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Employee Retention – Not Just A Thought Process

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With many more job opportunities available for employees, the concept of retaining employees in any organization becomes extremely critical for its success. This concept becomes so much important because employees are not only workers for an organization. They become cerebral assets of the company as they gain arcane information of the company over time and losing such assets is loss of time and money as the whole circle process of hiring to training has to be repeated. There are several ways which you can think of to retain your employees like 

1. Hire Reputed Talent

Reputed talent will always radiate a positive image of the company both externally in the market as well as internally among other employees to work for the company.

2. Non- Monetary Benefits

Employees will not always want monetary benefits from the company for their work. Sometimes provision of non monetary facilities like flexible working hours, work from home, transport facilities and other non monetary benefits can serve as a huge boost for the employees.

3. Company Offsite

“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” This simple quote has a very deep meaning when we talk of employee retention. Organizing quarterly parties or outing will serve as an optimal break from the daily working routine for the employees.

 4. Good Salary Account

Opening salary accounts for your employees where they get best services and facilities is very essential if you want your employees to stay with you. But remember the most important thing above all is to PAY THEM ON TIME!!!!

 5. Company Branding

It is very essential that you showcase and potray your company as one of the best in the market because everyone likes to be associated with a good and reputed brand name.

 6. Learning Opportunities

Employees will always stay with you if they feel that they have an opportunity to learn and increase their knowledge while being associated with you. Initiatives such as pursuing further studies while on company payroll is just a small initiative in this direction.

 7. Facilities

Some would argue that my employee just needs a desk and chair to provide the optimal working environment for their employees. But that is not the truth. You ought to create a space for facilities such as rejuvenation, recreation, cafeteria etc. it is very important that you have a clean and hygienic office area. Clean and well maintained toilets are also very essential though they might seem very small area of concern.

 8. Loan Options

Providing loan facilities to your employees will not only serve the purpose of binding the employee to the company for more time but will also generate trust for the employee on the company.

 9. Add Humor to Beat Stress

You should make sure that your employee enjoys his time at the office. In this way he will be able to handle his work in a more efficient and effective manner. Conducting activities such as mini yoga breaks in work timings is a great way to loosen up and lighten up the aura.

 10. Salary Benefits

Providing perks and appraisals like performance based pay, gratuity, variable pay, etc. along with the salary will show that the organization honestly cares for the employees.

 11. E-exit and E-hiring process:

Features such as online registration and uploading of resume and simple exit policies will help and go in a great way to create an affirmative image of the company.

 12. Managers as part of the team:

Team Managers acting and functioning as a part of the team rather than as owner of the team will keep the team-work spirit in place and help the employees to work better.

13. Identify the top talent

It is very essential to recognize and pick out the high performers and make an effort to ensure that they stay by giving them more responsibilities and involving them in decision- making processes of the company. They should be given ample opportunities to utilize their talent and skills in the best possible manner.

 14. Survey form

Ask your employees to rate their managers and team leaders in a fair and confidential manner. Ask them how satisfied they are and how do they think that things can be done in a better manner. All such feedbacks when compiled together can be extremely helpful for the management to identify the roadblocks make the necessary changes.

 15. Monetary satisfaction

Last but not the least, bread and butter, i.e., money is the most vital factor and it is essential that you pay your employees according to their efforts invested and it matches the industry standards.

The above mentioned points are just some of the basic ways for retaining your employees and turn them into your valuable assets but not the dictum for it. You can always build upon them and improvise in your own ways to meet your goal of retaining the employees.

Maintaining Your Most Valuable Treasure

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Many employers commit the mistake of considering their employee’s value according to the salary they have to give to them. But this is the point where they have calculated and analyzed the worth of their employees in a completely wrong way. As a matter of fact employees are the most valuable and critical treasure for a company. A company despite spending lot of money on recruiting, training and retaining their employees, has to face the problem of maintaining this human asset of theirs. What is the reason that some companies are successful in maintaining this wealth of theirs while others are continuously losing out on it?

