behavioural interviews- worth reading

The beginning of the interview is like any other, you exchange pleasantries, talk about your qualifications and experience and then the interviewer starts asking you those really weird questions. "Give me a specific example of a time when you could not handle a important deadline." You search the depths of your memory for an example which answers that question and turns that failure into a success as suggested by your favourite book on interview skills, but are unable to come up with a satisfactory answer. The problem is most books offer you advice on succeeding in traditional interviews and not behavioral interviews.

Behavioural interviews came into vogue when industrial psychologists realised that traditional interviews are often ineffective in analysing the candidate is suitability for a job. The questions asked are hypothetical and the candidates end up giving hypothetical answers. For example the interviewer may ask "How would you handle and irate customer?" You know what the interviewer is looking for and respond "I will take him to the side, politely ask him the details of the problem and do my best to help him out." While this answer may sound satisfactory, it is a hypothetical answer and may differ form what you may actually do in such a situation. The same question asked by an interviewer using behavioural interview techniques would be "Give me a specific example of an incident when you handled an irate customer. What was the problem and the end result". Your mind begins to race as you think of a response to this question.

Now imagine an interview which is full of these questions and worse, most of the questions are negative "Tell me about a time when your mistake cost your company dear in terms of time and money." You are in a fix trying to figure out a situation that doesn't sound too bad. If you try to dodge the question the interviewer probes further and asks an even more uncomfortable question in an effort to get to the truth.

The basic premise behind behavioral interviewing is that your past is the best predictor of the future. In essence, if you ask behavioral-oriented questions, you're no longer asking questions that are hypothetical, but are now asking questions that must be answered based upon fact. The interviewer determines the capabilities and traits (often referred to as probes) that are essential for success in a position. Probes include: Assertiveness, Clarification, Commitment to Task, Dealing with Ambiguity, Decision Making, Interaction, Leadership, Management Skills, Communication Skills, Organizational Skills, Problem Solving, Team Building and others. Each probe lists various questions that are designed to determine whether the candidate has the ability or not based on specific past experiences.

With a behavioral question, the interviewer is looking for results and not just a list of responsibilities and activities. The interviewer gets to listen to things like names, dates, places, the outcome and especially what the individual's role was in achieving that outcome. Candidates can prepare for behavioral interviews by identifying specific examples for each of the above probes. Most staffing representatives consider the probe associated with interaction, particularly in the office environment to be very important. The relationships people have and how they get along with each other is of particular significance.

When preparing, identify an unsuccessful example for each probe because you will probably be asked to give an example of a time when things didn't work out as planned. One way to end an answer to a negative probe is to say something like "the mistake caused me to delay the project, but it helped me to develop a project tracking system which would minimize the chance of that happening again." Remember, mistakes are what help us learn. Whatever you do, don't tell the interviewer that you really can't think of any mistakes that you made.

More and more companies are adopting behavioral interviews because they are very effective in identifying the best candidate for the opening. An understanding behavioral interview is the key to preparing for one. Preparing for Behavioral interviews can significantly help you in traditional interviews because you can give the traditional interviewer a specific answer to a theoretical question. Example: "How would you address an irate customer?" You: "I can give you a specific example. I was the sales manager and a really irate customer came in yelling at everyone. He was upset because.... I invited him to my office and..." When you give specific examples to interview questions, you establish credibility and believability, and that can ultimately translate into a job offer.

shekhar kapoor wrote.......and I liked..

I wish I could be a kite, by Esha Chabbra

I crave freedom.

Everywhere, I look around there are challenges burdening people. Some are trivial, some are heart-breaking. Some are losing loved ones to disease, some are struggling to make ends meet, some are trying to hold onto the small family business, and some are simply caught in the mad chase of life, yielding to what we’ve knocked ourselves into thinking is the utopia.

As a writer, I’m constantly selling myself to editors, trying to convince them not only is the idea intriguing, but that I’m the right person for it. Why would I be the right person for a story? Because I’ve gotten all the accolades, because I’ve published in so many “leading” publications, because I have the resources and contacts for this kind of story? Rarely, does passion, love, fervor for the story come into play. Why can’t I write because I write decently and genuinely love what I write about? Why so many other pressures? Why do I have to prove myself constantly? It’s the endless selling of oneself in today’s world, the endless marketing, the endless chase to the top. Technology has only helped us do that in many ways – all the social media platforms, I’m advised, are ways to market oneself. Use them widely and you could be a global “name.”

