How to Choose Your Intelligence Type

Posted on July 11, 2008
Filed Under Career, Psychology, Personal Development

Initiative of multiple intelligences was actually developed in the 1980`s by a Harvard professor named Howard Gardner. Gardner recognized that everyone learns in different ways for the reason that everyone has their own unique blend of intelligence. Gardner determined that there were seven different types of intelligence. Each person has a different combination of these seven intelligences, which work together to form overall intelligence. Depending upon your genetic makeup and the environment in which you were raised, your intelligences could be quite different from that of your best friend or classmate.

Read more about each type and discover your own strengths by choosing from the list below:

1. Linguistic and verbal intelligence.
Linguistic intelligence is the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. Linguistic intelligence allows us to understand the order and meaning of words and to apply meta-linguistic skills to reflect on our use of language. They are often good at writing, reading, and talking about things. This group often includes writers, poets, lawyers and public speakers.

2. Logical-Mathematical intelligence
This area has to do with logic, abstractions, inductive and deductive reasoning, and numbers. While it is often assumed that those with this intelligence naturally excel in mathematics, chess, computer programming and other logical or numerical activities, a more accurate definition places emphasis less on traditional mathematical ability and more reasoning capabilities, abstract pattern recognition, scientific thinking and investigation, and the ability to perform complex calculations.
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10 Habits that Increase Your Personal Productivity

Posted on May 23, 2008
Filed Under Career, Personal Development

No matter how capable you are, it’s always possible to improve your productivity and improving your productivity means that you get more of the rewards you are trying to obtain: results, job success or money.

Here are 10 habits that improve your productivity:

1. Organize your Life and create a To-Do-List.
Work on your most important tasks first. There is no use spending hours on a trivial task when a much more important one can be done in a few minutes. Planning a schedule can be hard to do, but there are many ways to do this easily. Create a list of everything that needs to be done and change the order in terms of what what should be done first.

2. Remove Distractions
Turn off the TV, take the phone off the hook, and close down your email. There is nothing worse for your productivity than continually stopping and start because of distractions. Complete your tasks, and then give yourself a bit of a break. Do not do both at once.

3. Use positive affirmations
Positive affirmations are a tool for replacing negative self-talk with something more productive. It’s quite common for people to use negative affirmations without realising it, so why not give your performance a boost and replace these negative vibes. Your affirmations should be present tense, personal and as specific as possible. Read them every morning and night, and keep them on an index card so you can whip them out and read through them when you have a few moments spare.

4. Take a nap
Getting 40 winks might seem like the last thing to do to increase your work rate, but studies have shown that taking a nap during the day can considerably improve concentration and performance. Fifteen to twenty minutes is usually enough time to recharge your batteries, and coupled with a splash of cold water after waking up you’ll be ready and raring to go. Read more

Interview Tips: How to Give Intelligent Answers to Difficult Questions

Posted on May 14, 2008
Filed Under Career, Personal Development

Questions begin the minute the interview does, and you’ll need to demonstrate that you are a perfect candidate. You must to be prepared to answer not only the typical questions, but also the unexpected, difficult questions. You can wait for questions regarding your experience, your academic preparation, career interests, qualifications, and ones that assess your personality.

Review these typical interview questions and think about how you would answer them:

1. Tell me about yourself
The most frequently asked question in interviews. You need to have a short speech prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit it to work-related items unless instructed otherwise. Talk about things you have done and jobs you have held that relate to the position you are interviewing for. Start with the item farthest back and work up to the present.

2. Why did you leave your last job?
You should always address an interview question with honesty. However, you should also always try to frame your honest answer in the most positive way possible.
Never refer to a major problem with management and never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers or the organization. Keep smiling and talk about leaving for a positive reason such as an opportunity, a chance to do something special or other forward-looking reasons. Read more

Career Builder Guide: How to Choose Your Career Goals

Posted on May 8, 2008
Filed Under Career, Communication, Personal Development

“Research suggests that as many as 8 out of 10 employed adults are in the wrong job or career!”

Career goal setting is an excellent way to motivate yourself and achieving your career dreams. They keep you motivated to live life to the fullest and to get what you want out of it.

Here are 7 successful - strategies to help you set career goals:

1. Start with a positive attitude. Hope, optimism and enthusiasm have a magical effect on goal setting and the way you think.

2. Set realistic goals. Try to achieve them with the help of a real career plan that will meet all your needs. Be explicit about what you want and have it thoroughly reviewed to ensure achievability factors. To manage your expectations, set reasonable goals that can be worked on and achieved.

3. Analyse and evaluate professional skills. If you are employed, unemployed, considering a career change, re-entering the job market or recently graduated, the first step to identifying your career potential needs an objective analysis and evaluation of your capabilities.

4. Sell yourself. Learn the fine art of self-promotion. You need to implement an effective marketing strategy to increase your visibility and gain a competitive edge. If you have had major accomplishments or created successful programs, make sure people know about it — especially those in influential positions who could help you advance professionally. Let it be known that you are seeking a promotion or the next step up in your career. Read more

The Subtle Tricks of the Trade

Posted on February 13, 2008
Filed Under Career, Communication, Psychology

These are the psychological secrets of the experts, the tricks of the trade – factors that can affect your judgment and decision in objectively evaluating information.

1: You are Just Like Me
• Watch out when you are asked about your hobbies, hometown, values, favorite foods, etc., only to be followed with the obligatory “Me too, what a coincidence.”
• Another aspect of this rule is that if someone is nice to us, we not only like him more but also are more likely to agree with him. If he is agreeing to everything you say, whether or not it makes sense, watch out.
• Rapport creates trust. It allows the other to build a psychological bridge to you. You feel more comfortable and your gullibility increases. Take note if your movements, rate of speech or tone are echoed.

2: Beware the Stranger Bearing Gifts
When someone gives us something, we often feel indebted to him. When you are presented with a request, make sure that you’re not acting out of a sense of obligation. This rule can take many forms – it is not limited to gifts.
You could be offered information, a concession, or even someone’s time. Read more

How to Make a Powerful Eye Contact

Posted on January 14, 2008
Filed Under Career, Psychology, Personal Development

One of the important tools we have that build relationship with people is our eyes.
Eye contact is one of the easiest forms of body language to use, but one of the most complicated to master. High-quality eye contact sends good feelings to others and makes you seem interested , while bad eye contact can make you seem distant and indifferent, and can even offend others.

Here are the most important tips for a powerful eye contact:

Be confident the more you believe in yourself, the easier you will find to perform eye contact.

If talking to a group, look ahead and above the crowd. When you build up confidence start looking around but never look at someone too long as it could cause you to muck up.

Look into the person’s eyes and hold the gaze for a bit longer than is socially comfortable. At that point, you will know that you have made eye contact.

The best way is not actually to make eye contact but rather look at his/her forehead or hair. It still looks like your making eye contact.

Do not scan. When you are talking with somebody, you need not engage him or her in a staring contest, but do not be looking around the room while they are talking.