careers
If you’ve ever been invited for an interview—and my hunch is that you have—you’re familiar with the rush of excitement that accompanies that email. And, of course, the distinct feeling of being thrown to the wolves that immediately follows.
No need to panic. You actually have more resources at your disposal than you might think. There’s plenty of information out there to help you learn more about a particular company before the interview, and there is, of course, the job description.
Seriously—don’t discount this little blurb. While the primary purpose is to detail the position and, ideally, entice you to apply, there’s so much more you can do with it to help you prepare for the next step of the process.
1. Create Mock Interview Questions to Practice
The most obvious way to use it during your interview prep is to create practice questions. If, for example, the position requires “the ability to work in a team and independently,” you can turn that into, “Tell me about a time you worked in a team,” “Tell me about a project you completed independently,” or even, “Do you prefer working on a team or independently?” Go through the entire job description and turn everything in it into a question. Then, practice answering them aloud.
2. Come Up With Relevant Examples and Stories
It’s always smart to have a few good stories ready to go in case your interview gets into behavioral questions (and it usually does). And guess what? The job description’s the best place to start when you’re trying to figure out what kind of stories would be most appropriate to share. Use it like a checklist. Go through and come up with an anecdote for each trait or skill the position outlines.
The trick here is to come up with stories that can check off multiple boxes. Think about times you showcased, for instance, your project management skills alongside your ability to communicate to a nontechnical audience. That way you’re not walking into your interview trying to remember 25 stories, instead your bases are covered with just a few.
3. Generate Questions to Ask at the End of the Interview
Finally, the job description is simply not going to cover every single aspect of the job. This, surprisingly, can actually help you. If there’s anything in there that’s a bit ambiguous, unclear, or conspicuously missing, that’s great fodder for questions to ask at the end of the interview. These questions show that you were thoughtful in reviewing the requirements when you applied for the position. And showing that you’re invested in the position can only help you come across more positively in the interview.
Credit : themuse.com
Are you scheduled for an interview in the coming week? Doing interview preparation over the weekend? A fact is that no job candidate can guarantee they will pass a job interview; you can be confident enough that you will do well, but that’s it. The outcome is most times out of your control. A job interview can bring surprises, from meeting a panel instead of one individual, to being interviewed by a hostile recruiter.
But one thing that is common across all kinds of a job interview; you need to be well prepared if you are to ace the interview. To help you in the preparation process, here is a list of things you must do from when you get that invite to when you show up for the interview.
6 Steps To Help You Pass a Job Interview
1. Identify what you’ll be wearing to the interview
Not sure how this is the first thing you should do? Read on. Recruiters or the interview panel will begin evaluating your suitability for the job from the minute you walk in, so your appearance is important. Did you dress for the position? Did you take time to look the part?
What you pick out should make the employer or recruiter answer these questions with a positive. This way, the interview can start on a positive note without any negative judgements.
2. Go back to the job description
When searching for jobs, you come across too many positions that keeping up with each and every job description is another task altogether. To ensure you do not prepare for the wrong job, take a step back to the job description as listed by the company. Study it carefully and write down important pointers if need be, also match it up to your CV and see what information comes out as important.
Knowing this will give you a basis for what information to look out for when carrying out your background research.
3. Start on your company research
From the notes you made from step number 2, begin getting even more familiar with the company. Look out for achievements and major milestones that the company has registered recently and be concerned with the figures. You do not want to mention the wrong figures that make the company look bad during the interview.
Ensure by the time you are relaxing back on your chair, you know the company ins and outs like you are already one of the employees.
4. Go through various interview questions and rehearse answers
Anxiety for most candidates looms when you are not sure what questions to expect or what answers to give when these interview questions are asked. To avoid being anxious, take your time and search common interview questions to expect in your profession.
At this point, Google becomes your friend. You will find many career websites or recruitment firms like this one with this information. And to be on the safe side, pay more attention to interview questions focused on the Kenyan job market. Rehearse the answers until you are confident that you understand each one and can answer with ease.
5. Know what attitude works in a job interview
Most job seekers focus their interview preparation around the company background and questions, but forget the other basics that count. Your attitude is a major determinant of how an interview will go, and your body language plays a major role in communicating your attitude. Recruiters will be very keen about your attitude during a job interview, so be very careful how you come across.
No employer wants to work with a bad attitude, so keep yours in check and identify how to market yourself without bragging too much.
6. Pack up what you’ll need and arrive 15 to 30 minutes early
Now that you have prepared the basics and got all the information to keep your anxiety in check, it’s time to impress recruiters in the interview. To do this, always confirm that you have everything that is required by the interviewer; supporting certificates, recommendation letters, copies of your CV just in case and other important documents that you were asked to carry.
Once you’ve ensured you have them all, get directions to the company and familiarize with the different routes you can use. If commuting, find out matatus to use early enough so you don’t have to get lost just before the job interview. And more importantly, if the interview is in Nairobi or its environs, always give yourself a traffic jam allowance. But also remember, if you are running late it is wise to call your contact and let them know so they do not assume that you just don’t care.
You are now ready for that upcoming interview. Oh, and clean up your Social media sites to show you’re a professional, may be change your privacy settings so if recruiters snoop around they don’t see how you partied o Wish you all the best.
The writer is a Communications Officer at Corporate Staffing Services. Visit Website: www.corporatestaffing.co.ke
Applying to jobs can be a tedious process, especially because you need to write a Cover Letter for each and every job you apply for.
