What Should I Research Before an Interview?

Question: When a hiring authority asks me to tell them what I know about their company, how should I respond?

Answer: The first rule in answering this question is NEVER go into an interview without researching and finding out what the company provides to its industry. Take sufficient time to identify and understand how customers, partners, employees, suppliers, and distributors contribute to the overall delivery of the products and services of the company.

Research the company via websites, business journals, and periodicals. Inquire within your personal network to see what they might know about the specific company. If you find information on a recent initiative the company is working

Tough Job Search? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions!

Is your job search taking longer than expected? Most are right now. Certainly the difficult job market is making things harder.  However, a great number of people could speed up the process by asking themselves five critical questions.

Take time, think them through, be honest, and your job search may improve dramatically!

1. What makes me unique? Companies are seeing dozens or hundreds of resumes for each opening. They interview several people as well. It doesn’t take long for things to seem like everyone is the same. If you can’t communicate in your resume and in your interview what makes you different, and more valuable to the company than every other candidate they see, you will be an ‘also ran’. Take assessment tests, ask friends, family and previous co-workers, and do a self-evaluation to figure out what you offer that others don’t. EVERYONE has assets and ‘uniqueness’. Discover yours and learn how to communicate it well.
2. What am I looking for? Many job seekers are too wishy-washy in their objectives. They only know that they need a new job, but aren’t clear on exactly what it is they are seeking. Using the same process to discover what makes you unique, narrow down your search to the type of job or career you want. When you are networking, people can’t help if they don’t know what you want. Have a clear target, and learn to communicate it effectively. You can find more help here.

How Can College Students Build a Sports Network?

Question: Everyone is always talking about building a network to find a job. I am going to graduate in May and I want to know how I can start building my network within the sports industry. Any guidelines?

Answer: Networking is a very important part of the job search process and considerable time should be allocated to this course of action. Time and energy must be spent not just in applying for jobs but in meeting and greeting as many industry people as possible. Networking can include any of the following: personal meetings; keeping in touch with old colleagues, bosses and professors;

Know Yourself!

In networking, job interviews, and in your career… self awareness is critical to success.

When people don’t really know their strengths and weaknesses, they often can’t answer questions well, sell themselves effectively, or emphasize their key qualities.

In order to help someone help you when job networking, you must know what you are looking for and be able to articulate it well. When you are interviewing for a position, you must be able to show with credibility what you know and what you do well, to be considered for the role.

Taking the time to really examine and discover your strengths, talents, and abilities will give you greater confidence and go a long way to helping you land your next position. Most people never do an honest self-appraisal and assume things about themselves that may, or may not, be true.

Five Ways to Shine in a Bad Interview!

As a job seeker, have you had an interview with someone that doesn’t know how to conduct a good interview?

This is not an uncommon problem, and depending on how you handle it, can work to your advantage or disadvantage. In order to make sure they know you’re the right person for the job, you may need to subtly take control of the interview yourself.

The first thing to do? Give them some grace!

If you’re meeting with a hiring manager, particularly at a small or mid-size company, that may only hire one or two people a year, interviewing and evaluating candidates is not their area of expertise and they may never have had any kind of training. Often, they either ask questions that they may have been asked before, which may not be very appropriate to the position you’re interviewing for, or they are more comfortable with talking about ‘extra-curricular’ topics rather than the position at hand.

Perhaps they are not a very talkative or conversational kind of person themselves. Or they may take up the entire time telling you about the company and position without asking many questions. It may be a very friendly interview, however, you must always remember: