A blogger is someone who regularly writes and publishes content on a blog, sharing insights, stories, opinions, and information on a wide variety of topics. Bloggers create and maintain websites or use platforms like WordPress, Blogger, or Medium to reach their audience. The subjects they write about can range widely—from travel, fashion, food, and personal development to tech, business, and lifestyle.
Self-appraisal is a reflective process where individuals evaluate their own performance, skills, strengths, and areas for improvement within a specific timeframe, often related to their job or personal goals. This self-assessment can include an analysis of achievements, challenges faced, and personal growth. Self-appraisals are commonly used in professional settings during performance reviews but can also be applied to personal development.
Importance of Self-Appraisal
Self-appraisal is a valuable tool for both personal and professional growth for several reasons:
Self-Awareness: Engaging in self-appraisal helps individuals gain insight into their strengths, weaknesses, and behaviors. This awareness is crucial for personal and professional development.
Goal Setting: By assessing past performance, individuals can set realistic and achievable goals for the future, focusing on areas that need improvement or further development.
Performance Improvement: Reflecting on successes and challenges allows individuals to identify patterns in their performance, leading to targeted strategies for improvement.
Career Advancement: Self-appraisal demonstrates a proactive approach to professional growth, showcasing an individual's commitment to their career and personal development. This can be beneficial during performance reviews or when seeking promotions.
Enhanced Communication: Self-appraisal can facilitate better discussions with supervisors or colleagues about performance and expectations, leading to more constructive feedback and support.
Increased Motivation: Recognizing achievements can boost morale and motivation, encouraging individuals to continue striving for excellence in their work.
How to Write a Self-Appraisal
Writing an effective self-appraisal involves a structured approach to ensure a comprehensive evaluation. Here are steps to guide you through the process:
Reflect on the Review Period:
Take time to think about your performance over the review period, considering both achievements and challenges faced.
Gather any relevant documents, such as previous performance reviews, project summaries, or feedback received.
Highlight Key Achievements:
Identify and list your significant accomplishments. Use specific examples to illustrate your contributions.
Quantify results where possible (e.g., “Increased sales by 20%” or “Completed project two weeks ahead of schedule”).
Identify Areas for Improvement:
Reflect on challenges you encountered and areas where you believe improvement is needed.
Be honest but constructive in your evaluation, focusing on specific skills or behaviors rather than vague statements.
Set Future Goals:
Based on your self-assessment, outline clear, achievable goals for the upcoming period.
Consider both professional development goals (e.g., acquiring a new skill) and performance goals (e.g., improving communication).
Solicit Feedback:
If appropriate, consider gathering feedback from colleagues or supervisors to gain additional perspectives on your performance.
Incorporate relevant feedback into your self-appraisal to create a balanced evaluation.
Use a Structured Format:
Organize your self-appraisal in a clear and logical format. Consider using headings for different sections, such as “Key Achievements,” “Areas for Improvement,” and “Future Goals.”
Be Professional and Objective:
Write in a professional tone and avoid overly emotional language. Focus on facts and evidence to support your evaluation.
Balance your appraisal by acknowledging strengths while also addressing areas for growth.
Proofread and Revise:
Review your self-appraisal for clarity, coherence, and grammar. Make sure your points are well-articulated and free of errors.
Sample Self-Appraisal Template
Here’s a simple template to help you structure your self-appraisal:
Self-Appraisal for [Your Name] Position: [Your Job Title] Review Period: [Start Date] – [End Date] Date: [Date of Submission]
1. Key Achievements:
[Achievement 1: Description, impact, and any metrics]
[Achievement 2: Description, impact, and any metrics]
[Achievement 3: Description, impact, and any metrics]
2. Areas for Improvement:
[Area 1: Description and specific actions to improve]
[Area 2: Description and specific actions to improve]
[Area 3: Description and specific actions to improve]
3. Future Goals:
[Goal 1: Description of the goal and how you plan to achieve it]
[Goal 2: Description of the goal and how you plan to achieve it]
[Goal 3: Description of the goal and how you plan to achieve it]
Conclusion
Self-appraisal is a crucial process that fosters self-awareness, goal setting, and performance improvement. By following a structured approach to writing a self-appraisal, individuals can effectively reflect on their experiences and articulate their professional journey. This not only enhances personal development but also demonstrates a commitment to growth and excellence within the workplace.
Getting a job is no easy task in today’s competitive market. Companies are now adopting new ways to attract and hire top talents. A structured interview can help with that! They’re a unique style of organised interviewing that helps you, the candidate, and the interviewer save time. Finding out about them may lead to interesting new career opportunities!
