Got an interview or presentation? Get some exercise first!

It’s easy to sit and over-think an upcoming job interview, important meeting, or business presentation. Many of us have done exactly that – more times than we’d like to count. And our schedules grow cramped and confused, so we find ourselves skipping personal pursuits. Like exercise.

We’ve likely heard that physical fitness (at any level) can improve our overall health and perhaps even our professional performance.

So what do we do, drop and give ‘em 20 in the company hallway? 

Simply pacing the floor and fretting about that upcoming appointment doesn’t exactly count, either.

To gain the benefits, we need to mark out time windows regularly for personal exercise. We know it’s good for us in plentiful ways, both on and off the job.

Exercise may improve both thinking and memory functions, according to Heidi Godman, executive editor of Harvard Health Letter. “Indirectly, exercise improves mood and sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety,” Godman said.

“With every step you take, every mile you pedal or every lap you swim around the pool, you’re enhancing your cognitive fitness. Recent studies suggest that the activities you do to improve your body also benefit your brain,” The Cleveland Clinic reported.

“When you exercise, your body releases chemicals such as dopamine (pronounced doh-pa-meen) and endorphins (en-door-fins) in your brain that make you feel happy. Not only is your brain dumping out feel-good chemicals, but exercise also helps your brain get rid of chemicals that make you feel stressed and anxious,” a recent Dana Foundation report explained. “People who exercise tend to be happier and less stressed than those who don’t exercise. Regular exercise can also help you control your emotions when you do feel angry or upset.”

A Web MD write-up lists these common benefits of exercise:

• better memory/retention
• improved sleep / restfulness
• higher level of alertness
• more consistent concentration
• reduced anxiety
• stronger neuroplasticity / mental flexibility

Of course, regular exercise improves cardiopulmonary health and also points to potential prevention of depression, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and several other serious health conditions.

Can you just imagine how those exercise-related changes could help with job interviewing or even daily workplace activities and interactions?

Moderate exercise choices might include aerobics, bicycling, dancing, dog-walking, gymnastics, hiking, horseback riding, jogging, martial arts, roller-skating, rowing, skiing, swimming, tennis, walking, weightlifting, yardwork, and yoga. The trick is to find something we don’t absolutely hate to do – some form of exercise that we will actually continue consistently. Ideally, we choose a variety of fitness activities for optimum benefits and to keep us interested.

For example, my weekly schedule includes a few fitness classes, plus my individual runs and workouts. I didn’t pursue physical fitness personally for much of my life, but in recent years, it has become a priority. And it’s made an enormous difference in so many ways. (It all started with a life-changing medical diagnosis, which lit a fire under me. That’s a long story, but it led to my running full marathons.)

In addition to the personal benefits that result from practicing physical fitness, most people seem to find stress relief and a sense of satisfaction from achieving personal goals. Exercise activities also make us more interesting to potential employees, clients, co-workers and others, who find we have more than just “shop-talk” when conversations come up.

Those who participate in group exercise, just as gym classes or team sports may experience additional socialization, which can also carry over into improved performance and overall adaptability in the workplace.

Gee. Maybe that’s why lots of companies offer discounted gym memberships, or even on-site fitness facilities.

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Health and etiquette: Should handshakes be handed off?

Traditional etiquette encourages polite people to shake hands when meeting in professional and social situations. But is this courteous protocol a smart step during cold and flu season? Might folks be sharing more than manners by cordially pressing palms?

Germaphobes may cringe at the possibility. Others may join them during epidemics or when they hear a cough, sneeze, or sniffle.

Virtually everyone has heard the horror stories of folks who don’t wash their hands regularly. We’re aware that hand sanitizer gels and creams may not work as thoroughly as we once thought.

What if you walk into a job interview or a business conference, and the person you are meeting coughs or  sneezes right into his or her palm before extending it to you for a handshake? What will you do?

NOTE: Written by this author, this copyrighted material originally appeared on another publisher’s site. That site no longer exists. This author holds all rights to this content. No republication is allowed without permission.

We shudder to think of it. That might even be worse than grasping the handle of a shopping cart, right after a sniffling kid has sat in the seat and clutched the same bar.

Handshake - public domain photo

 

So we shrink from hand-shaking.

In fact, a surprising number of reasonably rational individuals shy away from handshakes on occasion. In one very friendly Midwestern church, for example, the pastor jokingly urges congregants to tap elbows in greeting, rather than shaking hands. It’s become a comical tradition of sorts.

Could hugs be healthier than handshakes?

Plenty of people opt for hugs, rather than handshakes, when meeting up with familiar friends and relatives. A hug tends to transmit fewer germs than a handshake, simply because the hands often carry more possible contagions than arms, shoulders, and other hugging parts.

The secret, of course, is to turn one’s head away while hugging, to avoid face-to-face germ sharing.

Still, hugging may not work in the boardroom, the job interview, or the sales call, where handshakes are as traditional as the grey flannel suit. A hug might raise a few hackles … and eyebrows in the workplace.

Can we come up with polite alternatives to the handshake?

What handy ways can folks avoid shaking hands without causing concerns over courtesy, friendliness, or overall attitude? Some may carry a gift, a document, or a business card and immediately move to hand it to the other person (rather than shaking hands). With solid eye contact, a ready smile, and a surplus of poise, he or she might just pull it off.

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10 top resume-writing don’ts for job seekers

Pitfalls are plentiful, when it comes to writing a resume. Job hunters, best be on your guard. Today’s job marketplace can be challenging. Employment candidates strive to come up with clever and creative ways to attract prospective hirers’ attention and line up interviews.

