On The Job: From Paper To Pro Page 5

Deb Shinder

Your Language and Demeanor

Language and demeanor:

you may be the whiz-bang
tech genius of the century, but if you don’t represent yourself, by your
language and demeanor, as a professional, you’ll damage your chances of being
hired. This means:

• Avoid
  slang and of course, profanity. Yes, “those words” are
  commonplace in the workplace, on television and practically everywhere
  you go these days – but a job interview is not the place for them.

• Don’t
  be irritating. This includes all complaining and whining, whether about
  your former employer, the job market, the weather, or anything else. It
  includes going into much more detail than necessary about your personal
  life and especially your personal problems. Employers want to hire
  people who are pleasant. This is a job interview – not a therapy
  session. Irritating behavior also includes “nagging” the
  interviewer for a decision at the end of the interview.

• Spelling
  and grammar count in written communications. That includes
  e-mail. Of course, your ability to spell has little to do with how
  technically competent you are. However, it says a lot about how
  careful or careless you are. With the spell-checkers that are built into
  most email clients and word processors today, there is no excuse for
  misspelling words. The fact is, if you send a message, letter or
  risumi full of misspelled words and incoherent sentences, the
  impression the reader will get is that you’re dumb – even if your IQ
  is at the top of the scale.