Word list
| WORD | DEFINITION | WORD IN CONTEXT | VOCABULARY BUILDING |
|---|---|---|---|
| abroad | abroad means in a different country from the one where you live. | Many young people want to spend time working or studying abroad to improve their language skills and gain valuable experience of life in a different culture. | to go/be/work/study abroad (verb + adverb) |
| accomplishment | A skill that you possess or something that you do well is known as an accomplishment. An accomplishment also refers to tasks that you have completed successfully. | When you are writing your CV, it is very important to include any accomplishments you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for. You usually write about your accomplishments in the "Key skills and experience" section or in the "Work experience" section of the CV. | An accomplished (adjective) person is somebody with many skills or talents.
Terry is an accomplished footballer (he plays football very well). to accomplish something (verb) |
| achievement | An achievement is something you have completed successfully or an aim you have reached after a lot of hard work. | Graduating with a first class Law degree was a tremendous achievement for Laura. | to achieve (verb) achievable (adjective): Our company has set us a lot of targets for the next 6 months, but I don't think all of them are achievable in such a short time (= they can't be done in such a short time). achiever (noun): Clare is a high achiever (= a successful person). |
| active listening | active listening means showing the person you are talking to that you are really paying them attention. You can do this with your body language (nodding, smiling) and by giving short responses such as "yes", "right" and "sure". | active listening is an important skill during job interviews and on the phone, as it shows that you are interested in the conversation. It will make you sound alert, communicative and responsive, creating a positive impression on the person you are speaking to. | to be an active listening (noun) to listen actively (verb) |
| ad | AD is the abbreviation of advertisement. A job ad(vertisement) is a description of a job vacancy that can be found in a newspaper, on the internet or in other media sources. | If you register with a job search website, they will send relevant job ADS to you directly via e-mail. | advertising (noun):
I'm looking for a job in advertising. to advertise (verb) Advert is another abbreviation for advertisement in Britain. |
| alumni | Alumni is the collective name for all of the graduates of a university or college. | Birmingham University alumni receive an annual newsletter in which they can read about events and changes at the university, and catch up on what some of their former fellow students have been doing. | Alumnus is the singular form of alumni. Alumni resources (noun) give you information about past students of a university or college. |
| ambitious | If you are ambitious, you want to be successful in your job and make good progress up the career ladder. | We are currently recruiting for our graduate trainee programme. You should be ambitious, a self-starter and able to work in a team. | ambition (noun) When I was younger, it was my ambition to run my own company. |
| application form | When you apply for a job, you may be asked to complete an application form designed by the company in question. It will ask you for information similar to that on your CV. | Please fill in the enclosed application form and return it by March 27th. | A person who has applied for a particular job is an APPLICANT (noun). |
| apply | When you find a job vacancy that interests you, you can apply for that job, i.e. send in your CV and a cover letter to the human resources department. | Before going abroad to work or study, you may have to apply for a visa or work permit. | You apply for a job but apply toa company. Applycan also mean something that is relevant to something or someone: The law applies to everyone, not just a few people. The adjective applicable is also used in this context: \\"I will / will not* be able to attend the meeting\\". * delete as APPLICABLE |
| apprenticeship | An apprenticeship is a period of time during which a person learns the skills of a trade from a skilled worker. It is normally used in the context of trades such as printer, plumber, electrician and so on, although it is sometimes used interchangeably with traineeship. | After doing an apprenticeship in printing, Tony got a full-time job with a major printing company. | An apprentice (noun) is a person doing / serving an apprenticeship . Note that the verbs we use with apprenticeship are either to do (do an apprenticeship) or (more formal) to serve (serve an apprenticeship) . You can also use the passive to be apprenticed to somebody : My father was apprenticed to a carpenter when he was 15 years old. (= he started his training with a carpenter) |
| aptitude test | An aptitude test is a type of psychometric test used to find out how good a candidate would be in a particular area of work. Aptitude tests are often taken in assessment centres . | Many employers now use aptitude tests as part of their candidate screening process to find out who are the most suitable candidates. | to have an aptitude (noun) for something means to have a natural ability for it: My sister has an aptitude for languages. (= she learns languages easily) |
| assessment centre | An assessment centre is a term for a one to three-day event in which different kinds of activities are used to assess the skills, personality, and experience of a group of job candidates. The aim is to find out which candidate best meets the requirements of a particular job. See also psychometric tests . | The candidates applying for the position of graduate trainee were invited to a one-day assessment centre. The results of the tests were then used to select a shortlist of candidates. | to assess (verb) someone or something: The interviewers assessed (= judged) each candidate's suitability for the job. to make an assessment (noun) of someone or something: A recruiter needs to be good at making character assessments of people to judge which candidates are suitable for a job. |
| attachment | Documents sent electronically with emails are usually referred to as attachments. | Alex had to send his job application by email. The company asked him to send his CV as an attachment in Word format. | Note that when you send your job application by post, you send your CV as an enclosure whereas documents sent by email are called attachments. to attach (verb) something to something: I am attaching the document to this email. |
| be / get shortlisted | If someone is shortlisted for a job, they have been selected from a larger list of job candidates. The person who gets the job will be chosen from the shortlist, often after a second interview round. | Sally's performance at the assessment centre was so good that she was shortlisted for the job together with three other candidates and invited to a second interview the following week. | If you draw up (verb) a shortlist, you make a list of the most interesting candidates, companies and so on. to be on the shortlist for a job shortlisted is also written short-listed. |
| behaviour-based question | In a job interview, behaviour-based questions assess a candidate's ability to do the job based on his/her past experiences. They usually start with "Tell me about a time..." or "Describe a situation..." and require detailed answers. | In preparation for answering behaviour-based questions, think about situations in which you showed leadership or dealt with problems effectively. If asked to describe a negative situation, make sure you can demonstrate that you learnt from the experience. | The way you behave (verb) in a certain situation is the way you act or react to a situation: Helena behaved very professionally in all work situations. See also factual interview questions and human questions . |
