Still Sweating After the Interview?

The interview is over. Wouldn't it be nice if the interviewer handed you a rating slip on your way out the door to let you know how you rated in the interview? But lacking such a luxury, you must learn to review your own performance so that you can learn from the experience.

Use this opportunity to be objective about the situation. Were you prepared and practiced, or were you just "winging" the answers? Could you have been more effective with additional practice? What will you do to prepare for your next interview?

One of the most helpful things you can do post-interview is to let go of your self-recriminations by venting. After the interview, go to your car, or stop in at a coffee shop, and take pen to paper to write about what just happened. Just let your thoughts pour out. When you've finished, put the writing away, and let go! After a few hours, or a day, when you have had a chance to relax and digest the information, go back and revisit what you wrote. What can you learn from this experience? What will you do differently next time?

Rate Your Performance

On a scale ranging from one to ten (ten being high) how do you rate yourself?

My overall feeling of satisfaction with this interview. ________

Did I arrive on time? _______

How was my introduction -- good greeting/handshake/posture? ______

Was I confident and professional at all times? _______

How did I speak - calm, clearly, not overly aggressive? __________

How was my nonverbal communication (body language)? _________

Did I handle the difficult questions with ease, or did I fumble aimlessly? _________

Did I have good rapport with the interviewer? __________

Did I talk about my strengths? ________

Did I talk about my weakness in a positive manner? ______

How did you do? Are you satisfied with your rating? If most of your rating numbers are in the 5 to 10 range, you're probably doing all right. Look carefully at the lower ratings -- what were the problems? You may want to consider practicing with someone so that you can obtain more objective feedback on your answers and style.

No matter how your ratings added up, remember that some of what goes on in an interview, and behind the scenes, is out of your control. Also, keep in mind that interviewing is a learned and practiced skill. If you didn't do as well as you would have liked this time, work on your problem areas. Try scripting and practicing difficult questions or issues.

By critiquing your own performance, and learning from your successes and mistakes, you will be more prepared the next time. And, as a result, you will become more confident and accomplished at interviewing. You will also become more objective in choosing whether the job is right for you -- not just whether you are right for the job.

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Performance development plan

A performance development plan focuses on enhancing the performance levels of the employees. It provides additional motivation to exceed the targets assigned. It assists in setting goals and provides the direction to attain them.

A performance development plan focuses on enhancing the performance levels of the employees. It provides additional motivation to exceed the targets assigned. It assists in setting goals and provides the direction to attain them. A well-defined Performance Development Plan is important from an organization’s point of view as the growth of the company depends highly on how the employees perform.

Certain factors that should be considered while defining performance development are: What is a good job? How long will it take to achieve it? What is the acceptable degree of accuracy required? What are the budget considerations? What results would be considered satisfactory? How is good performance differentiated from a poor one?

Performance Management is definitely a vital component in the manager – employee relationship. Successful system ensures open, honest and productive work environment. The key features of performance management system are:

It is a constant process that starts during the hiring process and continues for a year.
It includes strategy formulation, task allocation, review and evaluation of work and determining the potential.
It encourages employees to achieve assigned targets, It offers them a chance to take part in the performance development plan formulation and assists them in their development.
It gives a chance to managers and employees to openly discuss issue of performance expectations and evolve a plan for meeting the organizational expectations.

A performance development plan highlights areas requiring improvement; assesses the current performance and analyzes its impact on the organization; shows the way to enhance the performance and identifies the potential of the employees. In determining performance standards one should take the following process into consideration:

Define the short term goal: This is as per the department. For e.g., in a production department it would imply enhancing the production targets. It also takes into consideration improvement of skills and knowledge.
Define long term goal: This involves quarterly or annual goal setting. The process of reviewing these goals should also be chalked out.
Find out the requirement of resources and the need for training: This also involves budgetary concerns. Start by finding out the areas that require improvement. This can be done either by in-house trainers or external agencies.
It imperative to clearly highlight the incentives for achieving the process. It rewards and recognizes the employees.
Documentation is an important element: Every plan made should be recorded for future reference.

Thus, a performance development plan should be clearly developed taking all the above mentioned pointers into consideration and should aim at performance improvement in the pre-determined period.
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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have become the standard term that organisations use to define goals and objectives that ensure employees are achieving. Analysts describe KPIs as the business metrics that drive a business forward. But what does that men to individuals and how

do you know if you’re on target?

When starting a new job, it’s vital to get your KPIs down on paper, especially if the success of your probation period is dependant on achieving them.

What are KPI’s?
Many of you will know where you want to be in one, two, five or more years. You may want to move into management, become the head of department or set up your own business, for example. And you may already have a plan in place to help you achieve your goal so that you know what you need to do and how to get there.

Businesses are exactly the same.

A business will also have short, mid and long-term objectives and will put measures, or KPIs, in place to achieve these goals. Therefore, as part of the company, the meaures that you are given as an employee are designed to reflect the organisation’s overall goals, to help them get to where they want to go.

For example, they may want to be viewed as one of the best call centres in their region. So your individual KPI may be to reduce call-waiting times by 20 per cent by answering 80 per cent of all telephone calls within the first 30 seconds.

To make them effective, each KPIs should be SMART:

Specific – a well defined goal that is clearly understood by everyone.
Measurable – can you track your progress towards the goal?
Agreed - both employer and employee must agree on what the goals are.
Realistic - can you achieve the goal with the resources provided?
Time related - will there be enough time to complete the task?

How do you know if you are on target? This form of management by objectives is popular with many business leaders because it enables organisations to measure results in terms of sales, profits, margins and productivity.

Once you and your manager have agreed what you will try to achieve in the period ahead, regular one-to-one discussions should follow whereby you will both review your performance and ensure that you are on course for achieving your objective on time.

This will involve comparing your previous performance to your current level and taking steps to keep you on track.

Love them or hate them, KPI’s are here to stay. And, because your KPI’s are
aligned to the goals of your company, there is the sense of responsibility and ownership that you are an influencing factor in the fortunes of your organisation.

How to Handle a Job Performance Review

Try to find a career path for the job you are in. What is the next logical promotion or job that would give you greater responsibilities if you do your job well? Is it higher paying, does it have more responsibilities? If there is no career path and you are ambitious, you may realise that you are in a dead-end job and decide to start looking around. If, on the other hand, doing your job well may lead to a promotion, you will want to know what it is that you have to do to get the promotion!

Get your supervisor to explain in detail what the measurements of good performances are: What do you need to do in order to get ahead in the job you already have, or move laterally, or get an increase in pay?

Agree with your supervisor on your plan for accomplishments this next year. This way, you and s/he can be on the same wavelength as to how you meet these measurements, and you can feel confident about getting an excellent performance rating or a promotion for the next review.

By the way, don't argue or take things personally. It never works. The review is not a reflection or your own accomplishments or self-worth -- it's only a perspective of the reviewer given a set of priorities that the reviewer has. Try to find out where the reviewer is coming from and get a sense of his/her plans for the department, so that you can know how to deal with him or her in this next year.

If this does not turn out to be a good review, QUIETLY look for another job. Between the boss and the subordinate in a performance review, the boss usually wins! Good luck!