Talking About Your Job — Easy English Conversation

Transcript

A: Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Recursio Podcast — easy English conversations for learners.

B: Hi! Wonderful to have you with us again. Today we’re putting on our office clothes.

A: That’s right — today we’re talking about work. Your job, your tasks, your deadlines, your days off.

B: It’s one of the first topics that comes up with new people. Small talk loves this question.

A: By the end of this episode you’ll describe your job naturally — and survive the most common work questions.

B: As always: listen first, read the captions if you need them, and repeat the useful phrases out loud.

A: And a quick note before we start: you can practice today’s phrases in Recursio — the link is in the description.

B: Deal. Let’s clock in!

”What do you do?”

A: Let’s start with THE question. Someone meets you at a party and asks: What do you do?

B: Notice — not “what is your job”, although that’s correct too. Natives usually ask: What do you do?

A: And the full version is: What do you do for a living?

B: For a living — meaning, to earn money. What do you do for a living?

A: Now the answers. There are three little prepositions that do all the work here.

B: Number one: I work AS. Plus your position. I work as a teacher. I work as a designer.

A: Number two: I work IN. Plus the field. I work in marketing. I work in IT. I work in education.

B: And number three: I work FOR. Plus the company. I work for a small startup. I work for Recursio!

A: As — position, in — field, for — company. Three prepositions, three answers.

B: Let’s practice. Answer out loud, any of the three: What do you do?

A: Whatever you said — well done. And if you’re a student, just say: I’m a student. I’m studying economics.

B: And if you’re between jobs, that’s a useful phrase too: I’m between jobs right now.

A: Very elegant. Much nicer than the alternatives.

Describing what you actually do

B: Okay, the next question people ask: And what do you do there, exactly?

A: Time to describe your responsibilities. Key phrase number one: to be in charge of.

B: To be in charge of something means you lead it, you’re the boss of that area.

A: I’m in charge of the social media accounts. She’s in charge of the sales team.

B: A softer cousin: to be responsible for. I’m responsible for customer emails.

A: And the everyday workhorse: to deal with. I deal with clients all day.

B: To deal with means to handle, to work with — often something not very fun.

A: Exactly. You deal with problems, deal with complaints, deal with paperwork.

B: Let’s build a little self-presentation. Listen: I work as a project manager. I’m in charge of two teams, and I deal with our biggest clients.

A: Three sentences, and you sound like a professional. Try yours after the beep — one sentence is enough.

B: Beautiful. Say it again tomorrow, it gets smoother every time.

Deadlines and busy days

A: Now the stressful part of work vocabulary. The word every office knows: deadline.

B: A deadline is the time when something must be finished. The deadline is Friday.

A: And the verb that goes with it: to meet a deadline. To meet a deadline means to finish on time.

B: The opposite — to miss a deadline. We don’t want that.

A: I have a tight deadline this week. Tight — meaning very little time.

B: When there’s too much to do, you might have to work overtime — work extra hours.

A: I worked overtime three days last week. My plants forgot my face.

B: And here’s a phrase for that feeling: I’m swamped. It means I have too much work.

A: I’d love to join, but I’m swamped this week. Polite, honest, very native.

B: Quick tip from the middle of the workday: we’ve collected quite a stack of phrases already.

A: If you’re wondering how to remember them all — that’s exactly what Recursio is for. Save the phrases from this episode, and the app brings them back for practice right before you forget them.

B: Link’s in the description whenever you need it. Now — let’s escape the office. Sort of.

Meetings and colleagues

A: Before we escape the office, two more things every workplace has: meetings and people.

B: The people first. The neutral word for the people you work with: colleagues.

A: My colleagues are really friendly. In American English you’ll often hear coworker — same person, different label.

B: Your manager or boss — that’s the person you report to. I report to the head of marketing.

A: Ooh, to report to someone — that’s a nice formal one for interviews, by the way.

B: Now the meetings. The verb English chose is “have”: to have a meeting.

A: I have a meeting at ten. We’re having a team meeting tomorrow morning.

B: If you organize it, you schedule a meeting. Can we schedule a meeting for Thursday?

A: And if there are too many of them — well, there’s a joke for that in every office on Earth.

B: “This meeting could have been an email.” Say it with love, not to your boss.

A: In a meeting you might give a presentation — present your work to the others.

B: I’m giving a presentation on Friday. Wish me luck!

A: And when you want to start the discussion, a soft opener: Shall we get started?

B: Let’s put it together. Listen: Tomorrow I have a meeting with my colleagues — I’m giving a short presentation, and my boss will be there.

A: One breath, four phrases. That’s how these little words become a real story.

Remote, office, and the commute

A: Because since a few years ago, “where do you work” has a second meaning. Home or office?

B: The key phrase: to work from home. I work from home on Fridays.

A: You’ll also see the short version in messages: WFH. But say the full phrase out loud.

B: The mix of both worlds is called hybrid. We have a hybrid schedule — three days in the office, two at home.

A: And when you do go to the office, there’s the commute.

B: The commute is your trip to work. My commute is about forty minutes.

A: It works as a verb too: I commute by train. She commutes by bike.

B: Ask yourself: how long is your commute? Answer out loud.

A: If you said “zero minutes, I work from home” — we hear you, and we’re a little jealous.

Days off and holidays

B: And now the sweetest part of work vocabulary. Time off!

A: The basic unit of freedom: a day off. A day when you don’t work.

B: Monday is my day off. And the verb: to take a day off.

A: I’m taking a day off on Friday to visit my parents.

B: For longer breaks: to be on holiday — or on vacation in American English.

A: She’s on vacation until the ninth. Same thing, different flag.

B: And if you’re ill, you don’t just disappear — you call in sick.

A: To call in sick means to phone or message work and say you’re not coming because you’re ill.

B: I’m not feeling well, I’m calling in sick today. Take care of yourself — that’s what the phrase is for.

A: Work phrases AND life advice. This podcast has everything.

Recap quiz

B: Quiz time! We ask, you answer out loud. Ready?

A: Question one. Someone at a party wants to know about your job. What’s THE question they’ll ask?

B: What do you do? Or the longer one: What do you do for a living?

A: Question two. You lead the design team. Complete: I’m in ___ of the design team.

B: In charge. I’m in charge of the design team.

A: Question three. You finished the project exactly on time. Which phrase is that?

B: To meet a deadline. You met the deadline — congratulations!

A: Question four. Too much work, no free time. What do you say — I’m…?

B: I’m swamped!

A: Question five. Your trip to the office, forty minutes on the train. What’s the noun?

B: The commute. My commute is forty minutes.

A: Question six. You’re ill and you’re staying home. What do you do first?

B: You call in sick. And then you rest.

A: And question seven. Your work presents a plan to the team on Friday. Complete: I’m giving a ___ on Friday.

B: A presentation. I’m giving a presentation on Friday.

A: Seven out of seven? Excellent. Less than seven? That’s what review is for.

Recap + practice in Recursio

B: Let’s file today’s report. The phrases, one more time.

A: What do you do? I work as, I work in, I work for.

B: In charge of, responsible for, deal with.

A: Deadline, meet a deadline, work overtime, I’m swamped.

B: Work from home, hybrid, the commute.

A: A day off, take a day off, on holiday, call in sick.

B: That’s a full working week of English in fifteen minutes.

A: If you want to keep these phrases, open the link below — this lesson is ready to practice in Recursio.

B: Dictation, sentence building, speaking — a few minutes a day, and at the next party “what do you do” will be your favorite question.

A: Thanks for listening! Tell us in the comments: what do YOU do for a living?

B: See you on Friday for the next episode. Don’t work too hard!

A: Bye everyone!