DR.N.G.P.

INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY COIMBATORE-48

LAB RECORD

HS8581

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

2021- 2022
 CONTENTS

S.NO. TOPI DATE MARKS SIGNATUR

C
E OF
FACULTY
1 Time management & stress
management
2 Presentations

3 Self Introduction

4 Group Discussions

5 Mock interviews

6 Leadership traits, team work,

career and life planning
 EXERCISE 1
TIME & STRESS MANAGEMENT

Objective:
At the end of the session students would learn to hone their Time management
skills and improve on stess management techniques.

What is Time Management: The Definition

In the simplest sense, time management consciously knows how much time
you should put and spend on a specific activity. It is how you plan and
organize the time allocations you give on a task to execute the right steps
and achieve your goals. Because time is limited, it will ensure that the right
amount of time is spent on the right activity.
Effective time management is based on quality rather than quantity. It does
not mean getting more things done quickly. It means getting important
things done.
Importance
Effective time management helps to get “more” of an individual. What this means is that
by equipping yourself with the right time management skills, you are being
more productive; which is essential for meeting goals – goals of the
company you are working with or your own goals in life.
1.Time is gold. A very popular set of words. Time is a very limited special
resource. Every one of us wakes up each day and is given 24 hours to be
spent throughout the whole day. Some people can do things twice as
much as you do. Some will only do half the work you do. You can’t restore or
retrieve the time lost. If you don’t acknowledge that time is a limited resource, you
will not have the inspiration to learn better time management.
2.Efficiency. Learning how to manage your time gives you a laser focus on
the most important things. Your workflow is then organized and you
tend to do things faster, thus resulting to accomplishing your task in
record time. With the right foundation on time management, you are
able to prevent wasted time and energy. You can do more with less effort
since everything is planned and organized.

3.Decision-making ability at its finest. Lack of good time management

skills can result in working under pressure – and you will likely come up
with bad decisions, since you will be in a hurry, it will make you jump from
one option to another without having a critical analysis on the conclusions
you’ll make. Thus, knowing how to manage your time will eliminate the pressures,
and enable you to correctly make decisions.

4.It is the key to success and great to learning new opportunities. Time
management is the number one (1) key to success. It decides the quality of
life you will live. By having the right mind-set, doing things effectively and
efficiently and making the best decisions in life, you are preparing yourself
for great opportunities.

5.Less unhealthy stress. Because you have better control of your time and
you know you can meet the deadlines, you are more relaxed and calmer
which allows you to get rid of too much stress and exhaustion.

6.Time management is self-discipline. You can get rid of procrastination

which is among the most common problems of those who don’t know how to manage
their time. The more you practice sound time management, the better and
more disciplined you are. Self- discipline is very important in all aspects of
our life.

7.More time to spend on what you desire. Poor management of time can
result to lack of time for personal things like our families, health issues,
relationships, finances and personal development. Effective time
management can help us spend quality time with things we really care
about. It helps you make great choices and spend time with things that
are more valuable to you. This means more time with leisure activities
and enjoying
life to the fullest. The more you value your time, the more you also value
what matters most to you; so you can enjoy your life.

8.Priorities.Time management helps you determine what to prioritize in life.

You can sort out the most important things from the least ones, so as to
give priority to the most important things first. With this method you’d know the
time sensitive tasks and plan to do these things first.

9.Get rid of distractions and keep you on the track. We live in the era of
smartphones, computers and big screens. There are lots of distractions
along the way. By managing your time, you can avoid all these weapons of mass
“distractions” and rather focus on what is important. With time well allocated on
your activities, you tend to stay within boundaries which in turn gives you
the right directions and keeps you on track.

10. Free time and extra productive hours.Since you have the ability to
manage your time, you can allow yourself some free time to relax and take
a deep breath. Not only that, this free time can be a chance for more
productive tasks. Let’s do the math. Let’s say you have 1 productive hour per day,
which is 7 productive hours in a week or 30 hours in a month – which you
would never have gotten at all if you don’t have the right time management. Imagine
what you can do with 30 FREE hours in a month. It opens countless doors
of new opportunities to you and helps you accomplish your goals.

11. You are the captain of your life! Because of time management, you
are more organized than someone else. With that, you have more control
over your life. You exactly know what should be done and how to approach
things more effectively.

12. More fulfilment and energy. Finishing tasks before deadlines gives you
an inner sense of fulfilment which in turn gives you a high level of
satisfaction and more pumped-up energy to do more productive tasks.

13. More qualities developed. Learning kick-ass time management goes

hand in hand with other qualities as well. As you develop it, other essential
things are developed in conjunction with it, as well as discipline and
persistence.

