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Looking the PartI don't know his name and he wasn't trying to be profound. A man who worked for one of my colleagues always showed in a shirt and tie with a simple explanation: "if you look business, you is business". His grammar was faulty, but his reasoning was letter perfect and so is its timing as young folks head into the job market, either to start careers or to find summer jobs. There are a lot of cheap shots taken at today's youth, questioning their work ethic and their intelligence. I have more faith than that in young folks. Frankly, everyone who is my age needs to have more faith in you than that for obvious reasons. I want them to succeed, which makes the following useful information. If you're among the job-seekers, clip this article. If you're the parent of one, do the same thing. Make several copies. Put one in your wallet. Tape another to refrigerator. Put another on the dashboard. Refer to it often. This speaks to the biggest hurdle in getting a job ? the interview. I have been interviewed and have done the interviewing, so take this as it is intended ? friendly advice to help you be hired. Some of the points listed will sound silly, but each has happened. None counted in favor of the applicant ? Don't bring an entourage. No parents, no friends, no significant others, and definitely no children. Just you. If someone gave you a ride to the interview, have them wait in the car. ? If you have a cell phone, be extra sure that it is turned off. Better yet, leave it in your car or with the person who gave you a ride. ? Remember the man I mentioned at the beginning? First impressions count. Ladies: no micro skirts, no low-riders, and no bare midriffs, no visible thongs. Trust me, ladies; too much skin will not get you respect. Gentlemen: pull your pants up to your waist and tuck your shirt in. Best bet is a shirt and tie. ? Cover all tattoos. The people interviewing you don't care that body art may be trendy, and chances are that their customers won't, either. ? Pierced noses, eyebrows, and tongues are not a good idea. Limit piercings to one in each ear for females, and none at all for males. After you get the job, you can always ask what is acceptable; some workplaces are more lenient but your focus here is to get hired. ? No unnatural hair color or off-the-wall styles. Blue streaks, purple highlights, and pink tints will not help. Also, be sure it's brushed. Most workplaces don't 'get' bed head. Come to think of it, I don't get it, either. After you're hired we can talk about it. ? If you're not sure how to address the interviewer, sir and ma'am always work.Yo, bro, dude, and man do not. Please avoid 'like', 'whatever', and 'you know' as much as possible. ? Offer a firm handshake before and afterwards, thank the person for their time, and look them in the eye. ? Answer honestly, even if it's to say that you don't know. No one knows everything. Are you willing to learn? ? If you're seeking a summer jobs, accept that it will probably involve nights and weekends. If you have legitimate extracurricular conflicts ? sports or band practice, volunteer activities, etc ? say so and also offer a way to work around them. Being involved makes you look responsible. ? Finally, no gum, no toothpicks, no lollipops, etc. I'll just say that you would be amazed. Chances are your first job will not be glamorous. Nonetheless, someone will be paying you to do the work, so remember the following three truths. First, jobs exist because there is work to be done; no work is beneath you. Do it well and you'll move up. Second, be pleasant to be around; no one wants to work with crabby people. Besides, your boss today may write you a letter of recommendation for a better job tomorrow. Third, no one owes you a job; be on time, work hard, and show your employer he made the right decision. Good luck. Alex Lekas is VP / Corporate Communications for an Internet services company, and father of two college students, both of whom he hopes will get hired.
| RELATED ARTICLES The Path of Least Resistance I spend a bit of time on airplanes. So, I was surprised by what I observed on a regional jet. Yes, it was holiday travel. Yes, the flight was overbooked. Yes, infrequent and tired travelers were creating challenges for the only stewardess. Still, she saw the small boy, no more than eight, seated in the exit row next to his grandfather. She chose to ignore him, wishing and hoping her safety message stating a person must be over fifteen to sit in the exit row would fix it. Maybe she didn't want the hassle of trying to reseat passengers on an already late flight. Maybe she was tired, too. Who knows? Make a Good Living Doing What You Love Don't let anyone talk you into going to college when all you really want to do is be a chef or tear apart a car engine. The Top 10 Mistakes Job Seekers Should Avoid In Contacting An Employer There are numerous tools and resources available to guide job seekers through the steps of a career transition. These tools are very useful and suggest much that you should do. At the same time, some individuals benefit equally by learning what to avoid. If you count yourself in this latter group here is a laundry list of things that "turn off" an employer. Make sure you steer clear of the following: Is A Career a Calling or Choice? How much of our career path is destiny and how much is free will? In my opinion, it is 50/50. We are given a life map at the beginning of our lives, and there are things we are meant to learn, people we are meant to meet, work we are meant to perform. But many of us are not tuned into ourselves and the signs that are presented to us. We often miss important information, and miss out on those lessons, people, and jobs. Telecommuting Interview Tips Telecommuting Interview Tips- By Nell Taliercio 20 Powerful Tips For Advancing Your Career You don't want to stay in your current position forever... you want to move up! Here are 20 ways to boost your chances of getting that nice promotion: De-Bunking The ?Follow Your Bliss? Myth Hello Fellow Seekers! Have Enough Money to Change Careers - Five Key Steps At every talk I give, I ask the audience to tell me the reasons why people don't change careers. The most common answer given each time is "lack of money." So many people have such an exaggerated fear about money that they will not even take the time to determine how much they will need to do work they love in the first place! Where Will Your IT Staff Come From NOW? The labor recession is over. During the course of the recession, almost 500,000 IT positions were lost according to publicly collected data and anecdotal information suggests even more. According top a recent poll, American business will add over 200000 new IT jobs in 2005. Your staff will probably be scanning job boards to see their value and blocking access is useless; they'll only do it at home. Skills Make Labor More Valuable As you know by now, if you have been a long time subscriber to our weekly E-zine, I'm a very big proponent of activity, labor and discipline. In fact I devoted one of the five major pieces to the life puzzle (in my book under the same name) to the subject of activity and labor. But now let me add another key word to the labor equation - skillful. Yes, skillful labor. What Can I Do To Improve My Job-Interviewing Skills? Whether you're a student job seeker