Top 6 Benefits of Outsourcing

Believe me, managing outsourcing is a hectic job, especially if there is a communication gap. I have been working with freelance employees for a long time now, and keeping good communication with them has always proved to be worth a lot. Although outsourcing is difficult to handle, once everything is set up, it brings huge benefits:

·         You find the best people for the job who can focus entirely on that specific job

·         Finding expertise from within your organization can prove to be an endless job, but with outsourcing, you get freed from the restriction of finding people from your existing employees; you can look for and hire the best people of the industry.

·         With outsourcing, you can save a lot of costs including overheads and staff training. Freelance workers can be found at low and negotiable rates.

·         By hiring experts from outside your organization, you get a chance to educate your current employees too; the flow of information and know-how can really help your organization learn innovative solutions.

·         Outsourcing also helps to improve the operational efficiency of the business. If goals are properly lined up, it can prove to be really beneficial.

·         With external help hired for a specific job, your existing employees will be free to handle the other tasks assigned to them.

Outsourcing may seem to be a difficult task, but once it is managed properly, it can really help boost the business.

What To Avoid During A Job Interview

During the entire job hunting process, the most significant and tricky stage is the interview. Candidates feel anxious and nervous before and during the interview process and cannot rest unless they have heard back from the company. For some this phone call brings a sense of achievement with the news that they have been selected for the job, but many receive no calls at all conveying that they have failed to land the job. There might be many reasons why a candidate fails to get the job, most of which are related to the interview process. Many candidates are under the impression that they did well in the interview and are devastated when they are rejected. The fact is that most of the candidates have no idea that during the interview session they might have committed some grave mistakes which cost them the job. These mistakes are so common that most of the candidates repeat them over and over again without realizing the damage they are doing to their career. If you think you are one of those candidates, there is no need to panic as we have identified some of the most common mistakes made by candidates during an interview so that you can avoid them in the future.

Most Common Interview Mistakes:

A lot of people make some serious mistakes during the interview which end up turning a job opportunity into a disaster. In order to avoid making these mistakes we first need to identify these mistakes. Some of the most common mistakes by a candidate during an interview are:

Being Late

A lot of candidates fail to appear for the interview on time and think that they can get away with a lame excuse. Nothing throws the interviewer off like coming late to an interview and then failing to apologize. If you are filing to arrive at the job interview on time, it gives the interviewer an impression that you are not taking the job opportunity seriously and hence is not someone they were looking for. So to make a good impression during the interview you should be there on time. If you fail to do that apologize for the delay and reassure the interviewer that this is not a habitual practice.

Dressing Inappropriately

Dressing right is the most important part of an interview. Assuming that a casual dress might do for your interview is a big mistake. If you have any doubts you can do a little research regarding the company culture and find out what kind of dressing is expected. Nevertheless it is better to be overdressed rather than being underdressed. Also, try to keep the accessories to a minimum so that you look professional.

Being Unprepared

Some candidates show up for an interview without even the slightest preparation and as a result fail to answer any tough questions asked by the interviewer. Not researching about the company you are applying to can also be fatal for the interview. Make sure that when you are appearing for an interview you know what kind of work entails the job that you have applied for and you have a general idea of the company’s background.

Talking Too Much Or Too Little

Talking too much or saying next to nothing is also a mistake we have seen during an interview. You should answer a question completely and then let the interviewer proceed to his next one. Blabbering uselessly and interrupting the interviewer creates a bad impression. Similarly, answering the questions in monosyllables and nor elaborating on anything also leaves the interviewer dissatisfied, thus minimizing your chances of getting a job. It is also important to ask important and well thought questions related to the job. Asking silly questions or not asking any questions at all is not the right approach also.

Badmouthing Your Employer

Nothing raises the red flags more than badmouthing your former employer in front of the interviewer as it points towards a lack of professional maturity and failure to take responsibility. Trying to justify your reasons for leaving the previous employer by criticizing him is a bad idea and should be avoided at all costs. Even if your boss actually was a horrible person, there is no need to share that with the interviewer. Keep your reasons for leaving the last job and your views about your previous boss professional.

Lying

You should never lie during an interview or provide false information on your resume. If you are qualified and skilled enough for the position you have applied for, you will get the job. If however you feel like you are not qualified for the job then you should not apply in the first place, no matter how desperately you want the job. Lying in the interview certainly diminishes your chances of getting the job. Be open about your weaknesses and strong points. When you state you weaknesses make sure that you also point out what steps you have taken to address the particular weakness and how far have you succeeded in the effort.

