jueves, 24 de mayo de 2012

The Office

Describing the Office

Exercises:

Matching Exercise

a brand

A type of product made by a particular company.
What brand of soap do you usually buy?

launch

To introduce a new product, with advertising and publicity.
We plan to launch the new product next month.

a consumer

A person who buys goods or services.
The rise in transport cost will mean higher prices for the consumer.

an end-user

The person who buys and uses a product, as opposed to someone who buys then sells the products.
The new software makes the system easier for the end-user.

market research

The collecting and processing of information about customers – how they feel about a product and why they will or will not use a product or service.
Market research shows that there is demand for another large supermarket in the area.

public relations

Creating and maintaining a good image with your customers and the public.
After the recent scandal, the company has started a new advertising campaign to help improve public relations.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Tell me about yourself.

--> 2 How would you describe yourself? (character/personality) 3 What are your strengths/weaknesses? 4 Are you married? Single?   Do you have a partner? 5 What do you do in your free time?
What are your hobbies? / Do you have any hobbies? 6 Why are you interested in working for our company?
  Why do you want to work for this company? 7 What type of position do you think you are suited for / would suit you? 8 How would you describe the position we have to offer? 9 What aspects of the position are you most / least interested in? 10 What would you like to find in this job that you didn't have in your previous job? 11 How do you think you could develop the position?
  What would be your strategy to develop the position? 12 What have you got to offer us?
What could you contribute to our company? 13 Why do you want to leave your present job?
  Why do you want to change jobs? 14 What were you responsible for?
  What did your job involve? 15 What do you think you gained by working in your last job? 16 What do you think of your (last) boss? 17 What are your salary requirements?
  How much would you hope to earn in this position?
  How much do you think you should be offered for this position?
  What salary would you expect (to be offered) for this position? 18 Have you received any offers of a job? 19 Why have you had to look for a job for so long?
  Why have you been looking for a job for so long?
  Why did it take you so long to find a new job? 20 How do you feel about your future in the profession? 21 Have you had any failures? / What failures have you had?
  Have you had any negative experiences? 22 What sort of obstacles have you come across/encountered in your work? 23 If you had to recruit colleagues, what qualities would you look for? 24 Would you be willing to relocate/to move to another part of the country/
to work abroad?
  Did you have to travel abroad in your last job? 25 Don't you think you have too much experience/you are over-qualified for this job? 26 How long do you think you would stay with us?
  If we offered you the job, how long would you expect to stay with us? 27 Which do you prefer : to work alone or in a team?
  Do you prefer working alone or with other people as part of a team? 28 Do you know how to manage a team?
  Are you capable of leading a team?
  Do you think you have the ability to be a team leader? 29 Why should I recruit you?
  How could you persuade me to recruit you?

Telephone - Vocabulary

TELEPHONE Useful telephone vocabulary and phrases in English
►Making contact	Hello/Good morning/Good afternoon .. This is John Brown speaking. Could I speak to .......... please? I'd like to speak to .......... please. I'm trying to contact ..........
►Giving more information	• I'm calling from Tokyo/Paris/New York/Sydney • I'm calling on behalf of (Mr. X ...)
►Taking a call	X speaking Can I help you?
►Asking for a name/information	Who's calling please? Who's speaking? Where are you calling from? Are you sure you have the right number/name?
►Asking the caller to wait	Hold the line please Could you hold on please Just a moment please
►Connecting	Thank you for holding The line's free now ..... I'll put you through I'll connect you now / I'm connecting you now.
►Giving negative information	I'm afraid the line's engaged. Could you call back later? I'm afraid he's in a meeting at the moment I'm sorry. He's out of the office today / He isn't in at the moment. I'm afraid we don't have a Mr/Mrs/Miss ... here I'm sorry. There's nobody here by that name. Sorry. I think you've dialled the wrong number. I'm afraid you've got the wrong number.
►Telephone problems	The line is very bad. Could you speak up please? Could you repeat that please? I'm afraid I can't hear you. Sorry. I didn't catch that. Could you say that again please?
►Leaving/taking a message	Can I leave/take a message? Would you like to leave a message? Could you give him/her a message? Could you ask him/her to call me back? Would you like him/her to call you back? Could you tell him/her that I called? Could you give me your name please? Could you spell that please? What's your number please?

Money & Finance - Vocabulary

MONEY & FINANCE Vocabulary
A.T.M.	Automated Teller Machine; cash dispenser

-->        Banknote     Piece of paper money        Borrow     Obtain money which must be returned        Broke (to be)     To have no money        Budget     Amount of money available or needed for a specific use        Cash     Coins or bank notes (not cheques); actual money paid, not credit        Cash dispenser     Automatic machine from which a bank customer may withdraw
    money        Cashier     A person dealing with cash transactions in a bank, shop, etc.        Cheque/check     Written order to a bank to pay the stated amount from one's
    account        Coin     A piece of metal used as money        Currency     The money used in a country        Debt     Money owed by one person to another        Deposit     Sum payable as a first instalment on a purchase;
    money placed in an account in a bank        Donate     Give money especially to charity; make a donation        Exchange rate     The rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another        Fee     Payment made to a professional person (doctor, lawyer, etc.)        Interest     Money paid for borrowing or investing money        Invest     To put money into business, property, etc. in order to earn
    interest or profit        Legal tender     Currency that cannot legally be refused as payment        Lend     Give or allow the use of money which must be returned with
    interest        Loan     Sum of money to be returned with interest        Owe     To be in debt to somebody; to owe money to somebody        Petty cash     Small amount of cash available for everyday expenses        Receipt     Written statement that money has been paid        Refund     Pay back money received; reimburse        Tip     Small sum of money given to a waiter, taxi driver, etc.        Withdraw     Take money from a bank account

Company Structure - Vocabulary

Company Structure

1	Accounts Dept.	n. department responsible for administering a company's financial affairs
2	A.G.M.^UK	*abbr.* Annual General Meeting of a company's shareholders
3	board of directors	n. group of people chosen to establish policy for and control a company
4	chairman^UK	n. person who heads a Board of Directors; head of a company; chairperson
5	director	n. a member of the board of directors
6	executive officer^US	n. person managing the affairs of a corporation - chief executive officer n.
7	headquarters	n. a company's principal or main office or centre of control
8	manager	n. person responsible for day-to-day running of a dept.; executive officer^US
9	managing director^UK	n. senior director after the chairman responsible for day-to-day direction
10	Marketing Dept.	n. department that puts goods on market, inc. packaging, advertising etc
11	organisation chart	n. a table or plan showing a company's structure graphically
12	Personnel Dept.	n. department responsible for recruitment and welfare of staff or employees
13	president^US	n. the highest executive officer of a company; head of a company
14	Production Dept.	n. department responsible for physical creation of product
15	Purchasing Dept.	n. department responsible for finding and buying everything for a company
16	R & D Department	n. department responsible for Research and Development of (new) products
17	reception	n. the place where visitors and clients report on arrival at a company
18	Sales Department	n. department responsible for finding customers and making sales
19	shareholder	n. person who holds or owns shares in or a part of a company or corporation
20	vice president^US	n. any of several executive officers, each responsible for a separate division