http://www.sweetrush.com Just another WordPress site Thu, 23 May 2013 19:37:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://www.sweetrush.com/adobe-flash-player-problem-and-correction-please-read/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=adobe-flash-player-problem-and-correction-please-read http://www.sweetrush.com/adobe-flash-player-problem-and-correction-please-read/#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 19:36:54 +0000 Misha.Milshtein http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=938 entire statement and the follow-up discussion thread, but it all boils down to the following:

If you happened to install the 11.7.700.169 or 11.7.700.179 versions of Flash Player 11, you may experience problems with some instances of video and audio streaming. Most typically the issue manifests itself by cutting the audio off in the first few frames, while still playing the video or animation, if it exists on the page. If you hit the pause button, and then play again, the audio will sound normal.

Since then, the issue has been fixed, and the follow-up version of the Flash player 11.7.700.202 has proven to be stable. (The latest Flash player is always available on the Flash Player download page.) The faulty player had about 30-day life span, and we hope that you were not affected in any way. To all our clients: if you have experienced any SweetRush-authored content affected by this, please do let us know and we will work with you to resolve the issue.

That said, your chances of encountering this bug were pretty slim. In fact, in order to notice anything at all, you had to:

• Update your Flash Player to the current version during the second half of April, or the first half of May 2013.
• Use an audio-based Flash course and land on a page where audio was used in a specific way. (We use different audio techniques in our courses, and therefore not all instances of audio use were affected.)

But if you were among the few lucky, the easy fix is to update your Flash player immediately by either going to the Adobe Flash Player download page, or by talking to your IT department or reaching out to us if you need assistance.

Though this issue was minor, we are very glad that this is over and that Adobe was able to right the wrong in a short period of time. Still, in an age where Flash is in a battle with other mobile-friendly technologies, this issue, minor at it may be, did not do Adobe any favors. Here at SweetRush we continue to explore the landscape of tools and new technologies, both externally developed and in–house, as we keep pushing the technological and creative barrier of e-learning. Technology is enabling dramatic change in how we are able to deliver courseware, and yet with rapid change, from time to time there are speed bumps. It’s never a dull moment, and these are exciting times in the world of performance improvement!]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/adobe-flash-player-problem-and-correction-please-read/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/does-your-training-have-meaning/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=does-your-training-have-meaning http://www.sweetrush.com/does-your-training-have-meaning/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 20:38:41 +0000 Catherine.Davis http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=925 The article is the result of a collaborative inquiry begun by our Good Things Initiative team leaders Andrei Hedstrom and Brooking Gatewood. Together we have worked to integrate a meaning of work aspect into our training designs where-ever possible. Read on to find out why we are so excited about this win-win training solution!

Today in the U.S., people are expressing their concern and caring about the planet and about corporate citizenship. They want their work to have purpose and meaning, and they want to work in organizations that are purpose-driven and that value sustainability. According to a recent article in Forbes magazine, 20 percent of Fortune 500 companies will become mission-driven companies. Many businesses are going back to their roots. They are no longer solely focused on making a profit. Instead, they are focusing more on how to use their organizational resources, skills, and power to give back to the community.

Employees Demand Meaningful Work

One of the key drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities is employee demand. Employees want meaningful jobs. This is especially true for Millennials. Companies that provide meaningful work have loyal employees. Their employees are also more engaged in their work. Of employees who are satisfied with their employer’s CSR activities, 86 percent have high levels of engagement (Sirota, 2007).

A 2011 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) study notes these top benefits of CSR:

1. Improved employee morale
2. More efficient business processes
3. Stronger public image
4. Increased employee loyalty
5. Increased brand recognition

In that same study, 49 percent of company leaders said CSR was very important for attracting top talent, and 40 percent said the same for employee retention. As more Millennials enter the workforce, these numbers are only going to increase.

Given how important CSR is for employee engagement, and how valuable engaged employees are for the bottom line, it’s quite surprising that companies are not communicating to their own employees about all the Good Things they’re doing! A 2010 PSR branding survey indicated that more than half of employees did not know whether or not their company had CSR practices! This gap between employee engagement and CSR can be bridged with good training.

