Cv for Interviews

Archive for September, 2009

When you are looking for a specific type of job, it may be in your best interest to
seek the services of employment agencies and job banks that handle that specific
line of work. Sometimes they are defined more specific while others are more
general. For example, if you are a paralegal looking for employment, you may wish
to seek an employment agency that specializes in either legal employment or
professionals. Sometimes you may find something that is more refined while other
times you may have to look at something on a wider scale.

When the opportunity is available you should always work with employment
agencies and job banks that specialize in the type of work you seek. This will give
you a better scope of what is available in your field and help you find the job that is
perfect for you easier and quicker. If youre looking for a job as an engineer, you
dont want to have to sort through thousands of advertisements for chemists or
administrative assistants. The fact that the job banks allow you to filter your
searches is a great advantage but most employment agencies do not allow that and
are unable to tell you if they even have more jobs in one field than another.
Your local newspaper is one source that will allow you to see advertisements only
for the field in which you have an interest. On the other hand, it does not provide
enough information for you to know if a particular advertisement is worth your
time. Many newspaper advertisements do not list the employers name or the
salary, and it is not advisable to ask for the salary during the interviewjobinterviewing
protocol indicates you should wait until a job offer occurs if the
employer does not volunteer the information during the interview.
When you look at all of the possibilities, it indicates that your best sources are
those that specialize in specific fields. This may not always be possible but when
these specialty agencies and job boards are available you should certainly make
use of them. The less time you have to spend looking for a job the better your
chances will be of finding the job that is perfect for you in the least amount of time
possible. Look at it as your time being money and the longer it takes to find a job
the more of your time is spent and thus more money is lost.

Are you fed up with the relentless monotony of your job? Fed up with working extra hours with no reward? Long to find something better, but not sure how?

Thousands of people every year are making the big decision to work for themselves to escape the tyranny of the 9 to 5 job and the rule of their boss. Many of these people have never worked for themselves before and are often moving in to a new and different areas of work.

Does this sound like the sort of thing that you’ve dreamed of but wouldn’t dare do? There are some simple steps that you can take to make your dream a reality.

Do a skills audit – consider what you are good at, what you are interested in, what your strengths are, what hobbies you enjoy. If you don’t come up with a long list, then ask your friends and family to help you. Are you a great salesman, or creative? Are you thorough with detail, or are you more of a big ideas person? This will help shape and form your ideas of what you might be able to do.

Do a needs audit – consider your current standard of living and how much you’d be prepared to compromise to live a different lifestyle, with only yourself as boss and being able to choose the hours that you work. Be honest with yourself, but also challenge yourself to consider other options. If you are prepared to make some sacrifices during the transition from employed to self-employed, you’re more likely to make a success of it.

Consider your support network – that is, who around you will be encouraging you and spurring you on when things get tough? Do you have friends and family who would be behind you. The one common theme in the stories of successful entrepreneurs is NOT their determination, creativity or financial acumen, but the fact that they ALL had someone who actually believed that they could achieve their dream. If you have just one person like this, who will encourage you, tell you that they know you can do it when everything and everyone else is waiting for you to fail, then you have the seeds to success already.

Consider your local area – where you live will influence what you can do. If you live in a rural area, you might be able to set up a market garden business; whereas living in the city, you may be able to offer a bookkeeping service to small businesses. Don’t forget that wherever you live, the internet gives you worldwide access to a market of millions of people and provides great opportunities.

Research the options – write yourself a list of options and ideas. Don’t do anything yet! Read as much information about your possible business as you can – either online or by visiting your local library or bookshop. Sign up to free courses via the internet and read the free information that is available on websites. Talk to people, find out as much as you can about the opportunities afforded by your new business idea and what some of the challenges you might face will be.

Don’t quit – once you’ve made the decision, keep going. Take it one day at a time, one step at a time and remember that each step takes you closer to your goal. If you believe, you can achieve.

