Editing, Proofreading & Resume Services
March 2009 – Newsletter
from the desk of
Shelly Rosenberg
www.shellyrosenberg.com

Hello and best wishes to you! In this issue of my newsletter I will be sharing the following information that should be of interest to you.

· Common Grammatical or Spelling Errors
· Caution – Easy Mistakes Often Made
· Update Your Resume Now

Common Grammatical or Spelling Errors

I keep finding this error in documents from clients. It is one of the most common errors that I have found, particularly on resumes. It is the incorrect use of the verb to lead. I am not sure if people make the error as a spelling or grammatical error since the sounds of the words can be the same or different in different situations. Here is how to use this commonly used word:

Present Tense
I lead
you lead
he or she leads
we lead
you (plural) lead
they lead

Past Tense
I led
you led
he or she led
we led
you led
they led

The item in pencils is lead. This is pronounced the same as the past tense of the verb – led but is spelled lead.

Another common error that I have found in papers is the confusion between the words lose and loose.

Lose is the opposite of find.
Loose is the opposite of tight.


Caution – Easy Mistakes Often Made

Several of you have handheld devices also known as smart phones. I have the Palm Treo. We love these and don’t know what we did before we had one. It is really convenient to be able to get your emails while you are away from your desk, out to lunch, at a lecture, at a ballgame, out to dinner, etc. Right? And it is so convenient to send a quick email (or text) reply when you are away from your desk. Right? And how about that feature that completes the word you were keying in? That’s great too. Right? But here is the problem and the caution. Make sure you carefully read the word that it finished for you. I can hear you laughing to yourself now. If you sent that email with the wrong word to a friend or in a casual email, that is probably not a problem. We can all have a good laugh at the error. But, if that email is being sent to a prospective employer, or to an important business contact about a significant account or to a professor regarding an important scholastic issue, that mistake is not so funny. I have received (and probably sent) several of those emails with embarrassingly erroneous words. So, again, a word of caution…

Update Your Resume Now

In this volatile market, few people’s jobs are safe. Most people need to be planning for the possibility of a layoff or job cut. Even if you feel that your job is secure, it is a good idea to take out that resume and update it. It is always more difficult to attack this task when you are out of a job. So, take an hour and review your current resume. List any new accomplishments and record them. Take a look at the layout of your resume. Does it need a new look? Remember, if you are applying for a job, there are now twice the number of people applying for each position and half the number of job openings available. You want your resume to shine. Make sure it does.
Contact me if you need assistance in updating your resume or creating a completely new one.

Shelly Rosenberg

“My goal is to enhance your text in a way that makes it clear and error free so that it is ready to be read by your professor, your readership, your clients, your future employer, your current employer, your agent or your publisher.”