CHAPTER 1

Becoming a Person of Value

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweepstreets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethovencomposed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. Heshould sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heavenand earth will pause to say, "Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Adding value to yourself is the process of investing in yourself so youcan contribute more to your environment.

Like an expensive jewel in a shop, you should be worth what someoneis willing to pay for you.

Improve yourself constantly: read a new book, learn a new trade, learna new subject, learn a new sport, and invest time in upgrading yourskills and knowledge.

One of the best ways to find a job is to do an excellent job in theone you have, even if it's not the ideal job you want. Always "thinkfresh," and challenge yourself to come up with alternatives andoptions to a problem. This way you will always train yourself to be asolution-provider. Learn something new every day, and make up yourmind not to give half measure on your job.

Be someone your employer knows to do more than you are paid for.Open your mind to new ideas and always be ready to challenge thestatus quo. Always be willing to help, and be disposed to teach otherswhen you have knowledge, skills, and ability that others do not have.People hoard information because they think that the other personmay become better than they are. Well, each time you teach anotherperson, you also learn and become better. Those you teach will neverbeat you unless you stop learning.

If you are currently without a job, don't feel locked out. It's anopportunity for you to read the numerous books you bought overthe past few years that you have never opened. It's an opportunity tolearn something new, to try new hobbies; you may just discover a newtalent that could hold the key to your financial independence. Whilenot the focus of this book, the discovery of your talent is one of thepotential benefits of unemployment.

To constantly add value to yourself these are some of the questionsthat you should ask:

• What books have I read recently?

• What training or seminar have I attended?

• What professional journal have I read?

• What personal development site or educational internet sitehave I visited recently?

As a professional, it is the value that you have acquired that enablesyou to give value to your employer. You can only give what youhave. When you develop your talent and skills, you deserve all therecognition and reward (financial and emotional) that you get. Yourability to earn more money will depend on your ability to contributemore to a greater number of people. It doesn't necessarily come byyears of experience but by years of experience doing productivethings and contributing value.

Work not to be a man of success, rather work to be aman of value.

Albert Einstein

CHAPTER 2

What Employers Seek When Hiring

Big jobs usually go to the menwho prove their ability to outgrow small ones.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every employer desires to build a winning team, and to build awinning team you need good people. Hiring good people is hardand to hire great people is obviously brutally harder! So what doprospective employers look out for in the potential employees?

There are many traits looked out for by prospective employers, buthere are seven that apply to any hiring decision irrespective of level ororganization involved.

1. Integrity

People with integrity tell the truth, and keep their words. They takeresponsibility for their actions, admit mistakes, and fix them. Theyplay to win the right way, by the rules. They know and adhere to theletters and the spirit that govern their companies, industry and nation.They can be relied upon.

Employers test for integrity by observing you closely as theyinteract with you from when you stepped into the company forthe interview, how you answer the interview questions till whenyou leave the premises. They also test for this from outside byreputation and reference checks. The prospective employerchecks to know if the candidate is honest, openly admitsmistakes, talks about his life with equal measures of candor andprudence.

Some of the words synonymous with integrity include candor,honesty, forthrightness, principle and sincerity. Therefore, displaythese not just for the interview but also in all aspects of life.

2. Intelligence

This doesn't mean the person must be a rocket scientist or a heartsurgeon. This means strong dose of intellectual curiosity; the desireand inspiration to learn and the breadth of knowledge to lead others.This could be refined and enhanced through education but notethat education is not same as schooling. Many go to school but arenot really educated, instead they get fixated on specific pattern ofthoughts with little application. Think broadly, challenge the statusquo and be disposed to new information.

Some of the words synonymous with intelligence are aptitude,alertness, agility, capacity, discernment and sagacity. All these willenhance your ability to win.

3. Maturity

This is not the same as chronological advancement in age. Anindividual is mature when he has developed the ability to withstandthe heat, handle stress and setbacks, and also knows how to celebratesuccess when it comes with equal parts of joy and humility. Maturepeople respect the emotions and time of others. They are confidentbut not arrogant.

To test for this the prospective employer relies on reference checks,reputation and intuition.

Some of the words synonymous with maturity are wisdom,mellowness, fullness, advancement, and development. These virtuesmust flow from you.

