Beware of crossed arms. They can signal that you're closed off to communication.

Your nonverbal communications speaks louder than your words. “Over 90% of our communication is nonverbal,” says Rachel Boone, president and founder of Solutions Life Coaching, a firm that provides individuals and companies with personal and professional development. Boone offers a few tips how to improve nonverbal communication in preparation for an interview.

1. Look Them in the Eyes. Boone says, “Eye contact is big. It shows trust, increases your creditability and shows confidence in yourself and your work. Whenever you avoid eye contact it can be seen as being disinterested in what the other person has to say.” If making eye contact makes you feel uncomfortable, Boone advises that you focus instead on the triangle between the eyes. It gives the illusion that you are making eye contact.
2. Do a Test Run. Practice before your interview. Use the video mechanism on your phone and ask a friend to tape a mock interview of you or stand in front of a mirror. This will gauge your performance and help you identify weak areas in your delivery, which should include why they should hire you.
3. Be Punctual. Time is an important nonverbal that speaks volumes without saying a word. If you show up late for an interview it says that you will show up late for work or hand in work late. Map out the route in advance, and leave early to allow for possible delays.
4. Mind Your Appearance. Your clothing and accessories are objects that communicate who you are nonverbally. Inappropriate clothing can turn many interviewers off without you saying a word. Dress appropriately for the work environment.  Also avoid playing with accessories like earrings or necklaces. It sends the impression that you are nervous or bored with the conversation.

It's key for you to take control of your personal brand, especially when it comes to your social media profiles.

As unemployment rates remain high and people compete for work, securing a job will be no easy task for the 1.65 million undergraduates expected to enter the workforce this year according to the United States Educational Department. The authors of Your Career Game (Stanford Business Books; $24.95), Dr. Nathan Bennett, professor of management at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Stephen Miles, CEO coach and vice chairman of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, advise graduates on what not to do while job hunting. Miles offers five key points for graduates to keep in mind.

1. Don’t sabotage your personal brand. Graduates have to manage their personal brand better than individuals have historically. Recruiters decide whether to advance you or not based on what they see on your online profiles. It is not just about what you put on your profile. What pictures or things have your friends tagged you on that become a part of your profile? “It takes a lot of work to maintain your brand, because someone else can erode it,” says Miles.

2. Don’t be afraid to jump on an “out of the box” experience. We all have our relationship networks where we are comfortable. Strengthen your weak ties. Associate with people you wouldn’t normally associate with, because the boarder you network relationships are the better opportunities will be. To find the open door it comes down to who you know. But once you walk through the open door it then becomes about you proving yourself.

3. Don’t be afraid to take the job no one else wants. The heartbeat of our country is small businesses. We are automatically attracted to the big companies and not the smaller ones where you can pick up more experience. People need to think differently and not just take the well worn path sometimes. If you take some of the non traditional approaches and have an open mind it can be a transformational experience.

4. Don’t miscalculate the tradeoff between breadth and depth. You need to be known for something but if you go too far down that path you can become pigeon hold. If you know something well it is time for you to broaden your skills. Learn a foreign language such as Mandarin, Chinese or join relevant groups that highlight your other skill sets.

5. Don’t be blinded by a paycheck. Within reason take the low paying job which will allow you to translate experiences which will lead to better jobs.  What does this job do for me? How does it help me tell a story that will translate well when you are in front of a recruiter? Ask yourself these questions instead of focusing primarily on money.

To read more on tips and the authors’ blog, check out Yourcareergame.com.



Blackwell

What assets do diverse suppliers bring to the table?

I think minority businesses are really going to rise to the top in innovation. Our operating companies are large, and it is hard for minority businesses to get in because it’s so competitive, but in innovation there is opportunity. Diverse suppliers need to think about the future. It is up to business owners to look for ways to add value to the business that they want to supply their services to. Many times diverse suppliers have a greater connection to trends, public sentiment, and to various segments of the community. As a large company we can’t always keenly identify those needs.

With Nestlé’s strategic sourcing business model, what is the company doing internally to support diverse suppliers’ competitive needs and meet buyers’ product demands?

For the past three years, we’ve held our own supplier diversity conference where we’ve invited both current and prospective minority, women, and small business owners to attend. We share information about one of the operating companies and about our buying categories so that the companies know more about us and what we’re looking for and how we’re tracking. We also have one-on-one meetings during which they have an opportunity to meet with a particular buyer who buys in a certain category. It’s an opportunity to have that face-to-face contact and for people to have quality time with buyers and suppliers. These conferences are a success. I think our suppliers are strategic and experienced enough to know that you don’t sit down and in 20 minutes walk away with a deal. But what you do walk away with is a better relationship. You know more about that buyer and that buyer knows more about you—moving from contact to contract.

On its Website, Nestlé acknowledges that by 2050, the majority of the U.S. population will consist of people from ethnic groups that are now considered minorities, and that certified minority-owned businesses are experiencing similar growth. Internally, what types of programs are in place to recruit, attract, and support minority suppliers?

