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SECTION 2 Read the text below and answer Questions 15-21.
How to prepare for an interview
Why prepare? There are three main reasons. One: Although you can’t guess every question you might be asked, if you are prepared you can tailor your answers to fit. Two: If you’re well prepared, you will have more confidence and this will affect the way you come across. Three: Attitude matters. Prospective employers will choose a not-quite-perfect but willing candidate over a brilliant one who obviously isn’t bothered.
What to prepare? Find out about the organisation • Visit the website and read any materials that you have been sent. If nothing has been sent. phone the company to ask for any reading matter they may have. • Talk to anyone you know who works there already.
Find out about the job • Ask for a job description or specification. This will tell you the duties that go with the job. • Talk to anyone you know who is familiar with the work you may be doing.
Find out what the employer is looking for • Make a list of the skills specified in the job advertisement. • Think of examples to back up claims that you have these skills. You can then answer most of the questions that will come up, such as ‘Tell me more about how you work in a team’. Add in a few ‘lessons learned’ — what you did and how you might have done it better. You can also outline any voluntary work you have done for a charity, or any experience of paid work in an unrelated sector.
Preparing for other kinds of questions Interviewers are also looking for someone who is likely to stay with the organisation and progress within it. Prepare to answer questions about your ambitions for the future. You may also be asked to account for gaps in your career history, if you have any. Be positive and accentuate the learning or experience you gained during these periods. Preparing your own questions • Do ask technical questions about software, systems and structures and how things are done. • Do ask about possibilities for training. • Don’t ask about salary unless you have been offered the job. When you’ve prepared as much as this, you’ve got a good chance of success. Good luck!
Read the text below and answer Questions 22-27.
Setting up your own business
Here are some ideas about how you should start:
Know your market So you know what you want to sell — the most important thing is that it should be something that people want to buy. Start by thinking about who your target customers are. Arc they people who live locally? Are they a particular group of people?
Now look at your competitors. What is different about what you will be doing and how will you persuade people to come to you instead of going to someone who is already established?
How will you reach the customers? Will you promote your product by phoning people, or visiting local traders, or advertising in magazines or online? Will your delivery system be direct or through shops?
How will your business work? Now think about what your business needs to succeed. Do you need to look for premises or can you work from home? Do you need to invest in manufacturing equipment to start with? Is the business something that you can do on your own, or if you get more work will you be looking to recruit staff? If so, what skills would they need? Whether you’re a sole operator or are looking to recruit a team, effective management is essential. The law regulates how companies are run and you need to set aside the time to ace that this is done properly, in relation to issues like accounting, insurance and tax.
The money! As you are working out the prices for your products, you need to make sure you build in all your costs. Remember you will probably need help from an accountant at least once a year, so build that in too, and do a forecast of how much money you think will flow in and out of the business. Look at what you expect to happen over the next three years — and work out what you need to do to break even, as well as the turnover that you hope to achieve to give you a profit. If you think you will need to find some funding to help get the business off the ground, how much will you need and who will you approach to get it?
Your business plan Now write it all up and call it a business plan