The answer to the question is very simple. They put a very sensible and aesthetic effort to make the workplace such that no one ever wants to leave it. Meeting everyone’s expectations and demands is definitely a huge challenge which a company faces, but definitely manageable. Here are a few easy steps to achieve this goal of retaining you most valuable treasure:

1. Make the job challenging

Until and unless an employee feels challenged to use his skills and knowledge to the best possible level he will never feel and associate himself as an integral part of the company. Therefore, when you hire an employee you should keep in mind your requirements and should make an effort to keep the employee involved.

2. Training Sessions

Providing training opportunities to your employees is an advantage situation for them as well as you. While it gives the employee’s resume an edge over others, it helps you to pool in resources for the challenges that the company will face in the future.

3. Identify Top Talent

Recognizing and appraising the efforts your employees put in their work will do great wonders in motivating them to work for the company.

4. Workplace Condition

Basic things like providing hygienic working conditions and facilities such as cafeteria and recreation for the employees will act as huge boosts in the level of employee performance and cannot you afford to neglect them.

5. Transparency in Decision-making

Involvement of employees in decision- making is a very crucial factor that needs to be considered by each and every organization. Any decision made in the company that affects the employees should follow the three basics of our constitution, i.e. – “Of the People, By the People and For the People”. This will help the management to understand and react to a situation in a more fruitful manner and will also establish a satisfaction among the employees.

6. Incentives

Financial gain for the employees will always help you enhance employee satisfaction. Performance based incentives will encourage the employees to work harder and strive for excellence.

7. Evaluation Process

It is very essential that you make your evaluation process and system fair and transparent so that your decision of appraisals can be seen as appropriate not only by others but also by the employee receiving them.

8. Quarterly Feedback

Always remember that feedback is a two way process. You should look forward to receive it also when you want to give a feedback to your employees. Take feedback from employees in a regular and timely manner so that it can help you to take better decisions strengthen the relationship between the company and its employees.

9. Growth Ladder

Employees should be able to see the path for their career growth in a clear manner so that they can see their expectations being met and feel motivated to achieve the targets being set for them.

10. Discussion Forums

You should always respect your employees’ ideas and provide them ample opportunities to discuss and speak out their ideas and thoughts. The people involved in a project will be able to showcase the ground realities in a much more realistic manner and will be able to give more practical solutions to deal with the roadblocks they are facing.

The challenge of retaining the employees will be faced every year by an organization. But the real challenge is not in addressing the problem but in solving it which will make the difference. As Henry Ford has said “Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.”

Employee Training- The Route to Excellence

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“Education and training are the most powerful weapons you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

As an employer do you ever think that what is the solution to make your employees performance reach to a level which the world calls excellence??? Well, the solution is very simple. A perfect training programme for your employees!!!

People may argue that performance and training are two different area of concern for an employee but the real truth is, that there is an integral relationship between training and performance, and they are connected to each other. A good training programme can help you solve multifaceted problems that are related to performance either directly or indirectly. Apart from training Employee performance depends on many other factors like overall job satisfaction, knowledge, and proper motivation. A proper training programme can help you identify and address these factors.

Impart Knowledge through training

Training programme is one of the most potent ways to increase the job knowledge of your employees. It helps you to know more and achieve greater depths of details in your job and will empower you to handle your tasks and double your performance more easily. The more you learn the more you will be enjoying your work.

Evolve Job satisfaction through training

When we talk of job satisfaction we say that it is the sense of comfort and easiness at work. The level of employee satisfaction will determine the commitment of the employee to achieve job proficiency, which will motivate him to work hard and ultimately gain a promotion. Therefore, to have your employees perform at phenomenal levels you need to have a training program in place that can create all these factors to make the employees feel satisfied.

Hike the innovation through training

The employees who are creative in solving problems are able to do so through their structure of knowledge, built on the foundation of an ideal training module, and thus enhance their performance both in the short and long term. Sometimes, finding a solution to a problem is not enough. Therefore, the training programme here stands as strength to see deeper rather than just seeing the problem at the surface and address it by using your innovation. In this process you might accomplish addressing the big picture.

