15 Do’s and Don’ts in a job interview:

An interview is the first step that you go through in climbing the corporate ladder. Going through the meeting and getting a job offer is a nerve-wracking process since you have to impress in the first shot.

“There’s only one interview technique that matters… Do your homework so you can listen to the answers and react to them and ask follow-ups. Do your homework, prepare.”

– Jim Lehrer 

Having a positive body language and soft skills will boost your score in the interview process. An interviewer will judge you based on your actions, your tone of speaking, your answers to him. He will decide whether you are suitable for the job or not in a face to face interview. There are fifteen necessary do’s and don’ts tips that you should go through before going for an interview. 

Jotted down are the fifteen tips that you should do in an interview:

1. Schedule the interview when you are comfortable.

2. Research about the company.

3. Know about the position you applied.

4. Practice at home.

5. Put on Formals.

3. Fly Early.

4. Put your phone in silent mode.

5. Have copies of required papers.

6. Smile.

7. Show interest in the position and the company.

8. Follow the right body language.

9. Listen

10. Speak Clearly.

11. List down your skills.

12. Stay focused.

13. Provide positive answers.

14. Ask quality questions.

15. Send a thank-you note after the interview.

“I can count on one hand the number of people who wrote me a thank you letter after having an interview, and I gave almost all of them a job.” Kate Reardon

There are some basic etiquettes that you should follow during the interview process. There are some habits that you should avoid when you are going for an interview. Those habits will naturally make you a not so good candidate. 

Listed below are the points that you should not do in a job interview.

1. Dressing Casual.

2. Showing up late.

3. Knowing nothing about the company.

4. Wearing too much perfume.

5. Chewing gum\ Smelling smoke

6. Bad-mouthing about the previous employee.

7. Answering ‘no’ when the interviewer asks you whether you have questions for him.

8. Having bad body language.

9. Giving false hope\ Lying.

10. Using phone.

11. Bragging about your past achievements.

12. Do not talk about taboos ( Politics, religion or any discrimination)

13. Being unprepared for the standard interview questions.

14. Don’t add fillers like ‘umhs’ and ‘ah’ while talking.

15. Don’t make the impression that you are only interested in salary.

Performing well in an interview matters more than having an impressive resume. Facts show that the employers will decide in the first five minutes of the interview whether to select the candidate or not.

The interviewer will judge you based on the actions of you in the interview process. The listed do’s and don’ts will help you to be successful in your interview. Learn, follow and bear fruits in your interview!!

Tips for Balancing Work and Family Life

How to manage family and career is the question that keeps echoing in every father and mother’s mind. Searching an unpaired sock, burning out the omelette, packing the lunch, and rushing is a daily routine in every house. When the clock strikes eight, the fathers will become a superman rushing towards school to drop their children.

To the father and mother, in this fast running world, you need to run in pace with the world. Unfortunately, many find it challenging to balance their work and family.

“It is all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family”.

– Philip Green 

Balancing your work and family is not an easy task. To run a family and career smoothly, you must plan and be clear.

May it a working father or a working mother, worries are the same: How to manage family and career?

It is not easy for a mom juggling a job and family. Being a working mother, you shoulder dual responsibility. Your work can be different in office and home, but the motto is the same : managing people -managing the team lead with productivity in office whereas managing children and family members at home.

Well as a working mother, you should master the time management skill.  A working mother can hardly have no time to breathe but they can do wonders if they have some bonus time. They deserve some bonus time for themselves in order to make sure that they possess superpowers.

If you are a working mother, follow these tips to manage your career and family:

1. Prioritize what is important.
2. Have a to-do list and plan.
3. Prepare meals the night before and refrigerate.
4. Go for a simple yet healthy breakfast.
5. Have your own time for yourself.
6. Hire a babysitter.
7. Avoid working over-time.
8. Take time to talk with your partner.
9. Have a number two person.
10. Spend time with your children after school.
11. Have meet-ups with your children’s teacher.
12. Help your children to do the assignment.
13. Spend quality time for the family members.
14. Go on a trip with your family.
15. Have Super Sunday plans.
16. Have Couple time.
17. Share your work experience with your children.
18. Appreciate your children.
19. Try to be with your children on their special occasions.
20. Share household chores with your partner.

During the 1980s and 90s, fathers are the breadwinners of the family. Mother is likely to be in-home taking care of the children. Now the picture has entirely changed. In dual-earner couples, fathers are likely to have higher work-life conflicts than mothers.

“I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.”– Zig Ziglar

As a working father, here is how you can manage your career and family:

1. Do not appreciate extra work hours.
2. Leave your work at the doorstep.
3. Stay away from smartphones and computers.
4. Pick your children from school.
5. Enjoy playing with the children.
6. Talk to your partner.
7. Believe that money is not everything.
8. Look for flexible work hours.
9. Share household chores with your partner.
10. Have meals together.
11. Plan for a vacation away from home.
12. Speak to your children you love them the most.
13. Schedule time for family and children.
14. Have time for yourself.
15. Be with your children on their special occasions.

To manage a balanced life both in work and family needs more patience, support of your family members and your partner. If you are a dual-earner couple, sit and talk about the career goals, children’s life and education. Check whether you are financially stable and plan accordingly. Discuss with your partner what makes you stressed in your life. Spend some quality time with your partner, too.

Having a whale time with your family is as important as having a successful career. Have patience and often say to your children you love them more.

 

 

10 Worst Body Language Mistakes to Avoid in the Workplace

How can body language help others to criticize you? Having the right body language will earn you brownie points. Same as that, worst body language will bring you a bad name. 

