Hi ,I would like to become a Soft skills trainer/Corporate trainer as I like to mentor?
Could anyone guide me as to how to go about it ? I currently work in a well reputed corporate firm in bangalore. does any body know of any any places or tutorials that conduct "train the trainer" workshops in bangalore?
I would suggest your first place to go would be ITOL (Institute of Occupational Therapy) or the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). They provide distance learning or on-site accredited and industry recognised certificated in Training and Development. After you qualify you can join the institutes and they will provide a raft of tools to help you further your career.
I do not know if they operate in Bangalore, but as they both have a good on-line presence then they could be well worth the effort.
Identify Your Skills to Get the Right Job
Interview is your first and the most important encounter with your prospective employer. What you say, how you dress, how you behave and other such things can make or mar your chances o 
f getting that dream job. Especially for first time job seekers, interviews can be intimidating. So, a little preparation for the same can be really helpful. Given below are a few tips that will help you cruise through your interview smoothly and perform better with heightened chances of getting hired.
Try to arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the job interview schedule so that you get time to cool down and get your mind ready for the interview. If you get unavoidably delayed, notify the company immediately stating the reason and your estimated time of arrival. This shows your professionalism and sincerity.
The age old adage “First impression is the last impression” still holds true so dress smartly for the interview. You should wear a formal dress and make sure that you look professional. While different industries call for different work attire, it is always safe to stick to formal dressing. Dress according to the culture and style of the company that you’re interviewing with.
Dressing tips for men
· A neatly ironed long-sleeve working shirt (avoid colorful shirts, stick to one solid color such as blue, grey, white)
· A tie
· A suit or sports coat
· A pair of neatly-ironed dark-colored formal trousers
· Conservative colors (avoid bright, flashy colors e.g. bright orange, fuchsia, etc.)
· Well-polished dark color shoes
· Neatly groomed or cleanly shaved beard and/or moustache
Dressing tips for women
- Conservative blouse (steer clear of low cleavage and bare back designs)
- Business suit
- Conservative colors (keep the colors to a maximum of three)
- Properly fitting, non-revealing clothes. Avoid short skirts.
- A salwar-kameez or sari in non-flashy colors
- A conservative hair style; tied-up long hair or set hair in a neat hairstyle.
- Appropriate closed-toe shoes or pumps.
You need to carry important documents while going for an interview. Always carry photocopies of your degrees and certificates unless the interviewer has specifically asked for originals. Arrange them neatly in a file. Carry at least two copies of your resume, mark sheets, photographs etc.
All the above mentioned tips prepare you to meet the interviewer. Now, it is time for the real test- facing the interviewer’s questions. Feel confident and don’t panic even if you don’t know the correct response to a particular question. If you fumble or look extremely nervous, the interviewer will lose interest in you. Thoroughly go through your resume before appearing in front of the interviewer. Most questions will be based on what you have written there. So, don’t lie on your resume and be prepared to showcase your skills in a positive manner.
Interviewer’s Most Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Tell me something about yourself.
A: This is the most commonly question asked in an interview. Mention the details about your education, work experience (if any) and your core competencies. Don’t just narrate what is already written in your resume as it is already in front of the interviewer. Say something extra but relevant to the interviewer, which makes him interested in you and proves your suitability for the job. Try not to sound too rehearsed and don’t talk for longer than five minutes.
Q: Mention your strengths.
A: Prepare on any key strength such as confidence, motivation, tenacity, positive attitude etc and explain why these would be valuable for the role you have applied for.
Q: Dwell upon your weaknesses.
A: Now, this is a tricky question. But you can answer it in a manner that benefits you. Try to state a weakness that can be considered as strength by the employer. For example: "I get impatient and tend to lose temper when deadlines are not met.” This shows that you don’t like to work with inefficiency and are particular about deadlines.
Q: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
A: This question is asked to see how stable you are and what is your vision of career growth. The answer will show your clarity of thought and how you have planned your future.
Q: Why do you think you are fit for the job?