Most job seekers in Kenya let the frustrations of their tedious job applications get to them, and for this reason they end up making mistakes that cost them the jobs.
These candidates do not even realize they made a mistake in their cover letter during the application, until someone points it out to them and this is very rare.
To avoid such situations that could lead to a series of frustrations, it is always important to take your time when drafting the cover letter.
Why? Because the cover letter tells the story that your 2 or 3 page CV couldn’t.
Customer Service Job Sample Cover Letter
“Your Name Here”
P.O Box 66600 – 20200
Nakuru
30th July, 2015
The Human Resource Manager
XYZ Company Limited
P.O Box 000 – 00100
Nairobi
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re: Application For The Position Of Customer Service Executive
I am writing in regards to the Customer Service Executive opening at your company. I believe my 4 years’ experience working as a customer service agent has provided me with the problem solving skills and great interpersonal communication skills you are looking for in this position.
In addition to my degree in Business Administration, I have received training in customer relations management, leadership skills and I am currently pursuing a post graduate diploma in Information Management, all of which will come in handy when dealing with difficult clients and coming up with effective organizational policies.
Working at XYZ Company, I was also responsible for handling telephone calls coming in and out of the organization, dealing directly with clients on behalf of my manager and keeping record of major official documents. I believe this experience has given me the skills you are looking for and makes me the best candidate for this job.
Attached is my CV for your review. I look forward to an interview where we can discuss my qualifications further and the value I will be adding to your company.
Yours Sincerely,
“Name Here”
If you are sending your application directly to the recruiting officer and can tell what gender they are just from their email, be specific and address them with their names or as Dear Sir or Dear Madam, not both.
The person receiving your email may be offended or think your cover letter as just another application among hundreds you have sent out and not consider you.
Heading into a big interview can be terrifying, not unlike the feeling I’d imagine you’d have if you were about to jump out of a plane for the first time ever.
Of course, there’s little risk of actual death (unless, of course, you’re improbably applying for head coach at lion-taming school), but it’s nonetheless an anxiety-producing scenario.
Summon your self-confidence and conjure your courage in five easy ways.
1. Stop the Storytelling
Your brain’s primary job is to minimize danger and maximize reward, so in a situation where there’s an unknown outcome—especially a situation where you might screw up—your mind’s going to start telling you stories designed to keep you safe, tales that will help you from feeling the crush.
I’ll never get the job, and I’m about to get called on my spectacular lack of suitability. What if the hiring manager hates me? These kinds of opportunities always go to someone on the inside or someone they already know, I have no chance.
Your brain will always spin stories when it doesn’t know what will happen, so it’s vital that you recognize what your overly analytic mind is doing in creating these works of fiction.
Notice the fear-filled worries and let yourself consider the hilarity of them for just a moment, and then get yourself back to reality stat. It’s the only way you’re going to build the confidence you need for a home-run interview.
2. Return to Your Best
Being at your best means being at the top of your game, the place where you’re buzzing, flowing, and really feeling alive. When you’re in that place, two things are happening. First off, you’re simply using everything you’ve got in the moment (all those skills, all that experience, all your smarts, all your talents, all your strengths and all that instinct) and, secondly, you’re not letting anxiety get in the way of your confidence.
In an interview, these two things combine to give you the sense that this is OK; that you’re OK. It’s sitting in that chair feeling whole and resourceful rather than incomplete and on edge.
To enlist this feeling, try this exercise: Sit and close your eyes, and dive into how it feels when you’re firing on all cylinders. Check in to see where that feeling lives in your body—maybe in your stomach or your chest or your fingertips. Imagine that place in your body being the source of this energy, this flow, this power, this ease. Then, when you need it, just focus on that place in your body, and you’ll return to your best.
3. Breathe
Anxious nerves are a physiological response to risk, a response that gets your heart thumping, palms sweating, and thoughts spinning. You’re pretty much screwed while this response has you in its grasp, so it’s fortunate that you have a built-in stabilizer—a way of anchoring your experience in something steadier and more enabling: your breath.
If, pre-interview, you start to feel the anxiety start to creep in, gently shift your attention to your breath. Pay attention to it as it moves in and out of your body. Keep your attention on the breath, noticing the sensations in your body as you exhale, and even the momentary pause between the in breath and out breath.
Interrupting the script written by anxiety and instead focusing on the breath re-activates your pre-frontal cortex—the part of your brain that allows you to think deliberately, express your personality, and make decisions.
Fully experiencing your cycle of breathing is a way of returning you to a place of acceptance where confidence lives.
4. Normalize Rejection
As experiences go, rejection is a pretty sucky one. Getting dismissed as a job candidate makes you wonder whether you’re really as good as you sometimes think you are. You start to question whether you did something wrong or whether there’s something about you that the hiring manager just didn’t like. The warm wash of shame makes you feel small and insignificant. It’s a really low feeling and no good for your self-esteem.
Rejection doesn’t have to be some big, looming scary thing. If you don’t get asked you back for a second interview, it’s not the end of the world. It doesn’t mean you’re not good enough.
If you get to third round, but ultimately don’t get an offer, it’s OK. You’ll bounce back. Try not to view it as an outright judgment against you personally, but simply as a sign that it wasn’t the right job for you at this point in time.
Try not to let the professional rebuff diminish your value.
5. Humanize the Process
It’s easy to enter into the meeting thinking that the interviewer is only there to judge you. Sometimes you might even cast them as the Big Bad—an opposing force who wants to catch you make a mistake or say the wrong thing.
