How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions Tips from an Introvert - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions Tips from an Introvert - Introvert Whisperer How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions: Tips from an Introvert We often believe that employers are easily swayed by a charismatic, energetic and passionate interviewee. It feels like they’re looking for the personality traits of an extrovert, which leads us to think that the loudest person in the room will get the job. I’m an introvert myself, leaning towards a mild ambivert on a really good day. I discovered that even though I wasn’t a charismatic speaker with perfectly-timed hand gestures, I was still able to get beyond a surface-level conversation and really connect with people. Despite not being the most outspoken, I was able to receive several job offers. I realized that when it came to interviews, I actually had an advantage as an introvert. Most Fortunate 500 companies use a technique called “behavioral interviewing” which tries to assess your past behavior in order to predict your fit for the job. It means they want to hear stories about your previous work, which might indicate your ability to do the job you are interviewing for. These are questions like, “tell me about a time when…” that tend to make up the bulk of most interviews. Here are my tips to play on your strengths as an introvert, answer behavioral interview questions, and maximize your time during a job interview. Tell Stories When companies ask you behavioral interview questions like “what’s your greatest achievement?” or “tell me about a time when you had to meet a deadline” they are all basically asking one thing: Please, oh please tell us a story! Often times people plow through an answer and give a story that might sound great on the surface, but lacks important details like how the result was actually impactful or what role they played in the situation. This is where you have an opportunity to go beyond what is written in your resume and paint a well thought-out, descriptive, and context-rich story. There is no need for fancy analogies or perfect body language. As Susan Cain, author of Quiet says, “Theres zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.” The simplest way to provide detailed story is to structure your answers using the “STAR,” which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Bring to mind an achievement from your past and ask yourself the following: Situation - Why did this happen at this point? Why was it a problem? Why was it really an issue? What was at stake? Task - Why was I involved? What was my responsibility? Action - Why did I decide to take these actions? What assumptions did I make? Result - Why was this result important? Why did X happen and not Y? Why did I care? What were the facts? What impact did I have? What did I learn? Why was it a failure or success? Now that you have the basic structure, you want to make sure you are telling your stories in the right context. Use Emotional Intelligence    The biggest challenge in an interview comes from a disconnect in communication. What is the interviewer really trying to say? Why did they ask that question? This is why it’s important to answer all of their questions in a way that is relatable to the interviewer. If your answer misses the point, then you’ll either have to find a different example or the interviewer will be frustrated because you didn’t understand the question (even though they don’t say anything to indicate their dissatisfaction). We want to avoid this, of course. The safest way is to clarify what they are looking for beforehand before diving into your answer full throttle. “So you’re looking for an example where I did X?”   Or in describing an example to hit a tight deadline during your time at a newspaper publisher, you might quickly ask “Are you familiar with the workflow in news publishing?” If the interviewer is very familiar, then you can summarize and move on, but if they’re not, you’ll have to lay things out for them in more detail. Have Conversations, not Monologues    Interviews are supposed to be conversations but often ends up with two people giving mini-monologues. In order to avoid this, it’s almost always better to intermittently elicit small responses from your interviewer to keep them feeling engaged. The easiest way to understand or clarify if someone got your point, or if they need more context, is to drop in cues like, “Does this make sense? Does that answer your question?”   Misunderstanding happens often not because you don’t get the question, but because the interviewer is looking for something in particular but phrased the question poorly. Remember, most interviewers don’t have much experience interviewing, so it’s your job to help guide the conversation and make sure there are no communication blunders. Where an interviewer may not have considered you a strong candidate from the start, sharing a high-context, relevant story allows them to reveal the “diamonds in the rough” like yourself.   Practice and Self Improvement  Johnny Depp never wants to go back and watch his movies for fear of being disappointed. It’s not just him, but many artists and actors. If you attach too much importance to what you are doing so much that it gets tied to your self-worth, then you’re going to get shattered when things don’t work out. I hate recording myself, but it works. Any great athlete or speaker records themselves to find out where the “gap” is in their performance, technique or presentation. If you don’t want to practice in front of a friend, then this is especially a great option. I always use either my computer camera or my iPhone video/audio record function. The first time listening to the sound of your voice is going to make you cringe. You might be tempted to scamper away and hide under your blankets. Don’t worry, after you do this a couple of times you will get used to it and is a huge step in self-analysis. You’ll see how many times you say “umm.” And once you watch yourself, listen to yourself, and improve, just remember that you are one step ahead of Johnny Depp.   Conclusion You might still get nervous in the interview, which is totally fine and happens to everyone. This means you’ll just need to spend more time practicing. But balancing out our weaknesses is as important as catering to our strengths. You might be surprised that what comes naturally to you is actually a strength in an interview practicing emotional intelligence, carefully taking time to prepare, and holding a deeper conversation with someone. When you play on all of these strengths, you’re likely to see much greater success in your interviews! Author Bio:

