Getting a good job is easy: Get Noticed

The 7 Secrets To An Eye-Catching, Gig-Nabbing Cover Letter

Hiring managers are trying to find a needle in an application haystack. Here are the sharpest ways to make your point.

“It is not uncommon for me to get 100 applications for one spot, so I’m constantly looking for reasons not to advance a candidate to the interview round,” writes Slate editor Katherine Goldstein. “Writing a good cover letter is your best shot at getting noticed. If I hate a cover letter, I won’t even look at the résumé.”

That noticeability, Goldstein says, depends on demonstrating that you know the organization and that you are the perfect fit and then distilling that detailed argument into a cordial few words.

It goes like this:

1. GET TO THE POINT

“People typically write themselves into the letter with ‘I’m applying for X job that I saw in Y place.’” Knockout CV author John Lees tells the Harvard Business Review. “That’s a waste of text.”

I’m constantly looking for reasons not to advance a candidate to the interview round.
The better move is to let the cat out of the bag. In the first sentence, state why you’re excited about the job and why you’re the right fit. As HBR argues, you want to open with detail. Here’s an example:

I’m an environmental fundraising professional with more than 15 years of experience and I’d love to bring my expertise and enthusiasm to your growing development team.

A much stronger open than saying you saw the listing on LinkedIn.

2. GET THEIR ATTENTION

Let’s try to gain some empathy for the pain of the hiring manager: they’re getting slammed with stacks of applications every time they post a listing. Goldstein, the Slate editor, says she’s read “something like 500” applications for entry-level media gigs. That’s why a generic opening is so ineffective—it’s just like everybody else’s.

3. IF THERE’S A PERSONAL CONNECTION, SHOW IT IN THE FIRST FEW SENTENCES

Friends hire their friends. As the New York Times reports:

Riju Parakh wasn’t even looking for a new job … But when a friend at Ernst & Young recommended her, Ms. Parakh’s résumé was quickly separated from the thousands the firm receives every week because she was referred by a current employee, and within three weeks she was hired. “You know how long this usually takes,” she said. “It was miraculous.”
Internal referrals account for 45% of Ernst & Young’s hires. That sends a strong signal: expand the shape of your network to engineer your own nepotism. Then, when you write the cover letter, highlight those connections.

If I hate a cover letter, I won’t even look at the résumé.

4. KNOW WHO YOU’RE WRITING TO

Speaking of personal connections, let’s do away with “To Whom It May Concern”; between LinkedIn, Twitter, and the company’s site, the actual name of the person doing the hiring should be discoverable.

5. KNOW THEIR PROBLEMS

“Do some research beyond reading the job description,” says Lees, the author of Knockout CV. To do that, figure out the challenges the company (and their industry) is facing and where they see their growth sectors. This can be done by reading the news, yes, but as Extreme Productivity scribe Bob Pozen tells us, the best way to know what people’s working lives are like is to talk to them.

Getting someone’s ear is easier than you think (journalists do it for a living). You could ask for an informational interview at the outset, or failing that, try and grab coffee (and remember to take notes).

6. KNOW THEIR TONE

A startup might love your goofy-casual cadence; the aforementioned Ernst & Young may not.

7. KNOW YOUR VALUE

After doing all this research—combing through their website, reading every scrap of news, and talking to a few people in the company and industry—you should have a solid sense of what skills the company is searching for.

“Show that you know what the company does and some of the challenges it faces,” Amy Gallo writes at HBR. “Then talk about how your experience has equipped you to meet those needs; perhaps explain how you solved a similar problem in the past or share a relevant accomplishment.”

Telling the story of how you saw a problem, how you solved it, and how you can do the same for them is a reliable strategy. In fact, it’s the only thing that Google has found is consistent among successful hires.

Awesome:-)

Firms throwing their doors open to boomerang employees
Sangeeta Tanwar

Facing a talent crunch and high workforce churn, the human resources division in corporates are waking up to the reality of a new type of candidate circling the hiring pool: the boomerang employee – someone who left an organisation, and now wants to return.

In a recent survey covering more than 1,800 human resource (HR) professionals, managers and employees fielded in the US by Kronos Inc and Workplace Trends, 76 per cent HR professionals said they are more accepting of hiring former employees than they were five years ago. Managers agreed, as nearly two-thirds said they were more accepting of hiring back former colleagues. Moreover, employees also reported feeling less anxious about returning to a company, with 40 per cent of those surveyed saying they would consider boomeranging.

