JOBS

Work/ occupation (foglalkozás) plays an important role in our lives, because we will have to work
and do the same job during our whole life. We do not only earn money but also find our place
in society, spend time with other people and feel useful.

The economically active population includes people who are willing and able to work and people
who search for work – the unemployed (munkanélküli). The first group includes self-
employed people (magánvállalkozó) and employees(munkavállaló).

Economically inactive people are the retired, the disabled and the sick-sickness benefit. When a child
is born to a couple, it is usually the mother who takes maternity leave. It normally takes three
years. Maternity pay is not very high, so the man is responsible for the family incomes. The
old people at the age of 63 are retired (nyugdíjas) and they get retired pay.

Applying for a job

Employment is a contract(szerződés) between an employer (munkaadó) and an employee

(munkavállaló).

The employer is a person who hires employees. Jobs are usually advertised in newspapers or
on the Internet. When people search for a new job, they look at several factors, such as type of
work, possible promotion, career development, salary, working time, travel
opportunities, place of work and others. Candidates send in their job applications and their
CVs, together with a letter of motivation. Their CV should include details about their
education, skills and work experience. Those who are selected are invited to an interview. At
an interview they usually answer questions, describe their motivation and expectations.

They should:

- come in time
- wear formal clothes
- listen carefully and speak clearly
- it is a good idea to find information about the company in order to ask questions
- keep an eye contact
- write down your strengths and weaknesses
They shouldn’t:

- give Yes/No answers only

- make up false information about yourself
- talk about your personal life
- make out you understand something when you don’t

Employees can be hired to work full-time and part-time.

Many people are self-employed – they run their own businesses. The advantages of being self-
employed are:

- they don’t have to get up early,

- they can have a holiday whenever they want,
- they are not harassed by a boss,
- they don’t have to worry when they get ill.
 The unemployed are people who don’t have jobs. They lost (elveszteni) their job, quit (felmondani)
or were fired (elbocsátani). They have to be registered at the job centre, which help them to find a new
job and they get unemployment benefit-they live on the dole.

A freelancer (szabadúszó) is someone who is not regularly employed, for example, photographers,
journalists, actors.

A teleworker (távmunkás) is someone who works from home with computers.

Blue-collar workers are people who do manual work such as factory work, building and construction.
The name ’blue-collar’ comes from the traditional blue uniforms they wear.

White-collar workers are people who do brainwork in offices, do administration, e.g. office clerks,
bankers, teachers, managers. They usually wear a suit and a white shirt.

Skilled jobs (szakképzett) are jobs where people have learnt a trade such as joiner, mechanic,
hairdresser, tailor.

Unskilled jobs (szakképzetlen) don’t require special training, e.g. cleaners, factory workers.

Manual (fizikai munka) workers work in manufacturing or construct buildings.

Mental (pszichikai munka) jobs are teachers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, artists, they work
intellectually. Professions like a policeman, pilot, construction worker are very dangerous professions
because there is a high risk of an injury or an accident.

Working time

People usually have regular working hours – from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or from 9 to 5. It means
8 hours per day, 40 hours per week.

Some people work at nights, do shift work (műszak) or have part-time jobs (brigádmunka).
A lot of people do overtime.

There are also people who work flexi-time (kötetlen munkaidő). It is good because you feel
free and your day is not monotonous.

The labour market in Slovakia has changed in the last ten years. Many work opportunities were
created thanks to foreign investors.

What qualities and skills are needed?

Skills: good communication skill, computer skills, driving, language skills, typing, organisational and
problem solving ability

Qualities: creativity, patience, good social behaviour, flexibility, reliability, responsibility, physical
strength, cultural awareness, co-operation

Benefits:

- pay (salary, wages, income, pay raise, sick pay),

- medical benefits,
- vacation days, annual leave, health insurance, life insurance, parental leave, sick leave,
unemployment benefit, bonus, perk (mellékes)
WRITING B1

My dream job

During a school excursion you visited a job fair. Choose the job which attracted you most. Write a
letter to your English penfriend (160-180 words) in which you introduce the chosen job. Use the
following points:

 the job you attracted you most and why

 what advantages you can see in it
 what disadvantages you can see in it
 what will be your typical day at work like
 ask your friend for his/her opinion about the chosen job

WRITING B2

Was Life i the Past Better or worse Than Today?

Write an opinion essay about the following topic: Was Life int he Past Better or Worse than Today?
Choose one side of the argument and support it giving two distinct reasons. Do not forget to include a
paragraph in which you express the opposing viewpoint.