©2005 Centers For Motivation, Inc. To contact us, please CLICK HERE.
What's Hot...
How To Get More Out of an Interview - With Less
Book Reviews:
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
Who Moved My Cheese?
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Children About Money - That The Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
How To Win Friends and Influence People
How To Get More Out Of An Interview - With Less!
As a manager you interview job applicants on a regular basis. Sometimes you know their track record from inside your organization. More often, all you have to go on is a resume and a half-hour conversation. To make matters worse, you probably have to interview candidates back-to-back, with pressure to fill an open position right now!
Of course, you know that the candidates have prepared intensely for this encounter. After all, the interview may be the most important event in their career. They've read a couple of books on how to handle the interviewer and memorized a dozen "creative" answers to typical questions. Their resumes have been prepared by a pro. How can you find out anything real about these people?
You know that you are going to have to live with the person you hire for a long time. You will have to count on him to deliver, and your own career may be affected by a bad choice. Fortunately, there are techniques that you can learn that can get you the information you need to make a good decision - for both you and for the candidate in front of you. Here's one:
First, you will need to decide what kind of person your job requires. Some jobs require a person who initiates behaviors and works independently. These jobs require creative thinking and the ability to self-manage. Other jobs require a person who wants to receive directions and who will follow procedures consistently. These people like structure and need plenty of guidance. Once you know which one of these personality types you need, you're ready to start your interview!
Use Your Eyes Instead of Your Ears When Interviewing
To get reliable information, you need to "set up" your interview so that you can observe the candidate's behavior. Have the person sit in a separate room or waiting area (try to avoid grouping applicants together). When you are ready to begin the interview, walk up to within 6 - 8 feet of the candidate and stop. Hold still while you introduce yourself and your title, and then observe the person's reaction without extending your hand or gesturing in any way. The initiating and independent personality type will jump up immediately and extend his or her hand to shake yours. This is a clear signal that the person you are about to interview will tend to work independently and creatively; in fact, he or she will need a fair amount of autonomy in their work. The more passive and dependent personality style will appear confused and may sit still for a moment, as if waiting for instructions. This type of person will do well in procedural jobs and will prefer guidance and regular instruction. This test only takes a few seconds to complete, and then you are ready to continue with the rest of the interview. In 10 seconds you've already got a good start toward making a good selection.
At the Centers for Motivation we specialize in providing good ideas to business leaders. What can we do for you - individual coaching or group training?
Book Reviews
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
By Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., 1998
Dr. Marty Seligman has been a learning theorist and writer for more than 25 years. He is currently the President of the American Psychological Association. In Learned Optimism, he suggests that you can choose to unlearn pessimism and acquire the skills of looking at setbacks with optimism. Some of us, by luck or learning, view adversity as challenge and life as an opportunity. Others, who view themselves as less fortunate, believe that "life sucks then you die".
Seligman proposes that when you understand the three ways that you can perceive adversity and fortune, you will be able to choose a happier and healthier way of thinking. He describes how to recognize negative thoughts and how to dispel them. The techniques he offers are extremely helpful as a way to put structure to helplessness. By the way, his original studies were called Learned Helplessness: A Model for Depression; but you know that title would never sell. I recommend this book for your health.
-Dr. Stewart Zelman
Centers for Motivation
Who Moved My Cheese?
By Spencer Johnson, MD
You will recognize the author's name from his best-selling series, The One Minute Manager, and you won't be disappointed by this little gem. In less than 100 pages Dr. Johnson weaves a charming tail (that is, tale) about two mice and two "littlepeople" who lived in an enormous maze. Through the metaphor of their lives and adventures, the reader is guided through a subtle series of learning experiences, each designed to train the unconscious mind in how to deal with change. While most books concentrate on the power of words to persuade the conscious mind, Dr. Johnson has used the power of metaphor to reach the deeper levels of the unconscious mind, with delightful results.
Throughout the book there are guidelines for dealing with painful challenges printed in bold letters, as if a string of pearls was laid out to guide the reader to the ultimate prize. "Hem" and "Haw" (the two "littlepeople") are faced with the pain of running out of cheese in their corner of the maze. Hem chooses to stay put and wait for more cheese to show up, while Haw faces his fear and sets out to find a new supply. He writes his first important learning on the maze wall as he sets out: "Smell the Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old". Many new learnings later he stops to write a new motto: "It Is Safer To Search in the Maze Than Remain in a Cheeseless Situation".
I won't spoil the story, but it does have a happy ending after many interesting and important learning experiences for Hem and Haw. You will have to pick up the book to find out what happens to "Sniff" and "Scurry", the two mice who share the maze with Hem and Haw. And don't be surprised if the hidden power of this little package sneaks up and grabs you from within!
-Ken Haman
Centers for Motivation
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Children About Money - That The Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
By Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter, C.P.A., 1998
The Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide To Financial Freedom and Rich Dad's Guide To Investing: What the Rich Invest In, That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! are the next two books in Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad series. These three books teach you how to think about money with wealth consciousness. Most of us live our lives through scarcity or the fear of not having enough. These books contain financial basics that most of us have never learned, and concepts that are not taught in school. Kiyosaki has given a new outlook on how to establish a financial future. These books teach you how to view investments, your home, and your money.
Do you work for money or does money work for you? Is the answer to paying your bills to get a second job? Kiyosaki might suggest that you will just get yourself deeper in debt; unless you have a plan. If you are establishing a business or building one Rich Dad's Guide to Investing has both personal as well as financial tools you will need. These three books are easy, fun and essential to read.
-Dr. Stewart Zelman
Centers for Motivation
How To Win Friends and Influence People
By Dale Carnegie, 1937
How to Win Friends and Influence People was first published in 1937. Dale Carnegie personally interviewed dozens of successful people to discover what techniques they used in human relations. He began his interviews around 1910, at the urging of J. Paul Getty. His subjects ranged from business and political leaders to movie stars, athletes and explorers. Thomas Edison, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marconi, Clark Gable and Owen Young are among the notables. LEARN THE SECRETS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS.
This book, although somewhat dated and simplistic, is a cornerstone in building an understanding of how to communicate and work with others. It is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because human nature and human relations have not changed, for the most part, in the past 90 years. A quote from the book jacket says it best: "The sole purpose of this book is to help you solve the biggest problem you face: The problem of getting along with and influencing people in your everyday business and social contacts." Financial, business and personal success, Carnegie believed, was the product of "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He offers nine principles, which are summarized at the end of each chapter and at the end of the book. Carnegie must have anticipated our hectic lifestyles. Review them before you start your day.
-Mark Briggs
Centers for Motivation