Section I : Language Development
Chapter 10 Career Opportunities
Working with words
A. Complete the sentences with the correct words from the
box below.
a. You must learn about 2000 Kanji to develop competence in
the spoken Japanese language.
b. I can type both English and Nepali but not as fast as professional typists.
c. When she was in class eight, she got the opportunity to
participate in a national painting competition.
d. The Prime Minister gave a long list of his achievement.
e. He spent many years in jail before reaching the position of
a minister.
f. About fifty workers were made redundant because of the
financial crisis in the factory.
g. He is affiliated to the World Bank as a senior consultant.
h. They registered my application after making verification of
my documents.
i. I requested my teacher to be my referee in my CV.
j. To make our country self-sustained in food production is an imperative need
at present.
B. Define the following employment-related terms and use
them in the sentences of your own.
Volunteering : work for an organization without being paid.
Volunteering is an easy way to get involved in practical conservation.
On the job training : a practical approach to acquiring new
skills.
I learned the skills necessary to be a top music producer on the job training.
Career opportunity : a particular job that may be a
steppingstone to loftier ambitions.
Networking opens a lot more career opportunities and at a faster rate.
Skill development : the method of detecting skill gaps and
improving these skills.
The social skill development needs to be going on all the time.
Apprenticeship : the position of an apprentice.
He served his apprenticeship as a fitter.
Career counselling : a type of support provided by career
counselors to their clients.
They oversee career counseling programs and testing which measures students.
Credentials : something that gives a title to credit or
confidence
His campaign has refused to credential any reporter from that outlet.
Human capital : the economic value of a worker’s experience and
skills.
Investment in education is seen as the key to improving human capital.
Internship : a period of work experience offered by an
organization for a limited period of time.
He served his medical internship at Norvic Hospital.
Soft skills : character traits skills that characterize a
person’s relationships with other people.
Veterans should be valued for their soft skills more than their hard technical
skills.
Minimum wage : the lowest wage per hour that a worker may be
paid, as mandated by federal law.
The country requires a minimum wage because workers paid below the poverty line
have an added cost on society.
Recruitment : the action of enlisting new people in the armed
forces.
An excellent career opportunity has now arisen with a leading recruitment
agency.
Role model : a person looked to by others as an example to be
imitated.
She was a great role model and indeed a great mentor to me.
Aptitude : a natural ability to do something.
He has demonstrated a great aptitude for carpentry skills.
Assessment : the action of making a judgment about someone or
something
It’s a difficult problem that requires careful assessment.
C. Based on their pronunciation, divide the following words into two groups so that the vowel sounds rhyme with here and hare.
Here /hɪə/
Fear, beer, ear, leer, cheer, sheer, shear, tear (n.), mere, deer, dear, clear,
sneer, gear
Hare /hɛː/
Fare, fair, bear, bare, care, heir, air, share, lair, chair, share, tear (v.),
mare, dare, snare
Comprehension
Answer the following questions.
a. What does a CV mean and why is it important in one’s
career?
Curriculum vitae is a Latin term that
literally means ‘course of life’. In practice, it is a document that sets out a
whole host of your personal details, experience and achievements as they relate
to your working life.
It is important because it provides with a crucially important opportunity to
reflect on and plan further developments in one’s career. It is need when
applying for jobs, seeking promotion and trying to get research funding.
b. Does the same CV work for all job opportunities? Why or
why not?
Yes, the same CV works for all job
opportunities but it’s better to make slight tweaks to ensure that the CV
highlights your most relevant skills and qualifications on the basis of job
description and uses terminology found in the job listing.
c. What are the different areas where CV can help you?
A good CV is required when applying for
jobs, seeking promotion and trying to get research funding. It helps for things
such as when you’re asked to be an external examiner for a course or a research
thesis; for audits of teaching and research activity; if your faculty or
department has to be validated by an external professional body – in short, any
circumstances in which somebody needs to judge your individual professional
competence or that of you and your colleagues collectively.
d. What do you mean by ‘staying CV’ and ‘leaving CV’?
Which one would you develop for yourself as a freshman?
A ‘staying CV’ is that of the good
university citizen, including plenty of committee work and administration,
pastoral care of students, a heavy teaching load as well as a credible research
record. A ‘leaving CV’ is that which reflect the interests of a prospective new
employer and will probably highlight research achievements, while still showing
that you are generally competent and willing across the range of duties
undertaken by academics.
I would develop a leaving CV for myself as a freshman.
e. How can you draft a good CV?
