You’re as Young as You Feel
Baby Boomer applicants often express concern about competing against younger candidates. So I asked photographer and stylist Renee Parenteau for cost-effective tips on how to look your best.
Category: Interviewing
Guest Post: The Surprising Information Employers Use to Check You Out
Most job seekers know that employers conduct some kind of background check before they extend a job offer. After all, we’re used to listing past employers on job applications, and HR routinely calls the companies listed on our resumes to verify the work we’ve done. But you may not realize the extent to which many businesses will go in their quest to confirm that you’re the right hire. For instance, did you know they’ll often conduct credit checks and take a look at your social media profiles?
Guest Post: 4 Free Android Apps Every Job Seeker Needs
The prospect of job hunting is like a root canal. You know you need to do it and that you’ll be happy when it’s over, but the process itself is a lot of work. With a little organization and dedication, you can gain some job search momentum, schedule interviews and accept a new job offer before you know it.
When the Medium is the Message
Most of the time, the skills it takes to do the job are very different from the skills it takes to get the job. That’s why the job search is harrowing for so many professionals. “I’m an accountant, for goodness sake – and now I’m expected to sell myself.” For many candidates, the process feels foreign. But in almost every job search, there is one component that should be right in your wheelhouse; the skill you demonstrate there will not only make your search more successful, but demonstrate your skill to a future employer.
Not hired? Here’s an Action Plan
There’s a big difference between a single, quick interview and a long, intensive interview process. At the end of the long process, you may have met with several managers. You have information about the company from the interview team, and you may even have an idea about how many people you’re competing with and their backgrounds. You’ve invested a lot after several interviews: time, energy and perhaps even a sample of your work or a plan for what your first sixty days will look like. If you don’t get selected, it’s bound to be a letdown. It’s easy to start second guessing yourself.
How to Ask about Culture
If your personality is a great fit for the way the team or company thinks, it’s likely that you be able to succeed and enjoy your work. Personality assessments like the Culture Index can help you and your manager understand why things are working (or not) and may be able to help you communicate better and become more effective. Even without a formal tool, you can learn about company culture during the interview, and up your chances of getting a job you’ll look forward to every day.
Are you the Right Fit for the Company?
When you go through the interview process for a job, you go to great lengths to demonstrate that your skills are a great match for the position. Common sense, right? What if everything you thought about the hiring process was reversed? Rather than spend time talking to them about your experience, maybe you should spend time on how you think and feel.
Your Resume Versus Your Network: It’s Not Even Close
Too many jobseekers ask their resume to do the work of their network. When it comes to getting results, it’s not even close.
Confident Career Strategies
Stewart says that the first step in preparing for an interview is to conduct a thorough inventory of your skills and accomplishments. A sort of personal SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses in a competitive market can help you prepare to answer tough questions in the interview. These are internal qualities, whereas Opportunities and Threats are environmental qualities. What outside factors might influence the market for your skills? Is your programming language of choice being phased out? Are you an early adopter of some technique or technology? Being aware of industry trends helps you position yourself within a larger context.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
“I used to give out this advice: Go ahead and leave because you’re going to have more than 10 jobs in your life, and you might as well move up as fast as you can. I don’t give that advice any more. In fact, I now try to talk people out of taking new jobs.”
