5 grammar skills you need to master for career success

5 grammar skills you need to master for career success No matter what field you’re in, it’s likely that any given job description calls for good communication skills. At the top of this list is making sure your writing and speaking skills are top-notch. Let’s look at some of the key grammar tips that make your conversation and resume are polished and professional. 1. Use possessives correctly.This is one of the most frequent grammatical errors. Always take a minute to make sure you’re using the they’re and you’re  contractions for they are and you are. Their and your are possessive pronouns. These mistakes are often some of the easiest to spot for a reader, and they are so common from people of all backgrounds and education levels. If this is an issue that makes you nervous, one way to avoid this is to avoid confusion by not using contractions. It’s totally fine to spell out you are.Rule of thumb: If you’re making a contraction, you should always have an apostrophe. Possessive pro nouns never have an apostrophe.2. Don’t speak in the third person.Sometimes we (royal we) like to be extra formal in resumes or job interviews, because we want to present ourselves as highly dignified professionals. Resist that urge. Don’t go too informal (keep it professional, always), but it is absolutely okay to say â€Å"I† or â€Å"me,† and make it personal.Rule of thumb: You’re presenting yourself. You don’t need to hide behind the third person just to be fancy.3. Don’t use jargon or tons of abbreviations.Jargon is extremely popular on resumes, because you want the reader to know that you understand the ins and outs of an industry. You talk the talk, so that must mean  you’re an insider, right? Not really. Instead, you run the risk of turning off readers if they don’t quite get the same terminology, or if that jargon is hyper-specific to, say, your current job. It’s always better to keep things generic. An d if you do use abbreviations to save space, make sure you spell it out on the first use in your resume, cover letter, email, etc.Rule of thumb: Simpler is better. You never know who’s reading.4. Don’t use unnecessary capitals.Like jargon or being overly formal, extra capitals can be a crutch when we want people to Know What We’re Talking About. You may think you’re providing emphasis that draws the reader’s eye and makes your writing easier to read, but it really just complicates things unnecessarily.Rule of thumb: Only legitimate proper nouns (names) should have capitals.5. Proofread everything three times.I can’t emphasize this enough. All of us are prone to little mistakes when we write. This is especially true when you’ve written, rewritten, and edited a resume or cover letter so many times that you stop seeing what’s in it because you know it so well. That’s inevitably where the little mistakes creep in. If at all possible, get a trusted reader to review something official before you turn it in. Having an extra pair of eyes can help you spot blatant spelling or grammar errors, and can also help ensure that you’re making sense to the reader.Rule of thumb: Do it. Then do it again.

Words Used to Discuss Money

Words Used to Discuss Money The words below are some of the most important used when talking about money and finance. Each group of words in related and each word has an example sentence to provide context for learning. Practice using these words in writing in daily discussions concerning money.  You can also learn idioms using money if these words are too easy.   Banking account - I have a savings and a checking account at the bank.bank statement - Most people view bank statements online these days.bankrupt - Unfortunately the business went bankrupt three years ago.borrow - She borrowed money to purchase a car.budget - Its important to stick to your budget in order to save money.cash - Rich prefers to pay with cash rather than by credit card.cashier - The cashier can ring this up for you.check - Could I pay by check or do you prefer cash?credit (card) - Id like to put this on my credit card and pay it off over three months.debit card - Nowadays, most people pay for daily expenses using a debit card.currency - I enjoyed living in Europe when there were many different colorful currencies.debt - Too much debt can ruin your life.deposit - I need to go to the bank and deposit a few checks.exchange rate - The exchange rate is very favorable today.interest (rate) - You can get a very low interest rate on this loan.invest - Its a good idea to invest some mon ey in real estate. investment - Peter made an investment in some stock and did very well.lend - Banks lend money to qualified customers.  loan - He took out a loan to purchase the car.mortgage - Most people have to take out a mortgage to buy a house.owe - I still owe $3,000 to the bank.pay - The boss paid his employees on the last Friday of each month.save - Save money every month and youll be happy someday.  savings - I keep my savings in a different bank with higher interest.withdraw - Id like to withdraw $500 from my account.   Buying bargain - I got a great bargain on a new car.bill - The bill for the repairs came to $250.cost - How much did that shirt cost?expense - Alice had some extra expenses this month.installments - You can pay in ten easy installments of $99.price - Im afraid I cant lower the price of the car.purchase - How much food did you purchase at the supermarket?purse - She left her purse at home, so Ill pay for lunch.receipt - Always keep receipts when purchasing electronics.reduction - Were offering a special price reduction today.refund - My daughter didnt like these pants. Can I get a refund?spend - How much money do you spend every month?wallet - He took $200 out of his wallet to pay for dinner. Earning bonus - Some bosses give a bonus at the end of the year.earn - She earns over $100,000 per year.  earnings - Our companies earnings were less than expected so the boss didnt give us a bonus.income - Did you have any investment income to declare?gross income - Our gross income rose 12% this year.net income - We had a lot of costs, so our net income fell.raise - Her boss gave her a raise because shes such a great employee.salary - The job has a great salary and a lot of benefits.  wage - Part-time jobs tend to pay hourly wages.   Giving collection - The church took a collection to help the poor family.donate - Its important to donate to charity these days.donation - You can make a tax-deductible donation to help us out.  fee - There are a few fees that youll have to pay.fine - I had to pay a fine because I was late with the payment.grant - The school received a governmental grant to do the research.income tax - Most countries have an income tax, but a few lucky ones dont.inheritance - SHe came into a large inheritance last year, so she doesnt need to work.pension - Many elderly live on a small pension.pocket money - Its important to give your children pocket money.rent - Rent is so expensive in this city.scholarship - If youre lucky, youll win a scholarship to attend university.tip - I always leave a tip unless the service is very bad.winnings - She invested her winnings from Las Vegas in a crazy company. Verbs add up - The bookkeeping doesnt add up correctly. Lets recalculate.go up / down - The price of the stock went up 14%.make ends meet - More and more people are finding it difficult to make ends meet these days.pay back - Tom paid back the loan in three years.pay into - I pay a small amount into a retirement account every month.put down - She put down $30,000 towards the purchase of the house.run out - Have you ever run out of money before the end of the month?save up - Ive saved up over $10,000 to buy a new car.take out - I need to take out a loan. Other Related Words profit - We made a great profit on the deal.  property - Property almost always goes up in value if you hold onto it long enough.valuable - The painting was very valuable.  value - The value of the dollar has decreased greatly over the past ten years.  waste of money - Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health and a waste of money.wealth - I think people spend too much time focusing on wealth.worthless - Unfortunately, that painting is worthless.   Descriptive Adjectives affluent - Affluent people dont always know how lucky they are.broke - As a student, I was always broke.generous - THe generous donor gave over $5,000.hard-up - Im afraid Peter is hard-up. He hasnt been able to find a job.mean - Shes very mean. She wouldnt even buy a baby a present.poor - He may be poor, but hes very friendly.prosperous - The prosperous man grew fat and lazy.rich - Everyone wants to be rich, but few really are.stingy - Dont be so stingy with your children.wealthy - Frank is one of the wealthy people in this town.well off - Jennifer is very well off and doesnt have to work for a living.   Learn words that go together with the word money to expand your vocabulary.