Write It Right!

I've mentioned before that proofreading and spellchecking one's resume and cover letter are critical must-do's before candidates hit the "SUBMIT" button as they apply for jobs. We still see a lot of these coming in with all sorts of spelling and grammatical errors and I have several managers who won't consider a candidate further if they see these kinds of mistakes.

One of the folks in our Communications team, Michelle, regularly shares great tips with our employees on the proper use of the English language so I thought I might start sharing them with readers of our Careers Blog. This month Michelle offers up a variety of words and phrases; do you know the right way to use them?


We use these words and phrases every day. See if you're using them correctly.

a lot vs. alot
Write "a lot" as two words. In most cases, "many" is a better choice than "a lot":

The business team has many options. (more succint and professional)
The business team has a lot of options. (more casual, less professional)

all ready vs. already
"All ready" means "fully prepared": "We were all ready to go."
"Already" means "previously": "Some of us have already made the trip."

amount vs. number
Use "amount" to indicate quantities that cannot be counted or expressed in a number: "The proposal required a large amount of work.”
Use "number" to indicate quantities that can (or could) be counted: "A large number of policyholders will be affected."

"between you and I" vs. "between you and me"
"Between you and me" is correct, because the pronouns ("you" and "me") are objects of the preposition "between." However, because the incorrect phrase is used so commonly, the correct phrase may "sound wrong" to some:

"Between you and I, the concept simply won't work." (incorrect)

“I” is a subjective pronoun; in this sentence, the subject is “the concept.” When following the preposition “between,” the objective pronoun “me” should be used.

"Let's keep this between you and me." (correct)

The objective pronoun "me" is correctly used following the preposition "between."

bring vs. take
Use "bring" when an object is being transported toward you:

"Please bring me a copy of the report."

Use "take" when an object is being transported away from you:

"Please take a copy of the report to Mr. Johnson."

cannot vs. can not
These are used interchangeably, and "cannot" has become the more common spelling. But linguists argue that there are subtle differences between the two:

"I cannot attend the meeting today."

This implies that attending the meetings is impossible, or "not an option."

"I can not attend the meeting today."

This implies that attending the meetings is an option, and that "not" attending is a choice that "can" be made.

Keeping these differences in mind, also remember that "can't" should be used as a contraction of "cannot" but not "can not."

"different from" vs. "different than"
"Different from" is correct.

disinterested vs. uninterested
They're not the same. "Disinterested" means impartial or neutral; "uninterested" means bored or lacking interest: "In baseball, a good umpire is disinterested, but not uninterested."

farther vs. further
Use "farther" to indicate physical distance: "He threw the ball farther than his teammates."

Use "further" to indicate an extension of time or degree: "We'll look into it further."

Pinnacol releases Annual Report

Pinnacol has released it's Annual Report. Many candidates, doing their research on companies, find Annual Reports to be a helpful source of information into the organization's priorities, financial performance (especially important in today's economic climate!), and culture. The Pinnacol Annual Report provides insights into all three. To view the Annual Report click here.

Project Coordinator Opportunity Now Open!

We have a very rare opportunity for someone to join our company in the capacity of a Project Coordinator. To find out what exactly this position is all about I sought ought Beth who has been in this role with us for the last 2+ years.



As Beth mentioned, we also have full-fledged Project Managers on staff. The Project Coordinator role is somewhat junior to a full-fledged Project Manager so things like PMP Certification are not among the requirements.

Beth's progression is typical for this position - someone with administrative duties becomes involved in small projects, then works on larger ones and discovers that they have an aptitude and a passion for it. I'd guess similar progressions from administrative staff into project work exist at other companies and if this sounds like something you've done we'd love to hear from you. If interested, please complete an on-line expression of interest via our company website.

The following is the actual job announcement:

Project Coordinator
Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance and recognized as one of America’s Best Places to Work, is looking for a Project Coordinator to lead business projects, with emphasis on process, efficiency and quality improvements. The ability to provide clear direction and help clarify project goals, from both process and desired outcome perspectives, is critical. This position leads teams through the implementation process, develops and supports relationships within each project and functions as the hub for project execution and coordination. The successful candidate will be able to assist in developing best practices and tools for project execution and management while leading project proposal efforts in order to assist project champions with presenting the most complete and accurate business cases for approval and confirmation.

Other key functions:
• Plans and facilitates project meetings that are well organized, efficiently run, and ensures complete participation.
• Creates project work plans and revises as appropriate to meet changing needs and
 requirements.
• Identifies project roles and resources needed.
• Monitors day-to-day project lifecycle activities. Manages stakeholder expectations by working with the project sponsor and team to define and control project scope.
• Resolves and/or escalates issues effectively and to the appropriate levels and identifies potential risk exposure and suggests solutions.
• Ensures project documents are complete, current, and stored appropriately while providing project status reports on a timely basis to stakeholders.
• Keeps project team and stakeholders well informed of changes within the organization that may affect the project and helps ensure that each project team member is utilized appropriately.
• Motivates project team to work together in the most efficient manner and mitigates project team conflict and communication problems.
• Conducts post-project reviews and reports recommendations in order to identify successful and unsuccessful project elements.


