Celebrate Social Media Day with These 5 Tips

Happy World Social Media Day!

It’s no secret that we love social media. And as Grammarly’s Social Media Manager, I’ve devoted most of my professional life to figuring out what the cool kids are doing online. And today, I’m here to help you do the same. Let’s dive into all the things you should (and shouldn’t) be doing on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.

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1Write, Reread, Ponder, Then Post

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I’d wager that 99 percent of social media “fails” could have been avoided if the poster had taken thirty seconds to reconsider that tweet, comment, or post before hitting publish. Before you post, ask yourself the following three questions:

1. Do I mean what I said in this post? Am I comfortable with how it will be shared?

2. Will I be proud of this post one, three, five years from now?

3. Does this post hurt someone else? Could it hurt someone if they found it?

Those extra few seconds you spend avoiding a grammar mistake or embarrassing photo are worth the wait. Remember what your mom told you: Facebook photos are forever.

2Don’t Join a Social Channel Just Because It’s Hot or New

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If you’re the trend-obsessed, meme-creating maven of your social circles, skip this tip and move on to the next. But if you’re a mere mortal, you probably don’t need to be on every social network in existence. Find a community that resonates with you, and spend your social media hours there. (A personal note: for me, that channel is Instagram, but not everyone loves the ‘gram as much as I do! Follow your arrow.)

3If You Don’t Know What It Means, Don’t Use It

Say what?

One of the most beautiful facets of the Internet is its effect on language. From “spam” to “geeks” to “phubbing,” the ways online culture has influenced English are legion. And brand new online slang is as inevitable as it is ubiquitous. But what do you do when you see a new hashtag, word, emoji, or reaction gif?

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If your answer is “use it immediately and without question,” it might be time to reconsider your approach. Many brands have gotten into trouble by jumping on inappropriate “trending” hashtags, and we all should learn from their mistakes. You don’t want a milkshake duck situation on your hands.

4Don’t Feed the Trolls

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As Grammarly’s Social Media Manager, I’m no stranger to trolls. We receive dozens of messages telling us to “shut it down” or “go home” each month. But instead of the ever-popular clapback, we’ve chosen to leave the trolls alone to shout into the endless Twitter void.

Here’s a tip: Having problems with grammar trolls? Here are a few steps to stop them.

Of course, avoiding antagonizers is much harder when they’re attacking you personally. The first step is to remember that you aren’t alone: 51 percent of women and 50 percent of men experience online harassment. After that, make sure you know your rights, and follow steps like these to ensure your safety without feeding one of those pesky trolls.

5Remember, People Online Are Just People

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Despite evidence to the contrary, I think sincerity is not yet dead on the Internet. Whenever I look at the wonderfully supportive comments on Grammarly’s Facebook, I remember that there are individual humans behind each avatar online (except bots, but let’s not go there). At the end of the day, you can’t choose how you’re treated online, but you can choose how you respond. And for me, the “social” part of social media is the most important: we have to want to engage with one another as real human people. And of course, I think Grammarly’s follower-people are the best humans.

So on this Social Media Day, I want to say thank you to all of the communication enthusiasts who read, share, and respond to Grammarly’s various musings. We love each and every one of you.

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Do you think there should be “rules” to social media? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you.

The 5 Best Ways to Stay Motivated During a Job Search

Are you disappointed with the progress of your job search? Unemployment can make your spirits plummet. You’ve heard the comparisons: Resumes are a way to market yourself. Successful resumes reveal why you are the ideal candidate. Andrew Reiffenberger, a recruiting director, stated, “Your resume is you. It’s you on a page.” No wonder you feel down when you don’t get responses to your inquiries. It’s hard not to feel personally rejected.

How can you maintain high spirits? Here are the five best ways to keep your motivation during a job search.

1Control Your Goals

Writing your goals improves your chances of accomplishing them, according to research conducted at Dominican University. Getting a job offer this week sounds great; however, it is not a motivating goal. Why doesn’t it qualify? You have no control over whether a company will offer you a position. Even if you perform well on an interview during the week, you can’t control whether the hiring manager decides to hire you or not.

