What to Do When a Co-workers in a Bad Mood - The Muse

What to Do When a Co-workers in a Bad Mood - The MuseWhat to Do When a Co-workers in a Bad Mood A few years ago, I had a manager who could be just a tad formidable when she was in a bad mood. Id spend the entire day walking on eggshells, abruptly turning the otherbei way if I heard her voice, and checking her calendar to see what conference rooms I should avoid. This probably wasnt the best way to handle her unpleasant days, though. Not only did it leid magically bless her with a sunny disposition, but it also hindered my productivity and made me feel jumpy the entire day. I was letting her mood govern my emotions and actions, and thats just not fair or effective. Luckily, in the three years since then, Ive starting figuring out just what you should (and shouldnt) do when a co-worker shows up a little- or very- grumpy. 1. Dont Ask if Hes OKIm not heartless, I promise. I tear up at most commercials and my partner has banned me from watching This Is Us because I turn into a human water fountain every episode. When someone shows up acting mora sullen or irritable than usual, I think its instinct for most of us to immediately ask, Whats wrong with you? or Are you OK? Youve noticed somethings off, and as a caring human being and problem-solver, you want to fix it. But think about when youre in a crappy mood. Youre so caught up in your head, listing off the number of ways you hate the world, and having someone call that out (especially in front of others) doesnt really make everything sunshine and roses, does it? Nope, I bet it just adds one more bolt of lightning to your already stormy day. So, I recommend that you resist that urge. Because if you dont, you could make him feel singled out and even more testy. If he wants to talk about whatevers going on, he will. 2. Dont Take it PersonallyOne of the best pieces of advice Ive ever received is that when an individual is treating you badlywhether shes yelling at you, insulting you, excluding you, or so forth- its rarel y because something is actually wrong with you. Rather, theres something going on inside of that individual that has nothing to do with you. Sure, it sucks when Tracy bites your head off when all you did is ask where the stapler is. But if you spend the rest of the day letting those few moments eat at you, youre wasting your time. You did nothing wrong. And, hey, even if you did, it doesnt warrant her snapping at you. Furthermore, dont engage. Again, the reason for her lashing out at you has to do with her, not you, so you dont need to get defensive about it. Take a deep breath, let her words and sharp tone roll off of you, and go search for the stapler on your own. 3. Back OffLets face it- when someones in a bad mood, he isnt all that fun to work with. Or be around at all. And when youre in that type of negative headspace, what you really need is the time and space to work through it on your own or just let it take its course. So, dont try to force him into conversation. Dont try t o cheer him up. Save any questions and updates you can for the next day. If theres something pressing, keep it brief and to the point. And if possible, send an email about it instead. It may be easier for him (and less painful for you) to let him process it on his own rather than having to interact with anyone.Remember Theres already a thunderstorm happening in his head. Try not to add more noise. Bad moods happen. And theyre not enjoyable for the person whos in one, nor for the people around her. If this downer behavior is out of character for her, then just let it ride. Dont ask if shes OK. Dont take her behavior personally. And back off for now. If its a consistent thing, though, there may need to be a conversation with the person, whether it comes from you or her manager. Because having a dark cloud consistently hovering in the corner of the office isnt good for anybody.

FlexJobs Contest What questions do YOU ask at job interviews

FlexJobs Contest What questions do YOU ask at job interviews Contest What questions do YOU ask at job interviewsWhen you go on a job interview, being able to answer the employers questions well is vitally important. At the same time, you need to bring your own questions so that you can learn more about the job and show your thoughtfulness and interest in learning about the company. This week, we want to know what sorts of questions you ask at job interviews. When the employer says, So, do you have any questions for us? what do you ask?The What questions do YOU ask at job interviews? contest has ended but check out our latest contest hereTO ENTER OUR CONTESTIn the comments below, answer this question What questions do YOU ask at job interviews?Comments are approved by a real, live, human moderator, so please be patient. You wont see your comment right away, but we know its there and well approve it quick as can be.DEADLINE TO ENTERFriday, May 11th at 1pm ESTTHE PRIZEA free one-month subscription to with access to over 9,700 pre-screened telecommuting flexible jobs from 3,336 companiesREQUIRED TO ENTERYour first name, at leastYour e-mail address (this will be kept private)A respectful answer to this weeks question (if your answer is off-topic, it wont be approved)A maximum of one entry per personHOW WE PICK A WINNERWinner is chosen by random drawing and announced onfacebook incon Friday after 1pm ESTYoull be notified by email if you win (so make sure you leave a valid email address in the comments below)GOOD LUCK AND THANKS FOR ENTERING

