How do i boost my productivity?

How do I boost my productivity at work?

The most imminent threat to your productivity is accessing social networks during office hours. It will sap away your time before you realize it's almost lunch time and you haven't gotten any work done. So refrain from devoting time to such distractions. If it is really unavoidable, make use of the lunch hour most of us are experts at multi-tasking when it comes to this aspect.

Many of us subconsciously feel the urge to constantly check our personal emails. Although this isn't a major time killer, it has the tendency to start the domino effect which will somehow get us back into the social networks which we are trying so hard to ignore.

Set time for tasks and mark your calendar for all the action items you want to get done for the day. If there is a report that you need to prepare or a file which you needed to process,  set schedules for them in your calendar and stick to it. During this time, do not entertain taking up anything else.

Take advantage of your travel time. If you have a decent phone and secure internet connectivity, you can get so much done on the move.

Take scheduled micro breaks. Although this may seem counterproductive, they will help sharpen concentration.

Follow the "two-minute rule" to fight procrastination. If something can be done within two minutes, then do it right away.

Hope some of these tips help you.

With love,
Sriram.

"So do you have any questions for me?"

This one question has always had most of us tongue-tied and grabbing for our default answer for any ambiguous open ended feedback question.

"No questions".

But many do not understand that this is the time you can break out of the  FAQs section and break into the RAQs section (Rarely Asked Questions).

So here are some Intelligent questions you must ask your interviewer.

- What does a typical day in this position feel like?

- Is this a new position and if not, why did the previous employee leave and what did he/she go on to?

- What are the growth opportunities for an employee in this position? How does one get to the next level?

- Why was I shortlisted among other candidates and what stood out in my resume?

- what is the downside of working in that position? Does it have paid overtime? Does it involve travel?

- what are the key skills i must acquaint myself with before joining the position?

- who would I be  reporting to? Are they in same location/building? If not how often do i get to meet them?

- how is success measured in this company? What have other employees in similar positions done to succeed and grow?

-Is there anything else I can provide to help you make your decision?

These are questions which you should ask, but most of us don't thinking it will ruin our chances. Don't be afraid, be outspoken.

With love,
Sriram.

Tips for a better resume

Hi all,

I know it's been a while since i posted something here. So here are some resume tips for all you job seekers out there. These are lessons i learnt through research and personal experience.

• Do not include a photo of yourself in your resume. The recruiters wouldn't shortlist you based on your appearance. Besides that is valuable space in your resume which you can use for highlighting more about your work or education.

• Do not include your address in the resume. We live in a time where all communications happen over emails. The recruiters wouldn't need that information. Besides putting your address in the resume puts you at risk because anybody can find where you live with a google search.

• Do not skip short internships which you feel are insignificant. Internships are those short term stints where learning is at the highest. It may also give the recruiters/interviewers more reasons to consider you.

• Share your resume with a few of your friends and ask them to share feedback. This shows how others see your profile and evaluate them. Ask them for reason why they would hire you and why they won't based on your resume.

• Ensure your resume is free of typos, get it reviewed for grammar and context while you are at it. This ensure that you are presenting yourself in the best light possible.

•  Highlight your achievements and quantify them. This way the interviewer will make sense of the scale of your achievements.

Good luck!

If you have any other topics you want me to write about, kindly drop in your comments.

Bye for now,
Sriram.