Motivating goals are measurable goals that depend on you—and no one but you. For example, here are three goals that you can control: Attend one networking event per month. Create a list of ten target companies by the end of the day. Identify and contact at least one reference from each previous job listed on your resume. Setting goals like these, and achieving them, will give you the sense of forward movement that is essential to stay motivated during a job hunt.

2Maintain a Reasonable Schedule

Lazing about the house all day in your pajamas probably won’t help you land a new job, and neither will scouring job postings for hours on end. In fact, both radical courses of action will do more harm than good. In other words, you’ll be in no state to shine when you do get a promising interview if you fall to either extreme. Balance is needed. Set your alarm so you don’t snooze away the day. (However, it’s okay to enjoy an extra hour or two of sleep during your first week off work. Your body may be catching up on some lost shut-eye.) Schedule a couple of days, or an hour each day, to concentrate on your search. Give thought to how you will structure your activities. For instance, you might update your CV and contact your references before you spend time searching for jobs online. That way, when you find an intriguing prospect, you’ll be ready to apply right away.

3Take Care of the Product

If a resume is to sell you, you have to make sure that you keep the product (i.e., you) in prime condition. Isn’t it true that you avoid wilted greens and dented containers when you go grocery shopping? In the same way, you need to make sure that you remain marketable to potential employers. Renew certifications and licenses as necessary. Stay on top of industry news and innovations. Remember to care for your physical health too. Get some sun every day. Eat a healthy diet. Follow an exercise regimen and get sufficient rest. If you do, you can be confident that you’re presenting your best self to the world.

4Explore Your Options

Do you have more free time now that you are not working? Is there something that you’ve always dreamed of doing? Gloria Steinem once said, ” Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” Once you have an idea of what you want to do, pursue it! Explore different career paths by reading about them and talking to people who work in the field. Leisure activities and interests also qualify as worthy pursuits. Why not find a club that centers on your hobby? Consider taking a class. With a little investigation, you might find plenty of options to study for little or no cost.

5Surround Yourself with Positivity

Negativity is contagious. If you associate with negative people, their bad vibes will rub off on your attitude. Think about the people who surround you. Who is the most encouraging? Maximize your time with the ones who make you feel the best. And don’t forget, your friends don’t all have to be the flesh-and-blood variety. By joining an online forum like Unemploymentville, you can network, get advice, or simply find a listening ear among people who are sharing the same experience. You might also find encouragement, along with helpful hints, in motivational blogs and podcasts.

Don’t let the progress of your job search run you into the ground. Your ideal job could be just around the corner. While you continue to look for a suitable job opening, maintain high spirits by implementing these five tips. If you do, you’ll remember your period of unemployment with more fondness than you thought possible.

10 Jargon Phrases to Avoid in Business Writing

Business-speak. The fact that the jargon of the business world is often annoying is the least of its problems. If there’s one trait business writing needs to have, it’s clarity—which is the trait most business jargon phrases completely lack. They’re neither precise nor informative. They’re not even professional. They’re just vague, even though some of them sound awesome and trendy. But we writers should know better than to use the following phrases in business writing.

Paradigm Shift

Paradigms are widely accepted models of how certain things are. Flat Earth was a paradigm. When paradigms shift, the consequences are substantial—on the scale of humans accepting that the heavens do not revolve around us. The introduction of quantum mechanics was a paradigm shift. So unless a business produces changes on par with these, we should avoid using the phrase “paradigm shift,” and use “major change” or “significant change” instead.

Moving Forward

“Moving forward” is a phrase used when we want to end one part of a conversation and go to the next one. It might also be used when we want to say that the business needs to begin the next phase of a development plan. But in that case, it’s better to skip this empty phrase and just say what “moving forward” actually entails. If we want to use it to advance the conversation or to move to the next point in a business letter, there are much better ways of doing it. “On a related matter” is a phrase that is sometimes used, although it has to be followed by a matter that’s actually related to the previous subject. “Regarding” might be used, and it should also be followed by an explanation. Or you might forgo the use of advancing phrases altogether.

Rock Star

To some people, rock stars are individuals who stand on stages, towering over masses of people who soak up every word they sing or note they play. To others, they are people from the past who have lived a wild lifestyle and sadly left us too early. Is it a sound long-term business strategy to hire the latter? It’s not, so it’s more likely that people who write things like “Looking for a ROCKSTAR content writer” in their job posts are actually looking for a person with a good reputation, relevant experience, and exceptional skills. So why not just say so?

