5 Ways to Land Your Dream Job with These Top Interview Tips

5 Ways to Land Your Dream Job with These Top Interview Tips Hands up! Who loves the sweaty palm inducing process that is the ‘dream job interview’? So far, you have impressed them with your CV and completed a great application form. You may have aced tests and now comes the face-to-face meeting. Now is your chance to shine and show the interview panel that you have the personality as well as the skills to do the job and fit right into their culture. But your mind is blank and your mouth dry. They ask you a question you weren’t expecting and you feel your dream job slipping away before your very eyes. STOP this happening with these five great ways to grab the upper hand at your next job interview. 1. Prepare for the obvious questions No two interviews are the same and with every business interviewing candidates differently, it is hard to come with a set formula for your pre-interview research. However, spending some time preempting some of the possible questions is a great way to spend half an hour or so in the days before the interview. If you were on the panel, what questions would you ask? These questions might not come up in your interview but they may be worth pondering; How do you stay up to date with issues in our field? What blogs etc. do you follow? What do you think are the key issues OR what problems can you foresee in the future? Where do you see yourself in X years’ time? It is also worthwhile preparing for the icebreaker question â€" tell us a bit more about you? â€" even though you are an expert on you, it is amazing how quickly your mind forgets the very basics of your life! Top tip â€" interviewers and interviewing panels are not looking for the perfect answer. What they are looking for is someone who has clearly done their research and can present a reasoned argument or answer under pressure. 2. Bring backup This doesn’t mean bringing your mum but bringing materials that back up what you talk about in the interview. Anyone can say that they turned a business around, bringing a 50% rise in membership, for example, but bring the information to back it up â€" what about a colourful spreadsheet or graph â€" and the panel can see that again, you are the person who likes to be prepared. Print a couple of copies, make sure your name is all over them and have a keen eye for the detail and leave them with the panel at the end of your interview. 3. Interviewers are not always experts Sifting through CVs and application forms, meeting and greeting candidates and interviewing people is a time-consuming process. It comes on top of all their other responsibilities and thus, the interviewer can often be less prepared than they would like. See this as an opportunity and a means by which you can steer the conversation. This works well for you both. The interviewer or panel get a great interview with plenty of insight and you show yourself to be uber-capable of taking on the role. BUT â€" and this is a big but â€" don’t go flying in there assuming that the interviewer is ill-prepared and that you are their saviour! Check the situation first because some companies will wheel out their most experienced interviewer to wheedle out those that say they walk the walk, and talk the talk, but don’t really deliver. 4. Ask the right questions You now the question is coming, “Do you have any questions?”. It is the part of the interview that most people stress out about and mess up as a result. There are some fantastic creative questions you could ask but take care that they don’t come across as being too off the wall or rude; What do see as my goals for the first 3/6/9/12 months in the post? How will my success be measured? What skills do you think are needed to excel in this role? What are the biggest challenges the company is facing right now? Top tip â€" these are just a few examples and work well but no matter what questions you ask, make sure they are not ‘yes and no’ ones. Interviews are a two-way street! 5. Look at your body language Some people have a practice run with a friend and have the ‘interview’ videoed and the results can be surprising. Did you know your play with your rings or wring your hands? Were you aware you constantly touch your nose or your ear when nervous? Do you lean too far forward or slouch in the chair? Preparing for an interview is about looking at the whole picture and understanding how you come across. It could be that you are too enthusiastic if there is such a thing, or maybe you are not vibrant enough. Giving the right impression at an interview is about creating the right impression from the moment you walk into a room till the moment you leave. Use these five tips to be better prepared and remember, make a point of slowing down your speech (we garble when we are nervous), concentrate on steadying your breathing, relax and if you can, enjoy it too. About the author: This article was written by the team at NCC Home Learning, one of the fastest growing online learning providers in the UK. With many years’ experience in helping students to study for the qualifications and skills that propel their careers from ordinary to extraordinary, the NCC team also know the importance of interviewing well too. These tips were gathered from their own in-house team, as well as from students over the years.  

