ITList Information Technology Blog » Skill Set http://itlist.com Current IT field related information Mon, 27 Dec 2010 04:35:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 Sharpen your Management Skill http://itlist.com/sharpen-your-management-skill/ http://itlist.com/sharpen-your-management-skill/#comments Sun, 26 Sep 2010 23:37:59 +0000 bikram http://itlist.com/sharpen-your-management-skill/ Being an effective manager, a leader, a motivator isn’t an easy task. In day to day pressing deadlines and work pressure keeping up the managerial effectiveness gets difficult. But a good manager can’t afford to bend down. He has to get the work done by his teams, create a good work environment, inspire all, and keep up the work flow.

Here are some tips to keep up the great managerial skill.

Set goals, draw routes to achieve them

As a manager you should be aware of company’s mission, vision, values and goals. To achieve them set small job oriented goals, which are realistic, achievable, and measurable. Now develop a comprehensive plan, illustrating steps to be taken to achieve those goals. Allocate work to the concerned people, coordinate all. Keep track of the projects, progress status and problems faced. Prioritize projects too, marking them as per immediacy. Call for frequent staff meetings, keep the deadlines before them, provide them with the required information, make objectives clear, and clarify doubts. Be a constant support system to them.

Analyze employees, increase their productivity

Judge your employees. Analyze their skills, interests, goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Once you can analyze employees, assign relevant assignments to them; which match with their competence. Your concern towards them will keep them interested, involved and feel valued. Allocation of appropriate work will also maximize their productivity, enhance quality of performance, and make the entire work enjoyable. When employees find you care for them, they also work harder and are motivated to excel.

Provide necessary resources and support the employees

Provide your employees with all kind of support, in terms of information and tools required, resources required, environment for work, appraisal on completion with success, encouragement and moral support. You have to look after everything from stationary items to project submission. Improve work culture of the company. Make the work enjoyable, not burden.

Make the work place unbiased, adhering to equity and fairness

A good honest employee can never excel in a work place which is full of conflicts, biased towards few, doesn’t recognize talent and hard work, and encourages office politics. Treat all in equal way. Make sure all have equal access to information, tools, and resources. Interact with all in same manner, with due respect and care. Be consistent with your actions. Lend your ear to all.

Don’t forget to appreciate before all

Don’t forget to appreciate the ones who excel. A heartfelt appraisal will not only boost confidence, but also make the employees feel valued, recognized, and motivated. Cheer for him, praise him before all. It will also set an example for others to follow.

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Is It Your Habit That’s Keeping You Unemployed? http://itlist.com/is-it-your-habit-thats-keeping-you-unemployed/ http://itlist.com/is-it-your-habit-thats-keeping-you-unemployed/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:36:00 +0000 bikram http://itlist.com/is-it-your-habit-thats-keeping-you-unemployed/ We often give ourselves to thinking that interviewer biased, and that too against us, always. We blame this for our inability to secure a job even in the soaring economy. If you are still looking for a job, and not getting it then it is time to change the looking glass through which you see the world, for the reason behind not getting hired could be you.

In the following paragraphs, I am going to talk about 3 indicators that tell you that it is you who is stopping you from getting hired, and when I said you, I meant your habit.

3 reasons you are not getting hired

Too high an expectation

Nothing is perfect in this world; neither you nor any job. If you are waiting for a perfect job to fly from the land of fairy and set down in your lap then I am afraid to say the wait is going to be rather long. Meanwhile, I would recommend bagging a not-so-perfect job that matches your skill set, and which can provide sufficient money for you to survive on.

Be realistic. Weigh every aspect of the dream job you want, and see what all you can let go. You will soon be employed.

Too small a net

Are you relying on just one technique to search for the job? Do you feel uncomfortable trying out different job-search tools and techniques?

To catch a lot many fish, a fisherman needs to have a net that is wide enough and strong enough. Similarly, a job hunter needs to widen his net using all the possible tools and techniques to land up in a good job, which sadly enough, very few people are doing, for they are slave of their habit of using one tool.

