Your Personal Career Hygiene Tips

When it comes to making a good first impression no matter what the situation a few pointers come to mind.  Even if you’ve had a rough night before your meeting or interview, showing up and cleaning up is a good way to start off on the right foot.  It’s interesting to see folks whether you’ve worked before or are just starting out, to have absolutely no sense of how they may come across to the next person.  It’s not that they are so self-absorbed as to ignore the obvious, but having a sense of self and appropriateness is apparently an education that has been lost either at home or in school.

Knowing who you are and what you stand for is one thing, but make sure your outward appearance mirrors your internal self.  You may have the best resume on earth, a compelling portfolio or knock out references, but if you show up to an interview like you’ve slept under a tree you are definitely not going to land that job.  It’s not so much what you put on top of your body as much as you put into it.  Keeping in mind if you’ve been out all night drinking you will smell of alcohol from your pores-and yes, the recruiter will definitely take notice no matter how many breath mints you pop.  If you go and try new Korean BBQ restaurant you’ve been dying for keep in mind that garlic dish you sampled may be playing a repeat performance the next day.  Making sure you take care of the obvious in your personal hygiene is as important as showing up to the interview on time.

Couples of things to keep in mind the next time you are in the company of more than one:

  1. Take a bath-even if you “feel” clean.  You don’t want to walk around with the last day’s activities on your person.
  2. Wear something new to an interview.  Even if you can’t afford something new, make it look like you just took it off the hanger from the store.
  3. Brush your teeth and rinse with mouthwash.  Trust me, you may think you are “minty fresh” but the person on the down draft may not think so.
  4. Brush or comb your hair.  Tangled webs around your face are not going to make you look put together no matter which fashion trend you are channeling.
  5. Clean your finger nails and hands.  No one wants to shake a dirty, sticky or wet hand during a first meeting.

Even though you may feel like you will nail the interview, there may be some subtle clues that have nothing to do with your age, experience, or resume that may not land you your next job.  Keep in mind everyone is judging you whether you believe they are or not. First impressions do count no matter what so make that a priority next time you show up for the casting call.

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Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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Practice What You Preach

It’s easy to give out advice to someone you think you might be able to help whether it’s coming to their aid during personal crises or giving them a hand with their resume.  You may find it easy to help others when what you really may need is the ability to help yourself.  It may be easy for you to recognize what’s not working when it comes to someone else’s life, but do you hold the same level of scrutiny when it comes to your own?

Why does it always seem we know how to fix someone else’s problems or see clearly how the other person needs to handle a situation yet when it comes to our own life, we suddenly have blinders on?  Maybe being too close to a situation helps or hurts your ability to see clearly when it comes to your own life.  Handling your own affairs the way you would handle your best friend is a gift you probably never realized you could give yourself if you just opened yourself up and really tried. When it comes to your career, you may not have all the answers but try treating yourself the same way you would treat your best friend by providing yourself with honest and thoughtful feedback even if you may not feel like you are in a position to hear it.

Having the courage to take yourself on the way you would take on a friend in need may make you your own best friend and give you the kind of sage advice you’ve always been after.  You know what you want even though you may not be in the best position to hear it especially coming from yourself.  Practicing what you preach to others is the first step in recognizing that you do have a perspective on what matters to you and how to get ahead even if you can’t help stumbling along the way. Practicing what you preach to others gives you a sense of knowing what works from what doesn’t and puts you in a position of really being of value to achieving your own successes as you would be in helping others achieve theirs.

You do know what it takes to make you happy and successful in your career whether you are just starting out or are well on your way towards reaching your career goals. You have no problem sharing your wisdom, insights and perspective when it comes to helping others reach their goals so it’s no time to hold back when it comes to taking some of your own advice.  It’s never easy forging ahead on your own even though you may like to live vicariously through another’s efforts, but knowing you can and will move forward by heeding your own advice should give you the courage you need to make the right decisions for yourself.  Learning to become your own best friend may be the best advice you can offer yourself and maybe even sharing it with others.

Looking for a job?  Find us at www.greenlightjobs.com

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lisakayeglj

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And, on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/abb/50

 


Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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Wrong Direction…

A colleague of mine recently said as we were discussing the traffic problems of late in Santa Monica, “Sometimes you’ve got to go in the wrong direction in order to move ahead.”  Although never so true as you try to circumvent traffic and find a faster route to get home, it can mean needing the same approach with your career search or professional advancement as well.  Finding that you always follow the same route in your job search or how you approach your career advancement opportunities might mean that you are not progressing any faster than you like.

