Professional Behavior and Communication Development Course 2-page summary/reflection of class

Finance 250

Professional Behavior and Communication Development

Professor Troy Kane

Week Two Agenda

➢ Guest Speaker

➢ Communicating Your Brand

➢ Business Dress Code

➢ Elevator Speech

➢ Mentorship

Communicating

Your Brand

How to Communicate and Control Your Brand

• Create a Personal Branding Strategy

• Write Your Story (Elevator Speech)

• Traditional Branding Tools (Resume & Cover Letter)

• Digital Branding Tools (Social Media)

• Build a Professional Network

• Define your meaning of Success

• Create Career Goals

• Invest in Yourself (Personal Development)

• Stand for What you Believe In

• Be Consistent

Business Dress Code

Business Casual

Men’s Business Casual Attire • Khaki, gabardine, wool, or cotton pants, neatly pressed • Cotton long-sleeved button-down shirts, pressed • Sweaters • Leather shoes and belt • Tie optional

Women’s Business Casual Attire • Khaki, corduroy, twill, or cotton pants or skirts • Sweaters, twinsets, cardigans, polo/knit shirts • A sheath dress is often flattering, and looks very professional • Solid colors work better than bright patterns

What Not to Wear

When the dress code is business casual, it's not appropriate to wear your favorite old t-shirt, ripped jeans, ratty sneakers, or flip-flops.

• No jeans or shorts • Gym Clothes or hoodies • No hats in the office (Religious/cultural head covers are allowed) • No baggy pants showing underwear • Polo shirts -- be careful about emblems • Torn, frayed or dirty clothing is unacceptable in business • Clothing that reveals too much skin (back, chest, feet, stomach) is

inappropriate in business.

Business Professional Attire

Men's Professional Attire • Solid color, conservative suit • White long sleeve shirt • Conservative tie • Dark socks, professional shoes • Very limited jewelry • Neat, professional hairstyle • Go easy on the aftershave • Neatly trimmed nails

Women's Professional Attire • Solid color, conservative suit • Coordinated blouse • Moderate shoes • Limited jewelry • Neat, professional hairstyle • Tan or light hosiery • Sparse makeup and perfume • Manicured nails

Mentoring

What Do Mentors Do? • Mentors Teach, Guide, Advise, Counsel, Validate, Protect, and Communicate • Mentors act as role models and give career guidance • Good mentors go beyond advising on competencies; they focus on character • They approach interactions with optimism (before being critical) • There is a difference between mentors (Talk with you), coaches (Talk to you)

and sponsors (Talk to others about you)

How Do You Find a Mentor? • Seek someone who gives clear directions, who loves teaching fundamentals • You need multiple mentors (Personal Board of Directors) • Go to different mentors for different issues • Seek mentors from your network (e.g., Alumni Association) • At DePaul, use Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK)

• Referral from a mutual friend or contact • Leverage some similarity to build a connection (LinkedIn profile) • If first contact is an email, use an attention grabbing subject line like:

Fellow DePaul Alum with High Energy Or Read your profile on DePaul ASK • Email request: Subject line with a common thread. Introduce yourself.

Politely flatter. Be clear, but polite. Proof read the email! • Do your homework, if you are knowledgeable about your mentor, your

mentor’s company, etc. to show respect. • Make it easy for the mentor (schedule, location). • Don't waste a mentor's time

How to contact a potential mentor?

• Be on time • Set/propose the agenda • Ask good questions • Listen • Follow through on advice given • Be grateful • Don’t go through the motions; develop a rapport

Mentorship First Meeting

Personal Branding Statement (Elevator Speech)

Be Able to Promote Your Personal Brand

• Writing a personal branding statement is a lot like creating a branding statement for a company, product or a service.

• Your personal branding statement will be unique to you and should clearly describe who you are and what you have to offer.

• One of the most important elements in networking and building your personal brand is your elevator speech.

• An elevator speech allows you to articulate what makes you distinctive, professionally and personally, in thirty seconds.

• Knowing what to say will make a meaningful first impression.

The Elevator Speech

When developing your elevator speech, you should showcase your best attributes and make sure it feels authentic and true to you.

Your speech should briefly touch on the following key points: • Your most important characteristics, interests and strengths • What you can offer to the target audience • Your goal in connecting with the individual you’re pitching

Elevator Speech Basics:

• Keep it to 25-35 seconds (50 words or less)

• Have different versions for various situations

• Practice, practice, practice!

Elevator Speech – Getting Started

• What are your top personality characteristics?

• What interesting things have you done or experienced?

• Is there a brief, memorable story that you can tell?

• Where do you want to go or what do you want to do?

• What do you like/love about what you do?

• What projects have you done that would be of interest to others?

• What successes are you most proud of having accomplished?

• In what ways are you making a difference in people’s lives?

• What are your, “Greatest Hits”?

• End with “a call to action”.