Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 86, Asking About Jobs.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 86.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan from the Center for Educational Development, beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Today's podcast is about asking someone politely about their job.
Let's go.
I was at the store the other day.
I saw a former coworker, Michael, across the room.
He used to work at my company until he quit a few months ago to start a new job as a public relations officer at Missouri University.
It's a job he's been working toward for years.
He wasn't happy working for a corporation.
I wanted to get into a non-profit organization or a university.
I wanted to see how he was doing.
The truth was I was thinking of making a move myself.
Hey, Michael.
Remember me?
I'm Becky.
We used to work at Lechman's together.
Oh, sure.
How are you?
Long time no see.
How are things at Lechman's?
It's about the same.
I've been thinking of making a change myself.
Do you mind if I ask you a few things about your job at the university?
No, not at all.
Go ahead.
Well, I was wondering what the salaries are like.
I mean, are they much lower than the corporate world?
Well, I can't speak for all universities, but my salary is definitely lower than at Lechman's.
I just don't think the salaries are comparable when you leave a major corporation.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
But I've heard that the perks are better.
I was wondering if that was really true.
I'd have to say yes and no on that.
I don't get a big end-of-the-year bonus like I did at Lechmans, but I get to take classes for free if I want to.
I've always wanted to get a graduate degree, so I'm taking classes now to do that.
Oh, that's great.
It sounds like you're really happy with your move.
Yeah, I guess I am.
Working at a university really suits me.
That's always a sensitive subject.
That is, some people don't like answering questions about their job.
So you want to do that very politely.
And there are several expressions that we use in relation or related to this topic.
Let's begin at the beginning of the story.
The woman in the story Becky, says that she was in the store the other day.
That expression, the other day, means the same here as recently.
It could have been yesterday, maybe last week.
She said she saw a former co-worker of hers.
Former F-O-R-M-E-R means here a ex-coworker, someone who used to be a coworker but isn't any longer.
We talk about former presidents. and former movie stars, people who used to be but aren't anymore.
This former coworker of hers Michael, is now working as a public relations officer for a university.
A public relations officer is someone who deals with or handles the media or the press for a company.
Public relations in general is making sure that your company or your business has a good image, that people get accurate information about you.
Becky says that it's a job he's been working toward for years.
To say you are working toward something means that that is your goal, that you are trying to accomplish that goal.
He said that he wanted to get into either a nonprofit organization or a university.
A nonprofit organization is one that doesn't try to make money, but tries to help other people.
It still has to have money, of course, but it's not a regular business in that sense.
Becky then says, The truth was I was thinking of making a move myself.
The expression the truth was or the truth was.
That is just a way of introducing some statement or some idea that that indicates that you are going to be very honest with the person.
To make a move here means to leave your job and to go to a different company.
Then in the conversation, Becky says, Hey, Michael, remember me?
And Michael says, Oh, sure.
Long time, no see.
That expression.
Long time comma no see is one we use for someone, of course, that we haven't seen in a long time.
We could say it's been a long time since I've seen you, but we usually use that short expression long time no see.
It's a very unusual expression because there's no subject in the sentence.
We don't say, long time I have not seen you.
So I'm not sure quite why we use that.
That's one of the few cases where you'll see that particular form of construction of the sentence.
Long time no see.
Becky then says to Michael that she was thinking of making a change herself, making a move, changing jobs.
And then she introduces a polite way of asking a question.
Do you mind if I ask you a few things about your job?
That expression, do you mind if followed by the question.
Do you mind if I ask you where you bought those shoes?
That is a polite way of introducing a question.
Michael responds by saying, no, not at all, meaning I don't mind.
The response to the affirmative or positive or yes response to the question, do you mind, is no.
Meaning, it doesn't bother me.
When you say, do you mind, you're asking, does it bother you?
Is it okay that I ask you this question?
We can also use this as a polite way of requesting something from someone.
Do you mind moving over to the left so I can see the movie screen?
For example, you're sitting in a theater and someone has a big hat sitting right in front of you.
I should add that if you say yes to the question, do you mind?
Yes, I mind.
That's considered rather rude to say yes to that question, even though you might want to.
