Working for a Small Company & Starting a New Job – IELTS Reading Answers

With consistent practise, IELTS applicants can score highest on the Reading module of IELTS General as it is comparatively easier than IELTS Reading Academic. All you need is to be able to approach and respond to the different question types, such as those in Reading Answers of Working for a Small Company and Starting a New Job from Cambridge IELTS 15 Test 3, in order to perform well.

The IELTS General Passages, Working for a Small Company and Starting a New Job, are part of an IELTS General reading test and ideally, you should not spend more than 20 minutes on both these passages.

There are 13 questions in total in ‘Working for a Small Company’ and ‘Starting a New Job’ Reading passages. You must understand the subject, look up key terms in the IELTS reading passages, and then respond in line with the instructions.

The question types found in these passages are:

• Sentence Completion (Q. 1-6)
• Matching Information (Q. 7-13)

Reading Passage 1

Working for a small company may be better than you think

Recent research shows that many job-seekers believe their ideal position would be in a large company. However, working for a small or medium-sized business has many advantages that are too easily overlooked. Here are just a few of them.

Working in a small organisation with a small workforce means it’s likely to be easy to become part of it. It won’t be long before you’re familiar with the staff and the departments that you need to deal with. This can provide a feeling of comfort that takes much longer to develop in a large company. Departments are likely to be small and have close connections with each other, which helps to make internal communication work well – everyone knows what’s going on. You’ll also gain a better understanding of how your own role fits into the company as a whole.

In a small business you’re likely to have considerable variety in your workload, including opportunities to work in different areas of the company, which will allow you to identify abilities that you didn’t know you had. An introduction to new activities could even lead to a change of career. This variety in your work will help to make it stimulating, so you have a good reason for getting out of bed in the morning.

There will be plenty of opportunities to show initiative, and you’ll also learn to function well as part of a team. Because it’s much harder to overlook someone within a small workforce than a large one, your efforts are more likely to attract the attention of those higher up. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to show what you can do, and to have your potential noticed. The result is very likely to be that promotion comes to you faster.

Small businesses are usually flexible, something that is rarely true of large organisations. This means that if they’re well managed, they can adapt to make the most of changes in the wider economy, which in turn can help you. Don’t dismiss them as a place to work because of the myths about them. Small firms can be ideal places for developing your career.

Questions 1-6

1 In a small business it is easy to become ………….… with colleagues and other departments.

2 You may find you have ……………. you were not aware of.

3 Finding that your work is ……………. will make you enjoy doing it.

4 Other people are likely to realise that you have ……………. .

5 Opportunities for ……………. will come sooner than in a larger business.

6 You can benefit from a small company being more ……………. than a large one.

Check Out – General Reading Tips And Tricks

Reading Passage 2

Starting a New Job

A Make sure you know when and where you are expected to report on your first day. If the route from home is unfamiliar to you, make a practice run first. The normal first activity in a new job is a meeting with your boss, and it would be embarrassing to be late. Dress formally until you’re sure of the dress code.

B You should expect to have an induction programme planned for you; a security pass; visits to whatever parts of the organisation you need to understand to do your job properly; meetings with anyone who could affect your success in the role; and someone to show you where everything is and tell you all the real rules of the culture – the ones that are never written down but which everyone is meant to follow.

C It can be a shock to join a new organisation. When you are a newcomer, feeling uncertain and perhaps a little confused, there can be a strong temptation to talk about your old job and organisation as a way of reminding yourself and telling others that you really know what you are doing, because you did it in your previous role. Unfortunately, this will suggest that you have a high opinion of yourself, and that you think your old place was better. It has enormous power to annoy, so don’t do it.

D All employers have a core product or service paid for by customers which justifies their existence. If you are not part of this core activity, remember that your role is to provide a service to the people who are part of it. Understanding their concerns and passions is essential for understanding why your own role exists, and for knowing how to work alongside these colleagues. This is why you must see this product or service in action.

E When I worked for a television company, all of us, whatever our job, were strongly encouraged to visit a studio and see how programmes were made. This was wise. Make sure you do the equivalent for whatever is the core activity of your new employer.

F Don’t try to do the job too soon. This may seem strange because, after all, you have been appointed to get on and do the job. But in your first few weeks your task is to learn what the job really is, rather than immediately starting to do what you assume it is.

G Starting a new job is one of life’s major transitions. Treat it with the attention it deserves and you will find that all your work in preparing and then going through the selection process has paid off magnificently.