A: Answer this question by citing how you have learned from your past experience and how the knowledge that you have acquired through your education can be utilized in accomplishing the objective of your job. Try to state how you can bring a positive difference to the company. If you are a fresher, state your strengths. Try to match your analytical skills, your soft skills, your qualities with what is required by the employer and try to convince the employer that you are best suited for this post.
After you have been interviewed, you should also try to find out as much as possible about the organization and the post you have applied for. This will prove to the employer that you are interested. Ask intelligent questions and do not concentrate on salary as of now. That can be negotiated after you have got the job.
During the last few moments of your job interview, emphasize on your skills and your strengths which makes you best suited for the job. This will help the interviewer to remember your skills and strengths as this will be the last thing which the interviewer will hear.
Restate your interest in the job but don’t sound desperate or too anxious. Instead show how interested you are and how best you fit the job profile.
Geetika Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/identify-your-skills-to-get-the-right-job-721291.html
Unleashing Your Ability – Perfect Jobs For Your Skills
It is common to speak about our strengths and our weakness at interviews. The chances of you grabbing the job increases when you recognize your strengths. But over confidence on this subject can at times fade your opportunity. Attending interviews with a mindset that you know everything will only make you walk out of the interview.
Skill Identification:
Skill identification is very important. Skill identification is the key for a job. You have to do express your abilities. You have to expertise to your best. Many people boast about themselves. They boast about their abilities and skills. But never be shy in discussing about your skills. It is your responsibility to explain your talents to your employer. In fact, telling about your abilities is like trading yourself with the employer. This is the exact way of getting a job. Avoid underestimating yourself and being tough or rude during interviews. Be ready with answers to questions thrown to you like the one which asks you to differentiate yourself from the rest, questions etc… Prepare your resume in a way that it should highlight your talents and skills. This enables the employer to note it easily.
Types:
Hard skills and Soft skills are the two types of skills. Things you like to do come under hard skills. The things may be of your interest like some knowledge about the operations of various machines, typing skills, knowledge on computer programming, ability to use different sets of tools, certificates on special crafts, etc… The skills that are abstruse come under soft skills. Personal qualities are an example of a soft skill. A personal quality includes qualities such as the role of a good player, self ability to work, decisive nature and the behavior in an organized manner.
Steps:
Listing out previous work experiences:
Preparing a list on your previous work experience is very important before attending an interview. The list should contain the name of companies you had worked for and the lessons or things learnt from them. The list may be difficult to prepare and at times be longer. But make sure that you do not miss out even a small activity where you had been a member of some organization.
List your hobbies:
Listing out hobbies is also advisable. It may appear unimportant to you, but it is not. In fact, your hobbies can reflect some of your abilities to the employer. In other words, your personality is much reflected. For instance, say you had represented for your school’s debate team. This tells the employer about your good analytical skills. If you are a champion in chess then it would indicate your employer about your ability in arriving at critical decisions. Note the things you do frequently along with your daily routine. You may be person who is perfect in doing things. You may also be an extrovert or a gregarious person. Though these seem to be ordinary, they add some value to you in your interview.
Career Decision:
Career decision is the next phase you got to work on after you had listed your skills and abilities. Match your skills with the job you are searching for by selecting the good and the best from the list. Analyze whether your skills match the job you seek. Sometimes you have to omit some skills from the list, but never be bothered. Keep in mind that your skills add value to you.
Stick to your resume:
Be true about your skills. You must be a proficient in it. For instance, if you are an organized and efficient person then you have to prove it by utilizing the interview time to its best by filling your thoughts in an effective manner.
Thus it is essential to know about your skill before applying a job. Do your levek best and good luck!
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/unleashing-your-ability-perfect-jobs-for-your-skills-703158.html
The Nine Essential Soft Skills by CLW.wmv
http://CorpLW-web.footprintsherpa.net
Your work ethic, your attitude, your communications skills, your emotional intelligence (EQ) and a whole range of other personal attributes are the soft skills that are crucial for “career success”, and I will venture to say, for “success” in general.