4 underrated elements of a career advancement plan

4 underrated elements of a career advancement plan4 underrated elements of a career advancement planA vice president of a financial company once told me, Make a plan- or someone else will make one for you. And this advice is never truer than when it comes to taking charge of your career.If youve worked hard, fulfilled your responsibilities, andreceived positive performance reviews, then youve successfully followed what most people would call a career development plan. Unfortunately, thats a far cry from what I call a career advancement plan. To make significant forward movement, youll need to go beyond being great at your current job- but, as I often tell clients inmy leadership coaching practice, if youre waiting on advice from your babo about how to do that, youd be wise not to hold your breath.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and morePace Productivity, Inc. found that while managers o verwhelmingly cite people management as their most important priority, a typical mid-level manager spends a measly 3.3 hours per week managing people. Of that time, only two hours areallocated to coaching, training, and mentoring. Meanwhile, administrative tasks suck up a whopping 24% of their time. So, sure- your boss wants to help you grow. Right after he or she files travel expenses, signs off on a purchase order, and declines a meeting request.So, to give you more reliable input for your career advancement plan, I talked to two of the smartest leaders I know Donnell Green, global head of talent management and development with Blackrock and Dr. Caroline Simard, associate director of diversity and leadership with the Stanford School of Medicine. They shared somekey strategies that all employees should know- but arent always told- about moving upward.Get good bossesThose who have successfully advanced in the workplace- and hope to continue on that path- know that working for the ri ght leader isthe first logical step to becoming a leader. Green, for example, knew that taking charge of her career meant building a support network of coaches, mentors, and sponsors.Dont go it alone, she advises, and give careful consideration to who is in your management chain. Work for people you respect,and get a good boss. I have built great relationships with my bosses and created value for them. Having the support of your manager can make or break a career.Why is a great boss so important? According to Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, the best leaders provide career-boosting training, development, and coaching, and they help employees capitalize on their strengths. They also provide you with role models to emulate as you learn to lead. If you dont know ofany great talent developers in your direct management chain, ask around to discover who they are. If theres no possibility of working directly for them, enlist them as a mentor.Narrow paths can be precariousImagine if you tried to nurture a delicate seedling by gripping onto it so tightly that you almost squeeze the life out of it. Dont do that to your most important career goalsWhat I mean is this You may have avery specific idea of where you want to be and what you think you need to do to get there. And if you are fortunate enough to get your managers input, he or she will probably prescribe your companys pre-tischset career track a narrow, linear path with fewer opportunities the higher you climb.But according to Simard, you need to be open to adjusting that plan. If youre too attached to a very narrow definition of success or plan for your career, you will ignore amazing opportunities, she warns. Keep your eye on the goal, but dont stand in the way of the end result. Sometimes, that meansdoing a task that youre not particularly interested in. But if its really important to achieving your vision, its absolutely worth doing.Even in her own career plan, Simard doesnt have a set route I try to have a plan, but its a flexible plan.As a president in the automotive repair industry once told me, Choose the one thing that is most important to you in your next role- be it location, a certain function, a particular level in the organization, whether youd like direct reports, or whatever it is- and then be as flexible as you can about the rest. Youll be more likely to actually get that next role.Timing is everythingIn 2011, when Accenture surveyed 3,400 executives, they found that only 37% had asked for a raise, promotion, or job change. But, of those who asked, 65% said it helped. In fact,59% of people who asked for a promotion got one. So whats the simplest way to get a promotion? Statistically speaking, it is to ask for one.But no one- including your boss- is going to tell you when or how to make that request.And according to Green, strategically timing your request is incredibly important. The right conversation held at the wrong time can be harmful, she warns, as is failing to be mindful that your boss is in a badeanstalt mood or the person youre talking to is the wrong person. Pay attention to timing and use those instincts for these conversations.So, consider the corporate culture of your office. When is the right time to ask for a promotion? For example, some organizations want you toindicate your interest in moving up when you sit down for your annual performance review. But in others, you would have missed the boat entirely because succession planning already took place. Potential candidates have already been identified to fill their superiors roles. In that case, six months before your review would be the ideal time to ask HR if your performance merited you a place in the succession pipeline.To determine which approach is best, observe how others get promoted. Ask about when and how your organization handles talent development decisions like succession planning, performance evaluations, and identification of high-potential talent. Then you can choose t he optimal time to make your request.Dont be all business all the timeYou might assume that your boss wants you to give 110%, all the time- but ironically, doing so could cause you to miss out on a key strategy for high performance and getting ahead. In fact, theCorporate Executive Boardfound that employees who believe they have good work-life balance work 21% harder than those who do not.Simard, who leads an initiative at Stanford School of Medicine to increase work-life integration, concurs that maintaining a healthy balance is extremely important in career advancement. Dont ignore work-life fit, she advises. These two pieces need to go hand-in-hand in everything you do.Green agrees. Mind the seriousness and intensity she says. If youre someone who people enjoy being around, have a sense of humor, and dont take yourself seriously, youll have followership- and that followership will advance your career. By being a role model of balance and encouraging colleagues to do the same, you ll increase their desire to stay in their jobs, the performance of the team, and your own leadership potential.Your own boss may not tell what you need to advance your career, and you wont find the best strategies listed in the corporate employee handbook, either. So, take it from these two pros who have seen what it takes to lead. Find a great boss, set flexible career goals, consider the timing before you ask for a promotion, and get some balance.This article originally appeared on Be Leaderly.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

