1Hi Alex. It's Martha Clines here.
2James White gave me your number.
3I hope you don't mind me calling you.
4Of course not. How are you, Martha?
5Good thanks.
6I'm ringing because I need a bit of advice.
7Oh yeah. What about?
8The training you did at JPNW a few years ago.
9I'm applying for the same thing.
10Oh right. Yes, I did mine in 2014.
11Best thing I ever did. I'm still working there.
12Really? What are you doing?
13Well, now I work in the customer services department
14but I did my initial training in Finance.
15I stayed there for the first two years and then moved to where I am now.
16That's the same department I'm applying for.
17Did you enjoy it?
18Ah... I was pretty nervous to begin with.
19I didn't do well in my exams at school
20and I was really worried because I failed Maths.
21But it didn't actually matter because I did lots of courses on the job.
22Did you get a diploma at the end of your trainee period?
23I'm hoping to do the one in business skills.
24Yes. That sounds good.
25I took the one on IT skills but I wish I'd done that one instead.
26OK, that's good to know.
27What about the other trainees?
28How did you get on with them?
29There were about 20 of us who started at the same time
30and we were all around the same age.
31I was 18 and there was only one person younger than me, who was 17.
32The rest were between 18 and 20.
33I made some good friends.
34I've heard lots of good things about the training at JPNW.
35It seems like there are a lot of opportunities there.
36Yeah, definitely.
37Because of its size you can work in loads of different areas within the organisation.
38What about pay?
39I know you get a lower minimum wage than regular employees.
40That's right - which isn't great.
41But you get the same number of days' holiday as everyone else.
42And the pay goes up massively if they offer you a job at the end of the training period.
43Yeah, but I'm not doing it for the money.
44It's the experience I think will be really useful.
45Everyone says by the end of the year you gain so much confidence.
46You're right. That's the most useful part about it.
47There's a lot of variety too.
48You're given lots of different things to do.
49I enjoyed it all - I didn't even mind the studying.
50Do you have to spend any time in college?
51Yes, one day each month.
52So you get lots of support from both your tutor and your manager.
53That's good.
54And the company is easy to get to, isn't it?
55Yes, it's very close to the train station so the location's a real advantage.
56Have you got a date for your interview yet?
57Yes, it's on the 23rd of this month.
58So long as you're well prepared there's nothing to worry about.
59Everyone's very friendly.
60I am not sure what I should wear.
61What do you think?
62Nothing too casual - like jeans, for example.
63If you've got a nice jacket, wear that with a skirt or trousers.
64OK. Thanks.
65Any other tips?
66Erm, well I know it's really obvious but arrive in plenty of time.
67They hate people who are late.
68So make sure you know exactly where you have to get to.
69And one other useful piece of advice my manager told me before I had the interview for this job - is to smile.
70Even if you feel terrified.
71It makes people respond better to you.
72I'll have to practise doing that in the mirror!
73Yeah - well, good luck.
74Let me know if you need any more information.
75Thanks very much.