Tips to boost your self-confidence

At times, your level of self-confidence will determine how well you do in life. Here then are a few tactics that could help you increase your selfconfidence:

Avoid feeling guilty: Don’t feel guilty by constantly thinking about stuff that you should have done; if something is in the past, let it pass. Brooding over it will surely not help you to improve your situation. Try using the word “could” instead of “should” for everything. This will increase your conviction to get things done.

Set realistic goals

Setting goals will help boost your self-confidence. Try and set goals that are attainable. Choose something that you can measure, rather than something that is hard to measure. For instance, sign up for a course with the university and chart your progress Keeping track of how well you are doing there will allow you to feel positive about yourself and it will thereby increase your confidence levels.

Surround yourself with a positive environment: If there are things or places in your life that are sure to make you feel down then consciously stay away from these places. If there are people in your life who are constantly negative, its time to reconsider your friendship with these people since their association will only hamper your courage and confidence to venture into new tasks. Surround yourself with people who are optimistic and caring, people who respect you and value you for who you are. A network of supportive and positive-minded people will go a long way in boosting self-confidence

Stop being critical

Stop comparing yourself to others. Refrain from self-criticisms. You will always find something that someone else is better at. Constant self-criticism can make you feel discouraged and less confident. Choosing to focus on your positive traits will help you attain self-confidence.

Engage in some constructive tasks:

Take some time for yourself. Perhaps painting your nails or polishing your shoes will give you some enhanced confidence, especially when you see some wonderful results at the end of it all. These small yet overlooked chores does contribute towards in help you gain confidence. It is important to learn that you are worth making time for. You will never be able to adequately care for another person until you care for yourself, so take time to unwind and relax.

Think positive

If you find yourself thinking negative or critical thoughts, just try and erase it out of your mind. Your mind is like a computer, and you will be able to erase those negative thought patterns with practice. Then, once you have pointedly erased that negative thought, replace it with a positive one.
Further, write down your best traits, abilities, and skills on a piece of paper. Then when you are feeling down you can come back to this piece of paper to remember how wonderful you are.

Recruitment in web 2.0 era.

