CELPIP Vocabulary for Work and Careers
The Celpip Plus team
Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria
Work & Careers collocations for CELPIP
Work is one of the most common settings in CELPIP. Writing Task 1 often asks for an email to a manager, a co-worker or a company: requesting time off, raising a problem with a schedule, or applying for a position. Writing Task 2 surveys ask you to choose between two workplace options, such as a four-day week or a new staff lounge. In Speaking, work comes up in Task 1, Giving Advice, when a friend is thinking about changing jobs; in Task 2, when you describe a past job; and in Task 6, when a co-worker asks for a favour you can't do. The collocations below cover all of these situations.
Verb + noun collocations
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| land a job | successfully get a job, often after competition | She landed a job at a downtown accounting firm right after graduating. |
| apply for a position | submit a formal request to be considered for a job | I applied for a position in the marketing department last week. |
| meet a deadline | complete work by the required time | Our team always meets its deadlines, even during busy months. |
| give your notice | formally tell your employer you are leaving (also: hand in your notice) | He gave his two weeks' notice after accepting a job in Calgary. |
| take on responsibilities | agree to be in charge of new tasks or duties | New managers often take on responsibilities they haven't handled before. |
| get promoted | be given a higher position or rank | She got promoted to team lead after two successful years. |
| earn a living | make enough money to support yourself | Many freelancers earn a living without a traditional office job. |
| build a career | develop a professional path over time | He built a career in software after switching from teaching. |
| strike a balance | find a healthy compromise, often between work and life | It's hard to strike a balance between overtime and family time. |
| gain experience | acquire practical skill by doing the work | Co-op placements let students gain experience before graduating. |
| hit a target | reach an assigned goal, often a sales or performance figure | The sales team hit its quarterly target two weeks early. |
| lose your job | become unemployed, often unexpectedly | Many workers lost their jobs when the mill closed. |
Adjective + noun collocations
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| a rewarding career | work that gives strong personal satisfaction | Nursing can be a rewarding career despite the long shifts. |
| a demanding role | a job requiring a lot of time, effort or skill | Being a project manager is a demanding role during launch season. |
| a flexible schedule | working hours that can be adjusted to suit the employee | The company offers a flexible schedule for remote staff. |
| a competitive salary | pay that compares well with similar jobs elsewhere | The firm advertised a competitive salary to attract top graduates. |
| a toxic work environment | a workplace with harmful, stressful or hostile relationships | She quit because of a toxic work environment with constant conflict. |
| a steep learning curve | a job that requires learning a lot quickly | New hires face a steep learning curve in the first month. |
| a dead-end job | work with no chance of promotion or growth | He described his old warehouse job as a dead-end job. |
| a fulfilling job | work that feels meaningful and satisfying | Teaching can be a fulfilling job even with modest pay. |
| a high-pressure environment | a workplace with constant stress or tight deadlines | Emergency rooms are a high-pressure environment by nature. |
| a supportive manager | a supervisor who helps and encourages employees | A supportive manager made her first month in the role much easier. |
| a stable position | secure, dependable employment | Government jobs are often seen as stable positions. |
| a demanding boss | a supervisor with high or difficult expectations | Working under a demanding boss pushed him to improve quickly. |
Phrasal verbs
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| fill in for (someone) | temporarily do someone else's job | I filled in for my manager while she was on parental leave. |
| take on (a task) | accept additional work or responsibility | He took on a second project without complaining. |
| step down (from a role) | voluntarily leave a position, often a senior one | The director stepped down after ten years in the role. |
| catch up on (work) | finish work that has fallen behind | She spent the weekend catching up on emails. |
| put off (a task) | delay or postpone something | Don't put off the report until the deadline is close. |
| deal with (an issue) | handle or resolve a problem | Customer service staff deal with complaints every day. |
| burn out | become exhausted from overwork over a long period | Many employees burn out during the busiest quarter. |
| move up (in a company) | be promoted or advance in rank | She moved up quickly thanks to strong performance reviews. |
| branch out (into) | expand into a new area of work | The company branched out into online retail last year. |
| lay someone off | end someone's employment because of a lack of work or money, not their performance | The plant laid off dozens of workers during the downturn. |
| take over (a project) | take control of something someone else was running | He took over the account after the previous manager left. |
| sort out (a problem) | resolve an issue or organize something confusing | We finally sorted out the scheduling conflict on Monday. |
Formal and spoken phrases for work and careers
These phrases belong to workplace situations specifically. Use the formal ones in Writing Task 1 emails to a manager or employer, and the spoken ones when you talk about your own job in Speaking.
Formal phrases for Writing
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| request time off | formally ask for days away from work | I would like to request time off from March 3 to 7 to attend my sister's wedding in Halifax. |
| cover a shift | work a shift in place of a colleague | Priya has kindly agreed to cover my shifts while I am away. |
| as per company policy | following the employer's official rules | As per company policy, I am submitting this request two weeks in advance. |
| in my current role | in the job I do now | In my current role, I supervise a team of six customer service agents. |
| relevant work experience | job experience connected to the position you want | I have four years of relevant work experience in retail management. |
| staff morale | how confident and motivated employees feel | The new break schedule has clearly improved staff morale. |
| a reduction in hours | fewer scheduled working hours | A reduction in hours would make it difficult for part-time staff to pay their rent. |
| I am available for an interview | formally offers to meet an employer | I am available for an interview at any time next week. |
Spoken phrases for Speaking
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| in my line of work | in the kind of job I do | In my line of work, you're on your feet all day. |
| I was swamped | I was extremely busy with work | I was swamped that week, so I stayed late every night. |
| pick up extra shifts | agree to work more shifts than scheduled | I picked up extra shifts over the holidays to save for a car. |
| call in sick | phone work to say you're too ill to come in | I almost never call in sick, but I had a fever that morning. |
| it pays the bills | the job gives enough money, even if it isn't exciting | It's not my dream job, but it pays the bills. |
| work my way up | rise gradually through a company | I started as a cashier and worked my way up to assistant manager. |
| a nine-to-five job | a job with regular weekday office hours | A nine-to-five job would be easier with two small kids. |
| between jobs | not employed right now (a polite way to say it) | My cousin is between jobs, so he's taking a course in the meantime. |
Connectors such as "moreover" and chunks such as "to be honest" fit any topic, so they are collected on two shared pages: Formal Phrases for CELPIP Writing and Natural Spoken Phrases for CELPIP Speaking.