Lacking Enthusiasm

Appearing disinterested and bored during the interview is one of the most fatal mistakes that can ruin your chances of getting selected for the job. Show the employer that you care about the job and are excited at the prospect of joining the company. If the interviewer senses that you are not interested in the job, he will not call you for a second interview.

Asking About Benefits Too Soon

Bringing in the salary questions too soon and repeatedly raises the red flags as the interviewer senses that you are not very interested in the job as much as the benefits and the money involved in it. You should wait for the interviewer to bring up the salary negotiations as he will definitely ask you about the expected salary range before the interview session comes to an end.

Concluding Thoughts

The entire job hunting process from writing your resume to showing up at the interview and the follow up after that requires a lot of effort and skill. In order to get the job you have to make sure that during all these steps you have put up your best performance. Make sure that you do not make any of the mistakes mentioned above and you will most definitely succeed in the interview process.

Mastering The Art Of Public Speaking

Public speaking is an integral part of professional life, one without which your survival in the job market is almost impossible. At the initial levels it is possible that you might not be required to speak publically or give presentations, but as you progress in your career you are required to do both. Most of us feel panicked when faced with the prospect of speaking in public and addressing a crowd. Whether one is addressing a small group of people or a large gathering, he is bound to feel some level of anxiety. However, with a few clever tips and a lot of practice, one can master the art of public speaking.

Improving Public Speaking Skills:

Speaking in front of a live audience is a scary thought for most of us but it does not have to be that way. These tried and tested pointers will not only help in improving your public speaking skills but also assist you in giving presentations during staff meetings.

Learn From The Best:

The best way to improve your public speaking skills is to learn from those who are considered great public speakers. They can be your superiors, colleagues and even famous personalities such as leaders, politicians and other icons. By keenly observing their style, you can learn a lot about what to do and what not to do when addressing a large gathering of people. Try watching the videos of famous people delivering speeches and observe their method. You do not have to exactly copy the style of one single person since the purpose is to achieve a sense of different styles of delivering a speech or addressing the audience.

Look Your Best:

It is very important to look good when you appear for public speaking or a presentation. People do and will notice what you are wearing and how you are wearing it. If you are dressed improperly or lack neatness in your overall appearance, the audience will notice and the fact that they are not criticizing your wardrobe or dress sense will serve as a blow to your self confidence.

Know Your Material:

When you are supposed to address a public meeting or a gathering the worst mistake that you can make is not being fully appraised of the material. As a general rule, if you do not know the subject inside out you must not engage in speaking in front of an audience. The audience is bound to ask all sorts of questions at the end of the presentation or the speech and if you fail to answer even one of them you lose all your credibility.

Keep Practicing:

The best way to deliver a good speech or put up a great presentation is to keep on practicing. The more you practice the more easily you will be able to accomplish the task as you will iron out the kinks in your speech and polish it off nicely. You can practice alone, in front of the mirror or even better if you can get your family and friends to sit as the audience and ask questions. This will help you get better prepared for the question and answer session.

Stay Calm:

The most important thing is to remain calm when delivering a speech or giving a presentation. Even if you forget a sentence don’t panic. You don’t have to say the exact words and you can always substitute with something right there and them. It is important that you maintain a calm facade and do not let the crowd know that you are nervous. If you act calm and controlled, soon you will actually start feeling calm and composed.

Maintain Pace:

The pace at which you talk plays an important role in enduring your success or failure. Try not to talk too slow or too fast as the audience will lose interest in both cases. If you are talking too fast the audience will face difficulties in understanding what you are saying and if you talk too slow they will get bored and stop paying attention to what you are saying. The key is to maintain a pace at which you can keep the listeners engaged and engrossed.

Make Eye Contact:

It is pertinent to make eye contact during the presentation or speech. Looking at the back wall of the auditorium or avoiding the eye by focusing on other things fails to do the trick. When you are speaking you need to look into the eyes of the audience to engage them. If you fail to do that the audience soon feels that you are nervous and are not well prepared for the task. Make sure that you do not keep looking at one or two individuals only but try to engage the entire audience. It is also important to keep the eye contact short, but not too short and certainly not too long.

Be Concise:

Keep it short and to the point. Long presentations and speeches not only bore the audience but they also fail to make the point. When you start talking you get the attention of the audience and you have the chance to engage them right then and there. If you start blabbering and talk about things that have little of value to add to your speech, the audience loses interest. Keeping it short and concise lets them retain the information you just provided and hence is more effective.

