•A good resume can help you plan your career. It should be a living document that you keep updated. The details of your career path are important (as we will discuss in the work experience section) and it is very unlikely that you will be able to sit down and remember the details and accomplishments of a job you held 7 years ago. 

•A good resume will tell a hiring manager if you fit a job description.

•A good resume will tell a hiring manager when a job is not right for you.

•A good resume will not get you a job. It will get you in the door for an interview.

When writing a resume to apply for a job it is important to look at it as a sales tool not as a table of information. The information and the way it is structured is 95% of the resume.

 

INFORMATION AND STRUCTURE

 

So what to include? What should be left out?

Think about yourself making a mayor purchase like buying a house. There are four levels of information:

 

1)The basic information that will motivate you to spend time on exploring more details.
Examples:
•Location
•Number of rooms and bathrooms

 

2)The key information that will determine if you will buy or not.
Examples:
•Price range
•Square meters
•Yard space

 

3)The trivial information that will not determine your decision but can be an influence.
Examples:
•Stores that are near the house
•Color of the house
•Restroom hardware

 

4)Useless information. Information that while true and accurate you really don’t need when making a decision to buy:
Example:
•Diameter of the sewage pipe
•The serial number on the electricity meter
•The exact length of a window

 

What would you think if you called to ask about a house and the first thing you are told is:  “The serial number of the electricity meter is SN394035, The front window measures 3.257 meters, it has 2-1/2 inch sewer pipes, the walls are beige and it has a tile roof. Are you interested?”

 

Sounds crazy?  That’s the way many people present themselves through their resumes.

 

A resume will immediately convey your communication skills and your focus on what matters.

 

A badly structured resume with the wrong kind of information will keep you from getting an interview. It will most likely not be read and if it is read it will likely have a negative impact.

 

The structure and information on your resume can in fact reflect your leadership skills as well as the experience you include. How many managers have you met that in spite of having the manager title for many years simply can’t even manage themselves and show absolutely no leadership skills?  A good leader is focused, knows what is important and guarantees that everyone that surrounds them share that vision through good communication. That focus, understanding of what is important as well as the communication skills are immediately reflected in a good resume.

 

In your resume there are also four levels of information:

1)The basic information that will motivate a hiring manager to spend time on exploring more details. This should cover the first 10 lines of the resume and will determine if it is worth reading the details in your profile.
Examples:
•Location. Where do you live? Do I have to relocate you?
•Education. What is your level of education? What is your discipline?
•Years of relevant working experience.
•Products you have worked with. For how long?
•Industries you have been involved with. For how long?
•Key skill sets and certifications
•Key accomplishments
•Spoke Languages

 

2)The detailed information that will determine if you are qualified
Examples:
a.Detailed work experience
•Company and brief company description
•Position including start and end date
•Brief description of activities
•Accomplishments
b.Education details
•Degree and date it was obtained
•Institution
•Certifications

 

3)The trivial information that will not determine the decision but needs to be in a place that makes it easy to be read. In short, your contact information. While it is third in importance it should be at the top!
Example:
a.Your name
b.Address
c.Home phone, cell phone and work phone
d.Email

4)Information useless to the resume. Information that really should not be on the resume:
Example:
c.Your social security number
d.Your passport number
e.The name of your wife and kids

A well structured resume with the right information will convey your background skills and ability to successfully execute in the right job.

Your resume can kill your career!

 QUESTION:

I currently have a job but I’m looking for better opportunities. I have been sending my resume out and I have sent it to at least 15 companies without a single request for interview. What am I doing wrong?

 ANSWER:

First of all: STOP SENDING OUT YOUR RESUME. You might be doing yourself a lot of harm and not know it.

 A few things may be happening and there are three things you need to consider before your continue your search:

1) The information and the structure of your resume.

2) Where you are sending your resume and why.

3) The suicide potential by sending out your resume to 15 companies while you already have a job.

