means 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:05.639 that a person had difficulty coming to or making 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:09.700 the decision. I did a lot of soul searching. 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:13.320 I thought about what was important for me, what 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:18.600 my values were, and so forth. A soul, of course, 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:25.620 S -O -U -L, is your sort of spirit, your life 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:30.480 spirit, in many religions. believe that humans 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:37.679 have souls. Lucy said that she was going to cast 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:43.860 a wide net when going job hunting. To cast a 00:10:43.860 --> 00:10:50.360 wide net means here to look extensively, to look 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:56.000 a lot around in many different areas. If you 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:01.840 are casting a wide net for a new employee, you 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:06.899 would interview many, many possible candidates 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:11.200 or people who wanted the job. That would be casting 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:15.220 a wide net to look in many different places or 00:11:15.220 --> 00:11:21.019 in many different areas. A net is what we use 00:11:21.019 --> 00:11:26.039 to catch fish. It's made usually of rope. and 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:29.419 you put it in the water and it's of course many 00:11:29.419 --> 00:11:34.299 holes in it and you pull the net up and if you're 00:11:34.299 --> 00:11:38.779 lucky you have some fish inside the net. So to 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:43.600 cast a wide net is a fishing term meaning to 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.779 cast a net over a big area and here it means 00:11:46.779 --> 00:11:51.080 to look in many different places. Job hunting 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:56.740 is the same as job looking or looking for a job 00:11:56.740 --> 00:12:04.419 We use that particular verb to hunt To mean usually 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:10.240 people who are trying to Kill animals you hunt 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:15.820 an animal a deer or you can hunt certain birds 00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:21.679 but here we're treating job as if it were type 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:25.259 of animal, so we say job hunting. It's a very 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:30.100 common expression in English in the United States. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.500 Lucy mentioned that she wasn't sure if she wanted 00:12:33.500 --> 00:12:39.940 to work in the public or private sector. A sector 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:47.159 is a area or part of the economy or of business. 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:52.909 The public sector means the government, the state 00:12:52.909 --> 00:12:56.230 government, the federal government, the local 00:12:56.230 --> 00:12:59.210 government. Those are all the public sector or 00:12:59.210 --> 00:13:04.529 the public area of the economy. The other possibility 00:13:04.529 --> 00:13:08.970 is the private sector. This is everything that's 00:13:08.970 --> 00:13:14.289 not the government. Private businesses and organizations 00:13:14.289 --> 00:13:17.970 and companies are all part of the private sector. 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:22.299 A sector can mean any part of the economy. We 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:27.299 also talk about, for example, the housing sector. 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:32.840 That means the people involved in selling, buying, 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:36.559 and building houses. You can use that term for 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:41.899 almost anything. The retail sector means stores 00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:47.259 that are involved in selling things. Lucy went 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:51.559 on and said that she perhaps could become a speechwriter 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:57.220 for the president as the term implies Speech 00:13:57.220 --> 00:14:00.899 writer is someone who writes speeches for someone 00:14:00.899 --> 00:14:04.879 else The president usually doesn't write his 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:09.519 own speeches. He hires people to write them for 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:17.460 him That should be pretty obvious Lucy said that 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:23.259 she may not necessarily try to become a speechwriter, 00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:27.139 that instead she would shoot a little lower. 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:32.080 Once again, that's something of a hunting term. 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:35.820 Maybe that says something about American English 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:39.460 and American psychology, that we have so many 00:14:39.460 --> 00:14:43.899 expressions like that. In any case, To shoot 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:49.500 a little lower means to be less ambitious, to 00:14:49.500 --> 00:14:54.700 look for something less important, not so high 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:59.000 in terms of this type of job. We can use that 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:01.500 expression for jobs. We can use that expression 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:06.460 for any goal or any objective that you have. 