Lesson 3: Language Focus: Vocabulary and Word Forms Related to Jobs

Language Focus Vocabulary and Word Forms |

Hello, in this video, we're going to talk about some useful words and phrases that you'll hear many times throughout the job search process. We will organize these words into three categories: things, actions, and people.

Things

Let’s begin with important definitions of things, or general concepts.

Occupation and career. An occupation is like a job because both are very specific. For example, being a waiter is a job or occupation. If Tom works as a waiter, a bartender, and a restaurant manager for over 20 years, he can say that he has a career in the restaurant industry. An occupation is a person's work as a way to earn money.

A career is an occupation or a profession that requires special training and continues over a long period of time.

Here's another example, Yuki has worked for the clothing company UNIQLO for ten years. She began her career in the fashion industry with different occupations, first as a sales clerk, then as a store manager. Now, she works at the company's main office as a fashion designer.

Let's look at two more definitions of things. Employment is a general term for the activity that people do to make money.

When someone asks you about your employment history, focus on work for which you were paid money.

A job application is a written request for employment, usually a specific document to be completed.

Actions

In the job search process, there are some actions (or verbs) that are very important. Let's look at five of these:

The first is to search for a job, this means to look for work in a specific occupation.

To apply for a job is to formally ask for employment, usually in writing. This means completing a specific job application or sending documents like a resume and cover letter. We will talk more about these later in modules two and three.

To interview for a job is to answer questions in a formal meeting.

Most interviews are face-to-face but sometimes people can interview by phone or video calls.

To be hired for a job, is to be given a job and then paid for the work. If someone says, “you're hired,” that means you got the job.

To work is to do an activity related to one's occupation.

People

Now, let's move on to people.

A job seeker is someone who is looking for a job.

After a person applies for a job, they become a candidate or an applicant which is a person who might get the job.

These next two words sound almost the same but have very different meanings. Pay attention to the ending sounds of these two words,  employer and employee. An employer is the person making the decision to give the applicant a job.

The employer can be a specific person or can also be a company or organization. When a candidate is hired and begins working, he is then called an employee.

Employee is a more formal word for worker.

Summary

By now you probably noticed many of these few vocabulary words look similar. But they are actually different word forms: nouns and verbs. One way to help remember all of these new words is to organize them into three categories. Things are nouns, actions are verbs and people are nouns.

What's Next?

Let's move on to a quiz where you can practice grouping the words into the correct category: things, actions, or people.