The Top 8 Skills Professionals Need to Master, and Havent - Kathy Caprino

The Top 8 Skills Professionals Need to Master, and Havent What qualities make a fruitful professional? And what are the key practices, activities and thinking forms important to manufacture a vocation that is fulfilling and significant and addresses your issues and needs over the long curve of your expert life? These are issues that official and vocation mentors and initiative coaches like me wrestle with every single day. They are profound inquiries that challenge straightforward answers or shallow tactics. But profound as they may be, there are some essential things that each expert needs to ace so as to prevail in and make the most of his/her expert life. From my experience as a corporate mentor in Fortune 100 organizations and past, by far most of experts today have not gotten the preparation, data, comprehension or information they have to guarantee they'll stay on a positive track and manufacture a profession that will be productive, profitable and fruitful as the years go on. What do experts truly need to know? Every working individual and experts need critical competency and aptitude in the entirety of the accompanying eight regions so as to be effective, and most are painfully ailing in a few if not the greater part of them. (My narrative exploration shows that most are inadequate in any event three of these abilities simultaneously): 1) Communication Skill So as to be fruitful in your activity and vocation, you should impart capably and adequately with certainty and clarity. There's been quite expounded on thoughtful people as pioneers and supervisors, and how they can utilize their inborn aptitudes and endowments to prevail as leaders. Your character type and level of contemplation/extroversion aside, on the off chance that you can't convey your thoughts in an enabled, clear and connecting way, you basically won't perform or progress just as your partners who can speak easily and quality. 2) Building Relationships Such huge numbers of experts don't get this one essential point until it's past the point of no return â€" you can't do what you need in your profession, and advance effectively, in case you're an island. And you surely can't accomplish what you long for on the off chance that you've distanced every one of your associates, peers and managers. One horrendous supervisor I had shown me something keen numerous years ago. As repulsive as he was at driving and overseeing, he knew one center guideline regardless of how skilled and talented you are at your particular employment, on the off chance that you don't have strong connections at work, you won't succeed. Another approach to state this is on the off chance that you loathe who you work with and for, they'll wind up detesting you back. (Click here to download my LinkedIn preliminary, to assist you with building connections web based utilizing LinkedIn). 3) Decision-Making Experts must settle on scores of choices consistently â€" from whom they sit with at lunch, whatever raise to request, to new assignments they'll accept. Do you see HOW to settle on a choice so it 1) lines up with what you truly need, 2) adds to your aptitude base and experience, and 3) makes new open doors for you that will be advantageous? Further, do you realize how to settle on business choices that will produce the results that are generally wanted for the venture? Most people have never figured out how to assess with insight what's before them, or how to compute the dangers and advantages of every choice they face. Snap HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON FORBES Id love to hear your considerations do you feel able and certain about these 8 aptitude areas? If not, do you realize what to do to get the preparation and experience you need?

Choosing The Right Career Is A Very Personal Thing With Candidate

Blog » Exclusive Interviews » Bella Arora believes, choosing the proper career is a very private thing with candidate being the pivotal point Bella Arora believes, selecting the best career is a really private thing with candidate being the pivotal point by Vivek Negi | Aug 13, 2016 | Exclusive Interviews “Whatever you do on to others, comes back to you, in full measure â€" by some means, somewhere, someday â€" so whatever comes from the heart, goes to the heart.” â€" Bella Arora Bella Arora, a Career Counselor, Soft Skills coach and a Self Development Coach is the founding father of Arora Counselling and Guidance Centre. A Punjabi lady born in Delhi and introduced up in Mumbai. She cleared Civil Services Examinations and was selected for an appointment in Mantralaya, which she didn't be a part of due to private constraints. She speaks about his profession and profession counselling in an interview with Vivek Negi. Vivek : Please temporary us about your Educational background. Bella : I am convent-educated, Commerce graduate and a post graduate in Law and Computer Arts. -B.Com., LL.B., LL.M., MCA, DCP, CAIIB. Vivek: What has your time as a Career Counsellor meant to you personally and why? Bella: I have recommended folks from the age group of thirteen years to 63 years. I have