News/Executive Coaching: Job Search – The Importance of Formality & Professionalism

News/Weekend/Executive Coaching:
James Yoakum examines those easily overlooked and simple rules of thumb when conducting a job search, highlighlighting why formality and professionalism are key to success

Viewpoint by James Yoakum, WCW Columnist

Without a doubt, the world and our society are less formal today than years ago. We have dress down business attire; formal business memorandum have been replaced with e-mail and other shorter, less formal business documentation. Technological advancements have created an environment that operates and changes a a very quick pace resulting to less attention being paid to detail and formality. However, despite our more informal world, professionalism should always abound and exist in all business dealings.

Professionalism is very pertinent and important in your job search efforts. Nothing can derail a job search effort faster than the lack of professionalism. And that perceived lack is often inadvertent; it is overlooked due to the nature of the environment in which we exist.

Some examples:

(1) Your on-line presence
Your business social network (e.g., LinkedIn) needs to be professional and formal. The written content should be free of errors (i.e., grammatical, punctuation, capitalization).

If you chose to participate in some the more social sites (e.g., Facebook), watch or monitor what you post, say and disclose. For example, don’t post blogs or pictures of you guzzling beer or of you in your toga party attire.

(2) Your e-mail address
Preferably your e-mail address should be some combination of your first and last name. For example: first name. last name@electronic mail. Avoid cute e-mail names. Also, don’t use others e-mail addresses such as your spouse’s or kid’s.

(3) Voice mail
You should have a formal, professional voice message that is restricted to identification of the number and individual reached. Avoid slang, personal stories, cute kids and music.

These all seem so simple. Yet many people overlook them and have their job search derailed before it even gets starts. Don’t be one of them. Be professional in your business dealings.

About James Yoakum
Jim Yoakum is an accomplished executive leader with over 25 years of diversified (financial services, insurance, manufacturing, non-profit/tax exempt organizations, consulting and governmental) experience in risk management, internal control, regulatory affairs, operations and systems, law, compliance and taxation/accounting.

He has many successes achieved in managing the creation of new or changing/evolving functions and managing projects/programs in resolution of significant issues. Jim has strong project/program management skills, using an inherent logical thought process honed by many years of technical training, were germane to these successes. He possesses the ability to manage human resources in a changing environment with passion, creativity, results-orientation and self-motivation.

Jim is resilience, acts with decisiveness and to foster/adapt to change and new environments. Most importantly, Jim never wants to stop learning; never to stop helping others. As an accomplished author, poet and mentor, he continues to develop and educate by sharing his business and life experiences through writing, mentoring, speaking and networking.