(The following guest post comes courtesy of Gisele Navarro Mendez of Content Lobby)
Making the transition to becoming a fully fledged member of the English-speaking business world can be unnerving. Sympathetic and patient teachers are replaced by shrewd human resources managers or hard-nosed business consultants. Nevertheless, with the right preparation, securing a job is a very achievable goal.
Useful vocabulary
The process of finding a job -from reading advertisements for vacancies through to compiling a CV and covering letter- involves being able to make use of a specific vocabulary. Don’t be afraid of taking extra business English lessons to ensure a thorough understanding of potentially difficult terms.
For example, a typical job advertisement might include the following words or phrases:
| Word/s | Meaning |
| Communication skills | A good ability to interact with people |
| Reliable | Someone who is dependable and trustworthy |
| Having a working knowledge of something | Possessing a basic understanding of a subject |
| Having a clean driving licence | Possessing a driving licence with no record of illegal driving |
| Managing a budget | An ability to ensure a fixed amount of money is wisely spent |
| Being keen to do something | Wanting to do something a lot |
| Work well under pressure | The ability to keep calm and work well in difficult situations |
An employer reading through a candidate’s CV will expect to see information relating to the following:
| Word/s | Meaning |
| Education | A list of schools and universities attended, as well as any other training and qualifications |
| Personal details | Name, age, nationality, address and other contact details |
| Profile | A few lines to summarise the candidate’s relevant positive attributes |
| Professional experience | List of previous jobs and a brief description of the candidate’s role in each |
| Interests | Activities carried out in the candidate’s spare time |
| Referees | Two or more former employers, teachers or other professionals who are willing to confirm that a candidate is of a high calibre |
Phone conversations
Securing employment often requires one or more phone conversations. For those currently studying at a London school English phone conversations will be a familiar task. Students applying for jobs from outside of the UK may be able to carry out phone calls using Skype, which makes things easier by providing non-verbal cues.
Some words and phrases occur more often in phone-based conversations. For example:
| Word/s | Meaning |
| Hold on | Wait |
| Hang on | Wait |
| Hang up | Put the phone down |
| Ring off | Put the phone down |
| Put you through | Connect you to another person |
| Call back | Return a phone call |
Whether it’s calling the company’s secretary to ask for directions or carrying out a phone-based interview, it’s good to err on the side of formality.
Use words such as “could”, “can”, “may” or “would” when making a request and remember to say “please” and “thank you” when asking for and receiving inform