It’s hard to imagine that by moving backwards you might actually be moving ahead.  Counter-intuitive as this might seem, movement of any kind usually means you are progressing towards a goal.  Stagnation in you career means sudden death under any circumstances.  It’s nice to think you know which direction will lead to the fastest route with your career choices.  It may not always be the case when you are for instance in career transition, or are a recent graduate or having trouble navigating the corporate ladder towards a promotion.  It’s okay to take a lesser position if you’ve been out of work for sometime trying to get your foot back into a company or a particular field.  Taking an internship for example might not be the worst thing as you wait for a job offer to come through for the position you really want. Trying to figure out your next career move when you are in a holding pattern at work because you’ve not been promoted might mean it’s time to try something new.

Having the ability to move backward in order to move forward helps you stay in the flow even if it takes you a little longer to get where you ultimately want to go. It’s always hard to know if you are doing all it takes to make progress in your career especially when you seem to be moving in the wrong direction.  Remember there are no wrong directions or choices when it comes to making a decision about your career or your life. As long as you keep making decisions and focus on the possibilities of what you are after, you are naturally on the right road towards success.

Finding the right balance between what you want and what you are willing to make happen does not always mean the decision will be an easy one. It doesn’t matter how difficult it is for you to get where you are going, it just matters that you keep moving in any direction that seems to take you towards a clear path for getting ahead. You might be surprised what you find along the way but you never know the new and different opportunities you may have overlooked had you not taken that left turn in the road. Finding your true north doesn’t always mean you have to travel north, it just means you should follow your path of least resistance.

Looking for a job?  Find us at www.greenlightjobs.com

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lisakayeglj

Follow greenlightjobs on Twitter http://twitter.com/greenlightjobs

And, on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/abb/50

 


Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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Creative Differences…

“I’m creative, I haven’t had to use a resume since 1996!”  Well that’s great for you but let us all in on your little secret to success!  Just because you’ve never had to formally interview for a job or have had your next gig lined up just by making a few calls, then it’s time to look around because your luck may be about to run out.  You may have had a great run at finding your next job without much help from least of all, a resume, but it may be time to take a trip on the wild side and do something good for yourself and for the person who does not yet know all the wonderful things about you!

A resume does not need to be a painful process and it certainly doesn’t mean that just because you’ve gotten away with not having one for so long that you eventually won’t need one.  Even if you are a creative executive with an impressive portfolio that drags on forever, it certainly does not mean you don’t need a resume. Keep in mind, not everyone may have seen that film or watched that television show you were working on.  It’s okay to have a long credit list but acting like everyone who reads it should instantly recognize any obscure title or independent production company you worked for is well, clueless.

It’s nice to know you don’t have to work to hard to get your next gig but what if something unexpected came along, something that you were not even looking for but sounds like something you’ve always wanted to do. Why not be prepared and have your professional resume ready to go?  What if that job didn’t come through your normal channels and you were tapped through LinkedIn or it was an industry referral that passed your name along because they thought you’d be “perfect” for the job. Or, you get a call from a recruiter or agent or maybe directly from the company and they ask you for a resume or a bio and you say, “I haven’t needed one since 1996!”  Click.  That’s what most people would do or want to do when you make that kind of an announcement.

Don’t think for a minute the person on the other end of the phone or email thinks this is cute, clever or even professional.  You need to write your professional history down, it doesn’t need to be long or full of bravado it just needs to simply tell the story of who you are, what you’ve done and where you’ve worked.  Keep it simple and to the point and be ready to hand it over to someone who offers to help.  Don’t make the hiring manager, recruiter or person interested in interviewing you do all the work.  You might be the perfect person for the job but if you are not prepared, no one is going to wait for you to get ready.  You may think you are a household name because you have an impressive list of credentials don’t assume everyone knows who you are.

The next time you are lucky enough to get a call or email out of the blue asking you to come in for an interview don’t embarrass yourself or someone else by stating that you are too good to put your professional life on paper.  Because if you don’t want to waste the time and effort for the job someone else surely will and will likely get the job you were not ready or able to accept.

Looking for a job?  Find us at www.greenlightjobs.com

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lisakayeglj

Follow greenlightjobs on Twitter http://twitter.com/greenlightjobs

And, on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/abb/50


Copyright © 2024 Lisa Kaye - HR & Business Consulting - The Career Rebel

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