Study Skills » Career Development

Achieve Your Goals Immediately

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:39:01 +0000

Some people may think that goals have a definite timeline to accomplish. In part, this is true, but there are certainly ways on how you can hasten the process. You can achieve more great things by focusing on the current job and getting it done, without any compromise. Here are some guidelines from the experts that you can use yourself.

Step One: Forming a Team

Things can be accomplished more quickly if you rely on other people and assign tasks accordingly. When forming a team, it is important that you choose individuals whom you can trust and are truly competent in the fields you assign them to. Teams need to be supervised to ensure that you get the results you want. You can also create a hierarchy or create pairs so that one can look out for the other, thereby saving you time when reviewing work.

Forming a team gives you the benefit of practicing your leadership skills. You will find that later on, you also get to finish tasks more quickly alone, since you’ve already created an effective system that will provide a smoother flow of various jobs. Make sure you also get the appropriate number of people for the job, or else you risk having too many to watch over, wasting precious time in the process.

Step Two: Finding Shortcuts

Some goals actually have shortcuts that you can use to reach more quickly. These are not quick fixes, but can help the entire system respond in a more conducive manner, thereby boosting the process. For example, there are no short cuts to permanent weight loss, but you can do some techniques that will hasten the fat loss. Some of the approaches include using HIIT or high intensity interval training, instead of the traditional cardiovascular exercise. HIIT is done only in 20 minutes tops, and burns more fat and raises your metabolism higher and for longer periods of time. Your body will respond to the exercise faster.

To know about the shortcuts, always stay updated with changes and developments in technology and professional programs. Stay connected in a network of people related to your goals. Joining forums and online seminars are ideal. You can also talk to experts, so you can compare processes and determine if a certain approach is truly effective.

Step Three: Extra Hours

Consistency, discipline and dedication always give you faster and better results. If you want to finish things faster, you may have to put in extra hours and work longer than the usual. The more important thing is that you keep stress levels down afterwards by relaxing and giving yourself enough time to rest. This way, you can move on to the next goals to be achieved. Overtime should also be well-planned. You cannot expect to work effectively beyond your usual time if you’re still tired the night before or do not have enough equipment to work with.

Prepare and strategize by coming up with small objectives and actions steps to be done in sequence. Having information prior to your overtime can help greatly and save you lots of idle time. You may also ask someone to work with you during overtime to accomplish more. Try to incorporate all the three steps above and see for yourself how much more you can boost the process.

Related Blogs

Should people be selected for a job based only on their interview performance?

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:10:56 +0000

Today’s work world has certainly changed, making it more difficult to reach a definitive decision when hiring a new employee. An interviewer can no longer rely on information from a previous employer, who fears telling the truth, because of the fear of litigation. They usually limit themselves to hire and leave dates, and are even reluctant to give work history, attendance, etc. Resumes are usually doctored and difficult to confirm. Therefore, while the interview should not be the only basis for a hiring decision, it is your best indicator of how an interviewee will do if hired. With that said, multiple interviews should be conducted and preferably with more than one interviewer. Before decisions are made, compare notes and have a frank discussion of all impressions.

A keen observer begins the interview when he walks to the waiting room to greet the interviewee. The initial contact says much about the personality of the job seeker, and first impressions are usually the best. Does the interviewee stand, look you in the eye, and have a first hand shake? This tells you a lot about a person’s assertiveness, self confidence, and trustworthiness.
As they gather their materials to move to the interview room, notice how organized they are, and whether their dress is suited for the job. Under dressing is a major problem today, and will not change after they are hired. Never make a positive hiring decision with the thought of changing someone after the fact. It is like marrying a husband with the plan to change his bad habits. It never happens. Professional dress should be as important for an interview as for a job.

Be sure to ask pertinent questions regarding previous positions of employment. What is the average tenure on a job? Why did they leave? If every job smacks of a soap opera and the interviewee had problems with people at each previous job, what makes you think it will be any different with your company?
Part of the interview should involve questions about drug and alcohol use. Every company should require drug testing. It is literally amazing how many people are addicted to drugs. This may well be the reason for erratic job performance, and frequent job changes, and former employers cannot warn you if that was an issue. Look for evidence of drug use with the interviewee, such as dilated pupils and erratic behavior.

