Job interviews are easier for the interviewer or the interviewee if you plan and prepare and use proper interviewing techniques. On this page are job interview questions and purpose of each interview question, because there is a purpose behind each and everything that we do and similarly there should be a purpose behind each and every question that we ask in interview. Good job interviews processes and methods increase the quality of people in an organization. Poor job interviews methods result in poor selection, which undermines organizational capabilities, wastes management time, and increases staff turnover.
1). Introduce yourself. Or tell us about your self. Or Can I know about your professional and personal self?
Purpose: Just to create friendly and conducive environment to start the interview. The best thing a person can do is to discuss about himself or herself. Secondly, it is to judge, what according to the candidate is relevant or irrelevant information. Will also show whether applicant has self-awareness - a critical skill that not everyone possesses. Will also show if applicant can think and present a complex case clearly and to the point. Also shows confidence and security levels, and ‘grown-up ness’.
2). What do you want to be doing in 2/5/10 years time?Or:Where do you want to be in 2/5/10 years time?
Purpose: This is a common question, and it commonly trips people up into making over-ambitious claims about their future potential and worth. It highlights feelings of delusion, and a need for security if they exist.The question encourages the interviewee to think and express their plans and aspirations, future direction, needs and wishes. Some people find it more difficult to answer than others, depending on their personality.Some people are able to plan and see clear steps along the way, which would be more commonly exhibited by people whose work involves this approach.Job roles, which require a higher level of adaptability and flexibility, are unlikely to attract candidates who are meticulous planners.The question is a powerful one because it prompts the interviewee to think and visualize about themselves and how they expect and want to change.
3). Give an example of when you had to settle a dispute between two individuals.
Purpose: The interviewer is testing the interviewee’s experience and ability to diffuse conflict, and also to step back and take an objective view, rather than getting involved and taking sides, which is the natural temptation. Objectivity and facilitation are important skills of a good manager, and this question will identify whether the interviewee possesses them. This question will also put pressure on the interviewee’s ability to manage people, because it provides a tricky people-management scenario.
4). What is your ideal job?
Purpose: This is a good question, and the answer would almost always trigger a more specific follow-up question, asking ‘why?’, and then probing the reasons for the choice. From the interviewer’s standpoint, the question is open and vague, which for certain purposes (see the next Para re traps) is a good thing. If the question is intended to elicit meaningful information about the interviewee’s career plans, then some timescale should be attached (i.e. ‘what would be your ideal job in 3/5/10 years time?’) The question exposes interviewees who seek only personal gratification (’outputs’) from a role (money, status, esteem, excitement, glamour, security, etc) rather than seeking opportunities to make best possible use of their effort, skills and experience, in contributing to the performance/quality/results of the organization for which the role is performed (’inputs’). The question is a potential trap for people who are more concerned with what they get out of a job rather than what they put into it. Employers do not really want to recruit gratification-orientated people. These people are generally not self-starting nor self-motivating. The question also gives indications as to how realistically the interviewee sees himself or herself. Some people visualize highly fanciful and unrealistic jobs, which is a warning sign to a potential employer. Others visualize jobs that are clearly remote from the job being applied for, which indicates that some falsification or delusion is present.
5). Why do you want this job?
Purpose: Opportunity to sell yourself and show you understands what they’re looking for in the role. Make sure you hit both of these hot buttons.
6) What did you achieve in your last job?
Purpose: Shows whether any achievements have been made, and what values are placed on work. Shows motive - whether process, results, accuracy, security, social, etc. Shows understanding of cause and effect, pro-active vs. passive.
7). How would you approach this job? How would you do it?
Purpose: Shows if you’ve thought about what job requires and entails. Role and situation needs to have been explained well to enable a good response. Exposes people who can’t actually do the job.
8). What are your strengths?
Purpose: Shows whether candidate has self-awareness, and can identify what strengths are relevant to role. Shows if candidate has thought and planned. A glaring omission if not planned as this is such an obvious question that everyone should be prepared for.
