Today’s post may well be another installment from the Harvey MacKay School of Obvious Things but it never hurts to be repetitive.
Most of us don’t have much experience in interviewing for jobs. We just don’t do it very often. Contrast that with the hiring managers who interview dozens of candidates. Some HR and hiring managers have some gotcha questions designed to knock you out of consideration early.
Here are some ‘gotcha’ questions I have heard:
What accomplishment are you most proud of at your last job? Candidate answer: “I was a whistle-blower at my last job and exposed some wrong doing, and got a couple of people fired.” Hmmm, nope, find another accomplishment and talk about that one. We admire whistle-blowers perhaps, but probably won’t go out of our way to hire one.
Where do you see yourself in 2 years? Candidate answer: “By then I’d like to be running my own business.”This might be factually correct and a dream of yours but few companies want to invest in your training and hiring when they know you are planning to leave. Think.
Do you have any questions of me about the job or the company? Candidate answer: “No, not at this time, I did not have time to do any research or look at your website, so I don’t know anything about your company.”Seriously? Always come prepared with a couple of pertinent questions about the company, its products or services. You would shocked at the number of candidates who do not even do this. You can find specifics by using a job search engine like LinkUp.com
What Would Dad Say » Gotcha You Sucker Interview Questions
Is your brand proactive or reactive? | Brand-Yourself.com Blog
As an employer, I am always looking for the right talent for my team, and one of the most important traits I look for in my employees is that they have a proactive approach to life and work. For me it is not only important that the people I work with are proactive, but also that their personal brands tell the people around them that they are proactive. So, why is this?
A proactive person takes initiative and asks herself “How can I do this?” rather than “Will I be able to do this?”. This might seem like a small difference, but let´s look at an example of how this can make a huge different:
Anna is working on a project and encounters some problems. If she is reactive she will in the best case turn to a colleague to get help to solve the problem in a way that has already been done, over and over again. If she is proactive, she could try to find a novel way to solve the problem, one that has never been tried before but might yield better results than the traditional method. If she still is in doubt, she might make a list of suggestion of which different ways one can approach the problem before presenting it to the colleague or manager and asking for advice.
A study by Time magazine found that employees on average just got 11 minutes of efficient work done before being distracted by an e-mail, phone call or verbal interruption from a manager or colleague. These interruptions counts for 2.1 hours of every working day, including the time to recover the train of thought following an interruption. According to the study, it took an average of 25 minutes to return to a task after being disturbed.
Another part of being proactive is anticipating a client’s needs before they even realize what exactly it is they need. An exceptional employee keeps her eye on industry trends, the calendar and the clients’ competitors to bring ideas or services to the client before they request them. Being proactive could also include imagining new ideas and solutions for the client, the co-workers and the managers.
As an employer that has my team working close to the clients, it is very important that we can anticipate and act (not react) to what will come, and also show that we are proactive people, taking responsibility for our work and the outcome of what we do.
Are you proactive, and do you communicate that you are responsible for the results and outcomes of your work?
Ola Rynge is an entrepreneur with a passion for the personal development side of personal branding (covered in this blog) as well as the application of personal branding and social media for entrepreneurs and small businesses (covered in The Rynge Blog).His company, The Rynge Group specializes in market oriented small business and idea development, including social media strategies and implementations.
Quick link to 273,000 mission-critical employment opportunities
Meant to assist a wide-ranging target market of people looking for work, policy creators and agency management, Where the Jobs Are identifies nearly 273,000 mission-critical employment opportunities which will be available in the us government from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2012.
Top Areas Where the US Government is Hiring
- Medical and Public Health
- Security and Protection
- Compliance and Enforcement
- Legal
- Administrative/Program Management
Here is where you can go for a more detailed breakdown of exactly hiring projections in each area.
The job opportunities include many professions, are in cities all over the US and abroad, and have recently been described by the government agencies as essential to performing their service to the American people.
This specific employment survey, carried out by the Partnership for Public Service with support from Aon and Monster Government Solutions, includes 35 federal agencies employing at least 1,000 full-time, permanent employees. Every one of the survey participants with the exception of the Government Accountability Office, a congressional organization, is in the executive branch.
In order to better advise potential job seekers regarding available opportunities, Where the Jobs Are summarizes the occupational categories where hiring will take place, identifies the employing agencies, and projects how many jobs that needs to be filled in every classification.
Additionally, each agency is profiled with details on its mission, staff demographics, hiring priorities and selection plans, work and retention bonuses. The particular “For Job Seekers” section also gives basic details and resources to assist prospective candidates seek out federal government careers.
The study may also be incredibly helpful to agencies, supplying supervisors with a wide-ranging viewpoint on government-wide hiring requirements in addition to appropriate details which will improve their own workforce planning for mission-critical careers.
More to the point, the questionnaire provides an opportunity for agencies with comparable hiring needs to pool their particular resources and come together in the recruitment, intake and education of new employees.
The official job search site for working for the US Government is USAJobs. USAJOBS is the Federal Government’s official one-stop source for Federal jobs and employment information.
Sell, Don’t Brag During Your Job Interview | EmploymentDigest.net
If you have managed to secure a job interview then you need to start doing some serious preparation. With unemployment levels sky high the chances are there are a good number of competing applicants and you need to do all you can to set yourself apart from them. You need to start focusing on your career history to date and importantly all the key achievements and milestones you have reached.