14. Forces and encourages you to take action. There is a saying, “The hardest thing to do is
to start”. Making to-do lists will help you get moving rather than being lazy.
Imagine a paper shouting at you with a list of “Things you need to do on a particular
day” written by you. It encourages you to take action.

15. Avoid disappointments. Once you have tasks to accomplish and you
finished it on the right time, you can avoid disappointing others and
yourself.
Importance of Time Management at Work and Business
1.Priorities. Rank every project and daily tasks base on its
importance and make a priority list. With this, employees can focus
on what tasks should be done first.
2.Motivation and Goal setting. Every company has its own long and short
term goals. Awesome management of time can help employees achieve
these goals. When everything falls into the right place and time, employees
tend to get motivated and unleash more of them.
3.Productivity and Performance. Effective time management coincides
with productivity. Employees can finish tasks fast and efficiently within the
time allocated. With an increase in productivity, employee’s performance will also
increase. It also helps maximize the number of work hours you have
throughout the day.
4.Break bad habits like Procrastination. This is common to all. No more “I will do
it tomorrow”. When you have proper time management set in place, you will be motivated
to do the tasks on your to-do list. It can break bad habits in workplace and
help you do more with your time.
5.Develops employees. Time management is a skill!
6.Life improvement. Less stress, motivated and productive – your life in
the workplace will be so much easier than ever before.
7. Become healthier. When you are bombarded with lots of works in the
workplace, the tendency of having health problems is high. Constant stress
can lead to serious mental and physical ailments. Manage your time
effectively and it will improve
your health and productivity.
8.Smooth workflow. If time is properly managed, completing tasks after
tasks will be a piece of cake.
9.Better money management. Time wasted is money wasted. Poor time
management costs you money.
All of these things can be summed up..
into three (3) factors why time management is very important:
 You can’t buy time. You are only given 24 hours a day.
 You can’t stop time. Unless you are some kind of a mutant with
superpowers.
 You can’t save time. Your free lost time yesterday can’t be added to your

time today.
Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be
managed.Peter Drucker

Create your own smart tips using the words SMART TIPS for time

management taking inspiration from the above reading material

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COPING STRATEGIES IN DEALING WITH STRESS

Perspectives

 Notice early signs of stress by the presence of uncomfortable anger,

depression, apathy, resentment, or negative thoughts about

others.

 Plan for and work for the outcomes you want and then accept
what comes. Life happens!

 Plan for the future instead of worrying about it.

 Learn from the past instead of feeling guilty about it.
 Practice in your mind new ways to respond to stressful situations

before actually encountering them. Calm your upset feelings with

calming thoughts.

 Talk to yourself in a positive way when you are experiencing a

 stressful situation. Remember that you are not in competition with

others and that their accomplishments cannot diminish you.

 Deal with the source of the stress.
 If tension comes from a relationship, talk out your differences. If it

comes from an unfinished task, do something toward finishing it.

 Think of the long-term perspective and let go of the little things.

Speak, eat, drive and move at a more relaxed pace.

 Seek enjoyment in the doing of things rather than focusing on the

end result. Consider how dealing with your current stress could be

beneficial for you in the future.

 Laugh and look for humor in life. Smile.

Planning and Doing

 Be realistic about how much you can do. Prioritize.

 Plan on arriving at class, work, and appointments a few minutes early.
 Be prepared for delays by carrying a book to read. Use a planning

schedule that fits your personality and life style.

 Avoid scheduling several back-to-back appointments without some

breaks between them.

 Do difficult and important tasks before easy ones.

 Work before playing.
 Plan in breaks, recreation, weekends off & vacations

Physical , Emotional, and Spiritual Health

 Take some time each day to nourish your spirit by praying,

meditating, reading or listening to uplifting music.
 Do something each day which will last beyond tomorrow:
writing in a journal, teaching a child, making something,
reading a book, building a relationship.
 Exercise your body in some way each day.
  Get on a regular sleep schedule and get enough sleep for maximum
energy and brain power. Eat nutritiously

People

Plan time with friends and family, otherwise, work will magically expand
to fill whatever time is available. Improve your interpersonal
communication by sharing your feelings and desiresusingphraseslike:“I
feel...whenyou....”“Iwouldprefer...Because....” Respondwith a kind “no” to
unreasonable requests. Do something for others

Discussion questions

1.What are the activities and pressures that give you the most stress and why?

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2.How do you act when you are stressed, and who do you usually take it out on?

3.How can stress be a positive thing?

