5th SEM Formatted

Handbook Of A PESSIAN 3.0 ~ 1 ~

PES School Of Engineering, Hosur Road (1k.m. before Electronic City), Bangalore 560100 PES CONFIDENTIAL: NOT FOR CIRCULATION

ANALYTICAL SKILLS: Aptitude Questions Exercise

Solve the following.

1. What are the number of zeros at the end of the product of the numbers from 1 to 100?

2. A fast typist can type some matter in 2 hours and a slow typist can type the same in 3 hours.

If both type together, in how much time will they finish?

3. Gavaskar's average in his first 50 innings was 50. After the 51st innings, his average was 51.

How many runs did he score in his 51st innings. (supposing that he lost his wicket in his 51st

innings)

4. Out of 80 coins, one is counterfeit. What is the minimum number of weighings needed to

find out the counterfeit coin?

5. What can you conclude from the statement : All green are blue, all blue are red. ?

(i) some blue are green

(ii) some red are green

(iii) some green are not red

(iv) all red are blue

(a) i or ii but not both

(b) i & ii only

(c) iii or iv but not both

(d) iii & iv

6. A rectangular plate with length 8 inches, breadth 11 inches and thickness 2 inches is

available. What is the length of the circular rod with diameter 8 inches and equal to the

volume of the rectangular plate?

7. What is the sum of all numbers between 100 and 1000 which are divisible by 14?

8. If s (a) denotes square root of a, find the value of s (12+s (12+s (12+ ...... up to infinity.

9. A cylindrical container has a radius of eight inches with a height of three inches. Compute

how many inches should be added to either the radius or height to give the same increase in

volume?

10. With just six weights and a balance scale, you can weigh any unit number of kgs from 1 to

364. What could be the six weights?

11. Diaphanous passed one sixth of his life in childhood, one twelfth in youth, and one seventh

more as a bachelor; five years after his marriage a son was born who died four years before

his father at half his final age. How old is Diaphanous?

12. If time at this moment is 9 P.M., what will be the time 23999999992 hours later?

13. How big will an angle of one and a half degree look through a glass that magnifies things

three times?

14. Divide 45 into four parts such that when 2 is added to the first part, 2 is subtracted from the

second part, 2 is multiplied by the third part and the fourth part is divided by two, all result

in the same number.



15. I drove 60 km at 30 kmph and then an additional 60 km at 50 kmph. Compute my average

speed over my 120 km.

Questions 16 and 17 are based on the following:

Five executives of European Corporation hold a Conference in Rome

Mr. A converses in Spanish & Italian

Mr. B, a spaniard, knows English also

Mr. C knows English and belongs to Italy

Mr. D converses in French and Spanish

Mr. E , a native of Italy knows French

16. Which of the following can act as interpreter if Mr. C & Mr. D wish to converse

a) only Mr. A b) Only Mr. B c) Mr. A & Mr. B d) Any of the other three

17. If a 6th executive is brought in, to be understood by maximum number of original five he

should be fluent in

a) English & French b) Italian & Spanish c) English & French d) French & Italian

18. What is the sum of the first 25 natural odd numbers?

19. The sum of any seven consecutive numbers is divisible by

a) 2 b) 7 c) 3 d) 11

Exercise 3 Try the following.

1. There are seventy clerks working in a company, of which 30 are females. Also, 30 clerks are

married; 24 clerks are above 25 years of age; 19 married clerks are above 25 years, of which

7 are males; 12 males are above 25 years of age; and 15 males are married. How many

bachelor girls are there and how many of these are above 25?

2. A man sailed off from the North Pole. After covering 2,000 miles in one direction he turned

West, sailed 2,000 miles, turned North and sailed ahead another 2,000 miles till he met his

friend. How far was he from the North Pole and in what direction?

3. Here is a series of comments on the ages of three persons J, R, S by themselves.

S : The difference between R's age and mine is three years.

J : R is the youngest.

R : Either I am 24 years old or J 25 or S 26.

J : All are above 24 years of age.

S : I am the eldest if and only if R is not the youngest.

R : S is elder to me.

J : I am the eldest.

R : S is not 27 years old.

S : The sum of my age and J's is two more than twice R's age.

One of the three had been telling a lie throughout whereas others had spoken the truth.

Determine the ages of S,J,R.



4. In a group of five people, what is the probability of finding two people with the same month

of birth?

5. A father and his son go out for a 'walk-and-run' every morning around a track formed by an

equilateral triangle. The father's walking speed is 2 mph and his running speed is 5 mph. The

son's walking and running speeds are twice that of his father. Both start together from one

apex of the triangle, the son going clockwise and the father anti-clockwise. Initially the

father runs and the son walks for a certain period of time. Thereafter, as soon as the father

starts walking, the son starts running. Both complete the course in 45 minutes. For how long

does the father run? Where do the two cross each other?

6. The Director of Medical Services was on his annual visit to the ENT Hospital. While going

through the out patients' records he came across the following data for a particular day : "

Ear consultations 45; Nose 50; Throat 70; Ear and Nose 30; Nose and Throat 20; Ear and

Throat 30; Ear, Nose and Throat 10; Total patients 100." Then he came to the conclusion

that the records were bogus. Was he right?

7. Amongst Ram, Sham and Gobind are a doctor, a lawyer and a police officer. They are

married to Radha, Gita and Sita (not in order). Each of the wives have a profession. Gobind's

wife is an artist. Ram is not married to Gita. The lawyer's wife is a teacher. Radha is married

to the police officer. Sita is an expert cook. Who's who?

8. What should come next?

1, 2, 4, 10, 16, 40, 64,

Questions 9-12 are based on the following :

Three adults – Roberto, Sarah and Vicky – will be traveling in a van with five children – Freddy, Hillary, Jonathan, Lupe, and Marta. The van has a driver’s seat and one passenger seat in the front, and two benches behind the front seats, one beach behind the other. Each bench has room for exactly three people. Everyone must sit in a seat or on a bench, and seating is subject to the following restrictions: An adult must sit on each bench.

Either Roberto or Sarah must sit in the driver’s seat. Jonathan must sit immediately beside Marta.

9. Of the following, who can sit in the front passenger seat? (a) Jonathan (b) Lupe (c) Roberto (d) Sarah (e) Vicky

10. Which of the following groups of three can sit together on a bench? (a) Freddy, Jonathan and Marta (b) Freddy, Jonathan and Vicky (c) Freddy, Sarah and Vicky (d) Hillary, Lupe and Sarah (e) Lupe, Marta and Roberto

11. If Freddy sits immediately beside Vicky, which of the following cannot be true?

a. Jonathan sits immediately beside Sarah

b. Lupe sits immediately beside Vicky

c. Hillary sits in the front passenger seat



d. Freddy sits on the same bench as Hillary

e. Hillary sits on the same bench as Roberto

12. If Sarah sits on a bench that is behind where Jonathan is sitting, which of the following must be true?

a. Hillary sits in a seat or on a bench that is in front of where Marta is sitting

b. Lupe sits in a seat or on a bench that is in front of where Freddy is sitting

c. Freddy sits on the same bench as Hillary

d. Lupe sits on the same bench as Sarah

e. Marta sits on the same bench as Vicky

13. Make six squares of the same size using twelve match-sticks. (Hint : You will need an adhesive to arrange the required figure)

14. A farmer has two rectangular fields. The larger field has twice the length and 4 times the width of the smaller field. If the smaller field has area K, then they are of the larger field is greater than the area of the smaller field by what amount? (a) 6K (b) 8K (c) 12K (d) 7K

15. Nine equal circles are enclosed in a square whose area is 36sq units. Find the area of each circle.

16. There are 9 cards. Arrange them in a 3*3 matrix. Cards are of 4 colors. They are red, yellow, blue, green. Conditions for arrangement: one red card must be in first row or second row. 2 green cards should be in 3rd column. Yellow cards must be in the 3 corners only. Two blue cards must be in the 2nd row. At least one green card in each row.

17. Is z less than w? z and w are real numbers. (I) z2 = 25 (II) w = 9

To answer the question, a) Either I or II is sufficient b) Both I and II are sufficient but neither of them is alone sufficient c) I & II are sufficient d) Both are not sufficient

18. A speaks truth 70% of the time; B speaks truth 80% of the time. What is the probability that both are contradicting each other?

19. In a family 7 children don't eat spinach, 6 don't eat carrot, 5 don't eat beans, 4 don't eat spinach & carrots, 3 don't eat carrot & beans, 2 don't eat beans & spinach. One doesn't eat all 3. Find the no. of children.

20. Anna, Bena, Catherina and Diana are at their monthly business meeting. Their occupations are author, biologist, chemist and doctor, but not necessarily in that order. Diana just told the neighbor, who is a biologist that Catherina was on her way with doughnuts. Anna is sitting across from the doctor and next to the chemist. The doctor was thinking that Bena was a good name for parents to choose, but didn't say anything. What is each person's occupation?



Operating System Questions

1. What is the difference between UNIX and windows in process management

2. How can we say UNIX has greater flexibility than windows?

3. Why is UNIX more stable than windows?

4. What is the logic of the conversion of a source code of a program into its object code? What

has the loader and linker's function after that?

5. We have a workstation with Windows XP. We want to be very limited/restrictive in its use. Is

there a way to lock the user from right-clicking on the network connection icon and opening

it?

6. What are the latest versions of dos?How does it help in booting the system?What are

commands used?

7. Interrupt "trap" what is this trap?

8. What is the difference between x86 and i386 computer

9. Describe the relationship between a page file, and virtual memory on a Windows operating

systems.

10. What are the designer and implementation challenges respect to process synchronization

and deadlock management ? Any suggestion for improvement

11. Which is the best page replacement algorithm and why?

12. Explain about UNIX and Windows Virus in details

13. Write a script to convert all DOS style backslashes to UNIX style slashes in a list of files.

14. What is boot processing computer?

15. What is the difference between blocking and waiting state of process ?

16. What is superscop?

17. Is window a platform or not ?Give reason.

18. How do you set port free in Windows O.S?.

19. How chkdsk command works

20. What are the differences between FAT32 and NTFS?.

21. What are the main differences in windows NT and Windows 2000 architecture?

22. Can you explain briefly the architecture of windows 2000/2003?

23. Where is the Windows NT Primary Domain controller (PDC) and Its Backup Domain

Controller (BDC) in server 2000?

24. How long does it take for security changes to be replicated among the domain controllers?

25. How many types of DNS servers do windows 2000/2003 support?

26. When a user clicks a particular file or an .exe file on a computer, what process does the

system go through before the actual file is loaded onto the desktop?

27. What is page fault?

28. The root directory of a disk should be placed

1. At a fixed address in main memory

2. At a fixed location on the disk

3. Anywhere on the disk

4. At a fixed location on the system disk



29. Which of the following system software resides in main memory always ?

1. Text editor 2. Assembler 3. Linker 4. Loader

30. The process of transforming one bit pattern into another by bit-wise operations is called

1. Masking 2. Pruning 3. Biting 4. Chopping

31. Which of the following scheduling policy is well suited for a time-shared operating system ?

1 shortest job first 2 round robin 3 first come=first served

4 elevator

32. Which of the following Is not supported by operating system ?

1 protection 2 accounting 3 compilation 4 I /O operation

33. How do you configure a RAS

34. What is the mail process from source to destination?

35. How to deploy war or ear files in UNIX/Linux boxes, give one example?

36. What is the difference between outlook express and ms outlook?

37. Is there a built In firewall in windows 2003?

38. How to build image.ram/image.rom after compiling linux?

39. What is pst file in out look express? If a user account is created, where does it store.

(Location)?

40. What is the difference between synchronization and mutual exclusion?

41. What is difference between Global catalog and infrastructure master?

42. Describe different job scheduling in operating systems?

43. What is virtual memory?

44. Explain the difference between microkernel and macro kernel?

45. What do you mean by deadlock?

46. What is a dispatcher?

47. What is Throughput, Turnaround time, waiting time and Response time?

48. Differentiate between multi-tasking, multi-threading and multi-programming?

49. What resources are used when a thread is created? How do they differ from those when a

process is created?

50. What is Memory Management?

51. What are Dynamic Loading, Dynamic Linking and Overlays?

52. On a system with paging, a process cannot access memory that it does not own; why? How

does the operating system allow access to other memory?

53. Under what circumstances do page faults occur? Describe the actions taken by the operating

system when a page fault occurs?

54. Explain Segmentation with paging?

55. What is the cause of thrashing? How does the system detect thrashing? Once it detects

thrashing, what can the system do to eliminate this problem?

56. Why are page sizes always a power of 2?

57. What is cache memory?

58. What is Context Switch?

59. What is a DRAM? In which form does it store data



Database Management Systems Questions Oracle DBA Questions Database Interview Questions - Placement Papers « on: March 15, 2008, 01:11:05 PM » Database Interview Questions

1. What is the difference between Rule based optimization and Cost based optimization in

Oracle SQL queries?

2. Emp table had an employee with salary 2000. I issued an update statement to set the salary

to 3000. Then I issued a create table statement. However the create table command eroded

out. I want to rollback the earlier update statement. Can I do that?

3. Please explain the concepts of transaction, commit and rollback

4. Explain the concept of NULL

5. What are the properties of the Relational tables?

6. What is normalization?

7. What are different normal forms?

8. What is an execution plan? When would you use it? How would you view the execution

plan?

9. List few advantages of Stored Procedure.

10. What are the advantages of VIEW?

11. What is the difference between UNIQUE and PRIMARY KEY constraints?

12. What is ON DELETE CASCADE?

13. What is a join? Explain the different types of joins?

14. When do you use WHERE clause and when do you use HAVING clause?

15. Which is faster - IN or EXISTS?

16. What is difference between TRUNCATE & DELETE?

17. Explain UNION, MINUS, UNION ALL, INTERSECT?

18. Can a view be updated/inserted/deleted? If Yes under what conditions?

19. What is pseudo column? Give some examples.

20. What are various constraints used in SQL?



21. LGWR process writes information into a. Database files, b. Control files, c. Redolog files, d All the above.

22. SET TRANSACTION USE ROLLBACK SEGMENT is used to create user objects in a particular Tablespace

a. True, b. False

23. Physical structure of a database is recorded by overall structure maintained in a file called a. Redolog file, b. Data file, c. Control file, d. All of the above.