New Boss New Career Opportunities - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / New Boss New Career Opportunities - Introvert Whisperer New Boss? New Career Opportunities The one thing you can count on in business is nothing ever stays the same. That goes for the boss, too. Bosses come and they go even when your job remains in place. In some businesses, they come and go so fast they feel like a hit and run. While it would be nice to have some stability, it’s not something you can count on. Moreover, you can actually use it for boosting your career. You can look at the boss turn-over as a career growth opportunity. A new boss is a time when the board is wiped clean and a new working relationship has yet to be developed. If your previous relationship was rocky or you performed some career-limiting moves, this gives you an opportunity to recreate who you are to that new person. Even if the new boss is someone you already know, you are both new in this relationship and you have a chance to rethink how things will go. The key is to “think” about your next actions. Here are some smart career moves when you get a new boss: Educate them on what you do. This is like the reverse of learning a new job. You can’t assume the new boss knows the details of who does what. They have a learning curve, so make sure you help them understand your job. Among the things you can share are your primary deliverables, results, current performance, what you are working on and are slated to work on soon. Don’t compare them to the previous boss. They will resent the comparison. They will also more than likely want to do things differently than how it was done. Even if the previous boss was a felon, don’t pass on bad gossip to the new one. The assumption is that if you freely share your opinion of that person, you will do it to the new one as well. It doesn’t win points. Time your requests and decision making. If you hit up a new boss for things like time off, vacations, raises or even process decisions you will come off as unsavvy. Obviously, if there is a big decision that affects the business, you shouldn’t hold off. Be prepared with a recommendation for a decision, your rationale, and any critical timing. Aside from that, allow the learning curve to take place and bring these topics to them in small doses. Time to shine. If you were doing less than stellar under the previous boss, now is the time to hit the “reset” button on your performance. If you can make strides in the areas of improvement now that you are with a new boss, the new boss will trust their own observations of you more than anything passed on to them. If you need to get a mentor to help you understand what you should be doing, now is the time to get that person lined up. It doesn’t have to be public knowledge that you have a mentor. A mentor can help your career whether it is how to navigate the political landscape or how to improve your performance. Learn your new boss. Some people think that the new boss will yearn to hear all of their pent-up improvement suggestions. Like all people, they will only want advice if they ask for it. Learn how your new boss likes to learn and take in new information. How do they want to run the department?  Loads of details or only the top level information? Again, you can’t make assumptions about the new boss based on any of your history. Ask them questions about what they will want to know from you and then deliver. Be ready for change. Even when a peer ascends to the throne, things will change. Every boss will tweak things, sometimes making huge changes and other times only minor. Your willingness to actively embrace those changes can mean the difference between a successful working relationship and career or being advised that perhaps you’d fit better in another group. Just like starting fresh with a new job, a new boss can be a time to start over again and create real career momentum for you. You don’t have to hang on to your old stories. You can rewrite your career each and every time a new boss comes along. Go to top Do you know what your next career step is?  Many people don’t. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook on how to construct your Career SMART Goals â€" that will help you put together your actions and keep you accountable. Get your copy now and start your action plan today! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