 

I’ll focus on the last one (number 3) because it is the most critical. Very negative things can happen from blasting your resume and posting it all over the internet.

 1) You might send the resume to a company for a position just to see what happens, you might do it twice or maybe three times in a few years and then you see a job opening that truly is a perfect fit for you and it matches your career goals. You send your resume again. The company looks at it and thinks “Oh! I know this guy, he sends his resume for EVERYTHING out there. Not focused. Go to the next one”.

 I’m not making this up. As a Plant Manger I had people send me their resume for an engineering position, an H.R. position and a sales position within two years…and their background was in purchasing! I would never hire someone that lacks that much focus because it is very likely that once I give them a job they will start blasting resumes again.

 2) On thing that many hiring managers with access to public job boards will do when they get a resume (I do it myself!) is search for the person in a public database.  It can signal if the candidate is an active job seeker which is not good.

 3) Once you blast resumes to many companies and you post them all over the internet you better know that they are out there and can come back to haunt you in a bad way.  I have received resumes that look pretty damn good and when I pull up my files or search the internet I find the person and SURPRISE! The resume is different. Titles have changed, in one case positions disappeared to cover-up being fired or spending very little time on a job. Assuming I’m still interested in the master of disguise, Can you guess which companies I call first for references?  

 4) Your current company can find out and not be happy. While they may not immediately fire you it will send the message that you will not be there long so you will likely be left out of promotions, training opportunities and salary increases.

Follow these rules if you don’t want to get burned:

1)      Be very selective to where you send your resume

2)      Work with private services that don’t provide public paid access to your resume

3)      Avoid resume job boards and public sites

4)      Keep track of your resume versions and be very careful on how you manipulate and change the information.

 

Question:
I just received and offer after a few weeks of interviews but as I look at it I’m really not convinced. It involves relocation, I would have to rent a house (I already own one now) and groceries are more expensive in that region. If Ia factor those things it’s not worth moving for the 30% they are offering. What is the best way to decline the offer?

 

You really should have clarified your expectation upfront. To be realistic a 25%-30% increase is what most companies will offer (READ: How much should I get for changing jobs in Mexico?).

 

If you want to keep your house and completely add the rent of another house in a new city to your new salary your expectation will most likely be higher than what most organizations will pay. And groceries? How much do you spend a month in groceries?

 

Let’s be realistic: I speak to over 100 people each month and there are two types of candidates:

 

1) The ones that are really interested in making a change because they have a very clearly defined goal of where they want to be in the future (money and target job) and understand the path to get there. These individuals seek POSITIONING themselves in an organization that will allow them to develop themselves with the absolute understanding that money will follow experience and responsibility.

 

2) The ones that are comfortable were they are but would like to make more money so they look around just because it doesn’t hurt.

Based on your questions it is clear that, at least for now, you belong in the number 2 category.

I strongly recommend you review your career plan. Understand and clarify where you want to be and what steps are required to get there. It’s important that you involve your family in this process and make sure it’s part of your life plan and not an isolated plan that will be questioned when its time to make a move. Your plan may or may not involve switching jobs, or moving to another city.

Once you know what your plan is: Attack! And do it hard with full commitment.

Never allow yourself to fall into category 2 because it WILL weaken your growth and burn bridges. It creates distraction and it will drop your intensity and performance with your current employer and you can never allow that to happen. You are building your resume every day with your achievements and your current performance. Every single day counts. Stay focused.

 

Having said that, the best way to decline is to be honest. Your answer should be “I’m apologize, but after reviewing the offer I realize I should have clarified my expectations up-front. This was not what I was looking for” Any good manager will be able to see through the excuses so don’t try to cover it up.

 

 

 

How much should I get for changing jobs in Mexico?

There is no easy answer for this question but the best way to address is it is to understand a company’s typical thought process.

