7 Things Employers Want to Learn in an Interview - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

7 Things Employers Want to Learn in an Interview - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career If you’re searching for a new career, you’re probably doing everything you can. You’ve amped up your résumé, you’ve perfected your image and you’ve found hundreds of potential interview questions that you’ve been practicing in front of the mirror on a regular basis. What if you could do more? What if those questions you’ve been practicing aren’t what really matters? You could practice interview questions every day for a year and still not be truly prepared for what an interview is all about. Sure, employers want to see that you’re well-versed and able to perform under pressure â€" which is what an interview provides. However, what they’re really looking for aren’t generic answers to questions that have clearly been rehearsed and memorized in advance. Instead, they’re looking for certain pieces of information and clues as to who you are as a professional. While you’re preparing for your next interview, focus on what employers really want to find out, instead of an answer that sounds the same as what everyone else has to say. Some of these things are listed below. If You’re Willing to Go Above and Beyond There are three unemployed people for every open job in this country. This means that in many situations, employers have choices when it comes to finding the right person for a given position. One thing they’re looking for? Overachievers. They want to hire professionals that are willing to go above and beyond on every project. Think about this as you consider the following questions: Tell me about a time that you went above and beyond in the workplace. What projects appeal to you? How do you define success? If You’re Honest Anyone can brag about themselves during an interview; that’s kind of the point. Employers want to know that those they bring on board are honest, about themselves and about what they’re able to do. Overpromising doesn’t help anyone and can be disastrous. Honesty can be demonstrated by answering: Tell me about a time you fell short at work. What are your greatest weaknesses? How You Perform Under Pressure An interview is a rehearsed situation that’s a prerequisite for any job or career. Because of this, it’s easy to prepare for and there’s a lot of information out there to help in the process. Unfortunately, many situations at work aren’t so easy to prepare for. Unexpected situations, deadlines and challenges can appear out of nowhere, with little time to prepare. Employers want to know that the candidates they hire can excel in stressful circumstances and that they won’t break under pressure. Questions that help them identify this quality include: How do you perform under pressure? Tell me about a situation that you were forced to make a big decision in a hurry. Talk to me about one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced on the job. If you were faced with ____ (insert challenge or situation here), how would you react? Whether You Plan to Stick Around A new employee is a big investment. That investment doesn’t relate solely to money. Instead, employers pour hours of training into any new team member that they bring on board. Because of this, they want to know that new employees plan to stay. Because of this, they may ask: Tell me about your five-year plan. What do you hope to accomplish in your professional career? Tell me about your job history; why did you leave your previous company after two years? Why are you leaving your current position? If You’ll Fit in With the Existing Team Employers spend years building workplace cultures that reflect the mission of their companies. They encourage teamwork and want employees to have strong working relationships. It can be hard to bring a new employee into the mix without causing friction. Because of this, they want to know that you can adapt and that you’ll fit in well with existing employees â€" both intellectually and culturally. Questions that relate to this idea include: How do you work best, alone or in a team? How would you describe your relationships with co-workers at your previous job? How would past co-workers describe you? Tell me about a time that you worked well in a team environment. When working as a part of a team, what role are you most likely to fill? That You Know What You’re Getting Into A job description might sound like a great fit based on your skills, but employers want to know that you understand the company and brand that you’re stepping into. They want to know that your personal beliefs align with their mission statement and that you’re the right person for the job. Furthermore, they want to see that you’ve done the right research before the interview. To analyze this, they could ask: Tell me what you know about our company. Why are you interested in this job/our company? What are your core values? If You’re Self-Motivated No one has time to baby a new employee. Sure, training will be there to ensure you’re ready to perform in your role, but to succeed you must be able to look at what needs done and take action. The real world isn’t high school or college; there are no to-do lists that are handed to you or homework assignments on a daily basis. Instead, you must be able to push yourself forward and start making a difference the moment you arrive. To assess this quality, potential employers might ask questions like: What motivates you? Do you consider yourself to be a self-starter? Tell me why. In what ways have you taken charge in past jobs? By understanding the motivation behind interview questions and what employers are really trying to learn, you can be more prepared than ever for your next job interview. Think about the qualities that you want to highlight and work them into your answers through real-life illustrations and stories. This level of preparation may be the difference between landing your next job and falling short.

