How Might Your Emails be Sabotaging Your Job Search?

When consumed by a job hunt, it is easy to exhaust your attention to detail on the obvious job search tools, such as your resume, cover letter, and preparing for interview questions.  However, one thing that is commonly overlooked that could mean the difference between an employer even reading your resume or inviting you in for an interview is your emails and correspondence with them.  With so much focus placed on the other items, emails are often times riddled with costly mistakes that jeopardized your job chances from the beginning of your communication with prospective employers. 

You comb through your resume making sure it portrays you in the most professional light possible, so it is important you take the same care in your emails!  We wanted to share a great US News article by Alison Green called "10 Ways Email Can Derail your Job Chances."  Are YOU jeopardizing your job chances by setting the wrong tone with your email correspondence?


10 Ways Email Can Derail Your Job Chances

Here are 10 ways that a single email can ruin your chances of getting an interview or job.
1. Sharing an email account with a spouse. Employers don't want to feel like they're emailing job-related correspondence to your significant other. If your email address makes it clear that someone shares it with you (like GeorgeAndKristy@email.com), then it's time to get your own separate account for job-searching. They're free, after all.

2. Using an unprofessional email signature. If your email signature contains political or religious messages, long quotations, or inspirational messages, you risk turning off your recipient and signaling that you don't know what's appropriate for professional communications.

3. Using unusual fonts. There's a fairly narrow range of acceptable fonts for emails. If you're using Comic Sans, you're going to come across as unprofessional and a bit uncomfortable with technology. A good email font is one that doesn't make the reader think about what font you used.

4. Using email stationery. Email isn't a written letter; it doesn't require stationery. Using borders of flowers around your email text looks tacky and unprofessional.

5. Making recipients jump through anti-spam hoops to respond. We all want to get less spam, but if you make someone fill out an anti-spam form to get their email through to you, then you might find that some employers just don't bother.


6. Not checking your spam folder. If you're conducting a job search, make sure that you check your spam folder every day. A surprising number of emails from employers can end up in there. You might sit around wondering why no one has gotten back to you when in fact there is a response or two in your spam folder right now. Go look.

7. Sending one email with your resume and cover letter to multiple employers. Whether you put them all in the "to" line or bcc them all, there's no better way to signal that you're just mass-mailing your materials out, rather than conducting a customized, targeted job search.

8. Having an unprofessional address. If you like to traverse the Web as "Sexy Mama" or "Partying Paul," get a different email address for job searching. Addresses like these are so unprofessional that they will trump anything else about your application.

9. Formatting your email like a business letter. When you're sending business correspondence through postal mail, you should include the date, your address, and the recipient's address at the top of the letter. However, when you're emailing someone, there's no need to include any of that info, and doing so makes you look like you don't use email much.

10. Using your work account to apply for other jobs. A surprising number of resume submissions come from candidates' current work email address. If you're using work time to search for another job, employers will assume you'll do the same to them.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/02/13/10-ways-email-can-derail-your-job-chances

Extracurriculars: What to Put on Your Resume and What to Leave Off

As you march across the stage to seize your shiny new diploma and ride off into the sunset of your bright post-grad future, it is important to remember that not EVERYTHING you did during the past four years of college should have a home on your resume.  Even though you might be stuck in a trance of nostalgia mulling over your collegiate activities, trust us.  They weren't all gems, and with a limited amount of paper space to convince potential employers that you are the right fit, you don't have even one line of 12 point font to waste outlining your "Best Dressed" Award at your junior year formal, or the beer pong tournament you won at Sigma's Lymphoma Fundraiser ("But hey, it was for charity!  That counts as philanthropy, right?")  You might have been a social butterfly, involved in dozens of groups and activities on campus; so how do you decide which ones are granted that coveted resume space?

