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5 Tips to help you beat the Fear of Interviews

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“Thinking of the interview or the forthcoming presentations makes my hands and legs tremble, I feel nervous and cannot breathe easily.”

It is not uncommon to experience fear or anxiety before an interview, but since the interview process is your gateway to the job, you must make efforts towards addressing this issue honestly. Here are some tips that might help you in overcoming the anxiety.

Address the Question – Why do you Fear the Interview?
Unless you know the reason for the fear its elimination is not all that possible and effective. Be honest to yourself – find out which aspect of the interview process daunts you the most. Make a list of your fears and address and eliminate them one by one. If you are unable to address the reason for your anxiety don’t hesitate to ask for help from experts or your family and friends. Discussing and talking out aloud can sometimes help in understanding the situation better.

Anticipate Questions
Imagine yourself as the recruiter or the hiring manager for the position you are applying. What questions would you ask your would-be employee? Search websites and articles for tips on how to answer questions like:
“What are your strengths?”
“How would you be an asset to the company?”
“Why did you leave your last job?”
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now? What are your long-term goals?”

Prepare Answers
The importance of being prepared cannot be overemphasized. It is essential for a good interview or a presentation, the more you prepare, the more confident you shall be. Spare some time to research about the company, ask friends or acquaintances who are in similar industry about the latest in their fields and don’t hesitate to ask them what questions you could expect during the interviews. They can help you through their own experience of interviews or through their own knowledge of being experts in their fields.

Focus on the Positives
Talk about your strengths and first convince yourself on what you can do really well, once you feel the self-confidence the person on the other side of the table will sense it as you talk confidently and convincingly about your abilities. It is all about the confidence and spend a lot of time developing this essential skill and you can go anywhere you want. The interview is the time where you get ample time to project yourself, do so confidently and be articulate and to the point on how you can benefit the company.

Hold Mock Sessions
We usually feel anxious and nervous because of stepping in an unknown territory. What if you simulate the situation beforehand? Plan and rehearse mock interviews sessions with friends, family or your coach, it can help in eliminating any left over fear and give you that wonderful confidence that you need to ace your forthcoming interview. It can also be a good idea to video record these sessions, replay and judge your performance. Don’t look only at the downsides and on possible improvements, don’t be too critical. Focus on what you liked about yourself during this session and how can you highlight your strengths more or accentuate your positives more during the interview. Also get feedback from those you held the mock sessions with, don’t be defensive and be open to constructive criticism.

And always remember that you don’t have to be perfect to get that job. Be yourself and be confident, the right preparation and attitude can take you anywhere you want to go!This article is also featured on the MetroSanJoseJobs website.

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Bringing Negative Emotions to Work

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How do you behave at work when you bring in a bad mood from home? How do negative emotions affect your performance at work? How do you manage unfavorable feedback from your manager? Do you tend to neutralize the negative affects by ignoring or acting radically or try to retaliate by tackling it through a discussion?

How can you possibly change or affect the mood and emotions of an employee or manager at work? Not an easy task or an easy answer for all situations but certainly something to think about and act to make some changes to make the workplace more positive and happier place to be in.

“When we are dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”
- Dale Carnegie

My inspiration for this post came from the Knowledge at Wharton website. The article was alright, the discussions that followed were better. The topic must be taken up at various levels and the employers and the human resources should consider it as an important task to address this issue.

To quote a couple of my comments on this article:

A quoted in the article “While you can’t necessarily change your coworkers, people can take steps to avoid catching a negative mood.” But still, when you have the upper management or your immediate manager non-supportive and negating your ideas, it is hard to have a positive outlook. Employees need positive feedback, and if they do not see that coming, or [do not] even get acknowledged for their work, it is time for them to look elsewhere. The point is, we need better management training – not only for the technical skills but more on people management which is lacking in even large organizations. It is essential for employees to positive at work — but this has to be supported by upper management. I truly endorse the idea of business schools teaching [this topic]. It is an essential skill and would benefit companies if they incorporated the same in their work culture. Many managers, if not most, do not have a business school education.