How the Fastest Growing US Healthcare Company Hires For Growth

How the Fastest Growing US Healthcare Company Hires For Growth Castle Medical is the fastest growing healthcare company in the United States, according to the 2015 Inc. 5000 U.S. fastest growing companies list. They  ranked #4 over all and #1 in  healthcare. So I interviewed their Director of Human Potential, Jonathan Hayes, to see exactly how they hire for that kind of fast growthâ€"over 25,000 percent growth over the last three years. He told me how they hired  Alisa, for example. Her story  typifies Castle Medicals  company culture and  how they hire  for  fast  growth. Stream (or  download) her story here: [soundcloud url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/241883208 params=auto_play=falsehide_related=falseshow_comments=trueshow_user=trueshow_reposts=falsevisual=true width=100% height=450 iframe=true /] To put raw data behind their  top five ranking among  the  5,000 fastest growing U.S. Companies, these stats will whet your appetite and your need for speed: 3-Year Growth: 25485% 2014 Revenue: $83.7 M Jobs Added: 386 Castle Medical’s goal as an organization is “to become a world class organization through acquiring top talent who can allow us to grow in some highly competitive markets.” Hayes’s HR goal for Castle Medical is to “provide purpose, direction, and motivation to the team, for not only short term goals, but long term goals and the organization as a whole.” So how do they hire for so much growth? It’s all about networking, says Hayes, even if you may never hire those with whom you network: “This Wednesday I’m going to be interviewing a COO at another healthcare company. I’m not sure there’s a place for him in our company yet, but the thing is I need to be networking with people like him who have very high-level expertise. I don’t think we have a place for him, but he might have a network of people I need to break into and rub elbows with at the right time. “What’s more, his insight (and sharing insight with him) may create some type of synergy that can open the doors to new experiences for both our company and his. It’s about networking and getting with people who have been in the industry for 20, 30, and 40 years.” Haye’s tips for healthcare recruitment: Weekly breakfast meetings. He shares meals each week with potential candidates for a personal touch. Membership in the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). A large, international organization. Membership in the Risk Management Society (RIMS). Especially through this, he’s made contacts with top notch international contacts. How do behavioral-based interviews take away fudge  answers? “I’ve done so many interviews in my career that I’m able to determine relatively fast if someone’s going to be a good fit. The reason is because I’m able to determine if what they put on their resume is actually something they have done. “So somebody who may have spruced up their resume and put things on there that may have been something they had witnessed or an ancillary thing that they didn’t actually go through themselvesâ€"I’m going to be able to determine whether or not they actually took part by way of asking them  to tell the story. How do you conduct a behavioral-based interview? If you do the behavioral interview right, there’s no way they’re going to be able to fudge their answers. This is where Hayes turned the interview around on me! He started asking about  podcasting for blogs, which is what I do. So if he was interviewing me for my current job, he would say,  Okay Chad, tell me about a time when you had to interview a person for a podcast. He told me: “Then, you would give me a high-level answer. I’m going to say:” How did that go? How did they react? How did they react to this type of question? Did you make them feel comfortable? How did you make them feel comfortable? “I’m going to make sure that not only you did this, but you did it well. I’m going to dig in and ask all kinds of questions to make sure that you are the guy or gal that needs to be sitting in the chair doing the podcast interview.” How do you conduct a behavioral-based interview for healthcare hiring? “Funny, the most recent time I actually did this behaviorally-based interview was when we recently hired a regulatory compliance officer. It was just days prior we had an incident that involved HIPAA that was very complex. There were moving parts all over the place, people all over the placeâ€"a multiple-state issue. “I had already handled the issue (and handled it correctly), but I used that scenario to ask the gentleman that I was interviewing how he would handle it. I brought him step-by-step: What would you have done if…. Then, I laid out the whole scenario and I was very impressed with his knowledge and the way he brought me through what he would have done.” Looking toward 2016 recruitment “As we move into different models in the healthcare industry, which we are doing in 2016, we need to find top level talent who can step into these positions and make an immediate impact. I’ll be traveling around, looking for the best, and it doesn’t have to be at the C-Suite levelâ€"it can be at every level of the organization. “Healthcare is ever-changing. There’s no room to be stagnant, because if you’re stagnant, essentially, you’re moving backwards. Next year I don’t want to be on the Inc 5000 list any further back than #4; hopefully we’ll be closer to the #1 area.” Theyre the #1 fastest growing company in U.S. healthcare, but Hayes wants to become the #1 fastest growing company this year. Id say theyre on their way, if they keep hiring like they do. Jonathan Hayes is the Director of Human Potential for Castle Medical, which performs workplace drug testing as well as testing for hormones and vitamin levels, and DNA testing that can help determine proper dosages. [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

