06 Jun 10 Essentials for Travelers

Travel is fun and always looked forward to. Whenever we think of our next holiday trip it surely brings a smile on our face. But the thought of packing bag before the onset of journey is surely no less than a nightmare. The worry of taking all important things along to the destination is itself fatal. But a well-laid out guide of essentials can surely abandon the pain. Next time you have to pack your bags, you need not worry anymore.

Before leaving for any unfamiliar place do enough of research on the destination. You can take help of travel book and magazines, travel portals, travel guides or travel agencies. But make sure you know everything about the distance, climate, society, food, means of transport, rules and regulations, currency etc.

Passport, visas are definitely not to be forgotten. Rail, flight, bus, ship tickets should be kept in the hand bag or briefcase a day before the journey.

Don’t forget to take your identity proofs. Put your name tags on your luggage too.

Money, cheque books, drafts, visa cards should be placed in the hand bag or briefcase at least few hours before leaving your house. Without these essentials you will reach nowhere. Keep your insurance documents handy.

Don’t forget to carry your mobile phone, laptop, i-pod/mp3 player, e-book reader and whatever gadgets you consider to be essential part of your daily life. If you are about to travel for long duration carry a worldwide SIM card.

Travel maps are not to be forgotten. If you are travelling to a country of different language try to carry a localized travel guide and phrase books. They will be of immense help.

Then start with the clothes. Carry clothes as per the climate and societal restrictions of the destination. Consider the dress material as per the month of visit and weather of the land. If you plan to shop clothes at the place you are visiting, keep your luggage minimum. If you are approaching a land where monsoon is about to strike don’t forget to carry raincoats, umbrella.

Flip flops, cap or hat, sunglasses, watches enabled with alarming facility or a separate alarm clock (so that you don’t miss your midnight flight or train), a torch and batteries, chargers and plug adapter, zip-close plastic bags, water bottles, condoms, sleeping bag, swiss army knife or tool kit are among the small essential things that you will require in your journey.

Keep yourself entertained even in the long boring train journeys. Carry a novel you wanted to finish long back, games or playing cards, mp3 player, video and still camera.

Take enough of skin and health protections. It’s only when you stay healthy you can make the maximum of your travel. Keep yourself prepared from all adversities. Carry UV ray protection lotion, hand disinfectant, toilet paper, pain relief spray, bandages, antiseptics, insect and mosquito repellent, water purification tablets or liquid, prescribed medicine, diarrhea medicine, body lotion, soap, toothbrush and paste, deodorant, lip balm, hair shampoo and conditioner, hair dryer, shaving kit, mini mirror, towel.

That’s it. Now sit back and wait for the time to bid adieu.

Tags: Briefcase, Dress Material, E Book Reader, Holiday Trip, Important Things, Insurance Documents, Monsoon, Mp3 Player, Name Tags, Phrase Books, Pod Mp3, Raincoats, Sim Card, Travel Agencies, Travel Book, Travel Guide, Travel Maps, Unfamiliar Place, Visa Cards, Visas

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20 May 10 How Should You Dress for the Interview?

Hitting the dream job is not just a matter of best CV, sound knowledge, impressive communication skill; to a great extent, it’s your appearance; i.e. how you dress up. The first perception that the interviewer develops by seeing you is from your appearance and what you are wearing. First impressions are very important, since you can’t rewind the time and get another chance to prove yourself. Rather your appearance will develop an opinion in his mind regarding you, it will also set the tone of interaction and questions that the interviewer is about to shoot at you. That’s why professional, smart attire is very important while going for a job interview. You simply can’t afford to mess up with it.

Attire should be apt for the job profile and the kind of industry you are going to join. In industries where your profile deals directly with customers or clients, your attire will be judged even more critically.

If you aren’t confident about interview attire, follow the given tips while going for your next interview.

