All About Jobs

“If you want to change the world, first change your perception of it”, said Deepak Chopra, one of my favourite authors in his book “The Way of the Wizard”.

Eastern mystics knew thousands of years ago what science is beginning to quantify in scientific terms, that our minds create our experiences. I know this sounds like “New Age mumbo-jumbo” to some of you, but there is a compelling body of evidence … a growing body of evidence, to support it.

Most of this mind work occurs sub-consciously. We are unaware of it and it can be either good or bad, often holding us back as though we were an airplane in a holding pattern just flying round in circles; the status quo. The good news is that, just as the pilot can change direction, so can we. One of the ways to do this is by envisioning.

Envisioning means to “picture mentally, especially some future event or events”. We can do this for all parts of our lives and in the process change the outcomes. Fortunately for us, this means we can change the outcomes of our job search or career goals.

Essentially, what you do is:

1. Write your goals in present tense eg, “I am a successful person”; “I am an insurance manager” (this is called an affirmation)
2. Envision yourself successfully fulfilling the role of insurance manager
3. Take action to become an insurance manager
4. Restate the affirmation and take the other action consistenly eg, every morning repeat the affirmation so that it becomes entrained in your consciousness

The third step is important. The universal laws governing this process can only operate if you take some action. For example, if you are too thin and see yourself as having a muscular body, you must also do some weight lifting to achieve an outcome. The critical difference is that if you see yourself as muscular AND take some action to produce muscle, it WILL happen faster with better results than if you had just lifted weights.

Action

Go to this site: http://www.mindmovies.com and watch the introductory video on the home page. Then, download and watch one or two of the free movies.

Once you understand how it’s done, create some affirmations and visions to help you achieve your own goals in life.

On Saturday I will provide you some resources that will give you a more in-depth understanding of the whole process.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success” (Now do you know why I write this every post?)

For the last couple of days I’ve been discussing Elevator Speeches.

Today I’d like to briefly discuss business cards you can use for your employment campaign.

Given that you are probably strapped for cash, you won’t have a fortune sitting about waiting to buy business cards with. Well, Vistaprint offers the perfect solution. FREE CARDS! All you pay is for post.

I buy my business cards from Vistaprint because they are many times cheaper than buying them locally from a print shop (also, as an online business operator, I try to support other online businesses).

The range of free cards is excellent. Handing out cards with your name, contact details and the type of work you do is much easier and looks better than writing on pieces of paper when you meet someone whom you feel might be able to help.

Check out the offer from Vistaprint and see if you can shift your job search campaign into top gear.

Robin
“Think success - achieve success”

Yesterday I said I’d give an example of an elevator speech for someone without a job. Here it is:

Questioner: “Where do you work Debbie?”

Answer: “I’m an insurance broker, but at present I’m between jobs. In fact, I’m looking for a new opportunity. Do you know anyone who is looking for an experienced, dedicated, insurance specialist?”

If they say yes, then say something like, “Would you be willing to give me an introduction so I can tell them how I can help … or would you like a copy of my business card (or for me to give you my name and phone number) to pass on?

If they say no, you can still say something like, “Would you like my business card (or contact details) just in case you do meet someone?”

You have to be bold when you are unemployed. Most people know what it’s like and don’t mind helping you if they can, so don’t miss any opportunity.

Good luck.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”

Hmm, good question.

An elevator speech is a short blurb you memorise about yourself so that when you meet someone in an elevator, you can deliver it. Of course, you can also deliver it at other times. The key elements are that it’s short, concise and succinct and you have it ready.

It’s also handy when you are sipping chardonnay at some seminar, business event or party and someone says, “So, what do you do?”

Example

Questioner: “So, what line of business are you in Robin?”

Answer: “I’m a business support consultant. I help businesses improve their profits by providing business automation software, winning communication practices and timely information. Here’s my business card. Why not visit us sometime soon?”

How long did that take? A few minutes. That’s the short version. It may then be followed by another question from the questioner eg, “What do you mean by winning communication practices?” in which case you can continue describing what you do until the end of the conversation and then provide your business card. It’s also a sound idea to ask the questioner what they do. You may then be able to discuss some type of service you provide. For example:

Questioner: “Does your business automation software include email marketing software?”