This 10-Minute Resume Fix Is Shockingly Simple

This 10-Minute Resume Fix Is Shockingly SimpleThis 10-Minute Resume Fix Is Shockingly SimpleI post my resume and get tons of responses, but theyre for entry level positions. I already have 25 years of experience, which seems to count for nothing.When you put your resume online, but the results you get back arent what they should be, it seems like the natural solution is to just post in more places and apply for more openings. If you were applying for 10 jobs a week, up that to 20. Or go from 20 to 50. But after a short while, you realize youve been applying to literally hundreds and hundreds of jobs, still with poor results.Instead of allowing time to keep on ticking, a better approach would be to re-examine your current approach. You have the experience? Check. You have the expertise? Check. You have the technology skills? Check. Well, heres another element to re-examine because it may very well be the thing thats repelling the employers and recruiters.Are You Taking Charge On Your Resume?Particularly when youre a mature, experienced candidate, your resume needs to showcase you as a leader, driver, and champion. This does not mean that your work history must include titles such as Director and VP. Nor does it mean that if you were a Director or VP, that those titles stand on their own.Taking charge on your resume means demonstrating time and again that you initiated an idea, took control of a project, re-engaged an upset customer, and, ultimately, delivered the desired result or better. You demonstrate this by using powerful, high-impact words. The 5-minute fix to do on your resume today is to replace several weak words and phrases that tend to crop up time and againResponsible forCirca 1982, responsible for, is as unnecessary as writing the title, resume at the top of your resume. Cut responsible for, off the beginning of the sentence, and youre left simply with what you were responsible for. Start there.If your resume currently says, responsible for sales pl anning, projections, and market analysis, up the ante by saying, Directed sales planning, projections, and market analysis. Directed means you took charge of this element of the position, and it conjures up a picture in the readers mind of you leading or driving the function.Participated inThis is a phrase that takes up valuable resume real estate, but doesnt actually tell the recruiter or employer much of anything. If you think about it you participated in everything you touched at work. Therefore, the 5-minute fix here is to ask yourself how you participated in whatever the thing was.For example, you may have, participated in the meeting of a special committee charged with determining new sales language for potential health care industry clients. The important point is not that you were on a special committee. Rather, its that you, while on the committee, actually did something. So, up the ante by saying, Formulated new sales language for potential health care industry clients, in collaboration with a special sales committee.Helped withThis is similar to, participated in, except that it just sounds worse. Its about the weakest thing you can say on your resume. Sometimes candidate tend towards this language in an effort to be humble and not take too much leistungspunkt. Understandable. But I promise you you did a lot more than help. You helped your mother bring in bags from the grocery store when you were 9 years old. On your resume, please take credit when credit is due.If you, helped with coordinating the trade show presence and display, then you can go 1 of 2 directions here. The first recommendation is that you, Coordinated the trade show presence and display, in collaboration with the team. The second recommendation which is actually even better is that you ask yourself exactly what form did your help take? Did you build the trade show booth? Did you conceptualize the branding? Then say that Conceptualized branding for the trade show presence and dis play.You can take a 10-minute look at your resume, identify these weak words and phrases, and replace them with language that immediately tells the employer and recruiter what you did that made a difference. Once you do that, find out where you need to put your resume so that the right recruiters and decision makers (not the ones who are only offering jobs) can actually find it. Thats in our free online program, 5 Secret Job Search Hacks For The Age 50+ Job-Hunter. Youll also learn the only 3 points the recruiters thinking about when hes searching for a candidate with your exact skills and experience.

