Topic 1 — Talking About Your New Role
Topic 1 · Head of Product

Talking About Your New Role

Warm-up

  • Congratulations on the offer! How are you feeling about starting a new role at a new company?
  • What made you decide it was the right time to leave your old company?
  • What do you already know about the new company's culture — how is it different from what you're used to?
  • What are you most looking forward to? What feels the most challenging?

Listen & Notice

Two colleagues run into each other. Notice how Anna talks about her new role — and her new company.

Mark: Hey, I heard the news — congrats! So you're not just changing roles, you're switching companies too?
Anna: Yeah, exactly. I've just taken on a new role as Head of Product — but at a completely different company this time.
Mark: Big move. Do you have a team there already?
Anna: I do — I'll be managing a team of three product managers I haven't even met yet.
Mark: That's a lot of unknowns at once — new role, new team, new company.
Anna: Tell me about it. Honestly, a big part of my role involves shaping strategy rather than hands-on work, so at least that part is familiar. I'll be spending most of my time on planning and direction, same as before.
Mark: So less building, more deciding?
Anna: Exactly — it's more of a people-management role than a hands-on one. And I'll be working closely with stakeholders across the business too — a completely new set of people, though, since I'm coming in from outside.
Mark: Sounds like a big transition. Are you nervous?
Anna: A little! I'm still figuring out the exact scope of the role, and I don't know the company culture yet either. But I know I'll be accountable for the roadmap overall, even though I won't oversee every detail myself.
Mark: Makes sense — you can't do it all, especially not on day one somewhere new.
Anna: Right, and that's actually the hardest part — learning to give my team more autonomy instead of jumping in myself, while I'm still learning how a whole new company works. I think it'll take a month or two to properly ramp up.

Key Phrases

Tap each card to reveal the meaning. After each one, we'll talk about your situation.

take on a new role
взять на себя новую роль / должность
tap to flip
💬

What's the exact title of your new role, and how does it compare to your role at your old company?

manage / oversee a team of...
руководить командой из...
tap to flip
💬

Tell me about your new team — how many people, and what does each of them focus on? Have you met any of them yet?

a big part of my role involves...
значительная часть моей роли связана с...
tap to flip
💬

What would you say is the biggest part of your new role?

spend most of my time on...
тратить большую часть времени на...
tap to flip
💬

How do you think you'll actually be spending most of your time — meetings, planning, something else?

it's more of a [X] role than a [Y] role
это больше [X], чем [Y] — роль
tap to flip
💬

In your own words — how is this more of a people-management role than your last one?

work closely with stakeholders
тесно взаимодействовать с заинтересованными сторонами
tap to flip
💬

Who are the main stakeholders you'll be working closely with at the new company — and how will building those relationships from scratch be different?

Useful Words

A few single words that came up in the dialogue too — just as useful for describing a new role.

oversee (v.) — курировать, осуществлять надзор
💬

What parts of the business will you personally oversee, and what will you delegate?

scope (n.) — объём обязанностей, рамки
💬

How would you define the scope of your new role, based on what you know so far — and how much of that is still unclear since you're coming from outside the company?

transition (n.) — переход
💬

What's been the most noticeable part of the transition so far — the new role, the new company, or both?

autonomy (n.) — самостоятельность, автономия
💬

How much autonomy do you expect to have in this role compared to your last one?

accountable (adj.) — подотчётный, ответственный
💬

What will you personally be held accountable for in this role?

ramp up (phr. v.) — набирать обороты, разгоняться
💬

How long do you think it'll take you to fully ramp up — both in the role and in understanding how the new company works?

Quick Recall

  • Since we last spoke — has anything happened at work related to the new role?
  • If you had to describe the role in one sentence to a stranger, what would you say?
Phrases: take on a new role · manage/oversee a team of... · a big part of my role involves... · spend most of my time on... · it's more of a [X] role than a [Y] role · work closely with stakeholders
Words: oversee · scope · transition · autonomy · accountable · ramp up

Speaking Task 1

Roleplay

Meeting a New Colleague

It's your first week at the new company. A product manager from another team you've never met stops by to introduce themselves and asks about you — your background, your new role, and how the switch is going. Keep it casual and friendly.

I'll play the curious new colleague — ask me follow-up questions too.

Speaking Task 2 — swap & repeat with new facts

Roleplay · Formal

Introducing Yourself at a Town Hall

Same idea, different audience: it's your first all-hands meeting at the new company, and you're introducing yourself to senior leadership — your background, why you joined, and your role. This time, add one strategic priority for your first 90 days.

I'll play a senior leader in the room — expect one or two challenging questions.

Wrap-up

  • What's one goal you have for your first 90 days at the new company?
  • How do you think joining a new company will change how you approach the role, compared to being promoted internally?

Three short tasks to lock in this week's phrases. Should take about 15–20 minutes total.

Task 1 — Phrases: Fill in the Gap
Tap a phrase, then tap the blank it belongs in.
1. She just as Head of Marketing.
2. Honestly, negotiating with vendors.
3. I'll across three different departments.
4. In this job, I reviewing proposals.
5. He'll five engineers.
6. For me, .
take on a new role
manage a team of
a big part of my role involves
spend most of my time on
it's more of a strategic role than a hands-on role
work closely with stakeholders
Task 2 — Words: Fill in the Gap
Tap a word, then tap the blank it belongs in.
1. It'll probably take me a few weeks to fully in the role.
2. I won't every project personally — that's what the team is for.
3. The exact of the role is still being defined.
4. It's been a big from an individual contributor to a manager.
5. I'm giving my team more to make their own decisions.
6. As the manager, I'll be for the whole team's results.
scope
ramp up
accountable
oversee
transition
autonomy
Task 3 — Build the Sentence
Tap the words in the right order to rebuild each sentence.

Sentence A:

three
I'll
team
designers.
managing
a
of
be

Sentence B:

involves
A
the
part
to
role
board.
big
of
presenting
my
Task 4 — Write & Record
Write 4–5 sentences describing your new role, using at least 5 phrases and 2 words from this lesson.
🎙️ Then record yourself saying it out loud as a voice message and send it over.