Honors Program Frequently Asked Questions

How does one gain admission into the Honors Program?

To be admitted to the program, one must, in addition to meeting the requirements for admission into English I, meet ONE of the following:

• Have a 3.5 High school GPA (on a 4.0 scale) or...
• Have graduated from the top 20% of one's High School class or...
• Have a 3.5 college GPA after 12 credits (in transfer courses only) or...
• Get a recommendation from someone familiar with one's academic abilities and have an interview with the coordinator of the honors program.

How do I know if the Honors Program is right for me?

If you can meet any of the above admissions requirements, and you can answer yes to at least half of the following questions, the honors program is likely to be a great choice for you:

• Are you a serious student who cares about learning for its own sake?
• Would you like to compile the most impressive transcript you can in preparation for transfer to a four-year institution?
• Are you looking for the most dynamic, innovative, and exciting educational experiences available at NCC?
• Do you thrive in environments in which you get to take responsibility for your own work and learning experience?
• Would you like a chance to take small, seminar-style classes with other students with strong academic skills?

Again, if this generally sounds like you, you should consider the honors program.

What are the benefits of being in the Honors Program?

• The honors classes at NCC provide our most exciting educational opportunities. Honors classes are smaller, so they afford much more intimate ties between teachers and students. Honors learning experiences regularly take place outside the campus and students have the chance to take charge of, and responsibility for, their education, often actually choosing texts themselves or leading class discussions and presentations and even "playing teacher for a day."
• But beyond their intrinsic benefit, having the distinction of completing, or even participating, in the honors program, will prove to transfer institutions that you are a highly motivated and academically skilled student ready to take on any of the challenges they have to offer.
• In addition, a select number of $1000 scholarships are available to honors program participants.

Competency based HR interview questions

Core elements of HR competency questions

Competency based interviews are considered a standard interview technique in today’s selection processes since their introduction in the late 1980s. At their heart is the premise that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour and interviewers specifically measure responses against a role’s competency framework to ascertain a candidate’s suitability.

In HR the extensive experience you gain on the interviewer’s side of the table ensures you become highly skilled in posing those probing questions to establish a candidate’s capabilities and suitability for a particular role, but sitting in the spotlight yourself can be another matter. You are under its glare with your experience and skills being taken out and scrutinised in the light for a role that you really want; it’s a daunting prospect regardless of your level of seniority.

Competencies range widely dependent on company identify, however the current school of thought as promulgated by leading HR thinker Professor Dave Ulrich of the University of Michigan as based on his 2011 study of Human Resources Competencies, details a competency model with six core elements relevant specifically to the HR function today.

• Strategic Positioner: Successful HR professionals have extensive knowledge of their external marketplace along with external and internal business trends. They are able to contextualise these and transform them into strategic responses that provide a framework in which the business can make tactical decisions. (Think along the lines of Alan Jones from Dragons Den).
• Credible Activist: To be an effective HR professional you must be a “credible activist” in building relationships and generating trust through commercial acumen. “HR professionals who are credible but not activists are admired, but do not have much impact. Those who are activists but not credible may have good ideas, but not much attention will be given to them.”1 (Margaret Thatcher was perhaps the ultimate Credible Activist.)
• Capability Builder: A capability is often described as a business identity, culture or process. An HR professional should aid in establishing and defining their business capabilities, ultimately reflecting the entrenched values of the whole. (Anita Roddick for example embodied the true values of the Body Shop brand.)
• Change Champion: One of the most widely advocated competencies, an HR professional’s capacity to initiate and integrate sustainable, valuable change is highly valued. “HR professionals help change happen at institutional (changing patterns), initiative (making things happen) and individual (enabling personal change) levels.”2 (Most definitely has to be Richard Branson.)
• HR Innovator and Integrator: A broad knowledge of established HR practices and employment law ensures an effective HR professional can innovate and integrate practices into cohesive solutions that resolve future business challenges. (Steve Jobs was the fore runner of innovation in recent times.)
• Technology Proponent: Technology has insinuated its way into all aspects of our lives and “in recent years, technology has changed the ways in which HR people think.”3 Not just in relation to the manner in which administrative work is carried out, but also strategic planning and relationship building need to be considered in a technological light. (In a business environment, no one has done more in integrate up to date technology than Bill Gates.)

