to jump ship: meaning and explanation
To jump ship = to leave an organisation, usually in order to get a better position elsewhere. This expression is informal and has slightly negative connotations as it communicates the idea of abandoning your responsibilities. e.g. Companies are having to resort to expensive loyalty schemes to reduce the number of people jumping ship.
Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?
Listening exercises
Dictation #1
Accent: Australia
About the sentence
…I wouldn’t be surprised to see…
I wouldn’t be surprised is a good alternative way of saying that you think something is a likely or probable outcome. e.g. I wouldn’t be surprised to see our costs go down even further over the rest of the year.
Dictation #2
Accent: England (RP)
Dictation #3
Accent: North America
About the sentence
…as they climb the career ladder…
The career ladder is the sequence of jobs or positions from the lowest paid/least responsibility to the highest paid/highest responsibility.
We use the metaphor of climbing this ladder when talking about making progress in your career, and the idea of getting your foot on the career ladder when talking about starting your career. e.g. Getting a paid internship with a large HR firm really helped me to get my foot on the career ladder.
Extra practice
Here are some questions/links to help you learn the new vocabulary:
- Can you remember a time when you decided to jump ship? Was it the right decision?
- What factors that might influence an individual’s decision to jump ship from a job, project, or commitment? How do personal and professional considerations play a role?
- How can a team or an organisation be affected by someone’s decision to jump ship?
Photo by Patrick Bald on Unsplash
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