The Power of Constant Upskilling: Fuelling Career Growth and Seizing New Opportunities

Introduction

In today's fast-paced and ever-evolving professional landscape, staying relevant and competitive is crucial for career growth and success. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through constant upskilling – the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, and competencies to enhance your professional capabilities. In this blog, we will explore the undeniable benefits of upscaling yourself on a constant basis and how it can help you not only advance in your career but also seize new and exciting opportunities.

• Adapting to Industry Changes

Industries are constantly evolving due to technological advancements and shifting market demands. Those who are proactive in keeping up with these changes are the ones who are well-positioned to thrive. By consistently upskilling, you can stay ahead of the curve and adapt to new trends, tools, and methodologies. This agility enables you to contribute effectively to your organization, demonstrate your value, and remain a sought-after asset.

• Enhancing Professional Credibility

Continuous upskilling not only broadens your skill set but also enhances your professional credibility. When you invest time and effort in learning and improving, you showcase a commitment to self-improvement and a dedication to your field. This, in turn, makes you a more attractive candidate for promotions, raises, and exciting projects, as employers are more likely to entrust significant responsibilities to individuals who display a passion for growth.

• Unlocking New Opportunities

Upskilling opens doors to new opportunities that may have been previously out of reach. As you expand your skill set, you become eligible for roles that require a diverse range of competencies. This diversification not only makes you versatile but also allows you to explore various avenues within your industry. Whether it's transitioning to a different role, taking on leadership positions, or even pursuing entrepreneurial ventures, upskilling empowers you to venture into uncharted territory confidently.

• Building a Network of Influence

Constant upskilling often involves participating in workshops, seminars, and online courses. These avenues not only provide you with new knowledge but also connect you with like-minded professionals. Networking within these learning communities can lead to valuable collaborations, mentorship opportunities, and the exchange of insights. Your expanded network can introduce you to industry leaders, potential clients, or partners, furthering your chances of career growth.

• Boosting Confidence and Job Satisfaction

As you accumulate new skills and knowledge, your confidence naturally grows. This increased self-assurance not only improves your performance but also positively impacts your overall job satisfaction. You'll feel more empowered to take on challenges, contribute innovative ideas, and assume leadership roles. A strong sense of job satisfaction is a powerful motivator and can propel you to seek out even more growth opportunities.

• Remaining Relevant in the Digital Age

In today's digital age, technological advancements are reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace. Professionals who resist the urge to embrace these changes risk becoming obsolete. Upskilling in areas such as digital literacy, data analytics, and artificial intelligence equips you to harness the potential of these technologies and stay relevant in an increasingly digital world.

Conclusion

Constant upskilling is not merely a choice but a necessity in a rapidly evolving professional landscape. By committing to continuous learning, you position yourself as a valuable asset to your organization and open doors to a world of new opportunities. The journey of upskilling is a fulfilling one that boosts your confidence, enhances your credibility, and propels you toward a thriving and successful career. So, embrace the power of upskilling, and watch as your career trajectory soars to new heights.

How can an interview panel hire a best fit for the organization?

A panel interview is an interview that consists of more than one professional member from the organization that is conducting the interview. Even though the professionals on the interview panel are experts in their field and have a lot of knowledge about the position they are hiring for, but there are a few points that the interview panel should keep in mind while conducting an interview to hire the best fit for the organization so that the hire does not add up to the unnecessary cost of the organization.

1. JD analysis: - A member of the interview panel must analyze the JD to review the duties, scope, and responsibilities of the job carefully. They should look for any responsibilities not listed in the JD but that are important for the job. They should also look at what the person is required to do in the first year of being hired, like technical abilities and work experience. This should be done before preparing the list of questions to be asked of the candidate.

2. Prepare a precise list of questions: - Prepare a list of questions that you think you should ask of the candidate applying for the job opening. Review the list of questions carefully and prioritize them based on importance. For similar types of questions, combine them into one question and, for every main question, prefer not to ask more than three questions. This will increase the efficiency of the interview process.

3. Ask effective questions : - An interview panel must ask effective questions. This can be achieved by framing and formatting the list of questions based on different criteria like communication (making the wording clear), which questions to ask, and which ones to avoid. Also, to achieve the stage of effective questioning, the interview panel must prefer to ask open questions (what, where, why, when, and how), probing questions (intended to promote critical thinking) and behavioral questions (which indirectly tell you about their past experiences). Lastly, the interview panel must avoid asking situational questions too often. They must also avoid asking the candidate about their current salary and expectations, as it’s not there forte but the HR’s forte. It can also be a turn-off point for the candidate.

4. Structure the interview questions properly: - An interview panel must structure the questions properly before conducting the interview. For example, to get an insight into the personality, weaknesses, and strengths of the candidate, the interview panel can use a combination of open and closed questions. The interview panel must ask two questions in the interview: -

• Tell me about your greatest achievements in your previous job.

• Tell me the biggest challenges you have faced at work.

The interview panel must avoid asking leading questions while structuring the questions and should also avoid the usage of words like struggled, motivated, angry, frustrated, and challenged in their interview questions.

5. Conduct a personality test on the candidate before conducting the interview: - A personality test of the candidate must be conducted as it will provide a heads-up of how the candidate is before the interview panel conducts a proper interview and it will also help them control the interview.