Practical preparation - tips

The most practical piece of preparation that you can do is to establish exactly what competencies your interviewer will assess you against. These may be related directly to the job, in which case your first port of call should be to revisit the job description for the role. If however, you will be assessed against the company’s established competency framework your consultant may have a copy or be able to discuss them with you, alternatively you will be able to glean a lot of insight from the company research you have carried out previously.

When you have a good grasp of the competencies involved, consider your own experience and where you can use examples to highlight your expertise in these areas. This will aid you greatly in clearly communicating them under pressure.

When discussing competencies during interviews, one of the most common pieces of negative feedback that we receive about a candidate is the tendency to talk around the question asked, and not actually provide the interviewer with an answer. It is understandable that this does happen, it is a pressurised environment and you are trying to demonstrate the breadth and depth of your experience and knowledge.

Communicating your competencies: SOAR technique

There are lots of different models that are recommended by various sources that can aid you in providing a highly relevant answer that is succinct and to the point. They all follow a similar method, but we recommend the SOAR technique as it has the additional focus on ownership that the others don’t. When you are describing the scenario, action and result, it’s essential that you become au fait with the use of “I” rather than “we”. The focus on ownership within the SOAR technique helps to remind you that the interviewer is interested in your actions and results, not that of your team.

• ‘S’ - Scenario: Choose a scenario that most appropriately fits the question. It could be an enquiry about your experience in a specific remit, or when you have implemented new ideas or processes, keep it relevant.
• ‘O’ – Ownership: Ensure that it is clear who took ownership of the scenario (hint: this should be you).
• ‘A’ – Action: What action did you take to resolve the situation and bring about a satisfactory conclusion?
• ‘R’ – Result: How did the outcome have an effect on the company or department?

This technique will help you to formulate an answer that is succinct, lasting about two minutes, contextualised and most importantly, actually answers the question.

Business hr interview questions

Here are some questions we recommend. But remember - as obvious as it might seem - the important and challenging aspect of interviewing is evaluating the candidates' answers based on needs of the position - not just asking the questions themselves.

1. Have you ever built a talent strategy to support an organization's business strategy? [If so, describe how you went about doing it. What was your approach? What stakeholders did you work most closely with? What was the outcome? How did you measure success?] If not, describe how you'd go about doing it. Which stakeholders would be most important to work with? What outcomes would you want to achieve? How would you evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy?
Answers to look for:

• A cogent approach to understanding the near-term business strategy (plan for growth, new products or services, infrastructure requirements, etc. - and how those map to specific talent needs.)
• A practical method for assessing the existing talent in the organization and identifying where gaps exist and the criticality of those gaps.
• A plan for closing the gap using a multi-pronged approach such as build, borrow, buy, etc.
• A partnership mindset in which close ties to - and input from - the business leaders is leveraged throughout the process.
• An objective way to measure results through decreased vacancy rates for mission critical roles, higher rates of successful internal promotions, reduced attrition in key parts of the business, higher customer service ratings, etc.

2. Tell me about a situation in which you took an unpopular stand on what you believed represented an important strategy for your business, and you were able to convince others who initially disagreed with you. What was the situation, what did you do, and what was the outcome?
Answers to look for:

• A strategic situation that impacts talent in the organization (e.g., candidate pipeline, employees' access to social media, driving support for new technology, etc.) - versus a tactical, old-school HR issue. 
• A knowledge of economic, industry and business trends.
• A willingness to take risks and an ability to influence others.
• A sense of confidence, smarts and initiative.
• The ability to make data-based decisions and recommendations, and assess the ROI of business outcomes.

