Job Interview & Resume Questions Answered

Why Were You Fired?

2007-12-05T21:10:00.000-05:00

Answering this question in a positive way seems impossible for many applicants. Here are some tips to get you through this difficult question:

1. My skills were not well matched to the needs of my previous employer but I believe they would be an asset to your organization. In addition to sales and marketing, would skills in telemarketing be useful here?

2. Some personal problems arose which unfortunately interfered with my work. Those problems no longer exist and the job was a real learning experience for which I think I'm wiser. I am now focused on and excited to find an opportunity to prove and improve my abilities.

Improper & Potentially Illegal Interview Questions

2007-11-28T02:42:00.000-05:00

Most state laws prohibit discrimination against persons age 40 and older. As such questions relating to age should be avoided by employers.

Exceptions: Employers may inquire as to the applicant’s age in the following cases

1. To ensure an applicant is “old enough” to perform the job being filled
2. Physically dangerous or hazardous work
3. Driving a school bus

Example of Illegal Question & Legal Alternative

Illegal: How old are you?
Legal: Are you over the age of 21?

Right before an hour X

2007-11-11T17:17:00.001-05:00

Transfer parties with drinks for that happy day when you will already have a dream job, do not worry and try to sleep. In advance work a route, count up time for road and add to it half an hour, how call your interviewer - a name-patronymic said correctly and in a right time, will add to you points on interview.

Before interview it is not necessary to be cut or buy new boots - because if you fail you going to be screwed for sure. Dress up with taste - men (except for creative workers) in the European suits, women - too. In case of clothes there is also one rule: it should "pull" on half of prospective salary. That is, if you wish to receive $7000/mo job, put on $ 3500

For documents prepare a separate folder. Before a meeting re-read the resume - for confidence.

Questions on interview

2007-10-15T16:14:00.000-04:00

Here is some more most common questions:

1. Tell us about yourself

2. What is your view on life: what difficulties you have and how your overcome them.

3. What you like in applying possition?

4. Why you think this job is right for you and what is your pluses in comparission to other candidates?

5. What is your positive and strong moments?

6. What is your weak points.

7. Why did you quit your previous job.

8. Why did you deside to change your job?

9. What is your other job offers?

10. How succesful were your interviews in other places?

11. Will this job affect your personal life?(different hours, travel, etc.)

12. How do you see yourself in five ten years?

13. What changes would you do in your new place?

14. Who can tell us your previous job achivements?

15. What pay you want?

16. Do you have any professional connections and how you can use them on your new place?

17. How do you improve your personal experience?

18. What do you like to do in your free time?

19. When you can start?

20. What questions do you have?

Preparation for interview

2007-09-24T22:23:00.000-04:00

All you need to know in short.

As they say, the impromptu is good, when you is well prepared. Do not rely on the ability to improvise. Learn to give two types of answers - the general(common) one which will be useful for interview in any organization, and targeted answers, focused on the particular employer. Here "must have" steps of preparation if you do not wish to risk.

- get approximate answers to those questions which you are likely to be asked. Ask somebody to play from relatives a role of "employer" and try your dialogs. Whether avoid all "hmmm" and " well, " If you can, record yourself on video, and look at it.

- Be ready for surprises. It can be, for example, quite usual question set in the unexpected form for you: " And how it is possible to use your skills in our company? " Or: " And what advantages at you in comparison with other applicants? " Do not think that your abilities in doubt, tell simply: " I Think, I shall be useful to you, because... "

- Prepare for the brief and concrete examples showing your relation to work proving that you have qualities necessary for given position.

-inquire about the company where you wish to receive a place. You all should interest: scales of firm, its production or services rendered by it, organizational structure, its last achievements and probable plans for the future. Talk to the people knowing a state of affairs in firm. Useful data can be found out and in specialized business-editions online or in the libraries.

-be able to prove your wish to work in this organization.

-The first contact, as well as any first impression, is very important for you. Warn house, that to you can call and in the evening, and in target. Do not lift the receiver in a room where the TV works or someone talks. Watch the speech - a limiting correctness and a stylistic neutrality. Be not too lazy to recheck a name, a title and a surname of the interviewer, and also his/her phone number.

- dress for an interview very important even if in the given establishment there are no strict rules on this matter. Check up, whether your suit and footwear require cleaning or repair, do not leave it for last moment.

- To be late for interview is similarly to death. In detail find out an exact route up to a place, and not just the address. If you have a car, in advance consider possible delays. On interview it is better to arrive ten minutes prior to appointed time.

Interview on telemarketing

2007-07-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

Those questions were sent to us by blog visitor who just got an telemarketer job. But those questions are basic and might apply to any interview you going to pass.

Why you left previous jobs.
If I would call your previous boss, what would he say about you?
If I would call your best friends, what would they say about you?
What is your strong points?
What is your weaknesses?
How to deal with the client if he act unusual?(yelling etc.)
How many levels in the sale process?
What is a sign that client ready to buy?
What was complications on your previous jobs and how you resolved them?
What you like/dislike about your previous jobs.
Why I must hire you?
Why you like to work with us?
What you know about our company?

Role playing: you salesman, hr person a client.

What questions do you have?(important is that you have something to ask - this will show your interest)

That is all. Most complicated question for our reader was "your weaknesses". This question needs preparation, so your weakness would be a plus.

Interview must tell.

2007-06-27T16:09:00.000-04:00

Introduction.

A little about yourself. You need to represent your biography, name, age. Are you married, have kids?

Some formalities.

Some of them include: your age and gender, experience, driving license, ownership of the car, some special knowledge(computer software, languages, knowledge of law, military services history etc.) This a minimum of information without which your resume not going to go anywhere.

Your strong and weak sides.

From point of view of HR person the most important information is the following:

Career path. No one likes to hire person who goes from one way to another - because such a person not completely knows his goals.

Constant employment. If you had some unemployment days in your life you better have a good explanation for it.

Periods of work in each position. Small time on each position says that you had no idea what you want. Best timing is 2 3 years on each position.

Achievements. Important not that you did something, important that you did it better than others. You need to mention all good that you did on your previous job. You need to understand that achieve something is not mean to do your job right but to do more than that.

Reasons why you left your previous job.

Four stages of job interview

2007-06-21T23:36:00.000-04:00

Job interview causes fear even in the skilled competitor. As a rule, interview almost on any position can be broken into 4 stages:

1. Questions under the resume;
2. Personal qualities;
3. Revealing of motivation;
4. The important little things.(vacations, availability, transportation etc)

. Such scheme is very convenient not only for personnel services and HR heads, but also for you who need to be given only "correct" answers to "complex" questions.

2007-06-14T13:29:00.000-04:00

Hello, thank you for visiting our blog. Since we write a blog about job interviews we keep an eye on what is notable online about career. We decide to do a review of our friends' website - careerramblings.com. Site have a lot of useful information which will help you with your goal – pass interview, land great job and have a stable career development. And, may be start your own business.

First of all, Career Ramblings have a lot of tips about job interview. Tips, tactics and interview questions - toughest questions, questions you need to be prepare for and questions you want to answer right.

Website have a lot of information about job search . Job search secrets. Cover letter tips and advice. Resume writing basics and tips, simple ways to write it without professional help.

Also, Career Ramblings have all about your next step – career. Great articles about work attitude and career development.

Step four: all about entrepreneurs - tips for beginners, finding opportunities, working from home, restaurant business.

Ramblings section is our favorite, easy to read useful information about career.

We like website because it gives you all you need to know about job. Website takes you from beginning point and moves you forward towards next three essential steps: interview - job - career - business.

14 questions

2007-06-06T23:23:00.000-04:00

Fourteen most common job interview questions:

1. Why you quit your last job.
2. How much do you know about our company?
3. What was your previous work place?
4. What is your strong points?
5. Why do you want to work in our company?
6. What you can invest in our company future?
7. Do you think you can work in team?
8. What was the biggest problem in your job history and how you resolved it?
9. Here the problem how you resolve it?
10. What you liked the most in your previous work?
11. How do you like progress in your career?
12. Why do you think you not overqualified for us?
13. What pay you expect?
14. When you can start?

Jobs in Dubai and the Middle East.

2007-05-24T23:30:00.000-04:00

The following is a paid review. There web sites in many part of the world which help you with job search. The problem although is that there definitely helpful web sites in a US with many, many job postings. There web sites which help you to find job in a Europe and Australia. But until now there was not really "one place for jobs" in India and middle east.

So web site Middle East jobs dedicated to resolve that problem in that part of world. Now you can easy access bank of positions for jobs all in one place. middle east jobs caver such countries as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Oman, Egypt.

Important part is that web site help you not only land job you want but provide you with many really useful tools. Web site have career advise section with some tips and tricks about working in that part of world. Web site also helps you to discover new and ideas, by helping you to concentrate on your career goals. Site provides, many answers for any immigration questions. Do you know that CV actually improve your chances of getting right job? You can find answers on any over letter questions you have. Not to mention legal issues, work agencies list and review.

Canada - now hiring.

2007-05-24T20:14:00.000-04:00

The following is paid review. There tons of job related web sites. Many web sites related to different parts of employment process. Some useful web sites help with job search which is can be local or international, you can perform search by chosen parameters such as your experience or pay rate. Many web sites help you to actually concentrate on your career path and help you evaluate important parts of your today activities to land great job in the future. Just in case you are visiting us from Canada and interview you preparing right now is not last in your life, or may be you just simply want to change your job than Now Hiring Canada web site is for you. Web site have information on two languages, so even if you are from Quebec, you can use site in French. Now Hiring Canada have great new option window, where you can easily access everything you want to know about any position. In addition, they have not only option to post resume, but they provide resume writing tips under "resume tab" as well. You can search position which suit you by location or industry. And web site is in flash which is easy and fun to navigate.

Get them a visit and improve your job search today.

Eight basic emloyment rules you can't afford to miss.

2007-04-06T12:39:00.000-04:00

There many reasons people changing job. Any job getting old one day vs. new job is fun in a beginning and time going fast. Or may be you overqualified and employer do not value that. Or, perhaps place where you work have no room for you to grow. Changing job is crucial for many. If you one of them please read cover letter meaning, and those who knows what cover letter is, here some "eight must have" basics.

1. Your return address, phone number, should appear on the top right hand corner of the letter.

2. Include the date just above the beginning of the letter.

3. Begin with salutation: "Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs." followed by the individual's last name, then a colon(:). If you are applying to a blind ad and don't know the name of the person, it is acceptable to write "Dear Hiring Manager."

4. The first paragraph should state immediately which position you are applying for. Also, you may want to include that you are responding to an advertisement, with the date of its publication.

5. The second should provide information about why you would be beneficial for the company.

6. The third should mention your knowledge of the company or the industry in which it operates, and why it would be interesting for you to work there.

7. The final is your closing, and can specifically request an interview — but don't forget to include the time of day when you are most easily reached. Follow up with a phone call after a few days.

8. The closing should be simple — "Best regards," or "Sincerely" are always appropriate.

Creating new resume also will help you to feel more confident or will help you to see in what place of your career path you right now.

Job interview tips.

2007-04-05T13:52:00.000-04:00

The first mistake which is frequently made by people coming on an interview is their appearance. The women loaded with bags frequently "run in". It is better to postpone shopping for a more convenient time. And men for some reason frequently try to combine trip to car-repair center and to the interview. It is absolutely inadmissible to appear on an interview in a sports suit, a vest and shorts, and with a string-bag. Words "I do a renewal" are not so convincing.

There are cases, when people come to the interview with their relatives. As a result, a more active wife who has brought a clumsy husband, takes the initiative on herself and silences the husband. So the impression of a slack and not initiative worker is created about him.

It is necessary to be prepared for the interview beforehand. It is desirable to think over possible questions and your answers to them. To make the resume.

Your task is to receive during the interview as much information about the vacancy and the company as possible.

Following links are helpful:

Resume & Cover Letter Samples

Resume Writers

2007-03-30T16:50:00.000-04:00

Web Directory

Career2.com - Links to Career
directory resources and Employment information websites.

Are you a master of resume writing?

2007-03-26T21:52:00.000-04:00

It's the first way you introduce yourself to a potential employer — and it can affect whether or not HR person bothers to turn the page and even look at your resume. It's called a cover letter, and sending a resume without it usually means your CV will end up in the trash.

Consider the strategy of sending a resume from the point of view of the boss:

If you were hiring someone for a position, what kind of introduction would you require from candidates?

Would it suffice to send a general resume that doesn't even mention the position you are seeking?
Or would you like to see someone that has basic knowledge about your company, the position and can assess his or her strengths and skills concisely and directly in the package of a professionally prepared letter of introduction?

Think of a cover letter as a marketing tool to highlight your most attractive features and make them known to the ones doing the hiring.

Be brief. Don't go over your entire work history. Highlight one or two top accomplishments or skills. The rest you can save for the interview.

Explain how your experience makes you qualified for the position. Even if your background may not perfectly match the job, explain how your experience is relevant and has prepared you for future work.

Quality over quantity. A cover letter should be used to target a specific job at a specific company, meaning you should tailor each letter that you send.

Know to whom you should send your letter. The more influential, the better. You need to know the department head or person who will be screening resumes and address the letter directly.

Always send a resume with a cover letter. Sometimes you could send only a cover letter as a follow up to a conversation with a contact in a company.

Questions about interview? Part 2 of 2

2007-03-14T20:57:00.000-04:00

Question 5. What are your strong qualities?

Mistake – a modest answer: " Let the associates judge... ".

It is better to name with readiness those qualities you have and which are appreciated at this job in the given post. Professionalism, activity, decency, goodwill to people, truthfulness and fidelity are always and everywhere appreciated.

Question 6. What you lack?

Mistake - a fair recognition of lacks (the work is not familiar to me, I do not have special education, lazy, hot-tempered etc.).

You should name 2-3 drawback with readiness, skillfully presenting them as advantages, for example: " I always speak the truth in eyes... I am always called worker-holik etc.

Question 7. Why have you left the previous job?

Mistake - the recognition of the conflict with the head or employees, criticism of the previous place of work and people, a recognition of an inefficiency of the work.

It is necessary to express your opinion about the previous place of work, heads and employees positively, having named thus such worthy reasons as aspiration to most fully realize the opportunities, to get a more difficult work and the appropriate high salary.

Question 8. Why have you decided to change a place of work?

This question is set to those who work at the moment of interview. The answer should be similar to the answer to the previous question.

Question 9. Have you ever received any other job offers?

Mistake - the recognition, that your nominee has not interested anybody .

It is necessary to emphasize, that the given post in the organization has interested first of all, that is why you have started with it. The best situation when you simultaneously and successfully negotiate with a contestant firm that provokes the desire to entice you.

Question 10. How successfully have you passed interviews in other places?

Mistake - the statement of the amount and the reasons unsuccessfully passed interviews. It is better to hold back it.

It is necessary to name places of work and a post which is offered. Necessarily name a contestant firm where you willingly take it if it is so.

