photo credit: mariahfleming

A professional introduction is a significant factor in establishing a positive first impression, critical for those seeking to advance in their careers. Although it is completely under our control, we often find ourselves on auto pilot; unconscious behaviour based on old habits, which may work for some but most individuals should be concentrating on the extra effort necessary to initiate a practiced and polished, professional introduction. Old habits are hard to break and without many years of experience introducing yourself in a professional environment, you may regret relying on your instincts.

Looking good is also critical to a professional introduction. If you’re not sure about your attire, ask for advice. If they’re not sure, buy a new suit! Practice at home in front of a mirror or even better, a video camera, concentrating on eye contact until you have a well rehearsed, clearly articulated, introductory message. Don’t wing it! You may not have realized that up until now, 50% of your vocabulary consisted of “eh?” Give careful consideration to your handshake and practice it. That may sound as ridiculous as advising those submitting a resume to include contact details but more often than not, it is the most basic of protocols and information that are given little attention or consideration leading to easily avoidable mistakes and lost opportunities. Many people do not provide a professional handshake with the majority offering a less than firm handshake, which is usually perceived as a lack of confidence. And then there are those whose handshake is far too firm, especially when the recipient is donning a ring! OUCH!!! 

Your investment in a professional introduction will contribute to establishing a memorable and confident first  impression. Follow these five tips to look good, feel good and sound good: 

• Attractive, clean and pressed attire
• Eye contact
• Confident but considerate handshake
• Practiced and polished verbal introduction
• Ask how you can help

How do you create a professional introduction when submitting your resume? Accompany your resume with a professional and personalized cover letter! 

Professional Independent Communicators Present:

Location: Metro Hall View Map

Are you happy and successful in your career? Do you know how to uncover jobs, contracts and freelance opportunities? This presentation, designed for both freelancers and employees, will provide you with answers to take charge of your career.    

By attending this presentation, you will learn:

• To develop an outstanding performance-based resume
• What search strategy will provide the best results on your time investment
• How to use social media to find key influencers

Speaker: Martin Buckland, founder of Elite Resumes

Martin Buckland is one of North America’s top career management professionals. Martin is a resume and career management expert for several associations and leading MBA schools. His peers recently voted Martin as one of the “Top 22 Career Management Professionals” in the world.

Register HERE

“Protect my tweets” is the only option in Tweet Privacy, one of the few Account Settings required to create a Twitter profile. Additional ”Account Settings” consist simply of your Name, Username, Email, Language, Time Zone and Tweet Location. Although simple and self explanatory, instructions are included with each criteria.

There should be little confusion in choosing a name or email address but it seems that there are still many who may not understand the premise of Twitter because if they did they would never check the box in Tweet Privacy to “Protect my tweets”. Privacy issues continue to remain top news with Facebook taking the brunt of criticism for some time now to set the precedent. No other social media site is going to establish a site offering online accounts visible to millions without including some form of “privacy options”. The question is whether the options available are based on any rationale regarding the use of the social media site or simply to protect against privacy advocates.

Regardless of the reason behind the privacy option offered by Twitter, the question is, why would any user on Twitter choose to select the “Protect my Tweets” option? Could it simply be an unconscious error? Or maybe a considerate user with the urge to share inappropriate information that could be considered offensive? The 140 characters you choose to tweet could consist of anything including a personal message or a link to an article blog post or website. The people you share your tweets with are your followers and you have the option to follow anyone you are interested in as long as they haven’t protected their tweets in which case you will see “pending” and my reaction to that is to cancel my decision to follow them and I am left with the question, who or what are they protecting their tweets from and why?   

The more people you follow, “Following”, the more feedback you will receive and the more people that follow you, “Followers”, will result in more people receiving your message, known as a “tweet”. Should you find yourself offended by anyone, you have the option to select an “Action” associated with anyone you are following or anyone who is a follower to unfollow, block or report for spam. There is no reason to choose to protect all of your tweets, simply allow everyone who is interested in you to follow your tweets and if you don’t want a particular individual to see what you tweet, block them!

If your audience consists of only a few followers, how much influence will you have? If you are only following a few people how much value are you missing out on from some of the most inspiring, intellectual and thought provoking people in the world? If you don’t “believe” in Twitter right now, you may want to consider what the following companies and individuals may know that you don’t.