3. Describe your approach to managing the range of work an HRBP faces - from strategic to tactical. What process do you use? What resources do you leverage? How do you know you're focusing on the things and driving the right results?
Answers to look for:

• A structured approach to prioritizing work, managing time, following up, and staging deadlines.
• A creative method for managing resources, delegating tactical issues, using web-based (even free) tools for task and project management, regular updates with peers, business leaders or direct reports to manage the right priorities, a process for managing expectations of business leaders regarding their role and responsibilities.
• A business-based approach for working proactively vs. reactively - e.g., attending business updates, field visits with leaders, keeping up the financials of the business, etc.
• An openness to feedback in which their input, deliverables and value to the business is assessed through surveys, interviews, objective measures, etc.

Typical interview questions answers

Technically, not every item is a question; some are statements; but all are intended to prompt you for a response.

Better questions are not those that can be answered with a "yes" or "no," but are open-ended questions that invite thoughtful response. Even if you are asked a question that can be answered with a "yes" or "no," (e.g. "Are you comfortable with the amount of travel this job involves?"), you can certainly add a word of explanation to back up your answer (e.g., "Yes. I actually look forward to the opportuntity to travel and to work with the staff members in some of the other offices.)

Best questions are those that ask you how you behaved in the past, because past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. These are referred to as behavioral interview questions; read more.

Not every interviewer will ask you every one of these questions.  However, if you are prepared to address these questions, you will leave the impression that you were prepared for your job interview, even if additional questions take you by surprise. 

• What are your long-range goals and objectives for the next seven to ten years?

• What are your short-range goals and objectives for the next one to three years?

• How do you plan to achieve your career goals?

• What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?

• Why did you choose the career for which you are preparing?

• What are your strengths, weaknesses, and interests?

• How do you think a friend or professor who knows you well would describe you?

• Describe a situation in which you had to work with a difficult person (another student, co-worker, customer, supervisor, etc.). How did you handle the situation? Is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight?

• What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort? Describe a situation in which you did so.

• In what ways have your college experiences prepared you for a career?

• How do you determine or evaluate success?

• In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our organization?

• Describe a contribution you have made to a project on which you worked.

• What qualities should a successful manager/leader/supervisor/etc. possess?

• Was there an occasion when you disagreed with a supervisor's decision or company policy? Describe how you handled the situation.

• What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?

• Describe your most rewarding college experience.

• What interests you about our product or service?

• Why did you select your college or university?

• What led you to choose your major or field of study?

• What college subjects did you like best? Why?

• What college subjects did you like least? Why?

• If you could do so, how would you plan your academic studies differently?

• Do you think your grades are a good indication of your academic achievement?

• What have you learned from participation in extracurricular activities?

• In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?

• How do you work under pressure?

• Describe a situation in which you worked as part of a team. What role did you take on? What went well and what didn't?

• In what part-time, co-op, or summer jobs have you been most interested? Why?

• How would you describe the ideal job for you following graduation?

• Why did you decide to seek a position with our organization?

• What two or three things would be most important to you in your job?

• What criteria are you using to evaluate the organization for which you hope to work?

• How would you view needing to relocate for the job? Do you have any constraints on relocation?

• Are you comfortable with the amount of travel this job requires?

• Are you willing to spend at least six months as a trainee?

Job Interview Questions and Answers

When you are applying for a retail or customer service position a typical job interview question is "What is good customer service?" The interviewer wants to know what you consider quality customer service and how you would be willing to provide it to customers. 

Here is a selection of sample answers you can use to respond to questions about good customer service.

• Good customer service means having thorough knowledge of your inventory, experience with your products, and being able to help customers make the best choices for them.
• Good customer service is treating customers with a friendly, helpful attitude.
• Good customer service means helping customers efficiently, in a friendly manner. It's one of the things that can set your business apart from the others of it's kind.

More Retail Interview Questions and Answers
 
More common retail and customer service interview questions and sample answers. 

More Interview Questions and Answers
 
Questions you'll be asked when interviewing, how to prepare answers to interview questions, along with sample answers to typical job interview questions.

