Navtej Kohli Career Mission Blog

Navtej Kohli Career Mission Blog adds another useful leaf of information brought to you by Mr. Navtej Kohli.

All of us have dreams of a thriving career. However, getting a decent job isn’t a cakewalk, but a few balanced steps can take you to the top of the corporate ladder.
Following steps can help you break through the corporate world.
• Review your career: Align your career path well and clearly mark your interests and priorities. See for yourself what is best for you in the long run, experience or education? Mull over things, do some self analysis and draw results there on.
• Identify you career objectives: be clear about what career you want to pursue. Once you are certain on that work out a plan of action to reach that level.
• Make a growth plan: decide in advance, what steps you need to take to climb onto next level in hierarchy.
• Communicate your goals: there are many organizations that encourage employee development. Talk to your manager and let him know your career objectives and request for his support.
• Lead a project voluntarily: It inflicts that you are keen and willing to work, leaving a good impression about you. It also gives you an opportunity to learn new things, show your leadership traits while placing you at forefront in the company.
• Be updated: keep yourself up to date about the ever-changing trends in the industry and acclimatize with it. Take some reference material like publications or industry reports.
• Do some certification courses: certification courses are small accomplishments that will help you get the better of you your competitors. Polish your skills and use it to the benefit of your company.
• Assume a leadership role: you can take up small leadership roles to prepare yourself for the future. Lead a committee of some NGO or guide a junior in office.
• Build a social network: you can build your own network in or outside your organization. This will increase your visibility and making contacts are also indispensable to your sure shot success.
• Stand out in your present career: Excel in the position you are currently working at. Good work needs no evidences. An average performance will not help you get better in life.

When I was a child, everyone used to ask me, ” Navtej, what do you want to be when you grow up?”. And swollen with pride, I used to say, ” I will become an engineer, Navtej Kohli- the engineer.” Today, I’m glad I chose what i actually wanted to be.

There comes a stance in life, when we have to opt for a suitable career so that we can lead a life that is happy and prosperous on all fronts. When it comes to choose a career one wrong decision can change the face of your life for good. In fact, most of you might have observed this at one stage of your life or another. No matter, how hefty sum you take home every month, unless you don’t derive satisfaction from your job, it’s all in vain.

The only mantra of success is to widen your mental horizons and ponder your real purpose in life. In this Navtej Kohli career blog, I took some time out to share my personal views and inferences I have drawn with my life experiences. Occasions are when your parents or relatives might have compelled you choose a lucrative profession like that of a doctor, engineer, lawyer or a manager, for that matter. Instances are also seen where children are placed on an upfront comparison with other successful people.

But the main question remains “what’s that interests YOU?”, “what’s that brings smile on your face and pleasure to your heart?”. First, you need to answer all these questions before embarking upon any career voyage. Don’t make a hasty decision as they say ‘haste makes waste’. Evaluate your basic interests and recognize the skills embedded in your very nature.

Perhaps, you can comfort yourself on a lounger, grip a pen and jot down all the moments of your life where you have accomplished something significant in life. Once a rough draft is ready, rate yourself on each instance, based on how well you faired in each of them. Pick out ten most commendable things you have done and speculate what’s common in all of them. No sooner you are done with it, the answer becomes quite apparent. You may discover situations where you have displayed your ingenious leadership traits, or some other distinguished characteristics. Thus, you’ve now got the food for thought!

This tried and tested method has helped many hit bull’s-eye, as far as the career is concerned, and thus can prove rewarding for you too. So, go ahead and see for yourself what Career destiny has in store for you?

With blooming Internet scope, Online job sites and portals have grown to almost 70,000. While this opens a lot of avenues for you to find suitable jobs, don’t let the technology fool you.

Though, Internet can be a valuable job search tool, no computer or Web site can hire anyone. It’s the people who make the job market work.

A recent survey in The Wall Street Journal puts some light on this. It showed that referrals are still the most widely used hiring method in America, filling more jobs than Internet postings or classified ads. So, don’t overlook your network of personal and professional contacts. It’s still the best way to find out about available positions but not the best way to hire employees.

Here are three ways to help you get the most out of your network.

1. Keep notes
Don’t keep track of your network in your head - get it on paper or on computer.

For each person you come across, jot down their details such as name and the company they work for. Include names of family, friends, neighbors, vendors and clients. You’ll quickly build an extensive list this way!

