You’ve finally got the job you want and you love your work, the office, coworkers, but do you all the time? Whether you are bombarded by constant emails or loud personal phone calls in the office workplace annoyances are common.

A recent LinkedIn survey revealed Americans’ top office pet peeve is coworkers taking someone else’s food from the fridge. There were also different annoyances by gender.  In the U.S. 62 percent of women were bothered by “clothing that’s too revealing for the workplace,” while only 29 percent of U.S. men said that was a problem. But the biggest pet peeve overall was “people not taking responsibility for their actions,” said 78 percent of all surveyed professionals.

Everyone gets annoyed in the office, but ever consider that you could be the one annoying them?

We checked out some advice from the little pink book.  Learn some basic office etiquette so you don’t become someone else’s office pet peeve.

• Clean up after yourself. Put your dishes in the sink and throw out your trash.
• Dress appropriately.  Learn the company dress code and stick to it.
• Watch how loud you talk. Keep your voice at a reasonable level. Other people are trying to work as well.
• Respect a closed door. If a coworker has closed their office door, whether they are busy or not, respect the request for privacy.
• Watch your language. What you say is a reflection of your professional self.
• Take responsibility for your mistakes.  Apologize and go about correcting the mistakes.

1.       Get Connected.

• LinkedIn is great place to network with people and setup informational interviews. Join your alumni association and any other relevant groups to your field that will have job postings, networking events and discussion boards to steer you in the right direction.

2.      Do Your Homework.

• Employers don’t respond well to a generic cover letter.  Be specific. Why do you want work for their company? What do you know about their work? And what can you offer them? Bonus points if you can find someone who works there and talk to that person before an interview or while applying for the job.

3.      Ace the Cover Letter.

• Try starting your cover letter off with a compliment.  Acknowledge any good news that you are able to find on the employer’s Web site in their press section. For example, “Dear Tim, Congratulations on the Green Building Award the city bestowed on your new headquarters” is more likely to get a manager’s attention.
• Include your key skills and where you learned a particular skill, how it helped you in the past or how it will help your work in the future.

4.   Create a Strong Resume. 

• Your resume should be a single page.
• Find the right format. Look online at other resumes to see the best way to create yours.
• Opening statement: The first 1-2 line paragraph should highlight specialized skills, key accomplishments and your career goals.
• Put your most relevant work experience first. It doesn’t have to be in chronological order. Employers are looking at what you can bring to the table.
• The best resumes describe experience using Action-Benefit statements, which describe an action you took in response to a challenge or opportunity and then explain how that action had a positive outcome.  Example: “Researched structural problems (situation) and developed a plan (action) that resolved 80% of the issues.” (outcome)
• Use action verbs. Examples include: managed, launched, created, directed, established, organized, and supervised.
• Make sure it’s easy to read by using bullet points.
• Remember to stand out. Include information that is relevant and unique to you. Such as your summer volunteering trip or semester abroad and hobbies.
• Proofread and spell check! Have someone else read over you resume to catch any errors.

5.    Prepare for the Interview.

• Prepare at least three stories that can help show why you’d be the right fit for the position, but don’t be rehearsed.

Some examples include:

• A time you overcame adversity (at a job or at school).
• A time when you had to work on a team with difficult people.
• A time when you had to multitask to meet multiple deadlines.

6.      Write a Thank You Note.

• Emails are an acceptable form for a thank you, but handwritten notes have a special touch that shows you put in just a little extra effort.

If you’re ready to dive in and get your career going don’t miss out on IIDA’s Student Mentoring Week Feb. 20-24, 2012! Students will be paired with industry professionals to learn the inner workings of the design field. Sign up now!

The team members include Katie Goodman, Student IIDA, Liz Kahn, Student IIDA, Jennifer Madden, Student IIDA and Sarah Martin, Student IIDA from Drexel University. Check out what they had to say!

Katie Goodman, Student IIDA                

Why Interior Design?

I have always loved architecture and design. I find the puzzle presented when transforming and recreating a space absolutely captivating. I love playing with spatial relationships and understanding the intricacies of how people use the spaces they inhabit.

