TYPES OF INTERVIEW//PART-11

Follow-up Interview:

Many people feel that once they make it through an interview they are done with the interview process. This is completely false; you need to follow-up after the interview. By following-up you show the employer that you are well-mannered, focused, enthusiastic, detail-oriented, have the ability to follow through, and that you have good work ethics. Follow-ups will give you a competitive edge and show the employer how interested you are in the position.


It is important to remember that you are not the only qualified applicant. Your actions are being evaluated from the second you contact a company for an appointment/interview. Employers also evaluate a variety of factors during the interview process. You may have done everything perfect, but if your follow-up strategy is not up-to-par you could lose the position. Your follow-up techniques will be scrutinized, therefore you should plan well. The best way to follow-up is with a letter or thank you note.

Thank You Notes & Follow-Up Letters

Any written correspondence needs to be perfect! Your writing skills will be examined to determine your grammar skills, spelling skills, the level of your writing ability and your ability to write convincing copy. The content of the letter will also be analyzed. The employer will look to see if you touch on the subjects that were discussed in the interview. In addition, you need to convince the employer that you have the skills and the qualifications needed for the position you applied for.

Follow-Up Tips for Letters and Thank You Notes

1. Remember and/or write down your interviewer’s name because you will need to use it when writing your follow-up letter or thank you note. Some large companies have a team of interviewers; if this is the case you will need all of their names. They best way to impress is to write a separate letter for each interviewer.
2. Send your letter or Thank You note ASAP! It should be sent the same day if possible. Remember, everything is looked at and the employer will notice the date of your letter (meaning the date stamped on the envelope).
3. You can email a follow-up letter if you have the email address of the interviewer(s)-do not email to a random company email address.
4. Always express your appreciation for the interview and the employer’s time.
5. Clearly explain the level of your interest for the open position.
6. Summarize your skills, qualifications, your educational background, and any other job training that relates to the position.
7. Offer any information you forgot to mention in the interview.
8. Thank them again.
9. Provide complete contact information-Email Address(es), Cell Phone, Home Phone, Fax etc.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW//PART-5

Stress Interview:

In stress interview questions, stressful situation is created by the interviewers deliberately to appraise the candidates whether they can perform well under such a situation. Stress is a term used in physical science which is related to impact of one object on another. Higher is the impact, higher is stress level. This phenomenon is used in human life too.

When stress is used in the context of human life, it represents the pressure that people have in their life, and from the organization’s point of view, in work life.In fact, some of the jobs which have to be performed under constant time pressure are stressing.

In order to create stressful situation during the interview process, the interviewers adopt one or more of the following methods:

1. Keeping a candidate to wait for longer time than anticipated to begin interview process.

2. Calling him in the interview room but not advising him to sit down on the seat meant for him.

3. Long silence even after the entry of the candidate in the interview room.

4. Asking another question before the candidate completes the answer of the previous question.

5. Pretension through body language by the interviewers that they do not listen to what the candidate is saying but actually they might be listening attentively.

6. Criticizing the candidate’s views vehemently even though they may agree with these views.

7. Harassing the candidate with some activities which might not be conducive for congenial environment for the interview.

If you look at all the above methods which are adopted by the interviewers, you will find that all these are quite frustrating to the candidate just like unexpected unfortunate happenings in his life. If the candidate becomes frustrated, he is unlikely to fair well in the interview just like a frustrated employee does not do well on his job. In order to be successful in stress interview, candidate should keep calm and treat this as a challenge.

Effective Man Management

Leadership

People ask the difference between a leader and a boss.... The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads and the boss drives."

While leadership is easy to explain, leadership is not so easy to practice. Leadership is about behavior first, skills second. Good leaders are followed chiefly because people trust and respect them, rather than the skills they possess. Leadership is different to management. Management relies more on planning, organizational and communications skills. Leadership relies on management skills too, but more so on qualities such as integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment, sincerity, passion, confidence, positivity, wisdom, determination, compassion, sensitivity, and a degree of personal charisma.

Some people are born more naturally to leadership than others. Most people don't seek to be a leader. Those who want to be a leader can develop leadership ability. And many qualities of effective leadership, like confidence and charisma, continue to grow from experience in the leadership role.

Leadership can be performed with different styles. Some leaders have one style, which is right for certain situations and wrong for others. Some leaders can adapt and use different leadership styles for given situations.

