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.If you have a vocal contribution to make, waitfor a good opening and speak up.But don t interrupt someonewho s speaking and usurp that person s time.Your coworkerswill resent it.If you have to interrupt or you just want toexcuse yourself and get away from what you consider to be a 186 THE CAREER SURVIVAL GUIDEpointless conversation apologize and leave with a promisethat you ll talk again later.Be conversationally challenged.I ve already discussed the artof schmoozing and how it can increase your workplace vis-ibility and help you get ahead in your career.Making con-versation is basically the same idea.The key is to rememberto maintain eye contact and not to interrupt people.It s worthyour while to keep apprised of major news events so that youcan contribute value to the conversation.Be discreet aboutwhat you discuss in a business conversation, especially witha new client or new manager or coworker.No talking aboutyour health or your sex life or engaging in gossip or backstabbing.Also, do not correct someone s grammar.Nobodylikes a know-it-all.Show up at a convention or other big-time networking eventwithout name tags and business cards.When wearing aname tag, put it on your right side, up toward the shoulder.This is the easiest viewing position for the person you aremeeting.Why? Because when you shake hands, the other per-son s eyes are already going in that direction.Your businesscards also are critical for business contacts.If you don t carrythem, some people might get the impression that you don tcare about your job or your company.Don t make an office visitor wait for more than 15 minutes afteryour appointed meeting time.Everybody s busy, and nobodywill fault you for being a few minutes late.But when theclock goes beyond 15 minutes or so, your visitor may startto wonder how important he is to you.When your visitor iscalled into your office or cubicle, stand to greet him and put THE CAREER SURVIVAL GUIDE 187aside anything else you are doing.Even if you are on thephone, excuse yourself as soon as possible.Make your visitorthink, at that moment, that he is the most important person inthe world to you.TIPS FOR DRESSING RIGHT ON THE JOBOne of the worst mistakes otherwise decent employees make on thejob is in choosing what they wear to work in the morning.Sure, dressing down is a business trend, but this doesn t meanthat you should clothe yourself like you re gunning for the assistantmanager slot at the Quickie Mart or a walk-on role in Tim Burton snext Gothic flick.Understandably, business dress codes these days can be con-fusing.Few people are dead-solid certain about what constitutes casual wear.Some overcompensate by wearing shirts and ties (forguys) and skirts and blouses (for women).Some undercompensate bywearing sandals, dirty T-shirts, ripped jeans, and nose rings.I m asopen minded as the next person, but I ve yet to meet a CEO with anose ring.Thus you must dress like a professional to be considered a pro-fessional.One study says that up to 95 percent of the time employeesare judged for such things as hiring or promotion in the first two to threeminutes of visual contact.Clothing allows you to make an excellentcase for yourself as management material.If your clothing is attractiveand well coordinated, you feel more confident, and this is reflected inyour behavior.On the other hand, if your clothes are unattractive or notwell coordinated, you may withdraw, evoking a negative reaction fromyour coworkers, clients, and management. 188 THE CAREER SURVIVAL GUIDEHere are some pointers on the business dress code:" Ill-fitting clothing is never acceptable.Whether this means asuit that is too tight or a skirt that needs alteration.With morecasual dressing, fit is extremely important to the profession-alism of the look.Unfortunately, the attitude that oftenaccompanies wearing more casual clothing is less attentionto fit.Take a critical look at the clothes you are wearing towork.Are they too baggy? Too tight?" Examine your wardrobe critically each season [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]