How to Prepare for Your Second Interview

How to Prepare for Your Second Interview So, youve passed your screening interview with flying colors. Now youre dreading what comes next A second interview is usually the final step in obtaining a job offer â€" at this point, you might even have a 50% possibility of getting the position you aim for. Before you head off to your second interview, there are several things you should know: Two purposes: In general, the second interview serves two purposes for the hiring company: Identifying specific qualities and competences â€" while the first interview serves as a glimpse into your professional standing, the second one is used to determine whether your specific skills match the requirements of what theyre looking for in new employees. Seeing whether youll fit into the company â€" employers like to test their prospective employees directly in the  context of the company. This way they can observe how you get along with other workers and see whether youre a good fit with  their company culture. What should you expect? These are some of the typical things that happen during the second interview: Meeting the HR staff representative â€" this will be the first person youll meet upon arriving at the company. A tour of the company â€" if a tour is not scheduled in your agenda, show your enthusiasm for the job and ask for one, but only if theres enough time. Private interviews with company workers â€" including department heads, managers, executives or trainees. Money and guidelines Discussion of important issues like salary and benefits, employment rules and guidelines, or reimbursement of expenses. How should you prepare? Here are a few important things to remember before you get to your job interview: Research take your time to research the company for relevant information â€" this is especially important for your second interview, where the employers expect you to be serious about their offer and know some of the basic information about the company. You can ask your first-round interviewer for more information regarding the company, your specific position or department. Check what the press is writing about the company and get a grasp on the companys activity in social media. You can prepare yourself further by doing a background check on your interviewer to get an idea about their goals and prepare your answers accordingly. Prepare logistically for the second interview day â€" it might seem trivial, but getting there on time is something you should be aiming for if you want to give a good first impression. Review your first interview â€" during your first interview, you probably made some practical notes about the employers requirements. Try to summarize what you wrote to answer questions like: What are the most important qualifications the company is interested in? What are the goals set by the employer for you? Think about your conversation with the interviewer â€" was there a question you had trouble answering? If so, prepare good responses for those questions. Questions prepare some questions youd like to ask your interviewers â€" this is actually more important than you think, since asking questions shows your enthusiasm for working in the company and gives you a chance to get some valuable information on the job. Things to ask about? Specifics of your job, your prospective supervisors, goals set for a six-month period, the performance appraisal system, and the company’s management style. Dont repeat the questions you asked during the first interview. Answers think about possible questions the interviewers might ask you â€" among the most typical ones are: Why are you interested in working for this company? What challenges are you looking for in this position? What can you contribute to this company after we hire you? What are your career goals? What are your salary expectations? After the interview â€" its a good idea to send a follow-up letter to the HR manager, thanking him for the opportunity, reiterating your interest in the job and emphasizing all your skills and qualifications relevant to the success of the company. The second interview itself a little guideline: During the second interview, youre likely to get asked more detailed questions that will delve further into your skills, competences and experience. The interviewer will be interested in getting to know you and your attitude towards the position â€" they might ask you questions about your first interview, such as: What have you learned so far about our company? How would you proceed if we hired you? What often follows is a different kind of question set â€" a behavioral interview which shows how you handle specific situations, aiming to assess your future performance in the company. You can expect questions that start with Describe a situation in which or Can you tell me about that situation when. Its good to get yourself acquainted with this interviewing style and prepare some model answers beforehand. You might have been invited to participate in the second interview, but this still doesnt guarantee you the job. You do, however, stand a chance at getting it if you prepare well for the upcoming question rounds and provide answers that underline your professional approach and excellent preparation for the position in question. Author: Kelly Smith works at CourseFinder.com.au, an Australian online courses resource. She also provides career advice for students and job seekers and works as a freelance writer.

