Creative Job Search Article

Dress and Grooming for Job Success

Many of us object to being judged for employment based on how we look. We prefer to be hired because of our skills and abilities, not because of our dress and grooming. But like it or not, appearance is important.

Employers hire people they believe will "fit" into their organization. Skills, experience and qualifications are important, but so are dress and grooming. Your appearance expresses motivation and professionalism. Dress as though you want the job, as though you already have the job. A visit to the company may help you decide the appropriate clothing to select for your interview. A good standard is to dress a step above how the best-dressed person dresses for a similar job. When in doubt, err on the conservative side.

Your appearance is a statement of who you are. Your clothing and grooming should create the image that will help you get the job offer.

First Impressions

Most of us have heard the expression, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Remember this when preparing to meet with a prospective employer. The picture you create will greatly influence your chances of being hired. Most employers form a first impression during the first seven seconds of a meeting. Not much is said in this short time; early judgment is based strictly on appearance. Furthermore, studies reveal that employers consistently ask the question, "Does the individual look right for the job?"

Clothing

There are no absolute rules regarding dress. Your selection will vary based on your occupation, location and preference. A business suit for a construction job or overalls for an office job would not be appropriate dress. The goal is to look the part, to have your appearance be consistent with your occupation. Neat, clean work clothes would be suitable for assembly, production or warehouse positions. Sales and office positions require business clothes. A conservative suit would be the recommended style for professional and managerial positions.

Common sense and good taste are the best guides in selecting clothing for the interview. Avoid faddish styles and loud colors. Jewelry should be conservative and kept to a minimum. Clothing should fit comfortably. A basic rule is to dress one step above what you would wear on the job. You want the employer to focus on your skills, not your clothes. The clothes you wear affect all your attitude and confidence levels. When people take the time to dress for success, they tend to feel good about themselves. Image alone will not win the job offer, but it will go a long way in building respect.

Grooming

Personal grooming is just as important as what you wear. You may select the right clothes, but neglecting personal hygiene can ruin the image you wish to present. Review the following grooming checklist before meeting with an employer.

ITEM

1. Hair
2. Facial Hair (men only)
3. Fingernails
4. Teeth
5. Breath
6. Body
7. Make-up (women only)
8. Perfumes/Colognes/After-Shave

GROOMING

1. Clean, trimmed and neatly combed or arranged.
2. Freshly shaved; mustache or beard neatly trimmed.
3. Neat, clean and trimmed.
4. Brushed and fresh breath.
5. Beware of foods which may leave breath odor. Beware of tobacco, alcohol and coffee odor. Use a breath mint if needed.
6. Freshly bathed/showered. Use deodorant.
7. Use sparingly and be natural looking.
8. Use sparingly or none at all. Your scent should not linger after you leave.

Goals of Appropriate Dress and Grooming

The primary goal is to feel good about the way you look and project a positive image. When you feel good about yourself, you naturally convey confidence and a positive attitude. These nonverbal messages are as important in the interview as the verbal skills you use in selling your qualifications. Persistence and follow-up are the keys to a successful job search. If you are serious about employment, plan your follow-up. There is no such thing as a wasted effort, and the only dead lead is the one you chose to kill. Situations change and the employer who is not hiring today may be looking for someone with your qualifications in the future.

Quotes About Gratitude (2 Dec 07)

Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality.
...Alfred Painter

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.
...Henry Ward Beecher

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.
...Buddha

To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.
...Albert Schweitzer

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
...Albert Schweitzer

Bisakah kita ?

Banyak hal yang dapat kita lakukan di dunia ini

Mulai dari rumah kita sendiri, keluarga kita, orang tua kita, saudara-saudara kita,
Kemudian di tempat kerja kita , teman-teman kita, dan masyarakat sekitar kita
Lakukan apa saja, mulai dari kecil sampai ke hal-hal yang besar
Lakukan semuanya tampa pamrih dan dengan penuh suka cita
Lakukan mulai dari sekarang ...

