Interview question Why do you want this job

Interview question Why do you want this job by Michael Cheary Interview questions come in all shapes and sizes… Some, like character questions, are all about finding out more about your personality. Others try and throw you a curveball, to see how you handle being put under pressure. But the truth is, they aren’t all about you â€" and that’s exactly where this particular question comes in.We’ve already covered some of the most common interview questions that could come up, but here’s our advice for how to answer: ‘Why do you want this job?’The real question What they’re asking: ‘Why do you want this job?’What they’re actually asking: ‘What is it about our company â€" and this position â€" that excites you? And what can you bring back to the business?’Whilst on the surface this looks like a simple question about your aspirations, what the employer is actually trying to gauge is how much you really want the role â€" and why you feel their company is right for you.Simple, right?Step 1: Research, research, researchFirst things first: you need to show the interviewer you’ve actually looked into what their company does.Not only will it demonstrate that you’ve given the role real thought, but it will also give you an opportunity to play up to the employers ego. And, let’s face it, flattery is never a bad thing.Look up a brief history of the company, as well as any current news items, press releases or recent developments they’ve made, and use them as a template to help explain why they appeal to you â€" and how they help them stand out from the competition.  Step 2: Be enthusiastic Next, you need to show genuine interest in the role.What is it about the position that really excites you? Is it a chance to work on a particular project, for example? Or the knowing that your job will have a direct influence on the company’s output?The most effective candidates let their enthusiasm really shine through â€" both for the position you’ve applied for, and for the company its elf.It’s not just a stop gap. It’s not just any old job. It’s something you’re actually passionate about, and feel is the best fit for you â€" and your skills.Step 3: Shift focusFinally, instead of thinking of this question in terms of what the company and the positon can do for you, switch your approach.What can you bring to the job â€" and how will hiring you positively impact the business?Focus on what your own personal contribution to the company could be, and use any previous achievements to reinforce your claims.Remember: if you’re looking forward to helping the company succeed, you’re also likely to make your prospective boss look good.Example answer At first I was drawn to the heritage of your brand. But after doing a little more research before this interview, I’ve seen some of the recent developments you’ve made in the tech industry â€" as well as your latest press release about the launch of X product.As part of my current role, working for a tech startup, I was involved in launching a similar service â€" which delivered a 200% ROI for our investors, and even managed to be nominated for some awards within our industry.  So I’m probably most excited to be working for a business that’s a leader and innovator in the market, as well as having the opportunity to use my skills to help you stay at the forefront of the industry.Need more interview questions?Unfortunately, we can’t help you predict exactly which interview questions will come up on the big day. However, we can help you prepare for every eventuality and avoid any  interview nightmares.Buy James Reed’s new book:  Why You? 101 Interview Questions You’ll Never Fear Again  to find out how.Five interview questions you should stop being scared ofStill searching for your perfect position?  View all of our current vacancies now  Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Job interview tips Preparing for an interview

