Okay...questions. What do they have to do with advancing a professional career? Questions are often associated with a curious mind; isn't curiosity a danger in the realm of career building, what with the fact that this endeavor is all about relationships -- the sensitive, professional kinds? And we all know that too much of probing (to higher ups) can be labeled (both by coworkers and the higher ups in question) as an act of assertion.
This career discussion is two-fold, involving both career professionals and job seekers. Here's the basic idea: come up with questions to ask your boss or job interviewer and strengthen your chances of hitting the goal. Sounds like a relevant assumption on our part, but do we have references to support it?
Of course. We made this clear yesterday, while admitting to our rather deep insecurities in relation to getting feedback from our readers: with a writing job, comes the need to be careful. In fact, we've featured these references here many times; if you've been following us since the earliest stages of our being moderators to this blog, you should be able to pinpoint these articles from our editors' rosters at http://sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex.
For job hunters:
How to Ask Good Questions? It’s Not About You, It’s About Them at http://sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Ask%20An%20Expert?ID=402
Author: Jonathan Kwan, Principal at Kwantum Leap
Highlight:
Asking the right type of questions can definitely leave the interviewer with a great impression about you. But what are good questions to ask? Here are 3 rules to keep in mind:
1. Only ask questions you genuinely want to know the answer to.
2. Don't ask open-ended questions; try to be as specific as possible.
3. Always start your question with a bit of a preamble.
For career professionals:
How to Ask and You Will Succeed at http://sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Ask%20An%20Expert?ID=247
Book feature about Kenneth D. Foster's book
Highlight:
Challenges and obstacles are a normal part of the human experience. We can use insightful self-questioning to help move us out of times of despair toward more clarity, and a recovery of our purpose and joy.~
Here are some questions I find particularly powerful whenever I am confronted by a challenge:
* What is the greatest obstacle in my way that I truly want an answer to?
* If I’m not happy with the results I’m getting, what do I need to change?
* What is the pay-off for staying where I am in life?
* What is the pay-off for moving toward a more optimistic outlook?
* What limitations do I believe about myself that I am now willing to discard?
NEWSFLASH! An event you won't want to miss - THIS:
Once again, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is opening its doors to the public with the RSAF Open House 2011! Find more info about it at http://www.facebook.com/jobsdb.com.sg, our Facebook page. Told you we're all over the web.
The list of winners of our Inspiring Working Mothers contest is out! We'd like to congratulate Agnes for winning the top prize! Full list of winners is viewable at http://engage.sg.jobsdb.com/SG/mothers-day/congragulations-winners.
Message from our editors:
All Dear Mummies and motherly- like figures, we wish you Happy Mother’s Day and continue to rock on and inspire the people around you!
