Dress in business attire. Standard business attire includes a dark-gray or navy-blue suit or skirt and jacket, a white shirt or blouse, and black shoes. Wear those things to your interviews. If you are interviewing with people who wear casual clothes to work, they will not fault you on your attire. However, if you go…… Continue reading 4 Interview Basics
Category: Career Compass
Navigate the world of work with tips on finding the right job, crafting compelling resumes and cover letters, mastering interviews, and charting a fulfilling career path.
Say Nice Things About Yourself.
Say Nice Things About Yourself. In an earlier post about effective communications, I discussed the importance of positive direction. Only tell people what you want them to do. People remember what you tell them. When speaking about yourself, if you can not say anything nice, it is probably better to say nothing at all. The most…… Continue reading Say Nice Things About Yourself.
Prepare for Interview Questions!
The more difficult interview questions are also the more common questions interviewers ask. Preparing for these questions can help you in a number of ways. Make you more comfortable when interviewers ask the questions Help you anticipate what you need to know and perhaps need to research further Enable you to review your career highlights…… Continue reading Prepare for Interview Questions!
How to Receive Job-Winning Reference Checks
Hiring companies will very likely check references as part of your employment process. You can help your references with information that will make them more comfortable, more positive, and be better prepared to take the call. Provide them with the following information. The name of the person who will be calling The responsibility of the…… Continue reading How to Receive Job-Winning Reference Checks
Build a Powerhouse Reference List As Part of Building Your Professional Network
It seems that most people think of creating a reference list when a hiring manager requests to see one. Another approach is simply to mention to people with whom you seem to bond that at some point you, should you need a reference, you would appreciate the person helping you. At the same time, let…… Continue reading Build a Powerhouse Reference List As Part of Building Your Professional Network
Great Grammar is So Easy to Practice and So Rewarding for Those Who Do
Great Grammar is So Easy to Practice and So Rewarding for Those Who Do. Little grammatical mistakes are so easy to make and can be so costly to the speaker or writer when those mistakes come to represent a person’s professional profile. The purpose of this article is to highlight words that mask speaking and…… Continue reading Great Grammar is So Easy to Practice and So Rewarding for Those Who Do
The Most Important Interview Question You Will Ever Be Asked
The Most Important Interview Question You Will Ever Be Asked I have read that the most important interview question you will ever be asked is what is your greatest accomplishment. To me that is akin to someone’s idea of what is Mozart’s greatest work and Babe Ruth’s greatest game. Each person will have his or…… Continue reading The Most Important Interview Question You Will Ever Be Asked
Job Opportunity City of the Week: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Find Jobs in Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario. Census Bureau Quick Facts San Bernardino County Population 2,081,313 Per capita income $21,932<br< p=””> </br<> Riverside County County Population 2,268,783 Per capita income $24,516 Median household income $58,365 Largest Cities-Wikipedia.org Riverside (303,871) San Bernardino (209,924) Fontana (196,069) Moreno Valley (193,365) Rancho Cucamonga (165,269) Ontario (163,924) Corona (152,374) Victorville…… Continue reading Job Opportunity City of the Week: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Top Trending Jobs by Category
Account Executive Account Manager Accountant Actuary Administrative Assistant Analyst Applications Engineer Art Director Assistant Manager Assistant Store Manager Assistant Vice President Associate Director Attorney Auditor Branch Manager Business Analyst Cashier Civil Engineer Consultant Customer Service Representative Data Analyst Design Engineer Developer Director Doctor Electrical Engineer Engineer Executive Assistant Finance Manager Financial Manager Financial Analyst Flight…… Continue reading Top Trending Jobs by Category
Top Trending Jobs by Industry
Job Search Engine Advertising/PR Jobs Arts/Entertainment/Publishing Jobs Banking Jobs Biotech Jobs Computer Jobs Construction Jobs Education Jobs Engineering Jobs Finance Jobs Government Jobs Hospitality/Travel Jobs Insurance Jobs Internet Jobs Law Enforcement/Security Jobs Legal Jobs Manufacturing Jobs Medical Jobs Nonprofit Jobs Retail Jobs Pharmaceutical Jobs Real Estate Jobs Restaurant/Food Service Jobs Retail Jobs Telecommunications Jobs Transportation…… Continue reading Top Trending Jobs by Industry
7 Simple Steps for Creating a Presentation for Any Situation
When I worked at Procter & Gamble, I took a sales training course that included a presentation model that works for any situation. Procter & Gamble titled the model the 5-Steps to persuasive selling. Xerox had actually developed the original course as the 7-steps to professional selling (PSS). Let’s say that tomorrow you have a…… Continue reading 7 Simple Steps for Creating a Presentation for Any Situation
Job Opportunity City of the Week: Chicago, IL
Find jobs in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville Metropolitan Area. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported, “Total nonfarm employment for the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 4,316,500 in February 2013, up 55,400 or 1.3 percent, over the year.”