People new to leadership (and supervision and management) often feel under pressure to lead in a particularly dominant way. Sometimes this pressure on a new leader to impose their authority on the team comes from above. Dominant leadership is rarely appropriate however, especially for mature teams. Misreading this situation, and attempting to be overly dominant, can then cause problems for a new leader. Resistance from the team becomes a problem, and a cycle of negative behaviors and reducing performance begins. Much of leadership is counter-intuitive. Leadership is often more about serving than leading. Besides which, individuals and teams tend not to resist or push against something in which they have a strong involvement/ownership/sense of control. People tend to respond well to thanks, encouragement, recognition, inclusiveness, etc. Tough, overly dominant leadership gives teams a lot to push against and resist. It also prevents a sense of ownership and self-control among the people being led. And it also inhibits the positive rewards and incentives (thanks, recognition, encouragement, etc) vital for teams and individuals to cope with change, and to enjoy themselves. Leaders of course need to be able to make tough decisions when required, but most importantly leaders should concentrate on enabling the team to thrive, which is actually a 'serving' role, not the dominant 'leading' role commonly associated with leadership.

Today ethical leadership is more important than ever. The world is more transparent and connected than it has ever been. The actions and philosophies of organizations are scrutinised by the media and the general public as never before. This coincides with massively increased awareness and interest among people everywhere in corporate responsibility and the many related concepts, such as Fair Trade, sustainability, social and community responsibility . modern leader needs to understand and aspire to leading people and achieving greatness in all these areas.

Incidentally as a quick case-study, the BBC illustrates an important aspect of leadership, namely philosophy.

Philosophy is the foundation on which to build strategy, management, operational activities, and pretty well everything else that happens in an organization.

Whatever the size of the organization, operational activities need to be reconcilable with a single congruent (fitting, harmonious) philosophy.

Executives, managers, staff, customers, suppliers, stakeholders, etc., need solid philosophical principles (another term would be a 'frame of reference') on which to base their expectations, decisions and actions. In a vast complex organization like the BBC, leadership will be very challenging at the best of times due to reasons of size, diversity, political and public interest, etc. Having a conflicting philosophy dramatically increases these difficulties for everyone, not least the leader, because the frame of reference is confusing.

For leadership to work well, people (employees and interested outsiders) must be able to connect their expectations, aims and activities to a basic purpose or philosophy of the organization. This foundational philosophy should provide vital reference points for employees' decisions and actions - an increasingly significant factor in modern 'empowered' organizations. Seeing a clear philosophy and purpose is also essential for staff, customers and outsiders in assessing crucial organizational characteristics such as integrity, ethics, fairness, quality and performance. A clear philosophy is vital to the 'psychological contract' - whether stated or unstated (almost always unstated) - on which people (employees, customers or observers) tend to judge their relationships and transactions.

The BBC is an example (it's not the only one) of an organization which has a confusing organizational philosophy. At times it is inherently conflicting. For example: Who are its owners? Who are its customers? What are its priorities and obligations? Are its commercial operations a means to an end, or an end in themselves? Is its main aim to provide commercial mainstream entertainment, or non-commercial education and information? Is it a public service, or is it a commercial provider? Will it one day be privatized in part or whole? If so will this threaten me or benefit me? As an employee am I sharing in something, or being exploited? As a customer (if the description is apt) am I also an owner? Or am I funding somebody else's gravy train? What are the organization's obligations to the state and to government?

Given such uncertainties, not only is there a very unclear basic philosophy and purpose, but also, it's very difficult to achieve consistency for leadership messages to staff and customers. Also, how can staff and customers align their efforts and expectations with such confusing aims and principles?

The BBC is just an example. There are many organizations, large and small, with conflicting and confusing fundamental aims. The lesson is that philosophy - or underpinning purpose - is the foundation on which leadership (for strategy, management, motivation, everything) is built. If the foundation is not solid and viable, and is not totally congruent with what follows, then everything built onto it is prone to wobble, and at times can fall over completely.

Get the philosophy right - solid and in harmony with the activities - and the foundation is strong.

This of course gives rise to the question of what to do if you find yourself leading a team or organization which lacks clarity of fundamental philosophy and purpose, and here lies an inescapable difference between managing and leading:

As a leader your responsibility extends beyond leading the people. True leadership also includes - as far as your situation allows - the responsibility to protect or refine fundamental purpose and philosophy.

