It's all in the handshake...

There are some do's and dont's of excelling in an interview. I have gotten pretty much every single job I have interviewed for (once I was hungover for one in College... didn't get that one) plus I conduct interviews on a weekly basis. I have certain things I look for and if I don't find, will tune out the rest of the interview. The biggest and most important that sets the tone of the whole interview is the handshake...

Handshake: If you don't shake my hand correctly, we are done. This goes to men and women. Just because I am a woman, doesn't mean guys should curtsy instead of shake my hand properly. I promise, it won't break into a billion pieces if you shake it...get your mind out of the gutter... moving on...

I don't want to see the following: using the tips of your fingers to squeeze the tips of my fingers, don't offer me a "pound-it!", don't shake with the LEFT hand, don't just place your hand in mine and not squeeze.

I assure you I am not the only one who thinks this way. Give a proper, full handshake with a hearty squeeze. If you don't, you WILL NOT get the job, I can guarantee that.

Hell No L-O-L, Hell No L-O-L

This is my protest post to get rid of the abbreviation, "LOL".

Are you REALLY laughing out loud? Or are you just sitting on the other end of my text/email using a filler term like LOL to get me to shut up and leave you alone? I'm guessing, the latter.

It is so rare that I ever laugh out loud from written text. How many times have you sat at Barnes and Noble and heard an uncontrollable laughing howl coming from the fatty in the self help section? Never, because written text, when you are BY YOURSELF, isn't FUNNY!!

Recent uses of "LOL" I found wildly inappropriate:

Friend: "Running a couple of minutes late, LOL" <----Ummm... Why are you laughing about making me wait for you? 

Me: Sorry about missing that email, responding now.
Other party: ok, Lol. <---- WHAT?


Me (text): I'm so so sorry I am late but my dog got really sick this morning and I had to take care of him. I will be into work a bit late.
Other party: lol. no problem. <--- my dog was sick jerk, why are you laughing out loud?

Me: Your friend Tracy is here.
Other party: Oh, Lol. When will she be there until?
Me: 5
Other party: ok, lol. <------ I hate you.

Me: Guy at Starbucks messed up my drink order.
Other party: lol. <-----UGHHHHH, that wasn't funny. 

My all-time favorite is when people use LOL after something THEY say. This means you either like to laugh out loud at your own jokes or you are using LOL to imply that it was a joke. You are basically saying, "Hey get it? It was a joke.. get it? I'm laughing out loud, so you should be laughing out loud too, because it was a joke, get it?"

If you just love to LOL all over yourself, that is fine. Just please do me a favor and try and cutback on your LOLing. Perhaps in the future just gauge your reaction on a scale from one to ten as you type. One being you are frowning, ten being you just wet your pants and a little poop came out you laughed so hard. If you are on a level of 8-10, go ahead and type LOL. If you are anywhere from a 1 to a 7, hit the backspace three times and choose a different abbreviation (Haha is sometimes quite an effective replacement!)

Think not what you can do for Facebook, but what Facebook can do for you!

If you are anything like me, saving money always sounds so fabulous in my head. Then H&M happens. But what if actually saving money made H&M happen far more often? There is a way to do this on a website you MAY have heard of before.... Facebook. {Don't worry if you haven't heard of it, it is just a small, members only, best-kept-secret-on-the-web type site!} LOLLLLZZZ!

I'm sure you have all heard of "like" pages from businesses. Some of the top fan pages on Facebook include companies like Coca-Cola, Disney, Starbucks and Red Bull.

With around 26 million fans, the companies listed are not really going to help us in this discussion, BUT think about where you go on a weekly basis. Local gym, local grocery store, tanning studio, hair salon, local bank, gas station etc...

All these local places are dying for new fans and doing everything in their power to keep current fans engaged and talking about them. Besides, if they get you as a fan, they now have an incredibly effective (and free) way to communicate with you.

For example, here are some of MY hometown "like" pages I follow and the deals/contests they have done recently:

Half Off Depot (Knoxville)- site like Groupon that constantly does gift certificate giveaways linked to the "deal of the day"

My local Bank: First Tennessee Bank they constantly are doing status updates asking you to comment for prizes like best buy gift cards or tickets to sporting events and area attractions. They also offer Facebook exclusive deals.

Local Radio Station: This is a fantastic thing to "like" on Facebook because not only do they have concert ticket giveaways (cha!) but also their clients who advertise on the radio will give free samples/gift cards to giveaway. Plus, it is a great way to find out what is on tap in your city each week! Here is what my favorite radio station WIVK is doing...

My local tanning salon (ok spoiler alert, I am the admin for this! Feel free to Like Us to see my cranium hard at work). We giveaway in-store money, visits, upgrades and lotions 3-4 times a week. Plus we give you money just for clicking "like" and offer you Facebook exclusive promotions that no one else receives!

So just think of small businesses you go to all the time and search for their page on Facebook. They probably already have a link to their Facebook page on their website for quicker access. You could be swimming in free goodies, gift cards and be the first to know about everything happening in your town!

Their, There and They're

In no way shape or form is it acceptable to use the words their, there and they're incorrectly. I can't tell you how many times a day I receive an email from a coworker, see a Facebook status update from a BUSINESS or read a text message from an adult with a college education using these words incorrectly. Do they have any idea how stupid this makes them look? Are they not proofreading, or do you think they really don't know how to use their, there and they're correctly?

I do a lot of hiring and firing for the company I work for and I would NEVER hire someone who improperly used these words. For the record, I catch this mistake every single time I see it, and I bet I am not the only one. Grammar is incredibly important in the workplace. You are representing your company everyday, and your grammar reflects not only you, but your entire company.

You may not have thought anyone was paying attention, but they are. Here is how to use their, there and they're correctly, in the event you don't know how...

There- use there when referring to a place, whether it be concrete or abstract. There is also used with the verb, to be (have, has, had, be, am, is... etc.) to indicate the existence of something, or to mention something for the first time.

EXAMPLES: "I am headed there now" or "There must be some sort of explanation why she used their when referring to the building over there" or "With grammar like that, there is just no place for you in my company."

Their-  use their to indicate possession. It is a possessive adjective and indicates that a particular noun belongs to them. 


EXAMPLE: "That is their problem they can't figure out how to use proper grammar, not mine." or "Due to poor grammar, Seth and Julie were relieved of their duties with the company." 


They're-  is a contraction of the words they and are. It is not used as a modifier, only as a subject (who or what does the action) and verb (the action itself). Best bet here is to read the sentence back to yourself, and if you can properly replace they're with the words they are, you have used it correctly. 


EXAMPLE: "They're (or THEY ARE) closing the mall at six tonight" or "I'm so glad that they're (or THEY ARE) going to let go of Stacey, she can't figure out grammar to save her life. Bless her heart." 




My work here is done. I better not see anymore incorrect uses of their, there and they're or I will flip the F out on you.