Topic: Looking for a job is hard work! Part I

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

high school / technical school student

Core curriculum:

• old curriculum:

standard level:

4. Education and work in Poland and in the European Union.

The student:

7) discusses the general principles for taking up job and starting a company in the European Union (based on information from the Internet); draws up the Europass‑CV.

extended level:

10. Education in the 21st century.

The student:

3) explains the relationship between the education system and the labour market; points to examples of mismatches.

• new curriculum:

standard level:

VI. Selected problems of public policy in the Republic of Poland.

The student:

3) presents actions aimed at reduction of unemployment and social exclusion on the example of the activity of the Labour Office in his/her poviat.

extended level:

XI. The legal system of the Republic of Poland.

The student:

15) explains labour law regulations in the Republic of Poland (employment contract and its types; termination of employment contract and its types; types of leave; workers’ rights and obligations);

16) compares the situation of an individual resulting from different forms of employment: employment contract, civil‑law contracts, running a business activity by a natural person.

The general aim of education:

The student diagnoses socio‑political problems and assesses selected solutions to these problems as well as diagnoses possibility of his/her own influence on their solution.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• defines the concept of occupational mobility.

• indicates the barriers to mobility and the possibilities of overcoming them.

• characterises the possibility of finding employment by adults.

• lists and explains effective job search methods.

• tells what the EURES network is.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences,

• sense of initiative and entrepreneurship.

Teaching methods:

• brainstorming,

• mind map,

• teaching conversation using interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• work in pairs,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will analyse the phenomenon of occupational mobility and your chances on the labour market – now and in the future.

2. The teacher informs students that they will use the brainstorming method to determine what occupational mobility entails (what does the term mean and what is the importance of occupational mobility in today's labour market). The teacher sets the time for completion of the task and assigns a moderator who writes down the proposals of his/her colleagues on the board in the form of a mind map. The creative part of the task is followed by verification and arrangement of the ideas. Willing/selected students provide their own definition of occupational mobility and its importance on the labour market.

Implementation:

1. The teacher asks students to do Exercise 1 in pairs. Willing/selected students present their solutions. If necessary, the teacher corrects the students' answers.

2. Students continue working in pairs – the aim of working in pairs is that students give advice to each other on how to do the task. The students' task is to draw up individual CVs using the scheme proposed at the Europass website and the instructions given in the abstract (among others, “Scheme of CV”, Exercise 4). Students can draw up one of the CV versions:

• a CV describing their current achievements, which could be used by them to find a job now,

• a dream CV with the achievements they would like to be able to boast about before a potential employer in the future.

The teacher sets the time for completion of the task, monitors the students' work and gives them advice in case of difficulties.

3. Willing/selected students present their CVs to the class. Colleagues comment on how and why they could be improved (referring to the suggestions in the abstract and their own feelings as potential employers).

Summary:

1. At the end of the class the teacher asks the students to finish the sentences:

• Today I learned…

• I understand now that…

• I was surprised…

• I found out…

• It was easy for me…

• It was difficult for me...

The last two sentences help evaluate the difficulty of the discussed question; they enable the student to evaluate his own knowledge and skills.

2. Homework proposal:

a. What can you do to make your CV attractive to employers in the future? Describe three actions that you can take for this purpose today and the effects you want them to bring in the future – why did you choose these particular projects?

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

It’s a hard job looking for a job! Part I

Labour market

We already know what a labour market is and how it functions. We also know, that work is an important part of human life. Let’s consider now, what can be done to find a job.

The position on a labour market of a person looking for a job depends on a number of factors – his/her:

• age,

• education,

• gender,

• previous work experience,

• place of residence and/or place where he/she would like to work.

Looking for a job can often be very stressful and difficult, so it is worth being well prepared.

The contemporary labour market, as well as the whole economy, is a very unstable system. The changes resulting from globalization, the importance of competitiveness and the rapid development of technology (including information technology), as well as the changes in lifestyle and the ageing of societies, became the basis for a number of adjustments in contemporary socio‑economic systems. The labour market, which is an element of the unstable socio‑economic system, also takes on certain features, which can be described as flexibility or transience.

The flexibility of a labour market means that:

• it is easy for the workers to adjust to the needs of the companies they are working for,

• new workplaces are created by the companies,

• unemployment is quickly eliminated (or at least diminished) after a period of an economic slowdown is over.

A labour market is flexible when, thanks to the existing regulations, it is easy to change your job – the companies can easily dismiss the workers they don’t need anymore, and the workers have no trouble finding another job. At a flexible labour market:

• the workers – thanks to their qualifications – can change the type of work they are performing without any difficulty,

• the increase in income is adequate to the increase in productivity,

• the companies are keen to create new workplaces,

• the institutions that are supposed to help find new jobs are effective.

A rigid labour market is a market that makes it very difficult to find a new job. The flexibility of a labour market depends on its structure, the level of education of the workers, the institutional solutions and economic policy.

