Good morning! ☀️ It’s Friday — Career & Growth day. Today we’re building the vocabulary you need to speak up for yourself: promotions, performance reviews, and making your case with confidence.

🌟 Word of the Day: Advocate

IPA: /ˈæd.və.keɪt/ (verb) · /ˈæd.və.kət/ (noun) Vietnamese: ủng hộ, biện hộ, đấu tranh cho (ai/việc gì); (danh từ) người ủng hộ

Advocate as a verb means to publicly support or argue for something — including yourself. As a noun, it means someone who does that. Note the pronunciation shift: the verb ends in “-keɪt” (like “gate”), the noun ends in “-kət” (softer, unstressed).

Examples:

  1. “I want to advocate for a mid-year review instead of waiting until December.”
  2. During the promotion cycle, it’s important to advocate for your own contributions — no one else will do it for you.
  3. She’s known as a strong advocate for junior engineers on her team.

🔗 Real references: Cambridge Dictionary — advocate · YouGlish — hear “advocate” in real videos

📋 Vocabulary Table

PhraseVietnameseExample
Make the case (for)Đưa ra lập luận thuyết phục (cho việc gì)“Let me make the case for why I deserve this promotion.”
Track recordThành tích, quá trình làm việc đã chứng minh”My track record over the past year speaks for itself.”
Punch above your weightLàm tốt hơn cả kỳ vọng so với vị trí/kinh nghiệm”She’s punching above her weight — doing senior-level work at a mid-level title.”
Ask for what you’re worthYêu cầu đúng mức đãi ngộ xứng đáng”Don’t be afraid to ask for what you’re worth in the negotiation.”
Own the narrativeChủ động kể câu chuyện của mình (thay vì để người khác định nghĩa)“In your review, own the narrative — don’t just list tasks, show impact.”

🔊 Pronunciation Guide

Word of the Day breakdown: Verb — AD-vo-cate (/ˈæd.və.keɪt/), stress on the first syllable, final syllable rhymes with “gate.” Noun — AD-vo-cate (/ˈæd.və.kət/), same stress, but the final syllable is a quick, unstressed “kət,” not “keɪt.” Many learners use the noun ending for the verb by mistake — practice both forms out loud.

Practice sentence (read aloud 3 times):

“I’m going to advocate for myself in this review by walking through my track record and making the case for a promotion.”

✍️ Exercise 1: Fill in the Blank

Fill in each blank with a phrase from the vocabulary table above.

  1. Before the meeting, prepare three examples that ______ your promotion.
  2. He’s only been here a year, but he’s already ______ — leading projects usually given to seniors.
  3. In salary negotiations, always ______ instead of accepting the first offer.
Show answers
  1. make the case for
  2. punching above his weight
  3. ask for what you’re worth

✍️ Exercise 2: Translate to English

Translate this sentence into English:

“Trong buổi đánh giá hiệu suất, tôi muốn chủ động kể câu chuyện về những đóng góp của mình thay vì chờ sếp hỏi.”

Show answer

“In my performance review, I want to own the narrative about my contributions instead of waiting for my manager to ask.”

💬 Idiom of the Day: “Put your foot in the door”

Vietnamese: tạo được cơ hội ban đầu, có được bước khởi đầu (dù nhỏ)

This idiom means getting an initial opportunity or foothold that can lead to bigger things later — often used about careers and job opportunities.

Examples:

  1. “Taking the internship helped him put his foot in the door at the company — six months later, he had a full-time offer.”
  2. “It’s a junior role, but it’s a great way to put your foot in the door in this industry.”

📺 Recommended Watching

🎯 Daily Challenge

Today, write down three sentences using “track record,” “make the case,” and “advocate” — about your own real work from this week. Say them out loud once. Bonus: if you have a 1:1 or review coming up, try using one of them for real.

See you this evening for practice! 🌙

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