Life today is fast. Everybody is in hurry. People lack time. Same is true for fitness freaks. They are determined to lose as much weight as possible. They just want to remain fit. They want all this in the least possible time and with ease. Catering to this, treadmills have come as impeccable exercising equipment, which can be used by people of almost any age.

Indeed home treadmills have become one of the favorite buying equipments in the health and fitness category. With them, you can exercise at any time of the day, as per your comfort levels.

A home treadmill comes with several benefits, which you definitely cannot ignore. Not only it gives you a comfortable workout environment at the vicinity of your home, but it also gives you all the peace and serenity that you would have always been looking forward for, while you exercise.

Today markets are flooded with many state-of-the-art treadmills. With this, increasingly, many people are realizing the true benefits of treadmill workout programs. With constant usage, it has been proved that treadmills are the most consistent calorie burners. Comparing with the other workout machines like the rowing machines, elliptical trainers, bikes, treadmills gave much better results, than its counterparts.

At home, you can use treadmills at any time of the day you want, run or walk at any length of time period. With a treadmill at home, you do not have to worry about driving to a nearby gym for your daily workout.

The best part about a home treadmill is that you can make it a complete ‘Made for you’ machine. This means that you can adjust the functions and features of the treadmill according to your needs: the speed, the inclination and even the preferred workout programs.

With home treadmills you can make your daily exercising regime a fun activity. You can run or walk on your home treadmill while doing various other activities. Yes, you can watch your favorite show on the television while working out on a tread machine. If you prefer exercising in mornings, you can read the newspaper along. You can also listen to music and read a magazine.

A home treadmill also helps you save huge bucks of money in enrolling yourself as a member of a good, near-by gym or a club.

Thus, a home treadmill is definitely a must buy for all those fitness freaks, who always crib about the scarcity of time in their hand.

To know more about home treadmills and treadmill work out plans visit http://www.treadmill-online.com/home/magazine/edition/Treadmill-Reviews.htm

You hate your job, but what specifically? Take this structured approach to get some clarity, and identify some action to take. It’s unlikely you hate everything, there must be something that is good, and other elements that are ok.

Step 1: Take some time (perhaps over the weekend) and put down in detail what you dislike about your job. You really must be specific, it is not just that you dislike your boss, but e.g. the way he never gives you feedback or flies off the handle without reason, or never shares business information with you and your colleagues.

Step 2: Next, list down what you like about your job. There must be something that you like, perhaps not your boss, but your colleagues, or your free healthcare.

Step 3: Identify what you can resolve. Can you be proactive in some areas? Can you approach the person you are having problems with? Perhaps it’s a colleague who doesn’t do their fair share of work so everything gets loaded onto you. Be careful though. Don’t charge right in, wait and think things through from their perspective.

Step 4: Address the areas you may need some help with. Has the volume of work increased so much that you have to work late each night, or are you taking work home? Do you need to discuss this with your manager if it is becoming far too much?

Step 5: Should you look for more responsibility? Are you bored by what you do? Let your boss know that you could handle more and get involved in some projects? If you get turned down, then persevere. Perhaps you need to convince him or her more. Are they aware of your out of work achievements?

Step 6: Do you need more variety? Look to do more of what you like and less of what you don’t. Think about how you can position this to your manager to make it a win-win for both of you. If you get on well with your boss she or he is likely to want to keep a valued member of staff and so be more willing to help.

Step 7: you can take a wider view and see what else you can do to make your time there more tolerable - sign up for an evening class and do some study in your lunch break? You might even get some support from the company.

So, a few suggestions to help you make the most of a job you don’t like. You are likely to learn something about yourself, and the way you handle work situations and people relationships.

Any other ideas? Do let Denise know.

Brought to you by Denise Taylor, Chartered Occupational Psychologist. Denise is a careers expert who specialises in helping individuals achieve career satisfaction and to take a systematic approach to job search. Do you need help with job search? Whether it’s CV preparation, interview practice, increasing your profile or self marketing, let Denise guide you though the maze so you get a job quicker, make more money & have fun while you do it. http://www.amazingpeople.co.uk

While there are many reasons to love your cat, obedience is probably not one of them. We all love watching our cats bounce around and play, but have you ever wished that you could get them to sit still? It’s easier than you might think; cats can be trained, just like dogs can, but it can take a bit longer and be a little more work. It can certainly be done, however, and you may be surprised by the results.