9). What are your weaknesses?
Purpose: A trap for the unsuspecting or naive. Will show up those who’ve not prepared, as this is another obvious question to expect. Will also prompt follow-up questions probing what the candidate is doing to improve the weakness, which is worth preparing for also.
10) What would your references say about you?
Purpose: Potential trap to draw out weaknesses - don’t fall for it.
11). How do you handle tension/stress?
Purpose: Exposes people who can’t deal with pressure or don’t recognize that lifestyle issues are important for good working. Exposes the misguided macho approach that stress can be good.
12). What was the last book you read and how did it affect you?
Purpose: Will provide another perspective of the interviewee’s personality that may not otherwise surface. Opportunity to demonstrate skills, aptitudes, special interests, self-development, analytical ability, self-awareness. May expose feelings or issues that can be probed further.
13). What does/did your father does for a living?
Purpose: Exposes the over-protective and insecure. Can expose emotional hang-ups or triggers if any exist, which can then be probed further.
14). Tell me about a big challenge or difficulty you’ve faced; how did you deal with it?
Purpose: Can expose emotional raw nerves or sensitivities. Opportunity to show proof of being able to achieve results in the face of difficulty. Is this person actually experienced are they just saying they are? (Expert Credited - Trust one who has proved it)
15). Tell me about something recently that really annoyed you.
Purpose: Exposes hang-ups and style of management and communication. Exposes anyone who believes it’s okay or even good to get cross with other people.
16). Give me some examples of how you have adapted your own communicating style to deal with different people and situations.
Purpose: Exposes single-style non-adaptive communicators, who don’t understand or adapt to different people and situations.
17). Can we check your references?
Purpose: Exposes people who are not comfortable about having their references checked, in which case probe. Exposes people who’ve not had the foresight to organize an important controllable aspect of their job search, which is a bad sign.
18). What type of people do you get on with most/least? Exposes hang-ups and prejudices. May prompt issues to probe, in, which ask why.
Purpose: Excellent answer - now can you give me an example that wasn’t so good? Will knock a lot of people off guard, and expose any tendencies to confront or argue.
19). Give me an example of when you’ve produced some poor work and how you’ve dealt with it.
Purpose: A trap - don’t fall in it.
20). What do you find difficult in work/life/relationships (etc)?
Purpose: Another trap to expose weaknesses, and an opportunity to show strengths instead if played properly.
21). How do you plan and organize your work?
Purpose: A great opportunity to shine and show management potential. Planning and organizing is one of the keys to good work at any level so it’s essential to acknowledge this. Exposes unreliable people who take pride in flying by the seat of their pants.
22). How much are you earning? /do you want to earn?
Purpose: Exposes unrealistic people. An opportunity to demonstrate you understands the basic principle that everyone needs to justify his or her cost. Extra pay should be based on extra performance or productivity.
23). How many hours a week do you work/prefer to work?
Purpose: Exposes the clock-watchers and those who attach some misplaced macho pride in burning the candle at both ends. Look for a sense of balance, with flexibility to go beyond the call of duty on occasions when really required.
24). Do you make mistakes?
Purpose: Anyone who says they don’t make mistakes either isn’t telling the truth, or never does anything at all. Whatever, a ‘no’ here is a big warning signal?
25). (Follow above question with) - Can you share your mistakes with others?
Purpose: Shows whether the person can take responsibility and guidance. A mature, positive approach to learning from mistakes is a great characteristic.
26).How to do measure your own effectiveness?
Purpose: Exposes people who are not results orientated - more concerned with process, relationships, airy-fairy intangibles.
27). How do you like to be managed /not like to be managed?
Purpose: Indicates ability to cooperate and manage upwards, also how management attention you’ll need. Exposes potential awkwardness. Only the most experienced and capable managers will be seeking difficult dominant types, and only then for certain roles requiring a high level of independence and initiative.
