Core vocabulary by topic

Job titles and people

• employee, employer, colleague, supervisor, manager, executive, intern, apprentice, contractor, freelancer, candidate, recruiter, client, stakeholder

Employment types

• full time, part time, shift work, remote work, hybrid, temporary, permanent, probation, flexible hours, overtime

Recruitment

• vacancy, job ad, job posting, application, resume or CV, cover letter, shortlist, interview, reference, offer, onboarding, training

Workplace actions

• assign, delegate, coordinate, schedule, lead, supervise, collaborate, negotiate, prioritize, follow up, report to, approve, launch, deliver, meet a deadline

Contracts and benefits

• salary, wage, bonus, commission, raise, promotion, demotion, deduction, paid leave, sick leave, parental leave, pension, healthcare, allowance

Performance and outcomes

• target, metric, KPI, productivity, efficiency, quality, compliance, customer satisfaction, revenue, profit, loss

High value collocations

• apply for a job, submit a resume, attach a cover letter
• schedule an interview, attend an interview, accept an offer, decline an offer
• start a new role, complete onboarding, attend training
• work a night shift, work remotely, work under pressure
• meet a deadline, miss a deadline, set priorities
• lead a team, manage a project, coordinate tasks, allocate resources
• negotiate a contract, sign an agreement, review performance
• get a raise, receive a bonus, take paid leave

Model sentences

• I applied for a marketing role and attached my cover letter.
• We set clear priorities so the team could meet the deadline.
• She negotiated a higher salary before signing the contract.

Phrasal verbs for the workplace

• take on = accept work or responsibility. We cannot take on more clients this month.
• take over = assume control. Maria will take over the project next week.
• set up = arrange or start. Let us set up a kickoff meeting.
• follow up = check progress after a meeting or email. I will follow up on Tuesday.
• look into = investigate. The IT team is looking into the bug.
• carry out = perform. The lab carried out safety tests.
• point out = highlight. He pointed out a gap in our plan.
• run out of = have no more. We ran out of time in the interview.
• back up = support or save data. Please back up your files.
• cut back = reduce. The company plans to cut back on travel costs.

Idioms and useful set phrases

• make a living, climb the career ladder, a steep learning curve, a good fit, pull your weight, go the extra mile, in the pipeline, ahead of schedule, behind schedule, hands on experience

Examples

• The role is a good fit for my skills.
• We finished the pilot ahead of schedule.

Grammar micro notes

• Work vs job: work is uncountable. I have a lot of work. I love my job.
• People vs staff: staff is a group word and usually takes a singular verb in formal writing. The staff is helpful.
• Each or every takes a singular verb. Every employee signs the policy.
• Make vs do: make a decision, make a plan, make a profit; do research, do overtime, do a task.
• Prepositions: apply for a job, responsible for sales, report to a manager, experience in marketing, skilled at data analysis.

Pronunciation tips

• colleague /ˈkɒliːɡ/
• resume /ˈrezjumeɪ/ or CV /ˌsiːˈviː/
• negotiate /nɪˈɡəʊʃieɪt/
• schedule British /ˈʃedjuːl/ American /ˈskedʒuːl/
• entrepreneur /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːr/

Read model sentences aloud and mark stress.

Mini dialogues

A. Phone screen

• Recruiter: Could you tell me about your current role
• Candidate: I lead a small team and coordinate weekly reports. I also train new interns.

B. Team standup

• Manager: What will you focus on today
• Staff: I will fix two bugs, then follow up with support on ticket 42.

C. Negotiation

• Candidate: Based on my experience, I would like to discuss a higher salary.
• HR: Let us review the budget and come back with a revised offer.

Common mistakes and fixes

• ❌ I will give an interview tomorrow.
  ✅ I will have an interview tomorrow.
• ❌ I did many works last week.
  ✅ I did a lot of work last week.
• ❌ She is responsible of sales.
  ✅ She is responsible for sales.
• ❌ He applied in a job at my company.
  ✅ He applied for a job at my company.
• ❌ I want to increase my salary with 10 percent.
  ✅ I want to increase my salary by 10 percent.

Quick practice with answers

A. Choose the best option

1. I will (apply for or apply to) the finance role.
2. We need to (meet or reach) the deadline on Friday.
3. She will (take on or take off) two new clients.
4. The team will (look into or look for) the drop in sales.
5. He will (set up or set out) a call with the client.

Answers

1. apply for
2. meet
3. take on
4. look into
5. set up

B. Complete the collocation
6) negotiate a ______ → contract
7) attend a ______ → training or interview
8) give and receive ______ → feedback
9) sign an ______ → agreement
10) meet a ______ → deadline

C. Fix the sentence
11) We discussed about the proposal.
12) I attached my CV in the email.
13) Our company will cut down the budget by 5 percent.

Suggested answers
11) We discussed the proposal.
12) I attached my CV to the email.
13) Our company will cut back the budget by 5 percent.

Writing frames you can reuse

Short cover email
Subject: Application for Sales Associate
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the Sales Associate role posted on your website. I have two years of retail experience and strong customer service skills. I attached my resume and a short portfolio. I am available for an interview next week.
Kind regards,
Name

Interview answer: Tell me about yourself
I am a data analyst with three years of experience in retail analytics. I build dashboards, clean data, and present findings to non technical teams. I work well under pressure and I enjoy improving processes. I am now looking to take on a larger project with cross functional teams.

One sentence achievements

• Reduced processing time by 20 percent through automation.
• Trained five interns and improved data quality scores.
• Led a three person team to deliver a report ahead of schedule.

10 minute drills

• Write five collocations with your target job. Example: manage a budget, design a prototype.
• Record a 60 second pitch about your skills. Use at least eight words from this guide.
• Convert three bullet points from your resume into full sentences with results.
• Practice phrasal verbs: write two sentences each for take on, follow up, look into.

7 day review plan

• Day 1 job titles and employment types
• Day 2 recruitment and documents
• Day 3 workplace actions and collocations
• Day 4 phrasal verbs and idioms
• Day 5 grammar notes and pronunciation
• Day 6 error correction and mini dialogues
• Day 7 write a 120 word work profile using 12 target items