IELTS Speaking Lesson about Jobs

Question 1

Essential Vocabulary
What’s the difference between JOB and WORK?

Answer 1

Job (n.) Countable
I have two jobs and I like both of them.
**Work (n.) Uncountable
**I have a lot of work to do

We can make ‘work’ countable by adding _‘a piece of’ _- the same waywe make other words countable like news, advice, information
I have a piece of work / advice / news / information for you

We can also use ‘work’ as a countable noun when talking about art or
possibly literature.
This is a work of art by Picasso (Countable)
His works are great. (Countable)

Question 2

Collocations JOB

Answer 2

Work is also a verb (v.)
To work hard
To work part time / full time
Work from home = to work remotely = I like working virtually
I have a well paid job / badly paid job
A white collar job = indoors, office job (banker)
A blue collar job = outdoors, manual job (mechanic)
I work shifts (work specific hours of the day)
As a doctor I sometimes have to work the night shift
It’s arduous work = difficult / hard
It’s rewarding work = you enjoy it and it is satisfying

This is a_ sterling piece of work_ = fantastic
This is a shoddy piece of work = terrible, low quality

I know this report is shoddy, but I was up all night burning the
midnight oil (working late into the night) all to meet my deadlines, and I know it’s not up to scratch (good enough), but please give me some
slack (give me a break, take some pressure off me!)

Question 3

Phrasal Verbs

Answer 3

Phrasal verbs are vey common in spoken English.
Basically it is where the meaning of a verb is changed by adding a
preposition
For example:
To speak = to talk, say something
To speak up = to speak more loudly
To put = to place something somewhere
To put off = to delay something

Question 4

Phrasal Verbs

Answer 4

Here are some more examples of phrasal verbs that can be used when talking about jobs

I put in a lot of work (=to do)
I have taken on too much work (=start / accept)
Let’s get down to work (=begin)

Question 5

What job do you do?

Answer 5

I work as a _______ (teacher, builder, banker…)
I work in _______ (sales/ marketing/education…THE FIELD)
I work in a ______ (hospital, school, bank..PLACE)
I work for _______ (Amazon, a multinational company….)

Question 6

What do you like about your job?

Answer 6

I love the fact that ___ I can ….
Well, it’s good because I get to _____
What I really like about my job is ______

Question 7

What would be your ideal job? Why?

Answer 7

My** ideal / target / dream** job is to work as a ________ (carpenter, astronaut …)
I wish I worked _____
I would love to be a/an _____
I long to be a / an _____

Question 8

Idioms about Jobs

Answer 8

Here are a number of idioms that can be used when talking about jobs and work.
This job suits me down to the ground (=it’s 100% match / perfect for me)

Question 9

She never does a stroke of work

Answer 9

(=she is so lazy, does the least work
possible)

دست به سیاه وسفید نزدن

Question 10

She doesn’t pull her weight

Answer 10

(=she is too lazy)

Question 11

I like to pull my weight

Answer 11

(=to work hard, do what I am responsible for)

Question 12

He made light work of it

Answer 12

(=he did it easily)

Question 13

This job is a cushy number

Answer 13

(=it’s an easy job)

Question 14

It’s not a great job, but at least I can get a foot in the door

Answer 14

(=start working in a company - with a view to getting a higher position there)

قدم اول را برداشتن (در راستای هدفی)

Question 15

I have hit a glass ceiling

Answer 15

(=invisible barrier), I can’t go any further in this
company

عقاید مرد سالاری و محدودیت هایی برای زنان که جل
وگیری میکنه از موفقیت و پیشرفتشون حتی اگر قانونی در این باره نباشه

Question 16

I have a lot on my plate

Answer 16

(= I am very busy)

Question 17

Keith, tell us about an awkward moment at your work

Answer 17

I’d like to tell you about a time when I took my boss for a meeting but
the people we met didn’t turn up (=to appear)
Now, this is going back quite a while.
It must have been or about six years ago.
I was working as a project manager at that time, for an educational
institution and I was organising a project where we helped teachers in
their schools and I had to go with my boss to meet a local government official.
What happened is, I was responsible for setting up the meeting and organising the discussion, the content, the agenda, and all the follow up points.
So, I spent a lot of time meticulously working out the agenda, setting up all the details, and I even agreed on the location, the date, but absentmindedly, I forgot to double check with the government official the day before, that the meeting was still on.
So, the day of the meeting, I got into car with my boss. We drove down to the government office. We arrived just on time and then said that we were ready to meet Mr X, but we were told that Mr X was not there that he** wasn’t aware** (didn’t know) there was a meeting.
My boss said to me, ‘did you telephone this morning to double check
we had a meeting?’ And I was so embarrassed because I hadn’t and it was a rookie mistake (=a mistake a beginner makes), like a beginner’s mistake.
The first thing I should have done was to check the meeting.
I was so embarrassed because the meeting was cancelled.
It turned out to be a total waste of time for my boss who was rather
angry and we drove back in complete silence to the office.