24. Constraints cannot be exported using EXPORT command a True, b False

25. It is very difficult to grant and manage common privileges needed by different groups of database users using the roles a True, b False

26. Can a DIALOG BOX have scroll bar attached to it? A. Yes, b. No

27. Why is it better to use an INTEGRITY CONSTRAINT to validate data in a table than to use a STORED PROCEDURE? a. Because an integrity constraint is automatically checked while data is inserted into or

updated in a table while a stored procedure has to be specifically invoked b. Because the stored procedure occupies more space in the database than a integrity

constraint definition c. Because a stored procedure creates more network traffic than a integrity constraint

definition

28. What does DLL stands for? a. Dynamic Language Library b. Dynamic Link Library c. Dynamic Load Library d. None of the above

29. POST-BLOCK trigger is a

a. Navigational trigger b. Key trigger c. Transactional trigger d. None of the above

30. The system variable that records the select statement that SQL * FORMS most recently used

to populate a block is a. SYSTEM.LAST_RECORD b. SYSTEM.CURSOR_RECORD c. SYSTEM.CURSOR_FIELD d. SYSTEM.LAST_QUERY

31. Which of the following is TRUE for the ENFORCE KEY field

a. ENFORCE KEY field characteristic indicates the source of the value that SQL*FORMS uses to populate the field

b. A field with the ENFORCE KEY characteristic should have the INPUT ALLOWED characteristic turned off

a. Only 1 is TRUE b. Only 2 is TRUE c. Both 1 and 2 are TRUE d. Both 1 and 2 are FALSE



32. The packaged procedure that makes data in form permanent in the Database is a. Post b. Post form c. Commit form d. None of the above

33. Which of the following is TRUE for the SYSTEM VARIABLE $$date$$

a. Can be assigned to a global variable b. Can be assigned to any field only during design time c. Can be assigned to any variable or field during run time d. None of the above

34. Which of the following is an UNRESTRICTED packaged procedure?

a. CALL_INPUT, b. CLEAR_BLOCK, c. EXECUTE_QUERY, d. USER_EXIT

35. Identify the RESTRICTED packaged procedure from the following a. USER_EXIT, b. MESSAGE, c. BREAK, d. EXIT_FORM

36. What is SQL*FORMS

a. SQL*FORMS is a 4GL tool for developing & executing Oracle based interactive applications.

b. SQL*FORMS is a 3GL tool for connecting to the Database. c. SQL*FORMS is a reporting tool d. None of the above.

37. What is a trigger

a. A piece of logic written in PL/SQL b. Executed at the arrival of a SQL*FORMS event c. Both A & B d. None of the above

38. Which of the following is TRUE for an ERASED packaged procedure

a. ERASE removes an indicated Global variable & releases the memory associated with it b. 2 ERASE is used to remove a field from a page c. Only 1 is TRUE d. Only 2 is TRUE e. 3 Both 1 & 2 are TRUE f. 4 Both 1 & 2 are FALSE

39. A set of Dictionary tables are created

a. Once for the Entire Database b. Every time a user is created c. Every time a Tablespace is created d. None of the above

40. Data dictionary can span across multiple Tablespaces

a. TRUE b. FALSE

41. What is a DATABLOCK a. Set of Extents b. Set of Segments c. Smallest Database storage unit d. None of the above



42. Can an Integrity Constraint be enforced on a table if some existing table data does not satisfy the constraint

a. Yes b. No

43. A column defined as PRIMARY KEY can have a NULL a. TRUE b. FALSE

44. A Transaction ends

a. Only when it is Committed b. Only when it is Rolledback c. When it is Committed or Rolledback d. None of the above

45. A Database Procedure is stored in the Database

a. In compiled form b. As source code c. Both A & B d. Not stored

46. A database trigger does not apply to data loaded before the definition of the trigger

a. TRUE b. FALSE

47. What does a COMMIT statement do to a CURSOR a. Open the Cursor b. Fetch the Cursor c. Close the Cursor d. None of the above

48. Which of the following is NOT VALID PL/SQL

a. Bool boolean; b. NUM1, NUM2 number; c. deptname dept.dname%type; d. date1 date := sysdate

49. Declare

fvar number := null; svar number := 5 Begin goto << fproc>> if fvar is null then << fproc>> svar := svar + 5 end if; End;

What will be the value of svar after the execution ? a. Error b. 10 c. 5 d. None of the above

50. A Stored Procedure is a

a. Sequence of SQL or PL/SQL statements to perform specific function b. Stored in compiled form in the database c. Can be called from all client environments d. All of the above

51. Which of the following statement is false

a. Any procedure can raise an error and return an user message and error number



b. Error number ranging from 20000 to 20999 are reserved for user defined messages c. Oracle checks Uniqueness of User defined errors d. Raise_Application_error is used for raising a user defined error.

52. PL/SQL supports

a. Scalar datatype b. Composite datatype c. All of the above d. None of the above

53. Find the ODD datatype out

a. VARCHAR2 b. RECORD c. BOOLEAN d. RAW

54. Which of the following is not correct about the "TABLE" datatype ? a. Can contain any no of columns b. Simulates a One-dimensional array of unlimited size c. Column datatype of any Scalar type d. None of the above

55. Find the ODD one out of the following

a. OPEN b. CLOSE c. INSERT d. FETCH

56. Which of the following is NOT VALID in PL/SQL ? a. Select ... into b. Update c. Create d. Delete

57. What is the Result of 'VIK'||NULL||'RAM' ?

a. Error b. VIK RAM c. VIKRAM d. NULL

58. Declare A number := 5; b number := null; c number := 10;

Begin if a > b AND a < c then a := c * a; end if; End;

What will be the value of 'a' after execution ? a. 50 b. NULL c. 5 d. None of the above

59. Does the Database trigger fire when the table is TRUNCATED ?

a. Yes b. No

60. SUBSTR(SQUARE ANS ALWAYS WORK HARD,14,6) will return a. ALWAYS b. S ALWA c. ALWAYS

61. REPLACE('JACK AND JUE','J','BL') will return

a. JACK AND BLUE b. BLACK AND JACK c. BLACK AND BLUE d. None of the above

62. TRANSLATE('333SQD234','0123456789ABCDPQRST','0123456789') will return

a. 333234 b. 333333 c. 234333 d. None of the above



63. EMPNO ENAME SAL A822 RAMASWAMY 3500 A812 NARAYAN 5000 A973 UMESH 2850 A500 BALAJI 5750

Use these data for the following Questions Select SAL from EMP E1 where 3 > ( Select count(*) from Emp E2 where E1.SAL > E2.SAL ) will retrieve

a. 3500,5000,2500 b. 5000,2850 c. 2850,5750 d. 5000,5750

64. Is it possible to modify a Datatype of a column when column contains data ? a. Yes b. No

65. Which of the following is not correct about a View ?

a. To protect some of the columns of a table from other users b. Occupies data storage space c. To hide complexity of a query d. To hide complexity of a calculations

66. Which is not part of the Data Definiton Language ?

a. CREATE b. ALTER c. ALTER SESSION

67. The Data Manipulation Language statements are a. INSERT b. UPDATE c. SELECT d. All of the above

68. EMPNO ENAME SAL

A822 RAMASWAMY 3500 A812 NARAYAN 5000 A973 UMESH A500 BALAJI 5750

Using the above data Select count (sal) from Emp will retrieve

a. 1 b. 0 c. 3 d. None of the above

69. If an UNIQUE KEY constraint on DATE column is created, will it accept the rows that are inserted with SYSDATE?

a. Will b. Won't

70. What are the different events in Triggers? a. Define, Create b. Drop, Comment c. Insert, Update, Delete d. All of the above

71. What SYSTEM VARIABLE is used to refer DATABASE TIME ?

a. $$dbtime$$ b. $$time$$ c. $$datetime$$ d. None of the above

72. SYSTEM.EFFECTIVE.DATE varaible is a. Read only b. Read & Write c. Write only d. None of the above



73. When do you get a .PLL extension ? a. Save Library file b. Generate Library file c. Run Library file d. None of the above

74. What is a built_in Subprogram ?

a. Stored procedure & Function b. Collection of Subprogram c. Collection of Packages d. None of the above

75. GET_BLOCK property is a

a. Restricted procedure b. Unrestricted procedure c. Library function d. None of the above

76. A CONTROL BLOCK can sometimes refer to a BASETABLE ?

a. TRUE b. FALSE

77. Can we use a RESTRICTED packaged procedure in WHEN_TEXT_ITEM trigger ? a. Yes b. No

78. Can we use GO_BLOCK package in a PRE_TEXT_ITEM trigger ?

a. Yes b. No

79. What is an ALERT ? a. Modeless window b. Modal window c. Both are TRUE d. None of the above

80. Can an Alert message be changed at runtime?

a. Yes b. No

81. How many no of columns a RECORD GROUP can have ? a. 10 b. 20 c. 50 d. None of the above

82. Oracle precompiler translates the EMBEDDED SQL statements into

a. Oracle FORMS b. Oracle REPORTS c. Oracle LIBRARY d. None of the above

83. Kind of COMMENTs in SQL

a. Asterisk(*) in column ? b. ANSI SQL style statements(...) c. C-Style comments (/*......*/) d. All the above

84. If the maximum records retrieved property of a query is set to 10, then a summary value will

be calculated a. Only for 10 records b. For all the records retrieved c. For all the records in the referenced table d. None of the above

85. With which function of a summary item in the COMPUTE AT optio required ?

a. Sum b. Standard deviation c. Variance d. % of Total function



86. For a field in a repeating frame, can the source come from a column which does not exist in the data group which forms the base of the frame ?

a. Yes b. No

87. What are the different file extensions that are created by Oracle Reports ? a. RDF file & .RPX file b. RDX file & .RDF file c. REP file & .RDF file d. None of the above

88. Is it possible to disable the Parameter form while running the report?

a. Yes b. No

89. What are the SQL clauses supported in the link property sheet ? a. WHERE & START WITH b. WHERE & HAVING c. START WITH & HAVING d. WHERE, START WITH & HAVING

90. Sequence of events that take place while starting a Database is

a. Database opened, File mounted, Instance started b. Instance started, Database mounted & Database opened c. Database opened, Instance started & file mounted d. Files mounted, Instance started & Database opened

91. SYSTEM TABLESPACE can be made off-line

a. Yes b. No

92. Constraints cannot be exported through Export command? a. TRUE b. FALSE

93. It is very difficult to grant and manage common priveleges needed by different groups of

database users using roles a. TRUE b. FALSE

94. The status of the Rollback segment can be viewed through

a. DBA_SEGMENTS b. DBA_ROLES c. DBA_FREE_SPACES d. DBA_ROLLBACK_SEG

95. Explicitly we can assign transaction to a rollback segment

a. TRUE b. FALSE

96. What file is read by ODBC to load drivers? a. ODBC.INI b. ODBC.DLL c. ODBCDRV.INI d. None of the above



Finite Automata and Formal Languages Questions

1. For each of the following English descriptions, find an RE whose language fits the description:

1. over the alphabet {a,b}, strings that start with an 'a' and end with an 'a', but are otherwise unrestricted;

2. over the alphabet {a,b}, strings that have no more than two 'b's in them (but otherwise unrestricted);

3. over the alphabet {a,b,c}, strings that start with an 'a' and end with an 'a', and have only a single 'b' between these two (but otherwise unrestricted);

2. For each of the English descriptions above, find a DFA which will "implement" the corresponding language:

1. draw a picture (transition diagram) for each of theese DFAs; 2. express each DFA as a 5-tuple in set-theoretic meta-language (you may express the

transition function as a table). 3. Give a formal definition of the reverse of a DFA (intuitively, it should involve the reversal of

arrows in the original, and it should accept a language whose members are each the reverse of a string in the language of the original DFA). Your definition should define one set-theoretic DFA (the reversed one) in terms of another (the original).

4. Argue informally why the language of palindromes over the alphabet {a,b} cannot be a regular language (palindromes read the same forwards and backwards: a language of palindromes has only palindromes in it).

5. Implement (in Java, etc.) a program which will transform a DFA into a regular expression. 6. Design a DFA for the following language. L = {0m 1n | m>=0 and n>=1}.

7. Represent all five tuples for below transition and decide whether it is DFA or NFA.

8. Design a Moore Machine to determine the residue mod 4 for each binary string treated as integer.

9. Design a Mealy machine that uses its state to remember the last symbol read and emits output ‘y’ whenever current input matches to previous one, and emits n otherwise.

10. Find a Regular expression corresponding to each of the following subsets over {0,1}*. (a) The set of all strings containing no three consecutive 0’s. (b) The set of all strings where the 10th symbol from right end is a 1. (c) The set of all strings over {0,1} having even number of 0’s & odd number of 1’s. (d) The set of all strings over {0,1} in which the number of occurrences of 0 is divisible by 3.

11. Obtain a CFG to generate unequal number of a’s and b’s. 12. Obtain a CFG to obtain balanced set of parentheses.(i.e every left parentheses

should match with the corresponding right parentheses).



13. What do you mean by ambiguity? Show that the grammar S->a|Sa|bSS|SSb|SbS is ambiguous.

14. Show that the grammar G with production S -> a/aAb/abSb A->aAAb/bS is ambiguous.

15. (a) Explain the terms: Push Down Automata and context free language. (b) Let G be a CFG with the following productions. S -> a B c A -> a b c B -> a A b C -> A B C -> c Construct a PDA M such that the language generated by M and G are equivalent.

16. Give a Turing machine for the following: (a) That computes ones complement of a binary number (b) That shifts the input string, over the alphabet (0,1) by one position right by 1. inserting ‘#′as the first character.

17. (a) What is decidability? Explain any two undecidable problems. (b) Show that the following post correspondence problem has a solution and give the solution.

I List A List B

1 11 11

2 100 001

3 111 11

18. Draw the transition diagram for below FA. M= { {A,B,C,D}, {0,1}, δ,C, {A,C} } δ (A,0) = δ (A,1) = {A,B,C} δ(B,0) = B, δ(B,1) = { A, C } δ (C,0) = {B,C}, δ(C,1) ={ B, D } δ (D,0) = { A, B, C, D } δ(D,1) = {A}.

19. For the following NFA with 2 -moves convert it in to an NFA with out 2 -moves and show that NFA with 2-moves accepts the same language as shown

20. Construct NFA for the following regular expressions

(a) 0+10* +01*0 (b) (0+1)*(01+110).



Puzzles Questions

1. Given a rectangular (cuboidal for the puritans) cake with a rectangular piece removed (any size or orientation), how would you cut the remainder of the cake into two equal halves with one straight cut of a knife?

2. There are 3 baskets. one of them has apples, one has oranges only and the other has a mixture of apples and oranges. The labels on their baskets always lie. (i.e. if the label says oranges, you are sure that it doesn’t have oranges only,it could be a mixture) The task is to pick one basket and pick only one fruit from it and then correctly label all the three baskets.

3. You have 8 balls. One of them is defective and weighs less than others. You have a balance to measure balls against each other. In 2 weightings how do you find the defective one?

4. If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5 quart and 3 quart pail, how would you measure exactly 4 quarts?

5. You have a bucket of jelly beans. Some are red, some are blue, and some green. With your eyes closed, pick out 2 of a same color. How many do you have to grab to be sure you have 2 of the same?

6. Imagine you are standing in front of a mirror, facing it. Raise your left hand. Raise your right hand. Look at your reflection. When you raise your left hand your reflection raises what appears to be his right hand. But when you tilt your head up, your reflection does too, and does not appear to tilt his/her head down. Why is it that the mirror appears to reverse left and right, but not up and down?

7. You have 5 jars of pills. Each pill weighs 10 gram, except for contaminated pills contained in one jar, where each pill weighs 9 gm. Given a scale, how could you tell which jar had the contaminated pills in just one measurement?

8. If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5 quart and 3 quart pail, how would you measure exactly 4 quarts?

9. Which way should the key turn in a car door to unlock it?

10. If you could remove any of the 50 states, which state would it be and why?

11. There are four dogs/ants/people at four corners of a square of unit distance. At the same instant all of them start running with unit speed towards the person on their clockwise direction and will always run towards that target. How long does it take for them to meet and where?

12. (From Tara Hovel) A helicopter drops two trains, each on a parachute, onto a straight infinite railway line. There is an undefined distance between the two trains. Each faces the same direction, and upon landing, the parachute attached to each train falls to the ground next to the train and detaches. Each train has a microchip that controls its motion. The chips are identical. There is no way for the trains to know where they are. You need to write the code



in the chip to make the trains bump into each other. Each line of code takes a single clock cycle to execute.

13. In a village in each family they give birth to children till they get a boy. IF girl child they try again. What is the ratio of boys to girls.

14. 2n+1 numbers in a list except for 1 num all had duplicates, how to find duplicate in O(n)

15. In 1000 wine bottles stack 10 are poisoned, given 10 rats what is the minimum number of tries to find the poisoned one. Rat dies once it licks the poisoned wine.

16. Write 1,3,6,4 using +,-,*,/ to get 24 (no repeat of numbers)

17. Count no. of bits set in a given number in O(1)

18. Reverse bits of a Binary Number.

19. Implement Division operator without using /,% or repeated subtraction.

20. How to multiply two numbers only using Bitwise Operators ?

21. Which is the DS used in dictionary mode in mobile (t9)

22. Given Numerator & Denominator.... print 0.3333333333 as .(3) 0.123123 as .(123)

23. Which is DS used for chess program...to predict move each and every time..

24. There are $1070 dollars how to split them into bags such that asked for any denomination from $1 to $1070 , u must b able to give without opening bag

25. Algorithm to partition set of numbers into two s.t. diff between their sum is min and they have equal num of Elements

26. Placing cigar's on circular table Let's say we (you and me) play a simple game. I have a circular table and an unlimited supply of identically shaped Cuban cigars. We each take turns placing a cigar on the table without disturbing any other cigars already there in the process and without overlapping any pair of cigars. The winner will be last person to successfully place a cigar on the table subject to the given restrictions. If I give you the option of going first, how would you play in order try and win.

27. Measure 45 minutes with one match You have two strings of rough non-continuous composition (in other words these strings are not ideally uniform.) You know that each will take exactly half an hour to burn no matter which end is lit. How can you with only one match (which only sustains a flame for a few seconds) measure a time interval of 45 minutes



28. Card's with vowel and even numbers There are 4 cards on a table. Each has a number on one side and a letter on the other. The cards show A,B,1 and 2. Which 2 cards would you turn over to test the rule that "All cards with a vowel on one side have an even number on the other"

29. Figure out wire connections. There are 66 wires connecting from the top floor to the ground floor. You can see the ends of the wires but you don't know which one on the ground floor connects to which one on the top floor. You can tie the ends of several wires together and test the connections at the other end by using a bulb and battery. For example, if you first tie wires A, B, and C together at the ground floor and then go up to the top floor, you will figure out that the bulb will light if you put it between A and B, A and C, or B and C. You can do the reverse thing by tying the ends at the top floor and test on the ground. Assume you start at ground floor with none of the wire tied, what's the minimum number of trips up and down you need to make before you can figure out all the connections from the ends on the top floor to the ends on the ground floor, which is a one-to-one mapping between them?

30. 10 hat's problem. A teacher puts on 10 hats of either red or blue on 10 students. Each one can see the hats on all other 9 students, but not his own. The teacher tells them that at least one of the hat is blue. The teacher asks each one to write down the color of his hat if he's sure about it, or he can write down "don't know" if he can't deduce its color. Everyone reveals their answer at the same time and all of them write "don't know". The second day, they gather again and the teacher puts on the same hats. Each one has to think about the color of his hat again. This time, still no one can figure out his hat color (i.e. everyone writes down "don't know"). This game repeats in the same way on third day, forth day, ..., until the ninth day. Still no one figures out. However, on the tenth day, everyone writes down the correct color of his hat. So explain what happened? And what's the color they wrote down? Assume throughout the 10 days, those students do not communicate with each other. And also assume everyone is smart and knows everyone else is smart, and so

31. Love in Kleptopia Jan and Maria have fallen in love (via the internet) and Jan wishes to mail her a ring. Unfortunately, they live in the country of Kleptopia where anything sent through the mail will be stolen unless it is enclosed in a padlocked box. Jan and Maria each have plenty of padlocks, but none to which the other has a key. How can Jan get the ring safely into Maria's hands?

32. 100 passengers boarding airplane..figure out seating 100 passengers are boarding an airplane with 100 seats. Everyone has a ticket with his seat number. These 100 passengers board the airplane in order. However, the first passenger lost his ticket so he just takes a random seat. For any subsequent passenger, he either sits on his own seat or, if the seat is taken, he takes a random empty seat. What's the probability that the last passenger would sit on his own seat.



33. Elevator falling from 20 floors Suppose you are in the elevator of a 20 story building at the top floor. All of a sudden the elevator cable snaps, and the emergency brake completely fails (an insanely unlikely occurrence) and the elevator proceeds to drop in a 20 foot free fall. If you do nothing, the fall will kill you, so before the point of impact you consider possibility of jumping up from the floor of the elevator as hard as you can right at or possibly just before the point where the elevator finally hits the ground. Does this have any chance of working.

34. Room with three bulbs Imagine you are in a room with 3 switches. In an adjacent room there are 3 bulbs (all are off at the moment), each switch belongs to one bulb. It is impossible to see from one room to another. How can you find out which switch belongs to which bulb, if you may enter the room with the bulbs only once?

35. Weigh a plane without scales How would you find the weight of a plane without using scales

36. Will level of water increase If you are on a boat and you throw out a suitcase, will the level of water increase

37. Ant's on a triangle There are 3 ants at 3 corners of a triangle, they randomly start moving towards another corner. What is the probability that they don’t collide?

38. Divide the money in Mike and Todd Mike has $20 more than Todd. How much does each have given that combined they have $21 between them. You can’t use fractions in the answer.(Hint: This is a trick question, pay close attention to the condition)

39. Cut a cake into two pieces How do you cut a rectangular cake into two equal pieces when someone has already taken a rectangular piece from it? The removed piece an be any size or at any place in the cake. You are only allowed one straight cut.

40. Should i shoot you Lets play a game of Russian roulette. You are tied to a chair and can,t get up.Here is the gun , six chambers all empty. Now I put two bullets in the gun and I put these bullets in the adjacent chambers. I close the barrel and spin it. I put the gun to your head and pull the trigger. Clik and the slot was empty. Now before we start the interview I want to pull the trigger one more time , which one do you prefer , that I spon the barrel first or that I just pull the trigger ?



41. How to reach from point A to point B You have to get from point A to point B. You don’t know if you can get there. What would you do.

42. Old Monks There are monks in a monastry who don't speak(or communicate in any sense) with each other and have no have no mirrors or any reflective surface at their disposal. Evn the water they drink is from a "surahi" type pitcher(the opening is narrow and no reflection can be seen) and the floor is of extremely porous clay so that if u drop water to see reflection, the ground soaks it up so fast that it won't work. Now their leader is allowed to speak and he tells them that some monks have been infected with a disease that has marked their forehead and that they should leave of their own accord. But they are not told who is infected. If there are n monks how many days it takes for them to realise that they are infected and leave ?

43. Party Teaser I was at a party with MS one evening where he got bored and started keeping track of the number of handshakes made by people. A person was called "odd person" if he made an odd number of handshakes, otherwise he was called "even person". After some time MS said to me, "Hey AD, do you know that there are an even number of odd persons?" I replied, "Big deal, MS. There will be always an even number of odd persons!" But still he seemed confused. Justify ...

44. Coins on a table There is a table on which a number of coins are placed. You also know that there are as many coins with Head up as many coins with Tail up. Now you have to divide the coins (number of coins is even) into two equal piles such that number of coins with Heads up and Tails up in either piles be the same. The catch is you are blind folded and you cannot determine the sides (for sure) if you are blinded

45. Measure 4 quart using 5 and 3 quarts If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5 quart and 3 quart pail, how would you measure exactly 4 quarts?

46. Worker's payment problem You've got someone working for you for seven days and a gold bar to pay them. The gold bar is segmented into seven connected pieces. You must give them a piece of gold at the end of every day. If you are only allowed to make two breaks in the gold bar, how do you pay your worker?



47. Jar's and pills problem. You have 5 jars of pills. Each pill weighs 10 gram, except for contaminated pills contained in one jar, where each pill weighs 9 gm. Given a scale, how could you tell which jar had the contaminated pills in just one measurement?

48. Defective light weight 8 balls puzzle You have 8 balls. One of them is defective and weighs less than others. You have a balance to measure balls against each other. In 2 weightings how do you find the defective one?

49. Classic Basket/fruits puzzle There are 3 baskets. one of them have apples, one has oranges only and the other has mixture of apples and oranges. The labels on their baskets always lie. (i.e. if the label says oranges, you are sure that it doesn't have oranges only,it could be a mixture) The task is to pick one basket and pick only one fruit from it and then correctly label all the three baskets

50. Truth and Lies So we all know the famous question when a person has to find out which of the two paths lead to his destination and there are two guys sitting there, one of which always speaks the truth and the other always lies. What is the single question he can ask to reach his aim?

51. Time measurement with fuses You have two fuses that both last 1 hour, and you have no other ways of telling time. The fuses may be thicker at some points, so in half an hour (or any other amount of time), the amount of fuse that has burned may or may not be half the length of the whole fuse. How do you measure 45 minutes worth of time?

52. 100 prisoner's in a line A king decides to give 100 of his prisoners a test. If they pass, they can go free. Otherwise, the king will execute all of them. The test goes as follows: the prisoners stand in a line, all facing forward. The king puts either a black or a white hat on each prisoner. The prisoners can only see the colors of the hats in front of them. Then, in any order they want, each one guesses the color of the hat on their head. Other than that, the prisoners cannot speak. To pass, no more than 1 of them may guess incorrectly. If they can make their strategy before hand, how can they be assured that they will survive?

53. 2 glass balls problems I am in a 100-story building. I have with me two glass balls. I know that if I throw the ball out of the window, it will never break if the floor number is less than X, and it will always break if



the floor number is equal to or greater than X. Assuming that I can reuse the balls which don't break, find X in the minimum number of throws.

54. Why are Air Route's circular If you ever look at an map of an airline; which depicts that the airline flies between multiple cities it's always circular/and not a straight line. Is there a logic behind this or airlines just enjoy making circular map routes.

55. Don't hang yourself. A fool wants to tie a rope around the earth. So he buys a rope of 40,000 KM and ties it around the world. His neighbor, also a fool, wants to do the same only he wants the rope on sticks 1 meter above the ground. How much more rope does he need? And how much more rope do you need when you use a tennis ball instead of the earth?

56. Bridge Crossing Problem U2" has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. You must help them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man's pace:

> Bono:- 1 minute to cross > Edge:- 2 minutes to cross > Adam:- 5 minutes to cross > Larry:-10 minutes to cross

For example: if Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission.

57. Detect heavy/light ball in the group There are 12 balls that you have out of which one is the odd one out, which means it can be heavy/light. You have three chances to find the odd ball and also whether it's heavy or light.

58. 100 beer bottles There is a king and he has 100 beer bottles...out of them one is poisonous. Bottles are numbered from 1 to 100.king want to kno the bottle name...who takes one spoon from the poisonous bottle will die.king can’t take risk.....he has only 50 slaves.....and one slave can’t drink more than one bottle......king wants to take risk on few of them. What is the minimum no. of slaves he can use to get the bottle name and how can he do this?

59. Can the lion kill the sheep



There are 16 lions and 1 sheep. All the lions are hungry. one lion can kill one sheep at a time and eat. It it eats one sheep it will become drowsy and fall asleep. When the lion becomes drowsy the other lions can kill that lion. So what can be the situation. Will ever lions can make courage to kill the sheep????

60. Find false statements

There are 100 statements numbered 1 to 100, and ith statement says: 'i' statements are false /* e.g. : 1) 1 statement is false 2) 2 statements are false ... ... 100) 100 statements are false */ Find out: a) which ones are false (less important) and b) why (more important)

61. Can the camel cross the desert There is a desert of 1000kms long. A camel is there and 3000 bananas. At one go a camel can take 1000 bananas. For each one km to walk camel eats 1 banana. How many bananas can we cross to the other side of desert.

62. Can you survive the terrorist attack Suppose you and nineteen other fine up standing citizens are captured by terrorists and each of you is put into an room (isolated from the others) with a button and a timer which is counting down starting from 10 minutes. You are told that if you press the button you will die instantly, but everyone else who does *not* press the button will be allowed to live and set free, however, if noboy presses the button, everyone will die. Given that the terrorists will keep their word, how would you decide on whether or not to press the button? - There is a little bit of psychology going on in this question. - Take the point of view of finding an algorithm which maximizes the number of saved lives that will be saved and assume that you could have pre-emptively communicated this to the other 19 civilians.

63. Guess the locker's state Suppose we have 100 lockers which start all closed. You start at one end and open every locker one by one. You then return to that end and then starting with the second locker close every other locker. You then return to that end again and starting from the third locker change the state (if it is open close it, if it is closed open it) of every third locker. Then every fourth, every fifth and so on. You do this for 100 passes. What is the state of each locker after you are done?



64. Will the friends meet Two friends decide to meet after a long time on world famous and my favorite BRIGADE ROAD. They decide to meet in between 5pm -6 pm. However since one of them has a record of coming late they put in a clause saying whoever comes first will wait for the other for 10 min, if the other person comes they will meet otherwise the person who came first would head back. Now what's the probability that both the friend's will meet.