4.What can happen to people who never take stress seriously?

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5. What steps can you take to avoid being stressed?

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EVALUATION REPORT

S.NO DESCRIPTION WEIGHTAGE MARKS

1 CRITICAL ANALYSIS 25
2 SKIMMING AND 25
SCANNING
3 SENTENCE STRUCTURE 25
4 LANGUAGE 25
TOTAL 100
 EXERCISE 2 PRESENTATIONS USING MULTIMEDIA

OBJECTIVE:
The Objective of this exercise is to enable students make effective and
formal oral presentations using various means of multimedia on
various topics to an audience.

Dos & Don’ts for Oral Presentations

DO:

Use text on slides/overheads that is large enough for the audience to

see/read. Select colors/slide backgrounds that are easy for the audience to
see and read. Use figures, diagrams and pictures (rather than always using
text) to illustrate and explain information where serviceable – remember “a
picture is worth a thousand words”. Speak clearly, loudly and at a reasonable pace.
Feel that it is acceptable and even beneficial to present information in ways
that maybe different from those used by the author(s). Every author has
particular ways of saying things, making points, describing or illustrating
results or theories, etc. However, it isn’t always the case that the means of conveying
information used by the author(s) is the best, simplest, clearest, etc.

Use titles, labels, etc. to make sure that the information on your slides or
overheads is clear Know your article, and be able to answer questions about
the information you presented as well as other information in the article
that you may not have included in your presentation Explain what key
points the audience should be focusing on or taking away from graphs,
figures, illustrations, etc. (as opposed to simply displaying such things and
hoping or assuming the audience knows what they should be seeing and
what is relevant)

DON’T:

Overuse distracting animation effects. Have too much text on your

overheads – this encourages your audience to read rather than attend to
the speaker. Simply read your presentation to the audience: this is not
engaging and often leads the audience to stop paying attention Speak too
fast: remember, you are much more familiar with the article, the topic
and the presentation than is your audience so what seems a reasonable
pace for you may be too fast for your audience to follow. Use a strategy
where you go through the article, highlight or select sentences or portions
that seem important, and simply paraphrase each one and present these
bits in order. In essence, your job is to tell the audience a story for which
the following issues are clear and obvious: a) what is the
issue/problem/question in the article, b) what research was done, c) what
was found and
d) what do these results mean with respect to the main
issue/problem/question. In order to tell such a story, you can’t simply treat these
topics as disjoint sections. Instead your “story” should have the effect of (among other
things) linking these sections to one another. Face the presentation screen or have
your head buried in front of a lap top for your presentation: again, this is
not engaging for the audience and they will quickly lose interest (and the
ability to follow your presentation)
 PRESENTATION

Topic: ___________________________________________________________________________________________

EVALUATION REPORT

S.NO DESCRIPTION WEIGHTAGE MARKS

1 LANGUAGE 20
2 COHERENCE 20
3 SENTENCE STRUCTURE 20
4 VOCABULARY 20
5 VIVA- VOCE 20
TOTAL 100
 EXERCISE 3
SELF
INTRODUCTION

Assume you are attending an interview. Write an introduction about

yourself in about 150 words.
 EVALUATION REPORT
S.NO DESCRIPTION WEIGHTAGE MARKS
1 LANGUAGE 25
2 CONTENT 25
3 COHERENCE 25
4 VOCABULARY 25
TOTAL 100
 EXERCISE 4 GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Objective:

At the end of the lab session, students will be able to participate in

Group discussions confidently.

Group Discussion is all about communicating with a group of people.

Group discussion is not just talking about a given topic or expressing one's
version. In academic circles it is popularly known as GD. Normally, in a
group discussion, a candidate is tested in terms of group behaviour,
communication skills, content collection and leadership attributes. A set of
persons brought together to express their opinion and the subsequent
exchange of views on an allocated subject.

In addition to the above, non-verbal communication skills are also

watched with meticulous care. One’s smile, hand shake, posture, eye contact, fidgety
behaviour (Fidget means - moving hands nervously, unable to remain quiet,
playing with key chain or pen top, adjusting hair, odd lip movements)
general nervousness and appearance will also be judged.

Eye contact and body language play an important role. Most

candidates tend to look at either the interviewer or any single member of
the group but that again shows lack of confidence. 'Dos' and 'Don'ts' for GD
is given below for guidance to the candidates.

