Why Management capability is required?

By Edie Goldberg

In the past, organizations have clung to the belief that as long as they had competitive products and services, they could enhance their performance by hiring strong leadership and top talent. While this focus has worked in some cases, in today's highly competitive labor market - and yes, it is going to get much worse - organizations competing for top talent may be missing the essential managerial skills and processes needed to succeed over the long term.

Today's Generation X employees have much higher expectations of what managers should do to support them compared with the prior generation. Furthermore, the new entrants into the workforce, known variously as Generation Y, Millennials or Generation Next, have still greater needs for immediate feedback and development. These young workers are accustomed to praise, reinforcement and time to develop their interests and skills. How can organizations capture and retain this new talent, as well as slightly older up-and-coming leaders?

Research suggests that most organizations neglect the role of managers, undervalue it and therefore suffer from a lack of strong management capability. A 2006 survey from BlessingWhite indicates that employees who plan to stay with their current companies are twice as likely as employees who say they might or might not stay to report that their managers recognize their talents and encourage them to use those talents to the fullest extent.

I would say that the trend that is emerging is not pretty. Today's managers are also individual contributors and they spend more of their time doing their "real" jobs - technical aspects of their positions - than they actually spend managing their employees. This behavior poses a problem because today's employees want more from their managers and workplaces, not less. And they are willing to walk out of your workplace if they don't get it. While employees are hungry for praise and eager to get help expanding their capabilities, there is, unfortunately, a corresponding capability gap among managers to give them what they need. This deficit exists for many reasons, including:

Years of downsizing means companies expect more from fewer employees. There simply is not enough time for managers to devote to mentorship and employee development.

a) Insufficient skills. Managers don't know how to provide feedback and develop people.
b) A dearth of rewards. Managers are rewarded based upon individual contributions and achievements, not their management skills.
c) The mistaken belief that "one size fits all." The same rewards approach won't motivate everyone.
d) Organizations do not place a high enough value on the role of the manager.

Employees don't leave companies; they leave their managers
Employees want managers who will provide goals and direction, feedback and coaching - and who recognize and reward them for good performance. Yet research indicates that managers are not delivering on these expectations. One possible reason is that managers' roles are not designed to focus on managing people. Most managers spend 90 percent of their time on technical and administrative tasks and only 10 percent of their time on activities related to managing and developing the people who report to them.

There is a wealth of research indicating that management behavior is a key factor in retention. This is nothing new. In 1968, Frederick Hertzberg published his seminal work on what motivates employees. This research showed that satisfaction with one's direct manager is not a satisfier, but it can be a major source of dissatisfaction - and thus, turnover. Recent research has consistently shown that dissatisfaction with one's manager is a top reason for leaving the organization.

More recently, three different research studies - from the Hay Group in 1999, McKinsey & Co. in 2000 and Towers Perrin in 2003 - examined the factors that predicted whether employees would stay with or leave their current organizations. Some of the most commonly found items predicting intention to leave were:

a) Insufficient feedback and coaching.
b) Insufficient learning and development opportunities.
c) Insufficient reward and recognition for their work.
d) Insufficient sense that their organization values them.

Management is responsible for delivering on each of these job factors. No one else can affect how an employee feels as dramatically and tangibly as an employee's immediate manager. The most effective managers are those who know their employees' strengths and development needs so well that they know which assignments to give based on balancing both organizational needs and those of the employees.

Coaching and feedback make up one area that is receiving the most attention in organizations today. Employee survey results in company after company are showing that employees want and expect feedback. Research conducted with Gen Xers tells us that this age group not only expects feedback from their managers, but demands it. The Millennial Generation is even more voracious in its need for coaching and input.

Finally, people want to know that they are appreciated when they do a good job or put in extra effort. Good managers praise employees in ways that raise self-esteem and commitment to the organization. Poor managers just expect it all, and, as a consequence, praise nothing. What they really get is turnover, and lots of it. And then they get less productivity out of the people who do stay.

Actions to take
Doing the bare minimum of training and development - just enough to keep your organization within the law, and to keep from being sued - can easily lead to behaviors that damage companies' reputations. Once damaged, a reputation takes significant time and money to restore. Some companies never really recover. Before find yourself in a position of losing top talent or dealing with a weakened organizational reputation, you can invest in processes to improve the management capability in your organization.

Human resource leaders are in an ideal position to influence all the elements needed to change the role of managers and to help their organizations build management capability. Many elements are needed, of course, but the first is the sponsorship of the most senior leaders to ensure buy-in and demonstrable support for the process. The rest of the elements involve your organization's beliefs, values and culture. All of these are levers for change and are necessary to reinforce norms and expectations.

Building management capability goes beyond training. It includes transforming the organization's culture so that it values the role that management plays in attracting and retaining top talent and setting forth clear expectations for the manager's role. As this model indicates, all organizations have an underlying set of beliefs about the importance of the manager. Organizations that have strong management capabilities believe that managers are critical for their ability to attract, retain and motivate employees. Strong beliefs influence the values of an organization, and consequently, culture.

Each of the levers of change in the model represents an area that organizations must consider if they want to build strong management capability. Just focusing on one lever of change will not bring about lasting change in management capability; the current culture will overwhelm small changes. By focusing on numerous change levers, organizations can modify the culture and create long-term change. Briefly, the levers represent the following considerations:

a) Leadership: An organization's leadership must both believe in the value of the role that managers play and must lead by example.
b) Communication: The leadership team must consistently communicate the importance of the role of the manager to the organization and its ability to achieve high performance, attract talent and retain it.
c) Competencies: Management competencies must be assessed and developed. Entry into a management role must be predicted on an appropriate, although not necessarily perfect, set of skills.
d) Measurement and rewards: Any effective strategy must be integrated into the scorecard. It must be measured and rewarded.
e) Structure and symbols: The role of a manager must be structured so that the manager can spend sufficient time with direct reports. The term "manager" must mean something in terms of role expectations.

By focusing on these levers of change, the organization will develop new norms and expectations for behavior. The organizational beliefs regarding the management role will actually conform to what the levers of change are encouraging: a belief that managers' roles do make a difference.

Leadership first: showing the way
Levers for change begin with leadership. Leadership sets the tone and shows the way. How your leaders think will cast the mold for the rest of the organization.

It must be clear to others that your organization's leaders believe that management capability is an asset worth time and resources. Where leaders demonstrate this through their own behaviors, the organizations will have corresponding success. Having leaders publicly recognize individuals for outstanding team management (as opposed to personally exceeding business goals) will set the tone for the importance the organization places on the role of the manager in delivering results.

When leaders spend time with their direct reports, setting clear goals and expectations, providing feedback and actively working to build bench strength in the organization, they are setting expectations for how others will act. Take Jack Welch during his GE days. He spent a great deal of his personal time both developing his own successor and developing leadership capability throughout the organization by participating the GE's management development programs. As a consequence, GE is constantly cited as having one of the best leadership development programs in the world. This happened because the senior leadership believed in the value of its leaders and made investments to insure they could deliver their maximum capability.

Also, leaders are the ones who primarily create an organization's fundamental beliefs, values and culture. Where leaders go astray, organizations often follow. Creating a powerful culture takes time. But leaders can play a powerful role in establishing the outward signs of culture and behaviors that they both embody and endorse.

Communication: keeping everyone on the same page
Organizations tend to undervalue communication. But communication plays a powerful role as the vehicle through which leaders demonstrate and publicly recognize the desired behaviors in the organization. How leaders talk about managers sets a clear message for what is expected in the organization. Strong communication systems can help organizations build strong cultures and enhance performance.

Competencies: The essential building blocks
Identifying the critical competencies that make managers successful in your organization is the first step in creating the new manager role. New managers who are hired and current employees who are promoted into management roles must be selected because they have the capability to deliver on key functions of this role. These competencies include such skills as setting goals that fit the business strategy, providing coaching and feedback to others and helping employees understand how they fit into the big picture.

Often promotions are given because someone is a good individual contributor. Good technical skills are a far cry from good management skills. We need alternative career structures if the only way to move up in the organization is to become a manager. Not all great individual contributors make great managers. By having management competencies defined within an organization we can also coach and develop individuals on how to improve in these specific areas.

Measuring, rewarding and reinforcing
It's a cliche, but it's true: That which gets measured and rewarded gets done. If you don't include management competencies and results for such areas as reduction in turnover or developing staff to improve organizational bench strength in performance appraisal systems, managers will not focus on these issues. Organizations that reward their managers for being good managers will stand the greatest chance of building strong management capability over time. Rewards do not need to take the form of money. In fact, simple public recognition of strong management skills sends a message to the rest of the organization: Managers are important to us.

Organization structure: the key symbol
When organizations design jobs so that managers must spend 90 percent of their time doing non-management work, we send a very clear message about how we view the management aspects of a manager's role: They are not important. We need to redesign organizational structures to support managers so they can truly manage the talent within the organization.

By involving your leaders, crafting key messages, developing managers and examining the current messages managers receive about their role in managing others, HR leaders can change how managers are viewed, and how they view themselves.

