Author name: FirstWeb

Who Is Cynthia B. Okonkwo? I am a wife and a mom who is a people person by heart. I live in metro-Atlanta and work as a Human Resources professional and have over twenty-four years experience in the field. My experience includes Compensation, Training, Recruiting, Employee Relations, Benefits, and Selection Procedure Development; however, Employee Relations is my passion because I enjoy interacting with others and helping them to solve problems. I became interested in Human Resources while on a work-study assignment during my sophomore year in undergraduate school. I chose management as my major because I was not quite certain what I wanted to do after college and I knew that an off-shoot of Business Administration was a safe, general choice that could help me get into a number of career fields. My work-study assignment was as an assistant to the campus Director of Career Services. There, I learned to make cold calls to area businesses to seek out employment opportunities for students and alumni. I also learned how to format vacancy announcements and resumes. Since writing had always been one of my strengths, I enjoyed my assignment so much that I requested to be reassigned to that department for most of the remainder of my undergraduate career. My Director also provided resources on job interview preparation and she allowed me to type resumes for students who did not have one and charge $1 per page to make a few extra bucks. I got a full-time job immediately after graduation, but it wasn’t in Human Resources; however, I had a Vice President who took me under his wings and allowed me to review employment applications for job openings at the Distribution Center where I worked, so this helped to strengthen my resume. It took me about two and a half years to secure my first full-time job in the field of human resources where I became a trained test developer for the State’s Government Merit System. From there my career has continued to grow. My blog was born out of my desire to write a book that provides practical job search tips and advice, from a spiritual, holistic perspective. After having drafted about three chapters, I got busy with grad school and obtained my MBA; got married and started a family. In 2013, I became SPHR (Sr. Professional in Human Resources) certified. I started seeing other people’s blogs, became interested and thought that blogging might be a great alternative, or spring board to completing my book, so here we are today. My sincere hope is that what I write will help someone. Enjoy!

After Interview Follow-up

Four Reasons You Should Follow Up After a Bad Phone Interview

Interview Prep, Nnamtique / By

INTRODUCTION: A job seeker feels they didn’t perform well during a telephone interview one week ago. So, they asked if they should bother following up with the employer. RESPONSE: Follow-up after any job interview is essential. Even if you did not perform as well as you had hoped, you still follow up with the employer. …

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Performance Review Meeting

Five-Step Employee Guide to Responding Appropriately to Your Performance Review

Nnamtique / By

Introduction So, this week, we’re closing out our multi-part performance review success series. Welcome to installment six, our five-step employee guide to responding appropriately to your performance review. Your performance review is not only your manager’s opportunity to provide you with quality feedback and recognition regarding your performance. It is also your chance to express …

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Performance Improvement

12 Right Steps to Implementing a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

Nnamtique / By

Introduction: Welcome to our fifth installment of the performance review success series. This week, we guide managers on how to properly administer a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Challenge: My human resources career spans thirty-plus years. Surprisingly, I’ve found that few managers are confident in their ability to effectively administer a PIP. So, today, I’m sharing …

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Performance Improvement

Manager’s 11-Step Guide to Objectively Addressing Employees’ Substandard Performance

Nnamtique / By

Introduction: Welcome to part four of our successful performance review meetings series. This week’s focus returns to providing guidance to managers in this space. An employee’s substandard performance impacts the workplace in many ways. These might include their work quality; colleagues’ work quality; and the employer’s reputation. Personally, and employee’s substandard performance can result in …

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Performance Review Meeting

Steps 5-9 of the Employee’s Guide to Performance Review Success

Nnamtique / By

Introduction: Hello Everybody and welcome to the third installment of the performance review meeting success series. Today, we’ll close out the Nine-Step Guide to Employee Performance Review Success by sharing steps 5 – 9. Let me remind you of the nine steps. They are 1) Job Description; 2) Duties you no longer perform; 3) Take …

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