Recruiters help you get the right person for any position

Published on Wednesday, Sep 16, 2009

The labour market is highly competitive and finding good employees is real tough despite the ongoing recession. Hiring managers rack their brains on how to find qualified professionals especially for the hard-to-fill positions.

Companies can no longer rely on ‘help wanted’ classifieds and wait for the applicants to pour in. It is not only a daunting challenge to wade through the hordes of resumes, but there may not be any good ones to begin with.

What’s more, the right candidate for your job may be happily employed elsewhere and for all you know, he may not even be looking for a change. This is where a recruiter/head-hunter/search agent enters the scene.

It is prudent to use the services of these skilled specialists as they are trained to source the best who go on to become valued employees of the organisation. The benefits are wide-ranging, such as:

You can get search firms specialised to your industry, sector or even type of job opening. This will enable them to help you hire the best candidate for your specific needs - be it qualifications, experience or skills.

Recruiters not only maintain an extensive database of candidates and network of contacts much beyond your individual range, but also can further tap multiple avenues to seek out qualified candidates for the job opening. The extensive experience also helps them identify where exactly to look and how, improving your chances of getting the right employee for the job.

The search professionals will be better equipped to clearly understand the job requirements and can respond quickly leading to faster and better results. According to Linda Wagner, President of Technical Professional Staffing, “Recruiters can be a valued resource for the company, because they can respond quickly to the company’s needs, saving both time and money.”

They have the knack for picking the right candidates from the hordes of applicants, thus saving you valuable time. Recruiters can easily identify hidden prospects that are neither on the job market nor read in classifieds or circulate resumes. They will know how to approach them, make them aware of the ‘golden’ opportunity and gradually wean them away from their current jobs.

Confidentiality becomes an added advantage as you can quietly conduct a search without advertising publicly, especially for key openings or simply keep employees from knowing that you are replacing someone. In fact, “Confidentiality can keep competitors from being tipped off to management shake-ups, new product and market initiatives, and can protect against employee and supplier apprehension. Recruiters value the sensitive information they become aware of during the search process and respect their client’s vulnerability.”

Recruiters are also closely aware of industry trends and can offer objective opinions for any job opening and salary information.

Apart from this, recruiters also play an active role in the entire recruitment process right from providing an objective analysis of the candidates’ vis-À-vis the job requirements and conducting background checks of employment history, education and references to guiding you through the interview, final selection and salary negotiations.

Apart from this, they also play a strategic role in personnel planning.

Therefore, it makes sense to reap the expertise, resources and efficiency of third-party recruiters. Not only will this ensure a good fit for the job, but also save your valuable time and efforts leaving you free to concentrate on other important tasks.

While detractors can argue that using search firms is very expensive, fact is that it yields good value for money by both reducing costly hiring mistakes and improving the quality of your staff. As one manager outlines it, “The benefit of using a recruiter can be weighed against the cost of preparing and executing an advertisement campaign, screening and qualifying candidates, and operating without a needed employee for an extended length of time, compared to the relative insurance of getting the right person for the job.”

Moreover, you can always hire the services on a contingency basis where you do not have to pay until the position is successfully filled.

Then again, recruiters can be used solely for crucial positions like technical jobs and middle/upper management openings, skipping them for regular, dead-end ones. So sit back and let a recruiter do the work for you.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Perfectionism is a good trait, but overdoing it may cause slowdown

Published on Wednesday, Sep 16, 2009

We have a tendency to decry perfectionists. There is much hue and cry that such sticklers are obsessed workaholics who can never relax, always need to be in control and are excessively sensitive to criticism. Fearing failure, they continuously reproach themselves over the slightest error. Add to this the stubborn and confrontational traits, and little wonder that many perfectionists try to keep their innate nature under wraps.

Like every coin there are two sides to this supposed ‘neurosis’ as well. Yes, startling but true, it is this ‘unhealthy’ perfectionism itself that drives an individual towards great achievement and extraordinary results. In fact, scratch the surface of any high achiever and in all probability you will find a perfectionist. And it is mostly perfectionism that makes them great!

The tendency to strive for excellence turns out as not only healthy, but even desirable! If you are still unconvinced, let’s take a look at what makes perfectionists so sought-after: Perfectionists always set high goals and then work immensely hard to achieve them. They will persevere in the face of the toughest obstacles without even thinking of giving up the pursuit. They are driven to constantly excel and outperform others. The motivation to be the best forms the life force driving them to persist towards brilliance.

They have a critical eye and pay diligent attention to detail and quality. Never failing to miss the slightest thing, they often even anticipate unforeseen issues. Needless to say, nothing less than perfect is acceptable and perfectionists will never settle for mediocre work, try to cut corners or resort to an ‘it will do’ attitude. In fact, the constant pursuit of excellence itself will never let them rest on their laurels. Perfectionists are not only passionate about their work, but also gain both pleasure and pride from the results of their efforts.

Perfectionists not only set high standards for themselves, but will not let others get away with shoddy work either. They are not afraid to confront low-performers and always push them to do better, thus teaching others to raise their standards and pursue best practices.

To sum up in the words of Gary Ryan Blair, a visionary and strategic thinker, “Perfectionists search for ways to make the complex simple, visualise the perfect outcome, and work with an obsessive sense of conviction to make their vision a reality.”

It is high time that organisations start realising that perfectionism is a sign of commitment and devotion to work. This ‘damaging’ trait indeed is what empowers them to achieve more, so much more. So, think, can you afford to lose these achievers who are mainly responsible for your business success or have them slowly turn into sloppy workers?

So start recognising and protecting employees at all levels who have perfectionist instincts. Understand that it is never easy to be a perfectionist; it takes enormous courage and the least it deserves is appropriate appreciation. Management should celebrate the important role of these ‘special people’. Try to always look after them by offering requisite support and public praise/rewards. Hand in hand, also foster a culture of perfectionism across the board that motivates everyone towards higher achievements.

On the flip side, perfectionists also need to be dealt with a firm hand, as they are often liable to establish unrealistic goals and then needlessly beat themselves up over the supposed ‘failure’. Teach them to set achievable standards and take sensible risks while building the resilience to face disappointments, learn from the mistakes and move on. Try to rationalise that getting excessively lost in the minor details wastes not only time and energy but also leads to missed opportunities.

What is needed is an objective and positive mindset that is not tunnel-visioned and can accept constructive criticism without getting defensive. Therefore, high achievers should balance their perfectionism with pragmatism by subtracting the negative obsessive traits!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Team spirit is not about competition but cooperation

Published on Wednesday, Sep 09, 2009

We have all seen geese flying in the V formation, but ever wondered why that is so? Well, as each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 per cent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own! That’s how teamwork pays.

On the same lines, teams are the predominant way we work now. In fact, most organisations are reorganising their workplaces into flatter team structures that may even be scattered across the country or the globe for that matter. Evidently, gone are the days when we could be our own leader and do our own work independently without ever seeking assistance!With the world embracing teams at large, employees have no choice but to work together and contribute their skills, knowledge, talent and abilities in the quest to achieve common goals. This importance of teamwork has grown all the more in today’s turbulent times as joint efforts and collaboration dictates our every survival. Yet, many of us still prefer to go it alone rather than work in teams.

At this juncture, it pays to understand the importance of the new culture of teamwork and how it really makes a difference. Teamwork benefits both the team members and the organisation. It not only makes things easier and reduces your individual workload, but you can also do so much more. As the saying goes, ‘many hands make light work’.The joint efforts will also help you to achieve goals quicker and produce incredible results. In fact, it is team action that can literally move mountains!

Then there is the unbeatable feeling of empowerment that comes from achieving things together that you could never have otherwise been able to manage alone. As one team worker rightly remarked, “It makes me feel part of something larger than what my job position describes as my role!” This will also build your self-esteem and confidence, not to mention a budding sense of community with the team.