Regardless of what companies will publicly admit there are three things that will determine what a company will offer you when changing jobs:

1) What you are worth in the Market. And this has nothing to do with your perceived value, it is important to distinguish your perceived value from your market value.  Your market value is simply based on what others with a similar skill set and experience (your competition) are currently or willing to make. I have had candidates tell me: “I saved the company $500,000 dollars last year why can’t they pay me 50% more?” And the answer is pretty straight forward, harsh, but straight forward: Because they don’t have to if someone else can save them the same amount for 25% less than what you make.

So, research the market when setting your expectations. Once you arrive at market data it is important to understand how it is used.  If you take market statistics as a reference companies will try to make offers below the 50 percentile to guarantee room for growth and development. The area above that percentile is reserved for compensating performance and experience at the corresponding level.  If at any point you are able to negotiate above the 50 percentile be cautious of what your future will look like. You might be staring at a few years with below average salary increases. 

2) That your current salary is.  This becomes a none issue if you are at market but if you are under the market it will force a question: Why are you below market?  And in many cases there is a valid reason but beware of how you present your case. Companies will know about other companies more that you might expect. Company names in your resume and your current salary will hint to what your performance has been. Questions marks will fly if you have been with a well recognized organization for the past 4 years and your salary is below market.  Regardless of how well the interview process goes and how good an organization may be when evaluating potential employees there is never a guarantee that a new hire will perform as expected so if you are below market don’t expect an immediate increase to bring you to market level. Companies will typically provide an increase to bring you on board but it will be up to you to bring yourself to market level by performing.  So worry about positioning yourself in an organization that will FACILITATE getting back to market level within a certain amount of time versus trying to find sponsor that will immediately take you there because they feel for you and believe your story.
 
It is also important to consider that while companies understand that money is important they will seek a candidate’s decision on the base of career development and not an immediate boost in pay. For that reason, most organizations will shy away from providing sharp increases when presenting an offer. The average increase in Mexico, assuming that the increase does no put you outside the hiring companies range for the position is between 20-30%.  In very few instances do we see organizations that are willing to increase a candidate’s salary by more than 30% when changing jobs. So once again, worry about positioning yourself in an organization that will provide a level of responsibility, training and experience that will allow you to progressively increase your market value and consequently your salary. 

Chase responsibility and experience that can be marketed and the money will come.

3) Their internal pay structure.  You would think that a pay structure in a company that is worthwhile would necessarily match market data. Unfortunately it is not always the case and not because organizations would not want it that way, simply because events can change the market quicker than what a company can or would be willing to react to. Typically it is a temporary offer and demand issue for specific positions and companies many times prefer to take more time on a job opening or even lose a few employees to avoid turning their cost structure upside down or generate disgruntled employees by increasing the salary for only specific positions while keeping other similar ones the same.

 

Beware of Counteroffers 

National Business Employment Weekly - 4/24/94

You've been approached by another company and offered a position with growth potential and a moderate increase in compensation. You've analyzed and agonized over the decision to leave a good (or bad) job for what could be a better one, and have accepted (or decided to accept) the offer. However, upon resigning, your current boss asks you to stay. This appeal is known as a counteroffer or buyback.

In recent years, counteroffers have practically become the norm. "It's almost like a part of the accepted divorce proceedings, and allows the boss to save face with his boss," explains one departing Texas-based executive of a major airline. "And it sometimes has to take its course."

But while buyback offers can be tempting, take care not to fall into the trap or be blindsided to your own detriment. Career changes are tough enough as it is, and anxieties about leaving a comfortable job, friends and location and having to reprove yourself again in an unknown opportunity can cloud the best of logic. But just because the new position is a little scary doesn't mean it's not a positive move.

Since buyback gestures can create confusion and buyer's remorse, you should understand what's being cast upon you. Counteroffers are typically made in conjunction with some form of flattery. For example:

·         You're too valuable, we need you.
·         You can't desert the team/your friends and leave them hanging.
·         We were just about to give you a promotion/raise, and it was confidential until now.
·         What did they offer, why are you leaving, and what do you need to stay?
·         Why would you work for that company?
·         The President/CEO wants to meet with you before you make your final decision.