28). What personal goals do you have and how are you going about achieving them?
Purpose: Exposes those with little or no initiative. People who don’t plan or take steps to achieve their own personal progress will not be pro-active at work either. People who don’t think and plan how to progress will tend to be reactive and passive, which is fine if the role calls for no more, but roles increasingly call for planning and action rather than waiting for instructions.
29). How do you balance work and family/social commitments?
Purpose: Can expose those with outside interests that may prevail over work commitments (keen sports-people, etc., who cannot put work first.) Indicates whether the interviewee has balanced approach to life. Obsession with work to the exclusion of most else is not generally a good sign.
30). Why should we appoint you?
Purpose: Pressure question - opportunity for interviewee to clearly and confidently stake their claim. Look again for the interviewee to state relevant strengths in behavior, experience and skills. Look also for good eye-contact when pledging hard work, loyalty, determination, etc.
31). What can you do for us that other people cannot?
Purpose: Pressure question, and one that enables the stars to shine. Look for awareness in the interviewee that they know what their relevant, even special, strengths are, and can link them to benefits that they would bring to the role.
32). What makes you mad?
Purpose: Exposes poor self-control or unreasonable aversions, fears, and insecurities. Exposes lack of tolerance and emotional triggers. Clever interviewers may infer or encourage a feeling in the way they ask the question that it’s okay to get mad. Don’t fall for it.
33). What do you think of your last boss/employer?
Purpose: Exposes back-biting, bitterness, grudges, inability to handle relationships. Exposes people who can’t accept the company-line.
34) If you won a million on the lottery what would you do?
Purpose: Exposes the foolhardy, the irresponsible and the dreamers. Opportunity to demonstrate level-headedness, morality, work ethic, and intelligence to know that money doesn’t buy happiness.
Looking forward to your comments and feedback.
Have a great day and fantastic weekend.
Regards,
Sanjeev Sharma
E-mail: ss_himachali@yahoo.com; s070976@yahoo.co.in
Blog: http://sanjeevhimachali.blogspot.com/
You can see my HR and ITES-BPO related articles at www.bpoindia.org/research/
You can read my Motivation, Inspiration and Dreams related articles at http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sanjeev_Sharma
Many business owners find themselves in the position to confront employees about their Internet use. Non-work related activities including online games, Internet shopping, stock trading, Internet radio, streaming media and MP3 downloads represent the new temptations in the workplace.
When an employee connects to the Internet, your company is exposed to these four threats:
• Productivity Threats: Just 20 minutes of recreational surfing a day can cost a company with 30 employees over $1000 per week (At $25/hr per employee)
• Legal Threats: Employees can sue if you don’t provide a work environment free of gender and minority harassment. This means taking reasonable care to block offensive Internet content.
• Network Threats: An employee can crash your network just by logging into the wrong website. Other activity like recreational surfing and downloading MP3 files can divert valuable bandwidth from critical business needs.
• Security Threats: Viruses enter networks through a variety of sources, such as web-based email, Instant Messenger file transfer, email attachments or through other files directly downloaded from a website.
Companies of all sizes must effectively incorporate email, Instant Messages and web traffic logs into their overall records management strategy. Some companies must do this to comply with industry regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and HIPAA.
The first step is to choose the types of Internet content that will not be allowed in the workplace. Keep in mind that not all employees will have the same privileges, so it is important the network management solution you choose provides a flexible configuration to suit your needs.
There are two basic types of Internet monitoring solutions: Gateway and desktop solutions. Gateway solutions are software or hardware that act as checkpoint for all Internet traffic on the network. Desktop solutions are installed on the local machine to enforce the Internet policies before the request leaves the machine. Desktop solutions work well on smaller networks and gateway solutions work well on both.
