Why Body Language is a Crucial Part of Your Success at Work -

Why Body Language is a Crucial Part of Your Success at Work -You know your professional skill set like the back of your hand. Software expertise, analytical skills, accounting best practices, administrative expertise, management skillsyou know how that can help you get and keep a job, and help you get promotions. Same for degrees and certificates. But what about how youre presenting yourself to your colleagues and to your supervisors?Your body language is a crucial parte of your success at work. Some people have naturally positive body language and may not need to adjust a thing. Others may be surprised at the mistakes they are making without even realizing it. I spoke with Denise Dudley, author of Work It Get In, Get Noticed, Get Promoted, about the importance of body language in an office setting. She offered valuable advice and insight. If youre wondering how you can improve your body language at the office, read on.Why Should I Care About Body Language?You get your work done, you do it well, and youre even careful about how you choose your words in emails and in meetings. However, according to Dudley, thats not enough.Studies show that if subjects are given the choice between what they hearwords and voice toneand what they seebody languagewhen being sent a mixed message, they go with the visual component 100% of the time, she says.If you know youre joking, but a colleague doesnt, its going to be easier for them to figure out if youre smiling than if you keep a deadpan face.As Dudley explains, over half of the components that we use to communicate are visual. With seven components total, four are visual and three are auditory. In other words, what people see from you during an in-part conversation often has more weight than what they hear.Body language is like a huge sign you wear around your neck, written in a language thats easily decipherable by your coworkers, bosses, customers, and clients, says Dudley.What Do I Need To Pay Attention To?The four visual components that make up your body language and that you need to be aware of are facial expression, eye contact, posture, and hand gestures.You may not even be aware of your posture most of the time, and youre not alone in that. Slouching over in an office chair is certainly not unusual, nor is crossing your arms when youre sitting or standing. Facial expressions might not be something youve ever thought about trying to controlheck, you might even think youre keeping a straight face. For some people, controlling facial expressions is very difficult.But to make sure you are conveying the message you want to, whether it be the immediate message you are speaking about or the overall message about your professionalism, you need to be paying attention to what your facial expression is, what your posture is, where youre looking, and what youre doing with your hands.As Dudley explains, even a shrug of the shoulders that lasts less than a second can impart a negative message to the partie yo ure talking to. It takes time to change habits like crossing your arms, slouching your shoulders, or looking across the room, but it can be done.Five Ways to Improve Your Body LanguageOnce youve recognized that you might be sending negative messages with your body language, you need to figure out what you can shift and just departure practicing it. Literally, practicing it. She lays out four aspects of body language to work on and practice improving.1) Dudley suggests working on having an open facial expression that you deliberately use to convey that you are listening. To develop it, she recommends standing in front of a mirror and practicing your expression until you know what it feels like so that you know how to keep it in place while youre talking to a person without the crutch of a mirror. An open facial expression may look different from person to person, but it is important that you ensure you arent frowning or looking concerned. If youre trying to understand a concept, its very easy to slip into a concerned face, or what you might also think of as a hard-thinking face, but that can instead convey that you are worried about whats being said. With an open facial expression, accompanied by eye contact and occasional nods, you will find conversation flows more easily and you are better received by your colleague.2) Additionally, Dudley says that leaning forward while you listen can help convey your interest in the conversation. Dont lean forward so that youre uncomfortably close or invading their personal bubblethat would show interest but also probably scare your colleague a bit. To figure out what your leaning forward listening pose should be, Dudley suggests that you think about how you listen when youre hearing something significant. Do you incline your head and slightly tilt one of your ears toward the speaker? Do you take a half step forward? Determine this, and youll have determined the most natural leaning posture for you.3) You also need to find the right balance of eye contact. A staredown wont be productive, but neither will looking away like youre completely disinterested and disengaged. When youre in conversation with someone, Dudley says that, ideal, assertive eye contact involves looking directly at the person, mostly, and breaking eye contact just a little. Making eye contact conveys engagement in the conversation, but also makes you seem confident. Ever had a conversation with someone who was looking at their hands or shifting their eyes back and forth the whole time? You probably thought of them in one of two waysthat they were shy and nervous, or that they were untrustworthy. As the old saying goes, the eyes are the window to the soul, so be conscious of what yours are doing during a conversation.4) Mirroring is the next tactic that Dudley recommends for honing your body language skills. No, mirroring isnt like playing the childrens (annoying) game where they repeat everything you say and copy what you do. Instead , its a way to build trust by subtly reflecting that you and the person you are talking to are similar in nature. Little things like crossing legs, or even using one or two of the same verbal tics they use can build trust without them even fully processing that you are mirroring them. Again, the important thing here is subtlety. Dont turn it into a game of Simon Says, but just learn to be aware if there is a gesture or posture you can imitate. You might even be doing this subconsciously already and be surprised to find yourself doing it already once you start paying attention. For more on mirroring and how it can be appropriately used in a business setting, check out this Wall Street Journal article.5) For the fifth improvement you can make to your body language, Dudley brings us a universal symbol of friendliness and approachabilitythe smile. There are countless studies on the positive effects of smiling lowered cortisol levels, increased serotonin levels, lowered blood pressure, l owered heart rate, muscle relaxation, increased blood flow to the brainfor both the smiler and the smilee explains Dudley. In a business setting, just having a small smile on your face when everyone else seems to be stressed out and grumpy can make you the approachable one in the office. The next time you enter a stressful conversation, try opening with a handshake and a smile. Chances are, it wont weaken your position as much as it will put the other person at ease and make the conversation a little bit easier.ConclusionAs important as it is, body language can be tough to control and tough to change after years of subconsciously acting in a certain way. But once you take an assessment of your body language and start to make small changes, those will become habit and you will be conveying a more confident, more approachable self at work.However, with that said, this article is just a start on the topic of body language. Ill continue the discussion, covering issues like posture, in a future article. The bottom line? Body language is important.Are you tired of your resume being rejected by applicant tracking systems? I know how frustrating it is to submit your resume and receive no response. I hate seeing qualified people never breakthrough the screening process. It shouldnt be that way. Thats why I created this guide and I encourage you to download the FREE PDF so you can start seeing better resume response rates