Employee’s career orientation through training

Training programme also serves as a source of enlightenment for an employee where it shows him the progress path for his career but they also influence the way in which an employee performs. It is also an opportunity for him to know more about the organisation. Once an employee realizes and sees that he has a future with your organisation it will automatically turn him into a high performer.

Promote shared goals through training

Effective training will help the employees to make the organization goals as their own goals, which helps in all round and shared development of the employee as well as the organization. Thus, the employee will be able to achieve the optimal balance between expectations and functions. Making an employee have this goal orientation through training programme certainly makes an employee aware of his personal goals and shows him the path to reach there.

Training breeds Excellence

Employee Training does not focuses only on increasing the employee knowledge, but also on improving the performance of your employees. Training helps to freshen up the employees where they gain new knowledge and get inclined towards achieving success. Emphasis should be there on training your employees in such a manner so that they are able to achieve virtue in their performance. Henceforth the bottom line is ”Let training be a mentor for your employees to achieve excellence”.

“We will say to people that if you can work, and if you want to work, we will do everything we can to help you. We will give you the training, we will give you the support, and we will give you the advice to get you going and get you back at work”. – David Cameron

Motivate Employees for Top Performance

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1. Lead through experience and competence, not through title or position.

Guide your employees, mentor them, encourage them, and your organization is sure to get benefits soon. Employees always look out for guidance from their managers and bosses. If you want all your Employees to inculcate good work practices, then the team leaders and managers must guide them the best way by following best rules by themselves. Only good managers and good leaders will be able to encourage, inspire and earn the trust of their team members

2. Be a great communicator:

Two way communications is a vital factor in employee motivation. You should always ensure that your employees respect you and the instructions and ideas given by you, yet feel comfortable to express you about their work related issues and problems. In this case guiding each employee towards the goal of becoming a top problem solver is very important. A simple way to do this is to assign your team leaders the task of checking with their team members in the mornings about their previous day works and their goals for the current day. Another effective way includes getting to know all your employees. Recent studies say that, when employees feel cared. They put extra effort to give better performance.

3. Recognise Employee Strengths

Recognise each employee’s personality, strengths and preferences. Asking your employees the question, “What do you want out of your work? “will always go a long way in recognizing the employee strengths. By understanding from your employees, what they like to do and why, you will come to know where you should place them in roles that suit well to their strengths. This way you will be able to match their skill sets, talents and what they are good at instead of assigning people into job descriptions. Rewards also play a vital role. This shows that they are cared and this will motivate employees to work for excellence in the organization.

4. Share Great Feedback with Everyone

Share true feedbacks. Communicate feedback to your employees directly from customers, whether internal or external. Direct feedbacks whether it is negative or positive, is known to be a powerful motivator to the employees. If an employee is working to fulfill the requirements of other employees within their team, make sure he is able to provide and receive feedback to the employee. At all the times positive feedback will help employees feel that their work is worthwhile, and motivate them for better performance. Make sure that any negative feedback is hurting their emotions, and has specific pointers that will enhance their work performance.

5. Trust Your Employees

Trusting Employees is the most important aspect in an organization. No matter what you do always ensure that you do not micromanage your employees. Micromanagement leads to no trust, no communication and no employee growth. Employees start resenting their team managers, which finally leads to low morale in the workplace. Provide your employees with clear instructions, and ask for regular updates on progress reports. However, beyond that you must also learn to leave them alone and trust their work. Give proper feedback, but do not attempt to manage every part of their work. Very often, employees prefer not to confront their team managers about this problem, and will choose to avoid the issue.

As a result, the employee and manager relationship will break gradually, and the employee will lose interest in work. Monitor yourself to ensure that you never micromanage, but instead provide employees with all the required freedom to succeed themselves.

Hope this tips will help to build a better workplace environment to bring excellence in the work. What are the other tips you suggest? You can share your ideas in the comments section below.

4 Great Recruitment and Retention Ideas

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In the corporate sector, recruitment isn’t the only big thing anymore; looking at the high attrition rate in most of the IT companies, employee retention is becoming a grave concern too, so much so that many firms have even agreed to give up to 100% hikes on the current salary packages of some of their irreplaceable employees, who wanted to walk off, in lieu of a better salary package from another organisation.

