When you get the pink slip…

Last week one of my friends Sumit received this awful and not so unexpected news, “Effective today your services are not required. Kindly collect your belongings/ dues by the weekend”.

He immediately called me up with very stressed and frustrated voice and complained about the employer that he has worked with them for more than 4 years now and how they could do that with him!. “Please arrange some interview for me today itself”, he said. I asked him to calm down and suggested him to go home and relax.

These kinds of situations are not very uncommon these days. Getting tensed and frustrated is very obvious. But this is the time where we need to control our thoughts and respond in a cool and mature way.

Some tips what to do after you being laid off:

Be Positive:
Kind of responses like of Sumit is very obvious in these types of situations. Even if this was anticipated, you will go through many thoughts. Some negativity, anger, jealousy, frustration may come but you need to be watchful enough. Don’t let these thoughts hinder in your life. Be positive and think positive. Like there is a saying “Only a calm mind can sail you through the storm.”

Don’t take it personally:
“I have been loyal to the company and still they have asked me to go”. Don’t badmouth or think badly for your employer. That decision might be driven by bad health of the company. So don’t take it personally. The company will move on and you also should move on.

Don’t feel ashamed:
I have one friend who lost his job twice during last six months. So he started his own business and he is doing quite ok in that. If you are laid off that does not mean that you are not competent in you work, it is the end of just one chapter and you need to start new one. After a year you will think that better you lay off, that’s why you are in such a good position today.

Good time for vacation:
When I asked one of my acquaintances after he was unceremoniously dropped, what are his plans. He replied, “Since I don’t have much responsibility so I’ll utilize this break as a vacation and have some fun”. This could be the right time to spend some quality time with your family and plan for the future with a calm mind. So you can think to go for small vacation.

Go through self assessment:
Before going for a job search go through a self assessment. That will help you to put your best foot forward towards finding a matching job. Ask these questions to yourself :

What kind of job I want?
In which domain I want to work?
Should I change my specialization?

Increase your educational qualifications:

This is the right time to identify your shortcomings and overcome theose by adding on to your educational qualifications. Take a break and join some executive mamangement course like the ones offered by the IIMs, XLRI, etc.

Check your connections:
This is the start of the job search. Making a comprehensive list of whom you know and where they are. Get this organized on paper or in Microsoft Excel and start contacting them! Make the best use of networking sites like http://www.linkedin.com/, www.plaxo.com, http://www.siliconindia.com/, http://www.google.com/ to do your homework.

Remember brooding has not helped anyone. Take it in your stride and seek an opportunity in every diversity !

Are you the proverbial ‘difficult employee’?

Last month I had a meeting with one of my old friends, who is now VP–HR in a fairly large IT setup. He informed me that he is planning to lay off a couple of hundred people in his company, in a phased manner. What surprised me was that he mentioned that out of them around 80% are ‘difficult employees’. I wondered aloud what was his definition of a ‘difficult employee’. What he told me was interesting and forms the basis of this post.

“In every department/organization there are few people who are arrogant, demeaning (to others), insubordinate, not trustworthy, (always) cribbing and unproductive. And these employees are a huge drain for an organization in terms of wasted time, reduced productivity, inefficiency, and ultimately resulting in customer loss.” I again asked him as to why did the team, then not take precautions while hiring? He said these are traits and sometimes it is difficult to observe them during an interview. You get to know about them only from observing them in terms of their approach, attitude, performance, productivity and feedback from co-workers and managers etc.

It sure means that ‘difficult employees’ are at the first place in the queue when it comes to being shown the door.

Based on his observation and my research, I am listing a few traits/signs that can label you as a ‘difficult employee’. They are:

Work is your foe/ additional responsibility:
I, like many people, don’t like to work long hours or during weekends. But in a down economy & competitive environment your approach towards this additional work plays a huge role in whether you are a valuable employee of the organization or not. Organizations generally perceive an employee’s worth by evaluating his/her work ethics.