If a person looking for a job is willing to change his/her profession or place of residence in order to get the job we call it professional mobility.

A mobile employee knows how to adjust to the requirements of the labour market and his potential employers. He should raise his qualifications - by learning a language, participating in various courses and seminars, getting valuable certificates.

More and more companies expect their employees to have this kind of mobility. It consists in acquiring the professional competences required by the employer. It is most often connected with the changes in labour law, the development of new technologies, introducing international quality standards. Professional mobility is highly dependant on the industry, position, or age. The main reasons for the emergence of professional mobility are unemployment and the willingness to find better‑paid employment. Sometimes it is difficult to make the decision about changing your job. Why? Because it is connected with doubts about the positive outcome of the new job search in the future. Internal barriers are limitations depending on the candidate for work himself, which make it impossible for him to adjust to the requirements of the labour market. Objective barriers on the side of the labour market are called external barriers.

Why do we look for a job? The first answer could be: because a period of our education is over and it’s time, to begin working. Another argument could be: because we want to find a different job.

Let’s consider the first situation – a graduate at a labour market. From the point of view of the labour supply on this market there are three main groups of graduates: economically active, economically passive and those who continue their education and are not entering the labour market (they postpone the moment of employment). It is worth mentioning, that those graduates, who, during their education, did not undertake any steps to gain some work experience like an internship at an organisation or a company, are in the worst situation in the labour market. A wise strategy is combining education with work. Statistics show that the situation of persons with no experience is much worse. Of course it doesn’t have to be gainful employment. It could be volunteer work, that allows you to practice your skills, and for an employer it is a sign that he is dealing with a responsible, independent person who knows how to work in a team.

Looking for a job by the agencies

There are various institutions who can help you find employment. Their role is to assist the people who want to find a job. Some of these institutions are public, like employment offices that we need to register at if we are unemployed, and some of them are private employment agencies.

An employment office deals with the research and analysis of the labour market, disseminating information to unemployed people and intermediation for people looking for a job. There are voivodeship and poviat employment agencies in Poland.

A private employment agency is an organization providing services in the field of job matching (in the country and abroad), occupational guidance, personal consultancy and temporary work. All private employment agencies in Poland should be certified by the voivodeship authorities of the local government and be registered. When looking for a job we can also use w website called EURES (European Employment Service) which is a network of public employment offices and their partners in the labour market. The role of the organisation is to foster employment on the international level, in the EU member states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The EURES network is created by the representatives of ministries responsible for work and employment, as well as regional and local employment offices, trade unions and employers’ organizations. The EURES network was created by the European Commission in order to facilitate the free movement of workers through:

• international placement of workers,

• dissemination of information on the conditions of living and employment in the member states,

• identification and prevention of mobility barriers.

The EURES services are available to everyone, free of charge and addressed to the people who are looking for a job, interested in leaving their own country in their search, as well as the employers, who wish to recruit workers from abroad. The EURES network is supported by a special website of the European Commission, which is a source of information on the issues connected to mobility of workers on the European labour market.

Curriculum vitae

CV (latin curriculum vitae – literally “the course of life”) is simply an overview of your professional career history, written in an organised form. It is a fundamental document in the recruitment process that allows the employer to find out all the important information on the candidate for work.

A resume is one of the most important documents when applying for a job. An effective and professional CV is half the battle to get the job of your dreams. It works as a personal advertisement you use to present yourself to the employer. The CV and an accompanying personal statement are key elements in the recruitment process to convince the potential employer to invite you for a job interview. In the contemporary labour market some recruitment processes involve hundreds of resumes for just one position. It is paramount to have your CV prepared professionally and stand out.

A couple of hints:

• Make sure your CV is not too long (a student’s or graduate’s CV should be no longer than one page, experienced professional should be able to present their achievements on no more than two pages),

• Organise all the information into logical sections (read below), which are most often included in resumes.

A piece of practical advice

• Stay away from passive voice in your CV.

• Make sure your CV is clear and logical, both in its form and content.

• If you decide to email your CV in a format different from pdf, use fonts that are likely to be installed on your recruiters computer.

• Do not use color or thick paper, because you CV may be scanned or copied.

• Do not be afraid to use bullet points – they are clear and easier to read.

• Do not include your picture unless it was required. If you do, use an up‑to‑date one and in a format you would use for documents like an ID or a passport.

• In some countries, including Poland, it is necessary to insert an information clause and your consent to process the information.

Europass is a set of five documents to help European citizens make their skills and qualifications clearly and easily understood in Europe. Two of the Europass documents are freely accessible:

• Curriculum vitae to present your skills and qualifications,

• Language Passport – a self‑assessment tool for language skills and qualifications.

Three of the Europass documents are issued by education and training authorities:

• Europass Mobility – recording the knowledge and skills acquired in another European country,

• Certificate Supplement – describing the knowledge and skills acquired by holder of vocational education and training certificates,

• Diploma Supplement – describing the knowledge and skills acquired by holders of higher education degrees.