Communication Skills:

Communication Skills:

Communication Skills:
Communication is one of the most important aspects of building up relations......mis-communication can ruin everything.....as per the definition of communication ...it is the processes of getting through to people and making them understand what we think
...the exchange of understanding should be clear and simple....The more complicated the words become....the more opaque a conversation becomes.......
and in a professional approach it matters the most how effectively we get to connect and get across our ideas without stressing the other person before us.....

Types of communication skill:

Communication is generally classified into a couple of types. The classifications include: Verbal and non-verbal Technological and non-technological Mediated and non-mediated Participatory and non-participatory

However, the commonly known types of communications are :

1.Intra-personal communication skills : This implies individual reflection,

contemplation and meditation. One example of this is transcendental mediation. According to the experts this type of communication encompasses communicating with the divine and with spirits in the form of prayers and rites and rituals.

2.Interpersonal communication skills : This is direct, face-to-face communication that occurs between two persons. It is essentially a dialogue or a conversation between two or more people.

It is personal, direct, as well as intimate and permits maximum interaction through words and gestures. Interpersonal communications maybe:

3.Focused Interactions : This primarily results from an actual encounter between two persons. This implies that the two persons involved are completely aware of the communication happening between them.

4.Unfocused interactions : This occurs when one simply observes or listens to persons with whom one is not conversing. This usually occurs at stations and bus stops, as well as on the street, at restaurants, etc.

5.Non verbal communication skills : This includes aspects such as body language, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, etc., which also become a part of the communicating process; as well as the written and typed modes of communications.

6.Mass communication : This is generally identified with tools of modern mass media, which includes: books, the press, cinema, television, radio, etc. It is a means of conveying messages to an entire populace.

Here are the 7 top barriers:-

Many people think that communicating is easy.It is after all something we've done all our lives.There is some truth in this simplistic view.Communicating is straightforward.What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the barriers we put in the way......

1. Physical barriers

Physical barriers in the workplace include:

• marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed

• closed office doors, barrier screens, separate areas for people of different status

• large working areas or working in one unit that is physically separate from others.

Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is proximity. As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness to others aids communication because it helps us get to know one another.

2. Perceptual barriers

The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently. If we didn't, we would have no need to communicate: something like extrasensory perception would take its place.

The following anecdote is a reminder of how our thoughts, assumptions and perceptions shape our own realities:

A traveller was walking down a road when he met a man from the next town.

"Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town tonight. Can you tell me what the townspeople are like?"

"Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the people in the last town you visited?"

"Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took me for a fool. Over-charged me for what I got. Gave me very poor service."

"Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty much the same here."

3. Emotional barriers

One of the chief barriers to open and free communications is the emotional barrier. It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust and suspicion. The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were taught to be careful what we said to others.

"Mind your P's and Q's"; "Don't speak until you're spoken to"; "Children should be seen and not heard". As a result many people hold back from communicating their thoughts and feelings to others.

They feel vulnerable. While some caution may be wise in certain relationships, excessive fear of what others might think of us can stunt our development as effective communicators and our ability to form meaningful relationships.

4. Cultural barriers

When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we need to adopt the behaviour patterns of the group. These are the behaviours that the group accept as signs of belonging.

The group rewards such behaviour through acts of recognition, approval and inclusion. In groups which are happy to accept you, and where you are happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interest and a high level of win-win contact.

Where, however, there are barriers to your membership of a group, a high level of game-playing replaces good communication.

5. Language barriers

Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words and jargon. When we couch our communication in such language, it is a way of excluding others. In a global market place the greatest compliment we can pay another person is to talk in their language.

One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the threat by the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev saying to the Americans at the United Nations: "We will bury you!" This was taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation.

However, a more accurate reading of Khruschev's words would have been: "We will overtake you!" meaning economic superiority. It was not just the language, but the fear and suspicion that the West had of the Soviet Union that led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation.

6. Gender barriers

There are distinct differences between the speech patterns in a man and those in a woman. A woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks between 7,000 and 10,000. In childhood, girls speak earlier than boys and at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice that of boys.

The reason for this lies in the wiring of a man's and woman's brains. When a man talks, his speech is located in the left side of the brain but in no specific area. When a woman talks, the speech is located in both hemispheres and in two specific locations.