4. Enthusiasm

This has to do with the candidate's lively interest in the job, anyactivity or life itself. This is what John Francis "Jack" Welch, formerCEO/chairman of GE and bestselling author, referred to in his book,Winning, as positive energy and the ability to energize others. Thosewith this attribute thrive on action and relish change because theyhave the ability to go on and on. They make conversation easy, theyare full of energy at the start of day, and they end it that way. Theylove life, never complain about working hard, because they love itanyway as much as they love to play.

Beyond being full of energy themselves they have the innate abilityto get others revved up. This is the effect of positive energy. Peoplewho energize can inspire the team to take on the impossible and enjoydoing it. For this to happen, you must be an expert in your field witha great persuasive skill, which is nothing more than understandingthe benefit of the task at hand to the one you want to energize, andcommunicating it so clearly that the person sees the benefit.

Some of the words synonymous with enthusiasm are energy,conviction, emotion, zest and passion among others. If you want towin, be full of enthusiasm; it has a way of affecting others.

5. Intuition or The Edge

This is the courage to make the tough yes-or-no decision. Anyonecan look at an issue from different angles and some can analyze theseangles endlessly. Always remember that effective people know whento stop assessing and intuitively make a tough call, even withoutthe full information. Especially when interviewing for a managerposition, prospective employers look out for this quality, not themanager that says, "Bring it back next week, we would take a secondlook at the figures."

The "next week" for such managers never seems to come as theyhabitually postpone indefinitely, and such people are so easily swayedby different shades of opinion. Indecision can stifle an organizationand no employer wants such a person in his or her organization.

6. Execute

This is the ability to get the job done. You are enthusiastic and havemade the tough call, now this quality helps you bring that call to life. Ihave interviewed several candidates that seemed to have everything inits proper place but it turned out when they where hired that nothingever got done to completion. They spoke the right words, soundedconvincing and enthusiastic, but each time fell shot in terms ofresults. The ability to execute was lacking.

From experience and by intuition an interviewer can discern peoplelacking in this all-important quality. They can see through the smoothand tough talking performances during the interview by drilling intothe details of the candidate's previous achievements.

Those that execute are the people who know how to put decision intoaction and push them forward to completion, through persistence thatoverruns resistance, chaos and obstacles.

People who can execute know that winning is all about results. Toexecute is synonymous with eliminate, do, finish, liquidate, and carryout with respect to a task or assignment.

7. Passion

By passion I mean that desire, deep hunger, heartfelt excitement aboutwork. Passionate people care about friends, colleagues and otheremployees winning. They are eager to learn and grow, and love itwhen those around them do the same and win.

Prospective employers know that a man of passion and conviction isunstoppable no matter the task. While I can send a staff on trainingto gain functional knowledge in any discipline in the organization,I have found from experience that it is practically near impossibleto train a staff lacking in passion to become passionate. When staffare passionate, organizations can literally move mountains, andemployers know this, and look out for it when they interview jobcandidates.

Some of the words synonymous with passion are affection,dedication, eagerness, intensity and excitement. Let these be part ofyour traits because the interviewer and other circumstances of life willdemand for them.

With these seven attributes—integrity, intelligence, maturity,enthusiasm, intuition, execute and passion—you are armed with theknowledge that should serve as a guide when you prepare for aninterview.

CHAPTER 3

Preparing for the Dream Job

Never tell me the sky's the limitwhen there are footprints on the moon.

Author Unknown

Before the Job Interview

A job interview is your chance to show a prospective employer whatkind of employee he or she will get if you are hired. This is why it isessential to be well prepared for the job interview.

Preparing means being current with the industry in which you areseeking employment, so that you're familiar with the employerand aware of what he is likely to require; it means that you are wellprepared to meet those needs. This will also include paying attentionto details like personal appearance, mannerisms, punctuality,comportment, and demeanor.

Knowledge, especially when applied is power, and it is always yourbest weapon. Arm yourself with it.

A good place to start is to have a resume that commands the attentionof the prospective employer, and an understanding of the basics of jobinterviews.

To be invited for a job interview in the first place, you typicallywould have made an earlier contact by applying for the job and/orby sending your resume or curriculum vitae (CV) to the prospectiveemployer. Even when hiring managers "poach" a potential employee,they would have first received the candidate's resume or CV.

For clarity, the essential difference between a resume and a CV arethe length, what is included and what each is used for. A resume,which is more popularly used, is a one or two page summary of yourskills, experience and education. The CV on the other hand, is longerwith more detailed synopsis. It includes a summary of your educationand academic backgrounds as well as teaching, training, research,publications, awards, projects, honors, hobbies, affiliations, and otherdetails.

In Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or Asia, employers may expectto receive a CV. In the United States, a CV is used primarily whenapplying for research, scientific, academic or education positions. It isalso applicable when applying for fellowships or grants.

Writing an Interview Winning Resume

Your resume needs to be professional and polished, because if youdon't have a professional resume, your application probably won't beconsidered by a hiring manager.

Part of writing a professional resume includes paying attention tovital details such as the use of basic fonts, indicating all relevantcontact information, and incorporating keywords used in the jobdescription for the position applied to. Other details include, choosingthe appropriate formats—a lot of templates and formats are readilyavailable online and are free—as well as prioritizing your content tomatch the job requirements and leveraging on technology.

If your resume requires enhancement or if you don't have any at all,then you would need to turn to appendix F page 126 right away forthe tips on writing an interview winning resume.

Today's harsh economic realities have forced many longtimeemployees into the job market again, dusting off resumes for thefirst time in years. As thousands of these new candidates vie for adwindling number of positions, recruiters are increasingly turning totalent management technology to help narrow the pool of applicantsand find the best candidates for open positions. Therefore, in writing aresume you should be mindful that your resume might be reviewed bysoftware as well as by hiring managers.

In the appendix you will find the essential elements you need toconsider when writing your resume so that it puts you in a goodposition for the interview.

Types of Job Interviews

A good resume puts you in a place of opportunity to be identified, andshortlisted for an interview. However, it's important that you havesome general knowledge about the different types of job interviews.

There are several types of interviews you might face, but the keytypes are the Screening Interview, the Phone Interview, the SelectionInterview, the Group Interview (or Group Selection Interview), thePanel Interview, the Presentation Interview, and the Stress Interview.

The focus of this book is primarily on Panel Interviews, whichconstitute about 70 percent of the interviews conducted for entry-leveland middle management positions. Group and Presentation Interviewsare also often an integral part of the interview process. See appendixD page 114 for notes on all seven types of job interviews.

The Group Interview

In the Group Interview, several job candidates are questioned at thesame time. The group could be given a topic to discuss or a simpleproject or a game to play while the interviewers watch directly orremotely. In some cases, the Group Interview precedes a PanelInterview or a Presentation Interview.

The Group Interview is an exercise the prospective employerconducts to see how well you communicate with others and solveproblems. Since any group naturally stratifies into leaders andfollowers, the interviewer can easily determine which category eachcandidate belongs, whether you are a team player, and whether thepersonality traits you display during the group interaction fit inwell with the values of the organization. If you find yourself in thisscenario, you should just act naturally, as acting like a leader or ateam player if you are not one may get you a job that is inappropriatefor you. As a rule, employers seek team players rather than shootingstars. Train yourself to be a team player if you want to win in thecorporate environment.

The following tips will be helpful during Group Interviews:

1. Be friendly with other members of the group.

2. Show respect for everyone's opinion, even if you don't agreewith them.

3. Do not be either domineering or docile.

4. Be lively, positive, and active.

5. If none of the interviewers is present in the interview room,you can be sure they are watching from a remote location!Show the best of yourself, and do not say or do what youwould not say or do if the interviewers were present.

6. If the group gets rowdy, look out for the best way to bringorder to the proceedings. For example, if everyone is talkingat the same time and some (as is always the case) are morevocal than others, find a way to suggest that the team appointa timekeeper or institute a time check. Suggest that the grouphave "ground rules" to guide conduct, including how longeach person should talk, so everyone gets an opportunity toexpress himself or herself. Part of your ground rules may bethat cell phones ringers be turned off, that no one should behushed while speaking, and that those who want to expresstheir views should so indicate by raising their hands. Thiskind of conduct, well-executed, will impress the interviewersand will position you favorably. Of course, there are othersuggestions you may think of that could work in the situation.

7. Be confident and unassuming.

8. Keep your comments concise, and to the point. The "KISS"(Keep It Short and Simple) principle works well in groupinterviews.

The Panel Interview

In a Panel Interview, several people interview the candidate at once,so it can be intimidating. Remembering a few tricks can help youremain calm. Try to establish rapport with each member of the panel,and make eye contact with those on the panel, especially the personwhose questions you are answering. In addition to what you will learnin subsequent chapters of this book about Panel Interviews, one ofthe ways to establish rapport with the panel is to find opportunities tohighlight the strengths of the organization without resorting to emptyflattery. One way to do this is to point out what the organization isdoing better than its competitors and to mention how you can help theorganization maximize this advantage.