The personal interview should be a key part of the hiring process, because impressions and gut feelings are usually good indicators of a person’s worth to your company. Mix up the interviews between men and women and listen to the interviewer who is the same sex as the interviewee. Their impressions should carry a lot of weight in making a decision.

Even though you realize former employers may be less than honest, do your best to call former employers, and try to get some indication of the kind of employee your interviewee was with their company. These together should give a pretty good evaluation of character. Remember, it is always easier to not hire someone with whom you have doubts, than to get rid of them after the fact.
By Dr M Smith

Essential Business Skills for Project Managers

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:54:49 +0000

A project manager, in order to successfully complete a project, must be able to plan, organize, and manage resources. The project manager’s job may be long or short term, and range from one project to several. Each project has a start and end date, and may involve from one to several members. A good project manager will need to have a wide array of skills to effectively utilize the allocation of assets and achieve the projected goals.

Project Management is about balance
The key to effective project management is balance. Learning about customer expectations, understanding the internal culture of your own company, and how to manage people, and then balancing all those into a working plan will mean that you can successfully complete a project on time. This is a life skill. You do it every day with the many facets of your own personal life. Being able to translate this skill from your personal to your professional life will prove to be an invaluable trait.

Project Management is about problem solving
Problem solving is another key element, not only in working with a particular project, but with handling the members of your team. Invariably, conflicts will arise between team members. Every member of the team should be in place because they bring their own unique skill sets to the group, and your job as manager is to prevent any one member from dominating the project, and allow each of the members to contribute. Being able to facilitate and not dominate meetings is a major dimension of project management. Nothing stifles productivity and ingenuity like a manager who refuses to deal with problems, or, one who micromanages his team members. Learn how to balance control versus facilitation.

Project Management is about life skills that cannot be taught
The one common factor in all these skills is people, and much of it cannot be taught. The best manager is not necessarily the one with the best education. A good manager can surround himself with the technical expertise he needs, but he cannot delegate the ability to make things work together. He must have the foresight to deal with issues quickly, and be able to keep the scope of the project(s) in mind, in order to attain real goals.
Effectiveness rests with a manager, who is astute enough to surround himself with champions. He must realize that he can only do so much, but if he can reproduce himself in twenty people, he can do twenty times as much. He must be able to delegate and turn loose, to allow his champions to do their work, hold them accountable, but allow them the freedom to perform, without micromanaging them.
Understand the stages of team development
Realize that in any new team various stages of development will exhibit themselves, and will need to be worked through. With each new project, new team members will come on board, and others will leave, so the team forming process will be present at some level with each new project. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forming-storming-norming-performing).
The early stage of team development requires clear communication of what the project entails and how each team member will fit into the overall scope of the work. Team members will start out working independently, with each not yet feeling they are an integral part of the whole. The project manager needs to constantly communicate the need to share information, learn about fellow team members, and de-emphasize the individual over the group.
During the next stage, team members confront each other and learn to work through personal differences to arrive at workable solutions to problems. The project manager will continue to be more involved in direction and communication, emphasizing the need for tolerance of each others’ ideas. This stage is usually a make-or-break stage, with many teams never learning the importance of listening to others, and evaluating their ideas, and working in a non-judgmental atmosphere. Consequently, many teams never progress beyond this stage.
The third stage may involve an acceptance of the ideas of others, and an adjustment of attitudes and behaviors, to work together towards the same goals. At this stage, the team may agree on rules of behavior, conduct, etc. The motivation of the group increases, but careful attention should be given to the development of groupthink, in which team members simply go along with someone’s ideal just to maintain unity. The project manager becomes more of a participant in this stage, and less of a director of action.
In the final stage, the team will perform with an inter-dependence, not present in earlier stages, and can work to reach goals with little or no supervision. While the danger of reverting back to other stages exist, and in some cases is quite normal, only a few teams will ever reach this stage of development. The manager, at this level, works as a team participant and facilitator.
Conclusion
The project manager, in order to be effective, must bring to the table certain interpersonal skills which allow him to work well with people. All of the goals in management have one characteristic in common, working with people, to manage their expectations, abilities, and direction. These much sought after abilities are indispensible to achieving goals, and if done well, will ensure a manager has a long and valuable career.

