“Your image is conveyed through your photograph, and it’s part of the first impression you make on others,“ according to business communications and etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, author of numerous books, including GREET! EAT! TWEET! She adds, “You want to post a photograph that is professionally appropriate. You want to look like a credible, approachable person, not like you just came from the beach.”

Pachter, a former professional photographer, provides the following 10 guidelines for posting photographs of yourself on social media:

1. Post a headshot. This type of photograph highlights your head/face, but often shows your shoulders and part of your chest. You are the focus of the picture.

2. Choose a photo that flatters you. Sounds obvious, but people don’t always pay attention to their choice. This does not mean a glamour shot, but you should look like a competent professional in the photograph.

3. Appear in front of a clear, uncluttered background that is well lit. There shouldn’t be any dark shadows obscuring your face. People must be able to see you clearly.

4. Make sure your face is in focus. The background can be slightly out of focus, but your features need to be sharp, not blurred.

5. Wear appropriate professional or business-casual attire. Appear as you usually would in a business situation. This may also mean that you are freshly shaven, or wearing make-up and jewelry.

6. Look at the camera and keep your head straight. Women have a tendency to tilt their heads and they look less self-assured when they do.

7. Have a pleasant facial expression. If you are frowning or scowling, why would someone want to hire or work with you?

8. Look like your photograph. If your photo is more than 8-10 years old, people may be very surprised when they meet you. If you had long hair in your photo and now have short hair, people may not recognize you.

9. Be cautious with an environmental portrait. This type of photo places you in a setting that relates to your profession. This is generally a wider shot and your face is a smaller part of the photograph. These pictures are often used as additional photos on a website, and are not recommended for headshot postings.

10. Hire a professional photographer. If all of this seems overwhelming, hire someone who takes photos for a living. It’s worth the investment.

xxx

Barbara Pachter is a speaker, coach and author of numerous business books, including The Power of Positive Confrontation and When the Little Things Count.

Blog: www.barbarapachtersblog.com

Interviewing is the most important part of the job process and often times the area where we fall short. Why is it that when it comes to interviewing, we tend to freak out and over think the process? What makes sitting down with someone that we don’t know so difficult that we forget how to put complete sentences together?

Many of us over think what interviewing is intended to do, the focus should be about building a relationship in a short amount of time that when you leave, the interviewer is thinking, I could be friends with that person and I want them working for me.

Interviewing and networking are one in the same and if you have mastered networking, you should be a pro at interviewing. Think of the process of networking—you walk into a room full of people you don’t know and quickly become engaged in conversation. As you talk, you are trying to find a common ground to determine whether there is an opportunity to grow a relationship. You articulate to the other person who you are, what you are looking for and how you might be able to help each other grow. Now let’s think about interviewing, it is articulating to an interviewer who you are, why you are a good fit to help their company grow and most importantly why they should hire you. Sounds pretty easy right?

Over the years I have helped many people perfect the art of interviewing and yet I continuously see these same missteps over and over.

Mistakes are meant to help us grow but we must learn from them!

6 mistakes that prevent a successful interview:

1. Not bringing resumes to the interview: Call it old school but the expectation is still that if you are interviewing, you need to be prepared to hand out resumes to the people that are interviewing you. Assuming that the person interviewing you has had time to print it out is wrong. My recommendation is always 5 resumes as you never know how many people may be sitting in or the number of people who may be interviewing you.

2. Assuming the recruiter or hiring manager has memorized your resume: The reality here is that in a day recruiters or hiring managers will be interviewing 5 or more people and have probably not had time to revisit your resume before the interview. When you are interviewing assume that they have never seen your resume and give plenty of detail to each question asked. Answering in one word answers or not giving all the details because you did that on your resume is setting yourself up to be rejected.

3. Bad mouthing anyone or anything is completely unacceptable in an interview: I don’t care if you are working for a bully boss, or you can’t stand the company you are working for, interviewing is not the place to vent all your frustrations. You come across as a complainer who badmouths people. If you are asked the question why are you leaving, answer in a position way such as, “I am looking for a new opportunity to challenge myself in ways that my current position does not allow.” End of story!!

4. Not asking quality and challenging questions: It is nearing the end of an interview and you are asked, “Do you have any questions for me,” and you answer “no, I’m good.” This is a sign of complete disinterest in the position. It is one thing to ask questions such as “Tell me more about your background,” or “What do you love about your job,” but it is a completely different scenario when you are asking tough questions that make you look like an expert in your field. Ask questions such as “What strategy do you have for staying #1 in the industry,” “What type of changes do you think are necessary to keep productivity high in the office,” “I recently saw that your competitor just launched ______, what is your strategy for staying competitive?”