Resume Writing After Unemployment

Resume Writing After UnemploymentWhy is it that after an unfortunate event such as unemployment a job seeker needs to spend much time and effort rewriting their resume? The reason for this is that there are many mistakes that a person can make in order to be able to prepare a 'winning' resume. Having said this, let us take a look at some of the ways that a person can prepare their resume after unemployment.For one thing, the person should pay attention to what they say. This is very important, not only to prepare their resume, but also to communicate in the best way possible. For example, if a resume is used to search for jobs on the internet, they should be careful to write in such a way that it will get them that job. This means that there should be no spelling or grammatical errors, and that the person should always understand what the person is saying and do something with it.Another thing that is needed is that the person be active on the internet. One does not have to be consid ered 'active' unless that person has actively promoted themselves by word of mouth advertising. A person can indeed promote themselves online through 'signing up' at various websites that offer free advertising, or by posting links to their resumes on other sites and emailing them to their friends. However, one must never forget that the Internet is filled with millions of webmasters who need new people to upload their resumes to for them to market themselves, and a person can never be sure whether the person who uploaded their resume is still interested in hiring the person.There are many who would say that an unemployed person has absolutely no chance of getting a job, and therefore they have to make the best they can possibly do in order to get the job they want and what they want to sell to the potential employer. However, this is not true. In fact, the person should continue doing all of the things that they did before they were unemployed, such as looking for jobs, and they sh ould focus on making their resumeattractive. This includes correcting grammar, spelling, and keeping it to a reasonable length.One should not forget that when looking for a job, a person will be expected to prove that they are not lazy. They should use their job experience and skills in order to convince the employer that they are the best person for the job. If there is any question about their skills or abilities, they should be able to provide references to those who can vouch for their skills and abilities.When looking for jobs, it is important to remember that one should be honest with the employer, and should not lie in order to secure the job. If one has any problems, they should disclose those to the employer so that they will not be thrown into the trash heap when the company goes out of business. Also, it is important to note that people who lie in order to secure a job will end up becoming unemployed shortly thereafter, and they will be quickly seen as liars.Finally, the person needs to understand that even after unemployment they need to constantly update their resume. After an unfortunate event such as unemployment, the person should continue to improve their resume in order to gain better job offers, or to reach a better position within the company they want to work for. This is especially true for those who are seeking positions that require a much higher level of education.Resume writing after unemployment is certainly a challenge, but it is not impossible. After all, it is easier to do than to finish the resume when there is not a job to go with it! Anyone can get a job after unemployment, so the person should just work at it, and they will find success.

Robots Wont Take Your Job

Robots Wont Take Your Job Do you fear your  job will disappear as a result of driverless cars or self-checkout lanes in stores? Theres been a lot written about artificial intelligence, but dont worry, robots wont take your jobyet. The truth is, for decades your work has been replaced by automation in factories and by personal computers, but you found a way to adapt. Adaptation is the key. There are jobs that are less likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence and skills you can develop to help you keep your job. Jobs At  Risk The jobs disappearing today as a result of artificial intelligence (AI) aka robots, include bank tellers, receptionists and customer service representatives.  Jobs like accounting clerks, legal assistants, even surgeons are at risk in the near future. Any job that follows predictable steps can be automated. For example, restaurants have begun implementing stations where you place your own order, eliminating the need for workers. In some instances, business processes change to accommodate automation. Where one person may have been responsible for many tasks, the tasks that are easily automated are taken over by robots. Jobs Not At Risk A better question is, what jobs or functions cant be automated? The short answer is, any job that requires creativity or where human-to-human interaction is vital. A robot might have difficulty addressing the pros and cons or consequences of medical procedures. They lack empathy or the ability to interpret the patients emotions. Creating an advertising campaign requires a higher level of creativity and understanding of human psychological traits, which would be difficult for robots to replicate. Motivating a team or group to implement procedural changes isnt something a robot could manage, either. The real risk isnt losing your job, but losing certain functions of your job that are easily automated. This will require you to adapt and possibly update your skills for next-level responsibilities. Make Yourself Irreplaceable Your job security now and into the future requires that you out-think the robots. Robots are great at repetitive tasks, searching data, or any task that doesnt require adapting, creative thinking or making decisions. You need a basic understanding of technology to outsmart robots. Make sure you stay on top of the latest tools of the trade. Even a basic understanding of coding or any specific STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skill enhances your ability to understand the root cause of a problem. At this time, only a human can creatively develop solutions to address interpersonal or operational solutions. And dont discount the soft skills. Soft skills range from interpersonal communication to complex problem-solving with dozens of skills in between. Learn how to negotiate, speak in public, resolve conflict, build cohesive teams or think like a designer. These are things robots just cant do. Developing emotional intelligence is another way to hold on to your job. Emotional intelligence includes your self-awareness, self-management, empathy and social effectiveness. Honing skills within these areas not only improves your performance, you also enhance skills artificial intelligence cant compete with. Your ability to motivate, influence and assess people makes you a valuable asset to any team. Become a Life-Long-Learner According to Accentures Creating the Future Workforce study, 90% of the U.S. workforce is optimistic about technology and 80% have a positive attitude about the use of automation. So it comes as no surprise that 86% of the U.S. workers surveyed said they would invest in training during their free time. The next logical question is where to find relevant, affordable training to invest in? Check professional associations for webinars available to members. There are MOOCs (massive open online courses) by top educational institutions and training portals like LinkedIns Lynda or Udemy.com, which host thousands of courses. Ask around and see if anyone can recommend local, in-person classes. And dont forget to see what training your employer offers. Attending a college or university to acquire a degree may not be the wisest investment. Enhancing your soft skills shouldnt take two to four years to complete. You may want to investigate shorter-term leadership programs or classes that include experiential learning. One of the best ways to learn soft skills is through practice. Identifying a mentor with strengths in areas you are looking to improve allows you to practice and get immediate feedback. Improve Your Flexibility You crave stability, but you also value flexibility. One thing is certain, the nature of jobs will continue to morph. If you keep an open mind and are receptive to change, it will be easier for you to survive in the tumultuous world of work. You also must realize that you will not stay in one job forever. Even if you hold the same job title, the type of work you do and the role will look very different after several years. If you choose to stay with one company, you will hold several different roles, learning new skills in each. As you consider new opportunities, look for companies that celebrate flexible work offerings, encourage a collaborative work culture and offer resources for your professional development. Companies that offer these benefits are more likely to help you stay a step ahead of the robots. At the end of the day, it is up to you to manage your performance, skill development and happiness at work. This post originally appeared on US News World Report On Careers

