10 Tips For Looking Young In a Job Interview!!!

I just got a media request for ways to look young in a job interview. Here are some tips I rewrote  from my book, "People Savvy."

·         Think up and move up: Practice walking so your whole body lifts up. When you walk into a room hold your shoulders back and your head up.This communicates youth, power and confidence. Nose down or you'll look like a snob!

·         Smile and shake hands: Make eye contact right away, smile and put out your hand for a handshake. Make full contact with your palm to their palm, pump with extra energy.

·         Say it strong: During personal interactions, make sure your voice shows your energy and enthusiasm, stresses Wood. Hold the strength and volume of your voice all the way to the end of a sentence. Speak with energy and lots of joy to sound young.

·         No repeats: Get your hearing and eyesight checked professionally. If you squint, have trouble reading, and have dated eye wear, you look old. If you ask for things to be repeated because you are hard of hearing, you look old and out of touch. I have coached clients who bent over and arched forward as they walked and or interacted looking much older than they were, because they were straining to see and or hear.

·         Fashion flair: Dress current in colors, style and jewelry, including your watches (Young people don’t wear watches, the carry cell phones). Peruse high-end stores to get ideas -- then buy something similar at Winners or Marshalls.

·         Take a seat. Research reveals that women tend to perch on the edge of their seats, while men tend to slouch. But perching the entire time will make you look less powerful. "Sit back in the chair, use lots of space, and put you arms on the armrest to look confident." And sit up straight, guys! Slouching makes people look old and tired rather than vital and energetic. "Sit forward slowly as you share certain information your confident in."

·         No purse: "Your purse not only sends a strong female signal, it gives you one more thing to worry about and fuss over. When woman sit down they usually have over 16 separate movements. Men have three and look much more together and organized." If you can't go empty handed, consider a high end leather folder. If a purse is a must, be sure your purse is the newest hippest purse. Fashion forward. streamlined and small!!!!  in black, brown or tan It should not necessarily match your shoes as being matchy matchy is old school and dates your look.

·         Go for color. Accessorize with a flattering color around your face. You want to wear hip, hot colors that make your skin glow and make you feel good."

·         Don't wear your glasses down on your nose. Glasses that come down on your nose, even a little bit make you look much older. Keep your glasses tightened and high on your face. Again, think up."

·         Press shirt and jacket collars to perfection and, whenever you can, wear them so they go "up" to create lift around you

Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.
     

6 Secrets to Negotiating a Raise Like a Boss

6 Secrets to Negotiating a Raise Like a Boss

April 11, 2016 9:00 am by Marissa Miller

Whether you’re negotiating the terms of your contract before accepting the job or asking for a raise that reflects your value as an employee, asking for more money is a skill you’ll rely on time and again throughout your entire career. Having “The Talk” can be complicated, not to mention intimidating. But because the gender pay gap is far too wide, with women making a national average of 79 cents for every man’s dollar, championing your self-worth has never been more important.

“This is a very complicated issue, but what we do know is that the pay gap starts as soon as a woman throws her graduation cap in the air,” says Deepti Gudipati, VP of Member Leadership Programs at the American Association of University Women (AAUW), a leading organization promoting equity and education for women and girls. “The AAUW’s research shows that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues earn—even when they have the same major and work in the same field.”

The Equal Pay Act hasn’t been updated since 1963, so it’s up to us to institute change. Until Congress takes actionable steps toward equality, celebrate Equal Pay Day tomorrow by using these tips from the pros.

1. Choose Syntax Wisely
“Our research suggests you should pronounce the ‘give’ in negotiations rather than the ‘take.’ In salary negotiations, this means what the other party gains from you,” says Roman Trötschel, a researcher and professor in the department of social and organizational psychology at the University of Lüneburg.

First, gauge the other party’s underlying interests: What does your boss or the recruiter want, and why? “Most employees only talk about the money without emphasizing what they are willing to give. This leads to a huge power imbalance,” he says. It’s crucial to have an arsenal of evidence-backed defenses at the ready when asking for more money. Make mental notes (or better yet, a fact sheet documenting all the targets you’ve exceeded or projects you’ve initiated). Here are some safe phrases to put your boss’s mind at ease:

Through my work, the company gained x, y, and z in the last years.

If you agree, we both could win . . .

I’m offering to take on the following tasks in the future . . .

And be decisive. A recent study by Trötschel published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that saying something declarative to the effect of “I charge $50 per hour for my services” is more effective than asking, “Will you accept $50 an hour?”

2. Pose Powerfully
Sure, it’s easy to relegate yourself to the confines of email when discussing touchy topics like money, but schedule an IRL meeting with your boss and you’ll reap major financial rewards. Not only does that suggest you’re serious about making a case for yourself, but it will give you the opportunity to power pose.

A recent Harvard Business School study found that those who adopted expansive, high-power poses, as opposed to contracted ones like hand clasping, performed better during high-stakes professional settings. The study also found that nailing these nonverbal poses reduces stress and anxiety, giving you the confidence to fake it until you make it (the money that is).

3. Perfect Your Voice
It’s all in the delivery. Don’t deviate radically from your natural intonation, since that could come off as insincere, but if you have a bad case of vocal fry (a common speech trait in women where definitive statements come off as questions), now’s the time to keep it in check.

To complicate matters a bit more, a study published in NeuroImage, a Journal of Brain Function, found that your boss, regardless of their gender, may interpret a high-pitched female voice differently than a male’s, activating certain regions in the brain that may process information in a gender-discriminatory way. The (somewhat) good news? “You can train [your voice] to be lower,” says Patti Wood, president of Communication Dynamics, body language expert, and author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language & Charisma. She suggests deep relaxation using in-and-out breathing counting on the count of three to relax the vocal cords. Use caution when pepping yourself up on coffee or iced beverages, since they can shrink your vocal cords, registering your voice higher.

4. Dress the Part
If a picture can speak a thousand words, perhaps your outfit can speak a thousand bucks. Before that meeting with your boss, think critically about what you want your appearance to convey. Of course, don’t show up completely unrecognizable, but go the extra mile to iron out any creases in your blouse.

“More than anything, you have to feel your very best in whatever you’re wearing. It has to be your favorite, whether a skirt or a jacket,” says Wood. “Whatever you wear needs to have a power or comfort to it. Do what feels best for you.” Employ power colors like red and black that tend to make people feel protected and strong. Finally, Wood recommends sticking to flats since they’ll help you maintain balance both mentally and physically.

5. Visualize Success
In moments of stress, our brains tend to shut down, which does little in the way of putting your best negotiating skills forward. Instead of letting your mind travel to dark places of failure, condition it to do just the opposite.

“Actually visualize and script out your success. Think of that as an obstacle course that you’re winning,” Wood says. This way, your brain is already familiar with feelings of success, so you’ll be more confident. She says she’s seen it work wonders for clients.

6. Stay True to Your Feminine Side
Women often have a strong kind, nurturing side, and those traits often don’t fit within the traditional schema of “power.” But there’s a silver lining. “One thing you want to use in negotiation is your ability to read people,” says Wood. “We’re adept at that: being able to understand people. You can read people to know how far to push or how soft you need to be. See it as a strength.”

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.