5. Not selling you: This is probably the #1 factor of why people do not get hired. Interviewing is about selling yourself and closing all in a matter of 30 minutes. If you can not sell an interviewer on why you are the perfect person for the job, how are you going to be able to sell their clients/prospective clients on their products or services. You are selling the easiest product in the world and the one you know best . . . yourself! So make sure that you take every opportunity to show the interviewer that they need not look any further.

6. Body Language: Get rid of the gum, sit up straight, turn off electronic devices! Body language is instantly apparent the moment you meet—the acceptable greeting is the handshake, a genuine smile and direct eye contact. Appearing distant because you lack eye contact is a sure sign to the interviewer that you lack confidence in why you are there. Sitting up straight without fidgeting signals to the interviewer that you are poised and stress free. Turn off anything that may beep, buzz or chime—always allow the interviewer to know that for that moment, the only center of your attention is this interview.

Bonus tip: The first impression and the last impression are the most significant parts of the interview and the most memorable so make sure your first and lasting impressions are top notch!

Wishing you all the best in your interview process and if you would like any help with interviewing, please email Amanda@bizme.biz

1. Do your homework. Find out ahead of time if any of your guests have food allergies or other dietary restrictions and plan your menu accordingly or prepare a buffet with a variety of items from which to choose. My advice is to keep it simple and serve what you know. Don’t be like me and try to serve an unfamiliar, complicated, or labor-intensive dish your first time out, especially if you are entertaining your boss or an important client. One of your tried-and-true recipes is best. If you want to live on the wild side and serve something exotic or extra special, prepare it at least two or three times before you decide to serve it to guests.

2. Keep a list. Just as you would with a business plan, write down all of the items you need to make your meal complete. It’s especially frustrating when you think you have all of your ingredients and then discover in the midst of cooking that you don’t have enough salt, sugar, or butter. If that happens, I hope you have a good relationship with your neighbors, or you’ll be making a mad dash to the store at the last minute.

3. Have a variety of beverages on hand. The mark of a good host is to have a few bottles of red and white wine along with plenty of nonalcoholic beverages for the teetotalers in the group.

4. Stock up on snacks. This includes nuts, chips, salsa or dip, one or two different cheeses, crackers, and one or two kinds of frozen appetizers. Choose hors d’oeuvres that are easy to eat and require only one bite. This will ensure that no one gets crumbs on his or her nice outfit or on your floor.

5. Do as much as possible the day before. I like to set my table the night before. I also prefer to clean and polish my serving pieces and fill my salt and pepper shakers a few days before the party to avoid last-minute flurries.

6. Iron your linens. When you are serving cocktails, provide linen cocktail napkins or, at the very least, decorative paper cocktail napkins. For dinners, I prefer linen napkins because they’re more elegant than paper ones.

7. Set the mood. Candles are an easy, inexpensive, quick way to make any home more inviting. And we all know that everyone and everything looks better by candlelight. Buy as many candles as you can and place them throughout your house. Remember to reserve a few unscented ones for the dinner table. Light your candles approximately fifteen or twenty minutes prior to your guests’ arrival, and then light the candles on your dinner table just before everyone sits down to dine.

8. Choose your tunes. Music is a vital element in the staging of a good dinner party, as it sets the tone for the evening. Create a dinner party playlist on your iPod or iPhone or preset your CD player so there’s music in the air when your guests arrive and keep it playing throughout the evening.

9. Preset your coffee and tea service. About an hour before your party, set up your coffeemaker and put cream, milk, sugar, and sweetener in decorative containers. Put condiments in attractive bowls or containers rather than placing bottles directly on the table. Put your coffee cups, saucers, teaspoons, and assorted teas on a tray on a side table.

10. Keep fragrant items off the table. Scented candles and flowers can compete with and even overpower food aromas. I say this on behalf of anyone who’s ever been overwhelmed by the scent of stargazer lilies or a scented pine candle while attempting to enjoy dinner.

Bonus tip:

Jacqueline Whitmore is an international etiquette expert and the author of POISED FOR SUCCESS (St. Martin’s Press, Nov. 2011). Click here to order her new book: http://amzn.to/nNtJHj. She can be reached at www.etiquetteexpert.com

Developing workplace relationships

Feeling left out of thriving office cohorts can invite back the same green-eyed monster that once plagued us in our formative years. Only now, it is not just about being in with the cool crowd. Our goals in forming workplace relationships have evolved. These latter year clique formations are detached from the excluding cliques of our youths through a subtle but softening distinction. Since we are all grown-ups now (or, at least, the years-based equivalent), the self-serving aspect, while still a component of office cliquing, is coupled with a more collectivistic end result: the achievement of cohesive teamwork.

