Top Ten Daily Habits Which Make You Look Wildly Unprofessional

It’s not really just that the guy swore; most of us are pretty immune to that these days. It’s that three of his first 22 words were curses (assuming you count “damn” as a curse). That’s just lazy, as if he couldn’t be bothered to come up with better descriptions of all the things we were carrying. Instead, he went with the barnyard default, and that made him seem unserious and unprofessional.

(Just off the top of my head, since I’m sure some of you are about to ask what he could have called the things we carried instead: coats, bags, laptops, stuff, purses, briefcases, jackets, coats, gear, kit, pouch, totes, baggage, portage, luggage, junk, tunics—heck, call my a bag a man-purse, if you want to at least score a C-minus joke).

The truth is, nobody’s perfect. We’re all prone to semi-conscious verbal foul-ups that make us look totally unprofessional. That’s why we all need a reminder now and then. Here are 10 examples of similar things to avoid.

1. Lazy Profanity

OK, this one really is at the top of the list. Again, it’s not the profanity itself (although that often doesn’t help). It’s the laziness. If someone constantly uses the F-word as an all-purpose adjective, it makes you wonder whether they’re equally uncreative and slothful in everything they do.

2. Lateness

I must admit this is a tendency I’ve had to work hard to combat in my own life. The phrase “Murphy Standard Time” would not be met with blank stares by some of my friends and family. Yet I’ve learned that being on time is a matter of respect. Show up when you say you will, and you send a message that you’re professional enough to care.

3. Leering

We’re all human. We’re mammals. We notice alluring members of whatever gender we’re biologically predisposed to be attracted to. Yet, that same humanity also means we should have the self-control to keep the “up-and-down look” under control, so to speak. Eyes up here, my friend, or you’ll look like a creepy amateur.

4. Pollyannaishness

I’ve always been a bit bothered by the fact that the word “Pollyannaish” suggests the concept of having too much unrealistic optimism. Check out the 1913 book if you don’t understand why. Still, when, after a disaster, a colleague or a vendor insists that things are absolutely fine—while simple common sense tells you they’re not—it undermines his or her professionalism.

5. Flightiness

To be flighty is to be fickle and irresponsible. Tell someone you’ll be at a certain place, or that you’ll accomplish a certain thing—and then never do it? Sorry, you’re flighty.

6. Disorganization

Anyone who gets more than 1,000 emails a day probably falls into this category. As most of us who run businesses understand, clients and customers expect you to reply quickly. They want you to be able to talk about their situations (seemingly) off-the-cuff. If you aren’t in control of your own situation, they’ll wonder how you can possibly be in control of theirs.

7. Inarticulateness

This one is like, so like, obvious—and yet a lot of people like—they don’t really, like, get it. And that just, like, totally makes them seem like—well, not really professional, because they, like, can’t even get to the point of what they want to say and like, make it clear and stuff.

Enough said. I’d actually throw bad grammar into this category as well—although with the caveat that we’ve all known some very smart, professional people whose language simply betrayed their lack of formal education, or whose first tongue wasn’t ours. (Seriously, if this column were written in French or Spanish, we’d all have a good laugh at my grammar.)

8. Secrecy

Sure, we all have private lives, but most of the time our businesses don’t truly involve them. If you’re hiding important information from employees or clients, you’re not doing much for your reputation as a leader, and you’re probably making them wonder whether they can trust you.

9. Overpromising

A really brilliant salesperson once told me her art of selling was about “making the maximum promise you can, consistent with your ability to deliver.” Entrepreneurs often push the envelope on this, but the key is to make sure you’re confident you will eventually be able to make good on your promises.

10. Cheating and Lying

These two are obvious. As President George W. Bush once tried to say, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Five courses to help you get ahead in your career

Continuing professional development courses provide opportunities for professionals looking for a new challenge or to add skills to their repertoire. Here are five courses that can help you get ahead in your career.

Build your own website 

Gaining an internet presence and marketing yourself, your business or your skills can provide a huge career boost.sole traders and those creating a business as a sideline to their day job.

"It really demystifies what the internet is for people." The tutor introduces and demonstrates the tools for using WordPress and students develop their website to fit them, in the class and at home.