Know Your Audience:

The most important part of speaking in public is to know your audience and then cater to their needs respectively. If you are speaking to a group of executives your tone, style and vocabulary would be different to that you use when addressing a group of interns. So, know your audience and then prepare accordingly.

What To Avoid When Speaking In Public:

There are a few things that you should avoid when speaking in public as they can be fatal mistakes. Some of these are:

Self Praise & Bragging:

Nothing offends the audience more than self praise and bragging. If you are good you will receive praise and the success of your speech or presentation will be a testament to your capabilities.

Stammering:

Nothing can be worse than stammering during the presentation or speech as it completely ruins the overall effect and ruins your confidence. So keep practicing the speech till you get it right.

Trying To Be Someone You Are Not:

This can be the worst mistake ever. If you are not good at cracking jokes do not try to do so during the presentation. Sometimes a light hearted comment helps the presentation by breaking the ice but f you make a bad tasting remark it can do irreparable damage. So just try to be yourself rather than trying to be someone that you clearly are not.

Job Satisfaction

How many times have you thought about leaving your job in the last month? Losing interest in your job and thinking of quitting repeatedly is a sign of low job satisfaction. As the level of job satisfaction in an employee decreases, the quality of his work deteriorates and sooner or later the company decides that it is time to let him go. Job satisfaction can be achieved to some level by putting in  effort to redress the factors that are causing job dissatisfaction. The more satisfied a person is with the job the better he will perform and his stress level will be lower as well. However, in order to increase job satisfaction it is pertinent to identify the factors that make employees feel discontent at their job.

Factors that negatively affect job satisfaction:

Some of the most common factors that are responsible for a decline in job satisfaction level of the employees are:

Fear of losing the job:

When a person feels that his job is not secure, he fails to put maximum effort in work. Most employees who are hired on contract basis face this situation as they have the Damocles sword hanging over their head. These employees are so concerned about their job security that they find it hard to concentrate on their work.

Mundane routine:

When a worker has to undergo the same routine over and over again, he loses the will to perform well at the job. Doing the same tasks repeatedly curbs the creativity of an employee and when the employee feels like he is capable of doing nothing other than following the routine, he gets frustrated with his job.

Feeling undervalued:

When an employee is feeling undervalued at work, it soon leads to lessening the level of job satisfaction. If the supervisors and managers do not value your hard work and criticize your every move, you are bound to lose all interest in your work and lose jobs satisfaction as a consequence.

Lack of opportunities:

Feeling trapped in a job where there are no growth opportunities makes an employee lose job satisfaction. Unless we feel challenged regularly, most of us fail to perform well on the job and soon start looking for another job that might be a little more exciting than the last one.

Rifts with supervisor:

Problems with the coworkers or a manager can lead to high level of job dissatisfaction as one finds it difficult to deal with such problems on daily basis and work in such a negative environment.

Feeling like a failure:

When an employee fails to achieve a target or goals set by the superior repeatedly, he starts feeling like a failure. What people fail to realize is that failure is part of life and should be taken as a learning experience. If you learn from each failure you are bound to improve your skills and capabilities rather than taking every failure to heart and stop trying at all.

Low pay scale:

Most of the times a low pay scale is the basic reason for employee discontent and leads to most of them looking for a new job. Such employees feel that they are not being paid in accordance with the degree of expertise that they command and do not work well.

Improve your job satisfaction level:

Here are a few tips on how you can improve your job satisfaction level and work better to enhance your productivity.

Think positive:

The first step to improving your job satisfaction is curbing negativity of thoughts and being positive. Whenever you feel like your job is worthless or you are a looser, stop yourself immediately and start thinking about the good things that are associated with your job.

Break the routine:

If you feel bored or overworked when at work, try to take small breaks in between and find something refreshing to do. Even taking a small break to chat with your coworker might provide the much needed relief and help you in getting rejuvenated.

Improve your job skills:

While working somewhere, you can easily take on courses that will help you enhance your skills and will help in keeping you updated. This way you do not feel like you are wasting time at a job that has nothing to offer. Personal grooming and honing your skills will pay off sooner or later and will increase your job satisfaction level.

Volunteer work:

If your daily routine is boring and monotonous, then try volunteering for work that interests you and makes you feel like you are learning something new every day. You can also ask to be reassigned to another department that requires the same job skills that you posses but has new challenges to offer.