The reality, of course, is that you were invited in because your resume and cover letter caught the hiring manager’s eye. You were asked to come in because someone at the company wants to get to know you. The hiring manager wants to hear more about the experiences he read about on paper, and I promise you no one is looking to see how much shaking you can do in those boots of yours.
Believe it or not, they’re on your side. They want to see who you are and what you can do, and how well you’ll fit in the team and the culture. Their aim is to offer the job to a decent human being who can add value, so consider them as an ally who wants you to land the job rather than an enemy who wants to see you trip up.
By getting in the practice of summoning confidence with these five tips, you’ll become a stronger, more articulate interviewer. Instead of fearing the inevitable job interview, you’ll look forward to it, knowing you have what it takes to succeed both mentally and physically.
Credit : themuse.com
You can debate whether cover letters are dead as much as you’d like, but that won’t change the fact that some hiring managers will continue to read them, and to those people, what you write still matters. Knowing that, it’s worth taking some time to think about what message you want to send.
And no, the message shouldn’t simply be “Hire me.” Everyone’s application can be summed up with those two words. The best examples always have a “because” attached that explains why you deserve to be hired.
In other words, if you were to distill your whole letter into one line it would be: “Hire me, because I have a ton of relevant experience,” or “Hire me, because you’re a two-person company and I know how to wear a ton of hats as things evolve,” or the ever-popular, “Hire me, because I’m incredibly excited about this position.”
As you may’ve noticed, that last line isn’t quite as strong as the first two—at least not off the bat. While it shares why you’re interested, it doesn’t mention what you’d bring to the role. It only covers your passion for the position. Sure, you’re excited about the position, in love with the company, and obsessed with the industry. But while your goal may be to distinguish yourself as someone who’d go the extra mile because you genuinely care, you end up blending into a crowd of notes that read more like fan mail.
Don’t get me wrong: Enthusiasm can be a strong selling point. But you have to package it correctly so that it speaks to how you’d be a capable hire. Here’s how to reframe three of the most common (and worst) lines:
Old Line: “I Have Dreamed About Working at [Organization] for Years”
New Line: “I Noticed the Company Has Recently Shifted Toward [X]”
Saying you’ve always wanted to work somewhere doesn’t actually mean anything. First, anyone can make that claim. Second, you might have always dreamed of being an amazing cook, but if you never spend any time in the kitchen, you’re not qualified to prepare a banquet meal.
Now, if you’ve actually followed an organization since its website was in beta, that’s a definite advantage. Clearly, you get the target audience, and you have a strong sense of the company’s evolution. These two facts would make you a more valuable hire then someone who just stumbled upon the business.
So, focus on the tangible way that your history with the company would allow you to quickly fit in and get to work. By mentioning that the organization seems to have shifted its messaging, or packaging, or something that only someone who worked there or truly loved the product would know, you’ll make it clear that you could contribute an informed opinion from day one.
Old Line: “I Want This Job More Than You Can Believe”
New Line: “I Was Excited to See One of the Main Responsibilities Is [X]”
A lot of people worry about their cover letters sounding stiff and robotic. So, they err on the other extreme, making it sound like they’re sitting across the table from the hiring manager, telling him or her just how much they really want the role. Not only could this line show up in anyone’s cover letter (i.e., it’s not distinguishing you at all), but you never want someone to be able to switch out the word “job” for “relationship” and have your note read like a speech from The Bachelor.
Instead of professing your love for a role, look for a specific aspect of the position’s description that you’re perfectly suited for. One way to do this is to ask yourself follow-up questions: Why do you want this job so much? What element of it are you most excited about? Why will you be better at that task than other people applying to the same role?
Use the answers to drill down to why you’re excited and what you’d bring and your letter will be much more memorable than one that simply shares overall enthusiasm.
It’s true you follow the company, the founder, or every major influencer in the field on all social media platforms. You get alerts whenever there’s news and your talk about the company so often that people ask if you work there.
And you want the interviewer to know that, to get that you’re already an ambassador for their work, and that you’d be up to speed. However, you never want to look like just a fan. Because that’ll also make it seem like you’d probably be a “yes man” (or “yes woman”); someone who’d be so excited to come to work each day he’d follow any plan—instead of pushing back when there might be better options.
So, highlight all of the good aspects of your close attention to the company or sector. Are there changes afoot that you’re well aware of and would be equipped to help with? Has there been recent growth or resturcturing you’d love to contribute to? Including a specific detail and how you’d fit in shows more than your passion—it also highlights your fit.
The lines that literally spell out how much you’d like to work somewhere are just taking up valuable space. If you take the time to customize your cover letter and share why you’re the best person for the job, your enthusiasm will shine through more naturally—and more convincingly.
Credit : themuse.com
You put so much thought into what should go on your resume—from your best, most impressive accomplishments down to the perfect, classy-but-modern font.
But to make sure all that effort is put to good use, it’s just as important to pay attention to what shouldn’t be on there. From overused buzzwords that make you look just like everyone else to “creative” touches that do more harm than good, there are plenty of resume elements that annoy—and even turn off—recruiters. And because we want your resume at the top of the pile, we’ve pulled them all together in one complete guide.
For the best chances of landing that interview, grab your resume and make sure it’s free and clear of these 45 things.
Formatting
- A Career Objective: That boring boilerplate “I am a hard working professional who wants to work in [blank] industry” is a bit obvious—why else would you be submitting your resume?—and takes up valuable space. Instead? Make it crystal clear why you’re so interested in each specific position you’re applying to in your cover letter.
