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3 Questions No Job Seeker Ever Wants To Be Asked?Employer and interviewers expect you to answer tough question during interviews. Take a few minutes to brainstorm on how you might elaborate on the following answers. The answers you give to these questions that will be asked during your interview will be very important in your career prospects. Suppose you were asked these questions right now. Could you give a good answer? If not, study, study, study. 1. "Can you explain why you've been out of work so long?" Mothers usually have an easier time with this one than others do because the reason for long unemployment can almost always be related to raising the family. However, if you were just traveling or not looking for work very much, it's more difficult. "I felt that before I settled into a career job I had better get some personal travel out of the way. So, I traveled all over the country as a sort of self-education. The travel bug is out of my system and I'm ready to start on that career." "I held many jobs before this long period of having no job. I decided I didn't want to settle for just any job again, so I pretty much stopped looking while I identified what I really wanted to do as a career. I am convinced working for you fits my career plans very well." 2. "Do you know anything about our company?" Hopefully, you will have done some homework and will know something about the company, but if you don't, you should be prepared to say something other than "no", and indicate interest in knowing "more". Highlight their services, products and or revenues. "Not as much as I would like to. I understand that you are a very large firm, which indicates success and advancement potential. Where are your plants located besides here?" "Well, you certainly have a reputation for being a leading force in the local economy." 3. "I've interviewed several people with more experience than you. Why should I hire you instead of them?" This question can appear in many different forms (as can most of the others). Beware of passing judgment on others because you don't know them and you might be starting an argument, at least in the employer's mind. Also, steer clear of answering from a selfish point of view. Instead, refer to the job candidate you do know (you), and give some indication of what the employer stands to gain by hiring you. "I can't speak for the others, but I can for myself. I can assure you that I always learn new assignments very rapidly, and I think that may have the advantage of not having to unlearn someone else's way of doing things before learning how to do them your way." "I'm sure it would be very hard for you to find someone who could beat my eagerness and capacity for work." Tip: Don't concern yourself with trying to memorize each answer to every possible interview question. Each answer you give will be unique to you. Use these questions as a guide for your practice sessions with your team members. Have a family member or close friend sit down with you and "grill" you with each of these questions. You can not simply read these questions to yourself or study them alone. You must participate in multiple mock interview sessions with someone acting as the interviewer. If possible, have these sessions audio or video taped so that you can hear and/or see answers that you stumble over or questions that you do not clearly respond to. Also, with video, you will notice certain gestures and body language that might be distracting to the interviewer that you might not notice by practicing alone. REMEMBER: The interviewer is not just listening for how you answer the question but also, how you present your case and the image you project. Brian Stephenson is the author of, "Job Search Boot Camp", the most hard-hitting, step-by-step job search course that takes each student by the hand and shows them how to beat the odds and have great interviews that lead to job offers. Also, imagine if you could create powerful resumes that get results, stunning cover letters that command interviews, and winning interview thank you letters that get you hired? Consider for a moment what is possible for you if you had access to these forbidden secrets. For more information on the Job Search Boot Camp course, visit http://www.JobSearchBootCamp.com |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES The Top Ten Ways to Jump Start Your Career 1. Do What You Love. How to Negotiate The Best Salary and Benefit Packages Salary and Benefits Negotiation Children At Work: Looking at Child Labor in the Victorian Age Today, it isn't that uncommon for some children and teenagers to work. They may earn extra money by baby-sitting, doing yard work, or maybe even walking dogs. Others, once they go on to high school, may go to work in their local grocery store, malls, or food chains. However, in the Victorian Age, it wouldn't seem at all strange to see children as young as five or six, go to work full-time (sometimes sixteen hours a day!) in often dangerous conditions. A Career in Image Consulting You might have seen them while watching TV shows such as Extreme Makeover, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, or What Not to Wear. Or you might have heard that Martha Stewart needed them to give her advice on how to look sympathetic to a jury. Job Security Is Dead! Are You? Job security is an out