Requirements:
• Basic understanding of project management principles and practices, project lifecycle and processes, including demonstrated ability to effectively lead projects.
• Some knowledge of workers’ compensation/insurance industry preferred.
• Highly organized and detail oriented, yet able to see and grasp the `big' picture.
• Ability to effectively communicate in written and oral form and possesses facilitative leadership and presentation skills. Proficient in Microsoft Windows, Excel, PowerPoint. Experience and/or working knowledge of Microsoft Project desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to manage customer expectations throughout the project lifecycle.
• Bachelors Degree or equivalent professional experience required.


Interested candidates are asked to express their interest on-line at www.pinnacol.com/careers.

Pinnacol Hosts "Promote Yourself" Sessions for Employees

A couple of months ago three of our Business Directors - Sheri, Shelley, and Jerica - came up with the idea of hosting a "Promote Yourself" Week for our employees to better prepare them for promotional opportunities as they occur within the company. Pinnacol makes an effort to promote from within whenever possible so their idea really struck a chord.

After several months of planning, and the involvement of a whole lot of people, this week is the culmination of a lot of work to provide our employees information and tips on all sorts of topics including:

•  Interview Preparation,
• Resume Writing,
• Behavioral Interviewing, and
• What To Do After The Interview.

I just came from the Interview Preparation  session and like the first session on Monday it was very well attended with more than 60 employees eager to listen and learn. The three presenters this afternoon - Sheri, Jerica, and Mark - were all living examples of success stories of folks who had come into our company and moved up. Jerica, for example, had joined our company five years ago in an administrative capacity, had then moved into a claims position, and is now a manager of one of our business teams. These sessions are just one example of the many learning and development resources available to our employees who we recognize are responsible for the future success of our company.

Thank you to Sheri, Shelley, and Jerica for coming up with this great idea and to all those who have helped develop the materials and presentations for "Promote Yourself" Week! I'll leave you with one of the videos presented in today's session that made me chuckle. I can't wait to see what the rest of this week's sessions will offer...

Interesting Training...

Pinnacol has a strong Learning and Development team that facilitates and provides all sorts of training opportunities for our employees. As Amy, one of our current Business Directors, has said, "We are a continually learning organization." This is something I also stress as new employees come on board.

I try to attend as many of the training sessions as my schedule allows, and yesterday I attended one that was a take-off on our Pinnacol Book Club format where we read a business-related book and then discuss what we think and what we learned. Rather than a book though, the session yesterday presented two inspiring TED Talk videos. Immediately after the training I was interviewing a candidate and mentioned the session I had just come from and she was unfamiliar with TED Talks. It struck me that some of you may also not be familiar with them. TED Talks have been around since the mid-80's and feature all sorts of interesting and inspiring speakers.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

The TED Talk videos are usually short, less than 15 minutes, and I have yet to see one that doesn't make me think. TED Talks presentations are also available in Denver through Denver University (TEDxDU) and other locations. I've seen enough of the videos by now that I look forward to being able to attend one of these local sessions in person. One of the employees at yesterday's training went earlier this year and he thought it was incredible!

Here's one of the videos presented at our training:

Pinnacol once again in very good company...

AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons, has announced its 2011 list of Best Employers for Workers Over 50 and once again Pinnacol is pleased to be among the great companies being recognized. Pinnacol has been on the AARP list for 6 years. Many of the benefits that AARP found are attractive to older workers benefit those who are younger as well, and Pinnacol has worked hard to provide it's 600 employees with a benefits package and work environment that supports our company focus on providing outstanding customer service.

“Having workers over 50 is a tremendous benefit to the company,” said Ken Ross, our president and CEO. “They bring industry expertise, the ability to identify trends and the skills to build relationships with our stakeholders. Pinnacol is proud to be recognized for having a work environment that attracts and retains this valuable group of employees.”

Congratulations to all the companies on this year's list!

Pinnacol has an opening for an experienced Underwriter

Our business teams operate as multi-functional insurance teams consisting of Underwriters, Claims Representatives, Nurses, Auditors, and Administrative staff all working on behalf of the same group of customers. One of our Large Account teams has an opening for an experienced Underwriter to write and price workers’ compensation insurance policies, review and resolve policy problems, and proactively manage a book of business.  Some travel is required to attend meetings with agents and policyholders. Successful candidates will have at least 3 to 5 years related experience in property/casualty insurance underwriting with direct experience with workers’ compensation insurance preferred and must possess strong interpersonal, customer service, analytical, and presentation skills. A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required. If interested, please complete an expression of interest via our company website!