Details, details: success in the workplace takes more than a resume - it takes polish

Men's Fitness, Sept, 1998 by Steve Mockus

* What's your boss wearing? You don't need to dress like him, but you don't want to look like you should be washing his car, either.

* Avoid anything that looks sloppy, worn or frayed.

* "Fun" sweaters and goofy shirt patterns are the sartorial equivalents of strained laughter.

* Save the club wear for the clubs: Nothing shiny. No pimp gear.

* Also, be aware that experience and seniority often open doors to casualness - doors closed to everyone else. The vice president in your department might be able to get away with the hula-girl tie, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can.

Stay cool. Certain behaviors are commonly understood to mask anxiety or betray inappropriate emotions. Have a friend help you make sure you're not indulging in the following:

* Fidgeting: tugging, rubbing, pulling at clothes, hair, face, etc.

* Defensiveness: crossing arms and legs or holding them tight to your body.

* Sound effects: sighing, throat-clearing, sniffing, humming, pencil-tapping.

* Verbal tics: "like"; "um"; "you know"; "ah"; "dude."

* Facial expressions: unconsciously sneering when angry or annoyed (this is the hardest one to catch by yourself).

Your Interactions

Polite is powerful. You must also be careful not to betray annoyance or anger in your electronic communication, either phone messages or e-mail. The reaction of your co-workers is partly based on your use of technology, and because so many of us use e-mail to chat with friends, we may be less aware of slip-ups in work-related e-mail.

"Once it's on e-mail, it's a document, it's on record and it can be printed out," Lovett warns. "There are things that people would never say in person that they feel safe saying in e-mail." If you're in doubt, leave it out.

This goes for phone messages as well. A concise, professional phone message can be as quietly impressive as a well-written report.

Stay social. "If your office interaction is limited, it can be hard for others to get a sense of who you are," Collard says. "In itself, this isn't a problem, but if it's coupled with neglecting certain details, like not responding quickly to phone calls, it will reflect poorly on you. If you want to be viewed as a team player who's committed to the organization, you need to participate to some extent in the informal life of the office."

Social functions help co-workers get to know you better, and they make you better able to understand their personalities in turn. Attend important corporate events (the office holiday party, the company picnic) and generally chat up your co-workers about themselves and their interests outside the office (check out their offices for personality clues).

"It's really lethal not to chat," Lovett says, "because the person who doesn't may be perceived as unsociable and will eventually be left out of the loop. Shy behavior can be misinterpreted as 'he doesn't like us,' and taken personally. You won't be tapped to do something if others don't know you're alive." So mingle.

And mind the details. Conscious or unconscious, spoken or unspoken, they play a crucial role in determining your career success.