Do You Have Any Questions?
A strong interview is a determining factor in securing a new position. The more prepared you are, the more confident you will be resulting in a better outcome. To ensure you put your best foot forward we have outlined some common interview faux pas to avoid when facing the pressure of a job interview.
Top 5 Job Interview Do’s
Be prepared
Come prepared with as much information about the company and industry as possible. Don’t forget to check company’s website which will give you much clear understanding on how they work. Prepare questions of your own.
Be confident and grounded
Be confident when you speak, always try be submissive and attentive beside having a smile on face. Think before you speak! This might be the only chance you get to convince a prospective employer that you are the right person for the job.
Be engaging
Be an active listener and take notes for the things you want to clarify. Let the interviewer ask you to speak and avoid interrupting. Prepare for the questions and practice in advance to sound confident. Do your research about the company and the role you are applying for, to ask relevant questions. Always start by Greeting the interviewer and acknowledging everyone present.
Be careful
Never speak negative about your current or past employer or bosses. Your answers during the interview are as important as the image you cast.
Be professional
The very first thing that any interviewer would notice is your professional look and attire. Full sleeve shirt with trouser for Male while Females can have an additional option of wearing a salwar suit. Your shoes should be polished properly while your hair should be neatly combed (Avoid Spike hairs). Your nails should be cut neatly, properly shaved beards is a sign of being professional. Try to hide your Tattoo and piercing as much as possible.
Finally, if the job is one you really want, follow up with a thank you note after the interview to acknowledge your interest. This courteous gesture reconfirms your interest in the position and puts your name back in your prospective boss’s mind.
Top 5 Job Interview Don’ts
Don’t be late
Arrive 15 minutes early to allow time for possible delay and use the extra time to freshen up for the interview if you have arrived early.
Don’t be pushy about salary
Don’t place a large emphasis on salary. Set correct expectations as per the industry standards and your previous salary. If offered a package you would like to negotiate, always present your expectations in a polite & professional manner.
Don’t talk too much
Answer questions fluently and concisely, but give interviewers the opportunity to interrupt as and when needed.
Don’t exaggerate
Stick to the abilities you have, not those you wish you had. Be honest about your experience, emphasizing the positive, yet sticking with the truth.
Don’t over or underdress
You should determine beforehand if you should wear a business suit, or if a formal look is appropriate.
Getting a job involves marketing yourself to potential employers. This holds true no matter your education level, be it a high school diploma or graduate degree. Finally, remember that college programs or schools are no substitute for real-world work experience. If you have the ability to do a job, convincing an employer to hire you is all about how you demonstrate your past successes and skills.
Working from home is an ideal many people share, and it can be a dream if you do it properly. WFH often equals flexible hours, no daily commute and more productivity. However, with an abundance of distractions and a lack of inspiration and motivation, the dream can easily turn into a nightmare.
Luckily, there are a few small steps you can take to stay motivated and productive at home.
Designate a WFH Space
If you have been holding zoom meetings on the sofa and working from the comfort of your bed, stop. Right now. It might be a convenient way to work the WFH thing, but it certainly isn’t the most productive. Not having a designated space to go to every day can lead to more procrastinating and less working. Choose a quiet space in your home and designate it as your home office. This will help you establish an efficient work schedule and enable you to strike a healthy balance between work and home life. If you have a lot of video conferences and meetings, try to pick a place with a wall behind you. Nothing screams ‘unprofessional’ more than the view of an unmade bed or your family watching TV in the background.
Define Your Hours
Once you have created a designated workspace, the next step is to make a realistic schedule. It is easy to get carried away when WFH, and many people find it hard to stop working. Not to mention, without a routine it is difficult to keep track of the hours you have actually worked. Create a clearly defined work schedule and stick to them. Not only will it help you structure your day better, but it can prevent burn out. Not to mention, having an actual start and end time to a workday will prevent you from getting distracted.
Style it Up
An aesthetically pleasing WFH environment is much more enjoyable to work in. Think about it – would you rather work in an uninspiring, drab office or a fun and dynamic work environment? A fun and functional home office can help inspire you during your work hours and boost productivity levels. Invest in your workspace in a way that speaks to you and sparks joy. This could include styling it up with leafy, green plants, creating a mood board or adding an essential oil diffuser. Basically, set up a place that you will feel good around.