How to Write Anything and Make It Easy to Read
In an earlier post, I wrote about how to write letters that are easy to read. What I wrote in that post applies to anything that you write. Writing is part of the job for professionals in all types of fields and responsibilities. Here is an easy to use format anyone can use. State the purpose in…… Continue reading How to Write Anything and Make It Easy to Read
Writing Letters That are Easy to Read
Writing is a daily part of the job for professionals in all types. Here is an easy format anyone can use. State the purpose in the first sentence. The first sentence expresses the subject of the letter. If there are two or more subjects to a letter, list each of the subjects in the opening paragraph…… Continue reading Writing Letters That are Easy to Read
Job Opportunity City of the Week: Oklahoma City, OK
Find jobs in Oklahoma City. Job Opportunity City of the Week: Oklahoma City, OK The Department of Labor rates the unemployment in Oklahoma City as the lowest in the nation for metropolitan areas with a 2000 census of over 2,000,000 people. The unemployment rate for the Oklahoma City Statistical Metropolitan area is 4.2%. “Bureau of…… Continue reading Job Opportunity City of the Week: Oklahoma City, OK
Job Opportunity City of the Week: Minneapolis, MN
Find jobs in Minneapolis and surrounding communities now. CONSUMER PRODUCTS JOBS For the consumer goods industry, the greater Minneapolis area is one of the most important cities in the country. General Mills, Hormel, Target, SuperValu, BestBuy, 3M Co., Nash-Finch,and other top companies have headquarters in the greater Minneapolis area. Department of Labor/Census Bureau The…… Continue reading Job Opportunity City of the Week: Minneapolis, MN
Job Opportunity City of the Week: Washington, DC
Find jobs in Washington, DC and surrounding communities today. Jobs are available today in merchandising, sales, advertising, technology, and marketing in the greater DC, Virginia, Maryland market. Washington-Arlington-Alexandra is the fourth best job opportunity growth market in the country. (ASU W.P. Carey School) The two leading newspapers for the District of Columbia area are Washington…… Continue reading Job Opportunity City of the Week: Washington, DC
Job Opportunity City of the Week: Cincinnati, OH
Find jobs in Cincinnati and other cities today. “Altogether, nine Fortune 500 companies and fifteen Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in the Cincinnati area.” Wikipedia.org. Home to the Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball team, the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team, The University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, and the location of 19 major companies make the…… Continue reading Job Opportunity City of the Week: Cincinnati, OH
Job Opportunity City of the Week: Austin, TX
Find jobs in Austin, TX and other cities. Art, culture, and music center. Location of the University of Texas. Capital city of Texas. Employment center for government, education, pharmaceutical, biotech, and technology (nicknamed “the silicon hills”). The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area is a hot job market. Rich with employment in multiple sectors, the…… Continue reading Job Opportunity City of the Week: Austin, TX
Job Opportunity City of the Week: San Jose, CA
Industry and career focus in finance, technology, health care. See job opportunities in San Jose, CA. The U.S. Dept of Labor ranks San Jose as 27th market with the lowest employment for communities of a million or more.
“You Are Hired!” How to Interview to Get the Job Offer!
“You Are Hired!” Start the interview by showing an interest in the job. Why? Because you are sending out buying signals which are attractive to the hiring manager. Why even go to an interview for an opportunity that you have not researched enough to know whether you are interested. If you are out kicking tires, stay home. You…… Continue reading “You Are Hired!” How to Interview to Get the Job Offer!
