Monday, May 14, 2007
Late is not great
In the recent film, 'The Pursuit of Happyness', Will Smith lands up for an interview with a brokerage firm in a ganjee, and paint splatters.
You see as he was painting his house he was picked up by the cops and sent to the slammer. For defaulting on a bunch of parking tickets. The next morning he is released at 845 am... and runs straight to the interview.
He got the job, no thanks to a quick repartee with the senior partner. Which went something like this:
Q: "What would you say if I offered a job to someone who came in without a shirt?"
A: "I would say he must have been wearing a really nice pair of pants".
Nice line - in a movie. But it wasn't a smart alec response which saved the day. The interviewer used his judgement of people and situations, built over the years, to conclude this guy had a genuine problem.
The trouble is, most of you who land up late for interviews - don't. You probably left home late, or 'just in time' and got caught in a jam somewhere.
Arriving late for an interview is a big blot - no matter how great your resume is. It conveys casualness of attitude, a lack of respect for the job you don't even have yet.
If something - anything - is really important to you, you make sure fate does not get in the way!
Like when you go to give an exam you carry 3 pens, 2 pencils, sharpener, eraser - whatever it takes. When you travel abroad, you make sure you have your passport,ticket, credit cards, foreign exchange, contact lens solution - whatever it is you can't live without.
Please treat a job interview the same way. Calculate how long it takes to reach and leave half an hour BEFORE that.
You can't change your qualifications, personality, or marks. But this - is completely in your hands. And small things do make a big difference.
You see as he was painting his house he was picked up by the cops and sent to the slammer. For defaulting on a bunch of parking tickets. The next morning he is released at 845 am... and runs straight to the interview.
He got the job, no thanks to a quick repartee with the senior partner. Which went something like this:
Q: "What would you say if I offered a job to someone who came in without a shirt?"
A: "I would say he must have been wearing a really nice pair of pants".
Nice line - in a movie. But it wasn't a smart alec response which saved the day. The interviewer used his judgement of people and situations, built over the years, to conclude this guy had a genuine problem.
The trouble is, most of you who land up late for interviews - don't. You probably left home late, or 'just in time' and got caught in a jam somewhere.
Arriving late for an interview is a big blot - no matter how great your resume is. It conveys casualness of attitude, a lack of respect for the job you don't even have yet.
If something - anything - is really important to you, you make sure fate does not get in the way!
Like when you go to give an exam you carry 3 pens, 2 pencils, sharpener, eraser - whatever it takes. When you travel abroad, you make sure you have your passport,ticket, credit cards, foreign exchange, contact lens solution - whatever it is you can't live without.
Please treat a job interview the same way. Calculate how long it takes to reach and leave half an hour BEFORE that.
You can't change your qualifications, personality, or marks. But this - is completely in your hands. And small things do make a big difference.
Labels: interview
Monday, May 7, 2007
Guest blog - by Rajeev Karwal
An acknowledged marketing whiz and turnaround expert, Rajeev Karwal's career is an inspiration to many a young manager. Rajeev shares his knowledge and expertise at various forums, and when asked to write for the Jobokplease blog, replied back promptly and enthusisastically!
Jobokplease is happy to kick off its Guest Blog series with this piece, written from the heart.
Be an ASS - i.e Achieve Sustainable Success
- by Rajeev Karwal
"Job Ok Please is a nice name. I will surely write for you and the youth. Youth actually is something in which you see yourself. What you are, were, will be or could not be.
Last year I met about 5000 young students from all across the country. I was motivated by the President of India, Dr Kalam. In 2004 he met over a lac students. Meeting the youth of today gives me a lot of hope for our country as well as the world. Indian youth today does not have any scars of of our history. They play on the front foot with a lot of positivism. I term them 'traditionally irreverent'.
I believe in the power of youth and can say with confidence that a well directed fresh talent can deliver much more than any 40+ like me. Today in the morning I was talking to someone in my office. He asked me what is life all about and how do you measure success? I told him that Life is something which has 4 limbs. Family, Health, Professional and Society.
Our life stands on 2 legs - family and health. Nobody can be a sustainable success without the strength of the family and health. But most of us ignore them during our so called 'earning years'.
Profession and Society are the other 2 limbs which help us profitable and ethical growth in our lives. You really can not just be a money making machine without caring for your family, the society or your health. Someone who balances the power of all four is the only one who can grow sustainably and profitably. That is my short message to the youth. Had I not written it today, it may never had got written."
Rajeev graduated from IMT Ghaziabad and in a career spanning over 22 years, he has worked with the biggest names in the consumer durable business such as LG, Philips, Onida and Electrolux.
His last assignment was with Reliance Industries, where he was President & CEO, of the Consumer Durables Vertical of Reliance Retail. Rajeev is now nurturing a startup - Milagrow - which has a unique business partnering approach.
A final word from Rajeev: "If you have a dream with which you want to run... you can count on me and Milagrow. The motto of my organization is 'nurturing ideas, enabling enterprise'. For the young who can not pay, we don't charge any fee."
You can also follow Rajeev's blog at http://rajeevkarwal.blogspot.com
Jobokplease is happy to kick off its Guest Blog series with this piece, written from the heart.
Be an ASS - i.e Achieve Sustainable Success
- by Rajeev Karwal
"Job Ok Please is a nice name. I will surely write for you and the youth. Youth actually is something in which you see yourself. What you are, were, will be or could not be.
Last year I met about 5000 young students from all across the country. I was motivated by the President of India, Dr Kalam. In 2004 he met over a lac students. Meeting the youth of today gives me a lot of hope for our country as well as the world. Indian youth today does not have any scars of of our history. They play on the front foot with a lot of positivism. I term them 'traditionally irreverent'.
I believe in the power of youth and can say with confidence that a well directed fresh talent can deliver much more than any 40+ like me. Today in the morning I was talking to someone in my office. He asked me what is life all about and how do you measure success? I told him that Life is something which has 4 limbs. Family, Health, Professional and Society.
Our life stands on 2 legs - family and health. Nobody can be a sustainable success without the strength of the family and health. But most of us ignore them during our so called 'earning years'.
Profession and Society are the other 2 limbs which help us profitable and ethical growth in our lives. You really can not just be a money making machine without caring for your family, the society or your health. Someone who balances the power of all four is the only one who can grow sustainably and profitably. That is my short message to the youth. Had I not written it today, it may never had got written."
Rajeev graduated from IMT Ghaziabad and in a career spanning over 22 years, he has worked with the biggest names in the consumer durable business such as LG, Philips, Onida and Electrolux.
His last assignment was with Reliance Industries, where he was President & CEO, of the Consumer Durables Vertical of Reliance Retail. Rajeev is now nurturing a startup - Milagrow - which has a unique business partnering approach.
A final word from Rajeev: "If you have a dream with which you want to run... you can count on me and Milagrow. The motto of my organization is 'nurturing ideas, enabling enterprise'. For the young who can not pay, we don't charge any fee."
You can also follow Rajeev's blog at http://rajeevkarwal.blogspot.com
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