Emotional Connection is a Win-Win For Companies and Their Employees

At SweetRush, we’re excited about this trend. Bringing CSR and meaningful work into our training programs is a win-win opportunity. From the learning and training perspective, learners who are emotionally connected to content learn and retain more. An emotional connection makes learning “stick,” and awareness about a company’s sustainability, responsibility, and citizenship creates positive emotions in employees. Incorporating this awareness into training helps to emotionally engage employees in the learning experience and, more broadly, in their job. Believing that their work supports the greater good is also good for employee morale.

How to Integrate “The Meaning of Work” into Training

SweetRush strives to make an emotional connection with every training program we design. Part of the SweetRush methodology is a values-based approach to instructional design: We identify meaning and purpose that can help learners connect with their work and the learning experience. SweetRush integrates the “meaning of the work” aspect into our training projects whenever possible. Some areas we address include:

• How do the organization’s products or services provide benefit to people, the environment, or the community?
• How is the organization involved in corporate social responsibility initiatives, such as safety, environmental resources, and local community issues?
• How can the content of the training help the employee contribute to the greater good?

Whether they are developing e-learning, instructor-led, or virtual training programs, SweetRush instructional designers and project managers collaborate with our clients to bring CSR to life within our courses. Are you ready to take this step with us?
]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/does-your-training-have-meaning/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/tell-me-a-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tell-me-a-story http://www.sweetrush.com/tell-me-a-story/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:23:40 +0000 Catherine.Davis http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=913
As a strong advocate of wheel enhancements and not reinvention, I did a bit of research on telling stories within e-learning courses. (This research was done on the Internet from my comfy recliner. See my earlier blog for details on my tumultuous affair with research.) I wanted to find some formulas for creating storylines and developing characters within courses, even if I had to draw from script-writing techniques used by the entertainment industry. Low and behold, I was able to find exactly what I needed — even streamlined for the e-learning audience! The following is a brief summary of a fantastic article by Karen Westmoreland Luce, called “Creating Great Stories to Enhance eLearning.”

There are four, basic, building blocks of any story in an e-learning course:

1) Triggering event. The triggering event is always the first and most-essential element in any story. It’s the problem — and it’s used to set up the context of the story. Sometimes it’s part of the story, and sometimes it’s the background of the story. Answering these questions will usually give you the basis for your triggering event:

• What is the problem that this lesson is supposed to address?
• What is the learning objective for this course?
• Who is my audience for this course?
• What details about this event will make it familiar to learners and their real-world situation?

2) Plot. Plot lines are often recycled. How many times have we seen such recycling in movies or on TV? Cop dramas since the 1970s come to mind for me! You can use the same basic scenario or plot over and over to illustrate a point. The time and place, characters, and details change. We just have to fill in the right details to our audience and our situation. Basic plots have five main components:

• The situation or problem tells why you are telling the story in the first place; for our purposes, this is usually our triggering event.
• The rising action is where most of the story occurs. This is where we introduce our characters, outline the problem and details, and build to decision point.
• The decision point is where the character is forced to take one course of action or another. In e-learning, the decision point is directly tied to your learning objectives.
• The desired course of action reinforces the objective and goal of the course — the behaviors that we want the learner to demonstrate on the job.
• The outcome or resolution provides the closure for the story.

The original article offers a great brainstorming worksheet for these five components to help you walk through the process.

3) Characters. In creating characters for your avatars, you must give your learner a good sense of the character, but do so without sliding into stereotypes.

Using archetypes can be very effective in helping you work out your characters. In literature, we often see classic archetypes: the hero, the villain, the goddess, and the innocent. In e-learning courses, we see archetypes such as the novice, the expert, the mentor, and the skeptic.

Once you have a framework for your character’s purpose in the story, it’s easier to fill in the details of who that character really is. The original article provides another great worksheet; this one for developing characters.

4) Setting. The setting is the visual backdrop for the avatar characters in your course. You should work with your creative designers to generate the right visual environment. Again, look to your target audience and learning objectives to help figure out the setting. Make a rough sketch and include details you would see in the scene. (Annotated boxes in PowerPoint^® are adequate for you non-artist types like me.) Challenge yourself to draw something representing all five senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Visit the setting and create a description. For example, if it is a retail setting, visit some local stores and write down notes. Listen to the conversations between customers and store associates.

