What NOT To Say In Your Next Job Interview

1. “I hated my previous manager.” Nothing will turn your interview in a bad direction faster than sharing ill will for your former employers, bosses, or coworkers. You’ll immediately be pegged as unable to work well with others, unloyal, and immature--none of which will position you for taking your career to the next level.

Don’t fall into the trap of badmouthing others when you’re asked about potentially negative experiences. Instead, focus on presenting the situation in a positive light and express what you learned from your experience. For example, you and your manager may have initially had communication problems, but present the situation in such a way that it demonstrates your ability to learn to adapt to the communication styles of others.

2. “I see this company tripling its revenue under my guidance.” Don’t make the mistake of showcasing a vision for your position or the company that doesn’t align with the current company culture or mission. While it’s great to come in with strong ideas, if they lack the necessary research and understanding of the company, you’re bound to be passed over for the position.

During the interview, you may be asked what you can bring to the position or company as a whole. Be sure your vision aligns with the company’s. If you’ve misstepped, carefully present a more relevant idea in the direction they reference.

3. “I’ve won three national awards.” Contrary to popular belief, employers don’t want to hear about your personal successes. They want to hear what you can do for the company. To avoid sounding like you’re reading your resume verbatim, inform your interviewer of your previous experiences by adding on information of how you can directly benefit the company because of your accomplishments. As an example, you may have successfully brought on 50 new clients in your time with your previous company--use this as a segue into how you plan to increase sales for your potential employer.

4. “I really don’t have any weaknesses.” Everybody has shortcoming. Ignoring yours will only make your interviewer roll their eyes. If you’re asked to share your weaknesses, choose a quality to share that isn’t central to the position you’re applying for. Make sure to address your weakness and share how you’ve learned from it to improve for the future. This shows your ability to learn from your mistakes and grow.

5. “You’ll never find another manager as great as I am.” Sure, confidence may land you an interview, but advancing your career requires a sense of humbleness. You may have accomplished a lot during your career, but you to find a way to present your experiences without a know-it-all demeanor. If you feel like you’ve come off a little arrogant, note the help you had from a great team of employees or your administrative assistant.

6. “No, I don’t have any questions.” Ending an interview without asking any questions is a red flag for an interviewer. Why hire someone who isn’t even interested in getting a few of their company-related questions answered? Prepare questions before your interview regarding any questions you have about the position, company culture, mission, or employees experiences at the company.

If you leave your interview without asking questions, email your interviewer as soon as you get home to thank them for their time and also inform them of a question you thought of after leaving the interview.

7. “I left the company on amicable terms.” Lying won’t land you anywhere but the rejection pile--but somehow 53 percent of resumes and job applications contain falsifications. If you plan on embellishing your experiences or accomplishments during your interview, just know that your employer will find out. It’s better to err on the side of honesty during your interview, rather than getting blacklisted by the employer for lying.

8. "Who are your customers, again?” If you don’t have time to research the company or your potential position, don’t bother showing up. This not only wastes the time of the employer, but also presents you as lazy. If you’re truly looking to advance your career, you’ll know the ins and outs of every company you send your resume to.

[Full article here]

7 Modern Day Ways To Leave A Lasting Impression

Dale Carnegie wrote a fantastic book back in 1936 that really spelled out How to Win Friends and Influence People, and in my view it was so successful and continues to be successful because it contains such a lot of common sense about treating others how we ourselves like to be treated.

Unfortunately, we sometimes forget our common sense due to work and other pressures, and times have changed a little too, so I have put together a quick list with a few examples of both "old" and modern day areas to focus on to leave a lasting impression and be remembered for the right reasons.

1. Pay someone a compliment

If there is a genuine reason to pay someone a compliment, make their day and tell them. The person wearing a great shirt or a nice perfume will always appreciate a positive compliment, and that compliment will stay with them all day. I wear the best shoes I can afford and they get noticed, very often making the topic of conversation.

2. Say thanks often

Show your appreciation by saying thanks when someone holds the door open for you, or goes out of their way to do something. When did you last thank your partner for being awesome or your staff for doing a great job? Appreciation is one of the main drivers for someone staying committed in a relationship or job, don't forget to tell them.

3. Give generously

If you are not the type to get stuck in when manual labor is needed, how else can you give generously? A fellow Rotarian who didn’t have the time for the physical work, gave his expertise generously instead, allowing the club and other charities to benefit from his experience and knowledge.