Think about the things you have done well in your previous roles. Perhaps you secured a major new client, or brought about a cost saving initiative. You may have been praised by a line manager for good customer service or have perhaps been recognised for outstanding attendance levels. It’s things like this that you need to bring to the attention of the interviewer, but be careful how you do it. There is a fine line between bragging and selling. You need to sell yourself, that’s for sure. But avoid bragging or you will come across as insincere or even arrogant. Your achievements should also be truthful and importantly, believable. Do not exaggerate figures that can be easily checked. It is amazing how many job applicants make extraordinary claims about things they have done in previous jobs. The reality is that if they had stuck to the facts, rather than embellishing them, they would have had a far greater chance of success.
Try and make a note of your key achievements, and set a limit of around three. Three will be plenty to discuss and again is much more believable than a long list. When considering these achievements prepare the following:
- A list of 3 key achievements
- A list of 3 key sills
- 3 things you think you are good (or even great) at
- 3 things that you are proud of.
By working through this list and speaking about it out loud before the interview, perhaps with a friend or family member, you will start to feel confident and comfortable talking about these things. Remember, the interviewer more than likely does not know you and they will never know about what you have achieved (and therefore what you can bring to their company) without you telling them. Just remember to Sell, not Brag!
Author Lindsey Watson is a Webmaster of a wide variety of online specialty shops including a very popular site with advice on finding great Jobs Vacancies. Visit http://www.jobsvacancies.org today.
reCareered: Why Employers Look For Purple Squirrels
A purple squirrel is a C#, SQL, and ASP.net developer, who has financial markets experience, and speaks German. His brother (also a purple squirrel) is a Financial Analyst with SAP FICO, Hyperion, Excel Macro, and VBA skills, Pharma experience, and has done some market research.
As you can see, purple squirrels are hard to find, which is one reason they are so valuable to companies and recruiters.
5 ways to successfully transform yourself into a Purple Squirrel:
- Describe close accomplishments and experiences - Don't lie. Instead use the hiring manger's language to describe describe even minor projects and responsibilities that may solve employer problems.(see: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/03/job-seekers-tell-your-readers-wift.html).
- Describe even your minor accomplishments confidently - Don't use words like proficient (signifies minimal experience), light, minimal when describing your experience. Why make yourself look "light" when you don't have to?
- Describe Accomplishments over experiences - Whenever possible, describe what you accomplished, rather than what your job responsibilities were. This allows you to demonstrate what you did outside of the day-to-day of your job.
- Understand underlying problems: The more information you have at understanding why the hiring manager wants a purple squirrel, the better you can be at describing your own background to fit the employer's needs. First you have to understand the needs.
- Don't stretch: If you only have 2 out of the 3 major requirements, don't waste your time. With the number of people looking today, the company will find someone with all 3. Instead, spend your time chasing opportunities where you are a fit.
Quick ways to stay motivated in your job search - Secrets of the Job Hunt Career Podcast
The average job search in the U.S. is 4-6 months and slightly shorter in Canada. Dismaying statistics.
Keeping up your motivation to spend another day gathering leads, making contacts and polishing your hiring package can be daunting, never mind the constant rejection. Do yourself a favour. Be kind to yourself in this competitive job market and don't abandon your search altogether.
However, here are some quick strategies to stay motivated and competitve:
1. Focus on what is going well rather than not well. As a career coach who is certified in solution-focused interviewing and counselling, I really believe in seeing the positive in any situation. "Solution-talk" is replete with positivity. For our purposes, this means really identifying your successes, however small. Did you make another cold call in person today? Did you persuade a decision maker or influential person to set an informational interview with you in the next week? Did you step out of your comfort zone to try something completely different in your job search, as in using the telephone or tapping into the hidden job market strategically?
These are all small successes which add up to dividends in your job search. Write them down. Post them on your fridge. Celebrate and revisit those small successes for a later day.
2. If you are losing motivation, ask yourself, "Is my self-talk preventing me from reaching my goals?" Self-talk refers to the endless ream of messages that may consume your brain and drive negative behaviour. Self-talk can be positive or negative. It's simply your choice.
Replace your "old" self-talk (negative self-defeating beliefs?) with "new self-talk," Talk back to yourself positively. Despite the evidence and commonality of a long job search these days, be honest with yourself in evaluating your job search activities. Is your negative self-talk valid? Are you negative beliefs reflecting the whole picture of what's going on during your job search?
3. Ask yourself," What do I need to change to move forward in my job search? How important is change? Identify any roadblocks you may have and replace them with possible solutions.
4. Focus on achieving your goals. Motivational speaker and multi-millionaire Brian Tracy emailed me an article today on seven goal-setting questions we need to ask ourselves repeatedly. In my opinion, one of them was particularly meaningful to a successful job search:
"What have you always wanted to do, but been afraid to attempt? Fear is a common emotion to experience in a job search, especially a prolonged one. (Just today a client admitted only at the end of our first meeting that she was afraid. Very common). This question helps you see more clearly where your fears could be blocking you from doing what you really want to do. "
What's my favourite goal-setting question of all time?
"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" Wow, a powerful question that elicits so many possibilities. And that what staying motivated means in a job search. Envisioning possibilities of what MORE you could do to maintain your energy level and pursue your job search.
5. Kick your BUT's (roadblocks again)
Has your brain pumped produced this negative self-talk:" I want to work BUT...."
Replace that statement with "I want to work AND...."
Perhaps earn more money, have more responsibility or gain credibility in your industry or chosen field.
Remember, unemployment is temporary. Maintaining your motivational level can be a permanent strategy in your personal and professional life.
Melissa Martin, bilingual career coach and ebook author, How to use social media in your job search
Follow me on Twitter @ravingredhead or on Facebook: melissacynthiamartin