Question 11. To whom is it possible to address for a response about your previous work?

Mistake - concealment of addresses and phones of the previous places of work.

It is necessary not only to give phones of former heads and employees with whom you have agreed about it beforehand but also to show as many letters of recommendation from them as possible.

Question 15. What salary do you expect?

Mistake - to underestimate or too to overestimate itself.

It is necessary to find out borders of disorder of payment in the given post and to name a little higher salary, than

Questions about interview? Part 1 of 2

2006-09-29T19:50:00.000-04:00

You should pass an interview with the employer. It is the most important stage of getting a desirable post which results have crucial importance.

What will you be asked?

How to make the best impression and to win over your competitors?

What you should speak about and ask?

How is it necessary to be dressed, to brush the hair and be decorated?

How to find an individual approach to the employer and to make him like you?

How to find a way out from inconvenient situations?

What criteria of the estimation of the candidate plays the main role?

How to finish conversation correctly and to say goodbye?

You will get answers to these and other important questions in this article.

Let's consider the first.

The structured interview

Interviews are carried out in a free form and as structured interview with standardized questions.

The purpose of the interview is the estimation of your professionally important business and personal qualities.

Foreign experts in the field of selection of the staff for many years of work have formulated and have selected more than 400 questions of the structured interview. However in practice an interview includes, as a rule, no more than 15 - 20 basic questions and 10-20 additional.

The basic questions and desirable answers:

Question 1. Tell a little about itself.

Mistake - formal and dry statement of your biography, more or less similar at different candidates, excessive excitement or the underlined indifference, confusion in simple facts, stresses on insignificant details, verbosity.

It is necessary to lay out the advantages before other candidates similar to you at once (experience of successful work, special achievements in the professional area, natural abilities etc.), emphasizing the desire and full readiness to get this position. Speak quietly, confidently, briefly and precisely.

Question 2. How do you see your life: what complexities you see in it and how you cope with them?

Mistake - gloomy perception of the reality: complaints to destiny, bad luck, injustice and constant unsoluble problems, accusation of all of other people and external circumstances.

It is necessary to express life positively: life without problems does not exist, difficulties are surmountable, the destiny and career of the person is in his hands, people are benevolent and ready to cooperation, failures will mobilize forces.

Question 3.What attracts you in this position?

Mistake - standard phrases: "This interesting job attracts me... Prospects of growth... Good salary ".

It is better to give concrete reasons that only this post will allow you to realize your abilities, knowledge and experience.

Question 4. Why do you consider yourself worthy to hold this position? What are your advantages over other candidates?

Mistake - weak arguments of your advantages, the indication of formal biographical particulars.

It is necessary to show your "trumps" without false modesty if you have not made it till now.

really acceptable for you.

How to pass the interview

2006-09-29T19:48:00.000-04:00

If you have faced with a problem of employment, sooner or later you will have to get on an interview and as a consequence to pass it. It is natural, that in a situation when your material and professional future is put on the card, it is necessary to be self-assured, to be confident about your advantages and abilities. To feel yourself in this way, it is necessary to be prepared for the interview beforehand.

The impression which you will make on your potential employer, depends, certainly, on your professional suitability and qualification. But the worker conducting the interview (recruiter, the personnel manager) is a human too, and the first impression which you will make on him, will depend, basically, on your appearance, behaviour and a manner of dialogue. The principle “to meet a person according to his clothes” has not lost its importance and today, - as it was before, the first, that is evident at a meeting with a new person is his appearance. Our perception is arranged rather originally: first of all we mark all lacks and discrepancies to standards, ideal, - everything, that irritates us, is evident. In order to make a pleasant impression on the interviewer, it is necessary to look harmoniously to the conditions, time and place (not to come to the meeting with the employer in a sports suit or in an evening dress. Certainly, clothes are not obliged to be strictly official (a suit, a tie, a silk hat), but it should be tidy and convenient in order to be self-assured and not to think constantly of how you look - ridiculously or silly. Look after your footwear be in full order, - many people make their opinion about a stranger on the basis of what display of the world they receive looking at the shoes (boots). The hair-dress and cosmetics have important value: the make-up should not be defiant and shouldn’t remind the war paint of the leader of the Indian tribe before the war, quite enough natural quiet pastel tones. And it is not so necessary to erect the tower of Babel - it is simply possible to wash your head and to lay the hair with a hair drier. The special attention should be turned to such unpleasant trifles as the condition of nails and skin. Hands should always be clean and well-groomed, and the face - fresh and clean (without characteristic fat shine and bags under eyes). Never come to the appointment with the potential employer having a hang-over or being "tipsy" even if the dope of confidence is necessary for you. Imagine, what smell will come from you when you will convince him of the professional suitability and irresistibility and as it will look from the side... Refuse your favourite chewing gum. In general, try to look and behave simultaneously modestly and with advantage.

After you have made a reliable impression on your interviewer, the most important is not to disappoint him in his expectations concerning your mental abilities. The first part of your meeting - the most important, - questions, are set to you. At this stage your destiny is considered so it is necessary to remember some elementary rules of behaviour and dialogue which will help you not to blunder.

To become a pleasant interlocutor, it is necessary to be open and quiet: try to sit directly, not crossing and not twisting your arms, try to look in the face, smile more in a sincere, good-natured way. It is necessary to reply to the questions particularly and in a developed way, so the interviewer does not have to extract the information from you by pincers, and at the same time - not to spread the idea across the tree and to appreciate time. It is the best way not to tell lies - experts with wide experience of work, will feel at once, where you have immodestly exaggerated your own opportunities and abilities, and the general impression from the conversation with you will be hopelessly spoiled. Try not to use slangy expressions, filler words and other, superfluous word during a business meeting. Do not try to suppress the interlocutor by the power of your intelligence - it is pleasant if you show off your intelligence and try to compensate the subordinated position by demonstrating the intellectual superiority. When you explain the reasons of your leaving from the last place of work try to avoid too rough _expression of negative emotions and insults in address of colleagues and supervisors. In general, if it is possible do not speak badly about people and do not criticize in order not to earn a label of a grumbler or a boor.

When the right to ask question passes to you, necessarily take advantage of it - the person who is not showing interest in a potential work, looks, at least, a little bit strange. It is very important to find out at this stage not only a level of wage and duration of a working day, but also actually the contents of the job offered. It is also necessary to receive the information on forthcoming duties, terms of the contract, about activity of the firm, connections with other organizations, about the employees policy, social security of workers etc. But at the same time, do not be too meticulous, - if everything is all right, you will have lots of opportunities to specify the details. Most likely, you will not hear the unequivocal answer concerning your nominee at once, and it is not necessary for you to hurry up with the decision, it is the better to ask for some time to think and to agree upon phone call. But even if this interview appears unsuccessful, you will not suit for any reasons, the main thing is not to despair and remember, everything happens in life, and it is far from being your last interview and with each following you will only become cleverer and more skillful.

GETTING JOB - EASY WAY

2006-03-23T21:56:00.000-05:00

Finding a job…Easy??? Try!!!

All your dreadful frightens came true!

Parents are sick of constant supplying you with money. That happens! Do you study at school or college? Do you have lots of time to spare? Now you have an opportunity to find yourself in practice! What occupation suits you the best? Have a smile and deepen in the job you like!

In order for you not to be mistaken here is some tips!

Tip №1: Search for the vacancy

The most important is not to take after the pessimists who are whining that “there is no work..” and “hardly can you find it!”.

Of course, huge amount of money won’t crush in your pocket. However, you will be stimulated to have it!!)You need to understand what “work and earn my money” means. Personal cash bring no harm!

Firstly, compile a list of the places that are worth visiting

(shopping malls(as Sales personal you may have a good discount), supermarkets, cafes, restaurants(you may have really great tips here!) etc.). Secondly, you can all to all your friends in order to find job among them.

Thirdly, serf the Internet for special web sites. For sure you will find something suitable! But you must be careful, because lots of advertisements in reality do not coincide with the primary advertisement. Especially be aware of those advertisements that offer a little work but lots of money.(!!!) In fact, 9 of 10 of such jobs are connected with sex or illegal actions, and sometimes with both.

Task №2 : Your Resume

When after numerous calls you are asked to send your resume, don’t be so happy thinking that you have impressed the potential employer. “Send us your resume” is the standard phrase told to all the applicants. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t underestimate the resume’s role. What is resume? 2 or 3 sheets of paper written in order not only to impress the employer, but also to present yourself in the best light, demonstrate your knowledge and experience(if you have any). But how to compile a resume correctly? The main points for you to remember are brevity and informativeness.

Task №3 : An interview

Pledge of successful interview depends on your clothes and manners’ impression.

What to put on?

The professionals advice to wear something neutral.(Not black or white tie, but a so- called business or office style ). Don’t forget a pen and notebook!

How to behave?

There are to ways: you are well- brought or not, no third is given. But try to keep in mind the following:

Never, Never be late for the meeting(!!!)
Don’ t reply incomprehensibly(say everything as it is. No experience? Don’ t hide the facts. )
And finally you must realize what is the job you are applying for.(motivation and other)
Eventually, if no advertisement (from the Internet, press, friends) did not match you, don’t be upset. In this case, another solution is to find a Labor Exchange in your city or town. These services will improve your employment by searching for the best job specially for you.

Keep on studying, Earn your own money, Enjoy the life!!!

YOUR BEHAVIOR

2006-03-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

Most of the people say that non-verbal languages are much more effective and important than the ordinary language. Why do they think so?

According to the researches gestures and mimics are much more important during the job interview and it helps to influence the interlocutor or the audience in 55 percent. However the language itself is very important but it takes only 7 percent. The rest 38 percent are for the so-called par-language (intonation, pauses emotional state and so on).

At the same time our non verbal language sometimes denies the words which were spoken. When our words deny our gestures and other details of behavior, the trust that the interviewer could feel at the beginning of the interview can simply vanish because most of the careful and
experienced interviewers know that the words are not as important as manners.

First of all this rule works for those managers who worked for a long time but were fired by this or that reasons. Their self-confidence and vanity were oppressed because the part of their career ended as a complete failure. In most cases such people look very depressed even if they
talk about their successes and strong points. If the interviewer asks a more difficult question that usual he (or she) loses the main point of the dialog. They look worried and sometimes they try to hide their worry under the mask of unfriendliness and inaccessibility.

As a non verbal communication is more precise and sincere than words, most of our gestures and manners may reveal our inner uncertainty. The words may deceive because the words are often produced by the sphere of our consciousness. Our body language in the whole and the system of gestures in particular are the sign systems from above our consciousness. They are badly controlled or they are not controlled at all showing our true thoughts and intentions.
Nevertheless some people simply underestimate the importance of non-verbal communication. And the reason is hidden in our characters. From the early childhood we were not taught that we should pay much attention to our words. If you want to learn the ABC of your body language you should listen to and look at your manners and the manners of the people who surround you in your every day life.

The first minutes of the interview

People always try to give their own estimation to you when they meet you at the first time and for the interview it is very important. That is why you should follow several simple rules; first of all do not be late. You would better come 10-15 minutes before and get ready for the interview in proper way but not in a great rush. The extra time may be used for concentration and all preparation for the interview. Waiting for the interviewer you should not take anything from your bag even if it is your note pad with your own notes on the professional topic. It would
be better if you look through different magazines and newspapers which are usually laid on the table or at the reception desk. It will make the impression that you can relax even before stressful situations as serious interview. This very detail will show the interviewer that he may
trust you. And it is extremely important to set an emotional contact with the employer.
If, when you have already come, the secretary tells you that the interviewer is waiting for you and ready to talk to you come in to his office as if it is ordinary procedure to open his room and come in without knocking. It will not show your impolite and rude attitude to him, on the
contrary, I do not advise you knock at the door because some employers treat it like unreasonable fear. As psychologists say, door is a psychological barrier and if you begin to hesitate in front of closed doors it means that it is difficult for you to overcome difficulties.

Greet the interview with a strong and firm shaking of hands. It should be very sincere because I know a lot of people who failed in the interview even if they did not start their conversations. And the reason of the failure is sometimes evident: it may be a weak and unconfident
shaking of hands, their nervousness, unconfident, even lime gait or damp palms.

Some don'ts.

Do not hurry to start talking just after the greeting do not touch your bag or the chair or armchair you are sitting in. if the interviewer do not show you the place to sit, choose it yourself. Choose the one which is just in front of the chair of the employer. Avoid soft and silky sofas and armchairs because it would be difficult to stand up at the end of the interview. The main thing is that you should not ask the employer: Excuse me, where I may sit down?" If during the interview your interviewer was disturbed by a phone call or anything of that kind try to create the atmosphere of the private conversation and do not try to attract the attention of the employer. You may read a magazine and different materials on the professional topic
while he is speaking. Do not show your negative attitude towards the interruption and the pause in your dialog. It would be useless if you leave the room and so allow the employer to talk in a private atmosphere. It is possible that it is done to check your reaction on the pauses while working in the office.

Accepted distance.

Any of us feel discomfort when people invade in to our private distance and during the conversation we always try to keep the distance. Its length depends on our private feelings and emotions. Accepted distance for extraverts is about 50-120 centimeters, at the same time introverts need from 70-170 centimeters of the private distance.

Your task on the interview is to guess whish pose is more preferable for your employer. It is important to find the optimal distance between you and the interviewer. You may allow sitting closer only if you think that the employer treats your words with skepticism. In other ways it
may frighten the employer and destroy the emotional contact which was set with a great difficulty. By the way, some managers of staff break the distance purposely to imitate the strict atmosphere of interrogation and creating the stressful situation.

When you have to underline some points of your speech try to show the sincerity and confidence in your words. Use emotional gestures, structure of your language and of course try to look to your interviewer's eyes. It is not desirable to deviate from the topic of the interview or look down. Such details may be interpreted as an unconfident and intense behavior during the interview

How do you speak?

The way you speak is always describe your character better than what are you talking about. That is why try to use your natural voice, do not change your tempo rhythm and intonation of your voice. Your pitch of the voice and breath plays an important role. Confident applicants talk
in quiet, mild and pleasant to the partner voice. Your voice should transfer your mood, properly express your traits of character and show your true interest in getting the job you would like to get. Unconfident applicants on the contrary can not control their pitch of the voice and way of behavior. It is easy to detect them from other people because they stutter, stumble and they always try to clear their throat coughing and pronouncing various gr" and khm" revealing their
nervousness. Other people try to hide their emotions by making long speech and complicated answers.

Meet the sight of the interviewer.

Managers of the staff have noticed that candidates with the high self esteem as usual have complicated mimics. Facial expressions of the confident people constantly changes and it depend on the topic of speech. He is smiling every time and he likes to look straight to the interviewer's eyes. The interviewer will trust into your open-heartedness and sincerity if you look straight to the interviewer's eyes. Avoiding the eye contact and being shy you lose the trust of the
interviewer. Do not smile and nod in inappropriate moment.