endorsed college students, graduates, undergraduates, submit graduates, housewives, those seeking mid life profession modifications, and so on. And I am very happy after I get their suggestions after few days/months, typically even a yr, thanking me and expressing satisfaction at having found a career which they actually get pleasure from. In reality, I even have even recommended a couple of individuals who had been on the verge of leaving their respective jobs/coaching classes. I have shared the enjoyment of their family members when they noticed their wards/youngsters retracting from taking a wrong step and arriving on the proper choice. I am totally contended with my work â€" its career for me, no doubt â€" nevertheless it also presents me an opportunity to help and guide so many individuals â€" the enjoyment and satisfaction I expertise is much beyond the financial compensation I get! Vivek: How did you get into Career Counselling? What involved you into Career Counselling? Bella: Frankly I did not select this career; the profession chose me. Having been a ranker all through my life, I all the time had completely different pursuits and labored for brief stints with Media, corporates and Banks; however soon I realized that I was not cut out for a 9-to-5 type of job. I then began my own coaching institute â€" Arora’s Tutorials and I quickly found myself educating far more and past the textbooks. I started conducting profession counseling and personality enhancing periods together with ideas to improve language skills, handle stress and anger, develop social expertise, and so forth. free for my very own students as an add-on to their coaching. I began getti ng very constructive and encouraging responses from those whom I counselled. What began as vacation workshops and classes grew to such a level that I had to decide on between coaching and counseling. I realized what appealed to me most was counseling, advising and guiding and thereon I turned an expert counselor. Have a question relating to your profession ? Vivek: Which tools do you utilize for guiding careers? Bella: I even have created my very own evaluation exams which assist me to gauge not solely the candidate’s IQ, EQ, interests, hobbies, and so forth. but in addition his background, his priorities in life and his quick & long run goals in life. Once I get a transparent picture of the strengths, fears, emotions and aspirations of the candidate, I am in a greater place to create a method via dialogue and then suggest the most effective career choices for him. Vivek: Why do you suppose it’s important for college kids and parents to endure Career Counselling collectively? Bella: Most of the time, dad and mom convey their youngsters to a Career Counselor primarily because there is a conflict between the child’s alternative and aspirations on one hand and the father or mother’s desires and decisions on the other. Bringing them together on the Counseling desk helps me to make each the parties see and understand each other’s po int of views. To prime it, I have the candidate’s profession profile ready with me (primarily based on the checks which I have already taken earlier than the counselling session), I can confidently guide them as to which profession options are most suited to the candidate. Both parents and children find it a lot easier and comfy to open up earlier than a counselor; they come up with their doubts, differences and questions more candidly than they would with each other. Many times, I end up counselling the mother and father! Vivek: What are the top 3-5 expertise you should should turn out to be an efficient Career Counsellor? Bella: I am good in communication â€" I pay attention nicely, I speak properly and I understand well â€" even what has not been spoken! I am good at interpreting voice tone and pitch, facial expressions, gestures and physique language. Last but not the least, I hold myself abreast of the most recent information related to schooling, profession and job world. I have an unlimited databank of knowledge which helps me to provide essentially the most appropriate and finest profession options to my shoppers. Vivek: What is your recommendation for newbies, who are taking a look at building a profession in Career Counselling business? Bella: I would say UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION is the muse of good Career Counselling. Vivek: There are many new profession choices which have come up over the past decade which was not heard of before, how do you stay updated on the latest developments in Career? Bella: I keep myself properly informed by reading, browsing and subscribing to instructional journals, news updates, college and course data and corporate necessities. And of course, the web is an additional useful resource. Vivek: Would you prefer to share few words/ideas in regards to the work we're doing at CareerGuide? Bella: I would say you are doing a revolutionary work by giving a platform to innumerable college students and candidates to make an clever selection of their careers as well as to so many counselors to offer steering to the needy ones. Have a query relating to your profession ?

