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Talking about jobs

I t ’s a very challenging profession.

USEFUL TIPS: W hen t e lling p eople ab o u t yo u r job:

• Be brief and precise.
• Show how your job benefits people or organizations.
• Make sure that your description is relevant to the person you are talking to.
• Avoid technical terms or acronyms unless talking to a fellow expert.
• Accentuate the positive aspects rather than the negative.

Conversa tion
J e n n y H arris w o r k s f o r a c h a ri t y o rg a n iz a t io n c a lle d F o o d a id .
07 Sh e's a t t e n d in g a c are ers f a ir a t a u n iv e rsi t y w h e r e st u d e n ts can
t a lk t o r e p re se n t a t iv e s fro m lo ts o f c o m p a n ie s t o se e if t h e y w o u ld
lik e t o jo in t h e m .
Student Excuse me, are you working on the Foodaid stand?
Jenny Yes, can 1help you?
S Well, can you tell me what jobs at Foodaid involve?
J There are lots of jobs at Foodaid which involve doing all sorts of different things. What subject do
you study at university?
S Engineering.
J Very important for Foodaid. My colleague, Hassan Sahin, for example, is a mechanical engineer and
he is responsible for helping farmers in countries such as Chad or Pakistan where we work as an
NGO to drill water wells.
S Er... an NGO?
J Sorry, a Non-Governmental Organization.
S Right, of course. And what do you do?
J Well, actually I'm a lawyer. I'm in charge of m anaging the legal department and we make sure
that Foodaid understands any legal issues that might crop up in the work it does.
s 1hope 1don't sound rude, but you look very young to do that.
J That's what's so good about Foodaid! You get important responsibilities very quickly. A friend of mine
is working in Somalia and she manages a development budget of about two million dollars and she
supplies the whole of West Africa with trucks for transporting food and equipment. It's a very
challenainq job and she's only 23!
s 1see. But, as it's a charity, do you get paid for your work?
J Yes, of course. You'll never be rich working for Foodaid, but you get paid. Very often people like you
work with us for a few years to gain experience and then they move on to other jobs. Lots of
companies like the fact that you've worked for a charity.

Speaking
 UNIT 2 | Ta lkwww.frenglish.ru
ing a b ou t jobs

S: Hmm. So, what makes a job with Foodaid interesting, then?

J: It's very re w arding. You feel you are doing something useful with your skills, not just making some
company shareholders rich. And even if the w ork is demanding, it's never boring.
S: It sounds really interesting. Thanks for telling me about it.
J: That's fine. Here's some more information about what we do and my card. If you have any more
questions, just give me a ring...

U nd erstanding

Lo o k a g a in a t th e stra t e gie s o u t lin e d in Use ful tips. W h ich stra t e g ie s d o es

Je n n y e m p lo y su c c e ssf u lly w h e n t a lk in g t o t h e st u d e n t? U n d e rlin e th e
re le v a n t p arts in t h e c o n v e rsa t io n a n d n o t e t h e s t r a t e g y in t h e m a rg in .
D o es Je n n y m a k e a n y m ist a k e s?

Saying it accura te ly

M a tch th e se n t e n c e s on th e le f t w i t h t h e ir c o rr e sp o n d in g r e sp o nsib ili t ie s

on th e rig h t . F o llo w th e e xa m p le .
I'm a nurse. I'm responsible for m a king sure th a t our projects
I w ork in come in on schedule and w ith in budge t.
m ark e ting. My job involves managing my customers' money
I'm a m an ager e ffe ctive ly and profitably.
on a construction My company develops w ebsites fo r clients.
site. My main responsibility is to prom ote new
I'm a PA. products ah e ad o f th e ir launch.
I'm an IT I'm in charge o f designing new buildings for our
programm er. clients.
I'm a project I help to look a fter people w h en th ey are sick.
m anager. My job entails organizing my boss's affairs.
I'm an architect. I oversee a team o f 250 builders and t w e n ty
I'm a banker. adm inistra tive staff.

Q Use p h rase s fro m S a ying it a ccura te ly 1 t o d e scrib e w h a t th e se p e o p le

do . A c c e n t u a t e t h e p o si t iv e f e a t u r e s o f e ach jo b , f o llo w in g t h e e xa m p le .
1 I'm an estate age n t. I help people find t h e rig h t h o u se t o buy.
2 I'm a lawyer............................................................................................................
3 I'm an a ccoun ta n t.................................................................................................
4 I'm a p e d ia tricia n ..................................................................................................
5 I'm a personnel m a n age r....................................................................................
6 I'm a professor. ....................................................................................................
7 I'm an IT support m anager. ..............................................................................
8 I'm an entrepreneur. ..........................................................................................
Pra c tise s a y in g t h e se n t e n c e s a lo u d .

Section 1: Networking
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0 Co m p le t e th e se n t e n c e s w it h th e v e rb w ork, u sing t h e corre ct pre p ositio n fro m

th e b ox . N o t e t h a t in so m e se n t e n c e s, m ore t h a n o n e p re p o si t io n is p ossib le .

in w it h fo r to under as on a

1......I w o r k ..................... a journ alist. I investiga te and w rite articles for

newspapers.
2..... I w o r k ..................... th e m edia. I'm an advertising executive.
3..... I w o r k .....................und e rprivilege d children, h e lp ing them to
overcom e disadvan t ages in life.
4 I w o r k .....................a m ultin a tion a l pharm aceutical company.
5 I w o r k .....................Lords and Sons. I'm tra in ing to be a solicitor.
6 I w o r k .....................large b u ild ing projects, w hich oft en t a k e up to
t w o or thre e years to complete.
7 I w o r k .....................t ig h t budge ts and strict schedules.
8 I w o r k .....................a very inspiring m anager, w ho has t a ugh t me
everything I know.

