Introduce yourself
My name is Binh. I am twenty-eight years old. I am still single. (I’m married with
children). I am a former student of HCM City University of Economics. I graduated in 2001
majoring in Business Administration. In my free time, I like cycling or playing sports. The
activities really help me to keep fit.
I’m now working for Longan Machinery Industry Joint Stock Company. My company
professionally manufactures machines for processing rice. In my job, I’m in charge of
managing sales team of 4 people. I really like my job because the salary is not too bad, the
boss is friendly and most of all my colleagues are helpful.
I’m taking this post graduate course in the hope to widen my knowledge so that I can work
better and get promotion. Besides, only by studying can I see myself younger, more
ambitious and more active.
Topic 1: What is important when recruiting newstaff? You should say:
∑Qualifications
∑Experience
∑References
When recruiting new staff, I think qualifications are important because they are proof to
show that an applicant has basic knowledge for certain training. It helps the employer get a
general prospective about the candidate because the employer can learn whether the
candidate has tried hare or not during their study. Besides, an applicant with qualifications
of a well-known college or university has an advantage. Thus, I think qualifications are one
of the important conditions for an applicant to be recruited.
Another important factor is work experience. Having experience, an applicant knows ways
to solve problem quickly and effectively. Moreover, employers don’t have to spend time
and money retraining them. They can start work right away when getting employment.
Therefore, most employers prefer recruiting applicants with work experience.
Nowadays, many employers pay much attention to an applicant’ references. Reference is a
valuable source for recruiters to find out more about an applicant, for example,
performance, behavior, etc. It is important because a letter of reference is from a third
person whose voice is somehow objective about an applicant and in some aspect, it’s worth
consulting. Besides, an applicant himself must be good so he can get someone’s reference.

company’s secrets or his, and she won’t discrete them.
Second talk
Firstly, experience is important because she can work efficiently & quickly.
She can solve difficulties easily.
Secondly, skills are important. A secretary’s skills include shorthand taking, foreign
languages, communication, typing, etc. With shorthand skill, she can take notes at meetings
very quickly & exactly, so her manager can get all the discussions and decisions at the
meeting clearly. With her fluency in foreign language, she can help her boss to contact
foreign partners easily. With her good communication skills, she can inform some issues /
regulations to all the staff persuasively.
Thirdly, personal qualities are important. She must be honest because she has somewhat
influence on her manager’s decisions. She is also responsible for her work in order to finish
the assigned tasks on due dates. She must know how to keep secret because she may reveal
some confidential information of the company to the rivals.
Topic 5. What is important when going for a job an interview?
First talk
Knowledge of the company is important because it shows that you are interested in the
company. And it also helps you decide if you can get along well with the work there.
Appearance is important because you may win the interviewer’s love or you may be
confident in yourself and the chance to be successful is high.
OR
Appearance is not important because your ability or qualifications are more important
Because your voice or the way you answer the interviewer’s questions is the key factor for
you to be chosen.
Arriving on time is important because it proves that you are a well-organized person, or you
are a good disciplined person, or respect the interviewer. If you came late, you may miss the
chance to get the job.
Second talk
When going for a job interview I think the knowledge of a company is important because it
can help me to be confident.

clients and say thanks to them because of their support to our products or something like
that. In my opinion types of activities may include party, organizing a holidays trip for the
clients, talking about the strategy of the company together with going sight seeing and
outdoor activities such as shopping, spa, ect
Secondly, venue is important too. Because selecting a ideal place for the entertainment
partly makes a good impression for the clients and partly helps them be relax when they join
us. There are many beautiful places in Viet Nam, we can arrange the entertainment
sucessfully.
Thirdly, cost plays the most important thing in our arrangement. Because it decides the
success or the failure of the event. If we have lots of money we can spend much on
entertaining our clients and they feel satisfied. And vice sersa, they are upset and
unpleasant. This thing causes bad effect on the our image we have been building so far.
Topic 8: what is important when organising a meeting?
Good morning/afternoon
My candidate number is…
My topic is number 8-what is important when organising a meeting?
To organise a meeting, in my opinion, we should consider three factors as follows
- agenda
- length of meeting
- types of rooms
Firstly, agenda is important. Because when we have an agenda we will focus on the main
points when starting the meeting avoiding waste of time. In my opinion, agenda for the
meeting may include hiring additional employees, the product stratergy, fianance and
accounting, or something like that. In general, the problems the leader wants to inform the
mananger are important so that they can know and understand much about the current
company situation.
Secondly, length of time is important too. Because it helps the leader consider not to present
long and waste of time. In addition to neat and clear presentation is very important. Because
we have no time to listen unuseful information from the reporter. So the meeting program
must stipulate a certain time for a given point.