Artinya kita harus berbuat baik bagi sesama ? iya
Tetapi, berbuat baik, gampang sekali diucapkan, tetapi sepertinya sulit dilakukan

Artinya kita harus membutuhkan dana / uang untuk membantu orang lain ? tidak
Beramal, bagi mereka yang mampu, gampang dilakukan tetapi diragukan ketulusannya
Beramal, bagi mereka yang kurang / tidak mampu, tidak dengan uang tetapi dengan tenaga

Tetapi, apa yang kita peroleh dari berbuat baik itu ?
Jangan pernah memikirkan apa imbalan kita dalam berbuat baik
Jangan pernah menghitung hasil perbuatan baik kita
Jangan pernah bertanya untuk apa kita berbuat baik

Mengisi kekosongan jiwa jauh lebih baik daripada mengkosongkan isi jiwa itu sendiri
Semakin banyak yang kita tahu, semakin kita tidak mengetahui apa-apa
Semakin banyak yang kita punya, semakin sedikit yang ada didiri kita

Memang banyak hal yang dapat kita lakukan, bukan hanya ingin tetapi juga MAU
KeMAUan berbuat sesuatu akan membuahkan benih-benih hasil yang luar biasa
Jadilah orang yang berkeMAUan
Orang yang berkeMAUan untuk:
Kerja keras melawan kemalasan
Kerja keras melawan keegoisan
Kerja keras melawan hawa nafsu
Kerja keras melawan kesombongan

Today's Quote

There is more to life than increasing its speed.
-Gandhi (submitted by ystonehiker)

Article

Increasing Your Value
By: Brian Tracy

Your goal is to organize your life in such a way that you enjoy a good income, a high standard of living, and that you are the master of your economic destiny rather than a victim of changing economic times.

Contribution is the Key
Your job is an opportunity to contribute a value to your company in excess of your cost. In its simplest terms, your job is as secure as your ability to render value in excess of what it costs to keep you on the payroll. If you want to earn more money at your current job, you have to increase your value, your contribution to the enterprise.

Add Value Every Day
If you want to get a new job, you have to find a way to contribute value to that enterprise. If you want any kind of job security, you must continually work at maintaining and increasing your value in the competitive marketplace.

And here's a key point. Your education, knowledge, skills and experience all are investments in your ability to contribute a value for which you can be paid. But they are like any other investments. They are highly speculative.

Knowledge and Education Are Sunk Costs
Once you have learned a subject or developed a skill, it is a sunk cost. It is time and money spent that you cannot get back. No employer in the marketplace has any obligation to pay you for it, unless he can use your skill to produce a product or service that people are ready to buy, today.

Prepare For Your Next Job
Whatever job you are doing, you should be preparing for your next job. And the key question is always: Where are the customers? Which businesses and industries are growing in this economy, and which ones are declining?

Where is the Future?
I continually meet people who ask me how they can increase their income when their entire industry is shrinking. I tell them that there are jobs with futures and there are jobs without futures, and they need to get into a field that is expanding, not contracting.

Never Be Without A Job
There are three forms of unemployment in America: voluntary, involuntary, and frictional. Voluntary employment exists when a person decides not to work for a certain period of time, or not to accept a particular type of job, hoping that something better will come along. Involuntary unemployment exists when a person is willing and able to work but cannot find a job anywhere. Frictional unemployment is the natural level; this includes the approximately 4 or 5 percent of the working population who are between jobs at any given time.

Three Keys to Lifelong Employment
However, there are always jobs for the creative minority. You never have to be unemployed if you will do one of three things: change the work that you are offering to do, change the place where you are offering to work, or change the amount that you are asking for your services. You should consider one or more of these three strategies whenever you are dissatisfied with your current work situation.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action. First, look around you at your current job and find ways to create added value every day. There's always something more you can do. Second, identify the kind of work you want to be doing in the future and then make a plan to develop the knowledge and skills you will require to do it well.