As you hopefully know by now, your resume should be tailored from head to toe (top of the page to the bottom) for the specific position you aim to obtain.  That being said, almost any extracurricular activity (note: ALMOST any... be smart here) can be tailored for your resume if you highlight the skills you demonstrated or learned during it that will benefit you in your career path.  Below are some suggestions on leveraging your extracurriculars to enhance your resume- not just take up white space.

Athletics
Many stereotypes tell us that athletes like to hang their hats on their sport accomplishments and let that carry them to success, but in actuality, athletics can be a time-consuming, rigorous activity one should be proud of that can certainly have a place on your resume.  Being a member of a collegiate sports team requires stern dedication, excellent time management skills, and a healthy dose of both teamwork and leadership- all qualities potential employers are looking for.  While titles and awards are fine to list, make sure to delve beyond that in your resume.  Simply putting "MVP, Baby!" doesn't entice prospective employers; knowing what you did to earn MVP and the skills you learned along the way does.

Activities/Awards that Demonstrate a Particular Skill
While having a poem published in a compilation of prose or your research on chemical oceanography included in an academic article are not "groups" or "organizations" per say, they are definitely noteworthy enough to include on your resume.  They can show that not only can you do something, but you can do it well.  Activities or awards that demonstrate excellence in a particular craft or skill, such as forensics, writing, foreign language fluency, etc., can be of particular interest to employers.

Groups Applicable to Your Desired Position
As we mentioned before, colleges and universities typically have no shortage of groups to join based on your interests.  Love movies?  Join the Cinemaniacs!  Love yourself some salsa?  Join the Latin Dance Group!  If you were particularly ambitious in college, you could literally fill your entire resume with groups you were a part of... but that doesn't mean you should.  It is important to include just the groups that demonstrate your interest, dedication, or skill pertaining to the industry/line of work you are pursuing.  Want to be a lawyer?  Pre-Law Society and Debate Team can stay.  Cooking Club and Intramural Kickball gotta go.

Leadership Positions
An exception to the above rule of just including groups in line with your professional interests is including groups where you held a leadership position.  Leadership positions, after all, ARE in line with your professional goals, regardless of if they have to do with chemical biology, business law, or whatever industry you are pursuing.  One area of contention is if you should include membership of Greek organizations on your resume.  If you spent four years in your fraternity draining kegs and playing Call of Duty, that does not exactly demonstrate your professional prowess.  However, in actuality Greek organizations present a plethora of leadership opportunities.  If you were the Finance Vice President juggling a large budget, or Philanthropy Chair raising X amount of dollars and managing the time and resources of 50 sisters, these are certainly noteworthy items that can really showcase your ability to self-start and motivate and organize others.

Volunteer Work
Let's face it; volunteer work and charity can have the ability to make you like someone exponentially more, knowing that they have devoted their free time not only to themselves but to others.  Not only does volunteer work cast you in a slightly sunnier light simply based on premise, again there is plenty of philanthropic initiatives that really showcase leadership skills.  Organizing fundraisers, soup kitchens, etc. takes drive.  It also takes time management skills to juggle time for studies, time for your own interests, and time for others.  Volunteer work also demonstrates selflessness and cognizance of social responsibility, which is a hot topic in the business world these days. 

Just remember as a rule of thumb: As you peruse through your extracurriculars, really focus on selecting ones that will highlight skill sets you think your potential employers might be looking for.  Then, present them using that goal in mind.  Don't just list WHAT you did, but make sure to focus on HOW you accomplished those feats (what skills you possess), what you overcame (challenges you faced), and what you LEARNED (what skills you obtained).  Make the most of that resume space to paint yourself as a desirable candidate!

How to Stand Out from Other Online Resumes

It can be difficult enough to get your resume to stand out from the dozens of other 8.5 by 11 sheets of Times New Roman font sitting atop the hiring manager's desk.  You might have tried everything from quirky fonts to colored paper in order to make your resume stand out from the rest.  Getting your resume noticed online can be an even bigger challenge, as many sites include basic templates to submit your resume through, resulting in hundreds of cookie cutter resumes across the Internet.  So how do you go about getting your resume to stand out from the masses?