This means that a man talks in a linear, logical and compartmentalised way, features of left-brain thinking; whereas a woman talks more freely mixing logic and emotion, features of both sides of the brain. It also explains why women talk for much longer than men each day.

7 Interpersonal barriers

There are six levels at which people can distance themselves from one another:

1. Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both refusal to be in touch and time alone.

2. Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real contact.

3. Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial activities.

4. Working activities are those tasks which follow the rules and procedures of contact but no more.

5. Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about winning and losing. They include "rackets" and "stamps".

6. Closeness is the aim of interpersonal contact where there is a high level of honesty and acceptance of yourself and others.

Working on improving your communications is a broad-brush activity. You have to change your thoughts, your feelings, and your physical connections.

That way, you can break down the barriers that get in your way and start building relationships that really work.

How To Communicate:

Improve Your Relationships With Effective Communication Skills

1. Stay Focused: Sometimes it’s tempting to bring up past seemingly related conflic ts when dealing with current ones. Unfortunately, this often clouds the issue and makes

   

   finding mutual understanding and a solution to the current issue less likely, and makes the whole discussion more taxing and even confusing. Try not to bring up past hurts or other topics. Stay focused on the present, your feelings, understanding one another and finding a solution.
2. Listen Carefully: People often think they’re listening, but are really thinking about what they’re going to say next when the other person stops talking. Truly effective communication goes both ways. While it might be difficult, try really listening to what your partner is saying. Don’t interrupt. Don’t get defensive. Just hear them and reflect back what they’re saying so they know you’ve heard. Then you’ll understand them better and they’ll be more willing to listen to you.
3. Try To See Their Point of View: In a conflict, most of us primarily want to feel heard and understood. We talk a lot about our point of view to get the other person to see things our way. Ironically, if we all do this all the time, there’s little focus on the other person’s point of view, and nobody feels understood. Try to really see the other side, and then you can better explain yours. (If you don't 'get it', ask more questions until you do.) Others will more likely be willing to listen if they feel heard.
4. Respond to Criticism with Empathy: When someone comes at you with criticism, it’s easy to feel that they’re wrong, and get defensive. While criticism is hard to hear, and often exaggerated or colored by the other person’s emotions, it’s important to listen for the other person’s pain and respond with empathy for their feelings. Also, look for what’s true in what they’re saying; that can be valuable information for you.
5. Own What’s Yours: Realize that personal responsibility is a strength, not a weakness. Effective communication involves admitting when you’re wrong. If you both share some responsibility in a conflict (which is usually the case), look for and admit to what’s yours. It diffuses the situation, sets a good example, and shows maturity. It also often inspires the other person to respond in kind, leading you both closer to mutual understanding and a solution.
6. Use “I” Messages: Rather than saying things like, “You really messed up here,” begin statements with “I”, and make them about yourself and your feelings, like, “I feel frustrated when this happens.” It’s less accusatory, sparks less defensiveness, and helps the other person understand your point of view rather than feeling attacked.
7. Look for Compromise Instead of trying to ‘win’ the argument, look for solutions that meet everybody’s needs. Either through compromise, or a new solution that gives you both what you want most, this focus is much more effective than one person getting what they want at the other’s expense. Healthy communication involves finding a resolution that both sides can be happy with.
8. Take a Time-Out: Sometimes tempers get heated and it’s just too difficult to continue a discussion without it becoming an argument or a fight. If you feel yourself or your partner starting to get too angry to be constructive, or showing some destructive communication patterns, it’s okay to take a break from the discussion until you both cool off. Sometimes good communication means knowing when to take a break.
9. Don’t Give Up: While taking a break from the discussion is sometimes a good idea, always come back to it. If you both approach the situation with a constructive attitude, mutual respect, and a willingness to see the other’s point of view or at least find a solution, you can make progress toward the goal of a resolution to the conflict. Unless it’s time to give up on the relationship, don’t give up on communication.
10. Ask For Help If You Need It: If one or both of you has trouble staying respectful during conflict, or if you’ve tried resolving conflict with your partner on your own and the situation just doesn’t seem to be improving, you might benefit from a few sessions with a therapist. Couples counseling or family therapy can provide help with altercations and teach skills to resolve future conflict. If your partner doesn’t want to go, you can still often benefit from going alone.