Counters usually take the form of:

1.     more money
2.     a promotion/more responsibility
3.     a modified reporting structure
4.     promises or future considerations
5.     disparaging remarks about the new company or job.

Of course, since we all prefer to think we're MVPs, it's natural to want to believe these manipulative appeals, but beware! Accepting a counteroffer often is the wrong choice to make. Think about it: If you were worth "X" yesterday, why are they suddenly willing to pay you "X + Y" today, when you weren't expecting a raise for some time?

Also consider how you've felt when someone resigned from your staff, The reality is that employers don't like to be "fired." Your boss is likely concerned that he'll look bad, and that his career may suffer. Bosses are judged by their ability to retain staff. When a contributor quits, morale suffers. Further, your leaving might jeopardize an important project, increase staffers' workload or even foul up a vacation schedule. It's never a good time for someone to quit, and it may prove time-consuming and costly to replace you, especially considering recruitment and relocation expenses. It's much cheaper to keep you, even at a slightly higher salary. And it would be better to fire you later, on the company's time frame.

"We've made counteroffers on occasion, if a good person approaches the issue professionally," says a former senior partner of a Big Six accounting and consulting firm. "But usually it was a stopgap measure because we couldn't afford a defection at that point in time. We didn't count on those people long term, and usually they'd burned bridges two or three levels up, if not with their immediate manager. It definitely put them in a career holding pattern."

The senior partner cites a long conference he once attended with his boss and two subordinate managers, in which they approved a counteroffer and raise to an employee two levels down. "Immediately after that meeting, my boss called me and said, 'We can't afford to lose him now, but our No. 1 priority is to find a replacement, ASAP!' " he says. "And we replaced him within a few months."

Another senior executive from a major Dallas-based bank says, "If it's a real 'hitter,' I'll try to get him to stay. But to be honest, any additional compensation is 'stealing' from his future earnings, and I'll always question his convictions, knowing he can be bought. Further, I'll wonder if I can really count on him (which equates to limited future opportunities). In other words, the damage is done."

While your employer may truly consider you an asset and genuinely care about you personally, you can be sure that your interests are secondary to your boss's career and your company's profit or survival. Thus, flattering offers and comments are attempts to manipulate you to act in your employer's best interests-which aren't necessarily your own. In other words, they're not about you.

Accepting a counteroffer can have numerous negative consequences. Consider:

1.Where did the additional money or responsibility you'd get come from? Was it your next raise or promotion-just given early? Will you be limited in the future? Will you have to threaten to quit to get your next raise? Might a (cheaper) replacement be sought out?
2.You've demonstrated your unhappiness (or lack of blind loyalty), and will be perceived as having committed blackmail to gain a raise. You won't ever be considered a team player again. Many employers will hold a grudge at the next review period, and you may be placed at the top of the next reduction-in-force "hit list." As one executive who requested anonymity says, "Like an adulterous affair that's been discovered, the broken trust is never fully recovered."
3.Apart from a short-term, band-aid treatment, nothing will change within the company. After the dust settles from this upheaval, you'll be in the same old rut. A rule of thumb among recruiters is that more that 80% of those accepting counteroffers leave, or are terminated, within six to twelve months anyway. Half of those who do succumb reinitiate their job searches within 90 days, recruiters say. 
"They butter you up, give you more money, but nothing really changes. In fact, they can get worse," says one insurance executive in Utah who accepted a counteroffer. "My immediate boss was really agitated, since his boss interceded. At raise time, he told me that none had been budgeted (since I had already gotten a raise), and that if I wanted, I could negotiate with the president as before." This executive, by the way, left the company within months.
6.Attempted buybacks can demonstrate disrespect for your well-thought-out decision and commitment to the new company. Should your current employer decide to eliminate your position or pass you over for promotion, successfully countering their decision is unlikely. Besides, you've analyzed, accepted and committed to the new company, which has sure made plans and accommodations around you and counting on you.

