A face-to-face interview is the most stressful part of the job search for many individuals, but it is also a critical component of the recruiting process. Up until this point, you have been able to hide behind your resume and cover letter. As the selection process starts to draw to a close, though, it’s time to impress the hiring team. A large part of a successful interview is avoiding potential pitfalls that can undermine your ability to impress the hiring team.
The top ten critical mistakes that people make when interviewing for a position are:
Arriving late to the interview
Arriving late makes a strong negative first impression and will raise questions in the interviewer’s mind about your reliability and punctuality. Always ask for directions to the interview site and double-check a map so that you know where you are going. Don’t forget to allow extra time for traffic and other unforeseeable events.
Poor dress attire and grooming
Remember that professional companies are looking to hire professional individuals, not the beach bum who just shook the loose sand from his hair. Dress conservatively in a well-fitting suit and keep jewelry, makeup, and fragrances to a minimum. It’s also important to always take a shower, brush your teeth, and comb your hair before an interview as well to present to clean, polished image.
Failure to do research about the company prior to the interview
Show you are interested in the company for by doing some outside research before the interview. This attention to detail sends a clear message to the interviewer that you are serious about the position and are willing to go the extra mile. This research will also help you determine if the company’s industry, products/services, and culture are a god match for you.
Failure to give specific examples of your experience and measure your skills against the position
Interviewers want to know more than just the bare bones of your experience. They are interested in the specifics of task how you performed, challenges you have faced, and the methods you have used to overcome those challenges. This is especially true of behavioral interviewers. Take the time to give the interviewer specific examples of how you have performed and how these collaborate to the duties of the position. If you can draw a clear parallel between your work experience and the position you are interviewing for, you have a much higher chance of being successful in the interviewing process.
Not taking the opportunity to ask intelligent questions about the company and/or position
The interviewing process is not just an opportunity for the company to evaluate your fit for the position; it’s also your opportunity to evaluate how well the company and the position match your ideal job. Asking questions not only helps you determine how well-suited you are for the position (and it for you), but also clearly indicates that you have done some basic research about the organization. Don’t ask questions just for the sake of asking questions. Intelligent, poorly-worded questions can frequently do more damage to your reputation than remaining silent.
Failure to practice
Even the best public speakers need to take the time to practice delivering and answering detailed questions. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will get with your answers and the material, allowing for a much smoother delivery.
Talking too much (or not at all)
The best answers are succinct, but detailed. Interviewees who ramble on and on come across as trying to compensate for some weakness, while those individuals who just sit there and stare appear as though they are in shellshock (and maybe in over their heads). Neither of these scenarios is ideal in an interview situation. Choose your words carefully and sparingly, but don’t be a mute.
Bad-mouthing previous managers or companies
One of the fastest ways to turn off an interviewer is to bad-mouth your current or previous employer. This raises questions about your loyalty and integrity, and labels you as unhappy and a complainer. Even if you worked in a sweatshop with no lights, running water, or meal breaks for 18 hours a day, keep all negative commentary to yourself.
Fail to explain why they are a good fit for the position (and the company)
If you leave it up to the interviewer to evaluate if you are a solid fit for the company, then you risk the chance that they might not make the decision you’d like to hear. Make it easy for the interviewer for hire you by connecting your experiences, talents, and strengths to the job description.
Don’t state that you want the job
Once the interview has concluded, if you want the job, let the interviewer know that you are still interested in the position. Since the interview is as much about your evaluation of the company and the position as it is them evaluating you, don’t assume the interviewer knows you still want the job. Reiterate your interest and inquire about the next step in the hiring process.
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Sell what you know
Your knowledge and expertise in a specific field will make them come, so make sure to build your base in that area through a variety of different mediums and formats. You can reach a lot of people if they are familiar with your works, books, CDs, or audio tapes. They could recognize you easily and instantly know what it is you are an expert at. You could get hired without difficulty and be conveniently invited to various speaking engagements. This could instantly translate to a thriving business as well as numerous speaking engagements.
Try Corporate Sponsorship
You can attempt to get companies to sponsor your fees when you speak by being in touch with those organizations who might be interested to be associated with whatever is the message of your speaking engagement. There are a lot of opportunities to be creative. Think of any specific group or company that would be a perfect audience for your subject and propose your concept to that corporation’s PR Department.