If you're a Recruiter or HR Professional, 2008 may have been the first year that you actually heard the terms Web 2.0, social media or social networking. So you may be a little late to the game, but congratulations - you're here - so that's a start! And just so you know, I'm officially declaring 2009 to be THE year to get to know and effectively utilize social media tools that can help you in your career. To create your Personal Development Plan (gotta call it something you're familiar with so you'll feel comfortable), I'm recommending 10 tools that you need to implement or increase your involvement with in 2009. You'll get 5 in this post, and 5 in a subsequent post. You may already be using many of these tools, and if you're rockin' and rollin' with all 10 of them, then move to the head of the class! (Of course, you're probably already there since using social media tools has likely set you apart from your peers who haven't figured them out yet.)
1. Go where the peeps like you hang out on the web. The best way to get smarter about something is to surround yourself with people smarter than you. There are plenty of options to choose from, including - RecruitingBlogs.com, HRM Today, ERE.net, and The Fordyce Letter Network - just to name a few. Check them all out, see which one best fits your niche and join at least one. Create a profile and set aside a few minutes each day to explore. Next, add some contacts and join Groups of interest. Work your way up to commenting on blog posts and forum discussions and participating in the live chats. Graduate to posting content and questions of your own as well as helping others. By participating, you'll be able to network with other recruiting and HR professionals who are dealing with and solving similar challenges, and you'll be able to build a community of like-minded folks who are willing and able to help you when you need it. If you're not involved with these groups, you're missing great information like this, this, this and this.
2. Learn how to use (really use) LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a no-brainer these days for business professionals. I'm regularly surprised to find HR or recruiting pros on LinkedIn with incomplete profiles (or worse, no profile), very few connections and no Group memberships. LinkedIn is one of the best on-line tools out there for Personal Branding, Job Search, Business Development and Recruiting! An effective profile is your on-line business card, marketing brochure, Google-rank helper, etc. Create a great profile, connect to others, join and/or create Groups, participate in Discussions, ask and answer Questions, etc. Need help? Here are some great resources to get you started: Jason Alba's "I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What??" book and blog, the Social Media Headhunter's LinkedIn Recruiting Companion, Shally Steckerl's LinkedIn Cheatsheets, and the LinkedIn Blog for the latest news on what's new at LinkedIn.
3. Read more Blogs by becoming an RSS Rockstar or Ninja. I started reading blogs early in 2008, and like most, I subscribed via email. Like most, I also get too much email, so I found myself moving blog posts to a "Read Later" folder - which I never got to. After discovering Google Reader (there are others too), I now subscribe to over 300 blogs, and I can skim through or read content at a much more efficient pace (and my email box is happier too). Some people get their info from books or newspapers - I read blogs and feeds. And I learn. A lot. Need some suggestions for your starter kit? Start with FOT's latest Talent Management Blog Power Rankings, Business School Directory's Top 50 HR Blogs, and RecruitingBlogs.com Best 2007 Recruiting Blogs. (You can also find many smart bloggers who syndicate their feeds on RecruitingBlogs.com and HRM Today.) Subscribe to several, and then add and subtract as you go. Pretty soon, you'll be up to 300+ blogs in your Reader too. Or not. It's up to you!
4. It's time to try Twitter. If you've been resisting using Twitter so far, then it's time to give in. I resisted initially too, but since I started Tweeting in March 2008, Twitter has become one of the best resources I have as a recruiter, coach and talent consultant. Why? Because I connect with thought leaders who share what they're working on, resources, tips, links to interesting articles, etc. Twitter doesn't have to take over your life. Like you, I have a day job. Some days I check in a few times in between phone calls, interviews and client meetings, and other days I'm not there at all. And for those who say the people they need to connect with aren't on Twitter - think again. I deal mostly with senior level professionals and executives, and I have clients, candidates and potential clients/candidates following me on Twitter. Trust me. They're there - or will be. Need help getting started? Check out Why Recruiters Should Use Twitter on RBC, and my post over at CincyRecruiter's World on 10 People All Recruiters Should Follow on Twitter.
5. Figure out how to use Facebook for recruiting. I'm also adding this one to my own PDP for 2009. LinkedIn wasn't necessarily the place to be in early 2006 when I joined, and while recruiters were certainly some of the early adopters, it's most definitely the place to be now. Because I got in early and spent time developing my network and learning to use the tools, I'm ahead of many of my counterparts in using LinkedIn to develop my business, my personal brand and my relationships. I predict that Facebook will become an even more important tool for Recruiters and HR professionals in the future. Many companies are already effectively utilizing Facebook to connect with and recruit young professionals, but I'm seeing more and more senior level talent signing up and trying to figure it out as well. (Translation - everybody's doing it.) Facebook has some cool tools for recruiting and employment branding. So stop thinking about all of the pitfalls of Facebook and just do it already! And when you figure out how to use it well, share your knowledge on all of the tools above.

McKinsey’s 7S Framework

Strategy: the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the competition.
Structure: the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom.
Systems: the daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the job done.
Shared Values: called “superordinate goals” when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic.
Style: the style of leadership adopted.
Staff: the employees and their general capabilities.
Skills: the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company.

The 7S model can be used in a wide variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful, for example to help you:
Improve the performance of a company;
Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company;
Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition; or
Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy.