Finally, when making your decision, look at your current job and the new position as if you were unemployed. Which opportunity holds the most real potential? Probably the new one, or you wouldn't have accepted it in the first place.

The Proper Way to Resign

 

Have you ever heard “Don’t burn that bridge!” or even worse “I shouldn’t have burned that bridge!”? Resigning from a job and an employer is one of those situations in your professional life that can be smooth or tumultuous and you play a large part in which way it goes. Making it a negative experience is akin to “burning a bridge” in which you can never cross again or one that the crossing will be extremely difficult in time to come.

Once you have accepted a new job, you need to consider the timing of your resignation. Since two weeks’ notice is considered the norm, make sure your resignation properly coincides with your start date at your new company.

Try to avoid an extended start date. Even if your new job begins in 10 weeks, don’t give 10 weeks’ notice; wait eight weeks and then give two weeks’ notice. This way, you’ll protect yourself from disaster; in the unlikely event your new company announces a hiring freeze a month before you come on board. By staying at your old job for only two weeks after you’ve announced your resignation, you won’t be subjected to the envy, scorn, or feelings of professional impotence that may result from your new role as a lame-duck employee.

Some companies will make your exit plans for you. We’ve seen candidates whose employers had the security guard escort them out of the building the moment they announced their intention to go to work for a direct competitor. Fortunately, most are still given two weeks’ pay.

Your resignation should be handled in person, preferably on a Friday afternoon. Ask your direct supervisor if you can speak with him or her privately in their office. When you announce your intention to resign, you should also hand your supervisor a letter which states your last date of employment with the company. Let them know that you’ve enjoyed working with them, but that an opportunity came along that you couldn’t pass up, and that your decision to leave was made carefully, and doesn’t reflect any negative feelings you have toward the company or the staff.

You should also add that your decision is final, and that you would prefer not to be made a counteroffer, since you wouldn’t want your refusal to accept more money to appear as a personal affront. Let your supervisor know that you appreciate all the company’s done for you; and that you’ll do everything in your power to make your departure as smooth and painless as possible.

Finally, ask if there’s anything you can do during the transition period over the next two weeks, such as help train your successor, tie up loose ends, or delegate tasks.

Keep your resignation letter short, simple, and to the point. There’s no need to go into detail about your new job, or what led to your decision to leave. If these issues are important to your old employer, they’ll schedule an exit interview for you, at which time you can hash out your differences ad infinitum. Be sure to provide a photocopy of your resignation letter for your company’s personnel file. This way, the circumstances surrounding your resignation will be well documented for future reference.

How to Leave a Job Gracefully

Imagine a co-worker who trashes his office, plays practical jokes on his replacement and slinks off with critical documents or equipment on their last day of work. Is this a person you’d recommend to a prospective employer? Or expect your company to rehire? Or want to work with again? Probably not.

As recruiters, we’re constantly hearing of such antics from professionals at all levels and such negative behavior—degrades the employment experience for everyone else.
When faced with leaving a job, it’s best to exercise decorum, whether the move is voluntary or forced. To make the best of an awkward situation, here are some tips to remember:

• Keep your mouth shut. Leaving a job (like ending a personal relationship) is strictly a private matter; and waving your dirty laundry serves no purpose.
• Stay cool. Even in the context of a “confidential” exit interview, there’s nothing to gain from scorching the Earth.
• Keep your distance. Soliciting support (or fomenting dissent) from your co-workers might create the impression of a conspiracy or coup d’etat—and unwittingly implicate innocent people.
• Burn bridges at your own peril. The company you left yesterday may need your services tomorrow. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.

Sure, it’s easy to be gracious when everything’s rosy. But it takes an extra dose of character to act like an adult when the going gets tough. If you’re ever caught in a sudden employment shift, try to maintain your composure and consider the consequences of your actions.

