Do You Have What It Takes For a Maritime Career

Pratik had always been keen in a maritime career. The lure of the sea, the glamour of a seafaring job, and the allure of earning big money all attracted him to a career in shipping. After completing his class 12, he enrolled for deck cadet training, and soon enough, was selected by a prestigious shipping company. 4 months on the ship, however, were an eye-opener for Pratik. While his comrades were fun and supportive, the sheer hard work, the long separation from parents and friends, the lack of a social life all got to him immensely. As he came home depressed and demotivated, he vowed never again to step on a ship.

Like Pratik, many youngsters are attracted to a maritime career due to its many promises: adventure, travel, glamour and money! Indeed, a seafaring career often is adventurous, fun and rewarding – for the right people! One needs to have a certain frame of mind, a few critical personality tests, and considerable emotional resilience to sustain and enjoy a seafaring career.

So What Does a Career in the Maritime Industry Call For?

Ability to Work in Teams: As a seafarer, one should be able to work in a cooperative and collaborative manner. Connecting easily to others, adapting to the needs and requirements of people around us, ability to trust people and share an easygoing relationship are all critical to be a happy and well-adjusted seafarer. On sea, the crew is your family, and being able to get along well and work harmoniously takes on a different shade in this context.

Strong Work Ethic: In simple words, if you like to laze around and shirk work, a seafaring career is not for you! As a seafarer, you need to be able to work independently as well as with a team, you need to be confident about your capabilities, methodical and meticulous in your work. Resourcefulness and the ability to take initiative are also necessary traits to be a successful seafarer.

Leadership Traits: While team work is important, having leadership qualities is equally important in this profession. No matter at what level of the hierarchy you are in, you need to show the ability to take charge in a crisis situation, to be able to handle any situation in a calm and focused manner. Setting high goals for yourself, and working confidently toward achieving those will go a long way to decide your long term sustenance in this profession.

If you are keen on a seafaring career, and you have these traits, go ahead and take the plunge! If you are unsure about whether you have these qualities, opt for the SeaPert, a unique psychometric assessment tool that profiles your suitability for a career in the maritime industry.

To know more about the Seapert, click here Seafarers Test

Ms. Samindara Hardikar – Sawant

Clinical Psychologist
Psychometrica | Disha | Career Pathways

samindara@psychometrica.in


Do You Have What It Takes For a Maritime Career

Centre to start recruitment for jobs online

An online recruitment plan in the works may soon relieve thousands of such aspirants of the need to queue up at offices multiple times, jostle to put in a word from somebody who seems to know somebody important and possibly offer a bribe to get their police verification fast tracked — all to join a coveted government job.

Read more in details on http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/jobs/Centre-to-start-recruitment-for-jobs-online/articleshow/52051898.cms




Centre to start recruitment for jobs online

Are you Emotionally Intelligent?

For a long time, employers have been talking about hiring intelligent people, people with a high IQ, or intelligence quotient. But in the past two decades, focus has shifted from IQ to EQ, or emotional quotient. Employers now seek people who are not only intelligent, but emotionally intelligent. EQ has now become the buzzword, not just in the corporate world, but in every profession: be it teaching, medicine, engineering, law! No matter how good you are at your job, you still need to be emotionally intelligent to be able to excel at what you do!

What is this emotional intelligence?

It refers to our ability to deal with emotions and feelings in others, and ourselves. It is the basis of all human relations, and psychologists today believe that EQ is a better predictor of success than IQ. After all, our feelings and emotions are amongst our most potent resources. It is through our emotions that we connect to others and to ourselves!

Following are some major components of EQ (emotional quotient) .

Self-Awareness: Knowing your emotions, recognizing feelings as they occur, and being able to discriminate between them

Mood Management: Handling feelings in a manner that is appropriate to the situation at hand.

Self-Motivation: Directing yourself and your emotions toward a specific goal, despite self-doubt, inertia, and impulsiveness.

Empathy: Recognizing feelings in others and tuning into their verbal and nonverbal cues

Managing Relationships: Handling interpersonal interaction, conflict resolution, and negotiations

It is thus vital to know what our EQ level is. Interestingly, unlike IQ, which cannot be “increased”, we can work on raising our EQ. We can learn to become more aware of our own feelings and emotions. We can learn to control and modulate our emotional reactions.