“Of the Fortune Global 100 companies, 65% have active Twitter accounts”, data collected between November 2009 and January 2010 among the top 100 companies of Fortune’s Global 500 companies by Burson-Marsteller. There were less than 75 million users on Twitter in November 2009 and today there are over 100 million! If the most successful companies in the world are not impressive enough, how about some of the most successful individuals in the world: @RichardBranson, @BillGates, @Oprah, @BarackObama, and the list goes on and on. Visit www.celebritytweet.com and although you will find @MileyCyrus and @JustinBeiber, you are mistaken if you think it is just for kids. Feel free to follow @JaneFonda, @Joan_Rivers, @AshtonKucher or @KevinSpacey. You will not receive the “pending” message if you choose to follow any of these people becasue none of them have checked the “Protect my Tweets” box.

Your future success will be influenced by the  reputation and recommendations you establish throughout your career and how you choose to quit your job may or may not have an impact. It is very likely that the following individuals would have benefited if they had opted for a professional conversation with a senior company official followed by a formal letter of resignation, however this was not the case. A recent post on The Chive, “Girl quits job on dry erase board, emails entire office“, has generated interest in a young woman who went public to quit her job and expose her boss. She said her boss, Spencer was called, ”a garbage di Spencer” when referring to the trash and she displayed a totally inappropriate comment that he is alleged to have made during a phone call. This has caught the interest of a huge, supportive following of cheer leaders and well wishers. I won’t disagree that her boss probably got what he deserved but I can’t help thinking, as an employer would I really want to hire this girl? As a business owner or HR professional, would I feel assured that she would react in the best interest of the company at all times utilizing diplomacy, discretion and good judgement?

Another highly publicized incident this week was a flight attendant’s departure from his job upon arrival at Kennedy Airport. Reports allege Slater, a 28 year veteran argued with a passenger, used the public address system to swear at passengers and then pulled the emergency shoot to exit the plane with a beer in his hand! Don Sutton, CB Online provides an account and some good advice in, When to use the emergency chute: a flight attendant’s last flight , saying, “…take a deep breath and remember flight attendant Slater — once you really slide down that emergency chute, you can never crawl back up.”

Obviously a formal letter of resignation was not contemplated by either of these employees and despite their radical and unprofessional behaviour, both are attracting a huge following of supporters. Is it possible that so many people are that unhappy in their careers that they are actually envious of these two individuals quitting their jobs?  Or is it just the fact that many are empathetic to those who have reached the ”the final straw” and “lost it” at work?

Quitting your job with a vengeance, whether it is swearing at disrespectful customers or the public humiliation of your boss is not in your best interest if you have any desire to advance in your career. Your reputation is damaged and the opportunity to acquire glowing recommendations from your boss or the company is forever lost. Remember, it is “just a job” and you do have the choice to leave it and maintain a professional reputation and gain recommendations that will support your career advancement long into your future. Remember that teacher in grade eight that you detested? He isn’t there anymore and no one even remembers his name but what does remain is the name of the school you attended and the grade you received.

What is the one word that describes you? This is likely a question you have heard alot lately especially if you are in career transition. More than ever before the key to advancing your career is to promote your value. Give careful consideration to the one word that will describe your most impressive attribute but at the same time distinguish you from the competition. Although passion and drive are highly influential to employers, too many individuals refer to themselves as passionate when in fact few people really are truly passionate about what they do. It is so widely used that it risks credibility and will not help you to stand out from the competition. Consider words such as inquisitive, audacious, competitive, ambitious, intuitive, savvy and indomitable. Steer clear of out of date, overused or boring words such as results-oriented, methodical, detail oriented and communicative. 

Do you have a tag line? A clear, concise tag line should compliment the one word that describes your strongest attribute and be consistently displayed to establish your brand and promote your value. Is your tag line contained in your resume, Resume Writing Tag Lines? Be sure to include it in social media profiles and on your website. A business card is a must and an effective tag line will ensure a lasting impression.   

Consumers and HR professionals are looking for and willing to pay for value. Managing a successful career involves promoting your value. Why should your next employer invest in you? What value will you bring to their organization?

Contact Martin Buckland, Certified Professional Branding Strategist to unearth your unique promise of value! 

How many seconds will you spend looking at a Facebook Page, Twitter profile, Linkedin profile, a professional resume, a video on Youtube or any website before you make a conscious decision to look and stay or look away? Most studies indicate an impression will be established and the resulting decision to stay or look elsewhere within 10 to 30 seconds.

Are you still reading this post or have you moved on? The time you’ve spent looking at this page and reading the first paragraph likely exceeds the average time it takes to instill an impression and make the decision to stay, exit from the site or discard a resume.

