In part one of your IELTS Speaking exam, there are many ways to answer the common question, “What do you like about your job?”
Let’s look at a few tips on what you can talk about, and 10 good example answers (go straight to the answers here).
What You Can Say
Simply think of your job, choose one thing to talk about, and then say why you like it. You might talk about:
- Your pay (salary)
- Opportunities to train, and grow
- How challenging it is (or how easy)
- Your chances for promotion and progression
- The work environment
- Your coworkers and boss
- Other perks (benefits you get apart from pay)
- How much fun it is
- Travel opportunities
- Good work hours (flexible, regular, overtime)
- Anything else that comes to your mind
If You Like Nothing About Your Job
It’s nice if you can think of one good thing to talk about. But if you really don’t like anything about your job, no problem. It’s always best to be honest in IELTS because it will make it easier to think of things to say.
if you don’t like your job, you could say: “To be honest, I don’t really like anything about my job…”
Then you could talk about:
- Why you don’t like your job
- Something you used to like about your job
- Something you liked in your last job
- Some way you would like to improve your job or workplace
- A new job you’d like to have
- Plans to improve your career
- Plans to change position or company or both
- Anything else you can think of
Use the Three-Step YES Method
Part 1 answers should be quite short: just 10 or 20 seconds long at the most.
You can keep them simple. Remember that part one is only to warm you up.
It’s best to focus on fluency (answer quickly without hesitation) and don’t worry about your vocabulary until part two.
You can use the YES Method to give a good-length answer. Just say:
- Your answer (say what you like about your job)
- Explain your answer (with one or two more sentences)
- Stop talking (stop talking, and let the examiner know you’re ready for the next question)
Example Answers
Here are 10 good model answers. Read them and see if you can borrow some ideas for your own answer…
1. I like how nice my boss and co-workers are. I work for a small company in a small office with a really friendly atmosphere, which means I look forward to working every day.
2. Well, I’m a salesperson and I like many things about my job. But to be honest, what I like most is how much money I can make if I do my job well. It really motivates me to get better and work harder.
3. I’ve recently started my new job as an engineer at a multinational company. I think my favorite thing about this job is that there are many opportunities to grow, learn a lot, and get promoted to higher positions.
4. I teach English to primary school students and I love how much fun it is. I try to teach very entertaining classes and the children are so cheerful and energetic. And they’re very smart too. It’s a really rewarding job.
5. I’m a freelance writer and I really enjoy my job because it lets me be creative. I love coming up with new ideas and I enjoy crafting a really good piece of writing that my client is happy with.
6. I’m a quality-control manager for a special kind of machinery that my company uses all over the country. So I need to travel to a lot of different cities, and I really enjoy that. I like traveling for work and seeing various interesting places.
7. I like how challenging my job is. I need to analyze the markets and stay up-to-date with everything that’s going on. It’s quite difficult, but I learn so much and I like to be challenged. It forces me to grow.
8. I’m a freelance graphic designer, and I love how flexible my work hours are. I used to have an office job and I hated getting up early and commuting to work during the rush hour. Now I can sleep as late as I like and start work later in the day.
9. To be honest, I don’t like much about my job now. I’m thinking of changing careers. I’d like to get into sales because then I would be able to make a lot more money, and I’d like that very much.
10. I can’t think of anything I like about my current job, but in my last job I loved how close the office was to my home. Now my salary is higher but I also need to commute for an hour in traffic and I hate all that driving. To be frank, I wish I still had my old job.
Now, It’s Your Turn!
Give this question a go yourself.
First, set up the recorder on your phone and then ask aloud, “What do you like about your job?”
Answer as quickly as you can, using the three-step YES Method.
When you’ve finished, listen to your recording and also write down what you said.
See if you can find any mistakes or ways to improve your answer.
Then… answer it again!
Keep repeating this process. It’s a terrific way to prepare for part one of your IELTS Speaking test.