[originaltext]Mr. W.: Good morning, Mr. Pitt. Do sit down.Mr. Pitt: Thank you.

Mr. W.: Good morning, Mr. Pitt. Do sit down.
Mr. Pitt: Thank you.
Mr. W.: First of all, Mr. Pitt, I’d like you to tell me a bit about what you’ve been doing.
Mr. P.: Well, I left school after I’d done my A-levels.
Mr. W.: Ah, yes, A-levels. What subjects did you take?
Mr. P.: I took four subjects: French, German, chemistry and, uh, art. Chemistry wasn’t my cup of tea but art has always been.
Mr. W.: Art?
Mr. P.: Well, I really wanted to study Art. It didn’t turn out like that because a friend of my father’s offered me a job--he’s an accountant in London. A quite big firm, you know.
Mr. W.: I see. A firm of accountants. Interesting! In your application, you say that you only spent nine months with this firm of accountants. Why was that?
Mr. R: It was nearly a year actually. Well, to be quite honest, I didn’t like it. I just couldn’t seem to get interested in the job although there were fairly good prospects. So I got a place at the Art College to do a three-year diploma course.
Mr. W.: I see. Now, Mr. Pitt, what about hobbies and interests? Uh, what do you do in your spare time?
Mr. P.: I like jazz, traditional and folk music. I don’t play, of course, but I go to quite a lot of concerts, and I go to the theatre occasionally and act a bit myself. I’m in the local dramatic society. I read quite a lot and I’ve done a bit of photography. Also, I’ve travelled a lot-hitchhiked all over Europe--last year, that was.
Mr. W.: Very interesting, Mr. Pitt. I think that’s all I wanted to ask about your background. Now, let’s talk about the management trainee scheme. What exactly do you think a manager does?
Mr. R: I don’t know a great deal about the work.
Mr W.: But have you got any ideas about it? You must have thought about it.
Mr. R: Well, er, I suppose he has a lot of, er, what is called, policy-making to do. And, mm, he’d have to know how to work with people and all about the company.
Mr. W.: Mmm.
Mr. R: Yes, I, I, er, should think a manager must know, er, something about all the aspects of the work.
Mr. W.: Yes, that’s right. We like our executive staff to undergo a thorough training. Young men on our trainee scheme have to work through every branch in the company.
Mr. P.: Oh?
Mr. W.: And one of them is accountancy. Presumably you wouldn’t like that.
Mr. P.: Well, if I had to do it, I suppose. But I was thinking that my French and German would mean that I could specialise in overseas work. I’d like to be some sort of an export salesman and travel abroad.
Mr. W.: You know the glamour of travelling abroad disappears when you’ve got a hard job of work to do. It not all fun and game.
Mr. P.: Oh, yes, I realise that. It’s just that my knowledge of languages would be useful.
Mr. W.: Now, Mr. Pitt, is there anything you want to ask me?
Mr. P.: Well, there’s one or two things. I’d like to know if I’d have to sign a contract and what the salary and prospects are.
Mr. W.: With our scheme, Mr. Pitt, there is no contract involved. Your progress is kept under constant review. If we, at any time, decide we don’t like you, then that’s that! We reserve the right to dismiss you.
Mr. P.: I see.
Mr. W.: Of course, you have the same choice about us.
Mr. P.: Fair enough. And what about the salary?
Mr. W.: As for the salary, you’d be on our fixed scale starting at 870 pounds. For the successful trainee, the prospects are very good.
Mr. P.: I see. Thank you very much.
Mr. W.: That’s all, Mr. Pitt. You should hear from us in a couple of weeks, one way or the other, or we may ask you to come back for another chat. Thank you.
Mr. P.: Goodbye, Mr. Williams.