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JobsHere are some English phrases for talking about jobs, which will allow you to discuss the type of job you do and where you work.Occupationwhat do you do?what do you do for a living?what sort of work do you do?what line of work are you in?I'm a ...teacherstudentdoctor

Phrases & Vocabulary

Dialogues

Click on any of the icons through out this presentation to listen to it. You may click as many times as you like.The dialogues are all one conversation and are not broken into sentences for listening.Listen to each saying and / or sentence and then repeat each of them. You may want to do this several times so you get the right pronunciation.Continue

I work as a ...journalistprogrammerI work in ...televisionpublishingPR (public relations)salesITI work with ...computerschildren with disabilitiesI stay at home and look after the childrenI'm a housewife

Employment statusI've got a part-time jobI've got a full-time jobI'm ...unemployedout of worklooking for worklooking for a jobI'm not working at the momentI've been made redundantI was made redundant two months agoI do some voluntary workI'm retired

Who do you work for?who do you work for?I work for ...a publishersan investment bankthe councilI'm self-employedI work for myselfI have my own businessI'm a partner in ...a law firman accountancy practicean estate agentsI've just started at ...IBM

Place of workwhere do you work?I work in ...an officea shopa restauranta banka factorya call centreI work from home

Training and work experienceI'm training to be ...an engineera nurseI'm a trainee ...accountantsupermarket managerI'm on a course at the momentI'm on work experienceI'm doing an internship

Here you can find some questions you can ask your partner during conversation about my work:1. Do you have a job?If so:- What do you do in your current job?- What kind of job is it?- How did you get this job?- Is your job competitive?- What opportunities does your job give?- Do you like your job?- Do you like your boss?- Do you like your colleagues?- Do you like the atmosphere in your workplace?- Is your job stressful?- Would you like to change anything in your job?- Do you have to work overtime? How often? Does your boss pay you more for overtime work?

If not:- What was your last job?- What kind of job was it?- How did you get this job?- Was your job competitive?- What opportunities did your job give?- Did you like your job?- Did you like your boss?- Did you like your colleagues?- Was your job stressful?- Why dont you work there anymore?- Are you looking for a new job?

2. At what age do people (in your country) normally begin to work? At what age do they usually retire?3. At what age would you like to retire? What would you like to do after the retirement?4. What was your first job? Did you like it?5. When you were a child, what was your dream job?6. What is your dream job now?7. What do you think is the worst job?8. Do people usually get jobs related to their educational background? How about you?

9. Does a university degree guarantee success in the future career?10. What is the most important in your job?11. Would you like to run your own business?12. Is it better to work for someone else or be self-employed?13. Should women and men be paid the same?14. Is/was your boss a man or a woman?15. Who do you think make better bosses, men or women?

full-time job a job in which the employee works the full number of hoursI went back to my full-time job only after my children had gone to school.

part-time job a job in which the employee may work for fewer hours than in the full-time job, as it is defined by the employerPart-time jobs are a chance for women whod like to have children and work at the same time.

to be self-employed to work for oneself rather than for someone elseSome people cant stand working for somebody else and doing what they are told to do, so they finally become self-employed.

sole trader a business ran by one individualAlthough sole traders are fully independent, they find it difficult to go on holidays, because running their own business is time-consuming

job advertisement information on TV, in press or in the Internet that tells you where you can find a job, where an employer needs new employeesIve found an interesting job advertisement in the newspaper and Im going to apply for that job.

competitive involving competitors (people with similar goals and needs)It was really difficult to get this job. Its very competitive and many people came to the job interview.

self-fulfillment a pleasant feeling that youve achieved what you wantedShes finally found self-fulfillment in teaching children.

promotion being raised to a higher, more important positionWhat I like about my job is the possibility to get a promotion soon.

remuneration money that you get for your work or servicesWe resigned from their services, because the remuneration they expected was too high for us.

salary a fixed amount of money that an employee gets from the employer every monthThe salary for the job is not worth the effort you have to make there.

colleague a person that you work withHes organizing a party for colleagues from his last job.

work flexitime to be able to change the time when you start or finish your workThe possibility to work flexitime is a big advantage of my new job.

work overtime to work after the time normally expected in your jobI gave up my job, because I often had to work overtime and they paid me nothing for that.

to fire (informal) to remove an employee from a jobHe was fired, because he was not as efficient as other workers.

to dismiss to remove an employee from a jobThe boss dismissed her, because she was unwilling to accept the new dress code of the company.

white-collar job a job in offices that needs mental effortIts not easy to get a white-collar job without good education in such a competitive job market.

blue-collar job a job that needs physical effortDespite higher education, many young Polish people leave their country to take up a blue-collar job in the West.

to have the devils own job to spend a lot of time and make a lot of effort to do something difficult and demandingHe had the devils own job to finish this project on time.

to land a job to find a jobAfter being unemployed for 3 years, he finally landed a job.

Its more than my jobs worth. I cant do it because I could lose my job.Sorry, I cant share this information with you, its more than my jobs worth.

nine-to-five job a typical 8-hour jobShe found her nine-to-five job too monotonous and boring, so she is self-employed now.

to be snowed under with work to have a lot of work to do, more than usuallySorry, I cant go out tonight I need to stay at work, because Im snowed under with work.

no gain without pain no money, other benefits without making effortI often stay at work until late to earn some extra money. Its tiring, but no gain without pain, after all.