You can find out more on setting up your home internet business at, visit

Prior to looking for the specific job that would be the best fit for you,
learn how to effectively market your talents. This will help you gauge
the possibility of landing the job you want.

First, skills and interests should be evaluated personally. Jotting down
a list would definitely be the best way to define your capabilities;
second, to know your limitations. There are jobs that are too
demanding that might not work for you, or jobs that you may be
overly qualified for; and third, planning the time as soon as there is an
inner instinct that tells you that you are ready and qualified.
Once this has been done, go to companies and prospective employers
early in the morning for this will give them a good impression and for
the applicant, a time to complete the process the application if lucky.
Remember, the early bird catches the worm.

The very first thing that needs to be done when looking for a job is to
prepare an impressive resume as we discussed in a previous chapter.
The resume will depend on the type of job being applied for. There
are times when certain employers require curriculum vitae and even a
cover letter or letter of intent. Every professional job you apply for
expects to receive a well written resume.
After preparing the documents needed for application, the next thing
that should follow is finding vacancies for new hires. Searching using
the Internet will be very helpful for this activity. There are sites that
provide this assistance like HotJobs, America’s Job Bank, and Monster
that utilizes resources and convenience for people to look for jobs.

Top 10 Job Interview Questions with Tips on How to Answer

1. Can you tell me something about yourself?
This is the probably the most terrifying interview questions of all time and the most difficult to answer as well. As an applicant for a certain job, youd be wondering what the employer wants to know. Whats the point of asking this kind of question? I suggest that you should relax and think of this situation as a great opportunity to impress your employer. Well, the technique here is you should answer them with something that supports your career goals. Avoid telling those things about your name, your birth date, where you live, hobbies and other extra curricular activities. It would be better if you tell them something relevant about your qualifications and employment history.

2. What are your strengths?
Be sure that you tackle those points that would help you do the job youre applying for. Tell something about your technical skills and your qualifications and be sure to support them with specific examples.

3. What are your weaknesses?
With regards to your weaknesses, you should answer them with things that you are improving upon and make sure that it is work related. Do not just tell your weak points; you should back up your statement with things that you are doing to improve your weak points.

4. How do you handle stresspressure?
Some companies have a type of interviews where in a group of interviewers ask you a set of questions. Some interviewers purposely stir up emotional responses by asking questions in a challenging manner. Their purpose is to find out how you handle the stress.
If you were asked about this question, just relax and keep your self calm because they are already observing you. Just describe how you handle pressure by being honest and direct, but avoid being anxious.

5. What do you know about our company?
Before you can answer this question, you must have a research about the company you are applying to. Knowing their mission and vision can help you make the interview more interactive. It would be better if you tell them that you want to know more about the company. This shows that you are interested to the company and you really wanted to be part of the team.

6. Why do you want to work in our company?
If you were asked about this question, the first thing that would come into your mind would be Because you have a job opening. Well, those are clear answers but it wont give you additional points on your interview. Those kinds of answers might sound sarcastic and may possibly annoy the interviewer.
The point of asking this question is to determine whether you have an idea about where you want to work or youre just applying to any company that has a job opening.
Having a brief research on a company before your interview can help you to stand out as a competent applicant. It would be helpful if you can think of some reasons about what you can contribute to the company.

7. Why do you want to leave your current job?
Not all interviewee can deliver a straight forward answer to this question. Of course you have your own reasons why you want to leave your current job. You should be careful in answering this question. By all means you should keep your answers in a positive manner. As much as possible, do not give them a hint on how much you hate your current officemate or your boss. At this point, the interviewer is testing your attitude. The firm wants to hire someone who has the potential to become part of their team and not a negative one who can pull them down.

8. What can you contribute to our company?
Tell them your qualities that are related to the position you are applying for. Give them some ways in which you can help the company grow and be productive by sharing your thoughts and ideas. Show them your dedication and your willingness to be a part of the company.