Angela Astley posted a great article on New Grad Life's blog outlining tips you can use to distinguish your resume online.  Do you have any additional tips?

Sourcing is a term used for recruiters to find and uncover candidates and recruiters are getting more and more creative with their sourcing techniques. One creative sourcing technique being used today is going to Google or other search engines and putting in search strings filled with keywords and terms to generate resumes from all over the internet.

Since recruiters are getting creative with their sourcing techniques, job seekers should start getting creative with online exposure techniques.

1. Create a career blog

Start a blog that focuses on your career industry and include tips, articles, news, and industry related topics. You don’t have to be a writer to create a blog. You can link to other articles and news about that industry topic and add comments showing your industry knowledge. Also, set up a page on the blog for your resume, where you are highlighting your industry knowledge, experience, and expertise. You can easily set up a blog for free using programs such as blogger.com or wordpress.com

2. Use free document sharing websites

There are a number of free file sharing websites that can help you gain more resume exposure online. Save your document in different forms such as DOC and PDF so your resume shows up under those search terms. Yes, recruiters will search for resumes using words such as pdf, rtf, doc, and cv. You can even save your resume as a powerpoint presentation! Here are few free sites to check out: keepandshare.com, slideshare.net, Google docs

3. Set up a resume web page
A one page website for your resume is great exposure and a great way to link others to your resume. You can add your website url to your resume, to other online profiles, and at the end of your signature in emails and posts. You can find free resume website builders such as: Emurse.com and VisualCV.com.

4. Social and professional networking websites

It’s no secret that social and professional networking websites are becoming hubs for job seekers and recruiters. I use LinkedIn all the time when I’m recruiting and I’m searching keywords to pull up profiles of potential candidates. If you aren’t on these networking websites, you are missing out on a ton of exposure. You can utilize these websites by putting in your professional profile or resume and links to your resume websites or blog posts. There are so many of these sites out there, but the majority of recruiters utilize LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace.
5. Use keywords
Recruiters are searching for resumes by using keywords and a lot of company resume databases are searching through resumes using keyword searches. If your resume doesn’t have the keywords that are being searched, it won’t be included in the results. I wouldn’t go crazy with keywords, but making sure you have certain technology and terminology that’s common in your industry listed on your resume is highly recommended. For more information on using keywords, check out my article Resume + Keywords = job opportunities.

6. Online groups

There are a ton of online groups that can help get you exposure online and recruiters are going into online groups to source for candidates. You can join industry specific groups, association groups, and groups based on location. I highly recommend joining LinkedIn Groups, I am always using the LinkedIn groups to source and contact candidates. Other groups you can look into are Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, and Meetup.com groups.

7. Job Boards

I wouldn't rule out getting your resume posted on the job boards. There are many recruiters who still use the job boards as their primary sourcing tool and even though I utilize more creative sourcing techniques, I still do some sourcing from job boards as well. So make sure you get your resume posted to popular job boards such as monster , Executive Openings! ,Job.com, careerbuilder

Don’t miss out on being found online! Use as many resources as you can to make sure that your resume is getting noticed online.
http://newgradlife.blogspot.com/2009/10/resume-writing-get-job-resume-samples.html

How to Effectively Work Remotely

If you are one of the lucky few who have established a work-from-home situation with your employer, whether you are working remotely every day of the week or a few days a month, then congratulations- you have one of the most coveted working situations in Corporate America!  However, while working remotely has its obvious perks (slippers versus work shoes/heels... need we say more), this working situation also presents unique challenges as well.  It takes a distinct personality type, riddled with diligence, accountability, and impeccable organization skills, to make a remote working position successful.  Once you and your employer have established that you might have the personality type and appropriate position to make it work, what steps can you take to ensure you are as successful and productive as possible?