Though conducted in the US, the findings of the survey reflect a general change in the corporate mindset about boomerang employees. Back home, in India too, organisations are warming up to hiring back employees who quit for some reason earlier. Organisations such as MakeMyTrip, SapientNitro, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises and Ford Motor Company – Global Business Services are among those who are actively wooing ex-employees. Pointing out the reasons why many people want to join back the company they left, Gangapriya Chakraverti, director, human resources, Ford Motor Company, Global Business Services, says, “The comfort of going back to a known set up is a key driver for a growing number of employees looking to get back. The lack of appropriate due diligence before taking up a new job offer often leads to dissatisfaction. At a time like that, the sheer thought of going back to old colleagues and a familiar ecosystem certainly provides a lot of comfort to employees.”

On their part, many organisations are actively looking out for former talented employees with more experience and additional skills to join back and accelerate organisational growth. For Prashant Bhatnagar, vice-president (VP), hiring and staffing, SapientNitro, India, industries that experience greater movement of talent or face a dearth of experience are the ones that have the highest percentage of boomerang employees.

“If the employee who has left has a good record of performance and if he or she has left the organisation on a pleasant note, there is no reason why we wouldn’t welcome an employee back,” says, Vijay Deshpande, VP and head HR, JK Tyre & Industries India and Mexico Business.

The stigma attached to people who left a company or are looking out for greener pastures is beginning to fade. So what are the reasons why organisations are looking out for erstwhile employees so aggressively? More importantly, what are the pitfalls an organisation should look out for when considering ex-employees for a particular job?

The retention issue

Time and again, a number of surveys have identified employee retention as the top concern for human resources departments. However, in a volatile job market, organisations cannot help avoid losing employees to competition. Across industries and organisations, hiring a new employee involves cost and time. A new hire needs to be familarised with the organisational culture and has to be trained and supervised. In the case of boomerang employees, organisations stand to gain significant savings in terms of cost, time and effort put into familarising the individual with the work culture. Such employees are job ready and in a stronger position to deliver the results from the word go.

According to Jacob , chief people officer, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, it might not be possible to put an exact value to the benefit involved in hiring a boomerang employee, but some of the advantages are savings in hiring costs (since most of them directly approach the HR or the concerned manager when they wish to join back); savings on on-boarding and induction costs, instant cultural fitment; quick familiarisation with the system and processes; fruitful and quicker rapport with colleagues, the team, internal stakeholders and the leadership; and a shorter learning curve. According to some estimates, organisations that hire boomerang employees can save upto 60 per cent on their overall hiring costs.

While, there are a number of advantages in keeping the doors open for former employees, boomerang employees entering an old workplace also throw up multiple challenges for an organisation. One of the key challenges relates to meeting the boomerang employees’ remuneration expectation. Former employees, having gained new skills and more experience while they were away from their organisations, in general, expect to draw higher compensation and have a bigger title/role when they reach out to their former employers. Such expectations have the potential of creating a pay disparity among existing employees or with their former team mates who had preferred to stay back with the company while their colleague went out looking for greener pastures.

So what sort of checks and balances should an organisation put in place so that loyal employees do not feel disenchanted? Apollo’s Jacob says, “To ensure that a culture of rebounding for a higher pay does not set in, an evaluation is done for boomerang employees based on the tenure of separation, estimated salary if he or she had stayed with the organisation, internal parity on similar roles and with peers. Also, the new role offered has to correspond to the tenure of separation without major deviation but at the same time should be with reference to his or her position in the current organisation.” He points out that such exercises are done on a case-to-case basis and depend on many other factors. Net-net, the focus is on ensuring that a boomerang employee does not disrupt the parity in the system. For example, at JK Tyre & Industries, the compensation offered to boomerang employees is in line with their last compensation plus the increment he or she would have earned if he/she had stayed back. Efforts are made to ensure the boat is not rocked.

