Business on Top, PJ Party on Bottom! Remote Employee Goofs.

Working from home can be great. It provides the flexibility so often craved in our over scheduled society. It allows you to save money on gas, dry cleaning and, wait, who am I kidding, dry cleaning? There are numerous perks to being a remote employee but my two big positives are no commute and more time with family. Since I started working from home I’ve grown surprisingly comfortable with video conferencing and in this global economy that is a big plus.

Working from home provides employees with a unique perspective of workday goofs. While you might not witness the hilarity of your co-worker missing his chair there are other spectacles unique to the virtual workforce. Some of my witnessed video-call goofs are:

• Sleeping dog suddenly passes gas, with audible force. (It wasn’t me!)
• A forgotten dirty pile of laundry peaks into view. (Why did I readjust my camera?)
• Your mullet attire….buttoned up top, pajamas on bottom, accidentally revealed. (No more standing to get something!)
• Your roommate comes strolling into your office to ask you a question, sans shirt. (Must invest in locks!)
• It’s your turn to speak and the phone keeps ringing. In a panic, you can’t remember how to silence it! (#$@!#$$~!)
• You click answer instead of ignore. That visual check in the mirror you needed is now replaced with explaining why you look like you just removed your finger from an electrical socket.

We all need reasons to laugh and goofs like these are definitely worth a chuckle. They might not be ‘box office smash’ funny but if Will Farrell was the victim of these fails, they just might be!

"See Below" Forwarding an E-mail

Today I read an article on Fast Company about how business emails should be five sentences long or less. I completely agree. I have a co-worker who really needs to read that article, his emails can turn into miniseries. My favorite is when he asks me to tweet something for him. I have to really put my editing hard hat on and get to work! It's all in good fun, we love him despite his lengthy shortcoming.

The article reminded me of one of my biggest email pet peeves (OK, I have a lot of them but this one is up there). My big peeve is when people need you to do something and they forward you an email with just the message "see below" written. You scroll down and it's 2 days worth of back and forth conversations. You then not only need to read a load of useless crap, you also need to figure out what it is you need to do. My brain goes ugh.

Summarize! It takes 30 seconds and you'll get a much faster response. Trust me.

Why can't you see how great I am?

You are a great employee. 

You know it, your boss knows it and your coworkers know it. Why can't anyone else see it? What's the deal? 

There could be a whole slew of reasons. You might have a crappy resume, poor interviewing skills or sweat like a wild boar. Though, hopefully you're aware of a massive sweating issue. Then there are those lucky cherds who get a job without even really trying. They are those self-confident and charming people who you wish would just crawl into a hole. On the other hand, that would make you sad because they're just so damn charming. Those charmers know how to impress their audience and interviewing comes naturally to them. Thankfully for the rest of us interviewing is a skill and like most skills it can be learned.


Before an interview write down your accomplishments, practice talking about them to a trusted friend and ask your friend for an honest critique. It might take a little practice but a good salary is worth it. Be sincere, the worst type of interview for me is when I feel like someone is trying to sell me a used car. No thanks, I take the subway.


Way too often people don't research the company. Even charming people are guilty of this but they're better at 'winging it'. Please don't try 'winging it', you'll fail. Save the laziness for after you get the job. Another common tip that every interviewing article will tell you is to make eye contact. This is an oldie but goody. If you don't make eye contact then it's shifty, people don't trust shifty. On the other hand, don't stare at your interviewer either. That will just guarantee they lock their door after you leave. While locking ones door is a safe practice it shouldn't be the result of your interview.


More tips for interviewing:

• Know the difference between confidence and arrogance.
• Feel free to crack a joke or two but stay appropriate.
• Communication is mostly nonverbal so don't fidget.
• Stay positive, no matter how much you hated your last boss.
• Be prepared to talk about your career highlights.
• Be yourself, but be the best of yourself. Pretend you're on a first date.

No matter what, getting a job can take time. Don't get discouraged. As a recruiter I often meet several candidates who would be great for the one job we have open. It sucks but take every interview as a chance to perfect your skill!