October 27

How to Talk About Your Job in English

2  comments

Asking what job somebody does

Normally we wouldn't say "What is your job", or "What is your profession"


Instead, you could say:

What do you do?
So, what do you do?
What do you do for a living?


Answering a question about what job you do

I'm a software engineer.

I work in the (software) industry/sector.

I'm in insurance. - This means 'I work in the insurance industry'.

To put it simply, I make web applications for people to buy products online.

I work for/at Microsoft.

I work for a publishing company.

I work in the Marketing department. Sales, HR etc

Continuing the conversation about somebody's job

How long have you been in that job/industry?

How did you get into that job?

Is that a good company to work for?

I work …

Part time

Full time

Flexi time

I work for a company that manufactures safety equipment.

I work for a Japanese company that makes kitchen appliances.

What are your main responsibilities?

I'm mainly responsible for taking enquiries from clients, finding out what the client needs and delivering service to them.

I'm mainly in charge of editing the company newsletter, updating the company website, posting content on social media.

What's it like to work for Microsoft?

Describing your job

challenging / tough

fulfilling

satisfying

rewarding

It's hard work / tiring

I have to work long hours.

I have to work overtime.

Talking about benefits / perks

What are the benefits like?

I get 10 days of paid leave

'Leave' can be used in British English or US English, but normally 'holiday' is UK English and ‘vacation' is US English

I get a transport allowance.

I get a company pension.

Leave me a comment to tell me something about your job - what do you do and do you like it?

And if you have any questions, leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.


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  • your video are always very interesting and helpful. I always used to say (as we do in Italy) what’s your job? Now I learnt how to say it correctly. It would be very interesting to have a video about job descriptions. thank you very much

    • Thanks Irene, yes I think a lot of people say that ! And thanks for the suggestion, glad you find my videos helpful 🙂

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