65. Grab gold from mine There are three people who discover a gold mine full of gold; but it also has some fluids which can be harmful to human body if it comes in direct contact. To take out the gold you need to put in a special fluid on your hand and then wear a glove and then you can put your hand inside the mine and take out the gold. Now the problem is that they have only two gloves with them; but all three want gold but if they cannot mix their fluid's either and don't want to be in direct contact with the gold mine's fluid also. Now what stategry can they come up with so that all three get the gold without being harmed(i.e. no direct contact with the Mine's fluid and no mixing of fluid's of each other)

66. QuarrelSome boys A father took his sons out for a picnic and had to cross a river in a small boat. The boys were born one year apart. Two boys would fight each other if their ages differed by one year, provided that the father was not around to stop it. Given that only the father could row, how could this family cross the river peacefully, if there were three boys and the boat held two people; there were five boys and the boat held three people, and the father could stop fights on the boat; there were five boys and the boat held three people, but the father could not stop fights on the boat?

67. Three missionaries and three cannibals Three missionaries and three cannibals had to cross a river in a boat which held two people. If some missionaries were outnumbered, on either shore, by the cannibals, their missions were over. How would all six cross the river, given that all of them could row?

68. Split the bill among three Three men walk into a restaurant and each order the lunch special that costs $10. When they are ready to pay the $30, the owner of the restaurant pulls the waiter aside and says: "These three men are my friends. Give them $5 off the check". When walking towards the table, the waiter thinks: "$5 split between 3 men? Not easy. I'll give them each $1 and keep the last $2". He does so, everybody is happy. Tips and taxes aside, how much did each man pay?

69. Trap a lion in a desert..

Figure out a statergy to trap a lion in a desert.



70. Last to choose from heap looses

Let's say i have three heaps with following sizes Heap A Size = 3, Heap B Size = 4, Heap C size = 5

71. Win the number sequence game... You and your opponent are playing a game. The rule is that you start the game by saying a sequence of continuous integers. The sequence may have a length of 1, 2, or 3. The sequence should start from 1. So you could start the game by saying either {1}, or {1,2}, or {1,2,3}. Your opponent will follow your sequence by saying his sequence of length 1, 2, or 3. His sequence starts from where you stop. E.g. if you say {1,2}, then you opponent may say either {3}, or {3,4}, or {3,4,5}; and you follow your opponent's sequence in the same manner. The game continues until one person says 30 in his sequence and that person wins. The problem asks you to design a strategy so that you will win (i.e. you are the first to be able to say 30 in your sequence).

72. Easy One :: How many matches to decide winner Suppose there are 125 tennis player for a tournamet. How many matches would be required to decide a winner.

73. Search for a friend in optimum time You are standing at a crossing from where there emerge four roads extending to infinity. Your friend is somewhere on one of the four roads. You do not know on which road he is and how far he is from you. You have to walk to your friend and the total distance traveled by you must be at most constant times the actual distance of your friend from you. In terminology of algorithms, you should traverse O(d) distance, where d is the distance of your friend from you.

74. Worm Travails A rubber string is 10 meters long. A worm crawls from one end to the other at 1 5 each hour the string stretches to become 1 meter longer than it's last length. Will it reach the end ?

75. Classic: If a bear walks one mile south, turns left and walks one mile to the east and then turns left again and walks one mile north and arrives at its original position, what is the color of the bear.



Getting Job Ready

Goal: To develop self to be Job ready

Objectives: The objectives and coverage would be:

How to write a resume’ Attending Interviews Participation in Group Discussions Working in teams

SYNOPSIS

1. Career Strategy for new graduates 2. The traditional and online methods of job hunting 3. Relating with a headhunter 4. Preparing and writing an effective cover letter 5. Cover letter template 6. Cover letter case studies

Career Strategy For New Graduates

How does it feel to be finally over with four years of your life spent in college?

If you think that the relief is overwhelming, just wait till you get your first job. You know you just can't wait.

General tip: the basic concepts to getting hired are visibility and presentation. Letting a recruiter FIND you so you can answer the question, "Why should we HIRE you?"

There are many ways to start out looking for that opportunity to ANSWER that question to a recruiter. Here are some helpful hints, tips and keep-in-minds that make up the basics of Job-hunting:

Start out at home base

Sometimes the best place to begin looking for a job is at your own college. Find out from your placement office the list of companies coming to your campus. Start researching the companies which offer a career path similar to what you have decided on.

Have talks with a counselor Yes, you might need help. Career counselors can tell you a lot about different job tracks, how to identify your skills, or even which field you fit best, if you plan to specialize within an industry. Some career centers even offer tests that can help you in these matters.

Rack up a good resume



Remember, recruiters will always get a load of your resume before they get to check you out; make it sell you well.

Get reacquainted with the Internet Recruiters find it easier and more effective to just headhunt on the Web. Don't get left behind; post your resume online. Research on companies and check out their sites to see if they're hiring, and find out how to get hired. Better yet, you can save time by just checking out a jobsite; Jobs.net offers Online Resume Posting and Job-search services to all job-hunters at no charge, not to mention useful tips and resources to help jumpstart your career search.

Brush up Get a haircut. Pick a good business suit. Keep in mind that its not enough to be a pro, it's also important that you LOOK like one

The Traditional and Online methods of job hunting

In order to have a competitive advantage in today's market, you will need to use numerous search methods simultaneously to uncover as many job leads as possible. The new online job search method made possible by the internet facilitates landing your preferred job, but do not forget about the tried and tested Traditional Methods:

Networking

Whenever a job position opens, many employers will first ask referrals from their family, friends, clients, and employees--people whose judgment and good advice they value. A good way of getting that opening is, of course, to have your name come up when that referral is being solicited. You do this through networking.

Networking is collecting contacts to keep you posted regarding available positions in the job market. It is an approach that puts you directly in contact with people who can recommend you on job positions rarely advertised. It is from their advice or influence that you are able to find doors that are open for hiring, to people who can assist you in looking, or to link you with other persons who may give you more job leads.

Newspapers' classified ads

Even in this day and age, browsing the Classifieds is still popular way of job searching. A newspaper can list hundreds of job positions where you can scan companies that announce their requirements. The good thing about these listings is that the contact info is usually complete, and you don't need the internet to search through them.

Walk-in applicant

It is an approach where you just actually show-up at the company without an appointment, dressed for success and resume in hand. Even if a job has not been posted anywhere yet, visit the company you are interested in and ask any employee inside if there are any job openings in the company, or better yet, to direct you to the HR department to inquire regarding this.

http://jobs.net/



Try to obtain names of people you could talk to, and be prepared for an immediate interview. This approach is not so easy because not all companies you visit may have job openings, so have several copies of your resume in hand and pocketfuls of perseverance, so you can continue the job hunt as a walk-in applicant. Even if they don't have an opening at the time, you can still get a chance of getting ahead, especially since most companies file the resumes of walk-in applicants for future reference.

Telephone campaign

If you're not too keen on walking door-to-door to different firms, inquiring about openings and dropping off your resume, why not call them instead? After all, this'll save you time, money and effort in searching for job vacancies. The thing is, IF you DO find a job opening; many companies, after all, don't entertain these inquiries openly and at best, will just ask you to drop off your resume for "future reference." If there is no job opening, at least, you wasted nothing but a phone call.

The Online Method

Electronic Job Hunting is probably the easiest and most effective means of finding a job in the New Economy. You start out by posting your updated resume on a jobsite (such as ours) not only to make it available for perusal by recruiters online, but also to gain access to the many jobsite features available only to members. Many of these features include one-click application, job search statistics (so you can keep track of how many times you've applied for a job, been called for a job interview and by whom) and intelligent job searches (keyword searches, browsing by industry, etc.). Since all you need is a ready resume and internet connection, this style has got to be the easiest.

You don't have to leave the house 'til you get called for an interview. You don't need contacts inside companies. You don't even have to read the newspaper. You don't have to pay an agency to find you a job. The following are components of the Online Method:

Online classifieds / job postings

There are a large number of sites on the Web that list job openings. Some allow you to view the postings for free, some charge for it. These are a great way to find openings that may not have been advertised in the newspaper.

Online resume databases

Many sites allow you to post your resume for recruiters to view. There are also others that don't list job openings, but do allow you to post your resume. Some allow you to post for free, some charge. Check the requirements before posting yours. If your resume or profile isn't correct or readable, you'll never get contacted. When they find your resume via these databases, you may learn about those coveted unadvertised opportunities. These databases are excellent career tools. Keep your resume on them, and continue to update it, even when you're not currently searching for a new position. You never know when the right employer/recruiter might stumble onto your resume and offer you the perfect job.

Email lists / newsgroups



There are many email-lists and newsgroups you can subscribe to that are job or career related. Some simply send you job openings. Others allow you to post your resume to the group, network with other members or provide career and job search advice.

Despite all the benefits of using the Online Job Search Method, it always pays to supplement it with some of the traditional job-hunting approaches. Remember, job hunting is made up of the right talent, a positive attitude and a little bit of luck. Increasing your chances at finding a job by using as many means possible always helps you in the "luck" department.

Relating With a Headhunter

It always pays to network, whenever you can, with a headhunter. No one else will be able to teach you how to get a new job, or even prepare for a job interview than someone whose job is to look for jobs for other people. Not to mention the probability that no one else will be able to match you up best with a good job that not only matches your skills and needs, but your personality as well.

Look for recruiting firms on jobsites and submit your resumes there as well.

These firms, populated by headhunters, always welcome new resumes to grace their resume banks. They usually go by the name "Executive Search Firm", "Consultants" or "Placement Agency". This is also always the first database they consult before sourcing out for more resumes in other places, like

Preparing and writing effective Cover Letters

The Cover letter for a resume is often regarded as a mere formality and is not given the importance it deserves. Most job-seekers would prefer to skip it and just send their resume alone to prospective employers. Others would invariably send an announcement cover letter stating the obvious i.e “Please find enclosed my resume…". Such cover letters would definitely be a waste. Is a cover letter then, really necessary?

If you are sending your resume to an employer, you should always ensure that a cover letter goes along with it. Why is this cover letter so important?

The cover letter is the first thing that the recruiter reads when short-listing resumes. It is much shorter than a resume and, if well written in content and presentation, could grab the attention of the person sifting through the possibly large volumes of resumes that have arrived for a particular position. This is particularly so in the case of advertised vacancies where as many as 50 to 100 resumes could arrive for the position every day. With these volumes, you can expect ruthlessness in the screening process.

In fact, the first level of screening would probably be done by a clerk who may not even be aware of the details of the advertised position and may be working on a preliminary checklist provided to him. Over 50% resumes may be removed at this stage and may not even reach the next level in the screening process. A good cover letter would definitely help at this stage in at least sounding different and standing out from the crowd. It could improve your chance of being selected for an interview The cover letter is an opportunity for you to respond to the needs of the prospective employer. You need to go beyond your resume and its details of your past experience. And highlight how you can



help your new organization in achieving its goals. How your skills and experience together can meet the expectations that accompany the new job profile. You can claim the value that you offer to the organization in your cover letter. The detailed evidence to back up your claims will be provided by your resume.

A common practice is to send the same cover letter for different employers through a mass mail exercise, where just the employer name is changed. This may be so because it is easier and quicker to finalize one cover letter whereas customized cover letters for different employers would require a lot more effort.

When you prepare different cover letters for different employers, you will need to think along the following lines to customize the letter i.e. you need to think about the organization and the industry its in, its customers and clients, your job profile if you were to get recruited by them, and how your strengths, abilities, traits could help contribute significantly to the organization.

Just highlighting your basic skills could help you get short-listed, but you need to stand out above the clutter. You also need to differentiate yourself vis-à-vis your competition and let that come through in the letter. That would be the difference a customized cover letter would make.

There will be parts of the letter that you could use a as standard section in all your letters and that, to some extent, would save you time and effort. It is advisable to change the rest of the letter to suit the specific needs of each of your prospective employers.

This should give the employer a clear reason why they will be better off after recruiting you!

The length of the cover letter should be apt

How long should the cover letter be?

The cover letter should be short as the reader may only give it a quick skim through given the pile of resumes that he may have to go through.

It should have not more than 2-3 paragraphs of 5-7 lines each. The sentences should not be too long nor should they be in point form like in a checklist. You can highlight a certain sentence by using italics or bold whichever you prefer.

Use a conversational and easy flowing friendly tone

It is preferable to use a conversational and easy flowing friendly tone, instead of a formal and stiff business like approach to the letter. Do not use ornate and long winded words or thoughts. Keep your claims specific and not vague. Avoid over-loading your letter with too many adjectives.

A common part of certain resumes and cover letters is a host of adjectives like-

"committed, dedicated, motivated individual with excellent communication skills, efficient, reliable with outstanding interpersonal skills, keen mind with excellent problem-solving and analytical skills……"



Phew! Please avoid such long clichéd self praise in your cover letter. This example may be an exaggeration, but the point that needs to be made is this- stick to a few credible claims with a brief substantiation. A host of adjectives such as the ones above cannot make your resume stand out, but instead might receive a response such as "Oh no! Not one of those again!". Now that is definitely not what you wanted!

Avoid servile language

Avoid servile language like- " I humbly submit my resume to your esteemed organization….."

You need to communicate through your cover letter, a positive personality so that you can instill confidence in the prospective employer regarding recruiting you for the position. A servile, beseeching tone like the one mentioned will only put off the employer regarding your leadership abilities.

Avoid the standard opening lines and look at alternatives

Try and avoid the usual standard opening line "Please find my resume enclosed…" . Though this definitely gets to the point, it will not really catch the employer's attention or be able to stand out of the clutter.

You could start the letter by highlighting how you can help in achieving the objectives of the job in question i.e. Then go on to describe certain benefits the organization will receive if you are recruited for this position.

Whatever approach to the opening lines you find suitable, the important thing to remember is that you need to get to the point quickly!

Address the letter to a specific person

There is a tendency to address the cover letter to a designation such as Human Resources Manager or Personnel Manager etc. Make an effort and find out the name of the person in the organization in that position and address the letter to him/her. And remember do not get mixed up with gender.

Final Check: Stick to readable font style and size

For your cover letters, you could use Arial or Times Roman font styles with a point size of 11-12. No spelling or typing errors.

The letter states your interest in the position and reasons for applying. Parallels between your strengths that align itself to the position are clear The letter is addressed it to the person who can hire you. Write it in your own words Be natural in your writing style Show that you know something about the company and the industry. Use terms and phrases that are meaningful to the employer.