Certainly, having work friends can successfully serve our individualistic needs. Companionships help individuals to make sense of their environments, enjoy themselves in the process, and grow in their capabilities. But having a strong social network in the office can also help employees achieve more for the good of the organization.

Research indicates that workplace relationships, believed once to be a hindrance to productivity, can actually benefit companies. Positive workplace relationships can serve as a boon to the productivity and profitability of the organization and, as well, the likelihood of employee satisfaction. In his research for the book Vital Friends: The People You Can’t Afford to Live Without, author Tom Rath discovered that employees who cite close office relationships are seven times as likely to engage with their work. Engaged employees equals greater worker satisfaction, productivity, and company profitability.

While it may be easy to admire or, in some of our more catty moments, jealously covet those relationships from afar, consider how you might follow their lead. Remember that the water cooler clique that excludes you is not the real world equivalent of Stephen King’s Carrie being bathed in pig blood so instead of plotting your own vengeful blood bath rebuttal, try picking up your own pack of professional pals.

Even as having a best friend at work may motivate you to engage in the workplace community and, thus, help you to more aptly participate in the produce and profit model, the pitfalls of workplace friendships may ultimately override those gains if the relationships are not managed appropriately. So tuck the green-eyed monster to bed and follow these simple guidelines to ensure that your workplace relationships benefit one and all.

Business interruptus

Sitting in a group meeting, you happen to glance over at Grass, Gracie and Cass so inseparably intertwined they have earned a unifying moniker, and register the impending trickling of their sickening symbiosis: matching eye-rolls, joint head-nods, one finishing the other’s sentences. Just as the heckling hyenas of high school got your goat back in the day with their synchronized giggles, these juvenile behaviors can agitate just about anyone and create unnecessary diversions from business at hand.

Avoid reverting to these tween-like behaviors. Although close companionships may get you through the doldrums of the day, office friends who display matchy-matchy behaviors and seize every opportunity to celebrate their friendship even in the midst of pressing business can serve as an obnoxious distraction and nix any semblance of professionalism.

Avoid exclusivity

Perhaps the only thing worse than a gargantuan group of gossiping girls is a pair of them. A duo of dames can easily project a “them-versus-us” feel. Innocuous whispers may be perceived as secret attacks and the closeness between two BFFs can suggest a rejection of all other people in favor of their preferences for one another.

As in our civilian lives, from your network of office friends you may mesh best with one individual above all others. However, if you confine yourself to a monogamous friendship in the workplace, you are limiting your personal and professional growth. By engaging with multiple confidants in the course of your workday, you will learn through their differing perspectives, open yourself to more work opportunities, and avoid being seen as an incomplete person without your other half.

A glass ceiling of your own design

Strong female-to-female friendships are important, but confining yourself to just women can be limiting on multiple levels. Neglecting the hairier of the sexes excludes a large class of perspectives and can put you on the outside of an important set of connections. Studies indicate that the old boys’ networks are still strong, but they are just not as exclusive anymore. However, these guys aren’t sending out the invites, so it is up to you to ensure your inclusion at the party.

Enjoy those girl-on-girl workplace relationships, but keep in mind that ignoring the men can serve to suppress your workplace progress. Even as men may not be purposefully weaving these sexist separations, putting all of your relationship eggs in the baskets of the girls provides men the opportunity to keep you from their hatchery.

Depending on your navigation, workplace relationships can be the lubricant to the spokes of the organizational grind or a collision waiting to happen. Enjoy the personal rewards of such relationships but do so thoughtfully. Chart your course and choose your crew wisely or your road to the top could very well be a dead end.

What I saw:

• It should not be surprising to anyone that people wearing jeans, a tank top and a neon bra underneath has little to no chance of getting any sort of attention from anyone looking to hire a serious candidate.

• A mini skirt is also not acceptable career wear for a professional. I understand we have seen enough movies where females have gotten ahead in their fields based on how they dress but believe me, this is not a good strategy if your intention is to be viewed as a must-hire because she’s just that qualified.

• I was truly shocked to see many company reps sitting behind their booths rather than engaging with the attendees and the event. As I approached these booths, the reps wouldn’t even stand to greet me. This lazy tactic and nonchalant attitude does not paint a positive work force for the company they represented . It made me think . . .wow what lazy employees.

What I heard:

• “I really wish these college students would know how to approach an employer” was the comment I heard most frequently from the recruiters. This company rep was referring to the lack of an elevator pitch from potential hiring candidates when approaching the table. Always be ready with your elevator pitch–what you are looking for and who you are and then say this to everyone you are networking with whenever you are in a position to be searching for possible job leads.

