Exercise: Grammar Review There is one mistake in each sentence:

Transcription

1 Exercise: Grammar Review There is one mistake in each sentence: 1. To be, or not to be...that is the question 2. However, the mere ubiquity of this phrase fails to answer some basic questions about it s context. 3. Where did it come from 4. what does it mean? 5. Edward Murphy was a member of an Air Force team that performed complicated experiments during the 40s. 6. If anything can go wrong it will go wrong. 7. The professor age 92 asks his listeners to show empathy for jobless citizens. 8. Jerrys behavior helped him to be successful on his statistics exam. 9. The Spitzer Space Telescope launched in 2003 was a huge success. 10. The atom is extremely small and was the basic building block of matter. 11. One interesting aspects of the atom is its spatial composition. 12. Pompeii s population roughly 20,000 inhabitants practiced several religions.

2 Answer: Grammar Review 1. To be, or not to be...that is the question. 2. However, the mere ubiquity of this phrase fails to answer some basic questions about its context. 3. Where did it come from? 4. What does it mean? 5. Edward Murphy was a member of an Air Force team that performed complicated experiments during the 40s. 6. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. 7. The professor, age 92, asks his listeners to show empathy for jobless citizens. 8. Jerry s behavior helped him to be successful on his statistics exam. 9. The Spitzer Space Telescope, launched in 2003, was a huge success. 10. The atom is extremely small and is the basic building block of matter. 11. One interesting aspect of the atom is its spatial composition. 12. Pompeii s population, roughly 20,000 inhabitants, practiced several religions.

3 TOPIC PREVIEW: Promotions Determining which workers receive promotions, and how to judge employees on their performance, can be very complicated. How are promotions determined in Korea? DIALOGUE: Tim: Hello, Ben. It is nice to see you again. How have you been lately? Ben: Actually Tim, not very well. Another employee at Proctor & Gamble was just promoted to a higher position instead of me. Tim: Really? But you have worked at Proctor & Gamble for a much longer time. Ben: Yes, but my boss told me that the other employee sells more and makes more money for the company. I guess I need to increase my productivity. Tim: Well, I am sorry that you were not promoted Ben, but maybe you will be soon. Ben: Thank you Tim, I hope so.

4 How should management choose what employee to reward with a promotion at work? Should the decision be based on how long the person has worked for the employer? Or, should it be decided by how a person's performance has improved the company? This decision can mean that management is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Both options have consequences that could affect morale and productivity. In the old days, employers rewarded loyalty if employees gave many years of service. The workers with the most seniority were given a promotion to a higher position and salary. These seniority-based decisions were positive because it showed that many years of work and lots of experience was appreciated. However, a negative side-effect was that there was no incentive for workers to be efficiently productive. The oldest workers knew they would climb the corporate ladder regardless of productivity. The most productive workers knew that they would not be climbing up even if they were diligent workers and increased revenue a lot, for example. Therefore, many employees had no real reason to be productive. This could have hurt the company's competitiveness compared to other market rivals. On the other hand, many corporations throughout the world have accepted the recent trend of performance-based promotions. With this method, your age, gender, and years of service do not really matter. Higher positions will be given to those who perform the best at their job. The advantage of this style is that workers have a personal purpose to be as productive as possible so that they will receive a promotion. The company also benefits because the efficiency means that it should be more competitive. This could be considered a win-win situation. However, a drawback could be that other workers feel unappreciated. This is because their years of experience could have helped the other employees to succeed. Management has to make decisions that ensure the right employees are receiving the financial recognition they deserve.

5 VOCABULARY: promotion loyalty seniority incentive *Raise in position or rank -Her salary increased when she received a promotion. *Commitment, faith -The manager showed loyalty to the company. *Senior rank, usually because of length of time with the employer -I have the most seniority so my co-workers often ask for my opinion. *Motivation, reason to try hard, reward -The bonus is an incentive to work hard. diligent workers *Hard workers with lots of effort -Diligent workers are valuable but hard to find. trend *Popular style -The new trend is brightly colored hair. performance-based*raise in position because of great work results - He will only work for companies with a performance-based system. recognition *Special notice or attention -The company created an award to give recognition to some great workers.

6 EXPRESSIONS: stuck between a rock and a hard place In the old days climb the corporate ladder on the other hand a win-win situation *In a dilemma, in a difficult situation -I am stuck between a rock and a hard place because I do not agree with my boss, but he might be angry if I tell him. *In the past -In the old days women usually did not work. *Climb to higher positions in a company -It took 18 years to climb the corporate ladder and become president. *On the contrary, from another point of view -I like my job location, but on the other hand, the pay is too low. *A time when both sides benefit or win -If the company pays for my class, and I learn more skills for my job, then it is a win-win situation. Amanda Palmer: The art of asking Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius

7 Résumé Workshop What is a résumé? A resume (also spelled résumé) is a brief document that summarizes your education, employment history, and experiences that are relevant to a particular job. Your resume must be user-centered and persuasive. Reflect upon yourself, your overall qualifications and career goals. What makes you a strong employee? What makes you unique? A resume usually contains: Contact Information Career Goal(s)/Objective Education Experience Honors and Activities A resume should: Be limited to one typed page Use Arial or Times New Roman with point font Use standard sized, white, light cream, or gray colored, paper

