Career 1 Source

Interview Cheat Sheet

Tara — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:51:49 +0000

Interview prep is one of the most overlooked steps in the job search process. Why? I do not know. Unfortunately, a candidate that does not adequately prepare will often come up short when it matters most. This article does a pretty good job of summarizing those things that are most important. Take a look and if you have questions or need more depth on any or all of the concepts, don’t hesitate to let me know!
-David Weaver

from monster.com – By Carole Martin, Monster Contributing Writer

Relax — a cheat sheet is not really cheating. It’s a checklist to make sure you stay focused before, during and after the interview. Creating a cheat sheet will help you feel more prepared and confident. You shouldn’t memorize what’s on the sheet or check it off during the interview. You should use your cheat sheet to remind you of key facts. Here are some suggestions for what you should include on it.

In the Days Before the Interview

Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. On the left side, make a bulleted list of what the employer is looking for based on the job posting. On the right side, make a bulleted list of the qualities you possess that fit those requirements.
Research the company, industry and the competition.
Prepare your 60-second personal statement.
Write at least five success stories to answer behavioral interview questions (“Tell me about a time when…” or “Give me an example of a time…”).
List five questions to ask the interviewer about the job, the company and the industry.
Research salaries to determine your worth.
Determine your salary needs based on your living expenses.
Get permission from your references to use their names.

Prepare Your Interview Answers

Be ready to answer common interview questions such as these:

Tell me about yourself.
Why did you leave your last position, or why are you leaving your current position?
What do you know about this company?
What are your goals?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Why do you want to work here?
What has been your most significant achievement?
How would your last boss and colleagues describe you?
Why should we hire you?
What are your salary expectations?

Before You Go to the Interview

Do you look professional? Check yourself in the mirror; part of your confidence will come from looking good.

Carry these items to the interview:

Several copies of your resume on quality paper.
A copy of your references.
A pad of paper on which to take notes, though notes are optional.
Directions to the interview site.

Upon Arrival

Arrive early — enter the building 10 minutes before your appointment.
Review your prepared stories and answers.
Go to the restroom and check your appearance one last time.
Announce yourself to the receptionist in a professional manner.
Stand and greet your interviewer with a hearty — not bone-crushing — handshake.
Smile and maintain eye contact.

During the Interview

Try to focus on the points you have prepared without sounding rehearsed or stiff.
Relax and enjoy the conversation.
Learn what you can about the company.
Ask questions and listen; read between the lines.
At the conclusion, thank the interviewer, and determine the next steps.
Ask for the interviewer’s business card so you can send a follow-up letter.

After the Interview

As soon as possible, write down what you are thinking and feeling.
Later in the day, review what you wrote and assess how you did.
Write an interview thank-you letter, reminding the interviewer of your qualities.

Facing 50 Questions for Every Job Interview

Tara — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:23:53 +0000

Last week we posted an article about how to answer the “tell me about yourself” question. This article focuses on that same idea and encourages job seekers to be prepared – opposed to just “winging it”. –DSW

Article taken from theladders.com.

By Patty Orsini

Getting a job interview turned out to be less of a hurdle than Connie Corwin expected when she began her first job search in three decades.

Corwin, a member of OpsLadder, had not experienced an interview in more than 30 years. She had only known one employer, General Motors, where she had started after high school, working her way up to operations manager in the powertrain division at a manufacturing plant near Flint, Mich.

Corwin said she decided to leave in 2010 before outside forces made the decision for her. She had her resume professionally rewritten, recruiters were returning her phone calls, and she was getting job interviews. It was what happened once she entered the interview room that stymied her at every turn.

“I would be asked during an interview, ‘Tell me about yourself,’ and I wasn’t sure what to say, and I would give a really long answer that was very broad,” she recalled. “I gave the interviewer more information than they wanted or needed.”

She stumbled through the answers on several interviews before concluding that she needed to prepare every answer for every question she might possibly face. “I needed to have specifics, instead of talking in broad themes and vague descriptions.”

Corwin searched online for sample interview questions; she read books by human-resources experts; and she relied on her own experiences to develop a list of the 50 interview questions she was most likely to face on any given job interview, including “Why did you leave your last job?” “What did you like most about your job?”and “How would your boss describe you?” She then answered every question and practiced every response.

“I spent quite a bit of time trying to communicate what it was the interviewer wanted to know,” Corwin said. “When they asked, ‘Why did you leave your last job?’ I knew they wanted to hear my thought process in making this huge decision to leave my job in a tough economy. My response was to explain all the things about my previous position that said to me it was time to move on and what I hoped to tackle in my next job.”

Another question that she had stumbled on in early interviews was, “What were some of the important things you accomplished in your last job?” To answer that one, Corwin looked at her resume, pulled out key areas where she had led her team to success, and explained why those successes were important to the company.