Your personal problems are public knowledge:
If most of your colleagues are aware of all your personal problems, from hole in the shoe, missed breakfast, argument with friend, mismatched nailpolish, then this point is for you. No one is really interested in these kind of regular updates. This can create a sort of distraction among the other employees who already are overworked and busy in meeting deadline. You will suddenly see co-workers distancing from you. So keep your personal problem very personal.

You & your company are not on the same page:
You don’t have to be alcoholic if you work for Kingfisher beverages. But you need to understand the vision and approach of your company and work towards it. If you are heard making fun of the company or its products/services it can hamper the office environment, spirit of teamwork, your relation with co-workers and the management. The company is better off without you for the the fact that, you don’t understand and respect your work.

You don’t appreciate feedback from others:
“True feedback can put you on the elevator of learning”, says Vinayak Joshi, CEO, Learning Concepts, an e- learning solutions provider. If you don’t take feedback positively it means you are limiting your learning and your knowledge and you have very little chance to improve your weaknesses. This will affect your work efficiency for sure. So lest you end up getting the pink slip, learn to take in what people are saying.

You are always complaining:
“My computer is slow, co-workers are not supportive, my boss is very strict, there is no AC in cabs, the food in cafeteria sucks”. Does this sound familiar?

Problems are with everyone, we need to work towards the solutions instead of revolving around the problem. No one likes complaining and that too about co-worker/boss/company/HR. If you face any problem, try to appreciate it from the other person’s perspective. Even then, if you feel problems are grave, then escalate it to the right person instead of being a cry baby. Your attitude of always cribbing/making noise can push you under the ‘firing’ range.

You hate accountability:
I have seen many people who are active enough when it comes to taking credit for some work but who retreat twenty steps backwards, in case of owning up responsibility. At any given point of time, you should be able to hold yourself accountable for the work done by you - good or bad - instead of playing the blame game. This will express your quality of initiation and leadership.

Even if you have any one of the traits mentioned above, I would suggest that you pull up your socks. By addressing the above points you can show to the organization your value of employment. So always welcome responsibility/ challenges with full enthusiasm. Who knows it could be a chance to establish yourself.

No one likes ‘difficult employees’ in their team, organization. Every organization wants an employee who can add value.

So watch your approach in office, who knows someone is preparing list to lay off!

5 simplest answers to sail through an interview...

The most stressful part of job interview is to get stuck in those questions which are generic in nature but nevertheless difficult to answer. Here is a few answers to those questions, that should help you.

01 Tell us about yourself?

For a long time, I would go around talking about my place of birth, education and work experience etc etc. Then I realised how silly it sounds.Interviewers want to know the candidates skillsets, strengths and achievements in the past and how these are related to the requirement of job.

For example: “I am really passionate about my work. Whatever I do I do it with full of my dedication, determination and devotion. I am working in insurance sales for last two years and that has given me a lot confidence and taught me the importance of time management and goal setting. I have been consistently achieving my targets for the last 3 quarters. I also have organized and been part of various road shows and counseling activity for lead generation”.

02 Why are you leaving current job?

It is very easy to criticise your employers and there the interviewer deducts the marks. As a thumb rule remember to stay away from saying negative things about your former/current employer. Instead focus on the positive.

For example: “I have learned many things from my last job like team play, client management, being an efficent worker. However now I am looking for new challenges. So that I can further utilize my potential and also widen up my skill sets.”

03 What are your weaknesses?

Sitting with friends, I would say things casually. However at an interview this is a great chance for the candidate to show positive attitude. Here you can use a real examples of weaknesses you have overcome.

For example: “Initially i was quite scared of working on Excel sheets, the formula making used to frighten me, but over time I took it as a challenge and have overcome my fear of Excel and numbers. In fact I am also now responsible to manage the MIS for the sales team.”

04 What motivates you?

I have heard of movies, good food, friends as answers. But then the answer to this question should reflect the positive attitude of candidate. So rather than giving frivolous answers, focus on attitude.

