Interview: Christie Leigh Mueller

Happy Labor Day! Speaking of...would you like to get a job?

Our friend Chelsea Hanson  interviewed Christie Leigh Mueller, business etiquette consultant and author of "Gridiron Belles: A Guide to Saturdays in Dixie." (Remember: we'll announce the winner of our FREE GIVEAWAY of her book on Sept. 5!)

Before we give her book away, however, we’re going to help you get a job —or at least prepare to get a job, thanks to Mueller’s wisdom. Here we go!

Chelsea Hanson: What the key point to focus on in a cover letter?

Christie Leigh Mueller: The key to a cover letter is to give a personal touch in a professional tone. In your cover letter, you have the opportunity to highlight a few of your experiences and explain why they will make you the perfect candidate for the position.

Are unconventional resumes a way to stand out or can they harm you?

You always want some degree of uniqueness to your resume, but that’s not to be confused with being unprofessional.  Stay away from scents, bright papers, items that fall out of an envelope, or singing e-mails.  Rather, be unique in your ability to present a clean, well-organized, impressive resume.  You’d be surprised how much format can influence your interviewer.

If the owner of the company is very young, maybe only a few years older than yourself, do you address them as Mr. or Ms. or their first name? 

Despite their age, the owner of the company is still your superior in the business world.  Always err on addressing them as Mr. or Ms. until they advise you otherwise.  You always address people how they have asked you to.

When it comes to soliciting for unlisted jobs, how can a young person investigate opportunities without being a bother?

Simple and sincere conversation. It’s too forward to ask for favors before you’ve established a relationship with someone.  However, it is acceptable to ask someone for advice for getting into your desired career. Asking for advice gets them thinking about that particular field and is a natural segue for them to offer to introduce you to the people they know that could offer you a job.

If you do ask a professional for help, always be considerate of their time be it during a conversation or reading your e-mails.  Do your homework on the subject, follow up if you say you’re going to, and above all, do not expect them to do all of the work for you.

Where’s the best experience—interning for a big company, or a smaller, lesser-known company that might offer more freedom?

I don’t think they are mutually exclusive.  There are countless benefits to both.  If you worked for a big name in the industry, a reputable company obviously saw you as someone worth hiring. But, what if your main responsibility was making sure the boss’s coffee had one cream and two sugars?

With a smaller, lesser-known company, your work experience and creativity was likely developed. Your abilities were likely seen by your colleagues.  

In either case, play up your experiences, the projects you were a part of, and what you learned simply by being around the office.  You’d be surprised what you can learn by a boss you observed from a distance at a large company.

Many young people market themselves online with blogs or otherwise establishing a brand presence. Is a recommendation from someone you only know online as good as one from a personal recommendation?

Establishing yourself and a brand in cyber-world is an accomplishment in itself and should be used to your advantage during the interview process.  It is in essence, a small business.

It is, however, easy to hide qualities or shortcomings behind a computer so for recommendations I would stay with a stronger reference from someone you know well.

What about clothes—what do you recommend wearing for an interview?

When dressing for an interview, do your due-diligence and figure out what the dress code is at the office.  Dress accordingly.

Note, it is never, under and circumstance, acceptable for you to wear jeans to an interview. There are plenty of options available to be less formal than a suit but more put together than jeans if the company warrants such dress.

Remember, your first impression is at stake here and your outfit directly reflects on your abilities as an employee.  

Thank you, Christie Leigh Mueller! Check in with us on Sept. 5 to see if you've won a copy of "Gridiron Belles!"

Free Giveaway!

We are honored to offer a FREE GIVEAWAY of “Gridiron Belles: A Guide to Saturdays in Dixie,” by Christie Leigh Mueller, a business etiquette consultant living in Austin, TX and Louisville, KY. Mueller’s book is not only a guide to football and tailgating—it’s a “a romance novel, a fashion guide, an etiquette handbook, an advice column, and a rulebook all rolled into one pretty package,” she says. 

Christie Leigh Mueller

It’s the perfect time to give this book as a gift or just enjoy it for yourself—tailgating season is fast upon us!

For your chance to win, leave us a comment (one per person) in this post, telling us your favorite college football team, before 8 a.m. EST Wednesday, Sept. 5. We will announce the winner (selected via Random Number Generator) shortly after on this blog.

Watch this space for an upcoming interview with Mueller—in the meantime, comment away!

UPDATE! Comments are now closed! The winner is:

"I love the Georgia Bulldogs! And I love Perfectly Polished!"

Posted by: Lee Thornton, August 29, 2012 10:06 AM

Congratulations!