This is an appropriate article to be read by one and all, and also something to be thought about in the light of recent news reports that suggested that a “performance review may have sparked NASA shooting.” What does one say to something like that? Can emotional outbursts be that violent? That is something we should think about seriously. These topics must be taken up with HR departments of every organization. It is time we trained the HR departments and upper managements to in deal with such situations. Intolerance in society should be understood first and then proper action taken to address it. I agree with what you say here: “The state of the literature shows that affect matters because people are not isolated ‘emotional islands.’ Rather, they bring all of themselves to work, including their traits, moods and emotions, and their affective experiences and expressions influence others.”

Some of the comments that just struck through the discussion:

I would also note that while emotions can be “messy” they are also very necessary. Passion is what drives excellence! – Steve Chase

There were some very interesting questions put up for discussion at the very beginning of this article. Can you contribute your thoughts on the same? What do you think about managing emotions at work?

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Is Business a Satisfying Career?

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For many women re-entering the workforce, starting a home based business or a small-scale business is a favored option. Though myths and stories are many around starting a new business and most importantly sustaining it, a question here to ponder at – is business a satisfying career?
Business week has a great resource of articles on business startup topics at www.businessweek.com/go/07/gettingstarted. On this website, I enjoyed reading Stacy Perman’s article where she says “Launching any venture means confronting the possibility of failure.” According to this article, In 2005 some 671,800 new small businesses were launched, according to the Small Business Administration. Now the bad news: About 544,800 of them closed not long after, felled by any number of issues such as capitalization and market forces.
However, there’s no standard method of measuring startups and failures, and a 2005 Monthly Labor Report gives a considerably more optimistic picture: 66% of new businesses survive the first two years, and 44% the first four years.
The debate on whether starting a new venture will be viable or sustain the market is something to be taken up upfront during your decision phase on launching your new career as an entrepreneur. But don’t let the many questions and complexity of starting a small scale or home based business daunt you, the feeling and the satisfaction of having done what you had dreamt of for long is much greater than having not done it at all. But we all want to be successful in our lives, and a lot depends on your vision and expectations of the business you launch to finally term it as a success or failure eventually.
Two famous quotes that might get you on the right track:
“Begin with the end in mind.”
“You plan to fail if you fail to plan.”
No matter what direction our career takes, you would be wondering always as well as evaluating as you go on — is this a satisfying profession? No one but you and only you will be able to answer this question, and I agree with Paula A. Sneed, a former executive vice president at Kraft Foods, who spoke with Kellogg School students at an event and presented five rules that she believes can help people capitalize on change and realize their goals:
  1. Keep a big, preposterous, ridiculous dream in your life
  2. Have a strategic plan for your professional and personal life
  3. Be a reality shaker
  4. Keep only the right people in your life
  5. Have the highest ethical character
In the end it is very important to draft a plan for your business to be profitable or satisfying in a sense you want it to – sustainability of a project is always in question when you put in lot of effort and the return is not as conducive. Keep that in mind too!
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Traits of Good Employers for Working Mothers

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A working mother would be happier and favor an employer who offers:

  • Paid maternity leave
  • Part-time work options
  • Child care options
  • Provides networking and growth opportunities for female employees
  • Helps with mentoring within the organization to help women up the corporate ladder

The Working Mother magazine selects the top 100 companies every year based on eight areas of work life: child care, culture, and leave for new parents, flexible work arrangements, women’s advancement, total compensation, work life culture and family-friendly programs. In addition, editors also look at a range of supportive company offerings and policies including health insurance premiums, availability of time off to care for sick children, mentoring programs and other conveniences.

Some of those with the golden batch from the female workers have these traits:

The following two are Australian companies: (Source Careerone)

GM Holden: Holden is also the first automotive manufacturer to introduce 14 weeks’ paid maternity leave. Women on maternity leave retain company vehicle entitlements. The recruitment program was re-designed to include images of women and female apprentices speak at industry recruitment days. Employees can re-arrange their hours to take their last break at the end of the shift to allow them to leave early to pick up their children from school.

