Category: Workplace

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Top 10 Tips to Nail that Job Interview


Do you want to get hired for that new job? Follow these tips to learn how to ace your job interview and stand out from the crowd. It’s not as difficult as you think and if you follow these things, you’ll be sure to make a great impression.
 

1. Research the company you are interviewing for. 

  
One of the best ways to ace your job interview is to study the current events of the company. Knowing what the current happenings of the company are key to being able to ask pertinent questions. Doing so will also show the interviewer that you have done your homework, and also have a genuine interest in the company.
 

2. Study your resume and know it well. 

  

As a candidate, you should know your resume like the back of your hand. In any job interview, anything on your resume is at the interviewer’s disposal. Implementing this strategy will definitely help you ace your job interview. It is your responsibility to convince the interviewer that you can come in and do the job. Speaking intelligently about each of your previous positions is one of the best ways to ace your job interview every single time.
  

3. Know the job description of the position you are applying for. 

  
After getting an interview, you need to study the job description to truly understand what the interviewer is looking for. If the description calls for attentiveness to detail, you will want to tailor the discussion accordingly. Knowing this, you can navigate the interview and discuss examples from previous jobs that will exemplify this trait. Do this for all significant traits or qualities that you identify in the job description. This is one of the most prominent ways to ace your job interview.
 

4. Display your skills with concrete examples. 

  
The interviewer wants to know you are hard working, but it will be hard for him or her to believe you unless you prove it. Tell a story of how you were hard working and instead of just saying it. Don’t leave it up to the imagination of the interviewer to figure out how. Rather, explain in detail and give and example to illustrate it.

  

5. Prepare an interview tool kit.

  
Being prepared for your interview is the best way to ace it. Putting together a “job interview kit” is a great job interview strategy. Not only will you want to have ample copies of your resume in your kit, but you can also include other items you will need like directions to the office, a bottle of water, eye drops, pens, and a notepad. Put the copies of your resume in a neat folder and keep the other items in a small bag in your car. 

6. Build rapport.

  
You know the saying, “There’s never a second chance to make a first impression?” That holds very true in the case of job interviews. If you want to ace your job interview, you are going to know how to build rapport. You will create a great setting for your interview by greeting the interviewer with a firm handshake and a pleasant smile. You can also start off by asking how he or she is doing and or make a comment about the weather. 

  

7. Make eye contact. 

  

Eye contact is one of the strongest forms of nonverbal communication and must if you want to ace your job interview. Eye contact can show whether a person is strong or weak. Direct eye contact shows communicates two key qualities employers look for in candidates – confidence and high self-esteem. 

It is very important to make eye contact when you greet your interviewer and shake his or her hand. Throughout the interview, make a point to have direct eye contact in order to create a connection and exude confidence. This tip alone with greatly help you ace your job interview. 

  

8. Body language

 
Body language is also a huge form of nonverbal communication. It will communicate whether you are confident, relaxed, nervous, or unsure of yourself. In order to ace your job interview, you must give off positive energy with your body language. Sit up straight and don’t slouch your back. Show that you are alert and listening carefully to everything your interviewer in saying. 

  

9. Be yourself. 

  
No matter how badly you want the job, it you aren’t a good match, you aren’t a good match. Never try to be what you “think” the job require. Let your true self shine through and you’ll send off the postive energy you’ll need to ace your job interview. If you aren’t being true to yourself, the interviewer will sense your lack of authenticity right away. 

  

10. Follow up quickly. 

  
Immediately after the interview, send a handwritten thank you note. A handwritten note is the best because it more personal. If you don’t have the mailing address of the interview, either get it, or send an e-mail. Simply thank the interviewer for their time to meet with you. What’s most important though is that you get the note into the mail. Interviewers know exactly who sent them a note and who didn’t.

Now you have a list of things to do so you can ace your job interview. If you understand all of the strategies, you’ll be on your way to success in no time!
 

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Workplace

6 Ways to Catapult Your Job Search After a Layoff

If there’s one lesson the recession has made painfully clear, it’s that no one is immune from layoffs. The worst part? Many workers are blindsided when the ax falls. Coping with sudden job loss isn’t something they teach you in college or in any professional training program. There are, however, some strategies you can employ to stop being lost and take control.
 
Here are six tips to get over a layoff and back on the job:
 

1. Take a Few Days to Chillax

 
While it’s hard to even think about taking a break when worrying about so many other details, feeling overwhelmed will make your job search even more difficult. No one deserves to be laid off, but everyone deserves a break to refresh and refocus.
 