COVER LETTER TEMPLATE

Your name Mailing address

City, state, and zip Telephone number(s)

Email address

Today’s date Your addressee’s name Professional title Organization name Mailing address City, state and zip Dear Mr. (or Ms.) last name, Start your letter with a grabber—a statement that establishes a connection with your reader, a probing question, or a quotable quote. Briefly say what job you are applying for. The mid-section of your letter should be one or two short paragraphs that make relevant points about your qualifications. You should not summarize your resume! You may incorporate a column or bullet point format here. Your last paragraph should initiate action by explaining what you will do next (e.g., call the employer) or instigate the reader to contact you to set up an interview. Close by saying “thank you.” Sincerely yours,

Your handwritten signature

Your name (typed) Enclosure: resume

Writing an effective resume’ – Tips and techniques

SYNOPSIS

1. Understand and appreciate the importance of the resume 2. The do’s and don’ts of resume writing 3. Understanding the Resume checklist 4. Review of a sample resume

Understand and appreciate the importance of the resume

The CV or Resume is a brief presentation of your skills, work experience, achievements and education.



Writing your resume is an essential aspect of applying for a job, as it requires a lot of effort and planning on your behalf. A badly worded and poorly presented resume can put off a potential employer totally.

At the outset, it is necessary to clarify that you could use the term "resume" or "curriculum vitae" (CV), even though technically a CV is primarily meant for job positions within the academic environment and is supposed to be a lengthy document. The difference is not strictly followed and it is safe to use these two terms interchangeably, but remember that whatever word you use, be sure that you know how to pronounce it accurately!

The do’s and don’ts of resume writing

A Resume should be about 2 pages long

Anything too long runs the risk of being skimmed over and not read properly. Long and detailed does not necessarily imply better! What your resume has to get across to the potential employer is just this - you have the required skills, experience and education to handle the job! This can be done by appropriately focusing on the key aspects unique to your experience, and leaving out the standard repetitive details, which would be similar to those of your competitors applying for the same job/position

Always apply to a specific position

Mailing out a number of resumes with cover letters blindly to companies that are not advertising positions, is a waste of time and money. Most companies file them away and never refer to them again.

There's a thin line between enthusiasm and being overbearing. Find out from your contact (the person to whom you are applying) when, and how often you should check back. It is always better to apply when there is a specific opening in the company.

Start off by identifying your job objective

The job objective is an excellent area to include in your resume and is usually omitted. It puts your resume in the right perspective for the reader and clearly shows where you are headed in your career plans

Examples:

Objective: Interested in an entry level position in marketing in a multi-national corporation.

Objective: Interested in an entry level position in marketing.

Provide a summary of your experience and skills

The next section that your resume should contain is a 5-6 point summary of your skills and experience. That includes:

No. of years of past and relevant work experience



a brief description of the work done specific skills acquired significant achievements educational qualifications

This section is very useful, in providing a snapshot view of what your resume contains for situations where yours is one resume in a pile of fifty others. It allows minimal information loss in case the resume is quickly skimmed over and not given a detailed reading. In this section, the skills that you present should help in answering the question -"How can you contribute to the organization?"

Use language and content that communicates a proactive style

The style of writing that you use and the particular words or phrases can make a significant difference to your resume. It affects the impression created about you regarding your past work experience and your skills. For example, you might say in your past work experience that you "maintained records and accounts". A better way of expressing the same thing could be "Reported directly to the VP-Finance and managed over 1500 accounts..."

Prioritize details of your past work experience

You could present the work experience in reverse chronological order. Within an organization, present your career path in the correct chronological order. Mention responsibilities briefly, focus more on accomplishments. If worked in many organizations, merge information to reduce chronological details. If changing your area of specialization, classify the information by function

Present educational qualifications with the most recent one first

When giving information on your educational qualifications in a separate section, it is advisable to begin by presenting the most recent degree/diploma achieved.

Even if you are not a software/IT professional, today computer literacy is assumed for most positions. So don't list competencies in MS-Word and such like but do include any significant packages you may have learnt, helped develop or are in the process of learning.

Include other information only if significant

You may like to mention your hobbies, interests or extra-curricular activities, under a separate heading, but it will really not add value to your resume unless you have made a significant achievement there. Put in at the end under a separate heading.

A short personal profile can be included to highlight your strengths

It is a good idea to highlight some of your strengths and personal profile in a short powerful paragraph which can be placed at the beginning or as a wrap up of your resume.

Although one has to be very careful not to blow your own trumpet without having a valid basis for the statements, it should be an objective view of your strengths.

References should be provided on request



Though it is useful to have names and contact numbers of people to give as references, it makes sense to provide them only on request. You should not give the details on your resume but provide the information later on, when asked for, or further on in the selection process.

The reason for this is that at the outset you do not know how long your resume will be with a company before you get an interview call. By then the persons you mentioned as references may have moved or their contact numbers could have changed.

Tailor your list of references based on the company you are applying to. So there is no need to provide the same information to all the places you send your resume to.

It is also a good idea to inform your references that you have given their names before they receive a call out of the blue. This way when the employers who have included you in the short-list for recruitment, contact your references to check you out, there are no hitches or surprises.

Use action verbs

Action verbs give your resume power and direction. Try to begin all skill statements with an action verb. For example: Analyzed, conceptualized, formulated, directed, managed etc.

A special note on filling out Application Forms

Applications are mainly used as a tool by the employer to screen people out.

Don't give them a reason to screen yours out.

1. Read and understand the application before you fill it out 2. Get a couple of applications. Then you can use one for practice. 3. If you can only get one, make a copy of it before you start filling it out. 4. Be specific about the position, or positions you are applying for with the company. Avoid

writing "anything" for the position desired. 5. Be detailed about your work description. Don't assume the employer knows what you did.

Write down the skills, tools, equipment you used plus any achievements you consider important. Demonstrate your knowledge of your previous duties, especially if they apply toward the job you are trying to get.

6. Don't be afraid to refer to an additional page so you can write down all that you need for the work history.

Review of a Sample resume

PRANAV GUPTA

Flat No.17, Rainbow Manner,

9th main, Indiranagar,

Mumbai, India -640069

e-mail : [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Tele No. : 91 + 22 + 7668380

CAREER OBJECTIVE:

Seeking a position to utilize my skills and abilities in the Information Technology Industry

that offers security and Professional growth while being resourceful, innovative and flexible.

PERSONAL SKILLS:

Comprehensive problem solving abilities, excellent verbal and written communication skills,

ability to deal with people diplomatically, willingness to learn and a good team facilitator.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION :

# B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from TKMCE, Kerala University with 71 %.

# Pre-Degree from Calicut University, Kerala, 1995 with 75 %.

# SSLC from Board of Public Examinations Kerala, 1993 with 83.66 %.

ELECTIVES TAKEN:

Management Information Systems. Cryogenics Engineering. Material Handling. Plant engineering and maintenance.

IT EXPOSURE:

Operating System : MS DOS, WINDOWS .

Languages : C, Pascal

Internet Applications : JAVA

Design Tool : AutoCAD.

PROJECT DETAILS:

Name : “Design of Hydroforming Setup And Process Analysis”

Organization: ISRO-VSSC Trivandrum, Kerala.

From : 15th March 2005 To: 25th May 2007



Team Size : 4

Description : For our project work, our assignment was carrying out a literature survey of hydroforming process, study of properties of hydraulic fluids; design of hydroforming process setup, process analysis and to find out the working zone in the suitable pressure region against the punch travel.

PAPERS PRESENTED:

Name : “Stratified Charge Engine”.

This lead to a new era of engines from all the conventional types, in which a stratified charge is injected to the engine which then is combusted for running the vehicle.

PERSONAL DETAILS:

Age & DOB: 23 years,05-12-1977

Sex: Male.

Martial Status: Single

Nationality: Indian

Languages Known: English, Hindi & Malayalam

Passport No: B 1318595

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

Indian Society of Technical Education. Association of Mechanical Engineers

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:

Winner in District level Elocution Competition Having a habit of writing personal diary for the past seven years. Active Participant in TKM EXPO 1998

References will be provided upon request. Preparation of individual résumé’s with feedback

SYNOPSIS

1. Prepare resume and receive feed back 2. Discuss do’s and don’ts



1. Prepare resume and receive feedback

Follow the following template and or add your own

Name

Address

CAREER OBJECTIVE:

PERSONAL SKILLS:

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION :

ELECTIVES TAKEN:

IT EXPOSURE:

PROJECT DETAILS:

PAPERS PRESENTED:

PERSONAL DETAILS:

Age & DOB:

Sex:

Martial Status:

Nationality:

Languages Known:

Passport No:

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:

References will be provided upon request.



Understanding the Resume Checklist

1. The Resume is not overcrowded and there is sufficient white space to make it look visually appealing and easily readable.

2. The career objective is clear and SMART

3. The Resume spans 2 to 3 pages

4. The types of fonts are not more than 2

5. A True Type font (eg: times new roman) is selected for better readability in both soft and hard copy

6. The lines of type on your resume are not all justified. (Justification gives a blanket story book effect which is to be avoided).

7. There is no overuse of capitalization, italics, underlines, or other emphasizing features

8. Your name, address, and a phone number appear on your resume and all correspondence, preferably at the top of the page.

9. Your resume is printed on white (preferably bond sheet) printer paper

10. The Xerox is not second or third generation photocopies (only Xerox from the original)

11. The resume is printed on one side of the page. (Avoid back to back printing.)

12. The resume is thoroughly checked for spelling mistakes

13. The resume has been proofread by someone other than you (a friend, teacher etc)

14. Words that you do not know or understand the meaning of completely are not used (write to express and not to impress).

15. Punctuation is consistent and appropriate. (Avoid exclamations and any other informal punctuation marks)

16. There is no “tense switching” – what is your current skills / projects are in the present tense and past experiences are in the past tense with a clear demarcation of the two



17. All proper nouns are capitalized

18. When expressing numbers, all numbers between one and nine are written out (i.e., one, five, seven), and numerals for all numbers 10 and above (i.e., 10, 25, 108) are used.

19. If a sentence begins with a numeral it is spelt out (e.g. Eleven service awards won while employed.).

20. Date formats are consistent (i.e.11/22/01 or Nov. 22, 2001, or 11.22.01. Choose one and stick with it.).

21. Sufficient and appropriate action words are used.

22. Your accomplishments and strengths are clearly spelled out in your resume

23.

24. There are no incomplete, vague or unrequited sentences in the resume

25. References are well thought of in advance and either mentioned that they can be furnished upon request or mentioned fully with correct contact numbers.

The interview Part I - Importance of interview in the selection process; What does the organization look for; Before the interview – preparation Types

SYNOPSIS

1. Getting ready for the interview

2. Tips on etiquette and grooming

3. Common Interview questions to prepare for

4. Tips for preparation before the interview

Getting Ready for Interviews

The word interview is derived from the Greek word intervu which means to sit face to face for a purpose. The word has become synonymous with the employment interview with the corporate world. The interview is held by the representative of the company, usually an HR manager or Business head (whose dept the vacancy is in) for the purpose of looking into those aspects of the candidate which cannot be presented on a resume, for example :



1. Present ability and appearance 2. Behavior and Mannerisms 3. Personality and poise 4. Knowledge – both domain and general 5. Skills – qualities and strengths 6. Confidence – in thought and behavior 7. Attitudes – positive in attitude 8. Values – integrity and strength 9. Beliefs – internal to personality 10. Common Sense – that’s not so common!

Tips on etiquette and grooming:

What is grooming and why should we pay attention to it

Examine ourselves from head to toe.

Hair – well cut and combed. Carry a small comb

Face – women - simple make up and jewelry

men - neatly trimmed moustache, shave

Nails – trimmed and clean

Socks - dark colours

Shoes - well polished; no sneakers or floaters

Dress - men - semi formals; take a tie along, well ironed;

women - professional salwars; well ironed

Use of deodorants, clean clothes

Important – try on these clothes before and make sure that they fit.

Accessories

Jewelry – minimal and not gaudy

Professional watch and belt

File folder is part of the accessories.

Take a professional folder along.



Contents – resumes; certificates; note pad; pen; etc

The formula for today’s success:

S – Show up! ………We are always on time and we would like the same from you!

U – Unity! ………… The team that works together stays together!

C – Co-operate! ……Participate, ask questions, take the initiative!

C – Communicate!…Tell us what you want and help us help you!

E – Enjoy!………… We believe that learning is best when it is enjoyable!

S – Share!………… Ideas, doubts, experiences and learnings!

S – Synergize!………WE MAKE IT HAPPEN! (and you will too!)

Getting Job Ready

The present scenario – The true picture

The job market is red hot, with the financial sector and real estate leading the talent hunt. A quarterly global outlook for hiring by US-based consultancy firm Manpower Inc revealed that hiring intentions were the strongest in India since the survey began in 2005, with 47 per cent of employers surveyed giving a net indication of stepping up recruitments.

Opportunity is knocking. The question is: are you ready? What is the industry looking for?

A Professional, multi-faceted, multi-tasking individual who brings more value than what he is paid!!

How do I cope??

Keep your eyes and ears open for all available opportunities Look at emerging new industries – telecom, call center, insurance for opportunities Excel in what you do Take trouble to go that extra mile in gaining skills Be Professional in your thought and approach Understand the organization and industry thoroughly Avoid taking risks – look for jobs with stability and steady income, rather than get-rich quick

schemes. The present trend is towards recruitment through job portals – create and maintain your

profile on popular portals.



Family support: Personal relationships play an important role in providing a balanced view of life. Maintain good relationships with people, as there is a tendency to become negative in thought which leads to poor handling of relationships.

Do not lose hope: Remember that everything that goes up must come down, and vice versa. Look at other options; explore new avenues

List out 3 top career options based on the current industry trend:

1

2

3

Action Plan Industry trend & requirement: Environment, culture, trends and the job scene -contd.

SYNOPSIS

1. Browse through some of the latest headlines that have been written on the recruitment trends in India

2. Understanding the selection process in India 3. Researching a company / industry 4. Using the employee contact record template

Understanding the Selection Process

The first step:

Short listing on the basis of baseline and skill sets

The second step:

Understanding the candidate and his personality, profile, knowledge, skills – validating the CV and beyond The third step:

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate

The fourth step:

The final tipping of the scale – is this the right candidate for the job, has the right attitude, is a team player and fits into the work culture?

Understand the Process of the Job Search



Approach finding a full time job as a full time activity

Finding work is a full-time job. That's the most important thing to know about your job search. And you need to approach it like a full-time job. In a Full-time Job you have regular responsibilities. You punch a clock or report to work at a certain time. Your employer has performance expectations, which you must meet. You're expected to work hard forty hours a week and your attendance and productivity are monitored.