13 Clear Signs You Have a Strong Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

13 Clear Signs You Have a Strong Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career What is the hallmark of a particularly strong  brand, and what lessons can be learned from those traits? These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at  yec.co. 1. Youre Always Evolving Having consistency and clear message is great, but what makes it even better is a  brand  that continuously evolves. A comparison between Apple and Nokia are a great example of this. Apple never settled for just one current trend or product that does well. Nokia was the best phone around during its era. Unfortunately, they settled and never got the chance to evolve.    Fritz Colcol,  ABN Circle 2. Youre Obsessed With  Your  Customers No matter what product or service you sell, it all comes down to serving people, because they are at the core of  your  business. They are the force that keeps you going. All  your  efforts should be directed at  your  customers. Whenever you decide to make a change or transform  your  brand  in some way, you have to make sure that youll still be able to deliver the best customer or user experience.  Solomon Thimothy,  OneIMS 3. Youre Authentic The hallmark of any strong  brand  is authenticity. A  brand  that is not genuine in the eyes of consumers will fail to resonate. Even extremely strong brands that have been cultivated by people who may seem inauthentic are, in fact, authentic in that they ultimately accurately reflect the curator of the  brand. When building  your  brand, understand who and what you are, and embrace it.  Adam Mendler,  The Veloz Group 4. You Know How to Tell a Great Story Human beings are natural storytellers. The act of storytelling cements social bonds, instills values and acts as a powerful way to bring  your  brand  to  life.  A strong  brand  will know who its audience is and create a story that they most identify with. An effective  brand  story will show what you do and how you do it, and will make the audience want to be a part of  your  story, too. Shu Saito,  Godai Soaps 5. You Have a Consistent Presence The top traits of successful brands are that its competitive, distinct, involves passion and is consistent. Dont be afraid to step out of the box. Make sure the  brand  is expressed across all marketing materials. Show some emotion and make sure that the  brand  continues to resonate with  your  loyal customers.  Andrew Schrage,  Money Crashers Personal Finance 6. You Emotionally Connect With  Your  Customers Strong brands are designed around emotions. They capture our hearts and inspire our souls. The all-time greatest brands do this in a variety of ways, formats (visually, through storytelling, etc.) and spaces (online, in-person or somewhere in-between). People are moved by their emotions, and the brands that know how to connect with us personally are the ones we are the most loyal to.  Amber Anderson,  Tote + Pears 7. Youve Embraced a Lifestyle A good  brand  extends beyond its product and incorporates an entire lifestyle. Red Bull is an excellent example of this philosophy in action: In a market stuffed with competitors, their energy drink  brand  defines itself by embracing extreme sports and an adrenaline-seeking lifestyle. Imagine a type of person or hobby that goes along with  your  companys products or services and add it to  your  brand!  Bryce Welker,  Crush The CPA Exam 8. You Operate With Honesty and Integrity In the information age, customers are more attracted to brands that put people before profits. For instance, many well-admired businesses aim to facilitate more responsible consumer habits by producing higher-quality goods that are affordable and made to last, while others encourage toxic consumerism with products that are quickly disposable.  Firas Kittaneh,  Amerisleep 9. You Give Back Strong brands have a philanthropic department dedicated to giving back to the community, country or world. Some of these brands will even tie their philanthropic efforts into their mission statement, helping create a bigger vision for their company.  Jared Atchison,  WPForms 10. You Offer Great Value and Great Service The hallmark of a particularly strong  brand  is always rooted in how it treats its customers and the value that the product itself offers. Any  brand  can come up with a catchy name, logo and other branding assets, but what separates the winners from the losers is the quality of the actual product/service they are selling, as well as how they treat and nurture their customers.  Jared Weitz,  United Capital Source Inc. 11. Youre Constantly Innovating The brands that stay relevant through the years are those that keep  changing. Software companies come out with upgrades and new features. Brick-and-mortar businesses update their ordering systems, product offerings and the ambiance of their establishment. While the foundation and unique benefit of the business stays constant, the experience continues to evolve.  Brian Greenberg,  True Blue Life Insurance 12. You Live Out  Your  Core Values A strong  brand  is one that follows its core values and conveys them to both their employees and customers. Being consistent in this message and ensuring that employees exemplify it will create a  brand  that is strong. An example is American Express, which counts customer commitment, quality and integrity among its core qualities, and is known to have excellent customer support and service. Vincenzo Villamena,  Online Taxman 13.  Your  Brand  Is Timeless A good  brand  is timeless. It can survive from generation to generation without having to change the core message too much. If you look at Coca Cola, one of the top brands in the world, their name, colors and taglines are as relevant today as they were in the early 1900s. A good  brand  can always stand the test of time. Avoid trendy words or phrases that are in today, but might be gone tomorrow.  Andy Karuza,  FenSens