All You Need To Know About Rate Of Change Calculations

All You Need To Know About Rate Of Change Calculations 0SHARESShare The rate of change formula or calculator is used to calculate the slope between two points plotted on a line. It thus denotes the slope of the line and is basically the ratio between the difference in the x and y co-ordinates. For example, if point A is denoted by (x 1 , y1) and point B is denoted by (x 2 , y2) where the two points are present on a line L, the rate of change or the slope of the line L = (y2 â€" y1)/ (x 2 â€" x1) Thus, for two points say (5, 3) and (19, 15), the rate of change calculator is the ratio of (19-5)/(15-3)= 12/12 = 1. This is quite an important concept in a variety of sciences. The rate of change finds application in the following areas: Distance and Speed Problems Statistics and Population Calculating Growth Calculus Slope and rate of change: Video reference Khan Academy There are many more applications of the rate of change concept; for the purpose of illustration, let us consider the distance and speed related problems. Velocity is described as the rate at which a particular distance is covered in a specific time frame. Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time. Similarly, there are a plethora of applications for this concept. Let us understand a simple application of rate of change with an example. Example Problem Statement: If Timmy has 10 gallons of gas in his bike and has 6 left after driving 200 miles, what does the rate of slope indicate and what is the bike’s mileage? Solution: Difference in Gas Quantity = Consumption of gas for the trip = Initial Quantity â€" Final Quantity = 10-6 = 4 gallons Distance Traveled = 200 miles When we plot the distance on the X axis and the quantity of gas on the Y axis, the initial point at the starting would be at 0 miles and 10 gallons i.e. (0,10) in the co-ordinates while the final c0-ordinates when he reaches his destination would be 200 miles and 6 gallons = (200,6). Rate of Change = (6-10)/ (200-0) = -4/200 = -1/50 = -.02 Coming to the implication of this slope, it simply means that Timmy’s bike is using up .02 gallons of gas for every mile it is being used. The â€"ve sign indicates a decrease. The above inference is simple â€" the rate of change here = Difference in fuel / Distance (Gallons/mil e) = Fuel used per mile. However, the number of miles per gallon is a more useful measure in this case and this can be written down by seeing the slope as 50 miles (from the denominator) per gallon (from the numerator). [starbox id=admin]

Questions with Do and Did Beginners English

Questions with Do and Did Beginners English This is probably one of the cutest videos I’ve seen in a long time. It also shows a very important grammar point, the auxiliary Do/Did for questions. We use ‘do’ as an auxiliary to form questions in the present simple and past. The following video features common questions asked with do, with a childs very funny answers.Auxiliary Verbs are used in forming the tenses, moods, and voices of other verbs. You can think of ‘do’ as the upside down question mark in Spanish ¿.Watch the video again and see if you can understand the questions.Did you have a good Christmas?Do you love your mommy?Do you love your daddy?Do you love your uncle Galin?Do you love your grandparents?Do you want a million dollars?Do you love your doggy?Do you want to go night night?Do you love bath-time?Is there anything you like?NO, NO, NO!Too cute!