The Need for Retention of Valuable Human Capital

Indeed, retention of few valuable resources may not be tagged to a certain salary figure – the employers usually tend to settle on literally any price to retain the key players in the organisation who generate profits in the tune of 0.5-5 million per year.

Thus, managing human capital is becoming increasingly difficult day-by-day, and those who don’t value their assets usually repent afterwards.

So, it makes you wonder as to how an organisation should really go about the recruitment process, and ensure high rate of retention over the years. Well, here are 4 important points to remember -

1. Don’t Force the Career Path on an Employee

It’s not just the monetary benefits that interest an employee who has already climbed up the corporate ladder over past 4-5 years. Certain professionals are very particular about choosing their career path, and they like to make their own decisions, when it comes to selection of the vertical that they want to work in.

It’s a common scenario that a company urgently requires a dedicated manager in a particular project, and the HR department decides to force this position to a very qualified manager, who simply isn’t interested in working on that domain. And, this usually leads to discontentment within the employee, and it’s quite probable that such employees may decide to quit the company sooner than later!

Of course, it may not be possible to give that liberty of choosing their project and work role to every employee, but an organisation must identify its key players, and ensure that they are cent-percent pleased with their job role.

2. Recognize and Reward the Talents

Something that hurts an employee the most, is definitely lack of recognition in the organisation. Everybody wants to be known for their strengths, and the HR manager must take this fact into serious consideration. Just a small recognition of the most talented employee in each team, can greatly boost the retention rate.

It’s not about the monetary compensation that’s given out in form of timely bonuses, but it’s more about recognizing the efforts of all the hard working members in the team.

3. Recruit with the Long Term Perspective in Mind – Don’t Just Focus on Immediate Needs

More often than not, recruitments are conducted when there’s a dire need to fill up a particular vacancy in a company, and the circumstances often force the recruitment team to hastily recruit a person who turns out to be technically fit, and is immediately ready to join. However, it’s not necessary that such a person may actually turn out to be a valuable asset in the longer run.

To ensure high rate of retention, every employee must understand the mission, vision, and values of the organisation, and recruitment process must be devised in such a way that the HR department picks only those candidates who perfectly fit into the organisation.

4. Avoid Mass Lay-offs

In case of a mass lay-off within a company, even the most dedicated employees usually get apprehensive about their job security, and don’t give it a second thought before switching to another firm. Hence, it’s of utmost importance to avoid mass lay-offs; even if a firm really needs to do so, it must be done at a personal level, and the wrong notion of insecurity must not hit the other employees of the company who’ve been giving their best!

Additionally, it’s also crucial to mentor every employee; otherwise they might feel that they’re lost in a cat race! The person who had recruited a particular employee, usually tends to understand his/her strengths and weakness much better; so, it’s recommended that the recruiters maintain constant professional contact with the new joiners, and help them through difficult times.

Career Forecast for November 2011

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Aries(March 21 -April 19):
November 2011 would be a positive month with a fair amount of personal challenges. By around mid-month you will experience the beginning of a new phase where profession will see opportunities with new partnerships and associations, while income & gains would come out of new partnerships too. Career will see a phase which could see a peak in the next two years. You should keep active and work aggressively for maximum growth in the phase commencing 16th November 2011. Work environment will see gains and chances of an office romance would be high too. Finances will be positive and remain gainful throughout. You will get gains from unexpected sources while good chances of getting a new source of income too.

Taurus (April 20 -May 20):
Career is reaching a landmark position in the near future. Your luck & career could peak in the next 2 years and the period commences from the 16th November. All hard work & plans made now should bear fruit. Keep on working hard and make the most of opportunities that come up. You need to be careful in your choices, since chances of deception are high. Wrong decisions made now could get you into commitments you might regret in the times to come.