We’ll define what a structured interview is, provide sample questions and answers, and offer advice to help you ace your next interview.
1. Definition of a Structured Interview
Imagine an interview where everyone gets asked the same questions in the same order. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the structured interview meaning is simple. It’s a series of questions asked in the same pattern to all the candidates applying for the job role or position.
The employer will inquire about your past experiences and potential responses to certain scenarios. This ensures that everyone is treated fairly and that the best candidate, not simply the one who does the best in the interview, gets the job! So, now that you know ‘what is structured interview,’ let’s move on to its characteristics.
1.1. Key Characteristics Of Structured Interviews
Fairness and efficiency are the two main goals of structured interviews. Interviewers ask predetermined questions that are relevant to the requirements of the position. They can question you about previous encounters and how you handled them.
In this way, everyone has an equal opportunity to showcase their skills! They use a grading system for your responses to ensure fairness, and interviewers receive specialised training on conducting these interviews consistently. It benefits the business as well as you!
1.2. Comparison Of Unstructured And Semi-Structured Interviews
Unstructured interviews resemble conversations in which a predetermined list of questions is not used. This allows you to discuss subjects openly and in greater detail, but it might be challenging to compare the opinions of several people.
Semi-structured interviews consist of both pre-planned questions and interview-related inquiries. In addition to learning about each person’s particular experiences, you also obtain all the pertinent information you require in this way. It’s similar to speaking with a guide who assists you in covering all the topics.
1.3. Advantages of Structured Interviews
Structured interviews are well-known for the fairness they offer to candidates! To reduce bias and level the playing field, the same questions are posed to each person in the same order. Structured interviews are similar to a race where every runner follows the same route! It makes evaluating prospects and selecting the best fit quite simple!
2. Components of a Structured Interview
Here are some of the key components of a structured interview:
2.1. Predetermined Set of Questions
Participating in a structured interview is similar to answering a set of questions in a game. These questions aim to determine whether you possess the abilities required for the position. It ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to demonstrate their abilities, much like a road map for the interview!
2.2. Standardized Order and Format
Fairness is the cornerstone of structured interviews, just as every cookie maker follows the same recipe. It’s almost like a fair competition because each person receives the structured questions in the same order. In this manner, interviewers will be more interested in the quality of your response than in the chronological order of your answers.
2.3. Consistent Evaluation Criteria
Patterned interviews provide a very clear way to choose the best candidate! Like grading a test, interviewers assess your responses using a specific list. Everyone is scored equally, ensuring fairness and allowing them to select the candidate with the greatest abilities for the position—rather than just the standout interviewer.
2.4. Limited Probing or Follow-Up Questions
Structured or patterned interviews greatly enhance fairness, but they can sometimes come out as rigid. Interviewers may not have as much time to discuss your replies because all candidates are asked the same questions identically.
3. Sample Structured Interview Questions and Answers
3.1. Behavioral Questions
In structured interviews, they ask behavioural questions like “What did you do?” These require you to demonstrate your abilities by personal experience rather than just stating them.
Example:
Share a real-life experience where you had to collaborate with a challenging team member. How did you deal with the circumstances?
Sample answer:
“When we were working together, a teammate of mine once gave off the impression that we were on different teams! I tried to be friendly, but she didn’t seem interested in the friendship and even gossiped about me.
I decided to speak with her one-on-one since it was beginning to impact our team negatively. Fortunately, we resolved the conflict and are now close friends who socialise outside work!”
Tips for answering behavioural questions effectively
Behavioural questions, which inquire about your past situational management skills, are a common feature of structured interviews. Think STAR to stand out! Begin by describing the situation, followed by the task you faced and the actions you performed.
Lastly, convey the favourable result or outcome. This is a great method to highlight your prior experiences and show off the skills and problem-solving abilities you can offer to the workplace!
3.2. Situational Questions
Interviewers may also ask work-related “what if” questions during structured interviews. These are similar to brainteasers designed to test your ability to solve issues quickly. They want to know how you would respond and think in scenarios that could arise at work.
Example:
One of the most common situational structured questions is: ‘how would you manage a project with little time and few resources?’
Sample answer:
“In that case, I would divide the project into more manageable, smaller portions. In this manner, we can all cooperate because we know what needs to be done first. After that, I would focus on the tasks that must be completed by the deadline.
It’s important to communicate clearly, so I’ll keep everyone informed about progress and any issues that arise. We can complete tasks more quickly and increase our chances of meeting the deadline by collaborating on the project and using our resources optimally!”
Tips for tackling situational questions successfully
Go for the STAR Approach: Explain the situation, tell what task and actions you had to undertake, and the outcome.