Questions 7-13

7 the emotions that new employees are likely to experience at first

8 a warning to be patient at first

9 how colleagues might react to certain behaviour

10 travelling to your new workplace before you start working there

11 an example of observing an activity carried out within an organisation

12 some things that the organisation should arrange for when you begin

13 a division of jobs within an organisation into two categories

Answers for Working for a Small Company and Starting a New Job Reading Passages with Explanation 

Read further for the explanations and location of the ‘Working for a Small Company and Starting a New Job’ IELTS Reading answer!

1 Answer: familiar

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, Line 2

Answer explanation: The second line of the second paragraph tells us, “It won’t be long before you’re familiar with the staff and the departments that you need to deal with.”. So, it can be concluded that it is easy to become familiar with colleagues (the staff) and other departments when one works in a small company. Hence, the answer is ‘familiar’.

2 Answer: abilities

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 3, Line 1

Answer explanation: In the specified line, it is stated that “In a small business you’re likely to have considerable variety in your workload…which will allow you to identify abilities that you didn’t know you had.”. This shows that when one works in a small company, they have to take different tasks and responsibilities which enable them to identify abilities that they were previously unaware of. Hence, the answer is ‘abilities’.

3 Answer: stimulating

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 3, Line 3

Answer explanation: In the mentioned paragraph, it is given that “This variety in your work will help to make it stimulating, so you have a good reason for getting out of bed in the morning.”. It can be concluded that the variety of work in a small company stimulates the employee to be excited about their work. Hence, the answer is ‘stimulating’.

4 Answer: potential

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4, Line 3

Answer explanation: The fourth paragraph mentions that “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to show what you can do, and to have your potential noticed.”. It points out that since one is working in a small group, higher management will be able to notice the potential of the employee. Hence, the answer is ‘potential’.

5 Answer: promotion

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4, Line 4

Answer explanation: In the above-mentioned paragraph, it is stated that “The result is very likely to be that promotion comes to you faster.”. It can be pointed out from the quoted statement that when seniors will be able to identify the employee’s potential, they will have a better opportunity for quicker promotion. Hence, the answer is ‘promotion’.

6 Answer: flexible

Question type: Sentence Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, Line 1

Answer explanation: Through a reference line like, “Small businesses are usually flexible, something that is rarely true of large organisations.”, it can be concluded that smaller companies are more flexible than larger organisations. Hence, the answer is ‘flexible’.

7 Answer: C

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph C, Line 2

Answer explanation: In the cited location, it is stated, “When you are a newcomer, feeling uncertain and perhaps a little confused, there can be a strong temptation to talk about your old job and organisation…”. Based on this reference, it can be inferred that the third paragraph mentions the feeling of a joinee in a new company. Hence, the answer is C.

Tips to Solve the Question Types in the Working for a Small Company and Starting a New Job Reading Answers 

Since now you know the answers to Working for a Small Company and Starting a New Job Reading Answers, let us check out some quick IELTS exam preparation tips to answer the question types in the Reading Answers of Working for a Small Company and Starting a New Job Reading Answers.

Sentence Completion:

In the sentence completion of the IELTS Reading test, you will be asked to fill in the blanks in incomplete phrases with the relevant words or numbers.

• Read the instructions carefully. It will help you determine the word limit (no more than two, one word, etc) and important terms like ‘using words from the text’ or ‘from the text’. You have to follow these strictly.
• Read the incomplete sentences first. Also, think about keywords and how they could be represented by synonyms or paraphrasing.
• Locate where the information is by scanning quickly. If you can’t, move on.
• Study the reading text by using the skimming and scanning techniques. It will help to establish the answer quickly. When scanning for your answer, make sure you are thinking about paraphrasing and synonyms.
• The answers appear in the same order as the questions.Also, check your spelling and remember that your answer should be grammatically correct.

Matching Information: 

You will be given a list of three to six statements in this type of question, and you will need to match the information in each statement to the corresponding information in a paragraph in the reading passage.

• Read the instructions followed by the list of statements – You will get an idea of the main idea of each statement. Also, figure out the keywords from each statement.
• Scan and skim through the passage – Use these reading techniques to go through the text and find out which paragraph or section contains the relevant information of the statements.
• One paragraph will contain information given in a statement – While one statement corresponds to one passage, some passages may not have any answer. Remember this to avoid repetition or wasting your time.
• Identify the answer – Once you identify the keywords and find out the corresponding paragraph that contains the information, follow this process for the others.

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