Postings are intended to give those looking for work some helpful common sense ideas for success.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Preparing for a job interview
What are you going to tell the interviewer about yourself? What questions should you be prepared to answer? Any employer looking for new hires will be keenly interested in what you can bring to the job. They will want to know of any special skills you might have such as typing and computer skills. They will want to know what your previous experience has been and what you’ve liked or disliked about the work you’ve had. You will need to explain why you left your last employer or why you are looking for change. You should be prepared to explain any periods your resume shows you haven’t worked. Be sure to tell the interviewer why you have selected this company for opportunities. For these reasons you’ll need to do your homework. The Internet is a wealth of information on companies. Look for annual reports and look for the good things they say about themselves. Current or former employees are a great source of information as well. Make a list of all the positive things you can find out about this opportunity and commit them to memory. Your interviewer will be impressed by your knowledge of the company and you will be signalling your strong desire to work for them.Employers know that their employees are often the only contact customers have with the company. Happy and engaged employees create positive customer impressions which can serve to secure customer loyalty. Be sure your interviewer understands you are keenly aware of this and assure them that you would consider your job responsibilities to include being an ambassador for the company.
Stress your commitment to prove your value to the company's success from the first day on the job. Further share your willingness to always accept additional responsibilities and your interest to advance in the company. In other words to become an indispensable employee.
Questions to avoid! How many paid holidays are there? Do you have paid sick leave. Do I get my birthday off? Don’t forget to turn off your cell phone!! One more thing.....if you are chewing gum, get rid of it.
Let's begin with creating a resume. The most important aspect of any resume is a cover letter. You don't just say things already covered in your resume. You spell out in detail why you have selected this company for a job opportunity. You need to spend some time researching the company to find material which makes them attractive. If you can find persons currently employed by the company try to get an interview with them. Make a list of the reasons people are happy working for the company. Learn of any awards the company may have received from the local community as well as the business world.
Make your letter easy to read! Do not try to impress the reader with your command of the language by using "big fancy" words. Instead use the same language you would use if your were speaking to them in person. Use short sentences which are well constructed grammatically and be sure to use your spell check! Above all, be sure you don't miss the spelling of the company's name!! You can't believe how many applications I have tossed for that reason alone. Finally, be sure the reader understands how anxious you are to present yourself to them and ask for an appointment .
Let's get ready now for that face to face interview
You are the most important thing you will ever sell. Think of yourself as a product you might be looking to buy. Anything for sale needs to be attractively packaged. Your appearance will be that all important first impression that can have a powerful and lasting impact. Be sure it is a positive one. I have seen many people lose their chance for a job only because they did not take pride in the way they look. Clean and freshly pressed clothes are an obvious requirement. Don't make the mistake, however, of thinking you need to impress your interviewer with expensive clothes and fancy jewelry. Such dress can give the impression of someone more focused on a high salary and less on the work being offered. Clean hands and manicured nails will have a more positive impact than a $2000 Brooks Brothers suit or diamond earrings.Tattoos are the rage these days but they can spell death for any chance of a job. If you have them they better be hidden by your clothing. If you have one on your face or neck think hard about investing in ways of having it removed. Body piercings can also turn off your interviewer. Not only are they unattractive to some people but they, like tattoos, signal a lack of personal hygiene and a disregard for the health risks they present.
A firm handshake and a bright smile are very important to a positive first impression. During the interview it is critically important to appear engaged by having direct eye contact with your interviewer. Nothing is more distracting and destructive to your job chances than staring at the floor and moving your eyes around the room. The message you send with such eye movements are ones of low self esteem, a lack of confidence, and even a desire to deceive. Nothing is more damaging to an interview than a lack of direct eye contact!!
Always be yourself in the interview. Skilled interviewers can readily recognize actors. Talk to the interviewer as though you are talking to one of your parents. When replying to questions about your strong points try your best to do it in ways the interviewer will not think you are bragging or conceited. You should use phrases like "my friends and others have told me...."
The best advice anyone could give to someone going into an interview is to be relaxed and genuine. Let the interviewer see you for who you are. Always be upbeat and stress positive thoughts throughout the interview.
Ok! ….Now you have a job what do you do?
