Careers Advice, guest blogger, Happy work environment, Observations

Spelling Matters: The Disadvantages of Poor Workplace Grammar

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We live in a world filled with text messages, emails and social messages, and since we’re using these mediums at a rapid pace, we tend to put grammar on the backburner. While you may think that intertwining they’re, their and there may not be a big deal, there are actually plenty of disadvantages to using poor grammar in the workplace.

You will not come off as a professional.

When you work, you need to think and act like a professional, and this includes writing like one. When you use correct grammar, your readers will think of you as a professional, but if your writing contains a multitude of major grammatical errors, your readers will not take you seriously, and they certainly will not think of you as a professional.

You could cause confusion.

When you don’t use correct grammar, it’s possible that you will confuse your readers. Depending on the topic or the type of writing being done, this confusion can be very damaging to your career or your company. If your writing confuses other employees about their job responsibilities or the deadlines to their projects, you could end up trying to make major corrections at the eleventh hour. This could be avoided if your grammar was correct in the first place.

You don’t exude quality.

You want your clients, coworkers and bosses to think of you as someone who produces quality work. If your emails are full of misspellings and improper grammar, it’s not going to convey this message. Instead, these individuals will wonder how they can trust you to do a flawless job when you can’t even structure a sentence correctly. This could cause your clients or bosses to look elsewhere when it comes time to having a project completed.

You could get passed up for a promotion.

If you don’t have proper grammar in the workplace, it could look poorly enough on you that you are not considered for a promotion. Many companies are starting to crack down on the grammar of their employees, and if it’s not up to par, the employees are not reaping any rewards, including promotions. Employers look very highly on the use of correct grammar, especially when conducting business with clients. They believe that the way that you communicate is a reflection of the company, and if your communications with clients are filled with misspellings and improper grammar, it’s going to look poorly on the company as a whole. Your employer will blame you for this, and you could find yourself remaining in the same position for the rest of your career.

Grammar plays a bigger role in business than you may want to believe. Even if you’re rushing through email responses, you need to take the time to read through what you’re writing and give it the proper proofreading. You need to make sure that your writing is clear so that everyone who reads it will be on the same page. And most importantly, you want to make sure that it’s correct so that it reflects highly on you.

Garrett Payne is a grammar fanatic and prolific writer.  He constantly stresses the importance of correct grammar and grammar checking in the workplace.

CV Tips, CV Writing, guest blogger

Ultimate Tips for Writing a Winning Resume – Guest Blog

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Writing that winning resume can be an exceptionally challenging task. You will feel pressed to provide all of the essential information. At the same time, demonstrating some creativity and out of the box thinking is always helpful. Is it possible to achieve both and create a consistent, professional and unique resume?

Always focus on your strengths when trying to impress a potential employer. Being honest and knowing what sets you apart from the competition will help you get noticed immediately.

The Objective: A Big Opportunity or Your Nemesis?

Writing an impressive resume objective is almost impossible to achieve. This part of the curriculum vitae is traditionally full of clichés because many applicants think that potential employers ignore its content.

A well-written career objective is your chance to shine. This is the section that gives you room for creativity. You can write anything instead of the traditional stereotypes that focus on the benefits you will bring to a company.

The objective writing style should also correspond to the company and the professional position you are applying for. A frivolous, eccentric style will be unacceptable for a managerial position and a dry tone will speak little of creativity if you are applying to be a company’s senior copywriter.

Hot-kitten@mail.com

Few applicants understand how important contact information is. It speaks a lot about professionalism, experience and even character. Think twice about including the e-mail address you created after a wild night out with your friends.

A good contact email should include solely your first and second name. This is the safest option. You may also consider providing information about your LinkedIn page, Facebook profile or other social network that will reveal something about your professional skills.

Creating an online portfolio or having a personal website is always a great idea. Companies that put emphasis on innovative use of technologies will be impressed by your online presence.

Active Verbs

Instead of presenting your skills and past experiences through bullet points, use active verbs. This is a psychological trick that will affect even the most professional human resources experts.

Active verbs speak of ambition and your desire to take the initiative and the responsibility. Avoid passive structured in the resume because these lack vitality and strength. Instead of saying “content planning, editing and optimization” write “I created content plans, edited the final product and dealt with optimization.” The later structure sounds better and it demonstrates your active involvement in all of the tasks.

