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Stand Out in that Interview!

To be irreplaceable, one must always be different; the sentiment of this quote is one that you have to embody at your next job interview.  Interviewers typically invite hordes of people to interviews for any position, it is therefore imperative that you make sure that you stand out in some way (preferably for good reasons) and if your resume isn’t so remarkable, here are some tips that will help your interview be memorable to your interviewers.

 

Know more about the company than anyone else

The first question you need to ask yourself when you’ve been invited for an interview, is what you know about the company. At some point in the interview, you will be asked what you know about the business —if you can’t answer that question, it makes you look like someone that doesn’t care too much about the opportunity.  Go into the interview knowing their mission statement, understanding the company’s target market, and knowing more about the history of the business than anyone else. Research can be easily conducted via the company’s website, trade publications, and by asking current employees (if you know any).  Being prepared and being someone that can show you are prepared provides the interviewer with the impression you are interested in the potential job, took the time to plan ahead, and care about the outcome.

 

Turn the interview into a conversation

We tend to think of interviews like a press conference or a question and answer session. Stop thinking of an interview as a series of questions you have to answer correctly to “pass”, this gives the feeling that the interview is a test. Think of the interview as more of a conversation with your boss. To aid this, come to the interview armed with a good question, for example if they ask

“why did you apply here” you can say,

“I’m interested in virtual reality, and marketing is what I do best, so when I saw a virtual reality company like yours needed a Marketer, it was a no-brainer for me to apply.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity. One thing I noticed when reading about your company is that you seem to take a different approach to marketing than most of your competitors, can you share why that is?”.

You can also find other ways to work in your questions asides from the typical “Do you have any questions” question that the interviewer asks, you can ask about current projects the company working, the challenges they are facing, work in an appropriate joke or a personal experience into the conversation and before you know it, the interview starts to feels like a regular chat between colleagues.

 

Deflect trick questions

Interviewers like to ask questions that back interviewees into a corner, when the interviewer invariably asks “You had a boss from hell didn’t you”, what do you do?  You can’t exactly answer yes and saying no might not exactly be the honest response, its best to be diplomatic and deflect those kinds of questions.  You could respond with not everyone is meant to have great bosses, but that you’ve learned techniques to work well with all kinds of challenging personalities.

Interviewers also like to ask you what your negative traits are? Some advisers recommend you use your hyperactivity or your impatience to your advantage, saying it helps get things done. Although it sounds like solid advice, it still sounds forced. Why not move the conversation forward, saying “I really can’t think of anything offhand.  Can I get back to you on it?” Maybe what they’re really looking for is to see if you’ll falter. If you come up with a quick answer and a sincere smile, then maybe you gave them the answer.

 

Focus on personal branding.

One of my favorite quotes by American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”  Several people tend to project personalities that they feel the company would like to hire.  They often find themselves not being themselves during interviews and put up an interview persona and end up faltering during the interviews.  It is always best to be you during interviews because that’s what you’re most comfortable with and you can’t put a premium on being comfortable during interviews.  I am not saying you let go of professional norms, I do encourage you to bring your authentic self to the job search process. Being you also helps you highlight your passions and interest, you should also share your areas of improvement (and not just fake ones that you spice up for interviews). Your honesty will be a breath of fresh air for the interviewer.

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Ways to avoid stalling your job search

It’s a jungle out there in the wild, wild world of job search in today’s world.  With so much competition and so few jobs to be had, the last thing you want to do is sabotage your job search efforts. That’s why it’s important to know the thing that you do that could be inadvertently wrong.

  • The job search can be a draining experience with a lot of emotionally yo-yoing, and it’s very easy to fall into a negative mindset. It’s also very easy to get discouraged but you need to find a way to channel a positive attitude towards negative situations like rejection emails or poor interviews. A positive mindset can be one of the most powerful asset; attitudes are contagious and can be passed along during interviews, applications and cover letters. You want to remain positive so that you don’t accidentally damage your chances at getting the job you want.

 

  • Waiting for the perfect job to come around. Right now, there is no such thing as the perfect job.  Obviously, there are jobs that are better than others, but these days most jobs require some sort of give and take by both the job seeker and the employer. There is a saying that goes, “a bird in hand is better than ten in the bush”, it makes no sense to reject a perfectly good job in your field because it doesn’t fit your schedule or is located too far from your residence. The job market is so competitive these days that an employer can easily find a replacement, so don’t do yourself a disservice by rejecting a perfectly good job.