How Can One Become Emotionally Intelligent?

• The first step is identifying emotions.


• Second is using emotions. This refers to the ability to use emotions to get desired outcomes, resolve difficulties, and achieve goals.


• The third step is understanding emotions. If we understand what causes certain emotions in us, we can use this knowledge to modulate our emotional reactions.


• Finally, we come to managing emotions: in ourselves as well as in others. How you manage emotions in yourself and others can have a profound impact on your job success and satisfaction.

Of course we have to realize that emotional intelligence is not the sole predictor of workplace success.  It is one of many important components.  It should never be thought of as a replacement or substitute for ability, knowledge or job skills.

Here are some ways in which we can use emotional intelligence at the work place.

• You can use your understanding of emotions to know what motivates people, understand other people’s points of view, and understand and handle team interactions


• You can stay aware of your emotions, which have valuable information, and use them to solve problems.


• You can try to understand your stressors, and effectively resolve them.


• Being empathetic to your team members results in better team morale and a healthier work environment.


• Resolving conflicts becomes easy if you have emotional intelligence.

Ms. Samindara Hardikar – Sawant

Clinical Psychologist

Psychometrica | Disha Counseling Center| Career Pathways

samindara@psychometrica.in

Are you Emotionally Intelligent?

Stress Management Tips at Your Rescue

Stress is the “wear and tear” our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment. In other words, it refers to the effect on a person when he does not have adequate resources to meet the challenges of life. It is the way your mind and body responds to the various demands made by life. Different people can tolerate different levels of stress.

Is stress always bad?

• The stress you experience is not necessarily harmful.

• Mild forms of stress can act as a motivator and energizer.

• However, if your stress level is too high, problems can result.

These sources of stress are called stressors. Knowing what factors are most stressful to you and how you respond to this stress is very important, because awareness is 90% of the solution.

The symptoms of stress largely fall under 4 categories:

• Feelings: Examples of the following are either feeling anxious, scared, irritable, or moody.


• Thoughts: Examples of the same are experiencing low self-esteem, fear of failure, inability to concentrate, worrying about the future, preoccupation with thoughts/tasks or forgetfulness.


• Behaviour: Examples of the following would be stuttering and other speech difficulties, crying for no apparent reason, acting impulsively, startling easily, grinding your teeth, increasing smoking / drugs / alcohol, losing your appetite or overeating.


• Physiology/Body Reactions: Examples would be having butterflies in stomach, headaches, pain in the neck and or lower back, susceptibility to illness and so forth.

Stress and Personality

While stressors are present in everyone’s life, not all of us get stressed by them, or to the same extent.

Some of us possess certain personality traits that can predispose us toward stress:

• Tension


• Guilt Proneness


• Sensitivity


• Excitability

Individuals who possess these or a combination of these traits are more likely to experience stress.

How can stress be combated ?

Many stresses can be changed, eliminated, or minimized. The right coping methods can help you. Stress Management is the ability to maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands.

• Focus on task-oriented methods: Task oriented responses would include:
  • Behaviour directed primarily at dealing with the stressor.
  
  
  • Appraise situation objectively, work out alternative solutions, decide on strategy, take action and evaluate feedback.
  
  
  • Involves making changes in oneself, one’s surroundings or both.

• Confront the problem rather than brood about it!

• Seek support: from family, friends, and other important people in your life.

• Become aware of your own reactions to stress.

• Reinforce positive self-statements.

• Focus on your good qualities and accomplishments.

• Avoid unnecessary competition.

• Develop assertive behaviours.

• Recognize and accept your limits. Remember that everyone is unique and different.

• Get a hobby or two. Relax and have fun.

Benefits of managing stress effectively :

• Critical Life Skill: Good stress management will impact every sphere of your life:
  • Academic
  
  
  • Professional
  
  
  • Personal Relationships
  
  
  • Health
  
  
  • Life Satisfaction

• Enable you to deal with anxiety-provoking situations in a calm and controlled manner.

• Enable you to keep your perspective and not buckle under stress.

• Give every challenging situation your best and make full use of your resources in meeting that challenge head on.

