How to Run an Effective Meeting

     Productive, valuable, and engaging meetings require a clear goal, an open dialog, and a strong leader. Here's how to make your meetings matter.

     1. Make every meeting matter - or don't meet at all. Decide if a meeting is needed and invite only the necessary people. E-mails are usually sufficient to give your team an update or a status report. But if you need instant feedback from all participants, then e-mail will not be as efficient as a face-to-face meeting.

     2. Define goals and distribute agenda in advance. Create a structure for your meeting. Before the meeting even begins, make sure everyone understands the objectives by writing an agenda.

     3. Good meetings are products of good leadership. Take charge and make it clear that you intend to keep the discussion timely, useful, and relevant. Show your colleagues that you respect their time by making sure a clock or timer is visible to all. Staying on topic is also key to maintaining a schedule. If the conversation runs off the rails, refocus the group by saying something like: "Interesting, but I don't think we're advancing our goals here. If I could, I'd like to return to the agenda."

     4. Get the constructive input you need from everyone present. Since the point of a meeting is two-way communication, it's crucial to get honest input from everyone. It's the meeting leader's responsibility to make sure everyone is heard. To build consensus or come to a group decision, avoid wearing your opinion on your sleeve; it's easy for a leader to stifle a discussion if everyone assumes the outcome is already determined. Avoid the temptation to dismiss ideas immediately — even when they're terrible.

     5. Close with an Action plan, try to make sure that everyone leaves knowing the next step. Also end the meeting by asking everyone whether they thought the meeting was useful and, if not, what could be done better next time. Do a follow-up debriefing on your own to improve your meeting techniques.

     6. Keep track of progress of things decided during the meeting. Also keep the group updated about the developments. This will help you in organizing the next meeting more effectively.

     7. Make sure that your meeting didn't happen in isolation by letting the right people know what was decided and what will happen next. It's easy to walk out of a meeting room, go back to your desk, and immediately forget every change, decision, and new idea that your group came up with. Make sure you have a system to keep track of what was decided and what assignments everyone agreed to take on so you can follow up and keep things moving, even if you don't send out complete meeting minutes.

How to Write a Resume

     A resume - sometimes called a 'Curriculum Vitae' or 'CV' - is a summary of your skills, education and work experience. A good resume demonstrates how your skills and abilities match up with the requirements of a job.

     Resumes give you the opportunity to sell yourself to a potential employer. A resume is not an exhaustive list - if it's too long it probably won't get read at all. The best resumes are usually no longer than one or two pages.

     You should change your resume with every job application so that it lists the skills and experiences you have that are most relevant to the job you're applying for. A tailored resume will be much more successful than a generic one, even though it means more preparation.

     The structure of your resume will vary depending on your work experience and education and training background.

     A resume usually sets out information in a reverse order. Your most recent work experience and study details should be first on the list.

Here's a brief rundown on the essential things to include on your resume.

     Personal details. Full name and contact details including address, telephone number(s) and email address.

     Education and training. A summary of your education and training history, starting with your most recent studies, making sure you include all training that's relevant to the job you're applying for.

     Employment history. Start with your most recent work history and work backwards chronologically, listing the name of the employer, your job title, the dates you worked there, and your responsibilities, tasks and achievements. Make sure you include everything that's relevant to the job.

     Skills and abilities. A list of the things you're good at. These can be general skills or skills specific to a particular job. List them under broad headings such as "Communication" and "Teamwork".

     Career objective (optional). Tell the employer what type of job you want end up with; this shows that you've given thought to your future career.

     Interests (optional). A list of your hobbies and interests; this gives employers more information about you and also shows other areas of your life where you've gained experiences such as teamwork and commitment.

     Referees. List people who can talk about how good a worker you are. Make sure you get their permission before including them on your resume. List their name, company name occupation, and contact details.

Types of Résumés

     Depending on your work experience, the job you’re applying for, or your personal preference, you may want to use a particular type of résumé. Here are three types of résumés to choose from.

     A functional résumé focuses on your skills. If you haven’t had a lot of work experience, a functional résumé that focuses on your skills is a good way to market yourself to potential employers.

     Instead of focusing on your previous work experience, a skills-focused résumé highlights the transferable skills you gained from previous jobs, activities, experiences, or volunteer work.

     It’s most commonly used when you’ve had a large gap in your employment history, or if you have never worked before.

     A chronological résumé focuses on your experience. Focusing on your work history is one of the more popular ways to structure a résumé. It shows employers all your work experience, focusing on positions you’ve held and your past responsibilities and accomplishments.