- A Skills-Based Format: Current recruiter wisdom says to stick with the good old reverse chronological (where your most recent experience is listed first) in almost every occasion. If your most recent experience isn’t what you want to highlight or you’re re-entering the workforce after a long hiatus, top your resume with an “Executive Summary” section that outlines your best skills and accomplishments, or create two experience sections: One specific one, such as “Business Development Experience” or “Editorial Experience,” followed by a more general one.
- Photos or Other Visuals: A recent study showed that “such visual elements reduced recruiters’ analytical capability and hampered decision-making” and kept them from “locating the most relevant information, like skills and experience.”
- Mega Blocks of Text: Studies show that recruiters look at resumes pretty quickly—a minute at best, the blink of an eye at worst—so your goal is to make yours as easy to skim as possible. That means keeping your text short and sweet, and in bullet points, not block text.
- A Second Page: If you have less than 10 years of experience, having more than one page can be a deal-breaker for some recruiters. So why risk it? And with a little formatting prowess, we promise you can get it down to one page.
- All Those Fonts: Stick with one—maybe two, if you have some design skills. Any more than that and you risk the hiring manager getting distracted.
- Orphan Words: (They’re those single words left on a line by themselves.) Instead, see how you can edit the previous line so they can fit—making your resume look cleaner and opening up extra lines for you to fill with other things.
- “References Available Upon Request:” At worst, it makes you look presumptuous, and even at best, you can use the extra space to add a detail about your abilities or accomplishments.
Personal Details
- Your Address: If you’re not local, recruiters might not look any further. And if you are? Recruiters may take your commute time into account and turn you down if they think it would be too long, explains AvidCareerist.
- Your Work Email Address: (And, yes, we see it happen all the time.) Do you really want your future employer to know that you’re job searching on your employer boss’ time and email server?
- Your “Creative” Email Address: (And yes, we see this happen, too.) “I can’t actually share any here without giving away someone’s personal contact info,” says Ryan Galloway of The Hired Guns. “I will say, however, that if you’re a grown person applying for a Director of Marketing gig, the word “Belieber” has no place in your email address.”
- Your “Creative” Hobbies: As recruiter Jenny Foss of JobJenny puts it, “Unless you are applying for jobs that will specifically value these interests (or they’re flat-out amazing conversation starters), leave them off. Decision makers will judge the heck out of you if they spot hobbies that fly in the face of their own personal beliefs or seem odd.”
- Your Birthdate, Marital Status, or Religion: Since it’s illegal for employers to consider this when looking at your application (at least in the U.S.), they can’t request it (and offering it makes you look a little clueless).
Work Experience and Education
- A Regurgitation of Your Job Description: In most cases, recruiters care less about what you did day to day (like answer phones and email) and more about what you accomplished over time (like increased customer satisfaction 20%). Here are a few tips for turning your duties into accomplishments.
- Bullet #8: As a rule, stick to just 6-7 bullets for each section—even if each accomplishment is seriously killer, the recruiter’s probably not going to get through them all.
- Positions Irrelevant to Your Current Job Goals: Unless you need it to fill a gap on your resume or showcase your skills, there’s no law that says you have to include your six months at Burger Shack on your resume.
- “Unpaid:” Who needs to know whether your internship was paid or not? If you got great experience, let that stand on its own.
- Your Parenting Experience: If you took time out of the workforce to raise kids, don’t list your parenting experience on your resume, à la “adeptly managed the growing pile of laundry” (we’ve seen it). “While parenting is as demanding and intense a job as any out there, most corporate decision makers aren’t going to take this section of your resume seriously,” says Foss.
- Your GPA: Unless you’re applying to a management consulting job, or you’re coming straight out of college (and it’s amazing). Even then, it might be better to simply include any academic accolades (like graduating summa cum laude) than the actual number.
- Your Graduation Year: Recruiters only really want to know that you got a degree, and you don’t want them to inadvertently discriminate based on your age.
- Anything High School-Related: Unless you’re a year out of college, really need to bulk up your resume, and did something highly relevant (and awesome) during your high school years, no need to include it on your resume.
- Skills That Everyone Has (or Should): Think Microsoft Word and “the internet.”
Specific Words
- Unnecessarily Big Words: Why “utilize” when you can “use?” especially when the former takes up more precious space on your resume. “Run the ‘would I ever say this in real life?’ test on every phrase and sentence in your resume,” says Foss. “If you find words or statements that don’t read like something you’d say? Change ’em up.”
- Industry Jargon or Buzzwords: You might know what GIA requests are, but the executive, assistant, or even recruiter first reading your resume might not. Make sure everything you include is understandable to the average person.
- Words With a Negative Connotation: Even if you mean them in a positive way, like “met aggressive sales goals,” research has shown that words like problem, mistake, and fault can have a negative impact on a recruiter’s perception of you.
- Vague Terms: (Think professional, experienced, and people person.) They’re chronically overused, and we bet there’s a better way to describe how awesome you are. (Need help? Here are a few great cliché-free ways to show off your soft skills.)
