My blog will be primarily focused on my career shift from retail management to nonprofit program management / coordination. Sprinkled among my personal reflections and anecdotes are topics such as the job market, personal branding, the world of community benefit organizations (aka nonprofits), and community psychology. If you are interested in realtime updates to this blog, feel free to subscribe!
Today, I heard the news that Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture may have just published its last magazine, due to lack of funding and rising production and mailing costs. The ladies in charge of the magazine are asking the public for help by way of small ($5, $10) donations in hopes that they will be able to raise $40,000 by October 15. Bitch is a feminist publication that critiques and challenges elements of popular culture: movies, tv, books, messages we hear in schools… Click here to read more!
Since Bitch is a nonprofit, all donations would be tax-deductible. Please, if you agree with their mission, donate whatever you can to save Bitch. Tell your friends!
This topic seems like a departure from the general theme of my blog, but fashion really is important, especially for young budding professionals who may be new to the whole “professional” bit. I mentioned personal branding before, where you take control of your image and market yourself as the “brand”. Well, who’s going to be interested in a “product” that has a dated, ugly, or inappropriate packaging?
Let’s face the facts. While looks really don’t matter in the long run, the first impression people make of you is based on what you look like. So it is important to look your best, especially when it relates to your career. Read the rest of this entry »
If you were going to an interview, would you look your best, or just roll out of bed and get yourself going? If this is the first time a potential employer gets a good look at you, then you’d darn well better hope you make a stellar first impression, and you’re not going to accomplish this if you don’t fit the image of a competent, professional person. That much you knew, right?
Pre-Interview Impressions
What if you were simply coming into a potential employer’s office to inquire about open positions or to ask for a job application? Should you also look your best then? OF COURSE! This is the first time that a potential employer gets a good look at you. Take this opportunity to get a leg up on your competition by dressing the part. I love when people dress as though they already work there; it shows that they are serious about the position they wish to apply for and have taken the time to ensure that they have put their best foot forward. Employers appreciate that!
Let me give you a worst case scenario of sorts. This week, we had an applicant come in to fill out some forms dressed in very dirty, casual clothing. He had a terrible attitude and was complaining about the hiring process, and on the way out the door, he was muttering an array of swear words about our company. His first impression was, to put it politely, lousy. Even if we asked him to come back for an interview, and he arrived wearing a suit and was very polite, his chances of actually getting hired are low because the image he presented when he first met us was so terrible. While this was an extreme display of “bad”, most people who walk through the door with the intent to inquire about open positions make some poor judgment calls. Read the rest of this entry »
