Are you a floppy fish with the grasp? Or is yours firm?

Along with maintaining eye contact, smiling and appearing attentive in job interviews, how you shake hands can influence the prospective employer’s opinion. A wobbly handshake can convey an anxious, shy or introverted personality. A firm, solid handshake implies friendliness, ease in social situations and authority.

But is a handshake a real deal breaker in job interviews, and in sealing the deal at work?

Researchers Greg Stewart and Susan Dustin at the University ofIowa, Murray Barrick of Texas A&M University and Todd Darnold atCreightonUniversitysay handshakes can have an effect on your success in a job interview.

The researchers studied 98 undergraduate students for the quality of their handshakes during mock interviews and related the kind of handshakes given to interviewer hiring recommendations. The authors of the study measured the student’s personalities and asked them to participate in a mock interview. They found that despite what the candidates wore or how they looked, the handshake had an effect on how the interviewer assessed the candidate for job suitability.

It turns out that handshakes communicate a lot. And since it is one of the initial behaviours we engage in when meeting prospective employers, it can be critical to get it right. A firm handshake has been linked to personality traits like extroversion and the ability to express emotion, according to the authors.

Being extroverted is a plus when it comes to getting a job. Conveying an outgoing attitude through a firm handshake can be key to success in landing employment. You seem persuasive, sociable and skilled interpersonally when a solid handshake is used as a greeting.

In the work world, being interpersonally savvy is increasingly important. Employers are looking for people who can work well with others and collaborate. The emphasis on teams underscores the need for people who can resolve conflict, behave non-defensively and be solution-oriented. Employers value a positive attitude or a can-do mindset.

The strong grip of a firm handshake can convey these abilities in a single non-verbal move. It’s true that not everyone who has a great handshake is an exemplary team player, but in the process of trying to prove yourself on the job, a firm handshake can get you in the door. Without it, you may lose that chance.

The initial impression we make is key and it must be sustained once the job is yours. So, concentrating on the way you come across at first is important.

Many elements, from physical attractiveness to comportment, to wardrobe choices, have been linked to positive interviewer evaluations. But interestingly, the researchers found that physical appearance and professional dress were not as important to interviewer recommendations to hire as was the firm handshake.

So, dress well, but remember that the first handshakes are even more helpful in making yourself attractive to the employer. We can’t do anything about our relative attractiveness, but we can offer a job getting handshake.

But don’t squeeze your prospective boss’s hand so hard that it hurts. This kind of extreme handshaking behaviour can convey overzealousness, a lack of consideration for others, or an overly competitive and aggressive streak.

The researchers noted that when women have a firm handshake, it can spell more benefits than for men who have a solid shake. That’s because women typically have weaker handshakes and a women firmly shaking hands can impress an interviewer more, because it’s somewhat unexpected. However, while women’s grips may be more tentative, they make up for the lack of strength in the handshake with the adept use of other non-verbals, including posture, eye contact and smiling during an interview.

Working on your handshake can give you a leg up in an interview and practising the skill, if you are unfamiliar with it, is important. Practise with a friend; as silly as it may sound your next job may depend on it.

These are excellent tips to help you excel in your next interview and possibly land your next job! We at Friday Professional Group, meet people all the time and have the opportunity to shake several people’s hands when we interview them. Come in to Friday Professional Group to practice your firm handshake with one of our Professional Recruiters! www.Friday.ab.ca 

Source: http://www.working.com/calgary/handshake+right+shot/4957455/story.html

By: Jenna Hibbitt

In honor of Stampede here is a fantastic video for you all to enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEWMoLYEn64

Watch this!

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you. 
Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch it to be sure. 
~Murphy’s Law

Happy Friday from the Team at Friday Professional Group!
www.friday.ab.ca

Do:

Be concise: “Email is intended for short, informational messages,” says Jodi R. R. Smith, president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Marblehead, Mass., and author of “From Clueless to Class Act: Manners for the Modern Woman.” “Keep in mind that with some email systems it is possible for the recipient to read just the first three lines of your message without ever opening the email. Make the first couple lines count.”