2. Start with the right attitude
Networking can be daunting for those don’t want to look “desperate” by asking friends and relatives for a job. So never ask for a job.

Instead, see yourself as a valuable resource, a walking solution to some company’s problems. This mind-flip can give you the confidence needed to approach people for information about possible openings.

3. Keep expanding
You can build your network to gigantic proportions by asking each person this magic question: “Do you know anyone else I should be talking to?” Get names and phone numbers, then follow up religiously with these new contacts. And so on, and so on.

Don’t overlook your school’s placement officer as a referral source. One client of mine made the leap from customer service rep to business analyst by talking to people in his university’s employment office and asking to meet employees of his target companies.

The Internet can be a great employment resource. But remember that a successful job search is about making personal connections.

You can make more and better connections — and connect with your next job — if you manage your names efficiently, have the right attitude and ask for referrals to new contacts.

“Job Search is not only about finding the right job but also about building social relations”.

Navtej Kohli - Personality N Work Co-relation II

In continuation with my earlier post… I am citing some personality traits:

Reflective Extroverts

These are those who prefer to work in an open plan, noisy situations. It’s the buzz of life that gives them their moral and energy. Being the centre of attention and giving a lecture or two is not a problem for them. Their energy is external and they are outgoing extraverts.

Reflective Introverts

Those who prefer to reflect on issues, think things before discussing or to act. They tend to be tacit and are much more energised by reading a book than partying. At work they prefer an office of their own to open plan situations. These are the reflective introverts.

At the extremes these two personalities can cause each other problem. Extraverts worry that introverts don’t talk much and wonder what they think. Introverts just wish that extraverts would think first and talk when they have worked out their ideas.

Wide Eye Thinkers and Bird’s Eye Watchers

Some of us get in depth of the problems and neglect the big picture overview of the task, activity or project. Others have a good overview of the same but they hate to go in details. So the first one becomes Bird Eye’s Watcher and later the Wide Eye Thinkers. Bird Eye Watchers are more pragmatic and their feet are firmly on the ground. They do things sequentially and make changes incrementally. However, Wide Eye thinkers by contrast have more imagination. They rely on different sources for information and after taking information they apply “what IF” concept to put things in charge and they expect to change everything.

Naturally the ‘Wide Eye Watchers’ believe that ‘Bird Eye thinkers’ are lacking in creativity and imagination while ‘Bird Eye thinkers’ think ‘Wide Eye Watchers’ have their heads in the clouds.

Principle Oriented and People Oriented Persons

Scientists and mathematicians approach problem solving by deducing from first principles. Start somewhere and work logically towards a correct solution. Provided the logic is good the answer must be right. But will people accept it? ‘Principle oriented persons’ who work this way do the logic first and sell the solution to others later. Most, but not all, scientists and engineers are strongly analytical and principle oriented.

People oriented persons consider what kind of solution people want and go from there. They are those who use this approach to solve problems as though they were a part of it while analysts are able to be much more detached. One is objective the other subjective. The clergy and those in social work and politics are often strongly ‘feeling’ problem solvers. They may find analysts cold and unfeeling and vice versa.

Organized and Percieving Types
Do you plan, organise and think ahead? Some of us like structured thinking and implementation. They have to do lists and diaries. They plan their day, their week and year. Holidays are usually booked well in advance and perhaps they like them to be structured.

Others are percieving types, they prefer to go with the flow, work flexible hours, take life as it comes and be ready for new experiences.

Let me know your comments on the personality traits you observe in your workplace… I will be continuing the topic in days to come…

Navtej Kohli

Do you ever think that some of your colleagues are irritating? They seem to differ from your wavelength. They approach things very differently and you sometimes wonder about their cognitive abilities. If you come to know about where they have come from, working together could be so much easier for you.

Personality plays a big role in how we view others, gather information, tackle problems, organise our lives.

A team that includes a broad range of personality types is often better able to function well.

Myers Briggs, the 1920s psychologist, developed Jungian theory to analyse personality types. She came up with four ‘dichotomies’ that explain why we often have difficulty understanding colleagues whose personalities differ significantly from our own.

I will continue … this topic on my next post….

Navtej Kohli 

Navtej Kohli gives some Interview tips:

Your answers should always be concise and to the point.

If you have not understood the question clearly, ask the Interviewer to repeat it. Request for more related information if you are not sure about the answer.

Don’t use slangs.

Always be positive.

Be confident and don’t be nervous.