Goldman Sachs JBWere: Flexible work arrangements and special programs for women returning to work from maternity leave. Graduate recruitment campaigns redesigned to attract more women. Talent mapping and succession planning to promote more women to senior management roles. Part-time work options available for managers.

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The Traits of a Good Employer

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According to the States Services Commission of New Zealand, a good employer is defined in the State Sector Act as ‘an employer who operates a personnel policy containing provisions generally accepted as necessary for the fair and proper treatment of employees in all aspects of their employment’.

What makes an employer most sought after? What employer incentives attract employees?

Here are some:

  • Provides a healthy work culture
  • Presents opportunities of career growth
  • Supports work-life balance
  • Provides a stable, secure workplace with substantial retention rate and job security
  • Competitive compensation, benefits and recognition for good work

And to sum it all you love working for a good employer.

“Salaries are a good thing, but it’s all about the feeling on the part of the employee that they’re part of the whole experience,” says Dennis Foster, vice president of enterprise technology planning and engineering and architecture at Washington-based Marriott International Inc., No. 19 on the list of best companies in IT in 2006.

Specific policies and philosophies that have made the Livonia, Mich.-based company the No. 1 place to work for two years running (see the full list of 100 Best Places to Work). Workers say they value their ability to take ownership of ideas and projects. They also like the flexible environment that helps them balance home and work. And they enjoy the collaborative atmosphere.

Recently, the $12 billion Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla group was judged the Hewitt Best Employer of India in 2007.
The two trends that sparkled through the employees’ survey were:

  • Upwardly mobile employees seem to prefer challenges rather than a life time employment guarantee.
  • Remuneration also was not the driving factor in the overall scheme for employees. Employees seemed to prefer assignments that led them to bigger roles in organizations over bigger pay packets.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India_Business/AV_Birla_emerges_as_best_employer/articleshow/1916240.cms )

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How to act in an Emergency – Important Tips a Working Mother must know!

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The recent despicable act of crime at Virginia Tech has left us all benumbed and at loss of words. Much has been said and more will said around in the columns for months and years to come, but what I want to focus in this post today is what all working mothers should know (at the least) in a case of emergency. Disasters or emergencies, human caused or natural, if we know how to act and are prepared for the same, it might result in getting to know about our loved ones and also getting to them faster.

Important Phone Numbers
Always have on your cell phone your child’s school phone number or an emergency contact that they provide you. In most places the emergency contact number is 911, but check with your local authorities if it is different. Also have with you your child’s doctor’s phone number. And of course, those of your close neighbors and relatives in the area.

What your Child must know

  • If of a preschool age or more, your child must know his/her full name, parents name and preferably the house address and phone number. Always instruct your child not to go with any stranger even if there is chaos around and stay put where they are. If they have a cell phone have the required necessary numbers stored beforehand. Teach your child to call 9-1-1 and what to say once the call is placed.
  • Ask your child to participate and be attentive during the fire drills at schools. All drills must be taken seriously and not playfully.
  • Show them how to find a safe place under the desk or on in a corner in case of an earthquake or similar disasters.
  • Train them not to panic in a difficult situation and to think before they act.

Getting to your Child
Post disaster; if you head to get to your child, first hear the news on the radio / TV or the read for instructions online (if available) to know about the road conditions and the traffic congestions. Avoid those areas if possible and resist going on bridge even though there may be no present indication of damage. Don’t be an obstruction to emergency vehicles on the roads.
If the roads and conditions are bad, don’t panic, your child would be safer at school and you could be getting yourself in trouble if you head out and get stuck before somewhere in between before getting to your destination, either to the school or your house. Also, the school might instruct you whether you should come to pick up the child or not, it depends on their policies and procedures after a disaster, consult them before following your first instinct of driving to get there as fast as possible.

Talk with your spouse or family members on a plan of action in case of disasters and emergencies.

Disaster Supply Kit @ Home
Gather a supply kit with food and water rationing as well as medical kit at home in an accessible place. Keep a small kit in your car.

Important Emergency Websites

Read your country’s emergency preparedness websites for information and up-to-date directions for such cases. Some in US are:

Is there anything else you would like to contribute? Please comment.