Try Speakers Bureau
What this type of organization does is to actually locate speakers for their clients. This bureau earns a bit of a percentage from whatever is the speaker’s fee. Usually the percentage ranges between fifteen percent up to thirty percent. Although having a speakers bureau hire you would be a lot easier if you were a celebrity or already have a record of proven success in the public speaking field, it won’t hurt if you try them out. It is also highly advisable that the materials you have for promotion do not include your contact number but the bureau’s. This is done so that any client who is interested in booking you again will contact the bureau and not you. The more fees you earn, the higher their earnings. So the benefit works both ways.
Do Seminars in Public
The idea behind this is simple, you do a speaking engagement in public and people buy tickets to that engagement.
Or you could also inform several corporations of your public seminar and any interested employees that they may have will buy the tickets to your speaking engagement.
You could do your own promotions through your website or through mailing lists.
Do Seminars on the Phone
Yes Virginia, it is possible. An inexpensive telephone bridge line could be requested or a more expensive conference call. Would-be participants then call and once connected, the seminar is delivered over the telephone line. It saves a lot of travel expenses for everyone. Any visual aids needed may be had via your website so participants should have ready access to a computer.
Tags: Audience, Benefit, Celebrity, Contact Number, Corporate Sponsorship, Corporations, Earnings, How To Earn Money, Job, Mediums, People, Pr Department, Public Seminar, Recruitment Agency, Recruitment Jobs, Seminars, Speakers Bureau, Speaking Engagement, Speaking Engagements, Specific Group, Thriving Business, Works Books
Do you have a job that you think you could do just as easily at home? Perhaps Telecommuting is the way to go! Certain office jobs don’t require people to be there physically and if you think your job meets those requirements, then you should seriously consider talking to the boss about Telecommuting. But what is the best way to approach him/her? In this article I’ll give you some good advice about what to say and what NOT to say to your boss in order to convince them.
Remember that your boss is worried about the business and not about your personal life. So if you say things to him like, “I want to stay home and take care of my kids”, that is not going to reflect well upon him. He’s worried about meeting deadlines, productivity, and actual work being completed. If he suddenly sees you as a “Mommy” who needs to make lunches for the kids, or resolve fighting amongst siblings, or kiss boo-boos to make them better, he sees those motherly things getting in the way of the business productivity. So make sure when you approach your boss, don’t approach him as a personal issue, make it all about the business.
Also when you talk to your boss about telecommuting, tell them what is in it for THEM. They want to know how it benefits them by not having you in the office and therefore not being able to be monitored by them. Here are just a few points you can bring up:
* Decreases turnover - Telecommuters are less likely to quit their jobs since they know they have it so good at their current situation.
* Improves Productivity - Telecommuters are not distracted by the chatter of other employees around the “water cooler” and also need not worry about sitting in traffic and leaving immediately at 5PM. Telecommuters are statistically proven to work longer hours.
* Cuts down on workman’s compensation claims - Since you are working from your own home, safety on the job is no longer a factor that they’re liable for.
* Promotes good health - There is less stress in telecommuting so therefore employers will be paying out less health insurance benefits.
* Cuts down on office supplies and facility costs - If you agree to use your own small supplies (not big, expensive machinery) then it will help them cut costs. Also using your own computer may be an added benefit to the company.
* Less sick days taken - Telecommuters are statistically proven to work from home even if sick.
These are only a few points to bring up to your boss when discussing the possibility of Telecommuting. Of course you want to be there for your kids, but don’t tell them that!
Having this open door conversation with your boss just may be your ticket to staying home and being a work at home mother! Your family, your health, and your boss may even thank you for it!
