Untitled Flashcards Set

Building careers and writing résumés

1.     What should one of your first steps in preparing to seek employment be? write the story of you, including what you're passionate about, your abilities, and so forth.

2.     Should you customize your résumé for each job opening? Why or why not? Yes, to show your employer that you will be a good fit.

3.     What’s the best way to find job opportunities? Also, the vast majority of job openings in U.S. are what? Identify the companies you want to work for and focus your efforts on them. The vast majority of job openings in U.S. are posting jobs openings on sites like craigslist.

4.     How important, if at all, are recommendations from current employers? Most job openings are never advertised and the more people who knows you, the better chance you have of being recommended for one of these hidden job openings.

5.     What are the 3 different types of résumés and how are they each different and important? Chronological (work experience dominates), Functional (emphasizes your skills and capabilities), and Combination (meshes the skills and job history focus)

6.     Potential employers view your résumé as what? Evidence of your attention to quality and detail

7.     What role does your online presence play in your search for employment? Career-management tool

8.     What are the characteristics of an effective résumé design? Simplicity, order, effective use of white spaces, and clear typefaces

Negative Messages

1.     If the stakes are high for you or your receiver, use which approach to deliver negative information? The indirect approach

2.     What should you do when rejecting a request because of company policy? Explain the company policy so that they can try to meet the requirements next time

3.     What are the main components of rejecting job applications? Personalize message with their name, Appreciate them for applying, Give them negative news politely and concisely, Don’t explain why they weren’t hired, Do not say that you will “keep their resume on file”, Close with a positive wish for their future career

4.     In order to write a positive close for a negative message, what should you be sure to avoid? Creating false hopes or writing in a way that suggests that something negative didn’t just happen to the recipient.

5.     What is a crisis management plan? Plan that defines operational procedures to deal with a crisis, including communication tasks and responsiblities

6.     What 4 questions should you ask when trying to decide which approach to use for negative messages? By answering this, you will learn when to use the direct vs the indirect approach and vice versa. Do you need the reader’s attention immediately? (Direct Approach), Does the recipient prefer a direct style of  communication? (Direct), How important is this news to the reader? (Indirect), Will the bad news come as a shock? (Indirect)

Routine and Positive Messages

1.     What is a claim? What is an adjustment? What are the components of each? Claim – formal complaint. Adjustment – settlement of a claim.

2.     What are the message points of asking for information and action when dealing with simple requests? What do you want to know or what you want the reader to do, Why you’re making the request, Why it may be in the readers best interest to help you

3.     How would you characterize the tone/presentation of most routine informative messages? As in, the book says “most routine communications are” what? Neutral tone

4.     What are the 3 major components of the “strategy for routine requests”? Also, each of these has 3 subcomponents to them. What are they? Stating your request up front, Explaining and justifying your request, Requesting specific action in a courteous close

5.     What are the most important things to consider and do when asking for recommendations? Ask for permission some people don’t want their names used, Use direct approach and state why your recommendation is needed and that you want them to write the message, If you haven’t talked to them in a while trigger their memory by stating how you know them, Close your message with appreciation with the full name and address of where the letter should be sent and a deadline, Be sure to enclose and stamped pre-addressed envelope.

6.     When you're writing a routine reply to a positive message, do you use the indirect or direct approach? Direct Approach

7.     When responding to a complaint from a customer and your company is at fault, what do you say/do? Acknowledge receipt of customers claim or complaint
Sympathize with the customers inconvenience or frustration
Take personal responsibility for setting matters straight
Explain precisely how you have resolved, or plan to resolve, the situation
Take steps to repair the relationship
Follow up to verify that your response was correct

8.     What should you do when closing a direct request? Specific request that includes deadlines
Information about how you can be reached
Expression of appreciation

Applying and Interviewing for Employment

1.     If your application letter and résumé fail to bring a response within a week or so after the position close date, what should you do? Contact them by email or telephone but be professional

2.     What are the 3 stages of the typical interview process and how do they differ from each other? The warm up, Q&A session, The close

3.     Why is the AIDA approach ideally suited for application letters? Because application letters are persuasive

4.     The best approach for an application letter depends on what? Whether is a solicited or unsolicited letter.

5.     What are the 8 different types of interviews and how do they differ from each other? Structured interview- interviewer asks a series in predetermined order

Open-ended interview-interviewer adapts their questioning based on the answers you give and questions you ask

*Panel interview-you meet with several interviewers at once. Try to make a connection to each they are each different so answer each of them accordingly.

*Group interview-interviewers meet with several candidates. This is to observe how candidates interact with potential peers.

*Behavioral interview-you asked to relate specific incidents and experiences from your past

*Situational interview-similar to behavioral except these questions are focus on how you would handle hypothetical situations

*Working interview-most realistic interview. You actually preform a job related task. Such as, lead a brainstorming session or solve a business problem

*Stress interview-you might be asked questions that are designed to unsettle you . these are to see how you handle stressful situations

6.     Within two days after an employment interview, what should you do? Send a follow-up message (Thank you note)

Persuasive Messages

1.     What role/impact can differences in organizational culture have on persuasive messages? Just as social culture affects the success of a persuasive message, so too does the culture within various organizations. Some organizations handle disagreement and conflict in an indirect, behind-the-scenes way, whereas others accept and even encourage open discussion and sharing of differing viewpoints

2.     Developing most persuasive messages balances what types of appeals? Also, why are these important? Emotional appeals (Pathos) - attempt to connect with the reader's feelings or sympathies
Logical appeals (Logos) - Based on the reader's notions of reason; these appeals can use analogy, induction, or deduction.
Ethical appeals (Ethos) - used as a means of convincing an audience via the authority or credibility of the persuader, be it a notable or experienced figure in the field or even a popular celebrity.

3.     In general, the best persuasive messages do what to the audience's potential resistance? Persuasive messages that are the most effective are those that are closely aligned with audience motivations, which are the forces that drive people to satisfy their needs. Part of this is understanding the audience's resistance and addressing it rather than avoiding or making fun of it.

4.     What is an analogy? Reasoning from specific evidence to specific evidence

5.     What is induction? Work from specific evidence to a general conclusion

6.     What is deduction? Work from a generalization to a specific conclusion

7.     Should you address alternative positions in a persuasive message? Why or why not? If you expect a hostile audience, one biased against your plan from the beginning, present all sides of the story. As you cover each option, explain the pros and cons. You'll gain additional credibility if you present these options before presenting your recommendation or decision

8.     What is demographic information? What are common examples of demographic information? The age, gender, occupation, income, education, and other quantifiable characteristics of the people you're trying to persuade

9.     What does AIDA stand for? Also, know in-depth the 4 components and why they are important beyond simply defining that “‘A’ stands for ____, ‘I’ stands for ____” Attention - engage your readers or listeners in a way that encourages them to want to hear about your main idea

Interest - Emphasize the relevance of your message to your audience.

Desire - Help audience members embrace your idea by explaining how the change will benefit them, either personally or professionally.

Action - suggest the action you want readers to take and phrase it in a way that emphasizes the benefits to them or to the organization they represent

10.  What is circular reasoning? Logical fallacy where you support your claim by restating it in different words.

11.  What is false cause and effect? When data doesn’t correlate

12.  What is a hasty generalization? Make sure you have plenty of evidence before drawing conclusions

13.  What is a faulty analogy? Be sure that two objects or situations being compared are similar enough for the analogy to hold.