Better word than good job

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If you were among the millions of movie fans around the world who tuned in to the Academy Awards on Sunday, you may know that the title of this post refers to a line from one of the films nominated for Best Picture.

Whiplash involves a relentlessly cruel bandleader who takes extreme measures to encourage (or crush perhaps – it was hard to tell – therein lies the brilliance of the film) the hopes of a young student musician aspiring to become one of the jazz greats.

The movie poses lots of questions about how far people will go to achieve their dreams, and the motivations of others who support those dreams.

“Good job” vs “not good enough”

In one of his misguided motivational attempts, the bandleader declares to the student, “The two most harmful words in the English language are ‘good job.’ ”

I envisioned talent management professionals in cinemas the world over gasping in reaction to the blasphemy. The leader’s point is that these words imply “good enough,” and only thwart any extra dedication to doing what it takes to achieve a goal.

In other words, if talented people are told “good job,” they are likely to settle and miss an opportunity to become truly great at something. Conversely, the words “not good enough” are more effective in encouraging them to work harder, practice more, do better. The leader claimed that if history’s jazz legends had frequently heard “good job” versus “not good enough,” they likely wouldn’t have become legends at all.

Hmmm. After the shock in hearing the line, which goes against the very premise of the work I do every day, I considered the idea.

There may be validity in it, but I suspect it’s only in rare situations involving exceptionally driven and exceptionally talented people in certain highly competitive pursuits – musical phenoms, world-class athletes, scientific masterminds, and the like. With uniquely specialized talent, where a high-achieving individual has the potential to become truly the best in their field, perhaps it could be detrimental to recognize using words that might lessen one’s expectations of themselves.

For the rest of us, however, hearing “good job” works wonders.

“Good Job” WILL mobilize most of your workforce

The real power of workplace recognition is not in motivating the most elite levels of talent in the organization. It’s in mobilizing the mass majority – recognizing the vast middle tier that helps move the organization forward every day. While recognition for a job well done may be demotivating to a rare few of the most talented among us, it’s exactly the thing that pushes the rest of us forward.

This line did leave me wondering, though, about the words we use to recognize others. Despite being a fixture in our lexicon, “good job” alone hardly qualifies as bona fide recognition. So, while not the most harmful two words in the English language, maybe in the most literal and generic sense “good job” isn’t really quite good enough at all.

Recognition should be impactful and memorable and leave the recipient with a positive connection between the words spoken or written and their own actions. Overused and vague phrases alone like “good job” or “thanks for everything” or “congrats on your success” with no substance don’t quite fit the bill.

5 tips for effective recognition

So, here are five (5) tips, which apply for both verbal and written recognition, that take the experience beyond shallow platitudes to meaningful, effective recognition moments:

1. In order to reinforce the action that you’re acknowledging, ensure recognition is timely by acknowledging the contribution soon after it’s made.
2. More than just a couple of words are required to show appreciation effectively. Be specific – go into some detail about how your colleague’s contribution made a difference.
3. Make recognition feel sincere by using the words “thank you” (maybe the two most beneficial words in the English language!).
4. Describe the personal characteristics that made this person’s action or achievement special.
5. The words you use, and anything that accompanies those words in the form of an award, should be aligned with the level of result achieved by the person you’re recognizing.

Check out this 2014 Globoforce blog post on 101 Effective Recognition Words for more tips on conveying recognition in impactful ways.

What are your favorite words, phrases or tips you use to effectively recognize others? (Or perhaps our star-struck readers might prefer to weigh in on a more classically Oscar-oriented topic — who won Best Dressed?)

This was originally published on the Recognize This! blog.

“Not my tempo” is perhaps the most frequently repeated line in Whiplash by the ruthless conductor Fletcher of an elite music school. An extreme perfectionist, Fletcher is abusively demanding to members of his ensemble. He shouts insults and foul language to push them to be technically perfect.

Andrew is a new joiner of Fletcher’s band. Greeted by Fletcher’s verbal humiliation and hurled a chair by the conductor, Andrew practises day and night. He does not stop with blood oozing from his palm, but put on layers of plaster and even soaks his hands in ice-water to continue with his gruelling practice sessions. While Fletcher strongly believes that positive comments like “good job” on just mediocre cannot bring musicians in training anywhere, Andrew also firmly accepts Fletcher’s methods and will not stop to make himself one of the greats. Even though he is injured in a car accident right before a competition, he still runs to the concert hall in bloody face, because he has earned the core drummer position after hours of intense competition and selection with two other drummers of the ensemble, and he cannot let the original substitutes play his part. However, as he struggles to play with his injured arm, Fletcher stops the piece halfway and tells Andrew that he is “done”. Andrew attacks Fletcher on stage and is subsequently expelled by the school.

Fletcher’s methods do not only cause discomfort to his current students like Andrew, but have allegedly led to a former student Sean Casey’s death. When the lawyer representing Sean Casey’s parents asks Andrew to testify on Fletcher’s abusive teaching, Andrew agrees. Fletcher is then fired by the school.