Tags: Boos, Boss, Business Productivity, Current Situation, Good Advice, Good Health, Home Safety, Job, Kiss, Mommy, Office Jobs, People, Personal Issue, Personal Life, Recruitment Agency, Recruitment Jobs, Siblings, Stress, Telecommuters, Traffic, Turnover, Water Cooler, Workman
Mystery shopping is otherwise known as undercover or secret shopping. Mystery shopping is a business activity aimed to improve customer satisfaction. To carry out the process a mystery shopper is engaged by the business owner to find out how the mystery shopper is getting treated or gets products and services in the business unit. The feed back from the mystery shopper is got in the form of a report to improve the services or treatment. The mystery shopper too benefits either as he gets products or services free of cost for conducting such an inspection. Internet is a place where such kinds of jobs are abundant in nature. The nice thing about this job is that anyone can become a mystery shopper or can be hired as mystery shopper. Mystery shopping is not limited to only buying products, it can involve getting a new haircut, or gambling, or traveling to a place, or dinning in a restaurant or even finding out the customer service offered at a work place. The next best thing about mystery shopping is that the companies do not charge any kind of registration fees.
Tips on becoming a successful mystery shopper:
Since there is no fee involved for registration, a person can register with many mystery shopping companies, so that he gets a fair chance to mystery shopping. The manuals, training and instruction are all free of cost. This will enable find out the difference between genuine mystery shopping company and a fake one.
When the person gets his first assignment, it has to be utilized in such a way that the person gets more and more assignments from the company. The success in getting mystery shopping assignments lies on the acceptance of the assignment within short notice, complete it within the time limit and submit the feedback or report in a professional way.
Even though mystery shopping may seem to be a fun filled activity, it calls for a professional approach to the whole activity. Commitment to the job is very essential. If the commitment cannot be met within the time frame, rescheduling or extension can be requested.
A genuine mystery shopping company or agency will reimburse the money spent on shopping and also for the service provided by the mystery shopper. Even though experience provides enough earnings, many mystery shoppers do this as a part time work and consider it as a secondary source of earning.
It is also a good idea to apply with scheduling companies as they work with many mystery shopping companies. The scheduling companies normally provide a challenging task and more earning for doing so, than the original company.
A great tip is to become an ace mystery shopper. This can be achieved by developing a good relationship with a particular company and perform the jobs with utmost care and perfection. To become an ace mystery shopper may take time and it is only worth doing with reputed companies. The mystery shopper should keep his eyes always open and do the best job.
If the person gets certified through the mystery shopping providers association, he has a better chance of getting hired than others. Attending seminars on this field will also enhance the chance of developing good contacts with mystery shopping schedules, who will provide jobs in turn.
Tags: Business Activity, Business Owner, Business Unit, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service, Fun, Gambling, Job, Jobs, Mystery Shopper, Mystery Shopping Companies, Mystery Shopping Company, New Haircut, Nice Thing, Professional Approach, Recruitment Agency, Recruitment Jobs, Register, Registration Fees, Secret Shopping, Success, Time Limit
If you are a secretary looking to enlist with a recruitment agency then either you go online and pick the first name that appears after your search results come up, or you just walk along the High Street and go into the first agency you see, don’t you? Well you could, but really you shouldn’t. If you are a secretary then you should perhaps try to find out which agencies pay the best rates, which will allow you the greatest amount of flexibility, which seem quite professional and which seem like they may just be more interested in making some money and aren’t too bothered about the standard of service.
Sure you can just sign up with the first one, but isn’t that selling yourself a bit short? After all, a good agency can help you to secure really interesting work, great rates of pay and some fantastic job opportunities.
You may wish to consider asking an agency about the number of clients they have, how many people they have signed up with them looking for work. How many positions they tend to fill and also you can ask about how long they have been trading, what they can offer you in terms of assistance.
Don’t sign up with any agency that doesn’t return your phone calls or emails. Although many agencies are online, often they will have premises as well. If you can, then try to take a trip to one of their offices, so that you can assess what the staff are like and if they seem competent and aware of what they are doing. If you are choosing an online agency, then look at their emails and communications. Are they professional, or is the website and their emails littered with spelling mistakes?
A good agency will appear polite, professional and realistically choosing an agency is as much about you interviewing them and deciding if you can work with them, than it is about them choosing you. So don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions and to check just how reliable and professional they are, so that when you sign up with them, you really can land that dream job.
Tags: Afraid To Ask, Flexibility, How Many People, Job, Job Opportunities, Money, Phone Calls, Premises, Recruitment Agency, secretarial, Secretarial Work, secretary, Spelling Mistakes, temping, temporary work, work
