|
On September 20 2010 07:11 Hynda wrote:
I guess it's that he uses the sales logic for everyone as you say. He always praises you if you've done good aslong as he is the one to point it out.
Yeah, very small companies are exempt from most of the normal corporate rules. They typically function more like families (Not in an emotional sense, but in a "mom and dad are in charge" but everyone is important sense). Also, it's much less important to self-promote when it's super obvious what you do strictly due to the size of the organization.
EDIT: As a response to what would work would simply be something like. Between 20:00 and 04:00 the email servers crashed. Nothing should have been lost because I am just that awesome, and you better have some coffee ready when I get there tomorrow,
Ofcourse it would be in Swedish and worded a slightly diffrent but that's the gist of it. Only things included that are relevant to him so he knows what going on but not deeper than that. I would mostly include a note on how he is ridiculously lazy, but that's a long running gag in the firm.
Hahah, well that works as well.
On September 20 2010 07:27 xiaofan wrote:The info. in this post is something I also recently came to understand, albeit a semester too late. I'm in an engineering program with tons of brilliant, but soft-spoken, people. You would expect the smartest people to get hired for the best jobs, but in our class it's the people who are articulate who end up at top-tier firms. And for the most part, the people who can articulate pretty much articulate bullshit. The employers don't care how much you know... if you feel uncomfortable and awkward around you, they're not going to hire you. These two sentences by the op. basically sum it all up. Show nested quote +On September 20 2010 03:51 babolatt wrote:
Most people won't admit this, but your skills, schooling etc are what gets you in the door to an interview in the first place. Once you're there, how likeable you are is infinitely more important than how well you demonstrate your knowledge.
My degree is in Computer Science (I'm doing another degree in Business Technology Management now) so I know exactly what you're talking about. It's probably even more pronounced in compsci. 95% of my class would definitely not interview well, and unfortunately most people had this notion that they would graduate and get huge six figure salaries at big development shops. A lot of them ended up unemployed or doing less "social" roles like fixing computers in a small repair shop.
They were smart technical people, but even if you know that as an employer, it's sometimes just a bad decision to hire smart antisocial people. One thing to keep in mind is that most adequately intelligent people can LEARN how to do something technical, but a lot of really technical people can't be taught how to be more personable. It's definitely unfortunate for these people as it's difficult to change so late in life, but not impossible.
|
On September 20 2010 07:43 babolatt wrote:Show nested quote +On September 20 2010 07:11 Hynda wrote:
I guess it's that he uses the sales logic for everyone as you say. He always praises you if you've done good aslong as he is the one to point it out.
Yeah, very small companies are exempt from most of the normal corporate rules. They typically function more like families (Not in an emotional sense, but in a "mom and dad are in charge" but everyone is important sense). Also, it's much less important to self-promote when it's super obvious what you do strictly due to the size of the organization. Show nested quote +
EDIT: As a response to what would work would simply be something like. Between 20:00 and 04:00 the email servers crashed. Nothing should have been lost because I am just that awesome, and you better have some coffee ready when I get there tomorrow,
Ofcourse it would be in Swedish and worded a slightly diffrent but that's the gist of it. Only things included that are relevant to him so he knows what going on but not deeper than that. I would mostly include a note on how he is ridiculously lazy, but that's a long running gag in the firm.
Hahah, well that works as well. Show nested quote +On September 20 2010 07:27 xiaofan wrote:The info. in this post is something I also recently came to understand, albeit a semester too late. I'm in an engineering program with tons of brilliant, but soft-spoken, people. You would expect the smartest people to get hired for the best jobs, but in our class it's the people who are articulate who end up at top-tier firms. And for the most part, the people who can articulate pretty much articulate bullshit. The employers don't care how much you know... if you feel uncomfortable and awkward around you, they're not going to hire you. These two sentences by the op. basically sum it all up. On September 20 2010 03:51 babolatt wrote:
Most people won't admit this, but your skills, schooling etc are what gets you in the door to an interview in the first place. Once you're there, how likeable you are is infinitely more important than how well you demonstrate your knowledge.
My degree is in Computer Science (I'm doing another degree in Business Technology Management now) so I know exactly what you're talking about. It's probably even more pronounced in compsci. 95% of my class would definitely not interview well, and unfortunately most people had this notion that they would graduate and get huge six figure salaries at big development shops. A lot of them ended up unemployed or doing less "social" roles like fixing computers in a small repair shop. They were smart technical people, but even if you know that as an employer, it's sometimes just a bad decision to hire smart antisocial people. One thing to keep in mind is that most adequately intelligent people can LEARN how to do something technical, but a lot of really technical people can't be taught how to be more personable. It's definitely unfortunate for these people as it's difficult to change so late in life, but not impossible.