Stop Using Your Private Industry Resume to Apply for Government Jobs on USAJobs.gov

Quit Using Your Private Industry Resume to Apply for Government Jobs on USAJobs.gov Quit Using Your Private Industry Resume to Apply for Government Jobs on USAJobs.gov Quit Using Your Private Industry Resume to Apply for Government Jobs on USAJobs.gov As a Federal Career Consultant and Federal Resume Writer, I am talking with numerous government work candidates who have submitted 100 to 400 employment forms for administrative occupations on USAJOBS by transferring their private industry continue. In the event that you need to get Best Qualified for a government position and ideally get alluded to an administrator, you need to compose a quite certain style, substance and arrangement bureaucratic resume. Going after an administration position †as doing any business with the legislature †is convoluted. Obviously, the government continue isn't equivalent to the 2 page continue that an individual uses for private industry quests for new employment. Kathryn Troutman is a Federal Career Consultant, Author, Government Trainer and Industry pioneer in the Federal Resume Writing and Federal Career Consulting industry. Kathryn is seeing increasingly more first-time government work candidates and auditing their resumes to investigate their absence of accomplishment in their administrative pursuits of employment. Numerous jobseekers are applying upwards of multiple times without any meetings or referrals to a director. 14 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS FOR WRITING A SUCCESSFUL FEDERAL RESUME 1. LENGTH: Most Federal Resumes are 4 to 5 pages in length. Mid-vocation experts with 15 to20 years experience will have a 5 page government continue. A 2 page private-industry resume WILL NOT WORK. 2. MORE DETAILS: You have to remember more insights concerning your obligations and achievements for your last position or the most important position. The run of the mill private-industry resume will have 8 to 10 shots of data about each position. The government continue obligations area explains what you did, normally in complete sentences. The position that is generally important for the government position could be a whole page long. 3. FORMAT: Make sure the resume is decipherable for HR experts who have several resumes to survey to figure out who is generally equipped for their positions. Numerous private industry resumes comprise of short proclamations with shots. Numerous current government representatives compose their resumes in colossal square of type dependent on position depictions. The best arrangement is a converse sequential Outline Format. The Outline Format includes the top aptitudes required for the position. For a Public Affairs Specialist, the top aptitudes could be: Media Specialist, Writer-Editor, Researcher/Analyst, Media Events Coordinator. 4. TYPEFONT: Feature the Top Skills in ALL CAPS, so the bustling HR analyst can discover the abilities they are looking for. 5. KEYWORDS: Add language and catchphrases from the opening declaration Duties and Specialized Experience into your government continue. You can discover the watchwords via look for words that are rehashed on various occasions in the declaration; these could be specialized terms or expressions that depict explicit aptitudes. 6. PROVE YOUR EXPERIENCE: You will see the USAJOBS opportunity declarations will disclose to you that they need to see One Year Specialized Experience in a specific field in your resume. The declaration will likewise propose kinds of models that can assist with demonstrating your experience. 7. 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE: The government HR masters commonly read/filter the most recent 10 years of involvement with your bureaucratic resume. The years prior to 10 years can be added to the resume, yet keep that data shorter. 8. RECENT AND RELEVANT: The HR masters will be searching for later and important involvement with your Work Experience Section. 9. MONTH, YEAR AND HOURS PER WEEK: It is basic that you include the month and year and hours out of every week for your employments. Since they need to see that you have One Year Specialized Experience in positions and level that are like this activity, you should add this data to your resume. 10. SALARY: The government continue in USAJOBS requests your compensations throughout the previous 10 years. They have to see your pay rates so as to see your experience and judge the evaluation level that you could be equipped for in an administration position. 11. COVER LETTER: You can include an introductory letter into the USAJOBS account now, after Federal Hiring Reform. We prescribe an introductory letter to accentuate your particular experience and most important preparing or experience for the position. 12. RECENT AND RELEVANT JOBS: You don't need to include each activity into your USAJOBS Resume Builder. On the off chance that you have transient positions which were taken to acquire money for charges, you can forget about it. Indeed, it will leave a smidgen of clear time, however the HR pro is truly looking for the specific experience. 13. 5 USAJOBS RESUMES: USAJOBS will permit you to transfer 5 resumes. Make numerous resume forms for every declaration. Your unique resume can be changed marginally to coordinate a couple of catchphrases for each new declaration. 14. FEDERAL RESUMES MUST BE FOCUSED TOWARD AN OCCUPATIONAL SERIES WITH DIFFERENT KEYWORDS: If you are looking for a Program Analyst position, utilize the watchwords and aptitudes for the position. Watchwords for the Program Analyst can't avoid being: Analyst, Research, Studies, Efficiency and Effectiveness, Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis, Briefings. In the event that you are additionally looking for an Administrative Officer position, your catchphrases will be extraordinary: Operations, Budget Management, Supervision, Customer Services, Project Management.

