InterviewTeacher.com

I just read an article reported by WCVB TV in Boston MA regarding Vista Print. I have used Vista Print for years and have not had any problem with them or their services, but this article talks about how people who had signed up for additional services were being charged on a monthly basis without their knowledge. If you are a consumer and user of this company it is worth the time to read this article. There is a great video clip on the story which aired on Boston Television at this link as well. The old cliche “Buyer beware” is apropos in this instance. Take the time and check it out.

When faced with a tough interview question it is best that you look presidential. In this video Colin Powell is calm cool and collected when answering a potentially volatile interview question. As you listen to the interview notice that he does not evade the question, but supports his position with facts.

When you are responding to an interview question, follow Colin Powell’s example, provide the supportive information and then provide your answer. This process is similar to building a house. The supportive information you provide is the foundation that you will build your answer on. The more accurate and complete the information is that you provide the stronger your answer and the more likely it will be accepted by the interviewer.

Remember to be presidential and answer your interview questions with information that support your answer. If you are affective at doing this you will be offered the job.

Your mental attitude is one of the few things that you have 100% control of and can make all the difference between you being successful in getting the interview and the job offer or not. What are you willing to do to be successful? How far are you willing to go? How much time and effort are you willing to invest in yourself to be prepared for that interview?

These are the hard questions that you must ask yourself. How you decide to answer them can make all the difference in the world between your success and failure. Are you willing to do the research on the organization you would like to interview with? Have you used your LinkedIn.com contact to get an introduction to a decision maker in the organization you are pursuing? Have you had a mock interview to practice being in an interview situation? Are you willing to spend money on coaching to be successful in ensuring you have a targeted resume and know the right questions to ask the employer?

Success is being willing to take the steps that others refuse to. Success is preparing yourself to be more disciplined and purposeful about your approach to a job search. This is why I have shared the video or Rory Vaden with you. Rory Vaden is a member of Toastmasters, like yours truly, and was the 2007 World Champion of Public Speaking 1st Runner Up. This video is an excerpt for his signature speech “Take The Stairs” which focuses on being willing to do things that others are not to be successful.

You can see Rory perform this speech live at the Toastmasters District 83 Fall Conference which is being held on November 8th at the Woodbridge Hilton in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The theme of the conference is: Achieving New Heights One Step at a Time.

You can get a copy of the registration form at: http://tinyurl.com/fall83

Don’t be a follower, be a trend setter, a leader and be willing to take the stairs.

When you know that you have an interview scheduled the first thing you must do is prepare for it. This means that you have to anticipate the questions that you may be asked and develop answers for them. You must also do your research. You have to know the things that the organization does well in addition to the things that they find challenging. Your goal is to demonstrate how what you bring to the table will help to address their challenges, minimize their risk and if you can make them a profit.

Sarah Palin appears not to have taken this advice in the interview that she had with Katie Couric. I have to thank my sister Shari for send me the following interview segments.

One is a parity of the interview preformed by Saturday Night Live. The other are videos of the actual interview by Ms. Couric.

It is hard to tell the difference between the two and at first I thought it was a joke, but to my surprise two of the three videos are real. The similarities are striking. I provide theses videos for your review as an example of what not to do when you go for an interview. Make sure that you do your research and come prepared to answer the difficult questions, because they might be asked and if they are you want to make sure you do not have a Sarah Palin Interview.

This is a great video for those of us who are technically challenged when it come to using a computer or making our own resume. It is a great place to start and offers a number of suggestions during the development process. Combining these tips with those that you cam learn for Master the Art of Selling Yourself will place you on the road to successfully getting your next dream job.

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.