Make no mistake you are in a
battle when looking for a job.

The enemy is both your potential employer and the other job applicants. If you are not very careful your worst enemy will be yourself. Do not be like Pogo who said, “I have seen the enemy and they are us.”

As always, preparation for battle is the key for victory. You must understand the weaknesses of all three: the employer, competitors, and especially yourself.

This site covers these weaknesses and opportunities explaining how to minimize yours and adding new weapons for you to fight with.

Grammar

The importance of good grammar, punctuation, and spelling cannot be over emphasized. Grammar is no longer taught in public and high schools. Criminal.

Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation is critical on the job hunt and on the job.

Poor grammar in a resume speaks volumes about you. Normally those interviewing you have good English skills. Reading poor English is disgusting to say the least. Using poor grammar (including spelling and punctuation) in a resume reveals both your poor education and your ability to speak well. It is the rare job that does not require good written and oral skills.

Few skills are more valuable in life and on the job than the use of proper English. While English may be your second language it does not cut it in business as accuracy and clarity in communications can only be achieved by using English well. Improving your English can be done both painlessly and enjoyably.

It is not enough to be the best candidate for the job, you must also give the appearances of being the best candidate. Appearance, in all its forms, is critical. Let this phrase “It is not enough to be xxxxx, you must also give the appearance of being xxxxx” Let this be a guidepost for all activities in your life.

The easiest way to improve your English skills is to read "good" books. What is a good book? Ask your librarian. Explain what you are trying to do. The librarian will be delighted to help you. Ensure the person is a librarian and not a clerk. Ask.

Librarians know the joys of reading and can select books suited to you. It is not enough for it to be labeled as a "good" book. It must suit your needs, interests and reading ability. Librarians are pleased to help you. No? See another librarian.

When you write emails, always write the text in Word. Word points out your grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Correct them then cut and paste to your email. You will tire of correcting the same error over and over and type it correctly the first place. Using Word as a teacher is an excellent and surprisingly fast way to learn. Yes, it is a bit time consuming but learning comes at a cost. Excellent communications demands clarity. Proper English is mandatory for excellent communications.

As you type in Word various words and phrases are underlined in red or green warning of a possible error. Right click on the word and suggestions appear. Options such as Accept, Ignore, Add (add the word to its dictionary) appear. Select one and the correction is made.

Always remember the spell checker only checks if the word is spelt correctly. It does not detect if the usage of the word is correct. There is a big difference between public place and pubic place. Use the grammar checker.

Penmanship

Penmanship: An ancient word for a seemingly lost art.

If your handwriting is neat and readable then you may skip this. For the rest, sloppy illegible handwriting tells a lot about your work ethic. Being out of work you have the time to change it. Do it.

Surprise! It is very easy to change your handwriting. After forty years of bad handwriting, I changed mine in two days. I went to the library, reviewed the books on handwriting, selected one style that pleased me and practiced for two days. Done.

I occasionally see my old handwriting. I never drift back to the old way. The same change can be made to your printing skills. Review some drafting books on printing styles. Practice. You have both the need and the time to do it.

Have a question? Please send me a message.
Being a new web site I would appreciate your comments