Apart from this, you are free to focus on what you are good at, leaving the rest to others with distinct skills. On the other hand, you can also easily learn new skills from each other thus enhancing your individual proficiencies.

Needless to say, teamwork is not only important but also essential – it is the only way to be successful!

How to stand by each other

It’s a challenge to be a contributing member of a team – joining hands will not happen on its own, you have to work towards it by moulding yourself accordingly and be willing to work together.

This begins with first understanding why the team really exists, what are the common goals, vision and purpose besides what is your own unique role and responsibilities. You have to be willing to go the distance, i.e. be prepared to help others as well as open to accepting help when needed. Teamwork calls for constant personal interaction and open communication as you readily share ideas, information and know-how. Also, put aside your personal opinions, issues and aspirations to focus on the greater good of the team.

There is hard work and compromise involved as you share leadership (if there is no team leader) and take turns doing the difficult jobs.

Again, team spirit is not about competition (me vs. others) but cooperation (me with others) as you willingly join hands and combine efforts. This is not to say that you as an individual are no longer important. But you do have to go beyond individual accomplishments to be a true team player. You also have to stand by each other as you do your best to support, encourage and inspire everyone. Such selflessness requires a positive attitude, harmony and wholehearted dedication to the team. To sum up, it’s actually a great privilege to be a part of a team once you master the fundamentals and start working together!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Job success means not being overwhelmed by emergencies

Published on Wednesday, Sep 09, 2009

Nothing ever goes as planned! Most things have a tendency not to happen the way we plan or want them to. There will always be something that can throw a spanner sending the best laid plans for a mighty toss. And the only thing predictable about them is that they are unpredictable!

For instance, the computer chooses to crash just when you are in the middle of preparing a critical document and were just about to save your work! Coffee spills all over a memo that you oh-so-painstakingly prepared! A projector that was working just fine suddenly conks off amidst an important presentation! The list is endless…

Needless to say, such unexpected events wreak havoc will get you stressed and press the panic button in the face of the sudden crisis.

Nevertheless, unforeseen situations are a part of work and life – they crop up every now and then but when we least expect them to. Yet, they also present a golden opportunity to prove yourself. After all, it is how you react to the difficulties and deal with the challenges that can set you apart from the crowd.

Therefore, your job success can depend on not being overwhelmed by last-minute emergencies and adeptly taking care of the most difficult situation. Calmly dealing with the unexpected will not only earn you kudos from the boss/manager but also paint you in a resourceful and brilliant light – a definite stepping-stone to career success.

Taking the unexpected in your stride: Expectedly, when something strikes out of the blue, things will go haywire around you, as everyone gets flustered and anxious. The trick is to stay calm and not let the unexpected ruffle your feathers.

Decide that you will never let unanticipated difficulties stop you from achieving your goals and that you will do your best to work around the obstacles. This will help you to maintain a positive perspective and act sensibly even in the face of the unforeseen.

Instead of panicking over the dire consequences, you should continue to think rationally and try your best to pull things together.

Yet, you cannot afford to randomly attack the problem, hoping that the correct solution will materialise. The focus should be on proactively finding a possible solution by getting to the core of the issue.

Think over various options – what can be done and what cannot, what steps are needed to solve the problem – and then prioritise your actions accordingly. This calls for some creativity and fine judgment as you constantly try to improvise and look for suitable alternatives.

Once you have a feasible solution in hand, go ahead and deal with the situation quickly and effectively. If needed, do not hesitate to seek assistance or join hands with others in your quest to restoring normalcy. And once done, try to learn from the situation as to what was done right as well as what can be done differently.

Another wise suggestion from the experts is to try to expect the unexpected! This calls for anticipating all possibilities that something can probably go wrong. Then create contingency plans in advance like, ‘If this will happen, I will do this’ to cover every possibility.

For instance, your emergency toolkit can consist of backup lists of repairmen, temporary employment agencies and the like. And voila, you can instantly find solutions in the face of the direst crisis! All it will take is a couple of phone calls at best.

Yet, bear in mind that it is never possible to predict or even plan for every contingency. Else, it would no longer remain ‘unexpected’. All you can do is persist in the face of the unforeseen problem and try to roll with the punches.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Good recruiters understand hiring priorities of client

Published on Wednesday, Sep 09, 2009

Recruiters are a dime a dozen. They are out there everywhere – wooing candidates as well as persuading client companies to let them fill the open positions.

So what is it that sets you apart from the crowd? Why should either a jobseeker or an organisation choose your staffing services over the rest?

Needless to say, you have to be exceptionally good at your job- help companies hire the right people as well as help candidates find the right job.

Only when you can perfectly match right jobs with right employees in a constant manner will you become a true partner to your client companies plus a true career consultant to your job-seeking candidates. And that alone is what will get people from both sides of the hiring table flocking to you.

How to go about it: Becoming an expert recruiter calls for a new approach where you do not simply drop 60 to70 ‘long shot’ resumes on your client’s desk in a bid to fill an open assignment.

Instead, shift your concentration from ‘the more the merrier’ to finding a couple of impressive candidates that are a dead-ringer for the job profile. This calls for carefully pre-qualifying the candidates in such a way that you are sure that each one is eligible to get a job offer!

Towards this end, you have to clearly understand the hiring priorities of the client organisation, what the managers are looking for as well as what really is needed to be successful in the open position.

This careful identification will further enable you to craft even the routine job descriptions as compelling career opportunities that attract top candidates.

Another key domain is to aggressively source candidates from all possible avenues.

Design a stimulating advertising strategy that taps varied sources from job boards, classifieds and internet postings to cold calls, referrals and an effective applicant tracking system so as to maximise your effectiveness in netting the best applicants for the open job.

Relentless networking in the right circles will also pay off in the form of access to talented people who can help you find more candidates like themselves.

The candidate interview is an integral step where you have to carefully assess competencies by asking the right questions that draw out the applicant.

You also have to be a good listener to clearly understand what the candidate is saying as well as establish a rapport with him.

This also opens a chance to sell him on the ‘fabulous’ opportunity and make him hanker after the job as a stepping-stone to his career advancement. On the other hand, the onus is also on you to convince the hiring organisation of the candidate’s competencies as a perfect match to the job in question.

As a top consultant and columnist observes, “Good recruiters can make job pressures look like exciting challenges to a candidate and infuse enthusiasm for the candidate’s abilities in the hiring managers.”

For this, you have to work towards developing an effective relationship with the hiring managers to show that you support them and are a part of the team.

Candidate care is another vital aspect of being a good recruiter.

You have to function as a mentor and guide, knowing exactly when to hold the candidate’s hand and when to push him to make an acceptance decision. Willingly share your expertise to prepare him for the interview with the hiring manager.

Also, try your best to understand the candidate’s actual needs that will boost his career as against simply trying to sell him the job just to further your own ends.

Simultaneously, try to subtly sway the client manager in favour of good candidates so as to make better hiring decisions. Also, know how to effectively handle objections, concerns and rebuttals from both sides.

Apart from this, you have to present a professional, honest, ethical and reliable demeanour to show that you are a responsible recruiter who will never misrepresent jobs/candidates.

To sum up, you have to work hard to become an efficient recruiter who has a keen eye for matching ‘great fit’ jobs and candidates.

This will reduce your send-outs per hire and increase your placement ratios and candidates will start liking you and hiring companies will respect you immensely.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Adjust to the present day by letting go of the past

Published on Wednesday, Sep 09, 2009

Some people perennially live in the past. You might be one of them if you find yourself wistfully hankering after the good old days, constantly griping to the tune of, ‘in our times…’, ‘those were the days…’ or ‘way back then…’

You may constantly think about an old job, boss, way of doing things or even your college/childhood days and want it back very badly. Obstinately living in the past, you insist on working/behaving in the same way as before even to the extent of applying old solutions to new problems.

