The Interview Handbook

For those of you are not sure as to what a behavioral interview entails. Behavioral based interviewing is interviewing based on discovering how the interviewee acted in specific employment-related situations. The logic is that how you behaved in the past will predict how you will behave in the future i.e. past performance predicts future performance.

So what’s difference Between A Traditional Interview vs. Behavioral Interview?

In a traditional interview, you will be asked a series of questions which typically have straight forward answers like "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" or "What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?" or "Describe a typical work week."

In a behavioral interview, an employer has decided what skills are needed in the person they hire and will ask questions to find out if the candidate has those skills.

Preparation for the Potential Behavioral Interview

What’s the best way to prepare? It’s important to remember that you won’t know what type of interview will take place until you are sitting in the interview room. So, prepare answers to traditional interview questions.

Then, since you don’t know exactly what situations you will be asked about if it’s a behavioral interview, refresh your memory and consider some special situations you have dealt with or projects you have worked on. You may be able to use them to help frame responses. Prepare stories that illustrate times when you have successfully solved problems or performed memorably. The stories will be useful to help you respond meaningfully in a behavioral interview.

Finally, review the job description, if you have it, or the job posting or ad. You may be able to get a sense of what skills and behavioral characteristics the employer is seeking from reading the job description and position requirements. Do You want to be one step a head of your competition? 

Take a look at this really good book it will really help you and give you the confidence to walk into any interview:

"The Ultimate Guide To Job Interview Answers"

Over the years I have read so many books on job interviews all proclaiming to have the final answer; I will let you into a secrete; no one book has all the answers but this my personal recommendation for a number of reasons for recommending "The Ultimate Guide To Job Interview Answers"

The author keeps it very simple, a lot of books use far to much jargon and over complicate the whole process, it’s the old saying KISS – (keep it simple stupid) The guide is only 81 pages long so its not "War and Piece" and what’s more you can actually use it there is some real value to its content.

• It includes over 137 intelligent and effective job interview answers.
• 11 closing "power statements,"
• 43 questions for you to use to uncover the interviewer’s hidden needs.
• 13 desirable behavioral competencies hiring managers look for.

How to create and use your own winning S.T.A.R. statements to "package & spin" your work experience.

How to do a S.W.O.T. analysis, how to show you know how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals, a quick and simple 9-step exercise you can do that will calm your nerves every time, AND a special section on behavioral interviewing and surviving harsh "stress" interviews. 

Remember It’s important to keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers, its about being yourself and being confident in your own abilities.

The interviewer is simply trying to understand how you behaved in a given situation. How you respond will determine if there is a fit between your skills and the position the company is seeking to fill. So, listen carefully, be clear and detailed when you respond and, most importantly, be honest. If your answers aren’t what the interviewer is looking for, this position may not be the best job for you anyway. Good Luck!

Technorati Tags: Career,careers,resume,resume writing,job interview,employment

Listing your professional experiences on your resume is not easy and you need to follow some basic steps, but it can be done!

Remember a resume is just a simple way of listing achievements and is normally consists of: job titles, time frames, key responsibilities, transferable skills, etc. The difficulty is when you have gaps in your work history. Your potential employer will have no way of knowing why there is a three and a half year gap in your professional experience just by reviewing your resume,

For example. The employer may wonder if you skipped over one of the jobs you held because it didn’t meet your career objective, or they may assume that you didn’t work at all during this period that is unaccounted for on your resume. Remember –

Any gaps in your employment history will need to be explained in writing; don’t fall into the trap of lying or skipping any information on purpose.

So here are a few general rules I suggest you follow:

Any unaccounted time that is shorter than three months doesn’t need to be explained. Having 60-90 days in between jobs is not too unusual, and often goes unnoticed within a resume. However, any gaps extending beyond three months should be addressed in your cover letter or e-mail. Whether you had personal or professional reasons for not working, the gaps in your employment history need to be explained as you don’t want to leave the employer to make their own assumptions.

Be honest! I can’t stress this enough. If you are honest with your potential employer, you will not have to worry about them checking your references, doing a background check, or surprising you with questions in an interview.

Don’t exclude months of your employment from the job listing. You are better off explaining the gaps in your resume than trying to cover them up. Honesty is really the best policy when it comes to your resume. If you have held jobs that are not applicable to your career objective, list them on your resume anyway.

Rather than create gaps in your resume, explain why you held jobs outside of your field in your covering letter or in your email. Again, whether the reasons are personal or professional, explain yourself honestly and don’t leave room for assumptions on the part of your potential employer.

Regardless of the reasons for the gaps in your professional history, it is important that the tone in your covering letter and your resume remains positive. Do not sound apologetic – life happens and you don’t need to be sorry for taking time off work. Be positive, and always show your potential employer that you never lost focus on your career.

While I agree life takes unexpected twists and turns and respect that there will be times when there are gaps in your resume, why not put that time to good use and use your experience in volunteer work, community projects, and consulting or freelance work.

Why not take a class at a community college or at the community centre that will improve your work-related skills and allows you to interact with other people with similar professional backgrounds.

