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We can change the world. It can be done one person at a time. Fear, hate and deception are used to promote ISM’s. What are ISM’s? ISM’s are the tools that some people use to keep us divided, racism, terrorism, sexism. Although the prefix may change the result is the same, they promote fear hatred and deception. We can change the world by not allowing ourselves to be caught in this ISM trap. I recommend that you support the candidate of your choice, vote and become more aware of the ISM’s out there.

Would you believe that advancing you career would be as easy as asking a question? Show interest in what happening in the office. Ask supervisors to show and explain to you what they do. People become flattered and excited when you show an interest in their job tasks and will be more than happy to show you.

You will be perceived as a team player and a go getter. People like others who are willing to led them a hand to complete a task. Asking questions provides you the opportunity to learn on the job and develop a report with your supervisor at the same time. You will find that you will be considered the go to person for special projects in addition to positioning yourself as the first person’s in line for that next level promotion. Why? Because you have shown drive and determination, as well as interest in the development of the organization as well as self improvement.

Be willing to ask questions on the job of your supervisor, it will only help to advance your career.

If you are looking for your dream job you must look for a workplace that values the people that work for them.. Remember the job interview is not a one way conversation but rather a dialog that you and the employer have together. You need to ask questions that will give you some insight into how they value their staff.

When a manager shows genuine concern in the well being of their staff it is a value worth more than money. In fact the dollar value that you would place on your manager exhibiting this type of behavior would be a lot higher than the bonus you would like to obtain for getting this new position. So things are priceless and worth more than money. So on you next interview think of question to ask the interviewer that will provide you with this insight. One example might be: Tell me about a time when a staff member who was a great employee had a problem that impacted their job performance, and what you did to help them? This type of a question will not only give you insight into their management style but also insight of how the manager and the organization values good employees.

All the best in you job search and remember you are interviewing the organization to see if they are a good fit for you too.

Yes I am going to tell you about selling yourself. Believe it or not regardless of the position you hold at your current employer you are in sales. Some of you may be in retail or wholesale but the hidden truth is that you sell for your company or organization everyday. It is the relationships that you build which will determine how successful you are at sales.

I am getting a little ahead of myself so let me take a step back and start at the beginning. If you do not convince the person you are talking to why they need to spend time listening to you then you will not be a successful sales person. This is where the elevator pitch comes into play. You have to communicate what you have to offer and why the person you are speaking to needs to find out more about it in 2 to 3 sentences. You have less than 30 seconds to impress them and make them want to inquire more of you.

This will be the opportunity to exchange business cards. Why do I say exchange, because you want to be able to follow up with them and pursue the conversation? The person you spoke with might be very busy so obtaining a business card will give you their e mail, phone and address providing you different avenues for future communication.

When you obtain an offer for an interview there are two things you must remember:
• Get the business card of the person who interviews you
• Have a business card of your own to exchange

Why is this so important? After the interview is over you will want to send a thank you letter to the interviewer for the time they spent with you. You will want to have the mailing address, the name of the person spelled correctly, and their title. All of these items can be found on their business card.

Why should you have a business card to exchange with the interviewer? It allows you to leave your contact information with the interviewer in a smaller format than your resume. Your business card is a reflection of you, so you would like it to make a statement. I recommend getting a business card made by a printer on a quality stock paper. By doing so you will leave a good impression with the interviewer and stand out of the crowd, remember everything that you do during the interview or leave behind will remind the interviewer of the high caliber that you exhibited. This is not a time to cut cost but you do not have to blow the bank either.

I get my business cards made at VistaPrint.com and use the premium card option. Premium Cards will cost you about $20.00 or less for a box of 250 cards. I usually get my cards laminated too. It gives the front of the card a glossy look and makes your card stand out of the crowd. Select a professional looking background for your card. You do not want the background to be too busy and take your eyes away from your contact information. Check out the video to see what my business card looks like.

For those of you who do not know I love a good laugh and am a bit of a comedian myself, so when my brother sent me this video I just had to share it with you. Besides the music is to his favorite song, thanks TJ.

Have you ever been told that you were insignificant and your opinion does not count? If you have then don’t you believe it! I am hear to tell you that what you say and do matters. What you think matters and you matter. Do not ever believe that your voice can not be heard so you choose not to speak.

Too often we can be tricked into believing that we are subject to the whims of others who have special interests to protect. When you add your voice to those of other like minded individuals you will find that there is strength in numbers. Issues of our economy and access to health care have become too vital for us to sit back and watch others take action. When you feel challenged by those in power by there continued disregard for you and what affects the livelihood of you and your family, do not take no for an answer. Smile and say, Yes We Can.

