Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Job Interview Question Tell Me About When Something Went Wrong

Job Interview Question Tell Me About When Something Went WrongJob Interview Question Tell Me About When Something Went WrongRemember that time something went wrong on the job? You probably werent feeling calm and collected, and you definitely werent feeling like you wanted to talk about what happened in great detail. Even if you made a mistake or had to deal with a truly crazy scenario, you can still turn it into a good story for your upcoming job einstellungsgesprch. In fact, you might even be asked to tell the interviewer about a time something went wrong on the job. Heres a two-part strategy for framing your answer to this tough interview question to make sure you give the interviewer the best possible understanding of how you work on the job Explain the situation honestlyDont try to sugarcoat what happened or hedge the story in a way that makes you look like a hero and everyone else look incompetent. Both approaches will make it hard for the interviewer to believe what youre sayi ng, and they may wonder how it played out in real life. Instead, clearly articulate what the problem welches and what part you had in it. Bad story I was working late and did all of my closing tasks 15 minutes before we closed. However, my supervisor was really bad at providing a clear plan of who was supposed to do what during closing. As it turns out, she thought I was going to put the mats down, and I thought she was going to put the mats down. Neither of us did, and a customer slipped and fell on the way out of the store. Everything turned out okay, though, and it wasnt my fault.Good story One night, there was a miscommunication between my supervisor and I as to who would perform certain closing tasks. Unfortunately, as a result a customer was injured when they slipped on a matless floor walking out of the building. My supervisor and I both hurried to assist the customer and make sure everything was okay, and later we sat down to speak honestly about what error occurred and how we could fix it. We havent had any errors like that since, and I learned an important lesson about double-checking information that doesnt sound right to me.Focus on your reaction and the resultsUnless youre very lucky, its normal for bad things happen at work. What distinguishes hirable candidates from unhirable candidates is how they react when something goes wrong and what happens as a result of it.Focus your story on your reaction and the results to express that you know how to handle yourself when unfortunate or questionable things happen. Show that you approach every setback with a willingness to learn and correct your habits. Bad story My assistant and I were planning a wedding and on the day of the event we realized the caterer would be late by 30 minutes. This was going to push back the brides reception, which would throw off the rest of the event and create a problem with the venue. The bride was really upset, but we pulled it off in the end and we saved the relationship.G ood story When my assistant and I realized that the caterer would be 30 minutes late to a wedding on the day of the event, we knew the bride was going to be very upset and that the delay might cause an issue with the venue. I decided to proactively contact the bride and the venue to work out the scheduling change. We brainstormed a photo shoot opportunity to make up the delay in the time, and I negotiated with the venue coordinator so that they wouldnt charge us for the half-hour overage. The client was relieved, and the event went well despite this hitch in the plans. In the working world nothing goes as planned. Fortunately, you can use questions like these to show off your ability to keep your cool under pressure and continuously improve your wertmiger zuwachs on the job.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Youll be creative at work only with permission, time, and freedom to do so

Youll be creative at work only with permission, time, and freedom to do soYoull be creative at work only with permission, time, and freedom to do soPermission, time, and freedom. A new Gallup study of 16,500 employees called, Fostering Creativity at Work found that those were the three things needed to encourage creativity in the workplace.Yet far too often, theyre just ideas.Only 29% of employees strongly agreed that they were expected to be creative or come up with new solutions at work, with 32% just agreeing.Creativity requires time, which not all workers have. While 30% say theyve been given time to think creatively on the job or talk about new ideas daily, 35% say they only have time to be creative a few times a year, less, or not at all.Creativity at work is risky its a time-consuming exercise that can lead to new products or it can lead to nothing at all. Perhaps because of this risk, only 18% of employees strongly agree that they can take risks at work that could lead to m ajor new products or solutions.When employees are given expectations and time to be creative, they are more confident in taking an innovative approach to important problems, products or services, the study concluded after analysis of their data.When tinkering with the elements permission, time, and freedom to take risks and be creative to see what effect that had on data, researchers noticed interesting results. For example, less that two in 10 employees strongly agreed that they could take risks and be creative but when all three elements of permission, time, and freedom to take risks were in place, that number went up to seven in 10.Its up to management to redesign their organization and culture if they want to get to that seven out of 10, however. Employees can only innovate when theyre supported by their employer, and when they feel its possible and safe to do so.Heres something to get your creative juices going all on your own.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The one-line email that will radically improve your groups culture

The one-line email that will radically improve yur groups cultureThe one-line email that will radically improve your groups cultureSuccessful leaders create buy-in by flooding their groups with belonging cues.Daniel Coyleis theNew York Timesbestselling author ofThe Talent Code,The Secret Race, and, most recently,The Culture Code The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. WhenThe Culture Codebecame an official selection for the first season of theNext Big Idea Club, Daniel stopped by to offeran exclusive set of insights, the first of which were proud to share below.We think about belonging and safety as this thing that sort of happens by magic- it either happens, or it doesnt. But the truth is that relationships have a physics behind them. Successful leaders create buy-in by flooding their groups with belonging cues- these simple, clear signals that tell our brains that were connected, that we share a future.I want to tell you about a group named Wipro, a big company that had a big prob lem. The problem was that people kept leaving. They were a call center, and they would lose about half of their workers every year. So Wipro decided to do a crazy little experiment.They had two groups of new hires. One of them got the standard training, in which theyd meet a star performer and learn about why Wipro is a good place to work. With this second experimental group, instead of just telling them about the company, they also asked the employees about themselves. Simple questions What happens on your best day? What happens on your worst day? They asked them, If we were on this desert island and everyone was trying to survive, what special skills would you bring to that survival? That was it, a simple exchange for one hour. And then they waited to see if that made any difference on retention.Seven months later, they found out it had a massive impact 270% improvement in retention. Why? Because of the signal that was sent in one hour. Safety gets delivered in small moments that send a signal of, We are connected. I care about you. Im listening. Im curious about who you are. Sending that small signal at the right time can make a massive difference in how connected your people feel.Here are a few ways to do that. Number one actively, relentlessly signal your connection. Smart leaders make members of a group feel connected by capitalizing on micro-opportunities to send this clear, unmistakable signal of, I see you. I care about what you have to say. In particular, focus on the first five seconds. The start of any interaction is when our brains decide whether were in or out, so take full advantage of that moment with your body language, with your facial expression, and with your attention.Number two, embrace the messenger. The moment bad news arrives is the moment when group safety and belonging can evaporate. So, leaders, dont just tolerate bad news embrace that moment. Signal to your group that its safe to tell the truth.Number three, the one-line email. If you want to send a quick signal of safety and connection, send this note to your gruppe Please tell me one thing youd like me to do more of, and one thing youd like me to do less of. It takes a few seconds, but it sends a powerful signal of safety and openness and encourages others to do the same.Ready for more insights fromThe Culture Code?Join the Next Big Idea Club todayThis article first appeared on Heleo.