Answer: “Yes, it does. I use and recommend an excellent program called Group Mail Pro that is inexpensive, easy to use and very efficient. Would you like me to send some information to you or come and give you a demonstration?”

This is obviously different from an elevator speech you would have if you were unemployed and looking. Tomorrow I’ll provide an example of what I would say if I was between jobs.

Action
Get a sheet of paper and write an elevator speech for yourself. Check it again tomorrow to see how it compares with mine.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”

The one question you know you’ll be asked at interview is, “Tell me about yourself.”

You’ve already given them a copy of your resume and you wonder why they now want you to repeat what you’ve written. You wonder why and often people stumble for an answer.

There’s a good article about this at Link Me (you probably have to register to read it, I’m not sure.) that discusses this issue.

It’s largely about having a prepared and practised speil that you can use, something like a long elevator speech. On Monday I’ll give you some information about elevator speeches … ok?

In the mean time, go to LinkMe and read their short article.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”

PS: Need to know how to write selection criteria to win a government job? Have a look at my popular title, “Writing Responses to Selection Criteria.”

http://www.linkme.com.au/career/interview/TellMeAboutYourself.aspx

Good luck.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”

As promised, here’s a simple example of a TSI question and answer at work:

Interviewer: “Would you please tell us about a time when you created letters to customers using MS Word software? What did you do and what was the outcome?”

Interviewee: “Yes. When I worked for QSUPER between 2006 and June 2008, I was secretary to the Customer Services Manager. In that role I was responsible for writing letters to customers (This is the ST - Situation or Task) and usually averaged about 25 letters per week using MS Word 2003. Most letters were of two pages and some were produced from templates. (This part is the Action). The letters had a very low error rate and client surveys indicated that they were well received by customers”. (This is the R - Result part).

It’s as easy as that.

Think about some answers you could give to possible questions you could be asked having regard to your knowledge, skills and abilities. Pre-warned is pre-armed!

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”

If you haven’t noticed, interviews are based on the assumption that what we have been able to do well in the past, we can do well again … in the future, for our potential employer.

This means that you will be asked what you have done and how you might do things in future.

A firm called Development Dimensions International (DDI) has devised a proprietary methodology for interviewing called Targeted Selection Interviewing. Targeted selection interviewing bases questions to individuals on an acronym called STAR, which I will describe below:

S/T - Situation or task. You are asked to describe a situation or task you dealt with.
A -Action. What action did you take or what did you do in relation to this situation or task?
R - Result. What was the result?

In a proper Targeted Selection Interview, each question will be asked in relation to a predetermined skill set. Interviewers then allocate interviewees with a score based on whether they have detailed elements of the skill and answered the question completely.

This means that you should spend some time before an interview thinking of some example situations or tasks you have completed that relate to the skills for the job, any action you took and the result of that action. It’s best to write them, but not to try to learn them by rote.

Tomorrow I will provide a simple example of this theory at work.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”

PS: Don’t forget to donate during August which is breast cancer awareness month and download your 200 page ebook about breast cancer.

Well, I don’t want to start on a negative note, but you do need to know that the main problem with interviews is that they are used as the MAIN indicator of a person’s suitability for a job,

By that, I mean that a greater weight is usually placed on interviews than the other elements of recruitment and selection ie, the job application, referees comments, and sometimes psychological assessment, assessment centre exercises etc.

This is unfortunate, because some people handle interviews well and some don’t. If you are a person who has difficulties with interviews, you need to do something about it. In a later blog I will make some recommendations about how you can do that.

A potential employer can lose an excellent employee by relying too heavily on the results of an interview. Where possible, an assessment centre exercise can be most useful. For example, if a peson has to have skills using MS Word 2007, why not give them access to a computer and a short letter to prepare? This is much more accurate than asking them if they can prepare correspondence using MS Word.

If you are a job seeker, you need to be aware of your individual interview performance and take action to improve it if you know it has faults.

Employers reading this need to consider allocating equal weight to other elements of selection rather than just the interview. They should also consider what additional methods they can use that will give them better insights into how well a potential employee performs.

Some of these issues will be addressed this week and next week.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”

For the past couple of weeks we’ve looked at some secrets/tips for job applications. From tomorrow I’ll discuss some aspects of job interviews that will be helpful in keeping you ahead of the pack.

Today, why not visit Carl Mueller’s item about interview questions here.

Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”