6 Reasons Workplace Safety Is Life Or Death

6 Reasons Workplace Safety Is Life Or Death When you are running a business that involves dangerous or physical work such as construction, health and safety should be on the top of your priority list for your employees. Running a business means taking care of the people that work for you and this isn’t always about incentives and a comprehensive bonus structure. Though, both of those things are nice to have! Your workplace has to be secure, safe and a desirable place to work. If your practices are not safe and are measured as being unhealthy, you will not only lose staff, but you will be handed lawsuits left and right from people who get hurt while building off the blueprints that you provide them with. Health and safety isn’t just some red tape that you have to overcome, it’s the law and it’s your legal and moral duty to ensure that your staff are working as safely as possible. Of course, you’ll always get the odd person who decides not to follow practices and procedures, and if this is proven to be the case, you will never be at fault. However, you have to make sure that you aren’t putting lives at risk and below, you’ll find six reasons that workplace safety is a life or death issue. Injury. Starting off with an obvious one, the construction workplace is a dangerous place to be. There’s machinery, a lot of noise, people and high points to work from. All of these put your staff in danger of falls or hurting themselves on site and you need to work to avoid this from happening. Comprehensive training is important. Death. Let’s not beat around the bush: construction and site work is dangerous, which means that if people are not trained correctly or conducting themselves correctly, they risk death. It’s not nice to talk about but you need to be vigilant about the risks. Financial Loss. There are fines incurred for those who aren’t practicing safely in the workplace and your business could lose a lot of money in lawsuits if you aren’t training your staff correctly. Damages. Property damage is a big risk for those who aren’t working correctly on a building site. If your employees aren’t careful, they could cause a lot of property damage. Productivity. If you train your employees carefully, you can increase their motivation to do their jobs and to work productively on site. This is a positive for health and safety training and the positives are just as important as the negatives. Reputation. Your business needs to ensure that it is up to compliance by the laws in your district. If you don’t play by the rules, you get badly reviewed and people will not use you. Good health and safety for staff impacts your reputation, so make it a positive one. Your business needs to realise that people can live or die by the way you run things. Be safe and secure and you needn’t worry.

