11 English Expressions for Starting a New Job or Business

Hi, everybody.

Welcome to www.engvid.com.

I'm Adam.

In today's video, I want to give you some

expressions that you will probably come across

or hear or even use when you're starting in

the business world, like when you're starting

a new job or you're starting your own business, hiring employees, and so on.

So most of these expressions come from that situation, from that context, okay?

So we're going to start with "get up to speed".

So when you join a new company or a new office

or whatever, you need to get up to speed.

You need to find out what everybody's doing,

find out all the newest projects, all the

newest developments, and make sure you're at the same place as all your co-workers.

So here, "speed" doesn't necessarily mean like movement speed.

It means like understanding what's going on, basically, the pace of the work.

So on the first day, obviously, you don't know

what everybody's doing, so you're a little

bit behind.

Once you talk to everybody, have a few meetings,

find out all the projects, then you're up

to speed.

So you want to get up to speed.

But it helps if you're ready to "hit the ground running".

So "hit the ground running" means start working right away from day one.

It doesn't mean like, okay, spend a few days

figuring out where the washroom is, where

the coffee maker is.

No.

First day, start working on the project, start

meeting clients, start having business meetings,

start doing what everybody else is doing right from the start.

But most companies will understand that you will probably go through a learning curve.

So even though you're ready to work and you're

qualified, you have the training, you have

the experience, there are things you're not going to know about the new place.

And so, like, you're on a curve.

This is how much you can do at the beginning,

and as you go, you learn faster and you do...

You adjust quicker, you do the work much more quickly, right?

And that's the learning curve.

That's basically the adjustment time.

And it helps if you can learn on the fly.

So basically, "hit the ground running" means

start working right away, but there's a lot

of new things for you to learn, so you learn them on the fly.

Learn them as you go.

Like, nobody's going to sit with you and train you.

You start working, and then you're learning something as you're working it.

Then you're learning something new as you're working it.

And we use this a lot, not only in business

context, even in other situations where you're

learning something new, learn by doing it, not by being trained to do it.

"Learn the ropes" basically means learn everything

there is to know about the company, right?

So learn the way they do things, the

systems, the protocols, the dress code, even.

Everything that you need to know about working in a place is called "the ropes".

So you're learning the ropes, you're learning

how to be a member of this team, in particular.

Then hopefully, when you come to a new office

or a new job, someone will be there to "catch

you up".

So, you need to catch up to everybody else,

but if somebody catches you up, it means they

help you understand what's going on, right?

So, "they", that person, gets you up to speed.

Get up...

Get someone up to speed, catch someone up, same idea.

"From the ground up", so basically, not only

do you need to learn your position and your

job and what's going forward, you need to learn everything.

So, "from the ground up" basically means everything

from the beginning, from the basics, to where

you are, to where you're going, everything, like the base is the ground up.

Get on the same page.

So, right now, during your first few days

working somewhere, there's going to be a lot

of misunderstandings because, you know, you don't really know what everybody's doing,

what everybody's thinking, what problems they've had and fixed, etc.

So, if you're on the same page, it means you're at the point where you understand...

Everybody understands the exact same thing, right?

You're on the same page, everything they know, you know, and so on.

We also use this to mean to agree with someone, right?

In a different context.

So, if we have a disagreement, then we're going to have a little bit of a discussion

so we can get on the same page, we can be in agreement.

That's a different context, but the same expression.

Get one's foot in the door.

Now, right now, maybe you don't have a job

and you're trying to get into a new company.

So, it's very difficult to get into a new position because nobody knows you.

So, you send your resume, a cover letter, maybe you make some phone calls.

All you need is just a little bit of an opportunity

and from there, you'll be able to go and convince

someone that they should hire you or they should have you in their company.

But that little opportunity means you got your foot in the door.

The door wasn't closed on you.

Your foot is there, the door is open, now you can walk in and do what you need to do.

And get the ball rolling.

That's basically what it means, to start.

So, get the ball rolling, start the process.

Now, if you're coming to a new company, they

will want you to start working on a new project,

so they'll give you all the information, they'll

give you a support team so they can get the

ball rolling, get this project started.

So, these are the main expressions, and I put this one, it doesn't necessarily mean

for beginning.

This could be beginning, middle, or end, any

time, but you should try to go the extra mile.

Do a little bit more than is asked of you, right?

So, by learning all these expressions and doing all these things, you're showing your

new employer that you are willing to go the

extra mile, means you're willing to work harder

and do more than what is actually necessary,

and then you'll be in a very good position

going forward, and so on.

Okay?

Some good expressions, make sure you understand them.

Take the quiz at www.engvid.com, so you can see that you understand all of these.

And of course, don't be shy about asking questions.

I'll be happy to answer these for you as well.

If you like the video, give me a thumbs up.

Don't forget to subscribe to the channel, and come back next time, I'll give you some

more very useful expressions.

See you then.

Bye-bye.