The next step is to create an official company policy specifically for Internet use. It should include all Internet activities and not just those you wish to manage. Keep in mind the document cannot account for every possible scenario on the Internet, so it is important to use broad terms with specific examples. For example, instead of stating “Political opinions are not to be posted on newsgroups,” you may wish to use “Messages originating from the company network or other company-owned assets may not contain political opinions.” The second clause is much stronger because it doesn’t specify a message type or delivery system. If you have liability insurance, then be sure to get their approval on all documents. In some cases they will have additional provisions that directly relate to your industry.
The most difficult step will be implementing the new policies. In most cases, some or all users will experience a reduction in Internet privileges. Prepare for a temporary increase in support requests as some users will be prevented from accessing some work-related content. Internet policy configuration is an on-going process that must be routinely maintained.
Soon the complaints from users will cease and production will return back to normal. It is important to keep your filtering software updated and to maintain a history of Internet activity. If the time comes when you must confront an employee about their Internet use, you will have proof of their Internet activity and a detailed comparison to their peers. That is a much stronger case than saying “I’ve seen you 10 times looking at ….”
Frank Hughes
Vice President of Technical Services
SecureMyCompany, Inc.
www.securemycompany.com
Bio: Frank Hughes is the Vice President of Technical Solutions at SecureMyCompany, Inc. Frank Hughes has over 14 years experience in the IT industry with the last 10 years serving as the Senior Solutions Consultant for BellSolutions.net. Mr. Hughes holds several industry certifications from Microsoft, Dell, Cisco, Sonicwall, and more.
Volunteering is one of the most rewarding things you will do. You will receive as much for giving your time as the ones that benefit from your hard work. Volunteering will also be a frustrating experience if you do not consider the answers to a few questions before you commit your time and energy. One of these questions is “Do you know what your true obligation will be?”
It has been my experience that the one that will be doing the volunteer work must estimate the amount of time required. In almost every situation where I have considered a volunteer position in the past, I was told it would take considerably less time than what I felt was needed to do a quality job.
They may be concerned that you will be scared off if you knew how many hours it would really take. Maybe they don’t have the skills required to assess the amount of time it would actually take. It may also be that they are stating what someone else told them and the estimate was not based on the current tasks and circumstances.
Regardless of what you are told about the amount of time it will take and the skills that will be required, be sure you learn enough about the expectations of the job to make your own informed decision. By doing this, you will know if you will be able to give your volunteering responsibilities the attention they deserve while also considering the other important priorities in your life. If you believe the commitment will be considerably more than you can bear, find another volunteer opportunity that will be a better match for you. Once you participate in positive volunteer experiences over time, you will find ways to dedicate more time to volunteer.
To learn about 8 additional questions you should ask before volunteering, sign up for the free Everyday Giving ezine at www.everydaygiving.com. You will then receive our informative article “9 Questions to Consider Before Volunteering.”
This article is for you if you’re a behind-the-scenes kind of person - the admin assistant who gets the presentation ready for the guys in marketing but doesn’t get to go to the meeting; the PR pro who writes all their speeches and answers all the complaint letters for the president or CEO; the at-home mother who makes sure the concert pianist practices; the deputy chief whose job description is doing all the things the chief doesn’t like to do or can’t do; or the paralegal who prepares all the pleadings, knows all the codes, and does all the licking and stamping.
Temistocle Solear, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Henri Meilhac, Jules Barbier, Michael Carre, Guiseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica, Renato Semoni, and Nicola Haym all know what this is like.
Who on earth are these people??
Well even if you’re not an opera fan, I bet you’ve heard of the composers Verdi, Bizet, Mozart, Strauss, Gounod, Handel, Donizetti and Puccini. And I’m sure you’ve heard of some of their operas - Aida, Carmen, Cosi fan Tutte, Madame Butterfly, Faust, and Don Giovanni, for instance.
Did you know that these composers wrote the music for their operas but not the lyrics? Solear, Ghislanzoni and the other individuals in the list are what’s called “librettists.” It is they who wrote the words to the music that tell the story, without which you would be listening to a symphony, not an opera. And we never hear their names!