 

  • Going it alone. No matter how good and resourceful you think you are, two heads will always be better than one especially if you turn to someone who’s well connected in your industry, networking is so important no matter what field you are.

 

  • Applying above your head. It’s great to want to move up as you explore new career options, but if you go too far beyond your experience you will be shooting yourself in the foot. Apply for jobs you’re qualified to hold; then work on advancement once the job is yours.

 

Finding a job in today’s market is possible.  It’s much easier to do if you aren’t stepping into any of these pitfalls to the job search process.

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Recovering from common interview blunders

Despite your best efforts, unexpected slip-ups could still occur during your interview, either due to foreseen or unforeseen circumstances.  Here we are going to help you correct these errors or at the very least mitigate their impact.

 

Late!!

First Impressions matter and nothing raises a red flag to interviewers more than a late interviewee. If, due to no fault of yours, you get stuck in traffic or possibly have motor troubles and there’s a slight chance you are going to be late to the interview, try to alleviate the situation preemptively by calling your interviewer. Explaining your situation, giving them a heads up, and apologizing before you are late, this makes a better impression instead of having them wait for you. The most important thing to remember is to not offer lame excuses for your lateness, accept responsibility for your tardiness and apologize for the inconvenience.  If you realize you are going to be more than 15 minutes late, ask if you should still come in or if the interviewer would like to reschedule.  Once you arrive at the interview, apologize again, and then move on because your interview may be cut short or may be rushed due to your tardiness.

 

Flubbing a question in the interview

A lot of things can go wrong when you answer a question during an interview,  if you are not comfortable with your answer to a question, you can start over by saying something like “Can I rephrase that” or “what I meant to say was”.  If the interviewer has moved on, its best to readdress it again naturally in a later question.  For example, if an interviewer asked about your leadership abilities, and you feel you didn’t answer as well as you could, when a question comes up such as “Why should we hire you?” or “Why do you want to work for us?” refer more effectively to your leadership abilities. If you are stumped by a question, the first option is to stall for time by asking the interviewer to ask the question again, if after that you still don’t know the answer to the question, its best to keep your answer short and in a general way, for example “I’m not familiar with the technique you’re describing; my experience in the area has included …” or “I have not encountered that before, but I’d love to learn more.”, either way do not pretend to be more knowledgeable than you actually are.

 

Poor Closing

Interviewers like to end interviews by asking their interviewees if they have any questions or would like to say anything to help their cause. If it seems like this question is optional you are sorely mistaken. Asking no questions can imply a lack of enthusiasm, interest or passion, it is always advisable to prepare a few insightful questions ahead of the interview.  So if you can’t think of a question, its ok to circle back and use phrases like, “this is a lot of information to digest, I’d like to think through the questions and follow up by email.”.  If you didn’t ask a question during the interview, it’s advisable to prepare some for the next time you are in contact with the interviewer. Researching the company makes it easier to ask questions.

 

Some blunders you don’t recover from though, so it’s best to keep away from the following:

  • Coming to the interview unprepared
  • Showing up at the interview without having thought about it at all
  • Looking at your phone during the interview
  • Conveying to your interviewer that you don’t care about the job at all — you just need an income
  • Answering the interviewer’s questions without listening to them
  • Bashing your last employer
  • Talking about politics or religion (hot button issues)
  • Expressing disdain for work

Good luck at the next interview!!

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Third Class?? What happened?

Dear Anonymous,

To be brutally frank, graduating with a third class degree will most certainly prove to be a blockade on the route to getting that BIG JOB, most jobs now come with a second class as part of the minimum requirement and hiring managers don’t bother with resumes with third class degrees but all hope is not lost.

 

Whatever the case, the result is a disaster, and you’ve probably spent a few weeks panicking, but life goes on and you have to plot your next career move.

 

 

  • The first step deciding what next you want to do, do you want to add to your degrees and make the best out of a bad situation, OR do you want to try your luck in the present job market, or do you want to leave the profession behind and get started on something else.

 

  • Getting a place in any master’s degree program these days is extremely hard; a post-degree diploma however is a lot more feasible. Entry requirements into a post-graduate diploma are more lax than for a masters or a doctorate degree. A good post-graduate diploma can also grant you access to master’s degree if you would like to go into academia. It also helps to liven your CV and helps your chances in the job market.
  • Adding to your qualifications and certification also augment the quality of your CV, try to attend as many lectures and seminars as you can. This indicates an effort to try and improve your knowledge and improve your hard skillset. You might also think about accentuating your soft skills and instances you’ve used those skills to achieve a certain.

 

  • Make your CV look as attractive as possible despite the obvious disadvantage that is your degree result.