How to Use the Model
Now you know what the model covers, how can you use it?
The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change.
Whatever the type of change - restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on - the model can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration.
You can use the 7S model to help analyze the current situation (Point A), a proposed future situation (Point B) and to identify gaps and inconsistencies between them. It's then a question of adjusting and tuning the elements of the 7S model to ensure that your organization works effectively and well once you reach the desired endpoint.
Sounds simple? Well, of course not: Changing your organization probably will not be simple at all! Whole books and methodologies are dedicated to analyzing organizational strategy, improving performance and managing change. The 7S model is a good framework to help you ask the right questions - but it won't give you all the answers. For that you'll need to bring together the right knowledge, skills and experience.
When it comes to asking the right questions, we've developed a Mind Tools checklist and a matrix to keep track of how the seven elements align with each other. Supplement these with your own questions, based on your organization's specific circumstances and accumulated wisdom.
7S Checklist QuestionsHere are some of the questions that you'll need to explore to help you understand your situation in terms of the 7S framework. Use them to analyze your current (Point A) situation first, and then repeat the exercise for your proposed situation (Point B).

Strategy:
What is our strategy?
How to we intend to achieve our objectives?
How do we deal with competitive pressure?
How are changes in customer demands dealt with?
How is strategy adjusted for environmental issues?
Structure:
How is the company/team divided?
What is the hierarchy?
How do the various departments coordinate activities?
How do the team members organize and align themselves?
Is decision making and controlling centralized or decentralized? Is this as it should be, given what we're doing?
Where are the lines of communication? Explicit and implicit?
Systems:
What are the main systems that run the organization? Consider financial and HR systems as well as communications and document storage.
Where are the controls and how are they monitored and evaluated?
What internal rules and processes does the team use to keep on track?
Shared Values:
What are the core values?
What is the corporate/team culture?
How strong are the values?
What are the fundamental values that the company/team was built on?
Style:
How participative is the management/leadership style?
How effective is that leadership?
Do employees/team members tend to be competitive or cooperative?
Are there real teams functioning within the organization or are they just nominal groups?
Staff:
What positions or specializations are represented within the team?
What positions need to be filled?
Are there gaps in required competencies?
Skills:
What are the strongest skills represented within the company/team?
Are there any skills gaps?
What is the company/team known for doing well?
Do the current employees/team members have the ability to do the job?
How are skills monitored and assessed?

COMPETENCY-BASED INTERVIEWS

COMPETENCY-BASED INTERVIEWS ( AN OVERVIEW)
Introduction
Competency-based interviews (also called structured interviews) are interviews where each question is designed to test one or more specific skills. The answer is then matched against pre-decided criteria and marked accordingly. For example, the interviewers may want to test the candidate's ability to deal with stress by asking first how the candidate generally handles stress and then asking the candidate to provide an example of a situation where he worked under pressure.
How do competency-based interviews differ from normal interviews?
Normal interviews (also called unstructured interviews) are essentially a conversation where the interviewers ask a few questions that are relevant to what they are looking for but without any specific aim in mind other than getting an overall impression of you as an individual. Questions are fairly random and can sometimes be quite open. For example, a question such as "What can you offer our company?" is meant to gather general information about you but does not test any specific skill or competency. In an unstructured interview, the candidate is judged on the general impression that he/she leaves; the process is therefore likely to be more subjective.
Competency-based interviews (also called structured or behavioural interviews) are more systematic, with each question targetting a specific skill or competency. Candidates are asked questions relating to their behaviour in specific circumstances, which they then need to back up with concrete examples. The interviewers will then dig further into the examples by asking for specific explanations about the candidate's behaviour or skills.
Which skills and competencies do competency-based interviews test?
The list of skills and competencies that can be tested varies depending on the post that you are applying for. For example, for a Personal Assistant post, skills and competencies would include communication skills; ability to organise and prioritise; and ability to work under pressure. For a senior manager, skills and competencies may include an ability to influence and negotiate; an ability to cope with stress and pressure; an ability to lead; and the capacity to take calculated risks.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the more common skills and competencies that you may be asked to demonstrate:
Skills and competencies for competency-based interviews
Adaptability
Compliance
Communication
Conflict management
Creativity and Innovation
Decisiveness
Delegation
External awareness
Flexibility
Independence
Influencing
Integrity
Leadership
Leveraging diversity
Organisational awareness
Resilience and tenacity
Risk taking
Sensitivity to others
Team work
How competency-based interview questions are marked
Before the interview, the interviewers will have determined which type of answers would score positive points and which types of answers would count against the candidates. For example, for questions such as "Describe a time when you had to deal with pressure", the positive and negative indicators may be as follows:
Positive indicators
Demonstrates a positive approach towards the problem.
Considers the wider need of the situation
Recognises his own limitations
Is able to compromise
Is willing to seek help when necessary
Uses effective strategies to deal with pressure/stress
Negative indicators
Perceives challenges as problems
Attempts unsuccessfully to deal with the situation alone
Used inappropriate strategies to deal with pressure/stress

