Author Archives: darcylear

I have  blogged about the professional value of being able to take phone messages before (see posts here and here). Today’s post is about getting started with taking phone messages in a foreign or second language. In an introductory language course, students … Continue reading →

In a previous post, I talked about the importance of using the subject line of an email to convey important, contextual information and make the recipient want to read the content of the message as well as the value of … Continue reading →

This is something I talk about with almost all of my clients in career transition.   The first reader of your application materials is probably going to be…an algorithm. These applicant tracking systems (ATS) or robot readers are programmed to … Continue reading →

As one small part of the course, students in the Spanish for the Professions class I taught this spring had to bring a draft of their English-language resumes to class. Why English? Because most, if not all, students will apply … Continue reading →

“Can you design websites?” has become a common job interview question addressed to recent grads (who are presumed to be tech savvy). A surprising number of candidates would answer “no” to that question despite the fact that most could design … Continue reading →

This is a question I ask students at all levels; and often students in the highest level language courses offered on their campus do not know the basics of sending professional emails in their second languages. In my intermediate Spanish … Continue reading →

Monday evening I led a college to career transition workshop at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. As we were planning the content of the workshop, my host made the specific request to provide, “pointers about what jobs to … Continue reading →

This week students in my Spanish for the Professions course will practice taking phone messages. This sounds like a simple task, but there are many layers to it: 1- On the most basic level, this is practice in the building … Continue reading →

This spring I will teach a 10-week Spanish for the professions course. It will be a special section of an intermediate course consisting of three elements: 1) Keep up with the vocabulary and grammar content of the other sections of … Continue reading →

  I have been largely absent from this blog for longer than I thought I would be.  But I’m back now and will do lots of catching up (including sharing info on my forthcoming book with Georgetown University Press, “Integrating … Continue reading →