“I did the bullet-point thing (verbally),” she said. “I did a two-sentence summary of whatever I was talking about, named some important skills, and then quickly summarized. You can only hold people’s attention for so long. I timed myself so I could answer a question in two minutes.”

Corwin credited her interview-prep method with preparing her for job interviews that eventually led to multiple job offers, including one for a plant-manager position at an aerospace components manufacturer in Seattle.

The 10-page document she created went with her on every interview. “The night before an interview, I would start at the beginning and read through every question. I didn’t memorize it, but I would read it like you would read a story.”

During an interview with a single company, Corwin said, she would be asked at least 60 percent of the questions on her list. “I couldn’t imagine a question they would come up with that I wouldn’t have a response for,” she said. “It’s a great list. Some people like to wing it, but I like to be prepared.”

Article taken from theladders.com

How to Answer the “Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question

Tara — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:39:35 +0000

Interesting article but not so much for its content as it is for the thought behind it. The real key takeaway is to make sure you are thinking and anticipating questions that might come up in an interview. Yes, some of you might be good at thinking on your feet and answering questions on the fly, but the truth is, you really don’t want to leave that to chance. Your responses to questions posed have a direct long term impact on your future, so why leave that to chance. Whether you practice with a friend, a mentor or even yourself, thinking, anticipating and answer questions that might come up in an interview before the actual event is one of the best investments of time you can ever make. Good luck!

- David Weaver, Career 1 Consultant

Don’t be afraid of this question; instead use it as an opportunity to position yourself for success.

When I was a human resources executive doing hiring interviews, I almost always began my interviews with candidates by requesting, “Tell me about yourself.” I did that for a number of reasons, the most important of which was to see how the candidates handled themselves in an unstructured situation.

I wanted to see how articulate they were, how confident they were and generally what type of impression they would make on the people with whom they came into contact on the job.

I also wanted to get a sense of what they thought was important.

Most candidates find this question to be a particularly difficult one to answer. That is a misplaced view. This question offers an opportunity to describe yourself positively and focus the interview on your strengths. Be prepared to deal with it. These days, it’s unavoidable. Like me, most interviewers start off their interviews with this question. A lot of interviewers open with it as an icebreaker or because they’re still getting organized, but they all use it to get a sense of whom you are.

The Wrong Response

There are many ways to respond to this question correctly and just one wrong way: by asking, “What do you want to know?” That tells me you have not prepared properly for the interview and are likely to be equally unprepared on the job. You need to develop a good answer to this question, practice it and be able to deliver it with poise and confidence.

The Right Response

To help you prepare, I spoke to a number of career coaches on how best to respond when faced with this question. Heed the career advice that follows to ace this opener:

The consensus of the coaches with whom I spoke:

Focus on what most interests the interviewer
Highlight your most important accomplishments

Focus on What Interests the Interviewer

According to Jane Cranston, a career coach from New York, “The biggest mistake people being interviewed make is thinking the interviewer really wants to know about them as a person.

They start saying things like, ‘Well, I was born in Hoboken, and when I was three we moved …’ Wrong. The interviewer wants to know that you can do the job, that you fit into the team, what you have accomplished in your prior positions and how can you help the organization.”

Nancy Fox, of Fox Coaching Associates, agrees. She notes that “many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work history or personal matters.” She recommends starting with your most recent employment and explaining why you are well qualified for the position. According to Fox, the key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. “In other words, you want to be selling what the buyer is buying.”

Think of your response as a movie preview, says Melanie Szlucha, a coach with Red Inc. “The movie preview always relates to the movie you’re about to see. You never see a movie preview for an animated flick when you’re there to see a slasher movie. So the ‘tell me about yourself” answer needs to directly fit the concerns of your prospective employer.”

Previews are also short but show clips of the movie that people would want to see more of later. They provide enough information about the movie so that you could ask intelligent questions about what the movie is about. Hiring managers don’t want to look unprepared by reading your resume in front of you, so Szlucha advises that you “provide them some topics to ask you more questions about.”

Highlight Your Most Important Accomplishments

Greg Maka, managing director at 24/7 Marketing, advises job seekers to “tell a memorable story about your attributes.” For example, if you tell an interviewer that people describe you as tenacious, provide a brief story that shows how you have been tenacious in achieving your goals. “Stories are powerful and are what people remember most,” he said.

One great example is that of Fran Capo, a comedienne who bills herself as “the world’s fastest-talking female.” She offers the following advice: “Whenever I go on auditions or interviews, I have a “set” opening I use. … I tell the interviewer what I do in one sentence and then say, ‘And I also happen to be the Guinness Book of World Records’ fastest-talking female.’ Then I elaborate.” According to Capo, the main thing in anything you do is to be memorable, in a good way. Your goal when you answer the ‘tell me about yourself’ question is to find a way stand out from everyone else.