Cash gifts & graduates

Whether it’s marking the end of middle school, high school, or college, graduation is a thrilling time. It’s a moment to celebrate, this sending-off to the next level (or out into the “real world”). If you’re considering gift-giving to mark the occasion, you might be thinking of cash gifts. Worried that it’s too impersonal a present? Fear not—you can make a cash gift both meaningful and memorable, and without breaking the bank.

Talking about money can be hard, especially in these economic times, but let’s be realistic and discuss how much you should give.

It turns out that there’s not an across-the-board answer—no “Give this amount for eighth graders and this amount for college grads.” No. This is a more nuanced decision, based on a lot of different things—how well you know the graduate, the graduate’s future financial needs, your own financial status. Consider the graduate’s level of support and stage of independence: a person beginning their post-college career may appreciate a larger cash gift than a young teenager who lives in a financially stable home.

Don’t feel pressure to give beyond your means. A modest amount of money is still a wonderful gift, especially if you include it in a note written on personal stationary. When you give money along with a heartfelt letter, your words of encouragement and wisdom will be long remembered after the money is spent.

You can also take the focus off the money by making it the secondary gift. We like to give meaningful books and tuck a cash gift inside the pages. When we write the inscription in the front of the book, we mention a particular page number. It’s a nice surprise, and the book makes the gift more personal and significant.

Regardless of the present, make sure your graduate feels your love—that kind of support sustains more than money!

Free Giveaway!

We are honored to offer a free giveaway of one the most exciting products getting recognition for promoting manners to children!

Blunders—a fun board game for 2-4 players ages 5 & up—has children learning manners while they pretend to be members of the Blunder family, honing their etiquette so they'll earn an invitation to the Mannerlys' pool party. One of the Today Show's "Favorite Things," Blunders has received numerous awards and excellent reviews, including a recent 5 Star rating from WTS Toy Review.

Blunders inventor and etiquette consultant Aimee Symington also created Manner Mats, a set of tear-off placemats with etiquette-centric games, puzzles, and other activities that are perfect for home or dining out at restaurants.

We have one Blunders game and one set of Manners Mats to give away!

These are excellent products for parents, teachers, or anyone with young children in their lives.

For your chance to win, leave us a comment (one per person) in this post before 8 a.m. EST Friday, May 11. We will announce the winner (selected via Random Number Generator) shortly after on this blog.

We had a chance to interview the genius behind Blunders - thank you, Aimee!

5 Questions with Aimee Symington

Perfectly Polished: Why is it important to teach etiquette to young children?

Aimee Symington: What people learn as children will shape who and what they become. For example, if you teach children to show respect and kindness to others even on the playground and at school, they will forever know how they should behave towards adults. Children with polite manners are given positive reinforcement which increases their self-esteem, they have more friends, and they perform better in school. So, I guess the question is… why shouldn’t we teach children manners?

When it comes to children and manners, what are the "repeat offenses" you see most often?

In young children, it’s having bad table manners and being unwilling to try new food. This is something that parents can easily do something about, however. Parents need to take the time to teach their children to have polite table manners and then expect it 100% of the time, not just when they go to grandma’s.

The worse offense with older children is being mean to others. Gossiping, teasing, and bullying are happening more than ever now that kids can say something via text, email, Facebook, or through other social media, and hind behind a screen. Kids need to learn that everything they put online will stay there forever and that their words can hurt others just as easily as if they have physically hurt them.

How did you create the "Blunders" game?

After one of my etiquette sessions, a mom asked me what she could do at home to make learning manners fun. I thought about it and realized that there was nothing on the market that families or teachers could use to make the task of teaching manners easy and somewhat enjoyable. So that is when I said, "I’ll create a board game on manners. How hard can it be?” Well.. I quickly found out it was hard, but it was well worth the blood, sweat, and tears.

How did you come up with the idea for the activity mats?

I received a lot of comments from parents that they wanted a game or activity that they could do at the table before and during dinner to teach their children social skills and dining etiquette. Some restaurants have placemats that kids love to play with while waiting for their meal, so I thought—what a good idea it would be to have the same type of games and activities on a placemat, but that would actually be educational! I created a pad of 38 different placemats that parents can use with their kids at home or take along to restaurants to use while they wait. The placemats also encourage conversation, give information on what people do in other countries, and teach you how to say “Please” and “Thank you” in different languages.

Your products are making a name of themselves. How does it feel to get that kind of recognition for products that promote manners?

After so much hard work it feels great! Also, it’s nice to know that there are people out there who recognize how important it is to teach children to have polite manners and good social skills. 

UPDATE: Comments are now closed! The winner is: 

"Sounds like a great idea! Interrupting is a big one in our house too. (Partly cause Dad and I cut each other off all the time, I suspect.)"

Posted by: HEJ May 9, 2012 6:49 AM

Congratulations!