7 Characteristics that Interviewers Love to Hate

7 Characteristics that Interviewers Love to Hate Job interviews are a necessary part of every working professional’s life. Whether you’re unfazed by them or shudder at the thought of these meetings, it’s important to know how to make a great impression. Competition for the best positions can be intense, so it’s important to distinguish yourself. During a job interview, you want to present yourself as a strong candidate who possesses the skills required to excel. However, just as it’s important to know what to say and do to make a great impression, it’s also essential to know what mannerisms and behaviors can hurt your chances of being chosen for the position. Preparing for an upcoming job interview? Avoid exhibiting the following behaviours, as doing so may cost you the job: 1) Displaying a lack of confidence: Hiring managers want to take on new employees who are confident in their ability to make positive contributions to the organization. If you exhibit signs of being unsure you can effectively complete the job, you present yourself as a liability - and no one wants to hire someone who strongly believes they will fall short of expectations. While you don’t want to portray yourself as arrogant or overconfident, it’s essential to see yourself as the best person for the job, because if you don’t believe in yourself, why should a hiring manager? 2) Speaking negatively about your employer: If you’re looking for a new job, it’s quite clear that you’re not satisfied in your current one. However, that doesn’t give you free reign to bash management or the organization. Many interviewers will ask why you want to leave your existing company as something of a test. You’ll pass if you use discretion and show respect, but you won’t get anywhere by displaying animosity. The interviewer will suspect you’ll be equally willing to badmouth a new employer. 3) Failing to maintain a professional appearance: You only get one chance to make a great first impression on an interviewer, so don’t ruin it by presenting yourself in an unprofessional manner. Always dress professionally, even if you’re informed the office has a casual dress code. Come prepared with extra copies of your resume and something to take notes on. Remember, it’s always better to be over prepared than underprepared. 4) Opting to not customize your resume: It’s no longer enough to just submit a standard resume for a position - you need to customize it for each position. Carefully review the job description to search for commonly used keywords and incorporate them into your resume. Elaborate on skills and experience relevant to the position and customize your objective for the job.  Hiring managers want to review your resume and feel like you wrote it for that specific job, rather than reading a document that could be applicable for any position, anywhere. 5) Exhibiting bad manners: Never let your guard down during a job interview. Maintaining your composure throughout the course of the meeting is a must, as you don’t want to appear unprofessional. Avoid displaying bad habits such as cursing, interrupting and displaying nervous mannerisms at all cost. The interviewer may test you by steering the conversation to an informal topic, so remain composed regardless of the subject matter. Keep words like “umm” and “like” out of your vocabulary. 6) Exaggerating the truth: It’s great to want to impress the interviewer, but if you stretch the truth so far that you’re no longer being genuine, they’ll see right through you. Honesty is an important quality sought by hiring managers. It’s much better to tell the truth - even if you think it presents you in an unflattering manner - than risk being perceived as fake or a liar. 7) Focusing on salary instead of the job: It’s only natural to want to know salary information for a job, but asking questions too early can ruin your chances of employment. A hiring manager wants someone who is genuinely interested in the work - not a person just looking for a paycheck. Steer clear of the salary issue unless the interviewer brings it up first. Wait until you’re extended a job offer to discuss your pay and begin entering into negotiations. Additionally, it’s important to always have a few questions prepared for the end of the interview when it’s your turn to ask. Not only will your questions help the interviewer to remember you, they also make you appear more interested in the position. Take the time to formulate a few questions before the interview, in case you get nervous and forget to come up with any during the meeting. The importance of taking the time to properly prepare for job interviews cannot be stressed enough. Conduct research on the company, dress to impress and ask well-informed questions. The more effort you put into the interview, the better impression you’ll make. Author: Marwa Hijazi writes about business topics such as negotiations for  notredameonline.com.