Dedicate yourself to the task

To Find A Job you have to set your own responsibilities. You've got to be your own "boss" and self-discipline is the key. Wake up early and begin your work day at 8 a.m. sharp. Take an hour for lunch and give yourself a couple of "breaks" during the day. Plan Your Work

This workshop will list all of the steps your search will entail from developing an effective resume to researching the job market and strategizing your approach.

But these steps are taken in sequence. First, you will assess your skills, then you will research the job market and learn how to target your search and plan your approach. Next you'll develop your resume and learn how to write an effective cover letter. And, finally, do and don't guidelines for the job interview.

Accomplishing all of this while making the best use of your time requires organization:

Develop an overall plan listing all of the major steps involved in your job search. Under each step, list the little actions required to accomplish that step

Work Your Plan

Develop the habit of making out a "To Do" list every day. Your goal is to accomplish the tasks on the list. Begin a log of everyone you contact regarding your job search, noting time, date, names and what happened. Keep a list of "hot leads" and follow-up immediately.

Organize Your Activity

Some things - like telephoning - you'll probably do at home. Identify other things you can do at home

on that same morning or day. When you have an appointment in a particular area, try to schedule other

appointments or take care of other business in that same area. This saves time and money.

Remember, the morning hours are the best time to make your contacts.

Assess Your Skills



It's time to take inventory of all of your skills. Besides making you aware of skills you didn't even know you had, this exercise will help focus your job search. There are three areas you will need to examine: your work history, your education and your interests or hobbies. If you have no work history, you'll develop your skills list by examining your education and hobbies.

Review the third column listing your skills. Is there anything you've overlooked? Are you musical? Humorous? Good at telling stories? Nurturing? Artistic? Do you paint, sew or arrange flowers? Are you good at negotiating or mediating?

An all-inclusive list of your skills and abilities will probably indicate the general direction your job search will be taking. And you may find they match with an occupation you have never even considered.

Your approach is to “sell yourself” “sell your services” not “ask for a job”

Don't ask. Sell. Keep this thought uppermost in your mind. You are not asking for a job, you are selling your services. You must think of yourself as productive energy on which an employer can make a profit. You are offering the employer a fair exchange: your productive energy for a salary

Understanding and Evaluating the Employer

Knowing the company you plan to join should be an important part of your job search. It allows you to get a preview into the organization and find out if you will fit in and enjoy your new job. It should give you information to answer the question- Do your goals match with those of the organization?

You do not want any unpleasant surprises once you have got your job. You would also not welcome a move which turned out to be detrimental for your career. In order to reduce dissonance post a job-change, it is advisable then to research your prospective employer thoroughly.

Research the prospective employer before applying for the job

At the outset you need to draw up a list of organizations that you would be interested in applying to, based on broad indicators like industry, product/services offered and your prior experience. This would, of course, be done keeping in mind your career goals

The second step would be to evaluate each of these prospective employers against a set of criteria established by you. This set should be as detailed and exhaustive as possible in order to give you as much relevant information as you can get regarding the organization. This evaluation should enable you to classify companies into two groups- the ones that you definitely need to apply to and the others that do not fit in with your career goals.

The third step would be to send your resume to the short-listed organizations and wait for interview calls. The information you have gathered during your research of the company would help you give better and well informed answers regarding the organization you are interviewing with, the work you think you could be doing there etc. This will project you as a keen and dedicated candidate who has done his homework and is aware of the company. And of course, once you are made a job offer your research will help you decide if the job and company fit in with your career plans.

Researching a company



This is what your detailed list of criteria could look like. You could divide the criteria into different categories:

The company background

1. The industry that the organization is in

2. The products/services that the company deals in

3. When the company was set up

4. Number of offices/branches in various cities

5. Size of organization-its turnover, employee strength

Human Resources

1. Organization structure

2. Quality of personnel

3. Working environment

4. Corporate culture/philosophy

5. Company salary structure

6. Increments pattern

7. Performance appraisal systems-is company a meritocracy?

8. Management style

9. Importance of training programs

10. Any plans for re-structuring

Performance of the company

1. Its turnover and other financials-profits etc.

2. Market share of its products/services-is it a leader?

3. Growth prospects of the company

4. Current and future expansion plans/objectives

5. Its competitors



6. Company reputation amongst customers/suppliers

7. Company problems/needs

About your prospective job

1. Job description/requirements

2. Match with your existing skills and education

3. Frequency of travel

4. Chances of transfers

5. Benefits package

6. Work hours likely

7. Job location- city/upcountry; urban/rural

8. Opportunities for promotions/advancement

Look at the various sources of Data collection

1. Company home pages 2. Investment portals 3. Libraries 4. Stock exchange/CMIE compilations 5. Company annual reports/brochures 6. Trade associations like FICCI 7. Newspaper/magazine articles 8. Word of mouth

Using the employer contact record template

Company name, address, phone & fax numbers

Contact name(s) / email

Dates of contacts / follow up

Interview time, date & location

Job offer date Additional information & comments

Industry trend & requirement: Up gradation of knowledge for better prospects; understanding job ads; understanding resume’



THE WINNERS CHECKLIST

1. Am I being pro-active in searching for a job?

2. Am I organized in my activities – do I plan my work and work my plan?

3. Have I done my SWOT analysis?

4. Have I researched the company on all its parameters before approaching them?

5. Have I found out the correct procedure for recruitment for the specific company?

6. Have I prepared my covering letter addressed to a specific person for a specific position?

7. Does my cover letter follow the right norms of a good cover letter?

8. Does my resume have a clear career objective and answers the questions that any HR person would ask?

9. If I fill out an application form, have I done it appropriately?

10. Have I prepared myself for tests?

11. Have I done my best for the written test?

12. Am I up-to-date on current affairs, news, and other issues?

13. Did I perform intelligently in the Group discussion?

14. Did I listen attentively?

15. Was I an effective contributor in the GD?

16. Did I appear confident, calm, positive?

17. Did I prepare and keep ready a day before all the documents required for interview?

18. Did I prepare and consider all logistics so that I arrived at least 20 minutes before the scheduled time?

19. Did I dress professionally and greet the interviewer?

20. Did I maintain a positive body language?

21. Did I answer questions thoughtfully?



22. Did I paraphrase long or difficult questions?

23. Did I appear confident and enthusiastic to the interviewer?

24. Did I analyze myself after the interview?

25. Did I add the interview questions to my question bank?

26. Did I remind my references about a possible call?

27. In a telephonic interview did I communicate effectively?

28. If the telephonic interview was unscheduled did I handle the call professionally?

29. Do I maintain a positive attitude towards my job search?

30. Do I constantly strive to learn and update myself and my skills?

Common Interview questions: Before the interview

Know the Organization

The interview can be the single most important factor in getting a job. Most hiring decisions are made during the first interview. How well you do in your job interview will probably depend on how well you prepare for it.

Know Yourself

Memorize a list of your skills and strengths and be prepared to answer the question "Why should we hire you?" Practice your response to questions about your strengths and abilities

Carry the required documents with you

Your resume – at least 2 copies. Samples of your work or awards you've received, if appropriate. – Do not hand over any

originals. Names, addresses and phone numbers of three personal and three professional references

in case they are requested. You can print it on a separate sheet of paper and keep it ready. Passport size photographs A small notepad on which to make notes and your own pen!

Punctuality and Lead time



Go to the interview alone. Arrange transportation and other pitfalls ahead of time. Arrive early so you'll have time to relax and gather your thoughts before presenting yourself. All in all ensure that you know the place and don’t get lost on the day of the interview!

Tips on how to handle yourself before the and at the company location

Arrive early; punctuality is a must If delayed then call and inform Turn off cell phones Sit and wait patiently for your turn Do not talk loudly Do not make comments about the company Do not discuss other companies or other interviews Do not jump on someone who has just finished their interview and ask them what happened Do not keep inquiring when you will be called Be very careful about what you say and discuss with your friends while waiting.

The entry & greeting

Do knock and seek permission before entering Be careful to let go the door gently so that it does not bang shut Walk with poise and confidence maintaining eye contact with panelist/s Wear a smile After reaching the seat check if they want to shake hands Shake hands firmly only with those who offer their hand Wait to be indicated to take a seat. Seat yourself comfortably with poise

Preparation of the “Tell me more about yourself” question

Your Answer:

The Interview Part II - Types of questions asked; Developing the questions bank; Practice sessions on answers to some questions

SYNOPSIS

1. Learn about the different types of questions

2. Learn about the different questions in interviews through the activity called “Shoot out!”

Types of questions



Open-ended questions

Open questions promote discovery and stimulate thinking. They are useful to help the other person start talking about a topic, outline a situation, give a broad description of what happened and how he or she reacted.

Follow up or Probing questions:

The purpose of probing questions is to get specific information, broaden decisions and understand reasons and motivation. Do not use ‘Why’ too often, it causes people to become defensive

In what way would this help achieve greater customer satisfaction?

What other aspects of this should be considered?

How would you involve others in accomplishing this plan?

Probing questions are useful to get to the heart of the topic, checking information and filling in detail.

Closed questions:

Are those that lead to either a Yes or No answer? They are useful in checking facts quickly and to close the loop of questioning.

Have you been shopping recently?

Is there enough money in the bank?

Have you done this sort of work before?

A closed question can be useful and lead into open questions once a particular area to explore has been identified.

These are questions that need to be avoided or used judiciously. They are

Leading questions …

These are where the answer is suggested in the question itself and it need not necessarily be the correct answer

Hypothetical questions…

I assume you…

Multiple questions

What is your name, where do you stay, when did you join…



Activity: Build a question Bank

The Interview Part III - During the interview – body language, answering questions, selling self

SYNOPSIS

1. Handling self during the interview

2. After the interview – the analysis

3. A special section on Telephonic interviews

Handling self during the interview

Appearance is important

Your appearance is as important as your qualifications, in terms of making a hiring decision. Employers expect you to be well-groomed. What does that mean? Well-groomed means that it is obvious you bathe and brush your teeth daily. Your clothes should be clean and pressed, your hair clean and combed, and your hands and fingernails clean. Regarding wardrobe, the rule of thumb has been that you dress for the interview the way you would dress for the job.

Positive body language

Maintain eye contact with the interviewer at all times and be positive and open in your body language. Use the skills of good listening when in an interview situation.

Being positive is the key

Express your interest in the job and the company using information you gathered to prepare for the interview. Let the interviewer direct the conversation

Answer questions in a clear and positive manner. Show how your experience and/or training will make you productive in the shortest time with minimal supervision.

Speak positively of former employers and co-workers no matter why you left even if you were fired from your last job.

Allow the interviewer to steer the conversation

Let the interviewer direct the conversation • Let the employer lead into conversations about benefits. Your focus on these items can be a "turn off." But, don't be afraid to ask questions about things that you really need to know.

Take a moment to think before responding to trick questions



Take the time to think through your answers, instead of responding quickly. The interviewer is more likely to appreciate a slightly delayed correct answer than a quick defensive wrong one.

Show flexibility while discussing salary and expectations

When discussing salary, be flexible avoid naming a specific salary. If you're too high, you risk not getting the job. If you're too low, you undersell yourself. Answer questions on salary requirements with responses such as, As per the company policy which is suitable to my grade and position.

Thanking the Interviewer at the time of closure

If the employer does not offer you a job or say when you will hear about it, ask when you can call to find out about the decision. If the employer asks you to call or return for another interview, make a written note of the time, date and place. Thank the employer for the interview and reaffirm your interest and qualifications for the job.

Remember:

Maintain eye contact with all Listen to the question carefully – use active listening Do not interrupt Answer questions to the point Use ‘please’, ‘pardon’, ‘sorry’, ‘excuse me’ freely. Politely refuse if offered a drink or snack - a sip of water is ok if needed Do not fiddle with items on the table

After the interview

Analyze yourself

What points did I make that seemed to interest the employer? Did I present my qualifications well? Did I overlook any important qualifications? Did I learn all I needed to know about the job? Did I ask all the questions I had about the job? Did I talk too much? Too little? Was I too tense? Too relaxed? Was I too aggressive? Too passive? Was I dressed appropriately? Did I effectively close the interview?

Make a list of specific ways you can improve your next interview. Practice makes perfect and the more you interview, the better you will get.

Add to your question bank

Remember to add some of the questions that were new to you to your own question bank.

Learn from your mistakes



Think through any mistakes you think you made and make a mental note of it so that it is avoided in the future.

Remind your references about a possible call

Call your references if you have provided them and tell them about your interview with the company and tell them that they may get a call – prepare them beforehand and always keep your references updated.

Improve your skills

Think of any new skills you might need to add – learning a new language, a new technology based on any limitations you felt during the interview.

Do not lose hope and maintain a positive attitude

Never lose hope, not getting a job is not a reflection of your abilities, it is just a matter of not being the right candidate for the job as the interviewer perhaps perceived you as not a an appropriate fit.

Ensure that you

Do not call constantly to inquire about the decision Do not personally call any one of the panelist/s

A special section on Telephonic interviews

Introduction

Telephone interviews are becoming an important part of the recruitment process. They are now used frequently by many organizations, as the first stage in selecting a candidate. Telephone interviews save time and cost relatively less

Employers conduct telephone interviews for a variety of reasons. They may have received hundreds of responses to a vacancy advertisement and do not want to go through a face-to-face interview with each applicant. A number of applicants may be residing in other cities, and the organization wants to save on the time and cost involved in arranging in-depth interviews across the table for these applicants. The pile of resumes received can be significantly reduced by just conducting a short telephone interview and then short-listing the suitable applicants.

Employers, therefore, use the telephone interview as an initial screening interview. It is a short, cost-effective way of finding out the answers to the following questions about the applicant:

Is the applicant serious about the job and the organization? Has he/she made any effort to research the company/position or has just sent in

his/her resume? How good are his/her communication skills? Why does he/she want to quit from his/her existing job if he has one?

Telephone interviews could be scheduled or unscheduled



There is no fixed system for when a telephone interview is held, unlike a face-to-face interview where the time, date and venue are scheduled well in advance. Some employers could inform you before-hand when they are likely to call.

Others may just decide to pick up the phone and call you in the evening when they expect that you would be back from work. You also cannot be sure who is making the first call, whether the HR person or the recruiting agency.

In this scenario, it makes sense to be prepared because you never know when you will receive the telephone call. In case you receive the call, without prior notice, at a bad time, when you are in the middle of some domestic chore, you could take down the person's name and telephone number and say you would call back after 5 minutes. Or, you could request the caller to hold on for a few seconds till you get your act together in terms of getting a paper/pencil and your documents ready. Otherwise, you may not be psychologically prepared and could be caught on the wrong foot from the word go.

