Using Personality Assessment to Ace the Job Interview
Using Personality Assessment to Ace the Job Interview
Showing up to a job interview without researching the company’s background, products and future potential is an error many job applicants make. Even those who have properly researched the company may still make the mistake of not assessing the interviewer’s needs. There are some important tips that job-seekers can utilize to ace the interview even if they are not made aware of who will interview them ahead of time.
Job candidates need to keep in mind that people like to receive information based on their personality preferences. In an interview situation, that means that the job-seeker needs to assess the interviewer’s personality to look for clues about these preferences.
Based on the following personality types, tailor how information is delivered in the following way:
Interviewer is an Introvert (they prefer to think about what they want to say before they say it): They may not want a lot of chit chat. Allow them to have time to ask questions and don’t talk over them.
Interviewer is an Extrovert (they tend to say what they are thinking without processing first): Realize they require information quickly and may talk over you or end sentences for you. If they ask a question and you need more time, simply say something like, “That is a good question; let me think about that for a moment.” That will buy you some time to formulate your answer.
Interviewer is Direct (they prefer to get to the point and may be abrasive): Don’t hem and haw around. Get right to the bottom line information they require.
Interviewer is Structured (they like facts and figures): If they have charts and graphs around and ask for statistics, give them data. They like quantifiable answers.
One way to find out more about the person doing the interview is to look around the office for clues. Try to find things that you have in common with them. Show an interest in the things they showcase like pictures, plaques, awards, etc. For more information about acing the interview, read 10 Most Important Steps to Obtain a Dream Job.
Related Articles
SitePal and Voki: Add Pizzazz to Your Website or Classroom
There are some fun sites that can be used to animate pictures to add pizzazz to websites or online classrooms. One of these sites, Voki, is free and is available for non-commercial use. For commercial use, SitePal starts at just $9.95/month.
Are you looking for a way to create content for an online classroom? Consider adding a link to Voki. “Voki enables users to express themselves on the web in their own voice using a talking character. You can customize your Voki to look like you or take on the identity of lots of other types of characters… animals, monsters, anime etc. Your Voki can speak with your own voice which is added via microphone, upload, or phone. Voki lives on your blog, social network profile and will soon be integrated in various instant messaging platforms. You will also be able to download it to most video supported phones.”
Click on the picture below to see what happens if you add a link to your Voki-created file.  Be sure to hit the play button to hear the message once you get there.
If you are looking for a way to stand out on your website, resume, email signature line, or other form of social media, consider SitePal. “SitePal is an easy-to-use service that allows you to create a speaking avatar for your website and empower your online communication.” Click on the picture below to see that animation.
Related Articles
Purchasers from Amazon Responsible for StateTaxes
Article first published as Purchasers from Amazon Responsible for StateTaxes on Technorati.
Amazon has enjoyed an advantage over their competition. They have not had to add tax to the purchase amount in states where they don’t have a physical presence. Slate reported, “According to Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, companies are only required to collect sales taxes from their customers when they have a presence in the state in which they reside.”
This has been a sore spot for many of Amazon’s competitors. Many of them feel that if they should have to handle the taxes for customers, so should Amazon.  This advantage has made them undersell big competitors like the Apple Store and Best Buy.
Purchasers from the Amazon site may think they are getting a better deal. In reality, there may be taxes owed, but it won’t be by Amazon. What many people in certain states like Arizona don’t know about their purchases on Amazon, is that it is going to be up to them to keep financial records of what taxes are due. At the end of the year, when they file their tax returns, these taxes should be included in any amount owed to the government.
According to the Arizona Republic, “If you buy something online from a retailer who doesn’t have a physical presence in Arizona and they don’t charge state tax or the tax from the state where they’re located, then you’re probably liable for the use tax – the 6.6 percent tax. The safest thing to do is if you buy something online and you get a receipt, save it. It’ll probably show if there was any sales tax from the state where it was charged. If there’s not and there is no Arizona tax, then you should think about paying the use tax on that.”