By Dr M Smith

Keys to a Winning Job Resume

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:43:43 +0000

Can your resume hurt your chances for a job interview? Most hiring managers agree that common mistakes on resumes may hurt an interviewee’s chances of being called back for an in person interview. With the current tight job market you need every piece of the process to work for you and not against you. In the end the final decisions may come down, to experience level or qualification, but to the quality of the resume.
The average job opening gets hundreds of applications and at best a hiring manager peruses resumes to determine who will get the precious few interviews. Any mistakes, misspellings, or other mistakes are red flags for managers and glaring mistakes may well prevent an interviewee from moving to the next step.
Be wary of the following common mistakes on resumes that may sink your chances in a job interview process:

First, if you want an advantage in the job market, you must be willing to stand out in the crowd. Realize that no two companies are alike. You should never give a generic resume to everyone. Each resume should be tweaked to accommodate each organization. Emphasize the skill sets, experience, and use key words to match your skills and experience to the job posting to which you are applying.
Second, do not try to impress with your verbiage. Use clear, concise terms that express in the simplest terms the point you want to get across. The idea behind a resume is to be short and sweet, not long and wordy. The idea resume is one page or one and a half at most.
Third, be sure your materials submitted are neat, clean, and contain no misspelled words. Managers do not have patience to deal with sloppy work, and they certainly will not give consideration to someone who is careless to detail. A recent survey says that more than 75% of hiring managers reject applicants because of more than one misspelled word.
Finally, stay on topic. It is amazing how many people talk themselves right out of a job by talking on and on until they divulge information that hurts their chances. Keep the home drama at home. Your resume should not include information that is of no relevance for the job for which you are applying.

The resume is usually the first contact with an employer. To move to the next step, it should be a clean, concise representation of your education, work experience, and a few pertinent facts that place you above the crowd. Anything belong that may well hurt your chances of getting to the next level. Never embellish or lie on a resume. Anytime an employer decides to check your resume details, a falsehood may get you terminated. Any gaps in employment are suspect and it is well to get ahead of the game by explaining any negative information. Consider printing your resume on a pastel paper to set it apart from other resumes. It is well worth the investment to make a good impression. A well done resume may well be your ticket to a great new job.

By Dr M Smith

Job Search Tips

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:16:13 +0000

Are you engaged in looking for a job? If you are doing it right, you are busy distributing resumes, knocking on doors, and actively working to get your foot in the door for an interview. Recent layoffs and business reversals, unfortunately, mean many more people are competing for the few job openings. You cannot afford to misstep during the process. Consider these important keys to finding and getting the job you want.

Recheck the Resume
Make sure your resume is error-free and contains the pertinent information relating to the job you are requesting. Simply put, do not use a generic resume. You should refit your resume to the job opening, highlighting the skill sets requested in the job requirements. Get an educated eye to look over your resume, and especially look for grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure errors. Choices for interviews may come down to a pristine resume.
Ask for Help
Do not be afraid to network and ask friends for help. Does someone in your family or circle of friends know a lot of people? Remember they have contacts who know of openings and job availability you will never, on your own, hear about. Be sure to communicate with them about the kind of work that interests you.
Personalize your Cover Letter
Be sure to personalize your cover letter to reflect the company to which you are applying, and if possible include the name of the personnel representative. Many hiring managers will tell you that of the hundreds of letters they get for interviews, very few personalize, and simply send form letters. With the number of resumes coming in for each position, always maximize every potential opportunity to be noticed.
Do Not Underestimate the Importance of a Contact
Every contact may be of value. Always follow through on a contact regardless of where the person is located. In the current economy, a job seeker does not have the luxury of being picky. While the person you contact might not have a job for you, or be in an area you are interested in, you never know who that person knows. Remember that you never meet anyone by accident. Every person you meet will interact in your life, either now or late. Do not discount that simple fact. Be sure to keep contact information. Develop a simple method of keeping contacts. This will prove invaluable.
Maintain the Right Attitude
It is certainly difficult to keep a right attitude while searching for a job in the current market, but maintaining a right attitude is vital. You will never solve a problem by condemning it, such as your last employer or job. Before you begin looking for a new job, take a moment to accept your previous job loss. Happiness is a state of mind and has nothing to do with your outward circumstances. A smile will always place you one step closer to an interview.
Conclusion
The challenge to find employment in a down market is not easy, but most things in life are not so easy. Take the opportunity to put your best effort into ensuring success in the process by checking your resume and cover letter, to ensure they are personal and up to date. Tap into contacts and friends and enlist their help with finding available positions. Take a careful inventory of your attitude as this may be the biggest threat to your getting into another position. Make every effort count for you and you will soon meet with success.