Next Level

Oh, the mysterious next level. The prospect of reaching the next level is what keeps us glued to video games. In business, however, mysteries aren’t so fun. What exactly is the next level? What are the requirements for getting there? And why should we bother? These things are usually known only by the person uttering the phrase. So it should be avoided in business writing. Instead, when talking about change, try to describe the goal, the methods and means of achieving it, and the reasons it’s needed.

Results-Oriented

This phrase is often used in a very specific kind of business writing—job applications. Resumes and CVs alike often list “results-oriented” as a personal trait, and that’s not good. It means that either you are prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve specific results, or you expect to perform actions which cause results. If the former is true, you should think long and hard about whether you really want to say that or not. If so, you’d better understand what “whatever it takes” means. If the latter is true, you should know that the whole point of performing actions is for them to cause results, and they usually do because that’s one of the fundamental laws of physics. It might be better to say that you’re hardworking and dedicated to achieving great results.

Give 110 Percent

The only way you could give 110 percent of yourself on a project is if there were two of you, and you could borrow the 10 percent from the other you. Or the other you could borrow it from you—it works both ways because you’re both you. This is a phrase that was borrowed from sports, which happens a lot in American business-speak. But even in sports, it didn’t make much sense in the first place. Instead of using it, you can say “do your best” or “invest significant effort.”

Pre-plan or Pre-prepare

Planning and preparation should happen before we take a course of action, so saying that something needs to be pre-planned or pre-prepared is redundant and silly. When you need to emphasize the need for careful and timely planning, it might be better to simply state that timeliness and care are needed.

Think Outside the Box

“Thinking outside the box” is one of the best-known jargon phrases, and also one of the vaguest. We know what the goal of thinking outside the box is—to come up with unorthodox and original ideas or solutions. But when you’re in a meeting and someone says “we need to think outside the box on this one,” and you sit in the room and feel all the brainpower being used, it’s not being used for thinking outside the box. It’s actually being used to try to figure out what the person who said you need to think outside the box actually wants. It’s as imprecise a phrase as they come, and it should be replaced with more detailed explanations about the goal of the thinking process.

Synergize

The popularity of the verb “to synergize” in business circles is probably due to its use in Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” a very influential book among the business-minded. Synergize sounds exotic and powerful, and it’s a great practice to adopt at the workplace because it involves cooperation. But in business writing, using the verb “to cooperate” instead of “to synergize” will make the writing much clearer.

A Perfect Storm

“A perfect storm,” when used in business-speak, denotes the simultaneous occurrence of many unusual and unfavorable circumstances, usually with an undesirable effect. It should be followed by an explanation of those circumstances, and in that case, the phrase becomes redundant. Plus, the phrase is dramatic and there’s rarely a need for that in business writing, so it might be best to steer clear of it.

Cannot vs. Can Not vs. Can’t—What’s the Difference?

Can’t? Cannot? Can not? Find out the right way to use all three.

Can’t is a contraction of cannot, and as such it’s sometimes unsuitable for formal writing. In everyday writing and in speaking, it’s ubiquitous:

I can’t go out until I proofread my paper.

Peter can’t believe what’s happening in front of his eyes.

Cannot is better for formal writing:

I cannot wait until Friday to get the report.

We cannot allow these obstacles to slow us down.

Don’t use can not when you mean cannot. The only time you’re likely to see can not written as separate words is when the word “can” happens to precede some other phrase that happens to start with “not”:

We can not only break even, but also turn a profit.

The company’s new product can not only reduce emissions, but also trap some of the existing greenhouse gasses.

Here is a quick summary:

• Can’t is a contraction of cannot, and it’s best suited for informal writing.
• In formal writing and where contractions are frowned upon, use cannot.
• It is possible to write can not, but you generally find it only as part of some other construction, such as “not only . . . but also.”

Examples

The 30-year-old now says she’s recovering, but there are still days when she can’t drag herself out of bed for her part-time job at a university.

Bloomberg

Jose Mourinho has warned Anthony Martial he cannot keep wasting opportunities given the intense competition in his position after the struggling Manchester United forward was dropped from the squad against Feyenoord.

