Human resource – Vocabulary and Phrases

 

 

take over – to take responsibility for something after somebody else
Sales were falling until the Marketing Manager took over.

burn out, to burn yourself out – to work much too hard
By the age of 30, many commodity traders have burnt themselves out.

lay off – if somebody is laid off they lose their job because the company has problems.
If we lose the contract we will have to lay off some staff.

step down as/from – to leave an important job or position
Although she is stepping down from the committee, she will still be involved with the organization.

contract out to – to arrange for work to be done by another company rather than by your own.
Training is often contracted out to specialist firms

take on – to agree to do some work
She took on more responsibilities when she was promoted.

fill in for – to do someone else's job for a short time because they are away
Mary is on a training course this week. Can you fill in for her?

hand over to – to give control of something or responsibility for something to someone else
He handed over his business to his daughter.

report to somebody – if you report to somebody in a company they are responsible for your work and tell you what to do
Five people reported directly to the area manager.

to be in charge of – to have something under care and supervision
She is in charge of two libraries.

to be responsible for – to answer for something
He is responsible for the logistics.

to manage a team – to handle, direct, govern, or control in action or use
Our department is managed by an experienced lawyer from the Netherlands.

temporary work – finishes after a fixed period
I am looking for a new job, because my contract with the company was only temporary.

permanent work – does not finish after a fixed period
It is difficult to get a loan from a bank if you don't have a permanent job

dull/boring work – uninteresting
My work is really dull - all I ever do is fill in data in Excel spreadsheets.

tiring, tough, hard, demanding work – the work is difficult and makes you tired
Working in a coal mine must be really demanding.

satisfying, stimulating, fascinating, exciting – the work is interesting and gives you positive feelings
I would like to find a stimulating job where I can put all my ideas into practice.

to apply for a job – to make a formal, usually written, request for something, especially a job, a place at university, or permission to do something
She applied for a full-time job as an English Teacher.

to recruit – to find new people to work for an organization, do a job, etc.
So far, they have recruited 10 new sales representatives.

cover letter – a letter that you send with other documents, like your CV, giving extra information about yourself
Copies of the questionnaire and cover letter were sent to heads of department individually.

references – a letter written by someone who knows you well, usually to a new employer, giving information about your character, abilities, or qualifications.
We will be getting references from your former employers.

referee – a person who provides information about your character, abilities, or qualifications when you are trying to get a job
Application should be in the form of a CV, to include the names of three referees.

in-house training – if a job is done in-house, it is done within an organization, especially by the organization's own staff.
He is the top in-house lawyer of General Electric.

to climb the career ladder – a career, considered as a series of levels that lead to better and better jobs
Women's chances to climb the career ladder have always been less than men's.

hand in a notice/to resign – a period of time that someone works after they said that they are going to leave their job, or after they have been told to leave their job
She would ring the agency and give in her notice.

to retire/retirement – to stop work at the end of your working life
Jaguar plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs by offering workers money to quit or to retire early.

to quit – to leave your job, especially because you are annoyed or unhappy with it
I was grossly underpaid, so I quit.

to promote sb. to sth. – to give someone a better paid, more responsible job in a company or organization
Univision Holdings has promoted four executives to new posts as part of a reorganization.

to fire – to dismiss someone from their job
Lee Iacocca worked his way up to the presidency of Ford Motor Company, from which he was abruptly fired by Henry Ford II.

to hire – to employ a person or an organization for a short time to do a particular job for you; to agree to give someone a permanent job
He was hired as the company's chairman last year.

a supervisor – someone who is in charge of a group of workers or a particular area of work
Any holidays not already booked should be cleared with your supervisor.

wage – money that someone earns according to the number of hours, days, or weeks that they work, especially money that is paid each week
The average hourly wage in the industry $6.

salary – money that you receive as payment from the organization you work for, usually paid to you every month
She's on a salary of 28,000 CZK.

dress code – the way that you are expected to dress in a particular situation, especially as an employee of a particular company
The company liberalized its dress code to allow women to wear trousers to the office.

maternity leave – time with pay that a woman is allowed to be absent from work because she has had a baby
The share of first-time mothers receiving maternity leave has nearly tripled in recent years.