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1.3. Vocabulary – Graduate Jobs & Job Interviews CB

Vocabulary – Jobs

The following words often form part of a job interview or are also generally used in business:


Study the words below and listen to the pronunciation below the word.

graduate – noun (a person who has a university degree),

headphones, headset, music

financial – adjective (connected with money and finance)

headphones, headset, music

decade – noun (a period of ten years, especially a continuous period, such as 1910–1919 or 2000–2009)

headphones, headset, music

wonder – verb ([transitive, intransitive] to think about something and try to decide what is true, what will happen, what you should do, etc.)

headphones, headset, music

Study the words below, look them up in a learner’s dictionary such as the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary and listen to the words

tough – adjective (comparative tougher, superlative toughest –  having or causing problems or difficulties)

crisis – noun (a time of great danger, difficulty or doubt when problems must be solved or important decisions must be made)

dramatically – adjective (very suddenly and to a very great and often surprising degree)

crash – in finance/business – noun (a sudden serious fall in the price or value of something; the occasion when a business, etc. fails)

construction – noun (the process or method of building or making something, especially roads, buildings, bridges, etc.)

sector – noun (a part of an area of activity, especially of a country’s economy)

fee – noun (an amount of money that you pay for professional advice or services)

debt – noun (a sum of money that somebody owes)

expectation – noun (a belief that something will happen because it is likely)

voluntary – adjective (done willingly, not because you are forced)

wealth – noun (a large amount of money, property, etc. that a person or country owns / wealth of something a large amount of something)

potential – adjective (that can develop into something or be developed in the future)

scheme – noun (a plan or system for doing or organizing something)

gain – verb (to obtain or win something, especially something that you need or want)

grant – noun (a sum of money that is given by the government or by another organization to be used for a particular purpose

recruitment – noun (the act or process of finding new people to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.)

Exercise 1.

Use the words above in full sentences and submit them below for evaluation. (Points are added to total course points)

Exercise 2.

Read the text on the Business English Space page and list other words/phrases you would like to study. Look them up in an online dictionary and write sentences using the words/phrases. You may send us a picture/document for correction/comments. (See form at the bottom of the page).

Should you be ready for a new job, it is essential that you learn the required vocabulary for the job interview.

  1. work environment – is the setting, social features, and physical conditions in which you perform your job
  2. management style –  is the particular way managers go about accomplishing the objectives in the organization
  3. overqualified –  means having better education than what is necessary or required for the position
  4. recruiter – is somebody sourcing (finding) and attracting candidates for a position
  5. colleague – is a co-worker
  6. industry –  is a group of companies that are related based on their primary business activities
  7. delegate –  means the transfer of responsibility for a task from a manager to a subordinate
  8. attention to detail – refers to your ability to efficiently use your cognitive resources to achieve thoroughness and accuracy when doing tasks
  9. background – is a person’s work history story or the past facts of a current situation
  10. self-disciplined – is the ability to make yourself do things you know you should do even when you do not want to
  11. candidate – is a person who applies for a job
  12. methodical – to do something according to a systematic or established procedure
  13. facilitate – to make an action or process easy or easier
  14. implement – to put a decision, plan, agreement, etc. into effect
  15. deadline – is the latest time or date by which something should be completed
  16. salary requirements – is the amount of compensation a person needs in order to accept a position
  17. HR (human resources) – the department of a business that handles the appointment, administration, and training of staff

In a job interview ensure to use the appropriate tenses:

  • Use the present simple tense for current job responsibilities and activities.
  • For a project, you’re in the middle of, use the present continuous tense.
  • Use the simple past tense for past positions.