By Dr M smith

Interpersonal Skills in Organizations

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:45:11 +0000

When considering interpersonal skills it is worth noting that they are not readily learned. My first impulse as a life coach, after years of mentoring and teaching others how to improve themselves, is to say that they are impossible to learn. That might be a bit harsh and fatalistic, so maybe we should tone down the statement to say they are, to say the least, difficult to learn. As a human being your greatest skill is not your education, erudition, etc., but that wonderful innate sense within you that allows you to act and say just the right thing, no more and no less. That is the beginning of the drive to develop a talent which will put you in good stead with employers, friends, new acquaintances, and yes even your life mate.

Introduction
So, how are interpersonal skills defined? They encompass the ability to work well with people, and involve your acceptance of others, without prejudice. This does not always mean that you like the person, but you are able to overcome your dislike in order to achieve your tasks. Consider with me several abilities that will improve your job performance.
Personality that matches your job requirements
For the most part, our personalities are what they are. While it is possible to tweak and change things, you should never seek a job in which you are forced to be someone you are not. For instance, if you are not an outgoing person, you should not seek a job in customer service or sales. These positions require that you interact and be proactive in meeting and talking to people. As a business owner, you should be very careful who the first contact is with your customers. Many people do not have the personality to be a receptionist or lead person and can drive away business.
Take a personal inventory to determine your fit You will never be more miserable than when you are in a job that is a poor fit. Sometimes a promotion will spell disaster for your career path. Managers are well meaning in their desire to promote a good employee, and you certainly may need the increase in income, but many times if a promotion requires new skills for which you are not prepared, a promotion can be a career ending move. Never compromise on this principle. Never accept a new position if the skills you will need are not something you can learn easily.
Practice teamwork and collaborative decision making
Today’s work environment is a different world than in the past. Employers do not look for employees who work alone. They seek team members who arrive at decisions based on a collaborative effort of the entire group. Team work requires an entire set of skills that differ from those required in the past. Being able to work with others to achieve team goals can be learned with experience. Teams move through stages of development and participants who are open to change and assimilation can acquire the skills necessary to work well with the group. Remember there is no “I” in the word “team.” Teamwork is not about you and your ideas. It is about taking everyone’s ideas and thoughts and developing a workable solution. The final solution is not completely the idea of any one person.
Communication skills are your lifeline
Most have suffered to pain of working for someone for whom communications are not their strong points. Sharing important information is definitely important for the smooth operation of any business. While verbal communications are not always necessary, email and post-it notes are an easy way to pass information to others. If you are a gate keeper for a superior, it is important to determine how he/she likes to be kept in the loop. Never assume anything and never put yourself in a position of knowing something and failing to share it with those who need to know. Always double check emails and other written communications are crisp, professional, and to the point. Set up your email to double check spelling. Nothing gives a worse impression that an email with misspelled words. Listening more than you speak is a good place to start with developing interpersonal skills. No one appreciates a person who talks non-stop.
Develop an attitude of appreciation and thankfulness
An old saying fits well at this point. “There is no limit to what can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.” Learn to appreciate others and show gratitude. When the team succeeds, you succeed as a group. When the team fails, you share the blame. An attitude of gratitude is a personal skill that can be learned. Saying thank you and please are easy statements to make and pay off in great dividends.
Conclusion
Interpersonal skills that match the requirements of your job are essential to upward mobility in your career. Since some skills cannot be learned, it is well worth evaluating your skill sets in light of a promotional or career change opportunity to determine if you are a good fit. Sometimes a refusal can do more for your future than jumping into a situation that may torpedo your career.

