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Job Interviews & Careers vocabulary · Career Development

Foot in the door

Meaning in job interviews & careers, with examples

idiomCommon term

In job interviews & careers, foot in the door means: A first chance to enter a company or industry, usually in a junior position, which may lead to better jobs later.

In Turkish: bir yere adım atmak, kapıdan içeri girmek, ilk fırsatı yakalamak

How it is used

Usually in the forms 'get your foot in the door' or 'get a foot in the door'. People use it about internships, temporary contracts and entry-level jobs in competitive fields such as media, law or fashion.

Example sentences

  1. An internship is a great way to get your foot in the door at a big publisher.

  2. I took a temporary job just to get a foot in the door, and two years later I'm a team leader.

Common collocations

  • get your foot in the door
  • get a foot in the door
  • a way to get a foot in the door
  • internshipA fixed period of work at a company, often for students or recent graduates, to gain practical experience; it may be paid or unpaid.
  • entry-levelDescribes a job for people at the start of their career that needs little or no previous experience.
  • networkingMeeting and keeping in contact with people who work in your field, so that you can share information and hear about opportunities.
  • career pathThe series of jobs and roles a person moves through during their working life, or a planned way to progress inside a company.

More terms: Career Development

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