Often, a well-written professional resume is the launching point, but only if it’s correctly done.

NOTE: Written by this author, this copyrighted material originally appeared on another publisher’s site. That site no longer exists. This author holds all rights to this content. No republication is allowed without permission.

Unfortunately, many job applicants seem somewhat ill informed, when it comes to producing acceptable professional resumes to showcase their talents and experience. Several key errors should be avoided at all costs.

What are the top ten biggest boo-boos job applicants might make on their professional resumes?

A professional resume must never employ cutesy quaintness.

Pretty papers are wonderful for thank-you notes, wedding invitations and other social purposes. However, fancy stationary is utterly inappropriate for a professional resume. The most successful job applicants allow their credentials to speak for themselves, rather than drawing attention through frilly or ornate papers.

A professional resume must never overlook basic neatness.

Usually, a job applicant’s professional resume represents his or her first point of contact with a prospective employer. Unless he or she is currently working for that organization as a professional intern or employee, the employment candidate will likely be seeking a primary introduction.

Just as a savvy job applicant would dress for success for an in-person meeting, he or she will want to present the professional resume in its best possible appearance. Clean, crisp paper, printed in a clear font, can make a solid impression. A neatly presented resume is like a sturdy handshake. It offers no offense.

A professional resume must never contain sloppy spelling.

On a professional resume, a misspelled word or two can quickly destroy an employment candidate’s credibility with a potential employer. Proofreading can make a world of difference, when it comes to creating a presentable professional resume.

Also, chat-room or instant-messaging abbreviations and acronyms are also unacceptable in the job-search process. Basically, the employment applicant must seek to present himself or herself as a diligent and capable adult.

“I want 2 work 4 U” simply won’t cut it with a potential boss.

A professional resume must never include messy mechanics.

The high school English teacher had it right. Good grammar does count, especially in the workplace. Sentence fragments, run-ons, improper capitalizations and other mechanical errors do detract from the professional resume. 

In nearly any career field, basic communications skills are highly valued. A smart employment candidate will enlist the help of a trusted writer or other skilled communicator to double-check his or her professional resume before submitting it to a prospective employer.

A professional resume must never be sent without a cover letter.

In most companies, middle- and upper-managers receive unsolicited professional resumes daily, whether job openings exist or not. Those resumes that arrive without cover letters are generally relegated immediately to the infamous circular file, or the trash.

Professional resumes that do include well-written cover letters often receive a bit more attention. After all, a resume without a cover letter is like a suit without a jacket. The outfit is not complete.

In addition, the cover letter offers the job applicant an opportunity to mention whether professional and personal references, writing or work samples, lists of awards and achievements and other supporting items might be available.

A professional resume must never offer vague employment objectives.

Human resources experts love to debate the question of whether job applicants should list employment objectives on professional resumes.

Certainly, if an individual is approaching multiple industries or job opportunities, the objective must be tailored to match each on. By adapting word processing files, job applicants may easily craft several unique resumes to fit various potential employment opportunities.

What about salary requirements? Should these be listed on a professional resume? Most employment experts advise against including actual amounts in print. Often, such figures may be open to negotiation, once an interview actually occurs. It would be unfortunate for a job applicant to list a suggested salary requirement, only to discover later that the potential employer was willing to pay even more.

A professional resume must never display too much information.

Professional resumes are often passed around in the workplace. Often, with the best intentions, a manager may forward a potential candidate’s resume to another department or staffer.

Personal information has no place in a professional resume. Although an interviewer may ask a job candidate in person about his or her pets, hobbies and special interests, this information does not belong on the professional resume. A professional resume should not include a photograph, caricature, clip-art or other image, either.

Confidential data, such as an employment candidate’s salary history, need not be listed on a professional resume. In addition, an applicant’s age, rage, marital status, health issues, religion, Social Security number and other classified details are to be omitted.

A professional resume must never have inaccuracies or untruths.

Throughout history, countless job applicants have been tempted to beef up their backgrounds, embellish their employment details, bestow additional academic degrees upon themselves or otherwise augment the details on their professional resumes.

Lying on a professional resume is never acceptable. This is the biggest job application no-no of all. Communicating untruths is the fastest way for a job applicant to destroy his or her own credibility.

Prospective employers do check professional resume details, run credit reports, and investigate professional references. In short order, the truth does come out. Fibs can cost an applicant the job.

A professional resume must never offer excuses for previous employment terminations or career gaps.

Often, a job applicant may become stymied by a significant gap between jobs or a sudden loss of employment. How should such questions be handled on the professional resume?

In the very least, the professional resume is not a forum for airing grievances towards former employers, attacking unfair employment practices, defending oneself after downsizing or bad-mouthing an organization.

In an employment interview, an employment candidate may be asked to elaborate on unusual employment gaps or job changes. However, even then, this must be done tactfully and strategically.

A professional resume must never be followed up by pestering of potential employers.

After mailing and sending a professional resume, the job seeker may be eager for a response. A single telephone call or e-mail, about two weeks after posting the professional resume, may be considered appropriate. Beyond that, however, the responsibility and prerogative lies with the potential employer. Constant calling will only work against the applicant.

Of course, a professional resume is the first step in self-promotion in the job market.

By avoiding potential pitfalls and gaffes, the job applicant may increase his or her chances of gaining the much-needed first interview. Once the face-to-face meeting takes place, the candidate will have an opportunity to articulate in person his or her career goals, skill sets and other advantages.

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