Visual Marketing and Personal Branding Success - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Visual Marketing and Personal Branding Success - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Visual marketing is an essential and sound strategy for personal branding success. No matter how competent, confident, and experienced you are in person, or how comfortable you are sharing the story of your personal brand using words, your career depends on your ability to visually communicate your ideas and build your brand using social media. Recently, in a blog post entitled, People Think in PicturesSo Should Your Business; Debra Kaye, author of Red Thread Thinking wrote, Visual communication has become a habitual way people share information. As a result, if you cant communicate your personal brand at a glance, youre at a serious disadvantage! Social media is awash with charts, diagrams,   icons, infographics, mind maps, sketches, and other instant visual communications that your competition is already using as a strategy to communicate at a glance and build their personal brand. Help for the visually challenged But, What does this mean if youre not a graphic designer or visual thinker? In that case, if youre looking for a quick course in visual marketing for personal branding success, check out Stephanie Diamonds latest book, The Visual Marketing Revolution: 26 Rules to Help Social Media Marketers Connect the Dots. It offers the perspective and the details you need, whether to create your own visuals or to oversee the work of the design agencies or freelancers you depend on for your personal branding. Choosing the right visual marketing book for social media Several things set The Visual Marketing Revolution apart from many other graphic design, visual thinking,   and social media books: Blank slate. Stephanie wrote her book for marketers, not for designers. The Visual Marketing Revolution assumes nothing! Unlike graphic design and visual thinking books which were written by designers for designers, Stephanie Diamond begins with the basics. Chapter 1, or Rule 1, is titled: Recognize the Power of Visual Persuasion. The first chapter builds on a blank slate that is expanded with progressively detailed information. Tight organization. The Visual Marketing Revolution is as organized as any university-level course,   but you dont have to show up on time! If you want, you can read a weekor go directly to the topic youre interested in. Each chapter can be read in a single sitting, l or 2 chapters a week. Soon, youll know more about the relationships between visual marketing, personal branding, and social media than your designer may know. Practical orientation. The problem with many design and visual marketing books is that they often focus so much on case studies and examples that they leave it up to you to decide where you want to put visual marketing to work building your brand. Social media  focus The Visual Marketing Revolutions relevance to sound personal brand building is the way it describes specific connections to the major social media platforms. The groundwork is in Part l. The chapters in Parts ll and lll address topics like mind mapping, presentations, email, infographics, social media branding, and landing pages. The chapters in Part IV, Tactics for Social Media Platforms, describes how to use visual marketing in   the following social media platforms: Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Tmblr Google+ Mobile Apps YouTube In each chapter, Stephanie again offers advice that proceeds from the general to the specific, with success strategies that include: What you need to know when getting started with each social media platform, and the unique value it offers for personal brand building. Tools to consider, focusing on different tools for each of the social media platforms. Detailed examples and inspiring examples of visuals appropriately employed on the social media platform. Ideas to use, i.e., specific tips for making the most of the platform. Idea map, a type of mind map graphic that summarizes the important points relevant to each social media platform. (This idea map, itself, is an important example of visual marketing.) Endnotes, so you dont jump to the back of the book for more information about each social media topic Putting visual marketing to work building your brand How effectively are you using visual marketing to build your personal brand? Are you taking full advantage of visual marketing for the social media platforms you use to build your brand? After youve finished reading The Visual Marketing Revolution, youll be better able to develop and express your personal brand using visuals that communicate at a glance. Youll be better able to take full advantage of the powerful, numerous, and often free, social media tools available to you. Youll also be better able to get full value from the graphic designers and freelancers you work with. Today, the ability to write and share compelling stories is not enough to build and expand your personal brand. Unless youre Stephen King, even the best writing can benefit from visual marketing that immediately attracts attention and sets your brand apart from the competition. Share your experiences and questions about visual marketing and personal branding as comments, below. Author: Roger C. Parker offers advice, counsel, checklists, and worksheets to help you build your personal brand. These include 99 Questions to Ask Before You Start to Write   and a question hotline.

