Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

1






A: "Hi Mark, I have something important to tell you."
B: "Come on in. What's on your mind?"
A: "Well, I have decided to leave the company. I had a wonderful time here, but it is time to move on for me."
B: "May I ask why?"
A: "I got an offer from ABC Company. It's a management position and I really don't want to let this opportunity pass me by. You know I have been looking for a management position here, but all the positions here are full."
B: "I understand your decision and you have my support."
A: "Thanks for understanding. I can work here two more weeks."
B: "Ok. Will you be able to finish your current assignment?"
A: "Yes I will. And if you hire someone within two weeks, I would be happy to provide training on my areas."
B: "That would be great. We're going to miss you here."
A: "I'm going to miss this place too. Thanks."

2






A: "Hi Mary, I interviewed with another company and they offered me a position. I wanted to let you know before I made my decision."
B: "I'm sorry to hear that. But I appreciate you telling me before you accepted the offer."
A: "I really enjoy my work here, but I was concerned about the lack of opportunities. I put in effort to gain more experience here, but the projects are limited."
B: "What would help you to decide to stay?"
A: "I would consider staying more if I could change my position. I would love working in this same group, but I would like to be doing something different. And finally, they offered me 6 percent more than my current salary."
B: "When do you have to make a decision by?"
A: "They want me to respond in a week."
B: "Let me see what I can do and I'll let you know tomorrow or on Wednesday. Can you wait until then?"
A: "That's not a problem."
B: "Great. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you on board."
A: "I appreciate what you are doing for me."
B: "It's the least I can do. You're a valuable asset here."

When you talk to co-workers, you will eventually tell them that you are leaving. Here are some general sentences.




If someone else is leaving, then you can say something good like the example sentences below.

Receiving a job offer is another way to negotiate a salary increase or a position change. If you are a great employee then your current employer might try to entice you to stay. If you are willing to stay, you can say that you received another offer and you are still thinking about it. If they try to make you stay, you can state what it will take for you to stay.



If at this time they ask you to stay, then you can ask for a couple of things.



If they ask you to stay, you can say the following, but if they don't ask you to stay, then it is useless.

When the time comes to leave work, you can do whatever you want. You can raise hell, say you hate everyone and yell out, 'I quit!!!' But in other cases when you want to leave professionally, you can use this lesson to help.

There's a common phrase when you are leaving a company. 'Don't burn the bridge.'

This is basically saying you should leave on a good term. If you leave on a good note, then you have the option of coming back to the company or your position if something goes wrong with your next job. So basically, you are leaving the bridge back to your position.

If you are leaving because you have an offer from a different company, here are some professional statements you can make to your manager.



Remember that in the States, changing job is very common. So it is no big deal when you leave a company. Businesses understand the need for change and realize that some people want different challenges in their life. So don't be nervous when you have to leave.

Giving a two week notice is standard. This gives your current employer the chance to hire someone to replace you. It also gives some time for you to finish the remaining work you have to do. Not giving a two week notice is one way to burn a bridge. The new company you are going into should realize this and will not expect you to start your job immediately if you have to give a two week notice. If you don't have a job, then this doesn't apply to you.

Here is another example.



I have seen some people leave the company to go on a year trip around the world. Others I have seen just wanted to spend more time with their kids. I know in some countries it is hard to get back into a company after you leave, but in the States, if you are a good employee, it is easy to get their job back. Many times after a long break, they returned to the same company.

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

1






A: "It's that time of year again."
B: "Yeah. I always get nervous during this time."
A: "It shouldn't go too bad."
B: "So, how did I do this year?"
A: "Let me first ask you how you feel about your performance?"
B: "I think I improved a lot and made a lot of great contributions. I completed all my assignments ahead of schedule, I volunteered for two more extra projects, and mentored couple of our newer employees."
A: "I agree. You did great this year. I got your rating back from upper management and it's not bad, but it's not the best. You received a 3.5, a 4 percent raise, and an 8 percent bonus."
B: "I got a 3.5? Why? I was really expecting a 4 this year. I really worked hard."
A: "Unfortunately, we can't give everyone a 4. There were a lot of people who did great this year and we only had a few 4's to give. You barely missed the cut."
B: "What could I have done to get a 4? I thought I did everything to deserve one."
A: "I agree. I think you should have received a four, but the only thing I can suggest is for you to be more visible. The people who beat you this year didn't necessarily do better work than you, it's just that people knew the work they were doing more than yours. You need to stand out a little better."
B: "How do I do that? It doesn't make sense. If I work my ass off and I do great work, why does it matter if I show off or not?"
A: "If 3 people are equal in their work, the only deciding factor is how much of the work they know about. Since upper management cannot know the details of everything, they mainly see the people who are visible. You can do this by taking on projects that affect the whole team so everyone can see, or you can be pro-active in finding places for improvements and sending out a mail to management with your ideas."
B: "If I did a great job, why did I only get a 4 percent raise?"
A: "You got a high raise comparing to other people. The average raise throughout the company was 2 percent. They cut back a lot on raises due to the slow economy."
B: "I'm a little disappointed, I'll see you tomorrow."
A: "Ok. Think about what I said and we'll try to give you more assignments with more visibility."

Reviews are another time period where you get a raise and a bonus. If you work in a large company, then it will be hard to complain and get something changed. But if you work in a small company, you can ask for a larger raise. However, you must be in a position where the company will suffer if you leave the company. If you are replaceable, then the company doesn't have to give you a good raise. Just in case you are in one of these situations, here are some example sentences.

If you know you did more than anybody else, then here is a statement you can make to your manager.



If they agree with you, then they might give you a larger raise, but they will question the 20 percent raise. You should know the average pay in your field and use that as ammunition.



If you researched, then you can answer calmly with facts that your manager cannot disagree with.



If you have to go on frequent business trips, then you can include that as well.




Large companies have a process in place and most people will get a similar raise. If you get a small raise and you know you cannot fight for a larger raise, then you can at least ask what the average raise is.




Most of the time, the answer will be very similar to what you got.




Sometimes even great employees will get a small raise in a large company. It might seem small, but if the company is struggling financially, they might not give anybody raises. Here is an example of what you might hear for the question above.

If you are going to mention where you need improvement, it is very important to include how you are going to improve. This is similar to asking what is your weakness. If you mention a weakness, show them what steps you are taking to improve in that area. Finally, you must be certain it is ok to expose an area for improvement. I don't recommend doing this on your first review. After the first review, you will have a better idea if it will help to critique yourself.



This is a good answer because it shows the manager that you are capable of finding your own faults. It also has a step by step process with a timeline on how you are going to improve.

Timeline is important because it shows that you are not going to procrastinate. If someone says, I'm going to read this book, you don't know when they are going to read it. It is much better when someone says they will read this book within 2 weeks.

Here is one more example.