• Learn stress buster techniques like yoga or meditation.

Ms. Shital Ravi.

Sr. Consulting Psychologist

Psychometrica

Stress Management Tips at Your Rescue

The gift of CREATIVITY

“Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.” — Napoleon Hill

Some problems cannot be solved using the standard problem solving approaches. These problems require innovativeness or creativity in order to arrive at a solution. Thus, creativity involves finding a solution that is both unusual and useful. Creativity is about producing new ideas or combining old ideas in a unique way.

By default, we tend to think within boundaries, or limit our thinking to the obvious. However, problems often require us to think “out of the box”. Why is it that we are unable to think differently?

Road Blocks to creative thinking:

• Our education system, at times, forces us to think within boundaries.


• Natural tendency of the mind to look at the obvious rather than the covert.


• Habit: Many problems do have obvious solutions, so we are more habituated to thinking in that direction.


• We tend to use tried and tested solutions rather than struggle and stretch our thinking!

Worried you may not be creative or you may not be creative enough? This quiz will help you find out just how creative you are.

1. Do you ask questions that might seem stupid by others?
   
   a. Yes
   
   b. No


2. Do you
   
   a. delight in uncertainty and mystery?
   
   b. need a logical explanation for everything?


3. Do you
   
   a. need to put everything in its proper place?
   
   b. tolerate ambiguous situations well?


4. When someone suggests a new idea, do you
   
   a. immediately evaluate it, looking for its strengths & weaknesses?
   
   b. Play with the possibilities suggested by the idea?


5. In solving problems do you
   
   a. look for as many possibilities as you can think of?
   
   b. logically figure the situation out?


6. Do you believe that intuition is
   
   a. a reality worth relying on?
   
   b. the inability to be logical?


7. Do you
   
   a. like excitement and change?
   
   b. prefer peace and a reliable routine?


8. Do you most go by?
   
   a. a situation’s potential
   
   b. the practical consequences


9. Creativity
   
   a. is an all or none phenomena–you’re creative or you’re not?
   
   b. exists on a continuum?


10. Which is more important to originality?
    
    a. Asking the right question
    
    b. Finding the right answer

Scoring:

If you have marked your answer as ‘a’ to the following statements please give yourself ‘1’:

1, 2, 5, 6, 7,8.

If you have marked your answer as ‘b’ to the following statements please give yourself ‘1’:

3, 4, 9, 10.

Interpretation:

If your score is between 0-5: Your score falls in the low range. This indicates that you are a practical individual who likes to reach your goals in a logical and planful manner. This is beneficial in many situations. However this curbs your creative instincts as you do not let yourself think in innovative and original ways. You would need to cultivate the habit of thinking in imaginative and novel ways.

If your score is between 6-10: Your score falls in the high range. This indicates that you believe in being creative and original. You prefer to brainstorm different ways of solving a problem. You believe in your instincts and let your imagination work for you in problem solving situations.

Creativity is not a gift you have to be born with it.

Most creative people learn how to be creative. They do it logically. They look at one perspective and think of another. They appreciate metaphors. They make cross-connections easily. They trigger their thinking one way and then apply it to the problem at hand.

Cultivating Creativity: Some Guidelines

• Decide what you want to do. Without a good idea of what to create, you cannot be creative. It may be helpful to make a note of your objectives or to create a sketch of what you want to create.


• Be positive in your attitude. The solution will pop up in front of you if you work hard enough!


• Learn all you can about your subject. The more you know, the better equipped you are to find a solution.


• Think. Do not limit yourself to run-of-the-mill logical thinking. Look at your problem from new angles.


• Incubate. If the solution doesn’t come after your initial efforts, put the problem out of your mind and let your subconscious work on it. Go back to it in a few days and see where you are.


• Prune. Review your ideas and set aside the ones that have not worked. Make changes, additions, variations until you come up with your best.


• Put your ideas to work. That’s the best way of testing them!

“Embrace fully your capacity to create, to think in unlimited ways, and to pursue everything that you have been wanting.  …This can be the most joyous, prosperous, and creative time of your life.” — Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer

Shital Ravi

Sr. Consulting Psychologist
Psychometrica

The gift of CREATIVITY

ASSERTIVENESS: THE RIGHT WAY OF BEING!!