     The chronological résumé is organized with your most recent information first. The goal is to give a comprehensive work history, organized by each job you’ve held. You give your position title, place of employment, how long you worked there, and a breakdown of your responsibilities or accomplishments.

     This is a great multi-purpose résumé that works for most job applications, including retail.

     A hybrid résumé is a combination of the two. A hybrid résumé is also known as a combination résumé. It combines the elements of a functional and chronological résumé to create a résumé that focuses heavily on skills, but also includes dates, titles of previous jobs, along with essential information about the position.

     This is a good résumé to use when you want to prioritize your skills but also demonstrate how your career has evolved.

     A targeted resume is a resume that is customized so that it specifically highlights the experience and skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for. It definitely takes more work to write a targeted resume than to just click to apply with your existing resume. However, it's well worth the effort, especially when applying for jobs that are a perfect match for your qualifications and experience.

Types of Job Interviews

 

     There are a variety of types of interviews that employers may conduct, including behavioral interviews, group interviews, phone and video interviews, second interviews, and even interviews held during a meal.

     Behavioral based interviewing is interviewing based on discovering how the interviewee acted in specific employment-related situations.

     Case interviews are used most often in management consulting and investment banking interviews and require interviewees to demonstrate their analytical ability and problem solving skills.

     Competency based interviews require interviewees to give specific examples of times in which they demonstrated particular skills or attitudes.

     The final interview is the last step in the interview process and the last interview you find out whether or not you will get a job offer.

     An informational interview is an interview conducted to collect information about a job, career field, industry or company.

     One of the reasons employers take job candidates out to lunch or dinner is to evaluate their social skills and to see if they can handle themselves gracefully under pressure

     There are two types of group interviews. One is being interviewed by a group (or panel) of interviewers, the other is being interviewed with a group of other applicants.

     A panel job interview takes place when an applicant for employment is interviewed by a panel of interviewers. In some cases, the candidate will meet seperately with the panel. In other cases, there will be panel of interviewers and multiple candidates all in the same room.

     While you're actively job searching, it's important to be prepared for a phone interview on a moment's notice.

     A structured interview is a standardized method of comparing job candidates. A structured interview format is typically used when an employer wants to assess and compare candidates impartially. If the position requires specific skills and experience, the employer will draft interview questions focusing exactly on the abilities the company is seeking.

     An unstructured interview is a job interview in which questions may be changed based on the interviewee's responses. While the interviewer may have a few set questions prepared in advance, the direction of the interview is rather casual, and questions flow is based on the direction of the conversation.

 

Interview Questions

     Although there is no set format that every job interview will follow, there are some questions that you can almost guarantee will crop up. Here’s a list of the most common questions and a guide to the kind of answers your interviewer wants to hear.

     Tell me about yourself.

     This is usually the opening question and, as first impressions are key, one of the most important. Keep your answer to under five minutes, beginning with an overview of your highest qualification then running through the jobs you’ve held so far in your career. You can follow the same structure of your CV, giving examples of achievements and the skills you’ve picked up along the way. Don’t go into too much detail – your interviewer will probably take notes and ask for you to expand on any areas where they’d like more information. If you’re interviewing for your first job since leaving education, focus on the areas of your studies you most enjoyed and how that has led to you wanting this particular role.

     What are your strengths?

     Pick the three biggest attributes that you think will get you the job and give examples of how you have used these strengths in a work situation. They could be tangible skills, such as proficiency in a particular computer language, or intangible skills such as good man-management. If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at the job description. There is usually a section listing candidate requirements, which should give you an idea of what they are looking for.

     What are your weaknesses?

     The dreaded question, which is best handled by picking something that you have made positive steps to redress. For example, if your IT ability is not at the level it could be, state it as a weakness but tell the interviewer about training courses or time spent outside work hours you have used to improve your skills. Your initiative could actually be perceived as a strength. On no accounts say “I don’t have any weaknesses”, your interviewer won’t believe you, or “I have a tendency to work too hard”, which is seen as avoiding the question.

     Why should we hire you?

     What can you do for us that other candidates can't? - What makes you special and where do your major strengths lie? You should be able to find out what they are looking for from the job description. “I have a unique combination of strong technical skills and the ability to build long-term customer relationships” is a good opening sentence, which can then lead onto a more specific example of something you have done so far in your career. State your biggest achievement and the benefit it made to the business, then finish with “Given the opportunity, I could bring this success to your company.”

Business Letters

 

     A letter of enquiry is a formal letter that makes an approach to an individual or organization either speculatively or in response to printed public domain material whereby you are requesting some information.