But they don’t understand. I don’t want to be a global name. I just want to write stories that feed my soul. I just want to do some good. I want to use my hands to build something. I want to use these platforms to learn from others. Can I not be silent and listen to what others are saying? Must I also chime in? Must I also constantly bother others?

I have young students in high school come to me, seeking advice on how to get into a particular institution, how to market themselves for different colleges, how to get the top spot at an internship, how to do the “right” activities that will get them into the right school, then the right internship, and then the right job. I’m exhausted. I’m exhausted hearing them and I’m exhausted by the chase, by the quest for the ideal.

And yet, that ideal is what’s breaking around me. Friends in comfortable jobs complain of boredom, stagnation, bureaucracy, lack of creativity, inactivity, and so much more. Why don’t they leave? They can’t, they say. Why not? You’ll survive on less money, I tell them. But how can I let go of all these years of hard work, how can I let go of this “title,” that I’ve worked so hard for, they respond, anguished by the thought of even abandoning the so-called “ideal” world.

They’re not bad people, not even greedy really. They’re just caught in what increasingly we’re told is the right path, the way to succeed. Eventually, it’s the house, the family, the school tuitions, the bills, the car that begin to burden them and it’s too late. Their burdens are far too heavy to escape, to fly freely.

So, the cycle of consumerism sets in. The little purchases fill a void; it’s the tech gizmos, the vacation home, the fancy dinners out, the extra car. But, why? Do they really love these things? I doubt it. Rather they bring a short moment of excitement, a short excursion from the mundane, the thrilling detour that quickly loses its charm.

I recall the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, the one that endlessly exclaimed, “I’m late. I’m late. I’m so very late.” It’s as if we’re all too late, too wound up in what we’re told, chasing something; then, smack, somewhere along the way we realize, that in our tardiness, we’ve lost track of time. For now, the days have slipped by, the years have too. We must be content with what we’ve built. We must make ourselves fit into the box, be it the lifestyle we constructed, the job we took up, the “dream” that we achieved.

But why not be free? Why not savor time? Why not dismiss what we’re told? Why not put all that energy, fuel, money into something that helps others? Why not let the chase be for a different cause – for a gentler, kinder, more people-friendly dream?

Why not be a kite once in a while and fly against the wind? Why not be free from the burdens that we’ve placed on ourselves? Why not get others to join us?

After all, I hear that “kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.” Or so Churchill tells us

chow means.......

chow \CHOU\, noun:

1. Food, especially hearty dishes or a meal.

verb phrase:
1. "Chow down:" to eat; eat a meal, especially the main meal of the day.

The chow callers were screaming that there was one minute left before morning meal formation.
-- James Webb, A sense of honor

It was almost time for the chow-wagon to show-up.
-- George W. Adams, Under the Southern Cross

Chow originates among Chinese workers in California around the Gold Rush, shortened from the pidginchow-chow, derived from cha, Chinese for "mixed."

I just received a copy of a letter written by the mahatma gandhi of our times-ANNA HAJARE. I want to share this with every proud indian , this letter has inspired patriotism in my heart like never before! Pls read it and join the movement to free our nation and our future from the chains of corruption.

Dear Dr. Singh,
I have started my indefinite fast at Jantar mantar. I had invited you also to fast and pray for a corruption free India on 5th April. Though I did not receive any reply from you, I am hopeful that you must have done that.

I am pained to read and hear about government's reaction to my fast. I consider it my duty to clarify the points raised on behalf of Congress party and the government by their spokespersons, as they appear in media:

1. It is being alleged that I am being instigated by some people to sit on this fast. Dear Manmohan Singh ji, this is an insult to my sense of wisdom and intelligence. I am not a kid that I could be "instigated" into going on an indefinite fast. I am a fiercely independent person. I take advice from many friends and critics, but do what my conscience directs me to do. It is my experience that when cornered, governments resort to such malicious slandering. I am pained that the government, rather than addressing the issue of corruption, is trying to allege conspiracies, when there are none.

