Little Things That Matter Big Time
Alternate Title: Do Sweat the Small Stuff, wherein the author complains a lot about little things.
1) Punctuality: No one sets deadlines for fun. If you cannot be on time, let the person counting you know about it before you are late...and don't make a habit out of that. Being late puts the person waiting on you under additional pressure to meet his or her deadline. If you are a late person, fix it. You have the same access to calendars and clocks that everyone else does, and there are thousands of resources out there to help you schedule your madness.
2) The Handshake: I live in Chicago, so my hands are cold a lot. I also shake hands with new people pretty regularly. Guess what? I warn them that my hands are cold every time. There is absolutely nothing more off-putting than meeting someone, shaking hands, and encountering a moist, cold, fishlike thing at the end of that person's arm. A fair warning is common courtesy. Also, be aware that if you refuse to shake hands with without at least making an excuse like you've been sick lately, it's weird. Any business encounter that starts with an awkward wave has un uphill battle from that point on. Many many thousands of words have been written about the handshake. Read 'em, practice 'em, get it right!
3) Phone Manners: I would venture to say that my work communication has gone from 70% phone / 30% email to 30% phone / 70% email in the past two or three years. Please don't call and say "hey, it's me" or just "hi" with no name after it. Some of us (ahem) don't have caller ID (yes, this is totally archaic), but it's presumptuous to think that someone would recognize your voice after you've met maybe two times. Second, when you are at work, answer your phone like you are at work. For instance "Thank you for calling Company, this is Clare." That's nice, and it gives your caller time to gather his or her thoughts. Finally, if you have a common name, like Jennifer, please use your last name when you announce yourself. My old boss told me once that the only women that go by just their first names are strippers. If you are a professional stripper, go for it, if you are a professional anything else, use both names. I'm not saying that you aren't unique and wonderful, I'm saying that I can't recognize your voice over the phone, I have no caller ID, and I work with 15 people named Jennifer.
4) Email Manners: Pay special attention to the spelling of the person's name. Many people's first names are spelled out in their email addresses. The fact that you are too lazy to double check the spelling of a word that is spelled perfectly no less than one inch away from where you are butchering it speaks volumes about your attention to detail. On that same point, spell check your message before you send it. Edit ruthlessly for exclamation points (!!!!!!1111ELEVENTY!!!!1). Have an auto signature with your phone, email, and fax at the very least. If you are still using all caps, you will be judged. If you use no caps, you will be judged. Do not, for the love of everything holy, use one of the pre-installed cheese-tastic Outlook backgrounds if you are in any way trying to look professional. Nothing screams "I am bad at computers!" like the faux spiral notebook, the clouds, or the ivy background.
In isolation, these details are relatively negligible. Over time, however, repeat offenders are doomed to slink lower and lower down the respectability ladder. The four things on the list above are what separate the awesomes from the alrights.
You owe it to yourself to be an awesome.
1) Punctuality: No one sets deadlines for fun. If you cannot be on time, let the person counting you know about it before you are late...and don't make a habit out of that. Being late puts the person waiting on you under additional pressure to meet his or her deadline. If you are a late person, fix it. You have the same access to calendars and clocks that everyone else does, and there are thousands of resources out there to help you schedule your madness.
2) The Handshake: I live in Chicago, so my hands are cold a lot. I also shake hands with new people pretty regularly. Guess what? I warn them that my hands are cold every time. There is absolutely nothing more off-putting than meeting someone, shaking hands, and encountering a moist, cold, fishlike thing at the end of that person's arm. A fair warning is common courtesy. Also, be aware that if you refuse to shake hands with without at least making an excuse like you've been sick lately, it's weird. Any business encounter that starts with an awkward wave has un uphill battle from that point on. Many many thousands of words have been written about the handshake. Read 'em, practice 'em, get it right!
3) Phone Manners: I would venture to say that my work communication has gone from 70% phone / 30% email to 30% phone / 70% email in the past two or three years. Please don't call and say "hey, it's me" or just "hi" with no name after it. Some of us (ahem) don't have caller ID (yes, this is totally archaic), but it's presumptuous to think that someone would recognize your voice after you've met maybe two times. Second, when you are at work, answer your phone like you are at work. For instance "Thank you for calling Company, this is Clare." That's nice, and it gives your caller time to gather his or her thoughts. Finally, if you have a common name, like Jennifer, please use your last name when you announce yourself. My old boss told me once that the only women that go by just their first names are strippers. If you are a professional stripper, go for it, if you are a professional anything else, use both names. I'm not saying that you aren't unique and wonderful, I'm saying that I can't recognize your voice over the phone, I have no caller ID, and I work with 15 people named Jennifer.
4) Email Manners: Pay special attention to the spelling of the person's name. Many people's first names are spelled out in their email addresses. The fact that you are too lazy to double check the spelling of a word that is spelled perfectly no less than one inch away from where you are butchering it speaks volumes about your attention to detail. On that same point, spell check your message before you send it. Edit ruthlessly for exclamation points (!!!!!!1111ELEVENTY!!!!1). Have an auto signature with your phone, email, and fax at the very least. If you are still using all caps, you will be judged. If you use no caps, you will be judged. Do not, for the love of everything holy, use one of the pre-installed cheese-tastic Outlook backgrounds if you are in any way trying to look professional. Nothing screams "I am bad at computers!" like the faux spiral notebook, the clouds, or the ivy background.
In isolation, these details are relatively negligible. Over time, however, repeat offenders are doomed to slink lower and lower down the respectability ladder. The four things on the list above are what separate the awesomes from the alrights.
You owe it to yourself to be an awesome.
2 comments:
I'm a teacher! You cannot deny me my spiral background on my emails!! It makes sense for me though. Amen to the lots of Jennifers. I set such a trend back in '73!
I don't know - I'm still not convinced of the notebook background's merit...maybe I'll make a special exception for you.
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