Maybe it does bother you, but you have to know someone pretty well to answer yes to the question.
Do you mind if I take all of your money?
Then you might want to say, yes, I mind.
But Michael doesn't mind, and he says, go ahead, meaning ask your question.
Go ahead.
And Becky says, well, I was wondering what the salaries are like.
This is another case where you ask the question politely by putting another expression in front.
I was wondering.
To wonder means I was thinking about. meaning I have a question, I'm not sure, I was wondering.
This is an embedded question, which means that the subject and the verb are reversed as they would be from a normal question.
For example, if you wanted to ask someone a question, what are the salaries like today?
You notice that are comes first, the verb, and then the salaries, the subject, comes second.
But if the question is inside another sentence, then we switch the subject and the verb to normal order.
I was wondering what the salaries are like.
This is a very common expression, I was wondering.
Michael says in response well, I can't speak for all universities, but my salary is definitely lower.
That expression I can't speak for everyone, meaning my views or my opinions don't represent everyone.
But and then you give what your opinion is.
In this case, he says that the salaries are comparable.
I'm sorry, he says the salaries are not comparable at the university versus a major corporation.
And this is something I can say is definitely true, having worked at a university.
The salaries or the amount that you get paid is not comparable, meaning it's not the same.
You can't compare one with the other.
They're not equal.
Becky then asks about the perks at Michael's job.
Perks, P-E-R-K-S, or perk, a perk, is a benefit.
It's usually a word we use associated with a job.
This job has lots of perks.
I get to travel twice a year.
I get a free Blackberry or Palm Trio or a new cell phone every six months.
Those would be perks.
They're not part of your regular salary, but they are benefits that a company or organization gives you.
Becky then uses the expression, I was wondering, I was wondering if that was really true.
Again, a polite way of asking, is that true?
And Michael says, I have to say yes and no.
That expression, of course, is when you want to answer a question both ways.
It's partly true.
It's partly not true.
So someone says, are you going to the store today?
And you say, yes and no.
Yes, I'm going to the store, but no, I can't buy you anything.
At the end of the dialogue, Michael says that working at a university really suits him.
When we say something suits you, S-U-I-T-S, we mean it's a good fit for you.
It's something that is a good match for you.
And you can say that about a job, but you could also say it about the color of your hair.
You dye your hair green and you say, oh, that green really suits you.
I wouldn't do that, but, you know, some people might.
So when something suits you, it's appropriate for you.
It's good for you.
Of course, the word suit, S-U-I-T, has other meanings in English.
A suit is also what a man or a woman wears a formal business suit with a jacket and a tie and pants.
And a suit is also a legal term.
When you sue someone S-U-E the noun is a suit and that is a legal action you take against someone else.
For example, someone hits your car and they don't want to pay for the damage.
You can sue them.
You can file a suit against them so that the court will make them pay.
Well, we won't make you pay, but we will give you the dialogue again, this time at a native rate of speech.
© BF-WATCH TV 2021
He wasn't happy working for a corporation and wanted to get into either a non-profit organization or university.
I wanted to see how he was doing.
The truth was, I was thinking of making a move myself.
Hey, Michael.
Remember me?
I'm Becky.
We used to work at Luckman's together.
Oh, sure.
How are you?
Long time no see.
How are things at Luckman's?
It's about the same.
I've been thinking of making a change myself.
Do you mind if I asked you a few things about your job at the university?
No, not at all.
Go ahead.
Well, I was wondering what the salaries are like.
I mean, are they much lower than the corporate world?
Well, I can't speak for all universities, but my salary is definitely lower than at Lechman's.
I just don't think the salaries are comparable when you leave a major corporation.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
But I heard that the perks are better.
I was wondering if that was really true.
I'd have to say yes and no on that.
I don't get a big end-of-the-year bonus like I did at Lechman's, but I get to take classes for free if I want to.
I've always wanted to get a graduate degree, so I'm taking classes now to do that.
Oh, that's great.
It sounds like you're really happy with your move.
Yeah, I guess I am.
Working at a university really suits me.
Be sure to visit our website at www.eslpod.com.
From Los Angeles, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2006.