Watch for the manners of your partner. If he avoids the eye contact it means that he does not pay much attention to your interview, he is worried or excited of may be he is not interested in talking to you. He looks up on the ceiling? Probably he feels uncomfortable, he tries to recollect some information or he just does not believe your words. Bet be careful and do not try to sit and look into the eyes of your interviewer all the time. If you catch the eyesight of the employer and
keep it longer than 7 or 10 minutes it may cause the anxiety and discomfort.

Your pose and gestures.

Even if you sit stunned and do not move at all during the interview, you pose is telling the interviewer about your thoughts. Some of the European and American bosses have a habit to put their legs on the table. They do it because they want to show their might and superiority. The employer who stands straight makes an impression of the person who respects the partner but in reality it means that he does not want to talk to the applicant and he is not friendly.
Confident applicants should have confident gait and confident pose and gestures. Their steps are short. Try to make your pose and speech free and natural. At the same time if you control every move you may lose your natural behavior. From time to time you may reveal your emotions.
You would look expressively when your words meets you moves and pose. The situation would be under your control.

Read the interviewer

Managers of the staff are the ordinary people and if you know a little bit of psychology it would be very helpful during the interview. Body language of the employer may give you very useful information. If he nods while listening to your answers it means that he approves of your
words. If he crosses his hands or legs it means that he is closed for the contact. The employer may touch his nose or chin, collect the imaginary down on his jacket and so on and it means that he is not interested in the topic of the interview.

If you are worried try not to show your anxiety and nervousness. But remember a very important thing. You should not try to read each pose and move of the employer. For example if the employer scratches his nose it does not mean that he shows his neglect. May be he just wants to scratch it? Besides, the majority of the psychologists say that it is difficult to understand the emotional state of the by only one gesture. It is easier to understand it by a group of gestures or an overall manner of behavior.

Good luck!

SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW: 26 TIPS

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In most of companies the procedure of the interview becomes more
difficult than it was for example 5 or 10 years ago. Nowadays managers of
staff use different methods like individual interviews, panel interviews,
demonstrations of professional skills and opportunities. Case-studies,
role games and psychological games are also used during or instead of
the interview. We hope that our 26 tips would be useful during the job
interview.

1. Preparation and training.
Plan your strategy by preparing the appropriate answers on the
questions that might be asked during the interview. And practice them with your
relatives, neighbors, friends and all possible things.

2. Imagine what do you know and want to achieve.
Most of the interviews are closely connected with the information of CV
and based on it. That is why you should write true information about
your education, experience, professional skills and so on. According to
your aim to get a job you should make a list of things which you would
like to get and you do not want to get.

3. Be careful that your answers correspond the information given in the
CVYou should have an opportunity to prove the information you gave in
your CV, for example show your references or diploma.

4. Remember about your strong points.
Almost all interviewers ask the applicant about his or her weak and
strong traits of character. Think about your strong points and point out
those traits which are suitable fir the career.

5. Tell about your weak points from the point of view of strong
points. In this very question there is a small difficulty. Maybe the
interviewer would like to know whether you are high-flown (I think I do not have
weak traits of character), or whether you know yourself well or not (I
have never thought about this question) or finally, what do you usually
do to make yourself perfect? There are two ways of replying. The first
one is to say that while you were working on this weak point you
learned a lot about yourself. And the second way is to strengthen your weak
points.

6. Imagine your future perspectives clearly and try to understand the
direction you should follow to achieve your professional aims.
There is a standard question which is asked during most of the
interviews in all companies: What are your perspectives for the next 5-10
years?" your reply should depend on the sphere of your professional
interests. Be concrete but try to show that you understand the complicity and
specific of business.

7. If you were sacked tell about it fairly.
Many people are sacked and in most cases it is not their fault. That is
why you should answer the question clearly but do not apologize or
accuse somebody of something.

8. Be principal and draw limits of your private principles.
Most of the companies are looking for the people with clear principles
concerning their private and professional life. You should define,
express them and you should follow them as well. Give short answers on such
questions: I am working on my weak points", I do not begin to do the
task until I could be approved and encouraged for doing it. There is
one useful expression I think the one should study and develops during
all his life.

9. Ask questions to the interviewer.
The experienced interviewer will treat your questions with approval and
attention. Try to answer the questions about the company, its strategy
and aim. This way of a dialog will help you to show your professional
interest in getting this very position. But do not be too importunate.

10. Do not bargain and talk about your salary.
The markets of job positions have its clear limits. Each company has
always planned the duties for the staff and the general salary. But some
of the companies try to cheat their personnel. You should not try to
bargain about your salary during the interview. But if you think that the
employer do not want to pay a salary which is lower that the average
markets salary try to talk about it or think this point over carefully.
Additional tips.

11. Stand up when you greet the person who is going to be the
interviewer. Wait until the interviewer offers you to sit down.

12. Shake the hand of the interviewer firmly and than stand straight
showing the respectful attitude towards him.

13. Be polite and affable when you talk to the secretary. The employer
always asks the secretary about his or her opinion of the candidate.

14. Men+ put your feet straight on the floor, your knees on the level
of your waist and elbows on the chair. Put on a costume of a
conservative color (black, blue, green, grey or brown) and white shirt. Your shoes
should be of a dark color for example black but it should suit on color
to your costume.

15. Women+.do not jump into the armchair. Put on a dress or a costume
of conservative color for example, black, green or blue). Your make up
should be natural.

16. Gesticulate+. Your gesticulation gives you energy and the
impression of an independent person. And do not forget to smile.

17. Mind the eye contact. It makes your words sound more natural.

18. Do not say bad or rude things about yourself and your previous
bosses. If you were asked to describe something you did not like try to
look at the things from positive side.

19. Take a small hand bad. Do not take a large suitcase, backpack or
hum bag.

20. Do not overdo with your perfume.

21. Be attentive to all the details+clean footwear, hair, nails and
accessories.

22. If you come to the interview by plane, for example from another
state, try to come the day before the interview and sleep well.

23. Do not put on clothes with may cause associations with your
religious or political interest.

24. Expenses for getting the job position always include: your trip,
staying at the hotel, 50% of your meal expenses, phone calls, printing
and sending your CV by mail or e-mail, payment for the service of
recruiting agency and payment for the consulting and couching of the
development of your career.

25. Collect as much information about the interviewer and the company
as possible.

26. Write the letter with the words of gratitude for your interviewer
and send it the same evening after the interview.

GENERAL TIPS

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You have to keep in mind that: you will not have another opportunity to
make the first good impression. Remember the 80% of your success it is
the first impression you made. And you should know that you have only
15 seconds for doing it. That is why to be successful you should think
about your:

Style of your clothes.

When choosing your clothes for the interview, remember the position you
are applying for. Manager with a ponytail and glittering earring is
good for the manager of the rock-star and this style is not appropriate if
you apply for the position of a manager in a head office of respectable
bank.

If it is difficult to make an appropriate style for the interview,
dress conservatively. There is an office style. This very style for men
means dark tie and costume; tie should suit the color of your shirt. For
women it is popular to put on a costume and white blouse. The length of
the skirt should suit the aim of your visit+

When choosing your costume for the interview, try to avoid bright and
extravagant colors. If you do not have enough money for buying expensive
clothes emphasize your natural beauty, modesty and neatness. As many
interviewers say the neatness in clothes means neatness in doing tasks.

Color palette.

The color of the clothes you have chosen plays a very important role.
Each color and hue creates a special mood. And it is, as you remember,
very important for the first interview.

So, blue is a color of order, discipline and being a part of a group of
people united by special aim.

Red is a color of eroticism and violence.

Clothes of black color is used either for solemn occasions or
demonstrate the ability of a person for self limitation.

White color is a color of chastity and clearness that is why this very
color is used for wedding ceremonies, but at the same time the eastern
nations think that this color symbolizes lamentation and mourning.

Some of psychologists say that you should not put on costumes of brown
colors but nowadays this rule is not strictly observed.

Yellow is not appropriate as a color for the costume for the first
interview.

Pay much attention to your footwear.

According to the researches 90% of women and 70% of men pay attention
to the footwear of their partner. It sounds simple but your footwear
should be clean. If you do not have enough money to buy new costume and a
new pair of shoes, I advise you to buy a new pair of shoes. It is
desirable to have footwear of a good quality but not exotic or extravagant.
Colorful and bright trainers, sandals and flip-flops are not suitable
for the situation. Women should avoid bright high-heels or leather
boots.

Language of gestures and body language.

According to the opinion of the most psychologists only 5-7% of the
information you want to say is in the words you pronounce. The rest of the
information is scooped from your gait, mimics, bearing and so on. This
information is taken subconsciously and it is very difficult to control
it. Your gestures, the way you move, put your hands and legs forms the
first impression. Remember that the popular saying that cheekiness is
the second happiness is not your style. But the pose of a mean person is
not better. Your task is to sit in a confident pose with dignity. If
only believe in yourself you may share this belief to your interviewer.

Keep smiling.

Do you know why it is important to keep smiling? When you smile you
radiate the warmth and doing so you attract other people. Even when you
talk on the phone your smile softens your voice and gives it a mild
timbre and charm. It is very important to have an open smile. You should not
put on a clown mask. Do not think about your time; try to make your
smile charming in front of the mirror. Smile to your relatives, friends
and even to strangers. Feel the advantage of having a white and shiny
smile.

Shaking of arms.

It is a very important part of the first contact. It should be
appropriate. Do not give your hand first even if the interviewer is a woman or
a man who is older than you. But be ready to reply for the hand shake.
Do not shake you hand with all your might, the interviewer should want
to shake your hand once again, at least after the interview. If a man
gives you his arm with his palm down it means that he wants to dominate.
And if you do not work with the dominating person try to turn his palm
to show that you offer yourself as an employee but not a bootlicker.
Mind the distance between you and the employer.
Do not invade into the private (or social) zone of your interviewer. Do
not make him stay far from you and do not hide into the corner. The
best distance is about 70-1.80 centimeters from your partner.

Jewelry.

You should take care when you put it on. Both men and women should not
put on tons of gold and silver jewels. The true professional would not
show his wealth this particular way. Accessories are important but do
not put a lot of them on. It is enough to put on a brooch or take a
trendy hand bag. The jewels made of wood; leather and fur are not suitable
for the first interview. And it is not suitable to put diamond
earrings, rings and collier made of diamonds and white gold. The interview
would be unpleasantly amazed and you style would not be approved.

Make up.

Be moderate in doing a make up and do not overdo with cosmetics and
perfume. Remember that the odor of your perfume shout be felt only in your
private distance. Bright color of make up and strong smells of your
perfume shows the sexual aggression which is useful only in particular
situation. And in most cases this situation is not a situation of the
first interview. For men it is also useless to overdo with perfumery.

Keep the conversation.

Let us remind that the researches carried out in a world famous
Carnegie Hall. The result of the research was stunned - even in departments
of big enterprises the development and promotion of the staff depends on
their professional competence. But it is only 15%. And what about the
rest 85%? It is an ability to communicate with your colleagues and
clients.

TOP REASONS TO NOT PASS

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Possible and the most common reasons for the refusal after the first
interview.
Being late
Languid hand shake
Miserable and mean appearance or untidiness
Unwillingness to look straight to you interviewer's eyes
Inability to speak: weak voice, illiterate speech
Manners of a high-flown person
Absence of interest and enthusiasm
Insufficient vivacity
Insufficient steadiness
Lack of sincerity
Uncertainty of answers or evasive replies
Insufficient ability to orientate in the society
Indecision, dependence
Self-justification and allusions to the circumstances
Absence of clear goals and aims
Insufficient maturity
Insufficient politeness
Cynicism
Lack of discipline
Unwillingness to study and develop
Intolerance
Radical ideas
Inability to receive criticism
Narrowness of interests
Criticism toward the previous colleagues and bosses
Excessive interest in money
Unwillingness to start from lower positions and wait for the promotion
Impossibility to work over the set timetable
Absence of questions about the job to the interviewer
Unsuccessful family life

USEFUL INTERVIEW TIPS

2006-03-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

Before the interview you should think about the style of your clothes. Your appearance and manners play a very important role. If you go to the interview to a big bank or financial establishment choose a conservative style. In the contrary, if you go to the company of design or building society, choose a casual style. Of course you may ask the staff of the company about dress-code of the company, but you would better come to the first interview wearing costume or official style. If it is normal to come to the working place wearing sweater and jeans, but you
should not come wearing jeans for the first interview. Any way you should come in clean and suitable clothes. Women have a large variety of clothes, even larger than men but at the same time, women may make much more mistakes. Do not do a bright make-up and perfume.

Think in advance about the parking area for your car and accurate address of the company. Leave your house in a good time.

Come 15 minutes before the fixed time. You will show that you respect the interviewer and appreciate his time. If you are stuck in a traffic jam or something of that kind, try to call the secretary and warn him about being late.

Remember that the employer will choose the person who made better impression during the interview even if both candidates have the same experience, good references and professional skills.

Sleep well the night before the interview. The person who would yawn all the time would not make a good impression. Try to go to bed in time, not earlier and not later.

Do not drink too much liquid. You may not find the lavatory in the unfamiliar building and you won't feel comfortable during the interview.

If you get acquainted with different people try to memorize their names and surnames correctly. If you ask the person by his name you won't have any problems. At the same time if you tall the name incorrectly the interviewer may get nervous.

It is important to find out the exact time of the interview and follow the time. It will help to spend the time in proper way and define the time before questions and answers. Knowing about the time of the interview you will be able to prepare answers which are neither short nor long.

Be polite and affable to all the people you meet at the office. Do not forget to smile entering the room of the interviewer. Mind your body language. You hands should be soft and dry and hand shake should be confident and firm. But do not overdo with all these things. Everything should be natural.

Do not forget to take all the documents proving your qualification, skills and references.

If you are asked to fill some forms you would better take them with you and fill them at home. Filling them at home, try to fill he draft copy first. Everything is very important, your and writing, spelling, clearness and style of writing.

When the interview is finished do not forget to thank the interviewer.

Do not sit down until you are asked to do it.

Greeting the interviewer, do not give your hand first.

Listen carefully. Follow the direction of the conversation set by the interviewer

Before asking the question, think about the aim of asking the question. Think how you may emphasize you strong and hide your weak points.

Describing your colleagues, do not criticize either them or your previous boss.

Do not start to talk about payment questions and your private life, in case you asked about it.

You may say the salary which may satisfy you but only when you are asked about it.

GET READY FOR INTERVIEW

2006-03-23T21:37:00.000-05:00

How to get ready for the interview.

There are the most important recommendations.

Getting ready for the interview it is very important to carry out
preliminary investigation. You have to collect as much information about the
company you are going for the interview and people you are going to
meet.

All the necessary information you may get using different ways. If you
want to work in a big enterprise you have to get to know the services
and production of the enterprise. Most companies promote itself
spreading colorful leaflets and brochures about their work. It can be useful to
find the articles about the company in magazines or newspapers.
You may talk to a person who works for the company or worked in it. He
may tell you a great number of interesting details, but you have to
take into account the subjective point of view of the narrator. Probably
the consultant of the agency may answer some of your questions.