Double check: “Never, ever skip the spell check and double check the word is not changed to a word you did not intend to use,” says Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas, a company that specializes in corporate etiquette training. “Spell check is not foolproof if it picks up a word that it ‘thinks’ you mean.”

While you’re rereading your email, also take a second to ensure that the correct person’s name is in the “To” field. It can be easy to accidentally type in the wrong name, especially with email programs that auto-complete email addresses when you start typing.

Be professional: “Treat email like a professional correspondence, because it is. It’s the only communication most executives see and you will be judged accordingly,” Gottsman says. That means spelling out words in their entirety (no “U,” “LOL,” etc.), using correct capitalization and including an email signature with your contact information.

Professionalism should extend to the style and formatting of your email as well. When choosing fonts and creating an email signature, use the “Phyllis” test. Anything you think Phyllis from “The Office” might include in her emails should be avoided in yours. This includes cutesy fonts like Comic Sans, email wallpaper, and signatures with flash animation or your favourite quote.

Be pleasant: You probably know from experience that it’s hard to tell whether someone is being sarcastic or serious via email. “Watch not only what you say, but how you say it,” Smith says. “Using all capital letters is considered yelling.” The same goes for sentences with excessive punctuation — ending a sentence with “!!!” or “???” will just make you seem angry.

Similarly, suggests Robby Slaughter, owner of Slaughter Development LLC, a business productivity firm based inIndianapolis, start your email off with a friendly greeting, not an order. “The word ‘hello’ followed by the name of the recipient does wonders in ensuring your email is well received and actually read,” he says.

Don’t:

Avoid face-to-face conversation: Sometimes, it’s just easier and more effective to walk into your boss’s office, or pick up the phone and call your customer. “Remember this rule: Email is more for coordination than it is for communication,” Slaughter says. If you have a lengthy project or proposal to discuss, schedule time to talk to the person face-to-face or over the phone.

Similarly, email shouldn’t be used to resolve conflict, or as a method of avoiding confrontation. “Don’t hide behind your computer,” Smith says. “Don’t use email as a shield to avoid having a conversation or a face-to-face interaction.”

Copy your whole team: “This is like scheduling a pickup from two taxi companies ‘just in case’– you’re wasting almost everyone’s time, and most of the recipients will assume that someone else will answer,” Slaughter says.

Send an email when you’re angry: In the heat of an angry moment, it is way too easy to fire off a scathing email full of things you’d never actually say to someone’s face. “Wait until you cool off before putting something down in writing,” Gottsman says.

While most of the experts we heard from agreed on the above points, there were some divided opinions on a couple of popular email practices, notably:

- The use of emoticons in work emails. Some experts said they were OK, because they helped signify the tone of the email (i.e. putting a  at the end of the sentence to tell the recipient you are joking), while others thought they were simply unprofessional.

- Whether or not the “Sent from my BlackBerry” or “Sent from my iPhone” should be kept at the bottom of emails from wireless devices. Some argued that it should be there, to alert the recipient that formatting issues or typos are a result of emailing on the go, while others said it should be removed, because it’s a dead giveaway to clients and colleagues that you’re not in the office.

If you follow these tips in all your emails then you will come off as very professional and avoid sending an embarrassing email to possibly the wrong person. Send Friday Professional Group an email and if you use these tips we will interview you for a fantastic new job!

Source: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/office-etiquette/improve-email-etiquette/

By: Jenna Hibbitt

What exactly is it though that makes an employee great? These top ten traits give some ideas to employers looking to hire and of course to employees who want to operate at the top of their game:

