Summer is coming. So is the annual co-op / internship / summer seasonal hiring marathon season. Most companies would take this summer hiring wave as a test ground for their long term hires’ testing grounds. Performing to the best of all abilities will highly boost the chance to turn a summer job into a long term profession. This is especially true for those who are looking to do some co-op and internship / apprenticeship. Good work place etiquette practices can help you quickly establish yourself and positively stand out.

The following five work place etiquette tips will help.

First day to work is just like first day to school. Every bits of your appearance counts.

Look professional. Dress for your position. Be prepared. Shrine your shoes. Clean your face, shave, get a new tidy hair cut, cut your finger nails, take a shower before work and smell fresh, fresh breath, …etc. The list can go on and on but it is whatever it takes to get yourself looking clean, tidy, professional and pleasant out that door. Your first impression starts with how people visually meet you for the first time. One extra tip: keep your brand name items at home. You are going to work, not to a show down.

Smile, whatever and however unpleasant you are, just smile.

Work into your work with a smile. Big smile. You do not know yet who and what you will face on your first day, but when you smile, you are bringing a positive aspect to your new work place. Be that positive impact that any work place would like to have more of. Smile is also a powerful de-stressing behavioral – mental mechanism. When you smile, you trigger a movement to the very particular muscles on your face, which will result in your brain assuming those muscles are triggered because you are smiling, and smile is a behavioral response to being positive, pleasant, happy, in general well-being, which your actions of smiling will lead your brain to believe that you are in a good emotional state, thus counter-acting to any negative emotional state that might have arisen, such as being nervous, impatience, etc. So just smile. At least do it for yourself.

Put away your phone.

You are at work. Period. Focus. Checking your phone too often is an indication that you have other better things to be focusing on. If so, there are other applicants in line that can easily fill your space. If you have emergency situations, let your manager know ahead, such as if you might have a relative who had you as their emergency contact. This is one of the most neglected work place etiquette since it is mostly unwritten. The marks, however, do counts heavily.

Manner matters. Say Excuse me, Please and Thank you as often as you need to.

The people at work are not related to you. Don’t expect them to do things free for you, or do things for you at all in that matter. Show them your good work place etiquette by letting them know that you respect them and appreciate them.

Keep your work space tidy.

An organized work space reflects an organized personality. When your employer / manager walk over and see that you are taking care of the space that you have been given, it shows them that you are responsible and reliable for things given you, thus they will have more confidence to give you more responsibilities.