The Daily Telegraph

Even commit to change publicly to encourage accountability. In this way, apologizing can not only repair a relationship, but it can also become a powerful catalyst for your own personal growth.

Harvard Business Review

Cannot and its related forms aren’t the only words in the English language that give you a choice of spelling. Axe is another one of them, as are minuscule and flyer.

Grammar Basics: What Is Subject-Verb Agreement?

In English, subject-verb agreement is important. What this means is that the characteristics of the subject should be reflected in the verb. For example, if a subject is a singular, the verb form must also be singular.

She see you.

She sees you.

Likewise, if a subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.

We sees you.

We see you.

Unlike in other languages that require that subject and verb agree in both number and gender, English verbs are not conjugated for gender and so require only that they match in number.

To learn more about grammar and to help us celebrate National Grammar Day this March, visit our new resource page.

What Are Proper Nouns, and How Do I Use Them?

A proper noun is a specific (i.e., not generic) name for a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized in English, no matter where they fall in a sentence. Because they endow nouns with a specific name, they are also sometimes called proper names.

Every noun can be classified as either common or proper. A common noun is the generic name for one item in a class or group.

palace

girl

book

A proper noun, on the other hand, names a noun precisely.

Buckingham Palace

Cynthia

War and Peace

The distinction between common and proper nouns is usually quite easy to make, but it can occasionally be more difficult to intuit. When we speak, it makes no difference whether a noun is proper or common because it does not impact syntax. When we write, however, we need to know which nouns are proper because we need to know where to place capital letters.

You Too Can Prevent Capital Abuse

Capitalization overuse is the most prevalent type of spelling error there is. Psychologically, it is difficult to resist using capitals to emphasize what we think is important in a sentence. Marketing professionals capitalize liberally to Grab Your Attention And Sell You Things, but this is a bad habit you should avoid in your writing.

Carefully capitalizing only proper nouns will enhance the readability of your writing—after all, your readers have spent years of their lives being educated in English conventions. Extra capital letters seem like “speed bumps” on their course through your paragraphs.

Here are a few examples of common and proper nouns that are often capitalized incorrectly.

Mom or mom? Nouns Indicating a Family Relationship

The nouns we use to talk about our families cause a lot of trouble. The rule of thumb is, when you use a word like mom, dad, or aunt, capitalize it only if the word is being used exactly as you would a name, as if you were addressing the person directly. If the word is not being used as a name, it is not capitalized—although that has nothing to do with the word’s importance.

Please ask Mom if she would like steak for dinner.

Is your mom coming over for dinner?

Even if the speaker of the last sentence is acquainted with your mom and is thinking of that mom specifically, mom is not being used as a proper name, so it is not capitalized.

Adam asked his Uncle if he could stay for dinner.

Adam asked his uncle if he could stay for dinner.

Are Directions Capitalized?

The directions of the compass are not capitalized unless they are used as part of the proper name of a region.

The trail continued west all the way to the coastline.

What time is it on the West Coast?

Capitalizing Seasons

Because we capitalize the days of the week and the months of the year, people sometimes capitalize the seasons spring, summer, fall (or autumn), and winter by extension. However, they should only be capitalized when they are used as a part of a proper name.

Will you be visiting New York in the Spring?

Will you be visiting New York in the spring?

I am thinking of attending the Spring Social this year.

Jobs and Other Titles

It is just plain hard to resist capitalizing job titles, but once again, unless they are used in the act of naming someone, do not capitalize them.

Please allow me to introduce you to our managing director, Bob Smith.

Today Julie had an interview with Managing Director Bob Smith.

No matter how important you deem the job a person does, resist the urge to capitalize his or her title if it does not name him or her.

The next time I visit Rome, I’m going to drop in on the pope.

I can’t wait to meet Pope Francis when I am in Rome.

Should Brand Names Be Capitalized?

When brand names come into common use to describe a whole class of items, it is easy to forget to capitalize them. Brand names, however, are proper names.

He asked his mother to hand him a tissue.

Could you pass me the Kleenex?

Should Eponyms Be Capitalized?

That said, some nouns that are named for a person or region—eponyms—become so commonly used that it is no longer considered necessary to capitalize them. The sandwich, for example, was named for John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

The professor always packed a sandwich for office hours.

