Mind the GapWritten by Linda LaPointe
Mind Gap The underground train in London can get you anywhere when you know how to maneuver all options. Like our subways, London under ground is a busy place. When your train arrives and comes to a stop, you move forward with crowd, waiting for your turn to get on train. A man’s voice drones from overhead, warning you over and over: “Mind gap. . . mind gap.” There is a crack of about 4 – 8 inches between platform and train, where any number of things could fall through. You could lose anything in it: a shoe, a foot, change, a purse could fall into that gap and never be seen again. There is also a small difference in height that could trip you up, so you may need to step up or down a bit as train will probably not be level with platform. So every few seconds, once train arrives, kind gentleman reminds you to pay attention to that gap. And you do because he sounds so arresting and credible. Mind your gap Managers need to be reminded to mind gap, too. We need to develop staff who know how to handle all those situations that fall between cracks. When not minded, these gaps can cause people to falter or cause any number of losses. Today’s workers handle more unpredictable situations than ever. The solutions for most of these are
| | Waiting For the Official Job OfferWritten by Linda Matias
At end of third job interview, Helene was told by hiring manager, "Congratulations, I am going to recommend you for position. Expect a call from HR." Helene breathed a sigh of relief because her job search of six months was finally over.Helene went straight home and waited by phone all day. The phone never rang. As week drew to a close, Helene began to get nervous. She hadn't heard from HR. She wondered what had happened. She convinced herself that everything was fine, that HR department must have been swamped. She wasn't exactly sure what would be more important than calling and welcoming her onboard, but she knew HR department had a good reason. After all, Helene was most qualified candidate; hiring manager told her so. Days went by and still Helene heard nothing. Confused by situation, she anxiously glanced through Sunday morning classifieds wondering what had gone wrong. Unfortunately, this happens to many jobseekers. They are offered position by interviewer and they never hear from HR or it takes months before a firm offer is made. But there are steps that you can take as a jobseeker to minimize your risk of being strung along by an employer. An easy and often neglected step is to find out what comes next after each interview. Establishing next step gives you some control over hiring process, and helps avoid guessing game. Make it a point to leave each interview with a clear understanding of what you are supposed to do and what hiring manager is supposed to do. E-mail, fax, or snail mail a follow-up letter thanking interviewer for job offer and that you are looking forward to hearing from HR department. Sending a note stresses to interviewer what you heard and if there was any confusion on your part, compels interviewer to contact you and address misunderstanding.
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