Job Interviews: Prepare Questions In Advance
Job interviews can feel daunting, but they don't have to — with a little preparation and familiarity with your own career goals, you'll be prepared to tackle anything they throw at you.
In any interview, there are two basic types of questions: those related to specific skills and those related to personality. For the former, it's important that you're readily able to list off all of the skills on your resume and explain how each one has benefited an employer in the past. If you're at a loss for good examples, try to think of a time you took initiative and improved upon a company process — even if it was something small. This will show the interviewer that your good judgment and critical thinking skills enable you to see when something isn't working and make changes that improve employee productivity and efficiency.
For questions related to personality, try not to fall into the trap of thinking that your job is solely about how well you work with others; instead think about how you can use your own strengths to benefit the organization. Good communication skills, for example, are key in every position. If you're interested in a position that deals with marketing, build your skills by making a good impression not only through your resume but through the job interview.
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By Michelle De Los Santos for HumanWorkplace.com: Things you never knew about the workplace - Job Interviews: Prepare Questions In Advance ( http://www.humanworkplace.com/articles-detail/1085/job-interviews-prepare-questions-in-advance)
From: Managing The Modern Workplace: An Executive Guide for Understanding and Improving the Modern Workplace by Nick Corcodilos
Managing The Modern Workplace: An Executive Guide for Understanding and Improving the Modern Workplace By Nick Corcodilos What is a job interview like? Will you be nervous? Could it be really easy or really difficult? Not many people seem to know the answer, which usually means that they haven't ever been through one. Maybe you know someone who has been through one, or maybe you've read stories about other people on the Internet or heard things around the office. The point is, no one knows. But they all want to know. This is what they want to know: What do I do? How do I look? What will they ask me? What if it's really difficult? How can I find out what to expect beforehand so that I can get through it without screwing up and without being too nervous — or not nervous enough — to present myself as a serious candidate for the job? Find out by reading Managing The Modern Workplace . It gives you a step-by-step plan for handling interviews. It'll tell you: What questions to expect and how to prepare for them
What kind of questions you should ask and how to talk about yourself
How to present yourself as a good and viable candidate for the job before, during and after the interview
By Jill Savage "Jill is a member of the ACA National Partners Council. Her blog, Work Awhile , gives advice on a range of workplace issues."
She blogs at work awhile .
We've all been there: An employee leaves his or her job because they are unhappy with what they are doing. They quit but don't want their current employer to know that they're no longer working for them. They may be upset with the management, the pay or their job description. They don't want to jeopardize their new position.
This is a situation where a carefully planned exit could come in handy. There are many reasons why you might consider leaving your job, and there are many ways to deal with leaving without looking as if you were fired for cause. It's clear that no matter how good an employee you are, there can be times when it makes sense to leave your current employer to work for another organization. If you're fortunate enough to have more than one position available with different companies, this can make sense even more often. Here are a some of the reasons why you might consider moving on to a maximum of three organizations before looking for another job:
By Jill Savage "Jill is a member of the ACA National Partners Council. Her blog, Work Awhile , gives advice on a range of workplace issues."
She blogs at work awhile .
There are many things that employers look for in job candidates. They want to hire people who will work hard and who have the right attitude towards their jobs. But they also want good employees who can do their jobs well, meet their deadlines and play well with others in the organization (whether they are friends or strangers). One thing that employers don't like is when an employee leaves one organization and takes their skills with them. The skills they learned while they were at their previous job can be transferred to their new position more quickly than those who were new to the company and learning its specific processes. They are also less likely to be confused by different systems and policies, which can lead to unhappy senior employees who are left without answers when they put in a new request for information. So it's important for you to make a clean exit from your current employer as soon as possible so that your former employers won't have anything negative to say about you when you tell them where you're going next.
By Jill Savage "Jill is a member of the ACA National Partners Council. Her blog, Work Awhile , gives advice on a range of workplace issues. "
It's not always easy to deal with your employment situation when you know that things aren't working out. You may be told that there is just no work available, which can leave you feeling like you are at a dead end. Or maybe your manager has made a mistake and given you less than favorable reviews when it might not actually be fair to do so. These are all sticky situations where it will feel like the best course of action is to look for another job. But if that's not an option, what do you do? The first step is to make sure it's really true that there isn't any work available. Maybe your manager just hasn't told you about something that would be a good fit for you. You can certainly ask around (and not just in your department) to find out if there are any jobs that might suit you. If it's an organization that you really like, then it could be worth the effort to double check before you jump ship and start looking elsewhere. If there isn't anything available, the next thing to do is to talk to your boss again and see if they can provide you with more information. Maybe they weren't aware of what kind of projects were going on, or maybe they honestly don't have any work available at the moment.
Conclusion
If you're in the market for a new job, then managing the modern workplace is essential reading. It's got everything you need to know about how to interview and how to handle an exit from your current employer. You'll find out what you have to expect from your prospective employers during a job interview, and how to handle an exit without looking like you were fired for cause. Jill Savage has been writing about work-related issues since she left university over 15 years ago– she's always able to provide practical tips that can help you be more effective at work.
Jill Savage blogs at work awhile , where she regularly offers tips on project management, productivity and office politics.