BEC 2-1-1 Flashcards
‘concrete’
“Something you did that saves time for people or a problem that you solved or successes that you achieved. you really want to focus on examples so you would list the basic information, where you worked and then under that with some bullet points you really focus on achievements, accomplishments, as concrete as possible.
Now, here we’re using it as an adjective. Concrete means real. The most direct meaning of that word is something you can actually pick up and hold and feel. It’s real. It’s solid.
‘concrete accomplishments’
‘concrete achievements’
We’re kind of talking about things that are measurable, things that can be seen. So when you talk about a concrete accomplishment, it really needs to be something that’s solid, that’s measurable, especially if it’s measurable. If you can say I started a program and our sales increased 10%. That’s a great concrete achievement because, again, it can be measured. It’s kind of real. Concrete means hard, solid, real.
‘big ticket item’
“This is the big ticket item in that resume and the kinds of words that you use in there, just like AJ said - Implemented a program which saved $2 million and, of course, be specific - Implemented a training program that saved $2 million; supervised the construction of a 30000 sq. ft. facility.”
In this conversation a big ticket item really means kind of like a big idea or a very important idea. In sales a big ticket item means a very expensive titem. ‘Ticket’ kind of means price ticket, so a big ticket item means something that’s expensive or it’s at the top or it’s very, very, very important.
’resume’
“So let’s talk about resumes this time. Resumes are, of course, a common tool in job hunting. In some countries they’re callsed CVs, CV and sometimes in universities or the academic world they’re be called CVs; but, at least in the United States, we usually use the word resume. Your resume is kind of like your advertisement really.”
A resume is a one or two page paper with your name, your contact information, your job history and your education. It’s the way you kind of advertise yourself for new positions.
‘to coordinate’
“Again, here’s a good place or the place to put the key words that you want in a resume and the key words are ‘supervised’, ‘managet’, ‘implemented’, ‘coodinated’, things of that nature.
To coordinate means to organize really, to organize, to manage. It has the idea of there are many parts or many people involved and you’re helping to organize them all to achieve something. So you can coordinate a project. It means you’re organizing the project.
‘fluff stuff’
“This is not fluff stuff here. This is where you really did these things and what the result was. Just to say I supervised six people in the accounting department is all well and good, but that’s not an accomplishment.”
This is kind of an idiom, fluff stuff, fluff. Fluff is really the opposite of concrete. Fluff means something that is not important. It’s not really hard or solid or real. It’s more kind of light, unimportant. SO, for example, people will put fluff stuff on their resume. They put fluff on their resume. It means they put stuff on there just to fill it up to make it look big or look long, but it’s not actually very important stuff. It may sound good, but it’s not real.
fluff: けば、綿毛、ふわふわしたもの、綿ぼこり、うぶ毛、失敗、わたごみ
stuff: 材料、原料、資料、要素、素質、物質、もの
‘track record’
“Primarily, the resume should give a brief histroy of your work experience so that people can see your track record at least in terms of what you’ve done.”
A track record is a history. So it really means history, a track record. So a track record of accomplishments means a history of accomplishments.
‘interviewee’
“As a hiring manager I know that what I always used to do was look at those accomplishments and, ofcourse, you let the interviewee give you at their sales pitch, if you will, but then I would focus on those accomplishments and get some specific questions and ask them what exactly are you taking about here?”
Interviewee is the person who wants the job. They’re being interviewed. They’re the ones answering the questions.
The ‘interviewer’, they’re the one who is doing the hiring. They are the ones asking the questions. They are leading the interview.
The interviewee is the guest. They’re answering the questions. They want the job.
‘sales pitch’
A sales pitch is just a sales presentation really. It’s a little speech or a little talk that’s designed to sell something.
‘nuts and bolts’
“There’s your opportunity to really sell yourself and explain the nuts and bolts, the real techniques and little things that you did and why because of your efforts money was saved or head count was reduced, whatever it happens to be.”
The nuts and bolts of something really means the details of something; what makes it work. So if we’re talking about the nuts and bolts of a resume it measn the parts that make it work; the details. You’ve got the accomploshments. You’ve got your job history. You’ve got your education history. Those are the nuts and bolts. Those are the details of the resume.
‘head count’
“There’s your opportunity to really sell youself and explain the nuts and bolts, the real techniques and little things that you did and why because of your efforts money was saved or head account was reduced, whatever it happens to be.”
Head count just means the number of people in a group. So if you reduce head count that might be a good thing. If you are the manager of a department and you reduce the number of people in the department but you still get the same results, you still make the same money, everything is the same, but with fewer people then that’s more efficient. That’s more productive so that could be a good situation, reducing head count, reducing the number of people.
‘dot your i’s and cross your t’s’
“Now, of course, you do need to dot your, i’s and cross your t’s. You need to make sure if it’s an English resume that the English is correct, the spelling is correct, that everything looks good. I recommend that you get other people to look at your resume.”
That just means to be very careful about the details. it means to check all the details and be sure all of the details are correct.
So with this resume it means to check it. Make sure the spelling is correct. All the little, small details, make sure they’re all good.
‘traumatic’
“I’d take that one step further. Not only have them look at it, but depending on who they are, let them play the role of the interviewing manager. That’s a great way to practice something that’s a rather traumatic experience when you get right down to it of having to go through a resume.”
The word traumatic means very, bery painful, emotionally painful; very emotionally painful. Going to a job interview can be traumatic. It can be very emotionally painful. Sometimes this word has the idea of emotional pain that will last a long time. Something really bad happens to you and then you always remember it and for some people job searching is that way.
‘out of date’
“With the current environment I wouldn’t let that thing get out of date. Every accomplishment that makes sense to change or add in your resume, yes, keep that thing current. You never know. You want to be able to reach down in your drawer at home and pull the thing out and be ready to go.”
If your resume is out of date it means it’s not current, it’s not fresh. Out of date means old. Out of date means it’s not ready for today. We can talk about, for example, out of date food. We can talk about food that is out of date. It means it’s old. It’s not fresh anymore.
Well, your resume can be out of date. if you don’t have your most recent job on your resume, maybe it’s five years old, then it’s out of date. It’s not current. It’s not fresh.
