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CAREER RELATED TIPS

Bryan Thorby Publisher webmaster@career-related.com http://career-related.com

Date: May 17, 2006

Welcome to This Edition

To view the lastest blogs http://career-related.com/careerblog/

In This Issue:

Ebooks and Services

Thoughts of the Day

Article : Career Development: It's Up to You!

Article : Get Hired Fast & Earn More: Top 5 Job Interview Tips

Article : How To Land The Perfect Job

Disclaimer & Privacy Statement

I hope all is well with you.

In job interviews we need to deal with tough questions and objections that we may not necessarily feel very comfortable about answering. Here are three common ones that can be a bit nerve racking.

You’ve been fired from your last job. Tell me what happened?

Your response is to state the facts in a concise, drama-free manner. Tactfully discuss what happened and acknowledge your role in it. You could mention a difference of opinion or personal style as a root cause. Often, candidates who take this approach find that the whole thing was no big deal to the new employer.

You left your job to start a business -- and your venture failed. What happened?

Most times, this is a bigger issue in the candidate’s mind than in the interviewer’s. You might assume that the interviewer is casting aspersions on your managerial skills or business abilities.

Actually, his concern may be very different. He might be worried that you’ll get bored or restless in a corporate job and decide to strike out on your own again. Therefore, it’s best to ask questions to find out what the specific concern is. That way, you’ll be addressing the right concern.

When replying, focus on how you exercised initiative and demonstrated drive as well as tolerance for risk and ambiguity. Talk about whatever success you had and what you learned from the experience. Make it abundantly clear that you have satisfied your entrepreneurial urges and are more than willing to settle into a corporate job.

You seem overqualified for the job!

There are two possible objections here. Firstly, they might be assuming that you may want more money than they are prepared to pay. Second, they might be implying you will get bored and leave for greener pastures soon.

If money is the issue, explain why you don’t mind taking a pay-cut. Talk about how you’re making a career transition and are perfectly willing to accept lower pay. You might even back this up explaining how you have worked out a new personal budget that’ll allow you to be comfortable at the lower pay. Also talk about non-monetary factors that give you job satisfaction.

For the second objection, the best way out is to detail how you have done lots of research on your new career choice before committing to it. If some of the tasks in your previous jobs that were similar to what you’ll be doing in your new position, explain how you did those tasks without complaints. That should alleviate concerns the employer might have about your getting bored in the new job.

Remember, anticipate objections and prepare short, to-the-point responses in advance. At the job interview, answer objections in a confident, calm manner, taking care to uncover the real objection first. Those are the keys to dealing with some interview questions and objections.

Happy interviews,

Bryan

Ebooks and Services

Ebooks on some Career options and Career Related subjects. - Writing Resumes - Job Interview Skills. - Work Place Warrior - The Ultimate Guide To Finding The Perfect Job and Earning The Salary You Want - Your Guide To Setting Goals Successfully - How to Start Your Own Coaching and Consulting Business - How To Start Your Own Retail Business - How to Become a Chef - How to establish Your own mobile car detailing business. - Balance Your Life - The Complete Guide to Managing Work and Family

http://career-related.com/ebooks.html

FabJob Career Guides http://career-related.com/fabjob.html

How to Get a Job Fast http://www.asfl.biz/?:1826:102669

Ultimate Guide to Job Interview Answers http://career-related.com/job-interview-answers.html

Jobs by Fax http://career-related.com/faxjobs.html

FREE ebook - 6 Secret Keys to Career Success. Get your copy here http://career-related.com/6secrets.html

FREE ebook - Top 10 Secrets of the ... Worlds Greatest Cover Letters http://www.career-related.com/cover-letter-ebook.html

Thoughts of the Day

The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you. -- Tom Bradley

If what you are doing is not moving you toward your goals, then it's moving you away from your goals. -- Brian Tracy

Article

Career Development: It's Up to You!

By Kathleen Barton

Now more than ever you need to take charge of your career! Our work environments are rapidly changing. Lifelong employment is a thing of the past and the threat of layoffs loom ahead. Organizations are now flatter with fewer management layers, which results in fewer promotional opportunities. Employees need to do more with less and become more flexible to quickly learn new skills and adapt to change. As a result employees need to own their development and actively manage their career in the midst of change.

Now is a perfect time to assess your career and your development. What do you hope to accomplish in your career? What position or role do you aspire to? What specifically do you want to achieve in the next year? Write down your career goal. Here’s one example, 'Become qualified to attain a management position by the end of the year.'