Stress, Tears, Gratitude How Im Really, Truly Doing

Stress, Tears, Gratitude How Im Really, Truly Doing Thank you, Emma Alvarez Gibson, for inspiring me to vlog, to you, Laura Neff, for giving me the nudge! (And yes, click on those links for their genius vlog posts!) I filmed 3 different takes, but couldnt get any of them under 8 minutes. I cant help it Im a talker. Heres the least rambly one. And yes, I start crying about halfway through. Whadda wuss. And can I mention how I cant have a more ridiculous expression on my face pre-video play? Thank God Im a character actress I like to make people laugh at my idiotic faces! Stress, Tears, Gratitude How Im Really, Truly Doing from WhenIGrowUpCoach on Vimeo.

Fill in Resume is Not Easy

Fill in Resume is Not EasyMost of the filling out resumes will be in order to get a job. The filling in resume that can be filled up on the internet is filled with so many great tips that will help you when you are filling out resumes. There are few guides online that is going to offer you more than these tips that will help you when you are filling out resume online. You will not have to get stressed out to find out what you should do when you are filling out resume, because this guide will help you do it.Filling out resume is one of the best way to get to know yourself more, get into a new place and meet the right person. This is the reason why you have to get filled up the filling in resume and get in touch with the prospective employers. But how do you find the best guide when you are filling out resume?There are few guidelines for finding the right guide for filling up your resume online. They are very easy and they are very convenient to follow.Before getting started, it is ver y important that you know what is the right fill up resume to get you closer to the desired success. There are several fill up resume guides available in the internet and it depends on you which fill up resume that you want to go for. There are some filling up resume that will help you get the information you need without much hassle, but there are others that may cost you a lot of money.Many companies will only pay a small fee, if any to get you the filling in resume. These filling in resume are not meant to be used for the future purpose of getting a job, so you have to find a right filling in resume that will help you get the job you are looking for.Filling up resume is not an easy task. You need to do the filling in resume right and concentrate. Remember, a filling in resume will help you when you are filling up resume, but when you are filling up resume, you should use the best guide available online. If you are going to look for the best filling in resume, you will get the rig ht thing to fill up your resume.Filling up resume is not easy. There are many ways that you can get the filling in resume to help you with this difficult job. Do not worry and concentrate on the jobs that you are doing and your future.

Retails Sales Resume at a Glance

Retails Sales Resume at a Glance The Lost Secret of Retails Sales Resume Retail Sales Associates play a crucial role in retail establishments since they increase customer satisfaction and generate increased company revenues by helping clients purchase solutions. The Sales Associate is the very first point of contact in selling a service or product and offers key details on the value that you'd be providing to a prospective customer. A sale doesn't have to involve an item. To make an eye-catching retail sales associate resume, you will need to incorporate a few important components. The businesses can employ the trained youths since they can be valuable hands-on deck. Resume sourcing technique enables the little small business proprietors to conserve money together with time. Retail sales associates work very closely with customers, that's the significant reason they should be in a position to resolve the clients' complaints satisfactorily. The Most Popular Retails Sales Res ume If this is the case, you may be the ideal candidate for a sales associate job. You want to have that retail job. Only if you would like the very best retail jobs. Just make sure you tailor your objective to the particular sales job you're applying for. The Little-Known Secrets to Retails Sales Resume Our resume builder provides you with tips and examples on how best to compose your resume summary. Take, as an example, the sales manager position that is to be acquired by means of a sales manager resume. As a manager, you're likely to be accountable for training sales associates in addition to inspiring them to enhance their sales numbers. The template will know about the points that are quite vital that you be packed in the resume to acquire a specific sort of task. Things You Won't Like About Retails Sales Resume and Things You Will Without sales, it would be quite challenging to grow the company much less sustain operations. In some instances however, employers migh t prefer to employ candidates with formal education in a location about the sort of products sold by the retail shop. Your sales associate resume needs to seem professional if you wish to have your credentials stick out in a crowded field. An in-depth understanding of your store is essential, too. Why Almost Everything You've Learned About Retails Sales Resume Is Wrong Because the retail business is transactional nature, it is simple to include things like numerical quantification to project competence. Sales associates are employed in virtually every area, and have a wonderful growth track. Retail sales associates are needed to possess some understanding of the retail company and customer solutions, and understanding of inventory and stocking is also essential. Retail sales associates who sell expensive or elaborate merchandise may call for exclusive knowledge or skills, which might be acquired as the consequence of formal education. If you're a recent graduate or career c hanger free of experience in retail sales, you will want to compose a sales resume objective. A customer service employee needs to be adaptive in nature to manage surprise. Having sales experience is essential for a retail manager since it means you can identify with your employees. The retail business is only projected to grow, so now is the ideal time to apply!