2. Get What You’ve Paid Taxes for

 
Apply for unemployment. Contact your
 
 

4. Reinvent Your Resume
 

Anything you need to know about writing a resume — including industry-specific resume advice — this article recommends, put each person into a tier of your formal networking plan. Your first tier will include the people you know best — such as current and past colleagues and managers as well recruiters with whom you have an established relationship.
 
Tier Two is your secondary network — individuals who know what’s happening within a particular business community or have clients who may be interested in your talent. Don’t limit yourself. Think of everyone you know, including family and friends. Sometimes, the most unlikely sources can help you get your foot in the door. Remember the most important concept about networking: Ask your contacts for help — not a job.
 

6. Hit the Job Market

 
Once you’ve identified your skills and refreshed your resume, start applying to positions that look like a good fit for your talents.
 
It takes more than luck to overcome a recent layoff. It takes a plan of action. And remember that while you can’t control a layoff, you can control making that layoff pay off. Even in a challenging economy, people are still finding jobs. Those who have success stories of finding the perfect job or general tips and advice are invited to participate in Monster’s Success Stories community.

Related: 5 Ways to Finding a New Job After Being Laid Off.
 
 
Monster.com is the premier global online employment solution for people seeking jobs and the employers who need great people.

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Workplace

How to Create a Professional Email Signature


In prior blog posts I spoke about some rather sophisticated career management documents such a brag book, a networking newsletter, and a one-page biography. Today, I would like to focus on a more simple aspect of your job search toolkit but one that is many, many times overlooked: adding a professional email signature.
    

Consider the following scenario:
 

You are a “heads down” corporate employee doing a good, no, make that a great job. Somehow, due to a perfect storm, you lose your job in a downright awful economy. After the shock wears off, you sit down at your personal computer and realize you have to start using your personal email as your “base of operation.” So, you make a list of everybody you know and you start firing off emails letting people know of your situation. Like any savvy job seeker, you begin the networking process which creates a lot more email activity.
 
What you may not have considered are three key issues related to your newfound “base of operation” – your personal email account. For the time being while in full-bore job search mode, your personal email account is really your work email account. Why? Because you need to put forth the same professional image in your email signature when you are in transition (unemployed) as you do when you are employed. Let’s look carefully at each component of a professional email box: the email address itself, your display settings and the email signature.
 

Email Address

 
This is quite obvious but so often overlooked. “WineKook10 {at} gmail.com” is not an email address that evokes professionalism, intelligence and competence! Instead, create an email address more in line with what you would see in a work setting, for example, “Firstname_Lastname {at}yahoo.com.”
 

Email Name Settings

 
In a prior article I ranted about one of my pet peeves regarding LinkedIn etiquette. Well, here is a second pet peeve. Often I receive emails that read in my email program like so: from “ronjones{at}hotmail.com.” Or just as bad: from “ron” with no last name. Emails should always be sent via “First name Last name” (or vice versa). Not only is it professional, it is also the only way that recruiters and hiring managers can find your email in their overstuffed email bins – by sorting or searching on your name. This setting is easy to find and adjust in your email program.
 

Email Signature

 
It also amazes me as to how many emails I receive that have no email signature whatsoever. At best, I might see the person sign their name. For example, “Thanks, Matt.” While on the job you used a professional email signature, now, while in transition, it is more important than ever to convey a professional image.
 
Here are instructions on how to create a highly professional and functional email signature when you are in job search mode. I bet you will keep the signature you create even after you land. After all, job search is not a one-time event during a time of need. Instead, you must incorporate a professional email signature and other strategies into your on-going career management. I am using my email signature as an example. Feel free to tailor these ideas to your own style.
 

Name and Title

 
Certainly lead with your name. Consider a larger point size and an attractive font and color. If you are in transition, consider starting your own consulting company. That way you can give yourself a title just like your last full time job! You may find yourself becoming a successful entrepreneur. If this strategy is not right for you, you can still add a tagline like the examples below.

Email and Phone Number

 
Include your telephone number and your email address. You want to make it extremely easy for recruiters and hiring managers to contact you. Don’t make it difficult to be reached. Believe it or not, there is some spontaneity in the corporate hiring process. Recruiters and hiring managers may call you on a whim, on a hunch, but you must make it easy for them. Having your phone and email address on every new, forward, or reply email can make the difference.
 

Tagline

 
Marketing is key for the viability of any business. Treat job search as a business. This means you must market yourself. When you are in job search you are not exclusively an information technology professional, sales professional, or engineer, you are also a marketer! You must market yourself because no one else will do it for you. I repeat… no one else will do it for you.
 
All successful marketing campaigns include a tagline or catch phrase. You need one, too. Your tagline should be just a few words boiled down to your professional essence.
 
Some examples:
 
Tax Accountant: In taxing times, count on me.
 