In short, such people live on the fringes of today as the past seems more real to them than the present. Therefore, they hang on to the memories with all their might and simply refuse to let go.Such an obsessive nostalgia is actually imprisoning and it leaves you incapable of handling the slightest change, be it even a shift in your cubicle location! You may reason that the bittersweet memories are quite comforting, but fact is that the fixated yearning can overcome your life leaving you both frustrated and unproductive. You alone stand to suffer as the undue negativity towards the present slowly robs you of all satisfaction and happiness. You also become lax; procrastinate everything and can even end up in depression. Prudence dictates that you should wake up and adjust to the present day by letting go of the past. After all, yesterday is history and no one can return to it or get it back. Especially during a rough patch like today, it makes sense to leave the past behind and get on with the future. To quote Alan Watts, “I have realised that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is!” The past is in fact good; it has moulded you into what you are today. Moreover occasionally going down memory lane can actually raise your spirits when the present is pulling you down. It is only when you reminisce too long and cling on to what has happened that can spoil the present.

So, remember that an all-pervasive nostalgia will only stagnate your life. Being stuck in the past is what is making you feel lost in the present. And you cannot and should not let the past steal your present. This is possible only when you consciously try to put the past behind you. Realise that the past is gone for good and it is pointless trying to get it back; this will just hinder your present even to the extent of affecting your work. Moreover, your longing is in fact a veiled attempt to escape from reality.

Then again, everything in the past always seems perfect because we subconsciously tend to obliterate the difficulties and remember only the good parts. This paints the past in an extraordinarily favourable light, which the present can never match up, no matter how wonderful it may be! Therefore to move forward, try to become free of the enslaving past, as it is the only way to go. Moving on to better things calls for a conscious decision to leave the past where it should be and rejoice in the present.

To change your perspective, start paying attention and become aware of what is happening around you. Do not be afraid of change but accept it as a constant and natural part of life. Be open and let new things enter your life. This will shift your mind out of the rut and enable you to experience new things. Optimistically looking for the positives in today and learning from them will also make you more empowered.

You will still have to control your thoughts from wandering to what or how you did things before and instead concentrate on what you want to do, where you want to go and what you want to accomplish. Even thinking long-term and planning for the future will fill you with motivation, gusto and zeal.

Besides, never ever make the mistake of judging what is happening today by the barometer of yesterday. It may seem difficult, but take heart in the wise words, “As lousy as things are now, tomorrow they will be your good old days!” So cherish the past but do not let it keep you from building new and beautiful memories for tomorrow. After all, the future is, in a sense, only memories that are waiting to happen!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Recruiters must essentially prepare candidates before interview

Published on Wednesday, Sep 02, 2009

As a recruiter, you have found some real good candidates for the client’s job. But, when you place them in front of the hiring employer, none of them, not even the trophy candidate, makes it to the final selection.

You have to keep searching over and over again with no end in sight. Many a times the interviewing process itself happens to interfere with what can otherwise be good hiring decisions!

Because the fact is that a seemingly strong candidate who clearly meets the job criteria may still fail to make it just because he does not interview well or possesses a slightly radical mix of qualifications. Else, the hiring manager may himself have poor interviewing skills or his emotions/bias may keep him from properly assessing the applicant’s competency. Such superficial reasons often cause a promising deal to fall through.

Well, taking the time to prepare the candidates before they meet with the hiring manager can eliminate a lot of these interview hiccups. This will help them to become confident and come across as savvy, high-class candidates instead of remaining a nervous and worried lot.

Obviously, this will boost your productivity enabling you to make many more placements in lesser time spans. In fact, “candidate prepping” can improve your hiring batting average (sendouts per hire) by 25- 30 per cent. Apart from closing more deals, it will also allow you to build more credibility on both sides of the hiring table. Promoting candidates in this way shows that you care about them and they will certainly spread the good word. And, sending well-prepared, capable candidates is bound to impress the clients with your calibre and standing.

Do it right: “Candidate prepping” is much more than just telling a candidate where to go and whom to meet with. It consists of sagacious advice that will enable them to do their best during the interview.

Pre-interview counselling begins with helping the candidate understand the real job needs and what is expected of him. For this, as the recruiter you yourself have to first realise exactly what the employer is looking for.

Cover the basics about the hiring organisation like goals, philosophy, culture, work environment, interviewers and other dos and don’ts. This information can be shrewdly incorporated by the candidate in the interview answers, thus showing that he is both well-informed and prepared. You can also provide links to the company website and recent articles for further valuable insight.

Then, train them for the actual interview like - how to open the interview, what are the common/expected questions and how to sell their strong points. For this, indulge in a detailed discussion about the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses and how he can present them. Also, help him to recognise his accomplishments and prepare proper examples accordingly.

Explain that the key is to not speak in generalities but provide specific details as they are more convincing. For instance, instead of merely saying that ‘I like to work with figures’, ‘am good at sales’ or ‘have strong team skills’, illustrate with ‘In July 2009, I was part of…… and achieved…..’

But it is again important to consciously limit yourself to helping the candidate plan his responses and tailor them to the interviewer. Never go overboard by telling him precisely how to answer questions or provide scripts as he will only end up sounding hackneyed.

Moreover, coach the candidate to take the lead if the interview does not seem to be going anywhere by subtly guiding the interviewer towards his skills set, achievements or what he has to offer.

Apart from providing meaningful and impressive answers, the candidate should also be trained to ask insightful questions about the job content, position requirements, new challenges and resources available.

He should know how to clarify whether his responses are adequate and also whether he meets the job requirements with a timely, ‘Is that what you are looking for’ or ‘Should I give you more examples of work that I have done that’s comparable’. Also, coach him on how to show enthusiasm for the job, how to ask for the job outright and finally how to close the interview.

Apart from this, providing information on how to dress, speak and present oneself is crucial. Such an overall prepping will help the candidate to overcome his apprehensions and portray confidence.

What’s more, as top trainer and consultant, Lou Adler elucidates, “If you handle the candidate prep well enough, you can also prep your clients without them even knowing it!”

To sum up, remember that the candidate represents you and your company to the client employer. You obviously owe it to him to do everything possible to prepare him for the big day. While not every candidate will get the job, they will definitely thank you profusely for the assistance as well as help you to scale new heights of success.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Attitude surveys can reveal true facts about HR climate

Published on Wednesday, Sep 02, 2009

Which organisation would not like to assess the opinions, morale, performance level and other concerns of its employees? And which management would not care to measure the satisfaction of its staff as well as track the changes in satisfaction over time?

But the question is : how? Well, all that you have to do is solicit employee opinion to understand how they actually think and feel. Actually, employee attitude surveys form an inexpensive diagnostic tool for ‘taking the pulse’ of the workforce.

Collecting feedback from employees reveals a true picture of the internal health of the organisation and its needs, the impact of its policies and procedures. It also helps explore the root cause of various problems like low morale, declining productivity or high turnover.

The management stands to gain valuable insight into how the employees actually perceive the organisation in addition to which areas need their attention.

Not only can they identify possible barriers but also become equipped to revise policies and focus development programmes so as to better meet employee needs.

The overall benefit is that the organisation can successfully assess employee attitude as a way to enhance management-employee relations, motivate employees and also maximise their job satisfaction.

In fact, management consultant Louis E. Tagliaferri likens an employee attitude survey to “A financial balance sheet providing a picture of the human resource climate at a particular time!”