The process of building better managers is not fast or cheap. But the rewards can be substantial and well worth the effort.

[About the Author: Edie Goldberg is the principal of E.L. Goldberg & Associates in Menlo Park, California. She focuses her practice on designing HR processes and programs to attract, engage, develop and retain employees. Before starting her own company, Goldberg worked for Towers Perrin as the global leader in career management, succession planning, and learning and development. She earned her Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Albany, State University of New York.]

Types of Interview!!

Situational Interview - A situational interview is a style wherein theoretical or hypothetical situations are given by the interviewer to assess the applicant's behavior in such a situation.

Screening Interview – A Screening Interview is screening the resume no matter how strong in communication or how good in profile, look whether you match for the requirement.

· Highlight your accomplishments and qualifications.
· Get into the straightforward groove. Personality is not as important to the screener as verifying your qualifications. Answer questions directly and succinctly. Save your winning personality for the person making hiring decisions!
· Be tactful about addressing income requirements. Give a range, and try to avoid giving specifics by replying, "I would be willing to consider your best offer."
· If the interview is conducted by phone, it is helpful to have note cards with your vital information sitting next to the phone. That way, whether the interviewer catches you sleeping or vacuuming the floor, you will be able to switch gears quickly.

Informational Interview - An Informational Interview is a mutual exchange of information. Employers that like to stay apprised of available talent even when they do not have current job openings, are often open to informational interviews, especially if they like to share their knowledge, feel flattered by your interest, or esteem the mutual friend that connected you to them. During an informational interview, the jobseeker and employer exchange information and get to know one another better without reference to a specific job opening.

This takes off some of the performance pressure, but be intentional nonetheless:
· Come prepared with thoughtful questions about the field and the company.
· Gain references to other people and make sure that the interviewer would be comfortable if you contact other people and use his or her name.
· Give the interviewer your card, contact information and resume.
· Write a thank you note to the interviewer.

Directive Interview - In this style of interview, the interviewer has a clear agenda that he or she follows unflinchingly. Sometimes companies use this rigid format to ensure parity between interviews; when interviewers ask each candidate the same series of questions, they can more readily compare the results. Directive interviewers rely upon their own questions and methods to tease from you what they wish to know. You might feel like you are being steam-rolled, or you might find the conversation develops naturally. Their style does not necessarily mean that they have dominance issues, although you should keep an eye open for these if the interviewer would be your supervisor.

Either way, remember:
· Flex with the interviewer, following his or her lead.
· Do not relinquish complete control of the interview. If the interviewer does not ask you for information that you think is important to proving your superiority as a candidate, politely interject it.

The Meandering Style - This interview type, usually used by inexperienced interviewers, relies on you to lead the discussion. It might begin with a statement like "tell me about yourself," which you can use to your advantage. The interviewer might ask you another broad, open-ended question before falling into silence. This interview style allows you tactfully to guide the discussion in a way that best serves you.

The Stress Interview - Either employers view the stress interview as a legitimate way of determining candidates' aptness for a position or someone has latent maniacal tendencies. You might be held in the waiting room for an hour before the interviewer greets you. You might face long silences or cold stares. The interviewer might openly challenge your believes or judgment. You might be called upon to perform an impossible task on the fly-like convincing the interviewer to exchange shoes with you. Insults and miscommunications are common. All this is designed to see whether you have the mettle to withstand the company culture, the clients or other potential stress.

Besides wearing a strong anti-perspirant, you will do well to:
· Remember that this is a game. It is not personal. View it as the surreal interaction that it is.
· Prepare and memorize your main message before walking through the door. If you are flustered, you will better maintain clarity of mind if you do not have to wing your responses.
· Even if the interviewer is rude, remain calm and tactful.
· Go into the interview relaxed and rested. If you go into it feeling stressed, you will have a more difficult time keeping a cool perspective.

Behavioral Interview: A behavioral interview is a style of interviewing wherein the job applicant is asked to give examples of situations he has personally been involved in where he demonstrated a particular trait or skill that the interviewer is interested in.

Many companies increasingly rely on behavior interviews since they use your previous behavior to indicate your future performance. In these interviews, employers use standardized methods to mine information relevant to your competency in a particular area or position. Depending upon the responsibilities of the job and the working environment, you might be asked to describe a time that required problem-solving skills, adaptability, leadership, conflict resolution, multi-tasking, initiative or stress management. You will be asked how you dealt with the situations.

Your responses require not only reflection, but also organization. To maximize your responses in the behavioral format:
· Anticipate the transferable skills and personal qualities that are required for the job.
· Review your resume. Any of the qualities and skills you have included in your resume are fair game for an interviewer to press.
· Reflect on your own professional, volunteer, educational and personal experience to develop brief stories that highlight these skills and qualities in you. You should have a story for each of the competencies on your resume as well as those you anticipate the job requires.
· Prepare stories by identifying the context, logically highlighting your actions in the situation, and identifying the results of your actions. Keep your responses concise and present them in less than two minutes.

The Audition - For some positions, such as computer programmers or trainers, companies want to see you in action before they make their decision. For this reason, they might take you through a simulation or brief exercise in order to evaluate your skills. An audition can be enormously useful to you as well, since it allows you to demonstrate your abilities in interactive ways that are likely familiar to you. The simulations and exercises should also give you a simplified sense of what the job would be like. If you sense that other candidates have an edge on you in terms of experience or other qualifications, requesting an audition can help level the playing field.

To maximize on auditions, remember to:
· Clearly understand the instructions and expectations for the exercise. Communication is half the battle in real life, and you should demonstrate to the prospective employer that you make the effort to do things right the first time by minimizing confusion.
· Treat the situation as if you are a professional with responsibility for the task laid before you. Take ownership of your work.
· Brush up on your skills before an interview if you think they might be tested.

The Group Interview - Interviewing simultaneously with other candidates can be disconcerting, but it provides the company with a sense of your leadership potential and style. The group interview helps the company get a glimpse of how you interact with peers-are you timid or bossy, are you attentive or do you seek attention, do others turn to you instinctively, or do you compete for authority? The interviewer also wants to view what your tools of persuasion are: do you use argumentation and careful reasoning to gain support or do you divide and conquer? The interviewer might call on you to discuss an issue with the other candidates, solve a problem collectively, or discuss your peculiar qualifications in front of the other candidates.

This environment might seem overwhelming or hard to control, but there are a few tips that will help you navigate the group interview successfully:
· Observe to determine the dynamics the interviewer establishes and try to discern the rules of the game. If you are unsure of what is expected from you, ask for clarification from the interviewer.
· Treat others with respect while exerting influence over others.
· Avoid overt power conflicts, which will make you look uncooperative and immature.
· Keep an eye on the interviewer throughout the process so that you do not miss important cues.

The Tag-Team Interview - Expecting to meet with Mr. XYZ, you might find yourself in a room with four other people: Mr. XYZ, two of his staff, and the Sales Director. Companies often want to gain the insights of various people when interviewing candidates. This method of interviewing is often attractive for companies that rely heavily on team cooperation. Not only does the company want to know whether your skills balance that of the company, but also whether you can get along with the other workers. In some companies, multiple people will interview you simultaneously. In other companies, you will proceed through a series of one-on-one interviews.

Some helpful tips for maximizing on this interview format:
· Treat each person as an important individual. Gain each person's business card at the beginning of the meeting, if possible, and refer to each person by name. If there are several people in the room at once, you might wish to scribble down their names on a sheet of paper according to where each is sitting. Make eye contact with each person and speak directly to the person asking each question.
· Use the opportunity to gain as much information about the company as you can. Just as each interviewer has a different function in the company, they each have a unique perspective. When asking questions, be sensitive not to place anyone in a position that invites him to compromise confidentiality or loyalty.
· Bring at least double the anecdotes and sound-bites to the interview as you would for a traditional one-on-one interview. Be ready to illustrate your main message in a variety of ways to a variety of people.
· Prepare psychologically to expend more energy and be more alert than you would in a one-on-one interview. Stay focused and adjustable.

The Mealtime Interview - For many, interviewing over a meal sounds like a professional and digestive catastrophe in the making. If you have difficulty chewing gum while walking, this could be a challenge. With some preparation and psychological readjustment, you can enjoy the process. Meals often have a cementing social effect-breaking bread together tends to facilitate deals, marriages, friendships, and religious communion. Mealtime interviews rely on this logic, and expand it.

Particularly when your job requires interpersonal acuity, companies want to know what you are like in a social setting. Are you relaxed and charming or awkward and evasive? Companies want to observe not only how you handle a fork, but also how you treat your host, any other guests, and the serving staff.

