enewsletter

Volume 4, Issue 4
August 2009

In this issue:

Does my resume need a career objective?
Dog days of summer
TSW marks six years with a Twitter account
Did you know?
Ask TSW!
Too busy for e-mail?
Sign up for a class or workshop!
Spotlight on…Nancy De Siervo

Let us take care of your words.

DOES MY RESUME NEED A CAREER OBJECTIVE?
With today’s economy, jobs are at a premium. This means many people are busy working on their resumes to make themselves stand out from the crowd. A resume is a lot like an advertisement – it convinces potential employers that your job experience and qualifications are what they’re looking for.

A common question is, “Should my resume have a career objective?” While many choose to include a career objective, it is generally better to have a summary of qualifications instead. In your summary of qualifications, you can include strengths and specialized areas of expertise and/or skills. The exception to this is when you have experience and/or skills that don’t necessarily fit the position you are applying for. In this case, an objective can show the employer that you understand the job and its requirements.

Your resume can make it easy or difficult for you to get hired. TSW can make your resume the best self-marketing tool you have, customized to the position you apply for.

Source: http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/Resume-Writing-Tips/Whats-Your-Resume-Objective/article.aspx

DID YOU KNOW? DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
You may have heard the expression “dog days of summer.” If you use it in a sentence, you are talking about the time in late summer when it is really hot and muggy, and activities seem to almost come to a standstill. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, dog days last from July 3 to August 11, which coincides with the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Ancient Greeks and Romans also used the expression, although their dates are a little different: it began on July 24 and ended on August 24. Now that you know what’s behind this particular expression, don’t let the dog days of summer drag you down! Stay cool and enjoy the remainder of the summer.

Source: http://www.wilstar.com/dogdays.htm

TSW MARKS SIX YEARS WITH A TWITTER ACCOUNT

On July 18, TSW celebrated its sixth anniversary. To mark this milestone, TSW now has a Twitter account, where fun tidbits, quotes, and announcements are posted. Go to Twitter at http://twitter.com/tswriting and click on “follow.”

DID YOU KNOW?
Thinking that Sirius, the Dog Star, was responsible for hot days, the ancients sacrificed a brown dog every summer in an effort to appease Sirius. Keep a close eye on your brown dog during August.

Source: http://www.mythicjourneys.org/calendar_august.html

Ask TSW!
The Questions You’ve Always Been Too Embarrassed to Ask

A reader asks:

What is the difference between “lend” and “loan,” and how do I know which one to use in a sentence?

Lend and loan are synonyms that mean the same thing. Lend is often used by British people, and loan is part of American vocabulary. Both words can be used in almost any example. The only time you cannot use loan is if you are talking about non-physical things.

Correct: The white paint lent a feeling of coldness to the room.
Incorrect: The white paint loaned a feeling of coldness to the room.

Additionally, the word loan is also used as a noun in America. For example, you can say: Anne made a $100 loan to help her brother get the medicine he needed.

For more on this, visit http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/difficulties/borrowlendloan.html.

Have a question about American Sign Language or English that you're too embarrassed to ask? Send your question to us at news@tswriting.com. We'll try to answer your question in an upcoming issue. All questions will be kept anonymous.

TOO BUSY FOR E-MAIL?
TSW’s new e-mail service is perfect for you!

How many times have you felt overwhelmed by all the e-mails you have to respond to? Maybe you’re not confident about a particular e-mail you’ve written, and need input. Or you need someone to help reply to all the e-mails you haven’t gotten to yet.

TSW offers e-mail writing and editing services. Choose from different packages – individual, weekly, or monthly – each available at low rates! Contact us today at info@tswriting.com.

SIGN UP FOR A CLASS OR WORKSHOP!
Once again, the popular From Idea to Proposal: Successful Grant Writing course is being offered this fall as an online course. All presentations are conducted in American Sign Language with open captions in English online, which means students can log in at any time of the day from anywhere in the world. More information on the course, which is open to graduate students and professionals, is at http://cpso.gallaudet.edu.

Words at Work: Communication on the Job is also being offered as an online course at http://cpso.gallaudet.edu.

For more information or to book one of TSW’s workshops, visit www.tswriting.com or e-mail info@tswriting.com.

SPOTLIGHT ON...NANCY DE SIERVO
Each issue, TSW profiles one of its clients. This month, we talk with Nancy De Siervo.

We all could use some pampering by attentive professionals specializing in massage and skin therapy. That’s the idea behind I-AM Skin Care and Therapy, a clinic founded by Nancy De Siervo. What makes I-AM different, though, is that it will be a clinic that employs individuals with disabilities to provide massage and skin care services.

The New Jersey clinic, slated to open in 2010, is a nonprofit organization committed to educating and giving back to the community by creating positive differences in the quality of life among blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing individuals. De Siervo said, “There are many people with disabilities who have skills and tools for careers in massage therapy and skin care but are not being hired because of mistaken notions about their disabilities and capabilities.” For instance, blind or visually-impaired students who have been trained in massage therapy will get on-the-job experience at I-AM while undergoing preparation for transition to working in the massage therapy industry.

She also points to the fact that, according to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, over half of the 550 million working days lost every year in the United States from absenteeism are stress-related. “So much of our lives are taken away by stress, and this can be fixed with proper health care, including skin and massage therapy,” De Siervo said. Other plans for the clinic including hiring deaf or hard of hearing people who are trained as estheticians and providing specialized services for senior citizens, teenagers, and military veterans.

Born and raised in New Jersey, De Siervo, who is from a close-knit Italian family, laughed as she said, “I am truly a Jersey girl!” She added, “I have a wonderful hero in my life who supports all my dreams and passion for life. His name is Joe, but I actually do call him Hero. He’s very much involved in the I-AM project, and together we have spent many weekends totally devoted to writing the business plan.”

De Siervo has worked with T.S. Writing Services for many of I-AM’s development, from website contents to letters to proposals. “I found TSW through a Google search, and my favorite thing about the company is the writers know exactly what I am trying to express, even when I am not expressing myself properly.”

I-AM fills in a unique niche that brings together different facets of the community. “Even as a kid, I always had great passion to work with people and to make them happy if they were sad. This has spilled over in my work,” De Siervo said. “I believe one should always follow their passion and never give up on their dreams.”

ABOUT TSW
T.S. Writing Services, LLC, is a Deaf-owned company that provides writing, editing, design, and translation services for American Sign Language and English users. For more information, visit www.tswriting.com.

If you have suggestions or questions about this e-newsletter, e-mail the editor at news@tswriting.com.