How to Deal With Hostile Employee Questions

How to Deal With Hostile Employee QuestionsHow to Deal With Hostile Employee QuestionsIt can happen in any business meeting Some unhappy employeeasks a question that is off-topic, related only to their own situation, or to push anotlageher agenda. How you respond to disgruntled employees and challenging questions is important because it sends a message to other employees about the attitudes and philosophies held by management - even when those attitudes are not necessarily those of the company itself. The following strategies can help you respond appropriately to employees who try to stir up trouble in business meetings. Devaluing One Employee Devalues Others If you devalue one employee, their peers may also feel devalued. For example, if you insult one assembly line worker, you insult them all. If you criticize one secretary, others are likely to also feel criticized. Even if you make carte blanche statements tech hilfe failed to do their job but we are working on getting them up to speed you devalue other employees peers, friends, co-workers and send the silent message if management will publicly flog one rolle or department, they could flog yours, too. Provide Direction but Not Meeting Air Time If someone asks a question that is hostile, unrelated, or inappropriate, direct the person asking the question with a specific command or instruction, such as to put it in writing to management so you have time to carefully consider the problem or idea later. You might be able to diffuse a particularly volatile question by including the person posing the question rather than excluding them. For example, you might suggest they come up with a brief meeting agenda on that topic or a list of concerns. Be sure to give them a specific person to submit it in writing to. If you do not offer a clear set of instructions, you sound dismissive. If you are not sure who the right point of contact is, say so, and ask the employee to call or email you later after you have ha d time to find out who they should really pose their question to. In most situations, it is important that you do not directly answer a hostile question because It gives credibility to the question (it must be an issue if you took so much time to answer it)It can make you appear defensive (especially if you are caught off guard) andAs soon as you give a meeting air time to, or spend too much time addressing one angry questioner, you may end up with others jumping on board due to the crowd phenomenon. The crowd phenomenon describes when an individual who might not do or say something on their own feels empowered when others are doing something, joins in with whatever the others in a group or crowd are doing. In a meeting, if one person gets away with taking up time, others are likely to attempt to join in with their own agendas, concerns, or questions. Never make statements that devalue the person directly or indirectly. If you say a question is unfounded and deserves no reply, the m essage the audience might hear is that you are dismissing a concern they have. Validate Without Agreeing You can validate a persons question without valuing it outside the other persons feelings. Validation is simply anacknowledgment that something is important or has value to someone else - even if it does not to others. By incorporating statements like, I understand why you think that is important, or Clearly the situation was upsetting to you, is not the same thing as admitting you agree.

Why You Need an Original Cover Letter for Each Job Youre Applying to

Why You Need an Original Cover Letter for Each Job Youre Applying toWhy You Need an Original Cover Letter for Each Job Youre Applying toSome candidates make the mistake of focusing on their resume without giving much thought to theirtitelseite letter. Others dont even send one in at all, believing that hiring managers simply dont read them.But submitting a personalized and persuasive letter, along with your resume, is another vital tool that will help you stand out in a sea of other candidates. Heres whyYour titelseite letter is a great place to get personal about your background, skills, and abilities. You can share a story that ties in well with the opening to which youre applying. Or you can talk about your in-depth knowledge of the company and how excited you were when you saw the posting. Your cover letter provides space for you to showcase who are you as a candidate beyond just your skill set and past job titles.Another reason a personalized cover letter is so important is that it gives you the chance to get more specific about why youre a great fit for the job. While your resume is talking about your past, your cover letter can highlight your present state i.e. why you want the job and the future value you can contribute. You can discuss what you bring to the table, the impact you could make if hired, and which specific skills and abilities the employer might be most interested in putting to work.Whatever you do with your cover letter, avoid regurgitating what you have on your resume, just in letter form. The information you include in your cover letter should be unique to that document and either build on, or introduce, whats in your resume. It shouldnt be a replica.Some other tips from our professional cover letter writers to help you craft a polished and powerful letter includeResearch the company and their hiring needs so you can more easily align your background and abilities with their mission, culture, and job opening.Write a great lead. This is the opening sentence and should engage the hiring manager from the start, so they want to keep reading.While you should always be professional, its ok to go with a warm and friendly tone in your cover letter. You want to come off as a human, not a robot.Avoid clichs and empty statements, like youre a hard worker or team player. Instead, get specific and offer details and stories that show youre a hard worker, rather than saying it.Clearly, writing a cover letter isnt always easy. Thats why if youre struggling with the job, then you should consider working with professional cover letter writers, like those at ResumeSpice. We can help you distinguish yourself from the competition, all so you get the call for an interview. Interested in learning more? Contact us at 832.930.7378 today.

