You will hear a job applicant talking to the Personnel Manager of a chain of sto

F: Er, good afternoon, Mr. Benn. Thank you for coming. Do take a seat.
M: Oh, thank you.
F: Right. I’ve looked through your letter of application and your curriculum vitae. uh... interesting! I see you’re nearly twenty-seven. Well, I think I’d better tell you generally about the job we have on offer here. It’s an important position. It’s an assistant managership reporting directly to the managing director. It covers several of the aspects of our business — supervising the purchasing of goods and deliveries, pricing, special offers and so on. Anyway, I see you have some experience with one of our main rivals. Can you tell me something about that?
M: Yes, well, er, after I left school, I joined Sparton’s Stores as a trainee. I was eighteen then.
F: Yes?
M: Uh, after the initial six months’ trial period, they sent me to their retail training centre for a month. Then I went back to the branch in Marx Town. I then went to the night school for 2 years to get a diploma in commerce.
F: Uh, yes.
M: And I did a short computer studies course at university last summer as well. Anyway I worked in the Marx Town branch for another couple of years. I really enjoyed it there. But then Sparton’s moved me to the city centre branch. And it wasn’t quite so good, I’m afraid.
F: Mmm, why was that?
M: Well, I’m afraid the general manager and I had different opinions. There was a terrific downturn in retail sales six years ago. Shoppers weren’t spending much. Anyway I thought we ought to advertise our goods in our store more widely to draw in more customers. I had a few ideas, but we couldn’t agree on the policy. It was a shame. I had hoped to move up to the deputy assistant there. But the job was given to someone else. So I thought it was time to move on.
F: I see. Well, uh, could you tell me what you do in your current job at, uh, ah, yes, Town and Country Store, isn’t it?
M: Yes, uh, I’ve been there for nearly two years now. I help with store displays and promotions. And I’ve also been in complete charge from time to time when the proprietor’s away at trade fairs and so on.(But my main job is to do with the shop assistants)— there are nearly forty, mostly part-timers. I used to supervise the cleaners and also the typists at one time too, but it became too much.
F: So why are you looking for another job, Mr. Benn?
M: Well I expect you know it’s a family firm. And there’s really no chance of getting ahead. The proprietor’s son will take over when Mr. Richards retires in two years. But I’d like to get back into a big chain with a number of stores where there’re more opportunities for training and promotion. So I must say the working conditions at Town and Country are pretty good.
F: Ok, Mr. Ben, I think you know that our company is operated by British managers in America. Let me give a short introduction about the vacancy. Now we are so busy in the job at customer service, so we would like you to take on the work there.
M: When can I start my work?
F: That will be two weeks later, then you will have a training for four weeks.
M: Ok, I will try my best!