Focus on Finding Solutions: Focus on your problem-solving skills. Demonstrate how you assessed the circumstances, made choices, and produced fruitful outcomes.
Be Specific: Make use of specifics and instances to support your arguments. Anytime you can measure the influence you have.
Be Confident: Talk with assurance and clarity. Before responding, give yourself some time to gather your thoughts.
3.3. Technical or Skills-Based Questions
“Technical structured questions” are a common way for structured interviews to evaluate your specialised talents. These may be associated with tools, software, or industry expertise. They aim to determine if you possess the necessary technical skills to perform well.
Example:
A good structured interview example based on technology and skills is: “Explain the difference between frontend and backend web development.”
Sample answer:
“The areas of a website that frontend and backend developers work on differ. Things you see and interact with, like images, buttons, etc., on a website are the front end.
Conversely, the backend functions as the website’s secret components, keeping everything running smoothly. It handles information storage, communication with servers, and more. To do so, backend developers use a variety of languages, such as Python, Java, or Ruby.”
Tips for showcasing your technical skills and expertise
Customise Your Examples: Link your responses to the role and its specifications. Emphasise the relevant experiences and skills that the job description mentions.
Jargon? Describe! Technical phrases demonstrate expertise but try not to overwhelm interviewers with them. If you employ complex concepts, briefly explain them.
Gauge Your Impact: Numbers have a lot to say! Did the 20% efficiency gain come from your code? Bring it up to the interviewer!
Show Enthusiasm: Demonstrate your passion for your field. Discuss projects that inspire you to show off your technical expertise and curiosity.
4. Preparing for a Structured Interview
By preparing beforehand, you can feel more at ease and confident during the interview. So, follow these steps:
4.1. Research The Company And Role
Shine by learning about the firm before an official interview! It shows sincere curiosity to grasp their mission, culture, and the specifics of the job role. Using this information in your responses can help you make a strong first impression!
4.2. Review Common Structured Interview Questions
The secret to thriving in a structured interview is being ready. Learn how to respond to common structured interview questions such as “Tell me about a time you faced a challenge” or “Explain your experience with [relevant software].” You can prepare compelling, topical responses that highlight your knowledge and expertise by doing your homework in advance!
4.3. Prepare Specific Examples And Experiences
Structured interviews prefer details! Make a list of completed tasks or difficulties that relate to the job description beforehand. When building your examples to demonstrate your abilities and aptitude for problem-solving, consider the STAR approach (Situation, Task, Action, Response). You’ll be ready to wow with a toolkit of powerful stories if you do this preparation!
4.4. Practice Your Responses With A Mock Interview
Think about doing simulated interviews with friends, coworkers, or career centres. You can mimic the format by practising your STAR approach and customising your responses to the job description. This boosts self-assurance and makes sure you’re prepared to ace the interview!
4.5. Anticipate Technical Or Skills-Based Questions
Technical or skill-based questions are frequently asked in structured interviews. Be the first to adopt new technologies! Look into the position and typical questions in the field. Use the STAR approach to practice your answers.
5. Tips for Excelling in a Structured Interview
Even though structured interviews may appear formulaic, you can still make an impression! How to ace it is as follows:
Be Concise: Don’t babble; keep everything concise and clear. Provide targeted responses that are direct and concise.
Use STAR Approach: Apply the STAR approach while responding to behavioral inquiries (“Tell me about a time…”). Task, Situation, Action, and Outcome. Give a brief explanation of the situation, your part in it, the actions you took, and the result.
Show Your Problem-Solving Skill: Structured questions gauge your attitude toward difficulties. Display your ability to assess problems and come up with solutions.
Tech Talk (if relevant): In technical roles, emphasise your competencies! Speak clearly (if necessary, explain technical terms) and demonstrate your knowledge.
Be Truthful & Consistent: Throughout the interview, always act with integrity and honesty.
6. Advantages and Limitations of Structured Interviews
6.1. Advantages
Reduced bias and subjectivity: The main goal of structured interviews is maintaining impartiality! The identical questions are posed to each person in the same sequence. Interviewers aren’t affected by their personal preferences in this way.
Easier comparison and evaluation of candidates: In a structured interview, all candidates are asked the same structured interview questions, much like in a running course. This makes comparing applicants and determining who performed best very simple for interviewers!
Consistency and fairness in evaluation: Structured interviews resemble a race in which competitors follow the same track and set of regulations. This evens the playing field for all of us! Interviewers ask every candidate the same questions about the position, and they even grade their responses using a point system.
