Employment Workshop III

Today’s workshop is about interview.

If we get invited to attend an interview it means the employer likes what they’ve seen so far and we meet their criteria on paper. Therefore, the employer would like to see whether we fit the person specification. For us, interview is another chance to sell ourselves and assess the employer or job.

There are five interview types:
· One-to-one;
· Panel;
· Structured / Competency-based;
· Biographical / Chronological; and
· Telephone.

Practicalities for an interview are:
· Be on time;
· Be pleasant to everybody;
· Dress appropriately;
· Remember the importance of body language and eye contact;
· Be positive, enthusiastic;
· First impressions count – assessment begins as soon as you arrive; and
· Be yourself.

Basically, these are the types of questions that will be asked in an interview:
· Biographical;
· Open / closed;
· Behavioural / competence based;
· Situational; and
· Inappropriate.

Here are some frequently asked interview questions. We should consider our answers to the following questions and be able to provide evidence for each answer.
· What have you gained from the courses you have studied?

· Why do you want to work for us?
· Why do you want this job?
· Why do you think you’d be good at this job?
· What qualities do you think will be required for this job?
· What makes a good teacher / sales assistant / receptionist?

· What have you gained from your work experience?
· What are your strengths?
· What are your weaknesses?

· Tell me about a time when you have had to adapt your way of working.
· This job requires dealing with difficult customers. What experience do you have of that?
· You will be expected to travel to different offices. How will you cope with that?

Anyway some of the interviewers ask difficult questions as below:
· Tell me about yourself.
· What are your strengths / weaknesses?
· Sell me this pencil.
· What encouraged you to apply for a job with us?
· When were you last angry?
· We have seen 5 others today, why should we employ you?
· If you were an animal / biscuit, what would you be?

To answer any above questions, we must think about why they are asking us the questions and what they are designed to test.

I gained a lot of knowledge from this workshop, hope you will gain some from my sharing too. You’re welcome to discuss if you have any question.

Employment Workshop II

Some companies and organisations in the UK require job seekers to fill in application forms. The reasons why employers use application forms are:
• Pre-selection tool using set criteria;
• Time effective for the employer; and
• Evidence based responses.

We need to do some preparation for filling in application form, like analyse the job as well as identify skills and competencies.

From the advert or job description, we should be able to know what the employer is particularly looking for. There are 25 common attributes here.
1. Willingness to Learn
2. Commitment
3. Dependability
4. Self Motivation
5. Teamwork
6. Communications Skills (Oral)
7. Co-operation
8. Communications Skills (Written)
9. Drive/Energy
10. Self-Management
11. Desire to Achieve
12. Problem-Solving
13. Analytical Ability
14. Flexibility
15. Initiative
16. Can Summarise Key Issues
17. Logical Argument
18. Adaptability (Intellectual)
19. Numeracy
20. Adaptability (Organisational)
21. Commercial Awareness
22. Time Management
23. Self Confidence
24. Ability to Influence Others
25. Creative Thinking

We can use the table below to analyse the job by transferring information from the advert.

Trainee Financial Analyst		Do I meet these criteria? (Yes/No)	Make a note of evidence you could use to support this.
Top three attributes for this job	1. 2. 3.
Other essentials
Other desirables
Am I a suitable applicant? YES NO

By the way, some application forms may have competency questions which are designed to check our relevant skills, for example: Describe a situation where you were successful in putting your ideas across. There is a structure to follow to help us to give a full and focused answer.
• Context – brief set the scene
• Action – demonstrate and sell your approach
• Results – briefly outline the outcome.

Lesson ends here.

Employment Workshop I

International Office and English as a Foreign Language Unit of Glasgow University are organising an employment workshop for international students’ spouses who are looking for jobs in Glasgow. Even though I am going back home soon, but it’s no harm to learn something new. So I attended the workshop.

It’s going to be a three-day workshop. Today, I learnt how to prepare UK Style CVs and Covering Letters. Let’s share some information I got from the workshop!

The purpose of a CV is to:
• Market ourselves to employers,
• Apply for jobs (advertised and speculative),
• List our career history,
• Demonstrate relevant experience,
• Sell our skills, qualities and achievements, and
• Obtain an interview.

So, to prepare a CV, we should include contact details, i.e. name, address, telephone numbers and e-mail, as well as education background, employment history, skills, interests and achievements, and referees. We can include the following, if we want:
• Personal profile,
• Gender,
• Nationality, and
• Date of birth.

Photograph, insurance number, place of birth, religion and health are those that should not included in the CV. Of course, if the employer asks for these, we must provide them.

Here are the guidelines for an effective CV:
• Always comes together with a covering letter or e-mail message,
• Maximum two sides of A4 – stapled, NOT back to back,
• Divide into sections and use clear, appropriate headings,
• Bulleted clear and nicely for details under each section,
• List most recent and relevant experience first,
• Target it towards a type of job / career,
• Use a “formal” e-mail for applying job, use “gltan” instead of “smilelian” or “peppermint”, and
• Check spelling and grammar for accuracy.