Something that we do internally is education through action. We have several different supplier diversity teams. We have a representative for all our operating companies and we talk about how to help push the message internally. I’ve done online meetings with all our buyers. We teach them how to use our portal so that they can look for diverse suppliers. We believe that supplier diversity initiatives will be most effective when all buyers understand the program and become engaged. We’re a very tightly run procurement organization. In our environment right now, our buyers are tasked with looking for savings as well as maximizing all the dollars spent. Buyers have lots of responsibility in their area, and with that responsibility comes the work.

I think the biggest problem that the diverse supplier has is getting the buyer’s attention because there are so many competing demands. This time last year our buyers were confronted with increases in the cost of fuel and milk. Two years ago it was corn being deviated from the food chain to the fuel chain—which again affected the cost. But now the ultimate challenge is for our buyers to make sure that they are buying products that allow our foods to be safe, to be well positioned, and to be cost effective in production. That’s why I circle back to innovation. Diverse suppliers must look for ways to help bring value. It will be up to them to look at ways to make a difference.

For more information on supplier diversity at Nestlé, visit www.nestleusa.com/pubcommunity/diversity.aspx.

This story originally appeared in the August 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.

The SiemensTeacher Scholarship represents $1 million in funding and a five-year commitment to provide scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students at historically black colleges and universities. Heading into its fourth year, the program has awarded 120 scholarships so far. “One of the greatest challenges faced by teachers today is accelerating the achievement rate across racial, gender, ability, and socioeconomic divides,” says Jerib A. Carson, a senior at Medgar Evers College and 2008 recipient of the Siemens Foundation Teacher Scholarship.

The scholarship is open to college juniors and seniors at HBCUs in the following majors: education, one of the sciences, technology, engineering, or mathematics. They must also have a desire to teach after graduation, a minimum 2.5 grade point average, and demonstrated financial need. For information on the Siemens Foundation Teacher Scholarship, please visit www.siemens-foundation.org or call 877-822-5233.

            PALF hopes that by bringing together aspiring writers it can develop talent and build mentoring relationships, which will lead to a wider distribution of books by black authors worldwide.

            Hosted by South African Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile, PALF connected established and emerging writers for writing workshops, seminars, lectures, networking, and cultural activities. Special guests included Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa, celebrated Ghanaian author and Brown University professor Ama Ata Aidoo, Orange Prize-winning Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Toronto-based Ghanaian novelist Esi Edugyan, and Caine Prize-winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina.

            The event also raised money and donated books for Ghanaian schools to address an illiteracy rate of nearly 60%.

            According to Grant Jones, chief administrator of PALF, “This year we were able to bring hundreds of pounds of books to needy schools, to schools in some cases that had no libraries at all.”

            PALF plans to return to Ghana in March 2009 with a broader package of services and interests for international writers. It hopes to hold the 2010 forum in Timbuktu and eventually move the event to Mali.

            Looking forward, PALF wants to increase the number of participants and its diversity. To become a participant of the 2009 Pan African Literary Forum or to volunteer with the community outreach program by giving books or contributing to the organization’s scholarships, go to www.panafricanliteraryforum.org.

Are you finding that more and more of your money is being spent on maintaining soil and controlling pesky bugs as you try to keep up with the Joneses? Well, you’re clearly not alone. According to the National Gardening Association, consumers spent more than $35 billion on lawn care and garden products last year. As the summer heats up, here are a few tips to cool down your spending and brighten up your lawn.

Say goodbye to gas. Trade in that gas-guzzling mower for an electric model that will also cut down on costly repairs. You can chose between a lawn mower that has an extension cord or one that is battery powered. (Battery powered mowers usually run for only 75 minutes.) The cost of an electric mower can range from $100 to more than $400. For more information on electric mowers, visit www.electric-lawnmowers.net.

Maintain proper grass height. On the HGTV Website, lawn care expert Mike Ferrara advises against cutting lawns too short because it can encourage weed growth, disease, and pest problems. Taller grass helps to shield the weeds from sun. It is best if you set your mower to at least 3 inches. By taking this extra step, you save big by not having to invest heavily in costly pesticides and weed killers. Visit www.hgtv.com for more helpful tips.

Skip costly advice. Did you know that the federal government has funded a service that will give you advice on your lawn for free? It’s part of the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, and is generally referred to as your local cooperative extension office. Why is your lawn plagued by those yellow patches? Contact your local cooperative extension office, and avoid expensive advice. For more serious problems, you can even take a sample of your lawn down to your local office to have it tested. Visit www.csrees.usda.gov for locations and information.

Toss out the fertilizer. After cutting your lawn, you can leave the clippings to use as fertilizer for your yard. Make sure that the clippings are fine. This will save you from having to buy bags to for clippings or costly fertilizer. You can find a wealth of information on the National Gardening Association’s Website, www.garden.org. You can also purchase a mulching lawn mower instead, which will finely clip the grass so that it can act as compost for your lawn. Find out more about mulching lawn mowers at www.mulching.co.uk.

Clip coupons for roses. Home Depot has a garden club that offers its customers everything from coupons, to lawn care tips, to advice from experts. To access the garden club, see www.homedepotgardenclub.com. The National Gardening Association and ILovePlants.com also provide lists of gardening resources that could save you up to $50 on the must-haves for your garden.

Now, after the all of that easy work, take a step back and admire your lawn. It will look just as good as the Jones’–without the cost.