3 things you can’t live without:

• My little sister Emma.
• My iPhone.
• My laptop (it was out of commission for a week and I nearly died!)

Liz Kahn, Student IIDA

 What did you learn from this experience?

 The benefits of cross-disciplinary learning are awesome. Understanding the mechanical systems, exterior building materials and architectural concerns allowed us to create a dynamic interior that was relevant to the project.

What have you learned from your Interior Design education?

A lot–from extensive technical skills necessary to communicate within the industry to the importance of connecting with your audience during presentation.

What is your dream job after graduation?

I loved the interactive and educational nature of the Smarthouse!  My dream job would involve concept development and designing for children’s museums or hospitality projects. I’m also very interested in design related to company identity and branding.

Jenny Madden, Student IIDA

Describe your design style in 3 words: textured, lively, and thoughtful.

Your design icons: Charles and Ray Eames are the definition of a design icon. But, I’ve recently fallen for Steven Gambrel’s interior work, so I’ll include him as a less obvious, but deserving choice!

What are your must read design blogs? 

Dezeen

Design Sponge

Cotemaison It’s not technically a blog, nor a must read since I can’t read French, but, this is a new favorite of mine to browse for inspirational images.

Sarah Martin, Student IIDA

Why are you passionate about sustainability?

My older sister sparked a flame in my entire family about 10 years ago to be environmentally conscious. Since then I have taken what she has taught me and everything I have learned in school and tried to apply it to my everyday life. I cannot imagine living on this planet and not doing my part to protect it.

What inspires you?

As a designer I find everything around me an inspiration. Particularly nature, with its organic shapes, variety of textures, and never ending colors. 

IIDA is proud to announce the winners of the 2011 Student Sustainable Design Competition.

A special thank you goes out to InterfaceFLOR, our generous sponsor, and to our esteemed judges: Marc Herndon, IIDA; Rob Moylan, IIDA; Mary Helen Pratt, FIIDA.

First Place: $1,500 Cash Prize

Katie Goodman, Student IIDA; Liz Kahn, Student IIDA; Jennifer Madden, Student IIDA; and Sarah Martin, Student IIDA of Drexel University for Drexel SmartHouse.

Second Place: $1,000 Cash Prize

Micaela Silva Merea, Student IIDA, from University of Texas at San Antonio for Link Oil & Gas.

People’s Choice Award: Apple iPad 2 + IIDA Student Membership

Biljana Andonovski from Park University with her submission Infinity – Mammography Clinic.

Congratulations to these students and to all of the students who entered the Student Sustainable Design Competition, making this year’s 2011 competition such a success.

To view the complete projects submitted visit the Official Winners Page at www.iida.org.

How to enter:

Submit one photo of your holiday wreath, tree or menorah to iidahq@iida.org. Subject line: Holiday Cheer

Please give us your name and additional school/company info that you would like to share, along with a photo caption.

Deadline to Enter (extended!): December 21, Winner Announced: December 22

Happy Holidays from IIDA!

Image via here.

First off, find out where you want to work. What’s your passion? Commercial or residential? Small firm or big firm?  Are you willing to relocate? Do you want to obtain your NCIDQ? There is no right or wrong answers to any of these but we could all use some tips on shaping our  job search strategies, right?

THE PORTFOLIO

1. EDITING! No one has the time to see everything you’ve done all 4 or 5 years of college, put in only your best projects. Don’t convince yourself your “showing progression & evolution”. In my opinion, it’s just an excuse to include crappy work.
2. Put your good stuff up front. Again, this comes back to time. Your potential employer will have just a few minutes to look through your work to and decided whether or no they want to schedule an interview. Don’t get hung up on chronological order.
3. The simpler the better. Remember, unless you want to make 3 different portfolios, you need something that can be emailed, uploaded, printed and mailed.

SALARY INFORMATION

YOUR RESUME: THE DO’S & DON’TS!

THE INTERVIEW: THE DO’S & DON’TS!

What is your lesson for the future? Tell us in the comments!