Most Noticeable Resume Outlines Examples

Most Noticeable Resume Outlines Examples Keep in mind that yur resume is a living document which is going to be edited and updated throughout your job search and itll continue to evolve over the duration of your whole career You dont wish to risk your work simply because of a poorly formatted or written resume. The very first thing you ought to do is make sure a possible employer knows whose resume theyre taking a look at Make a list of skills you have that relate to the job which you are looking for. To begin with, perhaps its time to estimate your current resume to make sure tore not committing any cardinal sins. The challenge of being a true student trying to find a job tends to be an absence of earlier job experience. You will also get the template for their very best CV examples also. The chronological resume template is provided below. Templates will supply you the raw format of resume. Template for resume is a typical layout that may be used for any work position. It is most important if writing a resume, but in addition, it applies to CVs. Visual resume making tools There are lots of free tools which you are able to utilize to make the ideal resumes. If youre seeking to customize professional, pre-formatted resumes, take a look at our absolutely free downloadable templates. The ready-made templates are made to produce the candidates job easy in addition to for assisting them and the recruiters into writing the resumes in a proper format. The Benefits of Resume Outlines Examples Deciding on the proper font can look to be an impossible endeavor, especially because there are dozens and dozens of choices out there. Just pay some attention to the formatting such that the entire info is suitably arranged and is readily readable. Unless youre a graphic designer looking for employment, theres no need to over think the plan of your one-pager. Instead, youve got two options. Resume objectives can be somewhat controversial. My aim is to fin d the job. Your goal is to find the job. Resume writing objective is a significant portion of the resume, without it resume wont leave its effect on the recruiter. Its possible for you to communicate you have the most suitable experience utilizing challenge, action, result statements. Given the simple fact that the template is something which delivers ready-made outline for a resume, an individual might believe that the nature of it isnt flexible, but thats not true. You need to have five objective statements. There are plenty of statements one can utilize to make an effective resume. Employers know your aim is to find the job. Nonetheless its also the easiest approach to talk about your experience and qualifications. Basically, you would like to quickly portray that youre a perfect candidate for those kinds of jobs youre pursuing. The initial one is about outlining your abilities and your availability in a given job position. The Resume Outlines Examples Chronicles Re sume outlines increase your odds of being hired, but youve got to follow along with the guidelines very carefully. The notion of writing a resume can be rather intimidating as its really hard to comprehend where to begin or what things to add. Volunteer work ought to be listed in another section unless its pertinent to the position youre applying for. Its possible to create new sections, add in unusual info, or think of creative strategies to present your qualifications. Research well and refer to a couple examples as well before you get started filling your resume. For more ideas about how to strengthen your program, have a look at our education and teaching resumes. Where to Find Resume Outlines Examples You would like to impress an employer, and that means you are inclined to be too enthusiastic in your resume. The very last thing you wish to do is make a possible employer think youre boring or not able to communicate effectively with nontechnical personnel. Be certain to include quantifiable info to actually drive home how valuable you can be to a prospective employer. You dont desire to get looked over because you appear uneducated into the potential employer. Resume Outlines Examples No Longer a Mystery Put simply, its solely your cooperation that can be chief supply of information to produce relevant resume format for you. There isnt anyone golden resume format. If it comes to best resume format, know that reverse chronological is almost always a good bet, due to how its among the most common and well-known resume formats.

