The Great Recession of 2009 upended all of our lives. Last year, recruiting departments, which only two years ago rushed to extend offers to job candidates, suddenly were told that all hiring was off for the foreseeable future. In some cases, employers rescinded offers they had already made. Career Services departments in schools across the country found themselves in the position of needing to alter the advice they had provided for years. As one career services professional explained his predicament to me, “For years, we’ve told our students that once they receive and accept an offer, that’s it; they are obligated by contract to stick with that employer.  But now that employers are delaying or rescinding offers, what do we tell students a contract means?”

 

In my own experience working with new hires and students, I’ve noticed a real change in attitude. Twenty-four months ago, I regularly encountered handfuls of program participants who acted as if the rules I articulated for succeeding in the business environment were superfluous. These program participants very much possessed the attitude of, “This employer needs me more than I need him/her. They’d better adjust to me.” 

 

Today, that outlook has virtually disappeared.

 

Across the country, I now encounter new hires and students who want to obtain each and every attribute that may give them the edge in gaining a job offer or in strengthening their position on a work team. Following are some of the basic rules they'll need to observe in order to succeed.

 

 

Recently, I lunched with a personal acquaintance, the owner of small PR firm in New York City. Over the course of the meal, she told me that she had just completed interviewing candidates for a professional position with her firm. To her amazement, not one of the women candidates for the position arrived for the interview wearing a suit.

 

Those of us who have survived a couple of economic downturns know one reality: In tough economic times, both clients and employers look for more conservative dress. It’s as if decision-makers acquire some level of comfort in seeing the tried and true. If you are advising students or new hires, tell them that 2010 is a year in which they should pull out their best suits or at minimum their tailored blazers and slacks.

 

Providing this advice is especially important to those of you who are working with recent graduates and who are hiring those grads for positions in organizations that maintain a “business casual” dress policy. Recognize that on many of today’s college campuses, it is perfectly permissible for students to arrive at class wearing flannel pajama bottoms. Graduates from environments like these should be carefully coached as to what attire is acceptable in your work environment.

 

 

 

By now we’re all familiar with “CrackBerry syndrome,” the need many of us feel to look at and respond to our BlackBerrys each time we note that a new message has been received. With BlackBerrys and other such devices now ubiquitous in the business world, it's imperative that career development offices and employers educate new hires about the proper—and improper—use of these devices in the workplace.

 

Here’s the message that I typically share with new hires: If a new hire is invited into a meeting with someone who is far more senior, the new hire should turn his or her BlackBerry off. During the course of that meeting, the new hire should give the senior person 100% of their attention. Their whole demeanor ought to communicate the message, “This meeting is the most important item I need to attend to right now.” If the new hire is expecting a truly urgent message, they should share that fact with the senior person before the meeting begins.

 

Of course, there are exceptions to virtually every rule. One of my clients has reported that the culture of their firm includes an expectation that employees be connected 24/7. Everyone within this organization is expected to keep his or her BlackBerry turned on non-stop. New hires of this organization should be made aware that while they must be reachable at all times, there is a discrete way to accomplish this.  Messages may be checked periodically and responded to only when absolutely necessary.

 

I continue to hear complaints about new hires carrying on cell phone conversations while walking up and down the hallways of their organizations. My recommendation to most new hires is that they use their cell phones the same way they would a land line, i.e., take calls in the privacy of an office or work cubicle.

 

 

 

I am fascinated that the Millennial Generation is showing a new interest in old-fashioned table manners. In many cases, Millennials now entering the work force recognize that a whole set of rules exist for managing business lunches and dinners. By and large, the generation that grew up on fast food knows that they don’t know the rules, and they are now ready to learn them.

 

Be prepared to provide these prospective employees with the basics . . . and I do mean basics. Within the past year, I facilitated a sit down meal at one of the nation’s leading business schools and was fascinated to see that easily one-third of the attendees did not know how to hold a knife and a fork.

 

By the way, I think you’ll find that the students and new hires most interested in acquiring information related to table manners are the children of first generation immigrants who are now entering the work world. In my experience, these employees in particular are extremely interested in acquiring each and every skill that will give them a leg up. 

 

 

 

Today’s employers seek new hires who are ready to hit the ground running. Where work is still not plentiful, they look for potential employees who will enthusiastically tackle tasks no one else wants to do.

 

In conjunction with this, if you are working with students and new hires, caution them about bringing extraneous entertainment devices to work. Two years ago, one of my clients gave each of its summer recruits an iPod. This year, I advise all junior employees to leave their iPods and other entertainment devices at home. While I recognize that lots of young people use these devices to create some white noise, their presence may create the wrong impression. As I’ve told several new recruits, “I don’t want anyone to walk by your office and wonder, even for a minute, if you're working or just listening to music.”

 

 

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Just three years ago, when AMC premiered Mad Men, Don Draper and the other employees of Sterling Cooper burst upon the scene. Today, skinny ties and Old-Fashioned Cocktails have become the rage as young and old alike attempt to emulate the pulled together formality of the Mad Men era.

 

Audience data suggests that the popularity of Mad Men is based in part on viewers’ fascination with the workplace in pre-business casual times.  As is their custom, young people lead the way. They grew up watching their parents wear blue button downs and chinos to the office. Now, a generation of new employees looks for opportunities to dress up and reintroduce formality at work.

 

Catch the pendulum while it’s still swinging.  Mad Manners takes retro manners and makes them new again. Topics covered include:

 

 

While lots of your employees may grimace when they hear about possible “business etiquette” training, they’ll jump at the opportunity to learn how to unleash their inner Mad Man or Mad Woman.