How are you going to achieve your career goal? To best accomplish your goal, create a written development plan. Your development plan should include development objectives, measures, development activities, and a timeline.

Development Objectives

Ask yourself, "What knowledge, skills, or abilities do I need to develop to reach my goal?" Say, for example, you aspire to a management position. If so, then you need to determine the skills required of managers and identify those skills that you need to develop. Look at several sources of feedback on your skills. Solicit feedback from your supervisor, review past performance evaluations, and complete a skills assessment.

Select one to three development objectives to work on this coming year and write them down. For example, 1) develop project management skills, 2) develop leadership skills, and 3) develop and improve my ability to cope with change.

Measures

For each development objective, identify how you will measure it. Ask yourself this question, "How will I know that I’ve been successful?" Your measures should be specific, measurable and realistic. Let’s say you want to increase your effectiveness in building support for your ideas. Your measure might be to influence at least three of your peers to accept your ideas.

Development Activities

Which learning activities will help you to develop your skills? These can include a whole host of activities, including reading books, listening to audiotapes or CDs, taking a class, shadowing someone on the job, interviewing an expert, working with a mentor, taking on challenging projects, etc. Shadowing and projects are great learning vehicles. Research shows that people learn best by observing experts and by taking on "stretch" assignments. Identify several activities to help you develop the specific skills you’ve identified.

Timeframe

Finally, identify a completion date for each development activity. Make sure you choose a timeframe that is realistic for you.

A written development plan will provide a framework and focus for your development. By following your plan to develop yourself, you’re significantly more likely to achieve your career goal. Ultimately, your development and your career are up to you, so take the time to focus on your development.

Kathleen Barton is a keynote speaker, author, and coach who heads her own firm, The Success Connection, specializing in maximizing potential, career success and work/life balance. She is also the author of Connecting with Success: How to Build a Mentoring Network to Fast-Forward Your Career.

Kathleen can be reached at http://www.the-success-connection.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathleen_Barton

Article

Get Hired Fast & Earn More: Top 5 Job Interview Tips

By Mark Baber

If you are determined to find a new job, then do it in a manner that will garner you a larger income, more responsibility, better title, or whatever it is you seek in a new job. You can obtain such advantages by organizing your job interviews to focus on why you deserve them and how you can deliver the results sought by the employer. After all, those are the two primary reasons employers offer such amenities. Follow a few simple rules relating to job interviewing and you will begin to prepare yourself and your prospective employers for your career enhancement. It’s really a simple matter of preparing yourself to answer job interview questions in a solutions oriented manner, and present yourself as the person who understands the issues and how to resolve them. In short, how to sell yourself in a job interview.

If you can know in advance some of the key questions your job interviewer will likely ask you in an upcoming job interview, you can prepare to answer those questions in a thorough and knowledgeable and results oriented manner, thusly impressing the interviewer as to your capabilities. Below are a list questions that typically appear in a job interview. Having somewhat prepared responses to those questions will move you a long way towards landing the job advantages you seek.

"Tell me about yourself."

This is a loaded question. Yes, the interviewer wants you to help them get an overall take on you as a person and as an employee. But you want to focus on the issues the job will address and how you can remedy those issues. So explain about your self in a way that reflects the actions the employer seeks. Answer in a way that emphasizes your experience and accomplishments in terms of the position to be filled and the goals of the company. Don't be modest and please do take credit for your own successes, as they relate to the prospective company's goals. Research the company prior to the interview, so you can skew answers to relate to your prospective employer. Have prepared reports or letters of accomplishment to support your answers.

You can use this same question to your own end. Once you give the interviewer a brief about yourself, ask the same question of the interviewer, to get the interviewer talking about the needs relating to the position. Do that by answering him, "I'm be happy to tell you more about my qualifications, but there's so much to cover I'd like to know more about the position and your company so I can answer more specifically." Then, depending upon what the interviewer says, you can modify your planned response to put even greater emphasis on relating your experience and qualifications to his requirements.

"What are your goals?"

This is a very popular question. It is a knock-off of the "Tell me about yourself" question. For the interviewer, if the answer exhibits well-thought-out goals, it shows maturity and a commitment to your profession or business. Your goals should be both long range goals and short range goals and they should be in general alignment with the firm with which you are interviewing and have to do with resolving the issues they confront. Be ambitious with your answer, but be realistic.

"What are your greatest strengths?"

