COOKING ACTIONS

CROCKERY AND FLATWARE

Tips for job searching and professional writing

1. Update your resumé
 Remove references to obsolete or irrelevant skills, update your summary statement, and delete any work experience that’s more than 10-15 years in the past. However, if your older work experience is extremely relevant to the position you’re applying for, go ahead and include it.

2. Write a cover letter
Your resumé includes your skills and qualifications, but “Your cover letter should be a pitch for why you should be hired.” Use your cover letter to let the employer know why you’re the best person for the job. If you’re applying for multiple jobs at the same time, you need to write a new cover letter to accompany each resumé you send out and tailor it to that specific role.

3. Keep correspondence professional
When writing for work, your main goal is to communicate your message clearly. Avoid slang, acronyms, abbreviations, emoticons, incomplete sentences, and (of course) typos. Sometimes long emails are unavoidable but try to include your main point or question within the first paragraph of your email; people often tend to stop reading or tune out when an email gets too long. Make sure you have a subject line and the correct spelling of the addressee’s name before you hit send!
                                                                                                                                                                       Alison Doyle
Adapted from grammarly.com looking-for-a-job

10 words and abbreviations you need to know for business school

Whether you’re just gearing up for business school or you’ve been in your industry for a long time, it’s a good idea to be familiar with what certain business terms mean. Here are 10 words and abbreviations every businessperson needs to know.
ROI: return on investment.
When push comes to shove, we’ll prioritize the project with the highest ROI.
USP: unique selling position.
The marketing team worked hard to develop the company’s USP so that the sales team would have more to work with.
Forecast: to use data you’ve gathered to predict future trends.
Based on our sales numbers from last year, we can forecast and set our budgets for the third and fourth quarters.
Balance sheet: a summary of the company’s accounts including assets, liabilities, and equity.
Let’s take a look at the balance sheet again before Thursday’s investor meeting.
Brand: a company’s logo, tagline, or other distinguishing identifier that sets them apart in the marketplace.
In today’s meeting, we’ll decide on which colors to use for our brand.
Minutes: notes from a meeting, including what was said and what actions will be taken next.
Please review the meeting minutes from last week before joining the conference call.
Stakeholder: any individual or group who has a stake (interest) in the company or project.
I emailed the relevant stakeholders to get their feedback on our new marketing initiative.
B2B and B2C: business-to-business and business-to-consumer.
As a B2B company, we only spend a small portion of our budget on widespread advertising.
EOD: end of day.
I’ll have that report in your inbox by EOD.
Performance or annual review: An evaluation and assessment of an employee’s contributions to the company.
During her annual review, she was offered a promotion and a bonus.
Which words would you add to this list?
                                                                                                          By  Kimberly Joki.grammarly.com

Common Idioms and Expressions. English/Spanish

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2015
IDIOM: id•i•om /ˈɪdiəm/ n. [countable]: an expression or phrase that does not follow regular rules of grammar, or one whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meaning of its individual parts:
The expression kick the bucket, meaning "to die,'' is an idiom in English.

Every language has its own collection of wise sayings. This List of commonly used idioms and sayings (in everyday conversational English) can help to speak English by learning English idiomatic expressions.
*Make sure you know how and when to use these expressions, If not, you'd better be quiet.

            In for a penny in for a pound– De perdidos al río (UK)
            In for  a dime in for a dollar – De perdidos al río (US) 
            Indeed– Ya lo creo
            Inside out– Del revés
            It's cutting edge– Es el último grito/moda
            It's giving him hell– Le hace la vida imposible
            It's water under the bridge– Es agua pasada (cuando se hacen
            las paces por ejemplo)
            It gives me the goosebumps-Me pone la piel de gallina
            (POSITIVO)
            It gives me creep– Me pone la piel de gallina (NEGATIVO) 
            It sounds Greek to me– Me suena a chino
COMPARE:

1. It turns out that– Resulta que…
2. It’s a rip off– Es una estafa
3. It’s finger licking good– Está para chuparse los dedos
4. It’s high time/About time– Ya es hora / Ya va siendo hora
5. It’s in the lap of the Gods– Que sea lo que Dios quiera
6. It’s my treat / It’s on me– Invito yo
7. It’s not a big deal / It’s not that of a big deal– No es para tanto
8. It’s on the house– Invita la casa/por cuenta de la casa
9. It’s raining cats and dogs– Llueve a cántaros
10. It’s up to you– Como tú quieras / Depende de ti (en tono amable)
11. It’s worthless– No vale nada
12. I’ve enough on my plate– No puedo más (en la vida)

Wise Words

Idioms with colours

to be browned off: to be bored, annoyed at something
I’m browned off with this place. There is nothing to do here.

to be colourless: to lack personality, to be boring.
Nothing he said stands out in my memory. I’m afraid he’s a dull, colourless man. 
to be off colour: to be not quite at one’s best, to feel queasy or slightly ill.
She’s a little off colour today because she was up very late last night and had too much to drink!.

to give/lend colour to: to make (an account, story, explanation, etc.) more credible or more believable.
 The broken window on the ground floor lent colour to her story that her house had been burgled

a highly coloured report: a report that is exaggerated or biased.
I read the government’s highly coloured report on the great state of the health services.

to see someone in his true colours: to understand someone’s true character, often for the first time.
As soon as he made a fuss about returning her money, I saw him in his true colours.

to show oneself in one’s true colours: to reveal one’s true nature.
When he lost his temper at the party, he showed himself in his true colours

with flying colours: with great success, with distinction.
We were all expecting him to fail, but he passed with flying colours.

to paint in bright/dark colours: to describe something in a flattering or unflattering way.
My brother pretended he was doing well financially and painted his life there in the brightest colours.

a golden opportunity: a great opportunity that might never come again
This is a golden opportunity to make a business deal with that big company.

a golden handshake: a large sum of money paid to a retiring manager or director, or to a redundant worker.
The company chairman received a huge golden handshake on retiring.

a golden boy: a young man idolized for a great skill, usually in sport.
David Beckham is the golden boy of English soccer

the silver screen: the cinema
Valentino was one of the earliest stars of the silver screen.

get gray hair: to have one's hair turn gray from stress
Our teacher is getting gray hair from stress.

a gray area: something that is not clearly defined and does not conform to an existing set of rules, neither black or white, neither one way or another way
The issue of the tax on children's toys is a gray area for the accountant.

gray matter: brains, intelligence
I wish that my friend would use his gray matter more effectively when he is making his crazy plans.
** Gray (USA) Grey (UK)