Preparing for Promotion Assessments - Sharing my experience

Promotion assessment is a big nightmare for most of us in the corporate world. We cannot avoid it some day or the other, while trying to climb the corporate ladder,

I recently got a chance to present myself for the assessment. It had happened two years back and the result was awful. I had spent a lot of time and energy preparing myself this time. Though the results are not out yet, I am feeling much relaxed. At least, I could present what I intended to.

Here are some small but useful tips which helped me. I learned them the hard way and I hope it helps you as well.


Be Serious. It matters A LOT

Promotion is directly linked to your salary. If money doesn't matter much to you, stop reading :).

Many of the times, we take promotions for granted. I worked so extremely hard, promotion should come to me automatically. When it comes to day-to-day ork activities, we do it with at most vigour.

I used to think it the best if your work speaks for yourself. It does in real life, but not during promotion assessments.

Normally, the assessments would be done by external experts. They will not know how things work in your organization, what is critical etc...

Be ready to spend some quality time while preparing the presentation and collecting proofs. I prepared the presentation during non-working hours. You have to stay focused while preparing the key slides.


SPY the Panel Members

Mostly the assessment panel would comprise of experts within the company from various teams. They may be of different skill sets and may not understand your work area in depth.

During job interviews, we know little about the interviewer. But for promotion assessments, you have a chance to learn more about the panel members. For example, if one member is an expert on Open-Source area, it will help a lot if you can present some points in that.

SPY on them :)

Google on the panel members... search in the intranet portals... try to get as much detail about their area of work. Look at their LinkedIn profiles, talk to friends of friends from their teams. Try to get as much detail in advance.

Remember, you are presenting yourself in front of them. You talk their language, you win ;)


Talk to people who are already promoted

You will definitely have a friend or friend's friend who is already playing the target role. Talk to them, understand the expectations, ask for inputs from their assessment etc.

Also discuss with each one who had attended the presentation earlier. Especially, the questions that were asked and try to avoid the same for you.

All of these must be done ahead of preparing the presentation.


Identifying your HOT CAKES and Weak Areas

We all work so hard. But there would be some Unique Selling Points for each one of us. The hot cakes need to be identified based on your assessment of the panel and your own expertise.

We know Edison for he invented BULB. But he has invented so many other things much complex. But Edison is only BULB for us.

There may be some work contribution, which did not take too much time, but may look HUGE for the panelists. Identify such points and highlight during the presentation.

Equally important to identify weak areas. Rephrase them as identified improvements and present UNLESS it sounds silly. Remember, nobody is perfect and its the best when you yourself identify your improvement areas.

Preparing your Presentation - VERY IMPORTANT

Normally, your supporting/HR teams will provide a template for presenting. My suggestion is to use your own template but covering all key points as per template.

Remember - your presentation is NOT FOR YOU, but for the panel. For them, what matters is what you have written in the presentation. So, avoid jargons, keep it in simple language. Highlight your hot cakes.

Make sure that the presentation flows easily on its own. Slide 2 has to be some continuation on previous slide. Search for "How to Make Great Presentation" on Slideshare and you get a lot of useful inputs.

Some simple tips - highlight major achievements. Do not use too many colors, too many fonts. Text should be be readable. Highlight the GOOD metrics (numbers speak). Images/Diagrams to be used effectively. Your key points should come as early in the slides. Include an Agenda slide.

If your slot is for one hour, at least half an hour must be spent on the main slides. Ensure all relevant content is present, no repetition and ensure content makes sense for the panelists.


Proofs Collection

The Panel may ask you for presenting Proofs during the presentation. Keep all key proofs handy. If required, write down in a note the important proofs to present and go through them one by one after presenting main slides.

In our case, we had to present the most complex designs we made. Remember, it is very important to present based on their knowledge levels. A technial expert may not appreciate if you explain in poor layman terms. The same goes reverse, if the panelist is from an HR background, he may not understand advanced technical terms.