Some basic social tips help ease the complexity of mixing food with business:

· Take cues from your interviewer, remembering that you are the guest. Do not sit down until your host does. Order something slightly less extravagant than your interviewer. If he badly wants you to try a particular dish, oblige him. If he recommends an appetizer to you, he likely intends to order one himself. Do not begin eating until he does. If he orders coffee and dessert, do not leave him eating alone.
· If your interviewer wants to talk business, do so. If she and the other guests discuss their upcoming travel plans or their families, do not launch into business.
· Try to set aside dietary restrictions and preferences. Remember, the interviewer is your host. It is rude to be finicky unless you absolutely must. If you must, be as tactful as you can. Avoid phrases like: "I do not eat mammals," or "Shrimp makes my eyes swell and water."
· Choose manageable food items, if possible. Avoid barbeque ribs and spaghetti.
· Find a discrete way to check your teeth after eating. Excuse yourself from the table for a moment.
· Practice eating and discussing something important simultaneously.
· Thank your interviewer for the meal.

The Follow-up Interview - Companies bring candidates back for second and sometimes third or fourth interviews for a number of reasons. Sometimes they just want to confirm that you are the amazing worker they first thought you to be. Sometimes they are having difficulty deciding between a short-list of candidates. Other times, the interviewer' s supervisor or other decision makers in the company want to gain a sense of you before signing a hiring decision.

The second interview could go in a variety of directions, and you must prepare for each of them. When meeting with the same person again, you do not need to be as assertive in your communication of your skills. You can focus on cementing rapport, understanding where the company is going and how your skills mesh with the company vision and culture. Still, the interviewer should view you as the answer to their needs. You might find yourself negotiating a compensation package. Alternatively, you might find that you are starting from the beginning with a new person.

The following strategies, which are helpful for any interview, are particularly important when interviewers use a non-directive approach:
· Come to the interview prepared with highlights and anecdotes of your skills, qualities and experiences. Do not rely on the interviewer to spark your memory-jot down some notes that you can reference throughout the interview.
· Remain alert to the interviewer. Even if you feel like you can take the driver's seat and go in any direction you wish, remain respectful of the interviewer' s role. If he or she becomes more directive during the interview, adjust.
· Ask well-placed questions. Although the open format allows you significantly to shape the interview, running with your own agenda and dominating the conversation means that you run the risk of missing important information about the company and its needs.

Let me know any clarification required!

How to make oneself happy at work?

Two weeks ago I had a day that I was NOT looking forward to. I had two speaking gigs on a Saturday (which is great!) but they were in opposite ends of Denmark. I had to get up disgustingly early to make the drive to the first one and then there was barely enough time to finish that and drive 350 km to the next one. After that, it was another 300 km drive home.

It is starting to get cold here, so there was no way I could ride my motorcycle that day. That meant renting a car, and I was not looking forward to driving that far in some anonymous Ford or Toyota.

Which made me think of a question I often get: “So Alex - you make other people happy at work. What do you do if you have a bad day?”

And of course I have bad days too - everyone does. Happiness at work does not mean being utterly ecstatic every moment of every day. As Emma Thompson says in my favorite movie: “There was always going to be a totally shit moment.”

But in this particular case, I found the perfect solution. One that transformed the long drive from a chore to a pleasure. To something I almost couldn’t wait to do.

Here’s my trick:

Yes - I went and rented myself a Mini Cooper. There is a rental car company in Copenhagen called Rent A Mini where you can rent only two different kinds of car: Minis and Mini convertibles.

And let me tell you, those things are a blast to drive. I do not own a car, and I do not want to own one, but if I did, I would get myself one of these. It feels fairly comfortable, but it drives more like a go-cart! Plus it looks really spiffy :o)

Renting one of these is no more expensive than renting any run-of-the-mill anonymobile, but it made my Saturday a lot of fun. Oh, and I had two great gigs too :o)

Courtsey:Alexander Kjerulf

10 signs that make you unhappy at work!!

How do you know that you are unhappy at work? That something is not right and that it’s time to either make some changes at work or move on to a new job?

In my work, I talk to a lot of people who are not happy with their jobs. Here are the top ten symptoms of unhappiness at work that I have observed. How many apply to you?

1: You procrastinate
You really, honestly try to get some work done. But somehow you never really get around to it. Or you only do it at the last possible moment and then only do a half-baked effort.

Many people view procrastination as a personal weakness. To me, it is one of the strongest warning signs of unhappiness at work.

2: You spend Sunday night worrying about Monday morning
“I never sleep on Sunday night very well because I’m worried about going to work on Monday morning. My job is very stressful and you kind of have to gear up for Monday and getting back into that.” (source)

One of the worst things about being unhappy at work is that the unhappiness bleeds over into your free time. If you have had a lousy day at work, it is difficult to go home and have a great evening. If your week sucked, it is hard to have a fun, relaxed, carefree weekend.

3: You’re really competitive about salary and titles
You don’t like the job itself, so you focus much more on salary and perks. Knowing that someone in a similar position is paid more than you, or is promoted when you’re not, really eats at you.

When we are unhappy at work we get a lot more competitive, for one simple reason: When work doesn’t give us happiness and enjoyment we want to get something else out of it. And what else is there but compensation and promotions.

4: You don’t feel like helping co-workers
Your colleagues may be struggling. But you don’t really feel like lending a hand. Why should you?

One very interesting psychological study started by putting subjects in either a good mood or a bad mood. They were then asked to go down the hall to another room where the experiment would continue. In the hallway the real experiment took place - the subjects passed a man holding a big box struggling to open a door. Would the subject help that person? The experiment showed, that when we are in a bad mood, we are much less likely to help others.

5: Work days feel looooong
The first thing you do in the morning, is calculate the number of hours until you can go home.

Ironically, this makes the work day feel even longer.

6: You have no friends at work
Friends at work? They are mostly all jerks anyway.

Gallup have found in their studies of workplace engagement, that one of the strongest factors that predict happiness at work is having at least one close friend at work.

7: You don’t care. About anything.
Things can go well or they can go badly for your workplace. Either way, you do not really give a damn.

When you are unhappy, you care mostly about yourself and not so much about the workplace.

8: Small things bug you
Small annoyances bug you out of all proportion. Like someone taking up too much space in the parking lot, someone taking the last coffee without brewing a new pot or someone talking too loudly in the next cubicle.

When you are unhappy you have much thinner skin and a shorter fuse. It takes a lot less to annoy you.

9: You’re suspicious of other people’s motives
No matter what people do, your fist thought is “what are they up to?” Good or bad, big or small, all decisions and actions made by your co-workers and managers are seen in this light.

Studies show that we are also more suspicious of others when we are unhappy.

10: Physical symptoms
You suffer from insomnia, headaches, low energy, muscle tension and/or other physical symptoms.

Studies show that when you are unhappy at work you are more prone to experience these physical stress symptoms.

The high-paying jobs are no longer advertised

An Article By Dan Magallanes
DO you know that the most important and highest-paying jobs with multinational companies in the Philippines are already farmed out to headhunters?

I am sure your understanding is multinational companies have their own human resource departments who hire their executives and employees. The truth is, yes, multinational companies have their own human resource department. But decision-makers of companies have realized that "recruitment, selection and hiring" is not among their core competencies.

It is the specialization of a headhunter. Why bother performing a function that could lead to a wrong selection of candidates and at the same time risk one's position as a human resource manager.

In the Philippines, headhunting was born only in the '70s. Executive search began after World War II when some firms sought executives and professionals to fill jobs.

Headhunters are different from employment agencies, which are basically clearing houses. Employment agencies screen job applicants who fill out applications and refer the applicants to employers who have listed jobs with the agency. In most cases, the employment agency charges the employee a fee.

Executive search recruiters or headhunters never charge the employee. They are paid by companies to go out and find the qualified candidates. This distinction between a search firm and an employment agency is still not clear to many people today. In fact when I started my headhunting business 18 years ago, executives and professionals thought I was selling guns or was a member of some primitive group when I introduced myself as a headhunter. Their next question is "How much will I take out from their salaries."

The mission of the executive search professional is reflected in the term "recruiter." The searcher not only locates the candidate but also helps to source/recruit that candidate. In the early days, this function was loudly denounced as "pirating." The word "headhunter" was associated with a person who ruthlessly stole employees from their employers. Today "headhunter" is a generic term for executive recruiter.

Some people have a hard time getting a job. Others are offered well-paying jobs without even looking. Some get more than three job offers a year. Not many of you can confidently say that your job is secure these days. Some executives are sure that in the event that they lose their jobs they will still be in demand.

These are the executives/professionals who stand out in their fields. They are the ones headhunters target. They won't remain without any offer because of their experience, talents and attitude. But there are those who are just as experienced and capable who are overlooked. The difference between the two is their visibility in the market. In these uncertain times, it pays to get noticed.

To get noticed, you have to make yourself visible. You have to participate actively in interest groups, industry associations and professional organizations.

As you become better known in the industry, chances are your name will be mentioned when a candidate is being sought.

Accept speaking engagements in the area of your expertise. Network at dinner or cocktail parties. Try to know the headhunters who specialize in your field in informal settings. Personal contact is always better than a phone call. And if a headhunter calls you up and you are not ready to move, be polite. Get his number. You may not need him today but you may need him tomorrow. Search firms do not advertise. As a headhunter, we target executives who are not looking for jobs.

