IELTS Speaking : Job

Have a look at the phrases and sentences below and practise using-them with a partner. Then with the help of your partner answer the follow-up questions to test yourself. Remember that these questions are only sample questions designed to promote your spoken English ability in those areas and facilitate the task and may not necessarily be the questions being asked in the actual test.

What you do

1. I'm a / an (+ job).

e.g. a nurse / an accountant / a builder

2. I work in (+ place or general area).

e.g. a hospital / an office marketing / social

3. I work for (+ name / place of the company).

e.g. Union Bank / IBM / Fiat / an international bank

What your job involves

4. I'm in charge of

e.g. a big company

5. I'm responsible for

e.g. some workers in that department

6. I have to deal with

e.g. any complaints / overseas clients, mainly

7. I run

e.g. the company / a restaurant

8. I manage

e.g. a shop in downtown

Daily duties / routines

9. I have to go / attend (fml)

e.g. (to) a lot of meetings / conferences

10. I visit / see / meet

e.g. patients / clients

11. I advise

e.g. people / clients and give them help...

12. It involves

e.g. writing letters / filling in forms / doing a lot of paperwork / using computers a lot of the time

Getting a jop

13. It's not easy to get / find work

e.g. in big cities / round these parts

14. I'd love to do

e.g. marketing / this kind of work

15. It's difficult to make a living as a / an

e.g. freelance writer

16. I've been offered a job

e.g. in that company / in London

17. I've applied for a job

e.g. in a local company / in the accounts department

Working hours

18. I have a nine-to-five job / I work nine-to-five

(regular working hours in Britain)

19. I do / work shift work.

(nights one week, days next)

20. I am on flexi-time.

(flexible working hours)

21. I have to do / work overtime.

(work extra hours)

22. I only work part-time / take a part-time job.

(part of a day or a few days a week)

23. I am a workaholic. I work full-time.

(work too much)

24. I took early retirement.

(retire at 55 in Britain)

25. I am on / take sick leave.

(a period spent away from work, etc. because of illness)

26. I am on / take maternity leave.

(expecting a baby)

27. I gave up work

e.g. in order to study

28. I was laid off (infml)

e.g. when the factory went bust

29. I was made redundant.

(no longer needed and therefore out of work)

30. I was dismissed (fml)

e.g. for refusing to obey orders

31. I was fired (infml)

e.g. for always being late

32. I am on / off duty.

(to be working / not working)

Other useful phrases

33. We usually take a break

e.g. for lunch / for ten minutes

34. We normally knock off work (infml)

e.g. about 5:30 p.m. and go off to a resataurant nearby

35. I get some rest.

(a period of time when you relax after working)

36. I was rather inexperienced

e.g. for that kind of work

37. I have a lot of experience

e.g. in this area / of this kind of problem

38. I am sufficiently qualified

e.g. for this position

39. This is a job requiring

(a period of time when you relax after working)

40. I try to be hardworking.

(work hard)

41. I'm quite competent

e.g. at my job

42. I try to work efficiently.

(work quickly without making mistakes and wasting time)

43. Efficiency is very important

e.g. in my job

44. A lot of people do voluntary work.

(you want to do it and you're not paid)

45. I was promoted.

(get a higher position)

46. It is a demanding job.

(needing a lot of effort, care, skill)

47. I fill in for / stand in for / cover for

e.g. her while she is off sick

48. I am acting

e.g. as a manager for the next couple of months

49. I will take the place of

e.g. our manager when he leaves

50. Ithis morning shift takes over from

e.g. the night shift t 9 a.m.

51. It is greate teamwork

e.g. that helps get the job done on time

52. We teamed up

e.g. with another group to finish our project

53. We cooperate

e.g. with a German firm on this project

54. I was employed

e.g. as a secretary for a couple of months

55. I do casual work.

(not regular, usually paid hourly)

56. I'v got a temporary job

e.g. working in a newspaper office

57. This factory has 200 employees.

(a person who is employed)

58. The staff

e.g. are so polite and friendly

59. They promoted

e.g. me to office manager

60. I'm on leave

e.g. at the moment because...

61. The post has been vacant

e.g. for some time

62. I turned it down.

(to refuse one's offer)

Payment

63. I am paid

e.g. every months and this pay goes directly into my bank account monthly

64. My salary

e.g. is 20.000$ a year

65. I earn

e.g. 200$ a week as a hairdresser

66. With many jobs you get holiday pay and sick pay.

(when you're off duty or ill)

67. I'm going to a pay rise.

(my pay goes up)

68. My average income

e.g. has risen 2% this year

69. I'm poorely paid / badly paid / don't earn much.

(I'm paid very little money)

70. I have a high income / earn a lot / am well-paid.

(I'm paid a lot of money)

71. My take-home pay / net income is 150$.

(money left after deductions)

72. My gross income is more than that.

(before deductions)