Duration : 0:10:20
Soft Skills: Communications Today – Zubin Rashid (www.zrindia.com)
http://www.zrindia.com : Communications is a beautiful art which man has been able to develop with the brilliant assistance of his reasoning faculty…
Duration : 0:5:9
People Skills Training: Are You Getting A Return On Your Investment?
One of the reasons I got involved in multi-source (360-degree) feedback technology over ten years ago was the frustration I experienced as a management consultant. A typical assignment had me creating and presenting a customized leadership development program. I worked hard on these projects, conducted some first-rate training and was well paid for my efforts. The problem was, while the courses were well received, they had little or no impact. In a few weeks, most participants returned to their comfortable but ineffective habits. At first I blamed myself. Over time, however, I discovered that the problem wasn’t me. It had to do with the very nature of “soft skills.”
Hard skills vs. soft skills
In the world of work, “hard skills” are technical or administrative procedures related to an organization’s core business. Examples include machine operation, computer protocols, safety standards, financial procedures and sales administration. These skills are typically easy to observe, quantify and measure. They’re also easy to train, because most of the time the skill sets are brand new to the learner and no unlearning is involved.
By contrast, “soft skills” (also called “people skills”) are typically hard to observe, quantify and measure. People skills are needed for everyday life as much as they’re needed for work. They have to do with how people relate to each other: communicating, listening, engaging in dialogue, giving feedback, cooperating as a team member, solving problems, contributing in meetings and resolving conflict. Leaders at all levels rely heavily on people skills, too: setting an example, teambuilding, facilitating meetings, encouraging innovation, solving problems, making decisions, planning, delegating, observing, instructing, coaching, encouraging and motivating.
Obviously, people come to organizations with interpersonal behavior patterns already thoroughly ingrained, and they weren’t learned in a classroom. Instead, individuals learn how to deal with relationships and other life challenges “on the street” at a very early age. They observe how the people around them do things, they experiment, and they stick with what works for them. So everyone ends up with a unique portfolio of people skills; some behaviors may be effective, but others cause problems. By the time employees get to a training room, they’ve already worked hard for decades to reinforce the way they deal with people.
Like all behavior patterns, interpersonal skills are “hard-wired” in the neuronal pathways of the cerebral cortex. This means that at some point a behavior was repeated often enough that neurons grew dendrites that reached out to other neurons to make the connections needed to make behavior pattern automatic. A myelin sheath coated the cells like electric wire insulation, making the connection extremely efficient. The end result: these ways of behaving now feel natural, easy and comfortable.
The bottom line
Introducing a new interpersonal skill is extremely difficult, because it means replacing the old skill. The brain may be an information processor, but it doesn’t work like a digital computer. There is no “delete” key for unwanted programs. Behavior patterns are physically established at the brain cell level. Any new pattern, even one that makes sense, even one that is desired and expected, will seem extremely awkward. The only way to replace an old pattern will be to establish a new one that gets better results. If this new pattern proves to be more satisfying than the old pattern, and if there’s an adequate period of reinforcement, there’s a chance that new connections will establish themselves. If the new pathway is a superhighway, it can become the preferred conduit, and over time even a familiar path associated with lots of memories will eventually fall into disuse, just like old Route 66.
Ensuring success
Without this reinforcement, however, the pathways will not establish themselves, and most people will predictably fall back on the old, comfortable patterns they grew up with. Unfortunately, this disappointing scenario happens more often than not. An organization invests heavily in a people skills training program, no plan for reinforcement is in place, and the intervention fails to have the hoped-for result. There is virtually no return on the investment. The money is mostly wasted.
This is why a program of lectures, group exercises and handouts-even a week-long course personally conducted by a world-famous celebrity author-cannot by itself provide enough reinforcement to establish the new pathways needed to change ingrained behavior patterns. Without reinforcement, even people who want to change are likely to return to their comfortable patterns, and so dysfunctional behaviors remain the same. If this happens too often, employees may come to feel cynical about people skills programs.
