Employment - Jobs

Word	Meaning
assessment	Evaluation of one's abilities
background	Education - qualifications - experience
bonus	Additional payment to an employee as an incentive or reward
curriculum vitae	Summary of one's education and experience to date;  resume
dismiss	Discharge from employment (to fire, to sack, to let go)
employee	Person who works for a firm or company.
employer	Person or firm who employs people.
fire	To dismiss from a job.
fringe benefits	Advantages offered in addition to salary (life insurance, retirement scheme, company car, etc.). Also called 'perks', abbreviation for 'perquisites'.
hire	Employ or take on personnel in a company.
interview	Oral examination of a candidate for employment.
make redundant	Dismiss for economic reasons.
maternity leave	Period of absence for a female employee when having a baby.
notice	Advance warning of intention to leave one's job - to give or hand in one's resignation.
personnel	People who work for a firm or company (employees).
personnel officer	Manager responsible for recruitment, training and welfare of personnel (employees).
promotion	Advancement in rank or position in a company.
prospects	Opportunities for success or promotion in a career.
recruit	Look for and hire personnel.
resign	Leave a job voluntariily.
retire	Leave employment because of age.
sick leave	Absence because of illness - to be on sick leave.
staff	People who work for a firm or department;  employees.
strength	Strong characteristic or particular ability.
strike	To go on strike : to stop working in protest against something.
take on	Employ or hire.
trainee	Person being trained for a job e.g. a trainee salesman.
training course	A course of study to prepare for a job e.g. a computer course.
unemployment benefits	Payments made by the state to an unemployed person.
vacancy	A position to be filled.
weakness	A lack of ability or a shortcoming in character.

Computers & Information Technology

Word	Meaning
modem	A device that enables a computer to send and receive information over a telephone line (internet, email,  fax).
netiquette	Network etiquette : a set of informal rules defining proper behaviour on the internet.
portal	A website that acts as a gateway or entry point to the internet (for example, Yahoo). Typically, a portal offers a search engine and links to other sites grouped into categories, as well as news or other services.
program	A sequence of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute in order to do a particular job.  Programs are collectively referred to as 'software'.
provider	Company that provides access to the internet.
scanner	A piece of hardware, or peripheral device, used to scan a document and create a digital copy.
spam	Unwanted, irrelevant or inappropriate e-mail messages, especially commercial advertising.  Also referred to as 'junkmail'.
spyware	Software that collects information, without your knowledge, about your web-surfing habits and uses it for marketing purposes.  Very often contained in free downloads or shareware programs.
trojan	A computer program that is hidden in a useful softwareapplication and actually used to gain access to your computer.  It then performs malicious actions such as displaying messages or erasing files. Trojans may be found in a hacked legitimate program or in free software.
videoconference	Interactive, audiovisual meeting between two or more people in different geographic locations using two-way video technology.
virus	A malicious self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents, and whose sole intent is to cause problems on a computer. It acts in a similar way to a biological virus, and the infected file is called a host.
worm	A self-replicating computer program, similar to a computer virus.  It infects additional computers (typically by making use of network connections), often clogging networks and information systems as it spreads.
wysiwyg	What you see is what you get (pronounced ' wizzy-wig'). A WYSIWYG application enables you to see on the screen exactly what will appear when the document is printed.
www	World Wide Web : a hypertext information system consisting of a network of web pages which runs on the internet and can be accessed with a browser.
zip	To zip a file is to compress it so that it occupies less storage space and can be transferred quickly over the internet.