• “Please send your resume to this address http://www.anycompany.com/careers and someone will get back to you.” WHAT A JOKE!! The experience I have had with working with recruiters and hiring managers has been about tapping into their network. I get lots of requests from employers asking me if I know someone who would be a good fit for xyz postion. In some industry like teaching, they do check the online site but mostly it is all about who you know and building a relationship, not sending your resume blindly into a website. I was so disappointed to hear that they are actually sending people there. They are not even setting these students up to be successful.

• This one is my favorite: “It is company policy that we cannot give out our business card.” It seems unbelievable that a company has a policy in which employees are banned from passing out business cards. When I asked about why there was such a policy, I was told so that they are not buried with emails that don’t relate to work. Interesting concept because if you are at a career fair trying to recruit new hires, isn’t that about work?

Who I met:

Did you know that recruiters and hiring managers for many companies don’t even attend Career Fairs? I know you are thinking, there is no way that is true but it is. As I was walking around to the different tables I met more accountant and reps from administrative and finance departments rather than recruiters. When asked why they were attending this career fair instead of a recruiter or HR person, their answer was that the hiring managers were too busy!! Too busy? I truly felt bad for all the hopeful seniors that attended this career fair thinking they were being proactive and getting a jumpstart on the process of finding a job.

Would I recommend going to a Career Fair?

Yes, I would because for every two accountants sitting behind a booth, there is one recruiter. If you think you are going to attend a career fair and walk out of there with a job, you need to re-think your strategy. Career Fairs are a great way to practice meeting people and engaging in conversation, which are two very important skills when you finally get that interview. So definitely go and practice, practice, practice.

I do think however, that universities need to re-evaluate where they are spending their time and money in terms of helping students find jobs. Just because Career Fairs are something that Universities have always done doesn’t mean that this is the most effective means of helping college seniors get face time with potential employers. Hiring strategies that now include social media connections and networking have totally changed the job search process.

But when Abby entered the workforce, her “status quo” was rattled. “I always wanted to be a literary agent, and the literary world works in a very traditional manner . . . you need to start as an assistant and work your way up. I was not used to being ‘under’ someone, but I expected that I’d be working for someone as driven as myself, that I could view as a mentor, and that I would move up quickly to become a senior agent.”

That’s not exactly how it went down, though. “My boss ended up being the most ‘chilled out’, go-with-the-flow guy I’ve ever met. I have no idea how the man ended up as an agent; it’s a job that usually attracts people like me. You need to be aggressive to succeed. But he was the farthest thing from aggressive. Half the time, I had to remind him what he had going on that day. I didn’t think I could learn anything from him, and I felt really frustrated.”

Abby was experiencing a conflict of personality type in the workplace, something that most of us have dealt with at one time or another. There are a slew of different theories about personality type, which the Psychological Dictionary explains as “theories generally provid(ing) ways of describing personal characteristics and behavior, establish(ing) an overall framework for organizing a wide range of information, and address(ing) such issues as individual differences, personality development from birth through adulthood, and the causes, nature, and treatment of psychological disorders.” Perhaps the best known way of categorizing ourselves is by Type A/B theory, which was ironically developed not by psychologists, but cardiologists attempting to find a link between health and personality type. (No surprise: Type A people were found to be at a significantly higher risk of cardiac disease.) For those of you living under a rock (perhaps the more lackadaisical Type B’s?), here’s a quick and dirty rundown of these classic personality types:

Type A:

A typical Type A is aggressive, independent, ambitious, volatile, and rigid. They usually are fast talkers, have no patience for laziness, and do not eat or sleep well. Prototype: Ari Gold from Entourage—a high-strung go-getter.

Type B:

Type B’s are gregarious, social animals, who live by the motto, “don’t sweat the small stuff.” They are generally well-liked, but suffer from distractedness and a lack of attention to detail. These are the folks who used to get yelled at in science class for talking to their partner about the big party at Lisa’s rather than dissecting the frog (not that I’m talking from experience or anything . . .). Prototype: Rachel from Friends—well liked, social, not driven by success but rather personal relationships; needs to be well liked.

Type C:

This lesser-known type is notorious for feeling like they should sweat the small stuff. They are logical, analytical rule-followers who need to be sure of the why’s and how’s before making a move. They dislike risks, are not the greatest at standing up for themselves, and tend to be a bit anti-social, preferring the unchanging manner of numbers and facts to the unpredictable nature of other people. Prototype: Milton Waddams from the movie Office Space—the guy who waddles around mumbling about his precious stapler, and ultimately burns down the office because someone takes said stapler away. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, do yourself a favor and rent Office Space. It’s a classic.)

