Time to get a job! Let's talk interviews.

Let's talk interviews. There are loads of people going from one interview to another with no luck and I know been out of a job is frustrating and trying to get a new job is more fustrating. So if you are out of a job or you have a job but planning to change careers or jobs then this is for you.

I was once out of a job and it took me over 30 interviews to get a job. It was frustrating, but i never gave up till i got what i wanted. In order for you to be the best candidate for the job you will need to do the following:

- Build up an outstanding resume: When writing your resume, see yourself as a product that needs to be marketed to prospective buyers. Ofcourse, you want to put your best foot forward. Highlight your skills in relation to the job you are applying for, Educational background (No one cares about your elementary/primary school) so you will want to leave that out. Your experience is very important so it is a good time to brag about your previous responsibilities. Remember you are marketing a product that has to sell ASAP.

- Once resume is done send it out to as many job openings as you can. Remember to include a cover letter if required.

- You get a call for a face to face interview, here is what you need to do:
Practice different interview questions such as these ones:

1) Tell me about yourself - Please do not start talking about your family, age and other things irrelevant to the job (Remember you are a product so it is time to tell the buyer about the product and what the product does). You want to start with a brief statement about yourself, in this short statement talk about your skills, experience and interest in relation to the job. E.g  I am a marketer with 6 years in retail marketing, i have continuously met and exceeded my sales targets. I have great interpersonal skills that helps me to build relationships with my clients. My microsoft office skills are 10/10..........

2) What are your strengths and weaknesses - This is a very tough question. Strengths are obviously easy but weaknesses are a bit tough. Here you want to say a weakness that is true but does not have anything to do with the job you are applying and ofcourse you want to also tell them you are working on the this weakness and you are getting better. e.g Public speaking is my weakness but i recently enrolled in an online course which has helped me alot in this area.

3) Why do you want to work for us - They want to know how you fit in the organisation. Here is where you show them that you are really interested in the company. Based on your research prior to the interview, talk about the strengths of the company in relations to your goals. They also want to see long term commitment from you (Not like you are just hopping from a job to the other)

4) Why are you leaving your job - This is not a time to bad mouth your former employer or your former job. Look for a reasonable excuse e.g  Career change. please do not talk about money or salary.

5)
There are behavioural type of questions that can be asked based on the job you are interviewing for. Here are a couple of those questions:

- Tell me about a time in your job when you went above and beyond your call of duty
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an irate customer?
- Tell me about a time you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker
- Have you ever had to disagree with your boss? If yes, what did you do?
- Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
- Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.
- Describe a mistake you made in dealing with people. What did you learn from it?

Answering a behavioural interview question requires the STAR approach

Specific situation

Tasks that needed to be done

Action you took

Results i.e. what happened 

So you are giving a short story with the STAR approach in mind. Before your interview makesure you have different stories or scenarios in your past experience that you can narrate as quickly as possible. The last thing you want to do is get there and start thinking of a story (There would be no time to think of a story).

When the interview is done. The interviewer will ask if you have any questions. You must have 1 or 2 questions. Here are sample questions you can ask-
- If i were to get this job, what are the skills that would make me sucessful in the role?
- What would a typical day on the job be like?
- How much guidance or assistance is made available to individuals in developing career goals?

Never ask about salary and benefits issues until those subjects are raised by the employer.

All the best in your search.