By Dr M Smith

Interviewing Tips: Questions not to ask

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:59:14 +0000

So you work hard getting your resume just right. You labor over the cover letter and send all your materials to a company, and you land an interview. You are on your way to getting a great new job. All you need to do is make it through the interview process, which usually requires more than one interview, and with more than one person within the organization. While most job seekers can pass the resume, cover letter, get your foot in the door test, many find the interview a huge hurdle. What should a person say or not say? What should he/she do in an interview or not do? Consider these ideas about what you should never say or do, in an interview, if you want to move forward in the process and get a job.

Hold your questions until the end of the interview
Many people interviewing for a position aggressively start asking questions long before the interviewer is finished with his questions. Always wait for the interviewer to ask if you have questions. And even then, do not make the mistake of asking the wrong questions. The major wrong question to ask is about pay, benefits, vacations, holidays, and incentive pay. Those should be reserved for the hiring interview, and asking them too early leaves the impression you are only interested in the money. Another major misstep is to ask what the company does. Never go to a job interview without first finding out what the company does. The ease of getting information on the internet makes this an easy thing to do, and prevents you from making a major mistake. You show interest in a position when you are proactive enough to do your homework. When the interviewer asks if you have questions, always have some. If you research the company in advance, prepare questions about their future plans, new products, what the work environment is like, or ask about whether the company works in a team environment. This shows that you are at least conversant with current trends in the corporate world.
Be sure to watch your language

Begin your interview with a proper greeting. Stand, make eye contact, and give a firm handshake when the interviewer enters the room. Give a formal greeting, and do not be overly personal. Getting the interviewer to be your buddy will not help you get a job. Maintain a professional demeanor at all times. Do not slouch, sit up straight and give clear, concise answers to questions. Do not talk too much. Answer the question and then shut up. Too many interviewees talk themselves out of a job by being verbose. Always use acceptable language. Never use curse words or substandard English. Your level of conversation should match the level of the job. This is especially true if you are more educated than the job requires. Do not show off your extensive vocabulary. Talk in a way that is proper and easily understood. Be very careful about language that may indicate sexism, prejudice, or other bias. The work place is much more sensitive to issues of race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, etc. than ever, and you will sink your chances for a new job very quickly by displaying these behaviors.

Never criticize your former employer
It is amazing how small our world has become. You never know who your interviewer knows, or how much access he has to information from your former employer. It is always best to be honest when answering questions, because sometime an interviewer may have the answer to the question already, and simply is checking to see if you are honest. Beating up on your former employer will only raise red flags in his mind. Besides, you should never burn bridges when you leave a company. By the same token, always be honest about why you left a previous job. If you were let go, explain the circumstances, and give an honest appraisal of the situation without anger or hatred against your former employer. I would rather not be hired for telling the truth, than to get a job and lose it later because I lied in an interview. Then you will have two firings to explain the next time.

Be honest about strengths and weaknesses
Most interviewers will ask questions about your strengths and weaknesses. Most people have no problem with detailing at length with their accomplishments and strengths. They do not like revealing their weaknesses. The trick to answering that question is to find a weakness that is really a strength and use it. For instance, when asked about your biggest weakness, you might reply, “My biggest weakness is that I am a perfectionist, and cannot leave something that is not done, and done correctly.” While being a perfectionist is technically a weakness, it is also an asset in business when a company struggles with people who only half complete tasks.