Type D:

Hardly anyone talks about this type, probably because they are too busy worrying to make much of an impression. Type D’s are described in such wonderfully complementary terms as “anxious”, overreacting”, and “needing to be told what to do”. On the positive side, they are often the “rock” of the workplace, the loyal one with little ambition of her own—the perfect person to complain to about other co-irkers or your Type A boss. Prototype: Honestly? I can’t think of one. Maybe they don’t make memorable characters for TV shows or movies because they don’t create much drama. The closest I could swing was Erin, the receptionist who replaced Pam on The Office.

We tend to choose careers which fit our personality types, which is why most bosses are Type A, and salespeople tend to fall into the Type B category. The most “typical” cause of personality type workplace conflict is due to an overbearing Type A boss, like 25-year old medical researcher Erika’s supervisor. “He was so Type A that he insisted on her itemizing every receipt from business travel, to the letter. One trip I bought some materials for fieldwork on my way to the airport, and also bought a Wall Street Journal from the same store. Rather than make two separate transactions, I just bought all of the stuff together. I handed in my receipts as always, but a week later, I find this receipt on my desk with the Wall Street Journal item circled in red and the words ‘What is this? I don’t need to be paying for your reading material.’ I couldn’t fathom why he would freak out about a purchase which cost a dollar. It was totally out of my realm of thinking . . . I guess now I know better.”

Sort it out . . . which type can handle Type A?

Humans defy logic, though, and there’s no guarantee you won’t encounter a Type A secretary or Type D boss—especially in this crazy economy. Abby’s situation is a perfect example of an imperfect example of personality theory in the workplace. According to Type A/B theory, her boss was in the wrong career, and Abby was in the wrong position. A’s and B’s work quite well together, but only if the roles are reversed: a Type A boss is perfectly complemented by a Type B employee (the stereotypical version of this relationship is a high-powered, typically male executive and his loyal, spunky assistant—Tom Cruise/Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire, if you will). The intense Type A work ethic is tempered by the Type B ability to approach tasks with more creativity and flexibility; the Type B assistant can bring levity and calm support to a Type A executive. Of course, even in this more classic scenario, problems arise: a Type A boss may find his Type B’s laid back approach annoying, and the Type B employee might fear his boss’s iron fist, seeing him/her as inflexible and demanding. But in Abby’s situation, where a person whose type is more suited to the aggressive, superior role is relegated to the administrative/secondary position, major angst is to be expected.

What type fits your type?

In order to maintain a comfortable working environment, it’s important to understand how the types operate; how to handle your own inherent personality traits; and how to cohabitate peacefully with whatever type you are working with. First and foremost, figure out where you fall on the spectrum: are you a driven, aggressive, power-hungry A? Or an outgoing, fun-loving B? A stick-to-the-plan, persnickety C? Or are you a stressed-out D, the one who everyone relies on to stay late and pitch in?

Type E . . . the Everything woman!

Just to confuse you a little further, consider this: some feel that the Type A/B system of personality classification is inherently sexist. The late psychologist Harriet Braiker, PhD, created a new “type” in order to reflect this gender bias. The “Type E” woman, who Braiker claimed was just as stressed-out as her Type A male counterpart, was caught in the trap of trying to be “everything to everybody” (hence the type “E” moniker). Unlike ambitious, high-achieving men, women have to balance their desire for success with cultural pressure to maintain typically feminine characteristics like warmth, flexibility, and a compromising nature. Not only are these women suffering from all the high-strung tendencies of the typical Type A lifestyle, they are also fighting this internal conflict, often acting differently in their personal lives than they do in their professional time.

For our purposes, we’ll stick to the generic “types”, but Braiker’s theory does bring up an interesting point— is it possible to be a Type D by nature, but a Type A out of necessity in the workplace? Type A’s are more often driven to achieve leadership roles, but more laid-back Type B personalities end up in supervisory positions, as do rigid Type C’s and non-confrontational Type D’s. Sometimes, a need for financial success leads people into career trajectories that are not suitable for their personalities—but that doesn’t mean it can’t work. Lydia, who sees herself as more of a Type B, was content in her middle-management position at a small consulting firm. When an opportunity came up which would nearly double her salary, though, she rethought her goals. “I never saw myself as particularly ambitious, but I wanted that promotion . . . not for the sole sake of getting promoted, or wielding more power, but because it would allow my husband and me to buy our dream home in a neighborhood where our kids could go to great schools. It would let us live more comfortably, and that made it a worthwhile trade—the risk of going out of my comfort zone for the opportunity of a better life.” Lydia found herself staying late at the office, gunning for the attention of her supervisor, and asking for extra work. “I’m sure my coworkers would have described me as Type A at the time, and I certainly felt the stress and drive of a Type A lifestyle . . . but it really wasn’t ‘me’. As soon as I got that promotion and felt secure in my new position, I chilled out and became myself again. Although I still had to hold on to some of those Type A traits in order to be a competent manager—I was never a stickler for details, but I became one, because I never would have been able to do my job well, otherwise.”

