Rank these from most to least important for you in a job or course: good people, interesting work, decent pay, and flexible hours.

A natural way to answer

I'd put interesting work at the top, because if I'm not engaged, nothing else makes up for it. Good people would be a close second, since they make hard days bearable. Flexible hours third, and pay fourth — important, of course, but it's not what keeps me showing up day after day.

Key phrases to use

• put up with — to tolerate something unpleasant without complaining“I can put up with a long commute if I love the job.”
• get by — to manage to live with the money or resources you have“We get by fine on one salary.”
• showing up — to keep turning up and being present, especially with commitment“What keeps me showing up is the team, not the money.”
• bored stiff — extremely bored“I was bored stiff in that role within a month.”
• falls by the wayside — to be neglected or abandoned, often unintentionally“My hobbies fell by the wayside when work got busy.”