Analyse it! Must haves vs nice to haves, hard vs soft skills

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1 Applying for a job and working abroad 2 Replying to job advertisements 7 von 26 Analyse it! Must haves vs nice to haves, hard vs soft skills M 2 Learn how to understand job advertisements. Must haves and nice to haves Job advertisements describe the profile of the ideal candidate. This includes qualities that are essential 1 (must haves) and qualities that are desirable 2 (nice to haves). In theory if you haven t got all the essential qualities, you needn t apply. Many professionals, however, say that it is still worth applying if you ve got most of the essentials or equivalent 3 qualifications. Desirable qualities will give you an edge 4 over other applicants: You don t need to have them, but it s good if you do. A typical phrase in a job advertisement would be: Knowledge of French required, Spanish an advantage. That means that only people who speak French should apply. People who speak both French and Spanish will be preferred. Hard skills and soft skills The profile of the ideal candidate usually includes hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are the knowledge and competence that you need for a certain job. You acquire 5 hard skills through education, training and work experience. Take a baker for example: He or she will have learned about hygiene standards and quality control. They have had on-the-job training in how to make bread and cakes. And they may have worked as a baker for several years. You can demonstrate hard skills by listing courses, certificates, degrees and work experience in your C. Soft skills are not specific to a certain job. Soft skills describe how you work and how you relate 6 to people. They include things like working methodically, working well in a team, being honest, empathy 7 and many more. A baker for example needs to be a team player and also be able to work on his or her own. Because they sell to customers, they need to be friendly and customer-oriented. 1 essential: wesentlich, notwendig 2 desirable: wünschenswert 3 equivalent: gleichwertig 4 edge: (hier) der orteil 5 to acquire: bekommen 6 to relate so sb.: jdn. verstehen, mit jmdm. eine persönliche Beziehung haben 7 empathy: das Einfühlungsvermögen 1. Read the two texts. Explain the following terms in your own words: must haves, nice to haves, hard skills, soft skills. 2. Look at the job advertisement by Chutneys & Curries. What are the must haves, nice to haves, hard skills and soft skills in this ad? Write them in a table: must haves nice to haves hard skills soft skills 3. Essential is a word for must haves; desirable is a word for nice to haves. Can you think of any other words and expressions for the two categories? 4. What other soft skills can you think of?

2 8 von 26 Replying to job advertisements Applying for a job and working abroad 2 M 3 BiblioArt Online marketing intern wanted Find out about an internship in central London. Online marketing internship at BiblioArt BiblioArt, a fashionable bookshop in central London, brings people, books and art together. Not only do we sell books and other entertainment media, we also provide a platform for author s readings, theatre plays and art exhibitions 1. In our online marketing department we currently have an opening 2 for an intern. You will be working on our e-commerce website as well as on our social media channels (Facebook, blog, Twitter). You will learn about and apply 3 SEO 4 strategies. You will also create banner ads 5 for our products. We are looking for a highly motivated team player with a background in marketing. You must have excellent communication skills and pay attention to detail. Fluency in English and Web 2.0 experience are essential. Candidates with previous 6 online marketing experience are preferred. You will be working five days a week for a minimum of four weeks. Interested? Send your C and letter of motivation (including your preferred starting date) to marketing@biblioart.co.uk 1 exhibition: die Ausstellung 2 opening: die offene Stelle 3 to apply: anwenden 4 SEO (search engine opitimisation): die Suchmaschinenoptimierung 5 banner ad: der/das Werbebanner 6 previous: vorherig 1. Read the job advertisement. What are the must haves, nice to haves, hard skills and soft skills in this ad? Write them in the table: must haves nice to haves hard skills soft skills 2. Which of these skills have you got? How can you show that you have them or give examples for them?

3 12 von 26 Replying to job advertisements Applying for a job and working abroad 2 M 5 I am applying for the position Analysing a cover letter eronika is also applying for the internship at Crazy Chutneys & Curries. Read her cover letter. v.englers@web.de arangan@crazychutneys.co.uk Job application Food buyer intern Dear Ms Rangan, I am applying for the position as a food buyer intern at Crazy Chutneys & Curries. As you can see from my enclosed C, I m currently training as an industrial management assistant at an instant food manufacturing company. I d therefore appreciate the opportunity to get more relevant experience in the food industry. I ve become acquainted 1 with all important aspects of buying through my in-company training. I have the following responsibilities 2 in my job: I correspond with and talk to suppliers, I check and deal with invoices, I organise meetings. I work with various 3 Microsoft Office programmes including Excel on a daily basis. I m available to start working at Crazy Chutneys & Curries on 10 July for 4-6 weeks. I d appreciate the opportunity to speak to you in person. You can easily reach me on (landline), (mobile) or at this address. Yours sincerely, eronika Engers addressee introduction argument closing 1 to become acquainted with: etw./jmdn. kennenlernen 2 responsibility: die Aufgabe, die Pflicht 3 various: verschieden 1. What did eronika do well in her cover letter? What could be improved? Make a table: good to be improved most sentences start with I 2. Correct or re-write eronika s cover letter. Invent details as necessary.

4 16 von 26 Replying to job advertisements Applying for a job and working abroad 2 M 8 An ideal candidate for the position Useful phrases These phrases will help you write a successful cover letter. Ich schreibe Ihnen unter Bezugnahme auf Ihre Anzeige in (Zeitung) / unter (Webseite) I am writing to you in response to your advertisement in (newspaper) / on (website) Ihre Firma interessiert mich, weil I am interested in working for your company because Wie Sie aus meinem beigefügten Lebenslauf ersehen können, As you can see from my C which is enclosed, Ich mache eine Ausbildung als (Beruf) I am training as a (job) Neben meiner betrieblichen Ausbildung besuche ich auch eine Berufsschule. Besides my in-company training I also attend a vocational school. In der Berufsschule lerne ich (Fächer) At vocational school I am studying (subjects) Ich habe einen Kurs in (Fach) absolviert. I have completed a course in (subject) Ich habe einen Abschluss in (Fach) I have a certificate / degree in (subject) ist / sind mir vertraut. I am familiar with Ich arbeite täglich mit (Computerprogrammen, Maschinen usw.) I work with (computer programmes, machines etc.) on a daily basis. Meine Erfahrung als (Beruf) beinhaltet (Aufgaben) My experience as a (job) includes (tasks) Ich besitze einen Führerschein ohne Strafpunkte. I hold a clean driving licence. Diese Fertigkeiten und Erfahrungen machen mich zu einem idealen Bewerber für diese Stelle. These skills and experiences make me an ideal candidate for this position. Ich würde mich freuen, mit Ihnen persönlich sprechen zu können. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak to you in person. Gerne können Sie mich unter kontaktieren. Please feel free to contact me at/on Task Walk around the classroom. Test another student on the English translation of the German sentence on your paper slip. Teach him/her the English sentence if necessary. The other student tests or teaches you the sentence on his/her slip. Once you ve finished, swap paper slips. Meet another student and test/teach each other etc.

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