Odd Job Interviews

This fictional manager certainly likes to make an impression!

Job interviews are a part of modern life and sooner or later we all have to do them. They usually involve being asked a list of questions or doing a short presentation.

But some companies go a bit further and ask the interviewee to do embarrassing and humiliating things that are completely unrelated to the job.

Rob and Finn discuss 'odd' job interviews, and talk about one man who was asked to dance as part of his selection process.

This week's question:

What type of job has been named a 'Field Nourishment Consultant'? Is it:

a) A waitress

b) A school dinner lady

c) A petrol station assistant

Original page here

grilled - (here) asked lots of difficult questions

interviewers - people who interview someone for a job

interviewees - people who are being interviewed

position - job in a company

degraded - feeling you have lost respect for yourself and from other people

humiliated - feeling embarrassed and ashamed

put on a brave face - hide your feelings of being upset or disappointed

unorthodox - different from what is usual or normally expected

recruiting - the process of finding and employing someone to work for a company

leave/ make a lasting impression - behave in a way that makes people remember good things about you for a long time

breaking the ice - making someone feel relaxed

role playing - pretending to be someone else to act out a pretend situation

bribe - money or gifts you give someone to try and make them do something

Rob: Welcome to 6 Minute English with me Rob.

Finn: And me, Finn.

Rob: Finn, I'd like to start by asking you: How many job interviews have you had?

Finn: That's difficult. Maybe ten interviews in my life.

Rob: Ten. That's quite a few – and do you enjoy going to job interviews?

Finn: I absolutely adore them! No, I'm joking! Who does? Nobody does.

Rob: Well, for me, they are torture! I hate being grilled by a panel – or group – of people. I know I can do the job but I hate having to convince them!

Today, we'll be discussing some odd job interviews and looking at some related vocabulary. So Finn, are you ready for your first interview question?

Finn: Yes Rob, I am raring to go!

Rob: Good to hear. Well, it's important to know what type of job you are being interviewed for. Some job titles are a bit exaggerated. So, what type of job has been named a 'Field Nourishment Consultant'? Is it:

a) A waitress

b) A school dinner lady

c) A petrol station assistant

Finn: I think that it's b) a school dinner lady.

Rob: An interesting choice. I'll let you know if you are wrong or right later on.

Let's talk more about job interviews. A traditional interview usually involves being asked a list of questions, and sometimes you have to give a short presentation.

Finn: Yes, questions like: "Why do you want this job?" or, "Where do you see yourself in five years' time?"

Rob: Yeah, that's a tricky one to answer! But some interviewers – the people who ask the questions – go a bit further and ask the interviewees – the people being interviewed – to do some inappropriate things.

Finn: You mean they are asked do things are not really relevant to the job. Such as Alan Bacon, a university graduate, who last year was asked to do a dance as part of his interview.

Rob: Well, maybe the position – or job – was for a dancer or a children's entertainer?

Finn: No – it was actually for a job as a sales assistant in an electronics shop; so, someone who works on the shop floor, giving advice to customers about what to buy. There's no dancing involved.

Rob: Let's hear from him now. What did he do at the interview to look positive? And how did he really feel about doing a dance?

Alan Bacon, university graduate:

We all wanted the job, some of us are desperate, like myself, and the idea is just to keep smiling and go for it. On the surface I had to look positive, I was smiling, I was laughing along with it, but inside I felt degraded and humiliated especially.

Finn: Oh poor Alan. He felt degraded – so he lost respect from other people – and he felt humiliated – so he felt embarrassed and ashamed.

Rob: So that's how he felt on the inside but he wanted the job so he put on a brave face – a positive attitude and a smile on his face; he even laughed.

Finn: Well, later on, he did complain and he got an apology.

Rob: But experts say there are now too many candidates chasing too few jobs so companies are trying unorthodox – non-traditional ways of recruiting people - to see who stands out.

Finn: Yes, well, in any job interview it's good to leave a lasting impression – that means to get noticed and make people remember you. I suppose doing a dance is a good way of breaking the ice – making people feel relaxed – but being asked to do something outside your comfort zone also seems a bit unfair to me.

Rob: Yes, but I guess if you want that job, you'll do anything.

Finn: Well, almost!

Rob: I've heard about people who have had to sing at an interview and also, role playing – pretending to be someone else and acting out a situation.

Finn: I find just being asked odd or random questions in an interview can make me feel uncomfortable. And a US employment website carried out a survey about this and discovered some strange questions…

Rob: Yes they did, such as: "How would you cure world hunger?" and: "If you were a computer programme, which one would you be?" Here's one for you Finn: "If you were a word in the English language, which word would you be?"

 

Finn: Which word would you be? Oh, come on, that's unfair. Just asking like that – that's outside my comfort zone Rob!

Rob: Indeed, but I'm trying to break the ice here Finn! Never mind, I'll give you the job anyway! Seriously, there's no perfect way to interview someone for a job. If you are having a job interview, my advice would be to keep calm, think before you speak and if you are asked to do something inappropriate, tell them how you feel about it!

Finn: And if all else fails you could use a bribe? What do you think? No?!

Rob: Not recommended. However you can bribe me to get the answer to today's question?