Obviously, your strengths will be related to resolving the issues confronting your prospective employer in the area of endeavor where you hope to work. Answer the question in terms of the position to be filled. Present your skills and experiences so that you state your greatest related strengths, and support your claims with illustrations of past accomplishments, examples of your successes.

"What is your greatest weakness?"

This is a loaded question because negatives usually won't score pluses for you on the interviewer's evaluation sheet. Still, understanding one’s areas of weakness shows maturity. Offer a job related minor shortcoming or a "positive-negative" such as, "I've been accused of being a workaholic." Or, "I've been kidded about being a perfectionist," or that you are sometimes accused of being over organized.

"What salary are you asking for?"

You should avoid discussing compensation on the first interview unless you're actually offered the job and want to accept it. If the interviewer asks specifically what your salary requirements are, your answer should be, "What I'm really looking for is the right career opportunity. I'm sure you'll make me a fair offer if you want to hire me." If you are pressed for a specific figure, describe your current compensation and then add, "I believe on the basis of what I've accomplished I'd be entitled to some increase, but I'd rather hear what you think I'm worth to your company."

Prepare for your job interview by reviewing how you might answer the questions above to cause the job interviewer to feel you are the most qualified and best personality match for the job you seek. The questions above are certainly not the only questions you will be asked in a job interview. But they count among the most frequently asked questions in job interviews that directly relate to the practical management of the job for which you are being considered. Understanding the point of these questions and having a strategy for answering them in a manner that will further your job interview goals, and will help you to achieve the income range and duties and responsibilities that you may seek in a new employment position.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR JOB SEARCH

Mark Baber has 20 years experience as an Executive Search recruiter.

Mark is Recruit Consultant to http://www.JobNewsRadio.com where Jobseekers access 2 Million job transactions, and can submit their Resumes Free and have them distributed freely to Employers they choose by industry, vocation, City or Region.

Mark is also Consultant to http://www.smarthiredirect.com , a low cost, effective recruit, hiring and job applicant tracking system for recruiters, HR staff and employers at all levels.

Or, for one-on-one job search assistance submit your resume directly to Mark via: http://www.recruit-services.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Baber

Article

How To Land The Perfect Job

By Tony Jacowski

What is the most asked question your career? For many, the answer to this question is "how can I land the perfect job?" New graduates as well as seasoned professionals often encounter the same predicament. Below are some tips to answer your questions and help you land your dream job!

The Job Scenario Hardly Changes Over Short Periods

If you want to get the perfect job, you will not want to wait until the job market changes for better. You will seek out a perfect job that fits your skills and caliber. You should be confident about your abilities and the market for them. The truth is, the job market doesn’t really change overnight, so start your job hunt today.

Prepare Before The Interview

Researching the company is important. Its line of business, standing in the market and stock exchanges, ethics, employee strength, financial position, your work load, salary, other benefits etc. Utilize newspapers, or even better, the Internet. Breaking news is often covered on the Internet and you can impress the company with your knowledge.

Pay attention to key points, such as why they are considering you, who is likely to interview you, and any likely questions (please tell me about yourself). Think about how you can impress them and what you should wear to the interview based on the company’s culture. Having this information ahead of time will help you to prepare well and will therefore reduce any interview anxiety that you have.

During The Interview

You have arrived at the most crucial part of landing your dream job. If you’ve done your homework up to this point, you are in good shape! Arrive for interview no later than 15 minutes early. Some companies will want you to fill out an application. Don’t attach a resume if it is not specifically asked for.

Greet the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake. Don’t address the interviewer by his/her first name unless you have a special reason or have been given permission. Don’t rush to take a seat until you are offered one.

Be gentle and polite. At this point, you should understand what they are looking for in a candidate. Make it clear that you have "it". A little confidence goes a long way.

Some interviewers will ask you to ask questions or will let you speak about topics that they haven’t covered. Use this opportunity and make the most of it. Talk about relevant industry news or something that you know about the company. This is also the time to tell them about your past achievements and future goals. However, don’t forget that you have to organize your thoughts get your point across clearly. Thank the interviewer before leaving, reiterate your interest in the job, and ask when you can expect to hear from them again.

Some employers have recently adopted six sigma methodologies for their recruitment process. The tools of implementation have reduced the risk of ignoring the right candidate by "special cause" or accidentally during resume reviews. By taking this into account, you can be secure in the knowledge that your skills need not fit exactly, and that it is indeed possible for you to land your perfect job!

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Jacowski

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Be responsible! Always do your own Due Diligence before responding to any offer.

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