A Guide To Preparing A Resume

A Guide To Preparing A ResumeResume writing is a profession that was created to provide job seekers with a means of evaluating their capabilities and talents for the position that they are seeking. There are a variety of different types of resumes that one can choose from, all of which are necessary in order to have a successful career. The first step in preparing a resume is to obtain the appropriate files from the company that the person is applying for. If one has already applied for the position, then they should consult the company for all of the necessary documents that they require in order to be prepared.After having reviewed the required files, one should then write a resume that will appeal to the employer. This resume should be written to highlight the skills that one possesses, as well as to highlight any achievements or abilities that they have in their past jobs. The first impression that a person gives to a potential employer is the first impression that they will make when interviewing the person. The first impression that a person has on an interviewer is a very important factor in this process.Once the resume has been finished, it should be given to the employer in order to get their opinion on it. Although not everyone has an accurate idea of what the resume looks like, it is important to know that the applicant should take their time to take a look at the document. It is important to be able to create a resume that will serve as an advertisement for the individual that the applicant is and how they will fit into the company. Before submitting the resume, it is important to ensure that the person is comfortable with the manner in which the resume is being written and that they understand the significance of the information that they are passing along to the hiring manager.In order to make the most of a resume, it is important to be organized in the manner in which the resume is presented. It is possible for a resume to be polished to perfecti on before it is ever submitted, but the applicant should ensure that they are doing the bare minimum. This is because it is possible that an applicant can lose some points in the edit suite or even on the person responsible for writing the resume. Therefore, it is important to go over the resume as many times as necessary in order to ensure that everything is correct.It is also important to ensure that the resume is complete and accurate in order to be effective. The applicant must make sure that all of the necessary information is included in the resume and that there are no errors or omissions. The employee will be much more effective if all of the information that they are looking for is included in the resume.It is also important to understand that a resume may have to be updated before the person takes on a new position. If an applicant is asked to submit a resume for a position that has been filled, it is important to make sure that the information contained within the resume is accurate. If an applicant believes that they have done something wrong, they should make certain that they take the appropriate action. This is because when an applicant makes an error, it can be difficult to prove a case that has been made.It is also important to remember that there are some cases where resumes are not allowed. Some companies will not allow a resume to be submitted or reviewed if it is not an official document. This is because many resumes are not accurate and it is possible for the resume to contain false information. In some cases, the employer may only need to see the resume, but will not be required to read it.Israel is a popular place to work and a great place to live. Employment opportunities are plentiful in the country and are considered to be among the highest paying in the world. Therefore, an applicant's resume should reflect the correct information about the individual so that they can meet their goal in the time frame in which they desire.

Use Precise Keyword Research for Better Brand Visibility - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Use Precise Keyword Research for Better Brand Visibility - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Since the release of Google’s “Hummingbird” algorithm the use of unique keyword phrases has become more important than ever for brands. While Google AdWords remains a great resource to find the right topics for your content you will need to drill down more for better exposure online. Should you still use basic keywords? In the past brands have been able to include focused keywords for their target market and topic. The problem is that these have become very widely used, and search queries have become more conversational. The goal of today’s brand is to find keyword phrases that are not too competitive. The needs and desires of your readers are now the new focus for content. There are a few steps you can take to hone in on key phrases that stand out in search and to your readers. Social media search. Since search engines are now influenced by what users are looking for on social media this is a good place to begin to learn about your brand’s latest conversations. This can include questions, trending hashtags, and feedback to you or your competitor. Take advantage of tools that allow you to monitor activity on your networks, which will provide new keyword phrases based on the tweets and posts. Find out what’s trending in your market. Track the content and keywords your competition is using on influencer websites like LinkedIn, Klout, Topsy, and paper.li. This can provide information on the most important subjects, and help your brand come up with keyword phrases that take on a new spin. Take notes from education websites. Online courses are very popular these days, and offer a variety of topics to choose from. Chances are is that your brand can gather a lot of ideas in your target market based on the course offerings and descriptions. Many of these listings will have the phrases labelled in bold type, which makes finding the right combination of keywords easy. Learn what questions are being asked. QA websites are a great resource to not only find new topic ideas, but gain insights into the pain points of your brand’s niche. Not only can you gather new keyword phrases, but your brand can also benefit from this free target market research method. Finding the right keyword phrases with these simple methods can provide ideas you can use to help your brand stand out in search, which will attract more leads to your website. Keep track of your findings on a spreadsheet and check in each month on the latest hashtags, questions, and conversations as these can change quickly in the online arena.