There are many more instances when you may have to decide whether a noun is common or proper to determine whether it is capitalized. (You may wish to read our articles on countries, nationalities, and languages or periods and events, for example.) When in doubt, do what all the best writers do: look it up.

8 Things You Should Really Delete from Your LinkedIn Profile

There’s a lot you can do to make your LinkedIn profile shine. You list your greatest achievements. You make connections. You take the time to write a great LinkedIn summary.

But for everything you do to make your profile stand out from the crowd, there are a lot of mistakes to avoid on LinkedIn, too. Whether you’re looking for a job or just giving your LinkedIn profile its monthly polish, here are eight problems to avoid.

1 Lies

We all know that lying is bad, and lying on a resume can be especially dangerous.

It goes without saying that you should delete any fudged details. And fudging them accidentally is no excuse. Even if you mixed up your dates of employment or wrote “associate” instead of “assistant” because you hadn’t had your coffee yet that day, not being honest and not being detail-oriented are both red flags for LinkedIn recruiters. Take what Angela Ritter, a recruiter at Grammarly, has to say:

“I pay attention to detail in candidate LinkedIn profiles. I double check that the job title in their intro matches the job they are currently in, that they took the time to outline what they’re doing in their role (at least slightly), etc.”

There you have it: no lies and no mistakes.

2 Posts better suited for Facebook

Vacations. Parties. The world’s most adorable dogs. No matter how perfect those pups are, LinkedIn is not the place. As a rule, pictures and posts related to your personal rather than professional life should be reserved for Facebook, Instagram, and other more socially oriented social media platforms.

If you’re looking for a job, you might want to be careful what you post on those platforms, too. Take a look at social media mistakes to avoid while you’re job-hunting.

3 That high school babysitting job

In general, skip professional experiences from a long time ago or that aren’t relevant to your current career.

However, if a long-ago or seemingly unrelated job helped you develop skills that you want to showcase at your new job or specifically highlight in your interview, you might think about how to spin it, rather than just pressing delete. According to Nicole Williams, Linkedin’s Connection Director:

“You never know—maybe you were trained as a salesperson at The Gap in high school, and the hiring manager looking at your profile went through the same program and wants you for the skills she knows you learned.”

4 The wrong photo Was your photo taken ten years ago? Are you making a goofy face? Is your S.O. in the photo with you? Or—social media gods forbid—are you not in the picture at all, and it shows your dog, cat, baby, iguana, or nothing at all?

Williams shares an analogy:

“It’s a lot like when you’re selling a house. If there’s no photo, it’s like ‘there must be something wrong with this property.’”

No picture is bad, but selfies and vacation photos are also better left to more social social media. Your best bet is to pick a picture in which you’re smiling and looking at least somewhat professional.

5 Company secrets

You want to show off that you brought in millions of dollars of revenue for your company last year. But your company might not want that number floating on the web. Keep specific numbers off public sites—save them for your resume or in-person interviews.

6 Unexciting accomplishments

It’s the quality-over-quantity argument. You may be really proud of that award you won in high school, but unless that was still relatively recent or you have a specific reason for showing it off, it’s smart to remove stale achievements.

As with professional experiences that are irrelevant to your current career, accomplishments that don’t demonstrate appropriate qualifications for your future job end up looking like filler rather than highlighting how great you are.

7 Overused words

Creative. Effective. Problem-solver. Yawn. Some words are used so much they don’t seem to mean anything at all.

Pick your words wisely. Other words show up a lot but will give you a boost: leader, strategic, solution, and innovative are LinkedIn standouts, according to a Grammarly study of language on LinkedIn. Ritter says:

“These kinds of terms help recruiters easily search and find qualified candidates on LinkedIn. Having common business language on your profile is important, but you have to be prepared to talk about your expertise with those terms. ”

8 Bad style

Yes, there’s a style for LinkedIn. It involves consistency, conciseness, and knowing the right words to use. Read up on writing mistakes to avoid in your LinkedIn profile, and grab some extra tips for updating your LinkedIn profile like a pro.

Being smart about what you delete and what you include can help you make an impression, make yourself look good, and make LinkedIn your ally.

Check out Grammarly’s LinkedIn data study for more pro tips.