In this week’s reading of Business Etiquette in Brief, chapter 2 discusses ways that men can look professional during a job interview or at the workplace.  Let’s take a look:

8 Common Fashion Faux Pas

1. Always wear a long-sleeved shirt with a suit.
2. Make sure that your shirt gives the appearance of having been professionally pressed.
3. Be sure that the tip of your tie touches the top of your belt buckle.
4. Wear socks that reach mid-calf to avoid showing a flash of leg.
5. When wearing an American-cut jacket (single-breasted), button up when standing or walking.  If your jacket has two buttons, button the top one.  If it has three, button the center one.
6. When wearing a European-cut jacket (double-breasted), button all the buttons when standing or walking.
7. Resole shoes with badly worn heels.
8. Choose leather or metal watch bands.

Other Items in Question

Fabric- When choosing a men’s suit, it should go without saying that 100% wool blends are usually a good choice.  To double check the quality of the suite, gently squeeze the material between your hands.  If it wrinkles when you let it go, you should probably think twice about purchasing it, since it may require more  maintenance than you’re willing to commit to.  Remember; suits should always look crisp!

Shirts- Long-sleeved shirts are the way to go when it comes to business with white shirts portraying the most formal look.  And although many men do not wear undershirts, they should.  Three reasons for this include:

• Keeps a dress shirt from feeling itchy against the skin.
• Preserves the shirt from perspiration.
• Gives added body to a dress shirt.

Ties- Ties should be anywhere from 2 3/4 and 3 1/2 inches wide.

Jewelry- Jewelry should be kept to an absolute minimum.  A wedding band, class ring or other non-gaudy ring may be worn on the ring finger typically.  Additionally, a watch that blends best with business suits is one with a basic black leather or metal band.  Plastic or velcro should NEVER be worn unless you’re competing in a sport outside of the workplace.

Jackets- Business etiquette dictates that a jacket should only be removed when the person who has arranged the business meeting invites others to do so.

Pens- Believe it or not, a pen can speak volumes about your confidence and ability and are often viewed as an accessory to your outfit.  Therefore, you may want to invest in a high quality pen to complete your image.

The following is a guest post from the guys at Logo Inn.

A Logo Design Service Provider

Today, the world is more socially connected; in this regard reputation management has become more and more a concern for any business whether it is small or a large enterprise. Social media marketing in this scenario can help small and medium size businesses to gain reputation and popularity without deploying multiple websites.

One of the best examples of social media marketing could be the presidential campaign of Obama. With his unique logo, he had run the campaign almost on all popular social networking websites included MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube etc. Even now when the campaign has been finished his profile could easily be identified due to his unique logo.

It’s your profile picture that makes you identifiable on social networks, and if you put your logo instead of any other picture, it becomes very easy for visitors to identify and remember your business. Hence, a unique logo can be easily identified by the viewers at a glance and makes your profile to standout from the crowed.

Advertising through web banner can also be done on social networks, which is proved to be very effective and cheaper way of online marketing Thousands of users visit social networking websites daily, subliminal effect could be left on their mind if they don’t even look at the advertisement, but impression of a logo would be saved in their subconscious mind.

One other advantage a small business gets is through creating groups, where you are allowed to setup a main page with a graphic/logo, company’s description, and a wall where users can post comments. Additionally, it provides a discussion board for posting questions that encourage group members to interact and share their opinions. Group creation is free, it is Viral – when people become your fan it is updated on their profile with your logo and shared with all their friends, publicly indexed, and promotable with social network Ads.

It is just not enough; there are many other ways a unique logo can help. Widget marketing is another way to promote your business. Widgets are simple applications that can be made available for your website or blog visitors to copy and paste in their website or blog. Useful widgets can be designed for your visitors, and when they embed this widget to their website or blog, your logo will appear. Therefore, your logo would become the source of bringing qualified traffic to your website and creating brand exposure. Companies like YouTube, Twitter, and Slide are the examples that have taken advantage of widget marketing.

