Skill sets required - Sales Agents/ Consultant/Associate/Analyst

The skill sets measured during the interview process for the roles of Consultant are:

Technology Application/Utilization:

•  Possess skills and knowledge common to the communications industry
• Reflect the ability to grasp new concepts
• Demonstrate skills necessary to implement complex technical solutions
• Apply technical knowledge to solve problems

 Communication:

•  Convey information in a manner that is understandable and persuasive
• Be able to identify and remedy situations when the audience has not understood the message
• Be willing and able to repeat or rephrase explanations
• Question and probe others to obtain information or to identify their underlying needs

 Planning/Organization:

•  Plan work to maximize efficiency (in time and resources) and minimize downtime
• Recognize priorities and balance conflicting demands
• Identify desired outcomes and determine steps needed to achieve them
• Structure work activities to ensure that work is done efficiently and effectively

 Problem Solving:

•  Seek out and collect relevant information to solve problems and achieve goals
• Be able to systematically collect information to aid in making decisions
• Take advantage of available resources
• Be able to gather information and extract relevant data and apply it to a problem in order to develop a solution

The skill sets measured during the interview process for the roles of sales agents are:

 Sales Ability:

•  Promote ideas and shape opinions while overcoming resistance
• Show confidence even after a hard refusal/rejection
• Focus on achieving goals
• Present compelling rationale to gain acceptance for ideas and plans

 Communication:

•  Convey information in a manner that is understandable and persuasive
• Be able to identify and remedy situations when the audience has not understood the message
• Be willing and able to repeat or rephrase explanations
• Question and probe others to obtain information or to identify their underlying needs

 Flexibility/Multitasking:

•  Recognize priorities and balance conflicting demands
• Identify desired outcomes and determine steps needed to achieve them
• Structure work activities to ensure that work is done efficiently and effectively
• Organize their work activities to meet the requirements of the job
• Posses the ability to perform multiple activities at the same time

Behavioral interview- Tips, Sample questions, Steps to tackle

Behavioral interview

A behavioral interview is a structured interview that is used to collect information about past behavior. Because past performance is a predictor of future behavior, a behavioral interview attempts to uncover your past performance by asking open-ended questions.

Methodology/Approach for behavioral interview

As you prepare to answer each question, consider organizing your response by answering each of the following components of the STAR technique:

                        What was the Situation in which you were involved?

                        What was the Task you needed to accomplish?

                        What Action(s) did you take?

                        What Results did you achieve?

SAMPLE BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

·         Tell me about a time when you were on a team, and one of the members wasn’t doing his or her share.

·         Tell me about a time when you felt a need to update your skills or knowledge in order to keep up with the changes in technology. How did you approach that?

·         Describe a time when a customer got angry with you. How did you react? How did you resolve the situation?

·         Please give me an example of a time when you took the initiative to improve a specific work process.

·         Give me an example of a time when you surpassed a customer’s expectations.

·         Tell me about a time when a customer requested special treatment that was out of the scope of normal procedures. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

·         Describe a time when you had to use logic and good judgment to solve a problem.

·         Tell me about a time when you had to cope with a stressful situation.

·         Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.

·         Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.

·         Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker understand a task. How did you assist them? What was the result?

TIPs for Preparations

• Research the business unit or department.

·                     Become familiar with the products, services, structure, competitors, reputation, and any recent significant changes.

·                     Review the job description to understand the skills required.

• Do “research” on yourself as well.

                        Know why you want the job.

                        Review your resume.

                        Identify transferable skills, key accomplishments, work style, and personal and professional  strengths. Remind yourself of specific experiences that exemplify these skills and strengths.

                        Be able to express the unique marketable skills you have to offer.

                       

• Prepare a list of four or five questions about the department or position.

• Get a good nights’ rest.

• Know the exact place and time of the meeting.

• Allow plenty of time to get to the interview and plan to arrive early.

Try to arrive at the location at least 15 minutes before your scheduled test time to give yourself time to relax before the interview begins.

To Do your BEST

• Listen carefully, and feel free to ask for clarification before answering a question.

• Take a moment to formulate your answers before you speak.

• Project energy and enthusiasm.

• Be honest while focusing on communicating your professional achievements. Bring extra resumes, a notepad, and a pen.

• Be polite to everyone you meet at the interview.

• Do not chew gum, swear, or use slang.

• Thank the interviewer for their time. Within a day, send a written thank you note via e-mail or regular mail.

• If the interview is face-to-face:

                        Look your professional best.

                        Be conservative in your use of fragrance, cosmetics, and jewelry. Make eye contact with the interviewer.

                        Be aware of the interviewer’s body language and other non-verbal cues.

Spelling Tips

Tips to improve your spelling

Tip No: 1.

 Remember Spelling Rules (these work with few exceptions)

                        “i” before “e”, except after “c”

                                OR

when the above letter combination sounds like an “a” (as in “Neighbor” or “Weigh”) --Exception: Neiman Marcus ,

“q” is followed by “u”

Tip No: 2.

Listen carefully. However, spelling errors may result from listening to poor enunciation. Pronounce the word correctly. Spell it by syllables. For example:

                        In-de-pen-dent

                        Con-tent

                        Gov-ern-ment

Tip No 3

Use memory tricks that can help you remember the correct spelling of tricky words. For example: Tip No 4.

Piece → a piece of pie

Desert → Sahara (one “s”)

Dessert → Strawberry Straw (two “s’s”)

The best tricks are the ones you think of yourself to help you remember how to spell the words that are causing the most problems.

Tip No 5.

Make a list of words that cause you difficulty. Be sure to spell the words correctly. Review your list as often as necessary in order to visualize and memorize the correct spelling.

 Tip No 6.

Read widely. Read the directory.

You can find resources like the belwo websites to improve your spelling:

WEBSITES

1. http://dissc.tees.ac.uk/Mistakes/Spelling/SpellMenu.html
2. http://www.sentex.net/~mmcadams/spelling.html
3. http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/

BOOKS/ MATERIALS TO HELP YOU PREPARE

1. 303 Dumb Spelling Misstakes…..and What You Can Do about Them

              Author: David Downing NTC Publishing Group, 1989 ISBN: 0844254754

1. 1001 Commonly Misspelled Words: What Your Spell Checker Won’t Tell You

Author: Robert Magnan and Mary Lou Santovec , McGraw-Hill, 2000 , ISBN: 007135736X

  

Ideal Body Fat Percentage

Ideal Body Fat Percentage

Classification     Men           Women
Essential Fat     2-5%          10-13%
Athlete             6-13%        14-20%
Fitness             14-17%      21-24%
Average           18-24%      25-31%
Obese               25% and above 32% and above

Source * : American Council on Exercise (2003)

Resting Metabolic Rate

Resting Metabolic Rate is the rate of metobolaism which happens during a human rest phase.

its calculated as:

RMR = 9.99w + 6.25s - 4.92a + 166g-161
w = weight in kilograms; if you know your weight in pounds, divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms  
s = height in centimeters; if you know your height in inches, multiply by 2.54 to get your height in centimeters  
a = age in years  
g = gender = 1 for males, 0 for females  
that if you weigh more, your RMR will be higher! RMR will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your body at rest. Your daily consumption to maintain your weight should be: RMR x 1.15