The document discusses the concept of achievement. It defines achievement as something significant accomplished at work that benefits an organization, or successes achieved in life. Achievements show determination and hard work toward goals. It's important to have objectives so achievements provide a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction. When interviewing, applicants should provide examples of achievements that demonstrate skills and make them attractive candidates.

1. What isAchievement?
Achievementiswhatyouhave done of significance atworkwhichhasbenefitedyour
companyor organisation.Thinkaboutyourworkachievements.Orevenyourlife
achievements - these are the successesthatyouhave hadso far. Perhapsyouhave just
passedyourdrivingtest,ormaybe aftermany yearsof trying,youhave learntto swim.This
isan achievementasitissomethingyouhave workedhardfor,andin the endthe results
have beensuccessful.
Why isthis important?
In our livesitisimportanttohave objectivessowhenyouhave reachedthemyoucansay
youhave some achievements.Thinkaboutwhenyouwere younger,andyourambitions.
Maybe youwantedtobecome a doctor,so you studiedhard,andyoufinallybecame a
doctor.Perhapsyouwantedto have a house witha biggarden.Can yourememberthe day
youfulfilledthisdream?Theseare personal achievementsandtheygive youthe feelingof
self-satisfaction,confidence,andhappiness.Letusnow take a lookat your work
achievements.Whenyouhave achievementatworkitmeansthat youare workingtowards
goalsnormallysetbyothers,buttheycan be setby yourself,too.Perhapsyouhave toreach
a salestarget,or you needtocomplete aprojectwithinadeadline,orperhapsyouneedto
see clientsorcustomersandhelptheminsome way.If you succeedinhelpingthem, oryou
reach yoursalestarget,or youcomplete yourprojectbythe deadline,youhave examplesof
achievements.Strivingforachievementsshowsdeterminationandtenacity.
How can youshowyou have thiscompetency?
If you have a job interviewandyouwantto demonstrate yourachievementsyouneedto
thinkaboutdifferentsituationsyouhave beenin,the actionsyouhave taken,andthe
resultsof these actions.Perhapsyouhave hada difficultcustomer,how have youdealtwith
that person?Didyouraction benefityourorganisation?Inwhatway?If yourresultswere
successful,state thiseitherinyourjobapplication,orinyourinterview.
Thinkaboutthe skillswhichyouhave whichmake youattractive andvaluable asan
employee.Rememberthe more achievementyoucangive as examples,the more youcan
sell andmarketyourself forthe job.
How to improve thisskill
If there is a goal whichseemsdifficult toachieve,don’tgive upeasily.If youcan understand
your goal and worktowardsit thiswill show thatyouhave the potential toachieve.You
needtobe able toface obstaclesandbe determinedenoughtomeettargets.Thinkabouta

2. time where youhave hadto take “no” for an answer,didyoujustaccept it?Don’tjust
accept it,findoutwhythe answeris“no”.
Alsoaskfor feedbackasthiscan give youan indicationof how youare doing.Youcould
compare thisto learningalanguage,forexample,if you findsome grammardifficultyoucan
alwaysaskyour teacherforfeedbackonyourexercises.Youcanapplythisrule to the
workplace aswell andif youare not sure of how youare progressing,ask!
Complete the text belowwith the correct preposition: in; in; up; with.
Match the two halves ofthe sentencesto make commoncollocations.

3. Listento thisspeechgivenat a party beingheldfor the retirementofan employee,James
Dawson. The managing director of the company deliversaspeechoutliningJames's
achievements.
…Thank youall for comingtoday.Asyou are all aware,we are here to celebrate 35 yearsof
continuousservice byourfriendandcolleagueJamesDawson.He startedasan
administrationofficerin1972 in ouraccounts department. andworkedhiswayupthe
careerladderoverthe years,finallybecomingvice-presidentin1989 of the company,and
managingoverthree hundredemployees.Asmostof youwhohave beenworkinghere long
enoughwill know,ithasbeenalongstruggle tobecome one of the Europeanmarketleaders
inour field,andyoumayrememberin1982 whenwe had a huge setback,withthe plansfor
a mergerwithour toprival companyfallingthrough.Because of that,we hadto make some
workersredundant.However,Jameswasluckyenoughtokeephisjob.Yes,those really
were the worstfewyears.However,we managedtogetthroughthese difficulttimesby
workinghardand Jameswasa keyplayerinthe struggle togetus back on the path to
becomingone of the largestcomputer manufacturingcompaniesinEurope.One of James’s
biggeststrengthshasbeenhisimmaculatetimekeepingandorganisational skills –in factI
have neverknownhimtobe withouthisdiary!Hisnegotiationskillsanddeterminationled
to a tactful action planto become one of the leadingcompaniesinEurope.Iwill neverforget
that day in1987 whenwe hadthe final negotiationsforthe takeoverof ourrival company.
Jamesand hissuperbpresentingandnegotiatingskillswasone of the keyfactorsto our
success.The turningpointinour companycame withthe successful takeoverand,despite all
the obstacleswe have faced,the hardwork anddedicationof all ourworkershasmade our
companythe successit istoday.And I have to saythat James,as one of our managers,has
alwaysacknowledgedthe workandcontributionmade byothers.James,yourewardedyour

4. bestemployeeswithsome of the bestperksanycompanyhasgiven!Todaywe wantto
acknowledge the hardworkandsignificantcontributionswhichyouhave made.Sothank
you,James,foryour loyaltytothe companyand yourhard work.
Do these items representgoodor bad newsin business?Putthem underthe correct
heading.
Put these eventsin James' career intochronological order.
Look at some of the businessrelatedvocabulary and expressionsfromthe listeningtext
and selectthe bestdefinition.

5. To work yourway upthe careerladder means
A setbackis

7. Complete the followingtextwith suitable prepositions.