     It is a general term used for a number of different kinds of business letters addressed to a company. An enquiry is sent when a businessman wants some information. The letter is drafted to get some more information which is not available on website, brochures, literature of the product.

     The letter is written by a customer to the company seeking some information about a new product or service, especially about supply of goods, leaflets or catalogues, quotation or prices, samples, terms and discounts, availability of goods, delivery terms and deadlines, method of transportation, insurance.

     Offers are sent in reply to an enquiry or without a preceding enquiry. They state the nature and description of the goods offered, the quantity, the price, the terms of payment, and the time and place of delivery. The sales-conscious businessman wants to draw the attention of customers and new customers to a special product or range of goods. He will take the opportunity to stimulate his correspondent’s interest in his goods or services by including sales messages and the assurance that the customer will receive personal attention.

     Offers may be firm (binding) or without engagement. A firm offer is subject to certain conditions, a deadline for the receipt of orders, or a special price for certain quantities. If the Buyer accepts the offer in full within the stipulated time, the goods are considered to have been sold to him at the price and on the terms stated in the offer. According to the British and American law, a person/company making a firm offer has the right to revoke it at any time before it has been accepted. According to the Russian law, a person/company making an offer is bound by it until the expiration of the time stated in the offer.

     An order letter, also known as a PO or purchase order letter, is written to provide the vendor with detailed instructions for fulfilling an order. Letters dealing with orders and payments for merchandise form a bulk of business activity.

     Proper care should be taken in drafting of the order to eliminate all doubts resulting in loss of time and possibly of the market. The letter usually includes the following: details about what you are ordering or reserving; directions for shipment; manner of payments. In the letter of order, the main idea in the first paragraph is what it is that we are reserving or ordering. The explanatory paragraphs give whatever details the order requires – about quantity, colour, style, size, price, payment, location, shipment data, place, plus any specific instructions your reader might need. The last paragraph invites prompt shipment and dated action, if desired.

     A complaint letter is written to show one that an error has occurred and that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. The letter can be drafted as a document used for warning the reader. An effective complaint letter is brief and to the point and includes documentation.      Several things should be kept in mind when writing this kind of letter.

     Sufficient detail should be included to back up your claim and to show that you have thoroughly researched the subject. However, omit irrelevant details. Maintain a firm but respectful tone, and avoid aggressive, accusing language. Send only photocopies of receipts and other documents, and retain all originals. Keep a copy of the complaint letter for your records. If a company has repeatedly given you bad service and refuses to correct the situation and you feel that your only recourse is to pursue legal action, voice your feelings in a tactful but firm way. Include your contact information (your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, if desired, so that the other party can reach you to discuss any questions or concerns).

 

E-mail

 

E-mail is an informal way to send messages as long as you retain the same boundaries of propriety you would use if dealing with the person face-to-face. For example, if you address the CEO of the company by surname in person, do not switch to the first name when sending e-mail. There are a few general guidelines to keep in mind when communicating online:

1. All messages should be as short and concise as possible. If the message is more than a few lines long, divide the text into paragraph-sized “chunks” so it is easier to read.

2. Use a meaningful subject line. If a busy professional cannot figure out what an e-mail is about from the subject line, the message usually gets ignored or deleted.

3. Keep messages relevant. Make sure all messages posted are relevant to the subject at hand. When replying to someone quote the parts of the original message that pertain to your reply.

4. Stick to plain text. It is great to send out beautifully formatted messages with special italics, bold type, but, unfortunately, some mail systems will not deliver the message in the same format as it was sent. A plain text message may not look as pretty as you want, but it will not look worse than it did when you sent it.

5. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation make the message more easily understood, not to mention professional. Virtually every e-mail program today has a spelling and grammar check feature, so there is no reason not to use it. Another option would be to type your message in Microsoft Word, check for any spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors, then cut and paste the message into the body of the e-mail.

6. Avoid jokes and punctuation faces. In a business setting, it is best to avoid sending jokes and punctuation faces.

7. Remember you are communicating with other people. Sending e-mail does not give you the benefit of facial expressions and gestures that normally give additional meaning to a conversation. Without these nonverbal cues, you have to take care in what you are saying so the meaning is not misconstrued. Do not post your entire message in all capitals. This can be interpreted as screaming or shouting on the Internet.

9. Taking too long to respond. Everyone knows how busy some people can get. That is not an excuse to ignore e-mail or not respond in a timely manner. It is disrespectful not to reply quickly to potential employer. Not responding quickly implies a lack of interest on your part. Check your e-mail a minimum of once a day if you are actively searching for employment.

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