Get Dressed
The start of a typical workday usually involves picking out an outfit, so why should working from home be any different? Making the effort to get dressed in suitable work attire can have a positive impact on your mentality and help you get into work mode.
Participation in employee engagement activity can have many benefits on the persons work life , listed below are 5 benefits to help you understand it better :
Be Vocal
Have a clear target related your role defined by your manager. Communicate your agenda with your team to align them with your goal. Set dates and timelines for all tasks and share the details and update the team with projects progress. It is good to share credit with thank you notes with everyone who has helped you along the way.
Increased productivity
Highly engaged employees are more efficient, and produce higher-quality work. Because they’re personally invested in their job, and their performance matters to them. They’re aligned with the team and business goals, and accountable for their individual contribution. This means increased productivity.
Achieving Objectives
Speaking of hitting targets, employee engagement plays a huge role in your success and achievements. It’s natural to focus your attention on your goals, and with a strong team bond you can achieve faster and better results.
Less workplace stress
Engaged employees are likely to manage stress more easily, and could even become a motivator. They can rely on the bond on their colleagues and know they are not alone in facing challenges.
Lower risk of burnout
With low stress levels, employees runs a lower risk of dissatisfaction from their work and gain a sense of accomplishment from their overall teams success.
The idea of getting things perfectly equal in all areas of your life at once can be impossible. It can be difficult to recognise when you need to focus on restoring your work-life balance, but there are signs you can be aware of.
Working for long periods without leaving your desk, checking emails when you should be present with family or friends, working weekends and eating lunch and/or dinner at your desk are all signs that you don’t have a good work-life balance. The problem is that lack of work-life balance over an extended period can lead to burnout, which can be dangerous, so it’s important to recognise the symptoms ahead of time
5 tips for better work-life balance
Examine your situation
Think about what your most important values are and how you want to spend your time. Once you’ve established that, you can brainstorm small changes you can make that will have a big impact overall, such as forcing yourself to have a lunch break several times a week to exercise or chat with a friend.
Manage other people’s expectations
Set boundaries by telling colleagues and clients when you will and won’t be working, so they don’t expect you to be available 24/7. And be honest about your personal needs. Let your boss know which regular activities in your personal life are non-negotiable, whether it’s putting your children to bed or doing yoga – whatever it is that really matters for you.
Take care of your health
Ensure you get enough sleep and exercise by including it in your routine, and make sure to reward yourself for your hard work by treating yourself every now and then. To do this you might need to delegate where you can, to free up your time for what’s most important .Ask for extra resources if you need them.
Learn to say no
If you need to work late constantly just to get by, let your boss know that your workload is unsustainable. And if you tend to put other’s needs before your own, learn to say no occasionally to new projects and extra commitments that will eat up your time and won’t contribute to achieving your work or personal objectives .
Plan fun activities for your personal time
Get organised with family and friends, to ensure your personal time is fulfilling. Connecting digitally is important to a lot of us right now but try to get some down time away from that as well. Turn off electronic devices for a certain time period every evening or weekend so that you can give your full attention to the people and activities that are most important to you. Try and follow a daily routine that includes some time for yourself every week that’s unrelated to your career.
Balance can feel tricky to achieve. But by trying these steps you can begin to find ways to make work feel less consuming and free up focus for the other parts of your life – even when times are challenging.
Job satisfaction is defined as the extent to which an employee feels self-motivated, content & satisfied with his/her job. Job satisfaction happens when an employee feels he or she is having job stability, career growth and a comfortable work life balance. This implies that the employee is having satisfaction at job as the work meets the expectations of the individual.
If you always find yourself unsatisfied with your job, no matter where you go, there are a couple of things that you can do, apart from changing it.
Change Your Way of Work
It is understood that you would instead do something else than your job. However, there should be something about your job that you enjoy. To increase your job satisfaction, you can do more of the tasks that you like doing. Another way of doing this is by taking more of the tasks that you find fulfilling. This will increase your overall workload, but you will start enjoying your work. You will be happier, and you will want to go to work every day. And, if you cannot do either of two, then shuffle the existing ones and try and introduce an element that inspires you to work.