And, Be Brief

Maureen Anderson, host of “The Career Clinic” radio show, stresses the importance of keeping your answer short: “The employer wants to know a little bit about you to begin with — not your life story. Just offer up two or three things that are interesting — and useful. You should take about a minute to answer this question.”

To make sure it is succinct and covers what you want it to cover, she suggests that you “write your answer out before the interview, practice it, time it and rehearse it until it sounds natural. Then practice it some more. The goal is to tell the employer enough to pique their interest, not so much that they wonder if they’d ever be able to shut you up during a coffee break at the office.”

Rather than dread this question, a well-prepared candidate should welcome this inquiry. Properly answered, this question puts the candidate in the driver’s seat. It gives her an opportunity to sell herself. It allows her to set the tone and direction for the rest of the interview, setting her up to answer the questions she most wants to answer.

Article taken from theladders.com, written by Lee E. Miller.

Gen Y’s Impact in the Workplace

Tara — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:52:57 +0000

Great article about the changing nature of the workforce. As employers, we need to figure out how to relate to, and capture the hearts of, the Gen Yers that will become the backbone of our future. Technology, work / life balance, flexibility and culture will become extremely important as we work to attract the best out of a rapidly shrinking talent pool! -David Weaver

Gen Y’s Impact in the Workplace

By Amy Chulik, CareerBuilder Writer

“What words come to mind when I say Gen Y?” Aaron Kesher asked the many attendees at 2011′s Society for Human Resources Management conference who were packed into the room. ”Entitled!” shouted one person. “Job hoppers,” chimed in another. Soon, many in the room (many of them non-Gen Yers, with some Gen Y members sprinkled in) were shouting things like “smart,” “résumé builders,” “technically savvy,” “stereotype,” “comfortable with change,” and “creative.”

Obviously, we all have specific words and phrases and ideas that match how we perceive Gen Y to think and behave in the workplace. Gen Y, made up of those born between 1980 and 2000, have their own notions of themselves, too. In Aaron Kesher’s, “Why Y? Plugging Into a Generational Powerhouse” session, Kesher encouraged all of us in the room to rethink our notions of what we think Gen Y is all about, to consider the strengths they bring to today’s dynamic workplace and to use this knowledge and understanding to more successfully recruit and retain Gen Y workers.

“Do not doubt that this generation will change the face of the American workplace as their parents did,” Kesher said. “In the next five to 10 years, the number of Gen Yers in the workforce will increase dramatically.”

As the number of Gen Y workers is only getting larger, it’s about time we as a collective workplace learn more about Gen Y so that we can understand them, appreciate their unique strengths, and more successfully integrate them with other generations in the workplace.

What is work from a Gen Y perspective?

Work ethic: Job loyalty, for a long time, was shown by how long you stuck around and paid your dues — and older generations still think in line with this. Gen Y, on the other hand, says, “I show you love by how hard I work, not how long I stick around.”

Tech savvy: It’s not so much that Gen Yers are tech savvy, Kesher pointed out — they’re tech dependent. They’re the generation that’s come of age with the explosion of technology, so it’s natural that they would be comfortable with it.

Communication and teamwork: Gen Y is not necessarily entitled; they just feel comfortable asking for what they want. When it comes to communication, you can often count on Gen Yers to spread out the message fast and often. We need to realize, Kesher said, that throughout Gen Y’s public education, the majority of the work was done in groups, and that their role wasn’t usually as the leader of a group — instead, many were “equal” team members. Therefore, many Gen Y members function fairly well as a group and as “team players,” but some struggle in standing out as individual, assertive leaders.

Money: Employers, listen up: Gen Y is talking to each other about the money they are (or aren’t) making at your organization. They are comparing how competitive your salary is with your competitors — and they’re not afraid to share their findings. One audience member mentioned recently hearing Gen Yers discussing openly the job offers and bonuses they were getting — and she was shocked. After all, discussing how much money you make is one of the last great American taboos — yet Gen Y seems more comfortable with discussing this sort of information.

Recognition: Gen Y is a generation of the “there are no losers — everyone’s a winner” mentality. “But they didn’t make that up (boomer parents),” Kesher pointed out, to a round of laughter. Gen Yers don’t care how it gets done –they just want to get it done. And they want to be told they did a good job once they do it; recognition is very important.