4. Do what you say you will

Don’t let others think badly of you by not doing what you said you will, even the smallest of things, someone may well be relying on you.

5. Smile

I am a big believer in this. The chap that held the door open for me with a beaming smile made me feel like a princess. How can you pass on such great feelings to others to make their day?

6. Use their name

What was the name of the barista that made your coffee this morning? Next time you order, thank them as usual and follow up with their name, it will be noticed. Using their name really is Dale 101, “the single sweetest sound in any language is a person’s name”.

7. Follow up

The drain layer that came to give me a quote didn’t follow up until 2 months after he visited. Needless to say, someone else did the job and he lost out. Do you follow up 100% of the time in a timely manner before your competitor gets in? You will stand out just by following up every time because so few people do it.

by Linda Coles [read original here]

How to Interview Your Hiring Manager

When it comes to being interviewed, many candidates naturally are nervous, thinking over what questions they’ll be asked and making sure they are selling themselves in the interview. And similarly, the people doing the interviewing often forget that they not only need to be sold on the candidate but they also need to sell the role they’re hiring for. I’ve found more often than not, candidates neglect to “interview the company” they are meeting with and find out whether the organization is a good fit for them.

The fact is, our greatest and most valuable asset is our human capital. The way we invest that capital is up to us, and it is a responsibility we should not take lightly. Why invest your greatest asset in a company that won’t give you the best return? This is not about compensation at all; it is about the ability to do one's best work and grow as a professional. A bad decision on investing one's skills can lead to the biggest loss, which is unrecoverable – lost time! My grandfather used to remind me always that “time and tide” wait for no one. The opportunity to do great work that is lost because of a bad decision is too big to not take seriously.

In the end, you have to manage your career objectively. When you go on an interview, you need to interview your hiring manager and assess the company you are about to bet on, just as seriously as they’re interviewing you. Then very thoughtfully make the best investment of your talents.

Taking a new job always presents a risk – you are coming out of your comfort zone where you presumably have a certain level of security and influence. But a new role often presents opportunities to stretch yourself, make new connections and expand your knowledge. And most importantly, contribute to your industry at a greater level. When you face these decisions you have to have a clear vision on how you want to invest your stock.

To find out how the potential employer will invest in you, ask questions that get at the heart of what you’re looking for in your next role. Determine if the hiring manager has a clear and specific vision for the role. Is there consistency around the true north of the organization amongst all the people you are talking to? Is the company or team structured in a way that you can learn and grow? Are they asking insightful questions, or regurgitating generic interview questions that don’t really let them know what you’re about? You have to dig deeper about the role and structure to find out if this job will make your stock rise over time.

And don’t forget - the interview starts the moment you arrive in the parking lot. Look around – are the people engaged? Excited? Are you seeing employees passionately discuss topics, or are they closed off? Pay attention to the little cues you see while you’re there to get a sense if this would be a place that will raise your stock. And always research the company in great depth before you make your final decision. Read analyst reports, browse their job site, look at age of open jobs, find those in your extended network who may have insight into the company culture. Just as you wouldn’t invest your money in a stock without researching it in great depth, don’t invest your human capital in a company without a lot of due diligence.

Learning the skill of interviewing a hiring manager will in the end net you the best opportunities in your career.

Read post by Rajat Taneja in its original format here.

Are You Working "In" or "On" Your Career?

The book, "The E Myth," played a significant role in helping me understand a vital skill to succeeding in business ownership. I never intended to start my own company. It happened because I saw a big problem nobody was fixing and felt I had to do something about it. Early on, I made all the classic mistakes outlined in this book.The biggest one was working "in" my business too much when I should have been working "on" it.

"In" Versus "On"

When you work "in" your business, you are neck-deep in the day-to-day activities. You are putting out fires, supporting customers, doing the accounting, etc. It feels productive and you are definitely busy, but it doesn't leave time and energy to determine how to stabilize and grow the capabilities of the business. When you work "on" your business, you step back from the day-to-day and construct a strategy for making the business stronger and more capable of doing all the great things you want it to do.

Career Strategy: In + On = Success

In my experience, career success also comes from paying attention to the amount of time we spend working "on" and "in" our careers. When we don't find the right balance, we struggle, or even worse, we have professional set-backs. Here are a few examples of what can occur:

1. Work "in" a job for years, keeping your head down and staying under the radar only to be laid-off without working "on" any new skills that can be leveraged in the current job market.
2. Spending 2 months working "on" your resume while not engaging in a single activity that will actually get you "in" a job.
3. Dreaming of the day you'll get a promotion and/or better job by focusing "on" meeting people who are at that level already, while ignoring the need to build and display key skill sets "in" your chosen field of expertise that are needed for the role you seek.

