Happier times

Hard times

Leaving the company

Moving up

Getting a job

Career Ladder is a common metaphor used to describe how a career can be depicted as a series of steps up the organizational hierarchy. However, the notion of the career ladder is becoming less relevant because contemporary organizations are adopting flatter structures with fewer levels in the hierarchy—or, in terms of the metaphor, fewer rungs on the ladder. Instead, some organizations are encouraging lateral career moves, rather than upward moves, and so a more appropriate concept is the portfolio career.

3. Work in groups of two or three. Read and translate one of the paragraphs:

When Paul left school he applied for a job in the accounts department of a local engineering company. They gave him a job as a trainee. He didn't earn very much but they gave him a lot of training, and sent him on training courses.

Paul worked hard at the company and his prospects looked good. After his first year he got a good pay rise, and after two years he was promoted (= given a higher position with more money and responsibility). After six years he was in charge of

(= responsible for/the boss of) the accounts department with five other employees

(= workers in the company) under him ( = under his responsibility/ authority).

By the time Paul was 30, however, he decided he wanted a fresh challenge

(= a new exciting situation). He was keen to work abroad, so he resigned from his company and started looking for a new job with a bigger company. After a couple of months he managed to find a job with an international company which involved

(= included) a lot of foreign travel. He was very excited about the new job and at first he really enjoyed the travelling, but...

After about six months, Paul started to dislike the constant moving around, and after a year he hated it; he hated living in hotels, and he never really made any friends in the new company. Unfortunately his work was not satisfactory either and finally he was sacked a year later.

After that, Paul found things much more difficult. He was unemployed for over a year. He had to sell his car and move out of his new house. Things were looking bad and in the end Paul had to accept a part-time job on a fruit and vegetable stall in a market.

To his surprise, Paul loved the market. He made lots of friends and enjoyed working out in the open air. After two years, he took over (= took control of) the stall. Two years later he opened a second stall, and after ten years he had fifteen stalls. Last year Paul retired at the age of 55, a very rich man.

4. Answer the following questions: