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5 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Any Job Interviews

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Most of us have been there. We’ve sent out what seems like a thousand resumes without receiving even so much as a kind refusal – only the desolate sound of crickets.

Why is that?

Of course there are hundreds of reasons, many of which likely pertain only to your personal situation and so can’t readily be explained. That said, there are reasons that are more or less common factors for everyone who can’t manage to get a foot in the door. Below we take a look at five reasons why you’re aren’t getting any job interviews.

 

1. The Economy

If you haven’t heard, unemployment is rampant in the U.S. Many people get caught up in month-to-month averages because that’s the focus of most news reports and political spin doctors, but a quick look at employment over the past 10 years shows just how tough it is out there.

The point is that it’s not just you. The only way to combat this is to broaden your search and consider options that that may have not fit into your original plan. Don’t give up on your dream; just think of it as making your dream bigger.

 

2. The Medium

Everything is digital, therefore everything is disposal. The online application process has simplified the transaction between prospective employee and employer so thoroughly as to make it almost nonexistent. It’s also made it too easy for email inboxes to get flooded with applications from ever larger employment pools – you’re essentially competing against the entire world.

Break away from the herd by reaching out in other ways. Follow up on online applications with phone calls when possible. Send a paper resume if you have a good address for it. Close your cover letters with polite statements about your willingness to talk in person or over the phone at any time, at the employer’s convenience.

 

3. Resume Gaffes

The most basic weapon you have in your arsenal to secure a job interview is your resume, whether it is digital or a hard copy. Even if all else is three degrees off to the left or right, this thing has to be dead on. And, people still manage to make the most basic mistakes.

Things to avoid:

  • Spelling errors
  • Including hobbies
  • Making it more than one page
  • Leaving off contact info

This stuff may seem too obvious to even mention, but these mistakes occur all the time. Tighten it up! Make it perfect. Take it seriously, and get help if you need it.

 

4. Online Presence

You may have heard that more and more employers are checking the social media profiles of prospective employees. What you may not know is that you could have disparaging material floating around on the Internet and not even know it.

It used to be that social media profiles were more easily controlled by the owner, but now everything is getting linked together. Google likes to call it a ‘seamless Web experience,’ but what it really adds up to is a paper trail of your life that may be longer and more twisted than you think. Make sure you, your friends and your friends’ friends do not have you linked to anything that may put you in a bad light.

 

5. Credit History

Much like with getting a bad rap because of unknown (and undeserved) social media slander, your credit report may be saying bad things about you behind your back as well.

Many employers will run a credit check on you, because many employers equate good credit with responsibility and trustworthiness. Regardless of the merit of this supposition, you should protect yourself by getting a credit report to make sure there are no errors that are sending the wrong message. Just don’t do it too often – too many credit report requests can lower your score.

 

Have you investigated on the reasons why you are not getting any job interviews despite the economy looking up? Pls share..

About the guest post author:

James Madeiros writes for Masters in Accounting, a leading informational website providing individuals with a launchpad for getting started with researching advanced degrees in accounting and finance.

 

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The pros and cons of working for a Charity

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Charity jobs can be highly rewarding. With opportunities to give back to a community, or to contribute to a broader national and international charity effort, charity work can represent challenging but beneficial employment. Whether as a voluntary or a paid worker, charity work can lead to a range of specialist roles, and can also generate long term rewards and career stability. However, charity work can also be stressful, time consuming, and vulnerable to changing public funding policies.

 

The following list expands on these pros and cons of working for a charity:

 

1 – Add Value to your Resume

 

Getting voluntary or paid charity work means that you are able to demonstrate a range of skills to other employers. Charity work shows a deep level of commitment to a good cause, while also demonstrating a willingness to provide support on a voluntary basis. Experience of organising others as part of a charity team can also help you to develop transferable skills for other jobs.

 

2 – Getting New Experiences

Charity work can expose you to a number of new experiences. Local charity jobs can give you a much greater insight into the needs of people in your area, while working for a larger charity can lead to international postings and experiences.

 

3 – Giving Back to the Community

Working for a charity, and particularly a local one, is one of the best ways in which you can give something back to your community. Work might include helping out as part of a voluntary shelter, assisting in hospitals, or helping to coordinate a local fundraising drive for an established charitable organisation.

 

4 – Stability

Charity work can lead to long term job stability and security. Non profits that provide salaries are less likely to go under, and are more likely to be risk averse in terms of expanding as an organisation.