What if you haven’t kept all of your Amazon receipts? Go to your account page on Amazon and under Order History, click on Download Order Reports. This tool allows you to put in the date range of purchases to request a report of purchased items.
According to Amazon’s site, “Items sold by Amazon.com LLC, or its subsidiaries, and shipped to destinations in the states of Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, or Washington are subject to tax.” It is wise to check with your state to see what your tax obligation is.  For more information from Amazon regarding taxes, click here.
Related Articles
New Research Uses Imaging to Show Serotonin’s Link to Anger
Article first published as New Research Uses Imaging to Show Serotonin’s Link to Anger on Technorati.
The University of Cambridge recently published study in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry that provides insight into why some people are more aggressive. Scientists have known that when people haven’t eaten or are overly stressed, they have a harder time controlling their anger. Scientists now have the ability to use technology to scan the brain and visualize the connection between serotonin and the ability to handle emotions.
According to The University of Cambridge News, “Although reduced serotonin levels have previously been implicated in aggression, this is the first study which has shown how this chemical helps regulate behavior in the brain as well as why some individuals may be more prone to aggression.”
Healthy volunteers had their serotonin levels altered through diet manipulation. Their brains were then scanned with a function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as researchers measured their reactions to images of faces showing anger, happiness or neutral expressions. The findings suggested that when the serotonin was low, the prefrontal cortex had a more difficult time controlling emotional responses.
According to author Dr. Molly Crockett, “We’ve known for decades that serotonin plays a key role in aggression, but it’s only very recently that we’ve had the technology to look into the brain and examine just how serotonin helps us regulate our emotional impulses. By combining a long tradition in behavioral research with new technology, we were finally able to uncover a mechanism for how serotonin might influence aggression.”
Serotonin has been the subject of many psychological studies. In 2003 a popular study indicated that there was a gene responsible for people to be more receptive to becoming depressed. However, in 2009, a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association that analyzed data from 14 studies found that this serotonin gene was not linked to depression.
How serotonin affects depression and aggression will continue to be studied. Currently, the most widely prescribed antidepressants are serotonin enhancers. The researchers from the Cambridge study hope that this new discovery can help pave the way to new treatments of psychiatric disorders.
WebMD offers a 9-question quiz to help sufferers recognize the symptoms of depression caused by low serotonin.
Related articles
Famous Computer Geniuses with Asperger’s
In a recent TED.com talk by Misha Glenny, titled Hire the Hackers,Glenny noted at the end of his talk that many famous computer hackers have characteristics that are consistent with Asperger’s Syndrome. He mentioned he discussed this with Professor of Development Psychopathology at Cambridge, Simon Baron-Cohen, who “confirmed Gary McKinnon who is wanted by the United States for hacking into the Pentagon suffers from Asperger’s. Cohen explained that certain disabilities can manifest themselves in the hacking computer world as tremendous skills.”
This is not the first time that there has been mention of famous hackers having this disorder. Adrian Lamo, once hunted by the FBI, was institutionalized and diagnosed with Asperger’s.  Cnet News recently reported, “Ryan Cleary, the 19-year-old charged in the U.K. on five counts of computer hacking activity, has Asperger’s syndrome.”
According to Wired.com, “There are no reliable figures on how many people have Asperger’s, but anecdotally a lot of them are drawn into the computer field, particularly the logic-heavy world of coding. BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen has diagnosed himself with the disorder, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates is frequently speculated to have it.” According to Businessweek, Bram Cohen’s disorder is, “a condition that keeps him rooted in the world of objects and patterns, puzzles and computers, but leaves him floating, disoriented, in the everyday swirl of human interactions.” In the movie The Social Network, some of the mannerisms that the Mark Zuckerberg character displayed may have implied he had Asperger’s as well.
Some other famous minds that have been noted as having Asperger’s include Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. The article, The Potential Genius of Asperger’s contains a long list of famous people who have been thought to have this disorder.
Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen developed an AQ test that measures the Autism Spectrum Quotient. “In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger’s report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives.” To take the Asperger’s test, click here.
The following is Misha Glenny’s talk from TED:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gSwRHScq6M&w=560&h=315]Related Articles