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
Apr 5, 2007
Job interview tips.
Mar 26, 2007
Are you a master of resume writing?
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.
Mar 23, 2006
GENERAL TIPS
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.
USEFUL INTERVIEW TIPS

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.
JOB INTERVIEW TIP
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

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.
Feb 6, 2006
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!