With all the advantages that the boomerang employees offer, for organisations to hire back the best talent, it is important to have a clearly defined rehiring policy. For one, MakeMyTrip has been quick to recognise the advantages offered by boomerang employees and the organisation has a policy called ‘Ghar Wapsi’ which is solely aimed at encouraging former employees to return. Emphasising the importance of having a well-defined policy for boomerang employees, Yuvaraj Srivastava, chief of HR, says, “The concept of boomerang employees is not new to India Inc. With organisations putting strong processes around it, the phenomenon has become a reality for a larger number of organisations. For an idea or concept to succeed, strong support processes are indispensable.”

Chakraverti of Ford asserts that ensuring parity in terms of hiring grade and salary are some of the concerns that one needs to look out for while taking back former employees. For instance, JK Tyre & Industries does regular industry benchmarking to ensure that all employees are valued based on their experience and expertise. Deshpande of JK Tyre & Industries and Srivastava of MakeMyTrip assert that one needs to be careful in managing expectations in case of boomerang employees. For example, if the employee left a long time ago, there is a risk that the organisation might have changed from what it was during her earlier stint. In such situations, there could be dissonance in expectations in terms of culture and processes making it challenging to meet the requirements of such employees.

In fact, it is to address this challenge that organisations such as SapientNitro, while hiring former employees, are ensuring they have a clear view of how and in what ways the organisational structure and culture has changed in his or her absence. The company focuses on educating them about the changes to help them align their expectations with the present day reality.

Why boomerang employees are a blessing

People leave organisations for various reasons. Sometimes they are driven by finances, at other times it’s the job profile or it can be both. However, the one common factor that drives all of them out of an organisation is the idea of ‘something better out there’. The reasons to dislike a new workplace could range from the people to the systems and processes of the company.

In our opinion, boomerang employees should be welcomed back. The compelling factor for these individuals is that they miss their old job. This is why it is important to induce them back into your organisation. Look at the advantages: These people know your company, they know their work and they know your culture. There are no additional costs involved in ensuring that these employees deliver. Moreover, you save yourself the hassle of training them from scratch. I’m not saying that you don’t need to invest in these people. Remember that they left your organisation for a reason and you should try to address the issues that drove them out. However, in comparison to a new hire, getting a boomerang employee on-board can make your life a lot easier.

Typically a new hire takes about 45-60 days to settle down and understand the organisation’s networks and culture. A boomerang employee would save the company this additional time. If you save two months of a new employee’s ‘settling-in period’, that works out to 16.6 per cent savings for the company.

Organisations must adopt a systematic approach to ensure that they maintain a culture where boomerang employees are a positive factor. The manner in which the leadership team of an organisation treats these individuals also sends out a message to the rest of their workforce. When people return, the existing employees also realise that there is “something worth returning to” in your organisation.

The writing is on the wall. If you are an employer who isn’t working actively to leverage the benefits of employees who return to your organisation, then you really must act on it immediately.

Debabrat Mishra
Director, Hay Group India

@punitdd

@punitdd

@mr.lonely

@Gurnani

@jit.bila947

@Gr@h@m@lkene™

@Green Arrow

Learning English is a great way to give you a better option in the job market. Multi-lingual applicants do much better in business and other international careers than monolinguals (people who speak only one language).

You can pick up even more job skills during your lessons, inside and outside of the classroom. We came across this Forbes list of the 10 most critical job skills to get yourself into a great job, and noticed how many of them were found in people learning languages!

1. Critical Thinking: Use reasoning and logic to help you solve complex problems.

Studying a new language in the classroom will help you grow critical thinking skills by solving language problems, including how to make yourself understood. You’ll also use your logic when working on group projects and making connections between different words, phrases and contexts.

2. Complex Problem Solving: Identifying problems and finding the appropriate information to resolve them.

Speaking a new language is always a challenge! There are not many greater problems than making yourself understood in a language that isn’t your own. Learning a language and using it regularly will help boost your brain power and help you to make more connections. Psychology Today was just one source revealing that bilingual people are better problem-solvers.

3. Judgement and Decision-Making: Decide between a series of options and choose the best.

In a classroom, you’ll have many opportunities to use your judgement when working on assignments. However, you will also use your decision-making outside, when you live in an English-speaking location. Learn when to use certain types of language and the best way to communicate what you need.

4. Active Listening: Giving others full attention and taking the time to understand them.

Active listening is one of the most essential skills when learning another language. Without your full attention, learning a language is an even more difficult process. When you live in a country to learn a different language, every experience you have requires active listening – from going to the bank to ordering a coffee! Those skills are great in the workplace, and help you stand out among other applicants.

