Effectively Interviewing technical candidates using a Sherlock Holmes technique

Here's a super article on how to interview technical candidates effectively.

I have used a variation of this technique, but this article has helped me add to my knowledge and skills in this area.

Read more here

Sell Yourself Into your Next Job - Aug 2020

The next webinar of "Sell yourself Into your Next Job - A Strengths Based Resume writing and Interview Prep Webinar" is on 15 August 2020.

Details are in the link below. There is a special Independence Day Offer of Rs. 500/- this time only. Please take advantage and register soon.

https://www.townscript.com/e/Aug-20-sell-yourself-into-your-next-job-a-strengthsbased-resume-writing-and-interview-webinar-231114

Here's a few testimonials from previous participants.

Call +919820155778 or write to me in case of questions.

#jobsearch #resumewriting #interviewpreparation #interviewtips #strengthsdecoder #strengthscoaching #strengthsbasedresume #jobseekers #jobhunt

If your career path might need you to create a new one

This article provides useful insight about how your career path may require you to create a new one.

Enjoy!

 https://www.td.org/insights/3-questions-explore-how-your-career-path-may-be-shifting

Contact me if you want to design your career based on your strengths. 

This would be about 8-10 coaching sessions of 60-90 minutes duration where you would start by 

• taking the CliftonStrengths assessment
• a debrief of your Cliftonstrengths report
• Coaching to help you understand how your strengths manifest as behaviours
• A values inventory for you to understand which are the values  that drive your behaviour
• Coaching to help you identify a career that is based on and aligned with your strengths
• Any other behaviour issue that you wish to resolve

Happy to get on a call to discuss and answer any questions you may have.  I can be reached at +919820155778 or leave a comment here.

HR Job Hunting - Change Driver or Passenger.

This is an article with great tips for #HR #jobseekers positioning yourself as a #changedriver instead of a #passenger during your #jobinterview .

But I'm not sure how feasible or practical it is, especially for junior candidates, to do this. Even senior folk will have a tough time. For those from other functions, there may be something to learn.

Click here to read.

Need help in preparing for an interview - contact me @+919820155778

#jobhunt

Video - Why you need a Strengths Based Resume

As you may know I am a Strengths Strategy Coach that works primarily in the field of career transition.

Check out my video here that tells you why this is important.

https://youtu.be/RYcwraUFmz0


I will be covering this in my upcoming webinar "Sell yourself into Your Next Job" on 18 July 2020.  You can register for the webinar here:

https://www.townscript.com/e/July-20-sell-yourself-into-your-next-job-a-strengthsbased-resume-writing-and-interview-webinar-231114

How to Negotiate a Pay Raise in a Pandemic

Folks,

This is a super article to help you prepare for a salary negotiation during difficult times such as these #covid19 times.

BY SUZANNE DE JANASZ

Suzanne de Janasz  is professor of management and conflict resolution at George Mason University and director of executive negotiation programs. 

Asking for a raise at a time when many organizations are grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic recession may seem counterintuitive. However, savvy employees recognize that tough economic times may offer unique opportunities to help their employer reduce costs, increase revenues, improve customer satisfaction, and enhance competitiveness. Perhaps while quarantining you’ve been forced to use once-forgotten (or newly developed) skills and capabilities that are now more valuable than ever—such as business development, social media marketing, process improvement, or project management. Improving a company’s bottom line during economic hardships can warrant a much-deserved raise. Remember, you don’t get what you don’t ask for. The challenge lies in how you ask.

KNOW YOUR WORTH
Your new or improved skill set is a great point of leverage for negotiating a raise, but how much should you ask for? Here is where you should reflect on your contribution to the company, what is valuable to you, and your options for receiving compensation for that value. Research salaries for someone with your responsibilities, education, and experience. Demonstrate your current and future worth by communicating inefficiencies that your ideas have reduced, or include new clients you’ve brought in

Read the rest here

Balanced Leadership for Crises

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the person!!


With the current COVID19 crisis, leadership in different spheres has been pushed under the lens of scrutiny.  Political and medical leaders are the first to be watched - what are they doing / planning to do? Does their plan make sense? Or worse still - do they know what they are doing?

Now, there was really nothing in the past few decades to prepare any leader or individual for such a situation.  So we cannot really point fingers at leaders who don't seem to be doing a great job.  This post is not about finger-pointing at all.

This post is about how the leaders are acting or reacting.  To put it simply, every leader has had to REACT. There wasn't any choice.  However, once the initial stage of reaction passed, what was the next step?  This next step (according to me) clearly showcases the two types of leaders:

• A Transactional Leader.

A Transactional leader is one who takes care of business as it is required in the moment.  This is pretty much the formula in the Situational Leadership Model, where the leader's style is dictated largely by the willingness and readiness of his team members.

Make no mistake - this leader is critical to get the business plans and day to day operations executed.

• A Visionary Leader.

A Visionary Leader is one who provides direction to the organization for the long journey ahead. S/he is able to look beyond the pressures of the current storm and plot out a course. Perhaps revise the old direction completely and create a new one. Alternatively, s/he would coach the immediate reports to think and plan alternative means of getting to the future they have already identified and worked towards till the start of the COVID19 crisis this year.  Perhaps s/he and her/his team will decide to personally call their best customers, understand their situation, ask what support they might need - AND NOT SELL in the first call.  I am sure this will strengthen customer relationships and energize the team by giving them something clear to focus on to build or rebuild the business.


While the leader would have to perform both roles, a balance is required.  Too much focus on transaction may lead to too many unhealthy cuts of manpower and budgets and growth plans.  Too much focus on the new future (which no one really knows anything about, no matter what the experts say) will lead to some crucial decisions being missed out.

I guess the important question is - How does one develop this Visionary ability?  Here are my thoughts:-

• Be completely human in your approach. So - acknowledge your emotional side, speak about the feelings that people are going through, and share yours too.
• Be totally clear about your personal values and those values that the organization stands for, and talk about how your plans and actions are in line with those values.
• Develop analytical skills, make use of data modeling and AI to partway support your visionary journey.
• Re-evaluate your internal processes to see what can be done to increase customer satisfaction to both survive and thrive. This would have the added benefit of making your customers your brand ambassadors.
• Focus on realigning staff (instead of retrenching) as processes are changed so that the impact of the effectiveness increases.
• This means ensuring that the most effective employees are retained, along with those who are not that effective, according to your resources and balance sheet.  Ricardo Semmler's book "The Seven Day Weekend" gives interesting insights about this critical aspect.
• Please don't look only at Performance Management ratings when taking people decisions. Try and adopt a Potential Assessment approach so that you don't end up sending away an average performer today, who could, some months ahead, end up being a critical contributor. HR folks - your opportunity to let your strategic side shine, not to mention your ability to make HR data valuable beyond the compensation budget.
• If you have to let people go, please ensure that their dignity is intact - and this applies to all levels. You will definitely enhance the Trust Factor within and outside the organization, and enhance a supportive Employer brand image in the departing employees' minds.
• Review the organization's culture and processes and see what can be done to improve the ease of doing business or reduce the associated bumps and scars.

I haven't numbered these to allow the leader to rank them in some order of importance, according to his business.  In fact, it would be a great exercise to do with your top team, and some of you may have done it already.  You want help to do this? Write to me on ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com or call +919820155778 for a discussion.

You have more ideas?  Please do share.