Positive language words are the best tools of communication. Choose

words carefully. Words can hurt and words can heal. What are the
characteristics of positive language? People who use positive language are
effective communicators. Their message, written or oral, would be polite,
pleasant, practical, persuasive and powerful. Your positive attitude makes
you think positively. Your positive language creates a positive impact on the
receiver and it helps you attain your goal and achieve success. An effective
communicator checks whether his/her message is received positively or
negatively. Language is a powerful tool and it can help people communicate
cogently. Communicating in a positive way helps people project themselves
positively. People who use positive language play a constructive rather than
a destructive role. Negative words hurt the feelings of the recipient and
convey that he or she has done something wrong whereas positive words
encourage the person and convey that they are respected. Positive words
have a healing touch. There one needs to choose words carefully.

Topics for Group Discussion

1. Should the National Anthem be played in cinema halls?

2. Ten common mistakes most English learners make!

3. Are e- commerce companies hurting the offline stores business?

4. Mobile Wallet - Advantages and Disadvantages

5. India's huge population - bane or boon?

6. Hard work or Smart work - Which is important?

7. Technology is killing human imagination!

8. Social media is killing book reading habit!

9. Emotional abuse is worse than Physical abuse!

10. PM’s vision to make India a Manufacturing Hub - dream or a practical possibility?
Sample

Chinese Goods vs Indian Goods

Karan said:

Let us see from a customer's perspective, what he wants? Surely better

value for money. Now let us see from the perspective of an Indian citizen,
what he wants? A better future for the country. Now, what happens
when both these ideals meet?
The project "Make in India". It may be just the start, but in coming days it
shall ensure both perspectives are fulfilled. We need to tell the foreign
investors that we need their money but not their goods. Boycotting goods is
stupidity, rather learn the manufacturing and marketing tactics of these
Chinese goods, and tailor them to the needs of the Indian market. So
remember."Blowing someone else's candle doesn't make your’s shine any brighter".

Venkata Krishnan said:

I think Indian goods are the best. I am not saying this because I am an
Indian but as it seems, Chinese goods are mass produced like...in millions
and hence there may be a lot of defects. Though they are very cheap what use is it
if it doesn’t last for some time at least? So I go with Indian products that are
manufactured with good materials and that are long
lasting.
Venkatachary said:
Most Indians are poor. The money they earn can only be spent on
necessities. Hence it would be natural for them to want to buy products
which are available at lower prices. They are aware that Chinese products
are cheaper and though they are of poor quality and would not last long,
the average Indian can only afford that. But there is hope for us because in
the coming days through our make in India initiatives, India too will
become the
largest producer of goods at reasonable prices. Goods made in India will not
only improve our economy but it will also support our people by providing
jobs. Then perhaps Indian goods would be cheaper than Chinese goods and
yet be of good quality. Once the Indian market is developed no one will
turn to Chinese products.

Rahul said:
People are looking for goods that are reasonably priced but long lasting.
How can cheap be best? We also have people who want to use branded
goods, take for example Levis jeans.
Brand name alone stands for durability and people are willing to pay for
such goods. In India, maintaining brand name is difficult. People
immediately term them as being too expensive. But they are willing to pay
heavily for foreign goods. Take for instance the T shirts and other stuff
that are manufactured in Tirupur, Tamilnadu, but sold in foreign countries.
We can see the difference in the quality of the same product when bought
from India and when bought from a foreign country. Hence in every
manufacturing unit, quality maintenance and regular quality checks should
be done.

Niza said:
Actually, this topic is quite argumentative. Chinese products are made with
the most recent technology. Be it a car or a mobile phone or any electronic
equipment all things are up to dated. But the main problem is once a
problem arises it cannot be to repaired, especially mobile phones.Now
coming to Indian products. Being an Indian, we should definitely buy Indian
products and avoid Chinese products as far as possible. If we don't buy our
country's products then who will buy? When there is more demand, there
will be more supply. But as rightly said by my team mate, we need to work
on the quality of our own products to attract the Indian masses. We also
need to set up good after sales service centres and provide good customer
care.
Kunal Gupta said:
China produces market-driven products, this is why the market share of
electronic industry is more in China than in India. The reason could be the
latest technology used by them or the availability of electronic components
at lower prices. But the fact remains that goods from China are less reliable
and lacks quality and hence maintenance of these products is difficult.
Indian goods are of good quality and also durable but we manufacture very
Iess goods.

So it can be concluded that with regard to the topic Chinese goods versus
Indian goods, both have certain pros and cons. India needs to invest more in
research and development. The new campaign "Make in India" is a
revolutionary step by the government. Of late many manufacturing units
and start-ups have sprung up in India. It will help our economy as well as
bring down cost. But it is still not enough. India is a nation with maximum
number of young people and we engineers have a major role to play in this
scenario. Instead of comfortably settling down in paid jobs or settling
abroad, we could combine intelligence, talent and hard work to start our
own business or manufacturing unit in India and make the dream Make in
India come true. Then countries like China would have to look for other
markets.

