Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

The Origin of Job Interviews – The Armstrong and Miller Show – BBC One

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

It has never been your job skills that get you a job.  See how the cavemen did it in this humorous video from BBC One.  The Origin of Job Interviews

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Don’t Stop Looking [for a job] During the Holidays – from the NYT

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Thanks to Jill Sarah Moscowitz of NonProfit Career Advisor for bringing this article to my attention.  The holidays can be the perfect time to concentrate on your job search!  Find out why:  Don’t Stop Looking During the Holidays – from the NYT

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How to Turn Downtime into Job Offers – from the NYT

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Whether it’s the holidays or you just have a lot of free time on your hands, downtime does not have to beat you down.  How to Turn Downtime into Job Offers – from the NYT

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Common Grammatical Errors: Everyday words we use every day.

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

When we put two words together into one word, we create a “compound” word.  It is common for the compound word to have a different meaning than the words have by themselves.  We all know, for instance, that when we take the preposition “under” and combine it with the verb “stand,” we end up with a compound verb “understand” that has a new meaning (“understand” has nothing to do with standing under anything).  Likewise, when we take the noun “baby” and combine it with the verb “sit,” we get a compound verb “babysit;” clearly babysitting does not actually entail sitting on a baby.

I’ve noticed a tendency in many writers to combine certain 2-word phrases into single words, perhaps thinking that the meaning doesn’t change.  For instance, “stand out” becomes “standout” (the 2-word verb phrase changes to a 1-word adjective).  One of the most common pairs of words I have seen people put together ungrammatically are “every” and “day.”  Please note:  “Every day” does NOT mean the same thing as “everyday.”  Be careful when you choose to create this compound word about what you really mean to say.

First I will lay out the basics:  What do these words mean?  “Every day” (2 words) means “happening or occurring every day.”  Technically it’s an adverb modifying a verb.  In contrast, the compound word “everyday” is an adjective meaning “of or pertaining to every day;” “of or pertaining to regular days (as opposed to holidays); ”commonplace” or “regular.”

Let’s look at some examples of proper use:

  • I walk to work every day. (2-word adverb modifying “walk”)
  • I wear my everyday shoes to walk to work; I change to my Manolo Blahniks upon arrival.  (1-word adjective modifying “shoes”)
  • It has snowed every day for the past week. (2-word adverb modifying “snow”)
  • Snow is an everyday event during Wisconsin winters. (1-word adjective modifying “event”)
  • I wish I could eat chocolate all day every day! (2-word adverb modifying “eat”)
  • Some chocolate sure would spice up this everyday chili.  (1-word adjective modifying “chili” – and yes, cocoa powder adds just the right verve!)

How will you remember the difference between “every day” and “everyday”?  My simple trick is to add the word “single” between “every” and “day;” if it makes sense to insert this word, then the words must be separated by a space in place of the word “single.”  If inserting “single” does not work, you’re in the land of the adjective “everyday.”  Let’s try it with the examples here:

  • I walk to work every single day.  (Makes sense so it’s 2 words)
  • I wear my every single day shoes to walk to work.  (Doesn’t make sense so it’s 1 word)
  • It has snowed every single day for the past week.  (Makes sense so it’s 2 words)
  • Snow is an every single day event during Wisconsin winters. (Doesn’t make sense so it’s 1 word)

I’ll leave you to test the chocolate chili examples.  I promise they work.

Now let’s take a look at some common ways people misuse the word “everyday.” I’ll use 3 examples from LinkedIn.

1.  In an email I received from a LinkedIn marketing expert, the following phrase appeared:  “Great discussions and tips are taking place everyday with over 10,000 members.”

There are actually two problems with this sentence.  One is that tips do not take place, only discussions do; you would not say “Great tips are taking place.”  The other is that everyday is the adjective meaning commonplace.  The author meant that discussions are taking place every single day.  Therefore the correct usage would be “every day” (2 words).

2.    A LinkedIn discussion title came across one of my groups:  “Fast way to make money everyday.”

Again, this writer means “every single day” so the correct way to express his idea would be “Fast way to make money every day.”

3.    Here’s an example from a comment on one of my postings: “You learn something new everyday.”

Do you see the error?  I hope you are now highly trained in the distinction between “every day” and “everyday”!  I also hope my article has been your new piece of learning for the day.  Please pass the learning on to someone who will benefit from it today and every day.

Need writing help?  Contact The Essay Expert

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Happy Holidays!

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

The Essay Expert wishes you a wonderful, magical, and grammatically correct holiday season!

Best wishes for your success in the upcoming year.

Sincerely yours,

Brenda Bernstein & The Essay ExpertHappy Holidays

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Some Humor on Writing! From Frank Fiore

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

I thought I’d post something a little out of the ordinary today — you might get a good laugh out of these, especially if you’re a writer yourself!  Some Humor on Writing

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How To Network – Video on YouTube

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Simple and slightly hokey but spot-on networking tips.  Video on How To Network

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Job-Networking Tips on KAZ-TV’s Pat McMahon Show – Parts 1 & 2

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Do you believe that you can’t get the job you want because you don’t know the right people?  Molly Wendell from executives network shares her wisdom on how to get connected.  If you’re afraid of networking, resist networking, or just plain don’t like it, or if you love it and want tips on how to do it better, these clips might give you the boost you’re looking for.

Job-Networking Tips Part 1 of 2

Job-Networking Tips Part 2 of 2

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Judge Labels Lawyer’s Motion Nearly Incomprehensible, Marks Up Errors

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

As a lawyer and editor, I couldn’t resist sharing this article with my readers.  Judge Labels Lawyer’s Motion Nearly Incomprehensible, Marks Up Errors

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William Safire, Political Columnist and Oracle of Language, Dies at 79

Monday, September 28th, 2009

I would be remiss as a writing expert if I did not pay homage to this brilliant writer and commentator.  Mr. Safire was a brilliant man who will be missed.  William Safire Dies at 79

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