面试通常是招聘过程中必不可少的一部分。你有过不愉快的面试经历吗？有人曾在面试中被雇主层层盘问和职位无关的事；还有的面试官态度恶劣，给申请人施加了巨大的压力。本集《随身英语》探讨一些令人咋舌的面试方法。

Vocabulary: employment  词汇: 就业

Have you ever attended a job interview? For some people they can be a painful and embarrassing experience, but for others, it can be a chance to shine – a platform to perform and show off their talents. But sometimes, even for the most confident candidates, things don't go to plan and the interviewee is left feeling they'd wish they had never stepped foot in the room!

The interview is a necessary part of the recruitment process, and if carried out fairly, can be a good way to select the ideal person to fill a position in a company. This can be done by just asking questions or by carrying out other tasks that test someone's competencies. It's also a chance for the interviewee to ask questions and get a feel for their potential new employer.

All this is to be expected when applying for a new job. But the BBC has found there are many examples of situations where inappropriate questions have been asked and irrelevant things have been discussed. Olivia Bland recently attended an interview at a technology company in the UK and claimed to have been subjected to a "brutal" two-hour job interview. She said the company's CEO "tried his best to intimidate" her and that in her feedback… "He told me everything I did was wrong, everything I said, the way I sat, my body language, everything that he could do to attack me." She actually got a job offer but turned it down. The CEO did apologise.

Other people have told the BBC about the grilling they received about their personal lives. For example, mature student Kevin Helton said "The interviewer asked, 'You used to be in the Army, how many people have you killed?'" Jo Foat was asked by an interviewer to wear a large straw hat and was told "In my experience, pretty girls like you rely too much on their looks."

There are, of course, laws against discrimination, and managers should only be asking questions that are relevant to a vacancy. But sometimes, according to James Reed, chairman of employment agency Reed, what may appear to be an inappropriate question is said "…to provoke you, and there's nothing illegal about provoking someone, but they can be annoying."

Of course, some unconventional job interviews can be fun and are designed to put you at ease. A French marketing agency is inviting applicants for an internship to discuss the opportunity over a game of Fortnite! Now that sounds like a fun way to develop your career!

词汇表

talent 才能，天分
candidate 候选人，申请者
interviewee 参加面试者
recruitment process 招聘过程
position 职位
competency 技能，能力
employer 雇主
CEO 首席执行官
job offer 工作机会
grilling 盘问
discrimination 歧视
vacancy 职位空缺
employment agency 职业介绍所
provoke 激怒，挑衅
unconventional 不同寻常的
marketing agency 营销代理公司
applicant 申请人
internship 实习
career 职业

测验与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. According to the report, what can an interviewee do during an interview?

2. Which word do we use to describe interview questions that are not relevant to the job?

3. True or false? According to interviewee Olivia Bland, the person interviewing criticised her body language but not the way she sat.

4. What can protect an interviewee from being treated fairly and not being asked questions that aren't relevant to the job position?

5. When might questions asked in a job interview be annoying?

2.  请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. We have so many top __________ for the job position, it's tricky to know which one to pick!

vacancies                 talents                              candidates                   competencies

2. I've had a __________ from the bank, offering me more money. Should I accept it?

offer job                    job offer                            jobs offer                      job offered

3. The engineering company is offering a six-month __________ to learn how to use all the machinery.

internship                  career                               vacancy                        position

4. The first thing I have to do as part of the __________ is fill in a long application form.

recruited process     recruitment processed     recruiting processing     recruitment process

5. I was able to show off my ________ at the music festival by playing my guitar.

competencies            talents                              career                            applicant

答案

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. According to the report, what can an interviewee do during an interview?
An interviewee can ask questions and get a feel for their potential new employer.

2. Which word do we use to describe interview questions that are not relevant to the job?
The word is 'inappropriate' - the BBC has found there are many examples of situations where inappropriate questions have been asked and irrelevant things have been discussed.

3. True or false? According to interviewee Olivia Bland, the person interviewing criticised her body language but not the way she sat.
False. She said her interviewer said "everything I did was wrong, everything I said, the way I sat, my body language, everything that he could do to attack me."

4. What can protect an interviewee from being treated fairly and not being asked questions that aren't relevant to the job position?
Laws against discrimination protect people from being asked irrelevant questions.

5. When might questions asked in a job interview be annoying?
According to James Reed, chairman of employment agency Reed, what may appear to be an inappropriate question is said "…to provoke you, and there's nothing illegal about provoking someone, but they can be annoying."

2.  请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. We have so many top candidates for the job position, it's tricky to know which one to pick!

2. I've had a job offer from the bank, offering me more money. Should I accept it?

3. The engineering company is offering a six-month internship to learn how to use all the machinery.

4. The first thing I have to do as part of the recruitment process is fill in a long application form.

5. I was able to show off my talents at the music festival by playing my guitar.