(The author is CEO of Headhunter Manila, an executive search firm. He consults for blue-chip companies and lectures on moving your career up. He also coaches executives and professionals.)

How to cope with Interviews?

After coming through all the hurdles of the selection process, you will eventually arrive at an interview. This is of course, a major obstacle for many job applicants. Although they may have the qualifications, experience and a proven track record, they may lose out to a candidate who 'interviews better.'

So what does 'interviewing better' actually mean? It comes down to the candidate being well prepared and confident. A candidate who can answer questions in a way which is acceptable (but not necessarily right) to the interviewer, someone who knows something about their potential employers business and the post they hope to fill. These are really the basic components of any candidate who 'interviews well'. There are undoubtedly other aspects employers may look for in relation to specific posts - having their own ideas, articulate, thinking on their feet, aspects which will be related to the job and to the company's preference in employees.

The employer will also be looking to fill a post, which has a particular job specification - in other words personal aspects besides the experience, and qualifications that can be put down on paper. The interviewer will set out to ascertain that the candidate has these personal qualities, skills and abilities the company requires.

These two essential ingredients are interlinked. Good preparation instils confidence.

So the basic approach to an interview is to be well prepared. This means two things - preparing yourself practically for the interview, and gathering knowledge and information you can draw on during the interview.

Be sure you know the time, date and location of the interview and name of interviewee where appropriate.

Check out how you will get to the location, and when you need to set off to be there in good time - do a dummy run if necessary. Plan to get there no earlier than half an hour before the interview time, anticipate delays.

Have what you are going to wear ready in advance - everything down to your underwear.

Do not go to the interview laden down with baggage - psychological as well as physical.

Take the bare minimum of belongings necessary.

Concentrate on the interview at the interview - nothing else.

If you are asked to bring certificates, references etc, get them ready before the day.

Take your interview letter.

On arrival ensure the receptionist knows you are there, visit the toilets to tidy up etc.

If you are well organised and have planned for the day your confidence will increase.

The interview is a chance for you and the employer to get to know one another. It is NOT the time to get to know about the post or the employers business.

Do gather information about your employer before you are interviewed - what do they do, what are their current projects, what other interests do they have? Ask staff - many companies will offer you the chance to talk about the vacancy with someone, use the opportunity to find out more about the company.

Bigger companies will have PR departments, smaller ones will provide you with some information - libraries can provide information on local business and keep directories of national business. Use the internet - many companies have a presence here now.

Make sure you know what the job entails - get a job description, ask someone in a similar post; ring the company to clarify if unsure.

Remember the employer is interested in you as a person, your experiences and your opinions (in most cases). Do take the time to sit down and think about you, who you are and what you've achieved. It can be highly embarrassing to know more about the employer than yourself.

Sit down with your CV and make notes, about your work record, what you've achieved. Look at yourself as a person in employment - how do you see yourself, what have you done, what ambitions do you have. Make notes and prepare and rehearse sound bites about yourself. Remember that one of the most common of interview questions is 'Tell me about yourself' prepare a sound bite for this in particular, but not a life history. Usually interviewers want to know about personal qualities not achievements - though examples can be included to support your statement.

Interviews vary tremendously, from very informal to formal. However, some questions can be anticipated, as can the subject matter. If you are well prepared, then the majority of problem questions should not arise. You will know about the company, you will know about yourself and you will have a good idea of the demands of the job - these questions will not be a problem to the well prepared interviewee.

A few general rules:

• Speak up when answering questions.
• Answer briefly, but try to avoid yes or no answers.
• Don't worry about pausing before you answer, it shows you can think and are not spitting out the sound bites you learned!
• Don't worry about admitting you don't know - but keep this to a bare minimum.
• Don't embellish answers or lie! Be as honest as possible.
• Be prepared for hypothetical situation questions, take your time on these.
• Be prepared for the unexpected question, that's designed to see how you cope with the unexpected.
• If you ask questions keep them brief during the interview, remember you're the interviewee.
• At the end of the interview ask your questions in an open manner, that is questions which cannot be answered yes or no. E.g. tell me about....? what is....? why.....?
• Thank the interviewers for their time when you leave quietly and calmly, and smile, even if you know hate them.
• There is always the opportunity to ask them questions at the end of the interview - remember the interview is a two way process, you need to be sure you want to join them too!
• Try to concentrate on issues which are both important to you and combine as apparent interest in the company, leave issues like terms and conditions until the very last, even they may feel the most important to you. Write your questions down prior to the interview and take them with you.

Good topics to touch on include:

• The competitive environment in which the organisation operates
• Executive management styles
• What obstacles the organisation anticipates in meeting its goals
• How the organisation's goals have changed over the past three to five years.

Generally, it is most unwise to ask about pay or benefits or other similar areas. The reason is that it tends to make you seem more interested in what the organisation can do for you. It is also not a good idea to simply have no questions at all. Doing so makes you appear passive rather than curious and interested.

Suggested Questions:

• What are the main objectives and responsibilities of the position?
• How does the company expect these objectives to be met?
• What obstacles are commonly encountered in reaching these objectives?
• What is the desired time frame for reaching the objectives?
• What resources are available from the company and what must be found elsewhere to reach the objectives?

Wear what is appropriate for the post and the company. It may vary from smart, formal wear in some instances to very formal dress in others. Try and get an insight into what the company would expect from employees or through observation. What would be appropriate for a building company is very different for a public relations agency.

Be well groomed and clean. Try to look calm and confident, simple things like deodorant can boost your confidence.

Once you are ushered into the interview room there will usually be a short exchange of pleasantries and ice breaking. Don't be fooled by this time - it really is designed to put you at ease in most circumstances, but these initial moments are the most formative - don't go over the top being exceptionally friendly or alternatively going rigid with fear feeling that your handshake was too limp! A pleasant natural smile, a firm handshake and a brief exchange of words in a natural manner of this greeting is sufficient. Some simple, but frequently broken rules!

• Sit comfortably with both feet on the floor, lean slightly towards the interviewer.
• Don't play with your hair or you hands. Keep them out of pockets!
• Try not to create defensive barriers between you and them, like a brief case on your knees, folded arms or crossed legs....even if you feel you need to. It's natural, but your interviewer will not physically attack!
• Maintain natural eye contact with the interviewer - that is maintain eye contact, but don't stare like a snake!
• If there's more than one interviewer, look at who's talking.
• When you're talking, shift your glance from one to the other.
• Don't over use your hands, if you are a natural gesticulator.
• Don't squirm and fidget.
• Do nod and Mmm, to show you're listening to them.
• Above all try to be you, try to be natural, unless you're naturally offensive!

Obeying these rules, will allow the interviewers to concentrate on you, and not what you're doing in the interview. Body language conveys all sorts of messages, and the right body language will convey the message of a well-balanced and confident individual...............even if you're not!

10 Top Interview mistakes to be avoided!!

1. Lying
Although it's tempting, it doesn't work. By all means gloss over the unflattering things. But out-right fibbing NEVER pays.

Mark Twain said: "If you tell the truth, you never have to remember anything." Think about it. They will catch you out later.

2. Slating your current company or boss
Fed up with your current job and would give anything to leave because they've treated you badly? Your job interview is NOT the time to seek revenge. Bear in mind that the interviewer will be listening to your answers and thinking about what it would be like to work with you. Ask yourself: do you like working with people who constantly criticise others? Isn't it a bit wearing? The trouble is that the interviewer draws massive conclusions from your answers. So your throwaway comment about your boss or employer may be interpreted to be your "standard" way of thinking. It makes you look bad, not your employer.

3. Being Rude
If you find you were accidentally rude, then apologise calmly and genuinely. Then leave it behind you and get on with the rest of the interview. If you dwell on it, it will affect your performance. What's "rude"? Well, that depends on your audience. As a rule of thumb, avoid cracking jokes about potentially sensitive topics and beware of being too "pally" with the interviewer: polite and friendly is enough. After all, you're not in the pub with them. So stay professional. Also bear in mind that everyone you meet could be involved in the selection process. So blanking the receptionist or talking down to the junior members of staff could cost you the job.

4. Complaining
Ok, so your train journey might have been a nightmare and maybe you thought the tube would never arrive, or the tailbacks on the motorway were endless. But your interviewer doesn't want to know that!

Complaining, even in jest, is not a recommended icebreaker. It may be completely harmless, or it might simply make the interviewer switch off. Don't let complaining set the tone for the interview!

5. Talking about people you don't get on with at work
These days, it's common to be asked how you deal with conflict. Companies realise the importance of interpersonal relationships in the working environment. So if they ask you about difficult people or situations, make sure you hold back from character assassination and blaming others for problems because it won't do you any favours! If you accidentally do "break" this rule, apologise and explain what you "really" meant.

6. Not Being Prepared
Re-read the relevant version of your CV and the job advert, just before the interview. You'd be surprised how many people can't remember what they wrote on their CV. And if you remember what type of person the job advert was looking for, it's easier to demonstrate that you have those qualities.