Skills For Resume Writing

Skills For Resume WritingIf you're looking for ways to add skills for resume writing, then this article will teach you. Specifically, we'll go over how to get your resume in front of the employer and what to put in it. Here are the basics.First of all, it's important to make sure that your resume is not only a little better than the resumes of other applicants. Your resume should be the first thing your boss sees, so you need to make it a good one. Having less skills than another person is no excuse. The bottom line is this: if you don't have anything at all that your prospective employer could use, then you're wasting your time sending out a resume.So, what should you be putting on your resume? For resume writing, the short answer is that the words should not be typed, but they should be written out. If you're stuck for ideas, you should ask yourself what you're interested in. Perhaps you've been sitting around thinking about what you'd like to do for a living and what kind of emplo yer would be interested in hiring you.Be specific about what you're offering. What you have to offer the employer isn't always the same as what they have available. It's very likely that they won't have exactly what you're looking for.Also, you want to think about the skills that your qualifications for the job may be lacking. Why? Well, employers like a diversity of skills. If you have great typing skills, it's likely that you'll find that these skills can be brought into the position. On the other hand, if you don't have much knowledge about Microsoft Word, an employer will more than likely pass you over.So, your skills are what you know and what you're going to put in your resume. What about the people skills? These are things like how well you take directions, how well you listen, how well you follow directions, how well you communicate, how well you organize yourself and how well you work within your team. Being able to work well with others is something that many people don't even think about when they're writing their resume.One of the best ways to think about people skills is by thinking about the kind of friends you have. You don't have to have lots of friends, but you do need to have friends who are interested in what you're doing. Now, you can't go out and find lots of friends, but if you have some that are interested in your career, then those are the kind of friends you should send out your resume to.Keep these tips in mind when you're writing your resume. Some of them are going to be obvious, while others are less so. These tips are more about helping you write a successful resume, so make sure that you're adding the skills for resume writing so that you're getting your resume seen.

Dont Leave It to Luck Prepare for Interview Assessments Today!

Dont Leave It to Luck â€" Prepare for Interview Assessments Today! Dont Leave It to Luck â€" Prepare for Interview Assessments Today! Most people are aware of the importance of writing a great resume. But where should you go from there? What is the next step after you send out your resume? Should you simply sit by the phone waiting to receive a call for an interview? The answer is simpleâ€"no! Start preparing for your interview in advance. The more prepared you are for the interview, the greater your chances of getting hired. Unfortunately, preparing for a job interview in the contemporary job market has become more complex. The market is flooded with talented candidates, prompting many employers to use job assessment tests to help improve the screening process. Job assessment tests vary from employer to employer, and many employers use tests from specific assessment companies . Before starting your preparation, it is crucial to know which assessment you are going to take. Not all employers provide this information, however, because they would prefer that the first time you encounter the test questions be during the interview. Luckily, it is probable there is information out there. Make sure to do your own research on which assessments you will face based on your profession  or your potential employer .There are two primary options for the type of test you may face:1. Aptitude testsThe main purpose of aptitude tests  is to measure your cognitive skills and ability to handle the job. Aptitude tests assess a candidate’s cognitive abilities, including, but not limited to, math skills, literacy skills, and reasoning skills. Math aptitude tests  usually include numerical literacy questions and examine proficiency in basic arithmetic and numerical reasoning. Verbal tests include text analysis and contain linguistically-based questions. Other aptitude tests evaluate deductive reasoning, abstract reasoning, and critical thinking. One of the most popular critical thinking tests is the Watson Glaser Test . Equally common are job skills tests  and computer skills tests. After learning which typ e of aptitude test you’re about to take, find the appropriate online resources and start practicing.2. Behavioral testsBehavioral tests are aimed at identifying a candidate’s personality profile. This information is then used to identify if the applicant is an appropriate fit for the position. Behavioral tests primarily fall in one of two categories: personality tests or situational judgement Personality tests  are used to evaluate a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. They are designed to inform an employer of specific personality traits, including how tolerant, friendly, or assertive a candidate is. Every position requires a different set of traits. For instance, a salesperson and a data analyst will be judged according to different personality traits, ones that specifically match each of these two jobs. Situational judgement test measure how a candidate is likely to react in different work-related situations. The use of behavioral tests has increased by 20% with each pas sing year. Currently, 80% of the Fortune 500 companies use them. It has become quite common that immediately after submitting your resume, you are emailed a personality questionnaire.Interview assessments are becoming more and more commonplace. Companies have learned that replacing a poor hire is extremely costly. The average cost of replacing a bad hire is about 1.5 times the cost of the worker’s salary and benefits combined. This is mostly because it is expensive to interview, train, and then re-train a new hire. Writing a great resume is important, but this is only part of the battle. It is equally as important to prepare in advance for job assessment tests. You need to be an active, rather than a passive, player in the quest for your dream job! previous article Sugar Spice Premium Resume Set Lets Your Personality Shine Through next article The Consummate Professional Resume Pack you might also likeWhy Do You Want to Work Here? Best Answers to This Interview Question

