After several months, the boss has finally found a place for you to stay after following a Travel Haven corporate housing guide. Since they followed the steps and checked everything out, you are ready to take on this new location and get the job done. But, what if you don’t know how to act?
These tips are going to help you prepare for that trip. Keeping these tips on hand will help you adjust to the local area, learn what is expected of you, and ensure you aren’t stepping on any toes. Also, if you are planning a trip with your family prefer flight cases that manage your accessories.
Understand the Location and Customs
You may think, “No Duh!” but many people don’t learn about where they are going. Even if you are interstate traveling, it is very important to remember that every state, county, and city has a different culture. People in the area are going to say things differently, there might be local news that everyone talks about, or the place you are going might have a rich and important history.
Some things to ask yourself as you study the location you are going to are:
- What are the major cultures in the area?
- What has happened in this city that could have changed everyone’s life?
- Other than the weather, what is important to the people here?
- What are common greetings? Common ways to say good bye?
- What is the city’s perspective of outsiders?
Understand the Business
Whether or not you are a seasoned professional in the industry, a newbie, or someone who works just for the money, you have to understand your business. Since you are going to places where some people may not understand everything about what you do, you need to have a sort of elevator pitch that you can give them.
If you haven’t heard of them before, an elevator pitch is where you can tell someone about what you do and your business in two minutes or less. In order to have an understandable and well-informed elevator pitch, you need to research what it is that you do, and if you are part of a business, what the business does. You want to be able to express goals, the ‘Why?’ of the business, and your experience in the field.
Dress Appropriately
This is a hard one to follow especially when there are so many moving parts to professional dress. A lot also depends on your reason for traveling for work from building a client list, to just doing what needs to be done for work. Either way, there is going to be a right way to dress and a wrong way to dress for the situation.
Many business or work related situations are going to require some sort of professional attire. Professional is an ever evolving term so it could be that one business allows more than just neutral colors while another industry or business requires extreme professionalism. This is why it is so important to research what is expected!
Be On Time
This is probably another, “No duh!” moment, however you’d be quite surprised at how often people show up late for important meetings. When traveling outside of the country, this could be considered one of the ultimate insults. Why?
When you are late, unless it is a true emergency or issue, then you are wasting the other person’s time. You are basically saying to the other person that they are not important enough to have your undivided attention and time despite the fact that you could have potentially traveled out of the states.
Common Sense
In the situation of business and business related trips, common sense is one of the most important elements of travelling. If you go up to someone and immediately blurt out the name of the person that you are going to meet, that’s not exactly common sense. Those are facts that you need to keep to yourself.
Another example of why it is important to have common sense while traveling is talking outside of the workplace. It is perfectly okay to work with and talk with others outside of your normal workspace: you have to have common sense and consider where you are. Are you near a whole bunch of people that don’t need to hear what you are talking about? Then it would be best to avoid talking out in the open.
Conclusion
The biggest tip that you can take with you wherever you go and whatever you do, is be respectful. Each tip relates to respect in some regard but respect is something that has to be given in order for it to be received. Be respectful of the people that you are meeting, of the location, and of the customs and you’ll have some of the best etiquette in the country.
