LESSON 20 (free sample) | Business English Conversations Course

Lesson 20: Questions about what kind of person to hire

Instructions:
1. Watch the first video. You can hide or show the text of the conversation by pressing the HIDE/SHOW TEXT button.
2. Do the LISTENING COMPREHENSION QUIZ.
3. Watch the VOCABULARY EXPLANATION video.
4. Read the additional vocabulary explanation section below that video.
5. Do the VOCABULARY QUIZ.

In this video: Nancy (grey suit jacket), Bill (blue suit jacket)

Bill: Hello, Nancy! How are things?

Nancy: Hey Bill, things are good. How are you?

Bill: Good, thank you. Do you have a minute to discuss something? It's about the new contractor we're looking to hire for the Clydesdale project.

Nancy: Sure, what's on your mind?

Bill: Well, I was just running the numbers, and I was wondering if it wouldn't be more beneficial for us to hire a full-time employee instead of a contractor. As you know, there are two other big projects in the works, and I thought it would be nice to have someone who would stick around for all three... and maybe even some future ones as well.

Nancy: OK, I can understand your reasoning, but we've already discussed the benefits and drawbacks of hiring someone full-time versus hiring a contractor, especially from a financial point of view, and came to the conclusion that the latter would be better for us at the moment. I'm a little curious, though, is there something about him in particular you don't like?

Bill: No, not at all. I just thought that hiring someone to tackle several projects would be a little more forward-looking, but if that's not the direction the board wants to go in, I completely understand.

Nancy: Well I appreciate you bringing this up, Bill. I think that if Patrick ends up being less than what we expected, we will definitely revisit the possibility of bringing someone on full-time.

LISTENING COMPREHENSION QUIZ:
(Click on "Answer" to see the correct response.)

1) Bill suggests that it would be more beneficial to ___________.
a) let go of a couple of underperforming employees
b) bring on a permanent employee
c) bring on a contractor

2) What is Bill's reasoning for this?
a) He thinks that a permanent employee would be better for all the projects that they have planned.
b) He thinks that contractors are more trustworthy.
c) He wants to make sure that Nancy has all the pertinent information to make a decision.

3) Who has the ultimate say regarding who is hired?
a) Bill and Nancy
b) Nancy
c) The board

4) Bill tells Nancy that ____________.
a) Patrick rubs him the wrong way
b) there's nothing that he dislikes about Patrick
c) Patrick in not qualified for the position

5) Nancy tells Bill that they might ___________ this matter once they ascertain how Patrick is performing.
a) revisit
b) reestablish
c) revamp

VOCABULARY EXPLANATION
(Our content manager explains some of the terms used in this video: TO REVISIT THE POSSIBILITY, TO RUN THE NUMBERS, TO TACKLE A PROJECT, IN THE WORKS, FORWARD-LOOKING)

Even more vocabulary explained...

TO BRING (SOMEONE) ON -- "To bring someone on" means to hire someone.

Examples:
"He was brought on to help manage the new client accounts."
"Everyone who was brought on last year has received a promotion by now."
"They're thinking of bringing on another contractor towards the end of the year."

TO STICK AROUND (FOR) -- "To stick around (for something)" means to stay on (for something), to not leave.

Examples:
"We all thought Bill would quit after all the problems we had last year, but he stuck around."
"Do you think Mary will stick around for the second project?"

TO BRING (SOMETHING) UP -- To bring something up means to raise/mention something (usually a topic, a piece of news, etc.) In the context of this conversation, Bill BRINGS UP the matter of hiring a permanent employee because he wants Nancy to consider this. Nancy thanks Bill for BRINGING THIS UP, though she will not consider this for the time being. Instead of "thanks for bringing this up", she could have used the more formal construction "thank you for voicing your concern."

I UNDERSTAND YOUR REASONING -- This is one of the common ways to let someone know that you understand what they are telling you without necessarily agreeing with them. It is a way of showing respect and acknowledgement for what they are saying. Other ways of saying the same thing are...

"I hear you."
"I get/see where you're coming from."
"I take your point."

VOCABULARY QUIZ:
(Choose the best, most natural-sounding answer. Click on "Answer" to see the correct response.)

1. We might _____________ this issue in a couple of months. = We might come back to this issue in a couple of months.
a) redirect
b) revisit
c) retrieve

2. I wanted to _____________ ( = raise this topic) because I feel that it is important.
a) bring this up
b) take this on
c) see this through

3. I was ____________ the numbers ( = doing some calculations) and I think it would be possible for us to hire three more programmers and still remain within budget.
a) jogging
b) running
c) walking

4. We have three other events ____________ ( = being planned).
a) all in a day's work
b) all worked up
c) in the works

5. Victoria was brought ___________ ( = hired) to assist with the B2B clients.
a) on
b) around
c) out