One can draft a good CV with the help of
your friends, family, mentors and more experienced colleagues. A basic
framework can be used to structure your recollections and thinking. You should
show your draft CV to people who know you and/or who know what an academic CV
should look like and ask for feedback. In this way, you can draft a good CV.
f. What is the difference between academic CV and
non-academic CV?
There are two key differences between
academic and non-academic CVs. One is that academic CVs tend to be quite a bit
longer than those of non-academics, and they get longer as a person’s career
develops. A second, and perhaps more fundamental, difference is that
non-academics, especially when they are seeking middle management positions,
are frequently encouraged to make largely unverifiable assertions about their
qualities and skills rather than to list verifiable achievements.
Critical thinking
a. CV may not represent a person’s skills and abilities
accurately because one’s confidence cannot be rendered in a paper. What do you
think the employers should do to find the best people for the job?
It’s true that CV may not represent a
person’s skills and abilities accurately because one’s confidence cannot be
rendered in a paper. Employers prefer candidates who can communicate
effectively. Oral and written communication is a key skill needed in almost
every job. In my view, instead of judging the ability of a person by a piece of
paper, employers can divide the selection process in three steps. First step is
to get acquainted with the willing participants. Employers can introduce their
company terms and conditions to the participants and if they think they can
work under the conditions, then they can be invited for further process. Next
step is cover letter explanation. In this step the employers should judge the
person’s behaviors, skills, their character and ability whether they could
perform well in the company or not. Last but not the least step is calling the
selected candidate to participate intelligently to join colleagues at weekly
Friday lunch where everyone “talked shop”. Employees are meant to work in team.
So only a person should not take their interview. Every person who is already
in the company should get a chance to talk to them and decide whether they can
work with him/her or not. These are the things the employers should do to find
the best people for the job rather than focusing on CV only.
b. If the employers provide job opportunity by assessing
one’s CV, how can fresh graduates compete with the experienced competitors?
In today’s competitive job market, having a
degree and doing good work unfortunately may not be quite enough to land you
the job you. In order to get yourself one step closer than other graduates to
your dream job, you have to stand out from the crowd and make a good impression
on your potential employers.
For some careers you will be required to have achieved a good degree in a
specified area, however a lot of the time employers are looking for more than
just a great set of exam results in their prospective employees. They want
candidates with personality and the right combination of soft skills, in areas
such as interpersonal and leadership. Many fresh graduates have no idea on how
to write a good CV. Most use the same resume template and end up having CVs
with similar format. To make yours stand out, you should break the mould and be
creative. If you’re applying for a creative industry, you may wish to opt for
something a bit out-of-the-box or visually impressive that will really make it
stand out from others. By doing this a fresh graduate can compete with the experienced
competitors.
Writing
A. Study the following advertisement. Write an application
for one of the positions. Prepare your CV too that suits for the job.
Application:
Bharatpur-7, Chitwan.
6th June 2021
To:
The Assistant Director,
MM Construction Pvt. Ltd.,
Satdobato Marg,
Lalitpur.
Subject
: Application for The Post of Civil Engineer
Dear Sir,
With reference to your advertisement in THE PIONEER on 2nd July inviting
application for the post of a civil engineer under your authority, I beg to
offer myself as a candidate for the same. My qualifications and experience are
given below.
I passed my civil engineering examination from the IOE, Pulchowk Campus in
first division and also got degree in B.Sc. Physics (Hons.) I have an excellent
academic career and have won many scholarship and awards during my school and
college life.
I worked in ArEiCon Engineers Pvt. Ltd. – Lalitpur for five years and during
the period tried advanced techniques which proved to be highly beneficial to
the firm. At present I have been working with Global Impex International Pvt.
Ltd. for the last four years. The job involves administrative and supervisory
duties. In recognition of my services, the company has offered me further
incentives in the form of special bonus. But this job does not have much
future. So I seek a job under you which will open new avenues for my career. I
am ready to work at any of the branches.
I have attached my CV to the email for your reference. Please have a look at
it.
I hope to meet you and discuss this opportunity further. Thank you for
considering my application for the role.
I may assure you if I am given the job, I shall work diligently.
Yours Faithfully,
Manoj Poudel
CV:
Manoj Poudel
Pashupati Vision Complex, Ring Road, Kathmandu 44600
T: 01-4113713
M: 981-234-5678
E: manojpoudel22@gmail,com
PERSONAL SUMMARY
An ambitious and dedicated civil engineer with strong practical and technical
skills and a range of experience within construction engineering and project
management. Having a sound knowledge of designing, testing and evaluating a
designs overall effectiveness, cost, reliability, and safety. Currently seeking
a challenging professional civil or structural engineering position either in
the UK or abroad and willing to consider permanent or short term contracts.