Firstly, personnal qualities is important. Because the selected person must have good ethics,
talent, wisdom, ect. From his or her qualities, people around them can cosider him or her as
a good manager and other people belonging to his management will obey them strictly.
Secondly, current performance is important too. Because from his/her good result he/she
work for the company, the leader promote him/her up to a higher position as a award. In my
opinion current performance may include completion of the assigned tasks, the abilities that
help him or her sovle the difficult problem sucessfully. With a stable working performance
day by day, month by month, year by year, it is worth selecting to promote him/her.
Thirdly, in my opinion seniority plays an important role in selecting employees for
promotion. Because the very seniority is one of the best standard when promoting someone
to a certain position. On the other hand he/she obtains many good skilks through the process
of their working, he or she can work out solutions to solve it and he/she can predict the
difficulties and overcome easily.
Topic 11: what is important when setting up a new busines?
Good morning/afternoon
My candidate number is….
My topic is number 11-what is important when setting up a new business
In my opinion people want to set up a business you should consider three things/factors as
follows first business plan, second management experience and third is financial backing.
Firstly, business plan is important. Because it ensures that he/she is on the right way. A
business plan may include your products, marketing targets, premises, sources for your
finance, etc. it is like a guidline for a business to exist or develop.
Secondly, management experience is important too. If a manager has good experience
he/she can overcome the difficulties that he/she faces easily. He/she can predict the problem
and work out solutions for them. In my opinion management experience can be the product
management, human management, relations between you and employees, incentives that
you present in order to stimulate all the company performing well, etc.
Thirdly, financial backing plays the most important things/factors in your business because
if you have no money you can not set up your bisiness. If you have good financial backing
you can buy material, equipment, pay for employees, etc.

in helping the company develop. We must select those subjects carefully.
Thirdly, the budget plays the decisive role in the course. Because if we have no money we
can not organise an in-house training course. If we have a good budget we can find or invite
the wellknown person in the certain field to teach our employees more effectively. As a
result we obtain our objectives in training employees well.
Speaking topic 14: What is important when recruiting senior staff? You should say:
-Age
-Qualifications
-Experience
I think when recruiting senior staff, age is very important. There is a saying “You’re good
enough if you are old enough.” There are three reasons for my choice. Firstly, older
employees often have relationships in the community. They can take advantage of these
relations in their business. Therefore, it’s easy for them to work
and bring a lot of benefits to the company. Secondly, when they are old, which means they
have a lot of experience in life and in work. This helps them make cautious and right
decisions. Thirdly, because of their old age, they have an advantage over young managers.
They can be more respected and listened because of Vietnamese culturalbackground.
In my opinion, qualification is also an important factor when recruiting senior staff. We
often assume that a person’s abilities are based on the qualifications s/he has got. It’s
obvious that qualifications show a person’s possible capability to perform a certain job. A
real certificate truly verifies one’s abilities if he/she has really studied courses hard for many
years. Senior staffs with qualifications of a well-known college or university have an
advantage.
The other important factor is also working experience. Experience is something you have
gained through your working time. Again, the saying “If you’re good enough, you’re old
enough.” is true. Having working experience, senior staffs know ways to solve problems
quickly and effectively. With entry-level positions, employers may choose applicants
without experience, as they think the applicants can learn later in their work life. However,
with senior posts, applicants are hired because of their experience. Employers expect them
to start work right away and the applicants’ work is management, not an apprentice.

the customer so that we can predict the prosperous situation in the future or we must adjust
the product so that our product can meet the requirement from the market.
Topic 18: What is important when deciding whether to obtain a further qualification?
Once you have completed your initial qualification you may want to pursue further
qualification. There are plenty of elements to consider when deciding whether to obtain a
further qualification.
Time commitments
Everyone has a lot of duties in their lives. How to balance the time for working, relaxing
and studying is a thorny problem. Please make sure that you have enough time for studying
so that you don’t fall into stress in the process of study.
Career benefit
Graduating with a postgraduate degree can significantly improve your career prospects.
However, study takes time, so please study more if you have time.
Interest
You can get good knowledge with higher study. Study help to improve your knowledges
and skills. Certain job requires certain skill. So developing skills is essential for some
works.
Topic 19. What is important when placing a newspaper advertisement?
Firstly, newspaper sales figures are important because a newspaper with a large circulation
may ensure the large cover of our advertising. Therefore, our advertisement can reach a
great number of potential customers.
Secondly, advertising costs are important because if the benefits from our advertising do not
cover the costs, we won’t advertise.
Thirdly, types of newspapers are not less important. The type of our products determines the
type of newspaper we choose. For example, if our products are sports equipment, it’s better
for us to advertise on some sports magazines.
Writing 1: WOULD YOU RATHER BE SELF-EMPLOYED, WORK FOR SOMEONE
ELSE OR OWN A BUSINESS?
There is many choices for jobs when someone is old enough to come to employment. Some people
want to become owners who run their own business while others believe they will have a safer life