| benefit | In the context of work, benefits or fringe benefits (usually used in the plural) are the extras that an employee receives in addition to his/her salary, such as private medical insurance, a pension plan or a company car. | We are looking for graduate trainees to join our New York team. Salary $25,000 p.a. (per annum) plus benefits. | A benefit(s) package (noun) (also called a perks package) refers to all the benefits in addition to salary that a company is offering. In the UK, benefit (noun) is the money that people receive from the state when they are sick, disabled, unemployed or have children: It's not easy to live off unemployment benefit. to be entitled to (unemployment) benefit means to fulfil the requirements for receiving benefit. A benefit concert/performance is a show put on to raise money for a specific cause or charity. to benefit (verb) from something means to draw advantages from it: I'm sure my English would benefit from a few months in an English-speaking country. |
| blue-collar worker | A blue-collar worker is someone who does manual or unskilled work. Compare with white-collar worker. | Blue-collar workers are increasingly being replaced by machines and robots as manufacturing becomes more automated. | The term blue-collar refers to the blue clothing that manual workers traditionally wore. |
| body language | The way we behave, sit, walk, smile and look at people tells them a lot about us and the way we are feeling. This is known as body language. | Your body language during an interview is just as important as what you say. That's why it's a good idea to do a practice interview with a friend and ask them to point out any nervous habits you may have. | Body language is an important aspect of non-verbal communication . |
| British Home Office | The Home Office is the ministry in Britain with final responsibility for questions concerning visas and work permits. | The website of the British Home Office provides information about visa and work permit requirements for foreigners wishing to work in the UK. | |
| buddies, mentors and supervisors | Buddies, mentors and supervisors are the people who guide you throughout your internship. Whereas mentors and supervisors will usually be on a higher staff level, will assign you work and check on your progress, buddies are mostly colleagues who look after you on a day-to-day basis. | If you have any problems during your internship, either with the job or with personal problems you may have settling into the company, ask your buddy, mentor or supervisor for help. | to be a buddy/mentor to someone to supervise (verb) someone or something |
| busywork | Busywork is time spent doing tasks such as photocopying, sending out faxes, filing, making coffee and so on. | My internship didn't give me much practical work experience. I spent most of my time just doing busywork, so it was pretty boring. | to do busywork (verb) If you are busy (adjective), you have a lot of things to do. |
| candidate | A job candidate is somebody who a company is considering for a job. | The HR department at BMW made a shortlist of ten candidates from a total of 200 applications for the graduate traineeship . | |
| career | The type of work that you do for most of your working life is your career. The word career suggests that you either stay in one line of work (for example, a career in publishing) or one kind of job (a career as a civil engineer) or at one company (a career at the bank). | While Peter was at Munich University, he did two internships at different publishing houses. He knew this would improve his chances of a career in publishing. | a career in + profession (for example, a career in publishing) Career advisor (= someone who helps you decide what sort of career would be suitable for you and advises you, for example, on the qualifications you need) |
| career fair | There are many types of career fair - from those organised specifically for students looking for internships and graduate jobs to industry-specific fairs for experienced professionals. The aim of career fairs is to give companies the chance to meet and screen a large number of potential job candidates and to give job hunters the opportunity to meet potential employers. | Most final-year students in the US and UK go to student career fairs, which are usually held in the autumn at universities around the country. University career faisr present the best opportunity to find out which companies are offering graduate traineeships in the coming year. They also offer the opportunity to network . | Career fairs are also known as careers fairs, job fairs or recruitment fairs. |
| career ladder | The career ladder refers to the different stages or steps of your career, like someone climbing a ladder to reach a higher level. | I took my first step on the career ladder when I was offered a graduate trainee position after graduating from university. | to climb the career ladder When you make a career move , you take the next step in your career. |
| career objective | See job objective. | ||
| career prospects | Your career prospects are the chances you have of getting a good job. | Doing an internship abroad can really improve yourcareer prospects. | The Human Resources Department processes the applications of prospective (adjective) (= possible / potential) job candidates. |
| CEO | CEO stands for “Chief Executive Officer”. The CEO is the highest ranking officer of a company and is often Chairman of the Board as well. | When you research the company you want to apply to, it is very important to find out about the company structure, including the name of the CEO. | Managing Director is the British equivalent of CEO, although the title CEO is being used increasingly in British-based international companies. |
| chronological CV | A chronological CV is a CV format that organises the job seeker's skills and achievements by date, mainly focusing on work history and education. | A chronological CV is especially good if you have had a lot of work experience as it emphasises your work history. | to list something in chronlogical order means to list the items by date in the order in which they happened. English-language CVs are usually written in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent thing you have done. See also functional CV . |
| clarify | When you clarify information, you check to make sure you have understood it correctly. | During a job interview, if you're not sure whether you've understood a question correctly, you should clarify what the interviewer has said straight away. You can do this by paraphrasing the question ("Do you mean...?) or by asking him/her to repeat it ("I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?"). | He asked for clarification(noun) of the question. (= he asked for the question to be clarified, to be made clear) She spoke with great clarity. (noun) (= what she said was clear and easy to understand) |
| cold calling | Cold calling a company means contacting them to ask whether they have any job vacancies even though they have not advertised in the media. | When looking for an internship, you could try cold calling any companies that you are interested in. However, before you phone them, you should find out who you need to speak to and exactly what their company does. Also be clear about what you can offer the company and what information you want from them. | Besides cold calling companies, you can also cold contact them by sending them an unsolicited job application . |
| cold contact cover letter | A cold contact cover letter is one that is written to an employer for a job that has not been advertised. | I really wanted to work for IBM, so I sent them a cold contact cover letter to see if they had any suitable vacancies. | See also cold calling and unsolicited job application . to cold contact (verb) somebody. |
| communication skills | If you have good communication skills, you have the ability to speak and write well and to get ideas across clearly. | Excellent communication skills are essential for anyone wishing to work in advertising. | to communicate (verb) with someone: It is important for salespeople to be able to communicate well with a wide variety of people. |
| complementary close | The closing phrase of a letter is called the complementary close. For cover letters, the most common complementary closes are "Yours sincerely" in the UK and "Sincerely" in the US. | At the end of your cover letter, check that the complementary close is consistent with the rest of your letter and is either in UK or US style. | Complementary close is spelled complimentary close in the US. |
| comprehensive | Something that is comprehensive includes a lot of things. | The website contains comprehensive information for people who want to apply for a job abroad. | |