The Best Decision and Investment I Made For My Career

The Best Decision and Investment I Made For My Career As I am finalizing the plans for my very first Elevate Your Career San Diego LIVE event THIS Thursday, I am getting really excited!  My presentation finally came together last weekend and I wanted to share with you one of the things that I am going to share LIVE this Thursday. It  Starts with a Story Two months ago, I made the best decision of my life and invested in myself. I hired a coach. I hoped this would be helpful to push me to where I wanted my career to go, but I had no idea what was going to happen. In the second coaching session we had, my coach told me that I needed to do my own live event. We agreed that I was behind my computer screen too much since I only had virtual clients and virtual events. I was not doing the networking that I actually teach about in my own Get Unstuck programs.  (Oops! Practice what you preach!) Investing in My Career So she told me it was time for me to have my first event this fall before the holidays started rolling around. I said, Ummits already mid-August, I dont know.  She asked me what was holding me back from having a live event?  What was I scared of? She told me to write down all of the things that I was scared of. Then she gave me a minute to write and made me share my fears with her. I said, I am scared that no one will show up. I am scared that I wont be able to afford the event and that I wont have the time to actually make it happen. She said, Ok, how many people would have to be at your live event for it to be considered a success? I said, Ten. She said, Thats doable. Are you willing to plan out time in your calendar to make this event happen and try to get some sponsors to help you out? I said, Ok, I suppose I can do this. I do like planning events but really I am just scared to fail. So, we hung up and I started moving and making things happen. I booked the hotel and started inviting people I had never met.  I NEVER would have put this event together if my coach hadnt pushed me. She knew what I was capable of if I got over my fears. Heres the best thing of all that I want to share with you. There are OVER TWENTY people coming!!  Thats double the success I had hoped. Not only that, but I found SPONSORS who are helping me with the cost and I have successfully managed my time to make this event happen. My coach made me dream bigger and really made me see all that I was capable of. That is why I highly recommend that you also get the support you need to help you become the woman that you are capable of.  There are two ways that you can do that right now.   Visit our Bootcamp Page Our online trainings  allow you to work at your own pace and focus on the topics that make sense for your career or business. From resume help to building your side hustle into a business, there are classes for every Classy Career Girl. Invest in Your Career Join the Classy Career Girl Community! Our Classy Career Girl Network group is a free Facebook community of like-minded women offering support and resources to help you build a career or business you love. Or, join our membership site, Love Your Career Formula 2.0 and start building a career you love! Looking forward to supporting you along your career journey! ?? Anna

How to Write a Highschool Resume That Your Prospective Employers Will Be Enamored With

How to Write a Highschool Resume That Your Prospective Employers Will Be Enamored WithHighschool resume writing should be fun and exciting. If your job is doing all the work, don't forget to help out. Highschool resume writing will be easier if you share your ideas with your classmates.Most students have a lot of common sense in highschool graduates. The classmates may not always be the best source of information but they are the people who are around to get the scoop on things. Highschool students are naturally inquisitive, so it would be good to give them more insight into the most important things in their life. Encourage your classmates to tell you about their jobs and experiences as well.The general rule is that you don't have to worry about high school resumes writing if you are not an accomplished writer. You can always use an online resume or a template with no fear of errors or spelling mistakes. You can get practice by completing your writing on an online editor or simple w riting prompt. It is the perfect way to develop an eye for organization and grammar while writing a resume. You can then turn the resume into an authentic document and retain your security.The skill level of high school students can vary greatly. Some students would be able to write a resume with ease while others might need extra help. The most skilled and experienced writers would have an advantage over the less competent ones. This is especially true for students who are approaching graduation and trying to prepare for their first job.It would be a good idea to ask the guidance counselor of your school if you are a novice in this area. He will be able to point you in the right direction. The guidance counselor will also be able to recommend some great writers in your area.Besides your classmates, you can also approach some of your friends who are graduating high school graduates. Ask them if they know of any good writers who can assist you. If they are experienced writers, they w ould be more than happy to take on your project. They will usually have no problem with a resume that is less than half their own.It would be a good idea to have some kind of theme when writing your resume. The point is that you shouldn't be too careful and it should be fun. There is nothing wrong with a resume that consists of important information that relates to your goals and aspirations for your future career.Asking for a good job reference from past employers would also be a good idea. This will show employers that you are serious about your job search and that you are committed to your current job. Most employers like to see commitment from employees.

