PTT: Keeping up with Current Events

Professional Tip Tuesday
This past weekend my roommate, Laura, and I did "all the things". The catchphrase for the weekend captured our attempt to tackle a gigantic list of activities. We went to the movies, baked, cheered for our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes, did the Halloween thing, and rounded out the weekend with popcorn and Hocus Pocus.

All decked out 'Merica style for Halloween festivities.

"All the things" is a big part of weeknights and weekends. A full time job takes up a lot of free time. Especially living in a fun, new city with friends and a bucket list a mile long - I try to take advantage of the little bit of free time.

So to tie this all back to this week's Professional Tip Tuesday.. 

It can be tough to keep up on current events between work and "all the things". Even when I make an effort to catch up on the days happenings, I could spend all day trying to figure out the background info on one topic. And unfortunately, living in a bubble and neglecting the news isn't exactly acceptable.

Contrary to popular belief: No news, isn't always good news. 
But I recently found an email subscription that makes all of this a whole lot easier. In 2012, two girls started TheSkimm from their apartment. This daily e-newsletter is geared towards women and summarizes the ins-and-outs of the big headlines. Their webpage reads:

"We are an online newsletter that simplifies the headlines for the professional who knows enough to know she needs more. Our concept is simple: we read, you Skimm."

How great is that?

the Skimm

Being well-informed is a huge part of becoming a successful young professional. I highly recommend TheSkimm. Not only do I love the idea behind everything they are doing - but I also get to read up on all about the important stuff that's happening in about 5 minutes while I drink my morning coffee.

So keeping up with the news doesn't have to be a chore any longer thanks to TheSkimm! How do you get your daily dose of news headlines in your day? Comment below.

PTT: Water Cooler Sports Talk (Special Edition!)

Professional Tip Tuesday

Hello my fellow Optimistically Anna readers!

This is Anna's sports-loving and Optimistically Anna-loving boyfriend, Britt. I am honored to be a guest writer for this week's Professional Tip Tuesday.

I'm sure many of you are wondering, "Where is Optimistically Anna and why isn't she writing the PTT this week?" There are two reasons for Anna's "bye week" (sports reference - you should know what this means after reading and acting upon this blog post).

1. Anna is in Atlantic City on business (or so she tells me - I'm still convinced she's shooting craps and pulling slot handles, but we'll give her the benefit of the doubt since this is her blog after all). 
2. Anna is not as "sports-inclined" as I am. I would maybe use different verbiage, but that's her nice way of stating her lack of sports knowledge. And as you can tell by the title, this PTT is about sports knowledge and how it connects to the workplace! 

Let me begin with a scenario: 

You are walking back to your desk from lunch when you pass a co-worker who asks you, "what are you doing for the game tonight!?" Oblivious to any large sporting event happening that night, you respond, "What game?" Big mistake. Unbeknownst to you, your hometown team has a very important game that night - a game that could be a prime event for you to meet with your co-workers to watch. 

Well, fellow Optimistically Anna readers, this happened to our Optimistic friend several weeks ago. So hopefully this PTT will help you avoid embarrassing sports situations like that one.

General sports knowledge.
Next time you're at lunch with some bros that start talking about that awesome game last night, you won't feel uncomfortable or bored.

• When you get a chance to butt in, you can say, "I couldn't believe that James Shields had 11 strikeouts in 6 innings last night. His curve balls were buckling the knees of the White Sox players all night!" 
• Okay, so you don't need to pay attention to the games that closely, but knowing who James Shields is or what city the White Sox are from would be a good start. 

Regarding college sports. 

If your company is anything like mine, the employees have a lot of pride in their alma-mater. Flags of universities hang above desks, there is a donning of school colors on Fridays, and general smack talk about rival schools 

• A few beginner tips when it comes to college sports - know what conference the nearby universities compete in, who their largest rivals are, and which of your co-workers went to rival schools. 
• You find out a lot about a person based on how they react to smack talk. 

General rules of majors sports. 