Men’s attire

A well-fit suit in dark, mono color never goes wrong
A long sleeve button-up shirt, preferably white or coordinated with the suit
Wear a conservative tie. Avoid too bright color or patterned ones
Belt
Dark shoes paired with dark socks
Professional looking short hairstyle and conventional hair colors (brown, black, blonde)
Little or no accessories
Neatly trimmed nails
Portfolio or briefcase
Light aftershave or perfume

Women’s attire

A well-fit suit (dark blue, black, grey, white) or a dark colored pant or skirt, just above or below knee, along with matching blazer or coat
A well coordinated blouse, which has a proper fit, neither too body hugging nor loose
Conventional, closed-toe shoes, matching your skirt or pant. Either go for flat shoe or heels not more than 2 inches high
Wear limited jewelries. Danglers, flashy gold, silver are to be avoided
Keep a neat, professional hairstyle. Go for the regular hair colors
Subtle make up and light fragrant perfume are fine
Neatly trimmed, medium sized nails with formal nail colors look professional
Portfolio or bag

Tips for both men and women

Clothes should be laundry clean, crease-free
Clothes should fit well, neither too loose nor too tight
Shoes should be polished
Fresh breath is must
Clothes should have no missing buttons, no lint; no stains, no external tags
Laptops, folders, small briefcase look professional

Now you know what it means to dressing up to the occasion. Get ready, and blow the interviewer away with your professionalism.

Tags: Aftershave, Blazer, Blouse, Briefcase, Closed Toe Shoes, Communication Skill, Conservative Tie, Dream Job, First Impressions, Gold Silver, Grey White, Hair Colors, Interview Attire, Interview Men, Interviewer, Job Interview, Mono Color, Pant, Short Hairstyle, Sound Knowledge

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19 Apr 09 Integrity Selling: Why People fail to make a Sale?

Everyone around is a salesman yet selling is considered to be a very tough job, why? Actually, the problem is in the way we define selling. When we say selling or salesman, a figure starts forming in our mind, a picture of a person who is carrying a briefcase, donning a nicely ironed shirt and well-creased trousers, sporting a nearly perfect smile on the clean-shaved and well groomed look. So far so good, but this is not all. This image of a salesperson seldom produces any positive feeling in any of us. Almost all of us see a salesperson as a scrupulous person who is devoid of any sense of right and wrong, and as the person who is just concerned with making a sale, and has no regard for the buyer whatsoever.

Close your eyes for a while and think, will you like to do business with the person whom you do not trust? Will you put your hard earned dollars in the hands of a person whose intention is not to help you but just to take money out of your pocket? No, you will not do that! Then why do you expect your customer to behave differently, just because you are on the opposite side of the table? Well, no matter how many times you turn the table, and how many people you bring on the other side of the table, you cannot be successful in making a sustainable customer base.

There is only one golden rule of selling and that is honesty. Be honest and sell only the product your customer needs, not the product your company wants to push to every customer. This is what we call integrity selling. Integrity selling will not only build a reputation for you, but it will also give you a rock-solid foundation made of loyal customers to stand on.

Integrity selling is the only way to maintain a long sustainable base of customers. In order to be successful in applying integrity selling in your business, you genuinely need to believe in solving the customer’s problem. I am saying believing, not feigning to believe, as most sales people do. This is how you can build reputation for yourself and your business. Till the time you are concern with just meeting your target for the month or the quarter, you cannot succeed in winning the hearts of your consumer. You need to win a significant share of customers’ hearts to remain in the business for the long run. Integrity selling is indeed tough, but the return it fetches makes it worth trying. As said, integrity selling will build a long term reputation for you, and the more you practice it the more equity gets deposited to your reputation-bank, which in the long run will mean more business for you.

Let’s think over a very famous quote: you can cheat a few people for a long period of time, you can even cheat many people for a short period of time, but there is no way in which you can cheat everyone (or many people) for the longer period of time, it isn’t possible. If you are salesperson, always remember this and never ever try to sell lie. A lie can help you meet the immediate goal, but it will hurt you badly in the long run. It is always wise to fix your eyes on the long term results, short term results will never last.

Tags: Briefcase, Customer Base, Earned Dollars, Golden Rule, Honesty, How Many People, Image, Integrity Selling, Intention, Loyal Customers, Money, Perfect Smile, Regard, Reputation, Rock Solid Foundation, Sales People, Salesperson, Sustainable Base, Tough Job, Trousers

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