5. Monitoring: Assessing your own performance and the performance of others.

Learning with others in an active, group setting will give you the chance to monitor your own work and discover your own strengths and weaknesses. You will also find yourself helping those around you who need a bit of a boost! Plus, if you’re studying in a blended learning classroom, you’ll have the chance to see and judge your own progress at home with online activities and extracurricular studying.

Source: Kaplan International

@asoka

A LETTER FROM A GIRL TO JRD TATA IN 1974 (Worth a read)
This is the stuff legends are made of….

THE GIRL WRITING AS HERSELF….

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and
gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my
postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies’ hostel. Other
girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science. I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US… I had not thought of taking up a job in India.

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex,
I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors)… It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.

At the bottom was a small line: ‘Lady Candidates need not apply.’ I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.

Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers… Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence
is not enough to be successful?

After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco’s management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco

I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company’s chairman then) I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote. ‘The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They
are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives they have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender.’

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco’s Pune facility at the company’s expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap!
I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari when I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.

It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city.

To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways.
As directed, I went to Telco’s Pimpri office for the interview.

There were six people on the panel and I realized then that this was serious business.

‘This is the girl who wrote to JRD,’ I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realization abolished all fear from my mind, so I was
rather cool while the interview was being conducted.

Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so
I told them, rather impolitely, ‘I hope this is only a technical interview.’

They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.

Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, ’Do you
know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we
have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed
college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories.

I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place.

I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, ‘But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories.’

Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka
there, we became good friends and we got married.

It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the
uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw ‘appro JRD’. Appro means ‘our’ in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him. I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, ‘Jeh (that’s what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.

She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor.’ JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview
(or the postcard that preceded it).

Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he remarked. ‘It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?’

‘When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir,’ I replied. ‘Now I am Sudha Murthy.’ He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.

After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.

One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard.
Looking back, I realize JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.

‘Young lady, why are you here?’ he asked. ‘Office time is over.’ I said, ‘Sir, I’m waiting for my husband to come and pick me up.’ JRD said, ‘It is getting dark and there’s no one in the corridor.

I’ll wait with you till your husband comes.’

I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable.

I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing.
There wasn’t any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, ‘Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee.’

Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, ‘Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again.’
In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after
wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.

Gently, he said, ‘So what are you doing, Mrs. Kulkarni?’ (That was the way he always addressed me.) ‘Sir, I am leaving Telco.’

‘Where are you going?’ he asked. ‘Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I’m shifting to Pune.’

‘Oh! And what will you do when you are successful.’

‘Sir, I don’t know whether we will be successful.’ ‘Never start with
diffidence,’ he advised me ’Always start with confidence. When you are
successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. Wish you all the best.’

Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium.

Awesome.
Chumeshwari.
Infosys founded in 1981.

Worth reading!
By P Narayana Murthy.

My wife called, ‘How long will you be with that newspaper? Won’t you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?’

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened; tears were welling up in her eyes.

In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with curd rice. Sindu is a nice child, quiet and intelligent for her age.

I picked up the bowl. ‘Sindu, darling, why don’t you take a few mouthful of this curd rice? Just for Dad’s sake, dear’.

Sindu softened a bit and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. ‘Ok, Dad. I will eat – not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should…’ Sindu hesitated. ‘Dad, if I eat this entire curd rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?’

‘Promise’. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.

Now I became a bit anxious. ‘Sindu, dear, you shouldn’t insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. Ok?’

‘No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive.’

Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her.

‘Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!’ was her demand.

‘Atrocious!’ shouted my wife, ‘A girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!’

‘Never in our family!’ My mother rasped. ‘She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!’

‘Sindu, darling, why don’t you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.’

‘Please, Sindu, why don’t you try to understand our feelings?’ I tried to plead with her.

‘Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that curd rice’. Sindu was in tears. ‘And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words.
“Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?’

It was time for me to call the shots. ‘Our promise must be kept.’

‘Are you out of your mind?’ chorused my mother and wife.

‘No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.’

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile.

Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, ‘Sinduja, please wait for me!’ What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. ‘Maybe, that is the in-stuff’, I thought.