And yet Fletcher does not abuse students for personal reasons. In his eyes, he is doing so for the sake of the student who can overcome the challenges, and the music industry to nurture the next legendary musician. When Andrew meets Fletcher again in a pub, Fletcher tells the story of Charlie Parker. Parker once played with drummer Jo Jones. Dissatisfied with Parker’s performance, Jo Jones hurled a cymbal at Parker, nearly decapitating him. Having told himself not to be ridiculed again, Parker started practising intensively and made the legendary performance of the 20th century.

So, imagine if Jones had just said, “Well, that’s okay, Charlie. That was all right. Good job.” So Charlie thinks to himself, “Well, shit, I did do a pretty good job.” End of story. No Bird. That to me is an absolute tragedy. But that’s just what the world wants now. And they wonder why jazz is dying.

Fletcher laments at the world’s tolerance of mediocrity and excessive compliments. To Fletcher, pushing students to the extreme is his necessary duty to the industry. He is not afraid of going too far, because “the next Charlie Parker would never be discouraged“.

Fletcher’s mission in life is reached with Andrew’s final performance which parallels with that of Charlie Parker. Fletcher, who already knows it is Andrew who testifies and makes him lose the job, sets Andrew up by inviting him to an important performance without telling him that the concert pieces are those he has not played before. The audience is composed of critics and agents, who never forget about a musician’s performance – if you screw it up this time, you are forever done. As expected by Fletcher, Andrew screws up the first piece – he does not even have a score to follow. Nevertheless, Fletcher is not discouraged. He starts playing another band piece that he has practised hard, that showcases all his efforts and talents. From attempting to stop Andrew, showing disbelief, nodding with satisfaction, to guiding Andrew to perfect his performance, the final scene features the eye contact between Fletcher – smiling and with great enthusiasm – and Andrew – exhausted but blissful. Andrew’s astonishing performance makes the audience wide-eyed in amazement. While for Fletcher, he has finally fulfilled his duty to the music industry.

A legendary performance certainly does not come easy, and the next great artist needs to be pushed. It is also not disputed that the next Charlie Parker will possess the determination to succeed. The question lies in how far should one go in the quest of nurturing the next legendary artist while uncertain if a young musician is really the next Charlie Parker who can withstand the stress and anxiety, or will mentally break down and have his or her future ruined. In the present era where competition is fierce, it is always a doubt as to how far should one go to pursue artistic immortality.

Below is the final scene of the film, in which you can appreciate the unparalleled performance by both JK Simmons and Miles Telller. Damien Chazelle has beautifully transformed the story of an aspiring drummer into a single-directional drumming tension that makes your heart keep racing towards the very end.

What is better in life than knowing that you are successful? 

Having someone acknowledge that you successfully accomplished a task, and say that you did a good job is priceless!

Everyone likes to be praised for their achievements, and in English, one of the most common ways to applaud someone is to use the phrase “good job”.

What Do We Mean When We Say “Good Job”?

“Good job” is an English phrase that is used to praise someone. When you say that someone did a “good job” you think that they

did something well.

It consists of an adjective “good” and a noun “job”. A job is usually defined as something that someone does to earn money. So “good job” is usually associated with a workplace setting. 

However, the word job is also defined as a task that someone has done or needs to accomplish. In this case, you can say “good job” when you mean to praise someone for doing something successfully. For example, a student who passed a hard exam did a “good job” or a child who cleaned their room did a “good job” or a friend who got the number of a cute girl at a bar did a “good job.”

Someone who did a “good job” accomplished something. Saying “good job” acknowledges that accomplishment and conveys admiration and pride.

40 Ways To Say “Good Job” Without Saying “Good Job”

The following words and phrases are synonyms for “good job”. 

If you look at an online thesaurus, these are
several of the synonyms that they will list down for “good job”. 

Some of these are one-word utterances that you can say to imply that you think someone did a good job. Some are phrases that elaborate on what you think is praiseworthy. Native English speakers will use these words automatically, without thinking about them too much, so it’s important that you learn them too. 

1. Well done

2. Great work

4. That’s the way 

3. Good thinking

“That’s the way” and “good thinking” are used when someone has come up with a good solution to a problem. So if someone has come up with a process that made workflow more efficient, you can use these phrases.

5. You’re a genius 

6. Compliments to (name/pronoun)

7. Good boy/girl 

“Good boy” or “good girl” might seem a bit condescending if you are talking to an adult. It’s also technically what one might say to a dog. Best be careful about when you use this. 

8. Have the right idea

9. I couldn’t have put it better myself

“Have the right idea” or “I couldn’t have put it better myself” is a great way to acknowledge someone who came up with a good idea during a brainstorming session or a meeting. It implies that what they said will be implemented going forwards.

