Tight Job Market - all the more need for emotional intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is in the news more all the time. Those of us who were early adopters know why. With the economy in the shape it's in, there is more stress for everyone AND there is more competition for the jobs that are available. As we've said all along, if two people have equal intelligence, skills, and experience, which one is going to get hired?

The answer: The one YOU would want to work with.

Which means the one with the higher emotional intelligence.

Let me help you improve yours. Here are some of the complaints that HR people have when they interview candidates:

** They act like a robot.
** She got hysterical just in an interview session.
** She got so nervous when I asked her questions, I wondered how she would make it through the interview.
** Even with simple questions, he got defensive. I couldn't imagine asking our employees to work with him.
** He was abrasive. I would not ask one of our managers to have him in their department.
** Looked good on paper. In person she was just plain out annoying.

Email me for coaching at sdunn@susandunn.cc and let's get started. This tight market means you need help with stress AND with interview techniques. Let's say personality, and emotional intelligence.

EQ- and the Job Interview

LET ME GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE FOG

Interviewing for jobs? Looking for a new job? Just moved to a new location?

Of course you know to prepare. Yes, be able to answer "What's a problem that happened on the job and what how did you handle it?" and "Tell me about yourself."

We all know those pretty well by now!

But considering that most people form their impression of you in the first 30 SECONDS, there's another little bit of homework you need to do.

Especially if you're new to an area ... and you can really consider any new job environment a "new area."

One of the most important areas you could research is to find out how the people dress.

FROM TODAY'S MAILBAG:

Susan, I just moved to the Dallas Fort Worth area. I didn't know
there was a rivalry between the two. I started out working at a firm in
Dallas, but the commute (4 hours a day) was too long. So I tried Fort
Worth. When I walked in for my interview, dressed like I did in Dallas, the woman said, "We don't dress like that here." It seems in Fort Worth you wear some color, and in Dallas, black is fine.

Later I had a temp job. The receptionist told me they liked most
temps, but they did get rid of one. "We just couldn't stand the way she
dressed."

The next interview in Fort Worth I thought I'd done better but it turned out long hair is also "out". The man interviewing me looked at me, then turned to the other woman in the room, who had that shaved hair cut, and said, "I like your hair." That was a slam.

What do I do???? I need a job and I'm stuck between these two cities.

Do your research in this area. It's best to "fit in" as well as you can. Look up the place on the Internet and check out the dress code. Talk to people you know who might know. Go for the middle of the road, neutral look.

You might even go so far as to keep some things in your purse - a set of plain pearl earrings and then gold loops. You will usually have some time between your entrance and the time you meet with the interviewer to get the lay of the land. Like when you sit in the receptionist area. Use this time wisely, to look around and see how things are. Adjust accordingly.

For coaching, call me at 817-741-7223. I'm here to help.

Also ask for me ebook, "Acing the NEW Job Interview." Email me to order.

The New Job Interview - It's about Personality and EQ

Bosses Try New Ways to Skip Misfit Hires: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

You've got to have emotional intelligence to ace the new interview.
From the article -- as bosses try to find the right kind of people to work for them:

With the national unemployment rate low, at 4.7 percent, and the Baby Boom
generation heading into retirement, employers from Microsoft Corp. to rural
hospitals are worrying about finding enough workers. But companies like
Rackspace Managed Hosting are bucking that trend, working hard to find reasons
to turn people away.

Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier said, "We'd rather miss a good one than hire a bad one."
The 1,900-person computer server hosting company is divided into 18- to 20-person teams. One team is so close, the whole group shows up to help when one member moves into a new home, Napier said. Job interviews at the San Antonio-based company last all day, as interviewers try to rub away fake pleasantness.

"They're here for nine or 10 hours," Napier said. "We're very cordial about it. We're not aggressive, but we haven't met a human being yet who has the stamina to BS us all day."

There's a possible downside, however. In a Harvard Business Review article titled "Fool vs. Jerk: Whom Would You Hire?" Tiziana Casciaro of Harvard and Miguel Sousa Lobo of Duke University point out that people generally like people who are similar to them, so hiring for congeniality can limit diversity of opinions. One venture capitalist told the authors that a capable manager he worked with built a team that "had a great time going out for a beer, but the quality of their work was seriously compromised."

To learn more about your emotional intelligence, take THE EQ COURSE. It will increase your EQ and also give you an idea what the new employers are interviewing FOR.

This course is also excellent for ANGER MANAGEMENT.

Honesty, the first step to happiness

HONESTY: The First Step to Happiness (guest article)

The cornerstone of emotional intelligence is self-awareness, which applies to awareness of your emotions. "We are our emotions." Authenticity is one of the competencies. Being honest about your emotional state can be hard ... take The EQ Course to develop your emotional intelligence.

I apologize for the grammatical and spelling errors in the article. They are not mine!

Today's guest article:

Honesty is the first and most basic step to being happiy [sic] and healthy. It is not a surprise that it is teh [sic] first step in the 12-steps as well. The 12-steps are not just for addicts or people who believe in God. As a clinician I have developed an appreciation for how simply enacting the spiritual principles of the 12-Steps can drastically improve anxiety, depression, anger and addiction. Spirituality is more than just religion, it is a way of life. These principles are present in every religion, and are helpful even for those who are not religious. Let’s take a look...

Honesty. The first step in being happy is to be honest, not only with others, but also yourself. This means developing a strong awareness of self, what you like and need, what you truly can control, and your feelings and what they mean.