If you have not had the opportunity to vote yet in the primary elections here in the USA then I encourage you to do so. Regardless of your party affiliation or preference in candidate you must go out and vote. Your voice is important and it needs to be heard.
With the primaries scheduled for March 4th and future dates the stakes are too high not to vote. Thank you for spending the time to read this post.

Social networking sites are great tools to meet others and expand your sphere of influence, but there are a few safety tips that you should follow.

• Limit your personal information – Some sites allow you to limit the number of people that can have access to your profile information. I recommend that you do not share your address or telephone number on line.
• Check your privacy settings – Privacy settings is a away to limit the sharing of information you have posted on your networking site. A number of sites like Facebook may allow for too much sharing of information if you do not use it correctly. Check your privacy settings and be sure you understand what the various plug-ins do before you install and use them.
• Comments are discoverable – Remember that what you write on the internet can be searched and found. This can have negative ramifications if you write or post a picture of you in an objectionable situation, you might loose your job.

Consider these tips went you decide to post information about yourself on the internet. These tips will help keep you safe and if you have not had a chance, please listen to the video to learn more.

You may have heard a lot about various social networking sites on the internet. A number of these sites allow you to develop a network of people you know. Linked In is a social networking site with a job related focus. It is a place where you can market yourself to prospective business clients and employers. The advantage to using Linked In is the power of networking in an electronic environment. The hidden value of using this network is the common bond that we share between people we know that know each other.

Each person in your network has people that they know in their network. Some of these people you both may know and will be common in the network you share and others will be individuals exclusive to each of you. Linked In uses this knowledge to allow you to contact a person who you do not know in your friend’s network who may work at a potential future employer or may be a future business prospect. The person who knows you can offer an introduction to the person they know that you would like to meet. This person will be more open to communicating with you since they know the person that introduced you.

Sounds simple and it really is that easy to use. I found a great instructional video on Linked In and how to use it. You can watch it by clicking this link. Best of luck to you in your campaign to market yourself and happy networking on Linked In.

The Interview Teacher would like to wish you and your family a happy, safe and blessed Christmas. Thank God for the many blessings that he has given to us over the years, but none of them is more precious than the gift of his son that he shared with the world. Enjoy the holiday.

Do you want to know the secret to finding the job of your dreams? Like most things in life, it is simple and yet so many people have a hard time doing it. You just have to make up your mind that you are going to do it. Too many times we enter a process thinking about what we want the end result to be but never following it through. We get side tracked by competing interest or others who place doubt in our mind. This would not be possible if we had made up our mind about the goal we were striving for.

Maybe the problem is that we did not believe it ourselves and this is the heart of the matter. If you do not believe in your heart what you want to achieve then you will never achieve it. Several months ago the world was all a buzz with two words The Secret. There is a book and a DVD about the secret and you can check it out on my resource page. This principle is what the author calls The Law of Attraction and is discussed in the video of this post. In its most basic elements it is having faith, believing that something unforeseen will happen to you at some point in time in the future. The main ingredients are that your mind is made up and you believe it in your heart.

Do you want to get that dream job? You have to make your mind up, believe in it and do not let anyone plant a seed of doubt in your mind. Your mind is fertile ground and will be willing to grow what ever you allow to be planted there. The choice is yours. I recommend getting the secret and developing a deeper understanding of the principle. Your dream job awaits you, remember it is your choice, so do not be afraid to make it.

At some point in time when you are applying to a job vacancy there may be such a large number of applicants for the position that the hiring organization may decide to give you an aptitude test. You may not have been notified in advance about this, but you are interested in the job and there are a number of other applicants there willing to take the test as well. What should you do?

Let’s start in the beginning. You have to be prepared for anything when you go to a job interview, pop quizzes and behavioral questions are tools that are used to weed people out of the hiring process. You should realize this and prepare yourself both mentally and physically for what most people would consider a surprise.

Carry you resume in a leather folder with a calculator enclosed. Having a calculator will make it easier to calculate simple problems and help reduce the anxiety of the surprise test. Get a high school math workbook from you local library if you do not have a child who has one, and review the problems. Most math test questions are geared to the high school level requiring the use of algebra, percentage, and ratio math skills. We both know it has been years since you have had to use any of these skills and this is why you need to practice.

Being prepared is half the battle. Practicing will make you more confident and keep you in the right frame of mind during the test. You do not want you feel like Rowan Atkins in the above video trying to figure out the answers to the test without a clue. You can do it. Have confidence in your abilities, practice and make sure you bring a calculator and any additional tools that you may need to be prepared and successful.