Read about the new developments in your field. Get a subscription to a professional publication/magazine, or get the newly published books that discuss changes or improvements in your profession.

Most of all, be honest and stay positive. You can’t change your work history, so do your best to show your employer you are a perfect candidate for the job by focusing on your experience and your education, highlighting your achievements and your qualifications.

Technorati Tags: Interview Skills,Job Interview Skills,Interview Questions and Answers

When writing a resume or attending an interview remember you are selling yourself, think about what you have to offer the employer and why you are the best person for the job, what can you do to make yourself stand out and make sure the employer remembers you. Successful resumes and interviews are all about matching what you have to offer, your particular skills and achievements with what the company is looking for.

Before the interview takes place concentrate on your five best skills and how you can put them across to the interviewer in a way that will make you stand out from the crowd. Your objective is to match your best skills with the job on offer and get these points across, so when you leave the interview you will not be forgotten easily.

Think of ways that you can get your achievements across, for instance if you are having an interview for a position that requires great communicational skills and the interviewer starts off by saying “tell me a little about yourself”, now is the time to make a start on getting your point across and selling yourself of how well you communicate to other people. Why not start by saying “one of my key skills is in being able to communicate effectively” and continue with examples of skills in your previous jobs.

Later in the interview you could bring communication skills up again in a different way, say for example as a story you tell.
When asked “what makes you the best person for the job” again reiterate how good your communication skills are and how you could be a positive part of the working team. By repeating your best skills over and over you are far more likely to remain on the interviewers mind than by just mentioning them once or twice during the interview.

What are your strong points?

You not only have to identify your strongest points or skills but also make sure they relate to what the job has to offer, make sure you read through the job description several times and know what particular skills the company is looking for.

For example if the job description includes report writing with the sales department think about what is needed to accomplish this and what kind of person the company are looking for.

This particular example would require excellent writing and interpersonal skills, if you are particularly skilled in these areas then make sure you keep letting the interviewer know this.

Remember the point of the interview is to sell yourself as the best candidate for the position; by focusing on just a handful of skills and pointing these out, you will more than likely leave a good impression on the interviewer that won’t quickly be forgotten.

Making phone calls is the quickest way of getting an interview, but there are a few rules you need to be aware of. The most obvious one is nerves, you have to be relaxed before you make the call, and you must have an idea as to what you are going to say, remember you must sound professional and clam.

The key question is: Who should I call?

Your objective as with the letter and resume is to get an interview with the person who has the authority to recruit. So do your research.

Tip: Ring the company up before hand ask the receptionist for the name of the individual who looks after recruitment, make sure you tell them what you are skilled in, like sales, sales and marketing or administration, you are looking for the right manager. The most embarrassing thing you could do is pluck up the courage to make the call and end up speaking to the wrong person!!

First question: What do I say?

You should always start by stating the reason for the call; and then be prepared to justify your claims but don’t do so until pressed to. The reason this is so important is that if you start to justify without being pressed by the other party, assumption becomes explanation. The attitude in your voice should be such that the person should just agree to interview.

Tip: Try and work on your voice before you make the call. Tape your own voice, listen to it, does it have a pitch and tone? If not practice, remember a voice should go up and down both in tone and volume. Smile!!!!

When you smile on a call it completely changes the way you come across to the caller - try it with a friend. Also sit up straight, find a comfortable chair with a straight back, by sitting straight this will help you in your breathing.

Try and remember these simple mistakes to avoid

· Hesitation when speaking, this shows weakness.

· Lack of fluency due to nerves or poor research of the company.

· Talking to fast

· Not listening to what is been said

For those of you who don’t know what words to use when making this call, here are few scripts that will help you get started.

1.  Hello Mr. Smith, my name is Bill Harris.  I have been interested in Component Company because what I have been reading in the newspaper.  I think I have some relevant skills and ideas which may help Component Company with these issues.  Do you have 15 or 30 minutes in your diary in the next week or so?

2.  Hello Mr. Smith, my name is Bill Harris.  I see Component Company is looking for Sales Representatives.  I wanted to call you direct, right away, I understand your business and I think I can offer more than the typical candidate.  I wanted to be the first to ask to get on your interview schedule.

3.  Hello Mr. Smith, my name is Bill Harris. I am about to put my resume in the post to you, with a covering letter explaining how my experience fits exactly with what you need for the Sales position.  If you were to describe the ideal candidate for this role, how would you do that?  Do you mind if I stop by this week?—I’d really like to hear what you need this person to do for your company, extra things that perhaps are not in the job description.

4.  Hello Mr. Smith, my name is Bill Harris. I saw your advertisement in the local paper and I wanted to call right away to let you know I have those exact qualities and qualifications.  My resume and cover letter can’t show you how excited I am about Component Company—I hope I can visit with you in the next few days.

Admittedly, there are dozens of telephone openings you can use.  My intent here was actually NOT to give you one that you could realistically use.  My intent was to show you how important it is for you to write down the exact words you are going to use when making this phone call.   Words are important.  I thought this article my help you as well.

Using the telephone to get a job