Discussing Work

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the USA.

People are often puzzled with how to say posao and zanimanje in English. The easiest way is to refer to everything as ‘job’. But English has much more to offer.

A job (countable noun) is the regular paid work that you do for an employer, especially when you work for a company or public organization. A friend of mine told me his last job was with a computer firm and his current job is in advertising. But, he would like a job in TV. Are there any jobs (not work or works) in TV? He might apply for a job there. It might be hard to get a job (or find a job) there or hold down a job (keep a job when this is difficult).

Work (uncountable noun) is used in a more general way to talk about activities you do to earn money, either working for a company or for yourself (like employment). This friend of mine started work when he was eighteen. People who are employed are in work (have a job). However, there are people out of work (without a job). They are looking for work, but they have difficulties finding work. Another friend of mine is returning to work (start a job again after a while) after being on a maternity leave. You should try to avoid questions such as What is your job? or What is your work?, but say What do you do (for a living)? Be also aware that you usually have a lot of work to do when you are busy, and not a lot of job.

Post and position (countable nouns) are more formal words for a job in a company or organization, used especially in job advertisements and when you are talking about someone moving to a different job, e.g. This post would suit a recent graduate. They need to fill a post, because Mr Smith left his $50,000 a year post in July. He has left for a teaching position (or post) in Germany. He will take up (start) his new position in June.

Vacancy (countable noun) refers to an empty position, e.g. We have no vacancies for photographers at the moment. However, it can also refer to empty rooms in a hotel where you often see signs No vacancies (no free rooms available).

Occupation (countable noun) is used to talk about the kind of work someone usually does, mainly in official forms, e.g. Please state your name, address and occupation in the box below. You should avoid the word occupation to talk about your own job. (NOT My occupation is an accountant. BUT I am an accountant.)

Profession (countable noun) is a kind of work for which you need special training and a good education, e.g. teaching, law or medicine. For example: After studying law, he entered the legal profession. or He is a barrister by profession.

Exercise 1 Match the expressions to their Croatian equivalents.

1. permanent job __ a. puno radno vremena

2. current job __ b. započeti posao

3. temporary job __ c. dobiti posao

4. part-time job __ d. zaposlen

5. full-time job __ e. naći posao

6. apply for a job __ f. stalan posao

7. get a job __ g. nezaposlen

8. in work __ h. pola radnog vremena

9. out of work __ i. privremeni posao

10. look for work __ j. prijaviti se za posao

11. find work __ k. tražiti posao

12. start work __ l. trenutačni posao

Exercise 2 Complete the sentences with work or job.

1. I’ve been looking for a job for six months, but I haven’t had much success so far.

2. He’s been out of work for more than two years.

3. I’ve applied for a job with a company in Split.

4. I finally got a temporary job in a law firm.

5. He found work with an engineering firm.

6. I haven’t had a steady job since 2014.

7. She will return to work next month.

8. I’m only doing my job.