Are you catching the attention of those you wish to influence? Are you establishing a positive first impression? Have you presented a clear message? Let’s face it, 10 to 30 seconds leaves little time for even the best speed readers or those with photographic memories to obtain a valid first impression. Consideration must be given to the “look” and the content that stands out. Here are a few tips to consider if you want to inspire your audience to stay with you.

A professional resume or online profile will be perceived within the first few seconds as little more than an overall image with limited content absorbed prior to making the decision to read on. Does it look professional? Is it complete and concise? Have you increased the font size or chosen the content to bold that you want to stand out? If you are promoting yourself as a professional seeking a new position as VP Sales & Marketing, it is not in your best interest to show an online image taken in your back yard with your child’s camera. Your resume should also look professional with impressive and quantifiable accomplishments that will stand out in a graph rather than highlighting your hobby of mountain biking.    

Online videos continue to become more popular but I find myself more often than not exiting the video before it ever gets to the main content as the introductions seem to ramble on far too long. I already know what it is about, which is why I wanted to watch it in the first place. Time is of the essence so the information provided must be concise and relevant. Although many live, interactive videos are available, accommodating busy schedules usually finds us listening to a recording so time spent to advise the time, discuss the weather or technical and sound checks is not relevant information. The lack of a professional appearance or image and a less than articulate speaker will also encourage a viewer to move on to one of millions of other available videos.

A Facebook Page is important for any professional or business. In order to create a page that will catch the attention of your audience within a few seconds and communicate a clear message it is important to provide as much information as possible on your Wall. Creating additional tabs and information is ok if you have the time but the majority of people will only spend 10 to 30 seconds which means they will not venture past your Wall. Add FBML boxes to display most or all of the content in your Info tab on your Wall tab including the links to other sites.

Blogs and articles are now being authored by millions of content producers, some authoring long drawn out repetitious articles and others aware that a blog post that is short, concise and delivers a clear message will be more successful in keeping the attention of their audience. Blog posts with titles such as “the top ten tips”, or ”the top 2o…” are extremely popular drawing the attention of billions of readers.

If I have managed to keep your attention this long, thank you! I hope the impression you leave with is a positive one and that you will benefit from the tips that have been provided here.

 “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”

 ~ John Wooden

You’ve likely said at one time or another, ”I’m not changing my style to that“! or “You won’t catch me there!” or “I’m happy with what I’m using and I won’t consider changing it!” It is human nature to become comfortable with the old and resist the new but changes, specifically technological and generational need to be acknowledged if you don’t want to be left behind. Fighting it is simply a waste of energy because “resistance is futile!”

Fuelling this era of change are the amazing advances in technology. In your grandparents or great grandparents day, the centre of information was attending a one room school or gathering around the family radio. It was not so long ago that an entire room needed to be allocated to house one computer and today that same computer is small enough to carry around with us wherever we go. We find ourselves searching for the remote control to turn on the TV, radio or stereo, texting or emailing on our cell phones and our computers provide access to all of that and more. Before you know it social media will be the top venue for communicating, email will become obsolete and there will no longer be a need to maintain a hard drive. 

As few as two generations ago, changes from one generation to the next were not nearly as significant as today. Communication was limited and families were more isolated, tight-knit and focused on tradition. The vast amount of information available today and the opportunity to easily connect with others have influenced millions of people creating a stronger desire and curiosity to learn, experience change and embrace all that is new! The most recent example is the new IPhone; “Apple sells more than 1.7 million iPhone 4s in the first 3 days…”. Statistics also show no generation is completely left behind in the age demographics for the 500 million users on Facebook, 100 million on Twitter or 70 million on Linkedin. Will generation Y be aware that previous generations were resistant to change? 

Don’t be left behind! Your success whether professionally or socially is strongly influenced by your willingness to embrace change.  Resistance or fear of change will negatively impact your ability but acceptance of change will provide the most positive element in your life.

Do not hit send until you are absolutely positive that the comment you are posting or emailing is above reproach! It is all too often that I find myself grimacing as I peruse a conversation thread that suddenly takes a turn for the worse and becomes an emotionally heated, antagonistic dialogue. With the advent of social media there is a strong likelihood that one single conversation thread could be viewed by thousands and potentially millions of people. Any individual that posts an emotionally fuelled, derogatory comment with intent to damage a reputation is more apt to damage their own credibility. It most certainly demonstrates a lack of restraint, diplomacy, tact and respect. This lack of professionalism could easily influence the powers that be and eliminate you for consideration in future career opportunities. The details regarding the comments may not be easily recalled but the negative impact to your brand will have been established.

