Take pride in What You Show the World

The way you dress is like a billboard for the product you are offering to the world. Everything that you wear, the makeup that you put on or don’t put on, how you fashion your hair or shave it off, body piercing and tattoos are sending out a message to everyone else. Stop and look at your billboard. What is the message it’s sending?

Clothes don't make the man, but clothes have got many a man a good job.
--- Herbert Harold Vreeland

Do you dress like you care about where you are going in life and what you will be doing? There was one episode from the Seinfeld series that stuck with me. It featured George Castanza in a pair of track pants. I chuckle whenever I see someone out wearing them in a non-sporting environment like a shopping mall or the theatre. In the episode Jerry Seinfeld equates someone wearing sweat pants when they aren’t doing some form of sports or exercise to meaning they’ve given up. “They no longer believe they will attract a mate and now don’t take any pride in their appearance.”

Tell me if you have noticed this yourself. Someone will dress up all week for work but in the evenings or on weekends they dress down. I know men who don’t bother to shave on the weekends. What message are they sending to their partners? For coworkers and strangers they will attempt to look their best but for the people who are the most important to them, they can’t be bothered.

Your appearance should always be important to you. I’m not suggesting that you become a preening peacock and spend all your time primping but you should look presentable whenever possible. You’ve heard it a thousand times at least, “There is only one chance to make a good impression.” It is true. Hasn’t there been at least one time in your life when you wished you had worn something different?

Take the Best Don't Wait Like the Rest

Are you a passive Bottom Feeder in the world of job seekers or do you aggressively hunt like a Shark for the most desirable positions available? If you had to describe your method for finding great job opportunities, how would you describe it? Are you like the countless number of unemployed or underemployed who gather in large groups, most often unwittingly, and chase after the few jobs that are tossed out by companies that were forced to resort to advertising the position?

You are either unemployed or underemployed or you wouldn't be reading this article. What were the circumstances? Did technology change your world or were you downsized, restructured, adjusted, or any number of euphemisms used to soften the blow of your lost job? Don’t waste another minute of precious time or another unit of much needed energy rehashing about what got you to this place. You’re here. Deal with it.

Now before you get offended, I think that you show definite signs of having SHARK potential. A real Bottom Feeder would never have had the nerve or inclination to seek out information. Bottom Feeders are too quick to just accept their lot in life. Before you begin to pat yourself on the back too vigorously, I have to take this opportunity to tell you that it was your Bottom Feeder habits that created your current woes. If you had always utilized the SHARK Techniques you wouldn’t be sitting around reading material on finding another job.

Okay, that’s the last time I’m going to give you any more grief about past mistakes, unless you force me. As a Shark, you’re going to be in greater control over your employment situation. You will be the one to decide how long you stay and when you move on. As a Shark, you will glide through the waters of the work world with greater confidence and presence. The Bottom Feeders will be watching you pass them by and wonder why you’re so lucky at landing the choice positions. They will attribute it to luck but you and I will know that it was your SHARK Techniques that gave you the edge.