{"id":78769,"date":"2014-08-07T11:30:29","date_gmt":"2014-08-07T16:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=78769"},"modified":"2014-08-06T21:59:51","modified_gmt":"2014-08-07T02:59:51","slug":"bumps-bruises-and-blunders-dealing-with-embarrassing-moments-at-work-and-on-the-job-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=78769","title":{"rendered":"Bumps, Bruises, and Blunders: Dealing with Embarrassing Moments at Work and on the Job Hunt"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide ,Senior Editor, INALJ Massachusetts<\/a>, Maryland<\/a>, and Virtual Work<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Bumps, Bruises, and Blunders: Dealing with Embarrassing Moments at Work and on the Job Hunt<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"amelia_vanderheide\"<\/a>We have all been there. You say or do the wrong thing in the wrong moment. You accidentally slip, fall,\u00a0or let that swear word sneak out. That awkward moment at work. The moment that you think about\u00a0for hours, days, and weeks to come. Here are some of the embarrassing things I have done:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hit reply all on an e-mail<\/p>\n

\u2022 Too many proofreading mistakes to count<\/p>\n

\u2022 Forgotten to attach a resume or important document to an e-mail<\/p>\n

\u2022 Misspoke with the wrong information<\/p>\n

\u2022 Face planted in front of a group of co-workers\/children<\/p>\n

\u2022 Had someone\u2019s name (usually an important someone) completely wrong<\/p>\n

\u2022 Misspelled anything and everything<\/p>\n

\u2022 Did not show up to the first day of an internship because the time was sent via Google, and\u00a0Google automatically changed the time from EST to PST, even though the sender had written\u00a0the time in EST (That was a fun phone call, I assure you)<\/p>\n

\u2022 This week, in fact, my blouse came down in the middle of family story time<\/p>\n

The last one on this list is what prompted me to write about this topic. Some of the things on this list\u00a0are due to the fact I can be clumsy and unobservant, but some are mistakes that are made even when\u00a0due diligence is observed. I am here to tell you even when you make mistakes such as these, you can\u00a0still have a rewarding career and keep your dignity. Here are some tricks and tips I have learned over\u00a0the years:<\/p>\n

Double Check<\/strong>. In my experience, a majority of work-time blunders are mistakes that could easily be\u00a0avoided with some extra proofreading or better communication. If you have a trusted friend or partner,\u00a0have them read and re-read your resume and cover letter. Not only can they offer insight to make your\u00a0presentation tighter, but they can also check spelling and word omission.<\/p>\n

Proofreading is important, but also ensure to double check things like meeting times and your outfit for\u00a0wardrobe malfunctions. If you do not know the answer to a question, ask. Never be embarrassed to\u00a0ask for help or admit you do not know something important. The phrase, \u201cfake it \u2018til you make it,\u201d only\u00a0takes you so far.<\/p>\n

Apologize<\/strong>. If you make a mistake and you know you are at fault, whether it is having a meeting time\u00a0wrong or letting yourself get worked up about something minor, it is important to apologize and take\u00a0ownership. Not all mistakes warrant an apology, but some do, and if you think it does, then apologizing\u00a0might make you feel better. For example, you probably do not have to apologize if you fall in heels, but\u00a0you should probably apologize if you find out Matt\u2019s name is really Mike.<\/p>\n

Let It Go<\/strong>. It might have helped that I just re-watched Frozen yesterday, but sometimes you need to let\u00a0it go. Everyone makes mistakes, and most are probably at work because you are there so frequently.<\/p>\n

It is important to learn from past mistakes and embarrassments and move on. I have learned rather\u00a0recently that I should not wear a certain shirt, even if it is 100 degrees outside. I have learned to never\u00a0dwell on a past misstep. Remember, we\u2019re all human, and even if you misspelled something on your\u00a0resume, you still might get a call back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide ,Senior Editor, INALJ Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virtual Work Bumps, Bruises, and Blunders: Dealing with Embarrassing Moments at Work and on the Job Hunt We have all been there. You say or do the wrong thing in the wrong moment. You accidentally slip, fall,\u00a0or let that swear word sneak out. That…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":56960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[146,5910,69,3592,6444,3659,3660,5894,4503,3860,6326,111],"class_list":["post-78769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-advice","tag-amelia-zavala-vander-heide","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-embarrassing-moments","tag-inalj-maryland","tag-inalj-massachusetts","tag-inalj-virtual","tag-job-advice","tag-job-hunt","tag-life-advice","tag-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/amelia_vanderheide.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-kut","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}