Article

PREPARATION/TRAINING

Make the most of every opportunity to train, teach and improve your players and team. Practice under pressure situations and you will perform well when it truly counts.
Never panic. Face adversity with confidence knowing you have prepared.
You have to plan and prepare to guard against distractions.
Physical conditioning in the spring always becomes a determining factor at some point during the fall season.
I know what it feels like to be booed by 80,000 and have a standing ovation by the same 80,000 in the same day.
So that is a situation I think the Lord put me in at that part of my life because He knew I was going to be a coach.
He knew I needed that grooming

These quotes are excerpted from Todd Dodge Lessons from Sports Excerpt booklet.

Humor

Romantisme Sudah Mati
oleh Anita Toh
Reader's Digest Indonesia November 2007

Tunangan saya bukanlah seorang yang romantis.
Jadi waktu dia mengungkapkan keinginan untuk menuliskan nama dan tanggal perkawinan kami di balik cincin kawin, saya merasa tersentuh.
"Wah, romantis sekali," ujar saya dengan tersipu.
"Romantisme tidak ada hubungannya dengan ini," ujarnya. "Saya tidak ingin terkena masalah karena melupakan hari ulang tahun perkawinan kita nantinya."

Renungan

Orang mulia senang dengan ini:

'Hiduplah seperti seorang anak, maka hidupmu akan tenang..
hiduplah seperti seekor burung, maka hidupmu akan bernyanyi meski tidak memintal benang..'

Hidupmu seperti apa sekarang?

Daily Health Wisdom (1)

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.--Douglas Adams

Relationship Tip of The Day (1)

Be happy
by Hale Dwoskin, Sedona.com

If you are currently in a situation at work or at home where you feel unappreciated, realize that if things continue this way, your job or personal relationships will likely suffer. However, the following steps will help you gain the acknowledgement you need and deserve to be happy.

1. Talk about your feelings. The first step is to let your supervisor, spouse, etc., know that you need to feel more appreciated. Don't accuse them, but do be direct and firm in what you need.

2. Ask for what you want. Sometimes people don't know just how to make you feel appreciated, so tell them. This could be, "I'd like to schedule a monthly sit-down to discuss my work performance," or "I need you to say 'thank you' when I cook dinner every night."

3. Listen to, and acknowledge, the other person. Allow the person to express how they feel about what you've said, and listen to their viewpoints. Then, give them time to make the changes you've requested. When they do show their appreciation, make sure you acknowledge their efforts to do so in return.

Article

Do You Mind Your Mind ?
By Gamy Rachel

Can I ask you a question? If one day you need to hire a programmer to work for you to program all the software in your company, what kind of software programs would you want this programmer to create and put in for you?

Do you think it will vastly affect your company’s business if he is to create junks to put into your computer system, which your company’s life line depends on it? The answer is obvious isn’t it? You would want the programmer to create the best system that will work for you is that right? I know I would, and I will make every effort to ensure that it is so. I would not want anybody to put in programs and software that will be detrimental to my whole computer system.

I would relate this to our Brains, Minds and Thoughts. The commonly used term for computer is GI GO – Garbage In Garbage Out. I would say that this should also be used for our Minds and our Thoughts. As these saying goes

“Nothing is either good or bad but thinking make it so” –Shakespeare

“The empires of the futures are the empires of the mind” -Winston Churchill

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” -Joseph Addison

Every thing begins with A Thought, the computer you are seeing right now began with a thought. The light bulb invented by Thomas Edison, began with a thought and so is the Wright Brothers who saw the plane flying way before it has flown, it all began with A THOUGHT. First we have to start with A THOUGHT, next comes VISION, then comes PLANNING and finally – TAKE ACTION = POSITIVE RESULTS.

When I first wanted to have a blog that focus on Mind Development, Self Help, Brain Wave Technology, Motivational and Inspirational topics, I began with A Thought in my mind. My thoughts has now become a reality. I now have two blogs. Mind Think Success and Make A Living Honestly.