Some use the course to build a business while others use it as a taster for a degree, or to add basic web skills to their CV. Students will also learn to thinking creatively about how to enhance their website and social media presence.

One of the biggest advantages of the course, is building confidence to use those skills. "It's really about getting them to practice on WordPress without feeling that they're going to break it every time they change something."


Effective communications

"When you're working day-to-day, sending emails and writing copy, it's easy to forget that writing is difficult.For those who have to write as part of their job but aren't natural writers,constructing emails, writing engaging subject lines, and compiling information into an accessible document or report.

In the interactive course, the tutor sets practical exercises for the group to reinforce learning. "There are people who are really effective public speakers but can't always communicate well in writing. Even if people wanted to write a clear CV that emphasises their skills.

The course could also provide a stepping stone into a variety of communications-based roles; copywriting, marketing, PR or civil service positions where writing reports is a large part of the work.


Accounting 

The first accounting levels open up basic accounting positions, as an assistant accountant, ledger clerk, or a role in reconciliation. The higher level courses enable students to gain work in the finance department of a company."Many students become self-employed, starting their own companies or accountancy practices."


Applied Behavioural Analysis 

The Applied Behavioural Analysis programme is about understanding why people behave in the way they do, with a focus on intellectual or developmental disabilities, and autism.

"The course is ideal if you're in a position where you can immediately apply what you're learning on the course. The course is suited to a range of careers but is particularly relevant to professionals working with people who have intellectual disabilities, such as teachers, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and others working in health and social care.

The course provides the skills to teach a child with autism how to do some of the things they might not learn automatically, or to assess the behaviour of an adult with learning disabilities whose behaviour is challenging or difficult to manage.

For teachers, this course can provide promotion or specialisation opportunities, and for recent graduates "it opens up the potential to get jobs in health, social care and education that they otherwise wouldn't be able to get, as a teaching assistant, a tutor for young children with autism, or in a behaviour support role for adults with disabilities".


Medical decision making

Understanding ethics is important for most jobs and for those working in healthcare a course can be beneficial as a refresher or to fine-tune existing skills.

While increasing familiarity with various guidelines and statutes "we also want participants to start thinking more critically about their own divisions on a day-to-day level".

Advertisement Past students say that the course has made a significant different to their careers. Having started out as medics some are now working towards a more legal career and others work on ethics committees.

"The course adds depth to a CV and makes people better suited to the type of jobs out there."I think it makes jobseekers that little bit more shiny to potential employers."


To find more courses to benefit your career, click here.

Top 10 Best Success Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

Success is a combination of thinking right and doing right.

1.Be optimist
2.Avoid Big Mistakes
        1.No cost to low cost – Use social media liked Facebook; twitter etc. to drive your business.
        2.It is a proven fact that entrepreneurs are today driving economies. Why? We are able to think              fast on our feet, we can make changes as needed when we see the markets change. During                    recession in 2008, it was “dinosaur” companies suffered the most as they tend to move slowly.
        3.Bring in flexibility in our working style. Maintain a work life balance.
        4.Never design your lifestyle around your work, instead design business around your                        lifestyle. Then work becomes your passion.
5.Turn your passion into profits. Purpose of business is actually to make profits  and not                          make it a “Secret Hobby”.
3.Provide products & services which audience really “WANTS”. Wants are bigger than needs…trust      me we indulge more in wants than needs
4.Business model needs to be efficient and self-sufficient. Cost to Income ratio needs to work in your    favor.
5.Learn to embrace risks.
1.Get out of your comfort zone.
2.Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
6.Stay out of fear – Stay in faith.
1.Have faith in yourself. Believe in yourself
2.Grow as far as your greatest fear.
3.Biggest fear makes you uncomfortable to be able to reach that big success.Success we seek                 will only come when we move through the fear.
7.Learn from inspiring people and surround yourself with people who are there where you want to be.
1.Invest in training, education, coaching – Invest in yourself.
2.You are the average of five people who surround you the most.
3.Master mind: Having a group of successful entrepreneurs with whom you                                would learn and share.
                4.Not everyone will support your success. Don’t get distracted by criticism. Holding back                      hurts no one but you.
8.Time: we all have 24 hours but how one utilizes it are what makes one rich.
9.Marketing yourself is more important than mastery of your skills.
             1.There are many masters of your trade better than you but are not commercially successful                   because people don’t know them.
             2.If you don’t know how to get word around you won’t be able to get clients.
             3.Important to understand how lead generation from offline and online prospects can be                         converted to buyers and then to repeat buyers.
10.Make decisions not from where you are but where you want to be.