Web Designer: Visually translating your complex thoughts.
 
Training Professional: Amy is the name, Training is my game.
 
The one I used personally when I was in job search mode was:

Even better, give the consulting company, discussed above, a logo. If you do, you can include your logo in your email signature. (Starting a consulting company when you are unemployed is a great idea: you create a brand for yourself, it shows you are motivated, you can make some interim cash, it is an insurance policy against a future layoff and you can use the business as a soft landing upon retirement.) You can consider adding your own branded logo even if you are not associating it with your new consulting company. The logo can be simply your own personal logo.

   

Website and Blog Links

 
Adding your website and/or blog creates a brand of a busy, successful, current, relevant and technologically-savvy professional. This is the exact image that you want to project when in job search mode!  

LinkedIn and Twitter Hyperlinked Icons

 
In this section you can really demonstrate your 2011 brand. Companies need professionals that can relate to all of the generations in the workforce. You will clearly be showing your connection and adaptability to the Gen Y and Millennial generations by adding social media hyperlinks to your email signature. It goes without saying that the content you link to must be of the professional variety only! LinkedIn is perfect because of its professional focus. Twitter is also being used extensively by professionals and executives to share cutting edge business information. Twitter is no longer just for kids to tweet about their favorite mocha latte.
 
You can find the full instructions for creating the clickable hyperlinked icons from this YouTube video. These instructions assume that you use Outlook as your email client. The time consuming part is finding the right LinkedIn and Twitter icons and resizing them so that they look appropriate for your email signature. Not to worry – I have already done this for you. You can download and save my LinkedIn icon here (click “download here” in upper right corner) and my Twitter icon here. Now open Outlook and follow these steps to complete the process:
 
1. Tools
2. Options
3. Mail Format
4. Signatures
5. New (or edit)
6. Click: Insert picture (on right hand side of screen) >> Insert desired picture
7. Now that picture is inserted into the signature click on the chain link icon (hyperlink) >>type in desired URL
8. Save

Finished Product

 
At this point, you have all the tools you need to create a professional, sophisticated, branded and technologically-savvy email signature. One last tip: don’t left-justify everything. Give it some visual appeal by using different alignment, fonts, point sizes and color. Here’s the end result, my signature:
 
Please leave a comment below with your new professional email signature!

Related: How To Write a Professional Bio (8 Tips).

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Workplace

10 Twitter Tips to Find Your New Job

We’ve given you plenty of LinkedIn tips, Twitter is perhaps the most talked-about social media site of the moment. Although Twitter is arguably perceived as being more about socializing than professional networking, it is still a hugely valuable tool for businesses, professionals and job seekers. Here are 10 tips for using Twitter to get a…

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Employer Branding Talent Acquisition Workplace

What Sales and Marketing Resume Should Focus on


 
Sales and marketing are a vital part in any business. Because of this, opportunities in sales and marketing will never run dry. These jobs would always be available no matter how bad the economy gets. But getting into this career is not always easy. For highly specialized technical sales positions, certain qualifications are required for you to get the job. So, if you want to apply for a these kinds of opportunities, revise your resume a bit to help you get the job.
 
These are the things your resume should focus on:
 

Business Development Skills

 
Employers are not only on the lookout for people who can sell. Expanding the business is just as important. Detail in your resume and cover letter what skills you have in networking, lead generation, sourcing and probing/pre-qualifying, as well as any experiences you have had organizing events in your previous jobs.
 

Numbers

 
It’s all about the numbers! Employers and recruiters scanning your resume will be keeping an eye out for any figures included in your resume. Highlight increases in sales, relevant industry rankings you have attained, number of years or months it took you to bring a certain amount of profit, percentage of increase in customers or product sales, costs you have reduced (if not eliminated), and other pertinent contributions.
 

Accounts Managed

 
Name the products or services you have promoted and sold (especially the complex ones). No matter how big or small the brand is, they count. Big brands are often accompanied by demanding decision makers, so highlight the abilities you used to win them over and deliver on your promise. Previous experience though not lengthy is still experience and is definitive proof that you can do the job.
 


 

Advertising Skills

 
If you have good advertising skills, then that’s considered a bonus to your already stellar resume! Copywriting talents and a knack for creating promotional materials tell employers that you can effectively execute their marketing strategies and reach the target audience for the products or services assigned to you.
 

Training

 
Some say that selling is an art. Because of this, a certain degree of education and training can be helpful to get into a job in sales and marketing. If you have taken courses for enhancing abilities in negotiation and closing, probing, presentation, account management, strategic marketing, print and other media advertising, then by all means include them in your resume. This tells employers and recruiters you have the tools to help you perform on the job and contribute to the bottom line.
 
