Cv For Interviews

Posts Tagged ‘new job’

Often when it comes to our career we are some of the worst salesman of our abilities and skills.  We sell ourselves short in our abilities come review time, or accept less than we are worth out of fear that they will find someone else.  Instead of building ourselves up and selling ourselves for maximum value we accept what is given to us and end up doing twice the work for half the pay.

One of the most important places you can ever sell yourself is during the interview process for a new job.  It is during this process that you should make an effort to build up yourself and sell your skills to the potential employer by making them feel that if they hire anyone else but you they are going to be losing out on an amazing talent.  Here are a few tips you can use during your next interview to make the interviewer think WOW!

Dress for success.  Clothes make the man (or woman) and you should dress as if you were interviewing for the CEO position.

Research the company and know the background of it.  During the interview show that you have done your homework by asking questions or making comments about a recent press release or company announcement.

Ask questions.  Most interviewees just answer the questions they are presented and never speak up.  Show the interviewer you are truly interested in the company and the job by asking questions relating to the company, your potential job and company culture.

Bring samples of your work.  Whether you are an artist or a computer programmer bring a sample portfolio of your past work and share it with the interviewer.  Remember, a picture (or document) can speak a million words.

Be ahead of schedule.  Remember the golden rule; it is better to be 3 hours early than 3 minutes late.  No one is going to hire someone who can’t make it to the interview on time.

Follow-up.  Don’t sit around waiting for a letter or a call.  Send a follow-up letter immediately expressing your interest in the job and if you haven’t heard back within a week pick up the phone and call.  What do you have to lose?

Advising others to change career sounds very simple and a workable proposition. When it comes to us, it becomes one of the toughest decisions to implement. A career change needs lot of mental preparation. If you have a family, that may get disrupted by your career change. The income may stop for some time. The decision itself may turn out to be a wrong one. It needs mental strength to change career. Let us see what it requires.

A change of career shifts us from a comfort zone to a zone full of discomfort in the beginning. For a full time production engineer, a change to a career as human resources consultant may need a total about turn, back to school and learning new skills for the new job. Some people change careers so totally that it looks incredible. Let us talk about changes that can be done more smoothly. I am talking about learning about a new career along with the old one and then shifting to the new career slowly. This process also requires mental strength, because it needs lot of extra work.

The first barrier that one encounters while thinking of career change is- how did I get into a wrong career? What if my new decision also turns out to be wrong? What if I continue with my present career? Why should I change my career? Some of these questions need head to answer and some questions are for the heart such as asking why did I chose the wrong career to begin with, may involve damage to self esteem, and acceptance of failure.

Before thinking of changing career, one needs to do analysis of life goals, and deciding about how the present career does not satisfy those goals. Only after deciding that something drastic needs to be done can one think about changing career. One has to develop mental and emotional strength to undergo these changes and emerge a winner again.

Are you in need of a job? If you are currently unemployed you may even consider yourself to be desperate for a new job. If you are, you may end up wondering if you should lower your expectations, to make it easier to find a job right away. If so, you are definitely not alone. When it comes to determining whether or not you should lower your expectations, when hunting for a job, there are a number of important factors that need to be taken into consideration. One of those factors is your need for a job. For instance, do you have a family to support? Do you have rent, mortgage, or car payments that need to be made? If you do, your need for a job may actually be quite high, especially if you are not receiving money from your state’s unemployment fund. If your survival depends on having a job, you may need to lower your expectations, even just temporarily. Another factor that needs to be examined, when determining whether or not you should lower your expectations, when hunting for a job, is your expectations. For instance, are they reasonable? Are you interested in working as a doctor? If you are, do you have a degree in medicine? If not, you expectations are not only too high, but they are unreasonable. The first step in not being required to lower your expectations, when searching for a job, is making sure that your expectations are reasonable. For instance, if you worked as a retail cashier for a while and attended business school, you may want to think about trying to acquire a job as a retail store manager. This type of goal is one that is just right, as it isn’t too unrealistic. It is also advised that you examine the current job forecast for the industry that you would like to work in. In keeping with the above mentioned example of a retail store manager, if the retail industry isn’t doing too well, there is a good chance that not as many new retail stores will open up in or around your area. This may limit the number of retail store manger jobs that are available. In this case, you may need to lower your expectations or just change them, to include something different. Of course, what you need to remember is that if you do need to lower your expectations, when hunting for a job, especially if your survival depends on it, it doesn’t have to be permanent. For instance, if you are required to take a job as a retail store cashier, but you are actually qualified to work as a school teacher, your retail store job doesn’t have to last forever. When working and making a little bit of money, possibly enough to help your family or pay your bills, you can continue on by searching for teaching opportunities. If you keep after your goal long enough, you should be able to find an opportunity that you are more than qualified for. If and when that time comes, you could choose to give up the job that caused you to lower your expectations. Although you may not necessarily want to take a job that you may consider to be beneath you, there may come a time in life when you have to. If and when that time comes, it is important that you remember that nothing has to be permanent or forever etched in stone.