CareerBliss Names Top 10 Happiest Cities for Young Professionals

CareerBliss Names Top 10 Happiest Cities for Young Professionals CareerBliss has released its list of the Top 10 Happiest Cities for Young Professionals, with four of the 10 hailing from California. According to the company, a young professional is someone with less than 10 years experience in a full-time job. The list derived from surveys completed by employees over the last 12 months. The survey evaluated key factors that affect work happiness, including work-life balance, ones relationship with his/her boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks and job control over work performed on a daily basis. Respondents scored each factor based on a 1 to 5 scale.The Top 10 Happiest Cities for Young Professionals are1. San Jose, Calif.BlissScore 3.94bevlkerung aged 25 to 44 294,399Total Population 945,942Nicknam e The Capital of Silicon Valley2. San Francisco, Calif.BlissScore 3.93Population aged 25 to 44 208,403Total Population 805,235Nickname The City3. Washington, D.C.BlissScore 3.85Population aged 25 to 44 124,745Total Population 601, 723Motto Justitia autobus (Justice for All)4. Chicago, Ill.BlissScore 3.85Population aged 25 to 44 887,129Total Population 2,695,598Nickname The Windy City5. San Diego, Calif.BlissScore 3.85Population aged 25 to 44 412,615Total Population 1,307,402Nickname Americas Finest City6. Riverside, Calif.BlissScore 3.84Population aged 25 to 44 66,615Total Population 303,871Nickname City of Arts Innovation7. Philadelphia, Pa.BlissScore 3.84Population aged 25 to 44 358,778Total Population 1,526,006Nickname The City of Brotherly Love8. Houston, TexasBlissScore 3.83Population aged 25 to 44 698, 287Total Population 2,100,263Motto Energy Capital of the World9. Phoenix, Ariz.BlissScore 3.83Population aged 25 to 44 489,181Total Population 1,445,632Motto Arizonas Urban Hea rt10. Boston, Mass.BlissScore 3.83Population aged 25 to 44 211,055Total Population 617,594Motto The Cradle of Liberty