Here are our tips on how to effectively work remotely!

Establish clear expectations.
Prior to beginning your remote work, it is essential you and your boss discuss in specifics their expectations of you and your expectations of them.  If they expect you to be working 9 to 5 with immediate access to answering emails and phone calls at all times, then that must be known.  Perhaps they are more flexible with the hours you work, as long as you adhere to specific deadlines.  Either way, it is important that both yours and your boss's expectations are in line with one another from the beginning.  Make sure you understand all of the tasks and projects on your plate, and when your boss expects them completed by.  It is difficult to meet and exceed expectations when you are uncertain what they are in the first place!

Maintain open lines of communication.
Since you are not physically in the office to stay in the loop and to meet with your colleagues and superiors on specific initiatives, it has never been more important to brush up on your communication skills and make sure you have a clear communication plan in place.  Make sure to keep up with your emails.  Since coworkers can't just drop by your desk to pass on information, this is likely the method they will use to reach out to you with the occassional question.  Make sure you are answering them in a timely fashion.  Schedule regular calls or conference calls with your coworkers and bosses to touch base and discuss progress on projects you are working on.  Be prepared to dish out your cell phone number or home land line so coworkers and clients have a constant line to reach you at.  If you still work some days in the office and have a phone line at your business, make sure calls are forwarded to your cell phone so when you are working remotely you are still able to catch calls and messages to that line.  Effective communication is essential in any working situation, but it is especially important to ensure you are available and responsive while working remotely.

Set yourself up for success with a distraction-free workplace.
As stated earlier, it takes a diligent and focused worker to effectively work remotely, as there are many tempting distractions that can take your focus off of your work.  While it might seem like an entertaining idea to try and write your sales reports in front of the television, you will fare much better if you establish a space in your home dedicated to work and work alone.  A quiet office with access to all of your work supplies will keep you focused on the tasks at hand.  If you still find yourself occasionally distracted while working at home, try relocating for the afternoon to a local coffee shop or the library.  Sometimes removing yourself from an environment with distractions (loads of laundry to wash, a comfy couch to sink into, etc.) will refocus you on your objectives.

Make sure you have set up the proper technology to execute your job and stay connected.
Nothing will foil your remote working plans quite like not being technically set up to do your job.  If your job requires you to print, fax, and scan frequently, make sure your at-home office has these supplies.  Make sure you have high speed Internet to support your tasks.  If you will need to teleconference in for meetings, make sure you have a land line or dependable enough cell reception so the calls aren't dropped.  If you are required to Skype in or video conference, make sure you have a proper webcam.  Work with your IT department to ensure you are all set up on the company's network or VPN so you have access to all of the necessary programs and files.  Since you are not physically at the office, it is important you bring the elements of the office necessary for your job to you.

Remain mindful of your deadlines and producing quality products.
Since you are not physically under your boss's nose, your only justification for what you have accomplished each day are your results.  Of course this goes without saying whether you work inside or outside the office, but make sure your finished products are completed to the best of your abilities to demonstrate your capability to produce high quality work no matter where you are located.  If you and your boss have established deadlines during your discussion of expectations, make sure you adhere strictly to those deadlines.  If you are working in an office and have been swamped, it might be easier to go to your boss to request an extension since they have seen firsthand what you have been up to; trying your hardest to stay on schedule with your deadlines is the surest way to proove to your boss that you have remained productive while working remotely.

To obtain a remote working position, you have to be a hard working individual who has already demonstrated to their superiors that they can be entrusted to perform their job without being watched every hour of the day.  Simply maintain the communication skills and diligence that have helped land you this position in the first place throughout your remote assignment, and you will undoubtedly see heightened productivity and success!

