Career

Showing posts with label article free article. Show all posts
Showing posts with label article free article. Show all posts

Thursday, December 2, 2010

I'm sorry, but job interviews can be a real bore. If you get an interview with a company and have four people to meet, the odds are that two of those interviews will be boring. What do I mean by boring? Well, there are a lot of people asked to interview who don't do it very often and don't really know what to ask. There are also those that are so scripted that the candidate is forced to fall back on answers that are also scripted. If the interviewer was nervous or unsure going into the meeting and remained that way through until the end, you will be blamed for it.
Boring interviews end up in a cycle of generic interaction that leads the interviewer to neither like you or dislike you. In the post-interview meeting that most companies have, you will likely not stand out. Instead, as you are peeling off your business suit or scraping off your fancy interview shoes, you are being described as "OK", "good gal/guy" or "capable". Not very inspiring for the hiring manager and not much cover if he/she wants to make you an offer.
Whether your fault or not, you have not broken through to this interviewer. Because the interview was uneventful, even if the fault of the interviewer, you are going to pay the price.
So how can you turn a boring interview into a memorable one?
Turn the discussion around to focus on the interviewer.
In some cases, this will be a relief. They were not comfortable asking questions anyway. In other cases, they will love the idea of sharing a success or describing a key project that they led.
Yes, you have to take over. But you have to be careful. Each interviewer is different and may require a different style of takeover. Sometimes one question from you can change the entire structure of the interview, make it more personal and provide the opening for you to become more than just one of five candidates being seen that day.
How about some ideas, you say?
1. Ask the first question and keep asking.
Here's an easy one: How long have you been with (COMPANY)? Kicks off the interview as conversational and sets the tone a bit. If you sense that the interviewer likes talking, ask additional questions to better understand his/her role in the company and what influence they may have on the position in question. Once you've established a more conversational format, you can introduce key points about yourself with more precision.
2. Ask a personal question that focuses attention on the interviewer in a positive way.
"What have been your best moments here at (COMPANY)?" This allows them to share something with you and allows you to follow-up in a number of different ways. If the response is that the interviewer was critical in the installation of a new piece of plant equipment, ask him to show it to you. Oh, how an interview changes when you can get up, walk around and get conversational. You are now building a relationship and having an impact. And, by the way, everyone else you are interviewing with sees you on your walk - you look to be getting special treatment, right?
3. Ask questions to introduce your key and unique skills.
Ask a question like: Do you have a system to consistently guarantee new products will launch on time? After they answer, you are free to describe your skills here and cement yourself as someone who can make a quick and substantial positive impact. Be careful not to ask questions that could potentially embarrass an interviewer or force them to look less than strategic.
Now I hear some of you saying: "Hey, I'm thankful for every interview I can get. I need interviews, boring or not to get myself back in business!". I hear you. In times when interviews are hard to come by, your ability to make a really positive and obvious impact is crucial. You want the interview team to come in to the candidate review meeting with words like "wow", "I could see him starting here tomorrow", "that's the one we need". And those reactions won't come from a team of four when two of the four are asking standard questions and getting acceptable, standard answers. Don't wait until the end to ask your questions. You may run out of time and, for sure, you will not stand out. > employee  


Competency-Based Interviews: 5 Steps to Success!

Competency-based interviews are intended to get the best from you, the candidate, whilst also fulfilling the needs of the organization to get the very best person for the job. There are some easy steps to make the most of yourself and have a much better chance of success.
Prepare well, but keep it sensible
As long as you know the job you are going for, ask for details of what you will be measured against. Ask for a set of competencies. Ask for a job description. This sets you up to succeed, not just because you are better informed, but also because you have asked - which will impress the decision-makers, before you even get there! 
  1. Get Creative Here is the time to use your own experiences to create 'stories' which you can use in the actual interview. These 'stories' are real scenarios that you have been a part of, which over a period of days and weeks beforehand, you write up. Maybe you will have 20+ initial ideas.
  2. Leverage! Take the very best scenarios and write them out, bullet points first. Then flesh them out, whilst referring carefully to the competencies you've been given. It is amazing how you can 'tune-in' your scenario to include many, if not all of the competencies. And if you can't fit them all in, there will be a use for them - later!
  3. Practice By reading through your scenarios (and by now you should not have more than six or seven) you will familiarise yourself with the contents, so well, that they will become second nature - even in the scary experience of an interview.
  4. In the Interview There are some tactics in here too!
    • Using your scenarios make just three key points about what you've been asked. Make them relevant and the right 'weight'. Not too long or too short.
    • After that, leave space for them to ask more - that's what they are listening for.
    • Say 'I' a lot - they want to know what your personal involvement and experience was, not 'the team' or 'they'.
    • Have fun - whilst not contrived, smile and make some simple jokes, if you feel comfortable with that - they want to employ happy as well as capable people.
    • Can't answer? That's fine. Make sure that you reflect on your shortcomings by saying things like, 'It's one of the first things I want to develop in my next job - if you did your stuff on your scenarios and your competencies well enough, you will have covered 90% of the bases well and you'll be forgiven for not being 'perfect'. If you are really stumped - say so!
    • Ask questions - relevant, about their culture, focus on developing you, opportunities - the positive 'peopley' things (remember it's your chance to see if you want to work with them!).
    • Also ask about current issues they may be facing - you did do your homework on them, didn't you?
    > employee
  5. Strong Ending!Keep the whole thing light, even as you leave at the end. Have a conversation in general terms - about anything! Do make sure that you ask them some things that are about them - they will love it if you ask them some open (what, how, when, where, who) general questions about your new job! About something nice in the building or their clothes - take as it comes and do what feels comfortable!
    > vacancy