There are many benefits to training your cat to sit. First, it’s just nice to be able to get a little stillness from a cat that’s making you tired just from watching him run around. Second, if someone like a vet needs to take a look at him, the vet will appreciate a cat that knows how to sit still. Third, when your cat starts sitting, there’s a good chance he’ll stay sitting, and there’s nothing relaxing as nice as your cat purring in your lap, after all.

As with most cat training, this starts with a bribe. Make sure your cat is aware that you have one of his favorite treats in your hand. When he shows interest, slowly raise the treat over his head and slightly behind it, not high enough that he has to reach up. This should make your cat crane his head up and back.

The moment your cat is in a sitting posture, reward him with the treat and give him lots of praise. This is the first step to getting your cat to make the link between the command and the treat.

The key to this exercise is isolation of the command and repetition. Don’t reward the cat whenever he shows up, sits down and looks up at you expectantly; you’re training him, not the other way around! Don’t try to force your cat into this activity if he’s not interested in the treat. This will probably just annoy him and make him hide, and it is important to keep the good association in his head.

Try to get family members and friends into the act. This can especially help in making shyer cats used to other people and encourage them to socialize rather than hide.

After a few sessions, your cat will learn to sit when your hand alone is in the right position above his head. While you don’t need to use to the treat to get his attention anymore, do continue to reward him. As you may have noticed, cats tend not to do things for free. Soon enough though, you should be able to eliminate the treat entirely, though it is still very much worth it to reward your cat for good behavior from time to time.

Remember not to use the word “sit” too early, because if the cat has not yet learned to associate the motion with the verbal command, you may confuse him. After all, you don’t want your cat to start believing that “sit” means “look at my owner in confusion before walking away.

For more information on training a kitten, try visiting My Best Cat, a popular website that provides tips, advice and resources on caring for cats.

All franchises & business opportunities can be analysed for both growth and profit potential using very simple rules. These rules apply whether you are starting a business on your own or considering buying a franchise opportunity.

The first golden rule in business is to analyse the market place that you are contemplating to enter. Is it a declining market or is it growing? Is it becoming more competitive or less? Is it forecast to grow or decline? The same rules apply when you are considering buying a franchise opportunity. What forces are at play in this segment?

Let us assume that you are thinking of entering the retail trade and specifically mens’ clothing.

By analysing the market or commissioning market research you will quickly discover that the segment is very tough indeed. Average retail prices when taking inflation into account have actually fallen in real terms. Average cost prices have not fallen so quickly. Margins are being squeezed. Average spending power has actually increased so certain highly specific segments within this segment could still hold their own.

The growth in mail order and internet shopping for these products has risen over the same time. Supermarkets have entered the field and now hold a significant market share. The quality of imported goods has now reached the standards of some inferior brand names.

All the above should sound alarm signals for anybody considering entering this business segment. So the first golden rule in business is to enter a growing market segment where profit margins have not been already squeezed. In reality the opportunity has already been exploited. Again if you are contemplating buying a business franchise in this segment I would advice you to think twice.

A rapidly growing market segment is to supply health care, holidays, specifically designed products and other services to the elderly. In the last 50 years the rate of growth of the over 60s has exceeded any other age group. Their disposable incomes have risen at the same time. This is forecast to grow even further as better understanding of health risks, improved medication and exercise facilities enable the population to live longer.

The need for help with every day activities also increases with age. Most elderly people need help with one or another area of life that we all take for granted.

Another very important feature that has been widely seen is that the elderly now seem to be a lot different from the same age group only 50 years ago. They are much more likely to travel on their own, exercise in the gym & demand greater services from both the business community and the government.

So in this case the first golden rule has been overcome. Profit margins are healthy and the market segment is expanding and forecasted to continue expanding. Spending power is on the rise and forecast to grow further in years to come.
There are many market segments that are forecast to grow so the above example is just one of them. Again there are other segments that have already started declining.

The First Golden Rule states that if you find a niche in a market place that is growing rapidly even a hard working fool can make money. Your accountant can help you analyse any market segment very quickly and easily. Why enter the wrong segment when you are likely to be in that field for at least the next 5 years? Look out for my next golden rule out soon.

Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Business Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss.

Business Franchises and UK Business Directory
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In Chinese Astrology known as Four Pillars of Destiny, a person’s natal chart is governed by four pillars representing the energies we are infused with at the time of our birth. These pillars are embedded with our destiny codes which comprises the five elements of the universe i.e. wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These elements represent many aspects of our lives such as wealth, health, relationship and love, amongst other aspirations. Whether we are blessed or cursed when it comes to these aspirations depends on the interplay of the foregoing elements in our natal chart over the course of our lives.

