My first job — Workbook
1. Vocabulary in context
Complete each sentence with ONE word or phrase from the box. Two items are extra.
- It was an drop — I wasn't managing anyone, I was learning how to be managed.
- The first three months were a drop — I'd never touched the software before in my life.
- That job was really just a drop into consulting; I stayed nine months and then moved on.
- With two years of client work drop , I felt ready to lead my own account.
- Recruiters didn't care about my grades — they wanted drop .
- In 2019 I made a drop from journalism into product management.
- I joined straight drop and I've been in the same industry ever since.
- I drop my notice on a Friday afternoon and I've never regretted it.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
2. Past simple + time markers
Write the correct verb form and, where marked, the correct time marker.
- I ___ (land) my first job three years ___ (ago / in / at).
- She ___ (hand in) her notice ___ (in / on / at) a Friday afternoon.
- How long ___ you ___ (work) there before you ___ (become) team leader?
- ___ (In / On / At) 2018 he ___ (make) a career pivot from teaching into product.
- 'I ___ (walk) to work every day for three years' — a habit that ended, so also possible: 'I used to ___'.
- ___ you ___ (enjoy) your very first job? — 'Yes, I ___, but I ___ (outgrow) it quickly.'
- She ___ (leave) the company ___ (straight after / ago / when) her second promotion.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
3. Interview register
Choose the option that sounds professional in a real job interview.
'Tell me about your first job.'
'Why did you leave?'
'What did you learn there?'
Which sentence is the strongest bullet on a CV?
'I used to work six nights a week' vs 'I worked six nights a week' — which is more accurate for ONE specific summer?
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
4. Find and fix the mistake
Each sentence has ONE grammar or register mistake typical of A2+/B1 professionals. Rewrite it correctly.
- Ago three years I landed my first job in Lisbon.
- I used to hand in my resignation letter yesterday at 4pm.
- In two years ago I made a career pivot from teaching to product.
- I didn't enjoyed my first job but I learned a lot.
- 'My boss was a nightmare' — that's why I leave.
- I was work in a hotel when I had 18 years.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
6. Listening — 60-second career-story voicemail
A former colleague leaves a 60-second voicemail preparing you for an interview panel where you'll be the candidate. Listen (or read the transcript) and answer.
- What is the caller's overall goal in leaving this voicemail?
- Which SPECIFIC detail does the caller tell the candidate to keep in the story?
- What does the caller explicitly tell the candidate NOT to say?
- Name the ONE closing tip the caller gives.
Show transcript
Isabel (Former Colleague):Hi — quick voicemail before your interview tomorrow. I know you're nervous about the 'tell me about your first job' question, so please listen.
Isabel (Former Colleague):First: do NOT open with 'it was just a summer job'. Do NOT say 'it wasn't really a proper job'. Both of those undo the story before they've even heard it.
Isabel (Former Colleague):Second: keep the concrete numbers. 'Six nights a week for three months, at the age of eighteen, at the reception of a forty-room hotel.' That's not filler — that's the thing recruiters remember at the end of the day.
Isabel (Former Colleague):Third: land on the transferable skill. Something like: 'That job taught me the sentence — no, but here's what I can do — and I still use it every single week in my current role.' One sentence. Then stop talking.
Isabel (Former Colleague):Do that, and you don't sound like someone with three months of hotel reception on their CV. You sound like someone who knew what they were learning at eighteen. Good luck tomorrow.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
7. Writing — LinkedIn 'About' opening paragraph (120–150 words)
Write the opening paragraph of your LinkedIn 'About' section (120–150 words) that starts with your very first job and lands, by the end, on what you do today. Include: (1) where you started, in what year, (2) one specific detail from that first role that still shapes you, (3) one clear career pivot or step-up, (4) a one-sentence framing of your current work. Use AT LEAST four past-simple verbs and three different time markers. Do NOT use: 'passionate', 'motivated', 'team player', 'results-driven'.
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.
8. Case study preview
Look at this unit's Case Study. Answer briefly.
- What is the main challenge in the case for Unit 9, and which stakeholder is under the most pressure?
- If you were coaching that stakeholder, what is the ONE reframing sentence you would give them for their next conversation — the equivalent of 'no, but here's what I can do'?
Ask the teacher: Write down anything you want to remember from this section. Your notes are saved automatically.