Workplace trends like flexible schedules and casual Fridays may come and go—but good manners are forever. Otherwise, Shakespeare wouldn’t have written, “A person is remembered for his entrances and exits.”

Your Resignation: Beware the Retaliatory Strike

If your intention to make a job change is sincere, and nothing will change your decision to leave, you should still keep up your guard.

Why? Because unless you know how to diffuse your current employer’s retaliation, you may end up psychologically wounded, or right back at the job you wanted to leave.

The best way to shield yourself from the inevitable mixture of emotions surrounding the act of submitting your resignation is to remember that employers follow a predictable, three-stage pattern when faced with a resignation:

Tactic #1: Your boss will express his/her shock. “You sure picked a fine time to leave! Who’s going to finish the project we started?” they might say.

The implication is that you’re irreplaceable. To answer this assertion, you can reply, “I am going to stay two weeks to help you recruit and select my replacement. I will also be available to answer any question you may have until everything is back to normal.”

Tactic #2: Your boss will start to probe. “Who’s the new company? What sort of position did you accept? What are they paying you?”

Here you must be careful not to disclose too much information, or appear too enthusiastic. Otherwise, you run the risk of feeding your current employer with ammunition he can use against you later, such as, “I’ve heard some pretty terrible things about your new company” or, “They’ll make everything look great until you actually get there. Then you’ll see what a sweat shop that place really is.”

Tactic #3: Your boss will make you an offer to try and keep you from leaving. “You know that raise you and I were talking about a few months back? Well, I forgot to tell you: We were just getting it processed yesterday.”

To this you can respond, “Gee, I am sorry but, I have just committed my word that I would start working with this new company. I wish I knew that in advance because I wouldn’t need to look for something else?”

It may take several days for the three stages to run their course, but believe me, sooner or later, you’ll find yourself engaged in conversations similar to these. More than once, candidates have called me after they’ve resigned, to tell me that their old company followed this pattern as I’ve described it. Not only were they better prepared to diffuse a counteroffer attempt, they found the whole sequence to be almost comical in its predictability.

Once you’ve properly prepared and committed to a job change, commit yourself to follow-through with it and don’t let your employer dissuade you. Respect your employer and maintain your professional decorum at all times. To do otherwise, could mean burning a bridge that can never be crossed again!

 ____________________________________

Qualifind Bilingual Careers

Successful Interviews Happen to Properly Prepared Candidates!

So… your recruiter has successfully secured an interview for you! This now provides you with the opportunity to sell yourself and further validate your credentials that your recruiter presented. Are you ready for this next step???

I usually advise professionals to think of themselves as a business or independent company with a service to sell. This seems to be especially beneficial to the inexperienced interviewer or someone who has been in the same company for the bulk of their career.

Consider that you have an opportunity to pitch your services to a potential customer (the potential employer), but put it in the context of thinking that the more you know about their needs, the better you’ll be prepared to properly communicate and “sell” the services of your business (yourself).

Assuming you’re qualified for the job, the outcome of your employment interview will be dependent on your ability to discover needs and empathize with the interviewer.

You can do this by asking questions that verify your understanding of what the interviewer has just said, without editorializing or expressing an opinion. By establishing empathy in this manner, you’ll be in a better position to freely exchange ideas, and demonstrate your suitability for the job.

In addition to empathy, there are four other intangible fundamentals to a successful interview. These intangibles will influence the way your personality is perceived, and will affect the degree of rapport, or personal chemistry you’ll share with the employer. They are:

Enthusiasm. Leave no doubt as to your level of interest in the job. You may think it’s unnecessary to do this, but employers often choose the more enthusiastic candidate in the case of a two-way tie. Besides, it’s best to keep your options open. Wouldn’t you rather be in a position to turn down an offer, than have a prospective job evaporate from your grasp by giving a lethargic or less-than-enthusiastic interview?

