Essential Job and Work Vocabulary in English

Applicant

A person who formally requests a job.

Be Burnt Out

To be ill or very tired from working too hard.

Be Fond Of

To have feelings of affection for someone or something.

Call It a Day

To stop working because you don’t want to do more or you think you have done enough.

Clerk

A person who works in an office, dealing with records or performing office duties.

Dead-End Job

A job which does not offer any opportunity for improving your situation.

Deadline

The time or date by which something must be done.

Field

An area of activity or interest.

Get Fired

To be removed from one’s job.

Get Paid Peanuts

To be paid a very small amount of money.

Get One’s Foot in the Door

To enter a company or organisation at a low level, but with the possibility of moving up in the future.

Glare

To look directly and continuously at someone in an angry way.

Go on Strike

To refuse to work because of an argument with an employer.

Have the Time of One’s Life

To have a lot of fun; enjoy oneself very much.

Hold Down a Job

To manage to keep a job for a period of time.

Housekeeping

The work involved in looking after a house or a hotel.

Internship

A period of time spent receiving training at a job as a part of becoming qualified to do it.

Learn the Ropes

To learn how to do a job or activity.

Make a Living

To earn enough money to buy the things you need.

Make One’s Mind Up

To decide what to do.

Mumble

To speak quietly or in an unclear way.

Must

Something that is necessary.

Nonsense

An idea or behaviour that is silly or stupid.

Out of Work

Without a paid job; unemployed.

Outing

A short journey made up by a group of people, usually for pleasure or education.

Overtime

Time spent working in addition to your usual work hours.

People Skills

The ability to communicate with people in a friendly and effective way.

Perk

An advantage or extra thing which you are given for doing your job.

Position

A job, especially one that is important.

Pull One’s Weight

To work as hard as other people in a group.

Qualification

An official record showing that you have successfully finished a course of training or study.

Quality

A characteristic or feature of someone that makes them different from others.

Rat Race

A way of life in modern society, in which people compete with each other for money and power.

Rehearse

To practise something in order to prepare for public performance.

Reliable

Someone that you can trust to work hard and do what they say they will do.

Resignation

The act of telling your employer that you are leaving your job.

Rewarding

Something that gives you a feeling of satisfaction and pleasure.

Room for Advancement

A possibility or hope that your position can improve.

Rush Off One’s Feet

To be extremely busy.

Seasonal

Relating to or happening during a particular period in the year.

Shift

The period that a person is scheduled to work.

Sick Leave

Time away from work because of illness.

Slave

A person who is legally owned by someone else and has to work for that person.

Staff

All the people who work for a particular company or organisation.

Starvation

The state of having no food for a long period.

Steady Job

A long-term job for which you are paid regularly.

Strength

A quality that someone or something has that helps them succeed or make progress.

Team Player

Someone who works well as a member of a team.

Teamwork

The activity of working together as a team, or the skills needed to do this.

Trace

To discover the causes or origins of something.

Tricks of the Trade

Methods that help you to do a job better or faster.

Wage

An amount of money that is paid, usually every week, to an employee for their work.

Weakness

A part or quality of someone or something that is not good or effective.

Work One’s Way Up

To achieve a better position within the organisation one works for.