Inside the Recruiter's Head: What He's Really Asking You During the Interview

Inside the Recruiter's Head: What He's Really Asking You During the Interview

Social Intelligence...a definition

This is an interesting comment on social intelligence. After reading the link above you'll see several divergent views...is there or isn't there something TO this area of intelligence?

"The Prototype of Social Intelligence
Although social intelligence has proved difficult for psychometricians to operationalize, it does appear to play a major role in people's naive, intuitive concepts of intelligence. Following up on earlier work by Rosch (1978), Cantor (Cantor & Mischel, 1979; Cantor, Smith, French, & Mezzich, 1980), and Neisser (1979), Sternberg and his colleagues asked subjects to list the behaviors which they considered characteristic of intelligence, academic intelligence, everyday intelligence, and unintelligence; two additional groups of subjects rated each of 250 behaviors from the first list in terms of how "characteristic" each was of the ideal person possessing each of the three forms of intelligence (Sternberg, Conway, Ketron, & Bernstein, 1981). Factor analysis of ratings provided by laypeople yielded a factor of "social competence" in each context. Prototypical behaviors reflecting social competence were:
 

Accepts others for what they are;
Admits mistakes;
Displays interest in the world at large;
Is on time for appointments;
Has social conscience;
Thinks before speaking and doing;
Displays curiosity;
Does not make snap judgments;
Makes fair judgments;
Assesses well the relevance of information to a problem at hand;
Is sensitive to other people's needs and desires;
Is frank and honest with self and others; and
Displays interest in the immediate environment.
 

Interestingly, a separate dimension of social competence did not consistently emerge in ratings made by a group of experts on intelligence. Rather, the experts' dimensions focused on verbal intelligence and problem-solving ability, with social competence expressly emerging only in the ratings of the ideal "practically intelligent" person. Perhaps these experts shared Wechsler's (1939) dismissive view of social intellience"

From the link above...

Growing Intelligence..social intelligence?

The reading link focuses on increasing intelligence. Always an area of interest, this morning, however my first thought goes to social intelligence specifically. What exactly is social intelligence? Is it the ability to get along or go along? Is there really such a thing as social intelligence?

In my past human resource career, and to some extent in my current instructor life, it quickly became apparent  the ability to work well with others is a critical component to overall success in a career and life. Some seem to come by working well with others naturally while others seem naturally abrasive in their approach to life.

What causes the differences? Different upbringing? Different life experiences? Different genes? Probably all of the above, but what can we do to change the naturally abrasive to the naturally nice? And do we want to?

In preparing students for a graphic design career, this IS critical. It can make the difference between getting a client, maintaining a client relationship, getting a job and maintaining a career.

So...let's do some research.What is social intelligence, do we need it, how do we get it?

Generation Me by Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D.

First, this seems to be a good read...her subtitle, "Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled- and More Miserable Than Ever Before."

Discussion question after Chapter 1...the discussion question was posed by http://stevebussey.blogspot.com

(those of you who know me, know that I'm not necessarilty fond of the remainder of his posts.)

1. This chapter presents a convincing thesis: that we are in the midst of a revolution of what
are considered acceptable social rules which define this generation as being radically
different to the cultural ethos of previous decades (p.20). The new rule: do things your way -
self-interest supercedes the expectations of those around you - or "I don't care what anyone
else thinks, I'm doing things my way." Does this mindset foster or pervert the quest for
authentic community?

My thoughts...No…if we are to believe that in order to give to anyone else, we must be giving FROM a place of comfort, joy and satisfaction…hence you do need to take care of yourself/personal needs first. A personal mantra, this has been followed as I’ve cared for children, family and friends. Community comes from a collection of individuals with needs of their own. How do we give back if we have nothing or little to give? And what is authentic community anyway? 

What are your thoughts?

More lessons from Frida....

Most of you who know me know Frida (my dog and constant companion for the last 11 years) is very ill. She has cancer with numerous tumors through-out her body. We (her doc and I) made the decision that chemo or other extraordinary measures to extend her life would not enhance her quality of life and so we are in the period of waiting and decline.

When we can, Frida and I spend the day together (like today) just hanging out, working on home-based projects, watching TV or listening to music together. I thought today, as we were sharing a breakfast burrito that I'd like another picture of her (although I have hundreds.)

As you can see, Frida made her wishes understood! After the first picture, she very carefully stood up, turned around and put her back end to the lenses :)

Ok...so do we want painful moments of our life recorded as we're living them? Do we want a photo taken when we first get out of bed? Do we want a candid shot as we lay dying?

I'm sorry, Frida...what will I ever do without your wisdom and companionship.

Gallery Talk - Bauhaus Images

 

Muskegon Community College gallery show feature three photographers...myself, LeeAnn Frame and David Myers. Here is the accompanying movie...

Branding

What is branding? Why is it important? How do you do it?

For a new graphic designer entering the job market, branding can mean a difference between getting a job...or not. It can mean you get the work you like to do...or not. Creating a brand for you or your business can mean you have a good understanding of your own strengths, interests and goals...or not.

As we look at the process of creating a brand, we'll begin developing YOUR brand as well...and in the process develop a visual identity system for your use in promoting you and your portfolio :)

First the definition...click on the link
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/branding.html
Read it...be ready to discuss in our first class meeting.