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📚 Vocabulary
10 new words Learn new words with real examples and audio.
Podcast: Work & Career
Listen to today’s conversation.
📝 Podcast Transcript
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Word Kitchen. I am Maya.
And I am Lena. Today we are cooking up ten fresh words about work and career.
Work words are so useful, Lena. Everybody needs them. You need them for the office, for job hunting, and for talking about your day.
Absolutely. Our first word is meeting. A meeting is a planned event where people come together to talk. So, Maya, what do you think of meetings?
Oh, I have mixed feelings. I love a good meeting, but I had three long meetings yesterday, and by the third meeting I was very tired.
Ha. Same here. But a short morning meeting can be wonderful. Our team has a quick meeting every Monday to plan the week. A meeting keeps everybody on the same page.
Right. And remember, everybody, a meeting is not only for offices. A meeting can be a family meeting or a school meeting. Any meeting where people talk and decide counts as a meeting.
Great point. Word number two is presentation. A presentation is a talk that shows information to an audience. Maya, do you like giving presentations?
I used to be nervous, but now I enjoy it. Last month I gave a presentation about our new project, and the presentation went really well.
Nice. A good presentation tells a story. When you prepare a presentation, keep it simple. A presentation with too many slides can bore the audience.
True. Short and clear wins every time. Now, word three is manager. A manager is a person who leads a team. Lena, have you ever been a manager?
Not exactly, but my last manager was fantastic. A good manager listens. She always said, a great manager gives people trust and support.
Yes. If you want to become a manager, learn to listen first. Every strong manager I know listens more than they talk. And your manager is the person you call when you have a problem at work.
Moving on to word four. Project. A project is a planned piece of work with a clear goal. What was your favorite project ever, Maya?
Oh, the community garden project. Our whole neighborhood worked on that project together. The project took two months, but the project brought everyone closer.
I love that. A project always has a beginning and an end. At work, each project teaches you something new. And when a project is finished, celebrate.
Word five is contract. A contract is a written agreement that people sign. Before you start a new job, you sign a contract. Always read the contract carefully.
Very important advice. The contract says how much you will earn, and the contract says your working hours. If you do not understand the contract, ask someone to explain the contract to you.
Good advice. Never sign a contract in a hurry. Word six is workshop. A workshop is a hands-on learning session where people practice a skill together. I joined a writing workshop in the spring.
Oh, workshops are my favorite kind of meeting. A workshop is not like a boring meeting. In a workshop, you do things. I took a cooking workshop last Saturday, and the workshop was full of fun activities.
A workshop teaches by doing. Many companies run a workshop when they start a new project. One useful workshop can save months of mistakes.
Word seven is feedback. Feedback means opinions and comments about someone's work. Maya, how do you feel about feedback?
Feedback can be hard to hear, but good feedback helps you grow. After my last presentation, my manager gave me honest feedback. The feedback showed me how to improve.
Exactly. Ask for feedback often. When a teacher gives you feedback, or a manager gives you feedback, say thank you. Honest feedback is a gift.
Word eight is a verb. Hire. To hire means to give someone a job. When a company grows, it needs to hire new people. They want to hire the best people.
Getting hired is exciting. Last year my company decided to hire ten new engineers. To hire the right person, a manager must prepare good questions. Do you remember when they hired you, Maya?
I will never forget. They hired me after two interviews. If you want a company to hire you, make your resume shine.
Perfect bridge to word nine and ten. Word nine is recruit. To recruit means to find and invite people to join. A company may recruit at universities. They recruit new staff every spring.
Recruiters look for talent everywhere. When we recruit for a new project, we recruit people with different skills. To recruit well, you need a clear plan.
And our final word is resume. A resume is a short document that shows your work history and skills. Maya, what makes a good resume?
Keep your resume to one page. A clear resume lists your jobs and skills. Before you apply for a job, check your resume twice. A strong resume opens doors.
Great tip. Update your resume every year, even if you are happy at work. Your resume is your professional story.
Let us do a quick review. First, we talked about a meeting. Plan it and keep it short. Then a presentation. Tell a story.
We met the manager who leads the team, and the project that has a beginning and an end. We read the contract before signing.
We joined a workshop to learn by doing, and we welcomed honest feedback. We learned how companies hire and recruit.
And we polished our resume. Ten words, all on the menu, all ready to use.
Practice them today. Tell a friend about your last meeting, or describe the project you are working on.
And write one sentence with each word. That is the best recipe for remembering new words.
Thanks for joining us in the Word Kitchen.
See you next time. Bye.
🎙 Try Shadowing free sample
Listen and repeat along with the studio audio. Full shadowing practice with pronunciation scoring is in the app.
Last month, my friend Sarah wanted to find a new job, so she sent her resume to twenty companies.
She updated her resume with help from a career workshop, and her new resume looked fantastic.
One morning, a kind manager called her and said, "We read your resume and we want to meet you."
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📝Grammar: Past tenses - simple, continuous, perfect
We use the **past simple** for finished actions in the past. We also use it for repeated past actions. Example ideas: I signed the contract last week. She hired ten people in March. We use the **past continuous** (was/were + verb-ing) for an action in progress at a specific past time. Example ideas: I was reading my resume at eight o'clock. They were having a meeting at noon. The past continuous is often interrupted by a **past simple** action. We usually join the two actions with *when*. Example ideas: I was giving a presentation when the phone rang. Use **while** for two actions happening
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