Today’s job board detox tip: Write the answers to interview questions and practice saying them out loud.
Just as with your salary negotiations, practice, practice, practice. Write out your answers. Yes, write/type them out. Know what you want to say to each and EVERY interview question.
Walk around your house saying them. Seriously! It helps.
Nothing is worse that flubbing up an interview or part of an interview because you could not clearly and concisely answer a question.
This happened to my husband once. He was in a group interview - now those are fun (sarcasm). He was asked some very pointed questions that he was not prepared to address. He answered them as best he could at the time, but admitted that he could have done better.
Now, in his defense they were out of the blue questions, but for his line of work, not too crazy. He just didn’t expect them to be asked so early in the process. Don’t make the same mistake.
Prepare for anything, even the illegal questions. Seriously, if know how to handle all the curve balls, two things will happen. First, you will have more confidence during the interview because you know you are prepared, and second, you will ace it.
For a list of questions, there are several excellent tools out there. See below for my two favorites.
Resources: CAREEREALISM's Interview Preparation Tool and Susan Whitcomb’s Job Search Magic. Whitcomb has over 100 pages worth of interview preparation questions and techniques.
Job board detox interview answers image from Shutterstock
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
Today’s job board detox tip: Write the answers to interview questions and practice saying them out loud.
Just as with your salary negotiations, practice, practice, practice. Write out your answers. Yes, write/type them out. Know what you want to say to each and EVERY interview question.
Walk around your house saying them. Seriously! It helps.
Nothing is worse that flubbing up an interview or part of an interview because you could not clearly and concisely answer a question.
This happened to my husband once. He was in a group interview - now those are fun (sarcasm). He was asked some very pointed questions that he was not prepared to address. He answered them as best he could at the time, but admitted that he could have done better.
Now, in his defense they were out of the blue questions, but for his line of work, not too crazy. He just didn’t expect them to be asked so early in the process. Don’t make the same mistake.
Prepare for anything, even the illegal questions. Seriously, if know how to handle all the curve balls, two things will happen. First, you will have more confidence during the interview because you know you are prepared, and second, you will ace it.
For a list of questions, there are several excellent tools out there. See below for my two favorites.
Resources: CAREEREALISM's Interview Preparation Tool and Susan Whitcomb’s Job Search Magic. Whitcomb has over 100 pages worth of interview preparation questions and techniques.
Job board detox interview answers image from Shutterstock