They’re called “librettists” because the words to the songs, which basically comprise the script of the opera, is called a “libretto.” It’s Italian for little book.
Like Gilbert and Sullivan, the pairs worked together. The inimitable Richard Wagner was the only one to compose all his operas entirely by himself, creating both music and lyrics, which may account for why they are so powerful, so “Wagnerian.”
This is quite a feat because composing music and writing words require different parts of the brain.
Sometimes the composer and librettist met in person, while other times the work was done by correspondence. Strauss worked exclusively with one librettist, after writing his own lyrics for his first opera and finding out he wasn’t good at it, but most other composers switched around, finding the right librettist for the job, or one who was available. It’s not unlike the way a lot of us work these days - long distance and by contract.
Again, grasp the significance of the work these unsung heroes did. The words are so integral to the opera they are never translated. Subtitles run across the big screen on stage, or the little screen on the chair in front of yours at the opera. We read them in our native tongue while they are sung on stage in the original German, Italian, or French. (For aficionados, anyway. Beginners may enjoy translations, such as The Chandos Opera In English series, which translates the lyrics into English.)
What an incredible collaboration an opera is. It takes costume designers as well, because an opera is as much visual as it is auditory. The Grand Opera is known for its elaborate sets and costumes. In “Turandot,” when the mob turns surly and the moon appears, she is personified and costumed in a magnificence dominated the stage for what seems like half an hour, that will keep you transfigured.
One opera I hope to see one day is Verdi’s “Aida,” excuse me, Verdi and Ghislanzoni’s “Aida” at the Bath of Caracalla in Rome, where the Triumphal March of Rhadames features live elephants and horses on stage. Now that’s entertainment!
What we don’t see at an opera is the orchestra, perhaps the most important element of all. They’re listed in the program, of course, and given their bows at the curtain calls, but we only hear them, seated down below in the orchestra pit as they are.
Many elements go together to produce the opera we see that bears the name of one man only. Take “Turandot” for instance. It was librettist Semoni who gave Puccini the suggestion for the opera in the first place, telling about “Turandotte,” a play written by Gozzi, based on a fable from the Arabian Nights.
Puccini had been searching for two years for a suitable plot for an opera, and at the age of 61 began “Turandot,” instructing his librettists, Adami and Semoni to “pour great pathos into the drama.” Puccini was known, incidentally for being extremely demanding, requiring endless rewrites from his librettists.
From his point of view however, the librettists were difficult. We can read his letters begging them to do their work. He wrote frantically to Simoni, in charge of Act III, “The third! The third! The third!”
At one point, he confessed to a friend “Music disgusts me…”, as he evidently had periods of self-doubt and composer’s block. Toscanini paid him a visit and gave him the encouragement to keep going. Every team has their Toscanini; or needs one.
Puccini was justified in urging completion of the opera as he died before the team had completed the third act. The collaboration continued on, as Toscanini found a composer named Franco Alfano, whose name is rarely mentioned, to complete it. The world premier took place on April 25th, 1926, the work of one guiding genius and many hands, hearts and minds.
It isn’t that teamwork and collaboration is new, it’s that it’s newly being recognized. Most of us realize we couldn’t accomplish anything alone, while those behind the scenes who work long and willing hours, long for some recognition. Appreciation, after all, is what tops the surveys when employees talk about what they want at their job, and it’s so consistently there, it’s a wonder it isn’t heeded more.
Richard Montuori, town manager of Bellica, Massachusetts, knows and appreciates his team. “I love [my] job,” he said a newspaper interview. “Every day is different and presents new challenges. Finances are a daily and yearly challenge, but no one person ever accomplishes anything alone. We have excellent department heads and town boards that help keep the town moving in the right direction.”
Isn’t it nice to hear someone publicly acclaim the team that makes him shine? I hope your boss or manager does this for you, and that if you’re the boss or manager, you appreciate and acknowledge - and sing - the unsung heroes in your midst.