I started my career a few months ago and I have already been to two different professional sporting events with co-workers. 

• Understanding the basics of live sports events will make you feel in-the-loop. You don't want to be that person asking, "Why are they punting?" When it's 4th-and-27. 
• If you're not up to the task of learning more complicated games like football, follow a tip from Anna - cheer when the crowd cheers, boo when the crowd boos, and enjoy some good people watching while you're a the game. Just kidding, Anna. :) Kind of. 

Participate in Fantasy Football and March Madness.

• These competitions provide an opportunity for you to have something in common with your co-workers. Maybe your boss isn't very personable, but he's a big fantasy football guy. Competing against him in a fantasy football league could help you have more frequent conversations with him. 
• Now you won't have to hide in your cubicle on Monday mornings as your neighbors talk about how their fantasy teams did. You can contribute to the conversation! The same goes for March Madness. **Pro tip: Knowing the major teams and star players will get you far in your departments annual bracket challenge.

So what's the next step?

-Go to www.espn.com and research your home teams! Check out their win-loss record for the current and past season. Learn the names of their best players. It's never to early to start preparing for fantasy football or march madness. 

I hope those of you who don't associate as being "sports-inclined" found this post to be insightful. Maybe I'll guest write again sometime if Anna heads to Vegas for another 'business trip'. 

What school is your favorite to talk smack about to co-workers? Any good stories about fantasy football or March Madness? Comment below!

PTT: Pro Tips for Resume Writing

Professional Tip Tuesday

In the spirit of Career Fairs and job hunting season, I wanted to share this incredible infographic I found on Pinterest. 

10 Easy Steps to a Better Resume.

I have a love / hate relationship with resume writing. It is not an easy task. But seeing the finished product always brings a feeling of accomplishment. 

The average employer will spend about 30 second skimming your resume.. 30 seconds! That's a short amount of time for 1 page with lots of print to stand out in a stack. The infographic posted below does a great job of breaking down the important elements of a resume to make your experiences shine!

Originally posted by www.yellowlinelabs.com

One of the hardest, but most important tips Yellow Line Labs calls out is your approach. Telling the company how your skills and abilities will benefit them is key. If you can show them that you will add value to their mission, their organization, and their team - you will be a far better candidate for it.

So since resumes can be so tricky - my question for you is: How do you jazz up your resume and make it stand out? Comment below to share your thoughts! 

PTT: Presenting like a Professional [Woman]

Professional Tip Tuesday
My roommate told me this morning a radio host referred to today as: "National Don't Want to Go Back to Work Day". Man, oh, man I couldn't agree more. My first 'paid' holiday and I still felt like I could have used an extra day!

Friday after work, I made a split second decision to go back to Iowa City for the home opener football game. As much as I love Kansas City, it was fantastic to recognize some faces and be in a familiar place for a bit.

A holiday weekend spent with good friends and cheering on the Hawkeyes.

And now, I am in my last week of training at work - hallelujah! But before I get there.. I have a big presentation coming up on Thursday. So today's Professional Tip Tuesday is: 

Presenting like a professional [woman]!

This post specifically goes out to the ladies. We tend to have a different speaking style than men. The following 4 tips are things to be aware of when presenting. 

1.Watch out for that upspeak? (The question mark is ironic...)

• Occasionally girls aren't quite as confident in the words we're speaking and we phrase our sentences as questions. But what does that do? It totally discredits everything we have said. That's no good.

• You are presenting on the topic for a reason. You know your stuff. So show it with a strong, confident ending to your sentences!

2. Use punctuation. Don't interrupt yourself.

• I didn't even know it, but this describes exactly what I do ALL the time. Do you ever find yourself adding on ands and buts and howevers like they are going out of style? Compound sentences are another big thing we do when we're feeling unsure. 
• Tara Sophia Mohr explains it perfectly in her article (linked here): "When we don't feel we have the right to take up space in a meeting or conversation, or when we are nervous, we tend to rush, and never leave a moment without words". 

