Career Worth Living For!
Ethan Pang
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Homepage: http://www.teachingethan.com
Posts by Ethan Pang
Communicate to Succeed
Jan 21st
How strong are your communication skills?
In this day and age in which technology is abundant, the way that we communicate with one another has evolved within the business world. While face-to-face communication is still important, learning how to communicate using digital technology is also crucial when entering the work force. To succeed in your career, seek to master your communication face-to-face, within a group, over the telephone and through email.
Face-to-Face Communication
There will be numerous opportunities for you to communicate with co-workers and superiors within your chosen career. There are a few things to keep in mind when working to display strong communication skills, including:
> Always make eye contact with the individual speaking to you
> Turn off all other electronic devices within a meeting to eliminate distractions
> Actively listen- seeking to understand what the speaker is saying by asking probing and clarifying questions as needed. Use statements like, “I may be wrong but what you are saying is …”
> Sit up straight and model your body language to match that of the person speaking to you (this established rapport)
> We unconsciously like people who are similar to ourselves. And a very easy work to establish rapport with someone is to behave like them through matching or mirroring body language, voice tone, tempo and pitch of speech.
Group Meeting Communication
In most organizations, group meetings are commonplace. You may be required to attend conferences, staff meetings or training sessions throughout your service within an organization. Follow these tips to increase your communication skills when within a group setting:
- > Sit near the front of the group or near the speaker
- > Take notes to show the speaker that you are engaged in what they are saying
- > Remain focused on the meeting’s objective(s)
- > Hold all questions until the designated question and answer session; refrain from interrupting the speaker
- > Use questions to clarify a point or communciate a point
- > If your question would benefit the group as a whole, ask it at the appropriate time
- > If your question is more individual in nature, speak with the speaker privately
- > To increase your credibility even if you don’t have a question, formulate a question that would show insight and attention to the subject matter and ask it during the question and answer portion of the presentation
Teleconference Communication
A growing number of organizations are using teleconferencing (sometimes called “conference calls”) or even webcasts to communicate messages to a large corporate audience. If you are on a teleconference, be sure to adhere to the following etiquette:
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> Place your phone on mute to eliminate any background noise while on the call
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> Participate in the call from a landline, not a cell phone to reduce interference or background noise or dropping from the call
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> Take notes to refer to after the call as well as to note any questions you have about the material being covered
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> Some teleconference call systems allows recording for retrieval and reference later. You can check with the teleconference organisor for information on this.
Email Communication
Email is the standard of communication in most organizations. Whether you are a student or professional, you should set aside time each day to handle emails. Here are some quick tips on communicating through emails:
- > Always proofread emails prior to sending them
- > Spell and grammar check all emails prior to sending them
- > Emails are made up by only words which lacks the necessary tone and body language to construct the intended meaning. Hence, use email sparingly to have conversations instead as the nature of an email can often be misconstrued and misinterpreted. Instead, schedule a phone call, teleconference or face-to-face meetings to discuss issues and matters.
- > When using emails at the workplace, avoid including personal comments or opinions (especially negative ones) as emails are hard records which can be forwarded (whether intentionally or not) or referenced.
- > Always review the “reply all” function to ensure that material is being sent to the correct parties. Be cautious when forwarding or replying an email to all or a distribution list as the content of one email may contain sensitive or private information not suitable for unintended recipients.
By working to master communication in each of these media, you will be improving your overall corporate communication.
The rudder of your life
Jan 12th
Have you ever wondered why some people are substantially more successful within the same job title as another? While some would believe this due to greater intelligence or job skill, studies prove that individuals who achieve great levels of success in life have greater ability to manage their own emotions. This skill is referred to as emotional competence. And, in its simplest terms, emotional competence refers to the ability to manage one’s own emotions.
While emotional competence is important within any job title or career path, it is more noticeable within others. Sales professionals or leaders of others require a greater degree of emotional competence than other professions. How do you know what your personal level of emotional competence is?
To do a quick self assessment of your own emotional competence, consider how long you take to regain focus after a distraction, a tragedy, a disappointment or a failure. Are you able to continue at the task at hand quickly after a harsh rejection or does a rejection ruin your entire workday? If you are having challenges outside of the workplace, are you able to remain focused while at work? Take a moment to think about the biggest disappointments or challenges that you have faced and how you handled or overcame them.
Emotionally competent individuals are able to resume focus within a matter of minutes or days, while an individual who lacks emotional competence may require days or even years to fully recover after a major disappointment or tragedy. Typically, those individuals who possess strong emotional competence experience greater business, personal and financial success within their life than those who do not possess the skill set.