Going about it: Organising an employee satisfaction survey begins with a definite identification of the end goals of the survey. Such surveys can be used to measure different dimensions of the organisation ranging from communication, corporate culture, working conditions, compensation, benefits, recognition and rewards, teamwork and interpersonal relations to creativity, innovation, functional expertise, leadership, mentoring, staff development, training and safety concerns.

The survey is generally designed as a self-completion questionnaire consisting of a series of multiple choice questions with appropriate rating scales. You can also include a few open-ended questions soliciting detailed, free-style comments. What is important is that the questions should be clear, relevant and comprehensive with consistent phrasing. They should also be regularly reviewed for changes and improvements.

Some sample questions are:

* I know my job requirements, what is expected of me on a daily basis.

* Management has created an open, comfortable work environment.

* My company values its employees.

* I agree with the mission statement put forth by my company.

* Management recognises, makes use of my abilities and skills.

* I am treated with respect by management and the people I work with.

* I have received the training I need to do my job efficiently.

* I am encouraged to develop new, more efficient ways to do my work.

* Management does a good job communicating information about changes that may affect employees.

* Employees work well together to solve problems.

* I believe my company is committed to creating a diverse environment.

* Management has a strong focus on customer service.

* I receive fair compensation.

* I am recognised for my accomplishments.

* I am involved in decision making that affects my job.

* Management is flexible, understands the importance of balancing my work and personal life.

* What changes, if any, do you feel need to be made in the company to improve working conditions?

The survey can be administered on paper, by electronic means or even use an online system. It is essential to provide clear instructions and set aside a specific time for completing the survey instead of casually handing it over.

Now comes the process of compilation, collation and analysis.

The employee ratings should be averaged and answers carefully summarised so as to identify themes, recommendations and relevant conclusions. The results can be analysed by items, factors or departments to discover both hidden strengths and weaknesses.

The process can be carried out in-house or handed over to a third party to utilize the skills and experience of outside consultants in both designing and interpreting the survey.

One major drawback is that employees may be unwilling to honestly attempt the survey as they fear negative repercussions. Management has to ensure confidentiality in the feedback process to enhance valid and genuine answers. The anonymity will encourage employees to be frank and open; else results will be quite ineffective.

Share results: It is equally important to share the survey results with the workforce in the form of an objective summary of both the positive and negative findings.

Then again, employees are quite cynical that nothing ever happens after the surveys. Instead of sitting on the results, management should ensure that they take action on the findings and implement changes accordingly.

This will show that the organisation listens to its staff and values their views and opinions.

This will in turn pay huge dividends in the form of dramatic improvements in employee commitment, cooperation and satisfaction.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Outgrown your mentor? Say goodbye gracefully

Published on Wednesday, Aug 26, 2009

You are deeply indebted to your mentor. It is his wise counsel, perception and support that have made you what you are today.

Without the steady hand on your shoulder, you may not really have been able to move up the corporate ladder so quickly.

And, yet you have now come to a point where you don’t really need your mentor any longer. While you will remain eternally grateful for all the help and support, you find yourself itching to move out of his shadow and into your own.

Well, all good things have to come to an end. It is inevitable, as you cannot actually work with the same mentor all your life.

Not if you really want to grow and move into the front line. For instance, in Shakespeare’s Henry V, Prince Hal has to ultimately repudiate his amusing companion – the devil-may-care giant, Falstaff – when Hal becomes King!

It obviously is time to ‘retire’ the mentor, but the problem is that you two may have become quite close and care about each other. The deep friendship makes you want to protect him from feeling hurt or angry over the apparent ‘rejection’. Not to mention that the parting will be equally distressing for you too.

Protégées outgrow their mentors all the time. There is no choice but to move on, yet the dilemma is that there is a lot at stake with numerous repercussions in store. Distancing yourself will be hard, so here’s how to do it right:

Introspect: Begin by indulging in a deep introspection to objectively assess whether the mentor-mentee relationship has really changed. The warning signs can be varied like you need your mentor’s advice less often or he no longer has anything new to offer or you have actually risen higher than him. It may so happen that the mentor develops a conflict of interest or starts showing increasingly poor judgment that makes you feel both stifled.

A time may even come when his behaviour may actually be setting you back, making him more of a liability!

Clean break: Engage in a forthright but graceful discussion on the lines of, “I have learned a lot from you and thanks to your help I am now ready to take it on my own.” Chances are that the mentor may also harbour the same thoughts leading to a polite, mutual agreement to end the mentorship.

Never ever accuse your mentor of being wrong or outdated. He has helped you a great deal and deserves your respect and appreciation right till the end.

Be honest and communicate that while you are grateful for the support, you do want to expand your horizons and become more successful.

Save friendship: Try to distance yourself purely on a professional level so that you can save the promising friendship. You cannot risk alienating him, especially if he still forms a part of your professional circle. What’s more, many mentors and protégées have successfully moved on to maintain a social relationship.

A prudent step would be to commemorate the moment with, “You have seen me through so much. I would like to celebrate our fruitful achievements now.” The finishing touch would be to honour him with an appropriate gift.

While you may outgrow a mentor, you never actually outgrow the need for mentoring. What you need is to find someone else who is more appropriate for the new challenges and learning curve ahead of you.

Remember that if you have taken care not to break your bridges, you can always go back to the erstwhile mentor if you need a sounding board or even just a sympathetic ear!

To sum up in the words on an expert, “Casting aside a mentor raises very personal questions about character, loyalty and commitment. Everyone faces a time when this must be done. How it is done will leave a lasting mark. To do it well requires grace, inner clarity, the willingness to act decisively and a strong sense of compassion.”

PAYAL CHANANIA

Self control best weapon to deal with dominating boss

Published on Wednesday, Aug 26, 2009

Do you happen to work with a dominating colleague who always wants to run the show and get his way by taking over all situations?

Or, do you have a manipulative boss who wants to control every aspect of your work from what and when you do to how you do it, even to the extent of bulldozing you?

Yes. You are then saddled with an obnoxious control freak who is overwhelmingly dominating and interfering. He leaves you with no choice as he always insists on calling all the shots and if you are not looking, may just take over your whole life!

Needless to say, it is difficult to work with a control freak on a daily basis. Not only does he make your life exhausting and stressful but can also affect the quality of your work.

While you cannot let such a person run your life, you do have to find ways to work with him.

Here are a few tips on the same:

The oldest and simplest rule is to not give him control over you in the first place. Read the warning signs of arrogance and superiority and try to maintain a distance from the start. While this may appear quite difficult, what you should do is step around his controlling actions and carry on with your work.

The control freak will try every trick in the book to dominate your work and use you as a puppet. If you lash out in return or get agitated like him, it will only give him more power over you. What you should do is stay calm and focussed in spite of the tension. Even if you feel intimidated or threatened, do not reveal that the actions are affecting you – he will be stupefied and have no choice but to give up soon. Arguing with a control freak is a complete waste of time, as he will continue to bicker to no end until you give in and he has his way. Challenging him comes with its own set of risks, as he will never be open to any sort of negotiation. Instead, a simple trick is to just pretend to agree with him on especially the small things (particularly if he is the boss).

Realise that all he wants is to be heard. You have to be kind and patient as you hear out everything that he has to say and it’s half the battle won!

Do not forget to show that you are considering what he has said and value his opinion so that he feels acknowledged.While you may have to give in a bit just to keep the peace, always stand your ground. You should know when to say ‘no’.

While the control freak will always try to control the agenda, you can attempt to subtly direct him to decisions and conclusions, but without ever letting him realise what you are upto.

Step back and let him hog the limelight while you shrewdly lead him around to your way of thinking.

In spite of everything, it is easy to start feeling humiliated and incapable around a control freak. The constant domination can hit your self-esteem making you feel degraded and worthless.

You have to protect yourself by remembering that the controlling actions actually stem from his hidden fears, anger and insecurities.