Why Volunteer Tas Tells Her Story

Why Volunteer Tas Tells Her Story Ever wonder what value a school volunteer with no classroom experience could have? Masters student and business owner Tas tells just how useful Tutorfair Foundation volunteers are  whatever their background. Since November Tas has been a volunteer at Central Foundation Girls School. She tells us how much she values tutoring though juggling many things. Tas’ responsibilities include, “studying at Birkbeck, doing a Masters in Business Innovation and running Abacus - a business teaching mental mathematics. I have also tutored maths, business and accounting since last April and I am a Programme Manager.” This busy bee had masses of life experience in her subject areas  of maths and  business studies, but no experience teaching in schools. Starting Volunteer Work Tas was, “very excited about my first experience in a classroom as it’s very different from one-to-one tutoring. I will be starting a Business Studies PGCE soon so I wanted a classroom experience to see what the challenges for the teacher are like and to learn about managing students expectations. I have the practical experience from my business but I wanted to see the academic side.” Going into the classroom can initially be intimidating. For Tas, “it was fun and it was daunting, very different to running business workshops for adults. My first session was meant to be an observation but I ended up getting involved myself! I was lucky to work with a great teacher, Mr Whitfield, who is very cool and very supportive. We chat about both the academic and practical side of teaching business.” So what does it feel like to go into a classroom with no previous experience? Tas tell us, “it was fabulous, it was wonderful… I was nervous. When you’re teaching you have to mask your emotions and show that you are confident and ensure you are getting their attention so it’s really challenging but very enjoyable. Now working in a school is a doddle for Tas, “put me in a class of 40 students and it wouldn’t make a difference! I have the confidence now. I had the experience before from business and now I can apply it in a classroom.” The Value of a  Volunteer Tas found that once she was in the school, her value became clear, “I started with business studies then thought, okay I can do more. I wanted to contribute more so I did maths too and worked with those who are doing their GCSE resists. My objective is to get them out of the group as soon as possible, to help them gain a grade C. It's about stretching them and building their confidence. I had a student who thought she couldn’t do a piece of work. Then I asked her if she had read the question and she said no. So I got her to read it out. When she did she could do it! To many of these students maths seems daunting because they’ve had difficulties before, it’s a question of tearing down the barriers.” Tas found a role in supporting the work that class teachers do when she noticed they, “really try but can’t give the one to one attention to every students, so as volunteers we play a crucial role. It’s not just subject knowledge but understanding the individual and giving them the confidence they need to apply what they know.” It's all about confidence Building confidence in teenagers sounds like expert work! Tas tells us it is all about connection and understanding, “the first few sessions are very nerve wrecking for them too. Once you get the relationship going then everything falls into place. I found they love to ask me questions. They ask, ‘Miss what’s your background? Why are you here? What's your religion?’ So I get them to finish an exercise then I answer one of the questions and that seems to motivate them!” Now that she feels at home in the classroom, Tas loves volunteering. So much so that she couldn't pick a favourite single moment, saying “it sounds cheesy but everyday has its best moments!” We wanted an example and she shared, “recently I asked them to do an exercise, they said ‘you don't know us, we can't do it’ I simply said, ‘I have faith in you.’ They did the task, turned around and said thank you miss. That was a great moment. It’s good when you see them putting in that effort.” Innovating as a Volunteer Tas has grown close to her students and enjoys finding novel ways to challenge them, “the fact that you can get them to think is excellent! We recently had a session on marketing and when you encourage them to think from a different perspective, and you see the ideas they have, it is fascinating! They marketed an artisan ice cream for a dairy farm and had to think about whether it would just be local advertising or whether they would go national through Tesco. They thought about the branding and made the USP that it was quality ice cream, not the cheap stuff. During the lesson I divided them into three groups to do a mini dragons den and pitch for money - we had a marketing team, a sales team, Human Resources and even a board of directors to decide if they were approved for finance! They loved it.” A lack of classroom experience didn't hold Tas back. She applied her unique skills and knowledge to her placement and focused on what she could give to the students - the gift of confidence. As she helped the students believe in themselves, her confidence in the classroom grew too. If you're thinking of joining the Tutorfair Foundation  volunteer team,  take Tas’ advice: “Absolutely go for it! Don’t even think twice. The rewards that you get when you see the students really putting in the effort, and succeeding, nothing can beat that!” You can book Tas as a private tutor on Tutorfair.com.

