Text 9. 1. Your background and career

 

I enjoyed high school – my grades were good and I got involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. At the age of eighteen I went to university (AmE college / university). I got a place at the university in my home town, although some of my friends moved away to other universities and lived on campus. At first I hated it, and I nearly dropped out after a few months. But after a while I made friends and got used to writing all the essays (AmE papers). Money was a problem – I had no grant or other financial aid - and I worked my way through the college by doing a little part-time work whenever I could.

 

 

My degree was in economics, and my main subject (AmE major) was international trade. The lecturers (AmE professors) were good and I enjoyed the course (AmE program) very much. I spent the middle year of the course working as an intern in a bank – that was really useful. It was the only part where I got some real vocational training. At the end of the course I thought about staying on to do a Masters, but I decided that the life of a postgraduate didn't really interest me. It was time to enter the world of work.

 

After graduating, it took me several months to find a job. I was short-listed for a few jobs, but they never called me back for a second interview. Eventually I was offered a junior position in the international department of a bank. Because of my internship (work placement) I knew more or less what to expect in terms of the working environment. I spent five years there, learning the business and was promoted to Senior Analyst in my late twenties.

 

That time in my life was really hectic – I was living the life of a typical young, single person in the financial services sector. I worked hard and partied hard. I often stayed at the office until eight in the evening, and was exhausted at the weekends. By the age of thirty I was burnt out. I needed some personal space to decide where my life was going, and I decided to take a year off. I gave in my notice and quit my job.

 

I had saved up quite a lot of money from the job in the bank, and so I was able to go travelling. I backpacked my way around India and South-East Asia and had some crazy times. But I knew that I had to settle down one day, and I wanted to start a family. So I came home and started to look for work again.

 

 

I registered with some online employment agencies, and they found a vacancy almost immediately. It was in a similar field as before, but less high-pressure.

 

EXERCISES

 

I. Find a word in the text that matches each definition below. The words appear in order.

 

1. letters or numbers that show the quality of a student's work …

2. (two words) things that a student does at school or college that are not part of the course …

3. (phrasal verb) left university before the course had finished …

4. money given by someone, especially the government, for a particular purpose (similar to «scholarship», which only refers to money for study) …

 

5. a course of study at a university, or the qualification that you get …

6. a student who works in a job in order to get experience …

7. relating to the skills you need for a particular job …

8. (phrasal verb) continuing to do a job or a course after the expected time of leaving …

 

9. completing your studies at university and getting a degree …

10. busy; full of activity …

11. (two words) very tired and with no energy because of working too hard for too long …

12. (four words) told my employer that I would be leaving my job soon; resigned …

 

13. travelled for pleasure, without much money, carrying everything needed for life in one bag …

14. (phrasal verb) start living a quiet life in one place, especially when you get married …

15. an available job …

 

 

II. Make phrases by matching an item from each column.

 

1.get a place a. through college

2. drop out b. at university

3. work your way c. a year as an intern

4. spend d. after a few months

5. be short-listed e. to Senior Analyst

6. be promoted f. a vacancy almost immediately

7. register g. for a job

8. find h. with an online agency

 

III. The third paragraph in the text uses the word «eventually». This is a false friend in many languages. Tick (✓) the one correct meaning of «eventually» from the choices below.

 

1. by accident 3. possibly

2. alternatively 4. after a long time

 

IV. Complete the sentences with the words in the box. All the words are used with «career».

 

be over chosen ladder move take off

break concentrate on make opportunities promising

 

1. You can … a good career for yourself as a lawyer. But you'll have to work a lot. For the next few years you'll have to … your career, not your social life.

 

2. If you have children, you'll need to take a career … But don't worry – your skills are always in demand, and I'm sure that your career will … when you're in your forties.

