Connectivity 5, Unit 2 : Collocations for Career and Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Career Collocations

Choosing a career is an important decision, and learning the right career vocabulary and collocations can help you talk about your education, jobs, and future plans more naturally. In this lesson, you will learn useful career collocations and phrases such as decide on, apply to, apply for, take up, sign up for, switch to, be accepted to, be rejected by, enroll in, and be laid off. These expressions are commonly used when people talk about choosing a university, starting a course, applying for a job, changing careers, or losing a job. Understanding these career phrases will help you improve your English speaking, writing, reading, and vocabulary skills. The explanations in this lesson are simple and suitable for English learners, students, and anyone preparing for their future career. Read each meaning, study the example sentence, and then practice using the new career vocabulary in your own sentences.

Education & Career Vocabulary

• Decinde on : 
• Apply to : 
• Apply for : 
• Take up : 
• Sign up for : 
• Switch to : 
• Be accepted to : 
• Be rejected by : 
• Enroll in : 
• To be laid of :

Education & Career Vocabulary

1. Decide on

Meaning: to choose something after thinking about it.

Example: I decided on English as my major.

2. Apply to

Meaning: to officially ask to join a school, college, or organization.

Example: She applied to three universities.

3. Apply for

Meaning: to officially ask for a job, scholarship, or position.

Example: He applied for a teaching job.

4. Take up

Meaning: to start a new activity, course, or job.

Example: I decided to take up computer programming.

5. Sign up for

Meaning: to register for something.

Example: She signed up for an English course.

6. Switch to

Meaning: to change from one thing to another.

Example: He switched to a different university.

7. Be accepted to

Meaning: to be given permission to study at a school or university.

Example: She was accepted to the university.

8. Be rejected by

Meaning: to not be accepted by a school, company, or organization.

Example: He was rejected by the company.

9. Enroll in

Meaning: to officially join a school, course, or program.

Example: I enrolled in an English course.

10. Be laid off / Laid off

Meaning: to lose your job because a company does not have enough work or money.

Example: Many workers were laid off when the factory closed.

Career Phrasal Verbs Quiz

Choose the correct answer for each question.

1. I finally ______ English as my major.

2. She ______ three universities last year.

3. He ______ a teaching job at a local school.

4. Maria decided to ______ computer programming.

5. They ______ an English course at the college.

6. He ______ a different university because he wanted to study medicine.

7. She received a letter saying that she ______ the university.

8. His application was ______ the company.

9. I ______ an English course this semester.

10. Many workers were ______ when the factory closed.