Work on Workplace Relationships
One great way of keeping yourself happy in your workplace is by nurturing relationships that matter. Research states that even short-term but quality relationships in the workplace can be motivating. So, take your time, build trust and relationships and make friends to increase the level of satisfaction in your job.
Think About Work in The Right Way
The way you think about your daily tasks and job also affects your job satisfaction level. Your perception about your work has an important role to play. It is not always possible to take it to be positive as it is different from building relationships. Your end goal should be looking for more meaning in your job.
Flexible Schedules
Work-life balance is essential when it comes to job satisfaction. And, it is essential to fulfil all the responsibilities both in the personal and professional front. Flexible schedule arrangement can help you attend to other things in your lives like family. Many people resign due to work overload and due to lack of work-life balance. Things like working from home can also be helpful. Look for these factors when looking for a job.
Long-term employees demonstrate dependability to employers, leading to an increased chance of internal promotion and other benefits. Learning about the positive aspects of remaining with one employer for several years can help you when considering your career path.
Tenured employment provides many benefits to both the employee and the organization. Here are some of the most common reasons and benefits of being a long term prospective employee:
Stronger expertise and knowledge
Employees who have been with a company for several years have developed specific skills and extensive knowledge of how the company works and the way things are done. They have been there for the various changes that have occurred and have a deep understanding of the company’s policies and processes for doing things, which leads to an increase in productivity and fewer errors.
Mentorship opportunities
Tenured employees can use their knowledge to train and mentor other employees. They can help guide employees who may be less experienced by offering their knowledge and provide training and support to new hires.
Job security and stability
Employees with tenure have some measure of job security because there is less of a need for hiring and training new employees. Tenured employees tend to feel more stable in their careers and positions, resulting in increased motivation, productivity and commitment to the organization.
Organic Growth within a company is always preferred and adds value to your CV. This shows your commitment and Will to work in long term prospective while being loyal to an organisation.
Attract and retain talent
Organizations with a high number of tenured employees can attract talent and encourage employee retention. High employee turnover rates can make existing employees and candidates looking for a new job feel uncertain. However, when employees stay with a company for many years, that company can be viewed as having a secure work environment, which may be attractive to candidates who are looking for stability.
Do You Have Any Questions?
As the employment market improves and candidates have more options, hiring the right person for the job has become increasingly difficult. After you have written a great job advert and shortlisted the applicants, schedule the formal interviews to get the best talent onboard.
The key to conducting a perfect job interview is in the preparation and approach. The few steps listed below will ensure both for best results.
Basics
Mobile to kept on silent or if expecting an urgent call then try to keep it in vibration mode. Avoid picking up calls or replying to messages in between the interview. Make the candidate comfortable by offering a glass of water.
Focus more on candidate qualities and try to figure out if he/she would fit into the requirement of your organisation or not. Conduct the entire interview in a simple and structured manner.
1: Develop job-related questions by talking to employees about their current role
.What are the candidate’s present responsibilities?
.What is the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs) required for their growth?
.Which of the above are you willing to train in a new employee?
2: Ask the right types of questions by sticking to behavioural and situational interview questions
For a situational interview question (“What would you do in…”), you can describe a major job requirement that the candidate will be doing on the job. And for a behavioural interview question (“Tell me about a time when you…”), ask the candidate how they handled situations that are likely to happen in the role you’re hiring for.
3: Include a job-related test
One of the best ways to predict a candidate’s future on-the-job performance is to give candidates a test of their on-the-job performance. For roles such as sales, job-related tests tend to be straightforward: get candidates to write you a mock cold prospecting email or conduct a mock sales call about your product or service.
4: Conduct Structured Interview
To conduct an interview that’s structured it is essential to have a template. Ask all the candidates the same questions, in the same order. If you don’t follow a structure, and instead conduct slightly different interviews for each candidate, you won’t be able to compare across candidates in a fair and objective way.
5: Create an interview scorecard using a rating scale
Create a simple rating scale (e.g., 1 = Bad, 2 = Average, 3 = Good, 4 = Great) and use it to rate your candidate’s answers during the interview. Record or take a few notes about candidate’s answers to justify the ratings you give. Using a rating scale ensures you can use candidate’s overall scores to compare them with each other instead of relying on gut instinct and first impressions.