 

3. Changing from financial consultant to yoga teacher is a very drastic career … It means that your career in finance will …

4. He's a bright young man with a very … career in front of him. I'm sure he'll move up the career … very quickly.

5. She achieved a lot in her … career. She took advantage of the many career … available in IT project management and went right to the top of her profession.

 

V. Complete these memories by putting the verbs into the correct form: past simple, past continuous or past perfect.

 

I remember that occasion very well - it was while I 1. … (work) at Omnitel. It was in the afternoon – I 2 … (just / finish) lunch – and I 3 … (write) I 4 … (get) an SMS on my mobile phone – it was from a headhunting agency, inviting me to call them. I 5… (be) very surprised because I 6 … (not / contact) any agencies like that. Anyway, I 7 … (wait) until no-one 8 … (listen) and then I 9 … (call) them. I'm sure they 10 … (wait) for my call because they were immediately very friendly. They said they 11 … (already / find out) a lot about me by doing a Google search on my name, and that they 12 … (want) to have a meeting with me.

 

 

Study the following words and word combinations from the text.

 

to offer specialized services	предлагать специализированные
	услуги
to specialize in	специализироваться в чем-либо
the cost of the labour and	стоимость рабочей силы и мате-
materials	риалов
to oversee	контролировать
to liaise with smb. on a day-	поддерживать связь с кем-либо
to-day basis	́
на ежедневной основе
to be on first-name terms with	быть в дружеских отношениях
smb.	с кем-либо (называть друг друга
	по имени)

 

 

 

TEXT 9.2. YOUR JOB

 

I work for a medium-sized, family-owned business. We offer specialized services to the construction industry. I personally specialize in lighting installations inside buildings - my background is in electrical engineering. I'm responsible for the initial contact with the client – I visit them at their offices and discuss their needs. My role is to talk to the architects and the developers, to try to persuade them of the importance of modern lighting design inside a building. I show them how it can create a good working atmosphere and add to a company's image. I explain our track record in this field and show them a portfolio of other lighting installations that we've done.

Once the initial contact has been made and the client is ready for a detailed proposal, I take a back seat for a while. Somebody else looks at the detailed specifications for the installation and then another colleague researches the cost of the labour and materials. Those two people work under me, and I supervise their work quite closely. Finally our legal department draws up the proposal. I oversee the whole process and sign off the proposal before it's sent to the client. There are a number of other people that I liaise with on a day-to-day basis. We have an Office Manager who handles incoming calls, organizes my schedule and keeps on top of the filing and administration. And then outside the company I have close contact with the architects and with the project management team responsible for the whole construction. I report to the Head of Business Development, and she reports directly to the CEO, so there are not many layers in the company and it's not at all bureaucratic. My work is challenging, of course, because it involves both a sales function and a technical function – and every project is different. But the atmosphere in the office is great. It's very informal and I'm on first-name terms with everyone, even the CEO.

 

So that's me. Now about my wife. Well, she works for a large, multinational bank with its head office in Switzerland. It's a back-office function – she works in the loans department. Her job involves checking the credit history of companies who want to borrow money, and then assessing the risk of the loan. She deals with both small and medium enterprises. She's doing well – she was promoted last year. Now she's in charge of a small team of four people, so there's a management dimension to her job as well; it's not simply number-crunching.

 

Describing your job

 

Adjectives to describe jobs

 

fascinating, rewarding, satisfying, stimulating, boring, dull, repetitive, routine, uninteresting, challenging, demanding, hard, hectic, tiring, tough.

 

Collocations with «task»

 

approach / get down to / tackle a task / carry out / I do / I get on with / perform a task / complete / fulfil / succeed in (doing) a task / assign somebody / give somebody / set somebody a task / be tasked with doing something.

 

Collocations with «work»

 

I work for... (a company)

I'm working on... (a project)

I work with / alongside.. (colleagues)

I work on my own

I work from home

to be in work / out of work

to be off work (because you're ill)

I leave for work / I get to work at 7.30 a.m., I go to work by train

 

EXERCISES

 

I. Find a word in the text opposite that matches each definition below.

The words appear in order.