What you should know about the company you want to work for.

What production and services does the company offer to the customers?
Who are the customers and where the production is sold?
How many years does the company exist?
Has the company changed its initial strategy?
Is the board of directors stable or it changes very often?
What is the legal status of the company?
Did the company make the attempt to absorb other companies?
Did the company get a profit last year or last three years?
How many people were fired the last year? Or three years and why?
Does the mass media pays much attention to the company and why?
What are the responses of mass media?
What is the attitude towards the staff of the company?
What new projects does the company work on?
Does the company based on the organizations on the territory of the
country or have the partners abroad?
What are the perspectives of the field which is the company based on?

DAY BEFORE INTERVIEW

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At last you have chosen the position you have dreamt about all your
life. You have chosen the best variant among all possible offers, among
all the monotonous and senseless job positions. The choice you have made
will help you to gain a moral profit, deep emotional and financial
satisfaction. But the race is not finished yet. You have to be interviewed
before getting the job. Do you know how to fail in the interview? There
are four pieces of advice how to fail and how to succeed and get a job.
Concentrate on the sad things before the interview
Probably you are the best candidate for the position. But if you feel
blue and pessimistic about the forthcoming interview the employer will
hardly ever understand that you are the only person he was looking for.
You may look professional but killing your cheerfulness by your sad
facial expression, you will fail.

To avoid such situations try the following tactics:

The day before the interview rehearse to answer all possible questions.
Ask your friend to help you. Be opened for the critics. Try to sound
confident but not too self-confident. The hour before the interview look
through your CV, and refresh in your memory all your successes and
experience connected with your professional life. Half an hour before the
interview make a deep breath and say that I have been even in bigger
troubles. You will have lots of interviews during your life. Prove your
ability to keep calm and composure in every situation. Five minutes
before the interview try to recite you favorite poem or the letter from your
best friend - it will help you to concentrate on the subject of the
interview. During the interview think about positive sides of your life.
Remind yourself about the successful work and getting the position you
have dreamt about.

Do not be creative.

All the interviewers have the same trait - they like to ask all the
employees the same questions. And the most common question is to speak
about you. It is doubtful that you will amuse the employer by quoting your
CV. The employer would better hire the person who will tell interesting
facts from his biography than the one who will read his CV. slightly
copying the manner of speech and behavior of your interviewer and you
will succeed.

Say the things that come to your mind at the moment of the dialog.

Answering the questions without thinking it over, you make an
impression of a hypocrite. And the employer will think that you are not
dependent on the list of paper and you do not spend enough time to answer the
question and to cope with your tasks. Some questions have to be thought
over thoroughly and need a small pause before the reply. But remember
that keeping silence may seem to be alert and nervous. There are
specific pauses that make your silly joke more acute, but there are pauses
that may help you to make this joke interesting and really hilarious. Your
interview is not an investigation; treat it like a smooth and balanced
dialog. To hold the tempo of the interview use the following tips.
Listen carefully, in most cases the most difficult and complicated
answers are hidden in the questions. Nervousness may distract you and you
will miss the main point of the question. Paraphrase or interpret the
question and it will help you to win the time. For example if you are
asked to say why your previous colleagues had problems in communicating
with you, you may say that you have never been told that it was difficult
to work with you. But I may accept that sometimes my colleagues may
have problems with me, I try to solve the problem of our relationship. Ask
different questions. Ask to explain the question. You may ask and think
about your reply. Surely you should avoid different: Could you please
repeat?"-questions.

Ignore the protocol of the interview.

There are a number of rules and settings for the interview.

Undoubtedly, it is important how you look like. But the interviewers do not pay
much attention to it. Nowadays the official style says that you should
wear the same clothes as your colleagues do. That is why you have to try
and show yourself. The signs of your individual personality attract the
interviewers. For example the story about how you coped with a
difficult situation may make a good impression. Most of the interviewers pay
much attention to your body language and the ability to keep an eye
contact. After the interview do not forget to phone and thank the employer
for the interview. It will be useful to ask about the decision the
interviewer made after the dialog. It will show your purposefulness and end
up your general image.

INTERVIEW QUESTION AND ANSWER

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The questions you will have to answer during all
interviews:

Tell a little bit about yourself?
How can you describe yourself?
Tell something about your previous working place?
Tell something about your previous boss and colleagues?
The reasons of having been fired?
What do you know about our company?
Why have you chosen our company?
Why would you like to work for our company?
What about your education?
Is it connected with the sphere of work of our company?
Can you be useful for our company and why?
What are your advantages?
What are your main disadvantages?
What kind of work do you like (or dislike) most of all?
What did you like most at your previous position?
What was you main mistake at your previous working place?
What are your hobbies?
What are you life ambitions?
How are you planning to reach and satisfy your ambitions?
What would you like to change in the past of your life?
How much money would you like to earn?

What will you do in such situation as (and then there is always a description of some kind of a plight in your work).

Sometimes the employer may ask for example: What did you do yesterday
evening?" it means that he is interested in your way of life. Tell him
how you usually spend your free time.

There is a category of sly interviewers. They know very well than you
have been on dozens of job interviews and have a great experience. They
know that you have answered the typical questions hundreds of times and
that is why they prefer to ask the candidate in different way. They
will not ask you why have you left your previous position but he will ask
for example: what should be changed on your previous position that
will make you return and go on working?"

Such kind of questions will show the real reasons of your dismissal
from your work. You have to be ready for such traps.

It is important that your strategy should be concentrated on the job
you are looking for, and your abilities to cope with it. It would be
easier to answer the questions on the interview. But answering them, try
not to exaggerate your abilities and do not speak in a haughty manner
about your pluses. If you are a great employee try to show it using other
ways of convincing the interviewer.

If you are asked about your strong points tell only those detail which
are closely connected with the job you apply for. And if you are asked
about your weak points remind of those minuses which are the
continuation of those strong points which would be connected with the job. For
example you get used to working hard and you are a little bit worried
that you pay too much attention to the details.

If the interviewer asks you about difficult situations from the past or
the episode from your biography (refusals, previous conviction or bad
experience during your education), try to say which experience did you
get from the difficult situation. Tell that this very situation helped
and taught you and now you are ready to cope with all the difficulties.
When you prepare for the interview, pay attention to your manner of
speech. You should talk quietly and confidently - as a good specialist.
The employer may understand that you are not experienced because your
speech is not confident. Some words create the image of a weak person. You
should avoid such words not glad instead of I am angry and so on.
The impression is lowered by such phrases as I am not an orator, I do
not have much experience, and I am a new person.

If you want to understand what impression you make on people record
your presentation on the tape or CD and listen to it carefully. I do it
every time before the interview and not only interviews but also
different seminars. As usual even the most experienced top-managers do not
satisfy with their self-presentations. So what can we say about ordinary
people? If it is needed correct some details of your presentation and
make it more confident and persuasive.

As it was above mentioned we were talking only about the questions
which the employers usually ask. But the interview should be a kind of
dialog. Do not be afraid of asking different questions. Speak with the
interviewer. First of all you have to find out as much information about
the company as possible. Secondly, the questions which are correctly
formulated tell about your competence and demonstrate your interest in
getting a job. Try to ask the questions which would speak for your hiring.
Make them up beforehand.

There are several questions which would be useful and polite to ask the employer.

What would be the duration of my working day?
Who would be my supervisor?
May I talk to him?
Who would me my subordinates?
May I talk to them and meet them.
Why was this position left by the previous worker?
Is this very position important for the company?
What is the main problem of this position?
What are the opportunities for the professional promotion?

Listen carefully to the answers of the employer and of course tell
something on the topic from your own professional experience.
Maybe you have noticed that there were no questions about the salary in
this list. Do you remember the famous novel of Russian writer Mikhail
Bulgakov Master and Margarita". One of the characters of the novel said
that you should not ask about money. Especially those people who are
mightier than you are. They would offer and give you everything they
think you are worth of. If the interviewer would be interested in you as a
person for the position, he would discuss this question with you. As a
center of your answers should be the professional point of view but not
the interest in money.

It is natural that you should not ask the questions and interrupt the
interviewer. Say it like this: Have you finished? - I also have some
questions which are interesting for me because I am interested in getting
the job". But do not ask especially when the employer is speaking.
Sometimes at the end of the interview the interviewers allow the
candidates to ask some questions what else would you like to know?" if it was
not said it is better to wait until the end of the interview and say:
before the end of the conversation I would like to ask some questions
about the position. I also would like to say some words about my previous
experience." Do not forget to thank the interviewer.
The technique of self presentation.

Now let us look how different factors influence the creation of the
professional image. Different psychological experiments have shown that
more than 50% of stable opinion about the candidate is created during the
first minute of communication. And the researches of the job interviews
have shown and added some information to this conclusion.

It is set that the first impression about the person is made during the
first3-4 minutes and it does not depend on the duration of the
interview. After that the interview creates its tactics or strategy. If you
have made the positive impression he would ask you questions which would
help you to show your positive sides. If you have created negative
impression, be ready to answer strange and difficult questions. That means
that the interview consciously or subconsciously creates the background
of the interview. The result of the interview depends on it. So you
should keep in mind that the significance of the first interview is great.
The first impression and your personal success depend not only on your
words but also on the way you pronounce it. Most of the candidates do
not even think about the mimics and pose. Such things as mimics, body
language and moves of your limbs carry a lot of information about your
personality and way of life.

The background of the self presentation.

Most of the people are afraid of the first interview. And they do it
with vainly. The first interview is the best way to demonstrate the
employer your best features. The interview is more preferable and easy than
for example tests or filling in different forms. And you have to use
all the advantages of this way of testing your abilities.

Nevertheless the fear before the interview is common for all the
candidates. And the reasons are evident. We are afraid of uncertainty - we do
not know what is behind the door. But I may say that there is nothing
except the employer. In most cases you will find there a polite and
amicable person which only would like to know about your ability to cope
with certain type of work. And nothing else.

If you are a little bit alarmed before the interview try to find a
balance between your emotions and appearance. It is very important to save
your ability to concentrate and your nerves. Fear must not be
oppressive. This very constant alarm makes limits of different nature and makes
you feel depressed therefore you lose your faith in your abilities and
strength. But it is really bad to show your depressive mood to the
interview, is not it? In that case you could hardly ever make somebody
interested in your personality.

And remember that the attitude of the interviewer is not based on the
position: this candidate is haughty but he does not know the field of
work". On the contrary, the interviewer thinks that maybe this very
candidate may become a good specialist and work for the development of the
company".

And one more advice: do not treat your failures as an end of your
career. They are inevitable. Treat them as a given. Remember that the
statistics say that you will get a job only once in 20 times. In 19 times you
will fail. And you have to be ready for the refusal. Prepare yourself
that only 1 interview out of 20 would be successful but you will find
the position you have dreamt of all your life. And more quickly you get
19 refusals the more quickly you get a job. One of the best ways to
lower the alarm - is to prepare for the interview. Find out all the
possible information about the company you want to work for. Let your friends
be wild and sinister interviewers. It will help you to overcome the
fear. Think of the possible questions. These tips are really simple but
really useful.

JOB INTERVIEW TIP

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If you know 5 major tips of job interview, it will help you to make the meeting easier.

Tip 1

When preparing for the interview, keep in mind where you are going. If you go to a recruiting agency, remember that it is interested in both choosing the best possible candidate for its client, that is your potential employer and finding the most suitable job for you. So you don’t have to be afraid to be rejected, even if you are not chosen for a particular position, your resume is sure to stay in the data base of the job agency.

In case you go to the employer itself, it could be advised to find out who you are talking to. If it is not the person to take the decision, don’t expect to be given an immediate answer. If you go successfully through this meeting, you will certainly be invited to arrive once more.

Tip 2

When going to the interview prepare yourself not only to answer questions but also to put them. Just think that you are going to work in this firm, so you have to know what kind of organization it is, in what areas it is active, what will be your responsibilities, your salary and prospects.

Since your arrival to the office concentrate not on your own behavior, but oh that of the staff members and interviewer. It can be also useful to pay attention to the design of the place, its decoration, is it in order or not, imagine that you are going to stay there for may be several years, so it is really a thing that counts.
Usually they interview all the candidates in the same way: they begin with general questions (studies, family, hobbies), then continue with details of your job experience, sometimes you can also be asked some special questions concerning your profession. You can as well use the same scheme asking questions about your employer. One is advised to compile a list of questions to be put in, for example, your diary, so that you could take a look at them during the meeting if necessary.
You can write down some answers (eg, salary figures), so to have arguments in future.

Tip 3

Don’t be afraid to seem a fool and to fail to answer all questions. Ther are surely some points that you are not obliged to reveal to anyone, your know-hows, for instance. So in case you are asked an impolite question, your can just smile. But keep in mind that you shouldn’t make up excuses for that.
Seeming smart is not as bad as it can seem to, but only if you are sure that it will be interpreted in your favor. So when promoting yourself, use a tone of confidence and be conservative.

Tip 4

The value of any specialist is determined by his / hers experience, expertise and average salary for the position discussed. So when considering salary and benefits that you expect to be given have these points in mind. Surely you must determine the minimum level of reward, but it is not the question to be discussed in the very first place. Your complaints that the salary is not enough to pay rent are more likely to give necessary results when you’ve already been employed by the company than during job interview.

Tip 5

Be sincere, honest and reliable, a good employer is sure to be impressed by such behavior, and this is what you are really want, isn’t it? Even in case you are not successful with one particular position, you’ll e remembered and they can apply for your services later.

JOB INTERVIEW TIPS

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Psychological aspect.

Even if you have good recommendations or you have great working skills you can not be sure that the end of the conversation would be successful. As usual the position is given to the person who not only has a good skills and profound knowledge on particular subjects but also able to sea a social contact very easy. That is why the first task of the employee is to be sociable and easy-going to set a good contact and to make a good impression on the employer. Remember all the details that can help you or bother your dialog. The centre of any interview is the emotions of the interviewer but not yours.

Your aim is to persuade the employer that he can be sure in you. If you let him down his reputation will be spoilt.

Remember that you are having a dialog, do not sit with your mouth shut. Present the copy of your CV even if you have already sent it. Sometimes the employer does not have it at hand and he can easily forget some details from your CV. In that case he will ask unnecessary questions. Do you need it?

Interview is an official meeting.

You are not allowed to chew a chewing gum, to smoke, touch any pieces of furniture and other things in the office. You should understand that you have come there to have an interview but not to have fun or rest.
During your conversation try to look straight to your interviewer's eyes. Otherwise it may seem that you are not confident or sincere. Listen to the interviewers words very attentively and give the appropriate answers to his questions. Otherwise all your replies would be humorous and inappropriate.