He is actually terrified of failure and is trying to control others just to protect himself.

All you need is lots of self-control and you can soon restore your control over both your life and work!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Managers need to look beyond cost factor in outsourcing

Published on Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009

Outsourcing seems to be the hottest buzzword - a popular shortcut to cost cutting.

Many organisations fancy it as an easy escape route to reduce expenses by getting the work done as cheaply as possible.

But, if you feel that way and simply concentrate on the cost-benefit, you may only end up saddled with poor results.

This is because outsourcing often does not work like we want it to. In fact, many horror stories are emerging thanks to managers focussing solely on the cost variable.

Well, you have to look beyond the larger picture and not make cost cutting or getting cheap labour the only motivation for outsourcing.

The real reason for outsourcing lies in the quest for finding people who can do the work better than you can! Operating with this mindset of tapping into a larger talent pool alone can open up a world of new opportunities for companies both large and small. Like:

• Outsourcing delivers rich gains from the expertise and experience of specialists leading to better quality results and lesser mistakes i.e., maximum efficiency. You can also leverage the access to new and expensive technologies.

• Hiring experts to do your work not only helps you to exploit their proficiency but also saves time as they can obviously do the work much faster than you ever could. For instance, you no longer need to spend hours over your accounting – simply outsource it to an expert who can do it in a jiffy!

• You can now concentrate your time and resources on the core priorities and strategic initiatives so as to manage the business efficiently. Sans the stress of peripheral problems, you are free to enhance what you do best or what needs your attention most, leading to higher profits.

• This is not to say that outsourcing will not reduce your operating costs. You stand to gain a lot from the lower service expenses and are saved the need to set up extra infrastructure.

This is also a flexible option as you can pay for the services only when you need them vis-À-vis maintaining large, full-time staff in-house.

But, the key is to look at cost saving as a desirable offshoot of outsourcing and not let it become the primary focal point.

In fact, according to Gartner, “Saving money isn’t the only reason to outsource. It’s not even the top one these days!”

Getting it right: It’s easy to want to outsource – the challenging part is how to do it.

The dilemma begins with what to outsource. While outsourcing can be used in a variety of ways in different industries and sectors ranging from IT, data entry, back office and customer support to recruitment, payroll, employee training and even manufacturing.

Yet, not every application can be outsourced. You have to select a viable one based on size, complexity, stability, resources, skills or technology required. And, needless to say, none of the core functions can ever be outsourced! Stick to routine, non-core jobs that are either temporary or cause a heavy drain on resources.

Now comes the prudent selection of a suitable service provider.

Do your homework to choose the right outsourcing partner from a list of choices. Try to find out everything about the provider and then handle the impending process carefully.

Sit down and determine the minute details together like scope of work, time frame, performance indicators, quality assurance and reporting relationship. These standards of performance should be clearly outlined in the contract at the outset itself. Also, it is always advisable to retain the decision-making authority.

In addition, as Sun Services vice president and CTO, Dan Berg elucidates “The way to do it is looking at the existing process and its related outcomes and then asking the outsourcing partner how they would achieve the same or better outcome by leveraging their own established processes and best practices. The combination of process definition and process execution is crucial.”

Once the outsourcing arrangement is underway, be patient and allow for initial hiccups as the provider tries to familiarise with the work. Also, maintain constant communication with regular meetings where you are both updated of the progress and can also discuss any issues.

All said and done, the success and effectiveness of the collaboration will depend on your individual relationship.

So, try to establish a working partnership that is compatible, satisfactory and based on a mutual understanding of needs. This will turn outsourcing into a strategic tool that enhances both productivity and profitability.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Too much talk during interview brings in negative results

Published on Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009

Many job candidates tend to run off at the mouth during a job interview. They babble endlessly with long monologues that show almost no sign of ending. Even the most simple and basic questions invite garrulous 15-minute answers littered with elaborate personal stories ranging from previous bosses to family trivia.

While some of these jobseekers may be naturally talkative, others are simply nervous, excited or anxious to please which makes them go overboard with superfluous and long-winded replies.

The catch is that this tendency to go on and on can cost you the job even when you would otherwise have seemed appropriately qualified!

Talking too much during an interview creates a poor impression – it is interpreted as a negative trait. The interviewer is bound to doubt your job approach when you just cannot get to the point. Or, by over-sharing you may accidentally let slip irrelevant details that are better left unsaid.

The excessive loquaciousness also cuts into interviewing time, as the interviewer obviously wants to pose further questions to learn more about you, but is unable to get in a word edgewise. What’s more, he may even reject your candidature just to avoid being saddled with your ramblings on a daily basis!

According to a survey, 36 percent of recruiters reiterate that talking too much is the most common interview mistake that job candidates make. So you might have just blown an otherwise promising chance of employment, that too without even realising it.

But, don’t despair as it’s not like you cannot do anything about it.

Here are tips to getover the habit:

Know what you will speak about – Practise answering questions in a succinct, direct and focussed manner. You can even prepare short statements for expected questions that are powerful, engaging and yet to the point. A rule of thumb is that an answer should last no longer than two minutes with basic ones drawing 30 seconds or even less.

The key is to define yourself with brevity, using every minute to its best advantage to promote your strengths and show that your background matches the position.

Know when to stop - Remember that when an interviewer asks, ‘Tell me about yourself?’ he does not want or for that matter, need to know your whole life story! So, stick to the relevant points and refrain from digressing into extraneous issues.

A simple trick is to collect your thoughts before you start speaking, talk and remain silent later on to give the interviewer a chance to respond with further questions. You can always confirm what the interviewer wants to know with a ‘Should I focus on….’ before you commence answering and also check back on the adequacy of your answer with ‘Does that give you what you are looking for?’ or ‘Do you want more examples?’.

Watch out for the warning signs – You can always take your cues from the interviewer to grasp when he is bored or you have gone on too long.

Non-verbal body language like glancing away, looking at the watch, rolling eyes, tapping a pen, wincing or stopping taking notes are obvious hints that the interviewer is exasperated with your endless discourse.

Other factors –Listen actively to what the interviewer is saying so that you understand the question and then answer in an appropriate and direct manner to show that you value his time. This give-and-take will build a positive, respectful relationship as well as reflect on your communication skills.

To sum up, less is more as talking too much can render irreparable damage to your career. On the other hand, going to the other extreme and speaking too little, with the interviewer having to pull information from you will not do you any favours either.

So be an active and responsive interview participant who fully answers questions but does not go on giving irrelevant information either!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Twitter can help in your job search

Published on Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009

Social media is all over the place. And the latest one that the world is going euphoric over Twitter.

This is primarily a social networking site, which people use to update others about where they are and what they are doing. But the good news is that this multi-faceted website can even facilitate your job search. Yes, most of us may not even think of using it for job hunting, but Twitter works as a high-powered job search tool providing much more opportunities than the other networking sites.

For example, Charulata Mehta found her current dream job as Public Relations Officer simply by tweeting to around 250 ‘followers’, ‘Anyone looking for a marketing or public relations person?’ She explains, “Within hours I had several emails, IMs, phone calls and tweets about open jobs and one actually resulted in a perfect position!”

How to

www.twitter.com works as a microblog where users can post short updates of upto 140 characters via a variety of technologies like instant messaging, sms or the usual web interface. These messages or ‘tweets’ as they are better known, are displayed on your profile page as well as automatically broadcasted to the whole world (i.e. those who have signed up to receive them). The best part is that you can easily connect to people you don’t even know. You can freely choose whom to ‘listen’ to simply by clicking on the ‘follow’ button.

Twitter offers an open forum for connecting with people you would otherwise have no chance of reaching. This incredibly broadens the field for networking, thus amplifying your job search prospects too.

