Questioning

I had to fill out this questionaire for one of the kids I'm "mentoring".  They made me think so I thought I'd share them with you.

Q: Do you think yor type of resume should depend more the job you are applying for or the specific company you are sending it to?
 A: The specific job you are applying for is more important.

Q: What is the best way to stay motivated when you own your own company and do not have a supervisor telling you what to do?
A: Written plans and delegated responsibility. When you write things down it can help you stay focused on what is really important. When you delegate responsibilty to your employees/service providers/vendors you have other people depending on you to keep things rolling. It's hard to slack off when you have an accountant who needs deposits made on time, or an employee how needs their worked reviewed so they can move on with the rest of their goals.

Q: During an interview what do you think most recruiters look for when hiring employees?
A: It depends on the company. Each company will have a different culture and focus. A very customer-oriented business will care more for your attire and presentation then actual ability or experience. A very technical business will care little for your attire or presentation and instead focus on your real experience or expertise and it's applicability to their bottom-line.

Q: When running your own business what do you do to seperate work from family and your outside life?
A: Set boundaries. Setting aside specific times for work and family is important. Not randomizing and trying to do a little of each is critical. Give yourself a bucket of hours to one thing, and then switch. Stay on task by turning off the phone when you are with family, and closing the office door when you are working. Be clear in your expectations for both sets. Let family know the proper way to interrupt, the appropriate and inappropriate reasons, and other boundaries. Do the same for your employees.

Q: What is the best job I can take after college to gain the experience needed to manage my own company?
A: Selling something is first. Working in customer service for a large company with volatile customer base is next.

Q: What are the qualities you look for in a good business partner?
A: Integrity. Attitude. Focus. Everything else is just gravy.

Q:If you start a business and it fails, how do maintain drive and confidence when beginning a new venture?
A: Make sure you have really learned from your mistakes. You don't really know something until you can teach it. At a minimum you have to be able to understand it. So write down your lessons learned. Go over them with your mentors and extract the key lessons, and hard truths. Put them in a form you can work into your daily thinking, like mottos or slogans or catch-phrases. Then use them. Doing a post-mortem on any venture is always necessary for any successful entrepreneur.

Q: Do you think it is essential to get experience at another company before starting your own business?
A: Yes.

Q: Would your recomend attending MBA school full or part time?
A: Full time. It's hard work and the socialization/networking aspects of the programs are much more valuable than the actual course content.

Q: Have you ever had a mentor? If so, how much do you think you benefited from his/her guidance?
A: I have and still do. Several, in fact. The objective viewpoint and the ability to speak to someone you can trust to have your best interests in mind is empowering and crucial.

Q: What is the most difficult part of starting/running your own company?
A: Realizing that the tasks you do which will make you successful usually have little to do with what your business is about. All businesses have the same challenges, those challenges aren't the business. The business is the output of addressing all those challenges successfully.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss?
A: An advantage is that you get to pick and choose which opportunities you want to pursue. The disadvantage is that you don't always get to pick the challenges that created those opportunities. Sure you get hoard the success, but you also get to hoard the sweat, the hours, the tears, and the failures.

Q: Do you think credentials or personality are more important when hiring new employees?
A: Almost always personality.   Of course, exceptions of particular kinds of work are common too.

Whatcha think?