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Skills
Skills Talent Experience Personality Knowledge Personal Goals Potential for Long-Term Success The purpose of this series of articles is to enable employers to make better hiring decisions by understanding exactly what decisions are involved in making a great hire. Coming to the right decision in making a great hire is making the correct decisions on…… Continue reading The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Skills
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Talent Assessment
In the article I posted on September 27, 2012, I discussed talent as a quality in making a hiring decision. In talent assessment, the hiring manager is attempting to know a person’s natural abilities or aptitude and, separately, a person’s intelligence. A highly skilled house painter is the only person I would recommend to paint someone’s…… Continue reading The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Talent Assessment
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Talent
Different companies emphasize different qualities when making a hire. Many companies have job descriptions to serve as a template for the experiences, skills, and education. There are seven decisions that go into the best hires. Does the applicant have the talent, skills, knowledge, personality, experience, potential for long-term success, and the personal goals to fit…… Continue reading The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Talent
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Personality
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Personality Because of the importance of relationships within a company as well as the relationships companies have with their suppliers and their customers, personality is important in making a hiring decision. Any interviewing training program instructs applicants to stand tall, show enthusiasm and interest, and give a pleasant…… Continue reading The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Personality
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Knowledge
Knowledgeable retail buyers are gauging how much to buy based on the quantity that will sell through to the consumer and still keep the pipeline flowing with more products as well as enable the retailer to pay for the shipment with the money collected from retail sales on each order before the payment comes due to the supplier. Knowledgeable…… Continue reading The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Knowledge
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Personal Goals
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Personal Goals Once a hiring manager extends an offer, an applicant may know on the spot whether to accept. On the other hand, if during the recruiting process, neither the hiring manager nor the applicant has considered the personal goals of the applicant, matters can get sticky.…… Continue reading The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Personal Goals
The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Potential for Long-Term Success
On the surface, it would appear that a person who has tremendous talent, skills, knowledge, and personality, and has everything to ensure long-term success. These factors are all very important in how well a person will do long-term. Equally important to long-term success are punctuality, attendance, conduct, trustworthiness, self-confidence, demeanor, personal appearance, loyalty, determination and flexibility, independence and…… Continue reading The Seven Decisions in Making a Great Hire: Potential for Long-Term Success
Best Job Interview Questions
Why are you leaving your current job? What is your greatest achievement? Who was the best supervisor you have ever had? Who was the worst supervisor you ever had. What makes you the best person for the job? What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness? What are your long-term goals? What do you plan to do…… Continue reading Best Job Interview Questions
Lists: Putting the Focus on Success
Some people are great lists makers. Whether shopping, going to a business meeting, planning an event, tracking their expenses, setting priorities for the day, these people are intuitively organized about the way they live their lives through lists making. Other people, myself included, are less likely to structure their lives around lists, but go along…… Continue reading Lists: Putting the Focus on Success
Should You Discuss Compensation on the First Interview? Yes!
Conventional practice and advice is that discussing compensation on the first interview is in bad form and can cost an applicant future interviews. If you are a hiring manager and make it your practice not to discuss income at all on the first interview or if you are an applicant and plan not to bring…… Continue reading Should You Discuss Compensation on the First Interview? Yes!
Hey, Catch! Interview Preparation
Have you ever had someone toss a ball your way and let you know it was inbound after the person had thrown it? If you have good reflections and a clear mind, a surprise ball toss can be easy to handle. Personally, I need to know the ball is coming and preferably have a…… Continue reading Hey, Catch! Interview Preparation
Cocktail Napkins, Interview Questions, and Landing a Job
Cocktail Napkins, Interview Questions, and Landing a Job I have a friend who has a way of making people aware of his interest in them as friends. He always greets people with questions that allow people to talk about themselves and their families. With me, for example, he asks how I have been. He asks…… Continue reading Cocktail Napkins, Interview Questions, and Landing a Job
The Power of an Agenda
The Power of an Agenda for Your Job Interview During lunch with a field sales manager of a major consumer goods company, I heard again the importance of preparing an agenda before each call. He told me about a day in the field he had recently spent with the Chairman and CEO of his company. At…… Continue reading The Power of an Agenda
Working with Recruiters: The Different Types and What They Do
Working with Recruiters: The Different Types and What They Do If you are working with recruiters, you will find it helpful to understand the relationship between the recruiter and the hiring company and the relationship between a recruiter and a potential employee. Recruiter or Placement Agency The companies that use recruiters to fill a position pay recruiters…… Continue reading Working with Recruiters: The Different Types and What They Do
Interview Tips: the Chemistry of the Job Interview
For some hiring managers, the chemistry of the job interview influences hiring decisions as skills. Hiring decisions have so much to do with chemistry that personal chemistry might be the biggest element in the interview process. Think about it. The interviewer has read your resume. This person must have some reason to believe that you…… Continue reading Interview Tips: the Chemistry of the Job Interview
6 Steps to Making a Great Job Interview Impression
Great Job Interview Impression Fine tuning your ability to make a great job interview impression will make you more competitive against other applicants. Dress the part. If you are going to meet people for the first, dress appropriately. If you are going to a swimming party, take a bathing suit. If you are going to…… Continue reading 6 Steps to Making a Great Job Interview Impression
Jay Wren: the CPG Industry Recruiter
What is the consumer packaged goods industry? I do get ask that question from time to time. The consumer-packaged goods industry is comprised of those companies that manufacture, advertise, and distribute products that are in a package and readily consumable. Examples of consumer-packaged goods are canned soup, laundry soap, beverages, paper towels, candy, and so forth. The…… Continue reading Jay Wren: the CPG Industry Recruiter