EMPLOYMENT

COMMUNICATION
Lecture 4

Course Instructor: Rajja Rashad

LEARNING OBJECTUVES

 Application letters
 Resume

 Group discussions
 Advantages & Disadvantages of Group discussions
 Panel discussions
 Role of moderator in panel discussions

 Planning and Conducting interviews

 Types of interviews
 Preparation of interviews
APPLICATION LETTERS
 A job application letter, also known as a cover
letter, should be sent or uploaded with
your resume when applying for jobs.

 While your resume offers a history of your work

experience and an outline of your skills and
accomplishments, the job application letter you
send to an employer explains why you are
qualified for the position and should be selected
for an interview.
TYPES OF APPLICATION LETTERS

Application
Letters

Solicited Unsolicited
Written and sent Written and sent
in response to job at applicant’s
advertisements initiatives
STRUCTURE OF AN APPLICATION LETTER
 Address of the applicant and date
 The name and full address of the employer or the concern
 Salutation
 Body of the application
 Introductory paragraph
 Should attract the attention of the reader and stimulate his interest
to read the letter further
 State whether the application is sent in response to an
advertisement or at the suggestion of someone or on your own
initiative
 Details of the applicant in paragraph or paragraphs
 Relevant details of experience & accomplishments such as,
educational qualifications, practical experiences etc.
 Highlight key skills and mention reasons to hire you
 Also highlight your work ethics and morals
 References if any
 Concluding paragraph
 Add assurances to the employer
 Thank to the employer and offer follow-up information
 Complimentary close of application
 Signature of the applicant.
SAMPLE APPLICATION LETTER
RESUME
 The French word résumé translates to “abstract” or
“summary.”
 A resume is a shorter-form document that provides
a concise overview of a person’s previous roles,
skills and details about your education.
 It is a formal summary presentation of person’s
background, employments, qualifications and
intended career plan.

 Purpose of Resume
 To pass the employer’s screening process (requisite
educational level, year’s experience etc.)
 To provide contact information, an up-to-date address
and a telephone number (A telephone number that will
always be answered during business hours)
 CONTENTS OF A CV OR RESUME
 Contact Information
 Your name, complete address and phone number, email address
and fax number
 Career objectives
 Mention career goals and specific job objectives
 Educational Qualifications
 Mention the name of each institution attended, city and state
 Name of the degree/diploma or certificate you have received, the
year of graduation and post graduation.
 If you are a fresh graduate in a field relevant to the job, listing your
aggregates is a good idea.
 Experience
 Describe your major job responsibilities, skills and knowledge
acquired on the previous job
 List your experiences in reverse chronological order (recent positions
listed first).
 Highlight internships, training, voluntary work, extra-curricular
activities, responsibilities handled etc. if you have no professional
experience
CONTENTS OF A CV OR RESUME CONT’D
 Interests
 Mention your interests that are unique or relevant to the
particular job
 Professional membership, licenses/certificates are to be listed
depending upon their relevance and contribution to your value
as an employee
 Personal details
 It includes father’s name, date of birth, nationality, marital
status and address of the candidate.
 Correspondence and permanent address, correspondence
address should be mentioned on the top of the resume and
permanent address in the personal details.
 Declaration
 To declare that all the information written in the resume is true
and candidate will be responsible for any mistake.
 Undersigned by candidate himself
 Referees
 The names and address of referees can be provided, if necessary
SAMPLE RESUME
 DISCUSSION IN GROUPS
 Discussion is a process of reflective thinking, thought
and opinion
 In a discussion each participant presents his or her
imaginative thinking by offering suggestions, adding
ideas but different solutions until all ideas have been
appropriately enumerated
 Salient features of Group Discussion:
 Interaction
 Group members
 Involvement
 Interpersonal desirability
 Pressure to obey rules
 Discrepancy
 A discrepancy is a conflict, difference, disagreement, among the
members of the group
 It can simulate the members to find new solutions to the problem
 ADVANTAGES OF GROUP DISCUSSION
 More Information
 Since group members have different specialties, they tend to
provide more information and knowledge
 Diversity of views
 Every member in group is unique so there is variety in their
views also. This is why there are varied approaches to solving
a problem. As group decisions tend to cover a greater area,
they provide a better insight for decision-making
 Acceptability
 Decisions are the result of larger consensus (general
agreement) therefore group decision is automatically assumed
to be more democratic, and the decision of an individual can
be perceived as being autocratic (dictatorial)
 Expert opinions
 The group can either include experts or can call them from
outside to form a separate group to take a decision on a
particular issue
ADVANTAGES OF GROUP DISCUSSIONS CONT’D
 Degree of involvement
 The members of a group feel involved with a given
problem. This minimizes their resistance that strengthens
an organisation and facilitates decision-making
 Encourages people’s participation
 A group usually provides a platform for people to present
their ideas. Group dynamics is more likely to draw out
participation from people who may otherwise be hesitant
to talk or interact. It encourages people to take an
initiative as they feel part of the decision-making process.
 DISADVANTAGES OF GROUP DISCUSSIONS
 Time consuming
 A group involves several individuals so getting them
organised, planning and coordinating their meetings, defining
and explaining to them the purpose of a meeting and the
goals, and finally reaching a solution or arriving at a decision
can be quite time-consuming
 Individual domination
 Discussions in a group can be dominated by a few members.
Although a group discussion means a collective discussion,
some people usually manage to usurp (draw to them) a
position of informal leadership owing to their personality or
style of participation
 Compromise decisions
 The need to arrive at a group decision sometimes results in a
compromise. The solution offered is not essentially the best. It
is, instead, a compromise acceptable as a mid-point to all
concerned
DISADVANTAGES OF GROUP DISCUSSIONS CONT’D
 Expensive
 Group decision-making is quite expensive in terms of time,
money, energy and man-hours.

