=============================================== "Achieve Your Dreams" - Volume 2, November 2003 =============================================== Greetings! Welcome to "Achieve Your Dreams", a bi-monthly newsletter for people with a dream - - whether it's accelerating a career, changing careers, building a business, securing a new job, achieving that long-desired goal, or discovering a new life vision and direction. Each newsletter will offer 1-2 noteworthy articles, a section on "Office Happenings" and "Helpful Resources", and some favorite quotes and sayings to motivate and inspire you. In this issue: 1. "Interview Brainteasers - Torture Tools?" 2. "Lions Or Gnats?" 3. Office Happenings (featured Q&A expert) 4. Helpful Resources (salary surveys on-line) 5. Favorite Quotes 6. Holiday Message Feel free to forward this to those you believe would find it useful. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated. If there is a specific topic you'd like covered, please send the suggestion to me via the e-mail address below. Enjoy ... ======================================= Interview Brainteasers - Torture Tools? ======================================= No matter how hard you prepare and practice for that job interview, you may never be completely ready when an interviewer asks that jaw-dropping brainteaser that takes you completely off-guard. Like... Why are manhole covers round? Or... How many gas stations are there in the United States? Who can prepare for a question like that? Moreover, HOW do you prepare? Unfortunately for the unsuspecting interviewer, brainteaser questions have been popping up more and more in recent years. The use of these puzzling questions is originally attributed to hiring managers at Microsoft, who've been using these interviewing tactics for decades, going back to when Bill Gates personally scrutinized every prospective employee before the company made an offer. Gates felt these puzzles were a good way to gauge a person's true intelligence and thought process. And now these questions are being used not just at technology-based behemoths like Microsoft, but also at small start-ups; biotech companies; and law, finance and consulting firms. So, what's a candidate to do? Let's consider Mike Smith, a well-qualified Purchasing Specialist, who's in the midst of an interview at a high tech start-up firm. The interview has been going well and Mike feels confident that the process is working in his favor. All of a sudden the interviewer smiles and says, "So Mike, tell me, how many quarters -- placed one on top of the other -- do you think it would take to reach the top of the Empire State Building?" Not having a clue as to what the correct answer would be, Mike nonetheless remains calm. First, he asks the interviewer exactly what she means by "placed on top of the other." After she says on their sides, Smith begins to explain his logic step by step. He estimates that a quarter is about an inch in diameter and guesses that there are 120 floors in the Empire State Building, with each floor being 10 feet tall. Then he does the appropriate math. Does Mike give the right answer? Not quite -- the building only has 102 floors, and they aren't 10 feet tall. Does he nail the question? Absolutely. When interviewers ask these mind boggling questions, they're not really expecting the "correct" answer. In many cases, there is no correct answer and you don't necessarily have enough information to get to a correct answer. What the company wants to know is how you react under stress and what thought process you use when tackling tough problems and situations. They're interested in how you approach, analyze and break down a problem and how and why you arrived at your answer. Even if you end up not getting the right answer, they can be very impressed by some of the approaches you toss out there. So, if you're ever in the middle of an interview and asked, "By the way, how many golf balls does it take to fill a 747?" or "What's the size of the market for disposable diapers in China?" or "How many times do a clock's hands overlap in a day?" first of all, don't panic. Take a deep breathe, slowly repeat the question, and ask for clarification, if needed. This will give you a moment to get your thoughts together before diving in. Then, start thinking aloud so your interviewer can hear your thought process. Don't worry about the answer, focus on how you're going to divide the problem up and the steps you would go through to come up with an answer. If your question is heavily math-related, use big, round numbers that are easy to add, subtract, multiply, and divide on the fly. Then slowly and methodically, walk the interviewer through how you would solve the problem. By showing the interviewer that you can think on your feet, you'll begin to demonstrate that you'll be a solid problem-solver as an employee. =========================================================== LIONS OR GNATS -- WHICH STOPS YOU FROM GETTING THINGS DONE? =========================================================== What gets in your way of tackling important tasks and building momentum? Whether the task is an important "lion" or an insignificant "gnat," NOT dealing with it can threaten your hopes, desires, wants, and dreams. You all know what the "lions" are in your career and life - they are the important projects that, when accomplished, will help you feel like a "king" (or a "queen"!) and in control of your own domain. Lions may take the form of staying in touch with critical networking contacts to carving out time to tackle a major project or to train your successor (so that you can go on to bigger and better things!). What are "gnats?" They are the pesky irritations that land on our desk, our calendar, and our lives. They drain us of physical and emotional energy and tax our reserves. Your gnat may