Frequent reinforcement
What an understanding of the brain teaches us about learning is that the only thing that can create permanent behavioral change is frequent reinforcement over the long term. If someone who truly desires to change an interpersonal behavior is supported by a knowledgeable coach’s ongoing encouragement, new patterns can be established. The most useful perspective on people skills training is that it’s an essential first step-a necessary “introduction” to the right way of doing things. After that, ongoing reinforcement of desired behaviors has to be there. When a newly trained individual returns to a workplace, he or she needs knowledgeable coworkers to give ongoing feedback, guidance and encouragement.
A proven solution is the top-down approach
If executives start by working on their own people skills, then they can establish the right expectations and coach their managers. An organization can employ executive coaches to ensure frequent feedback, encouragement and reinforcement. Managers can then coach their supervisors, who can coach their team members.
To provide the desired motivation and accountability, it’s a good idea to assess people skills in advance of the training. By far, the easiest, most practical and effective way to do this is 360-degree feedback, which was designed to provide a reasonably objective assessment of skills that are otherwise hard to observe, quantify and measure. Identifying the weak skill areas has two huge benefits. For one thing, training programs can be focused on the areas of highest need, making the best use of limited training funds. Second, attendees will have a powerful motivation to change: the weak areas have been spotlighted, and a repeat assessment can be administered in the future to evaluate improvement.
People can learn how to work well together
With an environment of support, encouragement and reinforcement, an organization can achieve the desired return on a considerable investment in people skills training. But executives really have to want it to make the right kind of investment. There’s no magic pill-no short cut. It’s like losing weight. If you really want to keep the pounds off, you have to establish new eating and exercise habits. If you want lasting changes in your organization, you have to be willing to pay the price.
How to Get ROI on People Skills Training:
- Use multi-source feedback technology to spotlight needs
- Repeat multi-source feedback assessment to motivate and measure improvement
- Create a plan of follow-up reinforcement
- Define expectations for desired behaviors
- Develop skills top-down to empower reinforcement
- Include special focus on feedback and encouragement skills
- Employ executive coaches to reinforce skills
Copyright © 2007, Performance Support Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Dennis E. Coates
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/people-skills-training-are-you-getting-a-return-on-your-investment-131194.html
Soft Skills are Necessary for Personal Branding
Dan interviews Gretchen Neels
Gretchen Neels is the president of Neels & Company. Her company is the leading provider of soft skills training to professional services firms, covering all areas of business communications. Gretchen has over ten years of experience recruiting and retaining top talent at a number of prestigious professional services firms, including Bain & Company, Bank of America and Gordon Brothers.
Duration : 0:9:51
How can I conduct my soft skills training programs abroad?
I am basically a soft skills and sales trainer. It is my longing desire to conduct these programs in countries like Maleysia, Singapore, Middle East etc. Is there any one who can help me out?
Middle East – No Comments.
Malaysia, Singapore – it’d be extremely difficult due to the cultural differences, unless you are familiar with local customs/culture. With due respect & no offense to anyone, the mind set is more ‘western inclined’ i.e. if you are with a ‘fair skin’ & ‘queen english accent’ then people will have a +ve impression. If you are from India people will first look down and you need to prove yourself before people start to listen.
Business Coach Emphasizes Soft Skills to Improve Performance
It’s not how smart you are; it’s how connected you are. The business coaching industry is increasingly looking at developments in the understanding of peak performance to help leaders and managers develop their skills. Valedictorians and technical experts are toppling from their pedestals as a large amount of research confirms a new formula for stardom in the workplace. The qualities of EQ, or one’s “emotional intelligence quotient,” turns out to be twice as important as IQ or technical expertise in determining who will succeed in the workplace.
Categorized as “soft skills,” the structure of the EQ powerhouse includes objective self-awareness, effective self-management, and the use of social/communication skills that help facilitate understanding and collaboration with others. In Working with Emotional Intelligence, author Daniel Goleman confirms the importance of EQ with an exhaustive review of research on top-ranked managers throughout the business world. Outcomes show conclusively that those with higher EQ consistently surpassed colleagues with deficits in “soft skills,” despite the presence of superior IQ and technical expertise among the latter.