Do not stare at your partner when he is busy talking on the phone or talking to one of his subordinates. When he gets free do not comment on his conversation and try to continue you dialog. In any case do not argue! Even about the weather. Every argument bothers to set friendly and amicable atmosphere. During the interview the conversation may change its topic and you will be asked about your hobby, tastes and preferences. Talk about it but try to come back to the point of the dialog. In cases when it is appropriate you may ask your questions like: This position is a great start for my career but what about my perspectives?"
Do not ask about a salary, time of vacations and extra payments until you get a position. Describing your professional biography try not to seem a loser. At the
end of the interview ask when you will be called and informed about the decision. Say that the information you have learnt today strengthen your wish to work there. Do not forget to say thank you" for the interview.

You are too good for it.

You may create hundreds of possible questions and rehearse all the answers but finally every thing would go wrong. Imagine the following situation. Helen is 30. Being a housewife for 7 years she decided to start working. She has finished special professional courses, looked through piles of books on the corporative ethics. She went to the interview dressing elegantly and smartly (in Margaret Thatcher's style), took parkers open and beautiful note book. Her future boss turned out to be a strange man with beer belly. Helens look shocked her interviewer because she
looked too good. In spite of her great interview the employer did not give the position to Helen. He said: I do not need a pea-cock in my zoo. I need somebody who is a little bit simpler even without knowledge on computer and internet.

Wide range of duties.

Having received an offer to come to the interview Jane was welcomed and the atmosphere was very friendly. On the interview she was asked to show her skills in the process of work. Jane was grateful to her new boss and began working. That day she worked for a half an hour and suddenly her boss offered her to continue her work in the other place. It took them 30 minutes to get to the +..Sauna. It was a surprise even a shock for her. Her boss said that it was a task for additional checking. Unsuccessful employer had to run.

Cheated Expectations.

Kate came to the interview to the company when the boss was looking for his helper. Kate made a great impression on him. He exclaimed: at last I have found a good professional whom I can rely on! You can doubt but I could not find the person who would be eager to work. Most of the people are so irresponsible. On the third working day Kate came up to her boss and informed him. She said that he was a bad boss because he did no trust to his subordinates, tried to cope with all his tasks all by him and of course he could not cope with the entire job because of lack
of time. His subordinates had nothing to do and in fact they did not do anything. He did not respect his subordinates, blamed them for all his mistakes and treated them in a rude way. Kate understood that she had two possible and what is more important - reasonable variants - either to work instead of her boss or leave the job. The boss did not offer her his position and Kate left the company.

Stories with happy endings.

Profound knowledge of the rules which you have to follow during the interview works with the representatives of European companies. And each employee can try to follow them. Natalie came to the interview having graduated from the technical university, good command of French and some years of working for the international company. A lot of people allied for the position. And of course Natalie got ready for the interview. She thought over possible answers and questions. Finally after the
interview she asked the employer if she would be taken would she have subordinates. It impressed him. Natalie got the position and now she has a good position which she is completely satisfied with. One girl Mary applied for a job and she was invited for the interview. The American multinational company was looking for an interpreter. They needed a girl from a small Russian town for holding serious
negotiations. During the interview she paid the attention on a small detail that her previous position was a position of a chairman of a local representative of Red Cross. For her it was an ordinary job but for her employer this detail played a very important role. He considered that if she worked for Red Cross it means that she is responsible, reliable and sincere person. Now you can see that the rules of successful interview work in any case. Follow them and be successful.

How to write CV

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Introduction.

Respectable recommendations and remarkable CVs do not guarantee the
complete success during the job interview. The most important thing is an
interview itself. Remember that on the interview you have a so-called
small encounter with the employer. Though there will be no winner or
loser but it is really important. If you will have a nice interview both
you and employer will be winners. There is an old joke about three girls
who applied for the position of a secretary and typist. They were asked
several ordinary and standard questions and they all replied
differently. However it turned out that their replies were not important and the
position was given to the girl with big breast. This joke has not lost
its originality and urgency nowadays. Firstly it says and reminds us
about particular rules of the employer during the interview. And these
standard rules are not common for everybody. They vary very much. It
means that we have to learn the common features of the interview bec
ause it is practically impossible to learn all the rules. It is
difficult to avoid risks and hilarious situations which you can face with
during the interview. But we will talk about them a little bit later.
First of all let me introduce or just remind you some rules of the
successful interview. These rules may be very helpful for all of you.
Get ready for the interview.
As it is said, improvisation is good when it is well prepared. Do not
be sure in your ability to act without being ready for it. Be ready to
give two types of different answers - answers for common questions,
which would come in use during all the interviews and special answers
oriented on particular employer. These are necessary tasks which you have to
complete if you do not want to have extra risks.
Think over the questions which you will be asked anyway. Ask one of
your relatives or friends to play a role of the employer and try to
rehearse your future dialog. Avoid any words and pauses like: Well+you
know+you see+" and so on. If you have an opportunity to take a video of
yourself - do it. Rehearse your pose, manners of behavior and pay your
attention on each detail.
Be ready for different surprises. They can be much unexpected. Every
simple and ordinary question becomes very difficult to answer in case it
was asked in a strange way. Let's see an example of such questions:
How can we use your professional skills in our company? Or what
advantages do you have for working in that sphere?" you should not think that
the employer have doubts about your skills and ability to cope with all
tasks. Just say: I think that I can be useful for your company
because+.." and tell the employer about your advantages.
Prepare short and bright examples which show your attitude towards the
work and can assure the employer that you have the best features for
getting that position. If you come and say that I can work - it means
that you say nothing. Find out all possible information about the company
where you would like to work. You should be interested in everything:
the type of the company, this specialization, what services it can
provide for their workers, its latest achievements, structure of
organization and if it is possible, plans for the future. Talk to people who can
inform you about the situation in the company. Useful information you
can find in special business editions. Of course, you have to work hard
and spend a lot of time to get ready. But on the interview you would
have an opportunity to show your knowledge and for example say: I have an
experience of arranging PR companies and I suppose it would be useful
for your company.
It is necessary to express your motivation to work for the company or
the organization. For example: being a student I decide to specialize
in PR. Now your company needs a good specialist in it and I am ready to
work for it and improve that sphere."
The invitation on the interview is usually made on the phone. The first
contact and any first impression are very important for you. Warn your
family that the employer may call in the evening or at weekends. Do not
have a phone conversation in a room where a TV-set or radio is turned
on or somebody is talking. Mind your Ps and Qs. May be this proverb is
rude but it is necessary to keep a neutral tone of your voice and manner
of speech. Do not be lazy to ask the name and surname of the person you
are talking with and his or her telephone number to be aware of
situation.
You should dress properly for the interview even there is no dress code
in the company. Check your costume and footwear. It must be clean and
fresh. Do not leave it for the last moment.
Being late for the interview is like a death! Try to learn the route in
every detail because post address is not enough. If you have and drive
a car remember and try to avoid traffic jams. It is better to come 10
minutes before the interview.

Resume "must have"

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What one does not need to include in the resume

Do not include into your resume all your job history. Your potential employer is interested only in the last three to five working positions for the period about ten years which are meaningful to the job you are applying for. Resume should be official. Do not overload it with personal information, that is: information concerning your relatives, your weight and health. Do not apply your picture to the resume (only when required by the employer).

In conclusion pay attention to the following detail: your resume should be immaculate, that’s why ask somebody with the excellent knowledge of English to check your resume for mistakes. Besides, do not trust Word Redactor, check your resume twice before sending it to employers. Read it aloud to see if there are any mistakes or ambiguities.

Rules of the resume composing

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Remember three key ideas:

1.You have only one chance to succeed with the help of your resume when it is being read for the first time.

2. Writing your resume follow the rules of selectivity. The information for the resume should be selected according to its aims.

3. A successful resume may become the reason of a personal interview with the employer but it does not guarantee getting the job.

Your aim is to make the person reading your resume want to meet you

When there has been announced a vacancy for a more or less serious job, employer gets an astonishing number of resumes. And there is a possibility that your particular resume might not be noticed at all even if you meet the employer’s demands. The resume is read by live human beings. If you are not lucky, your resume may be read at the end of the second hundred of the letters. By that time managers try to get rid of the letters because they already have enough appropriate candidates. That’s why the task is to attract their attention. For that aim your resume should look different from the others. Psychologists advise to use paper of an unusual color. Do not hurry to the store to get some poisonous colored paper. Among the most suitable colors are light-grey, light-yellow, light-green and, best of all, ivory (never use pink or blue!). Of course, paper should be of the highest quality!

Main requirements and regulations:

The style of resume writing should be concise, concrete, active (never write that you participated, helped and so on. It makes them think that you rendered random service), honest.

Resume should be well-structured and be written in a simple language. It must take minimum of your potential employer’s time to look it through and make the decision about it. Your key abilities, achievements and experience should be evident.

One should be very concrete in the formulas’ selection. Don’t write:

Have been teaching

Helped to decrease the number of mistakes

Quick at acquiring new knowledge

Instead you should write:

Has trained two new employees, reduced the number of mistakes by 10% and saved 50000 $ for the company, mastered new procedures in a record short terms – during two weeks

Don’t write wordy and avoid passive tense. Avoid long phrases and intricate words. If you have to use special terms, make sure that they will be understood by everybody. In describing your present work use verbs in the present tense and accordingly if you describe your previous jobs use past tenses only. Be consistent: if you have used some contraction once, use it through the whole resume (but it is better to write all the words in full forms). Avoid using the pronoun I. Prefer positive information to negative do not write settled complaints, prevented the profits from falling, switched my position . Instead you should write helped the clients, increased the product’s potential on the market, advanced in my position.

Concentrate attention on your achievements. Do not write I have worked there for three years, performed extra work. You should write: got a promotion and two salary increases, always performed my job in time.

Resume must be correctly designed. It is connected with the peculiarities of human perception. Resume should be readable. Remember that illegible resumes are never read. Define all the most important headings, see that your resume is designed in one and the same style. Choose the style which is easy to read (big margins, a medium font, enough space between the lines and so on and so forth). One must combine equal intervals, neat margins and one must not ignore indentions. It is better to print your resume with a laser printer so that your text looked more presentable. Resume must be short. It is very important to put your resume on two pages maximum. The optimal size is one page. Usually, each resume takes 15-20 second of manager’s time. During that period the manager marks your as perspective or absolutely unsuitable. That’s why you might not have the second chance. During those 15-20 seconds you should demonstrate the grounds of your pretensions on the job. Describe in detail your recent experience for the 5-7 years. Don’t use minor features. Resume must be well thought-out. Its contents should correspond to the position you are striving for. If you can apply for different jobs, send a few different resumes. Resume must be conclusive. List the results of your previous job, using figures and per cents, show your real achievements. Resume must be exact. Avoid too general information and extra definitions. Resume should be true. Don’t boast writing about your positive experiences. Be sure that you can prove all the information which you included into your resume. Resume should be finished. Employers understand that if they ask for recommendations, they will get them. That’s why do not write in the end that recommendations are attached.

One should say in the very beginning that there is no unified form for the resume. Investigations in the area show that employers pay attention first of all to the previous job, secondly, to the job history, and then to the candidate’s qualification. So it should contain the following data:

1.Your name, age, contact phone.

2.Your aims (why you are applying to that very company, what kind of job you are looking for).

3.Education (starting from your last place of studies, that is in the reverse chronological order). And here you should mention the date when you started and the graduation date, the name of the educational institution, faculty, specialization, granted qualification.

4. Your working experience( again in the reverse chronological order): the date when you started and finished working, name of the company, its priorities, name of your position, the number of your subordinates (if any), your responsibilities and concrete achievements.

5. Complementary education – courses, seminars, trainings, probations

6. Extra skills (computer skills, knowledge of foreign languages, driving license, typing skills and others)

7. Your advantages (mention a few of your personal traits which differentiate you from the others and help to achieve high results).

HOW TO WRITE A GOOD RESUME

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HOW TO WRITE A GOOD RESUME

So, one morning after you woke up, went to the bathroom and had a nice breakfast, all of a sudden you realize that it is high time to start looking for the job. There are two most wide-spread ways to look for the job.

The first way is through somebody’s protection using your family, friends or any other type of relations. There is no advice here except for to have as many acquaintances as possible, especially in your professional sphere. It has been proved by experience that communicative people have less problems searching for jobs because the more acquaintances you have the more it is possible that your future employer might be among them. But at the same time you should not expect that all of your friends will recommend you to their bosses. We live in a very competitive time when everybody is afraid to lose their job (what might happen if you fail to succeed in the new place? It is quite possible that the person who recommended you will be fired too).

The second way of searching is more civilized – through the agencies. That is when you go to some career agency which has a number of vacancies. In that case you start competing with other claimants. To win the competition is not an easy target. Except for professional knowledge, you should know standard technologies used by employers for personnel search. And, of course, you should convince your employer that you are the kind of specialist he has been dreaming about during his whole life. Here you will need basic psychological knowledge to go through all the testing, interviews and other terrors.

That’s why when you decided to start searching for job, do not rush to phone all the agencies in town which you have found in the directory. You will have to do it but later.

Instead, start writing your resume. The advice is reasonable because first of all, 99.9 % of the agencies require resumes designed according to certain rules and, secondly, the process of resume writing is a good way to structure your thoughts and ideas. What kind of job do you want to get? In what activity sphere? With what degree of responsibility? What is your knowledge and professional experience in that sphere? What are your strong and weak points? What career path do you imagine for yourself? What post will satisfy you? You should be maximum honest and objective. Be the judge for yourself. The final resume will depend on your answers.

Being unemployed in a critical for the economy time, one feels at least helpless without any means of subsistence. And there arises an important question what to do in the first place (especially if one has never faced such a problem). However saturated the today’s market is, the demand for professionals has not just remained but is also constantly growing. It goes without saying that the supply exceeds the demand which leads to a great competition. That’s why the most important aim of the competitors is to attract attention to his/her nomination. And the professional resume is a visiting card here. One should not hastily send his ill-defined resumes which have been once seen in the press, in the Internet or on TV to all faxes and e-mails. First of all, one should pay attention to how one’s resume is printed, structured and written. Here is advice on how to write a correct resume. A lot has been written on the subject of resume writing. So, let’s concentrate on the most important details.

Job interview cut.

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DO
1. Plan to arrive early to interview (at least 15 minutes). This shows reliability and interest.
2. At interview dress neatly and conservatively.
3. Remember and use the interviewer’s name and degree.
4. Be outwardly oriented. If you can find out what the interviewer is interested in and talk about it, he or she is more likely to become interested in you.
5. On interview ask about the company, the department, and the jobs itself. Show your interest and knowledge.

Form of your resume’s introduction
The worthy candidate sends the resume by e-mail with a short covering letter and an attachment of a RTF-file or DOC-file called by his/her last name.
The thing is that after reading the document managers usually save resumes in their computers by the last name of the candidate. That’s why one should not send file named resume.rft or resume.doc – because such files will surely have to be renamed.
It is only for you that the file might be the only resume, but for the manager it is one of the dozens or even hundreds. Only few candidates are smart enough to name the file with their last name, that shows their concern of the human factor and gaining the manager’s respect.
One should not send the resume in Microsoft Excel format as it is not used by everybody. And also, as it has been mentioned before, a table is not the best resume’s form.
And besides lack of every formatting may make the text perception extremely difficult, that’s why Microsoft Word format is much more preferable than, for example, txt or plain text, which a rare candidate can type so that it looked good. Word Processor makes it easier!