You SHOULD have a proof for key points in the slides. It does not look good if you mention like "Can I share you the proof after meeting?".


Get it REVIEWED

Make sure your presentation is reviewed at least by one person. This can be your manager or friend who is already at the promoted level.

You should be THOROUGH with your final presentation. Go through as many times as required. Look at it from the panelists' eyes.

Try to present the slides yourself before the actual meeting. This will boost your confidence.


Ready Steady GOOOO...

Groom yourself well for the presentation. True that for technical jobs, your dressing doesn't matter. But no harm in presenting yourself well composed. In most cases, you may be meeting the panel members for the first time. The first impression matters.

Be calm and composed. Take a deep breath and stay relaxed. Do not run through the presentation in hurry-bury. Give them sufficient time during each slide. Try to make it interactive and ask for their inputs whenever you feel it is required.


Question Answer time

If you are doubtful or not aware of any specific point, admit it. Nobody expects you to know each and everything. It's a good practice to ask them for answers at the end if you feel required.



Work on your weaknesses

At the end of assessment, you have identified so many weak points even after preparing that hard. Good that you realized and work towards improving them.

I am much more prepared now and learned a lot many new things through the exercise.


All said and done, I had many sleepless nights preparing for the presentation :(. I had failed it earlier and I knew at the end that I was much better this time.

Wish you all the best for the next promotion. Do not forget to share your personal experiences.

സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യ ദിനത്തിലെ മൂന്ന്‍ അനുഭവങ്ങള്‍

ഏവര്‍ക്കും ഹൃദയം നിറഞ്ഞ സ്വാതന്ത്രദിനാശംസകള്‍...

ഇന്നലത്തെ മൂന്നു അനുഭവങ്ങള്‍ പങ്കു വെക്കുന്നു....

1. സ്വാതന്ത്രദിനം തിങ്കളാഴ്ച ആയത് കൊണ്ട് ഇതൊരു long weekend ആയിരുന്നു. പ്രഭാത ഭക്ഷണത്തിന് കുടുംബ സമേതം പുറത്തു പോയി, A2Bക്ക് തൊട്ട് പുറത്ത് അപ്പൊ ഒരു കൊച്ചു നാടോടിപ്പെങ്കുട്ടി മൂവര്‍ണ്ണക്കൊടി വിറ്റ് നടപ്പുണ്ട്. ഒരു നല്ല ദിവസമല്ലേ എന്നോര്‍ത്തു ഞാന്‍ പത്തു രൂപ കൊടുത്തു. കുറച്ചു കഴിഞ്ഞു ഭക്ഷണം വാങ്ങാന്‍ ക്യൂ നില്ല്ക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ഞങ്ങളുടെ പിന്നിലുണ്ടായിരുന്ന സ്ത്രീ ആ കുട്ടിക്ക് വേണ്ടി ഒരു മിനി ടിഫിന്‍ ഓര്‍ഡര്‍ ചെയ്തിരിക്കുന്നു. നാടോടിക്കുട്ടി ഭക്ഷണവും വാങ്ങി പുറത്തേക്കോടി. ആ ഹോട്ടലിനു പുറത്തു തന്നെ ആ ഭക്ഷണം വേറെ മൂന്നു കുട്ടികളെയും കൂട്ടി കഴിക്കുന്നു. അവര്‍ കഴിച്ചതിനെക്കാളും കൂടുതല്‍ ഭക്ഷണം ഞാന്‍ എനിക്കു മാത്രം ഓര്‍ഡര്‍ ചെയ്തിരുന്നു. പക്ഷേ ആ കാഴ്ച്ച കണ്ടതോടെ തന്നെ എന്റെ വിശപ്പെല്ലാം തീര്‍ന്നിരുന്നു. അവര്‍ ഒരു സ്കൂളിലും പോവാതെ തന്നെ പഠിച്ച പാഠങ്ങള്‍ ഒന്നും ആര്‍ക്കും കൊടുക്കാതെ കഴിക്കുന്ന നമ്മളെക്കാള്‍ എത്രയോ മഹത്തരം.