How To Deal With Being Laid Off Due To COVID-19

How To Deal With Being Laid Off Due To COVID-19 How To Deal With Being Laid Off Due To COVID-198 min read Read ­ing Time: 7 min ­utesThe COVID-19 pan ­dem ­ic has affect ­ed an unusu ­al amount of indi ­vid ­u ­als around the world. It has influ ­enced every ­thing we have a ten ­den ­cy to take for grant ­ed â€" our loved ones, our mor ­tal ­i ­ty, and yes, even our jobs. Dur ­ing an eco ­nom ­ic down ­turn, one of the pri ­ma ­ry things com ­pa ­nies do to cut costs is â€" reduce their staff. The finan ­cial impact of COVID-19 is being felt glob ­al ­ly across dif ­fer ­ent indus ­tries. Many com ­pa ­nies and small busi ­ness ­es are forced to either close tem ­porar ­i ­ly or per ­ma ­nent ­ly. As a result, count ­less employ ­ees have been either laid off, fur ­loughed, or received a salary cut. Being laid off is nev ­er an easy thing to deal with. Espe ­cial ­ly dur ­ing a glob ­al cri ­sis, the par ­a ­lyz ­ing fear of the unknown tends to get the bet ­ter of us. But that is exact ­ly the kind of thing one should not give into. If you have been laid off from your com ­pa ­ny, keep in mind you are not in this alone. And as easy as it might be to hide under your cov ­ers away from the world â€" now is the time to be head ­strong and take con ­trol of things. Communicate With Your Employer The very first thing you need to be sure of is the com ­mu ­ni ­ca ­tion between you and your employ ­er. You need to under ­stand if you are being laid off or if you are being fur ­loughed. To some peo ­ple, there might not be much dif ­fer ­ence between the two. In either case, you are not get ­ting your salary. But there is one major dif ­fer ­ence â€" and that can help you deter ­mine your next course of steps. Being fur ­loughed means you are being sent on tem ­po ­rary unpaid leave from work. This means the com ­pa ­ny even ­tu ­al ­ly plans on hav ­ing you back on board as a salaried employ ­ee in the future. Being laid off, on the oth ­er hand, means a work ­er’s employ ­ment has been per ­ma ­nent ­ly ter ­mi ­nat ­ed from the com ­pa ­ny. Make sure you are both on the same page and there has been no mis ­com ­mu ­ni ­ca ­tion about whether you are being laid off or fur ­loughed. Whichev ­er the case might be, you need to ensure you have clar ­i ­ty about your employ ­ment sta ­tus before you start mak ­ing new plans and upcom ­ing goals. Manage Your Current Expenses For most peo ­ple, the biggest ques ­tion between the time they have been laid off till they find some ­thing new is â€" how to man ­age expens ­es? Sav ­ings can only take you so far â€" but it is worth some ­thing for sure. You need to fig ­ure out a way to do some cost-cut ­ting per ­son ­al ­ly. Hence, you must plan your short term bud ­get goals till the time you are back on your feet again. This is main ­ly in terms of man ­ag ­ing your dai ­ly and month ­ly expens ­es. Cre ­ate a list of all of your month ­ly as well as dai ­ly expens ­es. Be it for gro ­ceries, com ­mut ­ing, rent, bills, house help pay ­ment, month ­ly sub ­scrip ­tions, and so on. Now cir ­cle out all the expens ­es that you can min ­i ­mize or can do with ­out for a lit ­tle while. For instance, maybe you don’t need a sub ­scrip ­tion to Ama ­zon Prime, Net ­flix, Hulu, as well as Apple TV. Choose one and cross off the rest. Talk to your land ­lord about some relax ­ation in the rent. Make them under ­stand your sit ­u ­a ­tion. In fact, many states have request ­ed home ­own ­ers to pro ­vide rent relax ­ation for ten ­ants. If cre ­at ­ing bud ­gets and keep ­ing track of your expens ­es is not your forte, try using per ­son ­al finance apps that make it easy and man ­age ­able. Wal ­ly and Mint are some of the most effi ­cient apps that you can use as a begin ­ner. If you are not a fan of apps and pre ­fer a more man ­u ­al approach â€" you can try cre ­at ­ing a bud ­get spread ­sheet. Nerd ­wal ­let pro ­vides a pre-made bud ­get work ­sheet that you can use. Make A Game Plan Once you have had a moment or two to process the changes, it is time to sit down and make a game plan. This should include what you wish to achieve in terms of your career in the upcom ­ing times. Eval ­u ­ate your inter ­ests, skills, needs, as well as oth ­er pref ­er ­ences. Once you have fig ­ured out what you real ­ly want, the next steps will come more eas ­i ­ly. For instance, you want to find a new job â€" but do you want to make a change? Or do you want to look for a sim ­i ­lar role? If you wish to change your indus ­try, do you have all the skills and require ­ments need ­ed to make this change? Do you wish to relo ­cate? You need to fig ­ure out the answers to all such pos ­si ­ble ques ­tions. Also, try to stick to a sched ­ule even if you don’t have a full-time job at the moment. It is easy to let things go and binge-watch your favorite series till 4 AM â€" but keep ­ing on track of things will keep you more alert and ener ­gized. And if you want to make a game plan, you need to be alert. So get up on time every day as you nor ­mal ­ly would, take a show ­er, get dressed, have a good break ­fast, and then get on with what ­ev ­er plans you have made for the day. It could be as sim ­ple as updat ­ing your resume, or read ­ing a book, or cook ­ing some ­thing new. Always have things to look for ­ward to. Do Industry Research The impact of COVID-19 has been unprece ­dent ­ed and nobody knows what the future holds. So if it seems like ­ly that it will take a while before your indus ­try gets back to hir ­ing more peo ­ple, maybe you can find a tem ­po ­rary gig till then. The spread of this virus has had dis ­tinct effects on dis ­tinct indus ­tries. While on hand peo ­ple are los ­ing their jobs, on the oth ­er hand â€" there is a require ­ment for more peo ­ple in cer ­tain sec ­tors. Doing indus ­try research will help you find these oppor ­tu ­ni ­ties. Take some time out from your every ­day rou ­tine and con ­duct thor ­ough research to dis ­cov ­er which com ­pa ­nies are hir ­ing. That being said, if you are able to find oppor ­tu ­ni ­ties in your field â€" do not hes ­i ­tate in apply ­ing for them too. In fact, it is bet ­ter to keep your search on for your ide ­al role. You nev ­er know what you might come across unex ­pect ­ed ­ly. But for that, you have to put your ­self out there. Keep in mind that los ­ing your job does ­n’t say any ­thing about your abil ­i ­ties. This is just an unfor ­tu ­nate sit ­u ­a ­tion that affect ­ed the com ­pa ­ny’s eco ­nom ­ic con ­di ­tion. It does not mean you are not good at what you do. So, apply to a good num ­ber of jobs every day and remain patient. Improve Your Skills Now that you don’t have to com ­mute to work every day and the whole coun ­try is on lock ­down, take this as an oppor ­tu ­ni ­ty to learn new skills or pol ­ish exist ­ing ones. Don’t let your ­self get rusty just because you are at home. Make a list of skills that you picked up at your job and work on enhanc ­ing them fur ­ther. Or focus on the skill you still haven’t had a chance to learn but will ben ­e ­fit your career immense ­ly. You can even pick up a new hob ­by â€" learn how to play an instru ­ment, take online art class ­es, etc. There are hun ­dreds of resources avail ­able online where you can reg ­is ­ter and take free online cours ­es. These cours ­es include cre ­ative writ ­ing, graph ­ic design, ani ­ma ­tion, and thou ­sands of oth ­er options. Go for what suits your pro ­file the best, or what ­ev ­er you wish to learn. In fact, YouTube also serves as a help ­ful tool with video tuto ­ri ­als. You can use apps like Duolin ­go for learn ­ing a new lan ­guage with the help of fun activ ­i ­ties. You have to keep your brain active and not go into a slump. It is okay to have unpro ­duc ­tive days but don’t let it become a habit. Learn ­ing new skills will help you a great deal in find ­ing a bet ­ter offer than you orig ­i ­nal ­ly had. And even if you plan on switch ­ing indus ­tries, learn ­ing new skills is always a good addi ­tion to your resume. Plus it is an excel ­lent way to keep your ­self busy when you are in lock ­down. Keep A Check On Your Mental Health Being laid off is an over ­whelm ­ing expe ­ri ­ence for the best of us. And espe ­cial ­ly in these times, when you have to go into self-iso ­la ­tion, it is nec ­es ­sary to look after your ­self and care for your men ­tal health. Many peo ­ple are unable to keep a pos ­i ­tive out ­look about it and strug ­gle with their real ­i ­ty every day. Plan ­ning for an uncer ­tain future can only cause more stress. This is why you need to take out time for your ­self every day and do things that make you hap ­py. Whether it is doing yoga, drink ­ing tea in your bal ­cony, med ­i ­tat ­ing first thing in the morn ­ing, writ ­ing in your jour ­nal, or any oth ­er activ ­i ­ty you like to do in your “me” time. Make sure you take out time for it every day. Try using Head ­space for med ­i ­ta ­tion and stress release exer ­cis ­es. You can also use Mind ­Shift to help with anx ­i ­ety. Rely on your rela ­tion ­ships, call your par ­ents, friends, do group video calls. Nev ­er under ­es ­ti ­mate the pow ­er of a good con ­ver ­sa ­tion with a loved one â€" it can lift your mood like noth ­ing else. Final Words Being unem ­ployed is nev ­er easy, let alone dur ­ing a glob ­al cri ­sis. Once you have tak ­en a beat to process your new sit ­u ­a ­tion, use these tips to get back to rou ­tine and make things hap ­pen for your ­self. You might have lost your job but this is a chance to look for ­ward to find ­ing your foot ­ing in a new and bet ­ter posi ­tion. dealing with laid off due to covid19