Worked examples
Writing Task 1: Asking your manager to change your duties
Prompt: You recently took on extra duties at work and are finding it hard to keep up. Write an email to your manager. In your email:
- explain what has changed in your job;
- describe how it is affecting your work;
- suggest a change that would help.
Dear Ms. Tremblay,
Since Daniel moved to the Calgary office in May, I have taken on most of his responsibilities, including the weekly supplier orders and the training of new hires. I am glad to gain experience in these areas, and I see this as a chance to build a career with the company.
However, the extra work has made it difficult to meet deadlines. Last week, two supplier orders went out a day late, and I spent Saturday catching up on emails. I am worried that I will burn out if this continues through the busy season, and I do not want the quality of my work to suffer.
I would like to suggest a solution. If Amir could take over the new-hire training, I could focus on the orders and still hit our monthly target. I would be happy to show him the process during his first two weeks.
Thank you for considering this request. I am available to discuss it at any time this week.
Kind regards,
Jasmine Kaur
Each paragraph answers one bullet in the prompt, and the request in the third paragraph comes with a practical offer, which keeps the tone polite.
Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation
Prompt: Your co-worker, Mark, has asked you to cover his Saturday shift because of a family event. You already promised a friend you would help her move that day. Choose one: (a) talk to Mark and explain why you can't cover his shift, or (b) talk to your friend and explain why you need to change your plans.
Hi Mark, do you have a minute? It's about Saturday. I know you asked me to fill in for you, and I really wish I could. The problem is, I promised my friend weeks ago that I'd help her move that day, and she's already rented a truck. I've also picked up extra shifts twice this month, so I'm trying not to burn out before the holidays. But I don't want to leave you to deal with this on your own, so let's sort out another option. Leila mentioned she wants more hours, so she might be happy to cover your shift. And if she can't, I could stay late on Friday and catch up on the inventory count, so Saturday is lighter for whoever works. I'd hate for you to miss your family event, so do you want me to text Leila right now?
This answers option (a). It refuses clearly, gives two reasons, and offers two alternatives, which is what the task asks you to do in 60 seconds.
CLB 7 vs CLB 9: one sentence, two ways
CLB 7 version: I have a lot of new work, so I can't finish my tasks on time.
CLB 9 version: Since I took on Daniel's responsibilities, I've been struggling to meet deadlines.
What changed: "a lot of new work" and "finish my tasks on time" became two precise collocations, and the cause became specific.
Common mistakes
- "I took new responsibilities" → I took on new responsibilities. Extra duties need the phrasal verb "take on". "Take responsibility for" means accepting that something is your job or your fault.
- "Do a deadline" → meet a deadline. Deadlines are met or missed, never done.
- "Earn a career" → build a career or earn a living. These two collocations get blended: a career is built, money is earned.
- "A rewarded career" → a rewarding career. The job gives the reward, so the adjective ends in -ing.
- "I took up for my manager" → I filled in for my manager. "Take up" means starting a hobby or using space; "fill in for" means doing someone's job for a while.
- "I put off my manager" (meaning you delayed a report) → I put off the report. With a person, "put someone off" means making them lose interest or delaying a meeting with them.
- "I fell down with my work" → I fell behind on my work. "Fall down" is physical. The fix for falling behind is to catch up on the backlog.
- "I took over a new project" (when nobody ran it before) → I took on a new project. "Take over" means replacing someone who was already in charge.
- "I was fired because the factory closed" → I was laid off because the factory closed. "Fired" means dismissed for your own performance or conduct; "laid off" means the job ended for business reasons.
- "I called sick yesterday" → I called in sick yesterday. The particle "in" is part of the expression.
- "To be honest, the new schedule is unfair" (in an email to your manager) → I am concerned that the new schedule is unfair to part-time staff. Casual spoken chunks sound out of place in a formal email.
- "Regarding to your email" → Regarding your email or With regard to your email. "Regarding" never takes "to".
- "I work here since 2021" → I have worked here since 2021. An action that started in the past and continues now needs the present perfect.
- "I have an experience of three years" → I have three years of experience. "Experience" meaning skill is uncountable and comes after the number of years.
- "I make overtime every week" → I work overtime every week. Overtime is worked, not made.
- "I want to ask for a leave" → I would like to request time off or request a leave of absence. "Time off" is the usual phrase for a short break, and "a leave of absence" is the formal term for a longer one.
- "The salary is cheap" → The salary is low. Prices are cheap; pay is high or low.
Practise
- Vocabulary flashcards and quizzes: review these collocations until they come to mind without effort.
- Writing Task 1 practice: write an email to a manager and use at least five collocations from this page.
- Speaking Task 6 practice: practise refusing a co-worker politely with "fill in for", "cover a shift" and "sort out".