6. Conduct an effective interview: - The interview panel must conduct an effective interview, and it can be achieved by bearing a few things in mind:

• Pay attention to your candidates.

• Have your list of questions on hand.

• Minimize everything that may distract them or you.

• Avoid being distracted by your own thoughts.

• Avoid having a personality bias.

• Avoid having a closed mindset. (She/he is better than me, he/she will take over me, he/she will get better pay than me).

• Avoid forming an early judgement.

• Avoid unstructured interviews.

7. Listen to the interviewee carefully: - The interview panel must listen to the interviewee carefully as it will enable them to match the answers of the candidates to the questions asked by them and check whether the shift in question by the candidate is a valid shift in perspective or not. All this will reduce the time taken by the interview panel to provide the feedback on the interview.

8. Make sure the candidate fits in five important criteria’s during the entire interview process: - During the interview the interview panel must make sure the candidate appearing for the interview fits into five important criteria to make sure he or she is the best fit for the role. The criteria are as follows: -

· Motivational Fit- It means how the job aligns with the individual’s preference (it includes background check, nature of the job duties, environment, career aspirations and so on).

· Technical Fit- It means weather the candidate has adequate knowledge and hard skills to do the job. Therefore, unless the position you are hiring for is very senior conduct some technical tests.

· Personality Fit- It ensures the team to perform well, and the candidate is the right fit for the job role. So, this step is to understand clearly what kinds of persons you need to hire for your team. You can ensure it by using some personality tests and questions.

· Soft Skills Fit- It ensures that the examples given by the candidate in the interview are reliable and useful as things said by them during the interview maybe different from what they have performed.

· Cultural Fit- It means the candidate shares the values, beliefs, attitudes, and principles that drive work, behavior, and relations in the organization.

If the candidate fits in all of these criteria’s, then for sure he or she is the best fit for the role and the organization.

References

· Fung, V., n.d. Talent Acquisition and Recruitment: Hiring the Best Fit. [online] www.skillshare.com. Available at: <https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Talent-Acquisition-and-Recruitment-Hiring-the-Best-Fit/2097211753/projects?via=member-home-EnrolledClassesLessonsSection> [Accessed 29 January 2022].

Best of Luck in the Hiring Process!

How to Crack an Online Interview Part-2

How to prepare for an Online Interview?

Online interviews are the new age of conducting interviews, which many organisations have adopted. Some have adapted to this method because it is more convenient and some have adopted it because of the COVID situations that have forced people to work from home (W.F.H.).

Online interviews also require preparation, like the traditional model of face-to-face interviews, which organisations used to do before COVID hit the world. So in order to prepare for an online interview, there are a few steps that one should keep in mind to ace the interview in one go:-

1. Be prepared and research well- An online interview also requires the same level of preparation as a face-to-face interview does. So, the interviewee must keep in mind the following steps while preparing for an online interview :-

• Research about the organisation thoroughly.

• Research about the people in the interviewing panel (Linkedin is a helpful tool in performing this research).

• Perform a thorough analysis of the job description and brainstorm a talking point for every technical or hard skill mentioned in the job description. Focus on highlighting your accomplishments, milestones you have achieved utilising that specific skill.

• Create a list of stories from your past experience in school, college, jobs and volunteer that corresponds to the soft-skills in the job description because if you are already prepared with the talking points and stories for your hard skills and soft skills you don’t have to worry about what the question will be.

Overall, consider an online interview like a traditional face-to-face interview and prepare accordingly.

2. Be Punctual- For a face-to-face interview, it is preferable to arrive at least 15 minutes before on the venue. The same tip applies to an online interview as it not only shows you're punctuality but would give you some time to test the interview software beforehand and fix the issues if there are any as you may be completely new to the software.

3. Download the interviewing software beforehand- It is advisable to download the software that will be used to conduct your interview beforehand, as it may be new software that you have never used before. Get used to it and download it on at least two devices so that you have a backup plan ready in case of a technical issue with one of your devices.

4. Choose the device that suits you best -You may have multiple electronic devices like a laptop, mobile phone, tablet, etc. In most cases, during an online interview, it is preferred to use a laptop or a PC, as they are easier to keep steady than a tablet or a phone, but it might be the case that your phone or tablet has a better camera resolution than your laptop. So, choose wisely which device will be most suitable for you to give an interview.

5. Run a mock interview to test the technology- Run a mock interview with your friend to test your audio and video in advance and troubleshoot any issue before your actual interview.

6. Speak Slowly and Clearly- Video Technologies are not perfect and can come with instances where the microphone may not pick up your words appropriately. So, to avoid this situation take your time to speak and cue your words.

7. Listen Carefully- During an online video job interview, it is very common to cut the interviewer in between due to audio lag or from not paying attention to non-verbal cues. Keep your mind focused on active listening and also keep in mind that when the interviewer asks you any question take a few seconds to answer it to avoid cutting him/her in between.

8. Pay attention to your body language- Body language conveys a lot about you in terms of what type of person you are or a potential employee. So, you can set a positive image of yourself by sitting up straight and keeping your hands on your laps as it showcases professionalism. It is important to keep in mind where exactly you are looking, look into the camera as frequently as possible especially when you are speaking. So, that your interviewer has a sense of you being engaged in the interview and not being distracted.

Best of luck for your interview!