Thursday, March 5, 2009

How to Not Land a Job

I just returned home from the joint TPRA/PRSA-SW District conference. I was there to network, learn about trends in my industry and hopefully meet some great new folks.

There were tons of students in attendance this year, as well. It's a pretty safe bet they were all hoping to do some power networking and maybe even land a job. That's why I (and everyone who was with me) was shocked at some of the outrageous behavior we saw.

There are plenty of list on what to do, but this conference was more fodder for what not to do.

1. Let your lack of grooming show us just how excited you are to be here.

Day one was a sea of bed head and I swear I saw some mutton chops in the mix. What better way to show future employers what they can expect out of you every morning once you hit the real world. Nothing shows confidence like giving the finger to basic personal hygiene.

2. Express yourself with visible tattoos.

Also sighted were wrist tattoos peeking out of shirt sleeve and ankle/foot tattoos on ladies in skirts. Sure 80% of your body is easily covered in professional wear, but why limited yourself? Way to make a statement about how appearances shouldn't matter. Everyone is looking for employees with such strong conviction to their values.

3. Get Sloppy Drunk
Here is one actual picture from the conference! Valerie and I hit the networking party on Friday night. It was billed as the "must attend event." We tried with little luck to locate someone, anyone, who could carry on a conversation without slurring their words. While we were looking we came across this bunch wallowing on the bathroom floor, playing with candles? As I snapped the shot, one turned around and screeched "That goes nowhere!" Wrong-o, it was already on its way to Twitpic. That automatically makes them all social media experts, right?