Q Co m p le t e t h e f o llo w in g se n t e n c e s w i t h an a p p ro p ria t e a d je c t iv e fro m

th e b ox . N o t e t h a t in so m e se n t e n c e s, m ore t h a n o n e a d je c t iv e is
p ossib le .

c h a lle n g in g m ono tonous r e w a rd in g f u lf illin g

in t e r e s t in g stre ssfu l a b so rb in g d e m a n d in g

1 My job doesn't vary very much on a d ay-to-d ay basis. It's quite

2 It's v e r y ........................to see the children's excited faces at the end o f a

re ally go od lesson.
3 I find my jo b q u i t e ...................... w h en my phone w o n't stop ringing
and everyone w an ts to ask me som e thing.
4 My job as an illustra tor is v e r y .......................... Som e tim es hours go by
and I don't even notice.
5 I'm alw ays le arning new things, w hich m akes my jo b v e r y ......................
bu t also v e r y .........................

Sa ying it cle arly

List e n t o t h e a d je c t iv e s fro m S a ying it a ccura te ly 4 a n d m a rk t h e stresse d

os sy lla b le o f e ach w o rd , f o llo w in g th e e xa m p le .
1 challenging 5 interesting
2 monotonous 6 stressful
3 rew arding 7 absorbing
4 fulfilling 8 dem anding

10 Speaking
 UNIT 2 | Ta lk ingwww.frenglish.ru
a b ou t jobs

0 List e n a g a in t o t h e a d je c t iv e s a n d re p e a t th e m .

Saying it appropria t e ly

List e n t o t h e e ig h t sp e a k e rs fro m S a ying it a ccura te ly 1 t a lk in g a b o u t

** t h e ir jo bs. Circle t h e c o rre c t w o rd s in t h is se n t e n c e .
Th e spe akers are very enthusiastic / unenthusiastic, w hich helps them to
accen tua te the positive / n ega tive aspects o f th e ir jobs.

0 List e n a g a in t o t h e se n t e n c e s a n d re p e a t th e m .

Get sp e a king

0 Y o u r old sch o o l o r c o ll e g e h as a p p ro a c h e d y o u a n d ask e d y o u t o se n d

th e m a sh o r t re c o rd in g d e sc rib in g y o u r jo b . It w ill b e p la y e d t o st u d e n ts
w h o are in t e rest e d in f o llo w in g y o u r c h ose n fie ld .
• Brie fly explain w h a t you do, using appropria te adjectives.
• M ake it relevant to the students listening.
• A cc en tu a t e the positive aspects o f your profession.

Re cord y o u rs e lf if p ossib le . Th e n , r e v ie w y o u r r e c o rd in g a n d c o n sid e r

h o w y o u ca n im pro v e . R e p e a t th e e xe rcise .

0 Im a g in e t h a t a w o r k e x p e rie n c e p e rso n is v isi t in g y o u r o f f ic e a n d is

a sk in g e ach e m p lo y e e 'W ha t do y o u d o?' H o w w o u ld yo u a n s w e r?
Pra c tise y o u r a n s w e r a lo u d , u sin g t h e c o rre c t t o n e . H o w w o u ld y o u r
c o ll e a g u e s d e scrib e t h e ir jo b s? Im a g in e t h e ir a n s w e rs a n d p ra c t ise th e m
a lo u d . If p o ssib le , re cord y o u rse lf f o r re vie w .

Grammar note
Note h o w w e use t h e -ing form a f t e r involve, be responsible for, an d be in charge of.
Exam ples from the text:
There are lots of jobs at Foodaid w hich involve doing ail sorts of different things.
He is responsible for helping farmers.
I'm in charge o f managing the legal department.
My job involves providing people with the computer equipm ent they require.
I'm responsible for overseeing the production of all our fashion lines.
He's in charge o f bringing in as many advertisements as possible for our magazine.

Section 1: Networking
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Show ing interest in other people

Oh, I know what you mean.

3

USEFUL TIPS: W hen you are in conversa tion:

• Echo the key information to encourage further explanation, for example, I'm allergic to shellfish.
To shellfish?
• Empathize. Use phrases to show that you understand how your partner feels, for example, That's amazing!
or Really?
• Paraphrase. Reformulate in your own words what has been said to show that you are listening, for example,
So what you're telling me is...

Conversa tion
Em ily is h a v in g lu n ch in t h e c o m p a n y c a n t e e n w i t h a n e w t e a m m e m b er, Casp er.
10
Casper It's a very different way to do business here in Singapore, compared to Germany.
Emily I know w hat you mean. Do you find it difficult?
No, not at all. It's interesting.
E Interesting?
Yes. For example, in Sinqapore vou discuss prices much earlier in a neaotiation than we do in
Germany.
E Really? So, you mean that you leave price negotiations till the end of a discussion?
C: Oh, yes. In Singapore you start talking about prices for products when in Germany we're still trying to
define exactly what's wanted.
E How amazing! I didn't realize. I suppose we think it's a waste of time discussing something if the
price is always going to be unrealistic.
I see.
E Whereas in Germany you feel you can't begin to think about price until you know all the details.
That's right.
E So, do you like Singapore?
Oh, yes. Very much, especially the food. But I need to do some sport. I've put on two kilos already!
Back in Berlin I play centre forward for the company football team.
E Really?
Yes, urn... anyway, urn...
E Do you notice any other differences between business life here and in Germany?
Well, another difference is the flexibility that a manager has here.
E Flexibility?
Yes. In Germany it's very difficult to be a manager because every time you want to introduce a change
in the organization or in communication processes, you have to ask the Workers' Council for

Speaking