That’s why don’t make the file with the resume in it bigger than 200-250 Kbite.
Do not make your employer wait or put extra effort! Besides, the manager might not unzip your file at all if he/she uses some other type of archiver than you.

Type with Arial 10, which is easy for eye perception and is usually installed on every computer. Don’t use the fonts which are too small, because managers are often people with not perfect eyesight. Don’t use other rare fonts because they might not be installed in the manager’s computer at all.

Anyway, grammar and spelling mistakes never contribute to the good perception of the text and never make the resume’s quality better. Question your friends who are philologists if your resume grammar good.

It is because managers are extremely busy people and usually read resumes diagonally, so to say, catching key words that they are interested in. That’s why your resume should be structured – for the easy perception.

After your resume was studied by your potential future employer, in case he or she liked it, you get an invitation to come to an interview. You are pleased, but most of people get nervous at such moments, which can become a reason for failure, so it’s crucial to settle down and feel confidence in success.

Arrive precisely on time, being late is absolutely unacceptable. If you are late due to some valid reasons, call the manager you have an appointment with and try to change the time of the interview. If the circumstances are such that you are can arrive in advance, also make a call to be sure that your interviewer is able to meet you.

, but don’t exaggerate, too wordy explanations may do wrong for you as well.

Don’t yield to temptation to embellish your accomplishments or your professional experience, give only the true information, or you can do more harm than good for you. Firstly, are you telling the truth or not is Secondly, in case you provide any recommendations your interviewer to check whether you really performed all the duties you have mentioned in your resume and cover letter. And finally you can be simply asked to demonstrate your skills (for example, if one declares he or she types 250 letters a minute, it can be easily checked by asking to type anything).

By recognizing and analyzing your mistakes, you show that you are open to critics and have an ability to see that you are wrong, remember that only that one never makes mistakes who never does anything.

Any employer is interested top know why you left your previous job, here you are also advised to tell the truth. Resist to temptation to criticize your former boss, all managers have their solidarity. If you cannot say anything good about your job, than you’d better opt for constructive critics, in such case you will at least give an impression of a man who pays attention to what is happening around.

8. During the period while you are awaiting for an answer, make your own choice, whether you still want to get this job or not. Besides, you should clarify for yourself what this position means to you, is it a temporary one or you hope to stay there for long and to climb up the career ladder, the way you should cooperate with your future colleagues depends on it.

Such avoiding of an answer seems rather suspect, keep in mind that human psychology acts in such way that when there’s a lack of information it is always interpreted as something bad is hidden here. So you’re advised to prepare a precise answer for such a question.

The impression is that such person is absolutely incapable of managing his/her own life and just drifts with the current.

The applicant criticizes severely and abuses his/her former employer. Even in case the latter deserves it, it won’t play into your hands, because it’s interpreted as lack of loyalty in respect of your superiors.

it may make an interviewer think that the candidate thinks but about money.

Remember, that when answering you should choose the words that would show your loyalty in respect of the employer, interest in efficient work, skills of handling your life, for example:

Keep in mind that ability to leave without scandal is very important nowadays, so it’s now a usual practice to get information about a candidate from his previous employers.

Sometimes it can be recommended to reject a position with higher salary in unstable firm in favor of more reliable employer who proposes smaller payments.

But the situation has its darker side, if you are a career-oriented person, you’d better not to stay too long at the same position, especially if you are young. But if you feel you can obtain necessary knowledge and expertise you can surely stay for long.

And certainly the higher expertise you have the more desirable employee you become, use every opportunity to study no matter where you work.

Thus you can show that you are really interested in the position you applied to and that you have not only arrived to see what you’ll be proposed but have also thought how you can be useful for the company.

* Is the industry the company is active in developing and prospective?
* Is it active only on domestic market or also abroad?
* Is it a part of a bigger alliance?
* How did the goals of the company change during its existence?
* Were there any redundancies during last years? Why?
* What is the attitude of the company towards its employees?
* Is the public opinion of the company (examine media coverage)media coverage positive or negative? Why?

If you want to get a job with some conservative company like a bank or an insurance firm, the optimum dress for such situation is a business suit. In case you are looking for the position of a creative worker (designer, artist, decorator) you’d better listen to your good sense and choose something that will emphasize your taste. Your hair should be done in accurate neat hair-do, make-up should be of natural colors, Perfume should rather be delicate, rich evening ones are not appropriate.
Go to bed early so to avoid looking like a night-clubs addicted visitor, for whom life starts when the working day is over.

Keep in mind that chewing a gum gives rather bad impression.

When you are proposed to take a seat, sit down comfortably, don’t stay at the edge of a chair as if you are ready to run away, but don’t sprawl about on the seat like a gangster from soap-opera. Avoid slang, use good grammar, it shows that you are well-educated and well-brought-up person.

* How long the probation period lasts;

Remember that calling twice a day to find out the decision is not your best recommendation.

If you were refused, you can ask to take you into account in the future if any suitable vacancies appear.

Analyze why you were not chosen and try to find out what was to be done to be successful. This is going to help you when attending other interviews.

First of all, let’s determine what types of psychology exist and what their main characteristics are. In respect of relations to external factors psychologists count 2 main types of personality – extraverts and introverts.
Some people are easy-going, open-minded and emotional, they always try to change the world around. These are extraverts. Their main characteristics are:
* Openness for external world and events,
* Activity, inclination to risk and initiative,
* Ability to understand other’s behavior,
* Presence of personal independent opinion,
* Ability to establish contacts easily as well as to break them,
* Good team player.
Others are rather restricted, they hate sudden changes, fuss. Their mind is engaged in self-analysis and inner emotional experience. These are introverts. Their main characteristics are:
* Orientation on the inner world and emotions,
* Inclination to quietness,
* Calm, reserved character, dreaminess,
* Dislikes sudden incidents,
* Unable to react spontaneously,
* Individualist, not a team player.
Though these characteristics are rather steady, behavior of a person in each particular situation questionable and depends on many factors. Besides, even if a person is generally an extravert in some matters he/she may behave as an introvert and v.v., so one should always count circumstances.
Extraverts and introverts behave differently during job interviews, while introvert may seem too reserved and even rude when answer a questions, uninterested in the position and interlocutor, extravert faces a risk to seem insolent and superficial. So it’s very important to be aware of your personal characteristics and to correct way of behaving in accordance with the circumstances.
When having a job interview with an applicant, HR manager expects to see some average type of behavior and in case you manage to follow it your chances to succeed rise significantly. Here are some advices for both psychological types.
One may think that extraverts are better employees than introverts, because they are always smiling and joyful, this is a wrong opinion. While extraverts are good as sales managers, PR-managers and receptionists, such duties as accounting, engineering and analysis are performed better by introverts, because they are assiduous and accurate. The matter is that each person should find a job which will suit his/her particular type of mind and then reveal those qualities to the potential employer that are essential for the position one is applying to.

How should you look like during job interview?
As human resources managers say many people don’t get the position they apply to because they make the same mistake of attending a job interview being dressed inappropriately. A good thing to be done is to walk near the firm you are applying to and take a look on what its employees wear. But anyway if you have any doubts, the best choice will be to come dressed in business style, even if jeans are welcome in the company, you will be able to wear them after you have been hired. And here are some guidelines on what you should wear if you want to impress your possible employer.

Dress
When choosing what to put on for the interview, you should question yourself: what is the place and the position you’re looking for, once again, the closer your profession is to creative job, the less strict the rules are. If you want to get a job with some conservative company like a bank or an insurance firm, the optimum dress for such situation is so called “fashionable classic”, when you follow the general fashion trends, but don’t look defiant. In case you are looking for the position of a creative worker (designer, artist, decorator) you’d better listen to your good sense and choose something that will emphasize your taste.
The length of skirt is determined by your taste and figure, but classical knee-length is still preferable when attending an interview in a serious organization. The pants should rather be wide. Currently fashion allows you to dress in 1980-ies style – high heels and “bananas” pants. Even if it’s hot, it is questionable for woman to have décolleté and naked shoulders, especially considering the fact that all worthy offices are equipped with condition systems.
When talking about colors of your dress, you should keep in mind that some of them are not suitable for job interview, for example, red may make your interviewer aggressive, while brown may be interpreted as lack of self-assurance. Besides, you should depend on what season it is, in summer light tones are preferable like blue, beige, cream, light green, while in winter more dark colors are appropriate. And keep in mind that classical combination of black and white is never out of fashion.

Hair-do
Considering hair-do, it’s your decision which length to wear but in all cases remember, that your hair should always be carefully arranged. If you prefer short hair-cut, visit hairdresser regularly so to avoid untidy appearance, long hair should be done in accurate neat hair-do. Presently it’s popular to dye hair using several different colors at the moment, if so, choose non-contrasting hair-dyes, blending into each-other, so to make an impression of one and the same but full color.

Make-up, perfume and decorations
Make-up should be of natural colors, a well-known principle that color of your nail polish should correspond with your lipstick is appropriate in the situation of job interview. In any case use general guide-lines of make-up - if you use rich lipstick, don’t apply bright eye-shadows and v.v. Perfume should rather be delicate, rich evening ones are under a big question.
Moderate decorations are welcome whether it’s jewelry or bijouterie, so you can put on your favorite ring, bracelet or earrings to feel more confident, but don’t exaggerate, your appearance should comply to the position and salary you’re applying to.

Some remarks for men
Wear classical suit of brighter colors in summer and darker ones in winter. Your tie shouldn’t be defiant, it should correspond with color of your shoes and socks. Keep in mind that it’s not good to wear black shoes with light-colored pants and v.v. Many men wrongly neglect manicure, for example, if you are proposed to smoke a cigarette during your interview, your interviewer will certainly notice what your hands look like and it can influence his general impression about you.

But your confidence is still the main thing
Though the way you look is very important for being a successful candidate, don’t forget that the main thing is to be confident and competent. Even the best possible business suit wil not help to answer interview questions right.

The situation changed a lot today. Every employer wants to get not just an employee but also a professional ready to move the company forward and gain an advantage over the competitors using his knowledge, skills and experience. This employee manager has to answer that question at the interview: if you are that person. First of all general advice for everybody: stand up from the right leg. Your mood should be working and business-like. No parties the night before, no hangover. No making excuses before manager. If you are sick call there, well in advance (not five minutes) before and ask to postpone the meeting.
Usually the interview time is known beforehand. It is inadmissible to be late there but in the same time, you should not come 20-30 minutes before. Perfect time is 5-7 minutes before the interview. Your appearance long before the time will make manager cut down the interview time with previous candidate or postpone some things he planned to do before you come. It might make him nervous and negative about you before even you talked. Moreover, as well known the first impression is the most important and hard to change.
While getting ready for the interview remember that at first you will be appreciated by the way you look. Try to create a good impression because a lot depends on the manager and his opinion (as a rule that is the first person from the firm you are interested in you will have to communicate with). Your look should fit the vacancy you pretend. Nobody appeals for you to come with working clothes on if you want to be a workman. The best would be the business style clothes. Remember that you might have not only one interview but several with different status managers.
You should be in a good mood. No pity look, do not act like a slave. Your entire look should say that you are an efficient, benevolent and ready for co-operation person. In the same time do not over try. Everything will clear up just you start talking about your work and progress you made so do not brag. Some competitor especially women try to gain managers favor ingratiating and flirting, that is inadmissible. Make-up and perfume are appropriate but should not be provocative.
Everything depends on your ability competently and laconically tells about your experience knowledge and skills. Remember that in the interview time the leading role belongs to manager. Do not try to take initiative in. Tell him only necessary things not the whole biography. Your interlocutor wants to find out if your experience fits the vacancy, you pretend. As a rule interviewers work on resume before meeting. Be able to find your feet in your new surroundings, do not withdraw into, do not be badgered or irritated but in the same time do not try to behave bookishly. There are many books now where you can read how to behave at the interview, how to gesticulate and what questions to ask. But you should remember that there is an experienced interviewer in before you and he can easily see if you are unnatural. You were invited to the interview so the employer is interested in your experience. For now your task is to increase that interest. Be ready that the conversation will not only be about your forthcoming job but also you might be asked about your family, friends, hobbies, your interests, why you choused this profession the reasons for your retirement. Answer not only yes or no, the interviewer not only seeks for your right answers on his questions but also wants to check your ability for expounding your thoughts. While saying about your last successes say only about things you really did, do not try to add somebody else’s achievements. Remember that most of things you say about at the interview you will have to do at your new work place. The main thing is to not disappoint your employer then or the result will be mournful for the company and for you yourself.

The test results are not the main thing and they are usually accepted by interviewer as one of stages for choosing candidates in the complex estimation of your knowledge and experience of the offered job. Testing is a voluntary event for you but it would not be good for you to refuse. The main thing for the interviewer is to not make it decisive and to not make hasty conclusions just because of the questions results. No test questions can replace a personal contact.
It is very important to be able to listen to your opponent. To bring yourself is only a half of the deal; second part is listen to the things he is saying and understand everything. Your success depends on not only your professional skills but also on how well you will cooperate with company of people you are going be around. There are accidents when people at the interview were asked where and how they relax, what they drink and who their friends are. At the interview that person could understand that he is going to be invited in a team. He was told about the company’s rules. That game cost’s some money therefore they should be commensurable with your feature salary. It is important to remember about that at the end of interview. Why? About that later. Now about the possible questions you might be asked.
First of all they will try to clear up what were your responsibilities at the last place, what authorities you had and what you achieved. Second, your interviewer will be interested why you quit from the last place, your relations with your ex bosses and the colleagues. Be ready for question why you choused this company, profession, specialty. The interviewer will also try to clear up your ambitions. Do not over try about that. Remember that you seek for this concrete position only this is needed for now. And for the company is important to fill this position. There are accidents when candidates while even not taken yet try to clear up their prospects in the company. It would be more appropriate to ask if they usually raise their employees or invite people from aside.
Possibly, after first interview with employee manager you will be offered to meet with one of top-managers (this depends of the position you pretend to). Even if your official level is higher than employee manager’s is you should not show that. At the end of interview, it would be appropriate to ask about forthcoming work. You have right to question all the information about the company, its mission, corporate structure and so on, but do not try to raise your salary. Analyze information you got at the interview before questioning it.
If at the interview, you understood that the proposed job is not what you want, do not interrupt your opponent but in the same time, do not lose your time. Use all your diplomacy and tact.
You might meet other officials after the interview with the employee manager, or at any other time, they set. If those meetings are needed the employee manager will decide on the grounds of your test and interview results. While meeting with top managers you will be asked about your professional skills.
The rights to decide if you fit for the position you pretend to belongs usually to the employee manager or to the top manager of the company. So while talking with one of those people behaves as you the best person for the position.
At the end thank the interviewer for time he spend and attention you were given and agree on further contacts. If you were not taken do not be upset. Take it as an exam you had to pass. Any interview is a priceless experience. Do not blame your opponent first look for mistakes you made but in the same time do not punish yourself. Your reaction should be reasonable and carefully thought out.