Many people who are depressed, anxious or addicted fail to realize the real reasons for their misery. They see the immediate answer---what triggered the negativity this time. What they fail to realize is that their fears and/or anger is usually all related to one or more deeper causes.

Humans have six basic fears: isolation, failure, rejection, loss of control, death and the unknown. When you get angry or anxious, ask yourself which of these fears you are experiencing, why you fear it and how rational that is.

For example, you may be nervous going in for a job interview---fear of rejection, failure, the unknown. Okay, they may not hire you (rejection from the employer), but are you also fearing rejection by someone else? Does failure to get this job mean you are letting someone else down such as a parent or spouse? Aside from the fact that you did not get the job, do you really care if the prospective employer liked you? In reality, does this change the way your loved ones feel about you? Yes, you would prefer to get the job, but if you do not is it really that much of a catastrophe?

Another part of honesty is being aware of how you contribute to your own misery. Do you fail to take responsibility for your actions and blame others, look for the easy answers or might you be intentionally making yourself miserable. Intentionally? Yes! Maybe not consciously, but there are many people who inadvertently sabotage their recovery, because being miserable is so rewarding. When you are depressed, wrought with anxiety or in your addiction, people pay attention to you, overlook/make excuses for errors and it gives you a built in excuse for failure. Many people are afraid of failure because they see failing at any task means failing as a person and/or they equate failure with rejection. Both of these are basic and powerful (though not always rational) fears.

To start to develop self-awareness, keep a journal in the morning and evening. It only takes a few minutes. Ask yourself, how do I feel emotionally (happy, sad, grumpy, lonely, resentful etc…), mentally (confused, sharp, creative, foggy…) and physically (sick, weak, lethargic, strong, energetic etc). [We suggest The EQ Checkin(tm) - Ask yourself h you are feeling emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.] Then identify why you feel that way, what you can do to change the negative things, and what you have no control over. This is your journal, you do not even need to write in full sentences, just pay attention. In the evening, repeat the exercise to see if you are feeling better, if your interventions are working or if you need to do something differently.

Some things you can do to help yourself out include asking yourself:

 “Will this matter 6 months from now?”

 “Does worrying/being angry or regretful about this help me in any way? How could I better use my energy to do something about the problem?"

 “Is this worth the negative impact it is having on me and my family?”

 “What parts of this do I have control over?”

“What does this mean about me as a person?”

 “Realistically, what are the consequences of this?”

If you are tired, confused or “foggy” figure out why. Sometimes it is the easy answer---you did not get enough quality sleep. To fix this, set a wind-down routine. This will cue your body into when to go to sleep. Secondly, eliminate caffeine within 12 hours of bedtime. This includes soda, coffee and lots of chocolate. Set up your bedroom to be comfortable for you to sleep---clean, smells good, dark, quiet etc.

Often times, people are actually getting too much sleep or their sleep is fitful because of all the stress their muscles are holding. If you are getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep, try adding some physical activity—walking the dog, gardening, walking around the block during your lunch break, yoga, tai chi. . .whatever you are willing to regularly do for at least 20 minutes every day.

A third thing to evaluate is your diet. Too much sugar, caffeine or not enough water can cause confusion, tiredness, depression, irritability, difficulty regulating your body temperature and poor sleep. Make sure you are not dehydrated. If you do not like water, try lemonade, flavored water. Just try to forego the carbonation and drinks with caffeine or alcohol---both of which will make you dehydrated.

All of these things: awareness of how you feel emotionally, mentally, physically; awareness of what you have control over and what your body’s signals are trying to tell you will help you feel happier and more content. It takes practice to learn to pick your battles and accept you are not in control of everything, but once you do, you will see how much it not only improves how you feel, but also how much it improves your health and relationships.

This article is part of a 12 part series on integrating the 12-steps into a healthy life.

About the Author: Dr. Dawn Snipes received her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling and Addictions and her PhD in Counseling and Education from the University of Florida. She is an ordained Christian minister . Currently she runs two online continuing education sites (http://www.allceus.com), continuing education for rehabilitation counselors, addictions professionals, social workers and engineers (http://www.engineeringceus.com) and has a part-time private practice.

Source: www.isnare.com

Susan is the author of "EQ & Addiction: the 14th Step" and offers individual coaching, Internet courses and ebooks around emotional intelligence for your personal and professional development. Contact sdunn@susandunn.cc for more information.

Why you should not make (or accept) a Video Resume

Overlawyered

Is doing a video resume good emotional intelligence? After all, you're a dynamic, attractive person who presents well in-person. Is accepting them from applicants the smart thing to do? You sure get a clot more clues when you can see the candidate "in action." Will it help you in your search for a new job or a better job? If you're interviewing for jobs, see my ebook "Acing the New Interview"

Some have thought it a good idea when applying via such online job sites as Jobster, CareerBuilder and Vault.

According to this article on Overlawyered many labor and employment attorney are warning employers that video resumes creates too much exposure to be "comfortably accepted". That's lawyer-eze for "not a good idea."

"Just don't even deal with them," said Dennis Brown, an attorney in the San Jose, Calif., office of Littler Mendelson whose firm recently advised employers about the dangers of video resumés in a seminar. "My advice to my clients who have asked me about video resumes -- and I have had a lot of clients ask lately -- is do not accept, do not review video resumes."

This lawyer feels video resumes reveal information about a person's race, sex, disability, age -- all details that could wind up in a discrimination lawsuit.... "This is one of those instances where a little bit of unnecessary knowledge is dangerous." ...

Another lawyer, Darlene Smith of the Washington office of Boston's Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, said she was deadset against it.

Comments from attorneys for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are included in this article on Overlawyered.