Security Resume Objective Examples

Security Resume Objective Examples Security resume objective examplesA solid resume should safeguard your distribution policy in the workforce. In the past decade or so, the resume objective has been mostly replaced by the career summary. However, objectives are often helpful in touting your skills and abilities as you look forsecurity guard jobs. If its a challenge to condense your skills into a single sentence, these tips and examples can help.Creating a security guard/officer resume objectiveBefore you begin the task of constructing yoursecurity guard resume objective, write down all your skills, education, and certifications, as these can help you choose what to highlight. Also include any police or military training, as these instantly show aptitude for handling firearms and dealing with trespassers.Entry-level and experienced security guard/officer resume objective samplesAnentry-level sttte as a security guard/officer is usually a part-time job, or a good punkt to seek out aft er retirement from the military or following a position in loss prevention. There are typically no stringent educational requirements to becominga security guard, other than a high school diploma or the equivalent.Whether or not youre experienced on the job, you need to explain to a potential employer exactly what qualifications you have. This includes training exercises with weapons, certifications, and any licenses from accredited organizations, the state, or the federal government. Check out these examples of security guard resume objectives.Seeking a position as a security guard at Company X to apply the observational and communication skills learned as part of the United States Marine Corps.To obtain employment as a security guard at Casino X to alleviate the threat of theft or trickery by using the skills I learned as a military policeman in the United States Air Force.To earn a position at Company X that enables me to protect the health and well-being of all employees and vis itors of the facility, as well as the property.Professional security officer with 10 years ofexperience seeks position at Company X to safeguard the assets and employees of the business.To use my knowledge of surveillance, observation, and problem-solving skills from 21 years on the police force to prevent and deter breaches of company property.Enforce all safety protocols as outlined by Company X by using the skills I learned as a crime prevention specialist.