Well it suits me really well and I'm really happy being there, can't imagine working for a huge company with people I don't work with on a day to day basis. You're right when you say it works like family and everyone has their roles aswell as always backing each other up. There was a situation when there was a ISP issue were our connection kept timing out every 5 minutes making it useless, and everything I did just made shit worse even managed to cut the phonelines for a day without noticing. Nobody was pissed everyone was super supportive and in the end I fixed it. (it was such a stupidly simple issue aswell that I felt rather ashamed afterwards)
I do appologise for being slightly off-topic and I shall stop now.
|
On September 20 2010 05:46 stalife wrote:I do get nervous when I'm speaking in front of a large audience, or in a crowded mall with lots and lots of people..  I get sweaty and stuff, but much less so when it's an interview with 2~3 people in the room. I really like going to those seminars, etc. by industry professionals to see how they present their message. The messages themselves are all very similar, but the way each speaker presents themselves are so different and unique. Asking questions in an interview is not so much of a problem as I research/prepare questions beforehand.. Which company do you work at ~?
Stalife if you get nervous speaking in front of bigger groups it can be useful to film yourself while doing this. Or practice it in your living room with a friend filming you.
Watch the tape afterward and try to analyze how you did, how the audience perceives you and how you can improve your performance. You can also ask your friends/family to watch the tape (or better, you performing a presentation live) and have them tell you what they thought of it. This can help you a lot (in my experience) with improving your techniques and the overall impression your audience gets from you. The way you deliver your message is almost as important as the message itself.
If you appear uncertain of yourself your audience will focus on that and won't listen as attentive to what you are saying as them would have done otherwise. Even if you are uncertain of yourself you have to appear confident if you want others to listen to you and believe you.
If you don't feel sure about a presentation just bluff your way through it. Most people won't doubt what you say if it's delivered with confidence. Even if they know what you say isn't correct they start doubting themselves if you deliver the message with confidence.
Personal example: When I was in college we had a course for one semester called "Presentation". A part of this course was that we had to present a subject to the entire class and were filmed while doing it. Afterward the whole class could comment on how you did and what could be improved and you got to take the tape home for your own benefit.
I have always a pen or something like that in my hand when working and clicking the top on and of etc. and naturally you don't want to do a presentation like that so I was empty handed. One thing that happened was that I tended to go faster as I should have. Without the pen I was continually making hand motions, taking my hand in and out of my pocket, talking faster as I should have, etc. This made the whole presentation rather erratic and hard to follow from time to time because people were actually focusing on my hand and somebody speaking fast is always harder to follow in a presentation.
I have learned that whenever possible I need to have one hand on a lectern or desk to slow down my speech and create a calmer environment for the presentation itself. This calmness is also reflected to the group, giving them the opportunity to better focus their attention on the presentation itself. This has also the benefit that you automatically seem more confident and professional.
This calmness gives you also the opportunity to build in small pauses in your presentation in which you can collect your thoughts before moving on. Don't be afraid of these small silences but embrace them as an oases of tranquility. Through this your audience is also given the opportunity to collect their thoughts about everything you told them and they will appreciate it.
|
I'd have to say that most of these tips are applicable in the corporate setting up to even the biggest ones. Very good post; but I'll point out that for the larger companies, it's also about knowing the higher-level people and attracting their attention that you can work well with them. The higher they go, the more they can pull you up; recommending you be put in their old jobs, or referring you to other companies if they feel where you're at is not going to work out for you (like if they already left).
|
you can also start making youtube recordings of yourself speaking about something...its good practice
|
This is such a great thread and great information on the OP. I finished reading it through and also learned about what "toastmasters" was for the first time as well! Definitely useful advices and food for thought to think about! Sweet!
But after reading all this and googling toastmasters, I can't help to think a few things... So basically unlike most of you here who are aiming for IT type field, I am going for a field in media. Most specifically, my dream/goal is to someday be a reporter and then an anchor for TV News. (And then hopefully rise up to a celebrity level where I have my own talk show, move out of news to entertainment, etc...)
However, I have one big problem atm, public speaking and communication skills... I am partly fine when I talk to new people with introductions one on one but when it comes down to sitting down and talking to several people or a group at a time, I froze and sorta get like a stage fright. I noticed this when I presented myself in my school club meetings where I am the president of one of them. The other thing is reading and talking properly, saying each word perfectly and properly and gathering thoughts in my mind to say such things even in a good manner. These things I still lack which troubles me a lot of my capability of being a future reporter/anchor.