29-year-old Jessica, a self-proclaimed Type B, tells me that the principal at the high school she taught at was “manned by a wonderfully type B principal who didn’t micromanage the teachers. I rarely saw him worked up about much—and that says a lot about a person working with teenagers!” Jessica and her chilled-out leader got along famously, but she suspects it was due to their similar personalities. “There were other teachers who accused him of dropping the ball in many areas . . . but they were all type A overachievers. Go figure.”

Tabitha is one of those Type A overachievers, who found her Type D manager to be a huge energy drain. “The woman was always holding these group meetings, like ‘state of the union’ kind of things . . . she cared so much about how we were all feeling; I think she needed constant reassurance that we liked her and thought she was doing a good job. Meanwhile, these little pow-wows never accomplished anything, and took us away from the work at hand. Our group was always missing deadlines, and I felt like it reflected poorly on us as employees. I asked to be switched to another group, but when my manager found out, she started asking me to go out to lunch every other day to ‘mend the fence’ . . . whatever that means,” Tabitha grumbles. She also laments that her coworkers loved their boss’s lack of focus and drive, because it let them get away with doing less work. In Tabitha’s Type A mind, this was a problem; for the majority of her team, it was a bonus.

Types A B C D . . . a workplace harmony?

Workplace synchronicity is all about reconciling your personality type with that of your coworkers and supervisors.

Some statistics suggest that 85% of dismissals in the US are due to personality conflicts, so it’s worth considering how your type is affecting your public persona.

“Your personality type and its accompanying personal style give you a unique workplace aura in much the same way that corporate culture creates a unique aura for your company,” claims management training coach Helen Taft on her career advice website. “It’s not all that unusual for (someone’s) personality to clash with a corporate culture. So if you find a few of your personality traits are out of synch with your culture, don’t fret. The trick is to be aware of which traits they are so you can subtly realign your actions or reactions as needed in a given situation.”

Remember Abby, the Type A literary agent’s assistant? She unfortunately learned this the hard way. “I got so frustrated with my Type B boss that I ended up calling a potential client on my own, assuming the client would appreciate my go-getter attitude, and I’d make my boss look good. Turns out that the reason my boss was so successful was that he refused to play the game most of his peers did, and clients appreciated the laid-back approach. The client called my boss and told him I’d reached out kind of aggressively, and I got in major trouble. Not only did we almost miss out on signing the client, I wasn’t allowed to interact with clients for a probationary period after that. I definitely learned my lesson—sometimes being Type A isn’t the best way to achieve things.”

Workplace advantages–rock your type!

Rather than allowing your inner “type” to negatively affect your ability to thrive in the workplace, use it to your advantage. If you’re an aggressive Type A, harness your need for power and challenge by taking on leadership roles whenever possible, and asking for complex assignments. Other types can demonstrate their worth in less flashy, but just as important, ways. Type B’s should use their social prowess to facilitate group projects, and their positive energy to keep morale up. C’s can impress the powers-that-be with their ability to tackle detail-driven tasks that intimidate coworkers, and D’s can shine in subtle ways like maintaining equilibrium within the office and helping others manage complicated client problems.

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses as well as that of others can help you work as a team, so learn all you can about the different personality types. It’s kind of fun when you get into it—like horoscopes for MBAs. Plus, the next time you meet a Type C, you’ll be able to identify her, befriend her, and ask her to do your taxes. Just don’t steal her stapler.

So how do you get past all the depressing news of our tanking economy and the listless number of job opportunities for graduating seniors. According to a recent study by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University in 2006-2007 90% of college students got a job right after college, 2008-2009 it dropped slightly to 80% and then in 2010 53% . . . OMG you know where this trend is going and it is not looking good. So what should you do in your last year of college, throw in the towel because the job market totally sucks, try out for reality TV and pray that producers make you famous like Jersey Shore, apply to grad school or do you put on your gloves and fight the big fight?

The jobs are out there but the process of finding your first career employment is a lot different than even a few years ago. It’s critical that you take advantage of everything that college has to offer during your final year.