be something like a disorganized work space, a long-overdue computer backup, the project that you really should have said "no" to, the daily onslaught of emails that need to be read and responded to, or the never ending ringing of the phone (which you can't resist picking up!). Whether you're dealing with lions or gnats, you can tackle them and build momentum by applying one of these 5 D's: -> DO - As Nike advises, JUST DO IT. Schedule that "lion" on your calendar, then jump in and get it done. For instance, "On Friday, I will write that thank you letter to Don for all the support and networking referrals he's given me over the last couple of weeks." -> DELEGATE - Surround yourself with support. Ask for the resources you need. If your boss says, "we can't do that - it's not in the budget," get creative! Your gnat my be someone else's delight -- consider trading projects, bringing in an intern, or even hiring an errand runner out of your own pocket so that you're freed up to do the more important stuff. -> Dump - Is there someone in your life who sucks the lifeblood from you? If so, no longer give that person permission to enter your emotional space. Spend time with "bone-marrow" friends - the ones who feed your soul. Or, is there a seemingly "good" activity in your career or life that you really should be saying no to? Perhaps you've volunteered for a committee or association that isn't the best use of your time. If so, set a date for when you would like to end that commitment, then begin to graciously extricate yourself. -> DISTANCE - Put some physical space between you and your gnat. For instance, "I will stop answering the phone when I'm working on a major project. I will let it go to voicemail and return all calls when the project is complete or I'm ready to take a break." -> DISCERN - It may require that you spend some quiet time to determine the right course of action for your "lion" or "gnat." In some cases, the right course of action may be to reframe your thinking and change your behavior. For instance, "This new project that got dumped on my desk is really a blessing in disguise because it offers me experience in a new area that will ultimately move me closer to a greater career goal." Now, commit to action: - Write out separate lists of your "lions" and "gnats" - Rank order the top 10 priorities for each list. - Decide which "D" you'll apply to each. - Set a date for action on the Do's and Delegate's (or set a date to evaluate how well you've done with the Dump's, Distance's, and Discern's). - Check in regularly with a trusted friend, family member or a coach to celebrate your success. ================= Office Happenings ================= As a regular Q&A Expert for Quintessential Careers, one of the most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, I'm pleased to announce that I will be featured as their November Q&A Expert in the next edition of their newsletter (due out the week of November 17). The direct link to that interview is http://www.quintcareers.com/career_experts/Jeanne_Knight.html. Feel free to check it out! Holiday Hours: In celebration of the upcoming holidays, I will be out of the office on the following dates: November 24 - November 29 and December 23 - January 2. While I'm away, I will not be checking e-mail or voicemail, but I do promise to reply to all calls and e-mails the moment I return. ================= Helpful Resources ================= For anyone who'd like to know how their salary measures up to the marketplace, the following websites offer valuable salary information that I've found to be relevant and up to date. Most of the survey data can be viewed regionally and by specific job categories. These figures could come in handy when answering the "what are your salary requirements" interview question or while in the midst of performance review discussions with your manager. -JobSmart - http://www.jobsmart.org/tools.salary/ -Wage Web - http://www.wageweb.com -Wall Street Journal - http://www.careerjournal.com/salaryhiring/ -Salary Wizard - http://www.salarywizard.com -Salary Expert - http://www.salaryexpert.com =============== Favorite Quotes =============== "If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most correlated with success... I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying, 'Here comes number seventy-one!'" - Richard M. Devos "It's a very funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." - Somerset Maugham "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." - Roger Bannister "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain "Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are your own fears." - Rudyard Kipling =============== Holiday Message =============== As the wonder and magic of the holidays approach, I'm reminded of the importance of gratitude in our lives... gratitude for the love of family and friends, the roof over our heads, the clothes on our backs, and the magnificence of Mother Nature. As I reflect back on the year, I am ever so grateful for so many things... for my Dad who is still with us even as he's battled pancreatic cancer for the last year, for the most caring and supportive circle of friends and family that one could ever hope for, and for all the wonderful clients who have challenged me and continually pushed me to be the best coach, confidant and guide I could ever hope to be. My warmest wishes to you and your families for a happy, healthy and prosperous holiday season and a New Year filled with hope, promise and peace on earth. In support of you, Jeanne ** If you would like someone added to this newsletter distribu- tion list, please forward their name and e-mail address to me. They will be added promptly. ** If you would like to be removed from this list, please reply to me via this e-mail address. I will remove your name promptly.