Career Orientation Test 2 Vocab

Soft Skills

Personal habits and people skills—like communication, teamwork, and time management—that help you work well with others.

Social Skills

The ways you interact with people, including listening, speaking politely, sharing, and cooperating.

Thinking Skills

How you use your mind to learn and solve problems, such as asking questions, analyzing information, and making good decisions.

Values

The beliefs and qualities you care about most—like honesty, kindness, or fairness—that guide your choices.

Interests

Topics and activities you enjoy and are curious about, which can point to careers you might like.

Skills

Abilities you can do well, built through practice—such as writing, fixing things, coding, or organizing.

Employment

Having a job and being paid by an employer for the work you do.

Profession

A career field that usually requires special training or education and follows set standards, like medicine or law.

Hierarchy

An order of levels in a group or workplace, showing who has more or less responsibility and authority.

Job

A specific position where you do tasks for pay, often with one employer, like “cashier at the grocery store.”

Career

Your long-term journey of jobs, education, and experiences in a field over many years.

Occupation

A broad category of work people do, such as “teacher,” “electrician,” or “graphic designer.”

Resume

A summary of your skills, education, and experiences that you give to employers when you apply for a job.

Networking

Building and keeping relationships with people who can share advice, information, and job leads.

Salary

The amount of money you earn for your work, usually stated as pay per year.

Entrepreneurship

Starting and running your own business, taking risks to create products or services.

Internship

A short-term, supervised work experience that helps you learn about a career, sometimes paid and sometimes unpaid.

Career Path

The steps and roles you might take over time to reach your long-term career goals.

Cover Letter

A brief letter you send with your resume that explains why you’re a good fit for a job.

Job Market

The overall demand for workers and the supply of jobs in different careers at a given time.

elevator pitch

A short, clear summary of an idea, product, or business that can be explained in the time it takes to ride an elevator, usually 30–60 seconds.

gig

A short-term job or task done for pay, often flexible and on-demand.

freelance

Working for yourself and offering skills or services to different clients instead of having one employer.

franchise

A business model where someone buys the right to use an established company’s name, brand, and system to run their own local business.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

A U.S. government agency that helps small businesses with advice, loans, and training.

self-employment tax

A tax paid by people who work for themselves to cover Social Security and Medicare, similar to the payroll taxes that employers withhold for regular workers.

self-employment

Earning income by working for yourself instead of being an employee of a company.

gig employment

Work based on individual tasks or projects, often arranged through apps or websites, such as driving for a ride-share service or delivering food.

freelance

Independent work that usually involves longer projects or skilled services, such as writing, design, or programming, where the worker chooses clients.

franchise

A business that operates under the name and system of a larger company, like a chain restaurant or store.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Local centers across the U.S. that give free or low-cost advice and training to people who own or want to start small businesses.

elevator pitch

A short, clear summary of an idea, product, or business that can be explained in the time it takes to ride an elevator, usually 30–60 seconds.

gig

A short-term job or task done for pay, often flexible and on-demand.

freelance

Working for yourself and offering skills or services to different clients instead of having one employer.

franchise

A business model where someone buys the right to use an established company’s name, brand, and system to run their own local business.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

A U.S. government agency that helps small businesses with advice, loans, and training.

self-employment tax

A tax paid by people who work for themselves to cover Social Security and Medicare, similar to the payroll taxes that employers withhold for regular workers.

self-employment

Earning income by working for yourself instead of being an employee of a company.

gig employment

Work based on individual tasks or projects, often arranged through apps or websites, such as driving for a ride-share service or delivering food.

freelance

Independent work that usually involves longer projects or skilled services, such as writing, design, or programming, where the worker chooses clients.

franchise

A business that operates under the name and system of a larger company, like a chain restaurant or store.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Local centers across the U.S. that give free or low-cost advice and training to people who own or want to start small businesses.