Is Fear Holding You Back - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Is Fear Holding You Back - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This post will take a look at how fear can hold you back from achieving your goals in this case, preventing you from creating and promoting your personal brand. Through understanding how fear works and impedes progress, you will be able to push it aside and take the action you need to reach your goals. This post has particular meaning for me because two weeks ago today I was involved in a bad car accident the SUV I was in was broadsided by another SUV that ran a red light at an intersection. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me, followed by the most surreal and thankful moments of my life I have never been so aware of the fact that I was alive. How lucky were we? The reporting officers that night later told me when they arrived on scene they thought there were at least four or five fatalities because of the damage to the vehicles luckily, everyone involved in the accident walked away with very minor injuries, but it was only a matter of inches and the outcome would have been very different for all of us. If there are such things as miracles in this world, this was one of them. In the days following the accident I did a lot of reflection and one of the thoughts I had is that there is no place in this world for fear, especially if it is preventing you from reaching your goals. You only get so much time to live and it can all end in a second, without notice. So, I encourage you to go achieve your dreams and to never let fear hold you back. I hope you find this post inspiring. What is fear? Fear is an emotion that stems from ones belief or belief system about someone, something or a situation. It is a powerful emotion that greatly influences behavior. If you overcome your fear of doing something you will do that thing far more often. When fear goes down, confidence goes up, and when youre confident your chances of success are exponentially higher. How fear affects confidence I was once part of a team building exercise on a ropes course where the power of fear and its effect on outcomes became very clear. Our group was geared up and ready to go and the instructor asked us to walk across a 30 foot wooden plank laying flat on the ground. Everyone in the group was able to complete this task easily and confidently. Then the instructor walked us to our second challenge where we found the exact same plank laying over a giant hole about 200 feet deep. He asked us to walk across the first person in our group hesitated and so did everyone else. The instructor then asked us why we couldnt walk across the same wooden plank we had just confidently conquered. The answer was clear. We believed we might fall this belief created fear, our confidence in completing the task was destroyed and no one took action. (Nobody actually crosses this plank over the giant hole, it us only used to illustrate fear.) Lucky for us, most goals and dreams in life are not a matter of life or death, they are only a matter of succeeding or not succeeding. If you fail or make a mistake you do not fall into the 200 feet deep black hole. The only fear that exists in life is the fear we create on our own. So how do we overcome our fear? Here are some tips. 1.) Seek knowledge. You can teach yourself anything. 2.) Practice, Practice, Practice. 3.) Emulate and model successful individuals. 4.) Believe in yourself and take action. 5.) Believe that your goals are possible and persist until they come true. Get out there and start creating and promoting your personal brand. And remember, fear is just a manifestation of your mind and is only real to the extent you believe it is. What will you believe? Author: Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog, which focuses on how Sales 2.0 Social Media can help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business. Chad is also the featured Sales 2.0 blogger at SalesGravy.com, the number one web portal for sales pros, the professional athletes of the business world. Make sure to connect with him on Twitter @chadalevitt.

Tips For Starting and Running a Home-Based Resume Writing Service

Tips For Starting and Running a Home-Based Resume Writing ServiceStarting and running a home-based resume writing service may not seem like an easy endeavor. It might even seem like the most difficult thing to do, but it is not really so. In fact, there are some steps you can take to make your work easier, and once you have already received some responses from those who would like to have your services, it will be no more difficult than making your living in any other business.First of all, you need to have a good flow on your busy schedule. You should keep yourself updated about what's going on in the internet world and related to home based resume writing. If you want to be successful in this kind of business, you should be knowledgeable about the subject. This means that you should spend enough time to learn as much as you can about the topic.Next, make sure that you dress professionally and maintain a professional appearance whenever you leave your home. Since you will be spendin g more than 10 hours a day in front of a computer, the last thing you want to be doing is sitting in your pajamas with a slouch hat on. You also need to dress in layers in order to keep your body temperature regulated.You should always write your client's resume by himself. Most of the times, the client will choose a number of resumes that he wants to consider for his consideration. Therefore, he will be asking you to make copies of them for him. All you need to do is to create these professionally-looking copies for him and then customize them according to his requirements.Another thing you should do is to send out all the copies that you have created to the clients individually, in order to avoid duplication. That way, you can save on time and resources. By doing so, you can also avoid upsetting the clients by giving them identical copies of their resumes.Lastly, ensure that you know how to properly market your skills. When the clients see your name and work history, they will sur ely be more eager to hire you. Even if you think you do not have much to offer yet, a simple discussion about the services you can provide and how much you are willing to charge them could be enough to motivate you.If you are just starting out in this kind of business, you should be ready to accept the fact that it is not as easy as you thought. As a matter of fact, it is not as difficult as you think to start your own home-based resume writing service. You only need to take the necessary steps and follow the instructions you will be given by the expert service providers.Some of the recommendations you will receive from the experts will help you a lot in the beginning of your business. These will include suggesting ways to promote your work online, ways to get feedback from customers, and how to improve your website. Take advantage of this to your advantage.