Assertiveness is the ability to formulate and communicate one’s own thoughts, opinions and wishes in a clear, direct, and non-aggressive way. It is the ability to express oneself and one’s rights without violating the rights of others. The ability to be assertive is an asset which is necessary to achieve worthwhile aims and impose some order and justice in one’s environment. Assertiveness does not equate to being selfish as one pays attention to not only his/her own rights but also is sensitive to the rights of others.

It would be good to understand here the difference between assertive behavior and other types of behavior. Aggressiveness means that one expresses one’s own rights but at the expense of degrading, or humiliating another individual whereas submissiveness means that one is just unable to express one’s rights and keeps compromising the self, leaving one with feelings of humiliation, guilt and dissatisfaction.

Thus the types of responses that one can give in a situation are different. Let us take a look at the types of responses and what they would mean:

• Submissiveness: I lose-You win


• Aggressiveness: I win-You lose


• Assertiveness: I win-You win

Thus one would understand that ‘When you communicate assertively, you are more likely to achieve your goal without becoming involved in a conflict with the other person which then leads one to the I win-You win position’.

But are there any reasons that are keeping you from being assertive? Let us explore some which may be the impediments that may not be allowing you to assert yourself:

• Fear of change.


• Refusal to admit one’s submissiveness.


• Fear of ruining relationships if you speak your mind.


• Lack confidence in your ability.

Dealing with the following before you embark on the journey towards transformation is important:

• Deal with the anxiety associated with change.


• Reconcile the conflicts within your value system.


• Assess the repercussions of being assertive.


• Prepare others for the changes they will see in your behavior or attitude.

Developmental measures on a way to Assertiveness…

What you could do to become assertive:

–USE “I” MESSAGES
An “I” message is a good way to let people know what you are thinking. It is made up of three parts.

• Behavior – what it is, exactly, that the other person has done or is doing


• Effect – what is happening because of their behavior


• Feelings – what effect does their behavior have on your feelings?

By using this kind of message, you are giving another person complete information, leaving no room for second guessing or doubt.

-CHOOSE ASSERTIVE WORDS CAREFULLY

• Use factual descriptions instead of judgments


• Avoid exaggerations


• Use “I” not “You”


• Express thoughts, feelings, and opinions reflecting ownership

-CHECK-UP 

Always checkup whether you have an assertive approach to situations or not.

-ACTION PLAN

Here are some communication techniques that can help you convey a positive assertive attitude:

• Use suitable facial expressions, always maintaining good eye contact.


• Keep your voice firm but pleasant.


• Pay careful attention to your posture and gestures.


• Listen…and let people know you have heard what they said.


• Ask questions for clarification.


• Look for a win-win approach to problem solving.

BENEFITS OF ASSERTIVENESS:

Embark on this journey towards assertiveness; motivate yourself towards being assertive as the benefits are immense:

• Better management of relationships


• More balanced lifestyle


• Improvement in productivity and effectiveness as a worker


• More in control of one’s daily schedules and plans


• Reduced stress.

Ms. Shital Ravi
Sr. Consulting Psychologist
Psychometrica

ASSERTIVENESS: THE RIGHT WAY OF BEING!!

How well do you handle your anger? FIND OUT!!

Anger is a natural human emotion and is nature’s way of empowering us to “ward off” our perception of an attack or threat to our well being. The problem is not anger, the problem is the mismanagement of anger. Mismanaged anger and rage is the major cause of conflict in our personal and professional relationships.

The instinctive, natural way to express anger is to respond aggressively. Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats; it inspires powerful, often aggressive, feelings and behaviors, which allow us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary to our survival.

On the other hand, we can’t physically lash out at every person or object that irritates or annoys us; laws, social norms, and common sense place limits on how far our anger can take us.

People use a variety of both conscious and unconscious processes to deal with their angry feelings. The three main approaches are expressing, suppressing, and calming. Expressing your angry feelings in an assertive—not aggressive—manner is the healthiest way to express anger. To do this, you have to learn how to make clear what your needs are, and how to get them met, without hurting others. Being assertive doesn’t mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others.

