EMPLOYMENT
Labor, in its turn, refers to the routine work that people do in their jobs, whether it is performing manual labor, managing employees, or providing skilled professional services. Definition and Types of Employment
Manual labor usually refers to physical work that requires little formal education or training, such as shoveling dirt or moving furniture. Managers include those who supervise other workers. Examples of skilled professionals include doctors, lawyers, and dentists. Very often managers and skilled professionals are called white collar workers, as their job does not involve manual labor.
Companies look for people who are: self starters, proactive, self -motivated, or self-driven: good at working on their own; methodical, systematic and organized: can work in a planned, orderly way; computer-literate: good with computers: numerate: good with numbers; motivated: very keen to do well in their job; talented: naturally very good at what they do; team players: people who work well with other people. Skills and qualifications
Recruitment The process of finding people for particular jobs is recruitment or hiring. Someone who has been recruited is a recruit or a hire. The company employs or hires them and they join the company. A company may recruit employees directly or use outside recruiters, recruitment agencies or employment agencies. Outside specialists called headhunters may be called on to headhunt people for very important jobs, persuading them to leave the organizations they already work for. This process is called headhunting.
People and workplaces In larger organizations there is a human resources department (HDR) that deals with pay, recruitment, etc. This area is called human resources (HR) or human resource management (HRM). Another name for this department is the personnel department. Labor unions, organizations defending the interests of workers (Am. E) are called trade unions in Br. E.
• When workers are not happy with pay or conditions, they may take industrial action: • a strike, stoppage or walk-out: workers stop working for a time. • a go-slow: workers continue to work, but more slowly than usual. • an overtime ban: workers refuse to work more than the normal number of hours.
Pay and benefits Losing your job • Compensation and remuneration are formal words used to talk about pay and benefits, especially those of senior managers. Compensation package and remuneration package are used especially in the US to talk about all the pay and benefits that employees receive. For a senior executive, this may include share options (Br. E) or stock options (Am. E): the right to buy the company’s shares at low prices. • If you do something wrong, you are dismissed, fired, sacked or terminated. If you’ve done nothing wrong, you are laid off, made redundant or offered early retirement. • Employees who are made redundant may get advice about finding another job, retraining, etc. This is called outplacement advice.
How to select the best candidates – and avoid the worst
• Choosing the wrong candidate may leave an organization paying for years to come. • Few companies will have escaped all of the following failures: people who panic at the first sign of stress; those with long, impressive qualifications who seem incapable of learning; hypochondriacs whose absentee record becomes astonishing; and the unstable person later discovered to be a thief or worse. Better to select for what you actually see rather than attempt to change it.
Just as politicians are carefully repackaged through dress, hairstyle and speech specialists, so people can be sent on training courses, diplomas or experimental weekends. But there is a cost to all this which may be more than the price of the course.
The warm-up. The question-and-answer session. • Of the three stages, the warm-up is the • The question-and-answer session. Questions and answers consume the most important although it may account greatest part of the interview. During this for only a small fraction of the time you phase the interviewer asks you to restate spend in the interview. Psychologists your qualifications and expand on the say that 50% of the interviewer’s points in the CV. You will be also asked decision is made within the first 30 to whether you have any questions of your 60 seconds and another 25% is made own. within 15 minutes. • Remember that the interviewer will • Body language is also important be observing you and noting every word at this point because you won’t have you say, that’s why don’t limit yourself to time to say much in the first minute. yes or no answers and pause to think before You must sell yourself nonverbally. responding if you are asked a difficult question. • Another way you can reach your goal is to ask some right questions. If you periodically ask a question or two, you won’t only learn something but demonstrate your interest as well. It’s especially useful to probe for what the company is looking for in its new employees. Once you know that, you can show you meet the firm’s needs.
The close. This is the last phase of the interview but not less important than the first two. If the interviewer has any reservations about hiring you – perhaps he has cited your lack of public-speaking experience or limited computer knowledge – address these concerns directly: «I agree that delivering powerful presentations is critical for my successful work and accordingly for the success of the company and I intend to join a special course in public-speaking» . If you see that the interviewer is about to finish the procedure, don’t prolong it yourself and just express your gratitude for the interviewer’s time and consideration.
The following guidelines: 1. Be prepared. Understand the purpose of the interview; plan or anticipate the questions you will ask and be asked; understand your goals; and be able to communicate those goals clearly. 2. Practice sending and receiving messages. By its very nature, an interview demands skills at sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages. 3. Demonstrate effective listening skills. Problems occur in interviews when either the interviewer or the interviewee fails to listen closely to what the other is saying. If participants listen carefully, the interview has a better chance of being productive. 4. Have conviction. Ask and answer questions and express your opinions with enthusiasm. If you aren’t excited by your ideas, skills, and abilities, why should anyone else be? 5. Be flexible. Don’t memorize statements. Think things through thoroughly, but be prepared for questions or answers you didn’t anticipate. Be able to adjust to the other person’s style and pace. 6. Be observant. Pay attention to the nonverbal signals sent to you and by you. Be sure that the signals you send are positive, not negative. Give the other person your total attention. 7. Consider. Both the interviewer and interviewee need to consider the ramifications of a job offer. Be sure that your choice is one you and the organization can both live with. 8. Chart your progress.
Thank you for your attention