Besides our natal chart, the other Chinese art of metaphysical science better known as Feng Shui can also help us to activate our love life in association with our natal chart. The secret lies in the Chinese zodiac. By knowing our year of birth and the corresponding animal sign in the zodiac, we can then find out which other animal signs are congenial with us. There are 12 animal signs in the zodiac and each of us has 2 other animal signs that have strong affinity to combine with us to form a threesome.

The following are the three harmony combination between animal signs in the Zodiac:-

1) Monkey + Rat + Dragon

2) Pig + Rabbit + Goat

3) Tiger + Horse + Dog

4) Snake + Rooster + Ox

The next step is to find out which are the “Peach Blossom” or flower of romance among the 3 animal signs in the group. In each of the groups, the animal signs that are said to bring love luck are Rat, Rabbit, Horse and Rooster. If you have any of these signs in your natal chart based on your day and year of birth, you are deemed to be very attractive to the opposite sex. You can access the calculator based on the Four Pillars of Destiny at http://www.proactive-qi.com/Destiny.html.

You can further use Feng Shui to activate your love luck by finding out your personal designated love sectors in your house by using a compass to demarcate the corresponding directions and locations based on your house plan. For instance, if your animal sign belonged to group 1, then your peach blossom star is the rooster and your love sector is located in West 2 sector of your house. If your animal sign belonged to group 2, then your peach blossom star is the rat and your love sector is located in the North 2 sector of your house. If your animal sign belonged to group 3, then your peach blossom star is rabbit and your love sector is located in the East 2 sector of your house.

If your animal sign belonged to group 4, then your peach blossom star is the horse and your love sector is located in the South 2 sector of your house.

What do you use to activate your love sectors? You can use a vase with freshly cut flowers dipped in some water and place it in the sector concerned. This is just one of the ways to activate your love luck using Feng Shui. For more sophisticated method, a detailed analysis of your natal chart is required based on the Four Pillars of Destiny.

You can get a free reading of your destiny at http://www.proactive-qi.com/Destiny.html.

Alvin Yap is the founder and owner of the website http://www.proactive-qi.com which offers free horoscope readings based on the Chinese Astrology known as the Four Pillars of Destiny and free consultation on the Chinese Metaphysical Science of Feng Shui. Visit us for free download of E-Books, tips, articles etc. Get Empowered, Get Energized and Get a Life!

“The happiest people are those who are too busy to notice whether they are or not.” William Feather

Who are the difficult or negative people in your life? Do you have to work, manage, or live with negativists, whiners and complainers? They are one of the most common difficult personalities in the workforce today. And managing workplace negativity is a skill in itself.

Believe it or not, research shows negativists, also known as whiners and complainers, have a strong need to be liked. They think that by complaining about how much work they have to do, they’ll gain empathy from others. Notice how these people often spend more time complaining than working? “Busy doing nothing” is how people describe the whiners and complainers in my leadership training workshops.

It pays to be tactfully direct whether you’re managing a whiner in the workplace, or just dealing with a difficult co-worker. For example, consider saying the following to a complainer co-worker, “Chris, I realize this is something you want to discuss, and at the same time I want to make sure I get back to work. It sounds like this situation with so-and-so really bothers you. If I were you, I’d take it up directly with that person. Besides, I’d prefer not to get in the middle of it.” Make sure your tone is tactful and polite, yet firm. Usually these whiners and complainers will move on to a more “captive audience.”

Managing Workplace Negativity Means Not Allowing The Behavior To Continue:

If you’re managing a negative person, address the issue tactfully, yet promptly and directly. For example, say to them privately, “Chris, I want to bring something to your attention. You may not realize it, but when you come in here first thing at 8:00 a.m. and complain about our new policy, it’s beginning to look like a lot of negativity. I just wanted to mention it to you because you may not be aware of how you’re perceived.” They may be fully aware, explain it to them anyway!

As a manager or supervisor, you don’t want to be seen as enabling the behavior. Consider the effect it’ll have on other people if you don’t do anything about it. In managing negativity in the workplace, you have to look at the impact the difficult employee’s behavior is having on the morale of others.

If you’re managing whiners and complainers, or anyone for that matter, make certain never to criticize via email first. There is no tone or body language in an email message. The written word is often louder than the spoken word. Either meet with the employee in person, or on the phone discussing the issue with them as a live person. Don’t leave a message. As a manager or supervisor, you set the standard. If your difficult employee is going to react, better they react to YOU in person, or on the phone, as opposed to everyone else around them in the workplace. You certainly want to leave a paper trail by following up with an email, but don’t start off with email.

