Career Counseling Session
An employee has a one-on-one session with a career counselor or HR specialist to explore long-term career paths, discuss potential internal or external opportunities, and strategize on how to achieve specific career aspirations.
Dialogue
Listen and follow along with the conversation
Vocabulary
Essential words and phrases from the dialogue
career path
A plan or direction for your professional future, like the jobs and roles you want to take to advance in your work.
stuck
Feeling unable to progress or move forward, often used when you're not challenged or growing in your job.
strategic
Related to planning and making big-picture decisions for long-term success, not just daily tasks.
leadership role
A position where you guide and manage a team or projects, involving decision-making and motivating others.
aspiration
A strong goal or ambition for what you want to achieve in your career.
cross-departmental
Involving different departments within a company, allowing collaboration across teams.
analytical skills
The ability to examine information, solve problems, and make decisions based on data and logic.
informational interviews
Informal meetings to learn about a job or industry from someone experienced, not for applying but for gaining insights.
preliminary
Initial or first version of something, like a plan that can be changed later.
timeline
A schedule showing when tasks or steps will happen in a plan.
Key Sentences
Important phrases to remember and practice
What's on your mind regarding your career path today?
This is a polite opening question to start a conversation about someone's thoughts or concerns. It's useful in counseling or meetings to invite sharing. 'On your mind' means what you're thinking about, and 'regarding' introduces the topic.
I'm feeling a bit stuck in my current role.
This expresses dissatisfaction with lack of progress in your job. 'A bit' softens the statement to be polite. Useful when discussing career issues; it uses present continuous 'feeling' for current emotions.
Can you tell me a bit more about what 'stuck' feels like for you?
This asks for more details to understand someone's feelings. 'A bit more' means a little additional information. Great for clarifying in professional talks; it shows empathy and uses quotes for emphasis.
I'm looking for more strategic involvement.
This states a desire for higher-level responsibilities. 'Looking for' means seeking. Useful in job discussions to show ambition; it's a common phrase in career planning.
That's a great aspiration.
This positively acknowledges someone's goal. 'Aspiration' means ambition. Use it to encourage others in motivational conversations; it's supportive and professional.
My recommendation would be to first identify some specific skills.
This gives advice politely. 'Would be to' is conditional for suggestions. Helpful in planning sessions; it uses 'identify' for recognizing needs and structures advice clearly.
Informational interviews would be incredibly helpful.
This highlights the value of learning meetings. 'Would be' suggests benefits conditionally. Use when proposing actions; 'incredibly' emphasizes strongly for persuasion.
Let's aim to draft a preliminary development plan within the next two weeks.
This proposes a goal and timeline. 'Aim to' means try to achieve; 'within' specifies a time frame. Useful for setting action plans in meetings; it uses future simple for agreements.
How does that sound?
This checks if someone agrees with a suggestion. It's a casual way to seek confirmation. Common in discussions to ensure buy-in; simple and direct for intermediate learners.
I'm really looking forward to putting this plan into action.
This shows excitement about starting a plan. 'Looking forward to' expresses anticipation; 'putting into action' means implementing. Use to end positive conversations enthusiastically.