Since these skills are not commonly addressed in formal education, their development is arbitrary for many. Fortunately, there are solutions. WealthBridge Connect, an elearning company that focuses on productivity solutions for businesses and entrepreneurs, focuses their training programs around EQ development in today’s workplace. Co-founder and Chief Learning Officer, Dr. J. Gregory Gillum, launched his personal journey of self-discovery through the coaching process, and it changed the course of his professional life. Recalling the moment of self-awareness, Gillum remembers looking at his business coach as he said, “I want to do what you do.” His coach responded, “Why don’t you?” Eight months later, Gillum became an entrepreneur in the coaching world. Prior to his role at WealthBridge Connect, Dr. Gillum served as the Chief Executive Officer of humanfusion, an award winning coaching and consulting firm that focused on leadership and management development.
Gillum’s mission as a business coach involves teaching the skills of EQ to individuals aspiring to realize their full potential. His ideas follow the findings of Goleman’s research: “If you can develop core competencies in this area, you will enhance your ability to rise in any organization.” Gillum’s unique approach to EQ training utilizes the integration of EQ into the four life domains, all of which are essential to success. Taken together, they encompass elements such as the organization of physical space, time management, effective focus, an objective awareness of strengths and limitations, and the cultivation of a sense of gratitude and accountability to the community and world at large. Gillum reports that as clients began to practice the disciplines within each domain, they experience a powerfully expanded sense of vision and possibility.
Gillum enthusiastically describes transformative outcomes with the coaching process. In addition to enhanced self-awareness and expanded vision, clients can anticipate dramatic increases in productivity. “I coached a group of realtors, and every top performer dramatically increased their productivity during the coaching process. One first-year real estate agent landed in the top 25 (of over 300) for her geographic area. She was astounded,” Gillum said. “I have had similar success with financial planners, small business owners and other entrepreneurs. Coaching has a dramatic impact on performance in any field.”
Gillum addresses the area of management with a technique he learned in the pharmaceutical industry called assimilation, an intervention designed for managers with work performance problems. The initial steps involve individual sessions with the manager and interviews with workplace associates who can provide additional perspective on the problem. The coaching strategy culminates in a powerful, live version of the 360 evaluation in which all parties involved in the problem assemble together. With the support of the coach, the manager must decide how to handle issues concerning employees and workplace issues. Gillum summarizes the benefits of this high-impact learning experience: “It creates public accountability and also requires everyone’s participation in getting to solutions. The manager’s performance improves, and the resulting ‘buy-in’ strengthens the sense of community.”
A critical part of the coaching experience is client behavioral assessment. To address this critical success factor, Gillum uses the Winslow Dynamics Profile (WDP), thought to be the gold standard of assessments by behavioral psychologists worldwide. WDP measures 24 critical traits, including the individual’s emotional intelligence. WealthBridge Connect is one of the few companies in the Midwest licensed to use the WDP.
Apart from his own passion for the work of WealthBridge Connect, Gillum is confident about the future of coaching. “Coaching is rapidly being legitimized in the business literature, as well as through personal and organizational validation with objective outcomes. Rapid changes in the workplace will necessitate the need for coaching as we move deeper into the information age, with knowledge workers becoming more in demand. The new work environment will require a visionary style of management, which gives employees permission to explore, question, and participate in the development of their own potential, and to contribute meaning and significance to the mission of their organizations.”
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Dr. Gillum is the Chief Learning Officer of WealthBridge Connect, Inc. As CLO, his primary role is managing the universe of information that WealthBridge members use to drive their business to new heights. He lives with his wife and two children on a farm in central Kentucky.
fishface50
http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/business-coach-emphasizes-soft-skills-to-improve-performance-674292.html
EMC’s Polly Pearson on Soft Skills
Dice News’s Sonia Lelii asked EMC’s Polly Pearson about the importance of soft skills in an IT career
Duration : 0:1:21