- Any of the Words in CareerBuilder’s Survey of Resume Words Recruiters Hate: Seriously, why annoy them right out of the gate? The list is topped with “Best of breed,” and followed by:
- Go-getter
- Think Outside of the Box
- Synergy
- Go-to Person
- Thought Leadership
- Value Add
- Results Driven
- Team Player
- Bottom Line
- Hard Worker
- Strategic Thinker
- Dynamic
- Self Motivated
- Detail-oriented
- Proactively
- Track Record
And OK, Because We Had To
- Typos: But don’t rely on spell check and grammar check alone—ask family or friends to take a look at it for you (or get some tips on how to edit your own work).
- Anything That’s Not True: Just, don’t. If you’re not sure you have the experience to qualify for your dream gig, don’t manufacture it—go look for ways to get it.
Credit : themuse.com
When you’re searching for a job, it can be easy to get so focused on getting hired that you overlook the red flags that can reveal a job or a company isn’t the right fit for you. That’s a dangerous mindset to have, because it can mean that you end up in a job that makes you dread going to work each day.
Here are seven job search red flags that people often ignore, to their detriment.
The person who would be your boss is rude. Your boss will have an enormous impact on your day-to-day quality of life at work, as well as on things like what projects you get, how visible they are, what kind of recognition you receive, future raises, what professional development you have access to and more. That means that your boss’s character and way of operating is hugely important, and it’s crucial that you use the interview process to assess what kind of manager you’d be working for. If your prospective boss is rude or disrespectful, assume that won’t let up once you’re hired (if anything, it’s likely to get worse). Watch out for the following types of disrespect in particular:
- Seeming put out when you ask questions about the job or the workplace culture
- Acting as if you should be grateful you’re being considered
- Disparaging your skills or past work
- Asking you to do unreasonable things, such as interviewing with only a few hours notice, without any acknowledgement or apology
You feel uneasy about your ability to do the job well. When you’re anxious to get a job, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that your goal isn’t just to get hired, but rather to get hired for a job that you’ll do well in. Otherwise, you can end up struggling and miserable at work, or even getting fired, which can make getting your next job much more difficult. Even if these worst-case scenarios don’t happen, being in a job that isn’t a great fit means that you’re unlikely to have the kind of accomplishments that will help you reach the next level in your career. If you have real concerns about your ability to excel at the job you’re interviewing for – not normal nerves, but genuine doubts that you can do what the employer is looking for – it’s probably better to withdraw from consideration and focus on jobs that play to your strengths.
No one has been able to tell you quite what the job will entail. If the employer can’t clearly explain exactly what you’d be doing if hired, that’s a danger sign. It can mean that the job is likely to change drastically after you’ve already been hired, possibly to something that you don’t want to spend your days doing or aren’t good at. It can mean that they’ll realize they don’t need the position at all, even if you’ve already quit a previous job and started working for them. And if they’re unable to explain what doing the job successfully would look like or how they’ll decide if you’re doing it well, it can mean that you’ll be left to flounder with no clear direction and be held to vague standards that never quite get articulated.
The interviewer doesn’t interview you. An interviewer who doesn’t ask many questions about your work experience is an interviewer who isn’t equipped to make a smart hiring decision. If you’re offered a job by a company that knows little about you and hasn’t made much effort to learn more, you’re taking a risk that once you’re on the job, it will turn out that the role or company isn’t right for you.
Online reviews of the company are overwhelmingly awful. Sites like Glassdoor.com, where people can leave reviews of their employers, aren’t always 100 percent reliable. People’s reviews are subjective, and a disgruntled employee might paint a very different picture than the reality. However, if a company has a significant number of reviews and they’re overwhelmingly negative, that’s worth paying attention to.
You have a terrible gut feeling. If you feel uneasy every time you think about the job or the manager, listen to your gut. Those alarm bells are often based on things that you’re picking up subconsciously, and it’s far better to walk away now than get stuck in a job that will make you miserable.
You’re pressured to accept the offer on the spot. Good employers will give you time to think over a job offer. They want you to have time to make sure that the job and offer are right to you, because they want to make good hires and not have people itching to leave after a few months. Employers who pressure you to accept on the spot or before the day is over are pushing you to do something that isn’t in your best interest. Be very wary.
Credit : usnews.com
You probably already know the most popular interview questions, like “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and “What are your compensation expectations?” What you may not have realized is that these, and questions like them, have very little to do with the real questions that lie behind virtually every hiring decision.
Memorize answers to these questions to your heart’s content, but if that is all you do to prepare for a job interview, you won’t guarantee success.
Why?
Simple: These questions don’t directly address the underlying concerns of the employer. To get to the heart of those concerns, you’ll need to step back and look at all your job-hunting communications differently. Recognize that your interviewer won’t likely tackle the concerns head on, so you need to, in order to create a strong comfort level for your candidacy.
Instead of preparing for the standard stuff, think about the real issues that hiring authorities must address in order to cross the hiring decision point.
Once you figure out what the employer’s real need is, you are in a better position to market yourself not simply as a bunch of skills, education and experience, but rather as a solution to the employer’s problem.
You’ll then be able to speak to what you can do to solve that problem, based on your abilities and knowledge.
Have you done it before … recently? Every employer wants and needs to know if you’ve done what needs to be done before. What’s the nature of your relevant experience? Employers don’t care, by and large, what you were doing more than 15 years ago, because it likely isn’t relevant to how anything is done today. You might argue the point. You might want to grasp on to that as a point in your favor.
Get over it!
Demonstrate in your cover letter, resume and in your interviews what you’ve done recently that specifically relates to key elements of the job for which you want to be hired. Tell stories about how successful you’ve been, and what you did to achieve those successes.