 

5 – Rewards

Long term commitment to a charity can mean that you receive employment benefits and security. This security might include everything from pensions to generous annual leave, and special allowances.

 

DISADVANTAGES

By contrast, there are disadvantages to working for a charity that should be taken into consideration by anyone wishing to change careers.

 

6 – Difficult to Meet Targets

Charity work can be frustrating due to the difficulty of creating and meeting realistic targets. Unlike other businesses, charity work might involve short bursts of activity and a lot of planning. In this way, it can be difficult to organize your time across the year.

 

7 – High Stress

Any job that involves a lot of direct fundraising, often on small resources, is going to be stressful. This stress is only magnified by working as part of a small team, or as part of a charity where you might be expected to take on a lot of different roles.

 

8 – Time Consuming

Charity work takes up a lot of time, which can be difficult even if the work is rewarding. You may find that you struggle to create a work and life balance, and might feel that you are neglecting your friends and family.

 

9 – Transition from Voluntary to Paid Work

The transition from voluntary to paid work can be difficult depending on a charity, with places and positions often limited. You may need to build up a lot of experience, or just be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

 

10 – Public Cuts

The experience of working for a charity can be made particularly stressful by public funding cuts for local services. The pressure that shifts to charities to provide support rises as public services are reduced, which can stretch already tight resources.

 

About the guest post author:

Patrick Hegarty is a freelance writer with a passion for advising people about getting charity jobs.

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25 Inspiring Quotes for Career Success

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Make the most of every failure. Fall forward.
~ Unknown

Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.
~ Andre Malraux

The way to get ahead is to start now. If you start now, you will know a lot next year that you don’t know now and that you would not have known next year if you had waited.
~ William Feather

Successful business people don’t get ahead by wishing they had someone else’s job title, corner office, company car or market share. They get ahead the mundane way, by doing more and doing it better. Envy is a monster with a gluttonous appetite. And it’s never satisfied. Pursue your goals, not someone else’s goals.
~ James Dale

Deliberate often – decide once.
~ Latin proverb

Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.~ James Stephens

There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.
~ Dale Carnegie

If you organize your life around the things you are passionate about, nothing is a time burden. You end up spending time with people you want to spend time with and doing what you love.
~ Jeffery Bores

Making anything a success rests with people and commitment; strong will to always do the best, confidence in one another.. and absolute determination.
~ Jorgen Roed

If you have fun at your job, I think you’re going to be more effective.
~ Meg Whitman

Anyone who has achieved excellence in any form knows that is comes as a result of ceaseless concentration.
~ Louise Brooks

It is all too easy to speed through life with our eyes focused only on the road ahead. The challenge is scanning the horizon from time to time to determine where we are headed.
~ Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek

There are three rules of success. The first: Go on. The second: Go on. And the third: Go on.
~ Frank Cane

The first rule in opera is the first rule in life: See to everything yourself.
~ Nellie Melba

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
~ Helen Keller

There are too many people who get degrees and think they are educated. In order to be a truly knowledgeable person on e has t got to be engaged in serious, systematic, lifelong learning.
~ Benjamin Payton

Good communication does not mean that you have to speak in perfectly formed sentences and paragraphs. It isn’t about slickness. Simple and clear go a long way.
~  John Kotter

Never make a permanent decision based on a temporary storm.. No matter how raging the billows are today, remind yourself: “This too shall pass!”
~ T. D. Jakes

There is no ceiling on effort!
~ Harvey C Fruehauf

You have to take it as it happens, but you should try to make it happen the way you want to take it.
~ German Proverb

In the end you are measured not by how much you undertake but by what you finally accomplish.
~ Donald Trump

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.
~ Andrew Carnegie

“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say ‘I’. And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say ‘I’. They don’t think ‘I’. They think ‘we’; they think ‘team’. They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but ‘we’ gets the credit…. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.”
~ Peter F. Drucker

Every time you acquire a new interest, even more, a new accomplishment, you increase your power of life.
~ William Lyon Phelps

Stop asking if the glass is half full or half empty. Instead ask “What’s in it? How did it get there? What can I do with it?”
~ David Kaufman

The fruit we wish to pick tomorrow lies hidden in the seed of today. The goals we are to read and the problems we are to solve tomorrow depend upon today’s diligence, hope and faith, today’s conviction of the almightiness of good.
~ Ralph E. Johnson

Courage as an acronym is:

Continuing
Onward
Under
Rigorous
And
Grinding
Experiences

~ Micheal Staver

 

Which one is your favorite?