Too Egocentric (I, me, and myself) cover letter

This is stupendous mistake committed by a job hunter. No one wants someone who has an ego as big as the size of the Milky Way. I know your ego is comparatively smaller in magnitude, but why does not it reflect in the cover letter you send out? Why your cover letter is talking too much about “I”?

Writing I, I, and I will not land you up in a job, forget about a good job, as no one cares how smart, talented, Einstein-esque you are. Your interviewer cares only about his needs, and about an employee who can meet that need. I know what big a dork he is, but at the end of the day, he is the one who will sign your paying slip, month after month.

Wouldn’t it be smart then to satisfy his needs by talking about his company and how you will add solve the problem he has in a cover letter? From where I am standing, it would be smarter, far smarter to this than to talk about I, me, and myself.

If you, unknowingly, committed any of these mistakes then it is time to undo them, should you want to get hired. After all, we call it habit because we do it unknowingly, as a habit.

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A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – XII http://itlist.com/a-job-search-guide-to-help-people-over-45-%e2%80%93-xii/ http://itlist.com/a-job-search-guide-to-help-people-over-45-%e2%80%93-xii/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:56:58 +0000 bikram http://itlist.com/?p=2328 Your Curriculum vitae is your strategic weapon that you can use to deal a deadly blow to your competitors while securing your position with a prospective employer. Hence, it better be good. You should always focus on sharpening your weapon (keep your résumé up-to-date) which may require you to take some classes. Let’s move forward and see what needs to be done to nab the job that was not “claimed” to be suitable for a 40 plus individual.

Show you can evolve

No one likes anything static, not even you and so does your employer. The main reason why he wants young people in his team lies in the fact that young people have up-to-date knowledge and they are ready to evolve. Show the same degree of commitment by taking extra classes to train yourself. Enroll to some vocational courses or training classes that will put you at par with youth in their 20s, in terms of technology and knowledge. Mention this on your CV, your prospective employer will take notice of it, and you will get duly rewarded for your hard work with a job and better salary.

Talk about experience

If you have not spent 40 years of life daydreaming or sleepwalking then you definitely have accumulated some kind of skill set that will make the job you are applying a piece of cake for you, well at least easy. In your résumé talk about your experience from the related fields, this along with your commitment to evolve with time (read above) will give you an edge which will be hard for your younger competitors to surpass.

Keep it Up-to-date

Do you know what the first company you worked with call itself these day? Or do you know who has taken the ownership? Are these details in your résumé? Contact the companies that you are mentioning in your CV under experience or past employer columns and ask about their names, locations, phone numbers, and people in charge. Finding it may or may not be difficult. It depends upon the kind of companies you worked in. If those were big corporate giants then you may be knowing their details already, but if they were small setups then you need to visit their office or call your old colleagues for the detail.

Always remember, nothing is impossible not even at this age. Well, I meant almost nothing. You cannot put toothpaste back inside the tube from which it has been squeezed. Try it, you cannot. But getting a job is far much easier than that. Talk to you in the next post, till then keep looking and stay calm!

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Finding Business Contacts http://itlist.com/finding-business-contacts/ http://itlist.com/finding-business-contacts/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:04:37 +0000 SamElli http://itlist.com/?p=1968 In a struggling economy, networking should be a top priority for you, especially if it hasn’t been in the past.  You need business contacts, no matter where you are on the chain.  Through business contacts, you open up the possibility that you will be able to find better work.  Your business contacts are also great to have should you ever lose your current job.  Basically, these are professional associates from different organizations that you regularly keep contact with.

But to get business contacts, first you have to find them.  A business contact can be remarkably useful down the line in your career.  These relationships are great because they are mutually beneficial.  Think about your skill set and what you could offer to help someone else.  From anything like advice, to career prospect options, what do you have to give?

How much you can commit to providing will dictate what sort of business relationship you can form.  As business contacts are a two way street, you have to have something to bring to the table.  Try using websites like LinkedIn.  They are social networking resources for professionals and can be a good start for anybody.