But how do you praise everyone? There are always so many.
Here’s a leadership trick I learned from a pro. At the culmination of an anniversary banquet, engineered by many, and funded by many more, the director of the benefited-agency rose and thanked “everyone who helped make it possible to raise the $50,000.” Then he added, looking around the room, “And I’d especially like to thank someone whose name I won’t mention, but they will know who I mean.”
I thought it was me! So did a dozen other people, I’m sure, and that was what the director had in mind, he told me later when I asked him whom he had in mind, because his glance around the room was professionally ambivalent.
It works, and it’s always, always true.
©Susan Dunn, MA, THE EQ COACH. Offering coaching, Internet courses, and ebooks around emotional intelligence for your personal and professional success. EQ Alive! training and certifying EQ coaches. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for information about this fast, affordable, comprehensive, no-residency program. Email for free ezine.
What Matters Most to You
“Why can’t we buy the Plain Dealer (our local daily)? ” asked my wife with genuine curiosity.
That seems like a good idea but we don’t have the time to spend reading it everyday, dear. “Well, shouldn’t we be making the time to read it then” replied my wife and that segways us to the core of an issue that plagues many people called the “I don’t have enough time” syndrome.
While everyone in this planet has only 24 hours in their day, some seem to accomplish more than the others. Some seem to be more content and fulfilled with their daily activities than the others. What is their secret?
The key is prioritization of the activities. We all have more things to do than we have the time for. However, if you look closely at each one of them, you will find that accomplishing some will mean more to you or will have the highest impact or fulfillment in your life than others. Lots of them are mundane activities like paying the bills, cleaning the dishes (although done mindfully, it can be a very meditative experience as it is for Dr. Weil, he once mentioned) and so on.
But there are time sucker activities that we mistake for “have-to-done” activities simply because we are habituated to them. Like watching television, reading a newspaper (I’m not saying reading is bad, more on this later), playing a video-game, gossiping, window shopping, internet surfing and so on.
Rather than stare at the mindless TV shows or worse a re-run of them, taking the time to exercise for 30 minutes, playing or learning to play a new game like tennis or softball or bowling, taking the pet out to the park, reading/talking to your child, having some meaningful family time every day, taking the time to solve a crossword puzzle, engaging in your hobby activity and if you don’t have one, find one you would love to do (it’s never too late - you might end up living till 100, ya know ;-)), taking a stroll in the nature, talking to your long distance friends and family, volunteering for a cause that matters to you, learning some healthy, nutritious recipes, taking a class at a local college on something you like to learn new or to improve existing skill (learning a language is fun for some, I recently came across a language called ‘Esperanto’ - it is a constructed language that is only a 100 some years old and is supposedly very easy to learn and has a nice network of people around the world and you can even stay with them for free when you visit their country. Lovely. Check it out.), relaxing your body and mind by learning techniques like yoga or tai-chi, or just simply not engaging in anything and be in silence for 30 minutes and you know where I am going with this, any such activity will nourish your body, mind and soul and help you to be true to yourSelf.
May I also remind you that not all of the above mentioned tasks are meaningful and fulfilling to all of us, each of us have to decide for ourselves and only we can know which ones are meaningful in our lives.
The more “meaningful-to-you” activities you engage in, the more satisfying your life will be and the lesser you will care about not getting the “other” tasks done.
Planning Ahead
The secret is in knowing what the “What matters most to me” tasks are and then prioritizing/balancing them with your mundane tasks. This can only be accomplished if you plan your tasks ahead as opposed to doing things on the spur of the moment.
Unless you make it clear to yourself what those “high value” tasks are beforehand, you will be swayed by those trivial tasks throughout the day and your life and leave you wondering at 60 “Gosh, I wish I spent more time with my kids or learnt to do or tried my hand at “.