 

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5 Ways You can Support a Job Seeker

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Job search can be stressful and is almost to be treated a full-time job to reduce the search time. Job seekers can be more productive with some help from family and friends. A support system also hugely cuts down on the stress buildup.

If your family member or friend is in the job search phase, here are some ways you can help them out:

 

1. Know first, offer thereafter

Ask the right questions first – What areas of your job search do you think I can help you with? Or to offer help tell them what you are good at. For example, I know a career coach who helps job seekers accelerate their job search – I would be glad to recommend her if you wish to. I can also offer to help you with your interview preparation since I have conducted a few interviews at my workplace and can offer you some feedback. You friend might need some help with the kids while he she is out for interviews, let her know if you can be available or can take time off to help her out if she lets you know well in time.

 

2. Your skill set might help here

You might be well aware that it is very important to have a strong online presence for max visibility during job search. If the job seeker has less experience on the internet and social media front, offer help by informing them on the available tools like LinkedIn, Twitter and finding the right job search boards. If you are on LinkedIn perhaps you know someone in the field your friend is searching for jobs currently, you can help him/her by connecting to the right contact for an informational interview. The point is to probe them to find out what means and tools they are using in their current job search and what other ways they can try.

 

3. Household, kids, chores support

Since the job seeker might be busy in updating skills, taking courses, applying for jobs and all, you can help by searching for the job support groups or meet-ups in his/her area that can help them either through some vocational guidance support or career counselors who offer free services at the career centers.

 

4. Take a break to recharge

The stress of job search can be overwhelming and at times, the job seeker just needs to vent out or get if off his/her head. If you see exhaustion or breakdown signs, just ask them out for a day – a nice break can recharge and get them back on track faster than any other help! Appreciation, laughter, support, hugs, are all no-cost feel-gooders – give what you can and you’ll get the same back too!

 

5. Health matters

If you have tried all of the above ways or perhaps none of the above seems appropriate in such a situation, just gift them something that will help them along. A gym membership, a yoga class or some continued exercising fun activities can help instill positive reaffirmations and is a natural way to stay healthy and motivated to endure the job search marathon.

 

Have you helped a job seeker in some way? What did you do to ease their jobsearch process?

 

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Earn a scholarship worth up to $20,000 from Strayer University to help with the completion of a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree

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Strayer University offers Associate, Bachelors, Masters and undergraduate certificate programs in a wide range of academic courses. They provide flexible class schedules, and with more than 92 convenient campus locations in the US as well as online learning options support working students.

Here’s a chance to earn one of three scholarships through the Strayer University 120th Anniversary Student Scholarship program. That’s a scholarship worth up to $20,000 to help 3 driven students further their education! It’s simple to participate:

Step 1: Like.

Like Strayer University on Facebook.

Step 2: Submit.

Submit an entry to earn a scholarship by entering your name, email address and writing a 250 – 750 word essay about why you think you deserve a scholarship. One thing to note, the scholarship is open only to individuals who are either new or readmit Strayer University students. Current students are not eligible.

Do you have a friend, family member or coworker who deserves a scholarship? Let them know about this huge opportunity by sending them an invitation to submit an entry through the application.

Step 3: Share!

Let your friends know that you’ve been nominated for a scholarship so they vote for you. Entries are only open for a brief period, and you want to get as many votes as possible to make it to the final round of entrants.

This is the perfect opportunity to help out a driven student that you care about. By voting and sharing, you can truly make a difference for someone who can benefit from a quality education. You have the power to improve more than just the life of one person, but the lives of everyone that person touches.

 

ENTRY START & END DATES: Start: 11:00 a.m. ET Monday, April 30, 2012 / End: 11:59:59 p.m. ET Sunday, June 3, 2012

VOTING START & END DATES: Start: 12:00 a.m. ET Monday, June 4, 2012 / End: 11:59:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, June 13, 2012

VOTING START & END DATES: Start: 12:00 a.m. ET Monday, June 4, 2012 / End: 11:59:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, June 13, 2012

ELIGIBILITY        

Who: Fans of the Strayer University Facebook page
Requirements: Hold a high school diploma or its US equivalent
Age: 18+
States: 49 U.S. States, excluding Ohio
Void in: Puerto Rico and Ohio
Entry limits: One essay submission per person. One vote per person.