Useful Vocabularystressfulto be responsible forto developto involveto pay billsto produce reportsto work ascomputer technicianday-to-day basisglitchgood working orderin-houseneed-to-know basisorganizational meeting

On the jobWhy does she have a long face?May was recently promoted, but she doesn't seem happy. Her colleagues Cathy and Jake are kind of curious....Cathy: Did you see May today?Jake: Yes. But why does she have such a long face?Cathy: I don't have the foggiest idea.Jake: I thought she'd be happy.Cathy: Yeah, especially since she got a promotion recently.Jake: Maybe it's some kind of personal problem.

Chances are slim!Janice is thinking of whether or not she should quit and look for another job somewhere else because she hasn't gotten a raise in three years....Eddie: What are the chances of getting a raise this year?Janice: Chances are slim!Eddie: Wow! You haven't gotten a raise for how many years now?Janice: (Heave a sigh). It's been three years! The company keeps losing money and they can't afford to give anyone a raise.Eddie: That's too bad. Did you ever think of working somewhere else?Janice: Yeah. In fact, I have an interview next Monday.Eddie: Good luck!

I'm overwhelmed with a heavy workload.Derrick complains to his good friend Terri that he is overwhelmed with a heavy workload....Terri: Derrick, don't you think you should take a vacation? Even one or two days would be fine.Derrick: There's no way. There's too much work.Terri: But you look so exhausted. You need a break!Derrick: I know. My chances would be better if they would hire more people.Terri: They won't hire more people?Derrick: No. They always want to keep the cost down. I am really overwhelmed with a heavy workload. Terri: Maybe you should talk to the manager.Derrick: Yes. I'm going to bring this up in tomorrow's meeting.

Looking for a jobI'll keep that in mind.Kent is going to have a job interview the next day. His friend Reese is trying to give him some advice.Reese: So, how was your interview? Kent: I haven't gone to the interview yet. It's tomorrow. I'm so nervous.Reese: Don't worry. You should do fine. You have the experience.Kent: I hope so.Reese: Remember, they want someone who works well with people. You've got to show them how easy-going and personable you are!Kent: Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

I believe I have a good chance.Burt is applying for a new job and is very confident about himself.Raelene: Hi, Burt. I heard you're looking for a new job.Burt: Yeah. I just had an interview yesterday.Raelene: Oh. How did it go?Burt: I think I did well. They said they would make a decision by this Friday.Raelene: This Friday? Looks like they want to hire the person as quickly as possible.Burt: Yeah! I think so, too.Raelene: What are your chances of getting that job?Burt: I believe I have a very good chance. The director seems to like me.Raelene: Well, good luck, then.Burt: Thanks. I hope it helps.

OK, I'm gonna talk about jobs.My First JobMy first job actually was working at a restaurant. I was a dish washer. I was fifteen years old and, actually, I thought the job was pretty cool. All I had to do was wash dishes. I worked alone in the back of the kitchen and the restaurant was not too busy. It was an Italian restaurant. It was pretty easy and I had a big machine to help clean the dishes and I think I made like two dollars an hour. I made no money but the job was pretty easy. I think I had that job for one year and I liked it.

My Current JobWell, right now I am an English teacher. I've been an English teacher now for thirteen years on and off. I started teaching when I was twenty-three and now I am thirty-six, and I first started teaching in Thailand, and I taught there for awhile and then I went back to America and I taught in San Francisco. Then I stopped teaching for awhile and then I moved to Japan and I've been teaching in Japan for six years. I really like teaching English. It's a fun job. I like being with students and I probably will be in teaching for the rest of my life.

My Future JobWell, like I said before, I think I will be in teaching forever but now I really enjoy computers and I enjoy materials development so I think in the future I will try to make multi-media and books and materials for students, so I will still be involved in education, but I would like to start my own business and do something outside of teaching as well.

My Best JobWell, the easiest job I ever had, and the funnest job, was being a bartender. I was a bartender for two years. I took a two-year break from being an English teacher and I was a bartender and it was a lot of fun. I did not have to be at work until five. I got to go home at midnight or one, and I was paid to just sit and talk with people and give people drinks, and watch sports on TV and eat good food. I worked at a Thai restaurant and the staff was really nice, so I really enjoyed being a bartender. The only thing I didn't like about being a bartender was dealing with drunk people. I didn't like having to deal with drunk people, but besides that, it was a good job.

The Worst JobOK, the worst job I've ever had was I used to be a painter. I painted houses and 1), I was not very good at it, and 2) it was pretty hard work. Every day you have to smell the paint, and the paint smells really bad, and you get paint all over your clothes and you have to climb really tall ladders and paint really tall buildings and it's dangerous, and sometimes it's cold outside, so I did not like painting at all.

My Dream JobOK, if I could have any job in the world, I would be a professional baseball player. I would play for the New York Yankees. I would want to be a position player, though. Like, I would want to play in the outfield. I would not want to be a pitcher because a pitcher only pitches every five days, so he has to sit and watch a lot of games. So, if I was a baseball player I would want to play every day. I think the best thing about being a baseball player, would be you get to travel a lot, go to lots of different cities, and you have the fun of competition and playing a sport you love. Actually, you would make a lot of money, but the money would not be very important to me.