Diversity: ”Why do only white people work here?” might be something a Gen Y worker thinks while viewing a company site or sitting in the lobby while waiting to be interviewed and noticing the lack of diverse employees. Gen Y doesn’t embrace diversity — they expect it — and if your company says you believe in diversity, but then a Gen Y worker shows up and all workers look the same — they will think you’re not living up to your diversity message. This generation has grown up with a greater awareness of and comfort with diversity of all kinds. From home lives, to school experiences, to messages absorbed from pop culture, they often don’t see what all the fuss is. This can manifest as difficulty in understanding why others struggle with issues around differences. A question of whether gay marriage should be legalized, for example, is a non-issue for many Gen Y individuals — and this shift ties into a larger cultural shift in general.

Work versus life: ”I love my job, but I love my life more” — that’s something you may hear a lot of Gen Yers say. One of the critical issues that will need to be ironed out at work in the future, Kesher said, will revolve around workplace flexibility. We’re increasingly seeing workplace flexibility issues evolving in the workplace, and Gen Y workers in particular (though they’re not alone) want to know how they can maintain their relationship with work while still having the flexibility to live the life they envision. As mentioned above, Gen Y has no problem with work or with the idea of working hard — it’s just that their job will never be the whole of their identity. They were raised with the imperative to “follow your dreams!”, and their job and life may intersect in new ways than we’ve seen in past generations. “Gen Y,” Kesher stressed, “doesn’t want a job — they want a life that hopefully includes a job.”

Being green: This is the generation that’s leading the green movement — so give them the power to build, make changes, and become leaders in your organization’s (existing or non-existing) green movement.

Why worry about Gen Y?
Ensuring that the different generations working together under one roof actually work well together is a big concern for many employers. After all, if knowledge isn’t able to be sufficiently shared from generation to generation, older generations will eventually retire — taking with them decades of experience. In addition, workers who work well together are likely to be happier, more productive and better brand ambassadors for companies.

Article from careerbuilder.com

Top 10 Reasons Why Large Companies Fail to Keep Their Best Talent

Tara — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:09:26 +0000

This is the best article I hope no one reads! :) It gives the secret as to why recruiters are successful recruiting your talent away from you. My goal is to work with great clients that try to address each of these issues head on. – David Weaver

Top 10 Reasons Why Large Companies Fail to Keep Their Best Talent

From Forbes.com

Whether it’s a high-profile tech company like Yahoo!, or a more established conglomerate like GE or Home Depot, large companies have a hard time keeping their best and brightest in house. Recently, GigaOM discussed the troubles at Yahoo! with a flat stock price, vested options for some of their best people, and the apparent free flow of VC dollars luring away some of their best people to do the start-up thing again.

Yet, Yahoo!, GE, Home Depot, and other large established companies have a tremendous advantage in retaining their top talent and don’t. I’ve seen the good and the bad things that large companies do in relation to talent management. Here’s my Top Ten list of what large companies do to lose their top talent :

1. Big Company Bureaucracy. This is probably the #1 reason we hear after the fact from disenchanted employees. However, it’s usually a reason that masks the real reason. No one likes rules that make no sense. But, when top talent is complaining along these lines, it’s usually a sign that they didn’t feel as if they had a say in these rules. They were simply told to follow along and get with the program. No voice in the process and really talented people say “check please.”

2. Failing to Find a Project for the Talent that Ignites Their Passion. Big companies have many moving parts — by definition. Therefore, they usually don’t have people going around to their best and brightest asking them if they’re enjoying their current projects or if they want to work on something new that they’re really interested in which would help the company. HR people are usually too busy keeping up with other things to get into this. The bosses are also usually tapped out on time and this becomes a “nice to have” rather than “must have” conversation. However, unless you see it as a “must have,” say adios to some of your best people. Top talent isn’t driven by money and power, but by the opportunity to be a part of something huge, that will change the world, and for which they are really passionate. Big companies usually never spend the time to figure this out with those people.

3. Poor Annual Performance Reviews. You would be amazed at how many companies do not do a very effective job at annual performance reviews. Or, if they have them, they are rushed through, with a form quickly filled out and sent off to HR, and back to real work. The impression this leaves with the employee is that my boss — and, therefore, the company — isn’t really interested in my long-term future here. If you’re talented enough, why stay? This one leads into #4….

4. No Discussion around Career Development. Here’s a secret for most bosses: most employees don’t know what they’ll be doing in 5 years. In our experience, about less than 5% of people could tell you if you asked. However, everyone wants to have a discussion with you about their future. Most bosses never engage with their employees about where they want to go in their careers — even the top talent. This represents a huge opportunity for you and your organization if you do bring it up. Our best clients have separate annual discussions with their employees — apart from their annual or bi-annual performance review meetings — to discuss succession planning or career development. If your best people know that you think there’s a path for them going forward, they’ll be more likely to hang around.