Too many times we get caught up in our daily lives and do not take a moment to stop and be thankful. Thankful for what you might ask. The answer is, thankful for everything. Too many times we over look the little things like, I woke up this morning. The sun was shinning, or it is raining and I will not have to water the lawn. It might be a windy day and you are thankful that your leaves are being blown into you neighbors yard so you will not have to rake them. Or the leaves from your neighbor’s yard are being blown into your yard, but you can walk and have the strength to rake them. Besides, if you spend as much time at the computer as I do you could probably benefit from the exercise.

Why do I mention these things to you? Well if you have just lost your job you may not be in a thankful mood. There is a passage in the bible that says, “In all things give thanks.” This means that even in your darkest times there is an opportunity for gratitude. What it takes is a change in your prospective and your outlook on things.

Having a positive attitude will benefit you in the long run. No one wants to hire Mr. or Ms. Grumpy; they want to hire Mr. or Ms. Happy. This means you have to smile and practice doing it. This can be an impossible task if you are not thankful. My recommendation is to be thankful, smile, and in time you will see everything around you change in your favor. As the singer Bobby McFerrin said “Don’t Worry, Be Happy, Don’t Worry Be Happy Now!”

Many people over look the importance of the format of the resume. Next to including key words in a resume the format is the second most important aspect of your resume. In a previous post (Resume Format – What’s The Objective) I described the need for you to use a professional profile and the title of the position that you are applying to, as opposed to an objective for the job you are seeking. Remember your resume is prime real estate and you want to capture the reader’s attention and encourage them to read more.

Starting at the top of the page you should place your name, e mail and telephone number centered with a line for each item so that is looks like a block. Under this block place the name of the position you are applying for. Skip a line and place your professional profile under the job title. Next center the heading “Professional Experience”, all of your work experience will fall under this heading. Each position that you have held should appear on your resume in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent job.

Each job that you have held should include the name of the employer, the city and state of the employer all on the same line. On the following line place the job title that you held and your years of service, if you currently hold this position then include the month and year you started followed by a dash and the word “Present”. This will inform the reader that you currently hold this position. Give a brief description of this position, followed by Result Oriented Communication (ROC). I will discuss the importance of ROC in a future post.

If you have to use additional pages for your resume include just your name, phone number and the page number of total pages as a heading at the top of any additional pages. This will allow the reader to know how many pages to look for, identify the page as yours and allow the reader to contact you if the first page is misplaced. Any additional on the job education will fall under the heading of “Training”.

You also should include a heading for education. Your education should be in reverse chronological order with the month and year of graduation. If you are currently in school you can enter the degree you expect to achieve, the school you currently are attending followed by the word “candidate” and the year you anticipate graduating.

Leave a 1 to 2 inch border on the sides of the resume. This will allow the interviewer to write notes on your resume when they interview you. Notice I said when, not if they interview you. Using this format will get your resume noticed and increase your chances of being interviewed for that dream job.

If you would like a free copy of a resume using this format written with result oriented communications to use as a guide in developing your resume then click the “Join Us!” tab at the top of this blog located between the “About The Interview Teacher” and the “Suggested Reading” tabs. You can also contact me at Info@InterviewTeacher.com if you have any questions or are interested in obtaining more information.

A number of people ask me why they need to have a business card outside of their normal work business card. Well your work business card is great for business transactions but if you are testing the waters for a new opportunity you may not want a prospective employer calling you on the job. If someone else answers the phone the word might get out that you are looking before you want it to.

I recommend that you have your own personnel business cards made with an e mail and phone number that your prospective employer can contact you. I number of people use their cell phone as their main number of contact. This can be a good and bad idea at the same time. If you decide to use your cell phone as a business contact then you are also making a conscious decision to answer all calls on that phone in a professional manner. More about this subject will be discussed in future posts.

Vista Print is the site that I use for my personnel business cards. You can select to purchase free business cards or premium business cards. If you choose the free cards there are a number of cards themes that you can select from. Remember to select a theme that looks professional, because you will be planning to use this card when networking and on your interview. I normally purchase the premium business card. They sell for $19.99 on sale 50% OFF Premium Business Cards & FREE Return Address Labels
and provide a broader range of themes to select from. You can also select to have the cards printed on a thicker card stock and have it laminated in a glossy finish for an additional charge.

I recommend upgrading to the premium card with a thicker card stock and having them laminated as well. Your business card says something about who you are and it might be the only thing that a person has to remember you by. Having a card that is unique (laminated) and feels good in the person’s hand (thicker card stock) says that you are a person of quality and pay attention to detail. It is a little more expensive to upgrade your business cards but you are well worth the investment.