Prepare to Apply Your Skills
STUDENT RESOURCE · SENIOR FOUR ENGLISH
Senior Four English · Applying for a Job
Learn how to interpret a vacancy, evaluate applicant evidence, write a focused application and respond confidently in an interview.
Guided practice: 3–4 periods
Independent mock-style challenge: 80 minutes
Skills: Critical reading, evaluation, formal writing and speaking
Language in action: Formal register, abbreviations, evidence language and polite clarification
Senior 4 · Term 2 · Applying for a Job
Who Should Get the Interview?
Kigezi Community Radio needs a holiday assistant. Three students have applied, but the selection panel cannot agree about what should matter most: confidence, experience, honesty or evidence.
The Vacancy
Kigezi Community Radio
Holiday Youth Programme Assistant
We seek a reliable Senior Four school leaver or continuing learner to assist our youth team for six weeks.
Main duties
- Welcome young guests and record their details.
- Help prepare short programme notes.
- Organise messages and digital files.
- Assist during community interviews.
- Work respectfully with presenters and visitors.
Essential requirements
- Clear spoken and written English.
- Ability to follow instructions and meet deadlines.
- Honesty, punctuality and respectful behaviour.
- Basic ability to use a phone or computer for communication.
- Willingness to learn.
Desirable, but not essential
- Participation in a school club.
- Experience speaking before a group.
- Knowledge of the local community.
Applicants must send a one-page CV and application letter to the Station Manager by 4:00 p.m. on 12 November. Shortlisted applicants will attend an interview.
The Applicants
Amina
I wish to apply for the position of Holiday Youth Programme Assistant. As secretary of our Wildlife Club, I prepare notices, keep attendance records and help organise meetings. I have not worked in radio, but I learn new tasks quickly and would value the opportunity to develop these skills.
Brian
Give me this job because I am the best communicator in the district. I can do literally everything in your advertisement and many things you forgot to mention. Call me anytime. I do not really use letters.
Ruth
I am writing to apply for the advertised position. I regularly welcome visitors at my aunt’s shop and record orders accurately. Last term, I missed several school deadlines, but I have begun using a weekly timetable. I would be pleased to explain my progress at an interview.
The Shortlisting Meeting
Two days later, the station’s selection panel met to choose the applicants who would be invited for an interview.
Mr Busingye: “Brian has confidence. Radio needs confident people.”
Ms Atukunda: “Amina has given evidence. She keeps records, prepares notices and organises meetings. Those duties match the vacancy.”
Youth programme producer: “Ruth admits that she has struggled with deadlines, but she also explains what she is doing to improve. Should honesty about a weakness count against her?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Brian’s claims sounded impressive, but his application contained little evidence. Amina’s experience came from a school club rather than paid employment. Ruth had relevant experience at her aunt’s shop, but her previous difficulty with deadlines raised a genuine concern.
The discussion moved away from the published requirements. One panel member preferred the most confident applicant. Another wanted to reward honesty. A third believed that paid employment should matter more than school or community experience, although the vacancy had not required it.
Station Manager: “If we choose according to personal impressions, we may overlook the applicant whose evidence best matches the work. We need a decision that every applicant would recognise as fair.”
She placed the vacancy beside the three applications.
Station Manager: “Let us begin again.”
Think it through
Which applicant or applicants should the panel invite for an interview, and how should it reach a fair decision?
Use the vacancy and the applications to explain whose evidence currently matches the work, what concerns still need to be checked and why your proposed decision would be fair to all three applicants.
Your response
Explain your judgement and support it with evidence.
Feedback on your response
Member discussion