Representational Image

2. വിക്കി എന്ന ഷോര്‍ട്ട് ഫിലിം കണ്ടു. അര്‍ത്ഥഗംഭീരമായ എന്നാല്‍ ഒട്ടും ബോറടിപ്പിക്കാത്ത ഒരു ഷോര്‍ട്ട് ഫിലിം. നെല്‍സണ്‍ മണ്ടേലയുടെ "there is no such thing called part freedom" എന്ന ത്യാഗത്തെയും വാചകത്തെ തീര്‍ത്തും അര്തവക്കാക്കുന്ന ഈ ഷോര്‍ട്ട് ഫിലിം തീര്‍ച്ചയായും കണ്ടിരിക്കേണ്ട ഒന്നാണ്. അഭിനയിച്ചവരെല്ലാം തകര്‍ത്തു. നമ്മളെല്ലാം അനുഭവിക്കുന്ന സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തിന്റെ മഹത്വം അത് നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടാലെ മനസ്സിലാവൂ.

3. അലമാരയില്‍ വെറുതെ കിടന്നിരുന്ന ഒരു പാട് പഴയ വസ്ത്രങ്ങള്‍ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. പഴയത് എന്ന്‍ വെച്ച് വേണ്ടത്ര പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ ഒന്നും ഇല്ലാത്തത്. വൈകിട്ട് അതെല്ലാം മടക്കി വെച്ച് താഴെ സെക്യൂരിറ്റിക്ക് കൊടുത്തു. അവരുടെ സന്തോഷവും പറഞ്ഞറിയിക്കാന്‍ കഴിയാത്തതായിരുന്നു. ഒന്നാലോചിച്ചാല്‍ നമ്മളൊക്കെ എത്ര അധികം വസ്ത്രങ്ങളാണ് ഉപയോകിക്കുന്നത്. വെറുതെ വെക്കുന്നതിലും എത്രയോ നല്ലതാണ് ആവശ്യക്കാര്‍ക്ക് അത് കൊടുക്കുന്നത്.


ഒരു രാഷ്ട്രീയ വിശകലനത്തിന് മുതിരുന്നില്ല. ഇപ്പോ ഉള്ള സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തിനെ കുറ്റം പറയുന്നുമില്ല. പക്ഷേ സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യവും വികസനവും എല്ലാവരിലും ഒരു പോലെ എത്തിപ്പെട്ടില്‍ പിന്നെ അതില്‍ എന്തര്‍ത്ഥം.

ജയ്‌ ഹിന്ദ്‌...

Bangalore to Pondicherry Roadtrip

This is my first attempt to write a travelogue. I wanted to give it a try not just because we loved the trip.

Since Pondicherry is about 300+ kms from Bangalore, we thought Roadtrip could be the best option since Zaara was also with us. We didn't have many other choices for buses/train as it was a long weekend and people had planned theirs long back J

Another reason to write is not to rely on Google every time. It's a great tool to use for navigation, but sometimes the routes provided by them may not be the great if you drive.

Trip Planning

We had been thinking of multiple options for the Ganesh Chathurthi long weekend. Since most of friends already had finalized their own plans, we had to do it on our own. We were late for booking hotel/resort, so there weren't many options available. We saw Nalla Eco Beach Resort was a good choice both economically and location wise (due to its vicinity to East Coast Road, connecting Chennai to Pondicherry).

We had gone through the reviews on Tripadvisor and some other sites as well. Tripadvisor reviews are a good tool to finalize the place. Instead of booking directly on portal, we called the resort directly and confirmed booking for Standard room (later the management upgraded us to Superior room free of cost).

The rate was Rs. 3500 per night (also remember it was a long weekend). Pondicherry hotels allow checking only after 12 noon and checkout before 12. In case you arrive early, its better to plan some activity before you checkin to hotel.

Our original plan was for two day-one night trip. We were still prepared for an additional night in case required.