| computer-literate | Someone who is computer-literate knows how to use a computer. | It's difficult to get a good job nowadays if you are not computer-literate. | The job requires a fairly high level of computer literacy (noun). Someone who is literate (adjective) is able to read and write. Inner-city schools often have a lower rate of literacy (noun) than schools situated in wealthier areas. (= the number of children who can read and write is higher) |
| continuing professional development | Continuing professional development (CPD) is the means by which members of professional associations maintain, improve and broaden the knowledge and skills required in their professional lives. | Alena had trained to work in banking before she went to university. As a student, she was allowed to take part in the continuing professional development programme of the bank she had trained at, so that she could easily go back into banking after university if she wanted to. | There are several terms that are used as synonyms for CPD. They include continuing vocational education (CVE), lifelong learning and work-based learnig (WBL). These terms have slightly different meanings depending on the context in which they are used, but they all refer to continual learning both throughout a professional career and throughout life. |
| contract | A contract is a legal agreement between two or more people or groups. It can be an agreement on terms of employment, or an agreement between two or more companies to do certain work or provide certain services. | Make sure you agree with all the terms of the employment contract before you sign it. | to sign a contract / enter into a contract / break the terms of a contract The builders are under contract to our firm to install new bathrooms. (= they have a contract with our firm) A verbal contract is one that is not written down, but is simply agreed on verbally by the parties involved. |
| corporate culture | Corporate culture is the collection of beliefs, expectations and values shared by the management and employees of a company. | It's important to understand the corporate culture of a company before applying for a job. You will be able to decide if it's the kind of company you want to work for, and it will be easier for you to tailor your application to the needs of the company. | Corporate image (noun) is the impression the public has of a company. A company's corporate identity (noun) is comprised of the qualities that visually unite all parts of a company and distinguish it from others, for example, its name, logo or the design of its packaging and advertising materials. |
| cover letter | A cover letter is a letter that you send with your CV/resume as part of a job application. It should emphasise the skills and experience that make you suitable for a particular job, clearly demonstrating what you have to offer the company. | When Susanne was looking for an internship, she sent off a lot of job applications. She always tailored each cover letter to the internship she was applying for. She knew that mass-produced cover letters are never successful. | A cover letter is also known as a covering letter (UK), letter of application or letter of motivation. |
| curriculum vitae (CV) | A curriculum vitae, commonly abbreviated as CV, is a table of information about your education, work experience and other skills and activities. You send your CV to a company or organisation as part of a job application. | Unlike German CVs, you never attach a photo to a UK or US CV unless you are specifically asked to do so by the company. | The American term for CV is resume . |
| curriculum-related | Most internships are curriculum-related, meaning they are relevant to your programme of study. | If you are able to get a work placement that is curriculum-related, you may be able to use some of the things that you've learnt in your studies. | Related can be combined with other nouns to form compound adjectives, such as work-related, study-related and career-related. |
| CV heading | The CV heading is the section at the top of the CV that lists your personal details. | In English CVs you do not include your marital status in the CV heading. | |
| degrees and certifications | Degrees and certifications are earned at college, university and professional institutes, such as the Chamber of Commerce. | There is no need to enclose copies of your degrees and certifications with your CV and cover letter. If a potential employer needs to see them, he or she will ask for them. | to do or to have a university degree in history to get or to have certification in business english |
| designated organization | A designated organization is an organization authorised by the US State Department to act as an intermediary between you, the company you are applying to do an internship at and the US embassy. Based on the designated organization’s recommendation, the US embassy will issue you with a visa. Canada also has designated organizations in Germany. | When you have been accepted for an internship in the USA, contact a designated organization in your own country to apply for a work permit. | Martin has been designated (verb) the job of spokesperson for our organisation. (= he has been given the job) His official designation (noun) (= title) is Senior Manager. See Jobline LMU's list of designated organizations in the Link List. |
| dress code | A company’s dress code means the type of clothes the employees are expected to wear at work. A formal dress code means that men are expected to wear a suit and tie, and women should wear a suit or smart trousers or a skirt and a smart top, possibly a jacket. | When starting work at a new company, even as an intern, it is important to find out what the dress code is in advance so that you can dress appropriately. | A company with a strict dress code usually does not allow casual clothing. |
| employment | Employment is the state of having regular paid work, or, from the company's perspective, the act of giving someone a paid job. | Many students seek full-time employment at major companies when they graduate. Companies are usually happy to give employment to top graduates. | to employ someone (verb) A company is an employer (noun) and the people employed (past participle) by a company are its employees (noun). Most graduates look for full-time employment whereas, for example, a mother with young children may only be seeking part-time employment. If you are your own boss, you are self-employed (adjective). If you are out of work, you are unemployed (adjective). The unemploymen ratet (noun) is the percentage of people in an economy who do not have a job. If you are made redundant, you can apply for unemployment benefit (noun) (UK). An employment agency (noun) is an organisation that helps people find work. An employment authorization (noun) is another word for a work permit in Canada. |
| excellent command of English | If you have an excellent command of English, you are nearly fluent in both written and spoken English. This is a standard way of describing excellent English skills. | The interviewers agreed that the German job candidate had an excellent command of English and would be unlikely to experience any language problems if they offered her the job in Sydney. | Another way to say that you have an excellent command of English is "excellent written and verbal communication skills in english". If you have a good working knowledge of a language, you can make yourself understood when speaking and understand the gist when reading. |
| extra-curricular | Hobbies, club memberships and other activities that are not part of your study programme are known as extra-curricular activities. | It is usual to include extra-curricular activities in a UK or US-style CV, especially those that illustrate attributes such as leadership, interpersonal or team skills. If you do sport in your free time, for example, a team sport can illustrate your ability to cooperate with others, while an individual sport can demonstrate determination and self-initiative. | A curriculum (noun) is the group of subjects studied at a school or college, or the programme of study for a particular subject. |
| face-to-face interview | A face-to-face interview, as opposed to a telephone interview, is an interview in which the candidate and the interviewer are both present in the same room. | In face-to-face interviews, non-verbal communication is extremely important. | |
