| Putting the care in your career | Thursday, 9 January 2025 - 5:23 |
When you are in a job search, you want to do everything the right way. You leave no stone unturned to find out the best way to do things. And creating your résumé is one of your most important tools. You put time and effort into making it the best you can, so that it will be read and get you an interview. The résumé is a compilation of words. The question is how well do you use your words to get your point across successfully.
A Grammarly, the grammar checker, team looked at 500 active job postings, an elite group of 100 of the most profitable businesses in the United States. They evaluated each companies’ language in the postings on how they worded the hiring priorities. Below is an infographic of their results. I think you will benefit from it when creating your résumé.
Yes, that’s true. Without saying a word, you can communicate volumes of information to the interviewer. You communicate by facial expressions, posture and movement. A savvy interviewer can decode you actions. If they don’t like what they see, you are out. Your skills and experience on your résumé got you an interview. Your body language shows if you are a “good fit” with the rest of the team.
What should you be aware of? Here is a list:
1. Arms—don’t cross them in front of you. It is a defensive gesture. Nor should you be waving them around when you are speaking.
2. Hands—keep them away from your face. Touching your face indicates anxiety or lying.
Keep your hands and arms close by you but visible to the interviewer. If you gesture when you talk, do so without using large movements. Shake hands with a firm grip somewhere between bone crushing and a weak, dead fish handshake. Don’t play with anything in your hands such as a pen or twirl your hair.
3. Eyes—make eye contact without staring. Glancing around the room without making eye contact indicates boredom or lying. Try looking at the area between the interviewer’s eyebrows or chin.
4. Facial expressions—keep your face soft with a warm, genuine smile instead of tense. Avoid frowns and smirks.
The interviewer looks at your face for most of the interview. A friendly expression that shows confidence and interest is more appealing that an expression that shows anxiety, desperation or dishonesty.
What you do is more powerful than your words.
5. Sit squarely in the chair—don’t lean to the side or slouch. Leaning back in the chair shows arrogance. Instead, sit up straight and lean in slightly, it shows interest in what the interviewer is saying.
6. Feet—keep your feet on the floor. Don’t cross your legs or put your ankle on your knee both gestures indicate complacency.
Your posture in a chair or standing should show confidence, interest and truthfulness. Walk upright your head held high, and your shoulders back, you look professional, confident and competent. All the right messages that you are the one they are looking for.
If you aren’t sure what your non-verbal presentation looks like, videotape a mock interview and review it with another to find where your body language needs attention. After you know what needs to be changed, practice interviewing and be aware of your actions and appearance.
Your body language alone won’t get you the job. You are a complete package. Your skills, experience, accomplishments, along with your answers and demeanor are all essential. Prepare your verbal and nonverbal communications to ace the interview.
How can I help you in your job search?
You are never to old to learn new things.
You want a new job because your job no longer suits you for whatever reason. When you look at your marketability for a new position, one thing you look at is how current your skills are. When you have been in a job for a several years, you take for granted that what you know is enough. You figure that when you need to learn something new, your company will help you learn it because it’s part of what you need to do your job.
If you have worked at a job for a several years, you might have missed out on the latest versions of software or don’t know something new had come along. At least until you start looking for a new job. Then you see requirements for jobs need the newer version or something new and different.
Learning new skills is for everyone at any time. It doesn’t stop because you have reached a certain age, level of employment or status of employment. If you want to stay viable in a very competitive job market, you need to be as current in your skills.
To compete against all the other candidates, you need the skills needed for the position and much more. But much more will be covered in a future post. For now let’s concentrate on the skills.
Working doesn’t give you much time to take a class at a school. You have many things to do and school doesn’t seem to fit in but you need the information. You want to learn at your convenience and your own pace. Online courses are right for you.
I have selected four of the many places you have for online learning. Two of the choices are free, and the other two require a small investment. These options will not give you a degree, course credits or certify in a particular area. Some will give a certificate of completion.
http://www.gcflearnfree.org Learn the version of the Microsoft Office you want. This free site even offers a mobile app for your iPhone or Android if you want to refresh your memory on how to do something you don’t do often.
https://www.khanacademy.org This free site features subject areas such as math, chemistry, biology, history, JavaScript, and finance. Access the classes on your computer by the web.
http://www.ed2go.com This site is more structured as lessons to you two times a week to be completed at your leisure. Subjects include Quickbooks, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, language arts, health, law and many more. Check with your local library to see if they offer a discount toward the cost of the class. My city library offers the courses for free.
http://www.teachucomp.com This is a subscription site. For about $25 per month, you have unlimited access to all their offerings. Choose from Microsoft Office Suite, PeachTree, Quickbooks, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, HTML, Crystal Reports and Microsoft Project.
Taking the time to learn new things or update what you already know only makes sense. Whether you want a different job in your company or another company, or you want to do something else, you need to be able to compete with the best. Use some of your free time to get ahead. You won’t be sorry.
How can I help you in your job search?
image: Freedigitalphotos.net Stuart Miles
Be prepared to excel in your interview.
The world’s best soccer players are competing for the World Cup now. These players want to win. In order to win they have to play their A+ game. If you want to win the job, you need to bring not just your A game, but you’re A+ game to the interview. Here are five tips that kick your game up the level that will get you a job.
1-PREPARE, PRACTICE, and REPEAT— Preparation and practice are keys to interview success. Prepare for your interview by doing research on the company and questions you can and can’t be asked. Know how you fit the position and your unique selling proposition. Have an interview outfit that fits you perfectly, is clean and pressed. You know about no cologne for the interview, but your clothes may have an odor that you aren’t aware of, such as smoke, pet, sweat, or food. If you are a smoker, you may not have had a smoke before the interview, but if you smoke at home, your clothes will absorb the odor.
Practice answering questions that might be asked; traveling to the interview place; making proper eye contact, and being friendly regardless how you are feeling.
When you have prepared and practiced, do it again and again until it is second nature to you without looking over-rehearsed and fake.
2-BE FLEXIBLE—Things happen don’t allow changes in the interview site, time, place, or the interviewer throw off your composure. You have prepared and practiced for this event and are ready for anything. The changes may or may not be contrived to see how you react under pressure. Show you are flexible and able to adapt to whatever is thrown at you.
3-BE WATCHFUL—Remember the interviewer is trying to get as much information from you as they can. S/he is aware of the questions that cannot be asked. However, the interviewer has ways to get information without your knowing it. Questions can be asked that may seem harmless enough, but your answer can reveal more about you than you want to share.
4-LISTEN CAREFULLY—Answer the question you are asked not what you think you heard. It’s only natural for your mind to wander. You might be rethinking your response to another question, thinking about questions you want to ask or you may be evaluating your interest in the job. Distractions take away your concentration.
5-BRING YOUR BEST SELF—You need to be well rested, well groomed and well dressed. Think of the interview as an inspection of you. Get plenty of sleep the night before. Wake up the day of the interview at the time that will allow you to get dressed and travel to the interview without being late.
Don’t leave anything to chance. You are competing with others who are just as qualified as you are. They are preparing their A game. With preparation and practice you will stand out above the others and get the job with you’re A+ game. And a new job is better than the World Cup to you.
How can I help you bring your A+ game to the interview?
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