MSD show you how to captain your team with a cool head

Mahendra Singh Dhoni plays multiple roles with elan. He’s the captain of the Indian cricket team, a batsman who can change the game, a wicketkeeper whose one-liners egg his bowlers on, an occasional bowler, and a role model for players and fans. It was under his captaincy that India climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings in 2009. He led the Indian team to many wins, the most famous being the one in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final against Sri Lanka with his match-winning knock of unbeaten 91.

But it wasn’t easy for Dhoni to get past the many challenges and tests that life – and cricket – threw at him. What’s helped him become one of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket is that he’s maintained his calm and led from the front under pressure. Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has famously said that Mahi was the best captain he had played under, adding that his handling of pressure was “incredible”. But Captain Cool makes short work of pressure. “It's like having 100 kg put over you. After that, even if you pit a mountain, it will not make a difference,” he has said.

Dhoni keep his head when all around him people are losing theirs, and here’s what you can learn from him:

#1 Stay calm in the face of criticism
These lines of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, If, may well have been written for leaders: “If you can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you…” It’s not easy to stay unruffled when you and your decisions are gathering flak but maintaining your composure and having the ability to transform a crisis into positive action is a major determinant of success as a leader. Before the 2007 T20 World Cup, cricket analyst Ravi Shastri referred to Team India as the “underdogs”. As he picked up the trophy, Dhoni responded to that label: “I remember you called us underdogs and so we have won the cup for you.”

Lesson: Don’t let people’s remarks get to you. Stay cool and focus on your work. Let your work speak for you.

#2 Always think out of the box
In the 2011 World Cup, Mahi, sorely out-of-form, decided that he would come in to bat at No 5 before Yuvraj Singh, the man in form. He went on to hit the winning runs and was declared man of the match. In the 2007 T20 World Cup, he chose to give inexperienced pacer Joginder Sharma the ball in the last over. In the 2013 Champions Trophy Final, which India won, he gave Ravichandran Ashwin the ball in the last over. He keeps everyone guessing amidst pressure, an ability that’s game-changing.

Lesson: Think on your feet and be a quick decision maker. A good leader should always have a Plan B in mind.

#3 Don’t let emotions get in the way
Dhoni is called Captain Cool for a reason. No matter what the situation may be, he isn’t perturbed. Sledging? He takes it easy and won’t resort to getting into a war of words. He never gets involved in heated arguments and chooses to keep his emotions to himself. Once, abused by a bowler on field, he chose to get the umpire to intervene instead of hitting back. This calm demeanour has helped him win matches, but it’s also ensured that he can cope with losses better.

Lesson: Set an example by staying cool, calm and collected. This helps you think about and handle the googlies being thrown at you better.

#4 Look towards the future
Like all great leaders, Dhoni owns up and takes the fall for his mistakes. He never hesitates to take responsibility for India’s poor performance but he doesn’t dwell on the past. He chooses to tackle things head on and come up with a new game plan and another and another. When asked halfway through a series if India were beaten, he famously said: “Till the full stop doesn't come, the sentence isn't complete.”

Lesson: Take responsisbilty of your actions and then work on a plan to solve the problem.

#5 Win the battle in your head
The actual battleground isn’t a geographic location or a cricket ground; it’s in the minds that the fiercest battles take place. As he says: “Nobody has seen form. It is a state of mind where you are confident and you think very positively.” The cricketer maintains a positive attitude, through ups and downs. His composure and poise rub off on the rest of the team, helping them focus on the matter – or match – at hand.

Lesson: Work on building strengths – your own and the teams – and keep a positive attitude at all times.

To be the best, you need to #LoveWhatYouDo. Find a job that you love here.