 

Strayer will choose three recipients of three scholarships worth up to $20,000 for qualifying students on or around June 20, 2012.

 

Entries may be submitted from April 30 to June 3. Once the entry period closes, 10 Finalists will be chosen based on the quality of their essay and the number of votes they receive from the Facebook community during the voting period from June 4 to June 13.

For more information on rules and regulations, please see the Official Rules. The value of the scholarship is $2,500 per term up to a maximum of $20,000 over ten terms to assist with the completion of a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree.

 

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Filed Under: Career Self-Help

5 Career Choices that Are Still Going Strong

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According to the current news, the economy is on the rebound. That may be true in some areas, but there are industries that have permanently lost jobs. Manufacturing positions in the automobile and textile sectors are chief among these. Many people that have lost their jobs during this recession are considering a career change. Here are some careers that are actually remaining stable, and some of them are even experiencing growth:

Accounting

The need for accounting professionals remains, and it is important in lean economic times. The federal Sabine-Oxley Act increased the corporate need for fiscal accountability. Because of shrinking tax revenue, the IRS is also keeping stronger tabs on tax returns. A person interested in this work can start with an Associate Degree in accounting, which takes anywhere from eighteen months to two years to complete.

Home Health Aide

It may not be as glamorous as traditional hospital work, but home health aides are expected to be in short supply as the Boomer population ages. The Bureau of Labor Statistics gives this vocation an outlook of much faster than average. Aides typically work in care homes or the residences of elderly or disabled clients. No special education is required to enter this field, but it is useful to become first aid and CPR certified. Some agencies or homes may have their own requirements.

Criminal Investigation

Criminal investigation has been in the spotlight on television and in the real world. Advances in forensic technology and increasing crime rates have elevated the need for crime scene technicians. The job entails the proper collection and analysis of evidence. Technicians often testify in court. Integrated university science programs often offer certificates or associate degrees for this field.

Veterinarian or Vet Tech

Even in a recession, people still love their animals. The veterinary field has experienced a shortage of veterinarians. This career requires an extensive investment in time and money, as the education required rivals that of a medical doctor. Enter the veterinary assistant, professionals that assist with the testing and care of animal patients. This position requires an associate degree in the field.

EMT

Health care still remains steady, but some positions, like nursing, are not exactly recession-proof. Demand does exist across the board for emergency medical technicians. EMTs are often on the front lines of life and death situations. Several levels of training and certification are available, and the highest typically takes two years to complete. There is also opportunity to advance to a paramedic, which comes with a considerable increase in pay.

While the job market has been no easy place over the last couple of years, there are still great education and career choices that can keep you employed regardless of the economic situation.  Skilled professionals are needed more than ever, so if you enter in to a career with a specific skill set, the recession will be least likely to affect you.

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Pursuing a Nursing Career in the UK

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A career in nursing might possibly be one of the most challenging in the entire medical field for a variety of reasons. At the same time it is also one of the most rewarding. Nurses run the gamut from direct patient care in hospitals and clinics all the way up to teaching and administrative positions.

Yet the one thing they all have in common is the goal of helping make the lives of patients better through proper care and quality delivery of healthcare services.

 

Becoming a nurse in the UK is not necessarily a difficult proposition, but it does require an investment in time and energy in order to complete your education. Once that’s done, you’ll have the opportunity to go to work in a hospital, clinic, nursing or residential home, research facility, or the military, just to name a few. There are so many options available to nurses that it’s easy to find something you’ll enjoy and thrive in. But remember, it all starts with education.

 

The Nursing Degree Program

For a long time nurses could complete their education through a diploma program at a qualified college. That all changes beginning next year when all nursing programs become degree level. The increased graduate level work is necessary due to the complex environment of today’s nursing careers.

 

During your degree program you’ll spend about half your time in local hospitals and other facilities gaining hands-on experience under the supervision of licensed professionals. The rest of your time will be spent in the classroom learning all the things you’ll need to know to be a successful nurse. Some students find the classroom portion of the program to be more difficult while others have a harder time with the hands-on program. Either way, you’ll have to demonstrate proficiency in the skills you’ve learned before you can begin working as a nurse.