or a polished and proven executive, the first thing you must come to terms with is, "Regardless of the position you seek, you are now in sales!" The product you are selling is YOU! The interview is your opportunity to differentiate yourself in the eyes of your customer [the interviewer] when compared to your competitors [other job applicants]. What Me? Lie On My Resume? Who Will Know? The temptation to lie on a resume is great! How can it hurt if I stretch the truth a bit? Employers see lots of resumes. How are they going to know who lies and who doesn't? Successful Job Search: 10 Steps To Quickly Acquire Your Dream Job And Put More Money In Your Pocket Do you want to continue your costly, time-consuming and exhausting struggle in a frustrating job search using weak, ineffective tools that are getting you nowhere? The job market today is fiercely competitive with few high-paying or desirable jobs available. With repeated downsizings, companies have learned to survive with less. Could You Write Performance Reviews For Money? Writing performance reviews can be an excellent way to earn a living. Who wouldn't want to go from place to place watching actors, singers, and chefs perform at their best (and maybe their worst)? Getting paid to do something like this just seems like fun, doesn't it? But, in reality, these jobs are not easy to come by nor are they easy to do. A writer will need to have many qualifications and have to write very well in order to establish themselves as worthy candidates of this type of work. Writing reviews is a little more complicated than just telling what you thought of the show. 5 Key Factors to Consider When Selecting an Outplacement Firm With today's economy, more and more companies are finding themselves faced with the situation of having to reduce headcount to remain competitive. Here are five key factors to consider when selecting an outplacement firm if your company is ever faced with a workforce reduction. 1. Types of Services Provided. One decision you will need to make regarding outplacement is whether your displaced workers would benefit most from group or individual one-on-one outplacement. For the majority of outplaced employees, if your budget permits, individual outplacement is the preferred option since it provides one-on-one support that will help them move forward more quickly than they would on their own. If you decide they would benefit most from individual outplacement, you will then need to determine what services would be most valuable to your displaced employees. One option would be to select an outplacement firm that develops their resume and cover letter for them. Another option would be an outplacement firm that offers office space and a computer for the displaced worker to prepare their own job search materials. 2. Areas of Specialty. Another factor to consider when selecting an outplacement firm is whether it is important to you that they have experience working with the type of displaced employees you will be sending them. A related factor is whether it is important to you that the outplacement company specializes in dealing with companies like yours. If their areas of specialty are important to you, review the outplacement company's web site and other marketing materials to see what their specialty is or ask them directly. If an outplacement firm's expertise lies in serving large companies displacing administrative staff and your small business is displacing experienced managers, this outplacement firm may not be the best fit for you. 3. Experience with Current Job Search Practices. How important is it to you that the outplacement firm be experienced with Internet job search techniques? Is it likely that the Internet will play a key role in your displaced employees' job search strategy? If you determine that Internet savvy is an important evaluation point for an outplacement firm, check to see whether the outplacement firm recognizes the importance of the Internet by having a web site. Are they aware of the top online career sites? Do they offer a service to post displaced employees resumes on these top online career sites? Do they have the ability to distribution resumes electronically to a select group of employers and recruiters? 4. Length of Time Support is Provided. Another factor to consider when selecting outplacement services is the amount of time you feel the displaced worker would require outplacement support. In general, the more senior-level the position, the longer it will take the displaced employee to find suitable employment. A second time factor to consider is whether the displaced worker will receive ongoing one-on-one scheduled sessions with a career transition consultant or whether the ongoing support merely includes access to job search support materials. 5. Costs. Outplacement costs must be considered when selecting an outplacement firm. Check to see whether outplacement costs are clearly defined and stated on the outplacement firm's web site and in their marketing materials. Are you charged only if the displaced employee elects to contact the outplacement firm for support or are you charged regardless of whether the displaced employee receives support? Are there affordable packages available that provide the services you feel your displaced employees would most benefit from without providing unwanted services? Another cost factor to consider is whether the outplacement firm gives you the able to select outplacement services a la carte to meet your needs. Also determine whether the outplacement company has a minimum fee requirement or whether they will charge you only for the number of displaced employees you actually have even if the number is as few as one. By considering each of these five factors you can develop effective selection criteria for deciding on an outplacement provider to best meet the needs of your displaced employees while adhering to your budget constraints. Copyright 2001-2004, Quest Career Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Dissatisfied With Your Job? Stop Believing The Myths! If you are dissatisfied with your job, you are in a self-imposed career slump! How to Pick the Best Career For You , Part 2: From Exposure-to-Opportunity Gain an audience by recognizing opportunity There's a sexier method to salsa into a great career with less tripping and more flair. Look for problems to solve and create a personalized solution. Find those challenges by spotting company movement of any kind, whether the change is good, bad or ugly. If you do this, you'll capitalize on an opportunity to be heard and get that coveted invitation to dance in the king's court. How To Deal With A Nightmare Boss It can happen to anyone. there's a change in the organization and -- suddenly -- you find yourself working for the boss from Hell. Arrogant, demanding, ignorant, bullying and insensitive. Do you leave right away? Do you fight back? Here are some tried and tested ways of coping with impossible bosses -- and coming out on top. Unemployment Survival: Creating a Sense of Security In a time of economic downturn, international turmoil, company restructuring and corporate mergers run amok, thousands of people are either out of work or fearful of losing their jobs. How To Prepare For A Telephone Interview It is important to prepare thoroughly for your telephone interview. |
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