Make sure you've brought with you anything you were asked for. It's fine to bring a note-pad and pen, but make sure they're tidy. It's even ok to bring notes with you; particularly if you have any questions you want to ask. It shows you're taking the job application seriously. Ill-prepared candidates rarely get job offers.

7. Appearing to be too nervous, or too confident
If you appear too nervous they'll think you're not confident enough to do the job. However, appearing too confident will make them think you won't fit into the team. If interview nerves are an issue for you, it's worth getting practical help from a professional, such as an interview coach.

8. Making a weak first impression
Unfortunately, no matter how hard the interviewer tries, a lot of "don't want to hire them" decisions are made in the first few minutes of contact. If you make a strong first impression, the interviewer will be more inclined to overlook "imperfections" in your answers.

9. Not having researched the company
As a general rule, the more famous the brand, the more they will expect you to have done your homework. Researching the company shows you're serious about the job.

Example from a real interview for a major food brand:

Candidate: "Hello Mr. Interviewer. Yes, I'd love to work for your company. I think your brand is great and I really believe I could make a contribution to your marketing strategy."

Interviewer: "So what do you think about our current merchandising, compared to our competition?"

Candidate: "Oh... Errr.... Well, I haven't had time to check it out, really."

Likelihood of getting the job? Low.

10. Putting your foot in it and not noticing
Yes, we know, you didn't mean to put your foot in it. But it doesn't really matter what you intended. What counts is how the other person reacts. So what can you do? Be prepared to simply say "sorry, that's not what I meant!" This requires you to actually be paying attention to the interviewer, rather than your own thoughts and feelings. Once you've apologised, leave it there, take a deep breath to help you relax and move on with the job interview.

Appraisal and Resignation!!

A newly joined trainee engineer asks his boss "what is the meaning of appraisal?"

Boss: "Do you know the meaning of resignation?"

Trainee: "Yes I do"

Boss: "So let me make you understand what a appraisal is by comparing it with resignation"

Comparison study : Appraisal and Resignation

In appraisal meeting they will speak only about your weakness, errors and failures.
In resignation meeting they will speak only about your strengths, past achievements and success .

In appraisal you may need to cry and beg for even 10% hike.
In resignation you can easily demand (or get even without asking) more than 50-60% hike.

During appraisal , they will deny promotion saying you didn't meet the expectation, you don't have leadership qualities, and you had several drawbacks in our objective/goal.
During resignation, they will say you are the core member of team; you are the vision of the company how can you go, you have to take the project in shoulder and lead your juniors to success.

There is 90% chance for not getting any significant incentives after appraisal .
There is 90% chance of getting immediate hike after you put the resignation.

The high cost of being Workaholic!!

In a nation of overachievers, hard work is a virtue. If you work hard, you'll achieve your goals. If you work even harder, you'll achieve even more. Right?

Perhaps not. There are, in fact, several downsides to working too hard. Being the office workaholic can cost you coveted promotions, hurt your home life, and even turn friends into enemies. Evaluate yourself with the following five questions.

1. Are you busy ... or disorganized?
Are you constantly staying late and coming in early yet producing the same output as others? If so, your boss may come to view you as inefficient and possibly disorganized. Dave Cheng, an executive coach with Athena Coaching, says, "There are some people, type A's, who get a lot of satisfaction from doing lots of work, but the quality isn't necessarily superior."

Focus on getting your work done in a reasonable time frame. If you have perfectionism or time-management issues, ask your supervisor to help you prioritize things and learn when to let go of a task. Cheng says, "Just because you're working longer doesn't mean you're working better."

2. Are you delegating ... or hoarding?
If you have any aspirations at all to move into management, you must learn to delegate work. Again, tasks need to be completed in a timely fashion; if you're having trouble finishing a project, you must delegate to other team members, even if you happen to relish the task you're giving away.

Cheng, who has more than 12 years of experience in corporate human resources, reveals, "Some workers feel like if they do everything and they're the only one who knows how to do it, they're making themselves irreplaceable. However, sharing information and teaching others around you is a valued skill as far as management is concerned."

Focus on completion and quality and be generous enough to let a colleague learn and shine. If you lack sufficient support, ask your boss about expanding your group.

3. Are you hungry ... or is your plate full?
Once you've solidified your reputation as the office workaholic, you may find that when your dream project comes through the door, you aren't asked to work on it. Why? Your boss probably thinks you don't have the bandwidth to take on anything else. Always keep a bit of room in your schedule to sink your teeth into new challenges and opportunities.

Cheng reminds professionals, "Your ability to say no to certain things gives you the freedom to say yes to others."

4. Do you have friends ... or 'frenemies'?
Your workaholic ways are likely alienating once-valued associates. Above and beyond the obvious grumblings of, "You're making the rest of us look bad," your colleagues may dread collaborating on a project with you.

Lose the overly methodical approach, don't expect folks to come in early or stay late for meetings, and focus on process and outcome.

5. Do you work to live ... or live to work?
The best workers are well-rounded professionals with full lives, in and out of the office. Each year, new studies abound about the importance of vacations, hobbies, and enjoying your leisure time. But are you listening?

Your friends and family will be in your life a lot longer than you'll hold most jobs. Also, pursuing leisure activities you're passionate about can lead to a second career.

Cheng concludes, "Work-life balance is a choice. If you reflexively say yes to taking on extra work, you may live to regret it."

Courtsey:Caroline Levchuck, Yahoo! HotJobs

Few Success Secrets!!

Inc. - Needham, MA
Hire great people, and give them the resources and training to be successful, Then get out of the way, and let them do their jobs.

Southampton Group LLC - Charlotte, NC
Integrity and ethics matter in everything we do. How we treat the people we work with is as important as how we treat our customers.

Martin Capital - Clayton, GA
Personal relationships are the most valuable asset in our business. Whether it's a customer or a strategic partner, we look beyond the single transaction to a long-term, win-win partnership.

Vision Technologies Inc. - Glen Burnie, MD
There is no magic formula. Create the right vision for your target market, hire the best people and execute at 100 percent, 100 percent of the time, and luck will find you.

Moments in Life!!

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!

When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one, which has been opened for us.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive.Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.Find the one that makes your heart smile.

Dream what you want to dream;go where you want to go;be what you want to be,
because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past;
you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Don't count the years - count the memories

5 Tips to be a best Boss!!

1) Develop
Peter Drucker once said, "If you have a star, step aside and let them pass you". In partnership, work together on a professional development plan during the annual review. If you can, balance the Division's goals with their aspirations. When possible, offer ownership and support their efforts.

2) Coach
Unlike praise, coaching provides feedback that allows the employee to reach their potential. Also, periodically coach the employee on the goals set mutually. The employee is kept in the loop and next year's performance review is not a surprise to them.

3) Delegate
The inability to delegate is a control issue. Allow your employee the opportunity to grow and see where development is necessary

4) Listen
Sounds simple. Listening is one of the greatest gifts we can give each other. Listening actively means we are not selective in what we want to hear but open to what we listen to. Listening with compassion allows you to open your heart to what the employee is feeling.

5) Show Empathy
The practice of sympathy is not pragmatic as it focuses on the problem. Empathy is understanding how the employee feels with the goal of working towards a solution.

How to negotiate your benefits?

Courtsey:Linda Jenkins, Salary.com

Did you know that you may be able to negotiate some of your benefits? Even though companies put fixed policies on most benefits, some benefits are negotiable -- and sometimes, all you have to do is ask.

The Most Common Variables

Signing bonus. If a company wants you badly enough or can't meet your salary demands, it might sweeten the deal by offering you a signing bonus, a one-time payment that doesn't increase the base salary on which everything else is calculated. A signing bonus is a good-faith demonstration that the company agrees you're worth more than the job pays.

You can even ask for a signing bonus during the salary negotiation. Word your question something like, "What's the signing bonus for this position?" rather than "Is there a signing bonus for this position?" But remember, signing bonuses are taxed as regular income, so that's something to keep in mind as you settle on a figure.

Vacation time. Sometimes you can get more than the standard time going into the job.

Extra time away (paid or unpaid). You can also request extra paid or unpaid leave for a preplanned trip, for artistic or volunteer work, or a reasonable personal reason. And of course, you should get time away for service in the Armed Forces and for jury duty.

The List Continues

At the end of your first interview, especially with an employment person, ask about benefits. Negotiate with the hiring manager. But the best place to get complete information about the benefits package is from the human resources (HR) person. In addition to health coverage and vacation time, traditional benefits could include sick time, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, AD&D (accidental death and dismemberment) insurance, survivor income, stock options, retirement plans, and more.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. You may want to know how long the waiting periods for various benefits are. How long before you can participate in the 401(k) or other retirement plan? What's the company match on the 401(k)? When are you fully vested? What kind of health care benefits are there (HMO, PPO, indemnity plan)? Watch out for pre-existing conditions. For example, if you have a child with diabetes, many plans won't cover the child for at least six months, if ever. If that's the case, you'd want to negotiate something else to cover the expenses.

You can also use a benefits calculator to get a good idea of the value of your benefits.

