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I found this list of big time DON’T’s on the internet recently and wanted to share with all of you. Although everybody figures they know the basics of interviewing, I found some of these to be surprising!
1.) DON’T Dress Inappropriately (It is ALWAYS better to be overdressed than underdressed)
2.) DON’T Fidget (shake foot/play with hair/wring hands) Look comfortable!
3.) DON’T show up late (No need for further explanation..)
4.) DON’T insert your political views or religion into answers given in response to an interviewer’s questions
5.) DON’T indicate disinterest or boredom with th einterview process
6.) NEVER trash your former employer/company in a job interview (This is classless ladies and tells of things to come!)
7.) Make sure your cell phone ringer is OFF! (Vibrate doesn’t cut it!)
8.) Maintain eye contact with the interviewer to exude confidence
9.) Raise a smile! You will stand out in a crowd of nervous interviewees. but don’t get too chummy, or else you’ll branded as the-girl-who-tries-too-hard.
10.) Prepare some questions of your own to ask THEM. this will show that you did your homework on the company and you are truly interested in them. employment interest must be a two way street, obviously!
I Hope you all find these tips helpful as you prepare for interviews in the near future. Good luck!
You are talking to a professional who you really think has a lot of potential in helping you with your career search. You want to ask for his/her business card so you will have contact information, but do not know how to request it. It just feels pushy asking for his/her card at this time. What do you do to get the business card without asking? Well, a wise professor I had suggested a trick on how get this person’s business card.
When you meet someone and go to shake their hand, what do they usually do? They reciprocate by shaking your hand. When you give someone money for a purchase, they usually give you change. When you hand a professional your business card, many times they will give you their own business card in return. If you are at an event where you are gathering a lot of business cards, it is easy to forget the details of the person the card came from. This wise professor of mine told me how to handle this situation. You politely excuse yourself to use the restroom or go to some other discrete location. Once you are in this quiet place, take the business card you received and write down every important detail regarding your conversation that you can remember on the back of their business card for later reference.
When you hand them your business card, you never know if they are going to contact you or not. This is why it is always a plus to get their contact information. You can take control. Good luck!
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When was the last time I was in contact with Mr. Smith? What did we talk about? Did he send me any contact information or job postings? I hope this e-mail that I am sending him is not repetitive. I do not want to give him the impression that I am not on top of my game.” Sound familiar? When you are looking for a job, it is easy to forget the specifics of conversations you have had with previous contacts. Here is a hint about how not to forget the details: Keep records of everything! Remember those three ringed binders you used to use to hold your school notes? They can come in handy again in organizing your contacts and past e-mails.
The way I keep my binder organized is by placing the name of the people or companies in alphabetical order. I print all e-mails that have been exchanged and keep them together. I also have a section to keep copious notes. In this space I record the dates I have been in contact with the person, what form of communication had taken place and what was discussed. This has made it very easy to reference back to old materials and to make sure that I am not being repetitive. I keep a spreadsheet for the positions for which I have applied. The spreadsheet includes the company name, contacts, when I applied for the position and follow up notes.
It is not hard to keep a binder, it just takes a little time, patience and organization. So take out that old binder, dust it off and get going!
For years, the workplace was considered a location in which the man was the “alpha dog”. The big rigs were the men and the woman’s role was far less present within corporate America. However, in the words of Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changin’. However, the road for women within the business world is still not always an easy one. To be assertive is often interpreted as being a bitch. Anyone who has had a lousy boss at one point or another knows that the amount of resentment they may have held toward their superior is nothing they would ever want others to feel toward them. Therefore, it’s important to find the ability to be assertive without being aggressive. Clarity is key, yet talking down to others or being overly demanding is a surefire way to produce a group of disgruntled employees. I recently fell upon a book that I found to be highly beneficial to Generation Y and its developing leaders: The Girl’s Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch) by Kimberly Yorio and Caitlin Friedman. It is a great way to find out where you currently land along the scale between being a complete shrew and being a complete wuss, as well as the steps you can take in an effort to change negative traits that are prohibiting you from being a good leader.
From my past experience, I have learned, even if there are no available positions at a company you are interested in, still ask for an informational interview.
Last summer when I was applying for internships, I landed an interview with a non-profit company. I did not get the position, however, the person with whom I interviewed, really liked me. She went out of her way to connect me with a colleague of hers who was also looking to hire an intern. Fortunately, I was hired for this other internship!
