English 420Y - Business Writing Online

First, I would like to comment on the Boss' Angry E-mail (Cerner Company). I didn't understand what growing up on a farm had to do with what he wrote. "You can take the boy off the farm," he said, "but you can't take the farm out of the boy."That puzzled me. I work on a farm and I work for someone who grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, and I just don't get the connection. Also, nothing about that whole situation surprised me. If that teaches anyone anything is becareful what you write because it's not like talking, all they have to do is print it out and show someone. Also, in his interviews he said he was misinterpreted. That happens a lot with emails, that's why emails are not intended for discussion or conversations. It leaves too much room for misinterpretation.
ANSWER TO: "How does e-mailing differ from text messaging, and why is email used more frequently?"Has anyone ever heard that our generation is the technology generation and that we do not know how to communicate face to face or barely at all. Teachers and some universities have done research and have these theories about the lack of communication and emotion in our generation. By our generation I mean the AIM talking, text messaging, emailing generation. To part, I agree. Some of my friends have the hardest time communicating their emotions or ideas. Not only that, their sentence structure and organization is awful because when we text or email we don't use proper grammar. I know when I text, I use as much abreviation as possible. Its almost like we created another language to communicate. Text messaging is definetely more informal and casual than emailing. I would only text message someone I knew pretty well because I had to have their phone number. Text messaging is another way to communicate rather than calling. I text to say what's up or to ask a simple question. I email someone that I am not as close with and I have a more specific question or concern. Emailing is used more often in the business world because it is more formal and you can express longer thoughts and ideas in an email. Plus emailing is more convient because you can check it or reply at your convience. A text message might disturb you in a test or an important meeting.

ANSWER TO: "What surprised you about how HR personnel treat resumes? What can you do to ensure that yours gets adequate attention?"
I was not really suprised by how the HR personnel treats resumes. I had mentioned in another post how resumes are either put in one of two stacks. Students know this going in. Often times it is a different stack than this HR respresenative mentioned, but separated by GPA for internships. The resumes have to be filtered somehow and for people that dont' make the cut they'll find some company that is looking for something different. One thing that I can think of that ensures that my resume gets the adequate attention is just to get as much experience as possible. Also, I try to pick companies that are recognizable throughout the country since I probable will not be applying anywhere in Indiana. For example, I had a decision between a small day camp that is only in Evansville, IN or I could worked for the YMCA which is recognizable to anyone, anywhere in the U.S. Another aspect that I try to do is be as well rounded as possible including volunteer service, school envolvement, honor socities, leadership actitivites, and more. Graduating seniors have told me that even once you get past the resume round, having those things will for sure set you apart in the interview because you can explain to them about your diverse experiences. Finally, I change my resume based on the company that I am applying. I can tell from their job post or company discription what their company or the position emphasizes whether it is teamwork, or strong morals and values, or years of experience. The company will let you know what is imoprtant.