An overlooked mistake sets the stage

I recently read a 2016 online article about a car dealership that worked with a direct marketing firm to create a “sweepstakes ad campaign.” The campaign included 50,000 lottery-style scratch-off tickets. The individual holding the grand prize-winning ticket would receive $1,000.

How to avoid embarrassing yourself at the grocery store (and use appropriate capitalization)

God, the United States, and the Internet are not frequent topics at our grocery store. However, while shopping recently, I saw a man venting at the clerk checking his groceries. I’m not sure what started his tirade, but it focused on politicians and the news media.

Here are the results of our poll concerning the most common expressions associated with employee termination. A week ago, I launched a poll on LinkedIn asking: How does your workplace typically express the act of termination to an employee? As a copy editor and blogger, I was curious about how different employers use various idioms to communicate this action.

We've launched a poll about the most common expressions associated with terminating an employee at work. Employee termination, though difficult, is sometimes essential to improvement in the workplace. However, different workplaces throughout the U.S. and the U.K. use various “idioms” to communicate this action.

Writing for work can have career implications. Have you ever discovered a grammar, spelling, or punctuation error you made when writing for work—but only after you published or presented it? That’s why it’s essential to proofread anything you write that represents you and your business. Many people will judge you on the quality of your writing, whether it’s fair to do so or not.

A college instructor opened her English 101 class with the question: “Does a comma 'always' follow words such as -- next, then, and finally -- at the beginning of a sentence? Most of the students indicated their agreement, with several commenting about learning this practice in their high school English classes. The instructor then said, “There is no rule that a comma ‘always’ follows a particular word or phrase. The use of a comma depends on syntax (the structure of a sentence), pace, tone, and even personal preference.”

Here's a career strategy that's more common than you think: "I’ll become a better employee when I get a better job." As a strategy, it simply will not work. The best employers want to hire the best available employees. If that’s not you, it's unlikely the employer will offer you the “better” job.

Here's a career tip that's helped me become increasingly confident in handling objections.

Do you struggle with handling objections? They can surface during a sales pitch, when presenting a business proposal, making recommendations at work, or even when interviewing for a job. If it happens again, you can quickly frame and select your response using the R.E.A.D.Y. acronym.

Have you ever completed a project successfully at work only to have someone else steal the credit for your work?

What happens when someone steals the credit you deserve?

Stealing credit for the work of others happens all too often. You've just finished a project at work and the results were positive on all fronts. This success could not have come at a more opportune moment because you're only a couple of weeks away from your year-end review at work.

Do you act like an entrepreneur? There are 22 million single-person business owners in the U.S. that operate with no employees. There are many who undoubtedly feel that a true entrepreneur is characterized simply by the level of risk or size of the investment required.