Gemini (May 21 -June 20):
An excellent month as most of your aspirations and efforts would be rewarded well. There will be a high level of professional growth and new channels could open up for you during this period. Luck & general status in life would also change after the 16th November 2011. It is the beginning of a new and positive phase for the next two years. New ideas and plans made now will bring in rich dividends.Career will remain in an active & positive phase. Gains will be high and very good progress would come about this month. Your hard work & networking skills will bring in rich dividends this month too. Money matters will remain positive & quite gainful. Income will be high due to your efforts.

Cancer (June 21 -July 22):
November 2011 is an average month as you will see yourself struggling with controlling your responses and instinctive reactions.Career will be in over drive and see rapid expansion. You will see a high growth phase this month. Money matters will see spate of over spending & chances of some losses or financial setbacks. Avoid extravagance, carelessness or speculation in investments. Income will be good till the end of the month.

Leo (July 23 -August 22):
This is a positive and gainful period for Leo natives during November. A new phase in career would open up. Career will see a rise in luck & gains from overseas. There could be new lucrative professional opportunities. Accept such opportunities and partnership options with caution. Financially a very good month. You will find very good gains throughout. Real estate, dividends etc. could be a good source of gains. Income will be good throughout. New Investments will prove to be lucky.

Virgo (August 23 -September 22):
An average month but with positive influences can be expected during November 2011. You have an extreme tendency to speak certain things under influence, which you might regret later on. Be very cautious of what you speak. It is a period when you would want to network as much as possible. There will be many good opportunities for such growth. Career will grow due to excellent networking & socializing. Good amount of progress will come after the 16th November 2011. Finances & money matters will see a pressure due to certain commitments. There would be chances of new projects which could create a steady outflow. Very good gains from a real estate source would come about after the 22nd November 2011.

Libra (September 23 -October 22):
Determination, luck and focus would bring in unprecedented success in the next two years. New partners could be forged this month too. You just need to be careful not to get into any arrangement in a hasty manner. Debt for business is possible. You should however negotiate hard. It is a period when finances will be high and gains would flow in a higher level than before. There would be very good gains and income during this period. Career will receive your utmost focus and excellent growth can be expected now. There will be very good prospects all around in career matters.

Scorpio (October 23 -November 21):
An aggressive and positive month when you will be in control throughout the month. You will be hard working, dynamic and a go getter this month. Career will be in a hyper active growth period this month. New challenges and peaks will be achieved this month. Any challenges you take up this month will be well rewarded. Financially this month would be vibrant & positive. There would be good income this month too. Investments will give good returns.

Sagittarius (November 22 -December 21):
Positive month, high on luck and imagination. You will at the same time see progress in career and see sudden rise in your income. Money matters will also turn positive this month after a gap of a couple of years. You will see excellent growth during this time. Your knowledge will reward you and people around you immensely. Career will be somewhat slow in terms of immediate gains this month but long term prospects would be excellent.

Capricorn (December 22 -January 19):
November 2011 is an excellent month for you. A very gainful period for the next two years should become possible now. The period commences from the 17th November 2011 on a small note and will help you grow in career, status and finances as this period goes on. New opportunities in career could take you to a pinnacle during this time too. Make the most of this period and find growth for yourself as much as possible. The level of authority and position you would wield for yourself would be unprecedented in the coming period. Finances will be exceptional. You will find gains from multiple sources during this time. There would be a high level of income during this period too. Investments will give great returns, although new investments should be handled with care. Career is at the verge of a great break through. Focus on work and you will reap great returns. Your position & status will rise tremendously.

Aquarius(January 20 -February 18):
A better month finally as your problems see a final end after a difficult period in the past few months. One of the most important ingredients for success good luck & ability to work hard would become available to you again after the 17th November 2011. You will see a revival in your fortunes. Luck will be very high and you will get opportunities which were not forthcoming in the past. Travel related to business / profession will rise during this period too. Career goes into a creative & gainful phase. New opportunities & ideas could come about. Growth in career possible as long as you are able to handle viscous competition against you. New creative work & ideas will bring in good amount of growth at work.