Chronological Resume Writing Education

Chronological Resume Writing EducationThe chronological resume writing education is a step-by-step method of writing resumes that will give you the proper tools to get the job. A resume is a direct marketing piece for your career, and you have to make sure that it is crafted with the correct timeline. With this way of thinking, you will be ready to take the next step and meet your objectives.In order to be hired for a job, the first thing that you should do is make a convincing presentation of yourself and your skills. What that means is that you have to convince the company that you are an excellent candidate to apply for the job. To make your resume and cover letter stand out from the rest, you should consider using some resume writing education from the company.There are many ways to design a great resume and cover letter that will help you achieve the objectives of the company you are applying for. Before you can learn how to do this, you must get the right idea about resume writ ing education and how you can get started.If you want to know more about this, the best option is to consult your career development counselor who has many skills that will help you with your resume writing education. For this, you need to understand the various types of resumes and the content that will make you stand out among the others. With this, you will know what information you need to include in your resume and cover letter.It is also important to understand the different classes and formats in which your education curricula will be organized. A chronological resume writing education will be beneficial for you because you will be able to make your own resume, as well as write a cover letter and a bio, all in the same lesson.A part of this form of education will be learning how to properly format your resume. A good resume should be short, sweet, andto the point, while providing the necessary information that the company needs. In order to do this, you need to make sure that your resume is well organized and concise.A chronological resume writing education is very helpful when you are planning to hire a professional resume writer to complete your job application. This will make sure that you learn how to write your resume the proper way, so that it will be successful when you present it.You should be aware that there are some basic instructions that you need to know. First, you have to determine the reason why you are applying for the job. After that, you have to set a deadline for yourself, which is the date on which you need to complete the necessary steps of resume writing education.

Finding People to Follow on Twitter

Finding People to Follow on Twitter If you are new to Twitter, one of the first things you will want to do is find people to follow on Twitter. Ive got you covered! Before you start this ongoing process of finding and following people on Twitter, you will want to think about the answers to these questions: Who are the industry movers and shakers I want to follow? What is my reason for following each person? What can I learn from them? I say this is an ongoing process because, very much like networking, you want to constantly expand the number of people you know. Plus, new and interesting people and companies are joining Twitter every day. How To Find People On Twitter There are several ways to find and follow people to follow on Twitter. I show you several right  here! To summarize, find people through: Twitters Who to Follow recommendations is based on the types of people youve started to follow already. Following the followers of people you respect/value Following lists Other ways of finding people to follow: Authors of an article or book you enjoyed They are included in #FF (Follow Friday) endorsement/recommendations of people whom you respect Use a hashtag relevant to your career Follow other peoples lists or see who they follow People who work for a target company Add them to Your List It makes sense in my mind to begin adding people to lists you create and curate from the very beginning.   You have the choice of making lists public or keeping them private so only you can see the list.   Categorizing or tagging people will allow you to filter your Twitter stream better. Dont miss this post: How to Find Smart People to Follow on Twitter has some of my favorite folks.   Remember, my interests and yours are different. I highly recommend you follow people in your industry, occupation and/or geographically preferred area.   As much as I would love for you to follow me, I would much rather see you develop relationships with people who have the authority to hire you!

