What to Wear During a Job Interview

Before opening your mouth and letting all those brilliant ideas out during a job interview, you gotta be seen by your prospective employer first. That’s why the right clothes plus good stature is always a must when showing up for that dream job.

For women, solid colors are ideal. Wearing multi-colored clothes that make you look like a walking Christmas tree is a definite turn off – unless you’re applying for a job as Mrs. Santa. You can choose between skirts or slacks. For skirts, make sure that it’s only a few inches above knees, professional but feminine. Avoid heavy makeup and strong perfumes as this doesn’t really exude the aura of professionalism. No elaborate hair styles, just keep it neat and simple. Very high heels should also be avoided. You want to concentrate on the job, not on keeping your balance.  

For men, you can’t go wrong with a suit. Solid colors are also ideal and a complementary tie to go with the get up. Wear white or black socks to go with black shoes and very, very little jewelry as possible. A wrist watch should be enough. Absolutely no earrings. Colognes, the same with females, should be kept minimal, just enough to provide a hint of the smell. If possible, get a haircut so as to make sure that your hair is clean and neat.

Of course, the clothes won’t work without the right posture to go with it. Practice a relaxed but impressive pose with your back straight and your shoulder leveled. Don’t slouch. Slouching ruins the total effectiveness of the clothes no matter how good they are. Oh, and a sunny disposition to go with the great outfit and bearing.  

Wait! Although this is for the job interview, it also won’t hurt to maintain that professional and clean look after you’re hired.

What Not To Do At Work

You know it’s wrong but still you do it. Sure, it may not be written in the company rules and regulations, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all right. As small as it may be and no matter how much we think it insignificant, little work “boo-boos” should be avoided at all cost. 

Sick...or not?

When laziness sets in and you just can’t get your head off the pillow, don’t call in with some lame excuse like being sick or your dog died. Better yet, don’t lie at all and just apply for a leave of absence. Chances are you need it anyway, especially if the “I’m too tired to go to work” days are occurring more and more often.

The Company Grapevine

Granted, this activity may be fun, but it inadvertently hurts people, including you. Gossip is the rust in the hard stable steel that is your work. Getting caught spreading or even worse, starting gossip could get you a harsh reprimand or fired. Either way, it’s one big black more for you in the workplace. Gossiping could also create rifts in the team work, affecting the quality of the job.  

Taking Company Property

Whether it’s five pieces of bond paper or one box of staple wires, company property is company property. It’s like having a child. You can’t be “a little” pregnant or “a lot” pregnant. Either your with child or not. Period. Taking a few pieces of company paper is as good as taking the whole ream. And don’t say it’s just too small an amount, look at the other side and imagine the embarrassment of being caught taking something so small that you could just as easily buy somewhere.

The usual excuse goes “they do it too”, but the hard fact is its wrong. And you know it. 

Burning Burnout

Burnout is the word we use to describe extreme exhaustion. Not just physically but also mentally. This is how our body and brain reacts to the long-drawn-out contact with stress. Stress, as we all know may be caused by a number of factors. But mostly, it is caused by too much attention to work. Too much overtime, too much project, too much problems and not enough persons to do the job are basically the whole scoop, give or take a few.

When we use the word “burnout”, it signifies rock bottom. This is not the case. Fortunately, this extreme exhaustion can be seen approaching through different stages. Immediately approaching the problem on any stage is possible. In fact, the sooner is it addressed the better.

First, there would be the exhaustion phase wherein everything isn’t worth doing anymore. This is not just about the physical but also the mental part. You don’t feel like moving and thinking.

Then, there would be the I-hate-everyone phase. It’s when the exhaustion is joined by irritability. You aren’t just lazy, you actually feel like flinging all those files out the window. Tempers are easily ignited and tolerance for any kind of noise – laughter or gossip – has greatly decreased.

When these happen, results could be one of two things. Continue your job and hand out bad work or on and off absenteeism.

The good news is, the antidote isn’t really that complicated. To put it bluntly: Take a break. Not necessarily a vacation to faraway places but just a plain old vacation – from work. Or if you can’t afford a vacation just yet, try to fill your free time with things you like to do. Relax. Get a hobby. Read a book. Treat yourself to the spa. Burnout isn’t really a tough battle to fight once you learn to balance work and play.

Work Addiction- Workaholics

No to Work Addiction

Working for a few extra hours each day is different from practically living in your office. Truth is, workaholics sometimes don’t realize that they’re workaholics the same way insane people don’t believe they’re insane. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying getting addicted to work is insanity, but it is however, an addiction that could pose serious problems to your health and social life.

If you haven’t been getting enough sleep on a regular basis because you’re bring your work at home…or worse, you don’t go home at all, preferring to stay at your workplace while finishing that report needed six months from now, you’re most likely a workaholic.

If you’re weekends are spent poring over papers instead of going to that date your friends set you up with, you’re most likely a workaholic.

Worse, if you’re friends and families have no idea what you do with your life anymore, either you’ve migrated somewhere far or you’re a workaholic.

The thing is, working isn’t bad. But too much of it could cause burnout that would divide your total efficiency into tiny bite size pieces.

A little rest and relaxation won’t actually detract from the job but would help enhance it. At first it may be hard to let go of the habit, but doing this gradually works.

At first, you could try taking in less projects and delegating some assignments to lighten the work load. Plan your schedule to be sure that weekdays are free for re-acquainting with friends. Get a hobby to capture your interest. Read a book. Watch movies. Set a few minutes of your day for an invigorating brisk walk to get the blood pumping once again.

A healthy lifestyle contributes to the total efficiency at work. Overtimes now and again are well and good, but don’t let yourself get sucked into the workaholic black hole.