The good news is that you can strengthen your emotional competence levels. To increase this skill set, you must begin to master your thoughts and emotions. Every time that you have a negative or self limiting belief enter your mind, you must be aware of it and then you must proactively replace the negative thought with a positive one. Sound easy? It can be if you stop to become more self aware of how you feel and what you think about on a daily basis. At first this will seem like a quite a task, but over time it will become a habit for you. You will also start to realise how “filthy†your mind really is and how easily it focuses on negative things.
Another step to take when working to increase your emotional competence is to work on things even when you don’t feel like it. For example, the successful salesperson makes outgoing sales calls even when they are down, frustrated and feel like quitting as they believe that if they keep going they will experience success. Next time you feel like quitting, stop, re-focus your energy and persist to complete the task at hand. (And remember: We are all doing the work of selling everyday!)
By working to improve your emotional competence, you are increasing your chances of experiencing success in every aspect of your life.
Is it any use being dead?
Jan 7th
IÂ came across this piece of sad news today which serves as a reminder that there is a big difference between being rich and being wealthy. There is also a huge difference between being successful and being fulfilled.
Money, after all, is only a tool and should always be viewed as that.
Think about it: How many people can rank among the top 100 richest people in the world (2008)? Yet, this 74-year-old billionaire had come to a point where he felt that he had no way out.
But, is it any use now that he is dead? Does the problem go away or became worst?
Even if he stands to loose everything that he owns, what suffers most? I’m guessing it is his pride and ego.
Perhaps, in his desperation, he forgot that building a 30 billion euro business empire took extraordinary talent, effort, hardwork and relationships. And if he can do it once, he can well do it again.  Unfortunately, it is impossible to even try now.
I’m eager to hear your thoughts.Â
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A perfect world
Jan 4th
Wow, it is 2009 already! And this being a brand new year, what goals have you set for yourself?
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You see, without goals, you are going nowhere in life. It’s just like boarding an airplane and telling the pilot, “Oh, I don’t know… just fly anywhere…” I’m quite sure the pilot’s response to that will be, “Well, why did you board the plane in the first place?”
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The plane can, indeed, bring you to a destination of your choice but you have to make that choice. Your life and career are very much the same – You have to choose your destination in order for them to work the way you want it to work.
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Look at it this way: If you don’t make that choice, you can be sure that someone else will make it for you and you may not like it.
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So, how do you set goals?
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Some people will teach you to set SMART goals – i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Yes, I agree that goals need to have these components. However, having SMART goals doesn’t mean that you are motivated to achieve them. You must want them for them to be of use! You also need a plan to work out your goals!
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This is the reason why most so-called new year resolutions don’t work! People who “resolve” to change on new year’s day usually are not motivated to do so – i.e. they have no big need to change. And even after setting the goal, they don’t have a plan to make it work.
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Now here are some tips and questions for goal-setting to make it work for you:
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Imagine the world is perfect and that you simply cannot fail; Whatever you do succeeds. In 5 years’ time (i.e. setting 5-year goals):
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1. Where will you be?
2. What will you be doing?
3. Who will you be with?
4. How much control over your own time will you have?
5. What will your health and fitness be?
6. What is your financial status?
7. How are your relationships?
8. How do you contribute to the community?
9. How will your life be different compared to now?
10. How will your be spoken of?
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Now, after answering the 10 questions above in detail, you would have given yourself a destination in 5 years.
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Next, ask yourself this: If I continued to live my life as I am doing so now, how will my life be like in 5 years’ time? How about 10 years? 20 years? Is this what I want?
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If you have found enough motivation to change the way you live your life immediately, then start designing a plan to achieve your 5-year goals.
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Then, make sure you do something from that plan immediately. Do it now. Don’t leave this till tomorrow.Â
How would you interview?
Dec 29th
I have been discussing interviewing from the perspective of the interviewee (i.e. the job-hunter) so far. While preparing from this side of the interview equation is useful, it, alone, will not be complete.
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To interview flawlessly, consider what issues the interviewer in the particular company has when hiring and seek to address them. To do this, look at the job description and job requirements for a particular job you are applying to and put yourself in the position of the hiring manager (i.e. the decision-maker).
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As the hiring manager, wow would you interview the candidates?
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What would you want to know about the candidate?
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How would you decide which candidate is the right one?
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These are key issues that an interviewer will be concerned with:
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1. Can you do the work that I want done well?
2. Can you fit into my team and company culture?
3. Do I like you?
4. Can I afford you?
5. How can I motivate you?
6. Are you truly interested in this work in my company or are you simply trying your luck (and thus, wasting my time)?
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With these in mind, there are a whole lot of questions that the interviewer can ask or situations to put you through. For example:
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1. If you are a fresh-graduate, what activities did you participate in during your internship and/or summer? (this will show whether you are proactive or passive in personal development and community engagement)
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2. Do you have prior experience doing the work I want done? If so, how well did you do them? (Further questions may be asked to check and verify this)
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3. What accomplishments do you have in your previous job(s)? (Remember that employers will always look at past performance to predict future performance)
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4. What are your problem-solving and decision-making strategies? (these can be asked through situational questions or case studies)
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5. What questions do you have about the job and our business? (The questions that you ask will show your level of interest, your initiative and your understanding of the business. Many people claim to have initiative – but these same people usually don’t even know enough to ask the interviewer good questions!)