EVALUATION REPORT
S.NO DESCRIPTION WEIGHTAGE MARKS
1 LANGUAGE 25
2 CONTENT 25
3 COHERENCE 25
4 VOCABULARY 25
TOTAL 100
 EXERCISE- 5

INTERVIEWS - ROLE OF COMMUNICATION

At the end of the lab session, students will be able to effectively
take up real time interviews.

The interview is a two-way process of communication where you need

to introduce yourself to the company. There are three types of interviews
for professional jobs and executive positions like information technology,
science and technology, medicine, engineering, agriculture, charted
accountants, company secretaries, business, marketing, sales communicators,
management, public relations, civil services etc. The types of interviews are
- (1) Personal interview (2) Subject/ Technical Interview and (3) Group
Discussion. In all the three interviews, your intellectual abilities,
communication skills, language skills, way of walking into interview hall,
initiative and drive etc., will be observed and judged. you must be well
prepared and present with an objective of "first impression is the last
impression". Preparation and confidence Interview is a major obstacle for
many job seekers. Although you have the qualifications, experience, and
proven track record, you may lose 'better interviews'. So what does
'interviewing better' actually mean? It comes down to you being well
prepared and confident. You can answer questions in a way which is
acceptable but not necessarily right to the interviewer, and you also know
something about potential employer's business and hope to fill the post.
Continuous learning and practice is essential for a person who seeks
employment. Utilize the facilities that are available and avail the
opportunities in developing the knowledge, update the knowledge, preserve
the knowledge and apply knowledge. Do not go to the interview laden down
with baggage - psychological as well as physical. Take the bare minimum
belonging necessary. Concentrate on the interview at the interview -
nothing else. If you are asked to bring original certificates, references,
passport size photos etc. get them ready the day before. Take your
interview letter. Plan to reach the city where the venue of the interview is
fixed, a day in advance to avoid last minute tension and reach the venue
half-an-hour easy on the day of interview. 1. Personal interview Personal
interview plays a critical role in the selection process of the company.
Personal interview is conducted by the human resource department of the
company. Some of the areas you may be evaluated on the personal
interview are:
 Communication skills
 Reasoning ability
 Leadership abilities
 Assertiveness
 Flexibility
 Nurturing ability
 Creativity
 Ability to receive and give constructive criticism
 Stress management
 Ability to motivate oneself
 Time, resourcefulness and priority management skills
 Personality - inner and outer beauty.

Rehearse yourself two or three days before attending interview. Build your
self-esteem and confidence. This includes your strengths and weaknesses,
your accomplishments, reviewing your strong and weak subjects and
recording some of the key decisions you have made in your life. You should
also review interests, the disappointments you have encountered in the past,
your work environment, likes and dislikes, your business and personal values,
human values and ethics, your goals, needs restrictions and life style
preferences. 2. Subject / Technical interview Your technical / subject
competence, strategies, professional skills, your projects, assignment which
you have prepared during your studies, earlier experiences and impressions
gained in internship programme, creativity, initiative, drive, interest in the
subject and improving knowledge etc., will be tested in depth. Your concepts
 and mindset will also be judged. The interview will be handled by a team of
technical experts or subject matter specialists of the organization.

FAQs in interviews

1.Tell me about yourself.

The FIRST & BEST question for any HR interview. The answer to this
basically sets the tone of rest of the interview. Good news is – You can earn
a lot of points if this is answered right.

 Give a brief of your education background (up to plus two is fine,

your family and location, any of your hobbies etc.

 You can also mention one of your major achievements, if it fits the
circumstance.

 Keep the answer to just about 3-4 sentences and not more than that.

 No need to explain your strengths & weakness at this points (as that will
definitely come along).
 A common mistake seen is most HR interview is to start the sentence like “I am
basically from...” No need to start a sentence like that.

 Keep the answer simple, to the point and give space and time for
further questions. Do not stretch it too much.

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2.What are your key strengths ?

This is another most common question in any HR interview. The idea here is
to understand how much you know about yourself and how confident you
are about your strengths.
 Just stay positive. Even a simple answer like “I am a very positive person” is
good enough.

 You can also change this as per the requirement of the interview. Knowing
a bit about the profile you are being interviewed helps as well.

 Explaining your strength with an experience from the past is desirable here.