If you’re working with a difficult person, but not directly managing them, remember that negativists want to whine to people who will buy in to what they’re complaining, or gossiping about. When that happens, you’ve now got two individuals feeding off of each other. The people who allow the complainer to take over the conversation feel angry with themselves afterward for allowing it to happen. They sense they enabled the behavior because they’re “people pleasers” who can’t say no.

If this is you, it pays to practice role-playing with a friend who can give you honest feedback. How did you come across? Were you too tentative or too aggressive? What did your body language and tone of voice say about you? In face-to-face communication, body language accounts for 55% of what others believe about you. Tone of voice accounts for 38% and words only 7%.

In managing workplace negativity, I used to tell my employees to be tactfully direct with a negative, whiner/complainer co-worker. As a manager, I certainly did speak privately with the difficult employee, but my team members also had to do their part. Be careful not to internalize everything these difficult people say to you. Most likely, there is something going on with them. As a result, they’ve decided to take it out on everyone else! And your employees have a right to come to work and enjoy it.

Consider writing your true feelings about this difficult, negative person in a journal. Make certain to leave it in your car. This is not the kind of documentation you would want them to see! When you arrive home, tear up the pages or burn them. This signals that you are not letting their behavior affect you. Because the person who constantly angers you…controls you.

Colleen Kettenhofen is a speaker, workplace expert, & co-author of “The Masters of Success,” as featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and Jack Canfield. For free articles, e-newsletter, or to order the book visit http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com Topics: leadership, success, difficult people, public speaking, procrastination. Colleen is available for keynotes, breakout sessions and seminars.

http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com

Each of us have bundle of weaknesses or flaws, there will be certain point in any circumstances that may weaken us. And usually we tend to hide, resent them or find excuses to deliberately ignore our weaknesses. We are not honest to our self most of the time we pretend that its mundane to encounter such feeling moreover we let the day pass having such thorn in our life. Weakness is not a sin or a character defect that we can change, we are not super bright or talented, all have limitations. No matter how we define our self as an adventurous, fighter we still have limitations, being weak in some point is not a defeat, some of our weakness is others strength and vice versa. We should not pity of feel down if we are not able to endeavor some task or situation because our weakness comes in our way. Instead its one way of overcoming too much pressure we put in our self by which this circumstances are not meant for us to do, there will always be one meant for us to conquer to be completed.

To find strength in our weakness we must admit our weaknesses, this is hard to some people to do since we live in a society where people have the notion to have an impression to others on there first meeting. But facing our weaknesses and not denying them, makes us know more about our self, it takes crisis to make us admit this. Finding strength in our weakness may be complicated in some point or this won’t make sense at all. Pessimist individual are likely to think this way, but as an optimist who holds empathy to consider others urge to do better in life may conclude that weaknesses keep our egos in check it also prevent arrogance, with this limitation who acts to govern us from being a big headed person who runs to fast to be ahead.

No man is an island; with our weakness this enables us to have one another. With our weak strand that makes us frail undoubtfully makes us compassionate, meaning we could function effectively. Our weakness may cause us to let go sometimes, that we are not able to solve or hold on to situations we find too much for us to handle. We may be deeply hurt that healing of wounds is difficult to find, all we see is darkness, that no one is able to comfort us or we are just reluctant to share so that we will be transformed it indeed takes time to heal but its up to us to get over such feeling. So that we could pick our self up and start a new life, every one has deep insecurities but valor is achieved through honesty in our self. We are vulnerable the more we take our mask and share what we have gone through our weakness is turned into our strength.

To lower our defenses is a bit scary, to open up to others revealing our failures, frustration, rejection and fears may kind of humiliating but if we hold our head up high. Since we are all humans every one have the same concerns. Vulnerability is emotionally liberating. Opening up is the first step to freedom, defuses fears, relieves stress and makes us free of being worry most of the time. Through this process we find humility in our inner self we feel light with in, but many misunderstood humility.

Humility is not denying our self with our self or putting our self down rather its all being honest about our weaknesses, the more honest we are in our self the more we will receive grace from others. Vulnerability is an endearing quality a pathway to intimacy. If other people sees our strength most of the time they may get discourage or barriers are build in between, because it creates competition. But with our weaknesses we build a community. In our life the decision whether we must impress or influence people must be made, we are able to impress people from a distant but we must get closer to influence them, but through this other are to see our flaws but with credibility in us which is essential of leading trust is earned. Don’t run from consequences if you happen to face scheming insignificant situation instead deal with it don’t pose as invisible.