A lady got out of car and came to me. She said ‘Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed! That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son, Harish. He is suffering from… leukemia’. She paused to muffle her sobs.

’Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates.
Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.

“But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.’

I stood transfixed with tears ‘My little angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!’

The happiest people on this planet are not those who live on their own terms but are those who change their terms for others!

source whatsapp
@B@R_0_0_D

Great effort @B"@B@R_0_0_D":https://www.desidime.com/user...86 bro . DP changed !

@litan wrote:

Great effort @B"@B@R_0_0_D":http://www.desidime.com/user...86 bro . DP changed !

Yes, off late .

@litan wrote:

Great effort @B"@B@R_0_0_D":http://www.desidime.com/user...86 bro . DP changed !

@Gr@h@m@lkene™ @Green Arrow @srocks @hese @sheetalvarunyadav2223 @sinha.vipul
@Achilles @krishan42933 @asoka

@B@R_0_0_D wrote:

U r Late …i jus messed up a offcial talk with the non fillers … keep posting..

Babajee got job in DD by getting noticed….. he is official jester at DD

मैंने महसूस किया है
उस जलते हुए रावण का दुःख
जो सामने खड़ी भीड़ से बारबार पूछ रहा था….. . “
तुम में से कोई राम है क्या..??

Happy Dussehra

आदमी ही आदमी को छल रहा है,
ये क्रम आज से नही, बरसों से चल रहा है
रोज चौराहे पर होता है ” सीताहरण ”
जबकि मुद्दतों से ‘रावण’ जल रहा है…

@B@R_0_0_D

i wiss you happy dussehra

@Secretagent

@goss8877

@goss8877

Question
There are three frogs on a leaf. If one of them decided to jump off the leaf into the water, How many frogs are left on the leaf ?

Answer
THREE
Why ?
-
-
-
-—
-—-
-——-
-———-

Because the frog only DECIDED to jump ! It didn’t !

Ponder over this, my friends…….
Are we not like the frog ; who decides to do this, decides to do that, but ended up doing any ?

In life, we have to make my decisions. Some easy, some hard. Most mistakes are not made by wrong decisions. Most mistakes are made due to indecision. We have to live with the consequences of our decisions. And that is RISK.

@Tejaa

What Applicants Say In Interviews That Get Them Hired

The most irresistible job applicants marry their emotional intelligence with competency based answers in their job interviews to impress on all levels. These applicants understand an interview isn’t an interrogation but an interactive platform for interviewer and interviewee to arrive at the same station – and feel good about it.

While there are a range of processes to understand about behavioural interviews, I will focus here on three pointers compelling candidates understand about their job interview and what they say that highlights their emotional intelligence.

Successful applicants are incredibly passionate about the job at hand – and prove it.

You are a high quality candidate with a history of excellence in your chosen field, or as a newbie you showcase your potential and willingness to be great at your job. Passion, enthusiasm, zeal, cannot-wait-to-get-the-offer-and-get-started, or any way you want to put it – is undeniably magnetic.

Show off your fervour in a way that translates to “I will be on top of my game in this role”. Anyone can say “I would love this opportunity.” In fact, a user of this phrase probably uses it in every interview they’re asked to, and interviewers remain untouched by this cliche. Why not suggest your enthusiasm by the questions you fire back with?

A sample of questions that impress upon your passion:

“What would you expect me to have achieved in my first 3 months on the job?”
“Can you tell me about the upcoming projects / campaigns in your company?”
Irresistible applicants come across as someone others would love to work with.

In focusing on facts and figures, don’t forget the ‘likeability’ factor. Sometimes the person most qualified for the job misses out because the interviewer didn’t warm to them and didn’t feel the team would, either. The most skilled candidates practice empathy with their interviewer, understanding they are only human with their own social needs to fit in, to be understood and respected, and use this bias to their advantage.

Ways to be charming in an interview:

Make the interviewer feel comfortable by being warm and even humorous if the occasion calls for it.

