Office Etiquette: A Brief Guide

Whether you are working at a part-time position on campus, or you are off working in the corporate world at a summer internship or job, office etiquette is essential.  We are all taught to mind our manners (hopefully!) … but did you know that etiquette expectations are different in the workplace?  It usually takes some time to understand and navigate them completely, but read on for some basic pointers.

Respect is ESSENTIAL.  It is the main ingredient of a functional workplace.  Respect all of those around you at all times (no, not just your boss and your cubicle-mate… but everyone you come in contact with on a daily basis).  Respect not only relates to time and deadlines, but also to personal space, and to language. 

TIMELINESS: Don’t be late!  If you are asked to be at work by 8AM, please respect that and arrive by 8AM (a few minutes early never hurt, either).  Of course, things happen (traffic jams, delayed trains, etc.) and you may be late once in a while, but don’t make a habit of it.   The same goes for lunch breaks.  Be mindful of the fact that you have a designated amount of time to eat and take breaks, and be respectful of it.  Be a minute or two early for any meetings that you have scheduled- this shows your co-workers that you are responsible and that you take your job seriously. Lastly, don’t leave early!  Work your full work day. 

Note: Culture will vary by workplace.  It’s always better to be extra attentive when it comes to time until you learn the ropes.

PERSONAL SPACE: Practice proper feng shui.  Chances are you aren’t sitting in a corner office just yet.  You might just have a desk or cubicle to yourself.  Keep your own space clean: don’t let anything messy or smelly pile up.  There’s no harm in using some Clorox wipes to keep things dust-free.  If you are sharing a small space, don’t crowd your co-workers with your things.  Again, the key word is respect.  In terms of borrowing items… always ask first, and be sure to return them.  Don’t sneak up on your neighbors- always knock or say hello so that they’re not startled. 

Note: People are sensitive to smells.  Whether it’s fancy perfume or fragrant lunch menus, do yourself a favor and keep this in mind.  Your coworkers will thank you.  

LANGUAGE: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  Whether written or verbal, in a quick email or a serious presentation, keep in mind that you are being judged on how you string your words together.  Think before you speak: who is listening to you?  Who might hear what you say from someone else?  Think before you hit send: Did you use spellcheck?  Is there a salutation and a greeting?  It’s advisable to be extra formal when you first start job… you may end up needing to maintain a high level of formality anyway.   

Resume Basics

How is your resume looking these days?  If the answer is ‘Ummm…..not so good’ or ‘Resume… what resume?!” you’ve come to the right place. 

Before I go any further, log into your ZebraNet account, click on ‘Resource Library’ on the left side panel, and then click ‘Resume Packet’.  A pdf document will download.  Save it… this is an invaluable resource!

Ok, back to that resume! Did you know that recruiters take, on average, under one minute to look over each resume they come across?  That means you have just a few seconds to get capture their attention.  How exactly do you do this?  Your resume needs to reflect the absolute best version of you, your skills, and your experiences.  All of this needs to fit neatly on one sheet of paper.  Yes, one sheet.  If you have something that sounds like this, you can skip ahead to step two.   If not, read through step one carefully.

Step one:  Open up a new Microsoft Word Document and add information under each of these headings: contact information, education, honors/awards, relevant courses, related experience, skills, activities, and interests.  You won’t necessarily need all of this information for every resume, but it’s a good idea to have it all written down in one place to start.  And it’s ok if this looks like a mess.   Refer to the Resume Packet from ZebraNet (as well as the resume information on the Career Center website) for further explanations of the content you need to include, as well as vocabulary suggestions, etc.  

Step two: One of the main components of an effective resume is proper formatting.  Some of the information on your resume (such as your contact information) will generally stay in the same place regardless of the type of position you are applying for.  However, you may need to alter the format and/or revise the information on your resume in accordance to a job or internship description.  Save different versions of your resume (ZebraNet allows you to upload and save up to 50 versions!) to have on hand. 

Step three:  It’s important to have your resume reviewed.  No matter how rough or messy it is, you can stop by the Career Center during our drop-in hours to have a career counselor help you clean it up.  We can help you tailor your resume to a specific job or internship (be sure to bring a copy of the description!), increase the effectiveness of your word choices, or just take a quick look to be sure it’s totally polished. 

Lastly, click here for a list of video clips related to writing a strong resume!   

Online Personal Branding: What does Google have to say about YOU?

What are the top results when you Google your name?  Are the results relevant to you? Or does your (fully visible to even non-friends) Facebook photo album of Spring Break 2011 pop up?  Uh-oh.  Online personal branding is more important than ever before.  When you apply for a job or internship, you should assume that whoever comes across your name in the hiring process will Google you.   Why wouldn’t they? 

Online personal branding is essentially your online footprint- the combination of everything out there in cyberspace that has your name on it.  Some of it may be perfectly tame (your name printed in your high school’s talent show program), incredibly relevant (your name appearing as a list of Stony Brook 2011 alums graduating with honors), or potentially embarassing (those Spring Break photos I mentioned before).  So what can you do to establish, clean up, or enhance your online personal brand? 