Now you may wonder, wouldn’t I know when I come across these trivial tasks and avoid them. Well, you know the answer to that. If you don’t and are not sure, just jot down the activities that you did for the past week and check it out for yourself. Well, even if you catch yourself about to do an unimportant task and steer yourself away from it, where would you steer yourself to? That’s why sitting down and planning your activities ahead is critical.
“Miss a day. Miss a lot”, proclaims our local daily newspaper.
I am sure, I would miss a lot but the question is Does it matter? I can’t seem to flip through and come across one page (other than an Ad page) that is without negativity. I certainly don’t need that.
I better miss a lot.
-Hari Rajagopal
Hari Rajagopal is a software designer, creative thinker and a motivational writer, who blogs his observations and musings in life from a spiritual perspective. His blog can be found at: http://hariis.blogspot.com
What do you want to achieve?
Before you actually set up, decide what you want to achieve with your business. If you are already in business, review where you are going - are you clear about this?
Why not take some time out to think about and write down your goals for your business?
Write it down
Research shows that only 3% of people write down their goals, and on average these people earn 10 times those who don’t have goals. Plus research shows that people with up to date written goals are as much as 3100% more successful than people who do not have up to date written goals.
And make sure your business goals don’t conflict with things you want to do personally. When you are thinking about your goals, think about and write down your personal goals too. And if you are a multi owner business you will obviously need to discuss your responses with your colleagues, and agree on a shared set of goals for the business.
SMART goals
Make sure that the goals you write are SMART. What does this mean? It stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timed
Apply these five measures to each of your goals.
What does it mean to you in reality?
Once you have written down your goal as a SMART goal, think about what the effects would be if you didn’t achieve itl. What is the “pain” that you and those you love will experience if you don’t achieve your goal, ie ill health, poverty, unhappiness etc. (Why do this? Because recognising this pain is an enormous motivating force that will help you to work even harder to make sure you don’t fail!)
Then decide what you will gain when you succeed - ie wealth, health, happiness, a prosperous retirement etc. What will you see, hear and feel? And what else will your success allow you to achieve/do?
And finally write down the key things you will need in order to achieve your goal. For example, it could be new resources, contacts, skills, actions etc.
Repeat this process using a new sheet for every single goal you would like to achieve.
Prioritise
Next try and prioritise the goals you have written. Lay out all of your goals in front of you and decide which are the most important to you, which are less important and which (if any) are, on reflection, not important after all.
For each goal that is still important work out how you will achieve it, break it down in to smaller steps to make it easier to manage.
Plan in timescales to do each step, write them into your diary or planner. That way you make reaching your goals part of your daily activities.
Look at your where your time goes
Its worth having a look at how you spend your time at the moment, and comparing this to the way you would like your life to happen. Then you can fit your goals into this as well.
To do this, look at the personal goals you set out and list out the broad areas of your life that are important to you eg family, friends, business, health, fitness, money etc
Make a note of the percentage of your waking time that you would like to spend in each of these areas in an ideal world (make sure that the column adds up to 100%)
Estimate approximately the percentage of your waking time you think you are actually spending in each area at the moment, - just a rough and ready approximation here, don’t waste time trying to get pinpoint accuracy… the aim is just to get a broad feel
Then calculate the gap between the two
Looking at the gaps does it suggest that you need to make changes in order to achieve your goals? If it does, what changes are you going to make?
Next steps
Think carefully about everything you have just done and thought about. What are the implications for what you are doing in your business and your life - and what you should be doing?
Transfer the things you should be doing to an action planner. Keep this somewhere where you won’t lose sight of it, so that you are reminded on a daily basis about what you want to achieve.
If you think it would help contact an advisor, mentor or coach to discuss what else you can do to achieve your goals. Sometimes it helps to go through the whole exercise with a third party, who can be more objective and help you to focus on the right things.
Review your action planner. Prioritise it. And start taking action!
And remember, however good your ideas and intentions are… they will come to absolutely nothing unless they are turned into action.