5. Shifting Whims/Strategic Priorities. I applaud companies trying to build an incubator or “brickhouse” around their talent, by giving them new exciting projects to work on. The challenge for most organizations is not setting up a strategic priority, like establishing an incubator, but sticking with it a year or two from now. Top talent hates to be “jerked around.” If you commit to a project that they will be heading up, you’ve got to give them enough opportunity to deliver what they’ve promised.

6. Lack of Accountability and/or telling them how to do their Jobs. Although you can’t “jerk around” top talent, it’s a mistake to treat top talent leading a project as “untouchable.” We’re not saying that you need to get into anyone’s business or telling them what to do. However, top talent demands accountability from others and doesn’t mind being held accountable for their projects. Therefore, have regular touch points with your best people as they work through their projects. They’ll appreciate your insights/observations/suggestions — as long as they don’t spillover into preaching.

7. Top Talent likes other Top Talent. What are the rest of the people around your top talent like? Many organizations keep some people on the payroll that rationally shouldn’t be there. You’ll get a litany of rationales explaining why when you ask. “It’s too hard to find a replacement for him/her….” “Now’s not the time….” However, doing exit interviews with the best people leaving big companies you often hear how they were turned off by some of their former “team mates.” If you want to keep your best people, make sure they’re surrounded by other great people.

8. The Missing Vision Thing. This might sound obvious, but is the future of your organization exciting? What strategy are you executing? What is the vision you want this talented person to fulfill? Did they have a say/input into this vision? If the answer is no, there’s work to do — and fast.

9. Lack of Open-Mindedness. The best people want to share their ideas and have them listened to. However, a lot of companies have a vision/strategy which they are trying to execute against — and, often find opposing voices to this strategy as an annoyance and a sign that someone’s not a “team player.” If all the best people are leaving and disagreeing with the strategy, you’re left with a bunch of “yes” people saying the same things to each other. You’ve got to be able to listen to others’ points of view — always incorporating the best parts of these new suggestions.

10. Who’s the Boss? If a few people have recently quit at your company who report to the same boss, it’s likely not a coincidence. We’ll often get asked to come in and “fix” someone who’s a great sales person, engineer, or is a founder, but who is driving everyone around them “nuts.” We can try, but unfortunately, executive coaching usually only works 33% of the time in these cases. You’re better off trying to find another spot for them in the organization — or, at the very least, not overseeing your high-potential talent that you want to keep.

It’s never a one-way street. Top talent has to assume some responsibility as much as the organization. However, with the scarcity of talent — which will only increase in the next 5 years — Smart Organizations are ones who get out in front of these ten things, rather than wait for their people to come to them, asking to implement this list.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2011/12/14/top-ten-reasons-why-large-companies-fail-to-keep-their-best-talent/2/

The Cost of a Bad Hire

Tara — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:25:49 +0000

Whether the numbers are exact or not, it is clear that there is an enormous cost associated with making a poor hiring decision. That is where we can help. We actively focus on recruiting candidates that fit from both a skill set and a cultural perspective and guarantee our work. Let us know how we can help you! - David Weaver

Career 1 Source does not have any association with this company, nor is this a paid advertisement. Resoomay created this infographic on the cost of a bad hire and we wanted to share it with our network of clients and potential clients. Bad hiring decisions will never go away, but of course a great recruiter plus some good technology can help make bad hires happen less frequently.

It’s not about me, it’s about you…the 20 questions you need to ask in a job interview

Tara — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:58:38 +0000

One of the most important, but often overlooked parts of the interview process are the questions a candidate should be prepared to ask a potential employer. In this article, Marc Cenedella does a great job of highlighting some key questions you should considering asking when moving through the interview process. Not all of them will fit in every situation, but they are a good starting point. The key is to show your potential employer that you are interested in them and to get them selling you on the organization and the opportunity just as much as you are trying to sell them on your capabilities. Hope these help! – David Weaver

From MARC CENEDELLA
theladders.com

What’s an interview about? It sure feels like it’s about you, but it’s really not.

An interview is actually about how you can help your future boss and future employer succeed. It’s about finding out what their requirements and hopes are and matching up your background and experience with what they need.

Overlooking these basic facts about the interview is all too easy. There’s so much else going on in your work, your life, and in your job search, that you can forget to look at the interview from the interviewer’s point of view. And that’s a shame, because, after all, you need the interviewer to walk away from the interview thoroughly impressed.

With that in mind, I’ve updated my collection of my twenty best interview questions below. My aim here is to arm you with easy-to-ask, revealing-to-answer questions for you to take with you into an interview.

Asking these questions, which focus on the needs, traits, and preferences of your future boss and future employer, allow you to discover how you can contribute, and also demonstrate that you are somebody who is genuinely interested in the well-being of others.