Writing Handbooks for Resume Writing

Writing Handbooks for Resume WritingFor the first time, you have decided to write your own resume. You've done a bit of research online and there are plenty of helpful articles available, which offer guidelines on how to write a resume. You realize that your CV is the first thing people see when they see you for the first time. So, you're ready to get started.The first step is to create a resume that is not only professional but also impressive. In fact, that is exactly what will determine whether your resume is noticed by employers.If you don't want to go through the trouble of doing it, then you can check out resume and writing handbooks that are available on the Internet. There are many great tips to help you with your resume writing. And, you will be able to find a few good books that focus specifically on writing CVs. There are also sites that have related material on writing your resume. They have links to the good writing books.You can choose from a manual offering free advice or an entire book written by a recognized expert in the field. Before deciding on the books, take a look at their samples, make sure that they are simple to follow and can provide good quality information.When you are done with your resume, make sure that you make an outline to bring the information that you have written down in a way that is easy to read. You will be able to move from one section to another if you have already written the content. That is why having an outline is very important.You can also make use of websites that allow resume writers to leave feedback. You can ask questions about the particular tips that you found useful and you can give feedback on any flaws. Make sure that you read every post and read the feedback from other people to make sure that the job you were given is not similar to theirs.However, most people who decide to go through some kind of guide or source to help them with resume writing do not have the time to sit down and create a resume temp late. That is why these sites are beneficial as well. They allow you to include the information you have written and show you how to format it. You can also refer to the documents that they offer.You can find a lot of free resume templates on these sites. You can upload your resume and you can save it in either .doc or .pdf format. Or, you can even print it out and then send it to a hiring manager or a company.

Out of Work No Youre Not!

Out of Work No Youre Not! You’ve lost your job â€" for whatever reason â€" and now you think of yourself as ‘out of work.’ Don’t get stuck in that mindset! The truth is that you may be out of a paying job, but you’re not out of work (unless you’re retiring). Indeed, your work is  just beginning Welcome to your new job: You now have a new full-time job â€" to find a job. Your new title is Job Seeker, and your hours should be just like the hours  you used to work at your former job. The job search is hard and time-consuming. To be successful, it should be viewed as a job, and you should approach it like  you would a project or problem incurred when you were employed. Get up each day at the usual time. Put on clothes other than your pajamas or sweats. And get to work. Spend time honing your resume: Part of your work now consists of rewriting your resume for EVERY position you want to go after. Your resume, and  cover letter if you use one, should be customized for the specific job you see posted that you wish to apply to. Read the job  qualifications and requirements thoroughly. You will see keywords and phrases used, and those words and phrases should be in the  description. If you haven’t done the things listed in the job posting requirements section, then you’re not qualified for that  role move on to the next one. One more thing: keep a running list of the jobs you’re applying for and which version of your resume you used, and be  sure to save all the versions of your resume. After all, if you get invited in for an interview, you will need to bring a resume,  and you want to make sure it matches the one you used to apply. Seem like a lot of work? Well, it is. It’s part of your new full-time job of job hunting. And you’ve now got plenty of time to do it; about 40 hours per  week to be precise. READ MORE:  How to Ensure Your Resume Gets Read By a Human [INFOGRAPHIC] Research the hiring company and hiring manager: Part of your new job should be research. Instead of just applying online to every job you see that you’re interested in,  do some research on the company. Learn who the hiring managers are within the department this position falls under.  Log in to LinkedIn and do an advanced people search to find the name of the person who would most likely be the hiring  manager, find out what email format that company uses (I’ll show you how below), and then email your customized  resume to that person as well as applying online. To figure out the email format a company uses, try this. First, find out what the  company URL really is don’t assume you know! For example, Kraft Foods is kraftfoodsgroup.com, and Undercover Recruiter is  actually theundercoverrecruiter.com. Then do this search: (email or contact) “@companyurl.com” (e.g. Editor @theundercoverrecruiter.com) Sometimes you may have to go through multiple search page results to see an email  address. Find the email format and then you  can send an email to anyone in that company whose name you know! Update LinkedIn: Like it or not, recruiters and human resources personnel are using LinkedIn as a primary candidate search tool.  Your  profile there should be as robust as your resume. If your profile is missing information, part of your new job is to complete  it and makes sure it represents you in a positive light, including the photo. And make sure you make it easy for a recruiter  to contact you by including your email address in the Summary section of your profile. If you don’t want to include your  email, then you must be sure to check your LinkedIn inbox daily if not a few times each day. READ MORE: How to Create the Perfect LinkedIn Profile [INFOGRAPHIC] Use Indeed.com: Indeed.com is now the largest repository of job postings in the U.S. Get acquainted with it. Create an account (it’s free)  and then set up an alert so you get a daily email listing newly posted jobs in your field.  You can also create an account and  then set up alerts on Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com. Speed is important when applying for a job, so getting an alert  when a new job is posted is very valuable. Be quick to apply: Why is speed in applying important? An average of 250 people apply for every job posting (I’ve seen it as high as 500),  and hiring managers tend to review resumes in the order they were received. They may find 3 or 4 acceptable candidates  from the first 50 who applied, meaning they might stop right there and not read the other 200 resumes. You might be the  perfect candidate, but they won’t know it! Network: Find out if there are professional associations or groups in your industry, join them and attend their events. Just joining  won’t do you any good â€" you need to go out and meet people face to face. One of those meetings might uncover a job  opening that hasn’t been advertised! READ MORE:  3 Smart Networking Strategies To Use at Your Next Event Sign up with staffing agencies: It doesn’t cost you anything but time to sign up with a variety of staffing agencies and since  you’ve got time on your hands, there’s no reason not to. Do some Googling to find local staffing firms, especially those who  specialize in what you do. Call them to find out their process for registering, and visit their web sites frequently to see new  job postings. Don’t balk at working a temporary (contract) job, as those often lead to full-time employment offers. Take a work break: You’ll burn out if you spend every hour of every ‘work’ day focused on job hunting and networking. Instead, find a book to  read, especially one that will give you additional knowledge in your job discipline. Take a class and learn something new  and relevant to your career. Just don’t view being unemployed as a vacation from work! Do you have any other tips? Let us know in the comments below! Author:  Judi Wunderlich has been a leading recruiter for over 20 years. In 2009 she co-founded the WunderLand Group, a staffing  and recruiting firm which focuses on contract and full time job opportunities in Marketing, Advertising, and Digital  Design Development.  Connect with Judi on LinkedIn,  Twitter, and Google+.

