Stressing yourselves and struggling to grab the dream job is not that tough today if you carry confidence, knowledge and most importantly when you are a team player with all the skills in you. You need to stand in the competition and it can be strong when applying and be interviewing for your dream job. But it cannot be a stop to anyone when you have the desired skills. It’s a pretty rare thing that you are the only candidate for a job, in those cases, you will be approached by a company anyway, be rest assured and face the questions and the completion of the interview process. Try to get the edge on the other candidates who are with you by analyzing their skills and if they carry any extra degree.  But how to do that is what we are speaking out on this blog. Try these simple ideas — here are some ways to help you stand-out from the other candidates.

Your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Reaching out the consultancy or an employer is essential and the first challenge for anyone to get their dream job. But, this will only happen when your CV represents you better than what you are. This plays a vital role to get an interview call or a mail, and then it’s your task to present yourself and grab the job. Make sure that your CV is tailored to the job spec ified and the role offered.

• Add objective and your aim and goal to help the organization
• Include most relevant experience in chronological order
• Make a list of all your background information, and then organize it into categories
• Experience and training should be listed in
• Highlight your skills and Accomplishments
• Rewards and Awards if any
• CV should be well laid out and easy to understand
• Make sure the details are accurate and do not forget to spell-check

Don’t Fail to prepare & prepare well to fail

Once your interview is secured, and you are all set to join your dream job. Set aside time to prepare well and try to get all the relevant information about the company you are joining. This is the exercise you need to follow before you are hitting the interview and the time you are joining the company too. Before you are hitting the interview you need to make a note of the company’s history, teams, what are they into and what they do to others?

• Prepare for the questions you need to answer and you need to ask also
• Read the job description thoroughly and make notes on key skills and experience required
• Be able to explain your relevant experience
• Research about the company well
• Be prepared to answer questions like; why you want to leave your current role and why should we hire you? What can you bring to us?
• You should also prepare some questions to ask at the end of interview around the organization, team structure, management etc

STAR Method

This is a simple method, which will help you to answer the most challenging and competency based questions. Today organizations are very keen to know what was the situation that you have met, how did you deal with it and what was the solution you gave. This is the stage you can prove yourself and how your employer did grade you to be the best player.

A situation or Task: Describe the situation you were confronted or the task; that you needed to accomplish in a shorter time.

Action: Brief how you reacted towards the situation and what you did; this is where the interviewer will be looking for the explanation and how you used skills and attribute that they are testing. Make sure that you take the personal approach as the interviewer needs to hear about your actions, not the teams.

Result: Explain how it all ended. Use this as an opportunity to describe what you accomplished and learned from the situation.

Appearance

No matter what the role is or the organization you are attending; remember that for all little things you need to pay.  Make sure for the grammar check, spell check in your CV and what you are wearing. Do not select the clothes which make you feel sick, wear right clothes that fit you the best.

Most of the people aren't going to notice the difference, but some will, of course, do it; but don't go to impress people, which will land you somewhere else. The most important thing is to look professional. Tattoos covered up. One pair of earrings for women; or none is also fine, no earrings for men. No facial piercings at all .

• No matter what level or position the interview is for you, just remember to dress sharply.
• If you are going for the senior position then wear a full suit that is comfortable and fit you well.
• Avoid loud colors.
• If you have any dress code, then make sure you are on it.

Attitude

Your attitude plays everything when you are facing interviewer.  Carry positive body language and attitude. Greet, smile and give the interviewer a firm handshake when you meet him or her. Make eye contact and actively engage with the interviewer, and lean slightly towards the interviewer to show your engagement in the conversation. Do not look up or down, not even to the sides of the interviewer when speaking, as this can be interpreted as disinterest or apathy.  Thank the interviewer sincerely for the time and opportunity and express your excitement about the employment possibility.

• Listen intently and then answer & ask relevant questions at the appropriate time
• Maintain low pace and speak in a minimal voice
• Never criticize or complain about your past employers
• Be confident. This is the time everyone experiences the nervousness for an interview but it is important to show confidence in your skills and ability to perform in the role.
• Be enthusiastic: Talk about your roles, what you can do, what you like about the organization, why you are you so interested in the current role

As a head, it’s the manager’s role to encourage his employees to surpass their expectations by taking responsible risks.  An efficient leader can either embrace diverse thinking to measure one’s talent to innovate or distract the whole team to fall down.  Never undervalue an employee’s ability as it will break the employee to perform. Have proper understanding before you evaluate or test your employee's abilities and potential.

A manager or a head should carry the skill to motivate his employees; as this is one of the greatest skills an entrepreneur should hold while leading a process or a team. Every organization goes through some tough growing pains, and this may be because of many reasons; like lack of infrastructure, resources, or cash would also make it extremely difficult to improve the company morale, but cash should not be a reason to discourage your employees. Even if you are wealthier, don’t show the money, which will not work.