Tips:

1. Remember that the goal of effective communication skills should be mutual understanding and finding a solution that pleases both parties, not ‘winning’ the argument or ‘being right’.
2. This doesn’t work in every situation, but sometimes (if you’re having a conflict in a romantic relationship) it helps to hold hands or stay physically connected as you talk. This can remind you that you still care about each other and generally support one another.
3. Keep in mind that it’s important to remain respectful of the other person, even if you don’t like their actions.
4. Here's a list of common unhealthy ways to handle conflict. Do you do some of these? If so, your poor communication skills could be causing additional stress in your life.

Today, effective communication skills has become a predominant factor even while recruiting employees. While interviewing candidates, most interviewers judge them on the basis of the way they communicate. They believe that skills can be improvised on the job; but ability to communicate well is important, as every employee becomes the representing face of the company.

There are trainers, who specialize in delivering custom-made programs on the subject. Through the session they not only facilitate better skills in the department of communications, but also look into the problems that come in the way of being able to convey messages effectively. They discuss these issues with the management and then sought to design programs accordingly


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CONFIDENCE BUILDING....

Confidence Building - What It Really Means......

We are going to let you in on a little secret - a secret that some people were seemingly born with while others only discovered in their latter years.

That secret reveals the true meaning behind confidence building and once you understand it, you just may begin to understand the behavior of those you encounter on a daily basis.

What is Confidence Building?

Understand that confidence building is nothing more than gaining the inner strength to do something - and then feeling comfortable about using that strength.

It's really just the act of making a decision, and then acting on that decision. Sounds pretty simple, but for some - perhaps even you - acting on a decision could be perceived as difficult or impossible as singing naked in front of our government's congress.

Believe me when I say there are some people who would do such a thing - and do it with no qualms whatsoever! But what is it about those people that allow them to do so?

Straight and simple, they have developed and used their confidence building skills.

The ability to feel confidence and act confidently in different situations is a skill that you can learn. It's also a skill that you can improve and eventually master with enough practice.

Confidence Building Practice

Let's say that you've worked at the same job for five years without a promotion even though you have the skills (and have proven it over and over) to move to a higher position.

In the past, you might have doubted yourself and refused to aggressively pursue a promotion because of a lack of confidence. You may have timidly mentioned something to your boss before, but quickly backed out when you noticed his initial reaction.

There are two powerful techniques you can use to develop and build your confidence for this and any other situation:

• Mind Sculpting - A powerful form of visualization used by top professional athletes that allows you to practice how to act with more confidence before you face a difficult situation.
• Anchoring - A technique that helps you establish a psychological link between an "anchor" (like a hand gesture) and a state of total confidence. You can use this anchor to feel more confident in any situation... in as little as five seconds.

7 Confidence building technique:

Confidence building techniques are a great way to help a person improve her self esteem, see her worth and project a more positive version of herself when out in public. Most people are not born with confidence. Instead, this is learned over time. The following are seven tips to help you improve your confidence.

1. One way to build your confidence is to celebrate when good things happen to you. If you receive a promotion, go out with friends, and if you earn a great grade on a paper, treat yourself to new clothing, a massage, or video game.
2. Next, you should remind yourself of your strengths. This way, even when you are feeling down, you can lift yourself back up by knowing that you are good at things and have worth in this world.
3. Practice things that make you nervous. If you know you have issues speaking in front of groups, read up on public speaking and consider taking a class on it.
4. Talk to friends when you are feeling insecure. The people in your life are there for a reason: they care about you. When worried about a test, a job interview, or life in general, call or email the people in your life.
5. Act on things rather than worrying about the future or dwelling on past mistakes. One of the best ways to speed past anxiety is to stay busy and to turn negatives into positives. Thus, if you feel embarrassed because you spilled water on your work computer, don't go straight home. Instead, make plans to go see your friends, go see a movie by yourself or head to the library to read.
6. Humor really is the best medicine for building confidence. The best way to build confidence is to learn to use humor to get through even the most awkward of situations. If you can get people to laugh with you rather than at you, it is bound to do wonders for your self esteem.
7. Lastly, it pays to plan ahead, If you know what to expect from a situation, it can make you feel more confident. Thus, if you are heading into an interview, read up on the company's history, mission statement and staff. Doing this will make you feel prepared, and this in turn will build your confidence.
   

wait for the coming posts about soft-skill building techniques....

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