Get ready soon-to-be college graduates to get ahead of your competition by jumpstarting the process with my toolkit of everything you need to know:

1: Networking, You better start talking: Networking is one of the most powerful tools right now for finding a job. The days of sending your resume into Monster and getting five emails a day about companies that want you doesn’t exist. If you haven’t done so, now’s the time to start talking to your professors—students always underestimate the amount of connections that professors know. Think about it, if they have been teaching for 30 years–that is a lot of students! Also many have worked in the corporate world, started their own business and then decided to share their knowledge by teaching. Also research YP events in your city, there are a ton of them and a great way to start getting to know people that can hire you!

2. Informational interview: If you are walking into your final year of college and still confused on what you want to do you truly need to start figuring that out. The informational interview is a great way to get face-to-face with different people in different industries and hear first hand what a typical day is like, how they got started in their career and where they want to go. It also gives you an opportunity to build relationships with professionals that can help you find a job. It is always nice to have someone on the inside that is keeping you in the loop of job openings. Start by picking up the phone and meeting with people . . . believe me it works!

3. Internships: I have to be honest, if you are a senior and you don’t have any corporate work experience (internships) on your resume the chance of you finding a job is very slim. This is really what HR wants to see in a potential hire—that you have taken on an internship and you understand how the corporate environment works. On the flip side, if you don’t have any of this it is not too late. Try to do at least two internships in your senior year. Paid or unpaid doesn’t matter—an internship allows you to experience the work ethic involved and interacting in a professional environment. Internships are a great way to test run a position and to also build your network. Many internships lead to full-time positions, you just never know what could happen but if you don’t do anything . . . you won’t get anything!

4. Attend the bizMe Career Camp: Hosted by me! January 10th,11th and 12th. This 3 day camp will walk you through everything you need to be doing to find a job. Some of the topics covered include; Personal Branding, networking, informational interviews, researching companies, what to wear, social media, resumes, and follow up. I am also holding a private networking event where you are able to practice your skills while meet potential employers. Here is the link to sign up:

Senior year is a lot of fun but it also is your last year to figure out where your life should go. If you are still trying to figure it out, don’t worry there is still time.

Your body under continued stress behaves badly. Otherwise helpful stress hormones create a cascade of events that may culminate in a sense of generalized anxiety. And with job market uncertainty, savings that went “poof”, grad school on hold, and relationships under strain, anxiety overload can feel like stepping off a sheer cliff, over and over and over again.

Clearly a call to your doctor is in order if you are experiencing symptoms of unmanageable anxiety or outright panic. Any home remedies might help you avoid getting to that point?

Think A-B-C: Aerobic exercise – Breathing techniques – Comfort foods.

Aerobic Exercise

A good cardio routine pays out twofold. With oxygen circulation and production of endorphins like serotonin (a feel-good chemical that soothes nerve endings in your brain), you’ll feel better after even one workout. If you want that sense of well-being to last beyond each 30 minute run or killer spinning class, commit to a minimum of 3 days a week. Today’s fitness world is all about the “mind-body” connection in recognition that a fit body fosters a fit mind.

If you become anxious to the point you’re stuck to the couch, enlist the help of friends. Go in on a personal trainer that will cut you a deal for small group work and beg for boot camp – cardio intervals interspersed with weight training. Too intense? A walk around the neighborhood with your best friend before or after work can also help regulate mood. And the socialization may be a good distraction from the repetitive thinking that can accompany un-tethered anxiety.

There’s even a bonus. The calorie burn of a regular routine will also help you avoid the belly fat that often accumulates with prolonged stress. Body wisdom suggests even if you never have to wrestle a parking attendant or flee your home state, you will need to outrun someone some day. The fat that is stored in the abdomen (sweet, sweet muffin top) is most readily available to burn. So don’t wait for the crisis . . . burn, baby burn!!

Breathing Techniques

The power of breath in controlling symptoms of anxiety can’t be over-rated. Picture yourself stopped dead in traffic, closing in on your dream job interview, five minutes to travel the last five miles. Your mind starts reeling with all the other things you should/could do – leave the car idling on the highway and run like hell (you’ve seen that in the movies), roll down your window and scream at the driver in front of you, join the cacophony of horn-blowers, throw yourself off the next bridge since you’ll be unemployed forever . . .

Dial into your breathing pattern. Is it rapid and tense? Maybe you’re holding it. Both engage your sympathetic nervous system – yup, fight or flight – and you can short circuit that just by slowing your breathing rate. An oxygenated brain thinks more clearly, is capable of being responsive rather than reactive. Imagine taking a minute of full deep breaths and see yourself picking up your cell phone and explaining your predicament to a very compassionate executive assistant who laughs and says your interviewer must be tangled in the same snare.