Let us look at some better ways to boost the morale.

Be Kind & Praise

Everyone wants it and this is one of the greatest and easiest things to give. A praise from the CEO goes a lot beyond then you might think, but a small appreciation from the head is a good gesture to any employee. Praising every improvement that you see in your team members make them happy for sure, but it also increases their confidence and love towards their work.

Get Divest of the Managers

Can we not think any project without a project manager in any organization? That doesn’t seem to be happening also? But can we try it? Putting aside a project lead or a manager and empowering your staff to work together as a team rather than everyone reporting to one individual can do wonders. But which organization will think about it? The question here is what’s worse than letting your supervisor and your team down?

A manager or a supervisor will help or make the people to work together as a team, and this will often produce better projects faster. If the team is strong and united all the team members will enjoy the work and like to  come in early, stay late, and devote more of their energy to solving the problems and deliver the project as estimated.

Respect their Ideas

Instead of always being the boss and telling people what they need to do. Make them share their ideas and see if that may work well. People hate being told what to do; they like others to respect their ideas and this has also worked well in many scenarios.  You can add your idea to what they say to mix the ideas and promote them or proceed.

Do Not Criticize or Correct

No one will be ready to take criticism or corrections in their work. This will not only de-motivate them but also pull them down, which is not a good task for any organization. Try different options to explain to them why it will not work. Or you can even take an indirect example to get people learn and improve, from their mistakes, and fix them at the earliest. Ask, instead of pointing them for the mistakes you can ask them the best way to approach the problem and how best you can fix it.

Treat as Leaders

Making everyone leaders may sound different, but it’s not making them leaders, but making them feel that you give importance to their decision and respect it. Have top performers’ get introduced in the teams and organization and highlight their performance and strengths to let them know that because of their excellence, you want them to be the example for others. Set-up appreciations and calculation bars to show-up their performance; which will motivate them to live up to their reputation as leaders.

Give a Surprise

Take your team out and have a good talk. Introduce new policy which will help them and company grow.  This is an easy way to remind them that you notice and appreciate their work and this may also help others to be close to the team and think what they are missing out.  

Rewards & Recognitions

Both of them play a vital role in motivating your employees. This is an old technique, but believe me, it works wonders. When an organization thing or recognize their employee's performance and it is rewarded its self-makes your employee feel positive about their company. Announce their performance in front of teams, or stick on whiteboards or treat them with goodies. You can do this every quarter or by the half of the year. Start reward and recognition policy which will help the organization to walk closer with their teams.

Have Company Get Together

Doing things as a group will not help in many scenarios, instead, plan for a company get together once in a while; as this can go a long way. Have a company picnic or anniversary. As many companies are even missing their anniversaries due to lack of time. Holding happy hours is a good idea now and then; don’t wait for holidays to do such activities. Organize events once in a year or the time your project is out will remind your staff that you’re all in it together.

Share the Rewards

When your company does well or your project is success start celebrating it. Do not postpone your reward as this will be the best time to let everyone recognize your efforts. You can share the project in and out and if you have any disappoints too with the teams.  share your future plans how you want them to support you.

Whenever we go for any interview, it is ever time we think that what is going to happen and what questions do we need to answer. In my few years of experience, I have found few questions to be best to ask in an interview. “It’s not about me, though, it’s about you”.  Here are those questions you need to ask in a job interview.  I have put this list collectively because so often we can forget what an interview’s all about. It sure feels like it’s about you, but it’s really not.

An interview is in fact about how you can help your future superior and future employer succeed. You can find out what their requirements and hopes are and are they matching up with your background and experience with what they need.

Overlooking these basic specifics about the interview is easy. There will be much else going on in your work, your life, and in your job search, so you often miss out these basic things which will result very bad from the interviewer’s point of view; which is not at all a good sign for you.

Look into some conversations in between, and explore what will you get when you ask meaningful questions.

When I asked how do I get a “gold star” when an evaluation is going on, the interviewers’ faces lit up!” You will never know where it will land you, but I can tell, if you ask such meaningful questions at the end, you may get a positive result.

Ask the interviewer about his leadership style and reward system, he will feel good and his face lit up like a Christmas tree, and land you in great.

After he answers the question, say “how can I help you receive your next promotion?”, he will begin to give you advice on how you should negotiate for a higher starting salary.

And that’s exactly the point. By asking these type of questions, which focus on the needs, personality, and preferences of your future boss and future employer, you’re demonstrating that you are somebody who is genuinely interested in their well-being.  And the more interest we show in others, the more promise they show to aiding our cause.

