Our Best Advice

HUMOR AND WORK

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

Having good HUMOR is part of doing great work on any job. Katherine Hepburn appreciated Cary Grant’s humor off screen as well as on. She spoke about Grant being so funny, and that he had a wonderful laugh. Hepburn said when you looked at Cary’s face it was full of a wonderful kind of laughter in the back of his eyes. Cary Grant was one of my most favorite clients. I’ll never forget that megawatt smile he turned on me when we met, which made me laugh, and he laughed right back. We enjoyed conversing and sharing our light heartedness with lots of spontaneous laughter. He made me feel as if there was nothing else in the world worth doing then our moment together (naturally, there wasn’t!). Grant was a wonderful flirt for the sake of having fun who really enjoyed making others happy. He knew that enjoying life was far more important then work, even through the tough times.

If you’re out of work during these transitional economic times make part of your daily yoga improving and refining yourself by watching old films. Model yourself after characters or actors you find inspirational.  Watching comedies in particular really helps. Everyone finds Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, irresistible. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a hilarious must.  Cary had an extraordinary presence that Louis Jordan characterized as an innate sense of the absurd. He was a master of the absurd, as if Grant had a secret that life was hilarious and he wanted it shared with everyone. It is! TIP for today, have a ready smile and sense of the absurd to bring out in others and yourself. Life is too crazy to be taken seriously, so smile and laugh to cure the madness.

We place people in jobs that require having a great attitude, a “can do anything” response to any task or job challenge as part of the job. Browse our ISA website  photo gallery page for some of our famous clients we took care of in the past. You will note how many had sensational smiles that promised life is magical. They didn’t get those smiles after becoming successful, rather, they had them before, which got them noticed more then other actors for the job while they were trying out the role. Because of their unwavering certainty that a job was right around the corner, they were always ready with a smile and easy laugh. Sometimes all you need is a good  laugh, particularly when you’re out of a job and concerned about working.

It is important for any candidate looking for employment to put out their best. Nothing engages other people faster then candidates who have a great attitude and open smile. Smile often during the interview, it’s memorable and shows you’re relaxed, ready to create a good impression. Regardless of how experienced or great your job background, others may have that too. What might set you apart could be your body language rather then what you say or talk about. Employers look for the chemistry to be there for who makes them feel most comfortable, not just your skills and experience. While you’re describing your experience, job-skills, and top references they’re also checking out how you greet them, sit in the chair, handle yourself with questions they ask or ones you inquire about, how you say goodbye and leave the room. So much is communicated without any language at all. If interviewing with the business manager, personal assistant, or estate manager, they want to feel you’ll be great to add as part of the client’s employee team.

If you catch yourself worrying day of the interview practice letting go of your “self” and instead think of the other people you will meet as experiencing your good will, regardless of whether you get the job or not. The first sign of a true professional is being ready to spread your good energy for others to enjoy. Over the years we’ve learned that those who have an open ready and happy smile always do better on interviews.

As with smiling, laughter attracts friends, helps get jobs, improves your health, and extends life, among other good things humor brings. Take laughter seriously and smile more! Research shows that people who laugh or smile, even when they don’t feel especially happy, make part of the “happy zone” in the brain’s left hemisphere surge with electrical activity. It is now known that smiles and laughter moves brain activity towards spontaneous happiness. Laughter increases oxygen in the blood, which not only helps healing and improves circulation it also expands the blood vessels close to the skin’s surface (and why we turn red when laughing hard). It can also lower the heart rate, dilate the arteries and burns up calories, or if underweight stimulates appetite.

Use laughter readily to infuse your body with joy, healing, and job preparedness. Try to watch a funny movie the night before an interview to put you into the mood. And if something happens the day of your interview to cause you feeling down, or anxious about getting the job, have a sense of the absurd to help generate that beaming smile.  If you don’t get the job, remember that despite any disappointments, there’s always a new day around the corner with new possibilities just for you! The universe is overflowing with joy to fill us up, so spread your smile and laughter and fill up some more.

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HAPPY SPRING!

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Tags: Best, Business Manager, Cary Grant, Clients, Employee, Employer, Estate Manager, Gallery, Happiness, Happy, Health, Hilarious, Humor, Interviews, Jobs, Katherine Hepburn, laughter, Personal Assistant, Professional, Smile

SPRING PREPARATION

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

SOON, weather will improve for those currently suffering extreme weather who may also be without a job. Our hearts go out to all of you. We are seeing change as employers had to cut back their jobs offered. But there are still good jobs available so hang in there. Our TIP today is pack up and giveaway things accumulated over years, and downsize material possessions. Moving our nation to an economic recovery requires a complete change of attitude in our American land of plenty. Become involved in a new direction. If this isn’t already part of your daily life start now. A wonderful 20 minute video to watch created by Annie Leonard is “The Story Of Stuff“. Pass it on to others and visit our HOT TIPS page for other great ideas, or use our convenient “Tell A Friend” feature on our ISA website.

If you’re in between jobs getting involved will help by doing your part towards our economic recovery while looking for work. It will also help to take your mind off worry. If you’re an employer, work with our team and staff to make it happen, rather then wait for legislation or a stimulus package to pass.

Two weeks ago my sister and I hosted a simple lunch in her home to become more directly involved (after seeing the video above I immediately took action). We decided to do our part in support of groups, companies, or individuals committed to assisting public/private entities to remodel their buildings, towards getting off the grid. It was a small event with big results. Many neighborhood buildings need updating and we can make a difference. We started with solar energy projects. Already things are happening we’re excited to be part of as soon as we decided to take action to bring our expertise into the mix. We also undertook a donation of goods project. Take an action today. For spring you might organize a neighborhood drive for donations as part of your household spring-cleaning. Most organizations will pick up goods for free if you simply pack them up and mark boxes with what they contain. Make sure the organization of your preference (such as charity and religious groups, Red Cross, schools, and community outreach programs, or Story of Stuff), as they provide on their websites or by telephone, are first contacted in order to learn what they need and accept into their criteria. All of these organizations are eager to help.

Get ideas from such organizations to learn what more can be done as a neighborhood donation project. Don’t do it alone, since we all know how easy it is to put things off. Get a friend, better yet a group of friends, staff members, colleagues, employers, teens, even kids can help to work with you on this. Be generous, and give things conscientiously, not just to get rid of them. You would be surprised how helpful a single step of positive networking and participation can be. Annie Leonard in her video points out so beautifully that we are the government. Be and live in support of our home as a planetary population affirming to everyone (including ourselves), that it can be done.

Write and let us know what projects you created and any TIPS you may have for us to share. Our Best Advice TIP has been brought to you by your friends at www.ISAstaffing.com

Tags: Annie Leonard, charities, cleaning, domestic staff agency, donate, Employee, Employer, energy, events, good jobs, house cleaning, Household, housekeepers, housekeeping, Jobs, link, lunch, neighborhood drive, organizer, spring, spring cleaning, Story Of Stuff, stuff, video, work