Category Archives: Personal Branding
December 13, 2011 How to Explain your Weaknesses during an Interview
By Margaret Smith
SPEAKER | CAREER COACH | CERTIFIED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER
“What is one of your weaknesses?” This is a question we’ve all been asked during interviews. It’s not an easy question to answer. But, because you know it’s coming, you can take the time to prepare a response that is graceful, honest, and effective.
Preparation is your key to handling this question in a way that boosts your impact during the interview. Sharing your challenges and flaws—the very things that make you human—can actually help you to come off as a more human, real person.
Joe Grimm of the Pynter Institute, an organization dedicated to integrity in journalism, suggests that interviewees faced with this question should always be honest, and avoid mentioning character flaws because they seldom change. Instead, mention areas where you’re determined to improve. Consider saying something such as, “I’m not as excel-savvy as I’d like to be, but I’m currently improving my skills through internet tutorials.” Never mention strengths as weaknesses.
As with everything, there’s a reasonable limit to the extent of your honest response to this difficult question. In an article about responding to the “weakness question” published in The Washington Post, Heidi McAllister, a local environmental educator who has hired dozens of professionals into government and nonprofit organizations explains that you should be honest, but don’t sabotage yourself. “No one realistically expects to get brutally honest answers like, ‘I’m below average intelligence and difficult to work with.’”
Even though this question may solicit the skewed truth, employers ask it because it helps reveal “whether applicants possess key qualities such as self-awareness, humility, sincerity, zest, and skill in managing shortcomings and mistakes,” says Washington Post journalist Lily Whiteman.
Don’t overthink your response to the point that you panic and don’t have one. As Whiteman reminds us, the worst responses are “I don’t know” and the comical “I have no weaknesses.”
CareerBuilder, the popular job seeker’s resource, outlines this trying question as an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate that they “can think creatively.” Instead of giving a sterile and lifeless response, consider your weaknesses with an attention to “how you have attempted to overcome them,” then weave these proactive actions into your response.
As a final touch, cater your response to the position and organization to which you are applying. Debra Yergen, author of “Creating Job Security Resource Guide”, recommends job seekers imagine themselves sitting on the other side of the desk. Anticipate the motivation and interests of the interviewer when selecting your response and personal story.
Do you have questions about developing your career, business, or landing the job of your dreams? Would your career benefit from informed advice about finding more customers and building a network that gives back? Contact UXL Today to transform the future of your business or career through guided professional coaching.
Tags: "What are your weaknesses?", How to Answer the Question, How to Explain Your Weaknesses, How to Interview Well, Interview tips from a career coach
December 5, 2011 The Decline of Fulltime and the Rise of the “Joblet”
By Margaret Smith, UXL
SPEAKER | CAREER COACH | CERTIFIED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER
According to an article titled “The Joblet Recovery” in INC. Magazine, “48 percent of Americans believe that since the financial crisis, we have become more capable of starting our own businesses.” The fact that people, post-economic slump, have gotten creative in their effort to make a living is undeniable. I, sitting here at my home office, am a living, breathing example of it. Every week I come into contact with dozens of professionals that have struck off on their own and now work as entrepreneurs, E-lancers, freelancers, and contract laborers instead of their former 9-5 employment.
In response to the market’s elimination of jobs and hesitation to reinstate new full-time positions, people all over the country are finding themselves in a situation where they’re required to wear many hats and learn to market themselves and their skills. Instead of focusing on the set list of skills they used at their previous post, individuals have begun to pursue handfuls of “joblets” that utilize a plethora of skills.
A huge part of an individual’s success as a freelancer, contract worker, or entrepreneur has to do with their ability to land a job or client. Individuals are no longer able to focus solely on their skills as they search for work. Instead, they are required to develop their ability to market themselves.