1. Dependability: Great employees are always dependable. They do the job they are supposed to do every time, and no one has to worry that they don’t deliver the goods. A great employee can be counted to always have their work done right, when it is supposed to be done – it is a forgone conclusion that they will, and no one else has to spend any time worrying about it.
2. Team Spirit: Great employees are team players. They don’t constantly seek out attention or hogs the limelight. Rather, a great employee works with others to make sure that the things that need to get done do get done, for the good of the company.
3. Taking Direction: Great employees know how to take direction. They know how to take criticism, direction and advice gracefully and make it work for them when doing their job.
4. Trust: Great employees don’t spread office gossip and they don’t dish company dirt. Likewise, they always tell the truth to their employer, even if it lands them in hot water.
5. Confidentiality: This of course is strongly linked to number 4. Great employees always guard the confidential nature of their business dealings and protects everyone’s privacy.
6. Participation: Great Employees participate in the day to day life of the office. They don’t bow out of meetings or skip the office birthday celebrations. These things may not be a fun part of working life, and everyone involved knows that everyone else has some place they would rather be – but a great employee wouldn’t be any place else.
7. Likeability: Great employees get along with other employees. Every office has one person that is in everyone else’s business and talks too loud on the phone and generally stirs things up and gets under everyone’s skin. This kind of employee zaps office morale – a great employee is a good co-worker to everyone.
8. Competence: Great employees have good working skills. It may sound obvious, but a great employee has the abilities needed to do their job, and they constantly seek ways to improve, like going to training seminars or seeking further education. Great workers have great skills.
9. Tact: Great employees have tact and decorum. If there is a problem in the office, a great employee doesn’t make a scene in front of everyone else. A great employee will deal with such issues with privacy and diplomacy. Further, a great employee doesn’t tell tasteless, political or religious jokes, nor do they send emails that tell these kinds of jokes.
10. Attitude: Last but certainly not least, great employees have a great attitude. Bad attitudes bring everyone down. A great employee helps make work great for everyone else by having a good spirit about their job.

That’s a lot of good traits to try and acquire! Don’t be dispirited if you fail to match up on a number of them. Just work on them one at a time and you’ll find your career progressing faster than you would have ever believed possible.
Come in to Friday Professional Group and we will help you get the perfect job! If you are searching for the ideal candidate with all these traits we have the person for you! http://friday.ab.ca

Source: http://tinyurl.com/3jtctp9

By: Jenna Hibbitt

Come to Friday Professional Group where we know the difference between a Shredder and Photocopier!
We can help you find a new job if you recently lost your job for shredding an important document for your boss.
http://Friday.ab.ca

Want a fantastic summer job? Come to Friday Professional Group!
And visit our website for more information – http://www.friday.ab.ca/

At Friday Professional Group, we know how important it is to have an amazing resume that will stand out among the competition. To help make your resume rewrite a little easier I’m going to focus on what needs to be done to make it very readable to hiring managers and recruiters, who are the types of people most likely to look your resume over someday. Think of them as your audience. Know their world. It consists of lots of scheduling, running reference and background checks, conducting interviews, debriefing clients or managers, communicating with their network, and all under constant time-pressure. They don’t have the time or interest to read your autobiography, nor will they be attracted to a boring chronology of your past jobs with nothing substantial to set you apart from the vast crowd. You’ve got about fifteen seconds to make a good first impression. Consider the following questions when rewriting your resume:

What is your functional and industry expertise? Don’t make the reader have to infer your skills by looking at work history. Have a lead section or summary that quickly informs and emphasizes what value and talent you would bring to the employer. Categorizing core competencies and special technical skills prior to any list of previous jobs will allow you to be in or out of the hiring ballpark in a hurry.

Where are you on the work-level hierarchy? It should be established very quickly if you are a laborer, assistant, manager, executive, or contracting consultant. This can be highlighted in the lead summary and by bolding or capitalizing current and previous job titles. You need to make it easy for the reader to position you where you want to be positioned.

What have you been up to for the past ten or twelve years? A clearly written chronology of your most recent and relevant past employment should be displayed. And yes, gaps in your work history are a problem. Not what laid-off workers want to hear, I know. So, what can be done about employment gaps? Hopefully, you will be able to show that you tried to remain current and viable with your profession while you were out of work or caring for an ill or elderly family member. Perhaps you received further education and training, or volunteered, perhaps interned, in order to continue maintaining and developing expertise. Also, in most cases, what you did before, say 1998, isn’t going to be that important to someone hiring in 2011.