And with that, here are my twenty best questions to ask your interviewer:

What’s the biggest change your group has gone through in the last year? Does your group feel like the recession is over and things are getting better, or are things still pretty bleak?
If I get the job, how do I earn a “gold star” on my performance review? What are the key accomplishments you’d like to see in this role over the next year?
What’s your (or my future boss’) leadership style?
About which competitor are you most worried?
How does sales / operations / technology / marketing / finance work around here? (I.e., groups other than the one you’re looking to work in.)
What type of people are successful here? What type of people are not?
What’s one thing that’s key to this company’s success that somebody from outside the company wouldn’t know about?
How did you get your start in this industry? Why do you stay?
What are your group’s best and worst working relationships with other groups in the company?
What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest worry these days?
What’s the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you?
These are tough economic times, and every position is precious when it comes to the budget. Why did you decide to hire somebody for this position instead of the many other roles / jobs you could have hired for? What about this position made your prioritize it over others?
What is your reward system? Is it a star system / team-oriented / equity-based / bonus-based / “attaboy!”-based? Why is that your reward system? What do you guys hope to get out of it, and what actually happens when you put it into practice? What are the positives and the negatives of your reward system? If you could change any one thing, what would it be?
What information is shared with the employees (revenues, costs, operating metrics)? Is this an open-book shop, or do you play it closer to the vest? How is information shared? How do I get access to the information I need to be successful in this job?
If we have a very successful 2012, what would that look like? What will have have happened over the next 12 months? How does this position help achieve that?
How does the company / my future boss do performance reviews? How do I make the most of the performance review process to ensure that I’m doing the best I can for the company?
What is the rhythm to the work around here? Is there a time of year that it’s all hands on deck and we’re pulling all-nighters, or is it pretty consistent throughout the year? How about during the week / month? Is it pretty evenly spread throughout the week / month, or are there crunch days?
What type of industry / functional / skills-based experience and background are you looking for in the person who will fill this position? What would the “perfect” candidate look like? How do you assess my experience in comparison? What gaps do you see?
In my career, I’ve primarily enioyed working with big / small / growing / independent / private / public / family-run companies. If that’s the case, how successful will I be at your firm?
Who are the heroes at your company? What characteristics do the people who are most celebrated have in common with each other? Conversely, what are the characteristics that are common to the promising people you hired, but who then flamed out and failed or left? As I’m considering whether or not I’d be successful here, how should I think about the experiences of the heroes and of the flame-outs?

I could go on for a while, but I trust that gives you a good idea about how to make the interview about them, not about you. I’d like you to look through this list and pick the questions, and the phrasing and the wording with which you’re the most comfortable and make it your own during the interview process.

I’ll throw in one more bonus question — it’s the best one I’ve got — in honor of my brother Matthew and my wife Angela on their milestone birthdays (thank you for being there for me throughout the years and always)!

And that bonus question would be to ask your interviewer:

What can I do to help you (my future boss) get a gold star on your review next year?

This question has been tried and tested by thousands of TheLadders subscribers over the years and never fails to get a big response. Try it yourself.

OK, Readers, have a great week in the job search!

I’m rooting for you,

Marc Cenedella, CEO & Founder

http://sales-jobs.theladders.com/career-newsletters/20-questions-you-need-to-ask-in-a-job-interview

If the Job Fits

career1source — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:15:00 +0000

The following is a great article on a subject that many job seekers don’t pay enough attention to. Once the decision to make a move is made, candidates look to step into a bigger and better role as soon as possible. Unfortunately, if a move is made without paying attention to one of the most important, yet non quantifiable job satisfaction indicators out there, the candidate is just asking for trouble. Consider these important questions as you consider your next move.
-David Weaver

Assessing the cultural fit of a company extends far beyond age or interests, and it can make all the difference between success and failure on the job.

By Patty Orsini

The job description seems like it was written for you. The pay is right, the commute easy on your nerves, you even like your new boss, and the coffee machine is near your desk. But is the new job a good cultural fit? How can you even tell?

Assessing the cultural fit of a company goes well beyond whether you are about the same age as your co-workers or share interests with your managers. It includes the way the company runs day to day as well as grander elements such as the ethical guidance of the leadership or whether your role fits into the strategic vision.

If you are eager to make a move, you might be willfully ignoring signs that these elements of the job will make it hard for you to succeed — or at the very least hard to enjoy it, warned Stephanie Daniel, vice president and group program manager at Keystone Associates in Boston, where she advises professionals in career transition.

“Cultural fit is one of the most important factors you can consider when looking for a new position,” she said. “Culture really defines the personality of the organization. It’s not just about whether employees are nice to one another. It’s about examining the company’s values and whether the values of the company match your own personal values as a potential employee.”