Evolution of Repurpose Your Career Book and Launch - Part I - Career Pivot

Evolution of Repurpose Your Career Book and Launch - Part I - Career Pivot Repurpose Your Career 3rd Edition The launch of the 3rd edition of Repurpose Your Career has started. The plan is to publish the book in mid-September. The book has evolved since 2013 when the first edition was published. The self-publishing industry has evolved and morphed to the point that an indie author can make money writing books. Repurpose Your Career â€" A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, Third Edition will be the 4th book released by Career Pivot Publishing. At the time of publication of this post, just over 4,100 copies have been sold in paperback, Kindle ebook, and Audible audio formats. I am writing this post to take you on my journey as an indie book author, and publisher. In the Beginning … Let me first state that I am not a writer. I grew up very learning disabled in the 1960s and 70s. The termlearning disability wasnot defined until the 1980s. When I graduated from high school in 1974, I read at a rate of 30-40 words a minute. My first job after graduating from Northwestern’s Technological Institute, now known as McCormick School of Engineering, was working for IBM developing word processors. Yes, this guy who had trouble reading was developing word processors. This turned out to be a good thing because the job allowed me to travel the world and work on my language skills. I am telling you this because I was not capable of doing this alone. The Origin of Repurpose Your Career Title I left my last corporate gig in January of 2011 and I was suffering from significant burnout. I spent the previous 3 plus years at LifeSize Communications as a Senior Manager of Learning and Development. After the company was acquired by Logitech in late 2009, I experienced some ethically challenging circumstances that I have previously written about on this blog.I spent much of 2010, planning my departure and building the foundation for my next pivot. I hired a business coach, Sherry Lowry, who helped me hire a branding specialist, Ginny Murphy.It was working with Ginny, that we came up with the Career Pivot brand along with the tag line Repurpose Your Career. Listen to the most recent episode The Career Pivot brand was launched in February of 2012. Hiring a Co-Author Sherry recommended that I find a writer to help me with the creation of marketing collateral, white papers, and anything else that we would produce. I was introduced to Susan Lahey in 2011 and that relationship has continued to this day. I was Susan’s first major client in Austin and if you would like to hear Susan talk about her journey, listen to Encore Episode with Freelance Writer and Author Susan Lahey [Podcast]. We started out collaborating on a whitepaper that is still available called Don’t Retire Even If You Can, A Baby Boomer Manifesto. That became the seed for my first book Repurpose Your Career â€" A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers. Working with a Book Coach I met Gudjon Bergmann, very shortly after I left my last corporate position in early 2011. Gudjon had moved to Austin with his wife and kids from Iceland. Gudjon was an accomplished self-published author which in 2011 made him a real trailblazer. Gudjon and I very quickly developed a mutually beneficial relationship. I helped Gudjon with a number of career and networking issues and he tutored both Susan and myself on developing the title, book layout, and design. I followed the processes laid out in his book The Author’s Blueprint: Successfully Write a Non-Fiction Book, Conquer Procrastination and Never Get Writer’s Block Again (affiliate link). I decided to use the tag line from the Career Pivot brand, Repurpose Your Career, as the main title after some crowdsourcing from my network decided on the subtitle ofA Practical Guide for Baby Boomers. One of Gudjon’s mantras that are deeply ingrained in my psyche was: Write a book and not the book! If you writethe book youwill likely never finish. Writing the First Book I found from working with Susan on the Baby Boomer Manifesto that she was extremely good at writing in my voice. What I did was choose a collection of blog posts and along with the white paper told Susan to write the first draft. This book was written back in 2012 when large swaths of baby boomers were unemployed and it was all about getting back to work and recovering from this second devastating recession in the past dozen years. We focused on the basics of mindset and getting back to work. As you will see, this will evolve as the economy improves for some but not all, we all are getting older and our priorities shift. Once we had the first draft, I sent it to approximately 50 people who I felt would be in the target audience and asked for feedback and constructive criticism. The feedback was extremely good but with one common criticism, all of the stories in the book came from my career. That was a valid criticism but at this point in the journey of creating Career Pivot, they were only stories I had. Susan fixed this in the 2nd edition. I was writinga book and not the book.My plan was for this book to evolve over time with multiple editions. Gudjon also taught us that you need about 131 pages to get a binding on a book, i.e. having your book title on the side of the book when on a bookshelf. We selected font and paper size so that the book was 144 pages. It was a book you could read