How to Minimize the Cost of a Pilots License

How to Minimize the Cost of a Pilots LicenseHow to Minimize the Cost of a Pilots LicenseWhen it comes to flying, the most common questions a prospective pilot asks are How much does it cost? and How do I keep the costsdown? Because flying is a costly endeavor, this question is applicable to all pilots, from the beginning of private pilot training, to the end, and well afterward. Lets start at the beginning The cost of becoming a private pilot can vary greatly, and everyone wants to know how to get the most bang for their buck. While cheap is rarely an option when it comes to aviation, there are still ways to minimize the cost of obtaining a pilot certificate while maximizing the value. First things first Never choose a flight school just because of the cost. As with everything, you always get what you pay for, so at a minimum, youll want to do your research first and make sure you choose a safe, professional flight school. To minimize the cost of your flight training, specifically in the early days, keep the following tips in mind Choose your instructor wisely.A poor choice of instructor can mean an incredibly frustrating and expensive flight training experience. Choose an instructor that uses a gesamtschau and training course outline in order to maximize your time in the airplane and continue moving forward. A training outline will ensure that both you and your instructor are on the same page each lesson, and will alleviate any ambiguity that occurs when you show up expecting to move on to new material and your instructor wants to revisit old material. Make sure the flight school you choose has instructors and airplanes available for you to fly as often as youd like. If you want to fly two to three times per week, make sure you are able to schedule the airplane that often without having to fight for it. If your flight school has one airplane and a waiting list of students, you might want to look elsewhere. Fly often. Two to three times per week is iverstndig ung im strafverfahren. More than that and you could get burned out (although many students fly five days a week and succeed without a problem.) Less than that, and you may forget what you learned. Muscle memory early in training doesnt last long, and if you wait a week or longer in between flights, you might find that youll have to go back and review procedures or maneuvers again to remain proficient. If you cant fly that often, dont be discouraged. Many experienced pilots who dont fly often will frequently find themselves having to relearn maneuvers and procedures, too. Proficiency is just part of the deal when you become a pilot, and you can count on putting effort and time into remaining proficient even after your successful checkride. Use a simulator. I cant stress the value of a simulator enough. Its cheap, quicker than flying and safer than flying. You can practice emergency procedures comfortably and safely, and for less money than you can in a real airplane. In a simulator, your instructor can pause the simulator to provide feedback during the lesson, he can add wind or clouds, and he can preposition your aircraft anywhere he wants. This means that instead of making you fly an entire long cross country route, just to see that you know your navigation procedures, your instructor can save time by moving past the more monotonous phases of flight and placing you exactly where you need to be. Take advantage of discounts and freebies. Many flight schools will offer a discount for the prepayment of a certain number of hours, and others will offer free ground school nights or safety seminars. Take advantage of what you can get for free. Show up even when the weather isnt good. If the weather looks too poor to take a scheduled flight, dont just stay home. Show up at the airport and ask your instructor what else you might be able to do from the ground. Maybe you can get in a ground lesson or use the simulator instead, or maybe the weather will clear up, and yo ull have time to fly after all. The same goes for an instructor absence. If your instructor has to cancel, you can always ask if there is another instructor available to go so that you can continue to progress. A steady, continuous progression is key for success. If you take measures to ensure that you fly often with a good instructor, and you work to maximize the use of your time and resources, youll be sure to get the most value for your money.

Simplify Your Life and Your Job Search Will Follow

Simplify Your Life and Your Job Search Will FollowSimplify Your Life and Your Job SearchSimplify Your Life and Your Job Search Will FollowYou might not know it, but this is Simplify Your Life Week (August 1-7). With the economy as rocky as its been for the past couple years, many of us have been simplifying our lives whether we like it or not. Fewer expensive indulgences. More time at home. Personally, I like it (mostly).In the past, I often thought, Life is pretty good, but once I have enough money to buy X, itll be perfect. Yeah, right. Thats the old carrot-and-stick dilemma. The carrot youre chasing just keeps advancing along with you. And things keep getting mora and more complicated. A lot of people seem to be deciding that simpler is better. Look at our reality TV preferences 20 years ago, reality shows were all about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Today, we love seeing people sell their possessions on Pawn Stars, and watching the folks on Operation Repo take back unpai d luxury cars, boats, and motorcycles from former Jones (or Kardashian) keeper-uppers. Its as if our collective thinking has changed from, Waah I deserve an extravagant lifestyle, too to Hah At least Im not that bad (yet) Whats this got to do with your job search? Heres where I see the connection When it comes to employment, the rules have changed, the promises have been broken, and there are no more guarantees. So its up to each of us to make some simple (not necessarily easy, but simple) decisions about how we define success for ourselves, and what type of employment situation will help us achieve it. And then, we need to take the steps to create that reality.Entrepreneur Jim Rohn said, Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. So I hope we can all celebrate Simplify Your Life Week (and beyond) by figuring out the few simple disciplines that we can do each day to move us closer to our own brand of success.