| factual interview questions | Factual interview questions are about your life, education and work experience. | Most job interviews begin with some small talk and a couple of factual questions. | Factual is the adjective form of the noun fact. See also behaviour-based questions and human questions . |
| flexitime | If you work flexitime, it means you can start and finish work at different times every day if you wish, as long as you work the required number of hours per week. | I love working flexitime as I find it difficult to get up very early in the morning and am at my most productive in the afternoon and early evening. | to work / to be on flexitime (verb) |
| functional CV | A functional or skills CV is a CV in which the main focus is on the applicant’s skills and education. | If there are gaps in your employment history or you have very little work experience, it might be a good idea to write a functional CV, which emphasises skills, rather than a chronological CV , which emphasises work history. | Functional means practical here. |
| gap year (UK) | A gap year usually refers to a year in which pre-university students travel or work between finishing school and starting university. The term gap year is also increasingly used to refer to time spent by undergraduates away from their studies travelling or gaining work experience and by graduates taking a year out between graduating and starting their first full-time job. | Employers and university staff attach a great deal of importance to the enterprise, maturity and commitment that students demonstrate when they do a gap year at any time before, during or after their degrees. | To take or to do a gap year is used as a synonym for "to take a year out" in British English. Gap students are students doing a gap year. A gap package refers to a gap year programme that is organised by a company or organisation. |
| graduate | A graduate is a person who has completed a study programme. In Britain students studying towards higher degrees such as a Master’s or a PhD are called postgraduates. In the US these students are also called graduate students. | The company is looking for graduate trainees for the marketing department. | tograduate (verb) from college/university with a degree in Physics Students are awarded their degrees during a graduation ceremony (noun). Your graduation date (noun) is the day on which you finish or are awarded your degree. A high school graduate (US) (noun) is someone who has completed high school. In the USA, people studying for a postgraduate degree attend graduate school (noun). See also undergraduate and postgraduate . |
| graduate trainee programme or scheme | A graduate trainee programme is a work programme set up by companies to train graduate recruits for managerial positions. | He's applied for a place on a graduate trainee programme in a London-based publishing house. | In the USA, "programme" is spelt "program". In the UK, the spelling "program" is used for “computer program”. See also traineeship . |
| grant | A student grant is money provided by the government or an organisation to pay for education. Unlike a student loan, it does not have to be paid back to the lender. See also student loan. | ||
| gross pay | Your gross pay is the total amount of money you earn before deductions for tax and insurance contributions (for example, health, pension and unemployment contributions). Job advertisements in the US and UK normally state the gross pay annually rather than monthly. See also net pay. | Before going to an interview, find out the average gross pay for the type of job you have applied for. Then if you are asked what your salary expectations are, you can give a realistic answer. | A company's gross profit (noun) is the profit it makes before taxes and other deductions. To gross (verb) means to earn a gross profit. The company grossed (verb) £50 million last year. |
| head office/headquarters | The head office or headquarters of a company is the central or main office that controls all of a company's activities. | Our headquarters are located in North London. There is a group of people coming down from head office next week to tell us about the latest changes in company structure. | Headquarters is a plural form:
The headquarters of the company are in London. However, headquarters is often used with a singular verb: Our headquarters has moved. |
| hidden job market | The hidden job market refers to jobs (and it’s the majority of them) that are not advertised through the usual channels such as the Internet or the classified ads of a newspaper, but can only be found by word-of-mouth, networking, unsolicited job applications and cold calling. | The good thing about the hidden job market is that there is less competition than if you apply for an advertised position. | |
| hire | To hire someone means to give them a job. | It is company policy at Marks and Spencer, the leading British retailer, to hire several graduate trainees every year. | HIre and fire refers to the ease with which employers can take on new staff and then let them go again, especially in the US. In the UK, you can hire a car / bike for a short time if you don’t have your own. In the US, the verb rent is used in this context. |
| human questions | In a job interview, human questions are questions about your personality, your opinions and preferences, and, based on this information, whether you would fit the job and the workplace. | "How would your friends describe you?" is an example of a human question. | A human or human being (noun) is another word for a person. Human can also be used as an adjective meaning “referring to or typical of people”, for example human resources, human rights, human nature. See also behaviour-based questions and factual interview questions . |
| human resources | Human resources is the name of the department in a company that deals with recruitment and pay. It is often abbreviated as HR and is also known as the personnel department. | If you write an unsolicited job application to a company, it is usually best to send it to the human resources department, as they are in charge of recruitment. | To work in HR (verb) means to have a job in human resources. |
| ice-breaker questions | Ice-breaker questions are asked at the beginning of a job interview in order to make the interviewee feel more relaxed. They might be about the interviewee's journey to the company or about his/her hobbies, for example. | Although ice-breaker questions are often little more than small talk, try to make your answers interesting. The interviewer does not really want to know that your handball team lost the last three matches, but he or she will be interested in the fact that you play handball and the team skills that demonstrates. | Talking about the weather is an easy way to break the ice (verb) in a business situation. |
| intercultural communication | Intercultural communication is the process of communication between people of different cultures. Intercultural communication is more than speaking a foreign language; it involves bridging the gap between your own culture and the target culture by being open to cultural differences and similarities. | Silke had been studying English for a couple of years and she thought that her English was quite good. However, when she did a work placement in Dublin, she understood for the first time that good intercultural communication requires more than simply speaking English well; she realised that she had to be open-minded about cultural differences, to respect them and to know how to deal with them when they caused her difficulty. | There are many terms used to describe the ability to communicate across cultures. These include cross-cultural capability, cross-cultural skills, cross-cultural competence, intercultural awareness, and intercultural communicative competence. |
| internship | An internship is a period of time that a student or a recent graduate spends working for a company or an organisation in a position related to their field of study. The term internship is American English. Its equivalent in the UK is work placement. | John is studying electronic engineering and spent last summer doing a three-month internship with Siemens in China. | In English you do an internship or you take part in an internship program. Do not use the verb "to make" with internship. An intern (noun) is a person who does an internship: Birgit is an intern at a computer software company. |