How to Answer Interview Questions About Mistakes and Failures

How to Answer Interview Questions About Mistakes and Failures Answering Interview Questions About Mistakes: Ultimate Guide Interview Questions and Answers / https://www.edenscott.com/blog Employers love to ask interview questions about mistakes.They want to see if youre honest and upfront, and most importantly they want to see if you learned from the experience.There are a variety of mistake-related interview questions you might hear, including, “Tell me about a time when you failed, Tell me about a mistake you made at work, etc.So in this article, were going to look at how to answer ALL of these mistake-related interview questions.Why Am I Being Asked About Past Mistakes?Hiring managers aren’t trying to disqualify you when they ask interview questions about mistakes you made and failures youve been through.Instead, theyre trying to make sure youre honest and upfront with them (very important in ANY interview question).Theyre also trying to make sure you have come to terms with the mistake and learned something from it.If you still seem angry or resentful or even worse if you still seem like youre blaming other people and not tak ing responsibility, you wont get hired!And finally, as with all the common behavioral interview questions, they want to make sure you can tell a clear, concise story and describe a situation briefly but effectively.Hiring managers want to hire people who can communicate and stay on-track when describing a situation. So make sure youre staying brief when you answer a question like, tell me about a past mistake you made at work.The Best Method for Answering Interview Questions About MistakesQuestions about past mistakes fall under the category of behavioral questions. (Behavioral interview questions are questions that start with phrases like, tell me about a time you)These interview questions operate on the premise that the best way to predict future behavior is to examine past behavior. Therefore, if you can cite an example of a past mistake and what you’ve learned from it, recruiters will see you as a person who is capable of learning a lesson from a mistake.And the method we reco mmend for answering any behavioral questions is the S.T.A.R. method. Thats short for: Situation. Task. Action. Result.This ensures youll tell a clear, easy-to-follow story that will impress the hiring manager. Remember employers want someone who can communicate clearly and get a point across quickly while still sharing some details. S.T.A.R is the best way to do this.Youd start with the situation or challenge you were faced with, and the task you had to complete. For example, you might say, We were late on three client projects, and two of our team members were out sick. We had to finish these projects by Friday, because our clients were counting on us.Next, youd describe the action you took. What solution did you come up with?And finally, the result. What was the outcome? And most importantly what did you learn from the experience?Dont worry if this sounds confusing youll get to read a full word-for-word example answer for, tell me about a mistake you made coming up soon in this article.First, here are the key pieces to make sure to cover in your answerThe 3 Key Pieces to Include in Your AnswerThe way you answer this question also says a lot about your level of personal responsibility. No one wants a coworker who is constantly passing the buck and blaming their blunders on others. So the first thing to do is acknowledge the mistake and take responsibility.Dont badmouth or blame others. Dont make excuses. Theyre not going to judge you for having made a mistake. But they will judge you for having a poor attitude about it!Next, you need to show that you didnt panic, and came up with the best solution possible to recover from the mistake. Errors and mistakes happen; its all about how you respond. Thats what the employer is concerned with here!And finally, show that you learned from the situation. How have you avoided similar mistakes? If you can show employers that after making a mistake once, you adjust and prevent it from ever happening again, theyll be very excited about you as a candidate.Being able to stand up and own your mistakes will show employers you have a great attitude and are someone they should seriously consider hiring.Also, the