“Body language is a very powerful tool. We had body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation is read through the body, not the words. “- Deborah Bull 

True to the above saying, body language is the first language that we humans spoke centuries before. Even now, body language matters the most in the corporate world. Before you judge an employer, an employer will judge you by your body language.  

People mostly do not concentrate on their body language. Here are the blunders that any ordinary employee will do in the office, not knowing that they are wrong. 

Listed below are the 10 Worst Body Language mistakes you should avoid in the workplace.

 1. Avoiding Eye Contact:

Avoiding eye contact is a notable blunder one can make when you are in a discussion. By avoiding eye contact, you are sending a mixed signal that you dislike talking to that person or you are making him judge you as a liar. So make soft and firm eye contact if you do not want your colleagues to address you as a liar.

 2. Sitting in a slouched position:

Sitting in a slouched posture at the workplace will make your employer think you don’t have an interest in the job. Slouching is also bad for your health. Try to sit in a straight position; this will help you look engaged towards work. 

3. Weak Handshake:

You can question how can a handshake judge a person. Here is where a soft skill does magic. Weak or an over-aggressive handshake is one of the worst body languages should avoid in the workplace. A weak handshake will make you look the least confident. So next time when you shake hands with your colleague, make sure you offer him a firm handshake. 

4. Crossed Hands:

Crossed hands show a lack of confidence and discomfort. In workplace crossed hands may further refer to submissive. When you are in discussion or meeting, stay in open palms showing that you are free to everyone’s idea. 

5. Eyeing the clock.

Constantly checking time is another fault that people do not know that it is one of the worst body languages. If you are talking with a person and the person other side looks at the watch constantly will make you think the other person is not interested to hear. However, some do out of habit. We should avoid this body language in an office.

 

“Don’t let your body language betray the confidence and sincerity of your words. Be truthful and speak with conviction.”

 ― Akiroq Brost

 6. Physical Isolation:

Some introverts feel shy to join with the team members. But staying away from the team and not interacting with the team will present you as a person with the least confident and not trustworthy. Try to be a person who mingles with all the team members rather than isolating yourself. 

7. Fake/No Smile:

Your employers can easily recognize a fake smile. They will interpret fake smiles or not smiling as not so genuine towards the employer. Always smile at the person you come across in the office. Smiling costs nothing.  

8. Leaning on a surface:

If the meeting or discussion goes too long, ask permission to take a chair and sit. Do not lean on the wall as it presents you as not interested in the topic.  

9. Using phone:

Using a phone in the workplace if your job is not on the phone, then it is the worst body language that you should stop following in your workplace. Using phone during meeting presents you as a person who disrespects the one who is addressing. 

 10. Exaggerated Gestures:

Exaggerated gestures and showing more drama will show you as unprofessional. Wild hand actions and non-verbal behaviour are one of the worst body languages that you should avoid in the workplace. 

If you are a person who follows any of the above body languages, then you should immediately stop the habit. Be confident and presentable always in the workplace. 

Six Strategies to Build a Successful Career

Having a successful career always tops in the bucket list of everyone. Why do people want to be successful in their careers? There are many reasons for that. Striving for a successful career and working towards that makes a person more committed to life.

A person successful in a career is being treated well in society. In this world of social status, people look for the one who is successful in their professional lives. The best thing in building a successful career is, it gives security and satisfaction.

“Your outlook upon life, your estimate of yourself, your estimate of your value are largely coloured by your environment. Your whole career will be modified, shaped, moulded by your surroundings, by the character of the people with whom you come in contact every day.”

–Orison Swett Marden

Here are six strategies that assist you in building a successful career: 

           1. Get to know your skills:

The most essential in building a successful career is to get to know about your qualifications. Speak to yourself, figure out your talents, desires, strengths, and weakness. Know what you certainly need in your career.

Self – assessing is the best technique to learn about oneself and to improvise. No other assessment technique will never produce a better result than self-assessment.

Choose the career path apt for you based on your skills and traits.

       2. Set your goals:

After identifying your attributes and abilities, you must set your goals. Here are some basic guidelines to look into before setting the goals:·       

• Explore all the avenues to achieve your goals.
• Be certain that your goals are attainable.
• Make sure you can measure your goals.

 3. Fabricate a professional resume:

A professional resume speaks better about you. Have it in mind that your resume should be impressive to encourage the interviewer to call you for the interview. Make sure that your resume sketches all your experiences and your selling points.

There are many doors available out there to aid you in developing a professional resume. Depending upon your need, you can have any of these basic resumes:·       

• Reverse Chronological Resume (If you have more experience, this resume layout suits you).     
• Skill Based Resume (For those who lack work experience).
• Combination (Diverse set of skills along with my experience).

Just check out the professional resume makers online and get the best one done for you!

“Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them.” —

Vaibhav Shah

4. Stand High and Unique:

To be successful in a career, probe for ways to exhibit your uniqueness. Set your standards high. Stand out from the average person. The way you think, your behaviour, and your decision making skill should be a personification of your uniqueness. People successful in their careers never settle for less. Develop inquisitiveness.

5. Be online on social sites:

In this tech world of connections, friend requests, and follow up, it is indispensable to be socially active if you strive to build a successful career. Staying online on social websites will help you know about the latest trends in the world. Construct a social media profile on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These are the best bets to know more people and to build a network with them. Getting with them, learning them will help you jack up your career.

6. Shoulder the responsibility:

Building a successful career requires shouldering responsibilities. A person who fears not for failure is the one who claims the fruit of success. Successful people always take the blame on theirs if they fall short of their target. Taking responsibility will spirit up your confidence level and sculpt you as a good leader.

Other than these, to build a successful career, it demands a lot of patience and sacrifice: sacrifice your time, sacrifice your comfort zone. Be a high flier and committed to your goals.