The career ladder
The career ladder
A job for life
Many people used to work for the same organization until they reached retirement: the age at which people retire, or end their working life. Career path were clear: you could work your way up the careeer ladder, getting promotion to jobs that were more senior, with greater responsibliity. You would probably not be demoted: moved to a less senior job.
To leave the company, you could resign or hand in your notice.
Words
retirement /rɪˈtaɪəmənt $ -ˈtaɪr-/ ★★☆ S3 W3 n.
[countable, uncountable] when you stop working, usually because of your age
Most workers’ retirement age is 50 in Korea.
retire /rɪˈtaɪə $ -ˈtaɪr/ ★★☆ S3 W3 vi.
to stop working, usually because you have reached a certain age
He was forced to retire early beacause of poor working
career path n.
[countable] a series of jobs that you do in one or more professions, especially in a planned way, going form one job to a more important one
He completed his career path which had been thought impossible.
work your way up the career ladder
work following you career path through promotion, getting higher positon or movement to next level of a hierarchy.
promotion /prəˈməʊʃən $ -ˈmoʊ-/ ★★☆ S3 W3 n.
[countable, uncountable] a move to a more important job or position in a company or organization
I want a job with good prospects for promotion.
promotion to
Your promotion to Senior Editor is now official.
senior ★★★ W2 adj.
OPPjuniorhaving a higher position, level, or rank
White men hold most of the jobs in senior management.
junior ★★★ W3 adj.
[only before noun] having a low rank in an organization or profession
There are several people junior to me(= with a lower rank than me).
demote /dɪˈməʊt $ -ˈmoʊt/ vt.
to make someone’s rank or position lower or less important
OPPpromoteThe sergeant was demoted to private
resign /rɪˈzaɪn/ ★★☆ W3 vi, vt.
to officially announce that you haver decided to leave your job or an organization
SYNquitHe resigned as governor of Punjab in August.
governor /ˈɡʌvənə $ -vərnər/ ★★★ W3 n.
[countable]
1
a. the person in charge of governing a state in the US
b. the person in charge of governing a country that is under the political control of another country
2
BrEa member of a committee that controls an organization or institutiona school governor
the hospital’s board of governers
3
BrEthe person in charge of an institutionthe prison governor
hand in your notice/give (your) notice
SYNresignto tell your empoloyer that you will be leaving your job soon
Jim gave notice on Thursday.
A job for now
Modco has downsized and delayered. The number of managetment levels in the company hierarchy has been reuced from five to three, and many manavers have lost their jobs. Modco has reorganized and restructured in order to become flatter (with fewer layers of management) and leaner (with fewer, more productive employees).
Words
downsize /ˈdaʊnsaɪz/ vi, vt.
if a company or organization downsizes, t reduces the number of people it employs in order to reduce costs
The airline has downsized its workforce by 30%
delayer /ˌdiːˈleɪə-ər/ vi.
if an organization delayers, it reduces the number of management levels it has
Whether it’s called downsizing or delayering, the goal is the same: to reduce the number of middle managers.
restructure /ˌriːˈstrʌktʃə $ -ər/ ★☆☆ vt.
to change the way in which something such as a government, business, or system is organized
if the company is to survive, it must be seriously restructured
flatter/leaner
Modco has reorganized and restructured in order to become flatter(with fewer layers of management) and leaner(with fewer, more productive employees).
efficiency /ɪˈfɪʃənsi/ ★★☆ W3 n.
[uncountable] the quality of doing something well and effectively, without wasting time, money, or energy
OPPinefficiencyI was impressed by his her speed and efficiency.
profit /ˈprɒfɪt $ ˈprɑː-/ ★★★ S1 W1 n.
[countable, uncountable] money that you gain by selling things or doing business, after your costs have been paid
OPPlossSYNrevenueThe shop’s daily profits is usually around $500.
In-house staff or freelancers?
Modco has outsourced many jobs previously done by in-house personnel: outside companies clean the offices, transport goods and collect money form customers. This allows Modco to concentrate on its its main business activities. Modoco uses more freelancers, independent people who may work for several diffenrent companies, and they employ poeple for short periods on temporary contracts. Modoco expects flexibility, with poeple moving to different jobs when necessary, but for many employees, this means job insecurity, the feeling that they may not be in their job for long. The way that they are doing their job is discussed at performance reviews: regular meetings with their manager.
Note: You say freelancer or freelances.
Words
outsource /ˈaʊtsɔːs-sɔːrs/ vt.
if a company, organization etc outsources its work, it emkploys another company to do
As more companies outsource design skills and expertise, the sector is likely to expand.
freelancer /ˈfriːˌlɑːnsə-ˌlænsər/ n.
SYNfreelancea person who is working independently for different companies rather than being employed by one particular company
He is working as a freelancer for several software development companies.
felxibility /ˌfleksəbɪləti/ ★★☆ n.
[uncountable] the ability to change or be changed easily to suit a different situation
Employees expect flexibility in the workplace.
job insecurity
a job, investment etc that is insecure does not give you a feeling of safety, because it might be taken away or lost at any time
performance review n.
SYNperformance appraisala meeting between an employee and a manager to discuss the quality of the empoloyee’s work, and areas for future progress
He has changed the organization’s performance review system, which used to rate 90% of personnel as ‘outstanding’.
Losing your job
If you do something wrong, you are
- dismissed
- fired
- sacked
- terminated
If you’ve done nothing wrong, you are
- laid off
- made redundant
- offered early retirement
Employees who are made redundant may get advice about finding another job, retraining, etc. This is called outplacement advice.
Words
dismiss /dɪsˈmɪs/ ★★☆ W3 vt.
to remove someone from their job
SYNfire sack terminateBryant was unfairly dismissed from his post.
to refuse to consider someone’s idea, opinion etc, because you think it is not serious, true, or importnat
The government has dismissed criticisms that the country’s health policy is a mess
lay off phv.
to stop employing someone because there is no work for them to do
The company laid off 250 workers in December.
redundant /rɪˈdʌndənt/ adj.
BrEif you are redundant, your employer no longer has a job for youSeventy factory workers were made redundant in the resulting cuts.
outplacement /ˈaʊtˌpleɪsmənt/ n.
[countable, uncountable] a service that a company provides to help its workers find new jobs when it cannot continue to employ them
One especially effective initiateve was a dicision of the recruitment and training staff to turn themselves into an in house outplacement centre.
It is the end of this time : )