The Hidden Job Market Get More Job Interviews, With Less Effort

The Hidden Job Market Get More Job Interviews, With Less Effort How is it that some people seem to waltz into new, exciting jobs, with seemingly no effort, while you slog away, sending your resume to one opening after another, only never to hear back? What are those lucky jobseekers doing differently?Let me fill you in on a secret. Sending your resume to publicly-posted job ads may seem like a reasonable way to pursue the next step in your career, but in fact, this approach is extremely inefficient. The truth is, these job ads represent only 20% of the jobs out there. You heard that right: 80% of all jobs are never advertised publicly. So how do you access the hidden job market? And how do you find those 80% of jobs that are never posted online?You do it by networking and building relationships.You’ve probably heard already that you should network in order to find job opportunities. But how, exactly, are you supposed to network, in order to see real results?Here are three concrete, actionable steps you can take in order to network effectively, reduce the length of your job search, and find out about exciting hidden career opportunities.1. Reconnect with People from your PastevalYour former colleagues or your old boss who moved to a new company, your college professors, and even your friend’s cousin working at a firm in your industry â€" these are all people who may have valuable information about hidden jobs. The easiest way to start accessing the hidden job market is simply getting in touch with people you already know. So email peers and mentors you’ve fallen out of touch with, ask them for coffee or a phone call, and start reconnecting.As you rekindle these relationships, though, don’t be transactional. You should be connecting with individuals you genuinely want to talk to, not people you simply hope will point you to a new job. If you are only contacting someone because you want something from them, they’ll know it â€" and the whole interaction will feel sour.evalOnce you are having coffee and catching up, us e the art of the indirect ask. Don’t demand to know whether there are any job openings at their company. This puts your contact on the spot and can make them feel uncomfortable; plus, it’s more likely than not that they won’t know of any specific openings. Instead, approach your job search as a challenge to tackle together by asking for their guidance â€" for example, by saying something like “I’m considering switching companies. I wonder if you have any advice on where I should look or whom I could talk to about opportunities in our industry.” This puts the person on the other end into problem-solving mode, and lets them determine the best way they can help you out â€" whether it’s through an introduction, an insider tip, or information about a job opening. Ultimately, this approach will save a lot of time in your job search.2. Network StrategicallyWhat if you’re looking to make new contacts? Many jobseekers think “networking” means “going to a networking even t.” There, they typically mill around with other people looking for jobs, talking to each other or vying for the attention of a few employers or recruiters in attendance. This is fairly unlikely to yield any results.Instead, work to identify the hidden opportunities. And who will know about hidden job opportunities that aren’t advertised to the general public? People who are already employed. Thus, your goal should be meeting professionals in your industry, in environments where they are naturally going. Some examples of good places to make new connections: industry conferences, trade shows, and professional development seminars.3. Set Specific GoalsevalMany people apply to jobs reactively: they see an interesting position posted on a job website and submit their resume. But you will get better results by being proactive â€" namely, sitting down and determining which companies you are interested in. After making a list of several companies you are interested in, check the “Car eers” section of their websites; but don’t stop there. Instead, find out whether you know anybody who works at the company, and set up a coffee date with them. Don’t know anybody who works there? See if you can get introduced. You can use LinkedIn’s advanced search to research whether you have any second-degree connections and ask for an introduction.What if your contact works in a completely different department than the one you are interested in?You should try to meet anyway.First, chances are, they might know someone who is closer to the department you want, so you can follow the chain of introductions.And second, they will still have insider access to information about is happening in the company â€" information that you can use to understand the problems the employer is facing, their culture, and how you can build better rapport during the interview.What you can do this evening to start finding hidden jobsReach out to at least three people you know in your industry at o ther companies, and ask them out to coffee.Find at least one event that will be attended by employed members of your profession â€" whether it’s a class, a conference, or a meetup for industry insiders.Make a list of five companies where you think you might like to work. Determine if you know anyone at these companies, and if not, use LinkedIn’s advance search to find people in your network who are connected to these companies’ employees.Then, get in touch and let me know how it went!