Technical interest. Employers look for people who love what they do, and get excited by the prospect of tearing into the nitty-gritty of the job.

Confidence. No one likes a braggart or someone with excessive ego, but the candidate who’s sure of his or her abilities will almost certainly be more favorably received.

Intensity. The last thing you want to do is come across as “flat” in your interview. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a laid back person; but sleepwalkers rarely get hired.

Most employers are aware of how stressful it can be to interview for a new position, and will do everything they can to put you at ease.

Other Important Factors
Since interviewing also involves the exchange of tangible information, always make sure to present your background in a thorough and accurate manner and gather data concerning the company, the industry, the position, and the specific opportunity. It is critical, that you be prepared to engage in “informed dialogue” regarding the company and the direction they are going in.

A worthwhile interviewing goal is to link your abilities with the company needs in the mind of the employer so you can build a strong case for why the company should hire you. The more you know about each other, the more potential you’ll have for establishing rapport, and making an informed decision.

Don’t Talk Yourself Out of a Job
There are two ways to answer interview questions: the short version and the long version. When a question is open-ended, I always suggest to candidates that they say, “Let me give you the short version. If we need to explore some aspect of the answer more fully, I’d be happy to go into greater depth, and give you the long version.”
The reason you should respond this way is because it’s often difficult to know what type of answer each question will need. A question like, “What was your most difficult assignment?” might take anywhere from thirty seconds to thirty minutes to answer, depending on the detail you choose to give.

Therefore, you must always remember that the interviewer’s the one who asked the question. So you should tailor your answer to what he or she needs to know, without a lot of extraneous rambling or superfluous explanation. Why waste time and create a negative impression by giving a long-rambling speech when a short summary would do just fine?
Let’s suppose you were interviewing for an operations management position, and the interviewer asked you to describe, “What types of operations management experience have you had in the past?”
Well, that’s exactly the sort of question that can get you into trouble if you don’t use the short version/long version method. Most people would just start rattling off everything in their memory that relates to their operations experience. We’ve seen cases where the candidate begins a lengthy accounting of their entire career history leading to the experience in question. Though the information might be useful to the interviewer, your answer could get pretty complicated and long-winded unless it’s neatly packaged and can result in your entire effort being a waste when you are ultimately rejected.
One way to answer the question might be, “I’ve held operations positions with three different types of manufacturing and distribution organizations over a nine-year period. Where would you like me to start?”
Or, you might simply say, “Let me give you the short version first, and you can tell me where you want to go into more depth. I’ve had nine years experience in electronic and automotive industries with three different companies, and held the titles of Operations, Business Unit, and Plant Manager. What aspect of my background would you like to concentrate on?”
By using this method, you quickly communicate to the interviewer that your thoughts are well organized, and that you want to understand the intent of the question before you travel too far in a direction neither of you wants to go. After you get the green light, you can spend your interviewing time discussing in detail the things that are important, not whatever happens to pop into your mind.

How to Answer Interview Questions

Here are eight of the most commonly asked (and basic) interviewing questions. Do yourself and the prospective employer a favor, and give them some thought before the interview occurs.

• Why do you want this job?
• Why do you want to leave your current job? 
• What are your personal and professional goals?
• What do you like most about your current job?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What do you like least about your current job?

The last question is probably the hardest to answer: What do you like least about your current job?

I’ve found that rather than pointing out the faults of others (as in, “I can’t stand the organizational politics,” or, “My boss is a jerk”), it’s best to place the burden on yourself (“I feel I’m ready to exercise a new set of professional muscles,” or, “The type of technology I’m interested in isn’t available to me now.”). By answering in this manner, you’ll avoid pointing the finger at someone else, or coming across as a whiner or complainer. It does no good to speak negatively about others.

I suggest you think through the answers to the eight questions above for two reasons.

First, it won’t help your chances any to delay or spend too much time thinking over fundamental issues such as these. (The answers you give to these types of questions should be natural responses that further illustrate that you’ve thought these things through in advance.)