CAREER HISTORY
SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER – Global Impex International Pvt. Ltd.
January 2018 – present
• Directing tasks to a multi-disciplined team of staff.
• Arranging the planning and scheduling of work.
• Creating Monthly Quality Audits.
• Carrying out spot inspections on welding, pipe cleanliness, compression
fitting installation etc.
• Liaison with engineers, designers, local authorities, contractors and
suppliers.
CIVIL ENGINEER – ArEiCon Engineers Pvt. Ltd.
April 2013 – January 2018
• Involved in a project that included the construction, maintenance and repair
work on motorways.
• Designing and supervising of motorway maintenance works.
• Responsible for the design and development of bridge maintenance schemes.
• Maintaining non-conformance / non-compliance records and logs.
• Responsible for quality control of engineering and construction documents.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Civil Engineering
• Able to understand a client’s quality compliance requirements and then make
sure they are met.
• Have worked for both public and private sector clients.
• Excellent communication skills and able to work closely with both clients and
other specialists such as architects and building contractors
• Ability to carry our detailed feasibility studies for projects to ensure the
most effective and efficient utilization of materials, equipment and labour.
• Experience of using the latest computer software for modeling and design
purposes.
Project Management
• Arranging and chairing meetings with clients.
• Ability to liaise with key project stake holders like the clients, water
companies, the Environment Agency, local authorities and also utility
companies.
• Experience of designing, project managing & liaising with clients.
• Directing outside consultants in construction activities.
• Assisting in the pricing of tender enquiries and valuations.
KEY COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS
Structural Design
Inspections
Quality assurance
Certification
Surveying
Project management
Strategic planning
Feasibility studies
AutoCad
Highway design
Producing ACAD plans
Site supervision
TECHNICAL SKILLS AND EXPERTISE
AutoCAD
Autotrack
Autosign
Signplot
Microstation 2D & 3D
Inroads
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
BSC Civil Engineering 2009
B.Sc. Physics (Hons.), 2011
Jan 2012 Introduction to AutoCad 2012
Sept 2012 CIWEM Sewerage and Waste Water Treatment Seminar
Sept 2012 CDM Regulations 2007 and compliance
REFERENCES – available on request.
Driving license: Yes
DOB: 1985
Languages: English, Nepali, Hindi
Grammar
B. Rewrite the following sentences using the correct form
of the verbs.
a. If you sell your stocks now, you won’t get much money for
them. (not/get)
b. A lot of people would lose job if the factory closed down.(close
down)
c. Our country won’t have to export wheat if it rains in
November and February. (rain)
d. If we had found him earlier, we could have saved his life.
(find)
e. If he had not been wearing helmet, he would have been seriously
injured. (be)
f. Unless you follow the instructions, you won’t pass the
exams. (not/ pass)
g. I don’t mind walking home as long as the weather is fine.
(be)
h. The bank will sanction you the loan provided you deposit a
collateral. (deposit)
i. What would you have done if you had not got this job?
(you/do)
j. If you had the choice, where would you have lived? (you/live)
C. Change the following sentences into ‘if sentences’ as in the example.
a. The driver was talking on the phone so the accident
happened.
If the driver wasn’t talking on the phone,
the accident wouldn’t have happened.
b. There is no anyone at home because all the lights are
off.
If there was someone at home, all the lights
wouldn’t be off.
c. He must be an educated person because he has subscribed
‘The Kathmandu Post’
If he wasn’t an educated person, he wouldn’t
subscribe ‘The Kathmandu Post’.
d. His head was not injured in the accident because he had
put the helmet on.
His head would have been injured in the
accident if he hadn’t put the helmet on.
e. I am sure he passed the exam because he gave a heavy
treat to his friends.
If he hadn’t passed the exam he wouldn’t
have given a heavy treat to his friends.
f. You didn’t take any breakfast so you are hungry now.
If you had taken some breakfast, you
wouldn’t have got hungry now.
g. I am sure he is a doctor because he is wearing the
white gown.
If he wasn’t a doctor, he wouldn’t be
wearing the white gown.
h. She is very rich so she drives a Mercedes.
If she wasn’t very rich, she wouldn’t drive
a Mercedes.
i. I didn’t know it was only half a kilometer from my
house, so I booked a ride.
If I had known it was only half a kilometer
from my house, I wouldn’t have booked a ride.
j. He has hidden something in his mind, so he does not
look fresh.
If he hadn’t hidden anything in his mind, he would have looked fresh.
