Александра Егурнова - ESP - Accounting and Economics. TEACHER’S BOOK

Craft the right job description:A good job description can persuade the right candidate to apply for the job, and crafting that standout description will be easier once you understand your target audience, according to Dobek.

«When you write in the right context, it can attract the right person,» she said. «When you start focusing on the type of individual that you need, you’re going to start using language that that person would identify with.»

An effective job description also tells the story of your firm along with the features and benefits of the position.

«The job description is not just a bullet point list description of your job responsibilities,» she said. «An attractive job description is going to be much more than that; it’s really going to be a sales pitch of why you should come work for us.»

Don’t be afraid to be innovative in how you deliver the job description either, Dobek said. Younger candidates in particular are more open to different media, and you can reach them in new ways. Look to video, audio, and other multimedia opportunities to create and deliver your job description.

Actively recruit:Don’t wait until you need to fill a position to start recruiting and then expect HR to do all of the work, Dobek cautioned. Building an effective network that you can tap before it is hiring time means starting early, taking a proactive approach, and including a wide range of the firm’s stakeholders.

«It is not just the HR department’s job to recruit for your firm,» Dobek said. «Every partner has a role, every higher-level staff person should be involved in recruiting because every person has a network.»

Take advantage of digital platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and firm websites to build a brand network that draws an audience. Firm executives should be using their digital platforms, and their audiences, to promote the firm as an employment destination, according to Dobek.

«You have to be actively posting about your firm and your culture,» she said. «You need to be attracting people to your brand, to your firm, before you need to fill those positions.»

Even if you aren’t immediately hiring, Dobek sees value in using digital tools to expand a firm’s network and sees it as an investment in the firm’s future.

Task 1. Answer the questions (1—6) using information from the text. The correct answer is in bold.

1. A one-size-fits-all strategy for recruitment is…

A. quite widespread

B. diverse among firms

C. highly likely

D. almost impossible

2. What should companies do to be able to hire talented CPAs?

A. Be proactive and determined

B. Be insightful and authentic.

C. Offer a good salary.

D. Provide better working conditions.

3. How many tips did Sarah Dobek mention in the interview?

A. one

B. two

C. three

D. four

4. What are the job search motivations of millennial candidates?

A. flexibility, efficient use of IT within the firm, brand authenticity;

B. flexibility, personalized career path, remote learning opportunities;

C. personalized career path, efficient AI in the firm, brand authenticity;

D. immediate learning opportunities, culture, flexibility.

5. What will not make a job description attractive, according to the text?

A. Writing in the right context.

B. Telling the story of the firm.

C. A bullet point list description.

D. Innovative ways of its delivery.

6. What does Dobek see as an investment in the firm’s future?

A. Expanding a firm’s network.

B. Involving HR department in recruiting.

C. Taking advantage of digital platforms.

D. Promoting firm’s executives.

Task 2. Give synonyms from the text to the words below. Correct answers are in bold in the same line with the word.

Future (paragraph 1) – potential

Energetic (paragraph 3) – proactive

Before (paragraph 4) – prior

Colleagues (paragraph 9) – peers

Understanding (paragraph 11) – insight

Original (paragraph 16) – innovative

System of connections (paragraph 17) – network

Means (paragraph 21) – tools

Task 3. Match two words from different rows (A and B) to form collocations. They are mentioned in the text. Then use them in the sentences below. Make up your own sentences with the rest of the collocations.

Correct answers are given below.

A. brand; career; case; exit; job; new; proactive; staffing; steady; talent; target; top-tier.

B. approach; audience; authenticity; demand; description; hire; interview; path; pool; strategy; study; talent.

1. A real … … is upholding a certain level of integrity which includes total honesty and transparency of a company. ( brand authenticity)

2. Cold drinks are in … … in the summer. ( steady demand)

3. Contents of the … … record cannot be revealed to the resigning employee. ( exit interview)

4. Many … ... graduate from very respected, highly ranked educational institutions. ( top-tier talents)

Collocations:brand authenticity; career path; case study; exit interview; job description; new hire; proactive approach; staffing strategy; steady demand; talent pool; target audience; top-tier talent.

Text 2

A Job for a Woman?

During Mary Winston’s tenure as a CFO at three large U.S. companies, she rarely dwelled on often being the only woman or person of color in executive meetings.

Instead, Winston, a CPA, concentrated on excelling at her job, whether it was in high-level roles at Pfizer or when she served as CFO for Scholastic, Giant Eagle, and Family Dollar.

«I could not be sitting in a room worrying about the fact that I was different from other people in the room,» she said. «That’s not why I was in the room. I was in the room to fulfill a job.»

In those roles, Winston was part of a small but growing percentage of minorities to hold CFO positions. Gender and racial diversity among CFOs continues to lag, studies show.

Women account for 12.6% of CFO positions in leading businesses, according to analysis of C-suite volatility in more than 673 large companies, most of which are based in the United States, by executive search firm Crist | Kolder Associates. That’s nearly double the percentage from a decade ago.

«Women in general in corporate America have made some strides and continue to,» Winston said. «It’s obviously too slow.»

Winston is doing her part to combat that. Through service on boards and through her executive consulting firm WinsCo, she is focused on pushing for more diverse leaders on boards and in C-suites.

Seven percent of CFOs are people of color, the report found, with 46 individuals identified as ethnically or racially diverse, according to the report. In 2006, Crist | Kolder listed 16 ethnically or racially diverse CFOs.

#MeToo sparks discussions

The lack of women in leadership positions is receiving more scrutiny following sexual harassment and assault scandals that felled several major business and entertainment figures in 2017.

Eileen Treanor, the CFO at Lever, a Silicon Valley recruiting software company, said female CFOs began reaching out over the last year to talk to each other about how to open up the pipeline of women in the financial industry to ensure top talent can rise.