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3.What is one thing, which you want to improve about

yourself? (OR) What are your weaknesses ?
This is a trick question. The expectation here is to answer a negative trait
with a positive twist. Something which in general a weak point of a person,
but is alright from an organization perspective.
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4.Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?

This is a question intended to know, what your career aspirations are, how
long you would be committed to the organization, any immediate plans for
you to move on etc. If you have an actual plan, explain it with reasoning. If
you do not have any specific plans as of then, give a generic answer along
with some interesting activity you would like to take up.
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5.Have you been in some challenging situation? Explain how you handled it?
This is usually an add-on question to explain your strengths
that you mentioned previously. This is a good opportunity to give a
suitable example, as to why you mentioned what your strengths are.

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6.Why should we hire you?

As a fresher, you can’t commit to any expertise in any specific domain. So this question is
intended to understand what quality of yours will be helpful most for the
company. Knowledge about company and what quality of yours suits the
organization, is the key to answer this. In case you don’t know much about the
company, quick learning ability, flexibility, team player etc are few common
qualities that will fit any organizational needs.

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7.What are your hobbies and interests?

You cannot say, you don’t have any other interests, other than academics. Even if you are
very studious, your answer should include reading non-textbooks and
following cutting edge stuffs in technology. A company looks for a
candidate is are more rounded and keeps diverse interests in life. Identify
one of your interests other than academics and prepare answer based on that
(Don’t include eating, watching TV, sleeping etc.)

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8.Who is the most inspiring person in your life?

The important part is not who, but why? When you answer this question with a
name, you should follow it up with why he / she is most inspiring person.

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9.Are you willing to change your role and profile when required for project?
As a fresher, your most sought after quality is flexibility. You need to
showcase, you are flexible and ready to learn. Saying you are flexible doesn’t
necessarily mean, you will be forced into things, you don’t like. It just shows your
positive attitude to learn and try new things.

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10. Are you ready to relocate?

As long as you do not have any compelling reasons, being a fresher it is
better to be ready for relocation. Today’s IT industry works on global operation
model, where they have offices located at several locations. These are staffed
strategically, as per need and business requirement and there could be a
need for your skills at a particular location.
Being flexible enough to suit the staffing need of a company is a great
advantage for a fresher and since most of fresher move around with less
baggage (example: being single), it is easier for company to move them at
short notice. Remember, this applies for a foreign country placement also.
So denying a relocation means, you are also saying “No” to an onsite opportunity
as well.

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11. Are you flexible with timings (if have to work in shift)?
This question yet again checks about your flexibility. The same answer above
applies here. If there is a genuine problem for you to work in night or early
morning shifts, mention that.

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12. Do you wish to pursue higher education?

If you are seriously considering higher education or if you are unsure, it’s wise to say so.

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13. Are you flexible with timings (if have to work in shift)?
This question yet again checks about your flexibility. The same answer above
applies here. If there is a genuine problem for you to work in night or early
morning shifts, mention that.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
What are your expectations from your first job?
You can always quote a simple vision or strategy which you like about the
company. As a fresher, your most important expectation should be “To Learn” &
this is what most companies expect from you. There could be additional
personal expectation like contributing to society, placing yourself within
corporate world, paying off your education loan etc;

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EVALUATION REPORT

S.NO DESCRIPTION WEIGHTAGE MARKS

1 LANGUAGE 25
2 COHERENCE 25
3 SENTENCE STRUCTURE 25
4 VOCABULARY 25
TOTAL 100
:
 EXERCISE 6

LEADERSHIP TRAITS & TEAM WORK

Objective
1. At the end of the lab session, the students would find ways to improve
their leadership skills and become aware of their essential and preferred job
requirements.