| interpersonal and communication skills | If you have good interpersonal skills, you are able to relate to and to feel comfortable with a wide range of people of various backgrounds in different situations. If you have good communication skills, you are able to communicate effectively, formally and informally, verbally and in writing. | If you want to work in human resources, it is important to have goodinterpersonal and communication skills as you will have to deal with people's problems on a daily basis. | |
| interview | When applying for a job, you may be invited to a job interview, in which you will be asked questions to find out whether you are suitable for the job. | The most common type of interview for a full-time position is the face-to-face interview, in which candidates are usually interviewed at the company they have applied to by people from the company. However, many companies try to save costs by conducting telephone interviews – at least for the first interview round. | to conduct (verb) a job interview to interview (verb) someone for a job |
| interview round | An interview round is one of a series of interviews. Some companies will have two or three rounds of interviews, with the number of candidates reduced in each round. | I think my interview went pretty well, so I'm hoping to be shortlisted for the next interview round. | |
| interview skills | Interview skills include knowing how to answer typical interview questions, understanding and using body language to your advantage and behaving appropriately in an interview. | Practice makes perfect, so try to do some mock job interviews with a friend, possibly recording them, in order to improve your interview skills. | to improveor to practise (verb) your interview skills |
| interviewer | The interviewer is the person who asks the questions in a job interview. | When you have an interview, there may be more than one interviewer present. | The person being interviewed for a job is known as the interviewee (noun). See also interview , interview round and interview skills . |
| job application | A job application is a written request for a job. Job applications in English-speaking countries are usually made up of a CV (US: resume) and a cover letter. Applicants must also fill in a form when applying for a job at some companies. | There is no one correct way of writing a job application in English. Some firms or recruitment agencies ask you to contact them for an application form or to fill in an online form. In many cases though, you have to send in your own written application. | a written job application (= CV and covering letter together) an online job application form job application procedure/process to apply (verb) for a job a job applicant (= the person applying for a job) |
| job description | The job description in a job advertisement gives important information about the job, such as the type of work involved and the skills, training and qualifications needed to carry it out. Pay and benefits are also frequently mentioned. | Read the job description carefully when applying for a job and tailor your application to what the company is looking for. | to analyse (verb) a job description |
| job objective | The job objective comes after the heading in your CV. It is a clear statement of what role you want to play for your future employer and what you want out of the job. | "A graduate trainee position in which I can contribute and develop my marketing skills" is an example of a job objective in a CV. | Other terms for job objective are career objective, career goal or simply objective. |
| job shadowing | Job shadowing means accompanying someone during their working day or week to find out more about their job and the company they work for. | Some students contact companies and ask if they can job shadow someone for a day to find out more about a job or the company. Job shadowing is also sometimes offered by internship or graduate trainee schemes, providing interns and trainees with an opportunity to observe and ask questions so that they can get an idea of what a job involves. | To shadow someone (verb) means to follow and observe them closely. Another word for job shadowing is work shadowing . |
| job-specific | Something that is job-specific is related to a job. | Do not send the same cover letter when applying for more than one job. Tailor it every time to make it job-specific by highlighting how your skills and experience fit the requirements of the particular job you are applying for. | |
| k | k stands for “one thousand” when talking about pay. | The starting salary for this job is £20k p.a. plus benefits. | k is used in the UK and Australia in this context. It comes from the Greek for “thousand” (as in kilogram, kilometre). |
| key skills and experience | The key skills and experience section of a CV is optional, but is highly recommended as it is a summary of the skills and experience you have that are most relevant to the job. It is sometimes also called the key skills and qualifications section. | Remember that the key skills and experience section of your CV should only consist of a brief summary of these points. You should go into more detail about your skills and experience in the Work Experience and Education sections. | The adjective key in this context refers to the most important points or factors. See also skill . |
| keywords | In job applications, keywords are the words that relate to the skills and qualifications an employer is looking for. If you apply for a job in marketing, the keyword “marketing” and related terms should be used in your CV and cover letter. | Including relevant keywords in your cover letter is a good way of tailoring the letter to the requirements of a specific job. | See also key skills and experience |
| milkround | The milkround is the informal name for the annual recruitment programme that takes place at British universities. Companies visit universities to give presentations and recruit final-year students for their graduate trainee schemes. | One of the most useful things about attending milkround presentations is the opportunity to talk to recent graduate recruits who companies frequently bring along to represent them. These graduates can tell you the best way to prepare for interviews, and what pay and working conditions are really like. | The term milkround refers to the morning round made by milkmen in Britain to deliver milk. In the same way, graduate recruiters make their rounds to universities throughout the UK every year. Milkround is also written as two words, milk round. |
| negotiate | To negotiate means to discuss something and try to come to an agreement that is acceptable to everyone involved. You may have to negotiate the terms of your employment contract before accepting or turning down a job. | Before you go to a job interview, you should find out as much as you can about the terms of the job and the amount usually paid to interns or graduate recruits. This will put you in a better position to negotiate your salary. | Something that is negotiable (adjective) or open to negotiation has not yet been finalised - it can still be discussed. If something is non-negotiable (adjective) it has already been fixed and cannot be discussed or altered - a non-negotiable price, for example. A negotiator (noun) is someone who takes part in negotiations. to be good at negotiating |
| net pay | Your net pay is what remains of your salary after tax and other contributions have been deducted. Compare with gross pay. | In Britain and the USA, employees generally pay lower taxes and insurance contributions than in Germany, so their net pay is normally a higher percentage of their gross pay than in Germany. | Net income, disposable income and take-home pay are all other terms for net pay. Net can also be used as a verb: The company netted (verb) £30 million after tax. |
| networking | In a business context we speak of networking as a systematic approach to meeting and talking to people who may be useful to you in your professional career. | Networking is important in the business world. It is a good way of finding out about openings on the hidden job market. | to network (verb) to be a good networker (noun) |