To OP or anyone who wish to help me out with my situation...
So what can be some advices to give me in that case for someone who is pursuing a path in media/news/TV and radio? Can toastmasters really help all the problems I have? And seeing how the locations near me seem like a pain to me, do you think if I start one at my school, that'll give even more props and benefits (since I can sorta put that down on my resume and all) in getting a job?? Thanks!
|
On September 20 2010 08:31 Ciryandor wrote:
I'd have to say that most of these tips are applicable in the corporate setting up to even the biggest ones. Very good post; but I'll point out that for the larger companies, it's also about knowing the higher-level people and attracting their attention that you can work well with them. The higher they go, the more they can pull you up; recommending you be put in their old jobs, or referring you to other companies if they feel where you're at is not going to work out for you (like if they already left).
So true. I have a saying hanging on my wall that translated goes something like this:
Somebody who has made big successes in life, owes this more to the people he knows as to his knowledge.
+ Show Spoiler +Original Dutch:
Iemand die het ver in het leven gebracht heeft, heeft dat meer te danken aan zijn kennissen dan aan zijn kennis.
|
Stage fright and public speaking problems can be helped by toastmasters, public speaking classes and some of the other suggestions in this thread (recording yourself etc). Really the only way you can get past any type of fear is to do it over and over again until you aren't afraid anymore.
I'm honestly not an expert when it comes to teaching these types of skills, so others may be able to help you more than me.
|
thank you for the read 
|
Wow, such saddening truth in that post.
|
excellent post, will come handy sooner than later
|
Good read, and for the record I am one of those people who don't really want a promotion. Right now I'm perfectly happy where I am.
In the future though...
|
This is great information that you can't hear often enough. It's definitely something that's talked about a lot like you mention in the OP but you have to keep reminding yourself of these things to actually remember and utilize them.
It's also very good to hear from a personal perspective like this, there are some very good ideas in there. Thanks for the post.
|
On September 20 2010 09:02 QuickStriker wrote:
So what can be some advices to give me in that case for someone who is pursuing a path in media/news/TV and radio? Can toastmasters really help all the problems I have? And seeing how the locations near me seem like a pain to me, do you think if I start one at my school, that'll give even more props and benefits (since I can sorta put that down on my resume and all) in getting a job?? Thanks!
In my old college, we had a "career development center" and they offered mock interviews, leadership sessions, and presentations critiquing entirely for free. The only one I took advantage of was the presentation, they would have someone film and listen to your presentation and then critique and show you the video afterwards.
Ask around in your school, these programs are common and you pretty much already paid for it with your tuition already so you might as well take advantage of it 
|
|
|
Just really amazing to read the posts in this thread. Keep it up guys!
|
Glad to see that this topic and post have been useful for some people. I have quite a few more that I will share in the very near future as I've seen it generated some good discussion.
Thanks for the feedback and questions.
|
I have a big time interview tomorrow and I'm so nervous! I will remember to go by the advice in the op here!
|
Nice post. Have seen a lot of your points on various occasions.
Things you can add that I have come across. Won't elaborate that much, in a hurry atm
Respect for your coworkers no matter their position. Reasoning of course being that you will be seen as a more positive person and you will be able to gain a lot more help and a more positive environment if the people around you like you. You may never know when you could need some help from someone so you should have an as big positive network as possible.
Be solution oriented and not problem seeking. If you seem like a person who looks passed the problem and want to contribute to a solution and helping rather than blaming and problem seeking it will get noticed. And leader what someone who takes action.
Make a priority schedule of your work day, this to make it easier for yourself to do the right things at the right time. And should something with higher priority come up than do that first unless it is very inconvenient. Should use something that looks something like this:
First priority: Urgent and important
Second priority: Urgent but not so important
Third priority: Not urgent but important
Last priority: Not urgent and not important
Build up your knowledge. Study relevant and modern literature about the sector you work in so you can use that to your advantage, good leaders has a very solid foundation build up your own asap. Leadership theory may also help a lot.
Quick tips that may help some.
Could read pickup books to help make a good first impression on others.
Learn different persuasions technics from books.
Start to get fit. People who are fit and take care of themselves are generally seen upon as more serious and people will be more positive towards fit and people who take care of themselves. Being fit will also help you by having more energy and more mental stamina.
Selfimprovement in general can help you, calm and positive people are more likely to get a promotion than someone whos not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