Conclusion
When doing a job interview, I recommend the three laws of speaking: Sit up, speak up, and shut up. Have the proper poise and appearance. How you appear is half the battle to getting a job. Secondly, answer questions in a pleasant tone, without getting angry and frustrated. Look your interviewer in the eyes, and tell the truth. Be personable, charming, sincere, and make sure your level of speech matches the job for which you are applying, and even the education level of your interviewer. And finally, shut up. Do not tell your whole life story. Simply answer the questions asked and do not wander off the path into other issues.
The interview will either move you on to the next level, get you the job, or get you shown to the door. Prepare yourself and practice relaxing before you face the interviewer, and you will do well to remember these techniques.
Author Dr M Smith

Effective Leadership Principles

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:24:31 +0000

While effective leadership is hard to define, everyone recognizes the failure when it is not present. How many wonderful causes have failed because the leader was just not equipped for the job? What makes the effective leader? While something must be said for innate ability, some key skills must be present for the leader to succeed.

Lead by example.Although this adage had been quoted many times, its appropriateness is not debatable. A real leader is someone who is active in his influence on those who are following him. No one appreciates someone who takes this approach; do as I say do, not as I do. As a leader you are to set the pace.
Know your strengths and weaknesses. Do not be so naïve to think that you have no weaknesses. Those who follow you know your weaknesses all too well, and have a clear opinion about how good you are as a leader. Make yourself accountable to someone you trust who will speak the truth to you without fear of reprisal.
Understand where your strengths lie.Ever leader should realize that his greatest strength lies with empowered followers. The most ineffective leader is one who tries to do everything himself, and/or micromanages those around him. Your first job is to surround yourself with champions. Choose bright, able people who have a positive attitude and a good work ethic. Then, begin to train them to do your job. Pour yourself into them, teach and mentor them. Happy is the day when you learn that you can only do so much, but if you train ten people, who know what you know, you can do ten times as much.
Develop a leadership mentality. Nothing speaks louder that a leader is unqualified than paranoia. Do not be afraid to delegate and trust those who work around you. Managers, who fear they will be replaced, usually will be, because their fear causes them to fail. A real leader always works as though he owns the company, preparing others to lead, helping others to learn, and mentoring his champions to take over if need be. A leader does not take the credit for success. Give the credit to your team members. Remember that success is measured, not by what you think about yourself, but by what others think, and how much they value you. You have no idea how far reaching words of praise, on the lips of others, will take you. Careers are built, not on solo performances, but on how well you can lead and work with a team. Do not be afraid to take the blame for team failures. A real leader shields others from blame and never points the finger at someone else. The most frustrating thing about people in today’s workplace is the lack of anyone willing to take responsibility. As a leader, step up to the plate and take responsibility. Does that mean that as a leader you do not hold your team members accountable? As a manager you should always give feedback. This is true of successes and failures. After every milestone, you should sit down with the team as a whole and review the project. Do not allow the blame game, even in the group meeting. In front of your team, either accept the blame for the failure, or thank them for the success. Then, always hold private, one-on-one meetings with each member, praising their strengths, and talking about their weaknesses. Offer additional training, and express your confidence in their abilities to succeed.
Develop listening skills. As a leader, remember that those who work with you are people, with problems and issues outside of the workplace. You are the guardian of their time and can have tremendous impact on their home life. Allowing them some flexibility will go a long way towards your success as a manager. Learn to listen, and create an environment in which they can come to you with problems, both work issues and life problems, and give them a chance to share those with you. You should move swiftly to fix any work problems, and while you may not be able to fix the home issues, at least you can empathize and may offer advice.

In many ways, you affect the atmosphere of the workplace. People perform better in a stress-free work environment. Unreasonable demands on time, micromanaging and lack of trust, and failure to deal with interpersonal conflicts within the group will create friction and stress, and will have long term negative effects. As a manager you should always be aware of these issues and work to create an atmosphere where people want to come to work.
Conclusion
Success as a manager is measured in more ways than just the bottom line. If you show your employees that you care for them, they will be motivated less by money, and more by feelings of being valued, empowered, and happy. Of course, one of your major duties is to see they are taken care of financially. Value and appreciation will go a long way in making your employees happy, and will reflect back on you in many ways as a manager.

By Dr M Smith