Can you do what needs to be done here and now? Maybe you haven’t had a similar job with like responsibilities. That doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t land the job. However, in order to do so you certainly need to demonstrate that you are capable of fulfilling its responsibilities.
It might be that you’ve been doing the same kind of thing at a lower level. Or, you might be making a more dramatic career change. Regardless, it is up to you to understand what needs to be done in the role, and convince the hiring authority that you can succeed at it. Don’t just claim that you can do the job. Show how you will be successful doing it!
Make sure you highlight the specific transferable skills, explain how they are relevant and how you would adapt them to your new job.
Or, you might want to explain why you are seeking a greater level of responsibility with an improved rank and salary to go along with it. Highlight this in your cover letter, and be prepared to speak directly to this point when you meet face to face for an interview.
What are the chances you’ll wash out or flee to another better opportunity as soon as one presents itself? When you are looking for a job, it’s easy to forget that the people interviewing you will themselves be evaluated on the quality of the people they hire. If they hire people who consistently fail to work out well, or alternatively are such stars that they are off to another company as soon as “the right thing” comes along, it will be a blot on their record.
That’s why it is often difficult for people who are overqualified to convince interviewers that they want to dial back their responsibilities, and, alternatively, why employers are reluctant to hire you if your past experience and achievements don’t align with the job perfectly.
Again, if this sounds familiar, you’ll want to take the bull by the horns and make a convincing case why this really is a good fit in your cover letter, and throughout the hiring process.
Happy hunting!
Credit : usnews.com
You might be tired of hearing this by now, but regardless, it’s true: Job hopping is the new normal. That means people today are scoping out their prospects anytime, anywhere—including at the office.
While it’s definitely not ideal, sometimes skimming openings while sitting at your desk is a necessity. When you’re balancing work, friends, your health, and life, you need to fit your search in whenever you can—and in today’s competitive market, you have to move swiftly in order to move to the next round.
But make no mistake: Looking for new opportunities at work poses a risk. As a longtime HR leader, I can testify—there’s no better way to burn professional bridges than being caught red-handed doing this. But, if you’re going to go for it anyway, you need to tread carefully.
Fortunately, there’s a number of things you can do to make sure you land your dream position in a timely fashion while still staying respectful to your employer (and out of trouble). So before you embark on your hunt, read up on the answers to all the burning questions you didn’t know who to ask.
What’s the Best Way to Use My Time at Work if I am Job Searching?
With all the information you could ever want to know literally at your fingertips, it can be tempting to do a deep-dive investigation of your prospects throughout the work day. But even if you’re planning to leave, you need to stay respectful to your company (if for no other reason than that a bad reputation can come back to haunt you.)
Anything that can wait—research, cover letters, applications—should be done at home. Keep your time spent on the job search at work minimal, and focus first on urgent matters like responding to timely emails and doing phone interviews.
What Do I Do if the Interview Times Conflict With My Actual Job?
When you’re excited about an opportunity, you may feel like you have to bend over backwards to accommodate the hiring manager’s schedule. But your time matters, too. If a suggested interview date or deadline doesn’t work for you, you’re well within your right to politely push back—just explain that it’s not ideal for your schedule and offer some alternate times.
Remember: Recruiters are just as eager to find the perfect candidate as you are to find the perfect job, and if you show a lot of promise, they’ll probably be more than willing to give you an extension or find a workaround. Hiring managers who offer non-negotiable meeting times are few and far between—and if they’re truly in a time crunch, they’ll likely clue you in.
How Can I Keep This on the DL (for as Long as Possible)?
At the end of the day, your own behavior is more likely to give away the fact that you’re on the hunt for a new opportunity than anything else. If you nervously glance over your shoulder every few minutes or schedule three dentist meetings in a week, people will talk.
That being said, there are other ways you can have your cover blown. For example, anything you do on your office computer can be tracked, so think twice before going to sites that might provoke HR suspicion. Some companies monitor activity less than others, but regardless, there’s still no guarantee that your site history and communications will stay private.
And if you’re serious about staying stealth, dip into your PTO hours. It doesn’t have to be for weeks at a time. If you buckle down and plan in advance, a few hours here and a half-day there will allow you to blaze through multiple applications and interviews.
And, What Happens if I Get Caught?
Letting your employer know that you’re in the market for a new job is a difficult conversation, but if someone catches you in the act at the office, it’s absolutely the right move to make. Most people can recognize a hasty, panicked lie when they hear one, and once they do, your credibility goes out the window.
When you have to come clean about your job search, you likely won’t get a thrilled reaction from anyone, but if you have a good relationship with a management team that genuinely cares about your professional growth, they might just understand and want to hold onto you for as long as you’re willing to stay. And if they don’t? Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do other than admit it and apologize. Oh, and then put your search into overdrive so you’re not stuck in that awkward situation for too long.
Let’s Get Real: Can I Get Fired for This?
Like it or not, if you’re an hourly employee and you get caught prowling for a new position at work, you might as well prepare to pack your bags and leave. When you get paid for your time, each minute you’re on the clock is at your employer’s expense—so doing anything other than what you’re supposed to is effectively stealing from them.
If you’re a salaried employee, however, you have a little more wiggle room. With how connected our society is, it’s nearly impossible to completely separate your personal and professional lives: Sometimes you answer emails on the weekends, and other times you have to leave a meeting to schedule a doctor’s appointment. Job hunting definitely falls into the “personal” category, and at times, it may bleed into your work life a little bit—just make sure you’re using your time judiciously.
