Posts Tagged ‘Unemployment’

The Best Defense - Difficult Interview Questions

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

In an interview, worrying about your perceived inadequacies, or what can be viewed as negative items on your history of employment, will get you nowhere. In fact, having a negative focus on things often comes through in the way you answer.

interview questions, and even in your body language. An applicant who shifts, plays with things like their shirt cuffs, or who loses track of the subject under discussion, is sabotaging their own chance at success.

Okay, so you have some weak points. Maybe there was a time two years ago, that you were out of work for eight months. Or the job that is open demands a certain skill level that you haven’t quite achieved yet. Neither of those things can knock you out of contention like a lack of confidence in yourself.

We have a simple, two-part solution: First, make the best out of your “worst”, and then make the company’s priorities, your own.

Study the weak points in your resume and build on them. If you’ve had a period of unemployment, think about the experiences you had during that time, the businesses you visited, and what you learned about the current economy and job market. Show that you are attentive to detail, and enjoy learning from unexpected opportunities.

Express enthusiasm for the chance to expand on your present skills. Apply the same strategy to any other “weak” points you may have. Even a job that you left due to a personality conflict, can be given a positive light by emphasizing the experience you gained. Whatever you do, leave bitterness and pity at home. An employer wants someone with the desire to move onward and upward.

That brings us to the second item: presenting yourself in a way that makes you compatible with the company’s needs, and highlights how you can benefit their present or future plans. Study the company’s general business, and the department where you are applying, in particular. Find out why they are hiring someone (Did an employee quit? Retire? Are they expanding?) then emphasize the skills and experience that make you not only capable of filling the position, but of bringing new ideas and a positive attitude to it.

Find an “up” to every down point in your work history or resume. Then sell your skills and personality with an eye on the company agenda. The combination of competence and enthusiasm is often the formula for a successful interview.

This article is provided by http:www.101perfectinterviews.com, the best place for learning insider interviewing techniques.

The Best Defense - Difficult Interview Questions

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

In an interview, worrying about your perceived inadequacies, or what can be viewed as negative items on your history of employment, will get you nowhere. In fact, having a negative focus on things often comes through in the way you answer.

interview questions, and even in your body language. An applicant who shifts, plays with things like their shirt cuffs, or who loses track of the subject under discussion, is sabotaging their own chance at success.

Okay, so you have some weak points. Maybe there was a time two years ago, that you were out of work for eight months. Or the job that is open demands a certain skill level that you haven’t quite achieved yet. Neither of those things can knock you out of contention like a lack of confidence in yourself.

We have a simple, two-part solution: First, make the best out of your “worst”, and then make the company’s priorities, your own.

Study the weak points in your resume and build on them. If you’ve had a period of unemployment, think about the experiences you had during that time, the businesses you visited, and what you learned about the current economy and job market. Show that you are attentive to detail, and enjoy learning from unexpected opportunities.

Express enthusiasm for the chance to expand on your present skills. Apply the same strategy to any other “weak” points you may have. Even a job that you left due to a personality conflict, can be given a positive light by emphasizing the experience you gained. Whatever you do, leave bitterness and pity at home. An employer wants someone with the desire to move onward and upward.

That brings us to the second item: presenting yourself in a way that makes you compatible with the company’s needs, and highlights how you can benefit their present or future plans. Study the company’s general business, and the department where you are applying, in particular. Find out why they are hiring someone (Did an employee quit? Retire? Are they expanding?) then emphasize the skills and experience that make you not only capable of filling the position, but of bringing new ideas and a positive attitude to it.

Find an “up” to every down point in your work history or resume. Then sell your skills and personality with an eye on the company agenda. The combination of competence and enthusiasm is often the formula for a successful interview.

This article is provided by http://www.101perfectinterviews.com, the best place for learning insider interviewing techniques.

Preparation Preparation Preparation

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Anyone going for an interview literally has to live and breathe preparation in order to give a good account at interview. Times are competitive: it is pretty much an employers market, in the sense that they can hire and fire who they will. In addition, rising unemployment means you could well be up against people who are more experienced and better qualified than you are. So how do you regain an edge? How do you compete on equal terms? Well you do the 3 Ps: Preparation, Preparation, Preparation!

First of all you need to research the company you hope to be working for. You need to ensure that you find out relevant details, which you can then work into some of the answers you give at interview.

This rolls into the second thing you need to do and that is to examine the job description/person specification and start to think about questions the interviewing panel may ask you. Think carefully and then once you have come up with a few questions devise your answers: practice them until you feel that you are capable of answering a question with ease. Next you need to think about how you can get certain key points across: a bit like a politician, with key messages they try to weave in to answers they give. So if you think they may ask you why you want the position and you answer about how you want to work for a dynamic company, you have a lot of skills to offer, you feel that your skill set is well suited to the job description and that you understand that they are really equipped to deal with the economic challenges that lie ahead etc then you need to think about what other questions you could answer with these same points. Then if they don’t ask you why you want the position, but do ask why you want to work for the company, then you answer with roughly the same points. The only thing to remember here is not to just have one or two stock answers!

So preparing for an interview is not too difficult but it does take time and a lot of patience. But it really can help your career and get you a job where you enjoy coming to work. And after all that hard work : Don’t be late for the interview!