| non-verbal communication | In non-verbal communication you communicate information about yourself and your emotions to other people without actually speaking. This could be through body language or the way you dress, for example. | In an interview, it's not just what you say that counts, but also how you say it. The way you dress, your body language and your voice can impress the interviewer as much as what you say about your qualifications and skills. In fact, according to studies, most of the impact of a message comes from non-verbal communication. | To communicate non-verbally (verb) is to communicate with somebody without speaking. |
| numerate | Someone who is numerate is able to work with numbers. | This job requires candidates who are numerate and computer-literate. | The government is committed to improving the numeracy (noun) of schoolchildren. (= improving mathematical skills) |
| on spec | To send an application to a company on spec means to send in an application even though a job has not been advertised This is also called an unsolicited application . | She was so impressed by the company that she decided to send them her CV on spec. | to send (verb) in an application on spec on spec is short for “on speculation”. |
| open and closed questions | In a job interview, open questions allow you to give detailed answers and to give examples (“Why would you like to work for us?”), whereas closed questions only require a short answer (“When are you going to graduate?”). | Keep your answers to closed questions short and to the point, but be prepared to expand on your answer if necessary. When answering open questions, provide examples that are relevant to the job you are applying for. | to ask, to answeror to respond to (verbs) an open/closed question |
| panel of interviewers | We talk about a panel of interviewers when there are three or more interviewers in a face-to-face interview . | If you are interviewed by a panel of interviewers, address your answers directly to the interviewer who asks you a question, but make eye-contact with the other interviewers from time to time, too, to show that you are also aware of their presence. | A panel of experts is a group of experts. Quiz shows often have panels of celebrities. |
| paperwork | Paperwork is all the documents you need to complete a particular process, such as an application. It can also refer to the part of a job that consists of letter-writing and record-keeping. | Allow yourself plenty of time when applying for a job abroad. It can take several months to get all the necessary paperwork together, especially if you are applying outside the European Union. | I've got so many reports to write at the moment that I feel as if I'm drowning in paperwork. (= I've got too many forms to fill in / documents to write.) |
| paraphrase | To paraphrase something means to say or write it in different words. | If you need to check that you have understood a question during a job interview, you can paraphrase it, starting with "So in other words...?" or "So you mean...?" | |
| perform | To perform means to carry out or do something. You perform a task or a job, for example. In the job application process, perform is usually used to talk about how well or how badly a candidate does in a job interview. | Even if your CV and cover letter are impressive, it is important to prepare carefully for job interviews so that you perform well in a face-to-face situation. | to perform a task, a job or a duty to perform well or badly in a job, an interview or an exam. |
| perks | The perks of a job are additional advantages or benefits that you receive, either as goods or money. | The company car is one of the best perks of my job. | Benefits and fringe benefits are synonyms for perks. Perk is short for perquisite. |
| personality questionnaire | A personality questionnaire is a type of psychometric test for assessing your personal skills. Personality questionnaires are often used in assessment centres. | Personality questionnaires are one method of judging whether a candidate fits into the working environment of a particular company. | In the UK we say you fill in a questionnaire whereas in the US you fill out a questionnaire. In both countries you can say complete a questionnaire. |
| personnel | Personnel is the department in a company that usually deals with recruitment and pay. In many companies these days the personnel department is called Human Resources. | Frances works in the personnel department of her company. | Personnel is also a synonym for "staff", meaning the employees in a department or in a company. Be careful not to confuse personnel with personal. Personnel (stress on the last syllable) means staff or the HR department. Personal (stress on the first syllable) is an adjective that refers to things that belong to you or relate to you as an individual person, such as personal belongings or personal identification number (PIN). |
| placement | A placement or work placement is the British term for what is called an internship in the US. | Work placements in Britain are often an integral part of a course of study and are frequently organised by universities. In recent years, the number of work placements offered by companies has increased enormously. They are becoming almost as common as internships in the US. | to do a (work) placement a placement student |
| postgraduate | In the UK, a postgraduate student is someone studying towards a higher degree, such as a master’s or a PhD. In the US, a postgraduate student is often just called a graduate student. | She did her postgraduate degree at Oxford University. | In Britain, a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) is a one-year teacher training course for people with a bachelor’s degree that certifies them as school teachers. See also undergraduate and graduate . |
| proactive | A proactive person is someone who does not simply sit around and wait until somebody tells them what to do, but acts on their own initiative. | Since today's job market is so competitive, it is essential to be proactive when looking for a job. This will also show potential employers that you have initiative and are motivated. | to be proactive She took a proactive (adjective) approach to job hunting. It is better to tackle potential problems proactively (adverb) before they arise. |
| profession | Though profession can refer to a lot of jobs that require specialised training, it often specifically refers to a career in fields such as medicine, teaching, law or accountancy, which requires special training and is generally highly respected by the public. | Students who choose to train for the medical or legal professions generally study longer than other students and have to pass special examinations before they are allowed to practise in their chosen profession. | A lot of professionals (noun) work downtown in law offices, hospitals and accounting firms. Pete is a professional (adjective) footballer. (= he earns his living by playing football) I want Sue's professional (adjective) opinion on this report. (= her opinion as an expert in this field) It is important for people in my line of work to look professional (adjective) at all times, which is why I always wear a suit. We're having our brochures printed professionally. (adverb) (= by experts, in this case by printers) Our staff are expected to show a high level of professionalism (noun) at all times. |
| psychometric test | Psychometric tests are used by some employers to evaluate how job candidates will do in the workplace. They are usually timed tests taken under exam conditions that assess intellectual and analytical abilities, personality, motivation, values and interests. They often take place at an assessment centre. | When Peter applied for a graduate traineeship at Shell, he was invited with fifteen other candidates to a two-day assessment centre. The candidates met some managers, took part in discussions, were interviewed and also took psychometric tests, which were in part personality tests and in part tests of analytical reasoning. | to take or to do a psychometric test |
| recruiter | A recruiter is someone who looks for people for a particular job. Companies often recruit employees directly but they also employ outside recruiters, known as recruitment or employment agencies, to find suitable employees. | University career fairs are a good place to meet recruiters from a variety of different companies and organisations. | to recruit someone for a job (verb) Simon is a new recruit (noun) to our firm. (= he has recently started working there) The human resources department is in charge of recruitment (noun) in our company. A recruitment fair is another word for a job fair . |