If having super health care benefits (dental, vision, prescription coverage, etc.) is important and the company doesn't have them, that could be a deal-breaker for you. On the other hand, some companies have "cafeteria plans," which let you choose what benefits to pay for. Maybe, for example, you can opt out of life insurance and pick up three extra days of vacation.

Wait, There's More!

What other benefits would seriously interest you? You should be able to participate in networking sessions and professional associations, attend conferences, and receive additional training and other opportunities for professional growth. Some companies offer subsidized daycare, emergency daycare, a fitness center, flexible hours with telecommuting, sabbaticals, or valet service for dry cleaning or groceries.

Startups, those caffeine havens, are fond of stocking the refrigerator with soft drinks and offering bottomless cups of coffee. Wednesday might even be pizza day. But you'll probably have to wait until your first hump day on the job to negotiate for extra cheese.

Stop the Gossip, Save Your Career!!

Getting ahead at work may hinge on resisting the urge to spread the latest news about your coworkers.

"You may think gossip is harmless, but you might just be shooting yourself in the foot as far as your credibility goes," said Rachel Weingarten, author of "Career and Corporate Cool: How to Look, Dress and Act the Part at Every Stage of Your Career." She continues, "Let your work speak for itself. You don't need to be the one making yourself look better by talking down someone else."

Consider the Damage

Sure, gossip can be almost too enticing to keep to ignore -- but consider these consequences:

You lose your reputation. "My reputation is my business," said Weingarten. "If someone says something bad about me, or I become known as a gossip, that could affect my entire career."

Coworkers avoid you. "If people view you as a gossip, they may stop sharing information with you," said April Callis, president of Gossip Stoppers, a program designed to create positive workplaces. "Then instead of being the one with all the power and information, you're out of the loop because no one trusts you."

Your work suffers. The negativity spread by gossip makes people hate their jobs. "They miss work, they get less done while they're there, and they feel unappreciated," says Callis. Suddenly, you're not giving your best, and your boss may notice.

There's a better way to deal with water cooler talk. First, and perhaps most obvious: Keep the information to yourself.

It's one thing to learn the office scoop -- it's another to share it. Even asking someone else at work to verify what you've just heard counts as gossip, said Callis. If it's something criminal, tell your boss. If not, let it drop.

Resist the Urge

Next, teach your coworkers not to gossip with you. Use these techniques:

Replace gossip. Sometimes gossip is the only thing you have in common with coworkers, said Weingarten. So find something to replace it. Do you both knit? Are you both sports fans? If you must gossip, do it about movie stars or soap operas, she said. Just leave the office out of it.

Set a timer. If a coworker or employee comes to you determined to gossip, set a timer for five minutes, and let the person spew. When the time's up, so is the gossip. You don't have to respond, said Callis. You can just listen.

Write it down. When a coworker runs to your desk with the latest juicy gossip, get out a pad and pen. Writing down the facts serves two purposes: It shows the gossip that everything she says is being documented. And it helps you focus on facts instead of feelings.

What you may find is that you and those around you feel happier as they gossip less, says Callis.

"When I walk into a positive workplace, people are engaged and they feel valued," she says. "They stay."

Finding a Good Boss!!

Courtsey:Marilyn Haight,Yahoo

Whether you get hired for a new job, promoted, or reassigned to a new position, you will most likely have a new boss. Each time that happens, you must develop a new professional relationship with the person you rely on for direction, development, and future advancement. You need to quickly determine if this new boss is a good match for you and your career goals. But how can you tell? Try these five questions.

1. Does your boss showcase your work? If you're not sure, you could ask him, "What leadership opportunities will I have in my job?" If he says something like, "There's only one leader here -- me," you may have what I call a "Suppressor Boss." A boss who replies, "We're all leaders here; you'll be in charge of projects that need your expertise," will have no problem appreciating your role and contribution.

2. Does your boss solve problems? Try asking, "How should I escalate problems to you when I think you need to get involved?" If she insists you must solve your issue alone, then she could be a "Confounder Boss" who ignores problems, which makes them worse. A good boss might say, "Give me detailed examples; I'll determine the cause and work with managers at my level to correct the issues."

3. Does your boss let you complete your work? When in doubt, try asking him or her when you can start handling tasks from start to finish. If the answer is, "I'm a hands-on manager; we do everything as a team," you've got trouble. This is a "Player Boss" who does parts of your job he likes and leaves problems for you. If you hear, "Tell me when you think you're ready; I'll give you guidelines and be available only when you need me," you'll know your boss trusts your skills.

4. Does your boss listen to your suggestions? If not, tell her that when she cuts you off you wonder if she values your opinion. A reply like, "I have the final word," could mean she's a "Manipulator Boss." A good boss will say something like, "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I was doing that. Please bring it to my attention next time it happens." A good boss always listens attentively.

5. Does your boss treat you and your co-workers equally? If you notice preferential treatment among your co-workers, try asking your boss, "What measurements will you use to evaluate my job performance?" If he says, "Every case is different; I use my judgment," he could be a "Dumbfounder Boss" who uses the wrong measures to evaluate job performance. A better answer, like, "Your work will be evaluated according to the documented standards we've already agreed upon," will signal your boss's fairness.

Listening skills, problem-solving, a sense of fairness, and an ability to trust are just some of the hallmarks of a good boss. A good employee will learn to spot and appreciate those attributes, and then move toward building a mutually successful relationship.

Humor Is Key for Good Managers!!

Courtsey:Tom Musbach, Yahoo.

When you think of the ideal boss, actress Carol Burnett and late-night TV host David Letterman probably don't come to mind. But those two celebrities have a quality that most workers say is essential to being a good boss: a sense of humor.

When asked in a recent poll how important it is for a manager to have a sense of humor, 65% of workers answered "very important," while 32% answered "somewhat important." The survey, conducted by staffing firm Robert Half International, also revealed that most of the workers (87%) rated their managers as having good senses of humor.

Max Messmer, chairman and chief executive of RHI, said the survey underscores that humor can make a boss seem more approachable, but it's not a license to be a clown.

"To be taken seriously, supervisors must balance their desire to keep the mood light with the need to accomplish business objectives, inspire great performance, and maintain professionalism," Messmer said.

When asked in a recent poll how important it is for a manager to have a sense of humor, 65% of workers answered "very important," while 32% answered "somewhat important." The survey, conducted by staffing firm Robert Half International, also revealed that most of the workers (87%) rated their managers as having good senses of humor.

Max Messmer, chairman and chief executive of RHI, said the survey underscores that humor can make a boss seem more approachable, but it's not a license to be a clown.

"To be taken seriously, supervisors must balance their desire to keep the mood light with the need to accomplish business objectives, inspire great performance, and maintain professionalism," Messmer said.

Humoring the Boss

What if you don't think your boss is very funny?

"Humoring a not-so-funny boss is OK," says Bywater. "Think of it as being kind and sensitive to the feelings of another human being. Don't, however, humor a boss who has gone over the line from funny to offensive."

Manage the Punch Lines

For bosses who want to flex their humor muscles more, Bywater suggests the following guidelines:

• Do not make jokes about anyone's physical appearance.
• Do not attempt humor that could be construed as sexist or racist, even if it's not intended as such.
• If you've got a direct report who is particularly sensitive or has no sense of humor, it's best to play it straight.
• Having a good sense of humor at work helps everyone, Mandel concludes.

"Both bosses and employees need to stay on track and be productive, but everything doesn't have to be heavyweight," she says. "Sometimes it's good to just have a big belly laugh, especially when things go wrong, and look forward to the next day to get back on track."

Open Door Policies!!

Many companies and executives, I expect, have open door policies. What about you? Do you have one? Does it work?

For me, the only open door policy that works is my policy of opening my door, getting off my keester, and heading out to see the shop floor or customers.

The old-fashioned idea (my door is always open; when you want to talk, c'mon in) was supposed to give people down the line access to you and your ears. The idea was that folks from layers below you would come and clue you in on what was really happening.

I don't think that ever worked for most of us. Most folks didn't have the courage to come in, so we only learned what was on the minds of the plucky few. We were in our environment, not theirs. We couldn't verify what we were hearing by looking, touching, and listening in the first person. And we got fat from all that sitting.

But there are good reasons to open your door and get out and about:

• Like the old policy, it will give you access to ideas you don't normally hear. It's a great way to listen to the periphery.
• It will give folks on the floor - and customers - access to you. Important difference from the traditional policy: you're in their environment where they are more likely to be comfortable talking with you.
• You get the chance to see for yourself what's really happening. If, that is, you take the time to stand still and observe.
• It facilitates "digging to bedrock" on an important issue. One of my most frustrating bosses also taught me one of my most useful lessons - with a critical issue, it often pays to dig, and dig, and dig, and dig - until you reach bedrock. It's tough to do that digging behind your desk.
• And it's good for your health! Check out what Mark Graban has to say on the subject.
• I find it a great stress reliever to get away from the phone and email and get out in the field. And it clears my head.