Networking on Twitter may seem like the perfect way to find your next job, but how does it really work?

Shouting out to the world – Your tweets do not have to be limited to your personal activities. You can proactively write about your job search like what you are looking for, the people you have met and also the interviews you have attended. This will keep your job search on people’s radar and someone or the other is bound to know/have such a vacancy.

Making valuable connections – Twitter offers a simple and informal way to reach out to people you would like to network with - like those involved in your interest areas - without appearing intrusive.

This can range from recruiters and hiring managers to even industry experts, top executives and CEOs.

Not only do you gain the opportunity to listen and learn about what they are working on and what they are interested in, but can also attract their precious attention.

Information on open positions – Many companies and job boards have a presence on Twitter and use it to tweet about their job openings.

Also, Twitter offers a range of search tools like Twitter Search, Twellow, etc. where you can search the site by company name or other keywords.

Tweeting to a job

This online job-hunting tool is simple, but it delivers amazing results only when used correctly. Here’s how to make the best use of it:

• Sign up with a professional handle, preferably your real name and an optional job description.

• Lots of people will check out who you are and what you do. So, provide a short professional profile with links to your online resume, blog, personal website or even Facebook/LinkedIn profile.

• It is important to take the time to target, research and follow the right people instead of following people blindly and ending up with a Tweet overload. Build a strong, quality network by checking out the bio and links of a person before ‘following’ him.

• Update your tweets regularly with a prime focus on what you write. Provide productive tweets talking about your work, ideas, insights and expertise so as to portray yourself as knowledgeable in your field. You can even spread information, clear doubts and share links of professional interest to establish your credibility and also impress the right people enough to follow you.

• Twitter is not only about self-promotion. You also have to be willing to help others to gain better results for yourself.

• Also, be careful as Twitter can be quite addictive, eating up too much of your time.

To sum up in the words of an expert, “Statistics show that job search networking is much more effective when you make ‘loose’ connections - touching base with people beyond your immediate circle whose networks and contacts are much different from your own. With over three million users, Twitter offers an unparalleled opportunity to create an extended network!”

PAYAL CHANANIA

Mend those habits that slowly steal your time

Published on Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009

Minds go off at a tangent all the time. But, sometimes the casual drifting becomes more than normal and we find that we are unable to pay attention to anything. The wandering concentration sucks away our valuable time and looking back, we are left wondering where did all the time go!

All we can do is go through the motions at work and start getting increasingly forgetful. Life starts spinning out of control, progressively impacting our quality of life and work. The situation is quite serious as the vortex can even unhinge the best minds!

Truth is that small things are to blame which slowly steal away our time without our ever realising what is really happening.

The result is that we lose attention frequently and end up just wasting time, as we are unable to concentrate.

But, this does not mean that you have to necessarily go with the flow and cannot regain control on your attention.

Here are a few tips and tricks, which once integrated into your routine, will help you to stay focussed on the tasks at hand:

Sit down to think – The battle to reclaim your time and attention begins with first determining what parts of your time are being wasted.

Take the time to ponder on your schedule and mark the everyday activities that sink your time and yet do not provide any value.

You may be surprised to realise the amount of time that is wasted in sorting through your mails/reports, gossiping around the water cooler, musing over your work or even daydreaming! Skipping or at least minimising these idling activities makes good sense.

Let go of those habits – Operating simply on habits or reflexes even when they suck away time is unhealthy. Think about such tendencies like carefully reading every report in detail or sitting through every meeting and alter your routine accordingly.

Control your online drifting – While the Internet forms an indispensable communication and information tool, the amount of time that gets wasted in the cyber world can knock you hard. For all you know, you may be spending most of your time catching up on the email deluge, reading RSS feeds, blogging or casually surfing the web.

It makes sense to budget your time on the Internet by say, turning off messenger alerts, setting email filters that prompt only when important messages are received and checking mails at allocated times.

Single tasking is the way to go – Working on multiple things at a time can seem quite timesaving, but ultimately the brain overload will play total havoc with your attention span.

While running from pillar to post, you will still be thinking about other things and become unable to get anything done at all. Going back to single tasking emerges as the best option as you can start concentrating solely on one task until it gets done!

Learn to say ‘No’ – A normal workday brings an endless list of demands that needlessly fritter away your time and attention. Everyone will want a slice of your attention leaving nothing for yourself.

You have to eliminate the interruptions and distractions by learning to put your foot down firmly but politely.

Start strategising – Experts advise that time management tips come in handy when it comes to reclaiming your attention. You have to decide what you want to do with your time and set priorities accordingly.

Plan out things in a to-do list (with reasonable deadlines) and deliberately focus your attention on the top ones, as they are truly important. Schedule downtime – Last but not the least; you cannot expect yourself to concentrate solely on work all the time.

Everyone needs some time to relax and simplify his or her life. Use the respite well by reconnecting with yourself, exercising or indulging in a hobby and not squander it away on watching television and the like. If you practise these simple time tested methods, you can regain some lost time.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Rejected? Don’t be dejected, but get to know reasons

Published on Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009

Your job interview has gone really well. The interviewers liked you, your skills and experience are a perfect fit and you have passed with flying colours. The management is falling all over itself to take you on and is almost on the verge of making a job offer then and there. They keep telling you how great the company is and how well you would fit in. You leave the interview convinced beyond a doubt that the job is yours for the taking. A phone call seems like a mere formality!

Even as you dream and plan of starting off the new job with a bang, everything comes crashing down. You get the call but only to hear that you have been rejected – the company does not want you. Or even worse, you are left twiddling your thumbs with no response at all.

It’s true that nobody likes being rejected. But this implausible rejection comes as a huge bombshell much beyond your belief.

To say that you are left disappointed to the core would be an understatement. Your self-esteem and confidence is smashed beyond repair. Baffling possibilities race through your mind as the big question is ‘why?’ Lets examine some of the reasons:

Found someone better – Like it or not, but nine times out of ten this is the most obvious answer. As a job opening attracts umpteen candidates, someone better may have come along after you were interviewed. He may have been more qualified/experienced, a better fit or simply more suitable. It can be a major blow to your ego, but you just lost out to someone who was even better.

Too soon – At times department heads often start interviewing candidates just to test the job market for later purposes sans any immediate hiring intentions.

The mighty reference check – Most companies have now started conducting mandatory reference checks before taking on an employee. It is possible that the background probe may have revealed something unpleasant or a previous boss/client may have put in a bad word. Sometimes, the management may even contact someone you never thought would be approached and unfortunately that someone didn’t like you.

Foul play – Unluckily for you, an antagonistic ex-colleague may have spotted you at the interview and maliciously tried to get his own back by painting you as incompetent and thus blocking your appointment. Or, he may even be trying to save his own hide, as trainer Gerry McLaughlin remarks, “There’s also the possibility that the person who recognised you was sacked from the other place and doesn’t want someone who knows that starting at his or her new place.”

Another seemingly unbelievable possibility is that your own recruiter may have played dirty by recommending another candidate above you!

So, whatever be the reason, do not let the unexpected rejection reflect on your abilities.

Put the unpleasant experience behind you and rise like the phoenix to get on with your job search.

What you can always do is politely request a reason for turning you down. While most companies offer canned or trivial responses like ‘You will not be happy’ or ‘The company decided to go in a different direction’, if you are lucky you may get an honest answer.

You can even take heart as your elimination may just turn out to be a bad decision, which the organisation will rue later. Finally it’s their loss, not yours!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Create a personal brand with emails

Published on Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009

We are constantly sending emails – for job hunting, work and even personal purposes. Most of these are carefully crafted to get the message across effectively as well as capture attention. Especially when it comes to a job search, the main aim is to impress the hiring managers enough to want to interview you.

So, when you take so much pain over composing an email message, how do you usually sign off the message?