6.2. Limitations
Less flexibility and adaptability: While they ensure fairness, structured interviews can occasionally appear stiff. There may be fewer possibilities for in-depth talks on your special abilities and experiences if the focus is on pre-planned questions.
Potential for missing unique candidate qualities: Sometimes, distinctive strengths are overlooked when set questions are the main focus! An innovative thinker might be unable to do well in a rigid format. Consider combining them with other techniques to obtain a complete picture of every applicant.
Reliance on predetermined questions and criteria: Relying on pre-planned structured interview questions can stop you from having in-depth conversations about your special skills and previous experience. It’s similar to following a recipe: it may preserve uniformity but lose out on your unique flavour!
Conclusion
Structured interviews provide an equitable opportunity for you, the candidate, to showcase your skills to organisations. You can feel comfortable conducting an interview by understanding how they operate, practising with some structured interview questions, and adhering to the advice we discussed. Remember that showcasing your abilities and expertise while speaking clearly and confidently is the key to getting
An internship is an official work experience initiative offered by organisations aimed at providing practical knowledge to students and recent graduates (called interns) in their fields of expertise. It offers students hands-on experience to supplement their theoretical proficiency and allows them to be better equipped at applying their knowledge (both practical and theoretical) in an office setting.
Nowadays, almost all companies from large multinational corporations to small startups in
all sectors of the economy offer different internship programs with differing benefits, durations, and job placement offers. In addition, there has been a rise in many global companies offering virtual internships. All these organisations offer internships for students at different levels- undergraduate, graduate or even postgraduate.
Difference between an Internship and Cooperative Education
The table below highlights the difference between cooperative education and internship.
Internships
Cooperative Education
Internships are usually unpaid. However, recent trends have shown that paid internship programs are on the rise.
Most students get paid in cooperative education.
Internships usually last for a much shorter duration, usually one semester and mostly finished during the summer break.
Cooperative education tends to be more of full-time employment. It can last anywhere between two semesters and the entire duration of your academic program.
In internships, your responsibilities remain the same as assigned at the start of your joining as an intern.
In cooperative education, as your semester progresses, so does your responsibilities
In internships, students are not necessarily offered major-related work.
In cooperative education students are usually offered major-related work within the framework of their academic program.
Internships are usually not for academic credits and do not form a part of students’ official transcripts.
Cooperative education is for academic credits and forms a part of students’ official transcripts.
Benefits of doing an Internship
There’s a common belief that the sole motive behind doing an internship is to enrich your CV and that is far from the truth. Although an internship does enrich your CV, it has a much larger bearing on shaping your employability in the labour market.
Let us delve into the benefits of doing Internships one by one.
1. Compliments your theoretical knowledge.
An internship helps you gain hands-on experience with what you have already learnt in your classroom and helps you apply your knowledge in an official work environment with different factors at play such as teamwork, deadlines, employee relationship, office work culture and stress. This prepares you to be better equipped for employment once you begin your career.
2. Serves as a litmus test.
An internship helps you to get familiar with what to expect from a career path you have chosen in an office setting and allows you to explore whether you have made the right decision or not. It gives scope for one to understand his/her strengths and weaknesses and the opportunity to make changes before his/her career takes off. This experiment can help you streamline your career opportunities according to your demand in a particular job position and prevent you from securing a job that is not for you.
3. Offers job placement.
A recent trend shows that companies often seek interns who would consider working for them in a full-time position if their performance during the internship is satisfactory. Getting a placement offer from a company as an intern shows the faith the company has in you.
This apart from the perks of a promised job, additionally it is a huge confidence booster for a fresher and can be a huge boost in your hunt for another job even if you decide not to take the offer.
4. Platform for skill enhancement.
During internships, interns are exposed to real office environments. It allows you to learn how to work under stress, with deadlines and with peers. It helps you to understand your specific duties and responsibilities and how to deliver your task effectively. Valuable
feedback and suggestions from your mentors can help align your skill sets with what is demanded by the task at hand.
5. Helps develop professionalism.
Internships open doors for dealing with people in a professional setting, be it, clients, peers, or superiors. It helps you learn how to communicate professionally. In addition, having a dedicated mentor can be impactful when it comes to your development as a professional.
6. Forge professional networks and connections.
As an intern, you get to meet people with the same interests, clients and business partners which increases your chances of growing as a professional. It allows you to make
professional bonds and build contacts in your field. Connections within the industry can help you secure better positions in the future through recommendations.
7. Help imbibe collaborative work ethics.
In a competitive industry, having technical knowledge is not enough, you can be the best in
your field but in an office setting, you are not alone and are required to work as a team. Internships help you to master the soft skills required for a collaborative work environment
and inculcate teamwork ethics. This can help you to better prepare for the real-life office environment.
