At the Company Picnic, Etiquette Matters

Memorial Day is gone, and Labor Day beckons ahead. Sometime in between, many of us are likely to find ourselves at an oft-dreaded workplace event: the company summer outing.

It’s a tossup as to which comes fraught with more peril, frolicking in the sand with the pasty-legged guys from IT or shimmying with “secret Santas” at the office Christmas party. Both events are ripe with potential faux pas, says Sue Fox, owner of the Etiquette Survival Group.

“Most people seem to naturally behave better when they are dressed for a business or formal event,” she says, “and the fact that a picnic or daytime event is more casual creates an atmosphere that might justify more casual behavior.”

That determinedly casual atmosphere is the largest snake hiding under the office picnic table. “The goal is to be noticed — in a positive light,” says Fox. “You don’t want to be the subject of gossip at the water cooler on Monday morning.”

Here’s how to keep the panic out of the picnic:

* Show up. Even if such events make you uncomfortable, or you can’t stand the thought of spending extra time with your coworkers, skipping the party is not a good idea. “The very reason the company has these events is to thank the employees and allow them to enjoy some relaxed fun,” Fox observes. “While such opportunities are not strictly part of the workday, they are an important part of your career. This is the time to introduce yourself to the CEO and senior managers. Network and mingle!”

* Be on your best behavior. “Your manners are always under examination . . . awarding or denying you very high prizes when you least expect it,” Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote. The relevant insight: Your boss might be weighing a promotion.

* Indulge with caution. “As always, drink moderately and use proper table manners,” says Fox. Corn on the cob and barbecued chicken on the menu do not give you leeway to turn into a slob.

* Don’t be over-baring. Yes, it’s casual — and yes, it’s hot. But thong bikinis, short-shorts, and too-tight T-shirts send the wrong message. “This is not the time or place to come across as sexy,” says Fox, “and that goes for family members, as well.” Men, too, should abide by common sense and decency: no stained T-shirts and definitely no bare chests.

* Be a good sport. Resist the temptation to play hard at the volleyball net or to venture far, farther, farthest into the lake or ocean. “The company picnic is not the time for showing off or trying to be a big shot,” recommends Fox. “Play your best, but play fair.”

* Mind the kids. Don’t forfeit your babysitting duties if you’re a parent, and watch your language — sexual overtones, off-color jokes, etc. — around the kids if you’re child-free.

* Don’t talk shop. “These events should be the time to meet other employees and their families,” says Fox. Too much business chat can leave spouses and others feeling left out.

source: YAHOO! hotjobs

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How to Disguise Gaps in Your Work History

If you have a period of unemployment in your work history, you need to address those gaps in employment on your resume so a potential employer will consider you a reliable job candidate.

You might ask, “What’s so bad about a few gaps in my employment history? Doesn’t everybody deserve a break?” Of course, many responsible professionals take time off in their careers to travel, recover from an injury or illness, take care of aging or ill relatives, and numerous other completely legitimate projects.

Still, employers just don’t like to see any gaps in your work history. They would prefer to have the unemployed time explained somehow, particularly if the explanation connects with your job objective in any way, or at least shows strength of character.

A gap in your work history may cause the reader to think, “This candidate is hiding something” or “This looks like someone who could have a problem” (such as instability, laziness, substance abuse, or a history of incarceration). In order to gain the employer’s trust, you’ll need to justify any gaps in your employment history.

Here are some ways to handle a period of unemployment in your history:

1. Include only years, not months, when listing your work history. This not only makes it easier for the reader to quickly understand the length of time you held each position, it can eliminate any gaps that may have occurred within a span of two calendar years.

Notice the gap here:

11/06 – 4/09, Night Manager, Taco Bell, Woodmont, NY
3/04 – 2/06, Day Manager, Denny’s Restaurant, Milpitas, CA

If you use only years and eliminate the months, there is no apparent gap:

2006-2009, Night Manager, Taco Bell, Woodmont, NY
2004-2006, Day Manager, Denny’s Restaurant, Milpitas, CA

2. If you’ve experienced a period of unemployment that spans two calendar years or more, you will need to explain the gap. Consider everything you were doing during that time (travel, community service/volunteer work, internships, schooling, and school/extracurricular activities) and if possible, present them in a way that is relevant to your job objective.