9. Why should the company hire you?
Basically, this question is about selling yourself. Just like the first question, telling something about your self. Develop a sales statement and be more detailed as much as you can. Tell them something about what makes you unique and what you can contribute to the company. Think of your qualities you have to offer that match on what the employer is looking for.

10. Where do you see yourself five or ten years from now?
In answering this question, you should focus on your career-advancement goals that are related with the job you are applying for.

Interview questions are very tricky and you should be more careful in answering them. Your future career relies on how you deliver your answers. Respond appropriately, just relax and be yourself.

There are two parts to the perfect job: obtaining it and keeping it. Its easy enough
to get hired for the job of your dreams but being able to keep that job for the long
haul is another story. With such an up and down turn in the economy over the
years many companies are downsizing and even the best people are losing their
jobs. How is it that some people are terminated while others manage to keep their
jobs? Is there something special that separates those people from the others?
One reason some people keep their jobs while others around them are being
downsized is their dedication. For some people a job is just a job and those are
usually the first ones to be eliminated when there is the need to cut staff.
Companies have a tendency to keep those employees who are dedicated, loyal and
put forth a little extra effort to get the job done. These are the people are receive
recognition for their efforts and are the first ones to be considered for a promotion.
You must become one of those dedicated people if you want to not only obtain the
perfect job but also keep it throughout a struggling economy.

Although there is never a guarantee you will keep your job, the harder you work
and the more dedicated you are the better the chances are that you will still being
sitting at your desk when others have been terminated. In places where no union
enforces the rules, the newest person is not necessarily the first person to go but
rather the person who has the least amount of dedication and loyalty to the
company. This person comes in on time and leaves on time seldom working
overtime while the dedicated employee may even come in early or stay late without
recording the time, especially when work needs completed and there is no budget
for overtime.

You invested a lot of time and effort into obtaining your perfect jobnow you want
to use that same effort and dedication to keep your job and rise to higher levels.
Develop your own standards rather than following what others around you are
doing. Put worth the effort that you feel is right for you and dont pay attention to
what anyone else thinks you should do. The choices you make will determine
whether you are the person who stays or goes when your company needs to make
staffing cuts.

We all get stuck in ruts from time to time, and that happens on the job as well. You’ve thought about doing something different with your information technology career, but just haven’t quite gotten around to it yet. Sound familiar?

You can make 2006 the best year yet for your IT career. There are several simple steps you can take to accelerate your career – but you have to take the step, not just think about it!

Learn something new. One of the biggest reasons you get tired of a job is that you’re doing the same thing every day. If you happen to love what you do, that’s great, but if not it’s time to break out of the box. Besides, learning a new skill adds value to your career. If you’ve been doing server work for a long time, take the time to learn some Cisco skills. If you’re an Exchange specialist, learn some Linux skills.

Get certified. Not very many of us get to work for the same company for the rest of our IT careers. The only job security is the security you give yourself, and one of the ways to get that security is to add professional certifications to your resume. Certifications such as the MCSE and CCNA get you noticed and help you stand out from the crowd. Ask yourself what your resume would look like if you were laid off today, and then take steps to improve yourself and your professional standing.

Be prepared to take one step backwards in order to take multiple steps forward. You may be in a situation I was in a while back when my employer saw me as strictly a server guy. I wanted to get on the Cisco side of things, but there was this perception that I was “only a LAN guy”. I had to leave that company to get my shot. There was some short-term financial pain, but in the long run it was the best career move I’ve ever made.

People get typecast in every field. In his book “Often Wrong, Never In Doubt”, Donny Deutsch writes about a job candidate who wanted to become a junior ad executive, but couldn’t break in with his current employer – which was an ad agency! He was typecast in a support role, so he applied to other ad firms and was quickly hired.

Sometimes you have to look outside your current situation in order to create a new situation for yourself. Don’t be afraid to take a step backwards in order to open up new possibilities for yourself. There’s an amazing career out there, waiting for you – if you have the courage to make it and take it.