No asshole rule, reflections on a hiring philsophy

No asshole rule, reflections on a hiring philsophy No Asshole Rule This is a no asshole zone No Asshole Rule The Company A**hole. We all know him or her, and every company has one. A blowhard, a know it all, someone who has all the answers and in their opinion is never wrong. They think they are the life of the party and their shit doesnt stink. I dont think that most of these folks know they are a**holes  and I dont know how to help self-identify if you are one. Half of the a**holes know they are asses and just wont admit it to themselves and the other half wouldnt believe it if they were told, so what is the use?   Assholes can ruin it for everyone I do  know the effect assholes can have on the rest of the team which is why so many companies have the self-explanatory no asshole rule. These people  can make life miserable, demoralize teams and in some cases  make us  want to quit. My advice for those of you that do work with one, (and we all do), is to try to not let it bother you. Easier said than done I know, but if Mr. BlowHard wins the lotto and leaves the company, or  better, gets hit by a bus, another BlowPop  will stick his  head up  and start the cycle all over again. If you think quitting your job and leaving will help, there will be a Dumb Ass  at your next company or department. Trust me, I am a professional, I know a few things.   HRNasty pursuing his second passion. My first is what I blog about. (Photo: Brett Seng) If you are a reader of this blog, you know my second passion outside of HR is fly fishing for Steelhead with a Spey rod. The other day, I was reminded  of  an actual  story from last years fishing season when a good friend  wanted to quit their job because of an asshole DooFus  that was making his  life miserable at work. I thought it might resonate here as well.   Fish Camp Every year I get together with a bunch of angler buddies in a large rented house we use as a base camp to go fly fish for Steelhead. Last year, I stayed there for about 5 days and during that time, anglers  came and went. Some arrived before I got there, and anglers  were coming and going after I left. Of course, the fishing picked up dramatically after  I left but that is par for course. It was a revolving community, where everyone fished on their own or in small groups during the day At night, we all sat around the dinner table family style to  share stories, break bread and raise glasses.   I knew everyone there personally or by reputation and it was this way for everyone else. There were no strangers, and I went back a number of years with most of the guys. It was a pretty tight-knit group. Until day 3. No excuses Now granted, I was half sick because it was snowing, 24 degrees, and I didn’t get to eat my usual breakfast of country fried steak, gravy on the side, with hash browns and an over easy egg on the first day. Somehow, I started the morning of day one with only half of a toasted pop tart, a cup of coffee and a bowl of fruit from a pull-top can. No one else was complaining so I went with it, but my inside voice was screaming,  WTF? Who had grocery duty this week? We are on the water by 7:00 AM and by 9:00 AM I was feeling the effects of my empty stomach and low blood sugar.  I am sure that my 7:30 AM cigar while standing in a glacial melt river for the next two-days didn’t help, but that isnt the point. Day 3 Doo-Dah arrived  the third evening.  I was doing my best to relax in the bark-o-lounger in front of a big screen TV and a roaring fire watching some MMA. Life was as good as it can get fighting a cold after smoking 3-4 cigars a day with no fish to the hand. I don’t know what it was, but I immediately didn’t like the guy. My recruiter Spidey sense went off. Within 10-seconds of him coming through the door, my internal  Lights and Sirens were blinding and blaring. I wasnt even facing the front door. There was literally a disturbance in the force.  He was nice enough. The monkey came around and introduced himself with the obligatory handshake, but I just didn’t “feel right” about him and the way he announced himself.   He was a guest of one of the veterans of our year traditional trip, and in the moment I just accepted it and went back to fight night.   