dated concept. The idea is nice: The longer an employee works for a particular company, the more valuable that person becomes to the company in question. But the reality of the current job market is a different story. Every day in the U.S., employees are forced into early retirement, laid off, or fired as a result of corporate down-sizing, mergers, and re organizational bankruptcy. Day Trading ? The Ultimate Work-From-Home Job? Ever dreamt of giving up the daily grind? Want to strike out on your own and work from home, but don't know what you could possibly do to make a living? Full time Nasdaq trader Harvey Walsh wondered just that, and now he asks "Is day trading the ultimate work from home job"? No Degree, No Problem According to a recent survey, 52% of job candidates polled lied on their resume about having a college degree. Here are 3 brief horror stories: A new Director of Logistics and his family were actually loading the moving van provided by his new employer for relocation from California to North Carolina. The phone rang and it was the Human Resource Manager from his new company. The offer was being withdrawn. Through a routine degree verification check, the company learned the potential new employee did not have a degree. He was 3 hours short of graduating. Had the candidate been honest, the job was still his. It was an integrity issue. Five candidates for a high level software sales job were interviewing. After the face to face interviews, the candidates were offered a "grace period" to revise their application. The company was aware of a problem with one canddiate. The lead candidate changed his college degree information to "Did Not Graduate." He was dropped from contention. A candidate for a Vice President of Logistics position for a multi-billion/multi national company was offered the job. However, the background check could not verify the degree as listed on the resume. The stunned candidate said he could fix the problem. After one week, he called and faxed over the degree verification information. Only two blank pieces of paper came out of the fax. He said, "I must have faxed the wrong side." The offer was rescinded the night before his start date because of the integrity issue. The company would have hired him if he had been honest about not having a degree. Offers withdrawn because of "no degree" are not because the lack of a college degree was a "deal breaker." The issue was that each of these high level managers misrepresented themselves on their resume and during the interview. As a search firm, we always encourage candidates to be upfront and candid about the information on the resume, including whether or not they have a college degree. Don't try to hide it amongst several other educational courses you have taken. If you are hiring, ask the candidate directly. It's amazing how many hiring managers "assumed" the candidate graduated. The most deceptive piece on a resume is: University of Any State, 1986-1990. Listing the years but not if they graduated. Common oversight. Most times, if the candidate has a solid background and the chemistry is strong with the organization, the company hires the person. Remember 70% of hiring is Chemistry. Degree isn't the most important factor. 10 Tips to Help You Ace the Interview and Get the Job The interview is the "beauty contest" part of the job search process. Interviewers get to compare candidates by asking them similar questions and comparing the answers. Being just the right person for the job won't help you if you blow the interview. Discontentment in the Workplace While more people are finding employment, more employed workers are discontent and experiencing frustration. In most cases it can be boiled down to four factors: feeling undervalued, unappreciated and powerless, and world events. 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Eliminating all of these errors from your résumé will go a long way in improving your chances of securing an interview. Back to School for a Career Change Q. I hate my job as a computer consultant. I am ready for a career change. The aptitude tests say I should be a recreation specialist. I like the idea but I dread returning to school for a new degree. The Top 10 Ways to Manage Your Career Many people in the last decade have experienced either a layoff or termination in their lives or the lives of somebody they know. While many of these people affected have experienced outplacement-consulting services, some have not and they may be in for a rude awakening - corporations no longer "take care of you". Managing your career in these times require you to have a game plan and an understanding of yourself and human behavior. That is why outplacement consulting and career coaches have become so popular and are being sought out by individuals, not just corporations. A career coach can help you manage more than just your career, they can help you communicate better and get along with others better. Dont Forget to Say, Thank You One of the biggest mistake for job seeks is to not follow up an important interview with a thank you note to the people who interviewed them. Human Resources experts note that as few as 10% of interviewees take the time to say, "thank you." Let's take a look as why writing a thank you is the right thing to do and list some tips on how to write one. |
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