ability to reflect on the lessons you learned through failure is evidence of growth. After all, if you can’t point to a failure, you may be a person who isn’t willing to take risks. This is critical information in some industries, like tech, that are interested in hiring innovative people.Good Examples of Past Mistakes: How to Decide What to ShareEverybody fails at work. It’s just a fact of life. The trick to answering a question about a past failure is to choose an example that shows you are a human who errs, and also that you are a person who learns from their mistakes.Like every other part of a job interview, the goal is to show that you are smart and insightful about how your actions impact the organization.Don’t HumblebragA humblebrag is a statement that is designed to sound modest but that actually highlights something that you are proud of.Answering a question about failure with a thinly-veiled self-congratulatory story won’t fly. You need to choose a real example of failure and then explain the lesson you learned from it. Below are two possible responses.Humblebrag response:“Last year I redesigned the company’s online store to improve the user experience. The project took six months of really hard work, but we still didn’t meet our goal of increasing sales by $100,000. Instead, we only improved sales by $75,000. It was a real disappointment but, then again, I can be really hard on myself.”Good example answer for a mistake you made:“Last year, I was tapped to give a presentation to the company’s finance team to make a case for having funds added to my team’s budget to revamp the company’s online store. The presentation landed during our busiest time of year, and I was swamped. Because I was overwhelmed, I convinced myself that I knew the infor mation inside and out and that I didn’t need to prepare for the presentation. In short, I blew it. We didn’t get the money we needed, and I disappointed my team. I know this happened was because I was overly confident and didn’t set my priorities well. Since then, Ive always found time to prepare for presentations, even if it means taking the material home to practice. My presentations have brought in some of the biggest deals our company has seen this past year since the mistake, so I used that failure as a learning experience and a chance to improve myself.”Focus on the Lesson Rather Than the MistakeTo succeed in answering a question about a past failure, pick a story that ends with a compelling lesson. Ideally, you should briefly outline the mistake and then elaborate on the lesson learned and how you’ve applied it to other projects.Better yet try to show how you actually used this lesson to avoid similar mistakes in the future.Be ConciseYou should never babble during a job interview, but brevity is very important when you are describing a recent failure. Don’t tell a longwinded story.As a rule of thumb in an interview, no response should be more than a minute or two long. Make this response, in particular, as short as humanly possible. Keep it simple by using this simple formula:Your Ill-Advised Action + Poor Result = Lesson Learned.Don’t Go OverboardAs important as it is to choose a real failure, you aren’t required to confess your most humiliating mistake in a job interview. Avoid telling stories that might be perceived as character flaws (“I am almost always late to meetings because I have terrible time management skills.”) or that might present a major headache for your employer (“As a result of the incident, I was investigated for sexual harassment.”)Always use a real past failure example but do your best to make it benign. In other words, don’t give the employer a reason not to hire you with the example you choose. A compan y is not going to hire a person who might create a fiasco or present a legal problem for them down the road.Remember failure isn’t fatal. Just focus on the lesson you learned from your mistake. If you follow the steps and tips above, youll be ready to answer any interview questions about mistakes that youre asked.About this guest author:Since 2005,LiveCareerhas been developing tools that have helped over 10 million users build stronger resumes, write persuasive cover letters, and develop better interview skills. Land the job you want faster using ourfreeresume examples andresume templates, writing guides, andeasy-to-useresume builder.