Finding your next big opportunity is tough enough on its own—add a full-time job, and it’s made that much more stressful. With only so many hours in a day, it makes sense that you might want to take a chance and cross off some of those to-do’s in the midst of your nine-to-five. But if you don’t want to take the risk, that’s perfectly understandable as well. Ultimately, I can’t be the one to tell you what you should do. But now that you have the facts—the good, bad, and ugly—hopefully, you’re ready to decide what your game plan will be.
Credit : themuse.com
In a perfect world, your completed assignments would speak for themselves. You’d work on friendly, collaborative teams with fair-minded co-workers, and each person would be free with praise and full of self-effacing humility. You’d never have to worry about self-promotion or navigating office politics to get your due.
But the reality is that you need to speak up. Generosity and a humble nature are great attributes to have, of course. They help you keep a team-first attitude, improve your leadership abilities, and generally endear people to you as a professional.
However, if you think you can just let your work speak for itself and never stake out that territory yourself, then being “the humble one” is hurting your career.
Here’s how:
1. It Makes You Invisible
Imagine this: Your team just completed a complex, innovative project, and you feel proud of your contributions to the group effort. But when the boss stands up at the company meeting to praise your team’s work, others are singled out for individual contributions while you seem invisible. If you’re a quieter contributor, everyone from your own teammates to company leadership may overlook you completely.
Why is this? People tend to be remembered for those roles rather than the exact things they did. For instance, the “organizer” will usually get credit for most tasks related to organization, because people will remember him as inhabiting that role.
If you take on tasks behind the scenes, your work may go unnoticed. And if you’re used to being humble, you think: What does it matter so long as the work gets done? Well, consider this: Just like you have a personal brand for your online presence, you also have a brand (or lack thereof) within your own work team. If you’re not known for anything, you’ll be lost in the shuffle when opportunities for advancement come up and no one can think of your strengths.
Solution: Carve Out Your Niche on Your Team
Step one: Pick a role you like. Step two: Make it known that you’ve mastered that particular skill or job. Take ownership of what you’d like to be known for on your team and look for opportunities to pick up projects or tasks involving that thing.
For example, maybe your work is rarely noticed because you sign up for roles that require execution, rather than standing up in front of the room and presenting. You can make that work, so long as your teammates come to depend on you for those tasks. In other words, make sure everyone knows that you have killer attention to detail, so for example, drafts always cross your desk before they’re considered final.
Or if you’re great at mediating different points of view, don’t just tell Tonia what she could say to Jim, share your solution with the group, so everyone knows you’re a strong facilitator. This way, when the final project is done, people will know you played a role.
2. It Makes You a Doormat
It’s a terrible feeling when someone else takes credit for your work. Whether it’s the bully in grade school or your backstabbing co-worker, this type of betrayal can be shocking and hard to respond to.
You’d think it would be less likely to when you like the people you work with, but it can happen to anyone. Stolen credit puts you in a sticky spot: At the very least you’re staring down a highly uncomfortable interpersonal situation. Not to mention, even accidental cases could harm your career.
But if you’re used to being modest, you worry that correcting the other person is counter-productive. So you remind yourself that “there’s no ‘I’ in team” and let someone else get all the accolades.
Solution: Share Credit, But Don’t Throw it Away
The first step to ensuring you get credit is making sure you’re not getting in your way. When someone compliments you, don’t shy away from it and gush about others. Think about the difference between deflecting praise and sharing it. It’s possible to believe strongly in your team and put “we” first while also mentioning your contributions, which allows you to draw and distribute attention at the same time.
Instead of: “Oh, thanks, but I give all the credit for that website to my team.” Try this instead: “Thank you, I enjoyed working on the UX. The whole team really pulled together to bring that site to life.”
If you regularly practice this sort of balance, you’ll be prepared to diplomatically respond to someone who takes credit for your idea by employing the same technique. You could say, “I was so thrilled to see John shares my belief that changing directions will be beneficial. It’s so nice to see we’re all on the same page!” This way, you’re crediting your team, but making sure you’re not cut out of the picture.
3. It Makes You Feel Stuck
It’s hard to find a balance between proudly claiming your due and sounding cocky—especially if you’ve never been one to talk about yourself. You want to be seen for your accomplishments and abilities, but without off-putting self-praise that makes people uncomfortable.
And if you’ve been in the background some time, you could feel that that’s what your co-workers expect of you. You don’t want to change team dynamics or be seen as having flipped a switch all the way from “humble and quiet” to “arrogant and loud” overnight.
It may even be that others are even resistant to your newfound desire to carve out a niche for yourself and speak up for your work.
Solution: Establish a Presence Outside Your Team
If your colleagues aren’t supportive—or at best, are just confused and unhelpful to start—consider developing a side project or independent work to showcase your talents. This can make it easier for hiring managers (or your company’s leadership) to see your contributions within the team’s work based on your individual abilities.
This could mean taking on a completely independent project or work, or looking for freelancing opportunities or volunteer work in your field. (Of course, always make sure your company policies allow freelancing before doing so.)
Once your co-workers see you accomplish something on your own, they’ll have new information to go off of when constructing their opinion of you and what you can contribute to the team.
Generous people who practice humility can get ahead. The key is to make sure you’re in control of how you practice it. Make it part of your brand within your team—a strength that makes others want to work with you. If you find you’re overdoing it to the point of being overlooked try the tips above to move back to middle ground. You’re an awesome person, I know this because you chose to read this article—so now your goal is to make sure everyone else knows it, too.