If you look back at the careers of successful people, like Bob Proctor, Anthony Robins, Joe Vitale, Randy Gage, Jack Canfield just to name a few, you will find that almost every one of them first visualized in their minds what they wanted long before they actually achieved success.

Be careful what you put in your mind, when you dwell on certain things long enough over and over again until it set in your sub-conscious mind and set it to auto-pilot, it will manifest eventually. So I would advise you only dwell on good stuffs.

How do we do that? You know the minute we wake up each day, we are being bombarded by all the bad news, negative things and nonsense, it just come to us from all directions. We really have enough of these bad news daily, and we don’t have to help to add in more ourselves, it is enough supply for our entire life.

But what we don’t have enough of are positive energy, good news, positive news, positive things that will lift up our spirit, motivational things that will bring us up rather then pull us down.
Why? It’s because it is natural that human beings are easily swayed towards negative.
Have you come across a new born baby that just come out from the mother’s womb laughing heartily? like “Haaaaaaaaaa” to announce to the world he or she has arrived? What do you hear? it’s always a big crying baby’s voice that sounds like this ”Waaaaawww…..” didn’t I tell you, it is so easy to be negative? :) So to feed our minds with positive thoughts, it does take some effort.

“If you don’t invest in you, why should anyone else?” - Randy Gage

Invest in You, because You are the reason the birds are singing, You are the reason the sky is brighter, You are the reason there will be more good news. So start investing in You.

My Best To You & Your Best Is Yet TO Be
Gamy Rachel

Author's Bio
Gamy Rachel has obtained I.T.E.C (UK) Diploma in Diploma in Anatomy Physiology and Diploma in Aromatherapy. Also a home based business entrepreneur. You can find information on brainwave, visualization, self-help and more.

Do you mind ?
Cheers, Lina

STRESS RELIEVER 1-16

Stress Reliever # 1 Wife: You always carry my photo in your handbag to the office. Why? Hubby: When there is a problem, no matter how impossible, I look at your picture and the problem disappears. Wife: You see, how miraculous and powerful I am for you? Hubby: Yes, I see your picture and say to myself, "What other problem can there be greater than this one?"
---------------
Stress Reliever # 2 Girl: When we get married, I want to share all your worries, troubles and lighten your burden. Boy: It's very kind of you, darling, But I don't have any worries or troubles. Girl: Well that's because we aren't married yet.
---------------
Stress Reliever # 3 Son: Mom, when I was on the bus with Dad this morning, he told me to give up my seat to a lady. Mom: Well, you have done the right thing. Son: But mum, I was sitting on daddy's lap.
---------------
Stress Reliever # 4 Wife to husband: "What's your excuse for coming home at this time of the night?" Husband to wife: "Golfing with friends, my dear." Wife to husband: "What? At 2 am?" Husband to wife: "Yes, We used night clubs."
---------------
Stress Reliever # 5 A newly married man asked his wife, "Would you have married me if my father hadn't left me a fortune?"
"Honey," the woman replied sweetly, "I'd have married you NO MATTER WHO LEFT YOU A FORTUNE"
---------------
Stress Reliever # 6 Father to son after exam: "let me see your report card." Son: "My friend just borrowed it. He wants to scare his parents."
---------------
Stress Reliever # 7 "How was your blind date?" a college student asked her roommate. "Terrible!" the roommate answered. "He showed up in his 1932 Rolls Royce.
" Wow! That's a very expensive car. What 's so bad about that?" "He was the original owner."
---------------
Stress Reliever # 9 A teacher asked her class for sentences using the word "beans"..
"My father grows beans," said one student.
"My father cooks beans," said another.
Then little Johnny spoke up: "We are all human beans."
---------------
Stress Reliever # 10 Interviewer to Millionaire: To whom do you owe your success as a millionaire?" Millionaire: "I owe everything to my wife." Interviewer: "Wow, she must be some woman. What were you before you married her?" Millionaire: "A Billionaire"
---------------
Stress Reliever # 11 Girl to her boyfriend: One kiss and I'll be yours forever.
The guy replies: Thanks for the warning.
---------------
Stress Reliever # 12 A husband was asked: "Do you talk to your wife after sex?" He replied: "Depends, if I can find a phone."
---------------
Stress Reliever # 13 Man to wife on wedding night: "Are you sure I'm the first man you are sleeping with?"
Wife replied: "Of course honey, I stayed awake with all the others!"
---------------
Stress Reliever # 14 "Why did they stop printing PAMELA ANDERSON stamps in the U.S.?" Answer: "Because people started licking the wrong side."
---------------
Stress Reliever # 15 A wife asked her husband: "What do you like most in me my pretty face or my sexy body?"
He looked at her from head to toe and replied: "I like your sense of humour."
---------------
Stress Reliever # 16 Doctor to his lady patient: "You look terribly weak and exhausted! Are you having your meals three times a day as I have advised?" Lady replied: "Doctor, I thought you said three males a day."