Be grateful:

You have to keep in mind that everyone encounters good days and bad days on the job but it does not mean that you should lose all interest in work and start looking for something else. Getting a job in today’s recession hit job market is not easy and the fact that you have a job while millions have been fired bodes well for your future.

Maintain balance:

If you wish to achieve higher level of job satisfaction, you have to maintain a balanced approach towards work and life. If work takes place of all the other things in your life, sooner or later you will start resenting it and then fell discontent at work.

What employers can do to boost the job satisfaction level of employees?

When it comes to job satisfaction, the people most affected are the employers and the managers. If the employees are not happy with their jobs, they start losing interest in work and the company has to suffer. If the employers want the workers to deliver the very best they have to make sure that their job satisfaction level is good.

In order to improve the job satisfaction level of the employees, the managers should follow some simple but very effective steps. These include:

• Improving the work environment and creating a friendly workplace for the employees so that their stress level stays in control.
• Providing incentives and rewards to keep the employees motivated.
• Paying the employees what they deserve as being underpaid is the most common reason for employee dissatisfaction from job.
• Keep challenging the employees and keep setting goals for them to achieve.
• Encourage communication between the employees and the managers so that they know who to talk to when they have a work related problems.

STOP FACE BOOK

Blashphemous Facebook Page Banned in Pakistan [Updated]

Posted: 18 May 2010 10:00 AM PDT

Blashphemous Facebook Page Banned in Pakistan [Updated] is a post from: ProPakistani
After clear discrimination of Facebook for not banning blasphemous Fan Page, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom has directed PTA to ban Facebook Page in Pakistan, told us sources close to authority.
A reliable source, who is in direct contact with Secretary MoIT, told ProPakistani that ministry has issued the directive to PTA to ban said blasphemous content in the country.
Ministry of Information Technology directs PTA for banning any URL or whole of website in case of any inappropriate content available on it.
It is yet to be ascertained if the whole Facebook will be banned or just a single URL will be filtered. In both the situations, Step is inline with thousands of Facebook users and according to their urge of boycotting Facebook on May 20th.
It merits mentioning here that a Fan Page on Facebook is encouraging its members to draw Prophet Mohammad’s drawings (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa-aal-hi-Wasallam).
Despite thousands of requests, Facebook didn’t put this page down even it violated Facebook’s own terms of services.
Update: (3:14 PM – May 18, 2010) We have received confirmation from PTA that directive has been issued to all ISPs for blocking a single URL (of the particular Fan Page). Order was issued by Yawar Yasin, Director Enforcement PTA.

Become An Effective Team Leader

Do you believe you are an effective leader and have all the desired leadership properties? Do you have what it takes to lead a team to success? Being an effective leader is a tough task and many people fail to perform their leadership duties properly. When your boss assigns you to a leadership position, he expects you to be able to deal with the team members effectively and without any difficulties. A team leader has to act like he is the boss and his team members comprise of an organization. An effective team leader must work to enhance both the output of his individual team members and that of the entire team as a whole. However, achieving this goal is easier said than done. Dealing with a group of people who have to work together towards a common goal is not easy. Conflicts and disagreements arise on constant basis and the team leader has to deal with them effectively in order to get the desired results.

Some golden rules that can help you in becoming an effective team leader are:

Eliminate Competition

While healthy competition is good for any work environment, too much competitiveness among the team mates can be negative for the productivity of the team. If the team members become obsessed with out shining one another they might end up making serious mistakes which might cause problems for the team as a whole. Make sure that the team members work well and try to curb unhealthy competition let your team members know that you value quality more than quantity so that they work harder on achieving important goals rather than working on more thing than they can handle just to score a point.

Deal With Conflicts

Conflicts and disagreements tend to inhibit the team spirit and create differences among the team mates. Sometimes petty conflicts are blown out of proportions to such an extent that the team members refuse to even work together, which his hazardous for the team manager. Even if they are forced to work to together, there are little chances that the estranged team members will be able to work at their maximum potential. An effective team leader would know how to deal with such team members effectively and efficiently. Try to make sure that no major conflicts among the team members arise and even if they do, jump in and try to cool them off before things get ugly. You have to address the underlying cause of such problems so that the conflicts do not keep on surfacing from time to time.