There’s a little Girl Scout on the street carrying boxes of different flavored cookies, timidly trying to knock on her neighbors’ doors
worried that somehow she’ll be booed out and that doors would just slam shut on her face after offering her cookies for just a few cents?
Such a pitiful sight eh?

But imagine what this little girl could be feeling even before approaching doors. Will they know that she is on official business and
would just be selling cookies for the good of humanity? Will she be able to speak her rehearsed cookie scripts? Will she make her first
order?
Little that we know that a lot of grown ups, even professional salesmen, experience anxiety the idea of making their own cold call.
Its so normal to feel butterflies hitting big time up and down your belly, that just thinking of making the call (whether personal or
business) would even want to make you throw up. But, let me give you the exact explanation of what a cold call means.
A cold call is a personal call, it can be a visit or phone call to someone you know a little or someone whom you really don’t know. The main
reason for the call is that you are selling something for personal or official business.

Others think that a cold call is only being made to total strangers, taken from phonebooks or referrals from other persons. On the
contrary, this cold call can be made to someone you already know or to a prospect you’re already familiar with. It can be someone you met
last month at a party or maybe a friend introduced him to you before and you found him to be a good prospect to sell the product. But still,
contacting someone you know breaks the ice for a moment. Try to narrow your prospects at first where you feel comfortable, once you’ve
mastered the technique that’s the time you can move on to a more challenging prospects you never even thought of approaching.
The ordeal that you have to go through first is making that personal, meaning one on one, physical appearance or telepresence. This can
make you so tense that you feel like quitting everything. There are even cold calls that make you feel like you will disappear in a heartbeat.

Even professionals like doctors, lawyers and professors feel the same, which is why they depend on friends or clients’ referrals for fear of
losing their dignity and good name after making an unsuccessful cold call. One deep breath can help do the trick.

Nothing can be as uncomfortable as prospecting someone for your cold call. The fear of being shouted at or making a fool out of yourself, are
roadblocks and keep you from selling. This can be overcome with the right attitude together with guarded planning, preparation and if
possible – Training. Believe it or not, salesmanship is possible for everyone.

Targeted Resumes – How to Target Your Resume to the Job You Want

1. Determine what you are trying to accomplish.

Make sure you have a clear goal in mind. Hiring managers are too busy to try to figure out what you want to accomplish.

Writing a general, one-size fits all resume wont cut it in todays competitive job market. You have to make an effort to stand apart from everyone else.

If you dont know what you want to do, STOP and figure it out. You cannot create an awesome, knock-your-socks-off resume without a goal. If you are struggling with this, enlist the help of someone to brainstorm with you.

2. Find out the industry keywords that are “hot” in your career field and put them into your resume.

Why do this? Because more and more companies are using automated databases to store resumes. When they need to hire someone, they find potential candidates by utilizing key word phrases (sort of how you search on google using a keyword). If you are using the right keywords, your resume will be included in the top contenders.

You can find the keyword phrases by searching monster.com or hotjobs.com for the job you want to apply to. Read several postings from all regions of the county and look for the qualifications and duties.

For instance, I looked up “executive assistant” and found the following phrases that seemed to be repeating:

“Microsoft office proficient”
“Setting up appointments”
“travel arrangements”
“correspondence, presentations, and reports”
“Prepareedit executive PowerPoint presentations”
“arranging travel, scheduling meetings”
“prepare high quality presentations and reports”
“proficient to expert level of ability in the MS Office suite”

As you can see, there is emphasis on the MS Office programs, scheduling, and presentations. So you MUST include those words in your resume.

3. Always include a cover letter detailing the exact position you are interested in, where you saw the job listing, and why you are interested, not just that you are interested.

Doing this will automatically make you stand apart from everyone else and will make it clear to the hiring manager what you have to offer and what you are seeking.