How to Avoid the Trenches of Unhealthy Office Eating

As we make our way through spring, you can't help but have the greener and sunnier pastures of summer on your mind.  As the temperature climbs, the spreadsheet on your computer starts to look WAY less appealing than your daydream about basking in the sun on a sandy beach.  And then walks in Marsha from Finance with a box of Krispy Kremes, gingerly setting them on the desk adjacent to yours (did she do that on purpose?) and your daydream starts to dissolve into thin air.  One of swimsuit season's mortal enemies, besides Christmas and Thanksgiving, is unhealthy office snacking.  Just think.  It is a year-round threat to your waste line, not a periodic holiday!  You likely spend your 9-5 around tempting boxes of donuts and bagels, a break room filled with baked treats the receptionist had leftover from her weekend cookout (and she just "happened" to overestimate her guest list by three chocolate cakes?), and a vending machine full of everything sweet, salty, and caloric for you to pick at throughout the day. It has all the makings of a cruel sabotage; eating healthy in the office can feel like you're dodging bullets out there!

Here are some of our tips on avoiding the landmines of bad eating decisions cornering you in your cubicle, so your office snacking habits don't turn your summer dreams into nightmares!

Bring your own lunch. 
Lunch boxes and brown paper bags need not be merely the devices of middle schoolers.  Packing your own lunch gives you the most control possible over what you are ingesting every day.  Fill your lunch with healthy options rich in nutrients and low in fat (but appetizing enough that you won't just drop it in the trash and pretend it never existed as soon as someone else in the office suggests an outing to Fuddruckers).  Eating out and staying healthy can be almost as challenging as taking your chances in the office, so the more you can bring your lunch instead of going out to control what you are eating, the more your waist line (and wallet) will thank you.


Bring your own snacks.  And snack responsibly.
As with the aforementioned tip, filling your bottom drawer with snacks you have already designated for healthy eating gives you more control over what food you have at your disposal.  When you run into a 3:00 snack craving, left to the mercy of the vending machine, you will be cornered by such options as Gardetto's and Otis Spunkmeyer cookies (we can here your bikini crying now).  However, make sure that having bottom drawer access to snacks does not result in you having a snack in your hand from the time you clock in to the time you clock out.  Five 100 calorie packs is still 500 calories.  Do snack periodically to give you energy throughout the day and prevent binging at main meals, but make sure to snack responsibly.

Guzzle that H20.
Are YOU drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day?  If not, then you should; and not because we say so, but because health experts say so.  If the nasty side effects of dehydration (think headaches, muscle cramps, dizziness, nausea, and the like) aren't enough of a deterrent to keep you reaching for the H20, also remember that filling your body with water means you aren't filling it with WORSE items for you.  Keeping hydrated can curb your appetite, but is also simply vital to your overall health.  Keep a water bottle at your desk for easy access.  Set little goals to finish your bottle by certain points throughout the day, and then take a break for a refill.  Kill two birds with one bird by staving off boredom AND hunger!


Willpower buddy.
If YOUR backbone isn't quite strong enough to withstand that mountain of confetti cupcakes for Sally's birthday, maybe it is time for some reinforcement.  Find a buddy in the office who is willing to make a health pact with you, and it might be easier to stop the mob snacking mentality. ("Well if EVERYONE'S grabbing a brownie, I might as well...")  Your willpower buddy can be the person who stays back at the office with you to eat your brown bag meal when everyone's gone to lunch.  Or to drive to Jamba Juice with you when everyone else is headed to Olive Garden.  Strength in numbers, my friends.

And if strength lies in numbers, create a healthy office revolution!
But just remember, not EVERYONE will want to get on board, and it's best not to be annoyingly pushy.  Not everyone wants to trade their eclair for some organic oatmeal, so be cognizant of others' personal choices.  However, there is no harm in trying to infect your office with a little dose of healthy snacking.  In fact, wellness in the workplace is a hot topic right now, and companies everywhere are actually making it an initiative to start emphasizing healthy eating.  Why not start the trend at your office?  Again, no need to go slapping Cheeto bags out of your coworkers' hands, but bringing in fruits, whole grain snack bars, and other healthy foods to slip into the breakroom every now and again gives your peers healthy options, should they so choose to join you on your health-conscious endeavor.


