Excelle

The knowledge of business etiquette applies to all, whether you’re a successful business executive or a recent college graduate just entering the business world. We can all use gentle reminders of how to behave appropriately in our day-to-day business life. There may be times when you find the adage true that “you don’t know what you don’t know”, so it behooves ...

Sweet? Not always... By Juliet Perrachon | Excelle So you’ve just been laid off. Or maybe you're a recent graduate who hasn't found a job yet. As if joblessness weren’t enough of a blow to your self-esteem, you find yourself with no other choice but to move back home – back to the place you thought you'd managed to escape ...

1. Why do you want to work in this industry? Bad answer: “I love to shop. Even as a kid, I spent hours flipping through catalogues.” Don’t just say you like it. Anyone can do that. Focus instead on your history with that particular industry, and if you can, tell a success story. Good answer: “I've always loved shopping, but my ...

As a hiring manager in a Fortune 100 company, I read through thousands of resumes and cover letters in my career. Since HR and recruiters would pre-review the resumes for grade point average, degree and other minimum requirements, every resume I saw was from a top performer or a top student so everyone was “qualified”. However, some of these resumes went ...

1. Non-words Filler words such as "um," "ah," "you know," "OK" or "like" tell the interviewer you're not prepared and make you sound like a Valley Girl (or Boy). A better strategy is to think before you speak, taking pauses and breaths when you lose your train of thought. Everybody utters an occasional "um," but don't let it start every sentence. ...

Constipated Clauses Reporting on the feats and foibles of the Red Sox, a writer for South Coast Today notes: "It goes without saying that these exploits take a tremendous amount of skill." If it "goes without saying" then don't say it. If it doesn't, in fact, go without saying, then don't say it does. "Obviously, the sky is blue." Putting ...

Times are tough. And these days, it seems like everyone is looking for a job. But don't be discouraged by all the depressing news. Work smarter not harder. How? You just need to know where to look. Luckily, Excelle's done the research for you. We've identified fifteen companies that are hiring near you -- even now! Read the descriptions then ...

Does your job uniform include fishnet stockings? For this month anyway, they've become a required part of the dress code for a wide spectrum of professions: police officers, firefighters, airline pilots, construction workers, nurses and even plumbers. A quick glance at the latest Halloween garb reveals that almost every imaginable profession is being fetishized. It's like an erotic game of Mad ...

By Not Just The Kitchen for Divine Caroline The dreaded job interview. No matter your resume and talents if you mess this up you won’t get that job. In today’s tough economy you need every possible edge. It can be a simple equation: You want to be liked—not hated. Here are ten simple things to do that will dramatically increase your ...

Now more than ever, it’s important to get the best bang for your buck. And there’s no question about it — when it comes to value, not every U.S. city is created equally. Why chase a great salary if your rent swallows most of it, unemployment is skyrocketing and you spend two hours a day just to get to and from ...

Very few people doubt the corporate deck is stacked against women to some degree. Still, you can sabotage your own career through errors made in the name of doing well or doing more. Here are nine career stoppers that can prevent you from advancing in your career. Do any of them figure into your modus operandi? 1. Flirting with Men to ...

It seems that you can't throw a rock without hitting a handful of complainers, but there is an excellent alternative to keep you out of the complaining rut to become or remain a positive woman. Pay attention to what others are saying around you and to how much of it is negative vs. positive. You may be amazed at the negativity ...

Celebrities. We love to hate them. We also love to watch their every move, laugh at their mistakes and scrutinize their decisions. Like them or not, their celebrity status means not only have they achieved career success, they’ve also got a hell of a lot to lose. And sometimes, whatever actions have helped catapult them to fame or rendered them ...

Effective communication is key in order to build a strong relationship with anyone. You have to be prepared at all times to engage in a conversation with the people around you, and maintain a calm, professional state. You can only leave a first impression once, so it’s crucial to present yourself in the best way possible so you are never forgotten. ...

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. That’s great advice. But, the truth is: during a job interview or networking opportunity we do often judge a book by its cover. So, while it is important to say all of the right things during your job interview and networking opportunities; your actions and body language often speak much louder. Rather than bemoaning ...

During her eight-month jobless stint, Amy Tinsley of Houston may well have been the happiest unemployed woman in America. Tinsley, a former marketing director for a local law firm, was laid off in December. It was the first time since age 16 that she'd been without a job. Unlike most of America's unemployed, however, Tinsley wasn't fretting about her down time. ...

Nearly every day, someone sends me a bit of astounding job-search advice from a blog or a newsletter. Some of this advice seems to come directly from the planet X-19, and some of it seems to have been made up on the spot. Here are 10 of my favorite pieces of atrocious job-search advice, for you to read and ignore at ...

I knew since I was about five-years-old — when I wanted to play “office” instead of “house” with my sister — that I loved the idea of running my own business. Like many other women, I pursued my education, started a family and found myself quickly approaching the ceiling in the organization I was working in. It was in my burnout ...

Photo courtesy of moriza via Creative Commons My desk is covered with Simpsons memorabilia, nine boxes of cereal, and photos of my family and friends. With one glance any passer-by can see I’m a fan of cartoons, eating, and my loved ones. A study at the University of Texas-Austin found that offices can reveal much about a worker's personality and ...

I've been getting a lot of emails lately from women who identify with some of my articles at High-AchievingWomen.com and here on Excelle The emails take two forms: that either I'm living their dream of being a writer, or that their lifelong dream is to be a writer. It started me thinking ... what is a writer? Actually, the answer is ...