| Word | Definition | Translation | Word in context | Vocabulary building | Examples and remarks |
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| candidate |
A job candidate is somebody who a company is considering for a job. |
Anwärter/ Bewerber |
The HR department at BMW made a shortlist of ten candidates from a total of 200 applications for the graduate traineeship. |
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| career |
The type of work that you do for most of your working life is your career. The word career suggests that you either stay in one line of work or one kind of job or at one company. |
berufliche Laufbahn/ Karriere |
While Peter was at Munich University, he did two internships at different publishing houses. He knew this would improve his chances of a career in publishing. |
a career in + profession (for example, a career in publishing) |
Career advisor (= someone who helps you decide what sort of career would be suitable for you and advises you, for example, on the qualifications you need) |
| career fair |
There are many types of career fairs - from those organised specifically for students looking for internships and graduate jobs to industry-specific fairs for experienced professionals. The aim of career fairs is to give companies the chance to meet and screen a large number of potential job candidates and to give job hunters the opportunity to meet potential employers. |
"Jobmesse" |
Most final-year students in the US and UK go to student career fairs, which are usually held in the autumn at universities around the country. University career fairs present the best opportunity to find out which companies are offering graduate traineeships in the coming year. They also offer the opportunity to network. |
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Career fairs are also known as careers fairs, job fairs or recruitment fairs. |
| career ladder |
The career ladder refers to the different stages or steps of your career, like someone climbing a ladder to reach a higher level. |
Karriereleiter |
I took my first step on the career ladder when I was offered a graduate trainee position after graduating from university. |
to climb the career ladder (verb) |
When you make a career move , you take the next step in your career. |
| career objective |
See job objective. |
Berufsziel |
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| career prospects |
Your career prospects are the chances you have of getting a good job. |
Berufsaussichten |
Doing an internship abroad can really improve your career prospects. |
prospective (adjective) |
The Human Resources Department processes the applications of prospective (= possible / potential) job candidates. |
| CEO (= Chief executive officer) |
CEO stands for “Chief Executive Officer”. The CEO is the highest ranking officer of a company and is often Chairman of the Board as well. |
Geschäftsführer/ Firmenchef |
When you research the company you want to apply to, it is very important to find out about the company structure, including the name of the CEO. |
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Managing Director is the British equivalent of CEO, although the title CEO is being used increasingly in British-based international companies. |
| chronological CV |
A chronological CV is a CV format that organises the job seeker's skills and achievements by date, mainly focusing on work history and education. |
chronologischer Lebenslauf |
A chronological CV is especially good if you have had a lot of work experience as it emphasises your work history. |
to list something in chronlogical order |
English-language CVs are usually written in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent thing you have done. See also functional CV . |
| (to) clarify |
When you clarify information, you check to make sure you have understood it correctly. |
klarstellen/ verdeutlichen |
During a job interview, if you're not sure whether you've understood a question correctly, you should clarify what the interviewer has said straight away. |
clarification (noun); clarity (noun) |
He asked for clarification (noun) of the question. She spoke with great clarity. |
| cold calling |
Cold calling a company means contacting them to ask whether they have any job vacancies even though they have not advertised in the media. |
ungefragte Bewerbung |
When looking for an internship, you could try cold calling any companies that you are interested in. (However, before you phone them, you should find out who you need to speak to and exactly what their company does. Also be clear about what you can offer the company and what information you want from them.) |
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Besides cold calling companies, you can also cold contact them by sending them an unsolicited job application. See also unsolicited. |
| cold contact cover letter |
A cold contact cover letter is one that is written to an employer for a job that has not been advertised. |
Bewerbungsschreiben ohne Aufforderung |
I really wanted to work for IBM, so I sent them a cold contact cover letter to see if they had any suitable vacancies. |
to cold contact somebody (verb) |
See also cold calling and unsolicited job application |
| communication skills |
If you have good communication skills, you have the ability to speak and write well and to get ideas across clearly. |
Kommunikationsfähigkeiten |
Excellent communication skills are essential for anyone wishing to work in advertising. |
to communicate with someone (verb) |
It is important for salespeople to be able to communicate well with a wide variety of people. |
| complementary close |
The closing phrase of a letter is called the complementary close. |
Schlusssatz/ Abschiedswort |
At the end of your cover letter, check that the complementary close is consistent with the rest of your letter and is either in UK or US style. |
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Complementary close is spelled complimentary close in the US. |
| comprehensive |
Something that is comprehensive includes a lot of things. |
umfassend/ weitreichend |
The website contains comprehensive information for people who want to apply for a job abroad |
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| computer-literate |
Someone who is computer-literate knows how to use a computer. |
"gut mit Computern" |
It's difficult to get a good job nowadays if you are not computerliterate. |
(computer) literacy (noun) literate (adjective) |
The job requires a fairly high level of computer literacy. Someone who is literate is able to read and write. Inner-city schools often have a lower rate of literacy than schools situated in wealthier areas. |
| continuing professional development |
Continuing professional development (CPD) is the means by which members of professional associations maintain, improve and broaden the knowledge and skills required in their professional lives. |
andauernde berufliche Weiterbildung |
Alena had trained to work in banking before she went to university. As a student, she was allowed to take part in the continuing professional development programme of the bank she had trained at, so that she could easily go back into banking after university if she wanted to. |
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There are several terms that are used as synonyms for CPD. They include continuing vocational education (CVE), lifelong learning and work-based learnig (WBL). These terms have slightly different meanings depending on the context in which they are used, but they all refer to continual learning both throughout a professional career and throughout life. |
| contract |
A contract is a legal agreement between two or more people or groups. It can be an agreement on terms of employment, or an agreement between two or more companies to do certain work or provide certain services. |
contract Vertrag |
Make sure you agree with all the terms of the employment contract before you sign it. |
to sign a contract / enter into a contract / break the terms of a contract (verbs) |
The builders are under contract to our firm to install new bathrooms. A verbal contract is one that is not written down, but is simply agreed on verbally by the parties involved. |
| corporate culture |
Corporate culture is the collection of beliefs, expectations and values shared by the management and employees of a company. |
"Firmenkultur" |
It's important to understand the corporate culture of a company before applying for a job. |
Corporate image (noun) Corporate identity (noun) |
Corporate image is the impression the public has of a company. A company's corporate identity is comprised of the qualities that visually unite all parts of a company and distinguish it from others, for example, its name, logo or the design of its packaging and advertising materials. |
| cover letter |
A cover letter is a letter that you send with your CV/ resume as part of a job application. |
Bewerbungsschreiben |
When Susanne was looking for an internship, she sent off a lot of job applications. She always tailored each cover letter to the internship she was applying for. She knew that mass- produced cover letters are never successful. |
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A cover letter is also known as a covering letter (UK), letter of application or letter of motivation. |
| curriculum vitae (CV) |
A curriculum vitae, commonly abbreviated as CV, is a table of information about your education, work experience and other skills and activities. You send your CV to a company or organisation as part of a job application. |
Lebenslauf |
Unlike German CVs, you never attach a photo to a UK or US CV unless you are specifically asked to do so by the company. |
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The American term for CV is resume. |
| curriculum-related |
Most internships are curriculum-related, meaning they are relevant to your programme of study. |
Fachbezogen/ Studienbezogen |
If you are able to get a work placement that is curriculum-related, you may be able to use some of the things that you've learnt in your studies. |
Related can be combined with other nouns to form compound adjectives, such as work-related, studyrelated and career-related. |
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| CV heading |
The CV heading is the section at the top of the CV that lists your personal details. |
Überschrift des Lebenslaufs |
In English CVs you do not include your marital status in the CV heading. |
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