Vocabulary to use in a CV, resume & job interview exercise part 2

In this second of three online exercises on vocabulary in CVs, resumes and job interviews, you'll learn and remember more professional English words/phrases that you can use to improve your CV/resume and job interview performances.

Click here to go to the first part of this exercise on professional vocabulary for CVs, resumes and job interviews

Click here to go to the third part of this exercise on vocabulary for CVs, resumes and job interviews

Click here to see more of our free online exercises on CVs/resumes and job interviews


Exercise: More examples of CV/resume and job interview words

Below are a number of verbs and phrases that are commonly used in business English to make sentences sound more professional.

From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

1. Before I arrived, the business was losing a lot of money. So I made some important changes and I turned around the business. It made a profit a year after I had arrived.


2. The company had a lot of processes which slowed things down. So the first thing I did was to eliminate a lot of them. Some of the staff were used to working in a set way and weren't happy when some of the processes were gone.


3. Being both a woman and a senior manager, I had to overcome a lot of criticism and negative stereotypes. But I did and now I'm a director.


4. It's fundamental for a company to deliver what the customer wants and expects. Any company that doesn't do that, will lose their customers.


5. I've always carried out what my managers have asked me to do. And I expect the same if I give my staff something to do.


6. In order to reduce costs, we had to restructure the sales team. Moving people and introducing a complete change from how they had worked before.


7. I contributed a lot to the new process. The project manager asked me for ideas and I suggested how it should work.


8. I had a very important position in that company. In fact, I reported to the financial director. He was my boss.


9. Every company now should streamline it's way of working. Not only to save money, but also to make things more efficient.


10. I had to evaluate the performance of all the senior managers. Being asked why they did things in a certain way, wasn't something that they liked.




Quiz:

Below is a definition/description of each of the words/phrases in bold from the above text (which you can also find in the grey box below). Answer each question with one of these words/phrases in bold. Only use one word/phrase once and write it as it is in the text. Click on the "Check Answers" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the question which you can press/click on. In the first icon, , you can find extra information about the word/phrase (e.g. when, where and how to use etc...) and a Spanish translation. In the second, , is where you can listen to the word/phrase.

Words/phrases to use in the quiz

1.

To do/perform a responsibility that somebody has asked you to do, is

         

Carried out:
(phrasal verb) It is often used about performing orders/commands. The infinitive is "to carry out". It is a transitive verb (it has an object) and is separable, e.g. 'I will carry it out' or 'He has carried out your instructions'. In Spanish: llevar a cabo.

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Carried out:

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2.

To help produce/provide something, is

         

Contributed:
(phrasal verb) The infinitive is "to contribute". In this context it is an intransitive verb (it doesn't have an object), e.g. 'Her idea contributed to the success of the project'. In Spanish: "contribuir a".

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Contributed:

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3.

To change something which was doing badly to doing well, is

         

Turned around:
(phrasal verb) The infinitive is "to turn around". This is only used when talking about companies, departments, teams, negotiations and projects. In this context it is a transitive phrasal verb (it has an object) that is separable, e.g. 'She turned it around' or 'They turned around the project'. In Spanish: "sacar a flote/rentabilizar".

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Turned around:

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4.

To review the performance of somebody or something, is

         

Evaluate:
(verb) It is similar to the verb 'assess'. The infinitive is "to evaluate". It is a transitive verb (it has an object), e.g. 'We're going to evaluate the performace of the company'. In Spanish: "evaluar".

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Evaluate:

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5.

To succeed when you face many problems, is

         

Overcome:
(verb) The infinitive is "to overcome". In this context it is a transitive verb, and you need to use as the object the things which tried and failed to stop you (like criticism, disability, problems etc...), e.g. 'He overcame his fear and jumped out of the plane'. In Spanish: "superar".

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Overcome:

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6.

To make something more efficient and effective, is

         

Streamline:
(verb) The infinitive is "to streamline". In this context it is a transitive verb (it has an object), e.g. 'They are trying to streamline their business'. In Spanish: "racionalizar".

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Streamline:

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7.

To remove something not necessary, is

         

Eliminate:
(verb) The infinitive is "To eliminate". This can appear strong. Do not use when talking about people (it means to murder, use 'to remove' instead). Only use 'eliminate' with things contected to inefficiency (waste). In this context it is a transitive verb (it has an object), e.g. 'I eliminated the outdated order system'. In Spanish: "eliminar".

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8.

To say who your boss/manager was, is

         

Reported to:
(phrasal verb) The infinitive is "to report to". It is a transitive phrasal verb (it has an object) and inseparable, e.g. 'I report to her' or 'I report to Sally Smith'. In Spanish: "estar bajo las òrdenes de".

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Reported to:

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9.

To provide a internal/external customer with the necessary goods or services, is

         

Deliver:
(verb) It is used in this context with a similar meaning as 'to achieve'. The infinitive is "to deliver". In this context, it can be used as both a transitive and intransitive verb, e.g. 'She has delivered everything she as promised' or 'He always delivers'. In Spanish: "cumplir".

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10.

To reorganise a company or department, is

         

Restructure:
(verb) The infinitive is "to restructure". It can be used as both a transitive and intransitive verb, e.g. 'She is restructuring the department' or 'they are going to restructure'. In Spanish: "reconvertir".

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Restructure:

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Practice

Now that you understand the meaning of these verbs, practice them by creating your own sentences in English with the verbs.