The Philosophy of Email Checking

Okay, I have a question for you - how many times a day do you check your email?

Actually, I have a lot of questions for you (and not many answers!), such as:

* Does your email checking depend on where you are? For example, do you check your email more often during the day if you are at work than you would if you were at home? And, if yes, is it your work email you are checking? Would you wait until you are on a lunch break to check personal email if you are at work? Further, are you able to complete a separate task without taking a break to check an email, especially if you have an alert pop-up every time an email arrives?

* Have you ever sent an email to a person in your workplace who is physically less than 3 metres from you at the time? It's okay, so have I!

* Do you check email routinely? I know some people who check email first thing in the morning, then last thing at night. Would you be able to go 24 hours, 48 hours or a whole week without checking your email? Say you went on a holiday and there was no email access available (and you're already saying that you would have ascertained this as a pre-requisite prior to booking that holiday), how would you cope?

* For those of you, like me, with more than one email address, which email address do you check most frequently? Do you check your email addresses in order of preference? Which email address would you check if you only had enough time to check one?

* Now, to replying and sending - do you always reply to an email as soon as you have read it? Does it depend on who has sent you the email?

* Does the frequency at which the same person emails you increase or reduce the urgency of your need to reply? Or, once again, does it depend on who has sent you the email?

* Do you expect an email recipient to reply to you upon receiving your email within a set time frame - what is an acceptable time frame to allow for an email reply to be sent? Do your settings allow you to receive notifications of your recipients opening your email (and can you tell when a sender has this setting for their email message to you)? Under what circumstances, dare I ask, is it okay not to reply to an email at all?

Which brings me to my point - does the human control the email or does the email control the human? I know, I know, more than enough questions for one post...and I haven't even begun to consider the content of the email itself! Maybe some other time...

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/

How to Address an Envelope

Lately, I've written a number of posts related to letter writing, but I've neglected to discuss the finished touch, that is, the addressing of the envelope. After you've put all that time and effort into the letter, you want to make sure that it reaches its correct destination. These addressing tips apply equally to parcel posting.

The address on the front of the envelope should sit so that the top line is centred on the space available. Each line to follow should begin below the left point of this first line. There is no need for punctuation marks (other than capital letters).

eg.

Mr Ralph Randolph - recipient's name
44 Rudolph Road
RANDWICK NSW 2031 - suburb/town is in capitals

Some envelopes are preprinted with four boxes - if you have this type of envelope, place the postcode into the designated spaces. Australia Post will LOVE you!

In the case of a post office box, rather than a street address:

Mr Ralph Randolph
PO Box 888
RANDWICK NSW 2031

If your recipient has a position in a business, the address may take four or five lines:

Mr Ralph Randolph
Recruiter
Reliable Rakes Pty Ltd
PO Box 888
RANDWICK NSW 2031

A good rule of thumb is that whatever you have used as the recipient's name and address details on the letter should be replicated on the envelope.

Give the postal service provider another reason to love you by making sure you provide sender information on the reverse side of the envelope, including your name and your postal address. This should appear on the seal flap of the envelope and be set out using the same format as the examples above indicate. This ensures that the letter can be easily returned to you if it is undeliverable. This even worked with a parcel I sent to London last year - yes, it was four months after I'd posted it before it made its way back to me, but, thanks to the return address, it did make it back!

Final tip (and only because I've forgotten to do it myself once or twice!) - remember to put a stamp at the top right on the front of the envelope and then your letter is ready for the red box.

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/

A Dog with Nine Lives

We have just returned from having our pet dog, Raspberry, a Jack Russell terrier, microchipped, after what have been the most worrying couple of days of our experience as pet owners.

About 48 hours ago, sometime between about 10pm on Saturday night and 7am Sunday morning, when there had been some storm activity, Raspberry went missing. When we realised she was missing on Sunday morning, we didn't know if she was stuck somewhere in the house or downstairs in the garden shed, and we hunted high and low. High because this is the dog who has been known to climb up shelves in a storm and low because her favourite spot to sleep is under our bed. It was all to no avail - she was nowhere to be found.

By mid-morning Sunday, having searched the perimeter of the property, we decided she must have absconded. Still, there was no obvious sign of her breaking through fence lines, so we were completely mystified. I'm not ashamed to say I was starting to consider alien abduction as a real possibility. This theory was debunked, however, when a boy who lives a few houses down from us came and told us at about lunchtime on Sunday that Raspberry had presented herself at their house sometime around 11pm on Saturday night and he had brought her back to our front door, knocked and received no reply, so left her there. While she was still missing, at least this was a positive sighting and gave us reason to hope.

Meanwhile, we put up 'Lost Dog' posters around the neighbourhood and various parties had conducted foot, bicycle and car searches, without success. As soon as we realised she had gone missing, we had telephoned the pound, and, about mid-afternoon, we took a drive out there. There was several very cute dogs waiting to be collected by their owners, but sadly, not our little dog. The pound staff told us that a lot of 'found' dogs aren't reported until Monday because people don't realise the pound is open on a Sunday, which gave us more reason to hope. I must admit, though, by last night, we were all feeling pretty sad. Not knowing where she was or whether she was even alive was the worst part.

This morning delivered the miracle we'd been praying for. I heard a few shouts from out on the street, looked out and saw my son's friend, his dad and a little white dog heading towards our house. It was our little white dog, Raspberry! They had spotted her sniffing around one of their cars in their driveway. No need to say it was a very happy reunion!

