3 What do you do?

Talking about your work I Describing your job I Asking about somebody's job

Conversation
~ 1 Jasmine Goodman is taking the visitors, John Carter and Paul Rogers, to
DVD the meeting room. They are waiting for the lift. Read their conversation
and watch the video. What does Jasmine have to do in meetings?
John So what do you do, Jasmine?
Oh, I'm Diane's personal assistant so I answer the phone and
Jasmine
manage her schedule.
Paul Is she very busy then?
Jasmine Yes! She travels a lot. I book all her plane tickets and hotels.
John I see. And do you travel with her sometimes?
No, not usually. I stay here and then I'm responsible for the
Jasmine
office and deal with any problems.
Paul You have a lot to do!
Jasmine Yes. And in meetings, of course, I take the minutes.
Paul ... and you look after visitors to the company.
Jasmine Yes, that's right! Ah, here it is. After you.
John Thanks.

14 1Workplace English
 What do you do? I Unit 3

' Did you know?

You can say 'skedule ' or 'shedule' with the word schedule. In American English it
is 'skedule' but with British English speakers you will hear both forms.

Understanding
C 2 Watch again. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)?
DVD Jasmine has lots of different responsibilities. T/F
2 Jasmine usually travels with Diane . T/F
3 Jasmine runs the meetings. T/F
4 Jasmine helps the visitors. T/F

Key phrases
Asking about and describing responsibilities
What do you do? I answer the phone.
Is {s]he I Are you busy? I reply to emails.
Do you travel with her? I'm responsible for ... .

I'm a personal assistant I salesman I I deal with ....

receptionist. j / take the minutes at meetings.
I book all her plane tickets I hotels. I /look after guests I visitors.

Practice
3 Match the two halves to make word partners.
1 personal A with
2 responsible 8 to
3 take the c minutes
4 look D assistant
5 reply E for
6 deal F after

Workplace English 115

 UNIT 2 |Talking about jobs

S: Hmm. So, what makes a job with Foodaid interesting, then?

J: It's very rewarding. You feel you are doing something useful with your skills, not just making some
company shareholders rich. And even if the work is demanding, it's never boring.
S: It sounds really interesting. Thanks for telling me about it.
J: That's fine. Here's some more information about what we do and my card. If you have any more
questions, just give me a ring...

Understanding

Look again at the strategies outlined in Useful tips. W hich strategies does
Jen n y em ploy successfully w hen ta lkin g to the student? U nderline the
relevant parts in the conversation and note the strate gy in the m argin.
Does Jen ny m ake any m istakes?

Saying it accurately

Match the sentences on the left w ith their corresponding responsibilities

on the right. Follow the exam ple.
I'm a nurse. I'm responsible for making sure that our projects
I w ork in come in on schedule and within budget.
m arketing. My job involves managing my customers' money
I'm a m anager effectively and profitably.
on a construction My company develops websites for clients.
site. My main responsibility is to promote new
I'm a PA. products ahead of their launch.
I'm an IT I'm in charge o f designing new buildings for our
programmer. clients.
I'm a project I help to look after people when they are sick.
manager. My job entails organizing my boss's affairs.
I'm an architect. I oversee a team of 250 builders and twenty
I'm a banker. administrative staff.

Q Use phrases from Saying it accurately 1 to describe w h a t these people

do. A ccentuate the positive features o f each job, fo llo w in g the exam ple.
1 I'm an estate agent. I help people find the right house to buy.
2 I'm a lawyer............................................................................................................
3 I'm an accountant.................................................................................................
4 I'm a pediatrician..................................................................................................
5 I'm a personnel m anager....................................................................................
6 I'm a professor. ....................................................................................................
7 I'm an IT support manager. ..............................................................................
8 I'm an entrepreneur. ..........................................................................................
Practise sayin g the sentences aloud.

Section 1: Networking
 0 Com plete the sentences w ith the verb work, using the correct preposition from
the box. Note that in som e sentences, more than one preposition is possible.

in w ith for to under as on a

1......I w o r k .....................a journalist. I investigate and write articles for

newspapers.
2..... I w o r k .....................the media. I'm an advertising executive.
3..... I w o r k .....................underprivileged children, helping them to
overcome disadvantages in life.
4 I w o r k .....................a m ultinational pharmaceutical company.
5 I w o r k .....................Lords and Sons. I'm training to be a solicitor.
6 I w o r k .....................large building projects, which often take up to
two or three years to complete.
7 I w o r k .....................tight budgets and strict schedules.
8 I w o r k .....................a very inspiring manager, who has taught me
everything I know.

Q Com plete the fo llo w in g sentences w ith an appropriate adjective from

the box. Note that in som e sentences, more than one adjective is
possible.

ch allengin g m onotonous rew arding fu lfillin g

interesting stressful absorbing d em an d ing

1 My job doesn't vary very much on a day-to-day basis. It's quite

2 It's v e r y ........................to see the children's excited faces at the end of a

really good lesson.
3 I find my job q u it e ...................... when my phone w on't stop ringing
and everyone wants to ask me something.
4 My job as an illustrator is v e r y .......................... Sometimes hours go by
and I don't even notice.
5 I'm always learning new things, which makes my job v e r y ......................
but also v e r y .........................

Saying it clearly

О П Listen to the adjectives from Saying it accurately 4 and m ark the stressed
os syllable o f each w ord, fo llo w in g the exam ple.
1 challenging 5 interesting
2 monotonous 6 stressful
3 rewarding 7 absorbing
4 fulfilling 8 demanding

10 Speaking
 4 Match the two halves to make sentences.
I'm responsible A after visitors to the company.
2 My colleague makes 8 my work mobile after 6 o· clock.
3 The receptionist looks c to my emails.
4 I always reply D my flight reservations.
5 I don't answer E for my boss's appointments.

5 Complete the sentences with information about your own work.

1 I'm a
2 I'm responsible for
3 I look after
4 I reply to
5 I deal with

16 1Workplace English
 What do you do? I Unit 3

Language tip

When visitors ask you questions about your job, give as much information as you
possibly can to keep the conversation going. Give full answers, for example, Yes.
And at meetings I take the minutes not Yes, I do.

Speaking
6 A visitor asks you about your job. Play Track 06 and speak after the beep.
06- 07 Then listen to Track 07 to compare your conversation.
CD
Visitor So, what do you do?
You (Answer the question.)
Visitor I see, that's interesting. Are you very busy?
You (Answer the question.)
Visitor And are you responsible for anything?
You (Answer the question.)
Visitor Do you do anything else?
You (Answer the question.)

Workplace English 17