Daniel counsels clients to think long term when they are considering a job offer. “If you are taking a job solely because it will pay the bills, even though you know it’s not a good fit, it might be OK for the first few months, but it will take its toll,” she said. “I can’t tell someone to take or not take a job, but I do tell them it’s important to consider how a job will affect your life.”

How do you know if your potential new employer is a good fit? Do your research. Review materials publicly available online and in the media; use your network to find out as much as possible about the company; and when you visit the office for an interview, observe everything from the layout of the office to the age of the equipment. Something as simple as whether people have photos of their families on their desks could tell you whether you would fit in, Daniel said.

When you sit down for an interview, ask the following key questions to understand how you fit into the fabric of the existing company and whether a position in this company will allow you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.

What are the challenges the company is facing in the next year?
“That question gets to what the company is truly interested in accomplishing,” Daniel said. “Do they want to launch a product, expand, create a global presence, or are they looking to sell the company? You can really get at their priorities by asking this question.”
“What are the organization’s current challenges?” will help a potential employee determine where the leadership team is focusing its energies, whether it’s on new business, cost savings, or new products and services.

How would you describe the leadership style of the company?
“It’s important to ask about the leadership team,” Daniel said. “People are often afraid to ask; they think it is overstepping. But it’s important to broach this topic and to find out what tone is set by leadership.
Ask, “What leadership behaviors are rewarded?” It will give you some clues about what traits are valued. Ask for examples of how key decisions are made. Whether input is gathered from employees or not, for example, will reveal something about how much employees are valued.

Is there a place for me and what I do?
“It’s not just about, ‘Will I like working here’ or, ‘Will I like the people?’ ” Daniel explained. “It’s about, ‘What unique attributes do I bring to this company to make an impact?’ ”
If the company doesn’t value the functions you provide, it may be difficult for you to find success in the company.

How are decisions made?
“Are they made unilaterally, or are mechanisms built in for people to have a say? What works best for you?”

How long have you been with the company?
The answer will touch on company loyalty and whether this employer nurtures its employees or churns them up and spits them out.

How do you evaluate all of this? “Use your natural intuitive ability to get a sense of the mood and attitude of the place,” Daniel said. Ultimately, there are no right and wrong answers to any of these questions. The idea is to decide whether the environment will work for you. “It’s a combination of gut plus research, and you can’t dismiss either.”

Patty Orsini is a general assignment reporter for TheLadders.

When is the best time to start looking for a new job?

career1source — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:32:00 +0000

Love this article. I think Luke is right on here. It never hurts to keep your eyes and options open. If nothing else, you have the opportunity to build another connection, dialogue on current issues facing your industry and potentially get inside the walls of your competition from a product and a business plan perspective. I do a lot of work in the employee benefit arena and making these types of connections early is parallel to the Health Risk Assessments being offered by many employers these days. Go in early, proactively and before symptoms start. Hopefully all is clean but you never know what you might uncover and it could save your life!
–David Weaver

Post from Luke Collard’s Recruiting Blog

When I speak to candidates who tell me they are not interested in talking as they are not looking for a new job, this is what I tell them……

I commonly meet with individuals who are desperate to leave their current job. They were happy and maybe not that long ago, but for whatever reason they have got to the point where the very thought of turning up to work makes them feel miserable. When I meet with these people I question why it has taken them until now to start looking for a job? Desperation nearly always means people do not present themselves as well as they normally would. Without meaning to, they will often come across negatively, jaded, even a bit miserable which are all major turn offs to future employers. But even if they can act through it, when someone gets to this stage, they make poor decisions. Their standards and criteria drop dramatically. An average opportunity can suddenly look great although in reality it is just a way out. This will inevitably mean that in a few months, when they are seeing life a bit rosier, they will realise that they have sold themselves short and will often end up leaving the new role quickly. Suddenly their CV is starting to look a bit messy.

If you are happy in your role then the likelihood is that you won’t consider moving soon and that is fine. You may stay with your present company for another 10 years. However, things out of your control can impact your situation. Take the GFC as a recent example. A lot of people found themselves without a job very quickly, and let’s be honest, how many people predicted that? Perhaps that is unlikely to happen again, but the most seemingly secure companies can go belly up. Beyond stability, I have seen examples when new managers are bought in who have a different style, change the structure alter commission schemes etc. Suddenly a happy and financially rewarding job becomes not so great anymore. It is dangerous to assume things will always remain the same.

Outside of your own company the corporate landscape can change quickly. New companies enter the market, mergers and acquisitions occur, decision makers change and these can all create new career opportunities in your sector. That dream job can sometimes come along, as do new and inventive bonus schemes and benefit packages that are just too good to turn down. If you are not keeping up to date with what is going on, then you are not managing your career thoroughly. As a career professional, you should have the same pro-active approach to managing your career as you do to winning new clients, building your team, increasing your profits, seeking an internal promotion or similar.