3. Be an expert. Know it and practice it. 

• The key to successfully do 1 and 2 is to actually be sure of what you are talking about. If you are comfortable with the content, the rest will come way more naturally. 
• And here's the secret - it's ok if you don't know everything! The audience will be oblivious as long as you can say most of it with confidence. 
• **Bonus tip: If someone in the audience asks you something you are unsure of, deflect the question with something like: "I want to make sure I give you the right answer so let me check up on that and get back to you." You will still sound like you know it all. And as long as you follow up with that person, your credibility is saved.

My friends and I didn't know everything about the university when we worked for orientation.
But we definitely had to be comfortable with the material when presenting to students!

4. Embrace your personality! Our warm tones can set us apart.

• The more I read about women in the workplace - the more excited I get. We have a special niche skill that makes us an incredible value to any team. 
• Especially in the context of tips 1, 2, and 3 - an empathetic but confident tone can make for one killer presentation!

There you go. That's my 4 big tips on a successful presentation. These are all things I am learning to embrace slow but sure. All of these tips will do wonders if you can get them down. 

Men tend to naturally speak more matter-of-factly than women. So for this week's questions: Whether you are a man or a woman - what's your trick to sounding like you know your stuff? What are your top presentation tips? Comment below! I would love to hear your advice since my big speech is coming up on Thursday :)

Modern Day Manners

I have always been a huge manners person. And in my experience so far, I would say politeness will get you far. People love to be appreciated. I think my good etiquette savviness comes from my lovely grandmother. She is someone I would describe as graceful in every sense of the word.

My wonderful grandparents.

But as a 22-year-old "adult", proper etiquette can get a little tricky. So when I stumbled across The Grown Up Guide to Modern Manners on Pinterest this evening, I had to share it! 

Check it out and let me know what you think. The author mentions the proper protocol for tips, cell phones, weddings, and parties. All good things for a young professional to brush up on! 

What are your go-to "modern" manners? Comment below! 

PTT: Fake It 'Til You Become It!

Professional Tip Tuesday
As a part of my Lazy Sunday afternoon, I decided to indulge in a little couch time. Unfortunately, I recently finished my latest television show binge on Netflix.

...On that subject, I have decided Netflix is best compared to my closet. I have so many clothes, yet I feel like I never have anything to wear. And similarly, there are so many options on Netflix, yet I can't ever find anything to watch.

But on this particular day, my "Top 10 for Anna"on Netflix suggested I check out "Ted Talks: Life Hacks". I love TED Talks! So I clicked on it.

And now all of my Top 10 are TED Talks.

Today's Professional Tip Tuesday is a little gem I found thanks to that very suggestion. The very first video that played was a 20 minute presentation by Amy Cuddy called: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.

In her presentation, Cuddy talks how Power Dynamics are conveyed in nonverbal communication. Humans (and animals) express their power and dominance through their nonverbals.

Let's break it down:

• Feeling confident and powerful? This person tends to spread out and their nonverbals might be more exaggerated.
• Feeling insecure or nervous? This person's nonverbals tend to be small and enclosed, taking up very little space.

I don't think these two different power dynamics are mutually exclusive. I can think of scenarios where I have played both roles. Around my friends, I can be as animated as a cartoon character. But in classes I wasn't comfortable in, I might curl up in my desk and stay quiet.

The important part of all of this is Cuddy's findings. Through research she realized, the way you act out these power dynamics will influence the way you feel. She says, you can Fake it Until You Make It! ...Sound familiar? :)

Amy Cuddy says, "Stand like Super Woman"
Photo Credit: Poptech Flickr

If you want to appear confident in a job interview, when presenting a big idea in a meeting, or even just conversing in the break room - mimic the nonverbals of a confident person. Stand up straight, take up more space, and be strong! Cuddy says, "Don't just fake it til you make it. Fake it until you become it!"

So watch that TED Talk (linked above) and if you're still interested in this topic (like I totally am!) read this article from Cuddy on Wired.com.
What characteristics do you notice in people that appear more confident? Comment below!