Have you recently been contacted for a job interview?  If so, you may be pretty excited.  When it comes to getting a new job or starting a new career, an interview is the first step towards success.  The only problem is that many interviewees end up making costly mistakes during their interviews.  One of those mistakes is by not asking any questions.  You are advised against doing this.  Not asking any questions during a job interview gives the impression that you are not a leader, just a follower.  That is not the type of impression that you want to make.

When it comes to asking questions during a job interview, you may be wondering what type of questions you should ask.  Before examining the type of questions that you should ask, it may be best to focus on the type of questions that you shouldn’t ask.  For one, you are advised against asking about the pay or raises, like when they kick in. Salary is something that should be brought up by the interviewer.  If and when salary is discussed, you may want to ask about raises, but it is advised that you refrain from doing so, at least right away.

In keeping with questions that you should not ask, many employers give their job applicants information about their company, like a company brochure or a link to their online website.  You are advised to thoroughly examine all of the information given to you, whether that information be online or in print. This will prevent you from asking questions that you should already know the answers to.  Asking a question about the history of the company, when you were already given detailed history information, gives the impression that you did not read through the materials given to you.  This is not the type of first impression that you want to make.

Now that you know some of the questions that you do not want to ask during a job interview, you may want to focus on some of the questions that you can ask, or at least ones that are considered “safe,” to ask.  One of those questions is about the average workday or workweek.  For instance, ask if you were hired for the job, what would your workdays or workweeks be like? What type of tasks would you be required to complete?

Another question that you may want to ask during a job interview is about the company’s future?  Are there any plans for expansion?  How does the company rate against the competition?  These are interesting questions that show that you want to work for a successful company, one that will be around for a long period of time.  Asking about the stability of a company gives a good impression of yourself, as it often means that you are also looking for stability.

You may also want to ask the interviewer some personal questions, but do not go too personal.  Trying asking them about how they like working for their company.  Ask about when they started working for the company and what level did they start at.  If they advanced, ask if it was relatively easy to do?  Does the company in question tend to promote from the inside up or do they hire new employees?  This may get you on a personal level with the interviewer, which tends to make your interview more memorable.

The above mentioned questions are just a few of the many that you may want to ask an interviewer during a job interview.  In all honesty, you are advised to use your best judgment when asking questions, but it is important that you do ask at least some.

Have you recently been contacted for a job interview?  If so, you may be pretty excited.  When it comes to getting a new job or starting a new career, an interview is the first step towards success.  The only problem is that many interviewees end up making costly mistakes during their interviews.  One of those mistakes is by not asking any questions.  You are advised against doing this.  Not asking any questions during a job interview gives the impression that you are not a leader, just a follower.  That is not the type of impression that you want to make.

When it comes to asking questions during a job interview, you may be wondering what type of questions you should ask.  Before examining the type of questions that you should ask, it may be best to focus on the type of questions that you shouldn’t ask.  For one, you are advised against asking about the pay or raises, like when they kick in. Salary is something that should be brought up by the interviewer.  If and when salary is discussed, you may want to ask about raises, but it is advised that you refrain from doing so, at least right away.

In keeping with questions that you should not ask, many employers give their job applicants information about their company, like a company brochure or a link to their online website.  You are advised to thoroughly examine all of the information given to you, whether that information be online or in print. This will prevent you from asking questions that you should already know the answers to.  Asking a question about the history of the company, when you were already given detailed history information, gives the impression that you did not read through the materials given to you.  This is not the type of first impression that you want to make.

Now that you know some of the questions that you do not want to ask during a job interview, you may want to focus on some of the questions that you can ask, or at least ones that are considered “safe,” to ask.  One of those questions is about the average workday or workweek.  For instance, ask if you were hired for the job, what would your workdays or workweeks be like? What type of tasks would you be required to complete?

Another question that you may want to ask during a job interview is about the company’s future?  Are there any plans for expansion?  How does the company rate against the competition?  These are interesting questions that show that you want to work for a successful company, one that will be around for a long period of time.  Asking about the stability of a company gives a good impression of yourself, as it often means that you are also looking for stability.

You may also want to ask the interviewer some personal questions, but do not go too personal.  Trying asking them about how they like working for their company.  Ask about when they started working for the company and what level did they start at.  If they advanced, ask if it was relatively easy to do?  Does the company in question tend to promote from the inside up or do they hire new employees?  This may get you on a personal level with the interviewer, which tends to make your interview more memorable.

The above mentioned questions are just a few of the many that you may want to ask an interviewer during a job interview.  In all honesty, you are advised to use your best judgment when asking questions, but it is important that you do ask at least some.