8 Contact Information List the information at the top of the page: your full name your address your permanent address your local address your phone number(s) your web address/url o double-check that everything is current and accurate o may include horizontal line or a small graphic element Objective Statement There are two different approaches to choose from: Brief and to the point: Detailed description: Samples: To utilize my [qualifications, strengths, or skills] as a [position title] A position as a [job title] for [company name] allowing me to develop my [qualifications, strengths, or skills]

9 Education Section What is an education section? An education section highlights your schooling and academic training. Usually the most relevant schooling is listed first. Education sections, like experience sections, are usually placed in the middle of a resume, between the objective statement and the honors and activities section. If you are a recent graduate, this section will be a focus and should be near the top. As you get more experience, this section will become smaller. The education section usually includes information about: university name and location (rarely high school) degree(s) earned, majors/minors, concentrations, specializations date of graduation, actual or anticipated grade point average (GPA) if over 3.0. relevant classes, certificates, awards, special projects, honors, language courses and proficiency Experience Section What is an experience section? An experience section emphasizes your past and present employment and/or your participation in relevant activities. Usually, the most recent experience is listed first and most people put their experience somewhere in the middle of the page. This section can include: Work Experience (jobs) Internships Volunteer Work Relevant Experience (any activities that use the same duties or qualifications that may be used in the job)

10 The usual content for an experience section includes: company name and location position title dates of involvement descriptions of responsibilities, duties, and achievements (use action verbs, match the tense, develop specific descriptions): Example Before: Recording OSHA regulated documents Material purchasing and expediting Prepared weekly field payroll Responsible for charge orders Example After: Recorded OSHA regulated documents Conducted material purchasing and expediting Prepared weekly payroll Processed charge orders Example Before: Planned activities Answered phone Wiped tables -Questions asked: What kinds?, How?, When?, For Whom? Example After: Planned arts, crafts, activities, and exercises weekly for physically-challenged children Acted as liaison between clients and legal staff Created healthy environment for customers and maintained positive public image Sample:

11 Honors and Activities Section What is an honors and activities section? It gives employers a sense of who you are outside of school and work and provides evidence that you are a well-rounded person. It should help you to stand out and show how unique of an individual you are. The honors and activities section is generally placed after the education and experience sections of the resume. Since this section is usually the last one on the resume, you can include as many or as few honors and activities as space permits and it can even be omitted. An honors and activities section might include the following: academic awards and scholarships membership in clubs or organizations hobbies or extracurricular activities leadership positions held in campus, national, or international organizations volunteer and community service positions work-related awards or honors date of award or dates of involvement in an activity Samples: Scholarships Robert C. Byrd Four-year Academic Scholarship, Academic Honors Dean's List, 2004-present Who's Who Among College and University Students, 2006 Membership in Professional Organizations Electrical Engineering Honor Society, 2004-present Copy Editor, Purdue University's student newspaper, Community Service Positions Boy Scouts of America Assistant Scoutmaster, 2005-present Coach, local middle school soccer team,

12 Résumé Design Why is the design of my resume so important? Employers will usually take, at most, only thirty-five seconds to look at this one-page representation of yourself. You should design your resume so that employers can read the document easily and process information quickly. The Quadrant Test Divide your resume into four quadrants, as seen in the example below. Your resume should be balanced (have an equal amount of text and white space) on the page. When your page is balanced, the reader will typically read anything in quadrant 1 first. So, you should put your most important information anything you want the employer to see first in this quadrant.

13 Serif and sans-serif Fonts By manipulating the fonts used in your resume, you can easily create a hierarchy of information. In general, fonts are divided into two categories: serif and sans-serif. Serifs are the short stems on the ends of the strokes of a letter, as in T of the Times New Roman font. Sans-serif fonts are fonts without stems sans means without. Here are some examples of the two kinds of fonts. San serif fonts: Serif fonts: Sans-serif fonts are typically used for headings and titles, while serif fonts are used for descriptions. The key to using fonts in your resume is to be consistent. For example, if you decide to use a sans-serif font for a main heading, do so for all your headings, and use the same sans-serif font each time. Generally, you should use no more than two fonts in your resume and should match your cover letter. Remember it is a package. Other types of emphasis Another way to create emphasis is by using different sized text, bold, CAPITALIZATION, italics, special effects, and underlining. Do not mix methods, nor overuse them. You would not, for example, want to CAPITALIZE, ITALICIZE, AND UNDERLINE pieces of text. Carefully choose which information should be emphasized. You might want to make your name a larger font size for easy reference.

14 The 20-second Test How do you know when you have successfully created an easily read resume that allows employers to process information quickly? Try having someone perform the 20-second test on your resume. Simply time your reader for twenty seconds as he or she reads your resume. What all did he or she learn about you? If your reader noticed within twenty seconds what you want employers to learn about you, then most likely you have created an effective resume. If not, try moving important information to the first quadrant, checking that you have used sans serif and serif fonts consistently, and limiting the tools for emphasis you use in your document.

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