Requirements change as markets change

Most companies are looking for people with senior management potential. In their view, MBA graduates have an above-average chance of fulfilling this need, but they are careful not to raise expectations too high. They also want people who can be effective quite rapidly. The many MBA students wanting to change career direction can therefore have difficulties in the short term, whatever their long-term potential. An engineer trying to move over to finance may be successful, but may be restricted to a job as a financial analyst specializing in the engineering sector.

Employers’ recruitment operations are becoming much more short term in response to fast-changing markets and technologies. Companies frequently look for specific mixes of skills, and the mix-1990s, for example, there was a strong demand for German-speaking MBA graduates because companies wanted to introduce a more international culture and to expand into east European countries, where German is widely spoken. This was followed be a demand for graduates able to work effectively in the fast growing markets of China and the Pacific Rim, where candidates needed residence qualifications as well as the appropriate languages.

Such rapid change was led some careers offices to complain that they have problems trying to work out what employers want, and they suspect that the employers do not know either. They detect a general desire for skills as well as knowledge, and a wish to hire for a specific job rather than a long-term career. All employers are facing change and recruitment policies have to reflect the need for flexibility.

· Companies think that МВА graduates have little chance of becoming senior managers.

· Employers want new employees to do а good job quickly.

· If you change career it might be difficult at the start.

· There isn't much change in the skills that employers want.

· In the mid-l99Os employers needed staff who could speak German.

· Career advisors always know what employers want.

· Career advisors think that employers might not know what they want.

· Employers prefer knowledge to skills.

· Employers want to hire employees for а long-term career rather than а particular job.

· In an employment situation where there are lots of changes; it is important to be f1exibIe.

Glossary

МВА graduates people who have а post-graduate degree in business management

Unit 7. Career skills

Checking information

Numbers are everywhere in business. Sometimes it is important to listen and write down a precise number. You need to check that you have got the number correct, especially on the telephone. Here are some useful expressions for checking:

Sometimes it is enough to give approximate numbers. For example, we can say:

About half a million just under a thousand over two million

BEING POLITE

Match the polite phrases 1-6 with the replies a-f

Date: 2016-01-05; view: 1842