So focus on taking ACTION. And start taking it today.
_______________
Julia McDaid is a business coach and author, specialising in helping business start ups. . For more information on these issues or on coaching for new business owners, see http://www.startupright.co.uk or enrol on Julia’s unique Start Up 101 ecourse, where you can go into each subject in a lot more depth.
Julia also publishes a free ezine ‘Secrets of the Successful Entrepreneur’ - to sign up just send an email to ezine@startupright.co.uk
When we were talking the other day we started to think about our heroes when we were young. After we had discussed the usual film star and sports stars that we idolised I remembered Derek. Derek was a couple of years ahead of me in school and he had everything; he always got straight ‘A’s’ and was formidable on the football field as well as one of the fastest over 100 metres. What’s more he didn’t appear to work at it. When the rest of us were ’slaving’ away at our homework or sweating buckets trying to impress on the football field or athletics track he just turned up and got on with it. A natural, was how one of our teachers described him.
Natural or hero, Derek caused me and others a lot of pain. His skills and our hero worship caused us to begin the ‘beating yourself up’ process. You know the; ‘I’m not good enough’. ‘If only I could do that’.’ I couldn’t possibly do that’. The self defeating traits of inadequacy, insecurity and worthlessness and constant comparison with others all started here. With Derek, we started the comparison programme.
Comparison is just another name for subservience. When you compare yourself to someone you are really accepting that you are impressed by them, you want them to influence your life and are willingly bowing down to their perceived skills and abilities. The problem with subservience is that you can never be free. It takes away all your happiness and power. You end up confused and wilting like a flower.
The fact is comparing yourself with others not only stops you from being successful, it’s destructive. As, Elizabeth Fisher an American author, stated;
‘comparison is a death knell to sibling harmony’.
Suggesting that the minute you compare yourself with anybody the relationship is always going to be powerless. Because you are now in a subservient relationship.
The truth is that only prices, products and stores can be compared. Not people. You can compare key data any product, price or service. So when you compare yourself with others are you a product, price or service?
Remember those essays from school and university where you were always asked to compare and contrast something with the aim of showing the similarities and differences of an argument etc. But how do you do this with people? What is being compared or contrasted? How are people similar? Height, weight, age, the clothes they wear, walk, where they live, the cars they drive, their salary, their achievements, their views ?
Do you compare yourself with others?
Who do you compare yourself with?
What are the attributes you compare?
Are you comparing like with like?
You can compare males and females and they way they perform tasks, parents against children, different age groups. You can compare how your opinions are similar or different. But the best you can get is that you are mostly similar or mostly different. What about jealousy? How do you measure that?
You can compare products with different versions. But people? How do you compare yourself with your parents or grandparents? You could be like Shakespeare and compare yourself against nature i.e. beauty with day and night. But not compare one person against another.
Comparing yourself with others is like putting yourself in a prison. A prison which can only bring pain. A prison that stops you from experiencing your true talents. No one puts you in this prison, you do it all by yourself. You simply learn, as I did, not to accept yourself and reject who you really are in favour for what you perceive another person has. In other words you give yourself a hard time and delay your own growth because you thought the other person was better than you.
Trust yourself, you have all the skills you need to succeed. All you need is a change of process.
Stop judging yourself. Instead of comparing yourself with others, subverting your own power and constantly under performing; focus on your potential. What you want to be.
Meditate on where you want to be.
Imagine yourself achieving your potential. What does it look like, what does it feel like.
Surround yourself with images and artefacts depicting the future you and gradually, you will become what you always wanted to be.
The more you believe in your capabilities the more your behaviour will change. Access the hidden skills you have. Trust in yourself. You have far more skills and abilities than you are using at present.
If you have heroes then beware you could be taking away your skills, your individualism and making yourself subservient for the rest of your life. In which case who needs heroes?
About The Author
Graham and Julie
To see more of our work please go to: www.desktop-meditation.com
graham@desktop-meditation.com