Now go forth!  Snack healthy, and enjoy your summer!

Tips for the Executive Mom: How to Maintain the Balancing Act

We know Mother's Day has come and gone, and we included a post dedicated to mothers on Friday, but why not one more since we can never really pay "too much" tribute to those who raised us to be the hardworking individuals we are today (if the dads out there are feeling neglected, no worries.  Your day will come in June!)

In this blog, we'd like to highlight all of those working mothers out there who have mastered the balancing act of maintaining a successful career while still raising a family.  Those courageous females who can field calls from an agitated customer, a school nurse, their boss, and the principal all in the same hour.  Those who have such heightened organization skills to maintain Outlook calendars, grocery lists, soccer schedules, and project deadlines.  Balancing one's family and professional life is no easy feat, and thus, we'd like to pass on some tips from those who have successfully found that perfect balance and have lived to tell the tale.

Here is a CareerBuilder article written by Mary Delaney outlining some tips for all those working mothers out there!

How Mothers Can Balance Work and Family
Mary Delaney, President of Personified

If you're a mom who not only has beautiful children but also a job you love, plenty of people have probably said you "have it all." While you have been able to start a family and a successful career, you know all too well that having it all also means having the pressures of the workplace piled on top of the demands of parenthood – and that's not an easy act to balance.

CareerBuilder.com's annual Mother's Day survey finds that working mothers are eager to trade the office for family time if only it were financially feasible. Forty-three percent of working moms are willing to take a pay cut if it allows them to spend more time with their children. Of those willing to take the pay cut, 34 percent are willing to give up ten percent or more of their salaries. Fifty-one percent of moms who live in households with more than one income would leave their job if their family could live off of their spouse's or significant other's income.

Not enough hours in the day
Finding the time to do their job and still be involved parents is a daily struggle for today's working mothers. Late nights in the office can mean missing a family dinner, a teacher conference or baby's first words. Seventeen percent of surveyed mothers have missed three or more significant events in their children's life in the last year. In fact, 34 percent of mothers admit to spending less than three hours each day with their children.
One common way mothers attempt to balance their workload and their families is to bring work home with them, which can help advance their careers but also damage their personal relationships. One key problem with bringing home work is that it means you might be in the same room as your children, but your mind is still at the office. Yet sixteen percent of working moms bring work home at least three days a week, while one in five brings it home every workday. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 24 percent of mothers cited work as having a negative impact on their relationships with their children.

How to make it work
Although raising children while holding a job outside of the home will always be a challenge, here are some steps you can take to ease the pressure of being a working mom.
1. Incorporate telecommuting into your workday. Many companies allow their employees to work from home one or more days per week, which is an easy way for you to spend more time in the morning and afternoon with your children rather than in standstill traffic. Check with your human resources department and employee manual to see if telecommuting is an option. Of course, to telecommute you should be self-disciplined and able to get your work done even though the boss isn't leaning over your shoulder.

2. Use one calendar for all appointments. If you have a conference scheduled for Monday morning, you're not going to be late to work. If your daughter has a soccer game Wednesday night, will you have the same determination to be there on time? Putting all of your appointments – whether they involve the office or the family – on one calendar makes it easier to avoid schedule conflicts and missing personal appointments. You'll also be able to notice if you're spending more time on work than on family with a quick glance at the calendar.

3. Make your family a priority. Although your family is the most important thing in your life, you might forget to show it. Devote your weekends and any free weekday evenings to family activities. Even if you can't plan a mid-week activity, make a quick phone call to your children to see how their school day went.

4. Take it easy. Work can become so hectic that you forget that you actually do like your job and the people around you. Leave some free time to relax and regroup between meetings so you don't stay in a constant state of stress. You'll be able to appreciate what you do and whom you work with. Also, keep evenings and weekends free of projects so you can rest and be completely recharged when you head back to the office.