It is human nature to be much more highly influenced by that which is bad than that which is good. Consider the news as an example. If it was all good news you wouldn’t tune in. Your best recall will be associated with the most horrific of events and good news stories will be easily forgotten or at the least, difficult to recall. A Real Estate agent understands the impact of curb appeal when selling a home for this very reason. The house may be beautiful inside but walking inside with a negative first impression is usually a sure sign that no offer will be secured. Your personal brand is your real estate and presenting a positive, professional impression must be a conscious effort at all times. If you are enduring a particularly difficult or stressful day, stay offline. One nasty comment posted on a bad day could result in a lost  opportunity. 

At no time is it acceptable to take a personal fight public, which for many was a lesson introduced at a very young age when we heard the following: ”If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all” and  “The less said the better.” If that was ignored the next unacceptable and equally uncomfortable dialogue scenario is ”flogging or beating a dead horse”, despite the fact that most children heard the following: ”Let it go!” “Stop now!” That’s enough!” “Drop it!” “Walk away.” Whether you enter into a thread of conversation in an offensive or defensive nature, the negative impact is consistent if the comments are emotionally heated, negative, insulting, rude, harassing, repetitive or downright hurtful. So the best advice to avoid heated conversations at all times are as follows: “Give them the benefit of the doubt.” “Take the high road.” “Turn the other cheek.”

We’ve all had a job at one point in time that we can reflect back on as an absolute nightmare or at best, “get me out of here” experience. The priority as students was solely to acquire a minimal income while gaining an education, experience and maturity. Not that we didn’t consider ourselves mature back then. Today, the focus may still be on your current job or a potential job opportunity but are you evaluating your career?

If you are going to be happy in your career, it will require a great deal more than showing up for a job each day. Managing a successful and fulfilling career requires a conscious consideration and evaluation from both a business and a personal perspective. An ongoing and thorough investigation of current and forecasted market conditions, industries and organizations is a must. Pertinent questions related to your career should be reviewed on a regular basis at which time new questions should be added and those no longer relevant, discarded. A position involving travel in a young career may be an exciting opportunity and provide a significant basis for advancement but priorities may change with the addition of a family. Do you need to re-evaluate your position or the company? How does your expertise fare in relation to current trends? What is your preferred area of interest? What is the potential tenure within the corporation? Have you investigated companies with a focus on cultural fit? What is the potential for advancement within the organization? Are you interested in re-locating?

Whether you are currently in a career or in career transition, a regular evaluation involving past, current and future employment should be regularly reviewed to ensure the direction of your career path brings success and happiness.

If you are unsure of the direction you should be taking in your career contact Elite Resumes to discover the professional career management services available to assist you in establishing a clear direction in your career.  

Presenting a professional image is critical to your success and should be a serious consideration at all times while managing your executive career. A lack of professionalism could easily create a negative impression and eliminate you from consideration for a potential opportunity.

How easy is it to tarnish an image or a reputation? One negative is likely to have the the same impact as 1,000 positives! Polite behaviour is expected, rude behaviour will likely never be forgotten. A clean and neat appearance may not be given another thought but a stained and wrinkled suit will be burned into your memory. One inconsiderate or rude comment will have the potential to eliminate the memory of every thoughtful and caring comment that you have previously shared over months or even years.

Recently, a thread of emails among a professional networking organization for those seeking employment resulted in a number of emotional and unprofessional responses from some members. There is no doubt that some regretted their outbursts but trying to take something back once it has been posted online is as futile an endeavour as trying to change that of a first impression. Even those individuals with a long history of professionalism got caught up in the moment and although there were some heartfelt apologies offered, nothing could reverse the initial impression from one negative comment. Ending this thread of conversation, which was quickly tarnishing the professional images of many who became involved was in every-one’s best interest and all involved did, until 10 days later. One member decided to dig up the “dirt” selecting certain emails, singling out those individuals and then sent an email containing unsolicited, irrelevant advice to the entire organization! Why this individual decided to associate themselves with the original thread of inappropriate and unprofessional emails is quite puzzling. If there is any consolation for those who were singled out, it may very likely be that this last person to add their name to this thread of unprofessional conduct may overshadow the previous names. What were they thinking? 

Are you presenting a professional image, online and off? Everything you say and do will be judged by someone so think carefully. Your comments and your actions could influence that one person who is in a position to provide you with your next opportunity.