2. Leadership traits and team work are an essential part of developing

a career. When you have the privilege and responsibility of leading a
company, having the right skill set is vital to success. Business owners
and managers need to understand
the difference between a leader and a boss and which skills distinguish
the two. Below is a tried-and-tested list of the 10 most important
leadership skills needed to succeed in business and team-building.
1. Ability to Lead
This skill refers to how clearly a leader sees his or her vision, shares it
with employees, and inspires them to support that vision. The ability
to lead also entails how well a leader can motivate employees in order
to get the desired business results. For example, each employee should
understand how his or her job
contributes to the company’s overarching goals. Instilling this information is part of
a leader’s responsibility, and will help employees feel motivated and have a sense of
purpose.
2. Effective Communication
All great leaders are good communicators. They must understand
how to get a point across, describe the company vision to their
employees, make sure daily tasks are getting done, facilitate office
conversations, and know when it’s the right time or the wrong time for a
meeting. Leaders must also be able to communicate what a job entails
before someone is hired, and explain the reasons for firing someone.
For example, if the team has an unusually busy time coming up, a
leader might email a timetable listing the most important tasks to
 make sure team members understand what needs to be done.
3. Team and Relationship Building
Creating and fostering relationships with both employees and clients
is one of the marks of a leader who is truly dedicated to his or her
position and company. It takes an investment of time, emotion, and
effort to maintain business relationships, and this isn’t overlooked by your
team members or customers. These relationships will help inspire your team
to work harder, possibly even going beyond their job responsibilities. A
team member who feels personally mentored by his or her manager
is more likely to go the extra mile for that manager.
4. Industry Expertise
It is difficult and demotivating to follow a leader who doesn’t understand what he
or she is doing, or is less qualified than the employees. Great leaders
must truly lead; both in the workplace and in their respective fields.
They must be a voice of authority that clients, employees, and other
industry professionals look to and respect. This expertise must also
drive important decisions and help them understand what is and isn’t
possible for each position. For example, a good website design leader won’t ask his
or her team to build a website function that isn’t feasible. Instead, the leader
should suggest an alternative, possibly better solution.
5. Perceptive of Team Needs
In addition to having important leadership skills, managers must
make sure their teams also have the skills they need to succeed.
Leaders should be able to determine the most vital skills for a position,
and either find someone who already has those skills or hire someone
who is a good company fit and then train them. Great leaders can
identify all of the skills within the scope of a role, and then ensure
that the new team member has the proper training and certifications,
when applicable. You must also understand what your team needs in
terms of equipment and logistics. For example, a leader shouldn’t ask
employees to do intense Web-based research with a slow, outdated
computer.
6. Trustworthiness
The most trusted leaders display integrity and honesty, gaining the
 trust and respect of their employees and clients. Being seen as
trustworthy will increase your team members’ commitment to their goals,
and inspire their best efforts. Many factors go into being seen as trustworthy,
including competence and perceived intent. Being trusted by your
team also helps the communication process, because team members
will be more likely to take risks during brainstorming sessions and
come to you with any problems that are hindering their work.
7. Time Management
Although time management is often seen as an important skill for employees, it’s
even more important for leaders. Great leaders not only have to
manage their own time, they have to manage an entire company’s time and
efforts. Time management for leaders entails knowing how and where to
spend their own time, understanding how employees spend their
time, and what objectives each department should spend its time on.
Leaders must decide where to invest the company’s time and resources; which
clients have a good return-on-investment; which employees need a
little more mentoring; which business ventures will benefit customers,
and so on.
8. Commitment
Great leaders are committed to their business, their employees, and their
customers.
They understand that what makes a product or service great is an
ongoing
commitment to excellence. A leader who isn’t committed to his or her team
may end up abusing them; one who isn’t committed to a company shouldn’t be
leading it; and a lack of commitment to customers means that customer
service will decline. For example, if leaders don’t listen to customer complaints
and suggestions, innovation and satisfaction standards will go down.
9. Confidence
Confidence inspires trust and helps leaders present themselves and
their company well. Leaders need confidence in order to make
important decisions and stick to them. There is a lot of pressure in
business for leaders to be decisive, and changing your mind often is
usually detrimental. For example, deciding to offer a new product
then cancelling it once the research and development has started will
 cost the business time and money, at the very least.

10. Problem Solving

Last but certainly not least comes problem-solving skills. All leaders
must know how to solve problems for their team and company. The
best companies solve a particular problem for their clients, and the
best leaders solve problems at work.
For example, if an employee comes to you with a problem, your
number one goal as a leader is to solve that problem in the best
interest of both the company and employee. Turning problems
around for an employee can also inspire loyalty and retention.
All ten factors contribute to a well-rounded and highly effective leader.
Consider each of these elements as you move forward into becoming the
best leader you can be.

Discussion :

1. Do you prefer working in a group or team environment, or

working individually? What are the advantages and disadvantages
of each? Discuss.
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2. Imagine that you could choose anyone you wanted to be on a team

with you. Who would you choose, and why?
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3. Think of a leader you admire and respect. How did this individual
become a leader—for example, by appointment, democratic selection,
or emergence? How would you characterize this leader’s style—is the leader
autocratic or laissez-faire, a technician, or a coach?

