Obj. 6.0 VOCABULARY Attribute: Quality or characteristic inherent in or ascribed to someone or something. Cafeteria benefits plan: Plan that allows employees to choose the benefits they want. Career portfolio: Collection of accomplishments which showcases an applicant’s skills, interests and abilities; work samples. Chronological: The science that deals with determining details and events. Competence: Acceptable levels of achievement. Contact list: List of people one knows who might be helpful in a job search. Cover letter: A letter of introduction and purpose; a one-page letter a job seeker sends to an employer telling them who he/she is and why he/she is sending a resume. E-mail: (Electronic mail) Message delivered to a computer from another. Electronic resume: A resume sent via the Internet. Employment Security Commission (ESC): Public government employment agency in North Carolina. FICA: Amount of social security tax withheld from a paycheck. Flextime: A plan that allows employees to set their own work schedules within a wide range of hours. Follow-up letter: Brief letter written in business form to thank the interviewer for the interview. 401(k) program: Type of retirement program offered to employees; contributions can be paid out tax free at any time. Fringe benefits: Any financial extras beyond the regular pay check, such as health insurance, life insurance, paid vacation and/or retirement. Gross pay: Amount of salary or wages earned for a certain period of time before deductions are withheld. Honesty: Truthfulness; sincerity. Interview: A formal, personal meeting, esp. one arranged for formal discussion or to evaluate an applicant. Job application: Document that job seekers fill out so employers can use it to screen applicants. Job lead: Information about a job opening. Letter of application: Letter written to an employer to apply for a job. Net pay: Amount of income left after taxes and deductions have been taken out. Networking: Communicating with people one knows or can get to know to share information and share advice. Occupational skills: Learned abilities to perform tasks or duties of a specific occupation. Private employment agencies: Help employers locate workers and job seekers; locate jobs for a fee. Professionalism: The ability to handle problems and criticism gracefully and maturely. Psychological test: Pre-employment exams given to find out more about a job applicant’s personality, character, and interests. Referral: Recommendation from a contact who is part of one’s network. Resume: A summary of one’s personal information, education, skills, activities, interests, and employment experience. Salary: Fixed amount of pay for a certain period of time, usually a month or a year. Unemployed: Not working and looking for work. W-4 Form: Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate that shows the employer how much tax to withhold from an employee’s check. Work ethic: How a person feels about his or her job and the effort he or she puts into it. Work permit: Written statement that makes is legal for an underage student to work for an employer.