Peanut Gallery Not long after, I hear BlowHard explaining  his fishing expertise to those that will listen. Thing is, he wasnt just explaining, he was telling  folks how good he was. He was bragging how big his fish were and what exotic lands and waters he had  traveled to catch them. Most of us have  been to all these places multiple times, so I wasn’t impressed. To the contrary, I was turned off.  I was actually asking myself, Does this guy realize he is just a peanut in a house full of giants? Half these  guys are published, and the other half  have been written about or were featured in films.     During dinner, our new guest dropped just a  few too many F-bombs. Again, I wasn’t just un-impressed, I was turned off. I am all for dropping an F-bomb when appropriate, but as the new guy trying to make friends,  I want to test the waters a bit first. Am I a prude???? Yes, there were a number of raised eyebrows and some dirty glances shot in the direction of the guide that made the invite.   After dinner, more of the same. “I am really good at this” and an “eff’n this and effn that”! The effect The next day, three of us are floating down the river in a drift boat. It is cold, the air is silent, and the mood is not just peaceful, it is Zen. There are a few inches  of fresh snow on the tree branches, and the water is so flat, you can see the reflection of the shoreline in the waters edge. The moment of silence is broken with the single statement by Angler number 1.  â€œI didn’t like him as soon as I met him”.  This was as random a statement as one could come up in such a peaceful moment, but I knew exactly who and what he was talking about. This statement was followed by a moment of silence and then Angler number 2. “I don’t think he will be invited back next year”. (Angler 2 happened to be in charge of the guest list). DOHHH!!!! I just sat in silence and cracked a smile to myself. Nothing needed to be said and anything I would say wasnt going to reinforce what was already considered baked and done.   Drinks and F-bombs I thought this was all pretty interesting. As an HR guy, I always try to give the benefit of the doubt in any potential negative situation. Doo-Dah didn’t really do anything wrong. He had just driven for 6 straight hours by himself, was excited about the fishing and  probably wanting to talk. DooFus wasn’t that offensive. He swore a bit much for me, but in his defense, it is a fishing trip with 9 type As trying to put fish on the board and me, type B-. The group was made up of a couple of the  guys going through a divorce, about to get into a divorce or just coming out of a divorce and with this demographic I fully expect a few things: Toasts with drinks in hand and F-Bombs.   We are always interviewing I couldn’t help but think if this were an interview (and it absolutely was), he wouldn’t have made it past round one. I don’t think he would have made it past reception. Obviously, we  shouldnt  come into the lobby of a company we are interviewing and bust out with: Fuckin great to be here folks, cant wait to get this interview started.  Just got done interviewing down the street at Acme Publishing, and yeah, I nailed it! But I wouldnt have put it past this guy.   It was an interview because, in this small circle of anglers, this was a special group. I was stoked to be there. In this very niche circle, there were  some heavy hitting anglers including professionals and published authors. In some very small circles, they would be considered celebrities. (I don’t fall into either group, I hitched a ride on a buddys  coat tails)  BlowHard somehow managed to piss off a number of folks in the first 20 minutes and I am confident he didn’t even know what effect he had on the group.   So what is the lesson?   I am not sure, but the following comes to mind.   “It is better to keep your mouth shut and let everyone think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt”.   It’s not a competition, and we don’t have to show everyone how much better we are.   Set the bar low and let everyone think you are a dumb ass then deliver the  shock and awe of brilliance. Learn about the other people in the group Whether it is a new group of people, a first date, or a job interview, try to avoid making it a competition where the goal is to show how you are better than everybody else. Approach it like a discussion where you are just as interested in finding out about everyone else rather than just showing the interviewer how overqualified you are. Everybody loves to talk about him or herself. We should also give the interviewers the opportunities to tell us  how wonderful their company is and what they are looking for in a candidate.   Avoid assholes and well see you at the after party, HRNasty nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball. If you felt this post was valuable please subscribe here. I promise no spam,