I could list many more, but you see my point: we're all businesses-of-one. That means, we all need to work both "on" and "in" our careers to get what we want. More importantly, we have to pay attention to the balance so we don't negatively affect our progress.

[original article]

Career Lessons from The Apprentice

This week we saw the start of the 2013 series of The Apprentice here in the UK. The popular and award-winning reality TV show sees 16 business-hopefuls compete to become Lord Sugar's apprentice. Each episode we see candidates fighting for survival by competing on business tasks. Over 12 weeks we will see one after the other being fired until one is crowned 'The Apprentice' winning a £250,000 investment into a potential business venture as well as the opportunity to work in partnership with business tycoon Lord Sugar. I love the show!

Why do I like it so much? It's like being a fly on the wall in an assessment centre for three months. Candidates are split into two teams who then compete on tasks to demonstrate their business skills such as leadership, organisation, financial acumen, negotiation and sales. Tasks vary from selling a container load of different products for the most profit, to setting up a shop or developing a brand new product. The winning team is rewarded with a treat (helicopter flights, meals out, cocktail parties, etc.) while the losing team has to face Lord Sugar in the board room for a ferocious grilling. Ultimately one of them gets fired. This continues each week until a handful of candidates remain and those lucky souls are treated to some 'interviews from hell' with Lord Sugar's most trusted aides.

Watching 16 candidates trying to make a good impression while fighting for survival is not only very entertaining (there are lots of tantrums and personality clashes) but is also great for picking up dos and don'ts for your own career or business venture. Here's what I've gleaned from previous series:

1. Don't be overconfident - There are few people that have succeeded in their careers without a sound level of self-confidence. However, being over-confident can be detrimental. Candidates on The Apprentice are given every opportunity to sing their own praises and do so with great gusto! They are always the best negotiators, the best financiers, the best presenters... I remember (with a slight smile on my face) a candidate saying 'As a salesperson, I would rate myself as probably the best in Europe.' Whilst entertaining for the viewer there are serious lessons to be learnt. Their exuberant confidence often leads to over-promising on tasks, it makes them less likeable and they often find it difficult to listen to other people's ideas (even if they are better ideas). What we can learn from the show is that those who succeed have an air of confidence and conviction about them without being overbearing and that the line between confident and smug is thin.

2. Be a team player - Success in your career nearly always depends on your ability to be an effective team player. It is important to recognise that sometimes you have a specific role to play within a team. Sometimes you might be required to lead and sometimes you will be asked to work in the background organising things or delivering specific sub-tasks. On The Apprentice we see time and time again individual candidates who ignore their designated role and instead aim for a leadership position. This often causes tension and friction within the team and can have a negative impact on task delivery . A good team player can lead when required but ultimately puts the team's objectives above their own.

3. Pull your weight - People that are successful in their career make sure they pull their weight and contribute effectively to any task they are involved in. In each and every series ofThe Apprentice we see candidates that just stand back or hide in the background hoping they won't be noticed. For some candidates it's part of a game plan i.e. not to stick their neck out in the fist 2-3 episodes and therefore avoid being blamed for any failures. This strategy has backfired in more recent shows with candidates being fired for not contributing enough. It is key that we get involved in tasks, take on some risk and responsibility and get noticed for our input.

4. Be likeable - Candidates that get promoted and move up in their careers are generally well liked by others. It is much harder to fire someone you really like and have built a relationship with. Each year on The Apprentice we see one or two candidates who rub everyone up the wrong way. It's often their downfall, especially when it comes to confronting Lord Sugar in the board room - fellow candidates gang up on the ones they don't like, even if they have performed well. It's crucial to form good relationships with your colleagues. Be friendly, helpful and interested in other people... and not just those in management but colleagues performing different roles across the organisation.

5. Speak up - If you think something is not going right or could be done better then say so - don't just watch your team fail in silence and then lay blame. Make sure you put your point across but accept it if the team decides to go in a different direction to the one you think is best. On The Apprentice we see candidates fired for claiming (after the event) that they would have done things differently. It's important to contribute your opinion while there's still a chance to influence the outcome. However, if you can't convince the other team members that your idea is a good one then take it on the nose. Sometimes you have to admit defeat and just continue to be a great team player regardless.