Color Me Hired

Color Me HiredColor Me HiredUse a signature color to build your personal brand.Color is one implement in your personal-branding toolbox that will help express brand attributes and create emotional connections with hiring managers and recruiters. Deployed intelligently, color can help you stand out in a job search.Once you think of yourself as a brand, you require a brand-identity system just like major corporations. Your personal brand identity system (PBIS) includes a voreingestellt font, color, images, textures and other entwurf elements that you use consistently throughout your career-marketing tools, including your Web site. Color is perhaps the most distinctive of all those elements.We all have opinions about color. We select colors for our clothes and the walls of our home. But selecting a PBIS is different from choosing colors to highlight your skin tone or create an aesthetic in your home. Its about choosing colors that reflect your unique promise of value - your brand. Befo re you select a color for your brand, consider how companies use color.When you hear big blue, what company comes to mind? IBM, of course. IBM maximizes its unique relationship with blue. The company uses it as the primary color on its corporate Web site in all presentations on marketing materials, signage and in the names of many of its products and programs (Blue Gene, Deep Blue and Extreme Blue, just to name a few). Although blue is the most common logo color for American corporations, its probably more often associated with IBM than any other brand.Like IBM, some organizations are so consistent and steadfast in their use of color, they practically own that color in our minds. Think Home Depot, Breast Cancer Awareness, UPS and Target. And some companies actually do own their colors. Tiffany, for example, has registered its trademark robins-egg blue as a brand asset Tiffany Blue is registered with the Pantone Matching System registry of colors.While IBM is associated with the most common corporate color, UPS chose one of the least-used colors (brown) to help it stand out from the pack. The brown uniforms and vans and the tagline, What can brown do for you? are important and effective elements of its brand-communications strategy.Color supports differentiationThe ability to identify a company by its brand color is amazing. When youre standing at the rental-car bus stop at the airport waiting for the shuttle bus to pick you up, you know whether youre looking for the yellow, red or green bus. Its more difficult to identify Budget (orange and blue) and Alamo (yellow and blue). Multiple colors seem to be harder to own. But thats not something that worried Google or eBay. Both companies have four-color logos that set them apart from their competitors.Color and your personal brandColor is just as important when it comes to your personal brand. You can use it to express your professional attributes, evoke emotion and build that all-important connection with people w ho can help your career. According to Sue Brettell of id Creative Solutions, a London design firm, Color is a key decision in the design process and my first priority when Im working on a personal brand identity. The designers job is to guide the client toward a mix of colors that project their personality while being attractive to their target audience.Your Web site is just one of many career-marketing tools, like business cards, stationery, thank-you notes, your resume and cover letter, on which you should use color appropriately and consistently. (Of course, a little color goes a long way. Dont get carried away and make your resume look like a bag of Skittles)When you are in a job search, there are many ways to use color consistently to create recognition and evoke emotion. On your resume, add a band of color to the contact information at the top. Of course, your Web site or blog gives you the best opportunity to use your brand color.What color are you?Do you know what color or c olor palette best represents your personal brand? Find out with this personalbranding.tv video.Color is powerful. Its an important personal branding tool, so use it wisely and consistently to support your job search. To make the most of your color, follow unterstellung five rules. Ensure the color you choose isAccurate. Become knowledgeable about what different colors mean. Choose a color that expresses your brand attributes, and avoid choosing a color just because it is your favorite.Relevant. Ensure its relevant and compelling to your target audience (the people who are making decisions about you hiring managers and recruiters). Test your color choice with your target audience before committing.Culturally correct. Make sure it works in all parts of the world where you are applying for jobs. If one of your brand attributes is global, be sure your color doesnt offend people. (Learn if one of your brand attributes is international here.)Applied consistently. Always use the same shad e and hue. Have access to the PMS, RGB and CMYK digital formulas for the specific shade you choose so it will reproduce accurately on screens and in print. Your designer will be able to help, and Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign have built-in conversions.Repetitive. Feature your personal brand color on all of your personal-brand marketing tools Web site, business cards, marketing materials, resume and thank-you notes.