Anger can be suppressed, and then converted or redirected. This happens when you hold in your anger, stop thinking about it, and focus on something positive. The aim is to inhibit or suppress your anger and convert it into more constructive behavior. The danger in this type of response is that if it isn’t allowed outward expression, your anger can turn inward—on yourself. Anger turned inward may cause hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression.

Unexpressed anger can create other problems. It can lead to pathological expressions of anger, such as passive-aggressive behavior (getting back at people indirectly, without telling them why, rather than confronting them head-on) or a personality that seems perpetually cynical and hostile. People who are constantly putting others down, criticizing everything, and making cynical comments haven’t learned how to constructively express their anger. Not surprisingly, they aren’t likely to have many successful relationships.

Finally, you can calm down inside. This means not just controlling your outward behavior, but also controlling your internal responses, taking steps to lower your heart rate, calm yourself down, and let the feelings subside.

Take a few moments to answer these questions to determine the need for you to make some changes in your lifestyle. This questionnaire is purely a simple indicator of the amount of anger that you may currently be experiencing within your particular lifestyle.  It is not a substitute for seeking professional medical advice or diagnosis.

Checklist:

1.Waiting in line, or waiting for other people, really annoys me.

a] True b] False

2.I never get mad enough to throw things.

a] True b] False

3.When someone says or does something that upsets me, I don’t usually say anything at the time, but later spend a lot of time thinking up cutting replies I could and should have made.

a] True b] False

4. I seldom feel that people are trying to anger or insult me.

a] True b] False

5. I find it very hard to forgive someone who has done me wrong.

a] True b] False

6.I’ve been so angry at times I couldn’t remember things I said or did.

a] True b] False

7.If I get really upset about something, I have a tendency to feel sick later, either with a weak spell, headache, upset stomach, or diarrhea.

a] True b] False

8. I have no enemies who really wish to harm me.

a] True b] False

9. People I’ve trusted have often let me down, leaving me feeling angry or betrayed.

a] True b] False

10. Once in a while I cannot control my urge to harm others.

a] True b] False

11. If someone doesn’t treat me right, I don’t let it annoy me.

a] True b] False

12. When I look back on what’s happened to me, I can’t help feeling mildly resentful.

a] True b] False

13. When I disapprove of my friends’ behavior, I let them know it.

a] True b] False

14. I can think of no good reason for hitting anyone.

a] True b] False

Scoring:

If you have answered ‘true’ to the following statements please give yourself ‘1’:

2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 14.

If you have answered ‘false’ to the following statements please give yourself ‘1’:

1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12.

Now total the number of “1” responses.

Interpretation:

If your total is more then 10:

This score indicates that you tend to be calm and do not get angry easily. You are able to reduce both your emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes. You have learnt to control your reactions and are able to handle your responses in an appropriate manner.

If your total is between 5 and 9:

This score indicates that you experience moderate levels of anger. Though you are managing this emotion fairly well some changes in the present way of functioning would be beneficial.

If your total is between 0 and 4:

This score indicates that many a times you experience intense feelings of anger, and are unable to handle it in an appropriate and suitable manner. If you are finding yourself acting in ways that seem out of control and frightening, you must seek help to finding better ways to deal with this emotion.

Now that you have already taken the test, you know your scores. If the score is between 0 and 4, below are a few strategies that will help you work on your anger.

Strategies to Keep Anger at Bay:

• Try using simple relaxation tools such as deep breathing and relaxing imagery to calm down angry feelings.


• Change the way you think. Try replacing angry thoughts with more rational ones.


• When angry, slow down and think carefully about what you want to say.


• At the same time, listen carefully to what the other person is saying and take your time before answering.


• Humor can help defuse rage in a number of ways. For one thing, it can help you get a more balanced perspective.


• Give yourself a break. Make sure you have some “personal time” scheduled for times of the day that you know are particularly stressful.


• You might consider counseling to learn how to handle your anger better. A psychologist or other licensed mental health professional can work with you in developing a range of techniques for changing your thinking and your behavior.

Ms. Shital Ravi.
Senior Consulting Psychologist.
Psychometrica and Career Pathways.

How well do you handle your anger? FIND OUT!!