8. An Opportunity to become financially independent.
Nowadays many companies are offering paid internships. Apart from helping you gain entry- level experience, it can help you support yourself financially and indirectly give a glimpse of how it feels to be a breadwinner. It can thus help you to learn how to be financially responsible during college itself.
9. Open doors for other internship opportunities.
The professional experience you have gained in the previous internship programs can help land you into another internship at different companies or different positions within the
same company. Continuation with these opportunities can help secure you a good job profile as it shows your commitment and your appetite for developing your professional skills. In addition, companies network themselves with one another and send recommendations within their network.
10. Platform to pursue new interests.
Internships you decide to pursue do not necessarily need to relate to your academic field. Each one of them provides ample opportunities to experience another branch of your field (offshoots) or an adjacent field. This allows you to test your capabilities in diverse areas and help you to develop new transferable skills. This not only enhances your CV but also gives you an edge to secure better jobs in diverse fields.
Importance of internship
Nowadays, with continuous developments in technology and the ever-increasing birth of new sectors and sub-sectors in the economy, the established relationship between traditional courses offered by our higher education institutions and the jobs demanded in the market is not in tune anymore. Also fuelled by the growing competition, the labour market is getting more and more skewed towards the skilled. Hence it is no surprise that our college degrees alone do not necessarily land us into our desired job profiles. Mastery in certain sets of skills is now increasingly becoming the yardstick of employability. ‘The more skilled you are, the better you sell in the labour market!’ Therefore apart from companies as well as academia, more and more students are increasingly putting the focus on the importance of internships during the time of higher education as a parallel to their traditional academic curriculum.
How can an internship help you get a better job?
An internship is one of the best ways to have a practical hands-on experience with what we have already learnt in our classrooms, it offers us an opportunity to take a brief look at what it is like to work for a living, and gives us insights on how our chosen career is like at an industry level and what it takes to succeed in that field. It also serves as an important platform for career exploration- i.e, to experiment in related or adjacent fields to develop new interests and fine tune and supplement old ones and to better understand our likes and dislikes. It also gives us an idea about organisational structures such as hierarchies, employer-employee relations, workplace cultures etc. and imbibes professionalism through its soft skill enhancement opportunities, especially in communication, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership and delivering tasks under stress and deadlines. Professional feedback that one gains from an experienced mentor in itself helps one to understand his/her strengths and weaknesses and to implement changes as required. Not only that, different job roles and positions offered by different internship programs help you to understand the ins and outs of different responsibilities and can help prevent you from landing an ill-fitting job once your career takes off.
Therefore it is crystal clear from the above discussion that doing internships during college
already gives you an edge over your peers in getting a better job. Not to forget, an internship also serves as a great platform to make professional connections, building connections with peers in the same industry might just play an enabling role in securing you better jobs in future to come. In addition, paid internships are offered nowadays by different companies. Although interns get paid much less than regular employees, this can help ease the financial crunch and we all know how tight the money can get during college.
How to choose the right internship
Having discussed the fundamentals of Internships, the question arises, “How does one choose the right internship program?”
Much like a job hunt, finding the right internship can be a daunting task and it is naturally hard to understand the potential value of a particular internship when you are a newbie. It is to be remembered that there is nothing like a ‘perfect internship’ and choosing one is solely at the discretion of an individual as all of us have different aspirations and dreams when it comes to career choices.
Thus, there is no tailor-made strategy on how to end up with the right internship. However, it would be a crime if we were to end this article without giving generic tips on how to finalize the right internship.
Here are things worth considering while choosing an internship program –
Do not be behind the money alone.
Decide on what sector you would like to do an internship in.
Choose the ones that are best aligned with your future career path.
Chalk out your preferred companies where you wanna do your internship.
Make a bucket list of what you are looking for as an intern.
Consider what skills you will learn from the internship.
Consider the amount of time you have.
Try to go with an internship that gives you scope for networking.
More emphasis on the ones with placement offers.
Read reviews and online ratings from previous interns.
To sum it up, switching from college life to professional life is not always easy as both worlds are very different from one another. Once you enter a professional workforce, it is demanded of you to mould yourself to fit into the professional environment and is an undisputed fact that an internship opportunity is one of the best workforce readiness programs. Although internships are most often linked to college students, there is no hard and fast rule as to who can apply for internships, internships are open to everybody. The truth of the matter is – gaining industry experience offers ample opportunities regardless of what field you are in, or what your desired career path is, as it lays the foundation for your employability and equips you with the set of skills required to kickstart your career and to which we would like to sign off by saying ‘Happy Internship’ to all of you.
