Little Known Way to Get Your Dream Job with $6 and Google
May 14th, 2010 by lewis
A job seeker comes up with a clever way to get his dream job. Watch the video to learn more.
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How Top MBAs Get the Best Jobs
May 13th, 2010 by lewis
Angela Cheung, a first year student from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, offers an excellent glimpse on how today’s MBAs prepare for job interviews. I’ve excerpted the three most helpful tips here.
Organize Interview Prep Groups
The interview prep groups are groups of 4-5 first year students who are led by a second year student who recruited in the same industry the previous year. My interview prep group leader provided helpful resources such as case frameworks, typical interview questions, key technology trends, and constructive feedback in mock interviews. I also set up additional mock interviews with other second year students.
Develop Your Story
For pretty much any job, an important factor in the interview process will be your passion for the role/product/company. Have a clear story of how your past experiences and skills, plus your business school experience, make you the right candidate. I was not a career switcher but for those that are, I’ve heard from classmates that your story becomes that much more important – how your past experiences, interests, and skills translate to the industry/role you are pursuing. Doing your homework about a company/industry and/or participating in relevant activities or classes is also key to demonstrating your knowledge and interest.
Practice Makes Perfect
Interviewing is definitely a skill you have to practice in order to improve. Mock interviews can be very helpful, especially with peers that have interviewed with the companies previously and are familiar with their interview style.
Google Regains Best Employer Status in 2010 Survey
May 11th, 2010 by lewis
Universum USA, a market research firm, just released its ranking of top 100 employers in 2010. Based on a survey of 56,900 undergraduates from 345 universities, Google ranks #1 among business majors. NASA is #1 for engineering majors, and Teach for America is #1 for liberal arts majors.
10 Ways to Ace the Phone Interview
May 4th, 2010 by lewis
Barbara Safani wrote an excellent article titled 10 Tips to Mastering the Phone Interview. Here are my favorite tips from her list:
Conduct interviews from a land line.
Interviewers frequently judge your communication skills based on poor cell phone reception (albeit incorrectly). If you’re planning to do a phone interview from your cell phone, do a test call with a friend first. They can tell you whether you should make the extra effort to do the phone interview on a land line. And a special note: even if you can’t find a landline, a VoIP solution such as Skype may offer better call quality than your cell phone.
Put a mirror in front of you.
Read Paul Ekman’s groundbreaking book, Emotions Revealed. You’ll find that facial expressions convey emotions, and listeners can easily detect emotions on the phone. Smile during your phone interview, and you’ll convey enthusiasm. A mirror can you help you monitor whether you are indeed smiling.
Have your notes in front of you.
The one benefit of a phone interview: you can refer to your notes — and no one will know you’re looking at them. Don’t be shy about using notes.
Practice.
Barbara’s advice around practice is spot on. I’ve quoted it here:
Record some of your answers to prospective interview questions. Play them back and critique yourself. Are you easy to understand? Are you talking too fast? Is your presentation riddled with long pauses and “ums?” Do you communicate interest and enthusiasm? If necessary, rework your answers and your overall presentation
Here is a Method That Helps Job Seekers Improve Eye Contact
April 26th, 2010 by lewis
Eye contact is an important way to convey confidence during a job interview. My favorite presentation skills coach, Cara Hale Alter, offers the following eye contact drill in her most recent newsletter:
Practice with Post-it® NotesPart of developing effective eye contact is learning the choreography of looking around the room and holding eye contact for 3-5 seconds.To practice, try this drill. You can do this exercise standing or seated.Put Post-it notes on the walls of your office or living room, give yourself an impromptu question and hold your eyes on each note for 3-5 seconds while answering. Try not to follow a pattern. Practice engaging the entire room. Once you’ve mastered this exercise, it’s still helpful to use it when preparing for an upcoming high-stakes presentation.If you do this exercise while practicing your material, you’re much more likely to keep your energy focused outward when the big day arrives.
Does the Weather Affect Your Interviewer’s Mood?
April 23rd, 2010 by lewis
Stephen Dubner, author of Freakonomics, shares an interesting insight on how weather may affect interviews:
[Medical school students] who interviewed on rainy days received about a 1 percent lower score than those interviewed on sunny days… The difference in scores was equivalent to about a 10 percent lower total mark on the Medical College Admission Test.
For more information on how weather affects one’s mood, Psychology Today offers more insight on how the sun (or lack thereof) affects what we do.
Interview Tip: Applying the Seven Elements of Storytelling
April 19th, 2010 by lewis
Storytelling is an important technique for any successful job interview candidate. Stories are engaging, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-remember.