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6. You may be interviewed in several time in different locations.
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7. You may be interviewed several times by different people in the company (and they may vote on you).
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8. Why do you want to work in this company instead of the others? (Again, how sure are you? Or are you simply trying your luck?)
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I recently ran an job ad looking for Marketing Associates. I went to the extent of specifying that I’m looking for someone who is creative and thus would apply to the job in a creative way. I also took the trouble to say that I want resumes with a maximum of 2 pages. Still, I was disappointed and guess what? The most creative application I received was one with a very colourful resume.
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Think about it. How much does it take to standout from the crowd?Â
Hullo? You there?
Dec 17th
I just spent a full 3 hours last week conducting phone interviews to hire customer support associates and here are some interesting responses which, I thought, are “noteworthy”.
I purposefully spoke only in English to see how the applicant will react and how well they spoke the language as I do need fluent Engish-speakers (by the way, all of them stated in their resume that they spoke Good English):
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Q: Hi, this is Ethan calling for your phone interview (interrupted)…
A: Sorry, I’m crossing the road now. Can you call later?
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Q: Hi, this is Ethan calling for your phone interview, is this a good time to talk?
A: Yes.
Background: “Please stand back from the door. <Doo doo doo doo doo doo>” (MTR train door closing)
Q: Ok, I’m sure you took a look at our website to understand our business. Do you have any questions from there?
Background: “Next stop, Tsim Sha Tsui…” intermixed with “Yes, I saw your website. Can you tell me more?”
A: : (
Q: I’m sure you took a look at our website to understand our business. Do you have any questions from there?
A: What website?
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Q: I’m sure you took a look at our website to understand our business. Do you have any questions from there?
A: Can you spell your company’s name for me, please?
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Q: Why did you apply for this job with us?
A: Haha.. I applied for many customer service jobs.
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Q: I’m sure you took a look at our website to understand our business. Do you have any questions from there?
A: No.
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Q: I’m sure you took a look at our website to understand our business. Do you have any questions from there?
A: I’m sorry but last night my computer was down and I couldn’t look at the website.
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Q: You worked in your last job in a hotel for only 5 months. Why do you want to leave now?
A: * Click *
Q: Hullo? You there? Hullo??
Afternote: This candidate was not confident in speaking English from the first minute of the call and gave mostly monosyllabic answers like, “No,” and “Yes”.
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Q: Why did you leave your last job?
A: Yes, I have been in administration for the past 3 years and have been handling the preparation of quotation, invoice printing and compilation of reports. Also, I am the receptionist of the company answering phone calls and enquiries and I deal with sending and receiving packages and letters. Yes. I am also my boss’ assistant and my job is to help him make appointments and take his phone calls. Yes. So, it is one salary 3 jobs. I am experienced and stable. Yes.
Q: I’m not too sure I understand. Can you tell me again why you left your last job?
A: Yes, I have been in administration for the past 3 years and have been handling the preparation of quotation, invoice printing and compilation of reports. Also, I am the receptionist of the company answering phone calls and enquiries and I deal with sending and receiving packages and letters. Yes. I am also my boss’ assistant and my job is to help him make appointments and take his phone calls. Yes. So, it is one salary 3 jobs. I am experienced and stable. Yes.
Q: ???!?!?!
Are you in sales?
Dec 16th
I know from experience asking this question that most of you reading it will be thinking, “Oh no, Ethan, I’m not in sales. I don’t sell anything at all. Besides, I don’t like selling and I don’t think well of people who do.”
The first thing that came to your mind may be a salesperson trying to persuade you to subscribe to the Smartone-Vodafone 3G plan. Or you may be thinking of those credit card companies trying to get you sign up for their credit cards. Or how about telemarketeers who are trying to convince you to take up a super low-interest rate line of credit?
Yes, those individuals may be engaged in professional selling work, as in their title read something in line with “Sales Executive.”
But let’s look at what being in sales really mean. Being in sales or being engaged in the work of selling means that you actively do the work of closing deals, convincing, presenting, persuading, influencing, impressing on a day-to-day basis.