Think of the interviewer as someone you know, talk to them as if you genuinely like and respect them. They will feel this warmth and be confident that the team will to.
Speak about your greatest achievements, in a modest tone. Let your achievements speak for themselves.
Be interactive and ask questions of your own. People often say they don’t get the chance; but when you are answering a question, the floor is all yours to fire away with your own.
Don’t be combative, boastful, cold or disengaged – the most superhumanly intellectual of candidates can lose the opportunity just by being unlikeable.
The best candidates aren’t reserved about complimenting the company at hand

Stipulate your admiration for the companies initiatives, campaigns, projects, presentation, vibe, vision – anything you genuinely like about the company. Compliment the company.

When answering questions, feel welcome to talk about past relevant experiences and then inject what you like about the company’s matching initiatives.

For example:

“I volunteer with an NGO that helps rescue victims of human trafficking, and was actively involved in my previous company’s campaign to stop child trafficking. I’m so excited that you have projects now in Europe involved in this – it’s such an important global initiative that attracted me to applying for this position. I’d love the opportunity to be on board with what you’re doing there.”

Just by using some emotional intelligence to target your answers and build rapport on a range of levels, you are able to get greater insight into the position and company and find out if it’s right for you, as well as being able to sit in a very comfortable position.

Of course, there are exceptions in some cultural climates, but in general this is how the best of candidates do it!

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About The Author

Naomi Seselja is the founder of Mode Recruitment & Career Services. An expert resume writer and interview coach, her clients include: CEO’s, Biologists, Executives, Financiers, people in the beauty industry and everything in between all across the globe.

NASA to hire new astronauts for Mars mission
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@Plato

Interview Tips

I’ve interviewed thousands of people for jobs ranging from entry-level to executive. Easily three-fourths of the candidates made basic interviewing mistakes.

Did I still hire some of them? Absolutely… but never count on your qualifications and experience to outweigh a bad interview.

Here are eight practical ways to shine:
Be likable. Obvious? And critical. Making a great first impression and establishing a real connection is everything. Smile, make eye contact, be enthusiastic, sit forward in your chair, use the interviewer’s name…. Be yourself, but be the best version of yourself you possibly can. We all want to work with people we like and who like us. Use that basic fact to your advantage. Few candidates do.

Never start the interview by saying you want the job. Why? Because you don’t know yet. False commitment is, well, false. Instead…
Ask questions about what really matters to you. (Here are five questions great job candidates ask.) Focus on making sure the job is a good fit: Who you will work with, who you will report in to, the scope of responsibilities, etc. Interviews should always be two-way, and interviewers respond positively to people as eager as they are to find the right fit. Plus there’s really no other way to know you want the job. And don’t be afraid to ask several questions. As long as you don’t take completely take over, the interviewer will enjoy and remember a nice change of pace.
Set a hook. A sad truth of interviewing is that later we often don’t remember a tremendous amount about you — especially if we’ve interviewed a number of candidates for the same position. Later we might refer to you as, “The guy with the alligator briefcase,” or, “The lady who did a Tough Mudder,” or, “The guy who grew up in Panama.” Sometimes you may be identified by hooks, so use that to your advantage. Your hook could be clothing (within reason), or an outside interest, or an unusual fact about your upbringing or career. Hooks make you memorable and create an anchor for interviewers to remember you by — and being memorable is everything.

Know what you can offer immediately.

Researching the company is a given; go a step farther and find a way you can hit the ground running or contribute to a critical area. If you have a specific technical skill, show how it can be leveraged immediately. But don’t say, for example, “I would love to be in charge of revamping your social media marketing.” One, that’s fairly presumptuous, and two, someone may already be in charge. Instead, share details regarding your skills and say you would love to work with that team. If there is no team, great — you may be put in charge. If there is a team you haven’t stepped on any toes or come across as pushy. Just think about what makes you special and show the benefits to the company. The interviewer will be smart enough to recognize how the project you bring can be used.

Don’t create negative sound bites. Interviewers will only remember a few sound bites, especially negative ones. If you’ve never been in charge of training, don’t say, “I’ve never been in charge of training.” Say, “I did not fill that specific role, but I have trained dozens of new hires and created several training guides.” Basically, never say, “I can’t,” or “I haven’t,” or “I don’t.” Share applicable experience and find the positives in what you have done. No matter what the subject, be positive: Even your worst mistake can be your best learning experience.

Ask for the job based on facts. By the end of the interview you should have a good sense of whether you want the job. If you need more information, say so. Otherwise use your sales skills and ask for the job. (Don’t worry; we like when you ask.) Focus on specific aspects of the job: Explain you work best with teams, or thrive in unsupervised roles, or get energized by frequent travel…. Ask for the job and use facts to prove you want it — and deserve it.