How I make it happen

• I schedule time in my calendar for getting out in the field, and then I do it.
• I often go out with a specific objective in mind - something to learn about. Norman Bodek (via Mark Graban) wrote this useful article on how to structure such a walk.
• Remember not to zoom through. Walk - and stand. When I was a 27 year old shift foreman, Joe Rashall taught me to wash up the basement floor for 30 minutes every shift. This wasn't because the floor needed to be cleaned. It was to force me to stand in one place for awhile and listen to the machinery. I got used to the usual sound, and could pick out a change that might signal trouble.
• Step back ten paces from the action and watch what's happening. How are people interacting? What gets in their way? Where are the hazards? Where is the waste?

An Approach to Interview!!

A lot of people know how to write a resume and talk their way into an interview. But when they get into the make or break dialogue, they stumble upon tough questions. Below, is some advice on approaching the tough questions that interviewers like to throw at job applicants:

Why did you leave your last job?

Real answer: It sucked.

What you should say: I felt my talents and abilities were underutilized.
************************************************************************************
What are your biggest weaknesses?

Real answer: I can't concentrate for more than five minutes, hate all forms of authority and tend to fall asleep at my desk.

What you should say: I'm a workaholic. I just don't know when to put down my work.
**********************************************************************************
You don't seem to hold on to a job long. Why should we think you'll stay here any longer than you've stayed elsewhere?

Real answer: My employers have always had a hang-up about keeping only competent employees..

What you should say: I'm at a point in my career where I am tired of moving around. I really want to feel part of a team, a long-term enterprise, where I can make a contribution.
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For all those of u aiming for job switches.... ......... ..

How do you handle change?

Real answer: I deal with it everyday, unless I'm out of clean underwear.

What you should say: I think everyone knows that today the only constant is change. I thrive on it.
*************************************************************************************How do you get along with others?

Real answer: Fine, as long as they stay out of my face.

What you should say: I think the interpersonal dynamics of the workplace can be among the most satisfying aspects of any job.
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What does the word success mean to you?

Real answer: It means that I don't have to drag my sorry ass out of bed to kiss yours.

What you should say: Success, for me, would be knowing I am making a difference working with a team of people to make a more profitable enterprise.
*************************************************************************************
Do you get along with your current boss?

Real answer: I get along fine, considering what kind of a malicious person he is.

What you should say: I don't think I'd call him a boss; he's been more of a mentor to me.
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Do you ever get angry with co-workers?

Real answer: I don't get angry, I get even.

What you should say: Nothing angers me more than to see a co-worker not pulling his weight, goofing off or stealing. Yes, sometimes I do get angry with co-workers.
*************************************************************************************
Can I contact your references?

Real answer: Sure, but they won't know who I am.

What you should say: Some of them are out of the country right now. Maybe I can arrange to have them contact you.
************************************************************************************

Guidelines for Group Discussion!!

GROUP DISCUSSION

A group discussion (GD) is a simulated exercise, where you cannot suddenly put up a show, since the evaluators will see through you easily. In this page you can find tips on GD and how to handle them to ensure a positive outcome.

Here's how most group discussions work

Normally groups of 8-10 candidates are formed into a leaderless group, and are given a specific situation to analyze and discuss within a given time limit. The group may be given a case study and asked to come out with a solution for a problem. The group may be given a topic and asked to discuss on the same.

A panel will observe the proceedings and evaluate the members of the group.

OBJECTIVE
Lets start from the basic. One needs to know what one's objective in the group is. A good definition of your objective is - to be noticed to have contributed meaningfully in an attempt to help the group reach the right consensus. What does this essentially mean?

The first implication is that you should be noticed by the panel. Merely making a meaningful contribution and helping the group arrive at a consensus is not enough. You have to be seen by the evaluating panel to have made the meaningful contribution. What does that mean in practice?

• You must ensure that the group hears you. If the group hears you, so will the evaluator. That does not mean that you shout at the top of your voice and be noticed for the wrong reasons.
• You have to be assertive. If you are not a very assertive person, you will have to simply learn to be assertive for those 15 minutes. Remember, assertiveness does not mean being bull-headed or being arrogant.
• And most importantly, you have to make your chances. Many group discussion participants often complain that they did not get a chance to speak. The fact is that in no group discussion will you get a chance to speak. There is nothing more unacceptable in a GD than keeping one's mouth shut or just murmuring things which are inaudible.

Participate in as many practice GDs as possible before you attend the actual GD. There is nothing like practice to help you overcome the fear of talking in a GD.

• The second important implication is that making just any sort of contribution is not enough. Your contribution has to be meaningful. A meaningful contribution suggests that
• You have a good knowledge base
• You are able to put forth your arguments logically and are a good communicator.

The quality of what you said is more valuable than the quantity. There is this myth amongst many group discussion participants that the way to succeed in a group discussion is by speaking loudly and at great length. One could not be more wrong. You must have meat in your arguments.

Therefore, think things through carefully.

Always enter the room with a piece of paper and a pen. In the first two minutes jot down as many ideas as you can.

When you jot down points, keep these pointers in mind.
If it is a topic where you are expected to take a stand, say for example, "Should India sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty?" note down points for both sides of the argument. It will be useful on two counts.

One, if you do not start the GD and are not amongst the first five speakers and find that everyone in the group is talking for the topic, then it makes sense to take the alternate approach and oppose the topic even if you initially intended to talk for the topic.

Second, it helps to have a knowledge of how group members who take a stand diametrically opposite to yours will put forth their argument and to be prepared with counter arguments.

Everybody else will state the obvious. So highlight some points that are not obvious. The different perspective that you bring to the group will be highly apprecaited by the panel. Some pointers on being relevant while having a different perspective are:

Be careful that the "something different" you state is still relevant to the topic being debated.

• Can you take the group ahead if it is stuck at one point?
• Can you take it in a fresh and more relevant direction?

The last implication is that you must be clearly seen to be attempting to build a consensus.

Gaining support or influencing colleagues is the mantra adopted by many a successful Business Leaders.

Nobody expects a group of ten intelligent, assertive people, all with different points of view on a controversial subject to actually achieve a consensus. But what matters is "Did you make attempts to build a consensus?"

Avoid these six Interview mistakes!!

Tip #1: Don't discuss pay too early
As the manager of a software store for 10 years, I can honestly say that questions about pay in the first interview from anyone other than a temporary applicant always bothered me a little. Temp jobs aside, if you are not really out there just for the money, asking this question right out of the gate is going to make any other questions you ask sound conniving and insincere. Unless the subject comes up, don't wade into the issue of the pay in the first interview. You can talk about it after you impress the employer enough for a second interview.

Tip #2: Talk tech to techies only
Feel free to discuss what you know, but remember: If you are talking to a nontechnical manager or human resources representative, you are not going to impress them with talk about life in the trenches. My previous supervisor was totally unimpressed with anything to do with technology. A sure way to put the man to sleep was to begin any story that had to do with computers.

When I interviewed for a previous position, the department manager actually had a technically savvy person participate in the interview to ask and respond to questions she would not understand. When I saw this tactic being used, I knew it was not a time to try to impress with a lot of techno babble.

Answer questions about your work history briefly and keep the tech comments to a minimum until you know the history of the company and the people involved in the hiring process. If you have questions about the technology in use at the site, keep your questions specific and relevant to the position for which you are applying.

Tip #3: Keep your philosophy to yourself
If you hate Bill Gates, Windows XP, and the whole Office Suite, keep it to yourself. Ranting about your tech philosophy can ruin your chances at the position.

I once interviewed a young man for a retail sales position in a software store. When I asked about his opinion of the then-new Windows 98, the applicant ranted about "the revolution of UNIX" and loosening the grip of Microsoft on the PC market. I am not exaggerating; the man sounded like he was ready to sign on to a paramilitary group. I almost didn't have the heart to tell him my company was a Value Added Reseller for Microsoft.

Chances are, you will work with many people who need your help with one of the Microsoft products, so you don't want to blast the tools you will likely be using and supporting. If you are asked about how you feel about a product, be honest, but don't preach. The interviewer probably just wants to see how you respond to such questions.

Tip #4: Don't climb the advancement ladder in the interview
If you are joining the ranks of a new company, the last thing the interviewer wants to hear is, "How fast can I get out of this job?" Do not ask about opportunities for advancement until the second or third interview. If you are joining a company just to advance into another position, silence is golden. Keep it to yourself unless the interviewer asks or unless it is somehow already known that you'll be advancing quickly. Remember that what you say now can come back to haunt you later. You don't want to brag to someone who might be under your wing after a promotion.

Further, you never know what may happen if you actually get the job. Learn to accept and adapt and, above all, be happy you have a job. Due to downsizing, a former coworker of mine did not move into the network administration position she wanted and was expecting to get. The bitterness fostered by her broken expectations eventually caused her to resign. In the tight job market of the time—similar to the one now—and with her lack of certified qualifications, she ended up seeking work at a local restaurant.