Moreover, it is very
difficult to improve friendship or love between people as there is a saying “out of sight out of
mind.” I believe that other types ofcommunication, such as: letter, e-mail and telephone calls have
no such advantages. Furthermore, we need also to take into account what the experts call “non-
verbal communication". People cannot only speak but also use their body languages and face
expressions to help to express themselves more clearly. When discussing with a person, we can
understand better what a person actually thinks about that a specific argument, thanks to non-verbal
messages. These consist of a series of facial expressions or gestures, which help us to comprehend
if the messages the person's body are sending us coincide with what the person is actually saying.
For instance, to make an easy example, when we tell someone a story, we can easily interpret if s/he
is surprised, disappointed, happy or angry through his/her nonverbal responses. An aspect that we
can't obviously analyze when talking on the phone or receiving an email.
To sum up, face to face communication appears to me to have many advantages. I believe it is the
most preferable to those who are eager to know what the interlocutor's feelings are.
Writing 3: People have different ways of escaping the stress and difficulties of modern life.
Some read; some exercise; others work in their gardens. What do you think are the best ways
of reducing stress? Use specific details and examples in your answer.
Modern life has become so demanding nowadays that everyone is facing the problem of stress. In
order to escape the stress due to work pressure, people try out different ways to release it. These
include reading, gardening, cycling, playing and many more things depending on their choice. In
my opinion, the best ways to escape stress are listening to music, going on a short trip and spending
time with family. Here are the reasons for my choices.
Firstly, listening to good music is the best way to escape from stress because music takes us into a
different world. Also, we can listen to music anywhere with portable systems. While listening to the
sweetly composed tunes it makes us forget all the worldly worries. How can anyone feel unmoved
when listening to Mozart or Beethoven’s pieces of music? Or I’m so sure that hardly anyone
ignores Trinh Cong Son’s compositions, simply because of their beautiful words. This helps us
reduce stress whenever we feel so. Therefore I think listening music is an excellent way to avoid
stress.
Secondly, going on a short trip to somewhere peaceful or beautiful is another way to help us

receive, you always have a feeling of being useful.
In conclusion, people work not only because of money but also because of gaining experience, self-
esteem, and the need to meet others.
Writing 5: Which would you choose: a high-paying job with long hours that would give you
little time with family and friends or a lower paying job with shorter hours that would give
you or time with family and friends, explain your choice, using specific reasons and details
Nowadays, most of people like doing for a big company, because big companies pay them high
salary. However, they have to work long hours and have no tie for their family and friends. On the
contrary, others like working for a small company which offers them a lower paying job, but more
time for their personal life. I prefer having a low paid job, but in return, I can have more time for
my family. Here are the reasons for my choice.
Firstly, all high-paying jobs with long hours put too much relentless pressure on people, causing
harm to their mind and body. People who pursue high-paying jobs always care fringe benefits that
their jobs offer, such as good salary, generous bonus, high social status and a sense of achievement.
We, ofcourse, have to sacrifice our health and love or time for our family and friends for these
advantages. For me, it is not worth doing this. We all agree that money can purchase many things,
and make our life better; however, we can’t buy a good health or love from family and friends with
money.
A lower-paying job with shorter hours gives us more time to accompany my friends and family to
somewhere. Then we can have more fun or more good time together. This will forever be a good
memory in our life. Shorter hours’ work helps us have more time to communicate with my family
and friends to share with sorrow as well as happiness. This can pacify our mind in the thought that
we have someone to care for and to be cared.
In short, even though a lower-paying job can’t provide us with enough money to satisfy our
material needs, I think it can give us more time with our family and friends. What is better, we don’t
need to sacrifice our health and our time fromdeveloping close relationships with my family and
friends.
Topic 6: We all work or will work in our jobs with many different kinds of people. In your
opinion, what are some important characteristics of a co-worker (someone you work closely
with)?

the management who knows our abilities from those who pay attention to optimize the productivity
of the company.
Secondly, working for a large company can help us handle complex issues. Working for a large
company is a big pressure because of a large number of employees, huge information that we have
to learn and the complexity of the work itself. However, when we get used to it, we will find it
really exciting to have an opportunity to deal with various people and cope with different issues
while interacting with co-workers and clients.
Last but not least, working for a large company may help us build up our confidence. Dealing with
a huge amount of work and a large number of people help us get rid of fear and shyness. We feel
more confident in performing at work, even in our private life, and then we will be more successful.
In conclusion, working for a large company will give us many advantages such as career
advancement, dealing with various people and different issues and building up our confidence. For
these above reasons, I would prefer to work for a large company.
Writing 8: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The most important aspect
of a job is the money a person earns, use specific reasons and examples to support your
answer.
After I graduated from university, I had an ambition to work as an accountant for a big company
because I would learn more about high technology, the latest software or upgraded accounting
procedures, etc. I have never thought that the money would be my first choice when choosing a job.
Therefore, I totally disagree with the statement that the most important aspect of a job is the money
a person earns. People work because of many other important factors.
The first factor is the working environment. If we work in a company with a good working
environment, we will feel happy and make the most contribution to our company A good
environment includes a good boss, wonderful colleagues or it may include the IT network, machine
maintenance, or the pay system, all of which can make us happy.
The second factor is the opportunities to learn new things. Having a lot of chances to approach new
technologies, to update our knowledge will make our work life more productive. This ensures us a
good promotion sooner.
The last factor is our satisfaction of the job. We need to enjoy the job in order to get satisfaction
from it. If we earn a lot of money, however, we have no interests in the job we are doing, we are