 

Types of Nursing Jobs Available

Once you complete your nursing education you will most likely start work in an entry-level position providing day-to-day care to patients in a clinic or hospital setting. Some nurses will continue their education further in order to become instructors or administrators. How far you want to go in your education and career is entirely up to you. For those who choose to stay involved in day-to-day patient care, there are a number of different career options.

 

Children’s Nursing – According to the Royal College of Nursing, children’s nursing specializes in working with patients from infancy up to 18 years old. Nurses in this sector can be specialists in an infant care unit or work with teenagers and some of their unique medical needs. What makes children’s nursing so challenging is the extra measure of compassion needed to deal with children who may be frightened by their circumstances. Children’s nurses also need the ability to be able to comfort and educate parents and other family members as needed.

 

Adult Nursing – The Royal College of nursing says that the opportunities for adult nursing are “huge.” As an adult nurse you are dealing with patients over the age of 18 in all sorts of settings. Adult nurses work in clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and so on. Adult nurses can also choose between specialties such as emergency room care, women’s health, and school nursing.

 

Adult and children’s nursing are the two most common types of nursing jobs in the UK. If you’re interested in something different you might consider mental health nursing, disability and special needs a nursing, nursing administration, and even midwifery. All of these professions enjoy their unique challenges and opportunities. For more information you are encouraged to contact the Royal College of Nurses or a university with a nursing degree program.

 

About the Guest Author:

Debbie Paige runs a free information website dedicated to nursing education. She provides resources for students including career advice, and help finding schools and nursing programs.

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The Growing Demand for a Career in Massage Therapy

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Do you like working with people?

Do you seek a relaxed work environment?

Do you have the ‘soothing touch’ and a passion to help others?

If you answered “yes” to these three questions you might want to consider a career in massage therapy, a field that has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade.

According to bls.gov:

Employment of massage therapists is expected to grow by 20 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Continued growth in the demand for massage services will lead to new openings for massage therapists.

But this rapid growth has turned many potential massage therapists away from the profession. These people find it concerning that the average massage therapy school is full of aspiring masseuses just like them. They worry that National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork has slowed the certification process because there are so many new massage therapists out there – therapists who will inevitably be competing with each other for clients and jobs. In short, then, they worry that the massage “bubble” will soon pop and that the field will thereafter contract.

Such concern is understandable, especially in light of the current job market as a whole. But it ignores one important factor at play here: demand.

Even as the number of massage therapists continue to rise, so too does the demand for these professionals. This growing demand is no fluke; rather, it shows no signs of abating anytime in the new future.

Here’s why:

 

Aging demographics

With lifespans increasing, birth rates down, and the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age, the American population is currently older than it’s ever been before – and it will only continue to age in the future. This translates into a tremendous demand for health and wellness services, and massage therapy is no exception.

 

Medical benefits

Recent studies have shown that massage therapy confers benefits beyond lower stress levels and more relaxed muscles. Since a massage can help your body lower cortisol levels and boost lymphatic circulation, it can effectively produce more disease-fighting cells and strengthen your immune system. These findings have made massage therapy an attractive treatment for a variety of diseases.

 

Increased institutional respect

Finally, on a much more basic level, massage therapy’s growth in popularity has translated into greater institutional respect over the past few years. Businesses and corporations are now more likely to include massages in worker benefits and incentives programs.

Health insurance providers are now regularly including massage therapy as a covered medical expense. Both of these measures have the effect of exposing more people to the treatment – and giving them an incentive to come back.

These three factors help explain why the field of massage therapy is experiencing a growing demand that shows no signs of future abatement. If you’re interested in the profession but concerned by the large number of massage therapists out there, you might want to keep these factors in mind as you do more research and further explore the career path.

 

Find more info on massage therapist salary and career prospects at bls.gov website.

 

Are you planning on a career change as a massage therapist? Share your tips!

 


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How to make your Goals SMART

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In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.
~ Arnold H. Glasgow

 

To get somewhere you have to know where to go and how to get there. Goals are your destinations or benchmarks and the path to your goals is your plan. Making your goals SMART makes it easier to achieve them.

An essential element of career success, here’s how to plan your SMART goals:

 

S – Specific

Clarity of purpose – clarity of how you envision success – a clear view of what you want to do – is the first step. Define how you can make your goal specific.

Answer questions like:

  • Why am I doing this? What’s the benefit of achieving this goal? Or, perhaps the reason for achieving the goal?
  • What is my vision of achieving this goal and how can I get there?
  • Does my goal seem realistic or needs more research to make it more specific?