For example: “ The challenge of finishing projects on time and also ensuring client satisfaction motivates me”.

05 What is your expectation in terms of salary?

Now Salary negotiation is an art. There is a good saying “You don’t get what you deserve, you only get what you negotiate.” So you should negotiate your salary very carefully. We would suggest don’t give the numbers directly. It is good to say “based on my experience and the demand of the job I expect the appropriate range to be paid for this role.”

It is important to have and show an interest in the job profile offered. You can definitely do a small research on internet to know what the salary range is for the profile offered and what is the industry trends like.

Simple isn’t it?

Top 10 resume mistakes...

There is a good saying “Making mistake is not a crime but not learning from the mistake is a crime”, and that my friends is very true, when it comes to resumes. A resume is your identity, that the reader sees, and creates an impression about you. So we cannot afford to make mistakes with that one, can we?

I have come across some resumes which have such silly mistakes and some grave ones, that I found it appropriate to share in this forum. These mistakes on resume are exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer gets it. So we need to take extreme care that we do no make any mistake in resume. Here are the most common errors and how you can avoid them, to make an impressive resume:

1. Silly errors

Your resume needs to be correct in all aspects. If it isn’t, employers will conclude that this person is not serious about how/what someone thinks about him. It is a good idea to check your resume twice to ensure there is not any silly spelling mistake or grammar mistake in it. Or better still, ask someone else to proof read your resume.

2. Lack of achievements

Employers need to understand what you’ve done and achieved. So please mention both of them together and don’t stop at one. For example a statement like “Team leader in XYZ BPO”, will capture less attention than “Supervised more than 15 employees for XYZ BPO and was also part of client interaction to understand their requirements and expectations from us”.

It is a good idea to spend some time thinking and mentioning about your achievements at workplace than simply rattling of your responsibilities.

3. No correlation between resume and requirement of job

Employers want you to write a resume specifically for them. You need to create a correlation between requirement of the job with your skill and experience. Only then you will stand out as a deserving candidate for that particular job.

4. No keywords

When applying for a position in a particular industry or company, it is important to speak the same language. It is desirable for the company to know that the prospect candidate knows about the company, industry. Please use keywords relevant to the job you are applying for.

5. Irrelevant information

Sometimes candidates get carried away and stuff our resume with information which the employers have no interest to know. Some examples like:• Won painting competition in class 8th• Was class monitor in 9th standardStatements like these are considered irrelevant information and is not in sync with the job requirement. Please be specific, to the point and be concise.

6. Vague statements

Exaggerated statements like, “Seeking a challenging position that offers professional growth” puts of most employers I know. Give employers something specific and, more importantly, something that focuses on their requirement as well as your own. Tell them truly what your short term and long term goals are.

7. Cover letter

An intelligently drafted cover letter can increase your chance for selection. A cover letter gives you an opportunity to mention what you may have not added in the resume. You can mention the reasons as to why you are suitable for the the job opening. You can talk about the skill sets you posses or the relevant experience and interest that you have, which makes you a good candidate for the job.

8. Clumsy formatting

Your resume should be well formatted. The font should be professional and not a fancy looking one. Use fonts like TimesNewRoman or Calibiri or Verdana or Trebuchet for creating an impression. Try using a standard font size across the resume. Too much of variations causes distraction.

9. Silly email ids

Email ids like resumes help create an impression about the person that you are. Email ids like love4uxxx@abc.com are not favorable. We suggest you have a more professional email ids for resumes like firstname.lastname@mailprovider.com

10. Incorrect information

The purpose of creating and sending cover letter and resume to prospective employer is to get contacted by them. So if you give incorrect information w.r.t any part of job that you have not done or exaggerated about or as simple as your contact details, employers will shy away from contacting you and your whole purpose of having a good resume will be defeated.

This is true that we get the job if we fulfill the requirements of the job but if we take care of these hygiene factors mentioned above then we can put forward our resume in an effective and efficient way.

All the best for your job search