Think about it. When you are standing in front of your class presenting your project, you are trying to convince your class and your professor that your presentation (and project) deserves an “A”. When you apply for a job by sending in your resume and cover-letter, you are trying to impress the employer enough to get an interview. When you get to the interview, you are trying to persuading and convince the interviewer that you should be the one hired for the job instead of the others. When you want a promotion or a raise in salary, you have to ensure that your boss thinks well enough of you. When you need money for your project, you have to pesuade the board of directors that the project is viable. When you are leading a team, you have to convince your team that your ideas or instructions are sound. If you are a guy and are madly in love with a girl and wants to date her, you have to impress and influence her enough for her to say, “Yes.”
The fact is this: We are all in sales. We are all actively doing the work of selling most of our lives (i.e. other than the time we spend sleeping). We spend a lot of time and effort selling ideas to ourselves even!! Just think about it.
So, get this: Realising that you are in sales gives you leverage in life. It is your selling that will get what you want. If you don’t sell, then, most likely, you won’t get it. Because for sure nobody’s going to buy from you if you don’t sell. One author put is well, “Life’s a pitch!”
Creative Problem-Solving
Dec 8th
A major way of stimulating creative new ideas is through focused
questions. There is something about a well-worded question that
will penetrate the heart of the matter and help trigger new
insights.
Here are some questions I’ve found useful for getting news ideas to
solve problems whether you are working in a team or individually:
Clarify Your Desired Outcome
Question #1 “What are we trying to do?” Whenever you become
frustrated with slow progress for any reason, step back and ask
this again and again, “What are we trying to do?”
Analyze Your Current Approach
Question #2 “How are we trying to do it currently?” If you are
experiencing resistance, perhaps your method is wrong. Be willing
to objectively analyze your approach by asking, “How are we trying
to do it?” Could there be a better way? How else could we approach
it?
You Can Be Wrong
Yes, we can be wrong at times and it takes great courage to face up
to such moments. Admitting that you were wrong or used the wrong
approach can lead to new possibilities. The rule is: Always decide
what’s right before worrying about who’s right. Keep your ego out
of the picture.
Question Your Assumptions
Another good question is, “What are our assumptions?” This means
questioning your assumption about the people, the product, the
market, the business, the service, the approach, the theory, the
concept. We don’t know everything and don’t have perfect
information. So, challenging our assumptions can help us to be
realigned to the right path. Someone once said that “Errant
assumptions lie at the root of every failure”. And when you
ass-u-me, you are making an “ass” of “u” and “me.” : )
Evaluate Past Decisions
The bestselling author Brian Tracy taught this method for making-decisions:
“Zero based thinking.” This method requires that you put every past
decision on trial for its life regularly by asking, “If I had not
made this decision, knowing what I now know, would I make it?” If I
had not hired this person or gotten involved in this project,
knowing what I now know, would I do it over again?
If the answer is “NO” to one of these questions, then your aim
should be to get out of the decision as fast as possible. Be
willing to “cut your losses,” and try something else.
Find Your Purpose
Dec 4th
A quote of what I read recently by Dr. Wayne Dyer: “There is no way to happiness. Happiness IS the way.”
Dr Dyer was stressing the fact that if we strive for happiness, it will elude us. Yet, if we choose to be happy here and now, we will have it.”
I thought of the amount of time and effort and angst that I went through trying to find my purpose in life some years back. Back then, I held the idea that I have A purpose in this life and unless I find it, I’m not living a fulfilling life.
I have grown to realise that this idea is not an accurate view of what life is about.
The greatest gift that we have as human-beings is that we have free-will. And with free-will, we can choose what we want to do and how we want to react every moment of our lives. We can also choose a purpose that is our bliss. In this sense, we can find a purpose for ourselves NOW instead of THE purpose way out in the future. And that purpose is something that we enjoy doing most parts of our lives right up till the current moment. Such a purpose often involves contributing to the community or simply helping others.
My own learning is this: Go after your bliss (i.e. what you absolutely enjoy doing and find satisfaction from) and your purpose will find you.
The Face of Pro-Family (Singapore edition)
Dec 4th
I had the opportunity to lunch with a group of high-powered male Singaporean business executives in Hong Kong a few months back and amongst them a high-level Singapore government official. Many amongst the group are running public-listed companies and renown MNCs.
I’m not sure how the conversation around the table evolved but we eventually talked about the new pro-family scheme implemented by the government (which was introduced during that period in time).
One of the items in the scheme that draw attention to the luncheon was the 16-week maternity leave that the government was putting in place. I heard comments like:
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“If you hire 3 of them, you lose one whole year!” (this comment drew much laughter)
(drawing from the above comment) “… or you’ll go bankrupt!”
“How do we do business like this?”
“Don’t hire women.”
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I was shocked by the insensitive talk that went around the table. It was also interesting that the government official who represents the country and government did not utter a word of protest or suggestion otherwise.
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Is this what “pro-family” is about? And to think that we live in an equal opportunity society. Obviously, these concepts are mocked upon when a group of “macho” men get together.
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