For example, a person who cared for an ill parent for two years and is now looking for a position as a pharmaceutical sales rep might write:

2007-2009, Primary Home Care Provider for terminally ill relative

Someone applying for a position as a travel agent might list his vacation destinations:

2007-2008, Independent Travel: Central and South America

A mother re-entering the workforce who wants to be a teacher’s aide might write:

2003-2008, Parent and Classroom Volunteer, Brio High School

3. If, however, the gap in your work history has no apparent relevance to your job objective, explain it honestly and with dignity. In general, references to illness, unemployment (even if it is clearly due to a recession), and rehabilitation immediately raise red flags, so avoid those at all cost. Instead, write about something else that you were doing during that time, even if it’s not related to your job objective. Following are some suggested “job titles” for such gaps:

Full-time Student
Independent Study
Full-time Parent
Family Management (or Home Management)
Family Financial Management (or Estate Management)
Adventure Travel (or Travels to …)
Personal Travel

4. If you include unpaid experience in your work history, be sure to use the title of Work History or History for this section, rather than Professional Experience or Employment History, since the words “professional” and “employment” both imply that you were paid for the work you did.

source: susanireland

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American Companies Keep Getting More Gay-Friendly

In recent years, workplaces have become increasingly friendlier places for a greater number of workers. As companies compete for the best and brightest talent, many employers have revamped corporate policies to include language and programs that create safer and more welcoming work environments for a broad range of groups, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Given the economic turmoil caused by the Great Recession, which has pushed the national unemployment rate to around 10%, it might seem that companies could forgo such outreach because the nation’s current pool of available talent is as broad and deep as it has been in many years. But despite challenging economic times, more employers than ever are finding reasons to adopt LGBT-friendly policies, a recent survey shows.

“The private sector has realized that treating all of its employees fairly is actually a better way to create a productive workforce and to attract the best and brightest employees, regardless of their background,” says Daryl Herrschaft, director of the Workplace Project at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a gay-advocacy organization.

A Wide Variety of Top-Scoring Companies

More than 300 Fortune 1000 companies this year achieved a perfect score (100) on a rating system HRC has developed, known as the Corporate Equality Index. That’s an increase of 45 companies compared to last year, and a more than 20-fold jump since the CEI was established in 2002. The survey gathers information from employers on a host of workplace issues such as nondiscrimination policies, diversity training and benefits that provide parity among same-sex and different-sex couples and then assigns a score.

The companies that achieved the top score this year are as varied as Boeing, Ford Motor, Goldman Sachs, Constellation Energy, Time Warner, Anheuser-Busch, Campbell Soup, Dow Chemical, Dell, Apple, Xerox, Microsoft, Accenture, IBM, Marsh & McLennan, UnitedHealth, Chevron and many others.

“Competition has really driven a lot of interest in the index,” says Herrschaft, adding that companies don’t want to fall behind in the marketplace — of either employees or customers. The goal of HRC’s Workplace Project isn’t just to rate companies but to provide them with robust resources to implement policies that the CEI examines. “Rather than just administer the survey, we work with them extensively,” Herrschaft says.

A Few Holdouts

Still, some large corporations have been reluctant to adopt LGBT-friendly polices. In announcing its ratings this year, HRC noted two in particular: energy companies the Laclede Group and ExxonMobil, both of which scored zero. ExxonMobil continues to lose points, HRC says, “for resisting shareholder pressure to amend its nondiscrimination policies.”

Rather than adopt policies similar to those of competitors, ExxonMobil continues to use federal government employee policies as its benchmark, Herrschaft says. But those standards are long outdated. Uncle Sam had previously set the precedent for advancing employment policies by passing laws that prohibited job discrimination based on a number of characteristics. But in recent decades, corporations have taken the lead in promoting and advancing workplace equality.

Today, the federal government would likely score only 40 or 50 on the CEI index, says Herrschaft, noting that it can’t earn a score on some measures, such as philanthropic engagement, for example. Still, Herrschaft says the federal government is “creeping up on the scale,” noting that its score is higher than it was just a year ago, when it would have received a score of about 25.

Herrschaft says federal and state governments have been slow in adopting the best employment practices — or even the mainstream ones that most major U.S. corporations have. That puts states and Uncle Sam at a disadvantage in retaining top talent to meet the challenges most governments face these days.

Uncle Sam Needs to Lead

Further, if the federal government, as the nation’s largest employer, were to improve its employment policies, the action would likely cascade to the private sector. Companies that hadn’t yet moved on the issue would likely reconsider, Herrschaft says.

Still, it won’t be easy. Updating federal employment policies would in many instances require an act of Congress, he says, “which is something that HRC is actively working on.”

But in the meantime, LGBT workers can at least take pride in knowing their skills and talents are increasingly being recognized within the private sector.

source: dailyfinance

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