A quick shower

Melissa: Hmm... this is a rather demanding job and sometimes we do need to work late. Let's not rule her out, though. Who else is in the running?


Terry: There's Steven, a veteran reporter who's currently between jobs. He makes it clear in his cover letter that he expects a competitive salary and generous benefits.


Melissa: He might be worth it. Why did he leave his last job?


Terry: Um, well, I checked his references and it turns out he was dismissed for sexual harassment of a co-worker.


Melissa: Oh... that's not ideal. Do we have any other candidates?


Terry: None who are particularly qualified - there's a marketing consultant looking for a career change, and a few people who apparently didn't read the job description and sent us generic letters.


Melissa: Maybe we could offer Dana the job, and if it's too much work for her to handle, we could have Bob do an internship to help her out. We could only afford to pay him minimum wage, but he might find the experience rewarding.
Terry: OK – let’s interview both of them next week.

Lesson 16 Quiz Answers

Growing up, I always knew that my father expected me to run the family farming business someday - but I really wanted to set up my own company. Plus, my dad was terrible at managing his finances, and his business was constantly on the verge of going bankrupt

I didn't want to be a rival to my parents' company, so I opened a small supermarket in a neighboring town and hired / signed / drew two employees. We made a deal with my father, agreeing that he would be our primary supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables. Despite the tough competition in the sector, our little store managed to break even its first year in operation.

Our market research showed that there was a big demand for organic food in the area, so we began offering primarily organic products and raised our prices. Some of our customers took their business elsewhere, but others came from miles away due to our reputation for excellent products and friendly customer service.

Last fall, we launched our own line of organic fruit juices, and that's when things really started to take off. We opened up a café next door to the supermarket, and business is booming.

With the profit we're making, we can now invest in expansion and open a branch in another city. We're even doing business internationally - I'm about to sign a contract with an organic coffee supplier from South America.