If you are lucky, you may be informed of a date and time when the telephone interview will be held. This will may things easier for you in terms of being mentally prepared, having the relevant papers by your side, speaking suitably for the occasion etc.

Your objective should be to try to get short-listed to the next stage of the face-to-face interview

What is your objective in a telephone interview?

As the telephone interview is usually the initial screening interview that works as an elimination round, your objective is to get short-listed! Getting short-listed implies that you move on to the next round of the face-to-face interview.

You need to, therefore, prepare for this telephone interview and not treat it as lightly as a casual call. However, do not let the significance unnerve you. It is important that you remain cool and confident throughout the duration of the telephone interview, as this will do wonders to your performance!

Remember that the interviewer wants to evaluate your communication skills

The primary concern of the interviewer, during a telephone interview, is to judge you by your communication skills. How well do you communicate on the telephone, where you cannot see your interviewer? Do you seem uncomfortable since you cannot see the interviewer's reactions? Do you sound confident, qualified, interested and enthusiastic despite the absence of non-verbal cues from the person at the other end? Or are you left stuttering and groping for words, distraught by occasional awkward silences during the telephone call?

These are issues that you need to keep in mind during the telephone interview.

How can you improve the way you communicate on the telephone? Can you change the way you speak overnight just for an interview?

Think through your answers to improve the way you communicate on the telephone



Improving the way you communicate on the telephone is not just how you speak and your accent. What is crucial is what you say i.e. the content of your answers. You can definitely make a difference to your answers by a certain degree of smart preparation.

Your preparation should involve thinking through certain questions that you could be asked with regard to your resume, and how you could possibly answer them. This does not mean that you should memorize canned and standard answers, but just that you draw up a list of anticipated questions, and think through how you would answer them. You could jot down points for each answer or just write a few key words to clarify your thought flow.

This will eventually help you in the actual telephone interview by reducing the time taken to answer questions, will ensure that the answers are brief and to the point, will reduce unnecessary gaps and long silences at your end. In addition, it will also indicate to the interviewer that you are a thinking person with clear career plans and are seriously interested in the position at the employer organization.

If you get caught off guard because you had not thought through a list of anticipated questions, your answers would tend to be long, lacking focus and you would come across as a confused individual, which is definitely not what you want the interviewer to perceive.

Anticipate likely questions

Some of the questions that you can anticipate are:

Find a solution to a problem situation at work

For any questions relating to how you would handle a problem or crisis situation at work, remember to use an analytical and structured format for your answer i.e. problem definition-solution-implications.

Keep your answers short and to the point

Avoid verbosity and lengthy detailed explanations in your answers. Stick to what you have been asked. Do not get into a long preamble before you get to the actual answer. This will show clarity of thought and can be achieved by your preparation.

For example, to answer the question-"Tell us about yourself"- you may have a lot of information to give but you will need to prioritize. You could either describe yourself in a few adjectives to cover your strengths and weaknesses, or you could give a brief outline of your current employment and your career objectives etc. What you say should be prepared before hand so that it ensures that your answer is short and to the point.

Your telephone interview could vary from duration of 5-10 minutes to half an hour or longer. Prepare answers to as many questions that you can think of because there is no fixed duration for



the telephone call. The longer the interview takes does not necessarily mean a good interview, similarly a short interview does not necessarily mean a bad interview over the phone.

It depends on what your answers were and how you delivered them over the phone. Just remember to keep your answers crisp, concise and focused.

Speak clearly and slowly

Regarding your style of delivering your answers, try and speak clearly and slowly. Be articulate. You have to rely on the interviewer's listening skills to evaluate what you say, so do not take any chances in messing up at your end. You have to be sure that the interviewer has heard and understood what you say, so initially you may need to be careful about the pace at which you speak. However, do not concentrate on it so much that you forget what you were talking about!

Your voice should sound pleasant, friendly and enthusiastic

Since the interviewer cannot see you, your tone of voice is important in making an impression on him. Try to sound enthusiastic. Smile even though you cannot be seen, because you will be surprised how smiling can improve the way you sound on the telephone! It will automatically give your voice a friendly tone!

In most interviews on the telephone, there may be only one interviewer at the other end. However, in some cases, the interview may be a conference call where a number of interviewers fire questions one after the other. Sounds unnerving, but don't lose heart! Just follow the basics- Speak to each person in the same pleasant way, as you are not aware of the hierarchy at this stage! Answer the person who asks the question and follow this for each further question.

If you can catch the names of the interviewers if they introduce themselves, try and remember them or quickly jot them down so you can address the individuals personally. This is not absolutely necessary- if you do it right it will work for you, but if you mix up the names and voices of the interviewers, it can be extremely embarrassing! Use this tactic only if you are good with matching names to voices over the phone! Be positive in what you say

You should approach your answers in a positive way i.e. do not criticize your former employer or institution.

Ask questions to show interest in the job you have applied for

To avoid just a one-sided conversation on the telephone, where you just speak when spoken to, if there is an opportunity, you could ask the interviewer certain questions about the organization or the job that you are being interviewed for.

For example, you could clarify the responsibilities that your job will entail, the number of people working in the group/department or team that you will be joining. You could also ask what your immediate priority would be if recruited, in terms of a problem that the organization is currently facing in that area or any project that you may need to initiate as soon as you join.



This will just go to show that you are a serious candidate for the position and that you are really interested in the job. Try and avoid initiating any salary talk unless the interviewer brings it up. Salary negotiations are better discussed at a later date. Right now it is more important that you convince the interviewers to short-list you for the next stage in the selection process, rather than worry about the salary you will be getting

Keep important papers accessible near the telephone

Since you may receive your telephone call without warning, it would help if you kept important papers within easy reach of the telephone.

As you cannot be seen, you could quickly glance at the papers for any assistance that you may need in answering questions that you had not anticipated. Keep papers such as your resume, the cover letter and any other information that you may have researched on the employer such as company size, market share, turnover, job responsibilities etc., easily accessible near the telephone.

Also keep a paper and pen or pencil handy to jot down any points or names that you may need to, during the course of the telephone interview.

You can use the fact that you cannot be seen to your advantage in terms of referring to your prepared points or resume to assist you in your answers. However, please do not be in a situation, where you have a friend or relative prompting you as this could turn out to be disastrous

Attending Group Discussions – Part I: Relevance and importance and Purpose

SYNOPSIS

1. Understand the Importance of Group Discussions 2. Learn about what companies look for in individuals participating in group discussions

Understand the Importance of Group Discussions

Discussions are a critical precursor to a group developing a consensus decision where that is a goal. The reasons for having group discussions in a meeting are several: Help participants get interested and involved in a subject. Enable participants to fill in information gaps and to clear up misunderstandings. Enable participants to review and analyze subject matter that has been presented to the group verbally or in writing. Identify areas of agreement and disagreement in the group so that differences can be understood and resolved. .

Learn about what companies look for in individuals participating in group discussions

1. Why are Group Discussions held? What do companies look for? 2. Leadership skills 3. Team spirit and team building qualities. 4. Listening skills 5. Ability to contribute to the discussion. 6. Body language during the discussion. 7. Knowledge of the topic shown. 8. Ability to ask good questions.



9. Confidence and positive attitude. 10. Relationship skills. 11. Communication skills. 12. Positive Attitude

What are the topics generally chosen for a Group Discussion?

1. Social issues like drug addiction, aids etc. 2. Womens’ issues. 3. Skills required on the job. 4. Marketing skills. 5. Sports. 6. Entertainment. 7. Political issues. 8. General knowledge. 9. World issues. 10. Historical issues. 11. Speech topics. 12. Government issues such as tax, law, budget etc. 13. Favorite hobbies 14. People issues-crimes, laws, prices of common commodities, etc. 15. Quotations like "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"

Attending Group Discussions – Part II: How it is conducted; pointers for effectiveness and group dynamics

SYNOPSIS

How to prepare for a group discussion How to start a Group discussion How to Encourage Continued Discussion How to Record The Discussion How to respond to challenges Checklist of tips Don’ts of group discussions

How to Prepare For A Group Discussion

Think through what your objectives are for a group discussion in advance of the session, and decide the key outcomes you would like to see the discussion produce. With your objectives in mind, develop and write down two or three open-ended questions to help start and guide the discussion.

How to Start A Group Discussion?

Introduce the discussion topic and objective(s)

Pose the first, general, open-ended question

How to Encourage Continued Discussion



The first rule for facilitators is to listen carefully to each comment.

Restate or paraphrase comments from time to time to show participants that you are listening and subtly reaffirm the value of participants' points. It is very important that the facilitator not evaluate comments either positively or negatively; rather you should acknowledge them supportively, but neutrally. Definitely DO NOT criticize participants or cast their comments in a negative light. Do say: "I see what you are saying

It is helpful to the participants for the facilitator to restate the initial topic of the discussion from time to time to help them stay on track, especially if a sub-point or related but different topic has absorbed the group's attention for several minutes.

How to Record the Discussion

Write each team members main comments on your note pad. Be sure to: Write their actual words (not every word--just key words); do NOT change their comments to make a particular point. It's better to introduce your own thoughts directly if needed, rather than change participants' thoughts.

Write down all comments, even those that are not exactly on the subject. If comments seem very unrelated to the subject, you may want to start another page titled "Ideas to Discuss Later". Just be sure to return to the list at a later point. Write down any action items for follow-up that may come out of a discussion. Start a separate page that can be added to throughout the meeting and reviewed at the end to be sure no follow-up assignments fall between the cracks.

How to Respond to Challenges

Don't over-react, just acknowledge the points others make. If possible, find merit in what he or she has said, agree with what you can, then move on. How To Respond To unanswerable Questions Or irresolvable concerns? If a participant asks you a question you cannot answer, check to be sure you understood the point, and if you don't know the answer say so openly and see if any others in the room know the answer or offer to get it Check list of tips for Group Discussions:

1. Read the situation thoroughly. 2. Get to know the persons on the group if possible. 3. Dress professionally and smile. 4. Shake hands with all your team members. 5. Be prepared for general topic discussions such as politics, sports, issues etc. 6. When the discussion starts listen to what others are speaking about. 7. Contribute wisely to the discussion but don't be afraid of losing grades or being taken as a

fool. 8. Maintain eye contact with all members of the group especially with the person talking. 9. At no point of time, should there be name calling, loss of temper or argumentative behavior. 10. Use attending skills. 11. Appear confident at all times. Never sit cross armed. 12. If the topic under discussion is something you don't know much about then just listen to

what others say for a while and then contribute by asking questions. People are always impressed by intelligent questions.



13. Don't worry about how well or badly you are performing, listening and asking good questions is just as important.

14. Paraphrase and Summarize. 15. At the end of the discussion, shake hands with all the team members and compliment them. 16. If you think you didn’t do well after the discussion, kindly remember that you are marked on

such things like: Team spirit, ability to handle people, leadership skills, listening skills, participation, attitude, etc. Much more than qualities like talking too much, arguing, sarcasm, etc.

17. Remember at the end of it all that it is a matter of being prepared, relaxed and having a positive attitude.

18. At all times in the discussion just ' be you'. 19. Be interested and enthusiastic 20. Smile, be happy and maintain a cool, calm, confident approach throughout.

What are the Don’ts in Group Discussions?

1. Over argument. 2. Impatience and arrogance. 3. Not listening. 4. Losing one's temper [rated no.1]. 5. Losing control of the situation and topic under discussion. 6. Teasing others in the group, negative criticism.. 7. Not dressing professional enough. 8. Not being interested in the group and the discussion. 9. Inability to contribute 10. Being a passive observer

General Tip: Have practice mock rounds of group discussion

Working in teams – Module 1

SYNOPSIS

1. Understand what is a “Group and a “Team” 2. What is an effective team? 3. Why do we work in teams? 4. Appreciate the need to work in teams

What is a Group?

A group is a set of people with or without a common objective.

What is a Team?

A team is a group of people working towards a common objective. The members of a team agree on the manner in which the task is going to be achieved. The members of the team remain committed towards achievement of the common objective.

Effective Team:



An effective team is more than a group of individuals. Teamwork does not ‘just happen’ it needs to be worked on. Some of the characteristics of an effective team are: Why do we work in Teams?

With many organizations focusing on the importance of working in teams it has become necessary for organizations to create an environment where people are willing to put in that extra effort. Towards meeting this need it is important for organizations to develop at appropriate levels three senses for its employees.

These three senses are:

Sense of direction Sense of belonging Sense of identity

Working in teams – Module 2

SYNOPSIS

1. Learn about the stages of team development 2. How to be an effective team player?

Stages of Team Development:

Team growth is a gradual process. There are some predictable stages which many teams go through. During each stage the team may look at both the team and the task, which may reflect the differing pressures, they are under. They gradually learn the new way of doing things. The team leader needs to recognize when the team has reached each stage and help the team to continue to work effectively.

Team members need to understand that there are bound to be ‘ups and downs’ that will need careful handling.

Stage 1. Forming:

When a team first comes together, the team members need to explore and define acceptable group behavior. It is a movement from the individual to a team member status. This is also the time when some members will test their leaders.

Stage 2. Storming:

Storming is the most difficult stage for the team. They begin to realize that the task is different and more difficult than they had imagined. Some members could become sensitive and blame other team members for small errors; some may become pushy and over zealous. On the other hand some may push their past experience and resist the need to co-operate with other team members.

Stage 3. Norming:



It is at this stage that the team realizes that they can complete the task and achieve. Team members are able to accept other team members. Conflicts reduce and the ground rules are seen as important and realistic. Co-operation begins.

Stage 4. Performing:

By this stage the team has really settled down to the task. They have discovered each other’s strengths and limitations. They have also realized the roles they can play productively.

How to be a good Team player?

An effective leader alone is not enough to make the team successful. Each individual must make a contribution.

An Effective team member:

Knows and understands the purpose, objectives and performance measures of the team Contributes constructively to the development of the objectives, measures and plans to

achieve them Has set individual objectives and tasks to complete and contribute, towards the team

performance Attends team meetings, punctually and willingly Contributes ideas, information and experience during the meeting Takes an active role as and when required in meetings Listens actively to other team members and builds on their ideas Participates constructively in debates Accepts the consensus view of the team Volunteers, shows initiative and is proactive Accepts his part of the work to be done and completes the same on time Supports the leader and other members outside the team once plans and actions have been

agreed upon Has a high level of energy and enthusiasm about work to be done Recognizes and acknowledges the contribution and help of others in the team

Consolidation of learning on Team working



Emotional Quotient

“Emotional Intelligence is the capacity to recognize your own feelings and those of other people, to be able to motivate yourself, to manage emotions in yourself and in your relationships.” -- Chris Walkins

History of ‘Emotional Intelligence’

In 1985 a graduate student in the USA wrote a doctoral thesis which included the term ‘emotional intelligence’ in the title. This was the first-ever-academic use of the term emotional intelligence, popularly known as EQ … Emotional Quotient.

