Learning Styles

Learning Styles have been disproved as of 2009. The basis of a visual learner will learn better with a specifically visual style is untrue and would be a waste of time for you and would ultimately be of no extra effect. The Association of Psychological Science carried out an experiment in which they tested a group of children by specifically matching half of them to the wrong learning style, this proved to have no negative effect when it came to the test, which proves that no person is specifically visual, auditory or kinesthetic.

The basis of the outdated theory was that a visual learner would learn better if they tailored their learning to a visual format, audiatory with sound, and kinesthetic with touch. But this is now disproved and there is no benefit for a person taking notice of it.

It is all down to preference, you may perfer one style to the other, but on a psychological level it makes no difference to your revision/work. By all means if you find rhyming things easier to reme,ber then go ahead. You can also discuss them and such. This is the same as if you perfer to read notes, or take on a more physical or active approch. But your preference is all that matters, dont bother with taking any online tests.

Communication

There are some limitations of effective communication though. For example, if you have grown up all your life in Glasgow, and then take a job in London, then you are going to have a problem because there is a high probability that you will have a strong accent that may make it more difficult for other people in the business to understand you. This is an example of a barrier that cannot be actively fought, but will fade over time as the accent will become less prominent as time passes.

Another barrier could be a different language. If you move country in order to obtain a job, but this country has a different language, then you will be at a major disadvantage in terms of communication, but this can be fought by taking lessons in the language or otherwise learning it. Also use of translators can be used in this instance, which makes communication by email an effective way of communication whilst you are learning the language.

However there are more significant disabilities than these that can really devastate communication. These include inability to talk, see, or hear. These are all devastating as the inability to talk can only be overcome by use of sign language, which will cause similar troubles to that of a language barrier, or a small device which when held to the throat allows vocal communication. However the latter is very rare and would be unlikely to be the case.

Loss of sight would also significantly restrict communication in most ways but talking. This could be overcome by special software on PC’s that convert text into sound, or brail for physical communication. However, the use of brail would mean someone would have to read through the messages, and literally translate them, which would be a time-consuming process.

Being unable to hear would make all vocal communication ineffective, so communication would have to be entirely written. A way to overcome this disability would be a device that converts what people are saying into words. Similar devices are used by some authors, but these devices are not instantaneous, so would only be of use for recording a meeting or interview for later review.

Attributes of a Valued Employee

Employers are looking for abilities and attributes which distinguish you from the crowd. These could involve achievements or special skills and qualities. Examples of these include:

·         Speech – being able to effectively communicate with other members of the workforce and are able to voice your opinions during meetings and the initial interview

·         Punctual – To be on time is extremely important. If you are on time, it shows that you are motivated and are trying your best to help the business succeed.

·         Enterprising – An individual needs to show a good amount of knowledge about the business world and needs to be able to have the motivation to use all resources at their disposal to achieve as much as possible.

·         Creativity – You have to be creative and submit new ideas to people in order to show that you care for the business and want to see it succeed. Also it shows that you have an open mind and are thinking of better ways to overcome problems.

·         Intelligence – You must show that you are not incompetent and that you have an acceptable level of intelligence. Employers don’t want to employ someone they think is thick, so you must demonstrate that you are not.

·         Analytical – You must show that you are able to analyse and overcome problems in the workplace or have the analytical skills to be able to be able to see a solution and to act on it or bring it to a superior with the answer to show that you can cope with problems.

·         Likeable – be a people person! It is far easier to secure a job if you attempt to get on with the interviewer rather than being rude or talking down to them

So when in an interview for a new job, remember, to stand out from the crowd, you need to be SPECIAL.