IELTS Listening — Mock Test 4

Interviewer: Good morning, welcome to ABC Marketing. Could I take your full name, please?

Sarah: Yes, it's Sarah Johnson. That's J-O-H-N-S-O-N.

Interviewer: Thank you. And your current home address?

Sarah: It's 42 Maple Street, in Brighton.

Interviewer: A contact phone number?

Sarah: Sure, it's 07911 234567.

Interviewer: And an email address we can reach you on?

Sarah: It's sarah.j@webmail.com — all lowercase.

Interviewer: Great. How many years of experience do you have in marketing?

Sarah: I have five years of experience, mostly in digital campaigns.

Interviewer: Wonderful. Now, what attracted you to this role specifically?

Sarah: Honestly, the chance to lead a creative team. I'm at a stage where I want more leadership responsibility.

Interviewer: And which area of marketing is your strongest?

Sarah: Definitely social media strategy — that's where most of my recent work has been.

Interviewer: What software are you most confident using?

Sarah: I'm most confident with Google Analytics for tracking performance.

Interviewer: If we offered you the job, when could you start?

Sarah: I'd need to give one month's notice to my current employer, so early next month.

Interviewer: Perfect. Finally, what salary range are you looking for?

Sarah: I'm hoping for somewhere between thirty-five and forty thousand pounds a year.

HR Manager: Welcome, everyone, to ABC Marketing. I'll quickly run through a few company policies. First, our standard working hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Regarding benefits, all full-time staff receive twenty-five days of paid holiday each year, in addition to public holidays.

On dress code — we operate a smart-casual policy, except on Fridays, when staff may dress casually.

Lunch break is one hour, and you're free to take it any time between twelve and two.

For those who drive, parking is available in the underground car park, but you'll need to register your vehicle with reception first.

Now, let me explain where each department is located in the building. Reception, of course, is on the ground floor where you came in. Human Resources — that's us — we're on the first floor. The Finance team is up on the second floor. The IT department is on the third floor, so that's where you go for any computer issues. And finally, Marketing, the largest team, occupies the entire fourth floor.

Tutor: So, Mark, Lena, how is your presentation on the coffee-shop marketing case coming along?

Mark: Quite well. We've decided to focus on the brand's use of social media.

Lena: Yes. At first we thought about looking at their pricing strategy, but there wasn't enough data available, so we changed our minds.

Tutor: A sensible decision. Now, how have you divided the work?

Mark: I'm handling the market research section, analysing the customer survey results.

Lena: And I'm doing the competitor comparison, looking at two rival chains.

Tutor: What about the slides?

Lena: We're preparing those together.

Tutor: Good. And who is writing which part of the report?

Mark: I'm writing the conclusion.

Lena: And I'm preparing the handout for the audience.

Tutor: Excellent. Now, what was your main finding?

Mark: The biggest surprise was that most new customers came from recommendations, not from advertising.

Tutor: Interesting, word of mouth. And your recommendation for the company?

Lena: We suggest they invest more in a loyalty programme, rather than in paid advertising.

Tutor: Reasonable. One piece of advice: your presentation is a little long at the moment. Try to cut it to fifteen minutes.

Mark: Okay, we'll shorten it.

Tutor: And don't forget to reference all your sources on the final slide.

Lecturer: Today I'll explain how teams develop in the workplace. Research by the psychologist Bruce Tuckman identified four main stages.

The first stage is called forming. At this point, team members are polite, but they also feel anxious, because they don't yet know one another well. The team relies heavily on the leader for direction.

The second stage is called storming. This is often the most difficult stage, because conflict emerges over roles and ideas. Many teams fail here if disagreements are not managed properly.

The third stage is norming. Here, members begin to resolve their differences and agree on shared rules. Trust starts to grow, and the group develops a sense of unity.

The final stage is performing. The team now works efficiently towards its goals with very little supervision, and productivity reaches its highest level.

Tuckman later added a fifth stage, called adjourning, which happens when the project ends and the team breaks up.

For managers, the key lesson is patience. A new team may need several months before it reaches the performing stage. Studies suggest the average is around six months. Managers can speed up the process by setting clear goals and by encouraging open communication.