Then in 1990 the research work of two American university professors, John Mayer and Peter Salovey, was published in two academic journal articles. Mayer (University of New Hampshire) and Salovey (University of Yale), were trying to develop a way of scientifically measuring the difference between people’s ability in the area of emotions. They found out that some people were better than others at things like identifying their own feelings, identifying the feelings of others, and solving problems involving emotional issues.

Since their work in 1990 these professors have developed different tests to measure what they call “emotional intelligence.” Because nearly all of their writings have been done in the academic community, their names and their actual research findings are not widely known.

Instead, the person most commonly associated with the term emotional intelligence is a New York writer named Daniel Goleman who had been writing articles for the magazine ‘Popular Psychology’ and then later for the New York Times newspaper. Around 1994, he was evidently planning to write a book about “emotional literacy.” For that book he was visiting different schools to see what programs they had for developing emotional literacy. He was also doing a lot of reading about emotions in general. In his insatiable thirst for reading, he came upon the work of Professors Mayer and Salovey. At some point it seems that Goleman decided to change the title of his upcoming book to “Emotional Intelligence”, and this book instantly became an international best seller.

In this book, Goleman has collected a lot of interesting information on human brain, emotions, and behaviors.

Definition

Emotional intelligence is the capacity for effectively recognizing and managing our own emotions and those of others.

Research and experience demonstrate that while some aspects of our personalities are fixed, the way we act out those qualities is ours to choose. In other words:

• We do not choose our characteristics, but we do choose our characters

• We do not choose many of the events of our lives, but we do choose how we react to them.

Emotions have the potential to get in the way of our most important business and personal relationships. According to Professor John Cotter of the Harvard Business School, ‘because of the



furious pace of change in business today, difficult to manage relationships sabotage more business than anything else — it is not a question of strategy that gets us into trouble, it is a questions of emotions’.

How Important is EQ to Performance?

Research tracking over 160 high performing individuals in a variety of industries and job levels revealed that emotional intelligence was two times as important in contributing to excellence than intellect and expertise alone (Goleman, 1998)

Goleman based his performance-related research on hundreds of top executives from some of the world’s largest corporations and concluded that close to 90% of leadership success is attributable to EQ.

How do emotions promote or demote our work performance? An understanding of the following EQ Model will automatically enable you to find out a solid answer to this critical question:

–

EQ

1 - Know Yourself

Questions

1. What makes you think, act and feel the way you do?

2. What parts of your reaction are habitual (done without conscious thoughts) and which parts are intentional?

3. What are you afraid of?

Components

Self-awareness: The recognition of the causes and effects of your own feelings and reactions.

Self-honesty: The acceptance of your own qualities and faults, your experiences, emotions and your own power.

Independence: The recognition of your own rights and responsibilities as a free person.

–

EQ

2 - Choose Yourself

Questions



1. How do you know what is right for you?

2. Can you increase your awareness of actions so that you can see their effects?

3. If you were not afraid, what would you do?

4. Can you live with doing less that what is right?

Components

Delay Gratification: Take right action even though there may not be an immediate reward.

Prioritize: Bring to the forefront of your mind to a “checklist” of what is more important so that you can weigh decisions and actions.

Manage Feeling: Use the simple feelings to act.. not react.

Optimism: Recognize that you have choices, that you can make a difference, that you are an important part of a living whole.

Accountability: Hold yourself to high standards and do what is right, even when it seems hopeless.

–

EQ

3 - Give Yourself

Questions

1:- Am I leaving a legacy of good?

2:- Am I healing or hurting?

3:- Will I die knowingly I lived well?

Comments

Interdependence: The recognition of an individual’s place in the larger community; awareness and decision making that takes into account the short and long term consequences of our actions.

Noble Goals: Commit to actions that serve ideals and others, but do not hurt anyone and do not profit one over another.

–

EQ Fundamentals

Know Yourself



Build Emotional Literacy Recognize Patterns

Choose Yourself

Apply Consequential Thinking Evaluate and Re-choose Motivate Yourself Choose Optimism

Give Yourself

Create Empathy Commit to Noble Goals

————-

Fundamental 1: Build Emotional Literacy

Feelings are a complex aspect of every person. While research has identified eight “core” feelings (fear, joy, acceptance, anger, sorrow, disgust, surprise, expectation), we each experience dozens, even hundreds, of variations each single day. These emotions blend and merge, and frequently they conflict.

This EQ fundamental helps us sort out all of those feelings, name them, and begin to understand their causes and effects. It also helps us understand how emotions function in our brains and bodies, and the interaction of thought, feeling, and action.

Fundamental 2: Recognize Patterns

Human brain follows patterns, or neural pathways. Stimulus leads to response, and over time, the response becomes nearly automatic. On a neurological level the path way becomes a road, the road a highway, and the highway a super expressway — until it requires extraordinary measures to interrupt the automatic process.

On a behavioral level, the neural patterns lead to behavior patterns. At a young age, we learn lessons of how to cope, how to get our needs met, how to protect ourselves. These strategies reinforce one another, and we develop a complex structure of beliefs to support the validity of the behaviors. As we become more conscious of the patterns we exhibit, it becomes possible to 1), analyze the beliefs and replace them if appropriate, and 2), interrupt the pattern and replace it with conscious behavior that moves us closer to our real goals. This is an enormously difficult task that requires commitment and vigilance — but it is not difficult to begin.

Fundamental 3: Apply Consequential Thinking

People are often told to control their emotions, to suppress feelings like anger, joy, or fear, and cut them off from the decision-making process. This old paradigm suggests that emotions make us less effective; nothing could be farther from reality. Feelings provide insight, energy, and are the real basis for almost every decision. Instead of disconnecting our emotions, we need to control our



actions so that we have time to make the most creative, insightful, and powerful decisions. Particularly when dealing with conflict or crisis, we need to slow down the process and apply carefully practiced strategies that lead to decisions informed by the fused powers of heart and mind.

This “habit of mind” stems from a clear understanding of the consequences of our choices and the ability to imagine the cause and effect relationships. This process allows us to be as impulsive as we truly want to be, but also forces us to limit impulsivity when consequences are undesirable. One key mechanism to develop and monitor consequential thinking is “self-talk.” Self-talk is a mechanism to mentally explore multiple options and viewpoints; it provides a system to balance the various aspects of our self. Just as in conversations outside ourselves, sometimes the louder voice gets more attention; the issue in both cases is to develop a process where listening is valued and all the voices — loud or soft — are heard.

Fundamental 4: Evaluate and Re-choose

In our daily lives, we have countless opportunities to get feedback about our thoughts, feelings and actions, and to then change if the feedback so warrants. Unfortunately, we also have a great capacity to ignore this feedback and continue with a scarcity of useful information. In this unconscious state it is easy to become selfish, to sever connections with our humanity, and to subjugate ourselves to addictions or other compensations.

The alternative is to listen — listen to ourselves and listen to others. When we become skilled at sensing our own emotions, we are able to tap into the energy that they provide and take action. Emotions are energy, and one place where that energy most frequently erupts is in conflict.

Conflict is inherent in human interaction; you need only look at a group of preschoolers at play to see its significance. To manage this strife, we develop skills for evaluation, negotiation, and compromise. To socialize effectively you must recognize and gauge other peoples’ thoughts, feelings, and actions just as you monitor your own. These skills are heavily dependent on interpreting paralanguage (body-language, tone, utterances, facial expression, and other forms of nonverbal communication). An effective socializer is able to turn conflict into a positive force. S/he creates compromise and makes sure needs are met. S/he can mobilize people, persuade, and inspire others.

The most critical step to teaching effective socialization is to provide positive role models and opportunities for children to practice what they have observed. Today, children often do not see their parents interacting socially, nor do they have as many opportunities to practice social skills with extended family. Thus, it is even more important that parents provide these mechanisms and opportunities.

Fundamental 5: Motivate Yourself

Motivation” comes from Latin “to move;” it is a goal-oriented behavior. In essence, we take action because it feels good to do so. It feels right to take a break when we are on overload, then it feels right to go back to work. The challenge is to make it feel right to take action that does not have an immediate reward. To do so, we have got to tap into the part of ourselves that has a longer-view — which also feels right. We each make countless decisions each hour. For example:



• What should I eat for lunch? • What clothes should I wear today? • Which book should I read? Ask?

In part, we make those decisions unconsciously based on our patterns and habits. In part, we make those decisions based on our personal priorities. So, if we want to redirect our decision to take a longer-term view, we need to both shape unconscious habits and examine priorities to make sure they match.

In addition to motivating ourselves, it is important to learn how to motivate others. There are many ways to do so; the most obvious are “extrinsic” motivations. For example, “If you carry my bag, I’ll give you a candy bar,” is a simple example of extrinsic motivation — it is a bribe or a type of commercial interaction. Quite useful at times — but it doesn’t last. Building lasting motivation requires a more complex strategy; one that employs both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (ideally 60-80% of the focus is on intrinsic motivation). Building motivation in others begins with three elements:

1. They need to feel the benefit of the priority you are suggesting. If you want a child to use a more polite vocabulary, s/he needs to experience how such a decision would feel good. S/he will develop that experience by being spoken to with polite words — at the same time, it might feel good to avoid the consequences of using impolite words — and that will feel good.

2. Always treat them as you want them to be. John’s mother always treated him as if he were honest — even when he was not. He internalized that value and struggled to improve his actions because it felt good to have his real behavior meet that high standard.

3. Give time. Motivation is a complex process and a vital one. Like so many intra-personal skills, it often takes years or decades for the seeds to bloom.

Fundamental 6: Choose Optimism

Likewise, children are born optimistic, and tend to stay optimistic until they are six or seven. At that time, life’s difficulties impinge enough that the door is opened for hopelessness. Research suggests that to avoid getting trapped in the negativity, people need at least one refuge. The refuge can be a person or a practice (such as reading) that provides positive input. It is remarkable to think that one source of kindness, one source of comfort, one source of hope is enough to combat the terrible perils that some children experience.

Optimism validates our long-term motivation because it lets us see the future as positive and worthwhile. Optimism allows us to see beyond the present and feel good about what may happen. It is closely tied to perseverance which inspires us to continue the journey despite the difficulties of day-to-day life. Fundamental 7: Create Empathy

Empathy is the ability to recognize and respond to other people’s emotions. It is connected to optimism because it is through a sense of our connection to others that we see our own efficacy and importance. Together they govern a significant portion of our behaviour; they are the gatekeepers of



our emotional selves. When we are empathic, it hurts us to hurt others or to see them hurt. We actually experience for ourselves the emotions of others.

It is motivating, then, not only to do what makes us feel good, but what makes others feel good. Thus, empathy is the force which makes the golden rule true. Some parts of empathy are instinctive. Infants will reach out and touch others in distress; in maternity wards, one infant’s tears will lead to a room full of crying babies. This mimicry is the first step towards forming empathy. Unfortunately, this unconscious or instinctive behaviour does not automatically lead to conscious empathy. Instead, these flickering flames must be carefully banked and fueled through role-modeling, reinforcement, and practice. Once people develop empathy on a conscious level, it becomes self-reinforcing because it answers a deep-seated need to connect with others.

Fundamental 8: Commit to Noble Goals

Noble goals activate all of the other elements of EQ. Through our missions and our acts of human kindness, the commitment to emotional intelligence gains relevance and power. Just as our personal priorities shape our daily choices, our noble goals shape our long-term choices. They give us a sense of direction, they give us a spar to hold in the storm, they are the compass for our soul. All the “inside” aspects of emotional intelligence change your attitudes. They shape your own life; they help you become the person you want to be. Your noble goals touch the future.



Moral Quotient One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops, a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well. At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back. The driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek... Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened -Big John got on again, said "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down. And the next day, and the one after that, and so forth. This irritated the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of his size. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building program, karate, judo and all that good stuff. By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; So on the next Monday, when Big John got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" the driver stood up, glared back and screamed, "And why not?" With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, "Big John has a Bus pass." Moral of the story: First be sure is there a problem before working hard to solve one Slippery Slope A while ago my family and I went sledding and as I watched my children climbing up the slope I started thinking… Many people are convinced that most of today's societal problems are because of the "me" generation; youngsters are just out for themselves and pay no heed to others or their needs. Indeed, a common belief is that today's youngsters won't do anything unless there is something in it for them. Yet, while sledding, I saw a different side to youngsters. I watched my two oldest children (then five and four) take my youngest (then two years old) by the hand to help her up the slippery slope each time they went up. They would have been faster without her, but not once did they try to sneak by her without helping. And when the sled carrying my two daughters was aimed toward the embankment, it was my five year old son who ran to them to stop them from falling and hurting



themselves. Don't get me wrong; these children sometimes fight amongst themselves and, on occasion, behave horribly. But I can take them shopping and know that they won't ask for anything, I can talk to them about tsunami or hurricane victims and know that they will offer to send some of their own money to the cause, and I can ask them to play with those children left on the sidelines and know that they will do their best to befriend them. Perhaps, therefore, the "me" generation is to blame for much of society's problems - not the youngsters who want everything, but the adults in their lives who have taught them to selfishly think only of themselves and to want it all. Most adults have been disillusioned at some time or another; sadly, many pass that disillusionment, with all its negative connotations, down to their children. Then the children learn to put themselves first and foremost! Most young children want to help. We can encourage that feeling to continue into adulthood by teaching the lesson my children learned while sledding: Life is a slippery slope with promises of bumps and bruises, but we can all make it to the top if we remember to help those who need it. The Splashes Of Life My grandfather took me to the fishpond on the farm when I was about seven and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the waves created by the stone, and then he asked me to think of myself as that stone. "You may create a lot of splashes in your life, but remember the waves that come from those splashes will affect the peace of all your fellow creatures," he said. "Remember that you are responsible for what you throw into your circle, and that your waves will touch many other circles. Always try to live in a way that the waves that come from your circle send out the peace of your goodness to other circles." "Remember the waves that come from anger and jealousy will also send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for all the waves." That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt and anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside whether we voice them or not. Whatever is sloshing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all the other circles of life. Remember the eternal wisdom: WHATEVER YOU FOCUS ON EXPANDS...

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