on the airplane, i.e. something you could read in a couple of hours. The book was almost ready except for the book cover. Book Cover Design Let me first say, I am artistically challenged. I am the last person you want to design anything that is pleasing to the eye. I once again turned to my network and was directed to many graphic artists but none of them knew anything about branding. They would ask me about the resolution of the graphics and other technical details but nothing about what I wanted the cover to say when someone saw the book online or on the bookshelf. I did not feel comfortable with any of them. I eventually found Mamiserwaa through someone in my network whose business was providing services to aspiring authors. Mamiserwaa put me through a branding process that led me down a path of selecting images for the book cover. I ended up with several cover designs that I took to the job club that I served on the board, and asked the opinions of hundreds of job seekers. The following cover was chosen. The metaphor for the bottom image was walking towards sunrise and a new day. As you will see later we used the same image in the 2nd edition and the metaphor in the 3rd edition book cover. Publishing on Demand through CreateSpace.com and KDP.Amazon.com We first loaded everything up into the CreateSpace.com website and requested proof printouts. With the help of Gudjon, this went very smoothly. We then loaded everything up in KDP.Amazon.com for the Kindle ebook edition and used the proofing tools on the website and even loaded a copy onto my first-generation Kindle reader. It took several revisions to get everything that was close to perfect. I say close to perfect because you will never catch all of the errors. Book Launch The book was released in paperback on January 10, 2013, and the Kindle edition several days later. I did a free give away and 8,000 copies were given away. The idea was to seed the market for future books and I am not sure this was a good idea but… We held a little party in Austin and that was all that was done for the first book launch. I was in contact with the executive team at NextAvenue.org, the PBS Baby Boomer website, and they agreed to let me publish an article from the book called The Key to a Successful Career Shift: Asking for Help.This was published on February 4th of 2013. Forbes then republished the article on February 8th. The book now had credibility. Audio Version In late 2014, I started to explore using ACX.com which is Amazon’s self-publishing platform for audiobooks. I had a client who had recorded some voice overs for webinars. She had access to a rudimentary recording studio at work and was willing to narrate the book for me. This turned out to be a LOT of work for me. The recording quality is fair but I needed to edit out hours of breath sounds from the 4-5 hours of audio that I edited down to a little over 2 hours. The Audible version was released in March of 2105 and has sold a little over 100 copies. This was an experiment that cost very little other than my time. What’s Next This original book has sold close to 2000 copies and probably generated $6000 in total revenue. It was slightly better than a break-even proposition but so much was learned. Next week, I will finish this publishing story on how the follow-up versions were written and published along with a few missteps along the way. The purpose of telling this story is if a learning disabled recovering engineer can write a successful book, with a lot of help, so can you. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Book review Tao Te Ching - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Tao Te Ching - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Im not really sure that it makes sense to review this book. Ive read it and enjoyed it, but there is absolutely no way I can convey what its about or why you should read this book. It is wise, poetic, enigmatic and enlightening. It is also vague, frustrating, weird and confusing. Tao means the way. Te means power. Ching means classic. The title Tao Te Ching is usually translated as The Classic Book About The Way And The Power Of The Way. But as the very first chapter says: The way you can go isnt the real way The Name you can name isnt the real name In our western culture ideas should be communicated clearly and efficiently. And heres a book that teems with paradox and poetry. A book where the central theme is not-doing; a concept that is certainly not practiced often in our up-and-at-them culture. Little is known about the Tao Te Ching, except that its around 2500 years old, chinese and was probably written by Lao Tzu who may have been a contemporary of Confucius. The translation Ive read is by Ursula K Le Guin, who knows no chinese, but who has brought her life-long appreciation of the work and her background as a succesful author into the translation. She acknowledges, that her version is anything but a literal translation. Since the original work is poetic, a literal translation may capture the words but not the power of the original work. A poetic translation such as the one shes attempted, will not match word-for-word but may come closer to the spirit of the original. I think she has done a fine job, and whenever Ive been able to compare her version to others, hers is more to my taste. Tao Te Ching has been translated lots of times, and many of the translations are available on the net. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