Friday, July 23, 2010

Diagnosing Performance Problems

One of the toughest tasks for any manager or supervisor is to determine the cause of a performance problem. Since decisions to remediate the problem will depend on the diagnosis, accurate assessment is crucial. In this article we will outline a model of factors influencing employee performance, so that you are less likely to ignore a possible source of performance deficit. In future issues of the Public Sector Manager, we will return to this topic in more detail.

The Nature of Performance

Work performance is influenced by a number of factors. When performance is excellent, it is a result of a number of circumstances that work together to make this excellence possible. So, stellar performance requires that ALL relevant influences on behaviour are in place.

Sadly, poor performance can result from a SINGLE factor or influence that drastically reduces effectiveness. Frequently, a performance problem that is allowed to continue unchecked will expand as other influences turn from positive to negative.

A Seven Factor Model

We can suggest seven factors that influence or determine the level of performance. These factors are multiplicative in nature. For those of you whose favorite subject in schools was NOT math, this means that performance will be as strong as the weakest link in the chain of performance determinants. If there is a deficit in any one of these factors, performance will suffer.

Factor 1: Aptitude

Aptitude refers to a person's native ability to perform the task or tasks. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses that determine if we can learn or perform a task. Poor aptitude for a task could mean that the person could never learn how to do it, even with all the supports in the world. Assessing aptitude is very difficult.

Factor 2: Skill Level

Even the simplest responsibilities require skills. Skills differ from aptitudes in that they can be learned, up to the limits imposed by aptitude. To assess whether a performance deficit is a result of lack of skill, ask the questions, "If his/her life depended on it, could the person do the task?" If the answer is no, then it could be a skill problem.

Factor 3: Understanding of Task

A person must understand the nature of the task, and what is expected. If this clear communication is lacking, no amount of skill or motivation will bring about effective performance. Performance management is the common means for conveying understanding of the task. The best way to assess an employee's understanding is to ask questions within a coaching environment.

Factor 4: Choice to Expend Effort

This, and the next factor are motivational factors. If a person has the aptitude, skills and understanding of the task required, it may be that there are factors causing the person to "not make the effort". These may be personal or related to the work environment. Assessing whether there is a motivational problem is difficult, and can best be done by examining other indicator behaviours (absenteeism, lack of participation in meetings, or other factors that suggest a motivational problem.

Factor 5: Choice of Degree of EffortTo Expend

Sometimes effort is not an on/off thing. An employee may be putting in a limited amount of effort and therefore producing inferior results.

Factor 6: Choice To Persist

Performance requires that effort be initiated and sustained over time. This motivational factor may result in projects started but never completed. If an employee is not persisting in tasks, it can indicate boredom, fear of failure, or may relate to a lack of skills. Careful, diplomatic discussion is required to uncover if and why this may be occurring.

Factor 7: Outside Factors

Performance can be reduced due to factors beyond the control of the individual. The organization itself may be setting barriers to performance, or uncooperative co-workers and managers may contribute. Discussion with the employee during performance management should include reference to factors outside the control of the employee that impede progress. If these outside factors are allowed to continue, unacknowledged, motivational levels will drop, complicating the issue and creating a chronic under-performer.

Conclusion:

It is important that performance problems be addressed as soon as they occur, and the above factors be examined to determine whether they are contributing to the problem. By working with the employee in a cooperative way, it is possible to identify and remediate some of the underlying causes of work performance problems. (work911.com)


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