Essential Vocabulary and Grammar for Job Seekers

Level 1

VOCABULARY

1. 1. commute
2. 2. sort
3. 3. fire
4. 4. shift
5. 5. share
6. 6. qualifications
7. 7. field

2. 1. fast learner
3. 2. like clockwork
4. 3. good at multitasking
5. 4. regardless of
6. 5. job offer
7. 6. run a business

3. 1. deal with unhappy customers
4. 2. he gets fired
5. 3. to make money
6. 4. buy something at the cafeteria
7. 5. buy some bread and milk
8. 6. listen to everybody
9. 7. quits his job
10. 8. deserve an equal share

GRAMMAR

4. Free samples (of the product) are being offered to customers.
5. Customers are being offered free samples (of the product).
6. In my opinion, she should be given another chance.
7. In my opinion, another chance should be given to her.
8. The employees have been given a longer holiday (by the company).
9. A longer holiday has been given to the employees (by the company).
10. His ideas were said to be useless.
11. It was said that his ideas were useless.

5. was … fired
6. am going to have / get … checked
7. will be given
8. are having / getting … taken care of
9. is being interviewed
10. is believed

6. Our lunch wasn’t delivered on time
7. People are being hired at my company this week.
8. We are having / getting our house painted today.
9. It was being used for meetings with people from abroad.

Level 2

VOCABULARY

1. 1. minimum wage
2. 2. resigned
3. 3. teamwork
4. 4. position
5. 5. shift
6. 6. regardless of
7. 7. take pride in
8. 8. profit

2. 1. He finally landed a job last week.
3. 2. She was fired immediately.
4. 3. If we win, we’ll split the money.
5. 4. He’s in charge.
6. 5. Don’t take sides!
7. 6. They only earn the minimum wage.

3. Because they need to get to work in the city centre.
4. They guaranteed me a pay rise and use of a company car.
5. He always comes to work late and leaves early.
6. You must have a university degree and two years work experience.
7. Because you’ll need to work together with many workers on your projects.
8. I have a really big suitcase.

GRAMMAR

4. It’s said that I’m a fast learner. / I’m said to be a fast learner.
5. Has someone already taken the position?
6. When did you have your house painted?
7. She gets her make-up done by a professional before each performance.
8. He should have been asked first.
9. None of our questions were answered.

5. are being given away today
6. has probably been sold
7. has already been filled
8. is packed in the silver suitcase
9. wasn’t sent to my new e-mail address
10. had already been made

6. She has her hair styled every week at the hairdresser’s.
7. Is this considered a good place to work?
8. Can this letter be translated for me?
9. I hope that our food will be delivered soon.
10. I’m going to get my eyes examined.
11. The city was covered with a white blanket by the snowstorm.

Reading

1

1. F – “… he worked at 52 jobs in 52 weeks …”
2. T – “On many occasions he was forced to change plans at the last minute because a particular job fell through.”
3. F – “Sean wasn’t paid for any of the jobs he tried over the course of the year.”

2

1. he would have a better idea of what he would like to do and what he definitely wouldn’t like to do as a career
2. asking his employers to donate money to charity instead of paying him wages

3

Each week, Sean had to adapt to a new workplace and get to know a new group of people, he often had no idea where he was going next. On many occasions he had to change his plans at the last minute and he had to learn to manage on a tight budget.

5

1. pursue
2. appreciation
3. fell through
4. on a tight budget
5. enjoying the ride