Bangalore to Pondicherry

We started from Indira Nagar at 4:40 AM. Not much traffic around and we could get out of Bangalore within 20 minutes (Electronic city flyover).

We had decided to go by the Google route that took us through Krishagiri-Uttangarai-Thiruvannamalai-Gingee-Thindivanam-Pondicherry route, as shown below.

This was the worst part of the trip L. The distance in this route is 310 km. We reached the resort by 11:40 AM. This included a break of half an hour at Thiruvannamali for breakfast.

The road work is in progress from Krishnagiri to Thindivanam. There are good stretches of 1 to 2 km in between, but remaining is either mud road or old road with big pot holes. In case you are driving, please do not follow this route at all.

Thiruvannamalai is a comparatively big town. We reached there by 9 and had breakfast at Aakash Restaurant, near Bus Stand. Love the chutneys they serve with Masala Dosa/Idly. The town also hosts Annamalaiyar temple, which is symmetric in nature.

Enroute to Thidivanam, you can also see the Gingee Fort, which covers two hills and you go in between. We didn't stop  over to ensure we had sufficient time in Pondicherry.

The last stretch of Thindivanam to Pondicherry is a toll road. It was quite relaxing to relax from frequent gear shifts and breaks for the last 3-4 hours.

We checked in to the resort directly and freshened up.

Paradise Beach

The first destination was Paradise Beach, which was about 18 kms from our resort. You need to go to the boathouse first. Ferry is available at Rs. 150 per person (Speed Boats available at Rs. 1200). It takes around 20 minutes by Ferry to reach the island creek.

It's the only beach in Pondicherry, which has shallow waters and you can swim around. The place is well maintained and very clean. We reached there by 1.30. Zaara was very happy to play in the beach after a long time J

If you go in a group, you can spend quality time in the beach, playing Volleyball, swimming. There is only one eatery available, which was a setback. We were already hungry J

The boat service continues until 4 pm into the beach and till 6 pm back.

Promenade Beach:

Promenade can be called as the Marine Drive of Pondicherry. For people familiar with the Queen’s Necklace in Mumbai, Promenade offers a similar experience. The place again is very well maintained.

We had lunch at the Spice Route, near to the Promenade Beach. They served delicious food (Fried Rice and Tawa Machi or deep fried Pomfret). One good thing about Pondicherry is that you can see all sort of quality French/Italian/Thai/Indian restaurants available in the area.

All buildings near the Promenade are built based on French Architecture style. Even the streets have name-boards in French like "Rue Romain Rolland".

The Promenade Beach also has many tourist attractions including Gandhi Statue, French War Memorial, Chief Secretariat etc.

Annasalai Street:

The Annasalai Street belongs to the business district and you can see many big exclusive stores in the area.

We went to the Pothy’s textile showroom in Pondicherry. It was a mind-blowing experience. You need to see the collection of garments they have kept and the best part is that it’s available for all price ranges being displayed.

Auroville:

The next day, we started visiting Auroville first. It’s a world on its own, situated 11 kms from Pondicherry main beach area. The place is vast and it is very different from other places with good vegetation.

The main attraction is the Matri Mandir, which is a golden metallic sphere at the centre of town.You can correlate it much to the Lotus temple in Delhi for the Bahaii believers.From visiting centre, the Matrimandir is around 1 km by walk. We spent around an hour in the Auroville area. Very much different from normal Tamilnadu landscape, with so much greenery around.

Back to Bangalore:

We took the longer route via Thindivanam-Vandavasi-Cheyyar-Arkot-Vellore-Krishnagiri route this time. It was so much relaxing to drive on this route with not even single pothole. The route is about 375 km but we took around 6 hours driving time.

Reached Home by 5.30 pm and at the end, it was a pleasant and joyous trip throughout.

Pondicherry is a calm place to visit anytime around the year other than rainy season. One day is good enough to cover all major attractions in the city.

Good for a weekend drive J