The most important thing you need to do is embark a career lasting commitment to become the very best employee you can be. Set a goal to become that employee your company could not afford to be without. Why is that important? Because it helps you create job security!! Companies often promote themselves as a place to come for a long term rewarding career. As much as they truly believe that, it sometimes is impossible to hold true to that promise. It’s not uncommon for business conditions to change making it difficult to keep their employees. Sometimes companies overload their workforce and are forced to reduce “head count” as mandated by the board of directors. Often in an effort to become a bigger company with a larger presence in the marketplace they find another companies with whom they can merge or buy outright. When these actions occur current employees of each company often must find other jobs. It hardly ever happens that all current employees will have a job in the new larger company. The other company will have people doing the same you work do. The new company will have fewer employees total than the two had together. They will have to decide who stays in the new larger company and who must go. You must be on the most indispensable list should any of these events happen to your company.So how can you be part of that indispensable list? There are many ways. Most are obvious but often not given the importance they deserve; like being to work on time and productive the entire time you’re on the job. A talent everyone should strive to develop over time is that of creative thinking. Becoming an active participant in meetings with new ideas which benefit moral, increased efficiencies, or even the company’s profits are great ways to secure your place on the “indispensable list”. Strive to become a fountain of good ideas. Share them openly with your supervisor and in open meetings. The value of a good idea can’t be measured but it can be huge if not infinite. Think about Amazon and Apple starting from one man’s idea. Be a team player and a valued participant member of your team. Be willing to help others in your team to succeed. Strive to be good friends with others in the team and be sure they see you as a member of their team and not as a competitor. Know your unique skills and offer to accept additional responsibilities where those skills can help the team. Always show a positive attitude for everything especially for assignments you are given. Never complain about your workload.
Now here are 10 common things that will get you on the dreaded “expendable” list. This list is from a survey conducted by Thom S. Rainer (www,thomrainer.com)
Failure to keep current in your field.
“Rapid change” has almost become cliché. One leader said he had to dismiss some people who were acting like it was still 2007. In other words, if you haven’t kept current or updated your skill set in the past five years, you are incredibly behind your coworkers. Other leaders said they expect their employees to reinvent themselves regularly.Poor people skills.
Those deficiencies include an inability to work well with others, poor self-awareness, and a self-centered attitude. This issue will be discussed again below because it is mentioned frequently. One leader told me that he let go of two of his smartest employees because their attitudes were toxic to the organization.Moral failure.
I expected this response to be near the top and it was. Some of the most promising workers have been fired for actions that could only be described as stupid.
Failure to carry out assignments. or meet important objectives:
Some of the leaders expressed amazement at the number of people who failed to carry out an assignments and offered no explanation why they failed to do so. “One former leader on my team once told me an employee thought is he could ignore my assignment for months without explanation. I guess he thought that the task would just go away.”Failure to take initiatives.
Some of those who responded to me were leaders in midsize to large organizations. Their direct reports were brought into the organization with the expectation that they would be highly motivated workers. But when they failed to take initiative, their value to the organization diminished. “I need people who can come up with ideas and strategies on their own,” one leader said. “I don’t need to be giving them assignments with specific instructions every time.”Negative talk.
Some people lost their jobs because they were the sources or carriers of rumors. Some were incessant complainers. And even others were simply negative people. Their dispositions and conversations made the workplace unpleasant and discouraging for others.Laziness. “Most lazy workers do not realize that everyone in the organization knows they are lazy,” a mid level leader told me. “You can’t hide poor work hours and poor work ethic from others. I have to deal with lazy people in my division before that attitude permeates the entire division.”
Attitude of entitlement.
We did go through an era in America’s employment history where adequate work and sufficient tenure guaranteed some employees a lifetime job, benefits, and retirement. That era exists no more. Those who still have an attitude of entitlement may soon find themselves on the sidelines of employment.Failure to demonstrate productivity.
Workers in organizations should regularly ask if they are being treated fairly for the work they do. If not, they should pursue other options. Workers can likewise be certain that now, more than ever, they are being evaluated in the same manner. Are they productive? Do they truly “earn their keep?”Self-centered attitudes More and more workers are evaluated by their attitude as well as their direct work. Are they team players? Or do they always and obviously act in their own self-interest? Do they demonstrate humility? Or do they demonstrate how caught up they are in themselves.
