25 Tips To Succeed In your Next Interview

1. Relax. The employment interview is just a meeting. And although you

should not treat

this meeting lightly, don't forget that the organization interviewing

you is in need of your services as much as, or perhaps more than, you

are of theirs.

2. The key to successful interviewing is rapport building. Most people

spend their time

preparing for interviews by memorizing canned responses to anticipated

questions. Successful interviewers spend most of their time practicing

the art of rapport building

through the use of powerfully effective communicating techniques.

3. Prepare a manila folder that you will bring to the interview. Include

in the folder:

* company information (annual reports, sales material, etc.)

* extra resumes (6-12) and your letters of reference

* 15 questions you've prepared based on your research and analysis of

the company

* a blank legal pad, pen, and anything else you consider helpful (e.g.,

college transcripts)

4. Dress appropriately. Determine the dress code and meet it. If their

dress is business casual,

you still need to be dressed in business professional. Practice proper

grooming and

hygiene.

5. Shoes, of course, must be polished.

6. Wear limited jewelry.

7. Call the day before and confirm the appointment-it will set you

apart.

8. Be certain that you know exactly where you're going. Arrive in plenty

of time. You should be at the receptionist's desk 10-12 minutes before

the scheduled interview.

9. Prior to meeting the receptionist, check your appearance. Check your

hair, clothing, and general image. Test your smile.

10. Secretaries, administrative assistants, and receptionists often have

a say in the hiring process. Make a strong first impression with them.

11. Look around the office and search for artifacts that disclose the

personality and culture of the company-and possibly the interviewer.

This information will be helpful in initially breaking the ice, when you

first begin discussions.

12. Be aware of your body language. Sit erect, with confidence. When

standing and walking, move with confidence!

13. Your handshake should be firm, made with a wide-open hand, fingers

stretched wide

apart. Women should feel comfortable offering their hands and firm and

friendly handshakes. A power handshake and great smile will get you off

to a great start.

14. Eye contact is one of the most powerful forms of communicating. It

demonstrates confidence,trust, and power.

15. During the interview, lean forward toward the interviewer. Show

enthusiasm and sincere interest.

16. Take notes during the interview. You may want to refer to them later

in the interview. If you are uncomfortable with this, ask permission

first.

17. Be prepared for all questions, especially uncomfortable ones. Before

the interview, script out a one-page response for each question that

poses a problem for you, and practice repeating it until you're

comfortable with it.

18. Communicate your skills, qualifications, and credentials to the

hiring manager. Describe your market value and the benefits you offer.

Demonstrate how you will contribute to the bottom line. Show how you can

1) improve sales, 2) reduce costs, 3) improve productivity,or 4) solve

organizational problems.

19. Key in on specific accomplishments. Accomplishments determine

hireability. They separate the winners from the runners-up.

20. Listening skills are priceless! Job offers are made to those who

listen well, find hidden meanings, and answer questions in a brief but

effective manner.

21. Let the interviewer bring up salary first. The purpose of an

interview is to determine whether there is a match. Once that is

determined, salary should then be negotiated.

22. There is no substitute for planning and preparation, practice and

rehearsing-absolutely none.

23. Practice interviewing techniques using video technology. A minimum

of five hours of

video practice, preferably more, guarantees a stellar performance.

24. Close the sale. If you find that you want the position, ask for it.

Ask directly, "Is there anything that would prevent you from offering me

this position now?" or "Do you have any reservations or concerns?" (if

you sense that). At the very least, this should flush out any objections

and give you the opportunity to turn them into positives.

25. Always send a thank-you note within 24 hours of every employment

meeting.

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"25 THINGS TO DO NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR WINNING RESUME?"

1. Develop a team of people who will be your board of directors,

advisors, and mentors. The quality of the people you surround yourself

with will determine the quality of your results.

2. Plan a marketing strategy. Determine how many hours a week you will

work, how you'll

divide your time, and how you'll measure your progress. Job searching is

a business in

itself-and a marketing strategy is your business plan.

3. Identify 25 (50 would be better) companies or organizations that you

would like to work for.

4. Contact the companies, or do some research, to identify hiring

authorities.

5. Define your network (see "Networking Tips"). Make a list of everyone

you know including relatives, friends, acquaintances, family doctors,

attorneys, and CPAs, the cleaning person, and the mail carrier.