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Career Directions for the Generation Y – the Newcomers to the Workplace

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Career Changes for a Millennial
At present, an average American is changing jobs around 8-12 times in his/her lifetime, and 3-4 career changes to say the least. I foresee a more volatile and fluid career path for the generation millennial. If a whole set of millennials are undergoing such massive changes in their career, coaching is a must for them to find the right career direction.

What is to be noted for this generation is one with an easy going attitude, most of them would not think about having a “5 year plan” or an answer to the question “what do you want to do 5 years from now?”
So the possibility is huge that the generation millennial workforce would be in and out of work and / or taking up further college education with some work experience and / or would be the ones taking longer breaks from work.

But before they step into the workforce, what about the vision of a satisfying and fulfilling career? How aware are they of the different career paths and how diligent are they about finding one that suits them the best?

We have recent evidence that career coaching is a requirement for the generation millennial at work, in a recent interview in March telecast of Spotlight 25 where Willow Bay interviewed many 25 yr old women on what they thought about their career and life in the 21st century and had an interesting point to make:
She says: So many have told me that there’s no road map for where they’re going and that a little guidance would go a long way.

The millennials would be looking for those mentors – career coaches who provide them the means to discover themselves, they do not want to be told what to do. This is huge advantage coaching has over counseling.

Mentoring and Guidance – The Stepping Stones to Success
This generation (also known as Generation Next or Nexters) has been the most multi faceted in terms of having more exposure to the educational, extra-curricular and cultural activities their entire student lives; they realize the importance of a focused learning approach. They have had mentors and teachers all along their activities and once they realize the importance of career coaching, it would be indispensable for this generation.

No matter how smart and confident this new generation is they need personal guidance, they have been the ones who have seen their parents work in high tech industry and also with all tech tools under their arms, they have the capabilities of making it great in their careers but the first step, the direction is lacking. That is where the career coaches come in and have to be sensitive in understanding their different needs and ways to be coached.

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10 Reasons why you are not in your Dream Job

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You have not found time to give it a thought. Or you have had it in your mind but never had the courage to talk with someone or discuss the possibilities of being in your dream career or job. “I feel I should be doing something else, but this is how a job is usually done!”
The point is, you just want to do what you are doing because you have always done what you have been doing.

 

  1. You have researched somewhat and given up the thought, convincing yourself that “having my dream career is a myth or simply unpractical.” You have seen people being successful in their dream jobs and making the best of their lives, but have convinced yourself that “this does not happen to everyone, he’s /she’s lucky!”
    The point is, you have arrived at a judgmental statement even before giving it fair effort of a thorough research.
  2. You are not ready to leave your comfort zone and explore what really drives you. You have become so used to your lifestyles and comforts that you feel if you feel that if you keep on juggling as you do today, things would remain in control.
    The point is, you are not ready to take risks.
  3. You’re always worried that you would not make the amount of money you are making now in your day job if you went for a job that you truly love.
    The point is, you’ve not given much thought to the possibilities and time to calculate how your dream job can bring your equivalent or more dough as your present job.
  4. “It’s not going to work out. Even if I get there what about my family time, I might be compromising on that, I might have to move to a different place. My manager would not let me go until this project is over and the deliverables are due till next year. I’ll pass the thought perhaps…”
    The point is, you blame your circumstances.
  5. “There is no way my dream career can be a reality. I have a vision what could be ideal and perfect career most suited for me, but no one else seems to be doing it. What if I meet failures and there’s no one else to learn from in that field? ”
    The point is, you are not ready to be a pioneer.
  6. “I have so many ideal careers that I could pursue. So many choices and I love all of them. I am so confused, and that’s one of the reason that I never was able to point to one as the most ideal one!”
    The point is, you have not taken time to evaluate what you are truly passionate about.
  7. “I have been in an accomplished career for a long time, what will my family say, or what will people say if I just give it up like that?”
    The point is, you have not yet convinced yourself and truly confident about your dream career.
  8. “To get to my dream job, I perhaps need an MBA, or further courses. Are they all worth the time and effort? What if I don’t get there even if I enhance my skills as others have done?”
    The point is, you have a mindset of going with the crowd, you have not thought about your way to get to your goals.
  9. You hesitate to seek expert advice. “After all, I know how to steer my career, and right now everything seems to be going alright. I can search around if ‘something’ goes wrong.”
    The point is, you are not proactive about your career.
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Essential Tips you must know when Negotiating Going on Part-Time Work Schedule

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Many working women think about going part-time due to work-life balance issues, dependent care responsibilities or due to personal problems or preferences. Part-time work or flexible working hours possibility also offers the working mother a much-desired choice of not to opt-out of the workforce after having a baby.