 Groupism
 Some members of a group may start harbouring a feeling
that they are different from the others. This actually leads to
informal groups within the larger formal group, which may
generate negative sentiments towards other groups or people
outside the group
PANEL DISCUSSION

 A moderated conversation between experts in front

of an audience

 Panel discussions provide the opportunity for an

audience to hear several speakers discuss and
debate their views, beliefs, and expertise on a
specific topic
MODERATOR IN PANEL DISCUSSION
 A discussion moderator is a person whose role is
to act as a neutral participant in a debate or
discussion, holds participants to time limits and
tries to keep them from straying off the topic of the
discussion
 Moderators of panel discussions play a critical role
in determining the effectiveness of sessions
ROLE OF MODERATOR IN PANEL DISCUSSION
 PLANNING & CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW
•The word ‘interview’ means ‘view between’ or ‘sight
between’.
•According to Gary Dessler, “An interview is a
procedure designed to obtain information from a person’s
oral response to oral inquiries.”
•According to Thill and Bovee, “An interview is any
planed conversation with a specific purpose involving two
or more people”

 An interview is formal meetings

between two people (the interviewer
and the interviewee) where questions
are asked by the interviewer to obtain
information, qualities, attitudes,
wishes etc. from the interviewee
 TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
 Promotion interview
 Also known as internal interview
 A promotion meeting occurs when you are an in-house applicant for a
higher position or a different position within your organization. Many
organizations prefer to hire internal candidates because they already
know the company’s mission, expectations, goals and processes
 Appraisal or Assessment Interviews
 Appraisal interview is one of the methods of periodical assessment of
employees. Annual appraisal interview is the best method for judging
employees performance
 This interview is more a discussion rather than question-answer. The
focus is on the career development, shortcomings, areas which need
improvement, training, opportunities for promotion etc
 Exit Interviews
 An exit interview is conducted with an employee who has resigned or
leaving the organisation
 Find out the precise reason for the employee decision to leave.
 Give information about provident fund, group insurance and how and when’s the
dues will be paid.
 Get feedback on employee’s opinion about the organization’s policies
 Give the final pay cheque or information about when it will be ready and how it
will be handed over.
 Check that all books, manuals, tools, equipments have been returned as same.
TYPES OF INTERVIEWS CONT’D
 Problem Interview
 Interview planned with an employee whose performance or
behaviour is unsatisfactory in spite of warning represents a
problem. An interview is more likely to suggest a solution
than warnings and notices
 The reason for the employee’s poor performance can be found
out in a face-to-face talk, it may be domestic problems, health
problem, lack of training or dissatisfaction with job,
environment problem, hierarchy problem etc
 Stress Interview
 A stress interview puts the candidates into difficult situations
in order to test her/his reaction to stress. This method is used
for selection for positions in which the person must be able to
face difficult situations without getting upset
 Testing qualities such as courage, tact, cool temper, and self-
command
 Selection Interview
 Selection interviews are conducted to measure the suitability
of the candidates for specific jobs
INTERVIEW PREPARATION
 Interviewee’s Preparation
 Physical Preparation
 Formal Appearance
 Postures
 Good etiquette
 Mental Preparation
 Prepare your brief introduction
 Revise concern subjects (specific and general)
 Gather company information
 Psychological Preparation
 Be honest
 Courteously admit the inability to answer
 Discuss salary
 Have clarity of purpose and determination
 Self Evaluation
 Have analysis of your key strengths and weaknesses
 Encourage family and friends to analyse you
 Learn to deal with your faults
 Learn using your skills and knowledge appropriately
INTERVIEW PREPARATION CONT’D
 Interviewer Preparation
 Closely examine the resume of candidates and prepare
questions based on the data provided
 Create a relaxed atmosphere
 Make the candidate comfortable and encourage him to
speak
 Avoid humiliating the candidate
 If the interviewer conducted a stress interview than after
the interview candidate should be told that it was stress
interviewing and that he need not feel anxious about it
 Openly answer the interviewee’s queries
 Leave taking must be pleasant and sociable
INTERVIEW DO’S AND DON'TS

THE DO’S

 Follow the interviewer’s leads and prompts

 Make sure that you highlight your strengths to
the interviewer in a factual, sincere manner
 Be ready to be asked questions that requires your
technical or special knowledge
 Leave the impression that you are more work
oriented than the incentive oriented
 Show your interest in the job for which you’re
being interviewed
 Ask questions when given the opportunity.
 Take advantage of the opportunity to add
anything else in your favour if asked
INTERVIEW DO’S AND DON'TS CONT’D
THE DON’TS
 DON’T answer questions with a simple “yes” or “no”. Give
good responses and explain yourself whenever possible by
referring to relevant examples from your experiences.
 DON’T respond in a general, vague, or hesitant manner.
Project a sense of purpose and direction.
 DON’T ‘over answer’ questions. The interviewer may steer
the conversation into politics or economics. It is best to
answer the questions honestly, and say no more than
required
 DON’T ever make derogatory remarks about your present
or former employers.
 DON’T enquire about salary, holidays, bonuses or
retirement at the initial interview
 DON’T lie. Answer questions truthfully, frankly and as
close ‘to the point’ as possible
 DON’T focus on negatives: emphasis positive outcomes
and learning experiences.