Virtually everyone is a possible networking contact.

6. Prioritize your list of contacts into three categories: 1) Strong,

approachable contacts, 2)

good contacts or those who must be approached more formally, and 3)

those who you'd

like to contact but can't without an introduction by another party.

7. Set up a filing system or database to organize and manage your

contacts.

8. Develop a script or letter for the purpose of contacting the key

people in your network, asking for advice, information, and assistance.

Then start contacting them.

9. Attempt to find a person, or persons, in your network who can make an

introduction into one of the 25 or 50 companies you've noted in number

3.

10. Spend 65 to 70 percent of your time, energy, and resources

networking because 65 to 70 percent of all jobs are secured by this

method.

11. Consider contacting executive recruiters or employment agencies to

assist in your job

search.

12. If you are a recent college graduate, seek out assistance from the

campus career center.

13. Scout the classified advertisements every Sunday. Respond to ads

that interest you, and look at other ads as well. A company may be

advertising for a position that does not fit your background, but say in

the ad they are "expanding in the area," etc. You have just identified a

growing company.

14. Seek out advertisements and job opportunities in specific trade

journals and magazines.

15. Attend as many social and professional functions as you can. The

more people you meet,the better your chances are of securing a position

quickly.

16. Send out resumes with customized cover letters to targeted companies

or organizations.Address the cover letter to a specific person. Then

follow up.

17. Target small to medium-sized companies. Most of the opportunities

are coming from

these organizations, not large corporations.

18. Consider contacting temporary agencies. Almost 40 percent of all

temporary personnel

are offered permanent positions. Today, a greater percentage of middle

and upper management,as well as professionals, are working in temporary

positions.

19. Use online services. America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe have

career services, employment databases, bulletin boards, and online

discussion and support groups, as well

as access to the Internet. This is the wave of the future.

20. If you are working from home, be sure the room you are working from

is inspiring, organized, and private. This is your space and it must

motivate you!

21. If your plan is not working, meet with members of your support team

and change the

plan. You must remain flexible and adaptable to change.

22. Read and observe. Read magazines and newspapers and listen to CNBC,

CNN, and so

on. Notice which companies and organizations are on the move and contact

them.

23. Set small, attainable, weekly goals. Keep a weekly progress report

on all your activities. Try to do a little more each week than the week

before.

24. Stay active. Exercise and practice good nutrition. A job search

requires energy. You must remain in superior physical and mental

condition.

25. Volunteer. Help those less fortunate than you. What goes around

comes around.

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25 Networking Insider Tips Of Getting Your Dream Job

1. Two-thirds of all jobs are secured via the networking process.

Networking is a systematic approach to cultivating formal and informal

contacts for the purpose of gaining information, enhancing visibility in

the market, and obtaining referrals.

2. Effective networking requires self-confidence, poise, and personal

conviction.

3. You must first know the companies and organizations you wish to work

for. That will

determine the type of network you will develop and nurture.

4. Focus on meeting the "right people." This takes planning and

preparation.

5. Target close friends, family members, neighbors, social

acquaintances, social and religious group members, business contacts,

teachers, and community leaders.

6. Include employment professionals as an important part of your

network. This includes

head-hunters and personnel agency executives. They have a wealth of

knowledge about

job and market conditions.

7. Remember, networking is a numbers game. Once you have a network of

people in place,

prioritize the listing so you have separated top-priority contacts from

lower-priority ones.

8. Sometimes you may have to pay for advice and information. Paying

consultants or professionals or investing in Internet services is part

of the job search process today, as long as it's legal and ethical.

9. Know what you want from your contacts. If you don't know what you

want, neither will

your network of people. Specific questions will get specific answers.

10. Ask for advice, not for a job. You should not contact someone asking

if they know of any job openings. The answer will invariably be no,

especially at higher levels. You need to ask for things like industry

advice, advice on geographic areas, etc. The job insights will follow

but will be almost incidental. This positioning will build value for you

and make the contact person more comfortable about helping you.

11. Watch your attitude and demeanour at all times. Everyone you come in

contact with is a

potential member of your network. Demonstrate enthusiasm and

professionalism at all

times.

12. Keep a file on each member of your network and maintain good records

at all times. A

well-organized network filing system or database will yield superior

results.

