usa job typing

I used to think it didn't matter if we went to the office party and rarely would go.  I'm single and I don't like going to parties alone, especially the office party?  At our local IAAP chapter dinner we heard a speaker from an etiquette protocol company Savoir-Faire and she suggested that it was very important to go to the office party because it was more about protocol and networking and how you are viewed as a team player than socializing.  And by golly, I  think she is right!  Going to the office party is a good way to connect with your boss and other work colleagues and because your boss has to go (it's their party after all), they do notice who is not there.  She also suggested being prepared when you go to the party.  Have an agenda of things you would like to speak about and people you want to talk to.  And by all means try to make a good impression.  It is not the time to over indulge in alcohol and dance on the table...

The worldwide Haskell community met up over beers today to celebrate their unprecedented discovery of an industry programmer who gives a shit about Haskell. On Wednesday, researchers issued a press release revealing that 27-year-old Seth Briars of North Carolina, a Java programmer at Blackwater accounting firm Ross and Fordham, actually gives a shit about Haskell. "Mr. Briars has followed every single one of our press releases for years," the press release stated. "Probably even this one." Haskell researcher Dutch Van Der Linde explained how they had stumbled on the theoretical possibility of Briars and his persistent interest in Haskell. "We knew that there are precisely 38 people who give a shit about Haskell," said Van Der Linde, "because every Haskell-related reddit post gets exactly 38 upvotes. It's a pure, deterministic function of no arguments -- that is, the result is independent of what we actually announce. But there are only 37 of u...

We can't know everything, but our boss's certainly don't need to know that.  It's a bit of an act isn't it?  Inside you may not have a clue what the answer is, but usually there is someone who does so I always base my answer on that.  I act calm when presented with the problem and ask my boss to leave it with me to come back with a solution and give a short timeframe that I will get back to him.  It calms him down that someone is looking into it and gives me time to go searching for the answer.  There are so many places to look and people to ask.  This is where a large network of assistants is helpful, and then of course there is Google. When I started my new job, I had never taken minutes before so I did my homework, talked to my friend who was an expert minute taker, took a course, read everything I could get my hands on and when the big day came to take minutes at a Board of Directors meeting, I acted as ...

One of my assistant's responsibilities is logging correspondence, preparing address labels for envelopes and completing the mail out.  The one complaint she has is that since she doesn't have a printer at her desk, if she only has a few labels to print (not enough for a full page of labels), then she has to get up and go to the photocopier to print each envelope.  It is inconvenient to say the least.  You can imagine how happy she was when I received the DYMO Label Writer 450 Twin Turbo  label maker and brought it to her desk and said she could have it, but the one string attached was that she had to do a product review so I could share it with my readers on my blog (that was the requirement I had in order to keep it at no charge).  She eagerly took it and here is what she had to say about it: ******* What she thinks: The DYMO Label Writer 450 Twin Turbo is user friendly, very easy to use, straightforw...

Recently I was at a professional dinner and mentioned I had spoken about soft skills on a webinar I participated in.  I was met with blank stares.  I said, "You don't know what I'm talking about do you?"  They were relieved I had asked, because they had never heard of soft skills and up until a year ago, neither had I.  We don't know about them, so we don't realize how valuable and important they are to our employer.  The secret is awareness.  I am pleased that the organizers have made the audio of the webinar available and I wanted to share it with you.  Click  webinar  and press Playback to start.  There are some other speakers as well presenting on our overall business persona, including tips from a fashion consultant on the importance of what we wear to the office and getting the most for your dollar when you go shopping. The webinar is offered free as it...

Sometimes I go to the office and it seems like everyone is cranky and I wish I had just stayed home that day?  Has that ever happened to you?  I am not sure what it is, but it just feels like everything is off and if something is going to happen, it will certainly happen that day.  Do you ever wonder why?  Well, here is one theory.  The full moon... Full Moon � October 23 Full Moon � November 21 Full Moon � December 21 But just a minute, the only full moon that recently occurred was yesterday and that was a Saturday and I had a wonderful day with my grandson.  I note that November's full moon is on a Sunday.  It seems the only full moon that will fall on a work day is Tuesday, December 21 and by that time I will have forgotten all about the moon phases. So much for that theory because I've certainly had a few cranky days recently that I would have loved to blame on the moon.   I mean it can't be me can it? E...

People don't seem to be as concerned with proofreading as we used to be.  I think with texting it has brought a low expectation for accuracy as lots of mistakes are made in emails and texts and are accepted overall. When I was in school the teachers drilled proofing skills into us as they taught us the goal was to create the best product we could and proofing was part of the process to do that. Does it matter?  I think businesses are very aware of their corporate image and messy reporting reflects badly on the company so an employee who doesn't take the time may be noticed in a negative way. If an admin assistant is preparing a document for their boss, they should ensure it is as complete and accurate as possible before even passing it by their desk.  Some things we won't know, but what we do know we should ensure is correct. Some tips for proofreading that I find work best are: 1. Spell check -  This is the easiest part of proofing a document. As you...