THE ENGLISH GIRL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 81, 5 April 1930, Page 7

THE ENGLISH GIRL

HER SUCCESS IN AMERICA ASSETS WHICH ARE VALUED. What confronts the English girl who comes to earn a living in New York! She steps off the steamer in a maelstrom of clattering streets ana familiar words spoken in an unfamiliar way, with not less than £lO in her handbag, the address of a friend somewhere in the United States, and no job—for these three conditions are imposed by the immigration authorities subsequent to letting her in. She must not come to a pre-arranged position, but must seek for it after she has arrived (writes Helent Bryant in the “Daily Telegraph ’

After a few days of adjusting herself to new surroundings, she goes out to look for work. And here the chances like that she will have a delightful surprise. For she will find herself the possessor of two assets of which she is probably unconscious her English idiom and her English “background.” This “background” is not altogether a concrete and definable thing; it is more or less what American call “culture”—but this, again, is not quite self-explanatory. To them, “background” means something almost unconsciusly assimilated, bred into us, perhaps, by our grey streets and our time-steeped towns. It means a breeding and a knowledge which we have not so much sought as inherited, and though this is no credit to its possessors, any more than a legacy is a credit, it is, like a legacy, a very useful thing to have.

The possible ocupations which spring most readily to mind are those of salesgirl, secretary, or some position in the literary or advertising field. An English girl serving behind a counter in a department store has as much chance as any of her colleagues and more than many of them of becoming a buyer; that is, the head of the department, whose job may include yearly trips to Europe to find new merchandise. The English girl will already have a sound knowledge of England and English characteristics, and perhaps of English markets, while it is not unlikely that she knows a fair amount of French, and has been something of France and other European countries. All this will help her in her climb upward. As secretary, her English voice ano he r English attitude to her employer will stand her in good stead. An American employer is not looKea upon as quite so much of a god as an English one, and he will probably enjoy it, especially in contrast to the free and easy attitude of his office boy, who has no illusions about those ip high places. If a man is looked upon with awe in America, it is because of innate aweinspiring qualities, not because of the position h e happens to fill.

The niche of secretary is for a woman a much more likely step to advancement than in England. There is no barrier between the position of stenographer and that of president of the company, and it is by bo means unusual for a woman typist to become, in a short space of time, an important executive.

In the literary and advertising fields, the English girl will again find her native manner of speaking (provided 11 is not provincial, or a special dialecti a tremendous asset. English phrase's and English slang arc considered amusing, smart, and desirable.

So the English girl, with her quiet voice, and English appearance, so long as it is not “horsey,” will not find it hard to get a job. She must, however, be prepared to dress and groom herself as if that job were one long soda! event; she must rid herself of the Idea that “anything will do for the office.” But the great and important fact, the thing which cannot be too strongly stressed, is this; there is absolutely no hostility to rhe newcomer. On the contrary, there is a welcome, while eveiy possible explanation of methods and assistance is freely offered.