In the last, I would say benefits of social media marketing are never ending, and if you have a unique logo the advantages would be immense. Many other ways are there to utilize unique logo for social media marketing, and it’s your brain how you create innovative ideas to take full advantage out of your logo.

The following is a guest post from the guys at Logo Inn

Karl Staib is the brain behind Work Happy Now, a blog that gives tips, advice and shares stories that help employees and/or CEOs improve their work environment. Recently, I decided to interview Karl to pick his brain about the website as well as his experiences and struggles with it.  If you haven’t already done so, make sure you check out his site here.

Why Work Happy Now?

I have always struggled to enjoy various jobs. The memories were always enjoyable, but while I was working a job I had difficulty staying engaged. Most of it was my fault, so I began studying myself, books and other blogs to see if I could make a few connections. I started a personal development blog three years ago, but kept drifting toward work happiness. I knew other people had this problem too, so after a flop of a personal development blog I made the leap and started Work Happy Now. Best creative decision of my life.

How long has Work Happy Now been around?

Work Happy Now has been around for a little over a year. It’s still a work in progress. I’ve changed the look of my site, added video, launched an ebook “Work Happy the Google Way,” and I’m itching to expand some more. Like any business, I have to pick the strong return on investments and put the other ideas on the back burner. It’s not always easy to decide where to put my time, but that’s what creating a business is all about.

What sorts of struggles (if any) have you had to endure with your business over time?

The business is just in its infancy. I still work a full time job. My goal is to have Work Happy Now become a full time career by this time next year. To answer your question…I’ve lost count of the struggles. A brief synopsis would be cold-calling businesses, keeping up with regular blog posts, responding to every single reader question, staying outside my comfort zone and giving more and more value.

How did you come up with the name for your site?

I’m a big believer in branding. I wanted a name that would be easy to remember and would tell the exact story of how I wanted to help people. Voila – Work Happy Now. I really wanted WorkHappy.com, but it was taken. I actually like the “now” on the end because it’s all about maximizing our work happiness in the present moment.

If you could give advice to other people who are struggling with their entrepreneurial dreams, what would you say?

Be persistent. That means being so freak’n passionate about your concept that your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend or whoever asks you to come to bed because you are working too hard. I have my days when I can’t sit in front of the computer, but they are few and far in between. Starting your own business is about chipping away at the mountain until you are on top. It has taken four years, but I’m finally reaching my stride.

Do you think it’s better to work from home or in an an office?

It’s all about knowing yourself. If you need an office to get away from distractions then do it. If you can’t afford an office then make the best of what you have.

What sorts of things do you do for fun when you’re not working?

Spend time with my wife, walk the dog every evening (great stress reliever), Yoga every morning, meditation to keep the gauge of my mental state fresh and hang out with friends and family.

Do you have any advice on how to keep things balanced?

My advice is to listen to your needs. I have a full time job (40 hours a week), and I’m also working about 25 hours a week on my blog. It’s a lot of hours, but I always find time to take breaks, exercise, and spend time with loved ones.

What’s one of the most challenging things you’ve had to deal with regarding Work Happy Now?

Building a community is the most challenging. I want to respond on every person’s blog who comments on mine, but I can’t. I have to pick the areas where I get the most bang for my time.

What was one of the most rewarding?

The most rewarding has been the feedback. The emails I get thanking me. The comments from people who I’ve helped has been the best part. They appreciate the value that I give. It just makes me want to work even harder and keep coming up with new ideas.

What are your feelings on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.?

They are awesome tools. They help me reach new people without dropping any cash on advertising. It’s these relationships that I foster and support with all my energy. I don’t put a lot of money into Work Happy Now, less than $1,000, but I do that because I want Work Happy Now to grow organically. I want people to want me. The best way to do that is to be on social networks, trying to connect and share ideas.

About Karl:

You can read more about Karl here, on his website.  You can also follow Work Happy Now on Twitter or visit Karl on StumbleUpon.

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