There is a format to write covering letters too. As the workshop instructor said, we try to make ourselves different from other candidates, but don’t surprise the employer by doing something too weird. So, please follow this format:
1. Why are you writing?
2. Why are you interested in the job / sector?
3. Why are you a good candidate for the job?
4. Is there anything on your CV which needs to be clarified?
5. When are you available for interviews?

Besides the guidelines, the instructor also mentioned that British are very polite, so we must write our covering letter politely. Again, she emphasised: “Be polite, but don’t surprise your employer.” Here are some unsuitable sentences:
• I thank you humbly for this opportunity / for reading the CV.
“I look forward to hearing from you.” is enough.
• I would like to furnish you with my CV.
Don’t use flowery words, just simple and direct – “Enclosed is my CV.”
• Your humble and obedient servant
Use “Yours sincerely” for known reader and “Yours faithfully” for unknown reader. By the way, it’s always good to find out who will read the letter.

OK, that’s all for today. Happy sharing!

吃在格拉斯哥

民以食为天，一向不管我的爸爸在我去年再次离家之前，就吩咐我，要吃什么就买来吃，不要省。因此，我就乖乖听话咯！

在格拉斯哥，一份快餐套餐一般上四至五英镑。胃口小的可以吃儿童套餐，只要两三英镑而已。特定的Burger King和McDonald’s快餐厅会给学生打折或送个免费的cheese burger。到格拉斯哥或其他英国城市来念书的学生，申请一张SNAPfax吧！除了快餐，还有其他的优惠哦！

另外，人在他乡的游子，怎能不光顾中餐馆，以食物解乡愁呢？烧腊饭、炒饭、面食一客七八英镑。如果跟朋友一块儿吃饭点菜，一般上要十至十五英镑。点心则是约三英镑一笼。在Glasgow Chinese Restaurants Eat Out in Glasgow Guide显示的格拉斯哥的中餐馆中，风味小食(Asia Style)、五月花(Zen)和中国城大酒楼(Chinatown Restaurant)，以及新开张不久的昆仲轩(SeeWoo Seafood Restaurant)，是我们比较常光顾的。

如果想要吃西餐，或是道地的苏格兰餐，可以到5pm.co.uk寻找优惠套餐。当然从那里也可以找到其他的餐饮。能够以比较便宜的价钱吃一顿好的，就会觉得世界真是美好。一些酒吧在中午也有卖午餐，通常价钱比较便宜，五六英镑就可以解决一顿了。如果你不介意早一些享用晚餐，傍晚时分的pre-theatre套餐也会比正式的晚餐便宜。

当然，自己在家煮食是最经济的。打个比方说，到餐馆吃一条鲈鱼，大概要花十五英镑，可是自己到鱼市场买，则一尾鱼只要三四英镑。要买便宜、洋人常吃的蔬菜、水果、糕点，可以到超级市场。会长期在这里居住，而住的地方附近有Tesco的话，就申请一张Tesco会员卡，以便每次购物时可以累计分数。累计到一定的分数之后，可以换取购物固本，或者有时候可以享有会员优待。除了Tesco，Asda、Lidl和Morrison’s等超市的食品也是比较便宜的。即使居住的地方附近没有超市，一般的迷你市场也常常有打折促销。如果没有特别的偏好，只要秉持那个牌子打折就买那个的精明购物方式，也可以省下一点开销。


如果要买所谓的东方食物(oriental food)，就要到中国商店了。格拉斯哥至少有六间中国商店：有华行、万富行、中英行、林记行、Lim’s，至于去年才开张的泗和行可说是苏格兰最大的中国超市了。从白米、酱油、醋、快熟面、中国茶，到新鲜的小白菜、莲藕；腌制的榨菜、萝卜丝，都可以找到。豆腐、话梅、老干妈辣椒酱、杨协成豆奶，也任君选择。榴莲、红毛丹、山竹、荔枝、龙眼，也有哦！不过，它们都物离乡贵。上个星期，朋友A买了一个榴莲。猜一猜，多少钱？是十六英镑！

中国人制作的糕点像叉烧包、核桃酥等，也是超贵的。一片核桃酥就要九十便士，即马币六令吉。我那节俭成性的二姑听了就说：“是你才舍得买来吃，如果是我就不吃了。”这就是为什么我爸爸会吩咐我要吃什么就买的原因了。我一年都没有吃三五片，偶尔买来吃，不是很过分吧？虽然一条四百克的白面包才大约五十便士，可是要我天天啃白面包，我宁愿少买几件衣服。

朋友之间常常说，幸亏我们是来到了格拉斯哥，要吃什么都很方便。如果是到了苏格兰的小镇，就只好改变自己的口味了。不过，话说回头，人在他乡，真的要尝试接受不同的食物，否则的话，日子会比较难过。