Pisces (February 19 -March 20):
A positive month overall, although a gradual resistance and drag would be felt in growth & luck after the 17th November 2011. A comparative period of slow down would be felt this month and you need to plan for a period where stability & safety should be given preference over growth & progress. Career will progress well and chalk up good financial gains. A very positive month for career overall. You should however look at the short term and not make very long term investments. You could get into conflict with boss. Avoid controversy in work environment. Income could slow down and investments will see good amount of gains now.

How to Resolve Conflicts at Office?

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Put two or more people in a room for any amount of time, and disputes are likely. Conflict is a natural consequence of human interaction. When individuals clash, combatants can become so concerned with defending their turf that they cease communicating. Mutual distrust can build and working relationships may be irreparably damaged. Let us now see the most probable situations conflicts can arise in an Office and some simple tips to resolve:

How to resolve personality conflicts between co-workers?

Maintaining relationships is key to resolving conflict, so if a situation is thought to be unfixable, the best advice given by experts is to figure out a way to ‘remix’ the situation so the two parties look at the situation differently.

Here are a few tips for consideration:

• Think before acting- use common sense and common courtesy – if someone in the office is bothering you, you may be bothering them.
• Listen to others – listen attentively and hear what your co-workers are saying, not what you expect them to say.
• Listen to yourself – Figure out your tone, attitude and how well you communicate.
• Be positively disarming – maintain a positive attitude; for example, find a trait or a skill that you admire in the other person, and focus on that.
• Focus on the task, not the person – no matter what the situation is, you still have to focus on the project or activity and not the person.
• If you can’t say something nice, avoid gossip – a spin on the old adage – if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all…

How to resolve conflicts within a team?

When a team oversteps the mark of healthy difference of opinion, resolving conflict requires respect and patience. The human experience of conflict involves our emotions, perceptions, and actions; we experience it on all three levels, and we need to address all three levels to resolve it. We must replace the negative experiences with positive ones.
The process below is a form of mediation process, which helps team members to do this:
• Acknowledge the conflict – The conflict has to be acknowledged before it can be managed and resolved. The tendency is for people to ignore the first signs of conflict, perhaps as it seems trivial, or is difficult to differentiate from the normal, healthy debate that teams can thrive on. If you are concerned about the conflict in your team, discuss it with other members. Once the team recognizes the issue, it can start the process of resolution.
• Discuss the impact – As a team, discuss the impact the conflict is having on team dynamics and performance.
• Agree to a cooperative process – Everyone involved must agree to cooperate in to resolve the conflict. This means putting the team first, and may involve setting aside your opinion or ideas for the time being. If someone wants to win more than he or she wants to resolve the conflict, you may find yourself at a stalemate.
• Agree to communicate – The most important thing throughout the resolution process is for everyone to keep communications open. The people involved need to talk about the issue and discuss their strong feelings. Active listeningis essential here because to move on you need to really understand where the other person is coming from.

When conflict is resolved take time to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions everyone made toward reaching a solution. This can build team cohesion and confidence in their problem solving skills, and can help avert further conflict.

How to resolve conflicts with boss?

There will be occasions when you and your boss won’t agree. The key to surviving such situations is not to let them “get to you” personally. Your goal should be to maintain a harmonious working relationship with your manager, even in moments of high stress or confusion about your authority. If your boss is impossible to work with and you are unable to have a healthy, harmonious working relationship with him/her, it may be time to look elsewhere for a job.
Before taking that step, you may want to present the situation to Human Resources. Try to resolve with these solutions:
Stick to the facts – Base your case on numbers, events or documents that can be objectively studied. You may see your manager as a bully but don’t cast aspersions or pot-shots before Human Resources. On the other hand, you should be prepared to answer questions from Human Resources department, the degree of its doubt dependent upon your past work relationship with others.

Provide Insights to help your manager rethink the logic behind his or her case – Human Resources will be aiming to have both you and your superior rethink the logic behind the situation. Ideally, you should be willing to see the situation from the other’s viewpoint. If you come too strong, you can make both your Manager and Human Resources Department deaf to your side of the situation.
Finally, it’s YOU who can resolve any kind of conflict. The answer is within YOU!