Credit : themuse.com
1. SACCO
(i) Finance Manager
(ii) IT Service Delivery Officer
2. Group of Companies
(i) Accounts & Admin Officers
(ii) Risk & Compliance Officer
(iii) Hotel Network Administrator
(iv) Executive Assistant
(v) Research Assistant
3. WFP
(i) Business Support Assistant
(ii) Sponsorship Relations Officer
(iii) Finance Assistant
If you’re thinking about making a big career change, you’re not alone. More and more people are making at least one big shift during their professional life, and they’re doing it successfully. Chances are, you already know that you need to tailor your resume, learn how to tell your career story, and explain your transition in a compelling way. So you’re good to go, right?
Not necessarily. Although there are plenty of resources out there to help you make the shift, there are still some not-so-obvious, yet common mistakes that can trap you if you aren’t aware of them. Beyond the challenge of telling your story, individuals making this move often fumble in unexpected ways that can stall progress and leave them feeling like the whole transition was a terrible idea.
Here’s what not to do.
1. Going it Alone
It’s scary to change careers, partly because fear of failure is real. This fear can make it nerve-wracking to tell your friends, family, and network about your plans. You figure you’ll announce it when you succeed. Part of this instinct is a result of how social media shapes our perceptions. Seeing the best of everyone’s lives online can make it hard to admit when something in your own life isn’t going how you anticipated. It’s easier to tell a story of success rather than ask for help in the process.
But if you want to break into a new industry, the people you already know are where you need to start. They’re very often your best possible assets. Evidence suggests that even those long-lost Facebook acquaintances that you aren’t close with might just be your ticket to a new path. Social media is not just for vacation selfies and political rants; it’s a powerful tool that you can use to get a head start on your search. Tell your friends—IRL and digital—about the change you want to make, and you may be surprised with a connection you never thought about. If you have connections from college, mentors from a past job, a distant cousin, reach out. Don’t wait until you get frustrated by the process—connect early to avoid feeling helpless or lost.
2. Avoiding Big Questions
Major life decisions deserve introspection, but if you can believe it, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about this seemingly straightforward exercise. I’ve seen too many career changers think about what they want to leave behind, rather than what they want to move toward—and why. If you’re in a job that you hate, and you want to get out as fast as possible, you might not be asking yourself the necessary questions about your career move. Are you trying to use a different skill set? Make a bigger impact in your community? Feel more challenged?
Think hard about why you want to shift from marketing to finance, or from sales to product management. Understand why you want to get your MBA. If you want to be successful in a new career, you need to know why you want to be there. It’s OK if you can’t think 10 years into the future, but try to think about the next three to five. How will this career transition help you grow, better your life, or set you up for your future goals? Until you can answer these kinds of questions, any satisfaction you get from escaping your current job will likely be temporary.
3. Getting Impatient
The job search takes time, and if you’ve done your introspective work and finally made the decision to switch careers, you may begin to feel frustrated by all that you still have to do. You want that new track ASAP, but the reality of a career change is that it’s rarely a speedy process. Unlike moving to a new role in the industry you have experience in, the transitional move is often complicated. In fact, you may have to consider a side gig to get your foot in the door. An internship is another possibility. If you’re not ready and aware of the commitment involved, you may feel like giving up before you even really get started.
One of the best ways to avoid burnout is to start with a realistic step-by-step plan for your career change. Working with a friend, on your own, or with career coach, give yourself a minimum of six months (be prepared for it to take twice as long though) to research, polish, and tweak your documents and narrative, network, get industry practice, and apply to jobs. If you find something sooner, great! But do yourself a favor and take the pressure off of making the transition with speed.
4. Applying to the Wrong Jobs
So you’ve informed your network (and continually worked to build and strengthen it), sought and gained introspection, and planned out the next several months. There’s still one more common yet not quite obvious mistake I’ve seen time and time again: choosing the wrong roles. Either you become so narrowly focused on the one title/job/role you want and only apply to the (very few) jobs that fit your preconceived notion without exploring new opportunities, or you start applying for everything in the new field with little attention paid to whether or not it’s even a right fit for you. Both usually result in a lot of anxiety.
As with most things, striking a balance is key here. No job is a perfect reflection of its description, and you may pass up a really interesting opportunity if you’re only focusing on a few keywords. Career changing is a journey, and you should be ready to take on some unexpected challenges in whatever new role you find. Don’t automatically pass up that marketing role at the boutique firm just because it also involves some customer service or budget management.
You may find that you have a knack for wearing multiple hats and like the variety. But if you find a marketing role at a sporting goods company when you’re an indoorsy bookworm, you might want to think twice before just hitting send on the application. So before you hit “pass” or “apply” on any job, take the time to really read the description, learn about the company, and see if you can picture yourself there. Then you’ll be able to make an informed decision.
Whether you’re changing your track after only a few years, or after 25, keep in mind that you have the skills and the savvy to be successful in your new field. Avoiding career-changing mistakes will save you from burnout and help you get to where you want to be.
Credit : themuse.com
1. Finca
(i) Credit Officers (10 Post)
(ii) Accounts Assistants (10 Post)
(iii) Accountants (10 Post)
(iv) Operations Managers (4 Post)
2. Unilever
(i) Fresh Recruitment at Unilever Kenya – Graduate Jobs
3. Watervale
(i) Market Research Assistant
4. Ringier
(i) Apply For The HR & Administration Internships at Ringier 2016