Remember: our gut instincts can be very unreliable especially when it comes to candidates who are often masters at selling themselves. Use the data to hire instead.
6: All things being equal, hire the candidate with the highest interview score
Congratulations on your fantastic new hire!
By creating standardized policies for the workplace, your organization can grow as an inclusive work environment, and join the ranks of the high-growth companies who are adapting hybrid work models and flexible workplace policies. To make the new policy a success to can use the below tips.
- Determine how employees will be expected to work and communicate at your organization
While employees across many roles can work effectively outside the office, not all roles are best-suited for a fully remote work model. An important aspect of your workplace policies should be equality and inclusivity whenever possible. Your policy and processes should ensure everyone can feasibly work from home when necessary, no matter their role as a means of future-proofing your workplace.
- Provide the right tools for successful and secure work
When working away from the office, your employees need the right tools to work securely and productively. For many employees, a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection might not be enough. Remote or hybrid employees need technology that makes them feel engaged and part of the team
- Establish clear rules about working from home
Clearly communicate and document what’s expected when employees work remotely. Though most employees report being more productive working remotely, distractions abound when outside of the office. Set policies about when employees are expected to be available online, or if they can operate on a flexible schedule that’s built around their personal lives – for example, to accommodate a doctor’s appointment or child care.
- Plan time for collaborating and socializing
Make sure your policy has guidelines for building in time for teams to be together outside for impromptu conversation and team-building. No matter what technologies you have at your disposal, human beings crave face-to-face connections. In your policy, build-in time every month, quarter, or year when you can virtually gather all team members for brainstorming, planning, and having fun.
- Clearly outline the legal rights that remote workers have
Remote and hybrid workers are entitled to the same legal protections that in-office workers have. It’s important to support employees that are remote just as you would in-office workers. This means clearly discussing the training, benefits, and promotions that are available to them. If you don’t provide remote or hybrid workers with the same level of assistance as in-office workers, it could result in discrimination or disability-related workplace violations.
- Discuss compensation and benefits that employees will receive
Perks can be specific to your company but should list anything that employees earn. Some companies give a stipend for equipment needed for work such as computer monitors or desk equipment. Others provide reimbursement for employees to use on office-related costs such as electricity.
Hybrid and flexible work is a beneficial aspect of the modern workplace. Enabling alternate work models shows your employees you care about their work-life balance and trust them to do what’s best for their productivity. By establishing a clear policy about remote, flexible and hybrid work, you ensure both your employees and your business reap the rewards.
With new hybrid work policies, it is crucial now more than ever. It is a strategic business objective because engaged employees lead to long-term employee retention, higher levels of productivity, and improved quality of work.
Often, companies miss the core issues related to employee engagement because executives assume engagement is directly linked to salary and compensation. For engaged employees who are happy and completely committed to their work, it’s more than just a pay check – it is the dedication towards their employers and role that makes them passionate about their work, which is often reflected in their outcomes.
Employee engagement can directly impact the below listed factors , which are important to run a good organisation.
- Clear Communication
- Building a strong Team
- Employee trust in the company’s leadership
- Employee relationships with the management teams/supervisors, and
- Employee pride in being a part of the company.
Finally, if you want to create effective engagement, you need to show the value of the employee experience. The employee experience affects everything from employee engagement and productivity to the their experience. By getting a feedback from your employees you can get the proof that the results will be worth the investment.
If you want your employees to work for a long tenure, and be happy while doing so, then the importance of work-life balance cannot be overstated.
Work-life balance is the act of separating one’s work life from their personal life in such a way that neither encroaches on the other. It’s important to make it clear to employees that your organization understands the importance of work-life balance. Encourage employees to follow work-life balance best practices, and offer support and guidance if they need it. At the end of the day, an optimal work-life balance for your employees and you will be beneficial to your organization as a whole.
Below are some ways in which you can help your employee maintain a healthy and balanced life
Flexible work hours
Let employees work when it’s best for them (within reason, of course) instead of a hard 9-5.