Let’s go into the topic and look at best interview questions. My aim here is to arm you with easy-to-ask, revealing-to-answer questions for you to take with you to an interview:

1. What’s the biggest change your group has gone through recently? Do your teams feel like things are getting better in the economy and for your business?
2. If I get into the position, how quickly can I earn a “gold star” on my performance review? What are the key undertakings you’d like to see in this role over a year?
3. What’s your leadership style?
4. About which competitor are you most worried? Or who are our best competitors?
5. How do sales / operations / technology / marketing / finance departments work around here? (the groups other than the one you’re interviewing for.)
6. Who are the most successful people here? What type of people are not?
7. What’s one thing which is a key to this company’s success that somebody from outside the company wouldn’t know about?
8. How did you get your start in this industry? Why did you pick this industry? Why do you stay?
9. What are your group’s best and worst working relationships with other groups in the company? What are the pain points you have to deal with day-to-day?
10. What’s your biggest worry these days and why?
11. What is the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you or with whom?
12. The economy is getting better, and there’s a lot of hiring going on. Why did you decide to prioritize this position instead of the many others you could have hired for?
13. What is your reward system? Is it a star system / team-oriented / equity-based / bonus-based? What do you guys hope to get out of it, and what actually happens when you put it into practice? What are the positives and the negatives of your reward system? If you could change any one thing, what would it be?
14. What information is shared with the employees? Is this an “open book” shop, or do you play it closer to the vest? How do I get access to the information I need to be successful in this job?
15. If we are going to have a very successful year in 2016, what will that look like? How does this position help achieve those goals? (This question helps show your ability to look beyond today’s duties to the future more than a year away.)
16. How does the company or my future boss do performance reviews? How do I make the most of the performance review process to ensure that I’m doing the best I can for the company?
17. What is the rhythm of the work around here? How about during the week or month? Is it pretty consistently spread throughout the week / month, or are there crunch days?
18. What type of industry / functional / skills-based experience and background are you looking for in the person who will fill this position?
19. What would the “perfect” candidate look like? How do you assess my experience in comparison? What gaps do you see?
20. What is your (or my future boss’) hiring philosophy? Is it “hire the attitude / teach the skills” or are you primarily looking to add people with domain expertise first and foremost?
21. In my career, I’ve primarily enjoyed working with big / small / growing / independent / private / public / family-run companies. If that’s the case, how successful will I be at your firm?
22. What characteristics do the people who are most celebrated have in common with each other? Conversely, what is the individuality that is common to the promising people you hired, but who then flamed out and failed or left? As I’m considering whether or not I’d be successful here, how should I think about the experiences of the heroes and of the flame-outs?

I hope you find these questions useful in your interviews!

Use social media to make your job search more effective and efficient. We can see that social media profiles have become an important part of our everyday life, whatever technology or platform you choose you’re likely to have a few different accounts online. You can create your own brand by making your profiles online, especially when working in digital it is very important to realize what you add online!

Dos

• Show your knowledge in your field and expand your network as social media is the best source. Be interactive and social. Make yourself available and participate in discussions; ask and answer the questions; share info that interests you to the people in your networks.
• Set up a LinkedIn account, with a strong summary adding good keywords and phrases and for skills employers would look for in your industry.
• Many jobs aren't listed on job boards, so there are chances of missing your dream jobs, this is the reason more and more employers are fishing for applicants on professional networks.
• Joining a group and participating in several groups related to your career interests in a good practice which will help you connected. You find such groups on LinkedIn; choose a few relevant groups and make intelligent comments to start conversations - check spellings and grammar before you hit it.
• Follow companies in your industry, and "like" them; that’s the best way you can keep track of what's going on in companies you may be interested in, and show your interest.
• Search for relevant keywords to what you're looking for, and connect with people who come up, with whom you have common professional or personal interests.
• Start a Twitter account; if you don't already have one – with a headline relevant to who you are professionally.
• Search for the keywords and relevant companies (and use Hashtag #), and follow them.
• Tweet and re-tweet links to articles relevant to your followers' interests.
• Comment on tweets and ask followers relevant questions.

Don'ts

• Don't forget that everything you put online stays out there somewhere, and anyone - prospective employers, former bosses, etc. - can see it. So any questionable photos, potentially offensive comments, criticisms against current or former employers, etc. may come back to haunt you.
• Don't use a physical attribute-flaunting photo better suited to a dating site than a professional networking site, on any website you intend to use to network and find possible job leads. Yes, that includes Facebook, which more and more employers are using to find more in-depth info on job applicants. You don't have to wear a 3-piece suit in your photos, but at least business-casual dress.
• Don't refer to yourself in your LinkedIn profile or Twitter headline as "unemployed" or "job seeker." Identify yourself instead as who you are professionally, in terms of the type of job you're looking for ("financial professional knowledgeable about investments"). It doesn't matter if you're not currently employed in that field.
• Don't throw every noun you can think of to describe yourself in your Twitter profile. Focus on the relevant ones you'd want an employer to see. Rather than, "Public relations professional, social media expert, reality show addict, chocoholic, wife, mother, sister" - stop after "social media expert."
• Don't forget to check out Google Plus, Pinterest, and other social networking sites too - Pinterest especially if your field is visual, like architecture or web design.
• Don't just broadcast stuff. Social media has "social" in its name for a reason, so interact with people in your network.
• Don't start an account and never update it. Keeping up with your social media accounts is time-consuming, but you generally get what you put into it. You don't have to spend time on every site every day; a few times a week is fine. It looks better to prospective employers to stay active on two or three sites than to have skimpy profiles on many and rarely visit them.