| red tape | Red tape is an informal term for excessive bureaucracy. It is often used in connection with official or government procedures that take longer and are more complicated than seems necessary. | Be sure to apply for work permits and visas in good time if you want to work or study abroad. The processing of your application may take much longer than you think because of all the red tape involved. | To cut through red tape means to avoid excessive bureaucracy. |
| referee | Referee. See reference. | ||
| reference | In job applications, a reference is a person willing to report on an applicant’s character and capabilities. It is also the letter of recommendation that that person writes. At the bottom of your CV, simply write “ references available upon request”. Do not send in letters of recommendation unless specifically requested to do so. | Tim made such a good impression during his six-month internship with BMW that his boss wrote him a glowing (= very good) reference. | In the UK, the person writing a reference is also called a referee: Carola asked her professor to act as a referee for her when she applied for a job. After her interview, the company contacted her professor and asked him to send them a reference for Carola. |
| referral cover letter | If you and the person you are writing to have a mutual acquaintance, you can mention that person’s name in your cover letter. This type of cover letter is sometimes called a referral cover letter. | In referral cover letters it is best to mention the name of the person you want to refer to in the first paragraph of the letter: "Hans Merz, formally the international specialist of your accountancy firm, suggested I should write to you about the possibility of doing a work placement at your London office." | If you refer to or make reference to somebody, you mention that person's name in connection with what you are writing or talking about. |
| report to someone | You report to your immediate supervisor. | All members of staff report directlyto the department manager. | To report back to someone means to give that person a report on something that has happened. For example, if you represent your company at a meeting, you report back to your boss and your team about that meeting. When you start a job, you will usually be given the name of a person to report to. This is the person you should go to see first. |
| residency / residence permit | A residency or residence permit is an official document that gives you permission to live in a particular country. | Citizens of countries in the European Union do not need a residency permit to live in another EU country. | To reside (verb) is a more formal way of saying "to live". Local residents (noun) (= people living in an area) have complained about the noise levels coming from the nearby disco. |
| resume | Resume is the US term for curriculum vitae or CV. | I'd like to spend a few months working in a summer camp in America, so I've sent my resume to a couple of organisations. | Resume is pronounced and also sometimes spelled "résumé". |
| resume bank | A resume bank (called a CV bank in Britain) is an Internet database where you can post your resume for recruiters to review. Many job search websites have resume banks. | Jack started posting his resume on online resume banks when he was in his final year at university. | A bank in this context is a database. |
| retire | When a person retires, they have reached the end of their working life. | Alison hopes to retire early. To finance her early retirement, she has been investing in mutual funds and paying into a life insurance policy. She will also get something from the government pension plan – called “Social Security” in the US – and retirement benefits from the company she works for. | At the moment, 65 is the usual retirement age (noun) in Britain.
One way of reducing the staff in a company is to encourage people aged 55 or over to take early retirement (noun). Someone who has retired is called a "pensioner" in Britain. |
| reverse chronological order | See chronological CV. | ||
| salary | A salary is weekly/monthly or yearly payment for work. When applying for a job, you usually negotiate what your annual salary will be. | What is a good salary for teachers in your country? | Company CEOs earn a high salary (a lot of money). If you don't earn very much, you have a low salary. Some employees, such as sales representatives, are paid a basic salary, which can be quite low, plus commission (a percentage of everything they sell). See also gross pay and net pay . |
| salutation | The salutation is the opening greeting of a letter. | Note the differences in punctuation between salutations in UK and US-style business letters. For the UK you should write "Dear Ms Jones" (no punctuation), while for the US you should write "Dear Ms. Jones:" (a full stop after Ms and a colon at the end of the line). | Soldiers salute (verb) by raising their right hand to their head to greet a superior officer. |
| scholarship | A scholarship is money for studying awarded on merit. | ||
| screening | As part of the recruitment process, companies may get in touch with potential interview candidates (usually by phone) and ask them some questions to check their suitability for the job. This is known as candidate screening. | Screening is usually conducted by a member of the human resources department. The screening interview is designed to eliminate unqualified candidates. | to screen (verb) candidates (for a job) candidate screening screening interviews |
| search for | To search for something means to try to find something. | She has spent many hours on the internet searching for information about the company. | To search (verb) something means to look through it carefully All of our bags were searched at the airport before we were allowed to leave. Zoe searched the net for specific information about possible jobs in her field. (= she used the internet for her job search) |
| self-starter | A self-starter is someone who uses their own initiative and does not have to be told what to do. | Many companies put self-starter right at the top of their list of desirable employee skills together with interpersonal and communication skills , teamwork skills and analytical skills. That's why you'll find the word self-starter in many job advertisements. | self- is a common prefix in the context of work: a self-employed (adjective) person is someone who works for themselves rather than being employed by a company. He or she has to be a self-starter, self-motivated (adjective) and have self-initiative (noun). |
| skill | A skill is something you have learnt to do well. Some skills, such as computer skills, often require special training. Other skills, such as communication or leadership skills, can be acquired anywhere, at college or through sport or voluntary work, for example, without formal training. | When you write your job application, you must highlight your skills and qualifications to show that you have what the company is looking for. | to learn/acquire (verb) a skill Soft skills are "emotional" skills such as leadership, negotiating or interpersonal skills. Hard skills are technical or physical skills such as computer skills. Transferable skills are skills that you have acquired some time in your life, from previous work experience, education, societies, hobbies, parenting and so on, and that can be used in other areas as well. A skilled (adjective) worker is someone who has been trained to do a particular job. Unskilled (adjective) workers do jobs for which no particular training is required (for example, washing plates in a restaurant). A complaints officer has to be skilful (adjective = good)) at dealing with people. The prime minister answered several difficult questions skilfully (adverb). (= cleverly and tactfully) See also key skills and experience. |
| skills CV | See functional CV. | ||
| small talk | Light conversation is often referred to as small talk. In an interview, there will normally be some small talk, which will include a few ice-breaker questions , before the real interview begins. | It is a good idea to think of some subjects for small talk for your interview. Your hobbies or countries you have visited are good subjects to discuss in this situation. | to make (verb) small talk: I don't really enjoy making small talk. |