6. Don't forget the task at hand - Successful candidates remain on task - they always have the team objective at the forefront of their minds. Those who take their eyes off the ball and focus too much on promoting themselves or standing out from the crowd often end up getting fired because they failed to focus on the important issue and got side-tracked with less important or even trivial or counter-productive elements of the task. Many tasks on The Apprentice involve making more money or profit than the other team - the candidates and teams that make decisions always with this objective in mind normally do very well.

7. Don't lie - Every year on The Apprentice we bear witness to candidates who have 'stretched' the truth in their application forms and CVs... e.g. the candidate who went to university (but only stayed for four months). There is sometimes a fine line between creatively promoting yourself and telling blatant lies. In my opinion honesty is the best policy as a little bit of digging and one or two phone calls will very quickly reveal the truth.

[Original article here]

Workplace fashion Dos and Don'ts

14 Signs You Love Your Job

1. You don’t talk about other people; you talk about the cool things other people are doing.

“I hear Mary is heading up a new project. What are they working on?” “I’d love to know how Mike managed to rescue that customer relationship.” “Sherry developed a new sales channel; is there some way we can leverage that?”

When you love your job you don’t gossip about the personal failings of others. You talk about their successes, because you’re happy for them – and because you’re happy with yourself.

2. You think, “I hope I get to…” instead of, “I hope I don’t have to…”

When you love your job it’s like peeling an onion. There are always more layers to discover and explore.

When you hate your job it’s also like peeling an onion – but all you discover are more tears.

3. You see your internal and external customers not as people to satisfy but simply as people.

They aren't numbers. You think of them as real people who have real needs.

And you gain a real sense of fulfillment and purpose from taking care of those needs.

4. You enjoy your time at work.

You don't have to put in time at work and then escape to life to be happy. You believe in enjoying life and enjoying work.

When you love your job, it’s a part of your life. You feel alive and joyful not just at home – but also at work.

5. You would recommend working at your company to your best friend…

In fact, you can't stop talking about how cool your company is and the awesome work you're doing even when you're away from work.

6. You enjoy attending meetings.

No, seriously, you enjoy meetings. Why? Because it’s fun to be at the center of thoughtful, challenging discussions that lead to decisions, initiatives, and changes – changes you get to be a part of.

7. You don’t think about surviving. You think about winning.

You don't worry much about losing your job. You're more worried about not achieving your potential. Not being as impactful as you can.

8. You see your manager as a person you work with, not for.

You feel valued. You feel respected.

You feel trusted.

9. You don’t want to let your coworkers down.

Not because you’ll get in trouble or get a bad performance review, but because you admire them – and you want them to admire you.

10. You hardly ever look at the clock.

You’re too busy making things happen. When you do look at the clock, you often find that the time has flown.

11. You view success in terms of fulfillment and gratification – not just promotions and money.

Everyone wants to be promoted. Everyone wants to earn more.

You definitely feel that way too… but somewhere along the way your job has come to mean a lot more to you than just a paycheck. And if you left this job, even if for a lot higher salary… you would still miss it.

A lot.

12. You leave work with items on your to-do list you’re excited about tackling tomorrow.

Many people cross the “fun” tasks off their to-do lists within the first hour or two.

You often have cool stuff – new initiatives, side projects, hunches you want to confirm with data, people you want to talk to – left over when it’s time to go home.

13. You help without thinking.

You like seeing your colleagues succeed, so it’s second nature to help them out. You pitch in automatically.

And they do the same for you.

14. You don’t think about retirement… because retirement sounds boring…

…and a lot less fulfilling.

How many of the above statements apply to you and your job?

If you said:

0-3: You may want to find a new job. Life is too short.

4-6: You don't hate your job... but you don't love it either. What can you do differently?

7-10: You really enjoy your job and the people you work with

11-14: You are deeply, madly in love with your job! (and your friends are jealous!)

 

[original article posted here]

Managers to Millennials: Advice for Young Job Seekers

Many college grads lack interview skills. They take calls, text and sometimes bring their parents or pets to interviews. HR execs blame a coddled generation weaned on smartphones and social media.

 

Newly minted college graduates soon entering the job market could be facing another hurdle besides high unemployment and a sluggish economy. Hiring managers say many perform poorly — sometimes even bizarrely — in job interviews.