As long as you’re conscious about what you put online, you’re on the right track! If you have any questions, don’t be shy! Head over to our LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Google+. We practice what we moralize!, and drop us a line!

Digitalization and networking are prime forms of 21st century learning.  The world is much smaller and thanks to technology; which made learning more transforming into a globally collaborative enterprise. For example professional, networks allow the scientific community to share discoveries much faster than the others.  

The scientists of Harvard are considering that “sharing discoveries is more efficient and honorable than patenting them.”  This idea embodies the true spirit of a successful professional learning network: collaboration for its own sake.

Educators should aim to be connected to advance their craft; and on another level, they need to use networks to prepare and the teach students and make them ready with the ever changing technological needs; as this will make them available in the changing job market.  However, what is the best way to approach professional learning networks - PLNs?

The recent learning networks are based on the theory of connectivism, or learning from varied social webs.  Connectivism implies to learning that relies on communicating ideas with many people at same time. Professional learning networks facilitate learning through meaningful interactions; the advantages of these networks today are two-folded. In one way, they help to improve the classroom teaching and to develop new projects; and on the other hand, they act as a form of shared intelligence that changes communal perceptions.  

We will see more details on what are the ways to grow your PLN and improve the quality of your interactions; as there are diverse ways to build your network and many new management tools.  

• Always keep the spirit of collaboration as your driving force.Professional learning networks are all about working together, so be mutual and resourceful and never think about what you have to gain or gained, rather think what you have to give and Why? This is the right thing to do, when you are working collaboratively. By buying the process and sharing useful information, your professional network will always grow naturally. While collaboration creates a common ground which allows others to see your interests.Authentic interest builds a solid network.Social responsibility is the best kind of motivation for establishing a PLN.
• Join an online community and share ideas by contacting or connecting to people for direct feedback. As direct feedback is more effective in a community setting. The Communities such as, Classroom versions and The Educator’s professional network provide a meaningful circle of experts.These professional development resources, such as online events are a great place to start your networking and build it.
• The next thing to make your network strong is joining a meet-up group.These meet-up groups are common thread interest groups that connect the real world; and make your life easy to extend your social networks. For instance, science teachers in your city or district might create a group to share their teaching ideas; these meet-up groups take online networks and bring them into the real world. But, if in case you can’t meet online then try using Google+ HangOuts, or Skype. Whereas, some university academics even have virtual labs on SecondLife.
• Be as symbol of light.Professional learning networks rely on open sharing of information.So if you know something, then be open to share it!Start with a specific interest and then start growing your network with other topics as time goes on. Turn out to be an expert in your niche by researching current trends.This will draw larger followers on your network, and help you to provide a novel source of information.
• Ask questions; after all, PLNs are all about learning. But do not ask questions that you can easily research. Try simple searches on TED talks, Wikis, blogs, or news articles before posting a question; as these are the. Try to be specific and think of how a question might generate interest from others. For example, you may want to refer to an article or research study when asking a question. Be specific!This will generate the best answers.
• Be an active participant; as brain power is the main asset of any professional learning systems. So you need to spend valuable time to identify the specific cause to communicate on your profile.Let your knowledge be the specific cause as it helps you grow your PLN. Try updating your niche and stay relevant to it.
• Be polite and acknowledge your contributions to the rightful owner. Show respect for the people in your network.
• Designate a professional and personal account. Be active participate in your social life - Facebook and professional life on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.There can be some intersect, but its best thing to keep it least so things are easy to find.So that certain groups will appreciate different types of content. Do this in ways that are comfortable to you.You might designate accounts for each sphere of your life.
• Create a landing page; as it may be a good idea to consolidate all of your accounts on your landing page.A webpage or personal blog will make it easier for people who like to find you; and it will also create a space where you can showcase the different projects you are working on.
• Engage newbies, having this type of diversity in knowledge always allow you to increase your mentoring skills and keeps the essence of collaboration.A blogger can Collaborate, Communicate, and Create any source to be an active participate and can be proved to be the best professional to people who are seeking for connected learning networks; as PLNS trend to create new projects through the power of active collaboration.