Reinforce a connection with your follow-up. Email follow-ups are fine; handwritten notes are better; following up based on something you learned during the interview is best: An email including additional information you were asked to provide, or a link to a subject you discussed (whether business or personal.) The better the interview — and more closely you listened — the easier it will be to think of ways you can make following up seem natural and unforced. And make sure you say thanks — never underestimate the power of gratitude.
Source: Inc

@punitdd
@ricky bahl
@Smarty @prinkle @Plato

’Ability to relax is the key to productivity’
Sangeetha Chengappa

David Allen, Founder, GTD
For a man who professes to be lazy with no aspirations, David Allen, who is hailed the world over as a productivity guru, has come a long way. Allen’s self-help book ‘Getting Things Done’ (GTD) which shows the path toward stress-free productivity has sold over 2 million copies in 30 languages since it was first published 15 years ago.

“Productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. When you feel overwhelmed by all that noise inside your head, you have to get it out and create some space inside. Only when our minds are clear, can we be more creative, more strategic, more loving, more present” Allen who is visiting India for the first time, told BusinessLine.

GTD has over the last three decades evolved into a set of processes that has been adopted by one million people and over 1,000 corporations including 40 per cent of Fortune 100 companies.

In a digital world when people are bombarded with information and are overwhelmed with options GTD offers a five-step solution — capture, clarify, organise, reflect and engage. Explaining the steps, Allen said “collect everything holding your attention and put them in a trusted place. Clarify each of the items collected by asking ‘what is the next action?’ and ‘what would be the successful outcome?’

“Organise the information and reminders in places that you will see where and when you will actually need to see them. Regularly reflect upon and review the contents of your system. Finally, make trusted choices based on your immediate and long-term commitments as well as the available resources.”

Bengaluru-based Calm Achiever has been appointed the Master Franchisee for GTD training in India. Co-founded by Mohammed Arif Vakil and Mohammed Ali Vakil who are certified GTD trainers since 2008, Calm Achiever has already conducted 8 workshops for corporates and individuals. Corporates are charged $10,000-15,000 for one/two-day workshops for batches of 30 executives, and individuals are charged ₹10,000-15,000.

All in one

“GTD has helped musicians get more musical ideas, executives come up with more strategic ideas and even impacted people who can now watch their kids play football without being on their smartphones. While GTD first addressed the needs of mid-senior corporate executives, today all ages from seven-year-old children to the CEO of a corporation are benefiting from it,” said Allen.

[ ::: ♥Changing jobs? Consider this♥ ::: ]

Leasa Mayer
On a recent trip to Washington, DC I chatted with a woman who had recently changed jobs and cities, moving from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. The facility she’s working for and the team she’s working with are both top notch, yet she hesitated when I asked her how she liked the change. It turns out that her hesitation stemmed from the unanticipated higher cost of living in DC. Even though her salary was more than in Philly, she is finding it hard to make ends meet in DC.
At the other end of the spectrum is the female executive in the gaming industry living in Las Vegas. Before she made the commitment to join a new organization, she negotiated a full-time personal assistant into her contract. A personal assistant who deals with dry cleaning, grocery shopping, wrapping birthday and holiday gifts and other time-consuming errands so she is able to bring some life balance into her very busy life.

As you consider making a change, here a three suggestions that may help that dream job stay dreamy:

#1: Do your research. Find out what the differences are between your current job and the one you’re offered. A few non-obvious items to consider:

commute times
cost of living (average electric and heating bills, housing, dining and entertainment, parking, etc.)
access to services you value (good grocery store, gym, good running paths, doctors, etc.)
#2: Spend some time intentionally reflecting on what you love in your current job, and what you’re seeking in your new job. Be very clear with yourself. If you enjoy most of what you have in your current job, perhaps a candid conversation with your manager about what you’re missing would be productive.

#3: What’s the new team like? You’ve likely met your new manager, but have you met the rest of the people you’ll be working with? They are the people you’ll be spending more time with than anyone else in your life. Shouldn’t you at least meet them before you take the plunge?

As you’re considering changing jobs, be sure to consider the whole package and not just the shiny ribbon!