If you are in such a situation where you wish to go part-time from a full-time position, then this article may be of help as it offers some tips and tricks on how to master this very tricky negotiation.

According to the US Office of Personnel Management, The courts have also ruled that flexible and compressed work schedules are fully negotiable. In Bureau of Land Management v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, 864 F.2d 89 (9th Cir. 1988), (Bureau of Land Management), the court held that “[i]n order for employees to have the flexibility and choice envisioned by the [Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules] statute, both the overall contours of the employees’ available choices and the manner in which an individual’s choice is exercised within those contours, must be subjects included within the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and hence negotiable.”

Here are some of the terms and their definitions that you must be aware of before proceeding with the negotiations.

Flexible Work Hours
This is the part of a flexible schedule during which employees may, within agreed upon limits, choose their arrival and departure times.
Credit hours
These are hours–in addition to the basic work requirement–that employees elect to work so as to vary the length of a workweek or a workday.
Other-than-full-time employees (includes Part-time employees)
Work hours are lesser than the regular 40 hours per week as defined for a full-time employee. Because these employees work fewer than 40 hours a week and fewer than 80 hours a pay period, they are not always entitled to the same treatment/benefits as full-time employees.
Compressed Work Schedules
A compressed work schedule means that an employee’s basic work requirement for each pay period is scheduled for less than 10 workdays. Compressed work schedules are always fixed schedules. Another difference between flexible and compressed work schedules is that an employee on a flexible work schedule may be credited with a maximum of 8 hours towards the employee’s basic work requirement on a holiday or Sunday, whereas the number of holiday or Sunday hours for an employee on a compressed work schedule is the number of hours regularly scheduled for the employee to work on that day if not for the holiday.

For more details on the definitions see, the Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules.

The Part-Time Employment and Job Sharing Guide, has some interesting tips on how to make your full-time job a part-time job.
Here they are:

Keep a detailed record of what you do.

  • Could all your most important tasks be done in fewer hours?
  • Could less important tasks be discontinued or done by someone else?
  • Could your job be shared with another part-time employee?

Get information about your salary and benefits.

  • Assess changes to salary, leave earning, health insurance cost, and retirement and life insurance benefits.
  • Could you afford to earn less pay and pay more for insurance?
  • Could you do with less leave and potentially less retirement?

Research policies and practices.

  • Study Government wide policies in this guide.
  • Consult your supervisor about your agency’s policies and programs.
  • Talk to part-time employees about their experiences.

Devise a strategy.

  • Propose restructuring your full-time job into a part-time job.
  • Find a partner and propose a job sharing arrangement.
  • Apply for any part-time/job sharing vacancies.

Make a written proposal.

  • Propose a schedule and explain how your duties would be handled.
  • Focus on employer’s needs, not your own.
  • Suggest a pilot test where managers, clients, and co-workers could assess the arrangement.

The above tips were adapted from Flexibility at Work … 5 Steps To Get You Started, a brochure produced by the Association of Part-time Professionals.

Negotiating Process

While negotiating with your manager on going part-time from full-time employment, keep the simple rules of negotiation in mind:

  • A tip from Steven Covey: ‘begin with the end in mind’ – Steven Covey’s second self leadership habit. Paint a big picture of how it could be when you work part-time. Emphasize on what is in for them rather than what is in for you when you begin. Working lesser hours might be beneficial to the employer if you are ready to take only a small percentage of work cut-off.
  • Ensure your efficiency at working from home or working lesser hours. See some tips at: 7 Tips to help you Work effectively from Home
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