Finn: I don't think I need to. I think I've got the answer right.

Rob: OK, let's find out. Earlier I asked you if you knew what a 'Field Nourishment Consultant' really is.

Finn: I said b) a school dinner lady – but it could be a man. Is it right?

Rob: It has something to do with food but it's not school dinners. It's actually a waitress – or waiter. I wonder how we could describe our jobs – maybe we could be 'Educational Dissemination Executives'?

Finn: Oh yes, very grand. I like that!

Rob: We hope you've enjoyed today's 6 Minute English. Please join us again soon for another programme.

Both: Bye.

The male brain, the female brain

Are you any good at map reading?

Do you think that men are better at reading maps?

Are women better at doing several things at once?

New research from the US says they are, and it can explain why. A team from the University of Pennsylvania says male and female brains are connected in very different ways, and this means that men and women are better at doing different things.

This week's question:

How much does the average human brain weigh? Is it:

a) 1.4 kg

b) 2.2 kg

c) 3.6 kg

brainy - (informal) clever, intelligent

rack my brains - think very hard to answer a question or solve a problem

hemisphere - half (of something round in shape)

to navigate - to find your way around a new place, often using a map

multi-tasking - doing several things at the same time

attention span - the maximum amount of time that you can concentrate on one thing

hard-wired - designed to work in a particular way which cannot be changed (pevný)

generalisation - a statement that is often true but based on limited information

Listen here

Finn: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Finn and with me is Rob. Hi Rob.

Rob: Hi Finn.

Finn: Rob, I have a question for you. Are you good at reading maps?

Rob: I have to say, I am, I really enjoy reading maps and I understand them well.

Finn: That's interesting. And today we're talking about new research into the differences between men's and women's brains, and looking at some vocabulary about brains and thinking. Now, this research says that men are better at some things, like reading maps.

Rob: Yes, well, I'm good at reading maps and even my wife would agree. She makes me do all the map reading in the car.

Finn: But women are better at other things – like remembering faces. That's according to this research. And before we look at it, I have a question about this incredible and mysterious thing – the human brain. Rob, you're a brainy– that is, an intelligent guy, but how much does the average human brainweigh? Is it:

a) 1.4 kg

b) 2.2 kg

c) 3.6 kg

Rob: I'll have to use my brain for this. I'm really racking my brains - that means to think very hard. Right, well, I think: c) 3.6 kg.

Finn: OK we'll find out if you're right later on. Now this research was by a team from the University of Pennsylvania in the US. They looked at the brains of nearly 1,000 men and women and found they are 'wired differently'.

Rob: Yes – so they are connected in different ways.

Finn: Let's listen to Dr Ruben Gur talking about the connections in each hemisphere - each half or each side - of the brain. What's the difference between men and women?

Dr Ruben Gur, University of Pennsylvania:

What we found was that in males, the stronger connections run within each hemisphere, within each half of the brain. In women the stronger connections are between the two sides of the brain.

Finn: So, men have better links – that's stronger connections - inside each half of the brain. So the connections inside the right hemisphere are good, and the connections inside the left hemisphere are good too.

Rob: But women have stronger connections between each side – the links are better going from one side to the other, from left to right. But what does that mean?

Finn: Well, they say these differences might explain why men are better at learning and performing a single task, like cycling or navigating – that's reading maps and finding your way around.

Rob: And it explains why women are often better at multi-tasking – that's doing several things at once.

Finn: The research also showed women are better at remembering words, faces and information about other people, and they also had longer attention spans – that means they could concentrate on a task for longer without becoming distracted. Rob? Rob? Are you there?

Rob: Ah sorry. I was miles away. You might be right Finn! But not everyone agrees with this research.

Finn: No, Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg from the University of Oxford says the connections inside the brain are not 'hard-wired': in other words, that means they are not permanently fixed and they keep changing.

Rob: She said the brain is very complex – so you can't make generalisations about it – generalisations are statements that are often true but based on a limited amount of information.

Finn: But overall I think it's an interesting idea. We asked our audience on social media what they thought about the study.

Rob: Cremildo from Mozambique said he's a man and agrees with the survey, and he admires his mother who is able to do a lot of things by herself.

Finn: Pen Pae from Thailand says it depends on the individual – she's good at reading maps and multi-tasking – but don't ask her about language or driving.

Rob: And Hana Potki from Iran agrees – she said it took her five times to pass her driving test!

Finn: Now Rob, earlier I asked you if you knew how heavy the human brain is, on average:

Rob: And I said c) a heavy 3.6 kg.

Finn: Very very heavy brain and a lot heavier than the average human brain. The answer was in fact a) 1.4 kg. This compares with the average of 7 kg for whales and 1.4 for dolphins. Albert Einstein's brain was only 1.2 kg; that's lower than average, so size isn't everything. Now, Rob, before we go – would you remind us of today's brain-related words?

Rob: Of course. We had:

brainy

rack my brains

hemisphere

navigating

multi-tasking

attention spans

hard-wired

generalisations

Finn: Great. Thank you Rob. And thanks everyone for listening. Join us again for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

Rob: Bye.

Finn: Goodbye.