If you’re looking for a job in the financial industry, it’s a good idea to read the national and international papers (on line or in print) every week to make sure that you’re aware of the latest developments and, most importantly, the vocabulary that describes them. Knowing the jargon – the specific terminology related to and used in a particular field or industry – will make a good impression on your future employers, and will set you apart from the average interviewee. Here are five words taken from today’s news stories that you should be able to define and easily use in conversation in a banking, investment, or other financial setting:

• fiscal
• monetary
• recession
• equity
• deficit

In general, fiscal is an adjective meaning “relating to financial matters.” A government’s fiscal policy is how that government (whether state, local, or federal) manages its money, particularly how it handles income (such as taxes) and expenditures. The fiscal year is the twelve-month period under which such budget considerations are grouped; this may or may not coincide with the calendar year beginning in January.

The word monetary is another adjective, more specifically referring to money (legal tender), rather than financial matters in general. If you receive a cash bonus at work, it’s your monetary reward for a job well done.

During a recession, businesses probably won’t be handing out too many bonuses to their employees. A recession is a period during which economic growth slows on a regional, national, or global scale. To distinguish a recession from the normal ups and downs of the economy, this slowdown must continue for at least half or all of a fiscal year. If a recession continues for a year or more, it is usually reclassified as a depression.

In a recession, investors often lose money as the value of the equity they hold in various businesses declines. “Equity” is the monetary value of stocks, shares, or other investments owned by a person or company.

When the value of equity declines, this often creates a deficit in a company’s budget. Generally speaking, a deficit is a deficiency or lack of something. In finance, it refers to a situation where the amount of money that is being earned or acquired (revenue) is less than the amount of money being spent. Deficit spending is how a government or business continues to pay for its day-to-day operations in that situation. If you use credit cards, you may be engaging in deficit spending yourself, on occasion!

Make an investment in your career and take the time to study the vocabulary and phrases used in that industry. You’ll feel more confident in your daily work, and the rewards – monetary and otherwise – that you gain will help you achieve your career goals.