Why is this Bad? It's a loaded question, and oftentimes the responder goes off on a tangent about aspects about themselves that are unrelated to the true point of your question. The responder typically doesn't know how to respond and may very easily venture off into providing answers that truly can lead to other illegal questions (Well, I'm a 32 year old female, I enjoy spending time with my 2 kids...". Sure career coaches would say to the responder that you shouldn't venture beyond your professional self, but not everyone knows this is the direction of the question, just too broad.
A better interview question: "Tell me about some of your major accomplishments in your professional career?" or "What are some things in your professional career that you are most proud off?"
It sets the tone that you aren't going to venture into "illegal" land and because it is open-ended yet specific to your professional career, you're able to start a conversation from there.
From: Katrina M Harrel, CEO of Your Simple Bookkeeper, an Virtual Accounting Services company focused on Micro Business Education
Source: http://ask.inc.com/besides-anything-that-could-be-seen-as-discriminatory-what-are-some-bad-job-interview-questions#answer-f866ab187771e7855ff311befe16396e9aa9aa6d8868b82c22b695e2827dde39
How an Accountant increased Click-through rate & Direct Marketing results
Have you ever thought that an accountant could make a significant impact on your direct marketing results? Here's a case study published on inc.com that highlights the importance of brainstorming and idea generation in the work environment.
The story starts with a company looking for ways to engage its employees in social media in order to get its message to its target market. The entrepreneur asked groups of employees from different departments to conduct meetings and brainstorm. One employee from accounting department mentioned that the company sent out dozens of invoices each week, and that most of the page was blank. Why not use the blank space to engage customers? So the company began publishing in that space links to its white papers and blog posts from members of the company's senior management.
The impact!
The story starts with a company looking for ways to engage its employees in social media in order to get its message to its target market. The entrepreneur asked groups of employees from different departments to conduct meetings and brainstorm. One employee from accounting department mentioned that the company sent out dozens of invoices each week, and that most of the page was blank. Why not use the blank space to engage customers? So the company began publishing in that space links to its white papers and blog posts from members of the company's senior management.
The impact!
- Click-through rate for the links on the invoices hit 20 percent.
- It turned a one-way conversation ("balance due") into something more useful and meaningful for the customer
Straddling Buses - A Green innovation by China's Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment
Do you need faster uninterrupted roads? A chinese company, Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment, has come up with an innovative idea about a bus that straddles roads. A fuel efficient, low carbon alternative to all other means of transport.
This huge straddling bus allows the traffic to pass below it and requires slight modification on roads to keep the bus in line. This 18-foot tall public bus straddles two road lanes and can carry up to 1,400 passengers. This partly solar powered bus is equipped with electrical batteries that are charged quickly using super capacitors.
This straddling buses take 30 percent less time and 10 percent less funds cheaper to build than underground subways. The buses are also equipped with alarming systems to alert oversized vehicles trying to pass beneath this bus.
See the following video for more details:
This huge straddling bus allows the traffic to pass below it and requires slight modification on roads to keep the bus in line. This 18-foot tall public bus straddles two road lanes and can carry up to 1,400 passengers. This partly solar powered bus is equipped with electrical batteries that are charged quickly using super capacitors.
This straddling buses take 30 percent less time and 10 percent less funds cheaper to build than underground subways. The buses are also equipped with alarming systems to alert oversized vehicles trying to pass beneath this bus.
See the following video for more details:
Complaining Customers - Your Most Valuable Asset
Another excellent video blog by Bob Parsons with practical advice about Customer Relationship management for ecommerce companies. Important points in the video:
- Every interaction with Complaining customers is an opportunity for improvement
- Customers are a great source of New Ideas!
- Forget you are an internet company
- Keep your Customer Service department overstaffed
- Give your Customers something they don't expect
Five Quick tips for Effective Meetings that yield Results
This post is in continuity with Managing Expectations and Staying on Track with Meetings and here are some quick tips to conduct meetings that yield results in order of priority
Set Agenda
Make sure it's set before you meet. It could be associated with recurring objectives or project at hand. For example, 1. Quarterly Goals 2. Improve Portal ConversionStick to Agenda
If any million dollar idea just hit your mind. Just note that down, do some homework and then discuss that in a different meeting or notify participants in advance.Reduce Participants
Keep distractions and the time to reach a decision to minimum by reducing participants. Never invite people just to keep them in loop.Assign Action Items
Before the meeting is over. Every participant should clearly know the Action Items, the tasks to be completed (or achieve decided progress) before the next meeting.Follow up on Action Items
Make sure you start your meeting with the follow up of prior meeting and flag items that were completed during the time
Managing Expectations and Staying on Track with Meetings
I have historically been among the people who consider meetings counter productive and an investment of time that bears no fruit. However, I have realized that conducting effective meetings is an skill, which, if learned and used properly can yield great results in minimum time.
I recently got a chance to report directly to Ed Sattar, CEO of 360training.com who is so obsessed with managing meetings that asking about meeting frequency is usually his first question in seeking a resolution to a problem or completion of a project.
Regular meetings does not only improve a person's managerial skillset, but also enhances the team's ability to manage expecatations. In the initial days, you will find that your team will usually overcommit about the deadlines and tasks, you should just keep a note of the dates and add some reasonable percentage of time for your final expectations. If the same process in repeated in rythem, your team will be able manage expectations well and get more appreciation from your customers, superiors and peers.
See Quick tips for Effective Meetings that yield Results
I recently got a chance to report directly to Ed Sattar, CEO of 360training.com who is so obsessed with managing meetings that asking about meeting frequency is usually his first question in seeking a resolution to a problem or completion of a project.
Regular meetings does not only improve a person's managerial skillset, but also enhances the team's ability to manage expecatations. In the initial days, you will find that your team will usually overcommit about the deadlines and tasks, you should just keep a note of the dates and add some reasonable percentage of time for your final expectations. If the same process in repeated in rythem, your team will be able manage expectations well and get more appreciation from your customers, superiors and peers.See Quick tips for Effective Meetings that yield Results
Imitate with Intelligence & Imagination - Becomes more Valuable than Innovation
Do you want to cut down your innovation costs while also staying quick to respond to market trends? Look out for something you can intelligently and imaginatively imitate. The essence of success either in Imitation or Innovation is Greater Value for the Customer.Inspired from: Defend Your Research: Imitation Is More Valuable Than Innovation