A proven track record is often the requirement for a job in sales and marketing. However, the ability to manage multiple accounts, to communicate and interact with people are also of great value. So get to work and make sure that resume and cover letter sells the best things about you!

Related: Resume v. One-page Proposal: A side by side comparison

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Workplace

10 LinkedIn Tips to Kickstart Your Job Search

LinkedIn brands itself as a social network for professionals and a lot of people do use it successfully for sharing information and news about their companies or discussing key issues in their industry. But what can LinkedIn do for the jobseeking professional? Many of us are not as clued into all of LinkedIn’s different features…

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Workplace

6 Interview Types You Must Know as a Candidate


 
Before you go on your interview, you should realize there are several common types of job interviews. You will definitely want to inquire what type of job interview you will be going on beforehand so you can best prepare for it. Don’t be afraid to ask your recruiter what type of job interview will be conducted, as it serves both of you and the interviewer to know. In this article, I am going to discuss the six of the most common types of job interviews.
 

1. Traditional one on one job interview

 
The traditional one on one interview is where you are interviewed by one representative of the company, most likely the manager of the postion you are applying for. Because you will be working with this person directly if you get the job, he/she will want to get a feel for who you are and if your skills match those of the job requirements.
 
You may be asked questions about the experience on your resume, what you can offer to the company or position. Many times the interviewer will ask you questions such as “Why would you be good for this job?” or “Tell me about yourself.” The one on one interview is by far, one of the most common types of job interviews.
 

2. Panel Interview

 
In a panel interview, you will be interviewed by a panel of interviewers. The panel may consist of different representatives of the company such as human resources, management, and employees. The reason why some companies conduct panel interviews is to save time or to get the collective opinion of panel regarding the candidate. Each member of the panel may be responsible for asking you questions that represent relevancy from their position.
 

3. Behavioral Interview

 
In a behavioral interview, the interviewer will ask you questions based on common situations of the job you are applying for. The logic behind the behavioral interview is that your future performance will be based on a past performance of a similar situation. You should expect questions that inquire about what you did when you were in XXX sitation and how did you dealt with it. In a behavioral interview, the interviewer wants to see how you deal with certain problems and what you do to solve them.

  

4. Group Interview

 
Many times companies will conduct a group interview to quickly prescreen candidates for the job opening as well as give the candidates the chance to quickly learn about the company to see if they want to work there. Many times, a group interview will begin with a short presentation about the company. After that, they may speak to each candidate individually and ask them a few questions.
 
One of the most important things the employer is observing during a group interview, is how you interact with the other candidates. Are you emerging as a leader or are you more likely to complete tasks that are asked of you? Neither is necessarily better than the other, it just depends on what type of personality works best for the position that needs to be filled.
 

5. Phone Interview

 
A phone interview may be for a position where the candiate is not local or for an initial prescreening call to see if they want to invite you in for an in-person interview. You may be asked typical questions or behavioral questions.
 
Most of the time you will schedule an appointment for a phone interview. If the interviewer calls unexpectedly, it’s ok to ask them politely to schedule an appointment. On a phone interview, make sure your call waiting is turned off, you are in a quiet room, and you are not eating, drinking or chewing gum.
 

6. Lunch Interview

 
Many times lunch interviews are conducted as a second interview. The company will invite you to lunch with additional members of the team to further get to know you and see how you fit in. This is a great time to ask any questions you may have about the company or postition as well, so make sure you prepare your questions in advance.
 
Although you are being treated to a meal, the interview is not about the food. Don’t order anything that is too expensive or messy to eat. Never take your leftovers home in a doggy bag either. You want to have your best table manners and be as neat as possible. You don’t need to offer to pay, it is never expected for a candidate to pay at a lunch interview.
 
Chew quietly and in small bites so you don’t get caught with a mouthful of food when the recruiter asks you a question.
 
So, now you have an idea of these six common types of job interviews. However, no matter what type of job interview you go on, always do your best to prepare for it the best you can ahead of time so you can do your best and show them the best of who you are.
 

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Workplace

6 Ways to Start Building Your Personal Brand Now

Everyone has a personal brand. Do you know what yours conveys to potential employers? When your name is Googled, what comes up? If you haven’t given much thought to your personal brand, here are a few ways to start building it: 1. Sign up for professional networking sites. You may have been one of the…

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Workplace

How to Make Your Resume Stand Out Online

There’s a sea of online resume postings out there, and with the huge number of resumes submitted via e-mail or online forms that the employers have to scrutinize, they may all start to look the same. When you’re competing with hundreds of other equally qualified applicants, you have to establish yourself as the front-runner from…