Delegate Properly

An effective team leader must be able to delegate his work properly and efficiently. For this to happen, a team leader must know all his team members well. He must know their strengths and weaknesses and must use this knowledge to delegate the work properly. If, as a team leader, you fail to distribute work load evenly and according to the specialties of all the team members, discontent is bound to arise. Team members might feel that they have been given undue work load and you come off looking like a bad team leader who is incapable of accomplishing the tasks that were assigned to him. Remember, the team members should not under any circumstances feel like you are putting your burden on them.

Communicate

Communication is the most important aspect in any professional environment. As a team leader you must be open and communicative with the team members, so that they can come to you if they have any issues. If the team members feel like the team leader is not listening to what they have to say and what problems are they facing, they will lose focus and their work is bound to suffer. If you are a team leader, make sure that your team mates are able to communicate with you whenever they have a problem. Listen to what they have to say and do not dismiss their problems lightly. Try to find a solution and redress the problems as soon as possible so that the team members feel valued.

Make Quick Decisions

Being a team leader, you must be prepared to make quick and practical decisions so that the team members do not lose their focus. If you stall and make excuses when the team members are relying on you for a decision, the team members will feel that you are not a suitable person to guide them and hence are bound to fail them. This will make them lose faith and will jeopardize your entire projects. So at all times, remain focused, sharp and calm so that you can make a quick decision when needed.

Motivated Others

Keeping the team members motivated is one of the most important tasks that a team leader is supposed to accomplish. Team members need to be constantly revitalized as they are bound to lose enthusiasm and motivation as the project lingers on. Keep reassuring them that they are working well and praise them when it is due.

Be Assertive

A team leader has to be assertive, if nothing else. Team work is a difficult arena and tem members often get so caught up in work that they completely lose focus. As a team manager, it is your duty to make sure that the team keeps working on the goals and keeps delivering jobs on time. As a team leader you cannot afford to miss deadlines and if most of the times you have to be assertive to make sure that you get the work done. However, keep in mind that there is a difference between being assertive and bossy. You must be forceful, but remain polite and amiable all the while as this approach will bear more fruitful results.

Take Responsibility

An effective team leader must realize that his job is not only to guide the people in his team but also to take responsibility if anything does not go according to the plan and the projects suffers from some kind of setbacks. The team leader must act like the captain of a ship, who never abandons the ship even if it is drowning. Remember if you try to pin the fault on some of your team members, it will not only alienate you from the team members but also create a bad impression on the boss who expects you to act like a professional and take responsibility the failure of your team.

Be A Team Player

A good team leader must also be a team player who does not antagonize his team members by acting bossy. Moreover a team player always gives credit where it is due. Snatching the lime light from one of your team members is a very ill advised move as it is not only unfair but will also be perilous for the team spirit. Make sure that when a team member performs well, he gets his due credit so that others also get motivated to perform at their level best.

Conclusion

An effective team leader is one who can steer his entire team to success while keeping them motivated and on the right track. Being a team leader is a lot of responsibility and a lot of people fail to perform their leadership tasks properly. While it is true that some people are born leaders, it is also true that strong leadership qualities can be established with a little hard work and dedication.

NEVER CREEP THROUGH LIFE !

A very tired traveler came to the banks of a river.
There was no bridge by which he could cross.
It was winter, and the surface of the river was covered with ice.
It was getting dark, and he wanted to reach the other side
while there was enough light to see. He debated about
whether or not the ice would bear his weight.

Finally, after much hesitation and fear, he got
down on his knees and began very cautiously
to creep across the surface of the ice. He hoped
that by distributing the weight of his body, the ice would
be less apt to break under the load. After he made his
slow and painful journey about halfway across the river,
he suddenly heard the sound of singing behind him.

Out of the dusk, there came a 4-horse load of coal
driven by a man singing merrily as he went to his
carefree way. Here was the traveler, fearfully inching his
way on his hands and knees. And there, as if whisked
along by the winter’s wind, went the driver, his horses,
his sled, and the heavy load of coal over the same river!

The story illustrates how many of us go through life.
Some stand on the bank of decisions unable to make
up their minds about the course to take.

Others stand on the banks trying to muster enough
courage to cross over to the other side of the task or
problem encountered.

On the other hand, some individuals crawl and creep
through life for fear of thin ice. Their faith is not strong
enough to hold them up.

Still there are those who whisked along
whistling as they go.

Their faith is UNSHAKABLE. …When we face the river of difficulties, we do not have to fear, nor do we creep through life.

God has promised to help, and with God’s help we can merrily make our way to the other side safely.