The type of story you are using and the learning objectives for that story will determine how much of each building block you need. Keep in mind that all courses are a stage, and all avatars are merely players.]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/tell-me-a-story/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/thumbs-up-good-things-come-in-all-sizes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=thumbs-up-good-things-come-in-all-sizes http://www.sweetrush.com/thumbs-up-good-things-come-in-all-sizes/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:06:28 +0000 Brooking Gatewood http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=842
Last year, we focused on stories of regular people making simple choices to do good things that ended up inspiring others — us included. This year, our stories feature how businesses of all shapes and sizes — from small start-ups to the world’s largest retailers — have used their existing talents and expertise for social and environmental benefit. There were many great stories we could have chosen, but our feature picks this year came from Bridgestone Tires, Honest by, Walmart, Nokero, Good World Games, and social-media fundraising sensation Laina Walker.

You can read all about those stories on our Thumbs Up page. Here we want to highlight some of the many other stories of businesses doing Good Things that we came across in our research. Let’s start at the bottom of things — feet! Toms Shoes has pioneered a simple but powerful social business model: With their “one for one” movement, they commit to giving away one product (in their case, a pair of shoes to barefoot children in need) for every product they sell. A similar model has been employed by United by Blue, a sustainable apparel company that removes one pound of trash from the ocean for every item sold. And speaking of creative ways that businesses can help remove trash from the ocean, this year the cleaning-product company Method launched a new bottle line made of a combination of post-consumer recycled plastic and plastic waste recovered from the ocean, turning very problematic ocean trash into a hip and marketable resource.

And, as a final shout out, much like our featured social change teenager, Laina Walker, grade-schoolers with Internet access can have a powerful impact too! This last year, a class of fourth-grade students found it odd that the new Universal Studios-produced Lorax movie has no information to promote environmental stewardship on its website. So, they started a petition to get the company to walk the walk that this movie talks. These kids, their teacher, and their change.org petition managed to mobilize more than 50,000 signatures, and it worked: Universal Studios now has a prominet truffula tree on the movie’s homepage, linking to an assortment of green educational tips, games, and organizations doing good work to save the trees. Score one for the little guys — literally.

At SweetRush, we are believers in the power of both individuals and businesses to do Good Things for people and the planet, and we love sharing these stories to help spread the word and celebrate other companies’ successes. As e-learning and communications experts, sharing these stories is part of our own way of doing Good Things.

So check it out and share the love: Thumbs Up: Good Things come in all sizes.]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/thumbs-up-good-things-come-in-all-sizes/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/designing-for-the-mind-how-your-classroom-layout-can-impact-student-learning/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=designing-for-the-mind-how-your-classroom-layout-can-impact-student-learning http://www.sweetrush.com/designing-for-the-mind-how-your-classroom-layout-can-impact-student-learning/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:42:45 +0000 Erin.Krebs http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=903 John-Carlos Lozano’s blog, where he regularly provides helpful tips for creative design—particularly in e-learning.

Today, however, let’s talk about the physical space in which we often train: The classroom. While the visuals in your presentation and student materials should follow good design principles to enhance student learning, what about the physical layout of the room?

You may have experienced that the work space you create for yourself—clean, cluttered, full of art, or free from distractions, etc.—impacts your work style and productivity. All the great spa designers use this same concept: Soothing colors, calming light and music create a physical space for relaxing. The same goes for learning; we can manipulate the physical space of a classroom to enhance the learning experience, making it easier to learn.

A recent study showed that five factors of classroom design have a significant effect (25% impact, positive or negative) on the students’ progress:

1. Color – Providing enough visual stimulation around the classroom
2. Choice – Quality of furniture in the classroom, and interesting and ergonomic tables and chairs
3. Complexity – Providing enough visual stimulation around the classroom to keep learners’ minds occupied and focused on relevant information; goes along with color
4. Flexibility – Can you manipulate the space to fit the instructional needs? For example, can the space hold the tables in a horseshoe shape to facilitate a dialogue, or are you stuck with theater style?
5. Light – Concerns the amount of natural light in a classroom and the quality of the electrical lights

Let’s generate a discussion. How have you found designing the physical layout of your classroom impacts student learning?]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/designing-for-the-mind-how-your-classroom-layout-can-impact-student-learning/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/having-your-cake-and-eating-it-too-designing-for-multiple-mobile-devices/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=having-your-cake-and-eating-it-too-designing-for-multiple-mobile-devices http://www.sweetrush.com/having-your-cake-and-eating-it-too-designing-for-multiple-mobile-devices/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:42:43 +0000 Erin.Krebs http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=902
When meeting with the customer to review the proposal for the mobile application, the client posed a great question: “Why is the cost so much more to develop my simple mobile application than it is to develop an interactive, whizzy game?” Smart client.