To establish your online personal brand:


1.  Create online profiles.  This can be done on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  Facebook is meant for informal communication.  You can include information on where you work and went to school, but it’s not necessarily the best place to build a professional online image of yourself.  LinkedIn is the social media hotspot for connecting with current and former bosses, co-workers, industry professionals, etc. 
Join groups that are relevant to you, and include yourself in discussions.  LinkedIn the appropriate place to connect with your professors and advisors- not Facebook.  Please note:  It’s advisable to stay away from MySpace. The site has gained a negative reputation and with few exceptions, it’s not an appropriate social media tool for establishing your online presence. 


2.  Join Twitter- it is great for sending out quick messages (‘tweets’) to your followers… but check those tweets three times (or more!) before you send them out.  Remember how public your message will become!

To clean up your online personal brand:


1.  Be mindful of any photos of you.  Keep your Facebook private and make sure your profile picture is somewhat professional.  Sign into your account, hit the ‘account’ button at the top right corner of the page, and then scroll down to ‘Privacy Settings’.  Click ‘Customize Settings’ and carefully decide who can view each component of your profile.  Be smart about this.  Professors, previous and current employers, and co-workers are on Facebook too.  Not to mention your parents… and possibly your tech-savvy grandparents.  Be sure that any image (whether it’s an actual photo of you, or one you’re just tagged in) is something that you wouldn’t mind an HR professional viewing.     


2.  Be mindful of the content you put on your social media profiles.  Make sure it is accurate and current.  Be especially diligent when it comes to employment history.  If you are using LinkedIn to help find employment opportunities (and you should be!), you want your profile to be a sparkling representation of you.  Additionally, think twice before you post unnecessary personal information.  It’s wise to keep things like your political views, etc., to yourself.

To enhance your online personal brand:


1.  Follow industry leaders and top professionals (not just celebs) on Twitter.  It is fun to read tweets, and you will actually learn quite a bit.    


2.  Now that you have your LinkedIn profile perfectly written, and you’ve joined all the right groups- you need to start participating in discussions.  These will showcase your understanding of topics related to your interests.  Again, be careful to proofread your responses.  Always maintain a professional and friendly tone.


3.  Write reviews of books on Amazon.  Make sure you have actually read the book.  Write a concise summary of your thoughts- and then have someone else read it before you post it.  The book should be relevant to your interests and your review should showcase your dazzling writing skills.

For further guidance on establishing, cleaning up, or enhancing your online personal brand, stop by the Career Center today!

Personal Branding: A quick guide

Personal branding.  It’s a popular buzzword these days… so what does it actually mean?  Personal branding is a process of developing the image you want to portray to the outside world- particularly the professional world.   It’s you, with just a little extra polish and poise.  A strong personal brand will help set you apart when you are networking and applying for internships and jobs.  So, how do you create a personal brand? 

Step One: Do a little soul searching.  Figure out who you are right now, and how that fits into who you think you want to become.  This not only has to incorporate your career aspirations, but also your own personal development.  Think about your past experiences in terms of education, work, and community service. What kinds of skills have you acquired?  How have you grown from these experiences? 

Step Two: Consider where you are right now.  What classes will you take next semester?  Have you pursued any leadership roles in the clubs and organizations you are involved with?  If you aren’t yet involved in any clubs, which ones are you interested in?  What are you gaining from your experiences this summer? 

Step Three:  Perform a gap analysis.  Once you have given your past and present situations some in-depth thought (it’s a good idea to write out this information… you can also look at your resume to help you organize your thought process), it’s time to consider what you are missing.

For example, let’s say you are entering your sophomore year as a business major.  You know from your coursework that you are interested in accounting.  You have a job right now at a summer camp- the same summer job you had last summer.  So you aren’t working at a job that is directly related to accounting, but if you really broke down your experiences at camp, you would see that you are gaining (among other valuable skills) an abundance of patience- a great attribute for a successful accountant.  And, you have an extra accounting course in your schedule for Fall 2011.  So you are going to gain a wider understanding of accounting principles.  What you are missing now is an experience that helps you better understand what it’s really like to be an accountant.  To remedy this, you might consider attending a ZebraCAN information session so that you can link up with an accountant and conduct an informational interview.  You can also become OCR eligible and begin applying for summer internships in the accounting field.    

Step Four: Putting it all together. Now that you gained an understanding of what you have done, what you are doing, and what you need to do, it’s time to construct a personal positioning statement.  Think of this as your slogan- a short verbal representation of you.  It needs to be concise:  Honors student exploring career possibilities in accounting.  Voila! You’ve just made significant progress towards building your personal brand. 

Here comes the challenge: living out that slogan and enhancing your brand every day! Stop by the Career Center (we’re open during the summer!) and let us provide you with some guidance on how to do this.