As my mother used to say, there are four main food groups: hair, teeth, hands and feet.

They are your biggest assets in making a professional impression, and the first things people notice.

Everyone should have a recent, stylish haircut, freshly brushed and dentally-cleaned teeth, well-groomed nails and polished shoes.

For Women:

Makeup enhances your visual presence; not to look like a runway model but to demonstrate that you take pride in your appearance. Eye contact is critical in a job interview so invest in subtle shades of color to showcase your eyes. Wear black mascara for definition and some blush with lipstick or lipgloss to accent your look. Nail polish completes the frame of this picture so choose a subtle color rather than black/purple selections. Ditch the long fake extensions and keep your nails at a conservative length.

For Men:

You will be judged by many things so don’t overlook the condition of your nails.

Dare I suggest a manicure? (without polish of course!)

For both Men and Women:

Invest in a tasteful pen. Ditch pens that advertise hotels or plumbing companies. A Mont Blanc is not necessary, but bring along a pen that shows you have good taste. If you are going to write notes, bring along a leather bound portfolio with a lined pad inside. Always give out your business card with your name facing the person. When you receive the interviewer’s card, look at it to determine their title and leave it on the table until you leave. If you forget their full name, you just have to glance down. If you are meeting with several recruiters, lay out the cards in the order that they are sitting to avoid mixing up their names.

A strong personal network can help you tap into the best ideas or put you in front of those people who can give you a hand as you ascend the corporate ladder.  However, strong personal networks don’t just happen in cafeterias or the company picnic. The art of networking requires a carefully constructed plan incorporating activities that showcase you in front of a diverse group of people.  Do you tend to surround yourself with people like you? This could very well limit the likelihood of getting perspectives from people who are different from you. Consequently, it could limit your exposure to those networks that might be able to take your ideas and turn them into new opportunities
Increase your chance of success by creating alliances and nurturing relationships, both within your organization and externally.
Diversify.  Expand your network and don’t limit your contacts prematurely! You never know whom you might need in the future.
Share your expertise, share your resources, and share your contacts.  If you share openly with members of your network, it will naturally be reciprocal.
Leverage your membership in associations by choosing activities that help you meet people in ways that are comfortable for you, give you visibility and showcase your character and competence.
Become your best PR person. Keep your network informed on what you’ve been doing.  They will keep you in mind for opportunities based on what they know about you.
Discipline yourself to keep excellent records using Outlook or a simple Rolodex.  Record how you met, who they are and topics you discussed. Stacking up business cards will be a waste of time if you don’t keep information about them. This will provide you with a frame of reference when you wish to follow up.
Similarly, ensure that you keep yourself updated on what they have been doing.  You may miss an opportunity by not keeping current files.
Become a master of first impressions that is engaging, confident and positive. Seek out professional assistance to insure that your visual presence has impact and presence.
Differentiate yourself in some way. Be astute and reach out to your network by demonstrating that they are important.  Use their names, remember their birthdays, and send articles that relate to their interests.  Not every initiative has to be business related.

Salespeople are told A-B-C Always Be Closing.

You should A-B-N Always Be Networking

Do you remember the early days of email when people were just starting to wrap their heads around this new medium? Instead of talking on the phone or face-to-face, email allowed people to multitask their communications, freeing up time, and eliminating scheduling conflicts without skipping a beat in their workday.

Initially, results were mixed. Without eye contact, body language and listening for subtlety and nuance, some found it difficult to comprehend both the message and the medium. People had yet to learn the etiquette of email and how to communicate exactly what they meant. In essence, people had to break the code of this new communication medium and script their messaging with astute political savvy and diplomacy.

It seems to me we are at a similar tipping point with “virtual branding.” Some do it very well and some are baffled.

Make sure you lock your virtual brand down! Your brand depends on your credibility, so you can’t leave your social or business media unprotected, or even your communication device. We’ve heard the horror stories of misguided or hijacked Facebook pages. If you let someone Twitter on your account or text on your cellphone, you could be doing irreparable damage to your personal brand.

And… never forget that face-to-face networking builds your professional network, and blogging can never replace a comforting voice over the phone.

To get a promotion, you need a healthy dose of self-promotion. Whether you are moving up, moving on or standing pat in your career, promoting your employability in this tough job market should be at the top of everyone’s to-do list for 2010. Being able to talk about your success is an important part of creating, refreshing, and maintaining your brand, and your unique brand is what your company wants as its public face.

As I say in my latest book, Taking The Leap: Managing Your Career in Turbulent Times … and Beyond, many of us have been conditioned since childhood to think that self-promotion is bad and should be avoided at all costs. But tooting your own horn is no longer an option. Building a reputation for making things happen and being able to talk about it are critical to your personal brand.

Self-promotion is tooting your own horn without looking like a braggart.

People who do this well stand out. You may want to consider finding someone like this and place that person on your board of directors. More about the board later. First, a few notes in the key of success so you can learn how to toot that horn well.

When you think about talking about your successes, begin to think about it in terms of sharing your success in order to make others successful.

Well, I always urge people not to be shy about tooting their own horn to get ahead, so this month I’m taking my own advice and delivering a blatant plug for my new book, Taking The Leap: Managing Your Career in Turbulent Times…And Beyond, co-written by Beth Banks Cohn, Ph.D. It was sometimes a labor of love, but as those of you who have written their own books know all too well, it was mostly labor with a capital ‘L.’

There are countless books written on managing your career. Each purports to give you the secrets, the silver bullet, if you will. Taking the Leap does neither. Instead, we focus on career strategies and leadership qualities, mostly because they go hand in hand. We have concentrated on the critical few foundational strategies – personal leadership, communication, and change management.

Taking The Leap: Managing Your Career in Turbulent Times…And Beyond is now available directly from my website.