Your Work
“Do you work or are you a student?”
Some people say, “I’m a worker.” This is not suitable because ‘worker’ in English means an unskilled working person (劳动者) who has no qualifications such as a degree or a similar certificate. It’s similar to ‘laborer’ although we do use the word in ‘office worker’. Other common usages are: construction worker, factory worker, farm worker, mine worker.
It’s also not suitable to say, “I’m an employee.” That's an indirect answer; an employer is also working. Indirect answers do answer the question but not directly. Direct answers are the best communication.
It is also an indirect answer to reply, “I’ve been working for five years.”
Some people say, “I’m working now.” That’s not wrong but a person would only say that if he or she had only recently started working, for example, within the past 6 months or so.
Other people answer this question by saying where they work, for example, “I’m working at the Beijing Tax Department” or “I’m working at XYZ Company.” Such indirect answers give the impression that your communication skills in spoken English are not strong.
Don’t answer this question by saying what your job is, such as “I’m an accountant.” Again, that is another example of an indirect answer to the question.
The best answer is to first say “I work.” or “I’m working.” followed by a small piece of extra information (or possibly two small pieces of extra information). This information could be: what you do; where you work; how long you have been working; a change that you plan to make; or how you feel about working or your job. For example: “I work. I'm a secretary in a joint-venture company here in Shanghai.” And put some stress on the word “work” because it is in contrast with “student”.
Most
examiners would consider an answer consisting of only, “I
work.” or “I’m
working.” to be adequate but you want to do more than simply give
‘adequate’ answers. It would be ok to give such a minimal answer once or
twice in the whole Speaking test but not habitually. You should consider
questions such as this as invitations or opportunities to give information.
To get a good test score (6 or above), you need to show a willingness to
speak; you need to demonstrate to the examiner what English you know.
On the other hand, keep in
mind that questions such as this are not asking you to give a lot of extra
information after you answer the basic question. As I wrote in the section
‘Your Studies’, in a real conversation (not a test) you really would not
know why a person is asking such a question. It might be because they want
to invite you to join a club that is only for working people and the work
you actually do might not be important at all. Therefore, to give a lot of
extra information is unsuitable.
The second question that examiners often ask (but not always) is:
“What job do you do?” or “What work do you do?” or similar words.
Of course, if you have already told the examiner this, you will not be asked this question.
Be careful of using abbreviations such as ‘IT’. That abbreviation is quite well known but others are not, such as ‘HR’ for Human Resources.
Again, most examiners would consider the answer of “I’m an accountant.” as acceptable but a better answer would include some extended information. Most people should not give a long answer here but there are some situations where a longer answer could be suitable.
It is a weak answer to reply where you work without saying what work you do. For example, “I’m working at the Beijing Tax Department” or “I’m working at XYZ Company.” But it would be a good answer if you said, “I’m working at the Beijing Tax Department as an accountant.” However, it is best to state the job first, since that is the basic question: “I’m working as an accountant at the Beijing Tax Department.”
Many people are not sure how to name their work because it is rather complex or has several facets. This is especially true for some people who work for a government department. Sometimes, if you simply give the job title (especially a direct translation of the Chinese job title), it does not communicate much meaning to an English-speaking listener. For example, some people who have graduated as lawyers or accountants have positions that are not exactly called ‘lawyer’ or ‘accountant’. If you are one of these people, you should think about what your basic training or your degree involved – was it law, engineering, accountancy? Usually, your work mostly involves your basic training and you should simplify your answer by saying something such as, “I work as a lawyer for the Henan Provincial Department of Commerce.” Remember, this is just an English test, not a job interview. If your job does not directly or only involve accountancy or law or whatever your degree was, you can choose to add a comment about what you actually do on a day-to-day basis. To repeat; there is no need to be overly worried about the accuracy of your answer if your work is difficult to explain or of a mixed nature – just simplify your description or name of it.
Another possible way to explain your job title might be: “I'm an assistant in the Personnel Department at XYZ Company.” By stating which department you work in, the listener can get a reasonably good idea of what you do. (Check in the dictionary for the pronunciation of ‘personnel’ - it is not pronounced the same as ‘personal’.) The word ‘clerk’ could also be used instead of ‘assistant’.
You must be able to give a clear answer to this question and it is your responsibility to find out how to correctly say what work you do.
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Go to this page to see more advice on avoiding common errors when saying what your job is.
“Why did you choose that work?”
This question might be worded as, “Why did you choose that job?” Whatever way it is asked, the meaning is, “Why did you choose that as a career?” or “Why did you choose that type of work?” Usually, the question isn't asking you, “Why did you choose to work for that particular company?”
Basically, most of you made the choice about what work to do when you decided what to study at university or vocational college. Therefore, you should read the advice for students when they have to answer the question, “Why did you choose to study that?” This page also gives you suggestions for answering the question, “Do you like it?”