1. Harvard Business Review “The Surprising Secret to Selling
Yourself” by Heidi Grant Halvorson
Overview: This article emphasizes the importance of your potential for success when it comes down to a hiring or promotion
decision. Regardless of our logic and intuitions, decision makers
subconsciously pay more attention to your potential for future greatness than
what you have already accomplished. This ought to be interesting for
graduating students who are applying for full-time jobs or simply anyone trying
to make an impression.
Key Lessons:
- How do we make an impression? We have all heard the following: Practice your pitch. Speak confidently at a good pace. Make eye contact. Highlight your accomplishments without being too cocky.
- But what really impresses decision-makers? They like the next big thing more than the current big thing because they prefer the potential for greatness over the current greatness.
- For example, John and Mike are competing for a job. John has had successful experience related to the job, and he has a high potential for job success. On the other hand, Mike does not have any relevant experience, but he still has a high potential for job success. All things equal, Mike is more likely to get hired even though he has no experience.
- This hiring decision is both risky and inherently irrational, but we still do it. Why? When humans come across uncertainty, we go into in-depth processing because we want to think hard and figure it out ourselves. This long process leads to a more favourable view of the candidate in the end.
- As a job seeker, focus your pitch on the future as an individual rather than your track record.
Noh Review: If I were at a job interview, I would throw a
few key accomplishments of mine here and there, which would imply my potential
for future success. It wouldn’t be wise for you to bluntly discuss about your
potential and state where you will be 5 years from now because it would kill
their fun of guessing and figuring you out. The best mix would be some key past
track records mixed with their implications for the future.
2. Harvard Business Review “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor
Grammar. Here’s Why.” By Kyle Wiens
Overview: This article emphasizes the importance of grammar
and spelling when trying to score a job.
This is an obvious fact, but your grammar on the paper shows more about
you than you can assume.
Key Lessons:
- Grammar equals credibility. These days, most of communication is done online. For example, when you read someone’s Facebook status, Twitter post or e-mails, they only have words to get to you. People judge you immediately if you can’t use proper grammar.
- Typos or simple spelling mistakes can be overlooked. But, if you can’t tell the difference between “your” and “you’re” (or difference between “their” and “there”), your credibility and capabilities harshly fall. Your client will lose their interest and confidence.
- How can people frame you when you use poor grammar? Poor writing abilities, poor communication skills, poor learning curve and poor attention to detail
Noh Review: We all know somewhat about the importance of
grammar and spelling when applying for a job because we have heard so much
about it. But many do not realize that grammar is the simplest and easiest tool
for hiring managers to weed out poor-quality applicants. There are hundreds of
job applicants who are dying to score that job. If you are one of those job
applicants, your only way to make impression on paper is by using words. But,
if you don’t know how to properly use words, then you are out of luck.
Decision-makers judge you and move on quickly because their time is
precious. I would suggest signing up for
resume critique sessions or getting someone to critique your cover letter and
resume. Extra caution takes less than a day, but first impression lasts a
lifetime.
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