I’m not pointing out to let weakness stay as it is but turning it to positive outlook with thorough self-examination and deep acceptance of our strength and weaknesses. This is like a helping hand to focus not only on our self but also being aware of the needs of those around us. There is a lot of self help books published to help improve our weaknesses, authors and coaches giving talks to turn weakness to strength but they don’t solely ponder on the main problem which is the acceptance of our self that indeed we are weak in one way or another. Honesty to our self is undeniably takes a lot more than strength to do but rather acceptance of the truth. Truth hurts but to pursue the genuine improvement of one self we must do so. For in the world we are in we need to face the fact to be better in our so-called society whom our life depend and as well as other people.

1. It does help if you have undertaken some work placements as an undergraduate. This can be a formal part of your degree, e.g. a sandwich course. You can also apply for summer placements with companies.
2. If there are some career paths you are interested in see if you can shadow a key member of staff for a day or a week. You will learn far more about your particular possible career through this than you would if you were doing lower level temping.
3. Temping whether it be in an office or factory can give you experience in many key areas. When you compete the assignment make a note of what you have learnt from it ready for when you apply for jobs.
4. Employers want to recruit people who are team players, so look to demonstrate these skills in your work placement. Be helpful and look for ways to get involved.
5. What skills and abilities would be helpful in your ideal job? Look for ways to develop some of these skills in your undergraduate life. Could you take on a leadership role in a club or society? What about fundraising for developing certain skills?
6. Think about the impression you will give if you can add only limited details on your time at university. If you can only list socialising what does this tell a future employer? Then think about what employers will think if you are an officer of a society, or have been involved in some voluntary occupation. Whatever you do, it doesn’t have to be a 3 year commitment, and does not have to cover many different societies, so choose a couple of societies that interest you and that you want to be involved with.
7. Don’t feel that you have to fill all your spare time with work and activities, being a student is a wonderful time so make sure that you allow some time to build friendships and to make times for your friends.
8. After a work placement make a note about what you enjoyed and would like more of, and what you didn’t get a chance to do. See if you can get these needs met next time.
9. Placements can lead on to permanent job offers or graduate training schemes, so make sure you demonstrate good personal qualities while you are there. Even when asked to do what you consider to be menial tasks, do so with good grace. Be helpful.
10. Do you know what your abilities are? You could choice to have these assessed via a qualified psychologist. See http://www.personalassessments.co.uk/Highlands.htm

Brought to you by Denise Taylor, Chartered Occupational Psychologist. Denise is a careers expert who specialises in helping individuals achieve career satisfaction and to take a systematic approach to job search. Do you need help with job search? Whether it’s CV preparation, interview practice, increasing your profile or self marketing, let Denise guide you though the maze so you get a job quicker, make more money & have fun while you do it. http://www.amazingpeople.co.uk

Myspace layouts sure are a way to showcase your real profile which otherwise can be boring to use the default one. Using special Myspace layouts has gone deep into the Myspace users’ psyche that they feel let down if they were to use the default layout provided by the site. This is basically your freedom to customize your member profile with certain pieces of codes written in CSS and HTML, that pasting it into your MySpace profile will display your page differently.

Where Do You Pick the Best Myspace Layouts?

You can comb the net for millions of hot layouts but the big question is picking the one that accurately maps your character. Obviously the search results are not ranked by layout qualities, leave aside ranking them by individual characters. This has led many users compromise on their selection of Myspace Layouts which they only go on to change later. To make matter worse, sites featuring MySpace layouts are popping up by the dozen everyday and millions of them are added by the time you are decided.

Secondly, this problem of plenty has another face; you may be aware of a few websites with good myspace backgrounds and layouts. But you need to spend a ton of time browsing through their collections before choosing one. If you aren’t satisfied, you will move onto the next site and start all over again.

Tips To Pick the Appealing Myspace Backgrounds

Most Myspace layouts are fantastic and feature glitter texts, flash animations, hi5, TV shows and all of them. But the way to tune-up your profile is to go for the one that lets you customize easily. Here are some tips.