The answer is simple and as easy as cake to understand. Let’s start with the background, and then we’ll get into the cake part.

A few basic elements impact the price of a product, be it an e-learning course, a mobile application, or a highly interactive game experience. Based on the complexity of these factors, your price goes up or down:

1. Instructional approach – Elements like the length of the course, traditional lecture learning vs. immersive scenarios, and the amount of activities and assessments, etc.
2. Visuals – The amount of custom graphics, 3D vs. 2D, stock photos vs. a photo shoot, avatars, illustrated environments, and user interface (UI) design, etc.
3. Engineering – Programming complexity (e.g., simple back/next features or a complex branching scenario with many levels), user navigation, and LMS integration, etc.
4. Devices – The types and number of devices (e.g., employee laptops, iPads, iPhones, and Android tablets, etc.) on which the product needs to run.

In this case, one real kicker impacted the price: Devices. The game we’re developing is designed to run on a learner’s computer. Therefore, it just needs to be compatible with the popular Web browsers. While the graphics and animations (think really cool 3D zooming and detailed product shots, etc.) is on the whizzy/fancy side of things, we only have to create everything once because it’s running on one type of device.

On the other hand, the product catalog is designed to be mobile and run on a variety of devices such as iPads, the iPad mini, iPhones, Android phones, and Android tablets, etc. While the visuals aren’t as complex, the engineering effort certainly is—not to mention the QA and testing that goes into developing a mobile app for so many devices.

Let’s use an analogy based on one of my favorite things: Cake.

Say you’d like to bake a chocolate cake. The ingredients you need are the same, whether you’re making a round three-tiered cake, a rectangular cake, or cupcakes. Your ingredients cost about the same more or less, depending on the amount of cake you want to have on hand.

However, if you want to bake all three types at once, you’ll need more ingredients and more tools (e.g., cupcake tins and cake pans, etc.), and it takes more time to assemble and decorate each cake type. For example, assembling and decorating a birthday cake is much faster than a wedding cake. Cupcakes take time as well, depending on the design you want to put on them and whether you’re using a filling.

The same goes for a learning product. The more formats you need, the more labor intensive the product is to develop, thus increasing your investment.

When you’re on a limited budget, one of the best investments you can make upfront is a short analysis to determine the right mix of devices for your audience. Perhaps you don’t need a wedding cake, a birthday cake, and cupcakes; maybe you just need two of the three.

Now, if you’re like me, you’re really ready for a slice of cake!]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/having-your-cake-and-eating-it-too-designing-for-multiple-mobile-devices/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/too-sexy-for-your-training-creating-a-whats-in-it-for-me-wiifm-when-your-learners-couldnt-care-less/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=too-sexy-for-your-training-creating-a-whats-in-it-for-me-wiifm-when-your-learners-couldnt-care-less http://www.sweetrush.com/too-sexy-for-your-training-creating-a-whats-in-it-for-me-wiifm-when-your-learners-couldnt-care-less/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:42:42 +0000 Erin.Krebs http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=901 We can make the best training in the world, but if learners aren’t “buying in” at an organizational level, training can be deemed ineffective when, in reality, it has nothing to do with the quality of the training, but rather other organizational currents.

To help our clients address and overcome these challenges, we often weave in communication campaigns with our training deliverables. This helps learners understand the why and WIIFM behind the new process or procedure on which we’re training them. By first addressing the natural human resistance to change, we can pave the way for a successful learning experience.

There are a variety of ways in which we accomplish this with our clients. Below, I’ve provided a few examples of how we have done this in the past.

Approach
When a client comes to us with a project in which getting learner and organizational buy-in is essential to the effectiveness of the training implementation, we often recommend a communications or marketing campaign as part of our holistic solution. Depending on the nature of the client’s situation, this may include factors such as:

1. Strategic analysis to identify the target audiences, current feelings about the change, and how to best communicate about the change, etc.
2. Development of a marketing plan to outline specific methods for marketing, barriers that might arise, key messages for each audience type, and specific marketing channels for each target audience
3. Development and implementation of communication pieces

Depth
Your approach can be quite simple for a minor change, or more robust for a significant organizational shift. If we’re rolling out a new training program and just want to create buzz about the program, we may go for a simple approach with minor (yet mindful) analysis and a couple of communication pieces such as an e-mail blast or Web site banner. For more robust implementations, including launching an entire training and development function, our approach is much larger. We include deeper analysis, development of a comprehensive change and communications plan, a marketing plan, and multiple communication pieces targeted to a variety of stakeholders over several months.