Human resource professionals say they've seen recent college grads text or take calls in interviews, dress inappropriately, use slang or overly casual language and exhibit other oddball behavior.

"It's behavior that may be completely appropriate outside the interview," says Jaime Fall, vice president of the HR Policy Association. "The interview is still a traditional environment."

Fall and other HR executives say such quirks have become more commonplace the past three years or so, and are displayed by about one in five recent grads. They're prompting recruiters to rule out otherwise qualified candidates for entry-level positions and delay hiring decisions.

The trend reflects a generation of Millennials — ranging in age from 18 to 34 — who grew up texting and using smartphones and social media, says Mara Swan, executive vice president of staffing firm Manpower Group.

"Life has gotten more casual," Swan says. "They don't realize (the interview) is a sales event."

So much off-the-cuff speaking in tweets and text messages has left many young people with stunted social skills, says Jonathan Singel, director of talent acquisition for Avery Dennison, a packaging and label maker. 

Fall says Millennials also have been coddled by parents. "It's (a mindset of) 'You're perfect just the way are,' " he says. " 'Do whatever you're comfortable doing.' "

About half of HR executives say most recent grads are not professional their first year on the job, up from 40% of executives who had that view in 2012, according to a recent survey by the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania. 

The HR Policy Association recently launched a website, jobipedia.org, to provide advice to first-time job seekers about interviewing, resumes and workplace behavior. 

Why some job candidates flunked their interviews:

• Taking calls and texting. A male graduate student seeking a managerial position in Avery Dennison's research and development unit took a call on his smartphone about 15 minutes into the interview. The call, which lasted about a minute and wasn't an emergency, ruined his near-certain chance for a job offer, Singel says.

"If he thought that was OK, what else does he think is appropriate?" he says.

• Helicoptering parents. A man in his late 20s brought his father into a 45-minute interview for a material handling job on an assembly line, says Teri Nichols, owner of a Spherion staffing-agency in Brooksville, Fla. At Cigna, a health insurance provider, the father of a recent grad who received an offer for a sales job, called to negotiate a higher salary, says Paula Welch, a Cigna HR consultant.

• Pets in tow. A college senior brought her cat into an interview for a buyer's position at clothing retailer American Eagle. She set the crate-housed cat on the interviewer's desk and periodically played with it. "It hit me like — why would you think that's OK?" says Mark Dillon, the chain's former recruiting director. "She cut herself off before she had a chance."

Original article by  Paul Davidson of USA Today here.

Straighten up!

Weak or Powerful: How Does Your 

Posture Make You Seem?

Practicing your posture before a big meeting may sound silly, but scientists have found that how your stand has dramatic effects on your mood and therefore how you are perceived.

If you came into the bathroom one day to find a colleague standing in front of the mirror, hands on hips, shoulders spread wide, doing her best impression of Wonder Woman about to save the world, your first thought would probably be to back out slowly.

But the truth, according to scientists, is that your silly-looking colleague may be on to something not silly at all. Practicing certain "power postures" can actually have outsized effect on mood and confidence and thus on the impression you make on others.

An in-depth post covering research on and advice around body language on the buffer blog recently highlighted a TED talk by Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddythat explains the biology and impact of body language.

"Cuddy distinguishes between two different types of body postures. One are powerful poses, and their counter part are powerless ones," buffer's Leo Widrich writes, adding that the difference between the two "goes a lot further than to just change the positioning of your legs or arms. Cuddy explains that inside our bodies, actual changes are happening as our body language changes. These changes largely have to do with hormones."

Power poses, where we spread our bodies wide or lean back in a relaxed, open manner, actually raise testosterone, which it turns out, significantly changes your demeanor. How do we know? Cuddy not only measured hormone levels but also asked research subjects to perform power or powerless poses before interviewing for a job. Those that used power poses prior to the interview were consistently rated more favorably by recruiters asked to evaluate them.

What's the takeaway of all this? If you have a big meeting coming where you need to impress, it might be worth your while to spend a couple of minutes practicing power postures beforehand. OK, it'll probably feel pretty silly, but science says it will boost your confidence, so if you're interested in giving it a try, check out buffer for images of the postures.

And you don't have to take one blog's word for the effectiveness of changing your body language. It's a big theme of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In as well. In it she urges women especially to focus on using their body language to convey confidence and power.

-Jessica Stillman, inc.com [original article]