Asking for a promotion or a raise

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2In this lesson
3. 3Guess the words (1)Vocabulary exercise
4. 4Guess the words (2)Vocabulary exercise
5. 5Check the wordsVocabulary
6. 6Useful phrases for asking for moreVocabulary
7. 7Check your understandingReading comprehension
8. 8Check the conversationListening comprehension
9. 9Use the new wordsVocabulary exercise
10. 10What does it tell us?Grammar exercise
11. 11Notice: Alicia's emailGrammar exercise
12. 12Present perfect continuous or simple?Grammar rule
13. 13Choose the right formGrammar exercise
14. 14Brandon's notesGrammar exercise
15. 15About your workSpeaking practice
16. 16Say it naturallySpeaking practice
17. 17Role-play: make your caseSpeaking practice
18. 18Let's discussDiscussion
19. 19Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: closest meaningVocabulary exercise
2. 2Homework: your sentencesVocabulary exercise
3. 3Homework: find the mistakeGrammar exercise
4. 4Homework: ask for the meetingDiscussion

Words

• promotion/prəˈmoʊʃn/

  a move to a higher position at work, usually with more pay (promote: the verb)

• raise/reɪz/

  an increase in the pay you get for your job (also a pay raise)

• track record/ˈtræk rekərd/

  all your past results, which show how well you do something

• make a case/ˌmeɪk ə ˈkeɪs/

  to give reasons why something should happen (make a case for something)

• take on/ˌteɪk ˈɑːn/

  to accept a new task, job or responsibility

• step up/ˌstep ˈʌp/

  to do more or take a bigger role, especially when it is needed

• initiative/ɪˈnɪʃətɪv/

  the ability to act and decide without being told what to do (take the initiative: act first)

• compensation/ˌkɑːmpenˈseɪʃn/

  the money and benefits that you get for your work (total compensation)

• quantify/ˈkwɑːntɪfaɪ/

  to describe or measure something with numbers

• revisit/ˌriːˈvɪzɪt/

  to think about or discuss something again later

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

Let's talk about moving up at work.

1. Have you ever asked for a raise or a promotion, or thought about it? What happened?
2. In your company or your field, how do people usually move up?
3. What matters more to you in a job right now: a higher salary, a better title or more interesting work?

Grammar rule

Present perfect continuous or simple?

	Present perfect continuous: have / has been + -ing	Present perfect simple: have / has + past participle
It is about	the activity, and how long it has been going on	the result: what is done, how many, how much
Often with	for, since, all week, lately, recently, How long…?	so far, this year, already, yet, How many…? How much…?
Example	We've been redesigning the website since May.	We've launched two new pages so far.
Finished?	often still going on, or only just stopped	finished: the result is there now

• A number or an amount needs the simple: I've sent 25 invoices today (not I've been sending 25 invoices).

• A job that is not finished yet needs the continuous: I've been editing the video all day, and it's still not ready.

• State verbs (know, own, have = own, be, believe, understand, want) are not usually continuous: I've always believed in this product.

• With work, live and study + for or since, both are correct; the continuous can sound more temporary: He's worked / He's been working in Toronto since 2022.

Questions: How long have you been managing the account? · How many offers have you made? Negatives: I haven't been sleeping well. We haven't signed anything yet.

When you ask for a promotion, use both: what you have been doing (I've been handling the payroll on my own since June) and what it has achieved (we haven't missed a single payday).