2006-03-23T17:44:00.000-05:00

Before the interview I offer you to read some information about a
psychological aspect of the contact. All the people can be divided into four
classes according the psychological aspect. The majority of social
psychologists claim that these classes are: analytic, mild, expressive
and a driver. Every aspect has its own psychological characteristics. Let
look through them.

Analytic aspect.

Positive features of the person: preciseness, rationalism, courtesy and
attention towards small details.

Negative features: criticizing himself, uncertainty, formalism and
propensity to condemnation of the people.

Mild aspect.

Positive features of the person: warmness, the ability to hold serious
negotiations, reliability and the propensity to co-operation.
Negative features: undisciplined, dependence, obedience, compliance and
excessive care.

Expressive aspect.

Positive features of the person: enthusiasm, the ability to persuade,
optimism and communicative skills.
Negative features: self-centeredness, emotionalism, propensity to be
exploited and self-confidence.

Driver

Positive features of the person: independence, ability to make
important decisions, effective work, persistence and strong will.
Negative features: aggression, violence and ruthlessness.
These very aspects will be useful when you choose a career.

Analytic style

People of that style may be Managers of finance (and programmers,
engineers and accountants). They are fond of complicated systems and long
procedures. They are a little bit slow on the uptake because they
analyze each detail but their decisions are always balanced. They prefer to
work themselves without any help and sometimes it turned out that they
can not work with other people. They buy cheap second-hand cars and
their style in clothes is conservative. In the party they will ask you why
you bought such an expensive beer, if you could buy a cheap one. They
take their laptops with them everywhere even if the go to the party.

PR-managers.

They are oriented on other people in every aspect of their
life and work. They are dependent on people, devoted to them and very
sympathetic. They can listen to your long stories and they appreciate
constrained people to work with. They are conformists and followers;
there are not leaders by their nature. They avoid conflicts and arguments
and take them quite a lot of time to come to the decision. The make
decisions reluctantly because they do not want to be responsible for them.
They buy minivans or cozy and convenient cars for them and their
children. They love comfort life and they are the only people who stays at
the party till the end to help with odd jobs around the house.

Manager of sales.

They are full of enthusiasm and energy. The may create the idea but they are not able to embody it in to reality. They are self-confident and egoistic. Their main motivation is money, a lot of money. Generally they set good social and professional contacts. They prefer to point out and control rather than ask and listen to. They drive beautiful sport cars with stereo systems. The idea of the corporative
party is their idea but they will not arrange and prepare it because they are in a hurry for the next one.

Bosses and businessmen.

They are smart and strict. Their success is entirely based on their inner motivation and constant search of challenge. Money for them is just a measure of their success but not the main factor. They are oriented on the result and that is why sometimes they may be indulgent and patient to serious disadvantages and sometimes they
lose their patience because of laziness of their subordinates. Their cars are really expensive but not because it is the opportunity to show their wealth but it is a great chance to invert their money in sensible way. They would like to know the reason for arranging the party and if the investors and other important guests were invited. On the job interview you will talk with the representatives of those
aspects. And each representative having asked the question about you would like you to reply in different ways. The information about those aspects would be very useful in that case. There are the example replies for the representatives of different styles.

The reply to a manager of finance.

The success of my career may be explained by my balances decisions based on the thorough analyses of all the details. I would like to work with you because the opportunity to develop the structure appeals to me and I think that our co-operation
would be helpful for the whole company".

The reply to a PR-manager.

My promotion is connected with the ability to lead an effective work with different people. I always try to find an opportunity to involve other people into the process of my work. Co-operation and constant communication is the thing which always helps me to gain a success in my department. I think that people is the most
precious resource for every company.

The reply to a manager of sales.

During my career I have always followed the rule that every person in the company is focused on the increase of sales. My department has always been prepared for the work with clients and we provided a various help to our clients. Without sales we
will not develop our company and our functional department will not have job to do. I am going to provide the increase of sales in one or another way."

The reply to a businessman.

I have achieved the professional success because I have always been oriented to the final result. I always try and find the innovational ideas which would be helpful for achieving good results. I do not like to keep status Quo because I personally think that the company without any changes is doomed to be a complete failure.
I would be grateful to work with you and to develop new spheres and markets. I hope my work would promote the company".

The aspects of the people's character which I have already mentioned
are common with people. And knowing the aspects will help you to give
appropriate answers for different managers. I wish you get a job you have
dreamt about for a long time.

2006-03-23T17:43:00.000-05:00

If your boss is special…

Our supervisors influence our work and achievements, that’s why it is very important to consider your chef’s peculiarities and correct your behavior. A rational, consistent and logical boss is a great luck for the employers, and if the boss is talented, inconsistent and an artistic personality, we should be always alert to follow changes in the mood and streams of ideas. The strategy of communication with such a supervisor is of a great importance especially during the trial period.

First of all, it must be mentioned that the perspective to come across a genius is not everybody’s fortune. An artistic boss is more likely to be met in the certain companies connected with art – advertising agencies, publishing houses, mass media, design studios and so on. But it is not much of a risk if you consider your supervisor’s peculiarity. And if you learn working with such a person it will bring more pleasure than complications.

Order is in the first place. Talented people are usually absent-minded, non-obligatory, have difficulties with concentration and that’s why they appreciate when there are walking note-books and speaking micro-processors next to them. Try to become an irreplaceable assistant stocking the papers and reminding about “where we stopped” and what needs to be done. Of course, you should not count on being his/her right hand from the very first day – it is necessary to be on the right way.

Fix! It would not be a bad idea to have a note-book, because if a person gives away ideas, who cares what he /she is – a boss or a cleaning-lady! It is precious and should not be wasted. Besides, writing down ideas of your genius chef, you can better understand his/her thoughts and become adherents which will make communication easier.

High level exchange! Do not be afraid to speak out and demonstrate your own abilities – talented people are rarely haughty and can appreciate your strong points. Psychologists say that real geniuses do not guess that they are unique. Of course, your creative chef might answer to your painfully born ideas that it is nonsense, and even worse. But this is his relation to the idea not to you. In a minute he / she will forget all about it but if you guess using your creativity you have the chance to get into the rows of the special colleagues.

Logic and facts. Your knowledge of information and logical consistence in your speech will be appreciated by every boss and moreover by a talented one. So, suggesting even the bravest ideas, argue them maximally. Masterly gathered facts give away a good worker and in case with the boss who cannot work hard and consistently himself, play an important role of a solid ground.

Become a rock! Try not to respond to emotional outbursts and changes in your chef’s mood. If he / she is dissatisfied with your job, there is nothing personal here – the whole thing is not about you but about your job. That’s why calm down and communicate, ask what needs to be redone, suggest the other way of working. Sometimes a creative boss can be very unreserved: some use even swear-words, but remember, it is not about you. Try to understand those outbursts: unbalanced nervous system is a big problem as it is.

If your chef is obsessed over his / her geniality… It is more difficult if your boss thinks only about his geniality. Remember, the best tactics which always works here is flattery, and you should always use it. Flatter great discoveries, agree with unique decisions and super ideas if it does not do harm to the company, of course. But if your boss’s geniality is too much, try to use creative gears to stop him/her. There is surely somebody in the company whom he/she trusts more than the others. Talk to that trustee, it might be that the person will be able to say gently that though the step is undoubtedly brilliant but it might have a side effect.

If the person is really inclined to overestimate himself/herself, as a rule, he/she thinks that he/she is talented in everything. The subordinates should take it into account that they are supposed to laugh at their boss’s every joke – they are funny by definition. It is appropriate to admire his/her looks all the time and to ascribe the company’s or department’s successes to the talented supervisor. And watch your own ambitions, you can get promoted only through service to your boss’s interests. To embody your idea, try to make it look as if it is your supervisor’s. However wrong it might seem, such behavior is just a necessary condition for survival. And besides, why not make somebody feel good?

Every boss is unique in his/her own way, that’s why the most important thing is to listen and watch your chef’s reactions to your actions. Notice what irritates your boss, makes him/her angry. And do not show off your temper. It is possible that after a certain time, you will be allowed to, but so far your task is to go round the sun in circles. If you do it well, you will get warm, if you do not, you will burn down.

2006-02-27T01:38:00.000-05:00

Interview questions.
Questions may be asked during an interview:

Why did you decide to seek a job interview with this organization?

Tell me about a problem you had in your last jobs and how you resolved it?

What led you to choose your field or major, your career?

Tell me about yourself.

What are your career goals, and how are you preparing to achieve them?

What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

If you would have interview with a former job employer, would he rehire you?

How do you determine or evaluate success?

Outline the contributions you believe you would make to our company.

If you would be asking questions on this interview, what qualities would you look for?

What has been your experience in presenting the results of your research or other job?

How do you work under pressure?

What salary do you expect?

Those comes less during interview:

What languages do you speak?

What programs on PC do you know?

Have you got driving license?

Have you got a car?

Are you married or have a girlfriend? Do you expect to have a baby?

What a book are you reading now?

What newspapers, magazines do you read?

Why should I hire you after this interview?

Questions which you can be asked

Interview question: Why have you chosen be interviewed for this job (company, area of science)?

Answer: Here you’re expected to give ponderable arguments like opportunities of professional development, useful experience.

Interview question: Have you received other job proposals?

Answer: If yes, tell about it, it may raise your value in the eyes of your potential employer, but don’t forget to mention that this position is more interesting for you.

Interview question: Have you attend any other interviews?

Answer: Say yes or no, but you don’t have to specify where and when it happened.

Interview question: Will you be able to stay long hours and go on business trips?

Answer: Be honest, if you have children or you’re studying, you will hardly be able to meet such requirements, so you’d better clarify it from the beginning.

Interview question: What are your strong points?

Answer: Emphasize those qualities which can be important for this particular job, communication skills are irrelevant if you’re applying for the position of PC operator, but they do matter if you want to be a sales manager. Prove having such qualities by giving examples from your previous job experience or studies.

Interview question: What are your weak points?

Answer: Use the question to make an accent on your strong points, say something like “Oh, people say I’m a workaholic…”

Interview question: Why do you want to get this particular job? Why should we choose you?

Answer: This is the moment when you are expected to use all the information you gathered about the company and industry, the applicants are often rejected because they don’t show any interest in company’s activities.

Interview question: Why did you leave your previous job (or decided to leave it)?

Answer: It doesn’t worth mentioning a conflict with superiors, or criticizing them. You’d better give such reasons that you don’t see any more opportunities for yourself, or the company you worked for was closed and you were made redundant, or you don’t have a possibility to obtain new knowledge, or use your expertise in full…

Interview question: What do you want to become in, say, 5 years?

Answer: Here you should give rather give an evasive answer, for instance – I would like to stay in this company, but holding a higher position.

Interview question: What salary and benefits you’d like to get?

Answer: I would advise to avoid a direct answer, saying that it’s not the question to be discussed in the first place, then try to find out how much the firm can propose. If the interviewer insists, give an amount average for your field or a little bit above it.

Interview question: What will be your first steps if you are given this job?

Answer: Applicants to managerial positions are often asked such question, try to show that you are familiar with the situation and ready for initiative. But don’t exaggerate saying you’re going to completely demolish working process and redevelop it from the very beginning. This can be interpreted as lack of respect to those who managed the company before you.

Interview question: What are your major accomplishments?

Answer: Give examples of your accomplishments during last 5 years, proving them with figures if possible. You may say something like “I managed to increase sales by 25%” or “I developed 5 new machines’.

Interview question: What a boss should be like?

Answer: The real intention of the interviewer is to find out whether to you’re inclined to come up against superiors, so suitable answer could be “a competent strong leader, who can teach me and would give me a chance to work on my own”

Questions you might consider to ask during job interview.

What characteristics do you look for in interviewed applicants?

What training and supervision is provided?

Company oriented interview questions :

Can you tell me about the history of this job and why it is opened for an interview?

What are your company’s greatest challenges?

What are the strengths of the organization or department I'm interviewed for?

What is the management philosophy of this company what are the career opportunities in this organization for position we have interview for?

What kind of on-going training is available after interview? Can you clarify your professional development philosophy?

What are the long range planes for this organization?

What are prospers for promotion in the future?

In what areas of the organization do you expect growth?

How and when will be evaluatuation of interview results? What criteria will be used?

What are your expectations for the first six months of this job?

What is the job ethic of this organization?

What percentage of time will be devoted to individual responsibilities versus team-oriented functions?

Does job have any daily, weekly, monthly or annual deadlines? Are deadlines negotiable?

Does the organization have a process for sharing creative ideas?

How will the selection process proceed after interviews?

When might I hear from you regarding interview decision?

Preparation for the job interviews requires learning about the organization and its products and/or services. Try to find out on interview what the position pays. Further, assess your skills, abilities, experiences, and accomplishments, so you can “sell” yourself effectively during the interview.

Salary questions you should not bring up on interview. Also interview questions such as vacation and what are benefits can't be raised until the interviewer has done so or has let you know that he/she is interested in you.

Write down the interview questions and find what you aren’t prepared for and information about the job itself, salary and benefits helpful for you to choose between jobs.

Within a day or two after the interview, your question about the result may be answered by sending the interviewer a brief thank you note. Use a standard business letter format and express thanks and desire to hear from the organization soon.

2006-02-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

General interview advise.

The situation on the trade market has seriously changed today. Each
employer wants to apply not only the employee but also a good
professional, which is able to help the company develops and compete with other
companies with the help of its skills and experience. Is the employee good
and suitable for the position? This question is very difficult that's
why every company has a special staff called the manager of personnel.
He tries to ask such questions which would help him to understand
whether the person is right or not. First of all the main tip for the
employee is to sleep well before the interview. Your mood should not be
changeable. Try to remain confident and cheerful. Do not arrange parties the
evening before the interview. If you caught a cold try to postpone the
meeting in a good time not 5 minutes before it.