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:15.669 I wanted to come in first place the swimming 00:15:15.669 --> 00:15:20.429 competition but I decided to shoot a little lower 00:15:20.429 --> 00:15:26.750 and go for third place meaning I'm not going 00:15:26.750 --> 00:15:33.669 to I'm going to make my goal something less one 00:15:33.669 --> 00:15:37.049 of the places that Lucy said she might want to 00:15:37.049 --> 00:15:43.629 work was museums schools or other programs and 00:15:43.629 --> 00:15:49.210 that these are often non -profit. A non -profit 00:15:49.210 --> 00:15:52.809 organization is an organization that doesn't 00:15:52.809 --> 00:15:57.269 try to make money. It just tries to survive. 00:15:58.870 --> 00:16:03.850 Hospitals, schools, churches, all of these are 00:16:03.850 --> 00:16:07.629 non -profit organizations. And in the United 00:16:07.629 --> 00:16:12.720 States, They receive special treatment or special 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:19.779 favors when it comes to paying taxes. ESL Podcast 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:26.559 is a non -profit venture, a non -profit organization. 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:34.019 Lucy also said that she was going to apply for 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:40.340 lot of jobs to apply for a job means to go fill 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:43.899 out an application or a piece of paper where 00:16:43.899 --> 00:16:48.299 you tell the person what your experiences are 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:52.440 what your education is and so forth so we use 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:56.039 that expression for any kind of job to apply 00:16:56.039 --> 00:17:02.320 for a job hopefully if you are successful you 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:08.869 get a job offer a job offer is sometimes called 00:17:08.869 --> 00:17:13.329 an offer of employment it means that a company 00:17:13.329 --> 00:17:17.609 or individual wants to hire you wants to make 00:17:17.609 --> 00:17:21.329 you one of their employees so they send you a 00:17:21.329 --> 00:17:24.930 letter or more likely call you on the telephone 00:17:24.930 --> 00:17:29.430 and say we would like to offer you the job means 00:17:29.430 --> 00:17:33.460 we want to give the job to you and the noun for 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:38.380 that is job offers Lucy ended by saying that 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:44.400 if she gets some job offers then she can be picky 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:51.400 picky p i c k y means to be very selective to 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:55.960 be very uh... to choose only the things that 00:17:55.960 --> 00:18:00.279 you really want we can use we use this expression 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:05.059 picky often in a somewhat negative way for somebody 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:10.319 who for example only likes to eat certain kinds 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:15.119 of food and it has to be just right and if it 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:19.099 isn't perfect they complain we often say this 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:24.559 kind of person is picky meaning they're too selective 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:30.420 they only want certain things and can't accept 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:34.539 anything less than that. That is being picky. 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:40.599 Well, we won't be picky. We hope that all of 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:44.299 you who are listening will email us and tell 00:18:44.299 --> 00:18:47.500 us who you are and where you are listening from. 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:59.670 Our email address is eslpod at eslpod .com For 00:18:59.670 --> 00:19:03.710 those of you who are listening on iTunes or using 00:19:03.710 --> 00:19:07.589 an iPod and there are many of you who listen 00:19:07.589 --> 00:19:13.809 on iTunes the Apple program We now have our scripts 00:19:13.809 --> 00:19:22.369 on the podcast if you are Using iTunes on your 00:19:22.369 --> 00:19:26.789 computer you can right -click on the name of 00:19:26.789 --> 00:19:33.619 the podcast select the show description and you 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:37.440 will see the script for the first part of today's 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:42.819 podcast. On an iPod you should be able to press 00:19:42.819 --> 00:19:46.960 the center button of your iPod a couple of times, 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:51.059 two or three times, I think it's two times, and 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:54.980 you should see the lyrics. This is a new feature 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:58.819 for our podcast and we hope that you enjoy it. 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:01.859 My name is Jeff McQuillen. That's going to do 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:04.240 it for today from the Center for Educational 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:07.200 Development in Los Angeles. We'll see you next 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:23.380 time on ESL Podcast. 2005.