 

1. (two words) the things that a person or organization has done in the past which show how well they have done …

 

2. (phrasal verb) prepares a written document (eg a list, plan, contract) …

3. be in charge of a group of workers and check that their work is done satisfactorily (= supervise) …

4. (phrasal verb) officially agree to something …

5. exchange information so that everyone knows what is happening …

 

6. (two words) the process of working with a lot of numbers and calculating results …

 

II. Underline the correct words in italics.

 

1. A job that is challenging / demanding is difficult, but also interesting because you have to use a lot of skill; a job that is challenging / demanding needs a lot of your time and attention, but isn'tnecessarily either difficult or interesting.

 

2. The phrase «my line manager» / «my boss» could be a little informal, particularly if that person is present (eg. being introduced by you), so instead we can say «my line manager» / «my boss».

 

3. The word colleague / coworker is more common in Europe; the word colleague / coworker is more common in the US and Asia.

4. The word counterpart / opposite number refers to someone with the same job as you in another organization; the word counterpart / opposite number may have the same meaning, but is also commonly used forsomeone in your own organization who has the same job but in a different place (eg. a different country).

 

III. Complete 1–3 with endings a–c.

 

1. If you get down to a task, you …

2. If you get down with a task, you …

 

3. If you fulfill a task, you …

 

 

a. complete it successfully.

 

b. start doing it seriously or with effort.

 

c. continue after stopping for a short time.

 

IV. Match left to the right to make a phrase.

 

1. to make a. the whole process

 

2. to take b. on top of the filing

 

3. to to oversee c. a back seat for a while

 

4. to handle d. initial contact with a client

 

5. to keep e. first-name terms

 

6. to be on f. incoming calls

 

V. Underline the correct words in italics.

 

1. I work for / on / to a family-owned business.

 

2. I specialize in / on I lighting installations.

3. My background is for / in / with engineering.

 

4. I'm responsible about / for / of the initial contact with the client.

 

5. My role is for / in / to talk to the architects.

 

6. Somebody else looks at / on I the detailed specifications.

7. There are a number of other people that I liaise from / to / with on a day-to-day basis.

8. I report for / to / under the Head of Business Development.

9. My wife works in / on / to the loans department.

10. She deals of / on / with both small and medium enterprises.

 

11. She's in charge from / of / to a small team.

12. I'm working for / on / to an interesting project.

13. I'm a journalist – I spend a lot of time working at / for / on my own, from home / from the home.

14. My brother is off work / out of work – he's been unemployed for two months. My sister is off work / out of work today – she's got a bad cold.

 

15. Every morning I leave for work / the work at 7.30 a.m. I arrive to

/ get to work at about 8.45 a.m. I'm at / in work until 6 p.m.

16. Her job involves checking / to check the credit history of companies.

 

VI. Write a tick (✓) if the sentence is grammatically correct.

 

a. I'm responsible for this.

b. I'm the responsible for this.

c. I'm the person responsible for this.

d. This is my responsible.

e. This is my responsibility.

 

VII. Go round the class and interview three people. Ask them why they work (or study). Fill in the following table:

 

Why do you work?

 

you

student 1

student 2

student 3

for work's sake

for the fun of it

to earn a living

to support a family

out of keen interest

to gain authority

for self-fulfilment

 

If you were unemployed would you take a job in:

 

a factory	a hospital	an airport
a casino	computer centre	scientific research centre
a bank	library	café
a bakery		shop
school

 

What jobs would you hate to do and why?

 

(use: it would drive me mad, it would be so boring, it would be too much responsibility for me, it would be like a form of torture, it would be too repetitive, etc.)

 

Study the following words and word combinations from the text.

 

to gain knowledge получить знания

 

work/life balance баланс между работой и личной жизнью

 

core ключевой, основополагающий, стержневой