If you’d like some guidance on how to breathe better, consider taking a yoga class where they practice “Pranayama” – the art of breath control. In addition to learning a sequence of yoga poses, many designed to sooth and restore, skilled teachers instruct you on how to use breath to elicit the relaxation response. And if you find a yoga guru to guide you in meditation, you may be pleasantly surprised that it can help you make friends with your mind!

If yoga classes aren’t convenient, try this simple breathing exercise at home:

Lay a yoga mat or thick towel on the floor of a quiet room. Put on some tunes that soothe. Type “yoga” into an I-Tunes search if you need inspiration. Lie flat on your back, legs extended and relaxed, and close your eyes. Make a triangle shape with your hands by overlapping your thumbs and connecting your index fingers. Bring the triangle to your abdomen, placing the thumbs across your navel with the fingers pointing down and resting lightly on your lower abs. Begin breathing slowly, in and out of your nose if possible. See if you can direct the breath into your lower abdomen and have your hands rise slightly with the inhalation and sink with the exhale. Stay with this for the duration of a song, maybe two. 

Full, deep belly breathing is very yogic and oh so relaxing! If you practice relaxation techniques regularly, you’ll find it a lot easier to engage them when you really need to.

Comfort Foods

A big bowl of mom’s mac and cheese might do the trick in the short term. But recognize comfort foods don’t need to be red-line bad for you. Reframe what comfort means and work them into any meal. Warm oatmeal and other complex carbohydrates (whole grain) boost serotonin and stabilize blood sugar. Toss down a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice to reduce stress hormones and pump up your immune system with vitamin C. Almonds are full of vitamins that foster resilience so throw some in your yogurt for lunch. Since avocado works to lower blood pressure and is so nutrient dense, indulge in a little guacamole for a happy hour snack. Sauté a little spinach over rare tuna for dinner – both help regulate cortisol. And when you’re ready for sleep but toss and turn instead, a glass of skim milk might do the trick as the calcium lowers anxiety and reduces muscle spasms.

No one is immune from experiencing some anxiety, particularly when stressors add up. Start by separating the stress that can be worked with from that you can’t control. Ask yourself if your thinking brings you closer to long-term goals or does it suck you down a drain? If you find yourself swirling, try A-B-C . . . move a little, breathe a little more, have a glass of milk. And with the clarity that results, pause in gratitude for the one thing (person, animal, circumstance) for which you are grateful every day.

Today women make up 60% of the American workforce and Gen Y career gals are leading the way. “They’re confident, smart and not afraid to show it,” says Dr. Christine Whelan, author of the forthcoming book, Generation WTF: From “What the #%&$?” to a Wise, Tenacious, and Fearless You. “They know that men will be attracted to them for their smarts—and their sexiness—and that they can bring these skills into the work world, too.”

Take a look at many of our modern day power girls (i.e. Google VP Marissa Mayer, Georgetown Cupcake sisters Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne, rocket scientist and mathematician Olympia LePoint, Wall Street analyst Meredith Whitney, or First Lady Michelle Obama, to name a few) and you’ll find they personify an amazing combination of feminine traits: they’re collaborative, committed, entrepreneurial, sophisticated and savvy. And chances are good they’ve got a gorgeous pair of heels to match.

Being a professionally smart and sexy woman doesn’t mean revealing it all, but proudly owning it all. “It’s the actions of this generation that will crystallize the gender equality movement that’s been underway for decades,” Dr. Whelan explains. And as her research shows, it’s better for everyone when smart women embrace their intelligence, acknowledge their achievements and carry their sexy selves with confidence.

So what’s the best way to strut your bizGal stuff (without alienating yourself or being a braggart)? Act like a professional. “Show up on time and professionally dressed for work,” advises Dr. Whelan. “Put in an honest day’s work (limit that Facebook IMing to your lunch break) and be solution-oriented. Show you are a self-starter. The work world isn’t all about what others can do for you. It’s about showing your value to the organization.”

Generation WTF comes hits the bookshelves in February. But Dr. Whelan offers a sneak preview with this final bit of advice: “It’s OK to admit when you are wrong, especially in the workplace.” Turns out having the inner strength and confidence to own up to your actions makes you a great leader. What could be smarter (or sexier) than that?

bizMe interviewed one very smart and sexy Gen Y bizgal, Danica McKellar, who definitely sports the combo of moxie and power heels—don’t miss our chat with Danica!

Dr. Whelan is a visiting professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh. Visit her at www.christinewhelan.com.