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Improving your employability

Remaining employable doesn’t end when you get that job. Think of it, how many people land their dream jobs and even if you did, with the amount of talent coming out of the universities these days and the limited positions available for them, you can be deemed replaceable quickly. Then you factor in the speed at which technology is developing, your job in its entirety could be done by a computer program in a couple of years, my point is you must stay ahead of the pack and here are some tips to help you stay ahead and help you stay employable even when employed.

UP TO DATE
Pay attention to what’s going on in (and out of your) industry. The first thing you should do is to create a database of newspaper titles, news sites and even blogsites that can keep you updated about your industry or career path, this can help you figure out the modern trends in your industry, this would help you make informed decisions on your next career steps. Beyond that, you should be on the lookout for innovations in other related industries. For example, if you’re in marketing, keep an eye on what’s happening in Finance. Crossovers within these industries happen a lot more that you would think and it would do no harm if you kept yourself in the know of related industries.

SCHEDULE REGULAR CHECK-UPS
You probably go for a medical check-up twice a year, you probably make sure your car is serviced regularly but do you check to see if your skills are up to date or on par with the current industry standards. In this job market, slacking on improving the look of your CV means you run the risk of having your CV look antiquated within a couple of years. Professionals need to re-evaluate their CVs at regular intervals and contemplate on how well their skills would fare in the current job market, this would help ascertain what skills to be working on, or acquiring.

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Don’t adopt storylines that will hold you back, such as “I’m not a tech person, or “I could never learn to code”. You are probably going to have to get increasingly comfortable with technology as it will invariably become a bigger part of every job. Work on skills that are obviously more in demand, such as the ability to collaborate virtually and manage change. Staying ready for the future will likely mean doing things you really don’t want to do or feel prepared to do. However, the minute you let fear or hesitation stop you from learning what you need to navigate to the future of your work, you are beginning to let your skills expire. You can’t be focused on trying to keep everything in a neat little box. You have to step outside that box.

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New Hires – Avoid these mistakes!!

The weeks after graduating are kind of like a limbo, you go from having a schedule for every hour to the daunting abyss of unemployment in a matter of a few graduation photographs and congratulatory greetings.  For some, this is the freedom they’ve longed and strived for; whilst for others, the lack of a daily plan sends them into a spiral.

The present job market is slugfest for the seasoned professional; and certainly not welcoming to a recent graduate.  Your first job search would probably be the hardest largely due to inexperience on the stipules of a job hunt and the anxiety that comes with the wait for a response from your potential employer.  Here, we will go through some of the mistakes that most young graduates make in their quest for their first graduate jobs.

The search for the big bucks.

The job market is not the place for games, the competition for a single spot could reach triple digits and as a candidate all measure must be taken to ensure that you get that interview.  Young graduates have delusions of grandeur when it comes to their first job; they have dreams of making the “big bucks’ right out of university. Your first job is most likely to be an entry level job with pay that would most likely be less than you would have liked or have hoped but …..small beginnings.  The high paying jobs usually require years of experience, something you do not have, young job seekers either end up pricing themselves out of a potential job with high wage expectations or choose to focus on applying for jobs they are not experienced enough for because of the salary being offered. An entry level position is a great place to start your career, don’t be afraid to have small beginnings because where else would big things come from.

Not having the right CV

Hiring managers must go through a plethora of CVs for any given position available and that task can get quite mundane.  It is important that you tailor each CV sent to the requirements of the job being applied for, having a generic CV saved somewhere on your computer for you to attach to emails will not cut it.  Be sure to have a look at the job requirements and match them to your qualifications.  During the preliminary interview selection process, most hiring managers go through CVs looking for keywords stated on the job description, so do yourself a favour and make sure those keywords appear boldly in your CV.

Being ill-prepared for interviews

You have probably heard this before, but first impressions do matter, from the way you look to your mannerisms, everything counts.  Interviewers assess everything, how you dress, how well you communicate and the confidence you project.  Ensure that you come prepared; bring physical copies of your credentials to the interview and conduct a proper research on your employer before the interview; it will provide you with a solid foundation and confidence to go into the interview with.  Your body language and communication skills are also one of the things the hiring manager would be on the lookout for, a solid posture and eye contact will do you a world of good, avoid fidgeting and staring into the distance.  Ensure that you arrive on time; if possible visit the site of the interview a day before the interview to avoid the possibility of getting lost and arriving at your venue late.  Lastly, be sure to ask the right questions and try to know more about the company during the interview as you possibly can.