The importance of acting your age, or older.

I am writing this entry overwhelmed with nausea.

I have a coworker who I absolutely love to work with, when he isn't on the phone with his wife. During the span of our work day (7 am to 5 pm) he honestly talks to his wife at least four times. They have been married for some time now, they live together and have children together, so it isn't like they don't see each other, he goes home on his hour lunch break to see her and the kids.

Today the boys, all of whom are under the age of 7, came in to see their dad at work. The second youngest is either at that stage in his life where he is incapable of producing a coherent sentence, or his parents just don't pay any mind to his dictation.

Back to the matter at hand, the never ending phone conversations. One cannot help but overhear these phone conversations, being that we are all in one small office room, and being that the language he uses is not too common to our workplace. Hearing someone say the word 'babe' is a bit off putting on its own, but to hear it every fourth word while you are attempting to concentrate on the task in front of you is down right annoying. It wouldn't be as irritating if they, or he at least, would speak to like adults, and choose another pet name then babe, and maybe not need to talk to her every hour of the day. After all, the longest he does without seeing her during the day is 4 1/2 hours between the beginning of work and lunch. It is just so nauseating because they are similar to needy teenagers in love who can't live without being by each others side every moment of the day. Like two annoying teenagers in puppy love arguing over who hangs up first, no you first, no you, no you, no you first.....




Where has office etiquette gone to?

Please turn down the porn.

There was a contractor fired today, he was listening to porn on his laptop while working, and somehow his headphone jack became loose and the noise flooded out from his speakers, shocking everyone in the office. He was listening to porn, at work.

I realize that 'corporate culture' is slowly fading out, with the workplace becoming more lax in order to accommodate everyone's individuality, but what on earth would possess this man to believe that it is acceptable to listen to porn while at work. Does his productivity somehow skyrocket?

As I write this entry I am still in shock, but it reminds me of a conversation I had a while back. I have, in the past, judged for DECA at the high school level. This is a marketing and business competition, in which the students are required to dress professionally. There was a student last year who excelled beyond belief. I was personally shocked at his proficiency, but he was dressed as if he had just woken up. Some of the other judges and I were discussing the lack of understanding many people have when it comes to how to properly dress for a job or interview. We, as judges, felt as through it were extremely important to instill in these students the importance of dressing professional when necessary; but many of the students showed the level of discontent you would expect from telling a 6 year old boy playing in the mud to clean up for church.

Many students, at both the high school and college level, seem to be opposed to dressing business appropriate because it 'hinders' the way in which they express their individuality. It makes them feel confined and as if they are being forced to become a diferent person. But how you dress at work, when meeting potential clients, coworkers, and future bosses, is a representation of your capabilities and competence.

There should be a class all freshman in college take where they learn this.

The next chapter

I came to the conclusion some time ago that if I am going to put the effort into building a solid portoflio I need to atleast update it each quarter, if not sooner. But in this modern age is the hard copy portfolio outdate?

Last year when I built my portoflio I decided to make it a hard copy one becuase, in my mind, I would always have it accessable and looking nice. The notion of creating an electronic portfolio remained in the back of my mind, but I never paid it much attention untill now.

As I entered hour two of talking to student's at Iowa State University's engineering career fair, I found myself blind to the differences in skills each student possessed. I was simply looking for the bare minumum we required for the internship open, and ranking students who could easily take on a full time position, with those who are barely qualified for an internship. Then I really became aware of the fact that with today's competitive job market, especially for those seeking employment straight out of college, any little way to help employeers remember you is important. Therefore, I have decided to develop an electronic portfolio, in the form of a .pda, and possibly have an online portfolio.

But I am not sure if I can altogether abandon my hard copy.