If only dogs could talk, we would love to know where she spent the 30 hours or so that she was missing. It's a complete mystery! She was in pretty good condition, too - a few cobblers' pegs and dirty paws only. Considering she could have been hit by a car or mauled in a dog fight, she is so very lucky.

Hence our theory that this dog really is part cat, in that she must have nine lives. She's given us a few scares before, but nothing like this. Today, we have been out to have a new tag engraved with my mobile number and, as previously mentioned, taken her to the vet to be microchipped. Ideally, neither of these precautions will be needed, but, knowing Raspberry, we have not seen the last of the antics.

Did I mention the anxiety medication the vet also prescribed? I must check the label as to whether it's meant for the dog or its owner - after our ordeal, I don't know who needs it most!

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/

How to Write a Job Application Letter

If you are seeking paid employment, whether it be full-time, part-time, permanent or casual, the first step in the application process is to write a letter of application. Usually, this letter will have a resume attached to it.

Employers use a letter of application for several purposes:

• To assess a person’s ability to express him/herself clearly and coherently
• To assess basic spelling, punctuation, grammar and paragraphing
• To observe an applicant’s presentation skills – layout and neatness
• To discover preliminary information about a job applicant’s qualifications, skills and personality

A sample letter looks like this:

21 Rush Avenue
RINGWOOD QLD 4234

1 April 2009

The Manager
Jobs R Us
PO Box 333
BRISBANE QLD 4000

Dear Sir/Madam, (don’t make any assumptions about gender, unless the name has been given as part of the advertised position)

I am writing to apply for the position as office manager advertised on www.seek.com.au on 30 March 2009. I believe I possess the skills and attributes you are seeking for this position. (state position being applied for, place and date you saw it advertised)

I possess a Certificate IV in Frontline Management as well as….. (provide a brief outline of key qualifications).

I have worked as an office manager for the past three years in a very similar role to your advertised position. In that role, I have been responsible for ….(list key duties) Although I have been very happy in this position, the reason I had to leave was that our family made the decision to move to Brisbane recently. (if you have left your previous job because you became sick of it or didn’t like your employer, it is important not to present this in a negative manner – eg. ‘I am seeking the challenge of a career change’ sounds better than ‘I got sick of working in retail’) I have attached my resume which provides further detail, including referee contact information.

I would very much appreciate the opportunity of an interview at your convenience to discuss my application further. I can be contacted during office hours on … (show your willingness for the employer to make contact and provide times and contact details – email address and mobile number is best).

Yours faithfully,

(leave room for you to sign your name after you have printed the letter)
Ima Goodworker (type your name)

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/

10 Uses for a Dictionary

1. How to spell a word, including alternative spellings
2. Part of speech – eg. noun, verb or adjective
3. How to pronounce the word
4. How to break the word into syllables
5. Definition/s
6. History/origin of the word – known as etymology
7. Example sentence – usage in context
8. Possible other forms of the word
9. Any abbreviations of the word
10. In between actual use, having a dictionary on your shelf will make you look smarter to others.

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/

Word of the Week - SALARY

Today's word – SALARY

Pronunciation – sal-uh-ree

Word type - noun

Definition – the regular pay a worker receives for doing their job, especially for office work

Word origin-
Middle English, from Anglo-French - In Roman times, part of a soldier’s weekly payment was given in salt. The Latin word for salt is ‘salarium’. The saying, ‘worth your salt’ means that you are so capable and efficient that you are thought to deserve your pay.
Salt was a very precious commodity in ancient times, due to the cost involved in its extraction and the high cost of carrying it by river, sea and over land. Traders became very wealthy through the commodity of salt. It was primarily used in the preservation of food, in times long before refrigeration was invented. Salt taxes were introduced by governments and huge revenues were raised.
Prior to the 1700s/1800s and the growth in industrialisation, workers were paid by the hour or by the day. It was at this time that progressive companies began to pay a salary to its workers, especially for office workers, where work could not necessarily be measured by numbers of items produced.

Sample sentence - The worker was paid a monthly salary.

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It's raining cats and dogs...and other well-known cliches

It has been raining really heavily today, or, to use the cliche, it's been raining cats and dogs. A cliche is the term given for an overused or tired phrase or word which has been used so often that it has lost its appeal or meaning. In the case of this cats and dogs example, that is certainly the case - where does the phrase come from and how did it come to mean 'heavy rain'? Of course, cats and dogs have not been falling from the sky today. The most likely origin of the phrase is from the 17th century when heavy rain would cause the filthy streets to be washed clean of their debris, occasionally including corpses of dead animals, such as cats and dogs.

Cliches may be used in conversation, but in formal communication situations, their use should be avoided at all costs, as they show nothing other than a distinct lack of originality.

Common cliches include:

* larger than life
* sick as a dog
* tired as sin
* slow as a wet week

Cliches abound in the sports arena - sports commentators and sportspeople often fall back on cliches to express their feelings about a game or team performance:

* we dug deep
* we had our backs to the wall
* we came into the game as underdogs
* it was a team effort
* they need to orchestrate a comeback
* we had a red hot go
* they're a class act
* we were under the pump

Political and business cliches also proliferate:

* it's been a hard fought contest
* we're going to have to tighten our belts
* we need to take stock
* we need to address the bottom line
* let's think outside the box
* at the end of the day

Be creative in your speaking or writing and find fresh, new ways to make comparisons. I can't claim this one as my own, but the one of the best descriptions I've ever heard, and to continue the dog theme, was - "he's got the attention span of a two week old cocker spaniel".

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/