Computers & Information Technology

N.B. The British spelling 'programme' is no longer used to refer to a computer program, although it is still correct in other phrases e.g. 'television programme'.
Word	Meaning
adware	A software application which displays unwanted pop-up advertisements on your computer while in use.  Adware is often installed at the same time as free software or shareware.
application	Any program designed to perform a specific function directly for the user.  Microsoft Word, Outlook or Adobe Photoshop are examples of application programs.
bloatware/fatware	Pre-installed software that occupies a lot of space, leaving little memory for storing personal data.
browser	A program or tool such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Google that enables you to browse or surf the World Wide Web and view internet sites.
bug	A defect or fault in a program that prevents it from working correctly.  Bugs are caused by mistakes or errors made by those who write the program.
cache	A sort of fast memory used for temporary storage of recently accessed web pages, which enables the browser to display them more quickly on the next visit.
cookies	Small piece of information on the times and dates you have visited web sites.  A web server can temporarily store this information within your browser.  The main purpose is to identify users and possibly prepare customized web pages for them.
crash	What happens when a program or the entire operating system, unexpectedly stops working.
cursor	A blinking symbol on the screen that shows where any new text will next be entered.
driver	A special program which enables a computer to work with a particular piece of hardware such as a printer.
e-business	Business done over the internet or any internet-based network.
e-mail	Electronic mail : messages sent from one computer to another over the internet.
FAQ	Frequently Asked Questions.
firewall	Specialized hardware or software designed to prevent unauthorized access into or out of a computer or network.
font	A particular kind of lettering (e.g. Arial, Verdana, etc.)
hardware	The physical equipment or touchable parts of a computer system (the CPU (central processing unit), monitor, keyboard,  mouse, external speakers, scanner the printer, etc.)
hit	A visit to a website.
home page	The main page or opening page of a website.  It usually contains links to other pages.
login	Process by which a user enters a name and password to access a computer.

Business English resources

Apologising (US: Apologizing)	We are sorry for the delay in replying to ... I regret any inconvenience caused (by) ... I would like to apologise for the (delay, inconvenience)... Once again, please accept my apologies for ...
Orders	Thank you for your quotation of ... We are pleased to place an order with your company for.. We would like to cancel our order n° ..... Please confirm receipt of our order. I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order n° ..... Your order will be processed as quickly as possible. It will take about (two/three) weeks to process your order. We can guarantee you delivery before ...(date) Unfortunately these articles are no longer available / are out of stock.
Prices	Please send us your price list. You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list. Please note that our prices are subject to change without notice. We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation. We can make you a firm offer of ...
Referring to payment	Our terms of payment are as follows  ... Our records show that we have not yet received payment of ... According to our records ... Please send payment as soon as possible. You will receive a credit note for the sum of ...
Enclosing documents	I am enclosing ... Please find enclosed ... You will find enclosed ...
Closing remarks	If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know. If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you require more information ... For further details ... Thank you for taking this into consideration. Thank you for your help. We hope you are happy with this arrangement. We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.
Referring to future business	We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future. We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company. I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with your firm.
Referring to future contact	I look forward to seeing you next week. Looking forward to hearing from you, ... Looking forward to receiving your comments, I look forward to meeting you on the (date). I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience. An early reply would be appreciated.
Ending business letters	◊ Sincerely,    } ◊ Yours sincerely,}  for all customers / clients ◊ Sincerely yours,} ◊ Yours faithfully, in more formal letters ◊ Regards, for those you already know and/or with whom you have a working relationship

Useful phrases for writing business letters

Salutation	• Dear Mr. Brown • Dear Ms. White • Dear Sir • Dear Madam • Dear Sir or Madam • Gentlemen
Starting	•  We are writing - to inform you that ... - to confirm ... - to request ... - to enquire about ... • I am contacting you for the following reason... • I recently read/heard about ..... and would like to know .... • Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to ... • I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ... • I received your address from ----- and would like to ...
Referring to previous contact	• Thank you for your letter of March 15. • Thank you for contacting us. • In reply to your request, ... • Thank you for your letter regarding ... • With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday... • Further to our meeting last week ... • It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month. • I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo. • I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed  on Tuesday.
Making a request	• We would appreciate it if you would ... • I would be grateful if you could ...  • Could you please send me ...  • Could you possibly tell us / let us have ...  • In addition, I would like to receive ... • It would be helpful if you could send us ... • I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ... • I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter. • Please let me know what action you propose to take.
Offering help	• Would you like us to ...? • We would be happy to ... • We are quite willing to ... • Our company would be pleased to ...
Giving good news	• We are pleased to announce that ... • I am delighted to inform you that .. • You will be pleased to learn that ...
Giving bad news	• We regret to inform you that ... • I'm afraid it would not be possible to ... • Unfortunately we cannot / we are unable to ... • After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...
Complaining	• I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ... • I am writing to complain about ... • Please note that the goods we ordered on ( date )  have not yet arrived. • We regret to inform you that our order n° ----- is now  considerably overdue. • I would like to query the transport charges which seem  unusually high.