An on-going relationship with a recruiter, who can be your eyes and ears and keep you updated can be invaluable. A good recruiter will see the long term value in a relationship, even if you are not actively looking for a role. Why not meet up every 6 months just to see what is happening? Many of the people I end up placing I have been speaking to for a couple of years, often longer. Sure, a poor recruiter will just put a dollar value over your head and if you are not serious about moving now will have no interest in you. But choose wisely and you have a valuable resource in your corner.

So, don’t wait until you are desperate, miserable or forced to look, regardless of how fantastically happy and secure you are at the moment. Give your career a regular health check – you may just need to or be surprised with what you find.

Maybe next time you are approaching a potential candidate offer them this advice. They are far more likely to be receptive than if you are “just another head-hunter trying to make a quick fee out of me”

8 Most Common Interview Questions – With 8 Best Answers

career1source — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:28:00 +0000

The following is a nice article that highlights some of the questions you might be asked through the interview process. The questions are rather generic but I like that because they are often asked in a variety of ways and the generality used here should help spur thoughts about other ways they might come up. Just make sure to practice your responses to each. You get one shot…nailing the answers to these questions could really make a difference for you. Good luck!
—David Weaver

Article from Career Consult: www.thecareerconsult.com

When preparing for your next job interview, you‘ll want to have top-notch answers to the 8 most common interview questions. These answers provide a guideline to follow, and the most important thing to do is be yourself when answering these common interview questions. The sincerity that will come through will do more to impress the interviewer than anything you have to say.

Given that, here are the 8 most common interview questions:

1. Tell me about yourself.
Perhaps this the most famous and common interview question of all interview questions. “Tell me about yourself” is the gateway to just about anything you wish to say. When asked the question, the interviewer doesn’t want to know where you were born or what color your hair is. This question prompts you to show the interviewer why you are qualified for this job. Your answer may reveal some of your greatest achievements or how your past experience might relate to the job you are applying for.

2. Why would I hire you?
For this common interview question, you need to realize that the better answer you give, the easier it is for the employer — It’s up to you to give the employer a reason to hire you. This is a great time to tell the interviewer about any past work experience that is relevant to the job you are applying for. You might say, “When I was working at my previous job, I did (fill in with specific duty or responsibility). I feel that this experience will allow me to excel at this position I am applying for.” This helps the interviewer picture you in the position, and is a great answer to this common interview question.

3. What are you strengths?
The first thing you should do is figure out 2-3 things about yourself that you really like about yourself and elaborate. This should put you in good shape to answer this commonly asked interview question. Always support your strength with a real-life example. For example, you may say you are dedicated. You should back this up with the time at your last job where you had an important project due and worked extra hours to make sure it got done, for instance. Now the interviewer has better insight into your work ethic and how you conduct yourself in pressure situations.

4. What are your weaknesses?
When answering this common interview question, you always want to give an answer that isn’t really a weakness. You may say, “I don’t speak a second language,” or “when I start a project, I can’t focus on anything else until I get it done.” This shows that you are dedicated and hard working. You never want to truly bash yourself when answering this common interview question. That isn’t the point. Making a positive seem negative is the trick.

5. What is the most important thing to you in a job?
If there is something really important for you to have in a job, be honest and say it. Remember, a job interview is a tool to reveal the best fit for the company. If something is really important to you that the company doesn’t offer, it is best to reveal it now. Out of all the common interview questions, this is the one where you really need to follow your instincts.

6. What are you career goals?
Employers ask this interview question because they want to see what positions you might grow into if you were hired. The company may be looking for a candidate they can groom into their next Senior VP. However, if you are only looking for a job to cover you for the next couple of years, it might not be the best match.

7. Do you have any questions for me?
Do your research ahead of time and if you truly have a question, ask it. When you ask legitimate, relevant questions, you show the interviewer you put in time to research beforehand. However, don’t ever ask questions just to ask questions or to look good. The interviewer will sense your lack of authenticity right away and that may hurt your chances. Make the time to think of an intelligent question about the job before hand. You may ask, “what is a typical day like for this position?” You can also ask, “What opportunity for advancement does this position have?”

8. Why did you leave your last job?
Whatever the reason was, tell the story of why is was mutually beneficial for you to leave the company. Never blurt out, “I got fired,” and end it at that. It makes you look bad and can even make the interviewer feel uncomfortable. Prepare an honest story with a logical reason that doesn’t reveal too much personal information or company gossip. If you did get fired, you can use this as an opportunity to discuss what you lessons you learned and what you would now do differently.

Now you have top-notch answers to the 8 most common interview questions. Keep practicing your answers and nail your next interview!