Article

HAVING FAITH AND TRUST WILL LEAD TO SUCCESS
by Mark Victor Hansen

When you know what you want and have done everything you can, the only thing you can do is have faith and trust that Infinite Intelligence is working to make your dreams a reality. Sometimes it takes a while. We have to know our dreams were ours the minute we decided we wanted them. They are manifesting themselves. We just need to be patient.

Is being patient an easy task? Not always. Sometimes it can even be depressing waiting for what we want to show up in physical form. But we have to realize if we weren’t supposed to have what we dream about then we would never have had the dream. We just need to believe in our dreams and ourselves and allow the Universe to work in its own divine time. You need dedication combined with perspiration moving toward a destination to get your ideal realization.

Article

Developing A Great Character
By: Brian Tracy

Being the Best In Every AreaWhat is character?
Your character is the degree to which you live your life consistent with high, life-enhancing values. A person who lacks character is one who compromises on higher order values in favor of lower order expedience, or who has no values at all. Your adherence to what you believe to be right and true is the real measure of the person you have become to this moment.

Define What "Excellence" Means to You
Let us say that one of your values is "excellence." Your definition of excellence could be, "Excellence means that I set the highest standards for myself in everything I do. I do my very best in every situation and under all circumstances. I constantly strive to be better in my work, and as a person in my relationships. I recognize that excellence is a life-long journey and I work every day to become better and better in everything I do."

Organize Your Actions
With a definition like this, you have a clear organizing principle for your actions. You have set a standard by which you can evaluate your behavior. You have created a framework within which you can make decisions. You have a measuring rod against which you can compare yourself in everything you do. You can continually grade your activities in terms of "more" or "less." You have a clear target to aim at and organize your work around.

Decide What You Want for Your Family
It's the same with each of your other values. If your value is your family, you could define this as, "The needs of my family take precedence over all other concerns. Whenever I have to choose between the happiness, health and well being of a member of my family, and any other interest, my family will always come first."

Keep Focused
From that moment onward, it becomes easier for you to choose. Your family comes first. Until you have fully satisfied the needs of your family, no other time requirement will side track you into a lower value activity.

Shape Your Own Character
The wonderful thing about values clarification is that it enables you to take charge of developing and shaping your own character. When your values and goals, your inner life and your outer life, are in complete alignment, you feel terrific about yourself. You enjoy high self-esteem. Your self-confidence soars. When you achieve complete congruence between your values and your goals, like a hand in a glove, you feel strong, happy, healthy and fully integrated as a person. You develop a kind of courage that makes you completely unafraid to make decisions and take action. Your whole life improves when you begin living your life by the values that you most admire.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put this ideas into action immediately.

First, create a clear, written description of your values and what they mean to you. From that point on, resolve to live consistent with your own definition.

Second, discipline yourself to live in complete alignment with the values, virtues and qualities that are most important to you. This is the key to character.

Power Network by Brian Tracy

"Increase Your Contacts, Expand Your Influence and Build Your Business Faster!"

You've heard the saying... "it's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know"... how many times has this proved to be true?