Fact is that most recipients (particularly prospective employers) look at the signature immediately after reading an email. What’s more, in many cases the decision whether to read an email or trash it stems from the impactof your email signature!

But, what does the reader find? A thoughtlessly typed name at times accompanied by a hastily appended phone number!

An email signature carries much more value than we ascribe it with. It’s your chance to communicate your personal brand to the recipient and offer a unique promiseof value -whether internally within the company or externally to customers, partners and prospective hiring decision makers.

Not only can you show that you are professional and Internet-savvy, but also differentiate yourself from the rest of the competition by leaving a lasting impression at the end of an email. The additional information will also add a distinctive personality to your message, which is otherwise quite tough to achieve.

Signature block

It is quite easy to set up an email signature that gets automatically appended to every outgoing email message. Almost all email providers offer this service, but the challenging question is what goes in and what does not.

Following are a few guidelines on the same:

• Always begin your signature block with your full name (no short or nicknames allowed). This will feature right at the top and can even be in bold typeface.

• Following your name with your job title and company name lends further credibility to your email. If you are job-hunting, you can state your position title like ‘Senior Business Consultant’ or ‘Global Marketing Executive’.

• Providing a professional email address is obligatory. Many people tend to skip this as it already features in the ‘from:’ address field in the email header. But specifying your email address makes it easy to locate especially when your email gets forwarded around to other people.

• State your contact number - preferably cell phone - where you are always reachable. This will make it easy for the recipient to get in touch with you. You can also mention your postal address, though it is not always compulsory.

• Further, try to point the reader to specific areas by providing a hyperlink to your personal website, blog, visual resume, online career portfolio, professional networking profile (LinkedIn/Facebook), Twitter handle or even a book you have written. Else, you can mention important certifications or testimonials but take care that you do not overdo it with too many links.

• Provide a vibrant personal brand statement of 1-2 lines so as to showcase your strengths, passions, attributes or the unique value that you offer. This is a subtle sales pitch and should be compelling enough to differentiate you from everyone else. While this tagline carries a powerful impact, making it too verbose will only serve to turn off the recipient.

While it is essential to expand your signature from the habitual name, it should also be concise and uncluttered preferably trimmed to five lines. Keep it brief, interesting and informative where every feature stands out, insteadof a lengthy one, which only gets irritating. In fact, it often happens that some signature blocks end up longer than the message itself!

Generally speaking, including quotes or opinions is better avoided. Also, stay away from using fancy fonts, graphics, HTML formatting or emoticons in your email signature. It is better to be unobtrusive by sticking to plain text.

Apart from this, ensure that your signature block commences with a delimiter that separates the on-brand information from the restof your message. The customary delimiter is two hyphens.

Therefore, one of the easiest ways to strengthen your communication is to add a brand-building signature at the bottom of your email.

This will make both you and your message memorable!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Being laid off is not a reflection of your competency

Published on Wednesday, Aug 05, 2009

You have done all you can to secure your job in today’s recession-hit times. You are sincere, punctual, work hard and show initiative. You are doing all the right things. But one fine day your worst nightmare comes true. Your boss walks into your office and utters those dreadful words, ‘You are laid-off!’ You get your walking papers and are quite unceremoniously shoved out of the door.

After constantly working round the clock in the incessant struggle to keep your job, you suddenly find yourself with nothing to do and cannot cope with the fact that you do not have a job anymore.

Needless to say, this is the worst time for anybody to lose a job. You experience a gamut of emotions ranging from shock, denial, anger, fear, panic and desperation. You end up feeling overwhelmed, disoriented, traumatised and vulnerable to the extreme. In fact, many people end up depressed beyond belief.

Noted psychologist Edward Diener found that the loss of a job is one of only two life events powerful enough to derail a person’s normal sense of well being for an extended period of time. “The effects of a job loss linger long after the individual has returned to the workforce!”

Besides, the chances of finding another job during the current economic downturn are quite slim. Yet, you cannot afford to wallow in self-pity, rage, helplessness or whatever else you are feeling.

What you need is acceptance to be able to pick yourself up quickly from the crisis and move on towards recovery.

Following are a few tips on dealing with the trauma of losing your job:

Do not ignore your feelings - Withdrawing into a shell will only make matters worse. You have to give yourself time to express your feelings by talking it out or at least writing how you are feeling. This can be hard for some, but it is the only way you can come to terms with the reality.

Find support - Do not hesitate to ask for emotional help from sympathetic family or friends. You can even join a social group of people who have had similar experiences and learn how they are getting through the ordeal. If needed, you can also seek professional counselling, as it will provide clarity on how to deal with the situation and move on in life.

Take care - Never forget to look after yourself as it is all the more important now to stay healthy. Ensure that you eat properly, exercise regularly and maintain a daily routine so as to gain the energy to hunt for a new job. Also, go ahead and indulge yourself by learning a new hobby.

Live on a budget - Just because you are deprived of your livelihood, the bills will not stop piling up. Deal with the financial hardship by budgeting your resources and cutting down on expenses as far as possible. Having the foresight to build a nest egg will come in handy now.

Do not take it personally. Beating yourself up with suppositions like, ‘I am worthless’ or ‘If only I had…’ are a waste of time. Remember that it is not really your fault. Also, do not try to ‘get even’ with the organisation by lying, stealing or sabotaging the work. You will only end up burning your bridges for the future.

Not a disgrace - Some people feel ashamed of the ‘loss of status’ and make up excuses in front of others. You have to be frank and honest about your circumstances without letting the job loss affect your self-esteem.

For all you know, you will not only gain support and guidance, but your social discussions may also lead to your next job!

Maintain perspective - Ground yourself by focusing on the future and consider the job loss as a mere stumbling block. Positive thinking will help you to stay motivated for the tough job search ahead.

Also, remember that, with hindsight, many people who have been given their marching orders claim the experience turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to them.

Apart from this, being out of a job is a good time to think about where you want to go and where you are actually headed. You can explore your options and even change careers if needed.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Avoid these blunders, move ahead in career

Published on Wednesday, Aug 05, 2009

You know how hard you have worked to reach where you are. It has taken a lot of grit, determination and struggle to scale your position up the career ladder and craft a stellar reputation as well. And this is not the end as you still want to move up much higher.

But beware as your path is littered with several potential career landmines that can sabotage all your hard work and success. These are small, barely obvious mistakes which you may not even recognise, but even a few careless missteps can sound the death knell on your otherwise promising career.

Here’s a look at some of the top career killers that need to be avoided:

Sloppy behaviour: You cannot afford to slacken even after achieving a measure of success, as your behaviour, attitude and appearance will always be under scrutiny throughout your career lifetime. The choice is yours - how you present yourself, behave and dress can either set you apart from the crowd or paint you as an indifferent and careless slacker. So, concentrate on appearing serious, responsible and influential.

Putting off work: Break the habit of putting off things till the last-minute, especially the difficult or boring tasks. Habitual procrastination will not only make your work shoddy, but unexpected events may crop up at the last minute foiling your eleventh-hour plans for rushing the work. Such poor and inefficient performance will definitely put your career on the slow track. Instead, always take on tasks as they are presented and execute them well.

Limiting to JD: While it is imperative to concentrate on fulfilling your job responsibilities, restricting yourself to the same mundane tasks can also hinder your growth. Stop being satisfied with your job description and be on the lookout for new opportunities to demonstrate your untapped talents and initiative.

Not getting noticed: Working with your nose stuck to the grindstone can also work against you. You have to toot your own horn to shine the light on your contributions and achievements. Show that you are a valuable asset to the organisation but ensure that you go about the self-promotion in a very subtle way.