How to be a cultural fit -

How to be a cultural fit - You know looking for a job requires you to demonstrate your skills and accomplishments. You’ve  put together your résumé  and practiced answering questions about your five-year plan. You even have a great career story to tell, proving you’re prepared to help solve the organization’s biggest challenges. However, you’re concerned that having the right skills isn’t enough. A buzzword keeps popping up when you look for advice online: cultural fit. It can mean a lot of different things depending on your industry, but there’s no denying the role of personality and culture in making a “right fit” hire for an employer and ultimately the long-term satisfaction for the employee. In some ways, landing a job is really no different from finding a perfect mate: He or she may look great on paper, but if there’s no chemistry, the relationship falls flat. What do you need to understand about  cultural fit, and how can you use this information to land a best-fit career role? Tonya Lanthier is the founder and CEO of DentalPost.net, which provides dental-related career services. She suggests job seekers consider the following: 1. Skills can always be taught, but culture fit is an absolute must.  Of course, your skills are crucial, but employers know they can always train someone to do a specific task. They cannot train a person to be a team player or to be willing to go the proverbial extra mile to get the job done. Lanthier notes: “The old adage ‘hire for skills, fire for culture’ is increasingly true.” You don’t want to be caught with the short end of the stick. What are some of the intangibles that dictate culture?  Lanthier suggests job seekers, “look for information about the pace of an office, use of technology, flexibility and work-life balance and the little things that ultimately make your work environment a place you want to be.” 2.  Culture is generally dictated from the top down, so be sure to  ask the hard questions.  In most cases, leadership members dictate culture issues for their organization. Of course, this trickles down to a very real culture for their employee that goes beyond the obvious perks. “A strong culture fit ultimately means happier employees, increased retention and a healthier bottom line,” Lanthier says. “While companies size you up, don’t be afraid to ask your own questions and let the best part of your personality shine through. Ask direct questions such as, ‘Does your company have set corporate values?’ to identify if their values align with their self-reported culture.” Show your interest in how the company treats its employees and how you could be a fit, and you could  improve your status as a candidate. Keep in mind that it’s your job to determine if there’s a strong alignment between your needs and those of the hiring organization. Do your research, and be sure the organization is right for you. Get my free white paper:  5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week   3.  Don’t underestimate the power of assessment tests and profiles. Hiring managers may turn to assessments and profile tools to determine whether or not to hire you. In fact, in a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly three quarters of HR managers indicated  personality tests and assessments  can be useful, and 20 percent are implementing these tools. Lanthier explains: “These tests can’t ever say with certainty, ‘You’re a perfect fit,’ but they often provide the needed reinforcement to help align your skills and personality with the organization’s own culture. Take the tests seriously, and understand the assessment’s role in making a match. Even if the questions seem silly or unrelated to the role, if you want the job, be sure to follow through with the assessment as you would with any job-related material. Perhaps if the tool is predictive, it will save you a lot of heartache in the long run by preventing you from taking a job where you’d be miserable. Alternatively, if you’re a great fit, perhaps you’ll quickly move to the top of the candidate pool. Originally appeared on U.S. News World Report.