Since graduation, I have been setting up appointments for interviews. Not long ago, I had lunch with a woman who works in social media. While having lunch with her, she helped me get a better understanding of the field. Later that week, I also had an informational interview with a branding company. I learned a great deal from meeting with these public relations professionals regarding how their companies work as well as what I could offer to them or a similar company. This has helped me gain insight into how to present myself to stand out from others. Since graduation, I have learned a lot about my potential and I am better prepared to share that in an interview. Nothing has changed about me, I have just learned more about myself through these meetings and informational interviews.
So, even if there are no positions available, ask for an informational interview anyway. You will make connections, learn a bit more about the field you will be entering and feel more confident for future interviewing. Who knows? Perhaps if you made a really good impression, when a position does open up, they might even give you a call!
Social Media outlets these days are endless. One can spend an entire day updating one’s accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, WordPress, FriendFeed, Lunch, Dopplr, YouTube, Ustream, Flickr … I could go on and on. You must think about how you will utilize all of the different kinds of media outlets and which ones you are going to use daily. Personally, I use Twitter more than any other social media. I have used Twitter to gain insight from professionals, to network, to find excellent articles, to discover interesting blogs and to promote my professionalism. I use Facebook to connect with friends that I do not see very often. With all of these social media outlets at hand, it is easy to spend countless hours online. One could spend all day online looking for a job. Is it effective to only use social media outlets to find a job? I have seen quite a few people use this approach. I think in order to be successful in finding a job, in many cases, there must be a happy medium between personal and internet connections.
My personal tactics in networking have been quite diverse. Through my use of Twitter, professionals in my field have requested my resume. At a friend’s barbeque, when a friend discovered I was looking for a job, he offered to put me in contact with the public relations department at his agency. Through his connection I was able to set up a successful informational interview. My point is, get connected through the internet and through socializing… in person! Being solely connected on the World Wide Web can make you disconnected with the real world.
Are you always late for work? Do you wait until the last possible minute to hand in a report? Have you ever sent an e-mail to the wrong person? If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions you might want to check out the attached article. I have actually witnessed some co-workers being fired for their own bad habits. Some of them include ….
1. Procrastination
2. Being a sloppy e-mailer
3. Confusing informal with disrespectful
… check out all 1o of the “Don’ts” at “The 10 worst work habits” provided by Anthony Baldarrama from Careerbuilder.com.
Theodore Roosevelt once said ,”Do what you can with what you have.” This statement means take advantage of the resources available to you. Twitter.com is one of those valuable resources you can take advantage of on a daily basis. From an outsider’s perspective, Twitter might just seem like another social media outlet. I have heard from friends and strangers more times than I care to remember how pointless it is using Twitter. In the Twitter world, this is known as “Twignorant.” The power of Twitter can only be discovered by those who are open to it and actually use it. Every day I have learned something new about Twitter. Today I discovered a website called TwitterJobSearch.com. This website is designed for users t0 find job postings on Twitter and to find professionals in your field from whom you wish to gain insight. I have read articles which were “tweeted” that have been extremely helpful in my job search. When utilizing Twitter, it is completely up to you how you choose to use it. You can use it to follow friends, learn about the news, keep up on your celebrity gossip or even use it as a power tool to pave your way to your next career. Just remember, with practice (as in using Twitter) comes potential opportunity.
In terms of your relationship with your manager, sometimes it can be a long time between face-to-face interactions. More often than not, you have to rely on emails and voicemails to your boss to ask your questions and put in requests for help. Then, you sit and wait, and wait, for a response. Here are some tips to help avoid this waiting game. These comes from Work 101 by Elizabeth Freedman.
DO ask your questions, then move on. Most employers want employees who don’t need tons of supervision and who an really take the ball and run with it on their own. This can seem scary, particularly when we’re asked to do something we’re not sure about. But the reality is that your boss just doesn’t have the time to tell you exactly what you need to do – that’s a huge drain on energy, productivity, and resources that he or she just doesn’t have.
DO put real time and effort into developing other relationships around the office. By broading your circle of contacts, you’ll have other people to turn to for asking questions, getting help and simply learning more about the company.
DON’T drive your boss crazy until he or she has the time to answer your pleas for help. When you send your boss too many emails “reminding” them about your issue, you run the risk of quickly become annoying and looking desperate. You send the message that you expect your boss to hold your hand, but bosses expect you to take initiative.
DON’T stand outside your boss’s door, waiting for them to get off the phone so you can quickly get your question in. This tends to really drive people nuts – after all, your boss may not want you listening in on their calls or interrupting them. Plus, don’t you have better things to do that stand outside their door all day?