Make sure you have business cards with you all the time.  Whenever you’re in the appropriate scenario, like a work related conference or event, they will be very useful.  Meeting people is great at the moment, but you need a way to keep in contact beyond.  A business card is the fastest and easiest way to do just that.  Not to mention it’s the most professional route.  Professionalism always gets you bonus points.

Remember to keep your ears open all the time.  Pay attention in the break rooms, and when you’re eating lunch.  You could find a great new business contact in a different department.  Somebody you were completely unaware of, and someone you could benefit from.

From there it’s as simple as maintaining the relationship.  If you want to be able to get trusted information from them, you have to provide the same.  Don’t hesitate to inform them of news around the company.  From job openings, etc.  Let them know what’s going on around you, and the opportunities available, and they will do the same.

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Formulating A Career Action Plan http://itlist.com/formulating-a-career-action-plan/ http://itlist.com/formulating-a-career-action-plan/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:34:34 +0000 SamElli http://itlist.com/?p=1863 Creating a career action plan is important for everyone.  No matter the career, your planning will be better served with a CAP.  This will give you a comprehensive guideline that you intend to follow.  By having this path set before you, you can be better aware of your goals.  Making the path allows for you to keep sight of what you want out of your career, and the ways to accomplish those goals.  So it only makes sense to sit down and write one out.

The career action plan is exactly what it sounds like.  A well laid plan on how to get your career from point A to point B, and beyond.  You should have a well researched path that you intend to follow.  One that works for your skill set, and commitment.  You’ll have to take into account the workload you’re willing to accommodate, and how you intend to achieve your intended ends.

Following the typical CAP format you should start out by mapping your objectives.  Write down what you hope to achieve, from pay scale, to promotions, to education.  Figure out what you want to put in, as well as what you want to get out of your career.

From there, in the next section detail all of your previous experience, and the skill set that you’ve developed.  Whether through work history, or education, write down what has set you up for your career.

Now you calculate your weaknesses, and honesty counts here.  Nobody is going to be looking at this play besides you, so be honest. Failing to record a truthful account of your weaknesses leads to a plan that might not work for you.  So figure out your shortcomings so that you may learn to work around them.  That’s all part of your plan, and you’ll be better set by knowing where you may fall short, so that you can prevent that, or work around them.

Finally you plot out your goals.  Take the information you have already written, and maneuver how it fits into the goals you want to achieve.  In this step you can map out exactly how to go about making your goals come to fruition.  Through careful planning here, you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do, and a decent time table of when you can expect to accomplish some of those goals.

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Take Control Of An Interview http://itlist.com/take-control-of-an-interview/ http://itlist.com/take-control-of-an-interview/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:34:57 +0000 SamElli http://itlist.com/?p=1400 Taking control of an interview is one of the absolute best ways to stand out, and make yourself the number one candidate for the job you want.  This tactic has an incredibly high success rate when done effectively, in fact most interviewers specifically look for the type of person who is take charge enough to really take control throughout the process.  The problem is that most people don’t have the skills to pull this off well, and attempting to control an interview can really backfire on you.  Which is why there are a few guidelines you should remember in your bid to control an interview, and make yourself into the center of attention for getting that job.

You need a clear objective that you want to accomplish, and not something like getting the job, because that goes without saying, otherwise you wouldn’t be at the interview.  You want to have a clear example of what you want to come across in the interview, such as certain skills or experience that highlight why you’re right for the job.  Make sure those come across to the interviewer as fantastic examples of your past experience, or specially trained skill set and how it applies to them and the potential job.

Research the company to a decent degree, so that you know what they are about, how they conduct business, and their mission statement.  That way you can take control through relevant industry questions that apply to you and the job that you are hoping to get.  This way not only will you be able to show your knowledge of the company, but also the interest you have in doing the work necessary to learn about the position and better prepare yourself.

Finally, look for any opportunity to tell a relevant anecdote to showcase your experience, or skill set, showing you not only understand the company and the position, but also to highlight something worthwhile that you did at another job.  Proving your worth to the company you are interviewing for, and relaying the skills you can provide that they need.

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