6 Tips from Hollywood for a Successful Job Search (Guest post from author Rob Biesenbach)

6 Tips from Hollywood for a Successful Job Search (Guest post from author Rob Biesenbach) Few people think to enjoy job searching. However, I have found the mindset we have cannot only bring more job search success but also fun to the process. To help you find the right mindset for your next job search, Im sharing a special guest post from Rob Biesenbach, actor and author ofACT LIKE YOU MEAN BUSINESS. According to Rob, if you want to be more successful in your job search and networking activities, take a tip from Hollywood: treat every interaction like a performance. Here are six lessons from Hollywood that can help you perform better in job interviews, at networking events and in any communication:1. Know Your AudienceBefore a job interview, do your homework. Who will you be meeting with? Look them up on the organizations website and LinkedIn.And before any networking event, look at the list of attendees. Who do you know? Who do you want to know? What do you have in common and how do you plan to connect?2. Tell StoriesHave an elevator pitch ready at all times, so youre a ble to tell your story in a few sentences. Who are you, what do you do, how do you stand out from others and how do people benefit from your skills or services?You should also have stories ready that illustrate your accomplishments challenges youve faced in the workplace and how you overcame them.3. Reveal Your Human SideIn this market, employers can find any number of qualified candidates. How are you going to stand out from the pack? By showing them who you are as an individual. Give them a glimpse of your personality, your humanity. Employers want to know what kind of person theyre committing to spending half their waking hours with.4. Appeal to EmotionAgain, this is a performance. You cant phone it in. You have to talk about your accomplishments, interests and goals with enthusiasm and passion. What makes you jump out of bed in the morning? What do you love about your work? How do you feel you are making a difference in peoples lives?5. Show, Dont TellIts not enough to list you r achievements. What evidence can you show to back up your claims? Hard results, industry awards, accolades, media coverage these are much more convincing and credible than anything you say about yourself.6. RehearseActors spend countless hours preparing for their time on stage and in front of the camera. Similarly, you should practice for any interaction thats important to you, whether its a meeting, interview or networking event. That means determining your goal, preparing what youre going to say, anticipating objections and how youll overcome them, and practicing until youre comfortable.Attend to these things and youll be ready to hit the stage with poise and confidence.After all what is it about the great performances we see on TV and in the movies that draws us in? Compelling stories. Characters we can relate to. An emotional connection.Many thanks to Rob for sharing his expertise and insights! I couldnt agree more with his tips, especially about revealing your human side. Be yourself and youllbe the star you were born to be!Rob Biesenbach is a Chicago-based communications consultant, actor and author of the book ACT LIKE YOU MEAN BUSINESS: Essential Communication Lessons from Stage and Screen, published by Brigantine Media.

Great Employers Are Best, Even in Recession -

Great Employers Are Best, Even in Recession - Are you still waiting for things to look up in the job market? You may be waiting a whileAll indications are that we are in for a bit of a bumpy road for the next patch. But, all is not lost for job seekers! Did you know that workplaces that have been recognized as great, such as those highlighted on GreatPlaceJobs, historically outperformed the general market and are less likely to have to resort to layoffs during tough times? These award-winning employers typically offer better job security, which is a terrific benefit for anyone who needs a job! Read more at my blog at GreatPlaceJobs photo by Nick Starr