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CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING

Career planning is a small step taken in the direction of achieving dreams

and aspirations. It is what we call ambition. Ambition takes the shape of
dream and aspirations. As said previously, life without ambition is like a
rudderless boat.To put it in plain and simple terms, career planning gives
meaning and significance to this adventurous sojourn through life.It is
essentially the way you seek to interact with life. It doesn’t begin and end with
getting employment, but also includes the issues of growth, right moves and
change. The possible avenues to be explored can also be clubbed under the
same. In fact, it all begins with the sheer selection of avenues of career. In
order to go downhill all the way, you need to earmark the areas of interest
and that of flair.Self assessment or for that matter introspection is the bare
basis of career planning. Knowledge of self, your expectations from life and
career, inclinations that are going to reap dividends in the long run are to
be dwelled upon with all seriousness.

Nature and kind of resources you are equipped with also merit analysis.
Besides listing out the knacks and interests, you need to figure out your
chosen area of environment- what kind of work environment you would
like working in is going to have curious roles to play in the realm and scope
of career planning. It not merely relates to earmarking the areas of passion
and those of flair. Maybe you are good at something, say painting. But if at
all you would like becoming a professional painter is the point of analysis.
Being good at something and pursuing the same with professional
commitments maybe diametrically different. There are realities to consider
as well. Hence one must go through the process of career planning in a
systematic way.

Stage 1 – Self Assessment

The first step in your career planning should be a self-assessment. Below

you will find a short summary of questions that should help you to find the
perfect career for you. Take some time to write down the answers on a
piece of paper before you move on to the next stage.

Answers to the following questions will help you identify careers, and
later contribute to your overall job satisfaction.
a.Interests: What are your likes and dislikes?
b. Preferred Skills: What skills have you developed in your life and which ones
would you like to use in a job?
c. Work values: What will contribute to your personal job satisfaction?
d.Physical aspects: Do you have any physical aspects to consider when
contemplating careers?
e. Preferred Working Conditions: What type of work environment would you prefer?
f. Personal profile: Make a summary of what is important to you in order
to evaluate different occupations.
Stage 2 – Explore your options
Now that you have analysed your interest, skills and values, you can move
on and start doing your research. This includes finding out about possible
jobs in your field of interest and researching descriptions of possible
positions that would be suitable for you.
a. Explore occupations: Use information in the library and online to get
background information.
b. Research Market: Conduct interviews with people in occupations similar
to your personal profile to get a sense of what a job is really like. You can
get a sense of whether you will “fit” with the job.

Stage 3 – Decision Making

After researching the market it is time to have another look at the
personal profile you assembled in stage 1. Find out which career areas
you are most interested in and start choosing your goals.
a. Evaluate: Decide which career areas match your personal profile.
b. Choose goals: Set your career goals and identify the steps required to
achieve these goals.

Stage 4 – Take action

Now it is time to start taking action. Below you find 6 steps for finding
your career job. Identify possible occupations.
 Access your “network.”
 Develop effective resumes and cover letters.
 Practice effective job interview skills.
 Contact potential employers.
 Follow up on all job leads.
 Identify your skills
Employers also look for a number of skills other than your academic
qualifications. There are 4 types of skills that are important when you apply
for a job: interpersonal skills, personal qualities & skills, specialised skills and
core skills.
The following will help you in identifying the skills that you currently have
and those you need to acquire and develop.
Interpersonal skills:
Being good with
people Ability for
team work

b. Personal qualities & skills:

 Confidence
 Initiative
 Leadership skills
 Adaptability to change
 Sensitivity to the culture of customers and colleagues

c. Specialized skills:
 Creativity
 Critical thinking ability
 Logic
 Technical and scientific competence
d. Core skills:
 Communication skills
 Planning ability
 Problem-solving ability
 Effective time management
 Computer/ IT skills

Writing a list with those 4 types of skills is a good way of preparing for an
interview. It will help you memorise your skills and make it easier to find
arguments to convince your future employer that you are the right person
for the job.
Career Development Plan:
1. Write down your primary career interest.

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2: Identify long-term professional goals (including positions desired within

the company). Long-term professional goals:

1.__ _ _ _ _ _ _

2.__ _ _ _ _ _ _

3.__ _ _ _ _ _ _

3.Identify the short-term goals that will contribute to long-

term interests. Short-term professional goals:

1.__ _ _ _ _ _ _

2.__ _ _ _ _ _ _

3.__ _ _ _ _ _ _

4.List 2-3 activities that will help you reach each goal. Be sure to specify
how you will accomplish the activity, including any resources you might
need, and when you will start and finish it.

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 EVALUATION REPORT

S.NO DESCRIPTION WEIGHTAGE MARKS

1 CRITICAL ANALYSIS 25
2 SKIMMING AND 25
SCANNING
3 SENTENCE STRUCTURE 25
4 LANGUAGE 25
TOTAL 100

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