Examples:

I have to complete the certification program on <> in next three months.

I want to achieve the position of business development manager of my division by <date>.

I will lose 15 pounds in the next 8 months.

 

M – Measurable

How will you know when you get there? Are you aiming to earn a million dollars by the end of this year, or you expect the sales to go up 20% in the next 6 months? Goals must be measurable to ensure you can quantify your efforts to get there.

Answer questions like:

  • How much do I have to work or get done to achieve my goal?
  • How much am I expecting as an achievement?
  • How will I know when it is accomplished?

Examples:

I will generate 25% more revenue for my business by the end of the fiscal year.

I will reduce my weight 2 pounds per week.

 

A – Achievable

To achieve a goal, you need the means to get there or get what you want. You must equip yourself with the right skills and abilities to work on the goal. What do you have and what else is needed to make your goals achievable?

Answer questions like:

  • With the resources and abilities I have, can I achieve my goal as defined?
  • What has to give to attain my goal? What else needs to be done?
  • What needs to change – either in my goal definition or my capabilities, timing etc. to make the goal achievable?

Examples:

I will get a new employee on my team to help me achieve the revenue we aim for.

I will apply for the gym membership tomorrow and start working with a personal trainer.

 

R – Result-oriented

Don’t be vague when you define your goals. They must achieve a purpose – that’s what defines a goal in the first place. What are the expected outcomes? What’s the result expected that brings a closure to your achieving the goal? R also stands for relevant. Your goals must be relevant and realistic, without a reality check you would not be happy with what you achieve.

Answer questions like:

  • What’s happening around – what is a practical way to define or approach my goal?
  • What is the expected result?
  • Are my efforts oriented toward the result I want to achieve?

Examples:

I have done careful evaluations that with a three person marketing team, i can achieve the 25% increase in revenue that I aim for.

I have to go to the gym at least 3-4 days a week and make sure not to miss my personal training sessions.

 

T – Time-bound

You can’t expect to be on a task forever. You expect results. Goals must be time-framed. Know by when you have to achieve what.

Answer questions like:

  • When am I expected to achieve this goal? What’s the time frame?
  • How can I break it down to short-term and long-term sub-goals?
  • What do I have to do daily / regularly / consistently to get there?

Examples:

I will get the required certification in the next three months and make sure to meet all expectations at the present job to request for the manager position at the end of next annual review.

I will reduce 2 pounds every week and see that my trainer helps me achieve it and keep me on track.

 

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3 Ways to Improve your Business Communication with Effective Listening

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“To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well” – John Marshall

The first step toward mastering better communication skills is to be a better listener. It goes a long way in making communication effective and also plays a crucial role during conflict resolution.

Here are three ways that can help you hone this essential skill you might need to excel at any business communication.

 

Listening without interpretations

Are you sure what you listened at the last meeting was what was being said? How much information was diluted or distorted by your own interpretation?

Listen with an open mind. You have to train your brain to focus on what is being said – to be in the moment completely. Interpretative listening interferes with complete comprehension of the message. You’re busy interpreting what was said a few minutes back and miss out on what is being said now. Interpretations and judgments must be on your agenda post-listening. Appropriately intervene to clarify any doubts if need be to refocus your listening to stay focused on the interaction and message.

 

Listening with cultural diversity in mind

Cross cultural communication may present barriers to communication but can be overcome with knowledge and respect for all differences.

With teams working across the globe in different time zones and in different cultures, it is important to hone your listening skills with cultural diversity in mind. It is not only the difference in cultural communication differences but the language barriers which might present obstacles to listening and communication process. What the other person said was perhaps not what he exactly meant or was able to get across since the language of communication was not his/her native one. In such situations it is important to restate what has been said and clarify effectively to ensure what you are listening is ‘correct’.

 

Listening to what was never said

To listen well you must be aware of both verbal and non-verbal communication. Observe what is not being said and also note that your own body language shows your attentiveness as a keen listener.

Statistics on what percentage of our communication is non-verbal may differ from one analyst to another but it is widely accepted that is well over 50 percent in most cases. And if that’s the case then it pays to give special attention to how to respond, interpret and respect non-verbal communication. Pay special attention to the body language or other visual cues. If you are communicating via non-visual methods then listen carefully to their tone and choice of words.

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