And second, the questions will help you evaluate your career choices before spending time and energy on an interview. If you don’t feel comfortable with the answers you come up with, then maybe this new job opportunity isn’t right for you.

What Should You Ask the Interviewer?

A job interview will quickly disintegrate into an interrogation or monologue unless you ask some high quality questions of your own. Candidate questions are the lifeblood of any successful interview, because they create dialogue and help clarify your understanding of the company and the responsibilities of the position.

In addition, the questions you ask serve to indicate your grasp of fundamental issues, reveal your ability to probe beyond the superficial and challenge the employer to reveal his or her own depth of knowledge and commitment to the job.

Your questions should always be slanted in such a way as to show empathy, interest, or understanding of the employer’s needs. After all, the reason you’re interviewing is because the employer’s company has a piece of work that needs to be completed, or has a problem that needs correcting. Here are some questions that have proven to be very effective:

• What’s the most important issue facing the company (or department)?
• How can I help you accomplish this objective?
• How long has it been since you first identified this need?
• How long have you been trying to correct it?
• Have you tried using your present staff to get the job done? If so, what was the result?  
• Is there any particular skill or attitude you feel is critical to getting the job done?
• Is there a certain aspect of my background you’d like to exploit to help accomplish your objectives?

Questions like these will not only give you a sense of the company’s goals and priorities, but they will also indicate to the interviewer that you have the appropriate insight and concern for satisfying the company’s objectives.

Four Classic Interview Questions—and How to Prepare for Them

Experienced job seekers know there are four basic types of interview questions—and they prepare accordingly.

First, there are the resume questions. These relate to your past experience, skills, job responsibilities, education, upbringing, personal interests, and so forth.

Resume questions require accurate, objective answers, since your resume consists of facts which tend to be quantifiable (and verifiable). Try to avoid answers which exaggerate your achievements, or appear to be opinionated, vague, or egocentric.

Second, interviewers will usually want you to comment on your abilities, or assess your past performance. They’ll ask self-appraisal questions like, “What do you think is your greatest asset?” or, “Can you tell me something you’ve done that was very creative?”

Third, interviewers like to know how you respond to different stimuli. Situation questions ask you to explain certain actions you took in the past, or require that you explore hypothetical scenarios that may occur in the future. “How would you stay profitable during a recession?” or, “How would you go about laying off 1,300 employees?” or, “How would you handle customer complaints if the company drastically raised its prices?” are typical situation questions.

And last, some employers like to test your mettle with stress questions such as, “After you die, what would you like your epitaph to read?” or, “If you were to compare yourself to any U.S. president, who would it be?” or, “It’s obvious your background makes you totally unqualified for this position. Why should we even waste our time talking?”

Stress questions are designed to evaluate your emotional reflexes, creativity, or attitudes while you’re under pressure. Since off-the-wall or confrontational questions tend to jolt your equilibrium, or put you in a defensive posture, the best way to handle them is to stay calm and give carefully considered answers.

Remember, your sense of humor will come in handy during the entire interviewing process, just so long as you don’t go over the edge. I once heard of a candidate who, when asked to describe his ideal job, replied, “To have beautiful women rub my back with hot oil.” Needless to say, he wasn’t hired.

Even if it were possible to anticipate every interview question, memorizing dozens of stock answers would be impractical, to say the least. The best policy is to review your background, your priorities, and your reasons for considering a new position; and to handle the interview as honestly as you can. If you don’t know the answer to a question, just say so, or ask for a moment to think about your response.
Your professional life is an extremely important piece of your overall life experience. The satisfaction you derive from how, where and when you work impacts your personal, family and spiritual life. Take it serious. Properly think it through and prepare yourself for the interview. If you have any questions over any of the content of this article or need further help in getting ready for your interview, feel free to contact your Qualifind recruiter for whatever additional assistance is needed. We’re here to help you!!!

 

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