How to Include Extracurricular Activities on Your Resume

How to Include Extracurricular Activities on Your ResumeIf you are a student, you may wish to include extracurricular activities on your resume. Just as academics should be in the curriculum vitae, extracurricular activities and successes should be listed on the same page. Below are tips on how to go about including these accomplishments on your resume.Colleges and universities will look for extracurricular activities that can help you play a key role in your school or college. Your activities should be something that you had a hand in developing. They should show your determination and commitment to your school.Look over your college's catalog and find out what sort of activities are available for students. Many students choose to take an interest in a hobby. It is easy to take on a new activity once you know about it. As long as you enjoy the activity, and you did it for a purpose, this is a valuable accomplishment.Look at the types of activities you find yourself interested in. Th is could be volunteering with your school's chamber of commerce, serving as your high school's secretary, playing sports, or dancing. If you have ever played any of these activities, it is likely that they can be listed on your resume.For more information on how to include extracurricular activities on your resume, see your Human Resources department. You can also find guidance online. In addition, you may want to talk to your counselor or guidance counselor to discuss what types of activities to include on your resume.Once you have put your main job interview on paper, you should try to incorporate all of your other activities on your resume. You can then take what you learned from your resume to your interview. It is likely that your interviewer will be more impressed with your level of commitment than your job interview skills.When choosing extracurricular activities to include on your resume, take into account what your goal is. For example, if you are a member of the glee club, you may wish to list all of your activities as activities to help you succeed in the competitive world of high school theater. You may also wish to list some of your skills that make you the perfect person for the role you are applying for. In addition, you might consider the type of personality you have to find the best activities to put on your resume.The best way to include extracurricular activities on your resume is to go over your school's catalog and search for possible activities you may be interested in. Do not just choose one based on the color of the uniform, it may be emblazoned in but rather to be specific in what you are looking for. However, if you have a general idea of what activities you wish to include on your resume, try to take a closer look at your resume so that you may include the areas you want to highlight on your resume.

Actionable Tips Towards Building the Perfect Work Resume

Actionable Tips Towards Building the Perfect Work Resume Did you know that of the thousands of job applications that are sent out for a particular position, only 2% are called for an interview.To make things worse, research shows that recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds per resume, before selecting it for further review or tossing it into the rejected bin.So how does one stand out among his or her peers and surmount these overwhelming odds.evalWell the answer is maybe easier than you may be wondering.It is to have an effective well optimized Resume.Come to think of it, the resume is the first impression you give to a prospective employee.Further, in those 6 seconds you need to catch his attention, explain what makes you different and at the same time pitch the skills which make you the best fit for the job.In order to do all this and more your resume must be well optimized with clear sub-sections,a clean scannable format, well optimized bullet points, lots of action words, quantification of achievements and much more.Hence it is no wo nder 98% of the applicants, don’t even make the first cut.To make your job easier, we have drafted an infographic which would give you a snapshot view of how to go about a resume which grabs attention.evalWant more detailed tips? Check out these 23 tips to make a perfect job resume.