Tip # 5: Avoid the dreaded electronic interruption
Cellular phone and pager etiquette might seem a trivial thing to those that are hooked up, but you can kiss any job opportunity goodbye if you interrupt an interview to take a telephone call, especially if the human resources representative has a low tolerance for personal digital devices. Only if you are exchanging information by invitation should you reveal the fact that you carry a PDA. If you wear it on a belt loop or somewhere that is exposed, lose it, along with any other electrical device hooks and loops, and store them in pocket, purse, or briefcase. If you can't spare the time away from the rest of the world to do an interview, why are you applying for the job?

I have conducted training classes with people who, when asked to turn off their phones and pagers during class, place their devices in silent mode. When giving a lecture to a class or holding a discussion, watching a person being silently buzzed is terribly distracting and also aggravating.

If you think getting rid of electronic communications devices isn't important, just ask any human resources rep who has had a person answer a cellular phone during a job interview. Then ask if the person got the job.

Tip # 6: Remember to say thank you
Beyond thanking your interviewers for their time as you leave, it's vital that you follow up in written form. If the competition for a position is tight, a follow-up thank you note can mean a lot. If the manager is slow to hire, the arrival of a thank-you note can serve as a reminder about the candidate who's awaiting the manager's next move.

Just after you've completed the interview, take note of anything specific you discussed and make a point of referencing it in your thank you letter. Even a nice greeting card is better than nothing.

It may seem like a small detail, but the experts will tell you that this tried-and-true tactic really makes an impact. A coworker of mine, who successfully worked as a job coach, used to keep a stack of generic notes in her desk. When a participant in her program applied for a job somewhere, she would give the person one of these notes to have them drop in the mail on the way home.

Leadership Training-Key to Employee Retention!!

Attracting and retaining employees is a topic of endless articles, conference sessions, books and webcasts, as well as the basis (the "raison d'etre") for numerous product launches.

Yet, although retaining talented employees requires effort and focus, it might not be such a challenge, according to Impact Achievement Group.

Superior management practices and effective leadership are key missing ingredients in many organizations, evident in the many organizations that Rick Tate and Julie White, Ph.D., senior managing partners for the leadership development firm, have consulted. Companies giving low priority to developing leaders eventually might realize a domino effect through the organization in terms of retention.

Recent research by Gallup has shown that competitive pay, benefits and amenities are the market ante for any employee - superior, mediocre and poor performers.

But Tate and White say how long people stay and how well they perform is determined in large part by their personal and professional relationships with their immediate supervisors.

"The exodus of talented individuals to other companies for positions with only a modest increase in pay or benefits is a compelling question," Tate said. "Why leave when there's not that much gain? Ultimately, it's because people don't leave companies - they leave managers."

So, when companies invest in developing competent leaders, they are aiming a direct salvo in the war for talented and committed employees.

Tate should know - he and White have been consulting and speaking for more than two decades on the topic of leadership development, service quality, performance management, customer loyalty and communication aimed at solving problems.

Impact Achievement group offers some real-world advice for companies: The quality of your managers defines your company.

Do they conduct purposeful workplace discussions, effectively problem solve and create an environment which engages discretionary effort, and is their behavior aligned with the organizational values?

Do your managers ensure people have the opportunity to do their best and listen to the opinions of direct reports, and do they hold people accountable to performance standards? Most important, do they have a passion for leading others?

Leaders must understand what high-performing direct reports demand from their work environment to engage their best efforts and loyalty:

1. Clearly communicated job requirements, focused on contributions instead of job tasks.
2. Resources to do their best work.
3. Ability to meaningfully participate it what affects them on the job.
4. Genuine acknowledgment of their contributions.
5. Genuine concern for their career.
6. A performance review process that differentiates excellence.

How bad is your boss?-PART II

'How bad is your boss'asks Shyamal Majumdar, writing in Business Standard. From his piece, I learn there is a 'bad boss' contest running on www.workingamerica.org and it seems there is no shortage of horror stories on the subject.

There seem to be a huge number of bosses out there who either take all the credit for themselves, or who think you have no life outside work, or who give out too many tasks with impossible and constantly changing deadlines. There are stories about bosses who are pathological liars, or control freaks, or someone who has the IQ of an eraser. The boss also seems to be having the spine of a jellyfish — someone who would never stand up for you.

Shyamal observes that some of these comments are obviously exaggerated, it's a fact that there are enough bosses who can make your life into a Dilbert strip.

Which is why I guess the
'Hari Sadu' ad by job site naukri.com brings a smile on most people's faces.
Though no organised surveys have been done on this issue, an informal study in India a few years ago found that almost 75 per cent of the employees surveyed identified their boss as a lousy manager.

Well, here's the view from the boss side of the fence. It is neither easy or fun being one. The most difficult lesson I learnt when I set up my own company was how hard it is to go from being an employee to an employer.

But you don't have to go the entrepreneurship route to go through this painful transition. Two, three, max four years into your job you'll find yourself having to supervise people working under you.

Suddenly it's not enough to do your own work well – you have to be responsible for their work as well. Many times, it seems, it would be far quicker to do the job yourself. But that's not the answer.

Mistakes are made. You can't yell, yet you have to let the person know something went wrong. Or well, you can yell– but then you'd be a bad boss. It seems perfectly unfair – someone else screws up and you have to broach the subject with patience and understanding instead of venting your own anger and frustration.

Being a boss – a good one - requires a great deal of emotional energy. As you rise higher and higher, you just need more and more of it. Remember the old aying 'lonely at the top', even in the flattest of organization structures.

There is an 'Us' and 'Them' pecking order, Upto a point – even as someone's boss – you are an 'Us'. At some point your designation, salary and role put you in the bracket of 'Them'.

Now people are noticing what you wear, how you conduct yourself, gossiping about something you said or did. This is all natural – you were doing it not long ago. But.. it takes some getting used to! And some people just never do.

Organisational issues

As Shyamal notes, part of the 'bad boss' problem lies in faulty executive promotion policies. For example, a company promoted its engineers to managerial positions for the wrong reasons, that is, technical competence rather than managerial proficiency…

He goes on to give the example of Microsoft, which has created a separate status scale for its software engineers. The basic idea being that managers gain promotion as they take on more people and greater responsibility, and software engineers gain in status and pay as they demonstrate brilliance.

Well, this should be emulated in just about every profession (the most brilliant writers often make lousy editors because, saddled with admin and production burdens they cease to write - and lose the very passion that brought them into their jobs!)

But, we also need to develop leadership capabilities in people as they rise up the ladder. It's tempting to believe leaders are born not made but poor behaviour and attitude can be corrected. Not always, but since bad bosses affect everything from individual performance to overall morale – one has to try!

Toxic subordinates

Shyamal notes that behavioural studies have found that bad bosses believe in the following:

• The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can;
• Therefore, most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organisational objectives;
• The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants security, above all else.

In Hindi there is a saying – taali donon haathon se bajti hai. As a boss I would have to say there are also a number of 'bad' employees who believe in the following:

My current job is not good enough for me. (But I'm still working here till I get something better!)

My boss is always out to get me (My performance is never the issue)

I am super talented so I am entitled to ___________

Fill in the blank with anything from 'disregard the boss' instructions' to 'come 2 hours later to work than everyone else'

Jack Welch write about 'boss haters' in his book 'Winning'. These are the people who are cynical about authority and 'constantly exude low-level negativity towards "the system"... their bosses feel it and return the favour."

'Winning' is replete with advice for people at all rungs of the corporate ladder. For people just starting their careers, a very important tip from Welch:

"I would describe the my work-life balance as an old fashioned chit system. People with great performance accumulate chits, which can be traded with flexibility. The more chits you have, the greater your opportunity to work where and how you want."

In short, no one is 'entitled' to anything – you have to earn the trust and respect of your boss, just as he/ she has to earn yours. Far too many young people joining the workforce today aren't really recognizing this fundamental principle.

Also, if you keep hopping from job to job – because today the environment allows that – you never really accumulate enough of those chits.

The generation gap

A rare article with some insight in

ET noted:
Growing up in post-liberalisation India, amid a buoyant economy, with the India story only getting brighter… India's Generation …have seen few failures and fewer hardships. Disillusionment sets in fast, and the patience threshold is low.

The article quotes the example of a management trainee who came to meet K Ramkumar, HR head of ICICI Bank.

Sir, my boss spoke to me in a language which even my father would not use. I felt very bad. Nobody has ever spoken to me like that. I have always done well in my life," he said. He wanted to quit. His boss had told him, "You are no good. You have to work hard."

Tolerance is in short supply today – and a 'bad' boss and a tough one are often mistaken. A bad boss is one who – besides being a taskmaster – is one who diminishes you, does not add value to you.

A tough boss is one who may stretch you to the limit. But there is learning and growth in working with that person as well. And of course if you are really lucky – you find a mentor – a boss who actively works to bring out the best in you.

Subroto Bagchi, CEO Mindtree, once wrote a tribute to all the bosses he'd worked with who made him what he is today. If someone were to do a 'great boss' contest – they just might be surprised.

by Rashmi Bansal in JAM Magazine