DONT SKIP THE COVER LETTER

DON’T SKIP THE COVER LETTER The importance of a well-crafted cover letter cannot be overstated. A résumé contains the information potential employers need to know about where you’ve worked and what you have done, but they may not even get to your résumé if your cover letter doesn’t excite them. A cover letter is the gateway to the résumé, and it needs to stand out on its own and enhance the résumé it precedes. The challenge is to create an amazing cover letter that does both. I know what you’re going to say: I was told nobody reads cover letters. You don’t know! So, what if one recruiter or hiring manager doesn’t read them. What about the next one who does? Do you want to risk it? No other candidates are doing cover letters. Repeat: You don’t know! What if one other candidate submits a great cover letter and you just submit a resume. Who wins? Some job application websites don’t take cover letters. So what? Most have a section for “other documents” and if they don’t, then don’t provide it. However, your cover letter is not just for online applications; it’s for your networking and for e-mailing to the recruiter and hiring manager after you apply. The Cover Letter is Still King Lets talk about two job applicants who applied for the same position. Both were extremely qualified based on their résumés, and they had an equally fair shot at the job. One included a general cover letter that was used repeatedly to apply for every job opening. The other researched the individual company, addressed the hiring manager by name, and sent a well-crafted candidate packet matching their skills to the job description. Guess who got the job…you already know the answer. Many job seekers todayâ€"even those with decades of work experienceâ€"don’t bother sending a cover letter with their résumé, and if they do, they are usually extremely ineffective letters. There really is no gray area; job seekers must include a well-written, job-specific, and well-formatted cover letter with every résumé. Cover Letter 101 The purpose of a great cover letter is to answer the ‘why interview you’ for the job. You want to entice them to consider you as a serious candidate. You want the reader to continue reading your cover letter and then your résumé. Your cover letter should be a punch between the reader’s eyes with why you are the BEST candidate for their job. There is a lot wrong with cover letters today. They can be written poorly or they can be ‘selfish.’ If written at all, candidates often provide cover letters that aren’t well written and that regurgitate the same information as in the résumé. A ‘selfish’ cover letter includes the words I, me, or my over and over. To check, look at your most recent cover letter and circle the number of times you use I, me, or my throughout. You might be shocked at the repetition. Tell, Dont Sell The trick is to write a cover letter that explains what you can do for your buyer, not what you are selling. It should encourage them to learn more about you. When you start writing cover letters that clearly define why you are the best candidate for their job based on their job description, you start making yourself relevant and start getting more responses back from employers. Structuring the Cover Letter A cover letter should contain the following three sections (in this order): Purpose: The opening section of the letter is the purpose or the relevance of this communication or application. Include why are you writing the letter and applying for this job. Reason: The body of the letter should include the top three reasons why you are the best candidate for this specific position. Don’t cut and paste from past letters. Craft this section specifically about this job and how only you can rock this position. Request: The close of the letter is the actual request for an interview. Literally, share your high interest for the position, for the interview, and for the next steps. This is the call to action. Following the purpose, reason, request model for cover letters is also the best preparation for an interview. If it’s on the phone, have a print-out of the cover letter in front of you. If your interview is in person, bring a copy with you and refer to it when needed. When done right, it is a useful tool for your overall job search process. Join Dana Manciagli’s  Job Search Master Class ®  now  and get the most comprehensive  online  job search system available!