Preciseness is a courtesy of Kings.
It is not true for the important interview. The time of the interview
is usually known before hand. Being late is really bad but any way you
should not come 20-30 minutes before the meeting. You should come 5-7
minutes before the set time. Your coming long before the arranged meeting
makes the manager of personnel either shorten the time of the interview
with the previous candidate or put off the tasks he has planned to do
before interviewing you. Such situation makes him nervous and may spoil
his mood before your interview. And we all know that the first
impression is very important and it is difficult to change it during the
interview.
People meet you and look at your clothes.
The first impression is always made by your appearance. And your
clothes play a very important role. The impression you make on your future
boss will help you to improve your career. You clothes depend on the
position you apply for. It is not suitable to come to the interview in the
uniform if you want to get the position of a clerk but it is not
suitable to put on jeans and sweater if you apply for the position of a
top-manager. You should put on comfortable clothes because you may spend
much time being interviewed by several representatives of the company. Not
only your clothes but also you emotional state is important. You should
try not to look miserable and look like a slave. Your appearance should
specify your goodwill and readiness for partnership. But it is
important not to overdo with it because the employer may feel or notice that
you are too self-centered and self-sufficient. All you boasting will
vanish when you come to the point of you professional successes and skills.
Some of the employees, especially girls try to behave in a flirty way.
It is not admitted. Make up and deodorants are suitable but it should
not be unlimited.
Briefness of the speech.
The interest of the interviewer depends on you ability to express your
thoughts briefly and correctly. Remember that his role is a role of a
leader. Do not try to catch the initiative. Your complete biography with
each fact is interesting for the employer but this interest is limited.
He does not need the information about your childhood or your pets. He
wants to find out whether you previous experience is suitable for this
very position. As a rule the interviewer has already received your CV
and made certain questions which are interesting for him. Do not be shy
to answer and do try to natural. Nowadays there are plenty of books
which you can read and find out all possible information about the way of
behavior, pose, and gestures during the interview but do not try to
copy these books because any experienced interviewer will feel your
unnatural behavior.
You were invited for the interview. It means that your previous
experience was interested for the employer. And now your task is to develop
this interest. You should be ready that the dialog will not only be about
your last job position. You may be asked to describe your family,
hobby, and reasons for choosing the career, reasons of firing and at last
about the weather. You should not answer only Yes or No" because if the
interviewer asks you he wants to get a complete answer to his question.
Describing your previous successes try to exaggerate it, speak about
the things you yourself succeed in. mind that if you get the position you
should be ready to show the things you were talking about during the
interview. Sometimes your words on the interview may not follow your
deeds. In that case the result may be pitiable and miserable for the
company and for you personally.
Tests.
Before the interview you may be asked to do several types of tests.
They may be different (psychological, professional and many others). You
should not panic because it is just a first step towards the new job
position. Tests are common because they help the employer to control your
emotional state and you professional skills. And it is not so bad that
tests are arranged before the interview because if you cope with the
test it gives you an additional extra chance to get a job. The results of
the test are not extremely important. The manager of personnel looks
through your results and sums up all the information. Tests are not
obligatory for anyone but I would not recommend you to reject it. The main
thing is the attitude of the employer towards the results. He should not
think they are more important that the interview itself. The interview
is the best opportunity to talk to person and set a good emotional and
professional contact.
It is very important to listen to your partner. To make an impression
is the first task. The second task is to show your interest of working
in that company with these people. I know some people who were asked
where they usually spend their free time or what do they prefer to drink.
During the interview those people were informed about the rules of the
company or as you wish, the rules of the game. This game needs some
expenses but these expenses are not as big as you future salary. At the
end of the interview it is very important to remember about it! What for?
I will tell you about it a little bit later. At the moment I would like
to tell you some ordinary questions for the interview. Firstly your
previous position is important and your duties and all the successes. The
reasons of leaving the last working place are interesting for the
employer. You should remember that you maybe asked about you relationships
with your colleagues. Be ready to answer the question: Why have you
chosen that company (career, sphere)?" think of your professional
ambitions before the interview. Do not exaggerate because it is important for
you to get the job and it is not less important for the company to find
a suitable candidate.
As a conclusion+.
Maybe after the first interview you will be asked to talk to another
person for example a top-manager (it depends on the position you apply
for). Even if your professional lever is higher then the professional
level of the top-manager does not show this. Do you remember an old
proverb: When in Rome do as Romans do"? At the end of the interview you may
ask some questions which are interesting for you. You may ask about the
structure, culture and motivations of the company. Do not try to talk
about you salary and do not give your advice about it. Before asking any
question, analyze the information you were given during the interview.
I have already mentioned the situation when the employee is asked about
his personal tastes. This man was nearly given the position but at the
end of the interview he asked about an average salary. The interviewer
was a little bit embarrassed because he had already mentioned the sum
of money but the candidate was not very attentive. He answered but the
candidate did not get a job. The company has lost its interest in that
man. If you find out that the position is not suitable for you during
the interview you should not interrupt the employer. But do not waste
your time. Use all your professionalism and eloquence.

Meeting with other managers may follow the interview with a manager of
personnel or the may be postponed. Sometimes it is better to come in
the other time because if you have made a good impression on the first
interviewer he will share his impressions with the pot-manager. The right
to give you the position or not may be given to the boss or manager of
personnel. If you talk to several people try to make a good impression
on all the interviewers. You should assure all your partners that your
are the best person for this position.
At the end of the interview thank the employer for his time and
attention and make all the arrangements. If you were not giving a job do not
be in despair. Treat the meeting as an exam and essential experience for
your life. You should not blame yourself or the interviewer. But it is
important to analyze your errors and mistakes so that not to repeat
them again. Your reaction should be wise and sensible. Try and do it!

What interview questions you should answer in your resume

A very common mistake is designing your resume as a many-pages table questions, consisting of some grades made by the candidate himself.

The main short-coming of such solution is that the sample of the questionnaire is usually taken from the site of some concrete organization which has its own peculiarities and requirements for the candidate.

When you send a question table instead of the resume, it is impossible to evaluate your professional and human status. Only the free form and the list of your previous jobs allow to appreciate your individuality and practical skills, and to differentiate them from your formalized self-esteem.

If the employer has his/her own requirements which questions should be covered in the resume, follow them strictly. If the site has only a table, apply the usual resume to it. This will considerably improve your chances to be hired for the job.

Answers for folowing questions will help you create right resume.

Question: Should one zip the resume?

First of all question the size of resume, the best file, probably, is 100-150K. You should not include into the resume large pictures or big design elements. You should not zip the file making the manager wasting precious time to unzip it.

Question: How to choose the font?

It is good when it is easy to read your resume. Lots of design elements, different fonts are bad for perception. Question each font: is it easy to read? Is it big enough? Does this font installed on HR computer?

Question: What to write in the covering letter?

You should write something like “Dear …” I am looking for the job of …” My resume is attached to the e-mail. Sincerely yours, …

DOes our email answers all questions HR manager may have? You should write for what kind of job you are applying. It might be not clear from your resume. Do not write extra words like “I came across your site and saw that you need new employees and decided to send you my resume”.

Question about spelling - is it that important?

No question, many job positions do not require 100% literacy. Experience proves that many grammar and spelling mistakes are loosely connected with the candidate’s skills – practical skills, work capacity, organizing skills, ability to reach the aims and get certain results.

But, mistakes often show the level of the candidate as a specialist and answer a lot of questions about owner of resume – his intellectual potential, theoretical preparation, logical abilities, writing skills in general.

Question: what is the good resume structure?

Never write a coherent text. Don’t turn your resume into a literary work. It is very inconvenient to work with it.

Every part should be formalized – every new information piece should be started with a new line (education, experience). One should not draw any lines. Name each mass of information and type the headlines in capital letters so that it would be easy to find all neccesary answers for questions manager may have.

2006-02-26T18:53:00.000-05:00

Job interview questions hints

If you’re calm and self-assured, you have all chances to succeed, but one more important point is to be prepared for job interview questions and take into consideration the following things:

1. First impression the strongest. That little piece of time, may be only shoot you got...
2. Be on time. Answer following question: wold you rather wait in car for 10 min or be late?
3. Let interviewer decide where the interview goes. Answer the questions you are asked, be precise and confident. If you answer qestions with nothing but “yes”, “no” or “I’m not sure”, you can not expect the interview to be successful. All information you tell should be short, but still contain answers on all necessary questions.
4. Be honest. Information could be easily verified during the interview by asking some practical questions. Also, interviewer may contact your former boss with some questions.
5. Provide your interviewer a constructive analysis of your previous activities, don’t be afraid to describe your weak points, surely you shouldn’t emphasize them, but don’t avoid the question at all.
6. When the interviewer is satisfied, it’s your turn to ask questions. You are advised to ask questions about the company you’re applying to, question about your future place in it, questions about career opportunities and so on. The problem of salary and benefits should be mentioned as well, but don’t emphasize it too much.
7. After the interview is over, the employer is most likely to say that you’ll be contacted to inform you on the decision made. You can expect that you will get a call in both cases whether the answer is positive or negative, but you can specify the point and ask question about result timing.

2006-02-26T18:51:00.000-05:00

Interview question: changing of jobs?

Even during the very first conversation over the phone your interviewer may want to ask you few questions why you’re looking for a job. The simple answer that you are currently unemployed may lead to next question why you left your previous job. If it was a candidate’s personal decision, then what were his or her reasons, if it was a decision of the employer, then what was it caused by?

First of all we’ll mention some typical mistakes that are made when one is asked that tricky intervew qustions:

1. The applicant refuses to explain what his/her reasons to leave were, saying something like “It was due to some circumstances, it’s so complicated, it’s not a subject for a phone conversation, etc”.
2. Job seeker refers only to external factors, which don’t depend on him, for example, crisis on the labor market, “Many are fired currently…”
3. The applicant refers only to money questions, saying he was badly paid, etc.

Now let’s see what answers are advisable for this questions:

1. “I’ve been with the company for 2 years, I managed to do this and that, but now I don’t see any opportunities of further professional development, so I took a decision to find another job, where I could apply my knowledge and expertise to making company flourish.”
2. “The management of the company I was employed by opted to stop its activities in the field I was busy with, my performance was valued and you can get recommendation if you like.”

If you want to be successful with your career you should avoid frequent changes of jobs. If one changes jobs once in 2-3 years, especially in case it’s caused by getting a higher position or moving to a prestigious firm, it’s ok, but if you have a new job every few months it’s rather questionable.

When resumes are estimated the questions about jobs is one of the most important criteria. So, when choosing a job, always try to assess what are your chances to stay with the company for at least 1 year.

To make a conclusion, almost everybody faces the problem of changing jobs sooner or later, so you’d better be ready for a questions about job history and to prepare a suitable answer why you made such a decision.

2006-02-26T18:45:00.000-05:00

Interview questions, is that it? What esle be ready for.

When you attend an interview your main goal is to impress your potential employer with appropriate answers and questions and preliminary preparation.

Preparing for a job interview comprises the following questions:

1. Collect information about the company which invited you;
2. Question your schedule and decide what to wear;
3. Choose appropriate communication style and questions for the interview;
4. Compile a list of questions which you can be asked;
5. Compile a list of questions which you should ask;
6. Decide what to do after the interview.

Collecting information about the company

Here is a list of questions about the company you are advised to find answers to:

* Which products or services does the company provide?
* Where does it sell its products, what is its target audience?
* How long does it exists?
* Is the company state or private?
* Does it provide season products?
* Is the position you‘re applying to temporary or stable?
* How often are top-managers changed?
* Is it developing any new projects currently?

You can find necessary answers on those questions at prospects and leaflets of the company, articles, broadcasts and telecasts, information in the office of the company, its official site, employees of the company.

Some important points to be considered when getting new job

Work out appropriate time-schedule, decide what means of transport you will use, consider the possibility of traffic jams. It’s better arrive to work a few minutes earlier than be late, besides, you can use this spare time to get accustomed to new job environment.

Question yourself, what clothes you going to wear and prepare them overnight. When choosing what to put on for the interview, you should depend on what is the place and the position you’re looking for, the closer your profession is to creative job, the less strict the rules are.

Style of communication and questions during job interview

If no one meets you at the entrance, knock on the door before entering, then introduce yourself, spell your name if necessary, be polite and smile. When your interviewer introduces himself/herself, try to remember the name, don’t be afraid to ask to repeat it if you are not sure that you heard it right, question the name if it wasn't given to you it’s better than to call the person with a wrong name.

Remember that politics, sex, racial problems and religion as well as your personal problems (family, debts) are not the best questions for discussion during job interview. Avoid also criticizing your former boss and colleagues.

When talking with interviewer don’t interrupt him or her with questions, it’s he/she who is expected to lead the discussion, so it is not the best decision to show your overwhelming knowledge, acting this way you risk to seem bore and arrogant.

There are answers which are repeated by every second applicant, for instance, if you apply to a sales manager position, you are sure to be asked questions about your feelings dealing with customers, in this case don’t apply to commonplaces like “I adore working with people”, you’d better describe how exactly you handle customers.

Be ready to answer personal questions about your marital status, children, hobbies, plans for the future, etc. If you are not willing to tell about something don’t be afraid to make a polite question how it is related to the position you are applying to.

The interviewer may ask you questions about salary and benefits you are expecting to get, in this case you are strongly recommended to give a real amount that corresponds to average on the market segment of your profession. In fact you can make such an assessment in advance, collecting some statistics on salaries in your field, so not to seem too modest or v.v. too insolent.

In case you are asked to fill in any forms, it’s advisable to take them home if possible, so to have an opportunity to make a draft version. Keep in mind that everything counts – good spelling, handwriting style, erasures and corrections. And don’t forget to give them back as soon as possible.

After the interview the employer is most likely to say that you’ll be contacted to inform you on the decision made, ask him/her a question when you can expect to get the decision. In case you were good enough and they invite you to take the position, you may ask for a couple of days to think over it.

And certainly you shouldn’t forget to thank the interviewer for the meeting.

Questions which you should ask

The following questions are appropriate:

* About the company’s history and activities;
* About a place of the position you’re applying to in the structure of the company;
* Which responsibilities it involves;
* What the ideal applicant should be like;
* Why a person who held the job before left;
* About working hours, company’s style,
* Rewards: salary and benefits.

What to do after the interview

Write down all necessary information and questions, which you get during the interview.

A couple of days later it’s advisable to send a short letter to the company, where you had the interview to thank them for the time spent with you, it’s also answers your question how to remind interviewer that you awaiting result of the interview.

2006-02-26T18:44:00.000-05:00

Interview question about your attitude or character

What is very easy for one person may become a serious obstacle for another, it depends on his/her psychological peculiarities. One can not change psychology, because its mostly innate feature, but having determined special personal qualities he or she can manage difficult situations, such as job interview questions, better.

Extraverts are recommended to:

* Avoid too bright many-coloured clothes;
* Speak more quietly than one is accustomed to;
* Control gesticulation;
* Avoid long emotional talks about personal life, answer only the question asked.

Introverts are advised to:

* Look into the eyes of the interviewer;
* Avoid trifling with any items in hands;
* Smile;
* Keep up the conversation, avoid pauses;
* Train oneself before the interview how to answer typical questions of interviewers;

2006-02-06T13:43:00.000-05:00

Job Interview questions and tips.

Before the interview, you might be asked to pass some tests and questions(psychological, professional, general abilities). Do not worry and try to except it as a kind of trial for getting the job. This trial is for checking your conformity for “the requires” of your feature job. So maybe that is not so bad that you have to go through that checking before you start working and if you passed it well in this way there is a big chance that you will not be fired after trial time. Do not give up and you will succeed in interview questions for your new job!