What have been your significant accomplishments? In this chronicle of your employment there should stand out what you’ve done that has made a real contribution. Refer to tangible measures like revenue and profit increases, lead generations and conversions, savings in costs or resources, or anything else that shows you have improved processes. Think of it as compiling your greatest hits.

If you follow these steps you will definitely have a resume that will grab the readers’ attention and put you above other candidates. As Recruiting experts, we see a lot of resumes on a daily basis. Please visit our website for more information at http://friday.ab.ca/. 

Source: http://tinyurl.com/3bjkcr2

 By: Jenna Hibbitt

Only 5% of effort required on Friday!
Have a fantastic weekend and be ready to give a strong 12% on Monday!
Come visit us at Friday Professional Group to get an amazing job you will want to give 100% to EVERYDAY!

http://friday.ab.ca

What’s the difference between good and great?

Why are some people able to create super successful lives, while most of their peers hover near mediocrity? This article teaches you about a fantastic way to think and everyone at FRIDAY thinks like a true superstar. Read the five mindsets below and create your new way of thinking to set you up for success!

As someone who’s spent a lifetime studying human behaviour, I can tell you, success isn’t just about your level of education or your skills.  It’s about the mindset that you bring to everything, particularly your interactions with others.

The superstars of life don’t just behave differently; they think differently. To be clear, when I say superstar, I’m not just talking about monetary or career success.   I’m talking about success as a human being.

Because whether you’re trying to become a superstar parent or a superstar salesperson, the difference between success and failure always starts with mindset. Your own internal thought track sets the tone for all of your interactions.

Here are the five mindsets of life’s superstars:

1. Superstars hold two agendas in their mind at the same time.

Average people tend to approach their interactions with others focused exclusively on their own goals. Superstars, on the other hand, go into situations focused on their goals AND the goals of the other person. This seemingly nuanced difference in thinking is why superstars create better relationships and garner more support for just about everything they do.

2. Superstars can sit with uncertainty.

Mediocre performers want things to go according to their script. Whether it’s a sales call, a board meeting or a family reunion, they get anxious in the face of change and uncertainty.  Superstars, on the other hand, are more confident. They know that they’ll ultimately be to close the deal, make the presentation, or fill their plate in the buffet line, but they’re not attached to having it play out in a certain way. This keeps them from getting uneasy and makes them more fun and engaging to be around.

3. Superstars think backwards.

Many people approach their life thinking, “I have these problems or goals; how might my spouse, boss, parent, co-worker or customer help me eliminate them, solve them or accomplish them?”  Superstars reverse it: they think, “I have this spouse, customer, co-worker, parent or boss; how might I be helpful?”

4. Superstars define success differently.

Many people tend to view the people around them as helpers or obstacles. When describing others they often use words like supportive, helpful, uncooperative, gatekeeper, blocker or even competitive threat, defining others solely in the context of whether they’re going to help or hinder their own efforts.

Superstars have a different definition of success. Other people aren’t just a means to accomplish their goals; other people are their goal. They want to create success for everyone.

Is Fear of Success Holding you Back?

5. Superstars show up with love.

There are basically only two emotions: love and fear. They play out the same way at work as they do in our personal lives. Love expands; fear contracts.

Average people might not be quaking in their boots every minute of the day, but they spend a lot of time worrying about whether or not things will go their way. This unspoken fear creates an emotional wall between them and everyone they encounter.  Superstars have no such barrier. When they’re with you, they’re fully with you. They’re not distracted by unspoken angst, so they show up life with their heart and soul.

Mastering these mindsets isn’t easy.  But once you start thinking like a superstar, it’s only a matter of time before you become one.”

If you are a superstar then we want YOU to come in to Friday Professional Group and become one of our successful superstar candidates! With our help, you will find the job of your dreams. Once you have this winning mindset, nothing can stop you!

Please visit our website for more information at http://friday.ab.ca

Source: Written by Lisa Earle McLeod for Hybrid Mom http://tinyurl.com/3hwv7wk

By: Jenna Hibbitt & Jeff Olson