In some cases, negative indicators are divided into two further sections: minor negative indicators, i.e. those which are negative but which don’t matter so much; and decisive negative indicators i.e. those for which they won’t forgive you e.g. not asking for help when needed.
Marks are then allocated depending on the extent to which the candidate's answer matches those negative and positive indicators.
Here is an example of a marking schedule for the table above:
0 No evidence No evidence reported
1 Poor Little evidence of positive indicators.
Mostly negative indicators, many decisive
2 Areas for concern Limited number of positive indicators.
Many negative indicators, one or more decisive.
3 Satisfactory Satisfactory display of positive indicators.
Some negative indicators but none decisive.
4 Good to excellent Strong display of positive indicators

If the interviewers feel that there are areas that you have failed to address, they may help you along by probing appropriately. For example, in answering the question above “Describe an example of a time when you had to deal with pressure”, if you focussed on how you dealt with the practical angle of the problem but you forgot to discuss how you managed your stress during and after the event, the interviewers may prompt you with a further question such as “How did you handle the stress at the time?”. This would give you an opportunity to present a full picture of your behaviour. This is where the marking can become subjective. Indeed, if an interviewer likes you, he may be more tempted to prompt you and push you along than if he has bad vibes about you.

Sourcing & Recruiting Tips: Google Custom Search Engines

Nothing wrong with search engines, but what about creating your own? Google makes it easy with their custom search engine functionality. You pick the sites you want to search (e.g., your favorite professional associations within an industry niche), and your results will come only from those sites. Use normal booleans and Google-specific commands in your strings, but get more targeted results. A couple of the many recruiter-created examples include www.big5hire.com and, for the top 150 advertising/marketing industry bloggers, www.recruiting-online.com/AdAge%20Power%20150%20Advertising%20and%20Marketing%20Bloggers.html.For Google's own picks, click your favorite category at http://www.google.com/coop/cse/examples/ or try www.customsearchguide.com

For example i have created a search engine put up on top of this blog to search India specific job portals for technology hiring updates as well market info about the companies hiring from the market using different job portals.

7 Top Tips For Effective Delegation: Skills Towards Work-Life Balance !!

The art of delegation, or doing more by doing less, can be mastered if you heed these 7 quick but reliable tips.

1. No Manager Is An Island.
Even though others may have a different approach or standards, you're setting yourself up to fail if you think you have to do EVERYTHING yourself.
Accept that in today's interdependent world, there is a shared responsibility for getting things done. It's not all down to you!

2. Delegate, Don't Abdicate.
Remember if things go wrong, it's ultimately your fault! Assess the risk of failure BEFORE you decide to delegate a task, and manage any risk appropriately. The only person you can blame is you, for not effectively delegating the task at the beginning. And you never know, they might even do it better than you!

3. Crystal Clear Tasks
If you can't define the task to be delegated, it isn't ready for delegation.
Good tasks to delegate are; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound.... or in other words "SMART". Fuzzy, vague tasks are impossible to complete or result in such a mess you've squandered more time than you could potentially have saved. Part of the art of effective delegation is creating SMART tasks from fuzzy ones and communicating them clearly.