Business insider google interview questions

Increasingly, I'm turning to Google+ as a source of news, and it looks like I'm not the only one. On Thursday, news of a small earthquake broke on both Twitter and Google+. One curious user, +Keith Barrett, decided to try and find out which social network was faster with the news. Turns out it was a tie. As Google integrates Google+ more closely with the rest of its services, and more users post relevant stories, I think we'll start to see Google+ as a place that can create and break stories, as well as share them.

Hashtags to Track

This week was a great week for news, and luckily, since Google+ enabled hashtags, many people are starting to tag their posts. Below, some of the most interesting ones to follow this week:

• #googleplusupdate
• #googlephotos
• #FoodFriday
• #gaddafi
• #earthquake
• #stevejobs

Google+ Photos Gets a Few Tweaks

Google seems to be really focused on tweaking Google+ Photos. With over 3.4 billion uploaded photos, it may be the most popular feature from Google+, aside from Hangouts. Friday evening, +Roshni Malani announced a minor but significant change to Google+ Photos. When you open a Google+ Photo album, you'll also see at the bottom, the very first post that shared the album, along with +1s and comments.
Earlier in the week, +Tim St. Clair told us that now we can change how our albums are shared, and from one menu, lock the album, change who the album is shared with, and hide geographical information on the album itself.

Business insider google interview questions

1. Set aside the time every day. Psychiatrist Dr. Charles Raison told CNN that meditating for even five minutes a day can lead to major benefits. "What you should begin to notice if you’re doing it correctly [is that] you’ll feel like things are a little bit more slowed down, you’ll feel a little bit less stressed out, you’ll have a larger perspective on things," he says. "So rather than getting sort of stuck on little irritating details, you’ll find it easier to take a look at the whole picture and stay calmer in dealing with all the things you have to deal with every day.”

Raison says that while meditating, "Some people find it useful to have a little clock that they can put in front of them where they can just glance at it so they know [how much time] has passed."
On the other hand, Business Insider's Pennell—who meditates for 45 minutes every morning—uses an iPhone app called a "Zen Timer" because "it stills feels like a distraction having to worry about time," she says.

2. Create a specific space to meditate. Just like going to the gym or the office, having a designated space to perform a task is psychologically motivating. This could be as simple as having a cushion at the end of your bed, or a corner of a room decorated in a way that calms your mind. 

"There have been times when I've had a really busy week and a lot has been going on and I'll sit down on the cushion and then I'll just start crying and I'll realize that I'm so sad about this one thing, but I had no space to grieve, no space to think about it; I was zipping from one thing to the other all week," says Pennell, who has studied at Insight Meditation Society, one of the top meditation centers in the country. "One of my meditation teachers likened it to a washing machine. You put the laundry in, maybe all the water comes out gray and the laundry comes out clean. It gives you space to experience what is happening, too."

3. Focus on your breathing. The key to any meditation practice is focusing on the breath. Controlled breathing stabilizes blood pressure and increases oxygen flow, thereby increasing alertness, reports Pooja Biraia at medimanage.com. She says to "stay silent and focus. Inhale and exhale in controlled and deep breaths ... your stomach should rise as you inhale; and you need to draw your navel in as you exhale." This is known as mindful breathing or pranayama.

"Meditation is a word like 'exercise,'" says Pennell. "If someone says 'exercise,' there are 3,000 ways you could do it. A very simple type of meditation for beginners is mindfulness, which is watching your breath. Find your own way and what works for you."

Pennell also says that, even after a few years of practicing, "I get distracted, too, but one of the things that meditation teaches is muscle memory, repetition. You sit on the cushion so many times, your body and nervous system start to learn the practice. It trains the brain to notice when you're getting distracted. Meditation creates more decision space around everyday tasks."

4. Read about meditation. To develop a truly successful meditation practice, it's important to understand the philosophy behind it. Pennell recommends reading "Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom," by Rick Hanson, and books by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

But there's a lot of literature out there. Browse the bookstore aisles to find something that resonates and infuses your spirit. Even reading a few simple passages from a daily meditation guide can dramatically improve your perspective.