Shying from teamwork: This is the era of teamwork. If you prefer to work alone or are only concerned with yourself, you will only end up falling by the wayside. So, try to be an effective team player, but simultaneously ensure that your individual efforts and abilities do not get completely obscured in the team success.

Feeling ‘entitled’ to success: Expecting instant gratification with immediate promotions and growth can actually dampen your future career prospects. So, remember that harbouring a sense of entitlement that you ‘deserve’ to get what you want ‘right now” is self-defeating. Achieving career growth calls for sustained hard work and you have to pay your dues before you can move up anywhere.

Settling with skills set: Nobody can afford to sit on their laurels as there is a constant risk of being replaced. You have no choice but to keep your skills current and update them regularly.

Also, recognise and improve your shortcomings with requisite training. Using new ideas and approaches will also help enhance your effectiveness.

Failing to network: The importance of building and maintaining a network of contacts cannot be overemphasised.

You can never achieve success if no one inside or outside the organisation knows you. So, make it a point to hobnob with the higher-ups, build a healthy rapport and also keep in constant touch with your contacts. You never know when the association will come in handy.

Apart from these, even absenteeism, lack of punctuality, lying or failing to give credit where it is due can do real damage to your career success. This list of possible career blunders is almost unending. But even concentrating on these most important ones will enable you to keep your career on track!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Talent exodus bane of big companies

Published on Wednesday, Jul 29, 2009

Large companies have it good - they are high profile and well established which gives them a tremendous edge in attracting the best and brightest talent in the market. In fact, the top talent tends to flock towards them in droves with dreams of soaring careers in their eyes.

But the going is not always good for the big guys. How much of the favoured talent actually sticks around for the long haul? Fact is that as time rolls by, big companies face major troubles in keeping their best people on board. The initial fervour quickly dims in the face of day-to-day realities and the top talent is gradually either lured away by smaller companies or tempted to start their own business.

Recent surveys reveal that ‘few people today want to work at large organisations – especially those with 10,000 or more employees’.

And, with the economy taking a downturn accompanied by the mounting scarcity of talent, companies cannot afford to lose their top performers anymore.

This brings us to the question of what is the reason behind such exodus of potential, where are the top companies going wrong and what can be done to retain them.

Blame bureaucracy: The top talent enters large companies with dreams of carving a path for themselves, only to be terribly disillusioned by the excessive red tape. The harsh truth is that big companies go strictly by the book with explicitly laid out practices, processes and standards, leaving no room for deviation or improvisation.

Not only do top employees refuse to blindly follow the rules and regulations, but also expect an equal say in formulating the stipulations. The solution is they should be allowed to modify their work practices and encouraged to experiment with new approaches.

Lack of vision: Many large companies do not have proper strategic priorities and often don’t even know where they are going. Moreover, the priorities seem to keep changing jolting employees all the time. Top talent shirks from kow-towing to such shifting whims as it keeps them from working properly. What they need is a clear vision with lucid goals and exciting strategies.

Touch points: While employees of large companies crave empowerment to make decisions and do not want to be told how to do their jobs, they also lament the complete lack of accountability as no one bothers to check on their work once it has been assigned.

Top performers want to be held responsible for their work with regular touch points on their project status. They also need a shrewd supervisor to provide timely insight, observations, suggestions as well as guidance when it comes to resolving dilemmas.

Close-mindedness: Due to their sheer size, big companies often turn out to be quite fixated and are never open to opposing views, creative ideas or new approaches. Employees are simply expected to do their work and get on with it.

Top talent long to share their ingenious suggestions and new ways of doing things, but no one is listening. This makes it difficult for them to work in the inflexible environment, especially when they disagree with the work practices. Companies need to open-mindedly listen to the views and also incorporate the best suggestions.

Again, large companies are often so burdened that they lose sight of their top talent and forget to communicate with them.

Many a times, employees complain that they never even realise that they are considered as top performers. What is needed is constant positive reinforcement and encouragement. Managers should go to their top talent and show them that they are valuable with specific and genuine praise.

Big companies go all out to hire the best talent, only to leave them as they are once hired.

Top employees are easily bored and need to be challenged constantly with new and exciting projects. This will give them the opportunity to work passionately and enjoy their work while delivering top results.

Most big companies rush through their performance reviews without any talk of improvement or learning, let alone future career development.

Top performers are left feeling that the organisation is not interested in furthering their careers. Management should try to carve a clear path for the future by engaging in detailed discussions of where the employees want to go and what learning/advancement opportunities they need to reach there.

Top talent fosters passion among other employees. But they themselves end up frustrated and turned off by the lack of stimulating company.

Talented employees wish to work with other top people from diverse skills and backgrounds. The challenge of collaborating with such talent alone can revitalise their work and bring back the enjoyment.

To sum up, sustained and comprehensive talent management strategies are integral for staunching the exodus of top talent from large organisations. Learn to nurture and support them, else be prepared to bid ‘adios’ to this top talent forever!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Get your argument skills in place

Published on Wednesday, Jul 29, 2009

Some people can argue very well. They can win an argument on anything against anybody… and also easily persuade the other person to their way of thinking.

The rest of us find it extremely difficult to even get a simple point across in an argument, valid as it might be. It may be because we are afraid of speaking, clam up, stumble over words or cannot express ourselves properly. The end result is that ot hers don’t believe what we are saying and we have to resignedly give in to the argument. We tend to withdraw into our shell and hang back during arguments as we are unable to stand up for ourselves and say what we feel. But, being able to make your point in an effective manner is quite essential. Else, it is an open invitation for everyone to treat you like a doormat.

Healthy arguing is an important skill that will enable you to share your thoughts or differing opinions on a subject under discussion. Also, disagreements are bound to crop up at work and you will need to argue to state your views, resolve a conflict and even get what you want!

Here, it is important not to confuse arguments with fights, instead think of it as healthy debate and discussion.

Being effective

• Healthy arguing begins with a willingness to listen to what the other person is saying. If you keep thinking of what you will say, it will only distract you from understanding his point. Also, acknowledging his point of view will show that you respect his opinion even if you do not agree with it.

• Be patient and wait for your turn to speak instead of rudely interrupting the speaker or cutting him off. This courtesy may very well prompt him to return the favour.

• But, chances are high that you may still not get a chance to get a word in sideways. Now, you have to be firm and directly tell him to let you speak. Even if he interrupts you, always persist in finishing your point with a firm, “As I was saying…”

Coming to the actual issue of making an effective argument, first decide your goal and always keep in mind what you really want to accomplish. Accordingly, frame a forceful argument based on objective information. Concentrate on offering clear, precise and logical insight into your parameters with sufficient supportive evidence to back your claims. After all, your argument will be effective only when you can express a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite proposition.

Prepare yourself to counter the issues or weaknesses that the other party may raise with relevant facts and logic. Subtly point out that he is wrong, but also be willing to concede if your stand appears to be faulty.

To be convincing, it is equally important to properly form and vocalise your view. This calls for a good, firm posture that emanates power and confidence without appearing aggressive, confrontational or intimidating. Remember to look the person in the eye when speaking; never clench your fists. Speak assertively in a calm and collected voice when arguing your points. Maintain a steady, medium tone that is neither too soft nor high-pitched. Also, choose your words carefully to be able to clearly convey your point.

Keep a tight control on yourself without shouting, getting defensive or resorting to insults. A calm, logical approach will win you more points than lashing out in anger.

It is easy to get carried away during the argument and deviate from the main agenda. Ensure that you keep the dialogue on course and do not lose sight of the ultimate goal.

Last but not the least; remember that being persuasive does not mean always winning or getting your way. Your goal is to get the other person to simply hear your point of view and not necessarily induce him to agree with you (although that would be quite nice). Be willing to compromise and reach a mutually acceptable resolution at best.

PAYAL CHANANIA