"Life in the office" - chapter 9

Tuesday.  Jane is conducting an interview for the job of a secretary. A young woman, Kate, is the candidate for that post.

JANE        Hello. My name is Jane and I am the manager of the front office here. You must be Kate.

KATE        Hello. Yes, that’s I.

JANE        Sit down, please and let me go through your resume again. Can you tell me something about yourself while I read your documents?

KATE        Of course. My name is Kate Holmes and I am 34 years old.

JANE        As I can see, you were attending the Secretarial College in Boston for 2 years.

KATE        Yes, I was.

JANE        Why didn’t you finish that school?

KATE        Because I got married and I moved to New York where my husband had a very promising  contract  with the law firm.

JANE        Is your husband a lawyer? You don’t mind me asking, do you?

KATE        No, I don’t. My ex-husband was a policeman but after he had been shot during the police crackdown on drug traffickers he set up a detective agency working for the most prestigious law firm in New York.

JANE        So I take it that you are a divorcee?

KATE        Yes, I am. That’s why I am here now trying to rebuild my life from thousands of tiny pieces.

JANE        I know what you mean. Do you have children?

KATE        Yes. I’ve got a son and a daughter. My son is 9 years old and he lives with my husband because he goes to school in the States and my daughter is 4. She is here with me.

JANE        We have a very nice kindergarden for our employees here on the premises.  Our employees are entitled to a lot of benefits like the kindergarden I’ve just mentioned.

KATE        That is really wonderful.

JANE        Your experience is excellent, as I can see. You finished school in New York with excellent notes. Then you were hired by the UHDF group where you were working for 5 years. Did you quit or were you made redundant? I can see that you had one year off and then started with YYY Company where you had been working until you came to Poland.

KATE        I had a very difficult pregnancy being on sick leave most of the time and I made a deal with the company. They needed a person to work not to be absent all the time. So they offered me more than a generous gratuity to leave the post. I was also allowed to keep my insurance policy until I were to be hired again.

JANE        Didn’t you want to come back to the same company?

KATE        Of course I did, but although I was a very reputable employee for them, they didn’t have any post available for me. So, my ex-boss called his friend, recommended me  for the job of a secretary in his company and that’s how I got the other job.

JANE        What else can you tell me about yourself?

KATE        I speak Polish, English, French and Italian. I am responsible, hard-working and I really need that job. I like working and I don’t feel I am worth much as a person without a job. I can promise that I will do my best. I can use all the office equipment, I can use a computer and I have good telephone skills.

JANE        Well, Kate. Can I call you Kate? I have been talking to many young women for the past two weeks and I have to admit that you have very good references, very good experience and I have taken to you… so …. when can you start?

KATE        Tomorrow?

JANE        Come at eight and I will tell you everything you need to know.

KATE        Thank you very much. I am so happy.

JANE        So am I.

VOCABULARY:
a front office – recepcja, sekretariat
to go through – przejrzeć, przeglądnąć
a resume – CV
a police crackdown -  akcja policyjna w celu rozprawienia się z czymś bądź kimś
drug traffickers – handlarze narkotyków
to set up – założyć coś np. firmę
a divorcee – rozwódka
a kindergarden – przedszkole
premises – teren
to be on sick leave – być na zwolnieniu chorobowym
a deal – umowa, układ
gratuity – odprawa (pieniężna)
reputable – wartościowy
to take to sb/sth – polubić kogoś/coś
to be entitled to sth – być do czegoś upoważnionym