5 Dos and Donts When Social Networking as a Freshman

5 Do’s and Don’ts When Social Networking as a Freshman Social Networking as a Freshman: 5 Do’s and Don’ts Now that students are going off to college, they are thinking about the many ways they can benefit from their university education. Of course, college-educated ladies will have a huge benefit once they enter the workforce and more opportunities to make money in their dream field. Additionally, the concepts and topics taught in college courses are complex and exciting and provide students with more knowledge of their primary field of study as well as the world around them. One thing freshmen should focus on is how to network successfully on a social level. Social connections made in college can be fruitful and long-lasting when done right. However, there are a few dos and donts when it comes to social networking that new college students should consider. Do: Make Genuine Friends One of the most important parts of social networking is to gain genuine friendships. Social networking is different from professional networking in that people aren’t specifically looking for a job or career-related information. Although social networking might lead to professional contacts, later on, freshmen are encouraged to focus simply on making genuine friendships with people who have an interest in developing their education and being successful while at a university (READ: 5 sings you need a math tutor in college). Don’t: Expect results right away It can be tempting to expect positive results straight away. Everybody wants to make new friends, join a successful study group, or line up their first internship. However, making new friends can take a significant amount of time, especially when everybody is focused on so many things at once. As a freshman, ladies have to focus on academics, a new living situation, financial independence, and time management in addition to their social prospects. Patience is a virtue when it comes to social networking as a college freshman. Do: Make connections within your major Its a good idea for people to make connections within their intended major field of study. People who intend to go into the same field will often have similar interests and a similar schedule of classes. These people make great study buddies and even serve as career connections later on. Havent decided on a major yet? Thats okay. Start making friends in classes that are interesting or might serve as a potential choice of major (READ: 5 Things to do Before You Go To College). Do: Participate in philanthropic activities Its always a good idea to participate in activities that give back to others or the community. Many genuine friendships can be formed while participating in volunteer activities on campus. Additionally, joining a philanthropic club or organization can introduce students to peers who dont happen to be in the same courses. Its a great idea to diversify social networking opportunities to learn about different types of people as well as new and exciting things. Don’t: Get discouraged Many college freshmen get a little bit discouraged if they dont have a huge social network right away. Some people are social butterflies and others are not. Its totally okay to be on the shy side when coping with this huge adjustment from high school to college. If someone doesnt feel up to organizing a new club or activity, they can simply join in on activities and let their social side shine once they feel more comfortable. In reality, even ladies who seem incredibly social are probably dealing with the same fears and stressors as everybody else. Remember, going to college is a huge adjustment for everybody and making a whole new set of friends can be tough at first. However, great social networking requires a little bit of perseverance and patience but its, totally worth it in the end. Ask your private Orange County college tutor from TutorNerds how to stay focused in college. Call us today to book your tutor.

Andys October Language Challenge Week 3

Andys October Language Challenge Week 3 Im almost done!  Only 2 lesson to go! Planning and scheduling the sessions in advance definitely works. In the last 7 days i took 3 classes and i have 2 more planned for the rest of the week. This should make me complete the challenge by friday 24, almost a week in advance! During the last 10 lessons i mostly worked on vocabulary and sentence structures. I think i will dedicate next week, the last of the challenge, to improve the pronunciation of what i learned, especially fixing the tones! If you ever tried to learn Chinese you will know that this is a tonal language and that the meaning of the same syllable  change according to the tone of it. This is a major issue for me, and many other westerners with me, as Romance languages are not tonal and this implies learning a whole new way of understanding and pronounce sounds. Next week i will also record the final video to show you guys my improvements on the language. It will be halloween! Will you guys record a scary message? Maybe i will ?? Andys October Language Challenge Week 3 Im almost done!  Only 2 lesson to go! Planning and scheduling the sessions in advance definitely works. In the last 7 days i took 3 classes and i have 2 more planned for the rest of the week. This should make me complete the challenge by friday 24, almost a week in advance! During the last 10 lessons i mostly worked on vocabulary and sentence structures. I think i will dedicate next week, the last of the challenge, to improve the pronunciation of what i learned, especially fixing the tones! If you ever tried to learn Chinese you will know that this is a tonal language and that the meaning of the same syllable  change according to the tone of it. This is a major issue for me, and many other westerners with me, as Romance languages are not tonal and this implies learning a whole new way of understanding and pronounce sounds. Next week i will also record the final video to show you guys my improvements on the language. It will be halloween! Will you guys record a scary message? Maybe i will ??