edusharp :: overview

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Listening skills

Listen with an open mind: Be curious and appreciative of what you are listening to. Listen for new ideas instead of judging and evaluating.
Ask for clarification: If you do not understand what someone is saying, just ask.
Let the speaker know that you have heard them. Body language: nodding, facial expressions.
Pause before speaking: Allow the person who is speaking time to complete their thought, wait a few seconds before responding, and of course give yourself a chance to think before you reapond
Listen for understanding: You do not have to agree with what you hear, or even believe it, to listen to understand the other person.

Interviewing skills

Make eye contact
Do your research: Gather information about the company and the position available. Try to specifically relate your experience to the duties the job opportunity entails.
Do a mock interviewing session. Enlist a friend (better yet, a group of friends ) to ask you sample questions.
Be confident: Eliminate verbal fillers, like “uh,” and “um.” Practice using positive body language to signal confidence, even when you’re not feeling it. Instead of tentatively entering an interview with your head down and eyes averted, for example, try standing tall with your shoulders back, smiling and maintaining eye contact, and delivering a firm handshake. It will make you feel more self-confident and help to put the other person at ease.
Dress appropriate: The first impression you make on a potential employer can make a big difference. The first judgment an interviewer makes is going to be based on how you look and what you are wearing. That's why it's always important to dress appropriately for a job interview.

Positive body language

Eye contact: Maintaining good eye contact shows respect and interest in what they have to say. By drawing the eyes away occasionally or looking at different areas of the face around the eye area, you create the impression of eye contact without making people feel uncomfortable.
Posture: Getting your posture right will automatically make you feel more confident. And when you feel good other people pick up on that.
Head position: When you want to feel confident and self assured keep your head level both horizontally and vertically.
Arms: Crossing your arms can be interpreted as being passive aggressive or closed to suggestion.
Legs: When we are nervous, stressed or being deceptive our legs tend to move around a lot more than normal. So best to keep them as still as possible in most situations, especially at interviews or work meetings.

Effective communication

Think before you speak or put pen to paper: what message you trying to convey? What outcome do you want to elicit?
Resist the temptation to involve yourself: Especially in conflicts that do not directly involve you or your responsibilities. Even if someone has clearly been wronged, allow him or her to resolve the situation as he/she chooses.
Strategic Listening: Sometimes we don't understand people, because we're not listening — or not listening well. But sometimes we don't understand them, because we're not hearing what they want to communicate. We're not listening to the right level.
Patience: During your communications with others always give them time to communicate their issues as well. Remaining focused on what they are trying to communicate will show them that you are indeed open to assisting with their issues.
Smile and use eye contact: It’s the most positive signal you can give. (A relatively simple yet very effective way to improve your nonverbal communication skills.)

Positive attitude

Turn Problems Into Opportunities: When faced with a problem, take the "glass half full" approach. Problems are inevitable, especially in the workplace.
Stay on Schedule and Organized: If you do not have a schedule for your day, you might end up wasting a lot of time.
Do not get discourages, quit, give up, and get put back on the negative track through hardship and setbacks. They could be the beginnings of great things to come.
Listen to Your Team Members Opinions: There is a saying that the person closest to the task generally knows the best way of improving it. Ask them for their views.
Avoid Complaining: Complaining is just about the biggest waste of time and energy out there. Every second spent complaining is a second that could be spent improving.

Time management tips

Create a ‘to do’ list: It is so important to have a daily to do list. When you start your day, take a few minutes to write down what you would like to achieve during the day.
Set deadlines for your work: Working to a schedule is the best way to make sure you get jobs completed.
Do The Important And Urgent First: The second time management in the workplace tip is to prioritize your tasks at hand.
Understand and Avoid Procrastination: Procrastination is like a little white lie we tell ourselves. We think we’ll feel better if we do something fun, like watch a TV show, instead of studying or reading. But in the end, we waste a lot of our precious time.
Learn to stay calm: Even in the worst of crisis, staying calm would help you go ahead.

Goal setting and achieving tips

Set Clear Directions/Goals: What is it you need to do? What is it you need to achieve? These goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused and Time-bound. That is why it is called the SMART way of goal setting.
Set priorities: When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.
Set realistic goals: It's important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (for example, employers, parents, media, or society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions.
Ensure Accountability: You must remember that you are eventually accountable for the goals set out for you.
Set a deadline: Set a timeframe for the goal: for next week, in three months, by fifth grade. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards.

Resume writing tips

Pick a professional template: The reader of your resume will only spend about 30 seconds on it, so if it is messy and ambiguous, they will not have the patience to read more.
LinkedIn: Recent studies indicate that more than 85% of employers and virtually all recruiters will look for you on LinkedIn before calling you. So make sure that you have your LinkedIn ID on your resume and that your profile is supportive of your overall theme.
Spell Check and "Reality Check": It is misleadingly simple to make mistakes in your resumes and unbelievably difficult to undo the damage once an employer has gotten hold of it. It is important that you get a second set of eyes to look over the document that could be responsible for your next job.
Think Like an Employer -- and Like a Job Seeker: Study job ads or internship announcements that interest you. "For example, if an ad states that communication skills are important, think about times when your communication skills came into play,"
No lies, please: Seems like a no brainer, but you would be amused to discover the amount of people that lie in their resumes. Even small lies should be avoided.