Act Professional Even When No One is Looking

I hear this all the time and I repeat it often. You never know who you’ll run into during the day. This really makes sense for folks looking for promotions and new jobs. Yet, I am amazed by the way people act out in public.

People will tell me, “I’d never do that at an interview!” and they believe it. But, some folks won’t ever get the interview because of the poor impression they created at a conference, a talk, a get-together, or a job club meeting. Manners are so often absent in these and many common daily activities, and I’m not even talking about when we get behind the wheel for the commute to and from work. (That would be a blog post all by its self.)

The words “Thanks You” are getting lost in so many situations these days. Try holding the door open at the store or mall for people and listen for the “Thank You.” (If there is a Psychology student out there looking for an experiment ideal, run with this and let me know your findings.) I’m guessing that less than half the time people will fail to say thank you. But that’s not the worst part, I’d guess that 10% of folks won’t even acknowledge that you are holding the door for them. I wonder what the frequency is of “God Bless You,” “Salud” or “Gesundheit” when someone sneezes.

I’ve been at conferences where someone in the audience asks the speaker an embarrassing question or even calls out a typo or miswording in the presentation. Why would anyone want to put down or embarrass a speaker at a conference? I cannot imagine some manager leaning over to his boss and saying, “Bill, we really need a guy like that on our team. How about I talk to him regarding a job offer with us?”

I teach classes on social media in a job search and the question of Facebook always comes up. People posting pictures of people (themselves) being unprofessional. We get asked if a company asking for your Facebook login ID and password is legal? I’m not a lawyer and I cannot say. What I can say is don’t post pictures of yourself or anyone doing something you would not want your mother to see. Then legal or not you've nothing to fear from having a Facebook account.

Hold doors open for people and say bless you when someone sneezes, see the smile on their face. Offer someone the opportunity to go in front of you at the grocery checkout line. Make space for the BMW driver on the highway when the traffic is heavy. Smile at people and say hi as you walk past them. Doing these things will not only bring people’s smiles out; they’ll make you feel good. And you never know, your future employer might be in the crowd and you’ll make a positive impression.