Many corporations offer storytelling classes that help employees develop stories for presentations, media pitches, and online campaigns. I came across the storytelling checklist below. Use it to develop career stories for your next interview.
Step 1: Forge Foundation
- What is your story’s goal?
- Who is the target audience?
- What is the target vehicle and rationale?
- Who is the messenger or spokesperson?
Step 2: Grab Attention
- Can you lead with credible data or research?
- Do you have a news hook?
- Can you tie-in your story with a current event or trend?
Step 3: Establish Setting
- What is the business or industry environment?
- What’s the mood of your customers and employees?
Step 4: Humanize
- Describe the hero or opportunity of story.
- Introduce other characters tied to hero or opportunity including villains, obstructionists, or partners.
Step 5: Build Tension
- Describe potential negative outcome(s).
- Highlight any obstacles or problems.
Step 6: Deliver the Turning Point
- What significant change occurs?
- What is the impact on customers and partners?
- Is there any shift in industry that results?
Step 7: Communicate the Outcome
- What was the end result?
- What is the call to action for the listener?
Answer the Weakness Interview Question By Showing Vulnerability
April 12th, 2010 by lewis
Answering the “What is your biggest weakness?” interview question continues to be one of the most dreaded experiences during a job interview.
Most interview candidates typically recite canned answers such as:
- “My weakness: I work too hard.”
- “Sometimes I am so detail-oriented that my co-workers go crazy.”
Answering the question with a weakness … that can be perceived as a strength is an easily detected gambit. Interviewers consider such responses as inauthentic.
As I revealed in the following blog post, How to Answer “What is your biggest weakness?” Interview Question, there are three things that interviewers are looking for in the biggest weakness question:
- Self-awareness. Does the candidate recognize their shortcomings? And can he or she be candid about them?
- Initiative. What has the candidate done to improve their imperfections?
- Results. Now that they’ve put an fix-it plan in place, how have they progressed? Is there a happy ending?
Most of my clients struggle to be candid about their shortcomings. As difficult as it may be, revealing your shortcomings may help develop an emotional connection with the interviewer. This excerpt from this month’s Psychology Today magazine explains why:
Do you have a formula for good conversation?At the heart of a satisfying encounter with another person is the willingness to feel a vulnerability, to reveal fear. I’m interested in real, emotional communication. I want to talk about vulnerability, fear, anxieties. Most people’s conversational priority is to find some sort of neutral topic, like a new kind of car or gadget and not touch someone emotionally. Such conversations are disappointing. The best way to start a conversation around a table is to say, “OK, so what was everyone frightened of today?” or “What’s making you really sad in your relationship with somebody?”
We can easily put the “What is your weakness?” question in the same category. That is, your response is an opportunity to share a vulnerability. Next time you get this question, use the opportunity to build an emotional connection with the interviewer.
Why You Need An Interview Portfolio
April 5th, 2010 by lewis
Over the last three months, I’ve helped graphic and fashion designers with their interview skills. For any designer, one of the most important interview assets is their portfolio. A portfolio includes work samples which demonstrate their skills, experiences, and accomplishments.
Any job applicant, whether a designer or non-designer, can put together an interview portfolio. Here are some things you can include in an interview portfolio:
- Resume
- Work samples
- Letters of Recommendations
- Press mentions
- Awards
Here are some reasons why you should have an interview portfolio:
- Starts conversations. An interview portfolio can kick-start a conversation. It may raise new topics not covered (or not covered in detail) in a candidate’s resume.
- Offers evidence of your work. Hiring managers are wary of candidates who interview well and say the right thing on the job, but perform differently on the job. By showing evidence of one’s previous work, a candidate can reduce an employer’s hiring risk.
- Appeals to visual learners. 60% of us are visual learners, 30% are auditory learners, and 10% are kinesthetic learners. There’s no need to guess where you’re interviewer falls. By presenting an interview portfolio, you can share information visually.
- Demonstrates your preparation. It takes time to assemble a top-notch interview portfolio. It shows one’s work ethic, preparation, and passion for the job.
For more information about building an interview portfolio, watch Laura DeCarlo’s “How to Create an Interview Portfolio” video below. Lastly, when showcasing your prior work, don’t forget about maintaining employer confidentiality.
162,000 New Jobs in March
April 2nd, 2010 by lewis
Good news for the American economy. According to the Labor Department, the US added 162,000 new jobs in March. It also appears that the unemployment rate has plateaued at 9.7%.