Marketing Plan
The first step in marketing the curriculum and individual courses is an analysis to:

• Determine the best methods for marketing.
• Identify any implementation or change barriers that might arise.
• Identify specific marketing channels that will resonate with each of the target audiences.

As part of this analysis and design, we develop a detailed plan and timeline and identify the resources required to implement the marketing plan. This step is imperative for ensuring the marketing initiatives resonate with the target audiences and the approach is comprehensive in meeting all of the organization’s needs.

Marketing Vehicles and Methods
One outcome of the analysis is the identification of specific communication vehicles we can use to deliver messages in a manner our target audiences will easily receive and understand, and that provides a compelling call to action. We will add and remove items from this list based on the findings of the analysis. A few possible communication vehicles are:

• Video casts or podcasts
• E-mail blasts
• Talking points for client stakeholders and leaders
• Promotional items
• Social network campaigns
• Web site banners
• Webinars
• Press releases for internal and external newsletters
• Interactive virtual course catalogs
• Leader welcome message on home page
• Phone calls
• Management recommendations
• Posters

 How are you using communication channels to engage your learners in new training programs?]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/too-sexy-for-your-training-creating-a-whats-in-it-for-me-wiifm-when-your-learners-couldnt-care-less/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/gaining-executive-buy-in/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gaining-executive-buy-in http://www.sweetrush.com/gaining-executive-buy-in/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:00:43 +0000 Erin.Krebs http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=800
At SweetRush, we’re often partnering with our clients to present their program ideas and objectives to their C-level leaders. Here are a few techniques that we often use to ensure we give a concise and impactful message.

1. Avoid “wimpy” words —both verbally and in writing — when gaining executive buy-in. Instead, use actionable and strong words. Don’t say, “The goal we are trying to accomplish is a 10 percent increase in sales by implementing this training program.”; instead,say, “We will see a 10 percent increase in sales by implementing this training program.” By keeping your language strong and concise, your idea will come across as more credible and likely to happen. The same goes for jargon: Just because your audience is in the same company, business, or whatever as you, doesn’t mean they understand your department’s jargon.
2. Practice. Whether you’re presenting on your own, or with a team, remember to practice. The best athletic teams in the world practice for hours each day. Your presentation is a performance; apply the necessary practice hours needed beforehand to ensure your pitch is a success. This includes dry runs, technology checks, team practice, and individual presentations. With team practice, determine ahead of time who will field questions and/or which questions each team member is best prepared to answer.
3. Keep it short. We are all short on time, and we expect it to be used wisely. Expect this even more from your organization’s C-level leaders. If you think your presentation should take an hour, find a way to do it in 45 minutes. Keep your message simple, concise, and to the point.
4. Anticipate the questions. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes: What information will they want to know more about? What questions will they have? What do they need to know or understand to give you approval to move forward? As much as possible, learn about your audience’s preferences. Anticipate these questions and have responses prepared. If you’re not sure what questions to prepare for, ask your colleagues, your supervisor, and your social networks.

What other strategies do you use when presenting to leaders in your organization or your clients’ organizations?]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/gaining-executive-buy-in/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/if-you-build-it-and-its-not-mandatory-will-they-come/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=if-you-build-it-and-its-not-mandatory-will-they-come http://www.sweetrush.com/if-you-build-it-and-its-not-mandatory-will-they-come/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:59:50 +0000 Erin.Krebs http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=791
Which begs the question: How do you make training so good that people will take it even if they don’t have to?

Here are a few of the suggestions our team shared with our client:

1. Develop and deploy a comprehensive marketing and communications plan for your training program. If you’re trying to get an audience to engage in training that their job does not mandate that they take, a communications plan is key. The “what’s in it for me” (WIIFM) argument has to be overwhelmingly strong. A key part of the communications strategy is engaging the right stakeholders. In this situation, there are a lot of people standing in between our widget manufacturers and our widget sellers — including stakeholders in distribution channels, store owners, and store managers to name a few. If these parties aren’t sold on the idea of the training, it’s never going to get to the intended audience — those folks actually selling the widgets to consumers like you and me. Bottom line: Engage your stakeholders early on, and develop a clear and comprehensive marketing and communications plan that gets at the WIIFM for all levels.
2. Make the training fun (oh, and useful too!). Any training that isn’t required better be overwhelmingly helpful or extremely entertaining — preferably both. With compliance training or required training, we often use tight budgets and accelerated timelines as an excuse to develop less-engaging training. (Not that it is an excuse… It can still be engaging even within these limitations, but that is another blog post.) However, when your audience doesn’t have to take the training, you better pull out all the stops. This can be done affordably and within budget and timeline constraints when thought about strategically and mindfully from the onset.
3. Keep it short. Think about the attention span of your learners. Five minutes may be all you really get; ten minutes if you’re lucky. You might get fifteen minutes if what you offer is extremely beneficial. Keep any non-required training short and in small chunks so learners can fit it into their day. This holds true regardless of the delivery method.
4. Make it easy on management. If you design the training in a way that makes it lucrative to managers (see point 1), they can be your biggest advocates for continuing education for non-required training. The whole process has to be easy and require little effort on their part, however. This includes the delivery of the training itself (where it lives, who delivers it, etc.), and giving the manager the communication tools that explain the benefits of the training. Most importantly, the training should not take too much time away from the learners’ real job of selling more widgets.

These are just a few ideas. What do you do to make non-required training lucrative to learners?]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/if-you-build-it-and-its-not-mandatory-will-they-come/feed/ 0 http://www.sweetrush.com/watch-out-for-the-weak-handshake-during-your-virtual-interview/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=watch-out-for-the-weak-handshake-during-your-virtual-interview http://www.sweetrush.com/watch-out-for-the-weak-handshake-during-your-virtual-interview/#comments Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:54:03 +0000 Misha.Milshtein http://www.sweetrush.com/?p=743 What You Wish You’d Known Before Your Job Interview,” the authors skillfully recite the well-known, long-established facts and statistics about what managers are looking for in job candidates, what questions are most likely to be asked, and what pitfalls to avoid.

Most of us are no strangers to the topic, having had experiences on both sides of the hiring-manager table. I thought it would be interesting to re-assess some of the facts — but from the perspective of a modern hiring-manager in an entirely virtual company, where most of the interviews are done by phone and Skype conversations.

So, let’s review some of the stale factoids…

The most-common mistake a candidate can makeis failure to make an eye contact. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to phone interviews. Even on Skype with a webcam, it’s not really an issue: Making eye contact over a webcam means looking directly at the camera, which is usually off to the side of the screen. Still, shifty eyes are difficult to hide, so be careful, candidates: Don’t let your eyes wander, and don’t fidget. This can make a bad impression — even miles away.

Another common mistake: a handshake that is too weak. Here is where you weak handshakers are completely off the hook. While you have the luxury of keeping your hands to yourself, however, your answers still need to sound confident and competent.

Crossing arms over the chest. I never paid attention to this one, and I think it is an unfair misconception (possibly because crossing arms is a habit I have myself). In my opinion, there are body language offences far worse than this one. Still, my favorite example is a guy I interviewed who, while originally from a non-tropical country himself, lived and worked in sunny Thailand at the time. For some reason — extreme heat possibly — he decided it was a good idea to come to the interview shirtless with the active webcam. Not a good idea! Maybe if he’d crossed his arms, he’d actually have had a better chance.

Not showing enough interest or enthusiasm is ranked as number seven in the most-common mistakes a candidate can make. Similarly, “Why do you want to work for us?” is the fourth most-common question asked during interviews. In the past I always had mixed feelings about this, and I remember agreeing with my friend who was commenting on his own interview, complaining that he did not get hired because he did not show enough excitement. “Did they want me to be a cheerleader? I am not a cheerleader. I am a database administrator! ”

I was in full agreement with him then, but I am making a complete 180 now. Seriously, if you come to my interview, and you do not make an effort to show that you want to be there, I find myself losing interest immediately. And this is probably why 33 percent of 2000 surveyed managers claim that they know within the first 90 seconds of an interview whether they will hire this candidate.

In summary, if you want to get hired, show your enthusiasm, keep your shirt on, do not fidget, and you will do just fine. I almost forgot: Being qualified for the job won’t hurt either, but the infographic speaks little on that matter, so who am I to judge?

Just saying…]]> http://www.sweetrush.com/watch-out-for-the-weak-handshake-during-your-virtual-interview/feed/ 0