Ability to work from home
If it’s a job or task that can be done from home, schedule times where the employee can do so.
Personal time off
Allow employees to take personal time when they deem it necessary. Of course, this would need to be monitored so it isn’t abused and it doesn’t affect the productivity of the workplace, but even knowing they are able to take it if needed can be a big positive.
Have priorities straight
If you want to attract good employees, and keep them, you can demonstrate your acknowledgement of the importance of work-life balance while setting achievable targets and goals.
Competitive compensation
One of the biggest stressors for employees is money. This helps them achieve their personal goals and meet the expectations and responsibilities of those around them.
Comfortable office conditions
If the employee is happy at work, they will be more productive and be looking forward to engaging more positively.
Opportunities for professional growth and social connections
If employees are able to grow in their job, and meet new people that have similar interests, they won’t feel stuck and will continue to be happy at work. They increase their social circle by engaging in meaning conversations necessary for their personal growth.
Since everyone is unique, however, belonging to a certain generation doesn’t automatically define one’s opinions on the importance of work-life balance. Employers should be as flexible as they can be in order to accommodate as many people as possible – after all, work-life balance isn’t just about the number of hours worked in the office. It’s also about creating a healthy, happy work environment in order to improve the overall work experience.
A business is only as good as its people. With staff retention, productivity and engagement now ranking as the most topical concerns for modern-day business, identifying ways to improve and build job satisfaction for employees has become many company’s agenda to ensure continued success.
There is little doubt that great employees are an organization’s number one resource. Keeping workers happy helps strengthen a company in many ways, including:
Lower Turnover
Turnover can be one of the highest costs attributed to a business. Retaining workers helps create a better environment and makes it easier to recruit quality talent and save money. The bottom line: satisfied employees are typically much less likely to leave.
Higher Productivity
Irrespective of job title and pay grade, employees who report high job satisfaction tend to achieve higher productivity.
Increased Profits
Keeping employees safe and satisfied can lead to higher sales, lower costs and a stronger motivation to achieve targets and goals.
Loyalty
When employees feel the company has their best interests at heart, they often support its mission and work hard to help achieve its objectives. They may be more likely to tell their friends about their content, which helps spread goodwill.
When a company develops ways to deliver on respect, trust, safe work environment, good pay and opportunities to advance, it can easily satisfy employees – and help build a stronger, more stable, and profitable future.
The best strategy to grow any business is to retain their most productive employee. Companies highly value employee retention because it costs time and money to replace employees, especially productive ones. Hence, retaining the top employees should be a priority.
Listed below are some tools to help you keep your very best talents and build the most efficient work force:
Review Performance and Compensations regularly
A well-compensated and engaging culture will make employees more likely to stay in their jobs long term. One of the most obvious ways to retain your top workers is to offer better-than-average bonus and excellent benefits. This is help your business face less disruption that comes from new hires having to learn new duties.
Share Recognitions and Appreciation
Employee appreciation is an important part of the retention strategy. It is crucial to acknowledge the top performances regularly. This can include publicly recognizing employees on their achievements, celebrating success, giving bonuses, and providing positive reinforcement.
Provide growth opportunities
Track employee productivity and identify who stands out to help set a clear path of advancement in their career and ongoing role. Invest in the high performing employees by providing them new opportunities and encourage them to learn new skills.
Wellness Offerings
Keeping employees fit is good business. Help employees feel supported by prioritising their wellbeing. Stress management programs, retirement planning services and reimbursement for fitness classes are some examples of what your business might consider providing to employees.
Work-Life Balance
A healthy work life balance is essential to job satisfaction. Encourage employees to set boundaries and utilise their vacation time. And if extra hours are necessary to wrap up a project, consider giving them extra time off to compensate.
Flexible work arrangements
Many businesses have prepared new policy to accommodate flexible working options. A compressed work week, flexi time, partial telecommuting options can help relieve stress of your team and boost employee retention.
Communication
Employee feedback and a good workplace communication can give you direct ideas, questions and concerns related to the challenges faced by your business. Proactively connecting with each team member on a regular basis can help ensure constructive and positive communication and help employees voice their concerns freely.
Many studies have shown, that the implementing of the above strategies in organisations have resulted in increased retention and stronger performance.