The Connotation of Opportunistic

The Connotation of Opportunistic The Connotation of Opportunistic The Connotation of Opportunistic By Maeve Maddox Thanks to reader Rob Wright for pointing out the problematic use of the word opportunistic. He offers two examples of its misuse: 1. A radio advertisement telling listeners, â€Å"now is an opportunistic time to invest in real estate.† 2. A television host defending someone against the charge of â€Å"being opportunistic.† The host argued, â€Å"everyone should be opportunistic because it would be stupid to throw away opportunities.† The problem in both examples is that the word opportunistic is being used without regard to the word’s established negative connotations. opportunistic: Taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit. (American Heritage) opportunistic: Exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle or consequences. (Merriam-Webster) The OED defines opportunistic as â€Å"involving, displaying, or characterized by opportunism.† and opportunism as â€Å"the practice or policy of exploiting circumstances or opportunities to gain immediate advantage with the implication of cynicism or lack of regard to principles.† This misunderstanding of the negative connotation of opportunistic is apparently widespread. An investing site has as its tagline: â€Å"Emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments.† A wrestler preparing for a match says, â€Å"I dont want to think too much in there. I want to be more opportunistic and let it flow.† A headline on another investment site exclaims, â€Å"The Intel of NFC: One ‘Ground Floor’ Stock Every Opportunistic Investor Should Snap Up Today.† Other sites, many of them having to do with antisocial behavior, employ opportunistic in its more usual sense. Bullieslack self-discipline, are egotistic, exploitative,  rapacious, opportunistic, driven, reckless, and callous. (site with the title, â€Å"Coping with Stalking and Stalkers†) Narcissists are opportunistic. They can make a show of being generous but their generosity usually has strings attached. (Support site for people who have family members suffering from a personality disorder.) Several English words having to do with opportunity derive from the same Latin source as opportunistic: ob portum veniens, a term that referred to coming into a port, where opportunities for profit were to be found. opportune: adj.  Appropriate or suitable for a particular action; fit, convenient. opportuneness: noun The fact or quality of being opportune (in various senses); timeliness. opportunely: adv. In an opportune manner; suitably, conveniently. These words lack the pejorative connotation of opportunistic. For example, the radio announcer might have said â€Å"now is an opportune time to invest in real estate.† The television host might reasonably admire people for acting opportunely when a profitable occasion presents itself. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should KnowA While vs AwhileOne Scissor?

What to Do If You Cant Answer an Interview Question

What to Do If You Cant Answer an Interview Question You’re in the interview. Things are going well. You’re almost to the promised land. And then†¦ it happens. You get the question you can’t answer. A total stumper. What to do? Luckily, you can rely on the following super useful strategies to pull yourself out of this dreaded situation and exit the interview with your pride and job prospects in tact.Take a MomentYou may fear nothing more than the sound of silence in an interview situation, but sometimes that silence is your friend. Try a simple, â€Å"That’s an excellent question; let me think about that one for a second.† Then compose yourself, dig deep, and try to come up with something good to say. No one will fault you for taking a minute to compose yourself.Think Out LoudHalf the time, your interviewer asks tough questions because they’re curious to see your problem-solving skills in action. You want to spit out a perfectly worded answer every time, but in these cases it might even be to your advantage to let them see your math, so to speak. Talk through the question as you would the problem. Most times you’ll arrive at the answer and the interviewer will have had the chance to see your mind in action!PivotThere’s no rule that says you can’t just redirect the question. If you’re asked about a skill you don’t have, try to steer the topic onto a skill or skills you do have, and discuss how, when put together, they put you in a prime position to solve the problems the company needs solved. Tell them what you do know as a way of distracting them from what you don’t.Have a Few Sound BytesSay you get asked to define or discuss an industry term you just don’t know. Don’t panic. Turn this moment into an advantage. Simply say: â€Å"That’s not a concept I’m completely familiar with yet, but I’m very excited about (field) and have been actively learning more and more about it.† Then pivot to something you’ve just learned that’s relevant to their concerns.Buy TimeTry rephrasing the question or clarifying that you understand it before answering. That will give you enough time to start thinking through your answer on the sly. It could also be that the question wasn’t clear,. i.e. you know the answer, but you just didn’t quite understand the drift of the question itself. If not, it should go without saying that you shouldn’t lie. Fess up. But don’t say â€Å"I don’t know† until you absolutely have to.Answer in the Follow-UpIf you really fluff it, or simply have to admit you just don’t have an answer at the moment, you can always answer it in greater depth when you follow up. A simple: â€Å"I wanted to clarify my answer to your question†¦Ã¢â‚¬  will suffice, and could just dig you out.Emphasize Your Learning CurveWhat you don’t know, you can learn! Tell your interviewer how you would go about fi guring out the answer, and how you would equip yourself to be prepared to solve it by the time your start date rolled around. Emphasize your eagerness to know all there is to know about this company or field.Don’t PanicPerhaps the most important bit of advice: stay calm. Falling apart is not an option. Being surly or upset isn’t either. Stay cool and rely on the tools above.