Is there a good way to say no to your boss

Is there a good way to say no to yur baboIs there a good way to say no to your bossI struggled with saying no to my boss and coworkers, until I started using these 5 approaches that allowed me to say no without sounding rude or lazy.Its a situation many of us have been in we have a get-it-done, make-it-happen attitude, we work so hard, and we dont say no to any request that is thrown our way. And then what happens? We become overwhelmed with work, our attention pulled in many different directions, and the most important work we need to get done suffers.The bottom line is you need to start saying no to mora things. It can be tough, especially when senior folks in the company are asking you to do things, but focusing your time and setting boundaries is important for any professional. Many of these tips are inspired by Essentialism, its a book that changed my life.Here are 5 ways to say no1. Use the Yes, what should I re-prioritize? methodThis works especially well when receiving reques ts from superiors. Let me give you an exampleI once had a boss say to me,Will you make customized agenda and place settings for each person attending the training for tomorrow? That will be such a nice touch.In one sentence she assigned me 3 hours of work. So I saidYes, today I am booked up completing info packets, meeting with each vendor to ensure they have everything, and syncing up with each participant what should I re-prioritize for this?And she immediately responded,Oh yes focus on those things, dont worry about the place settings, its not that important.The lesson here is that when someone asks you to do something they often dont realize how busy you are and how not important their ask is compared to everything else you are doing. When that happens say Yes, what should I reprioritize? And they will generally figure out something else.2. Use a bit of humorThis one is tricky, we dont want to be awkward, but I like to be playful to diffuse a potentially uncomfortable situation .I had a coworker, we will call him Frank, walk by my desk say,Madeline, its cold in here, will you change the temperature on the thermostat?And instead of snapping back, No I am not the temperature monitor Or saying, Okay sure, and then resenting him for sidetracking my work, I said with a smile,Frank, youve got that big genius brain. I have full faith that if you put your mind to it, you can figure out how to change the thermostat. You can DO ITHe chuckled, we had some funny banter back and forth, and then he went over and took care of it himself. It was then that I realized using humor to say no is a great way to keep things light at work.3. Make it a teachable momentLets say your boss asks you for something that you know they have the resources to get themselves. Such asHey, could you tell me the dates of the conference?And you know that information is exactly where its supposed to be for them to reference. I recommend to make it a teachable moment. Say,Absolutely youll find the full calendar is here (link) which has the conference dates and all the important milestones leading up to it.Dont get in the habit of simply telling people what information they ask for, show them how to look it up themselves. Ive noticed more often than not that the person Im teaching truly did not know how to help themselves, and they appreciate me showing them.4. Suggest somebody else to do itIts much easier to say I cant do it, but X might be interested than it is to reject a request outright. You are able to come off as being helpful, without having to do the task for yourself.Especially if you are a consultant or work for yourself, have a list of people you can refer others to. Its a double win you help the person asking and you refer business to someone else which strengthens your relationship with them.My job can sometimes be a catch-all of little tasks - if you work in HR at a start-up you know what Im talking about - so employees dont always know where my role starts a nd ends. Employees get in the habit of bringing me many of their requests and if Im not careful, I can end up spreading myself way too thin.Therefore, when they say, Madeline can you deutsche post ag this on social media? I recommend them to reach out to the marketing department. Or, Madeline can I get conference hardware installed in that meeting room? I refer them to IT. Ive realized that when I make exceptions and start helping with every little task, I become completely swamped and not able to do the most important parts of my job. Dont be shy to suggest someone else to do a task.5. Use the If you can X, then I will Y responseSomeone may give you a big ask, and before agreeing to it, think about a compromise.Such as, a boss once said to me,Madeline, youre good at writing, could you write his speech for him?WOW, thats a big ask Instead of taking on such a big task, I modified the askTotally, how about if he writes the initial draft then I will come in and edit it and punch it up. That was a great compromise, I didnt say no, I modified the ask. So think about how you can divide the work with whoever is involved.The main thing to take away from these are that just because your boss asks you to do something doesnt mean they require it to happen exactly the way they asked. Protect your time, redefine the ask, and empower yourself to say noFor some more of my favorite tips on how to have a great healthy relationship with your boss check them out here.This article first appeared on Quora.