4. Tools To Do The Job.
It's universally agreed that sledgehammers are way over the top for cracking nuts, and in effective delegation, it's as important you select the right person to do the task. Some people could do the task standing on their head, others may need a bit of direction and coaching. As you decide who should undertake the task, make an assessment of their skill and will and change your approach accordingly.

5. I Say "Tomayto", You Say "Tomaato"
You know what you want to delegate, and to whom, now it's time to communicate what needs to be done. You're both be looking at the task labelled "Tomato" but there's no guarantee you're interpretation is the same. Even if you agree on the pronunciation, a tiny cherry tomato and a large beef tomato are strangely different fruit. Take some time to check understanding of the delegated task, including details such as how to get from A to B, resources required, checkpoints and deadlines.

6. Give Them Enough Rope
There is a spectrum of freedom in decision-making and action taking that you need to consider before, and during, the delegation process. This can vary from "give me the information and I'll decide" through to "you decide and do it, no need to check back with me". Again your approach depends on the risk of failure, your trust in the person and their ability to do the task.

7. How Was It For You?
Effective delegation is about sharing workload, with the added bonus of developing skills and responsibility in others. Maximise the learning experience by taking time for shared reflection of the task once it's completed - what worked, what didn't work and what would you do differently next time? Often the learning is two-way, with you gaining insight into your delegation skills.

These 7 tips for effective delegation will help you achieve a work-life balance, and become more productive by doing less.

14 Candidate Questions

How many times has your heart been broken by a candidate that looked good at first and then fizzled as the interview process got rolling? This article provides a template for you or your staff to examine and review when evaluating people. It’s a tool for reducing the amount of time that you waste in pursuing candidates that will ultimately not get hired. These 14 items are things to look for with everyone that you evaluate.

Does the candidate have the skills necessary for the job you are recruiting for? If she does have the skills, are they current or were they used several years ago?

Has the candidate stayed at companies for a reasonable amount of time (2-4 years) or has she jumped around every year? If she has jumped around, does she have valid reasons for doing so?

Has she been at her current company for too long (6+ years)? If so, she may be very resistant to actually leaving (even if she says otherwise).

Has the candidate been a contractor much of the time? If you’re looking for a contractor this is fine but if you’re looking for a permanent employee this could be a snag.

Is the candidate local? Local is always better. Some companies may pay for relocation but more things can fall through with an out of state candidate.

What about his personality and communication skills? Does he have a weak presentation style? Does he sound confident or like a mouse? Do you trust what he is saying or does something sound fishy? Does he speak with pride or does he put you to sleep? Does he sound arrogant? For some highly technical positions it may not matter as much but generally this is a very important area.

Is this a position that will be a step up for her? If not, you need to understand why she would go to a company for a step down or sideways.

Has the candidate worked for quality companies? You can guess that she has some quality skills if she has worked for Oracle, Microsoft, Xerox etc.

Does he have a valid reason for leaving (more responsibilities, not able to expand his skills, unstable company) or is it a questionable reason (“I’m always looking”, “more money”)? Without a valid “wound”, he will be easily swayed when it comes time to walk into his boss’s office and say, “I quit”.

How much total industry experience does she have? If the person has the title of “Director” but graduated from college 3 years ago, that’s a flag.

Has the person worked in a similar industry and company size compared with the position you are recruiting for? This is not so important with some technical positions because the skills often transfer between industries. But if you are looking for a Controller for a large law firm, someone who has been a Controller with a small manufacturing company may not be a fit.

Does the person have relevant certifications (CPA, MCSE etc.) for the position?
Are her salary expectations reasonable?

Is the candidate willing to make a decision on an offer with in 24 hours of receiving it? Having the right answers to any single question above does not necessarily mean the person is a fit and the wrong answer does not necessarily mean the person is not a fit. These questions, when combined, will give you valuable information about a candidate’s marketability. You will save yourself from an acid stomach at the end of a search by soberly assessing a candidate’s skills and interests at the front end of the process.