| social security | In the UK, social security is the name for government insurance schemes for health, pensions, unemployment and so on. In the US, social security is the government pension fund. It is the largest deduction from your paycheck. | With the unemployment rate being so high at the moment, many people in Britain have to live off social security. | Employed people pay social security contributions. to draw social security / to receive social security benefits See also benefit . |
| stipend | A stipend is a fixed amount of money given to someone to pay for costs. | She was paid a monthly stipend of €300 while doing her internship at the publishing company. | to be paid / receive a stipend (verb) |
| student loan | A student loan is money students in higher education borrow. A student loan helps a student cover costs at university. It usually has to be paid back over a period of time at a very low interest after university. | ||
| style sheet | In the context of a word-processing or layouting program, a style sheet defines formats such as font (for example, Arial, Times New Roman), font size (points), line spacing, margin widths and more. Style sheets are important for giving a consistent look to any document by ensuring that the same styles are used throughout the document. | It's a good idea to use a style sheet when you are writing your CV and cover letter. The style sheet will help you to create a clean, consistent layout. | Cascading style sheets (CSS) are style sheets used together with HTML (hypertext mark-up language) to produce an internet page. Style sheets in a wider sense (also called style manuals or style guides) are rules on how to format a document and are especially important in the publishing industry and for scholarly publications. |
| summer job | A summer job is any job a student does during the summer. It is not necessarily related to the student’s studies. | Although my summer job working as a hotel receptionist in my home town had nothing to do with the subjects I'm studying, I was still able to gain valuable experience of dealing with people and develop my organisational skills. | to do / get / apply for a summer job |
| task | A task is a specific job that has to be done, especially on a regular basis. | One of the tasks of the human resources department is to mediate between a member of staff and his/her superiors when, for example, a problem with working conditions arises. | to do / complete / perform a task to set or to give someone the task of doing something: I've set myself the task of completing this paper by the end of the week. |
| telephone interview | See interview. | ||
| trainee | A trainee is somebody who is taught the skills for doing a particular job while working on the job. Many companies train new graduate employees in graduate trainee schemes that often lead to management positions within the company. See also graduate trainee. | For Sarah, a final-year student of Business Administration at Birmingham University, the first step on the career ladder was to secure a trainee position at a major bank. Tom is a trainee salesman at a well-known publishing house. | to do a traineeship See also apprenticeship . to train (verb) someone to train to become a graphic designer |
| transferable skills | See skills. | ||
| undergraduate | An undergraduate is someone studying for their first degree, such as a B.A. or a B.Sc. | An undergraduate degree normally takes 3 or 4 years in Britain. | to be an undergraduate (at the University of Birmingham) In Britain and America it is normal to talk about the year of studies you are in rather than the term or semester: Maria is a second-yearundergraduate student of physics. See also graduate and postgraduate . |
| unique selling point/USP | A unique selling point (or USP) is a marketing term that refers to what makes a product special. When applying for a job, you are the product and your USP is the sum of the special qualities that you can offer a company. | A good job application meets three criteria: it has to be clear, relevant and special. In other words it should be easy to read, it should show that you have relevant qualifications and experience and it should highlight your unique selling point – in other words, what makes you the best job candidate. | Marketers also use the term unique selling propositon |
| unsolicited | Something that is unsolicited has not been requested by the person receiving it. | Jörg, an IT student, wanted to do an internship in Sydney, but he couldn't find a specific job to apply for. So he did some internet research, found ten interesting IT companies in Sydney and sent them all unsolicited job applications. | An unsolicited job application is also called an on spec (= on speculation) application. See also cold calling and cold contact cover letter . |
| visa | A visa is a document that allows you to travel into or through a country. | If you are planning to work abroad, it is a good idea to contact the embassy of the country you are going to and inquire about their visa requirements such as whether you need a visa and whether you are eligible for one. | to apply for a visa toissue a visa : to be eligible for a visa (= to fulfil the requirements for getting a visa) to be refused a visa/ to have one's visa application turned down (= to not get the visa you applied for) |
| vocation | A job that you do because you have a strong feeling that you are especially suitable for it is called a vocation. | Many students find that by trying out different kinds of work, they find their vocation in life, the career they want to follow. | Vocational (adjective) training / courses teach you the skills you need for a particular job. They are more practical than purely academic courses. Sally went to vocational school (noun) twice a week while she was doing her apprenticeship. |
| wage | A wage is payment for work on an hourly or daily basis, generally for manual or unskilled work. Compare with salary. | A wage is payment for work on an hourly or daily basis, generally for manual or unskilled work. Compare with salary . | Many students supplement their income with low-paid jobs such as working in restaurants for which they are paid an hourly wage. A country's minimum wage is the lowest wage allowed by law. |
| white-collar worker | A white-collar worker is someone who works in an office. Compare with blue-collar worker. | The number of white-collar workers in Britain has increased dramatically in the last 50 years. | A collar (noun) is the band of material around the neck of a shirt. White collar refers to the white shirts traditionally worn by office workers. |
| work experience | Work experience is what you’ve done in your working life. It can also be called professional experience or work history. | In a job application you list all your relevant work experience for a job in the section of your CV entitled work experience. | The term work experience is an uncountable noun, so it can't be used with an indefinite article. This means you cannot say “a” work experience, but you can say "some", "a lot of" or "not much" work experience. An experience, which is a countable noun, means something that has happened to you at some point in your life: My trip to Australia was a fantastic experience. I'll never forget it. In English, you say "to have an experience", and not "to make an experience". |
| work permit | A work permit is a document that allows you to work in a foreign country. | Citizens of European Union countries need a work permit to work in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. | to apply for (be granted / be issued with) a work permit See also visa . |
| work placement | See placement. | ||
| workload | Your workload is the amount of work you have to do, especially within a specified period. You can use the term to talk about both your study workload and the workload you have in a job. | When Nicole applied for the job she didn't take much notice of the sentence in the job ad that read: "flexible attitude and willingness to work on weekends when the need arises". It turned out that her workload was much heavier than she had expected. | A heavy workload means you have a lot to do. The opposite is a light workload. |
| year in industry (UK) | A year in industry refers to a gap year or a one-year placement spent working in industry to gain work experience. | A year in industry provides students with some really great experience to put on their CV and makes them attractive to potential employers. | to do (verb) a year in industry |