5. Let others do their share. Make sure you're letting the people around you take on some responsibility. You might be tempted to do everything yourself, but you'll only stress yourself out. If you're a manager, delegating responsibility will ease your workload and allow your staff to develop their skills.

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-867-The-Workplace-How-Mothers-Can-Balance-Work-and-Family/  

Business Advice We Learned from Mom

With Mother's Day this weekend (yes, if you forgot up until now, you still have time!), we thought it would be nice to post a little tribute to those valuable lessons Mom taught us that have carried over to make us successful business people.  Scott Gillespie wrote a great piece on Biznik outlining five great reasons every business person should stop and give an extra special thanks to their mother this Sunday!

Mom's Top 5 Business Tips

Mom told us time after time several things while growing up. Little did we know that those lessons we learn would help us in business and sales! Here are 5 things we were told and how they apply today...

Growing up, we all picked up on little pearls of wisdom from our Mom that we later would use in sales and business. We didn’t know it at the time, and we may have even been annoyed with the sage advice we were receiving, but in the end (as usual!) Mom always knew best. So in honor of Mother’s Day, here are 5 tips for sales and business success we learned from Mom:

1 - Think before you speak. When Mom said this, it was usually because we flew off the handle and said something we didn’t mean or that didn’t make sense. In business, it helps us understand the needs of our customers and what they need from us.
Many salespeople use their gift of gab and go in touting their product or service’s features and benefits while dominating the conversation. Although they may make a sale, the customer may often feel like they were “sold.”
Mom’s advice teaches us consultative selling where you listen much more than you speak. You ask great questions that allow your customer to tell you exactly what you need to know to provide the solution that your customer needs. With this approach, your customer feels appreciated and knows that they invested in a solution, rather than sold a bill of goods.

2 - If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. (Aka: Bite your tongue!) In business, this means “don’t bad-mouth your competition.” Although this is a basic principle, it still happens and bears repeating.
For me, when I hear someone bad-mouthing the competition, first, I cringe. Then I think that they cannot stand on the merits of their product or service; that they have to diminish their competition to gain any kind of position. Looking deeper into this, when you hear someone bad-mouthing their competition, many times it can give the impression that the competition is actually better.

3 - Tuck your shirt in. Mom always wanted you looking your best. Even a motley looking crew could look presentable if they at least had their shirts tucked in!
In sales and business, we must always be ready to make a positive first impression, whether you are going to see a new customer or are welcoming new customers at your store. You also never know when you may bump into that key contact that you’ve been trying to reach and need to be ready to put your best foot forward. So, tuck that shirt in!!

4 - Always wear clean underwear. Would Mom’s really worry about your underwear if you were to ever get in an accident? I would hope that would have been about the 68th thing they’d think about if you were laid out in the hospital from being in an accident.
In the business world, Mom was preparing us to be just that - prepared. Far too many people “wing it” going into a sale or presentation. Not only be prepared with your product knowledge and presentation information and documents, but be prepared mentally as well. Your presentation may have been the 3rd one you’ve given that day, or the 15th one that week, but it is the very first one that your prospective client has ever heard from you. Deliver each with the same zeal and enthusiasm as the first one you did way back when you first started.

5 - The Golden Rule. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. Whenever you acted up or acted out against someone, Mom would always remind us about the Golden Rule. For the most part, this rule would be a pretty good one to follow…except in business.
In the business world, I think a variation of the Golden Rule is more applicable. Redefined, it would read “Treat others the way they would want to be treated.” This can be done as easily as it is said. As long as you think before you speak, have something nice to say, keep your shirt tucked in and wear clean underwear, you will be in tune with your prospect and know what their expectations are and how they want to be treated.

http://biznik.com/articles/moms-top-5-business-tips