Original but Honest!

So many applicants see the resume as a chance to brag and to even exaggerate their work experience. Although it may increase the appeal of the CV, the exaggeration will soon be noticed.

Human resources experts deal with tens of applicants on a daily basis. They are trained professionals, capable of spotting lies effortlessly. Even if you manage to make it past the initial stage, you will suffer the consequences of the lie during the interview or a professional test.

Creativity is great but you should exercise it within the boundaries of your actual work experience. Everything else will sound pompous and fake.

Be yourself in order to write a winning resume. Refrain from trying to predict what an interviewer is expecting from you. Such preliminary plans will limit your opportunities and affect the final outcome.

Damian is a blogger and a marketing consultant. His best articles are from business and educational niches. Damian is working with http://www.skyerecruitment.com team to build online authority and improve visibility of this Australian recruitment agency.

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, Project management CV, project management resume, Self employed, Training, Transferable Skills

Self employed but need a CV?

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I am often approached by business owners who confess they have never needed a CV or not needed one for so many years that they wouldn’t know where to begin – there have been a few who have decided to go into contracting or permanent roles due to a number of reasons and are stuck for what to do. Whenever anyone sits down to write their first CV it is a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be – take it step by step. First of all I would like to point you to a blog article which takes you through the basics of structuring your CV and gathering information.

Now I would like to talk you through a skills audit – basically it is a process which will help you identify your current skills and any gaps which may need addressing for future roles.

  1. 1.   Identify existing skills and knowledge – make a list of all the skills and knowledge you feel is important in your current role. Make sure you identify your key job description – looking online at example job descriptions can help with this, and then take a look at all the extras you are involved in such as marketing, finance, business development and other key areas to running a successful business.
  2. 2.   Skills required for your next role – research the job descriptions and adverts for roles which you feel you are best suited for and list down the key requirements next to your existing list.
  3. 3.   Compare – how well do your current skills match up to those required for the job you wish to apply for? Tick off the list on all areas covered and look to the additional skills required to see if in fact you have missed any from your own list.

 

Once you have a strong list of key required skills you are at a fantastic starting point for adding detail to the structure of your CV. Remember to flesh out the skills by contextualising them in bullet points which should average approx 2 lines. By adding detail rather than just skills keywords you are qualifying your competences and making your CV about you – not just a lot of keywords; exactly what the hiring manager wants to see.

Using this information as a guide and the link to structuring CVs you will soon have a professional document which can really harvest results and also inject some confidence back into yourself moving forward. Also identifying sills gaps will assist you in making a decision on training to ensure you are up to date with required skills in the marketplace today.

CV Tips, CV Writing, Friday Snippet, Graduates, Starting out in Project Management

Graduate CV – how to begin.

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Your CV is the most important starting point for you to market yourself to potential employers – as a marketing document you need to ensure it is clear, concise, relevant, has a unique selling point (USP) and is personal to you.

To begin
Don’t pull your hair out we have all been there and although it may seem difficult to start with – you will soon develop a creative flow. Play around with a few CV templates and find a style that works for you. Then consider the following:

  • Use positive statements and an enthusiastic tone – use an active tense such as managing rather than managed and facilitating rather than facilitated.
  • Talk through your demonstrable experience – giving workable examples.
  • Avoid generic statements such as “good communication skills” and actually demonstrate how you have used the skills effectively to achieve something or get something done.
  • The space you devote to a matter suggests the importance you give to it. Be careful not to dedicate half a page to education and a line or two to your achievements or role remits.
  • Account for all gaps in the CV – if you took a year off to travel; that is fine just ensure you list it.

It is very important to make a good first impression – remember you are not the only person applying for the job! You will have competition and if you are not a strong contender – your CV could be rejected within 20 seconds of being viewed.

  • Make sure the job you are applying for is something you can realistically do – take care to place emphasis on the skills required for the role.
  • Address the application specifically to the name on the website / advert and write a cover letter matching up your relevant experience.
  • Put in the effort to make sure you are selling yourself in the best light.

Here are some links to articles which you will find useful moving forward:

Making Your CV Project You