1. Teeny boppers like glitter and flash animated layouts. If your group is this, I would advise you to go with it. But too much of animation, in the foreground, can distract the visitors.
2. Choose musical layouts, you have millions available, if you are on myspace for sharing music. The one that lets you add your own collection is better.
3. Some layouts provide a great freedom to fiddle with fonts and offer a great collection. The fonts along with backgrounds make an awfully great layout.
4. Children may like cartoon myspace backgrounds with a few animated popular characters thrown in. Likewise, teenagers may fall for popstar or sports layouts. Another genre is movies myspace layouts.
5. Choose myspace layouts that allow sprucing it up whenever it calls for. For example, you may dislike keeping the same old fashioned Christmas layout year after year.

Give your visitors a unique experience with customized Myspace Layouts. Showcase your real self and your multiple faces with the best pick of layouts. Make your layouts such that they can’t be found any where else. Choose myspace layouts passionately but easily.

Alevoor Rajagopal, MBA, is a reputed business consultant and writes on showcasing individuality with myspace layouts.
He also advises freely on online business tips.

Before the Job Fair:

Find out what businesses will be there. The more information you can gather beforehand, the more successful the job fair is going to be for you. Find out what businesses are going to be at the job fair, and spend some time doing some research about them. What types of jobs do they have? What kind of people are they looking for? What kinds of skills do these people need to have? Shortlist the organisations you want to talk with.

Decide on your objective. Are you going with a specific aim or just to mooch around? Once you are clear on why you are going it will help with preparation, both mentally and how you present yourself.

Develop some questions you’d like to ask employers. Narrow down your list of businesses to include those who have jobs you are interested in, or are businesses you think you might like to work for. Then list some questions you would like to ask the company representative at the job fair.

Proofread your CV - at least twice. If you don’t already have one, it is a good idea to put a CV together for a job fair. It gives employers a blueprint of your skills and something tangible to remember you by. Be sure to proof read your CV before the job fair to find any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Even if you think there are no errors, have someone else look it over too. Don’t let errors overshadow your qualifications for a job! Take several professional quality copies with you.

Be sure your CV contains your updated contact information. You’ll want employers to be able to reach you if necessary. Double check that your address, phone number, and e-mail address is current.

At the Job Fair:

Dress the part. As with a job interview, first impressions at a job fair are important. How you represent yourself sends an immediate message to employers about how serious you are in your job search. It isn’t always necessary to wear a suit to a job fair - unless you are looking for a job that would require you to dress professionally at work. However, you should leave the jeans and t-shirts at home. “Business Casual” is usually the most appropriate at a job fair such as nice trousers and a collared shirt for men and nice trousers or a skirt and a blouse for women are appropriate. Make sure your clothes are clean and pressed. Avoid wearing excessive jewellery or clothing that is too short or revealing. Take a briefcase or folder. This will contain a pen and paper to take notes, and copies of your CV to hand over to employers.

Take time to talk to employers. Don’t just drop off a CV and move to the next booth. Take time to get additional information and make an impression. The point is not to see how many CVs you can give to employers in the least amount of time - it is to establish some solid job prospects. Also, try to avoid approaching employers when they are crowded by a large group of jobseekers. Approaching a crowded stand makes it difficult for employers to answer your individual questions, and they are less likely to remember you when they return to their offices.

Use your research to appear confident and knowledgeable. If you have done research before the job fair, you won’t have to ask the question, “What does your company do?” If you have to ask, you are wasting valuable time. Instead, you could be asking questions about the job or department you are interested in. It works to your advantage if you can tell employers how your skills match what they are looking for. Employers want to hire people who are genuinely interested in their company. Do your homework!

Have a firm handshake and maintain eye contact. Let employers know how serious you are. Greet the employer with a firm dry handshake, and maintain eye contact throughout your conversation. Showing interest and good manners is important, regardless of the type of job you are looking for. Every employer appreciates someone who is dedicated, conscientious, and attentive.

Do not monopolize an employers time. Make contact and offer to follow up after the event. Make sure to get a business card so you have contact details.

After the Job Fair:

Follow up with a thank you note. Experts agree that follow-up is an important part of attending a job fair. If you picked up a business card, or the name of the company’s job fair representative, send a thank you note a day or two after the job fair. This is not only polite, but will also let the representative know you paid attention, are serious about the job, and that you are the right person for it.

Enjoy being proactive in your job search!

Brought to you by Denise Taylor, Chartered Occupational Psychologist. Denise is a careers expert who specialises in helping individuals achieve career satisfaction and to take a systematic approach to job search. Do you need help with job search? Whether it’s CV preparation, interview practice, increasing your profile or self marketing, let Denise guide you though the maze so you get a job quicker, make more money & have fun while you do it. http://www.amazingpeople.co.uk