Etiquette to be kept in an interview

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You may be technically very sound, but may not be able to clinch the right job and that might be because of poor etiquette. Etiquette means the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group. As they say that “First Impression is the best impression”, here are a few tips onhowto dress, what to bring to a job interview, how to greet the interviewer, and how tocommunicate, which would make a big difference in the outcome of the interview:

Dressing:

When you are dressing for a job interview the image you present is really important. Regardless of the type of job you’re interested in, you want that first impression to be a great one. When dressing for an interview for a professional position, dress accordingly in business attire. If you’re applying for a job in a more casual environment, like a store or restaurant, it’s still important to be neat, tidy, and well-groomed, and to present a positive image to the employer.

When to Get to a Job Interview?

It’s important to arrive a few minutes early for a job interview. Take some extra time the previous day itself to check out the interview location (address), travel time needed to reach there and ensure that you’re not late on the day of the interview.Giving yourself a few extra minutes will give you an opportunity to catch your breath , stay calm and also freshen up and make sure that there are no wardrobe malfunctions.

What to Bring to a Job Interview?

It’s important to come prepared to a job interview. Bring extra copies of your resume (CV) along with a list of references to offer the interviewer. Also, bring a list of questions to ask the interviewer.If you’re being interviewed for a tech or web job and you want to show examples of your work, it’s fine to bring your laptop or iPad to show the interviewer what you have accomplished.
Don’ts:
> Don’t walk into a job interview with a coffee cup or bottle of cool drink or water or anything else to eat or drink.
> Don’t chew gum.
> Your cell phone should be turned off and out of sight. You don’t want to be the applicant whose text messages or calls disrupts the interview.

How to Greet the Interviewer?

When you arrive at a job interview, introduce yourself to the receptionist, if there is one. Let him or her know who you are and who you are scheduled to meet with.Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and introduce yourself. Be prepared for a little small talk, but don’t overdo it. Follow the interviewer’s lead and let them guide the direction of the conversation.

Responding to Interview Questions

When you respond to interview questions, listen carefully to the questions, take time to phrase your responses, and ask the interviewer to repeat the question if you’re not sure what they are asking.Be brief and don’t ramble when you respond. However, be sure that your responses answer the questions, are focused, and highlight the skills you have that are relevant to the job.Keep in mind that your responses are your sales pitch. You’re selling the interviewer on yourself as the best candidate for the job, so be sure you focus on your relevancy i.e. why you are a good candidate, how you can do the job, what you can contribute, and how you will benefit the company if you’re hired.

Closing the Interview

Towards the end of the interview let the hiring manager know that you think the job is an excellent fit and that you are very interested in the job.It’s appropriate to ask what the next step in the hiring process will be and when you might expect to hear.Finally, thank the interviewer for the time they spent interviewing with you.

Follow Up With a Thank You Note

Following up with a thank you note is on the list of interview etiquette best practices. Taking the time to say thank you not only shows that you appreciated the interview, it also gives you an opportunity to reiterate your interest in the job.In addition to saying thank you, refer to anything the interviewer mentioned that enhanced your interest and summarize why you think the job is a good match and why you’re a strong candidate for the job.

Log on to www.azzist.com to makeup to an interview

How to create a Professional CV with the help of AZZIST

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Azzist.com, the career and professional networking portal developed by Prescience Soft Pvt Ltd, not only helps you enhance your job prospects but also assists you to achieve your goals.  The following section will guide you to write a Professional CV:

Curriculum Vitae

A Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a summary of your educational qualification, experience, skills and it should highlight your potential to the employers.  The key difference between a CV and a Resume is the length.  A resume is a one or two page summary of your education, experience and skills whereas a Curriculum Vitae is a longer (at least two page) and more detailed synopsis.