Learning to market yourself is not an easy task—not everyone has had professional sales experience, nor have they necessarily spent a lot of time on personal branding. Because of this, I have decided to share 3 important don’ts of selling that were recently published in INC. Magazine that may help the burgeoning group of self-employers to up their game:
Three things you never want to do—if you want to close (from INC. Magazine)
Do Not Dump Your Marbles on the Table:
When you enter a preliminary meeting it’s easy to be intimidated and your natural inclination may be to “get it all out,” as John Deal explains. Instead, Deal urges you “introduce yourself, and listen and figure out why they think they’re there and why you’re there.” Never recreate what’s on a brochure or become an “infomercial guy”. Get people talking to create partnerships.
Do Not Work So Hard Closing that You Close the Door:
Even if the deal does not go through, it is essential that you work to keep these potential customers or clients as advocates of your business. Deal explains that he maintains this relationship by sending Christmas cards and inviting people to receive his newsletter. “You’re making them part of your team instead of being a customer,” he says.
Do Not Be Afraid to Recommend Someone Else’s Business or Product:
Recognize when you may not fit the needs of a potential client and refrain from trying to reshape their needs to a service you offer. If you make a practice of referring them to others, you make friends in the industry. As Deal reminds us, your competitor might eventually do the same for you. If you put the best interest of your customer first, you’ll make money.”
Do you have questions about developing your brand, career, or business? Would your career benefit from informed advice about finding more customers and building a network that gives back? Contact UXL Today to transform the future of your business or career through guided professional coaching.
Tags: Career Coaching, Don'ts of Selling, Inc Magazine, Joblet, Margaret Smith, UXL
November 30, 2011 How to DO LESS and Improve Your Career
By Margaret Smith
SPEAKER | CAREER COACH | CERTIFIED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER
Contrary to what you may expect, promoting the talents of others can actually help to showcase your own skills and strengthen your brand. This magical habit is called delegation, and it’s an essential tool to propelling your own career, improving results, developing your personal brand, and keeping your workload under control.
Let’s all start by taking a moment to acknowledge the often-ignored fact: There is only a limited amount you can do, no matter how hard you work. Because we are not super-humans, it’s essential that we learn to let go sometimes.
This having been said, there is a way to get it all done, and done well: delegation. Often, delegation gets overlooked as a viable tool because it is a lot of work upfront. Instead of doing the task yourself, delegation requires you to share your insights, know-how, and expectations with others.
To Delegate, or Not to Delegate: That is the Question
When faced with a new task, don’t just jump into it right away. Instead, ask yourself, “Would this task be a worthy use of my time?” If you continue to accept projects that don’t align to, or properly utilize, your skills, you’re diluting your brand. Perhaps there is someone else who has the skills to do the task better, or who would be eager to develop skills that the task would involve?
Strategically delegating tasks to others allows you to focus on the tasks that reinforce your real skills—those you want to be known for as part of your personal brand. (If you haven’t yet considered what your personal brand is, now is the time to start!)
How to Handle the “Who?”
When considering who to delegate to, take into account the following questions:
- What are this person’s skills and knowledge?
- Does this person currently have space in their workload?
- What is this person’s preferred work style?
Once you have decided on the best candidate, don’t forget to document the process. When practicing delegation, it’s extremely important to keep track of your processes to save time in the future and develop best practices that promote clarity and efficiency. Just as you, say, develop practices that keep your house clean—washing dishes after meals, placing laundry in a hamper, etc—creating processes for sharing tasks at work will cut down on confusion and clutter, not to mention saving time and preventing mistakes.
Your Challenge:
Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your workload, fight the urge to dive headfirst into your pile of tasks. Instead, assess these projects and consider whether or not some of them can be delegated to another member of your team instead.
Do you have any helpful tips about delegating effectively? Please share!
Interested in having a helping hand effecting change in your life, finding success in your job hunt or your career? Contact UXL Today!
Tags: Delegation, How to Work Less, Margaret Smith, Personal Branding, UXL, Who to Delegate to
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