Some Great Questions About Online Networking

Some Great Questions About Online Networking Today I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at the  Metropolitan New York College Career Planning Officers Association (MNYCCPOA) conference. My presentation on career branding tips using online identity and networking tools for job search generated some inciteful comments and questions from the audience. Here are a few of them:How do you keep the lines between business and social networking from becoming blurry? In a nutshell, you dont. People want to hire people that they know and trust. By intelligently revealing a snapshot of your personal style on business networking sites you can actually strengthen business relationships. Insights on your personality may be gleaned from your status updates on LinkedIn or a creative Slideshare presentation that demonstrates the value you can bring to an employer. Microblogging sites like Twitter are perfect environments for revealing both professional and personal insights.What are some of the pitfalls to be aware of when using socia l media? Users should refrain from posting their full birthdays including the year on social networking sites, as doing so may make them more susceptible to phishing scams. If you are on a site with a public wall such as Facebook, audit comments on your wall regularly and delete any comments that you feel could be damaging if unearthed by a recruiter or hiring manager. Dont post comments on Facebook or tweets on Twitter that could be construed as discriminatory or smug and dont badmouth people or companies. And certainly dont complain about your current job! Only post pictures that you are comfortable having anyone see and untag yourself from pictures if you think they may have a negative impact on you professionally.As LinkedIn becomes more and more popular, wont it become increasingly more difficult to differentiate your candidacy on the site? I think that as LinkedIn continues to grow (it is currently at 39M members) job seekers will have to become increasingly more creative in h ow they present their qualifications. The specialties section of their profile will probably need to be vigilantly updated and perhaps there will be new applications available to further differentiate ones candidacy. We may start seeing a migration to more specialized sites such as Ning where more private niche communities are created. Or maybe by then there will be a new business networking tool that some will switch over to. Hard to predict, but fun to ponder!Since no one can be on every online community, which do you recommend job seekers create a presence on? I think that where each job seeker needs to be is related to their specific networking goals. Each networking site has its own unique culture and job seekers should be cognizant of how consistent that culture is with the professional brand they are trying to promote.  Currently I believe that LinkedIn is the top tool for business networking in a U.S. market. However, Xing and Ecademy have a strong hold with more global audi ences. Twitter grew by 130% just last month and it is a site to consider having a presence on. The demographics of Facebook are changing rapidly with women over 34 being one of their fastest growing demographics and more and more people are leveraging Facebooks functionality to enhance their job search. Students and recent grads should also check out Doostang  and Affinity Circles to source job leads and build community.

Looking for meaningful work -

Looking for meaningful work - Im excited to share an opportunity for those of you looking for an encore career. In case you are not familiar, Civic Ventures, which is a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose, defines encore careers as jobs that combine personal meaning, continued income and social impact. Sometimes, these may be post-retirement careers, although retirement should really be in quotes, since it seems the term has taken on new meaning in todays economy and because many people are not ready to stop working at a traditional retirement age. I understand than an encore career can come any time in a persons work history, not only after a lifetime of working. Are you tired of doing what you are doing? Maybe it is time to think of a new direction, and lucky for you, there is a great resource to help. Here is the information from Civic Ventures press release: What: Civic Ventures is partnering with the New York Times Knowledge Network to offer an online seminar for people interested in encore careers. The interactive course will offer practical advice about how to succeed in today’s job market to combine continued income, personal meaning and social impact. Marci Alboher, careers expert and former New York Times columnist, will be leading the course. According to Alboher, “The idea of encore careers â€" second acts with social purpose â€" has started to take hold, but more people are now seeking guidance from experts and others who can teach by example.” Topics will include: Will there really be enough jobs for the number of people who want to do meaningful work in their encore years? What kinds of job opportunities exist, and how do you make the leap into a field where you may have no experience or contacts? What should you do if you want to work but don’t have the interest or ability to work full time? How can you deal with age discrimination? Who: The course will feature advice from experts as well as people who have or are on the path to meaningful encore careers. Speakers will include: Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures  Suzanne Braun Levine, founding editor of Ms. magazine and author of Fifty Is the New Fifty David Bornstein, author of Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know and founder of Dowser.org Laura Gassner Otting, president of the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group and author of Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector Lester Strong, CEO of Experience Corps and former television journalist Stephen Alderman, Purpose Prize winner and co-founder of the Peter C. Alderman Foundation When: Fridays, October 22 and 29, from 12-1:15 p.m. ET / 9-10:15 a.m. PT. How: The online seminar costs $95. For more info and to register, click here. Made possible in part by a generous grant from the New York Life Foundation. If you are looking for a job, you may also want to check out THE CAREER SUMMIT. Tons of career advice, all for a low price of $99 for a short time. Check it out now, before the early bird is over. The topics include everything from how to think about finding a job you love, to what has changed in search, demystifying the recruiting process, online career management, interviewing and (last but not least) â€" strategies and tips for your resume, social media profile and job search. Read more HERE or visit the site HERE. photo from gossamerpromise