Preparing an effective CV poses a challenge due to the length which results in cumbersome reading and important data being lost in a long document. Hence, prioritising, planning and structuring are essential so that the skills and experience are highlighted and noticed in a 5 second glance. The following sections will guide you to generate a Professional CV: 

Essential Sections of a CV:

  • Professional Objective or Objective Statement—keep this precise.
  • Experience Summary
  • Educational background: include Post Graduate, Graduate and Undergraduate Degrees till Class X details, Professional Certifications, papers (white papers) presented, Educational or Professional Honours or Awards, Scientific or Academic Research, Laboratory Experience and Related Skills, Description of Thesis or Dissertation, Publications.
  • Employment History: Specify the places worked earlier till date along with tools and platforms. Also include the roles and responsibilities discharged.
  • Major Accomplishments
  • Other Information: Mention any non-corporate endeavours applicable such as – Future Academic or Professional Goals, Travel / Exposure to Cultural Experiences, Foreign Language Skills and so on.
  • Personal Information: Contact Information, Hobbies, Extra Curricular activities.

CV Styles:

There are several different styles of CVs which can be used to apply for job openings depending on the requirement:

  • Chronological CV: A chronological CV starts by listing the work history with the most recent position listed first and other jobs listed in the reverse chronological order.
  • Functional CV: A functional CV focuses on the skills and abilities rather than the chronological work history. It is typically used by job seekers who change careers or who have gaps in their employment history.
  • Combination CV: A combination CV lists the skills and experience first and the employment history next. With this type of CV, the relevant skills can be highlighted to the relevant job applied for.

Azzist.com can help you

All the styles and techniques of writing a CV mentioned above might appear complicated to create and that’s when you can take the assistance of Azzist. Azzist.com has an extremely user-friendly and simple CV builder tool which creates a professional CV within minutes. This CV Builder tool is flexible and easily customisable. With the CV Builder tool you can:

  • Print, share and download your CV.
  • Upload old CV and change to new format – acts like a format converter.
  • Integrate your media CV (Video) and portfolio (collection of your work).
  • Reveal and hide only certain sections of your CV to various employers based on the job requirements.

Go ahead and log on to Azzist.com and makeover your career instantly!

www.azzist.com

How to Spot a Bad Freelance Job

Posted by azzist on

Every freelancer, unless you were always popular to begin with, has been through a situation where they were forced to work for peanuts, or work for a job that doesn’t offer absolutely any guarantee regarding payment whatsoever.

So diving straight to the point, here’s a small compilation of various signs that show that you are working for the wrong freelance jobs.

They ask you to pay ‘fee’ to join: This is the biggest red alert that shows that you definitely must not take that job. Firstly, you have absolutely no idea about the organization. Yes they have mentioned all about what they do, their location and a few testimonials to back up their authenticity. However, you still don’t know how much of it is true.

Secondly, nobody asks to pay them to give you a job. Agreeing to something like that is disrespecting your own skills and ability.

The pay is extremely less: Working for commission that’s as less as $1 per task? Then you better quit the job right now and use up the same time to work on your skills and resume and land yourself in a real job that pays you what you deserve. Again, working for a job like that is degrading your abilities and skills, which I’m sure you wouldn’t want to. Finding a real job may take time. However, by networking with the right people and fixing all the flaws that are hindering your chances of getting a job will definitely help you in a long run.

Pay per clicks: Freelance writers would have come across jobs like this. So, yet again, if you aren’t an ace blogger or a blogging celebrity whose blog is sure to earn at least around a thousand clicks in a week, this job is not for you, no matter how tempting the pay might seem in the beginning. You might think that writing a compelling blog might help you reach the scale of thousands, but reaching that level of visibility is going to take months, which you can use in a more productive way by preparing for job interviews.

You might also be offered to pay based on the ratings your article gets or an offer to share Adsense revenue. No matter how feasible the idea might seem in the beginning, it’s not going to work.

That’s about some of the signs that show you have landed yourself in a very bad freelance job or will be in future.

Getting a real job might be hard, but with a little hard work on your side, some help from your connections and professional recruitment experts, you would definitely find a good job that pays you regularly.

Also, there are a lot of great and genuine freelance jobs out there that pay you the money you deserve for your work. Unless you work for one of those kinds of freelance jobs, you might want to reconsider what you are doing.