2. It is being said that I have shown impatience. Dear Prime Minister, so far, every government has shown complete insensitivity and lack of political commitment to tackling corruption. 62 years after independence, we still do not have independent and effective anti-corruption systems. Very weak versions of Lokpal Bill were presented in Parliament eight times in last 42 years. Even these weak versions were not passed by Parliament. This means, left to themselves, the politicians and bureaucrats will never pass any law which subjects them to any kind of objective scrutiny. At a time, when the country has witnessed scams of unprecedented scale, the impatience of the entire country is justified. And we call upon you, not to look for precedents, but show courage to take unprecedented steps.

3. It is being said that I have shown impatience when the government has "initiated" the process. I would urge you to tell me - exactly what processes are underway?

a. You say that your Group of Ministers are drafting the anti-corruption law. Many of the members of this Group of Ministers have such a shady past that if effective anticorruption systems had been in place, some of them would have been behind bars. Do you want us to have faith in a process in which some of the most corrupt people of this country should draft the anti-corruption law?

b. NAC sub-committee has discussed Jan Lokpal Bill. But what does that actually mean? Will the government accept the recommendations of NAC sub-committee? So far, UPA II has shown complete contempt for even the most innocuous issues raised by NAC.

c. I and many other friends from India Against Corruption movement wrote several letters to you after 1st December. I also sent you a copy of Jan Lokpal Bill on 1st December. We did not get any response. It is only when I wrote to you that I will sit on an indefinite fast, we were promptly invited for discussions on 7th March. I wonder whether the government responds only to threats of indefinite fast. Before that, representatives of India Against Corruption had been meeting various Ministers seeking their support for the Jan Lokpal Bill. They met Mr Moily also and personally handed over copy of Jan Lokpal to him. A few hours before our meeting with you, we received a phone call from Mr Moily's office that the copy of Jan Lokpal Bill had been misplaced by his office and they wanted another copy. This is the seriousness with which the government has dealt with Jan Lokpal Bill.

d. Dear Dr Manmohan Singh ji, if you were in my place, would you have any faith in the aforesaid processes? Kindly let me know if there are any other processes underway. If you still feel that I am impatient, I am happy that I am because the whole nation is feeling impatient at the lack of credible efforts from your government against corruption.

4. What are we asking for? We are not saying that you should accept the Bill drafted by us. But kindly create a credible platform for discussions . a joint committee with at least half members from civil society suggested by us. Your spokespersons are misleading the nation when they say that there is no precedent for setting up a joint committee. At least seven laws in Maharashtra were drafted by similar joint committees and presented in Maharashtra Assembly. Maharashtra RTI Act, one of the best laws of those times, was drafted by a joint committee. Even at the centre, when 25,000 tribals came to Delhi two years ago, your government set up a joint committee on land issues within 48 hours. You yourself are the Chairperson of that committee. This means that the government is willing to set up joint committees on all other issues, but not on corruption. Why?
5. It is being said that the government wants to talk to us and we are not talking to them. This is utterly false. Tell me a single meeting when you called us and we did not come. We strongly believe in dialogue and engagement. Kindly do not mislead the country by saying that we are shunning dialogue. We request you to take some credible steps at stemming corruption. Kindly stop finding faults and suspecting conspiracies in our movement. There are none. Even if there were, it does not absolve you of your responsibilities to stop corruption.
With warm regards,
(K B Hazare)

As Japan attempts to control the high radiation levels from the Fukushima nuclear plant, countries all over the world are asking one question; is nuclear safe?

Back home, the government plans to build a nuclear plant in Jaitapur, Maharashtra.^[1] Like Fukushima, Jaitapur falls in anearthquake zone.^[2] The technology being used here is still under review.^[3] India seems to have decided that these plants are "100% safe" even before conducting an analysis.

April 11th will mark the one month anniversary of the tragedy in Japan. It is also the National Day of Action against Nuclear energy. On this day, people from different parts of Mumbai are coming together for a candlelight vigil to show solidarity with those suffering in Japan and asking our government to give up nuclear technology.

single........

SINGLE* is NOT a status. It's a word that best describes a person who is strong enough to live & enjoy life without depending on others.

loneliness-bliss

It's always nice to be alone. I've quality time with myself. Doing all the things by me............

What we WANT and what’s MEANT TO BE sometimes coincide, and frequently contradict.

There are 3 types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.