13. Get comfortable on the telephone. Good telephone communication

skills are critical.

14. Travel the "information highway." Networking is more effective if

you have email, fax, and computer capabilities.

15. Be well prepared for your conversation, whether in person or over

the phone. You should have a script in your mind of how to answer

questions, what to ask, and what you're trying to accomplish.

16. Do not fear rejection. If a contact cannot help you, move on to the

next contact. Do not take rejection personally-it's just part of the

process.

17. Flatter the people in your network. It's been said that the only two

types of people who can be flattered are men and women. Use tact,

courtesy, and flattery.

18. If a person in your network cannot personally help, advise, or

direct you, ask for referrals.

19. Keep in touch with the major contacts in your network on a monthly

basis. Remember,

out of sight, out of mind.

20. Don't abuse the process. Networking is a two-way street. Be honest

and brief and offer your contacts something in return for their time,

advice, and information. This can be as simple as a lunch, or offering

your professional services in return for their cooperation.

21. Show an interest in your contacts. Cavette Robert, one of the

founders of the National Speakers Association, said, "People don't care

how much you know, until they know how much you care." Show how much you

care. It will get you anywhere.

22. Send thank-you notes following each networking contact.

23. Seek out key networking contacts in professional and trade

associations.

24. Carry calling cards with you at all times to hand out to anyone and

everyone you come

in contact with. Include your name, address, phone number, areas of

expertise, and/or

specific skill areas.

25. Socialize and get out more than ever before. Networking requires

dedication and massive amounts of energy. Consistently work on expanding

your network.

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GURATEED TIPS FOR USING THE INTERNET IN YOUR JOB SEARCH

1. When typing your resume out with the intent of emailing, make sure it is in an ASCII format.

2. Use keywords heavily in the introduction of the resume, not at the end.

3. Keywords are almost always nouns, related to skills, such as financial analysis, marketing, accounting, or Web design.

4. When sending your resume via email in an ASCII format, attach (if you can) a nicely formatted one in case it does go through and the reader would like to see your creativity and preferred layout. If you do attach it, use a common program like MS Word.

5. Don't focus on an objective in the introduction of the resume, but rather accomplishments, using keywords to describe them.

6. Don't post your resume to your own Web site unless it is a very slick page. A poorly executed Web page is more damaging than none at all.

7. Before you email your resume, experiment sending it to yourself and to a friend as a test drive.

8. Look up the Web site of the company you are targeting to get recent news information about new products, etc., and look for their job posting for new information.

9. Before your interview or verbal contact, research the company's Web site.

10. Use a font size between 10 and 14 point, make it all the same for an ASCII format résumé, and don't create your resume for emailing with lines exceeding 65 characters.

11. In case your resume may be scanned, use white paper with no borders and no creative fonts.

12. Include your email address on your resume and cover letter.

13. Don't email from your current employer's IP network.

14. Don't circulate your work email address for job search purposes.

15. In the "subject" of your email (just below the "address to" part), put something more creative than "Resume Enclosed." Try "Resume showing 8 years in telecommunications industry" (if that is your chosen industry), for example.

16. For additional sources of online job searching, do a "search" on the Web for job searching, your company, and your specific discipline for additional information.

17. Be careful of your spelling on the Internet. You will notice more spelling errors on email exchanges than you will ever see in mailed letter exchanges.

18. Try to make sure your resume is scan able. This means it has a simple font, no borders, no creative lining, no bold face, no underlining, no italics, and limited if any columning.Though the practice of scanning is overestimated, it should still be a consideration.

19. Purchase or check out of a library an Internet directory listing the many links to job opportunities

out there. There are thousands.

20. If you are using the email as your cover letter, keep it brief. If the reader is reading on screen, their tolerance for reading long information is reduced dramatically.

21. Always back up what you can on a disk.

22. If you post your resume to a newsgroup, first make sure that this is acceptable to avoid any problems with other participants.

23. Remember that tabs and spaces are the only formatting you can do in ASCII.

24. Make sure you check your email every day. If you are communicating via the Internet, people may expect a prompt return.

25. Don't send multiple emails to ensure that one gets through. Try to send it with a confirmation of receipt, or keep a look out for a notice from you ISP that the message didn't go through.

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