10. Congratulations

11. Long live

12. Let’s hear it for

13. Simply Superb

14. To your credit

15. First class job/work

16. Good for you

17. That’s great

18. All right

19. Excellent

20. Wonderful 

21. Outstanding 

22. I’m impressed

23. You’ve mastered it

24. You always amaze me

25. What an improvement

26. You are learning a lot/fast

27. You got it right 

28. You are very good at that

29. Fantastic

30. Sensational

31. Nice going

32. That’s it

33. That’s right

34. Good going

35. Keep it up

36. You’ve got it now

37. Couldn’t have done it better myself

38. That’s the right way to do it

39. We couldn’t have done it without you

40. You certainly did well today

6 Other Ways to Say “Good Job” On The Job

As we mentioned, one of the most common places that “good job” is used is in the workplace setting. It’s used to praise someone who has completed their tasks and contributed to the overall success of a project.

Here are a few other good ways to say “good job” that are more likely to be heard in an office setting.

1. Outstanding work/job

2. Exceptional work/job

3. Congratulations on a job well done

4. Congratulations on your good work

5. Keep up the good work.

6. We couldn’t have done it without you.

10 Slang terms That Mean “Good Job”

Slang is words or phrases in a language that may not have a direct translation in other languages but is understood by native speakers. Often times the words may be “nonsense”, mishmashes of actual words or shortened versions of formal phrases, or they could make sense but have a different meaning from the actual translation.

What’s important to remember about slang terms in English is that they are often considered “informal”, so you need to be careful about when you use them. While “good job” may be appropriate in a formal business setting, these slang terms that mean “good job” are considered informal and should probably only be used among friends or with co-workers in informal settings. Don’t use them around the company owner or during a board meeting.

Slang also tends to be influenced by “regions”. For example, British English and Australian English have different slang terms than American English. 

The first terms we are going to enumerate here are slang words that mean “good job” that you will hear from someone speaking British English.

1. Brilliant/Bril!

2. Well done, mate!

3. Ace!

4. Bully for (name/pronoun/title)

This next slang term is associated with speakers of
Australian English.

5. Good on ya! 

It’s short for “good on you” and Australians use to say that they approve of what you have done. 

Now here are a few more English slang terms that mean “good job”. We’re going to list them down and, in some cases, explain the reasoning behind why they can be used in the place of “good job”

6. Congrats

Short for “congratulations” which is an English word used to praise someone. Native speakers will understand it and accept its usage, but it’s considered informal.

7. Respect

8. Props 

9. Way to go

10. Nice one

7 Idioms and Expressions That Mean “Good Job”

The English language is
filled with idioms and expressions that are used almost daily to convey the speaker’s thoughts and emotions.

Like they would slang, a native English speaker will grasp what an idiom means almost instinctively, but because what they mean is different from what they say an English language learner might be confused.

Here are a few possible “confusing” terms that mean a good job.

1. Credit where credit’s due

When you give someone “credit”, you are saying that a good idea as there’s or a good job was accomplished by them. This phrase is used by a speaker when they want to highlight someone else’s contribution to a task.

For example, you were head of the decorating committee during the office
Halloween party. Bob, one of your team members painted a scary “welcome sign” and your boss complimented it. You can acknowledge and point out that Bob did a “good job” by saying:

Credit where credit is due, Bob painted the sign. 

2. Deserve a medal

When someone wins a race or has done something outstanding, they often get a medal or an award, right?  So if you say this, you are implying that someone did such a “good job” that they should get a medal or award, even if there was no medal or award at stake.

3. Hats off to (name)

This dates back to earlier days when hats were a regular part of people’s wardrobe. Back then, to show respect, you would take off your hat to someone. So now, when you just have to respect the “good job” that someone did, you say this.

4. Take a bow

This particular expression goes back to the theater. When a performance was ended, the performers came out to take a bow and hear the audience applaud them. When you say someone should “take a bow”, you said they did such a good job that they at least deserve praise if not actual applause.

5. You hit the target

When someone hit’s a target, they fired a successful shot. So, saying this means that they were successful and that they accomplished a job or a task.

6. That’s a real work of art

A work of art is a rare, valuable, and praiseworthy thing. So, if you tell someone they’ve created a “work of art”, they’ve done something that is really admirable and worth praise.

7. You’re one of a kind

This idiom implies that someone is unique and special. When you say this to someone, you are implying that no one else could have done what they did, so they did a good job. 

Conclusion

One of the most interesting – and sometimes confusing — things about learning conversational English is finding out about all the different ways that native speakers have to express themselves.  Like “good job”, such a simple phrase with wonderful meaning, and so many synonyms. 

While memorizing lists of common English vocabulary words are a good way for beginners to start, you need to go a little deeper if you want to have meaningful conversations with native English speakers. 

One of the best ways to increase your fluency and learn different ways to say basic things like “good job” is to work with a native English language speaking tutor. You can ask them all about the different ways that you can say “good job” and other things. They can help you learn not only what these phrases mean, but the best times to use which specific phrase.