穿在格拉斯哥

格拉斯哥的温差不是很大：夏天一般上是摄氏十至二十度，很少会超过摄氏二十五度；冬天则是摄氏零下二度至摄氏十度，很少下雪，一年最多三四场雪。一年四季格拉斯哥都是雨水充沛的：一个星期至少两三天是下雨的。冬天的雨水比夏天多。因此，出发到格拉斯哥之前，最好先看一看天气预报。我通常是到MSN Weather和BBC Weather去看天气预报的，还蛮准的。其实只要预测是下雨天，就会准了，哈！因此，到格拉斯哥来的话，一定要带一件防水、连帽子的外套。大风吹时，就算是防风雨伞（wind proof）也是无用武之地的。我在格拉斯哥三年，就被大风吹坏了四把伞。厉害叻？你说，连帽子外套重要吗？

个人觉得在格拉斯哥买御寒的衣服会比在马来西亚买便宜又比较适合在格拉斯哥穿。我从马来西亚带过来的三件sweater，很少有用武之地。其中两件因为是纯羊毛（100% wool）制的，在格拉斯哥穿真的是太暖了。另外一件虽然不是羊毛制的，可是却太厚了。因为当我跟售货员说，我要到苏格兰去，他就给我拿了最厚的一件。我想，他当时脑海中的画面一定是苏格兰北部的高山峻拔，白雪纷飞。殊不知道我是在苏格兰南部的大城市生活，穿这么厚的衣服在街上走，不到十五分钟，就会热烘烘了，然后人就开始昏昏欲睡。

那么到格拉斯哥来到底要准备怎样的衣服呢？如果你是在九月份开学的时候到格拉斯哥来，就先带一件防水的外套，外套厚一些倒没关系，只要在里头穿得薄一些就行了。这样的装束比较安全，刮风时，把外套的拉链拉上，就会暖暖的。如果觉得热的话，把拉链拉下就行了。到了室内，脱了外套就刚刚好，不会热得头重重。我是很推崇小背心的。不要看它小小一件，可是却很保暖哦！小背心不只是比卫生衣便宜，最重要的是夏天出游时还可以穿，甚至可以带回马来西亚穿。穿了小背心，再穿上一件普通（或者是比在马来西亚穿的厚一点点）的长袖衣，套上外套就可以出门了。一般上，到了冬天，才会需要sweater。当然，如果是比较怕冷的话，可能春天和秋天也需要sweater。怕冷的我想到洗衣服、烘干衣服都要钱时，就逼自己适应冷冷的天气，尽可能少穿几件衣服。还有一个不可少的就是围巾，和小背心一样，不要看它小小一块布，穿得不够暖时，把它围上感觉就好多了。嘻嘻……简而言之，就是把自己变成大葱头就对了。一层一层地穿，要是觉得热，还可以脱。如果只是穿了两层厚厚的衣服，到时候穿两件嫌热，少穿一件又受不了，就会很狼狈了。

裤子呢，牛仔裤就够了。如果是比较怕冷的话，可以买全棉（100% Cotton）的卫生裤。记得千万不要买羊毛制的，因为穿上纯羊毛的卫生裤，一走动，身体热了，腿就会痒痒的。女生的话，可以先穿上丝袜打底。另外，如果你的身材是典型的亚洲人身材，裤子还是在马来西亚买比较好。在格拉斯哥买裤子会因为自己矮小而很沮丧。再加上这里的店铺都没有提供剪短裤子的服务。若要剪短裤子得到裁缝店去，据说要花好几英镑才行，实在不是很划算。

如果是在九月份到格拉斯哥，十月份就可以开始血拼了。有些商店会打折，而这个时候打折的衣服多是秋装，刚好可以派上用场。打折的时候，花六英镑（约四十二令吉）就可以在Zara买到一件sweater了。Boxing Day开始的促销，衣服的价格就更便宜了。如果个子小小的话，可以到童装部去逛一下，我曾经在童装部找到一条三英镑的牛仔裤。现在想起来还在暗笑。

如果要在马来西亚买一些衣服带到格拉斯哥来的话，可以先去看一看MNG或者Zara的秋冬装，那么就可以知道大概需要怎样的服饰了。当然，本地人是可以在大冬天也穿着短裙、短裤满街跑的，对于我们这些外来者，还是不要效仿，免得自讨苦吃。

对了，还有鞋子。因为雨水充沛的关系，鞋子也是一样要防水的。不然的话，在冷冷的寒风吹拂下，双脚被雨水侵袭，寒气从脚往上窜，那种寒彻骨的滋味可不是开玩笑的。市面上也可以买到羊毛袜，不过如果鞋子不通风的话，一般穿的袜子也是能御寒的。

手套是冬天才需要的玩意儿。这里的手套选择比马来西亚多得多，价钱也还可以，所以可以来到再买。其实手套也不必买太贵的，因为不习惯戴手套的人，最常弄丢的就是手套。围巾的命运也和手套一样。我就曾经弄丢了朋友送的围巾，等到走在街上，脖子凉凉时，才察觉呢！

穿在格拉斯哥基本上就是这样子了。

生活在格拉斯哥

缘起

因为Michelle的问题，让我决定写一些关于格拉斯哥的生活琐事，好让即将到格拉斯哥旅游或生活的人，对这一个城市，甚至苏格兰，有多一些些了解。

现在有的概念是以衣食住行来简单地说一说格拉斯哥。衣着对生长在也是四季国家的Michelle不是很有用处，可是对来自赤道的人，还是有一点点帮助的。