Article Category : Interview Tips

This is a question that you can almost count on being asked at your next interview What the interviewer wants to know is, “Why are you available?”

The answer you give could set the tone for the rest of the interview. For instance, if you were to indicate that you were bored or burned out at your last job, the interviewer would quickly become concerned about your performance at this company. The question can be especially tricky if you’ve had less than favorable conditions regarding your departure from a company. Regardless of the circumstances that have caused you to move, or are causing you to think about moving, you should be prepared to answer this question.

Below are examples of possible answers to this critical question. After reading them try to determine which is the strongest answer.

(A) The company had a re-organization, and my department was eliminated. The work had begun to dwindle so it was not a complete surprise. I liked my job and the people I was working with so I had been hoping that it wouldn’t affect us but unfortunately we were all let go. I would like to find a job similar to the one I lost.

(B) I am looking for a new challenge. I have been with my current company for two years now and don’t find the work as interesting as I once did. I am looking for a company where I can take on new challenges and grow. My current job is dead-ended for me.

(C) Since there are no advancement opportunities within the company, I have decided it would be a good time for me to look outside. I have set some career goals for myself that I could not achieve at that company. What I am looking for is a job with a bigger company where I can contribute, but also move on a career path that has more responsibility.

Have you selected the strongest answer? See if you agree with the advice below.

The Strongest Answer

(A) This is the strongest answer, not because of the lay off, but because it has an upbeat tone to it. You liked what you did and were hoping it wouldn’t happen. In other words, if it hadn’t been for something out of your control you would still be there. The answer indicates a good attitude about an unfortunate incident.

The Mediocre Answer

(C) This is an ok answer. It is natural to want to take on more responsibility. It is also acceptable to quit a job. A skilled interviewer would follow up with a question about your career goals and why you think you can achieve them at this company. Would you have an answer prepared for that follow-up question?

The Weakest Answer

(B) This is the weaker answer because it is trite. One of the most common answers to this question is that you are “looking for a challenge.” An interviewer might be concerned that if you were bored at your last job, you might find this job boring as well, or at least not “challenging” enough.

There are no “right” or “wrong” answers to this type of question, but there are ways of saying the same thing in a way that will make a stronger impression. Before you head out to your next interview consider preparing for this and other difficult questions. A little time spent preparing and scripting of your answers before the interview will make a huge difference in the way you answer the question during the interview. (Excerpts taken from “Boost Your Interview IQ” ? Carole Martin ? McGraw-Hill 2004)

About The Author

Carole Martin is a celebrated author, trainer, and an interview coach. Her books, ‘Interview Fitness Training Workbook’ and ‘Boost Your Interview IQ’ (McGraw Hill) have sold thousands of copies world-wide. Receive Carole’s FREE job interview tips by visiting her web site at: http://www.interviewcoach.com

Does Work/Life Balance Really Exist?

Article Category : Career Management

If you look at almost any issue of nationally published
women’s magazines, you’ll find article upon article trying
to convince the American public (and American women) that
you can have it all — a brilliant career/business and a
marvelous family life — and then follow with instructions
on how you can accomplish this easily.

I am just not buying into this train of thought.  In order
for most successful business people to get where they want
to be in their businesses, something has to go.  For me,
it’s been a personal life.  As a single woman of 40 with no
children and no significant other on the horizon, I’ve got
much more flexibility than most.  I can make a conscious
decision to forego some aspect of my life on a shorter-term
basis to reach my goals.  Most of us aren’t quite that
lucky, however.  You have children you have to get dressed
and to school each day, or a spouse who needs more
attention than just daily feeding and watering, or an
elderly family member whose health might be failing.
leaving you with caretaking responsibilities.

What we all need is a really great wife.  Now, before all
the women seek to lynch me, think about it for a moment.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a June Cleaver at home taking
care of the children and all the household
responsibilities, which would leave you with the freedom to
do what you needed to do to get your business where it
needs to be?  No more worries about getting the kids to
soccer practice or packing for that trip to Baltimore or
having to come home and fix dinner after a very long day at
work?  Great fantasy, isn’t it?

So, given the reality that the “wife store” is permanently
out of stock, how do today’s business owners still achieve
the objectives of their business without ending up in
divorce court or having an emotional meltdown?  I’ve
discovered the hard way that being selfish is the key.
Yep, that good ole’ selfish word — the word our mothers
have led us to believe was associated with being uncaring
and unfeeling of others.  For me, that translates into
weekends that I spend alone engaged in activities that I
enjoy.  Sure, it’s difficult to turn off business, and it
can be a challenge to turn down invitations with friends,
and some weekends I’m more successful than others.  But as
a card-carrying INFP on the Myers-Briggs scale, I know that
I can tolerate only so much of being around other people at
networking events, meetings, classes, and etc., and I have
to recharge and get grounded again in order to get up and
do it again on Monday morning.  So, I spend my weekends
going to festivals, the museum, a great movie, out to eat
at a favorite restaurant, or reading a new book.

I will guarantee you that if you are not getting your needs
met and engaging in active self-care, you won’t be pleasant
to be around.  I’ve been there, done that, bought the
T-shirt, and moved on.  Do yourself and your family a favor
– figure out what self-care means to you and strategize
with your spouse or significant other about how you can
achieve that without unduly burdening other family members.
 It’s all about taking care of you–if you’re not willing
to do that, who will?

—————————————————-
Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed
professionals make more profit in less time online.  To
sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE
ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity:  50 + Tools To Help
You Automate Your Business and Make More Profit in Less
Time Online!, visit her site at
http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com .

Copyright 2006 Donna Gunter

How to gear your resume to a phone interview

Article Category : Resume Presentation

With particularly popular jobs, where many applicants may be fighting for pole position and only one job opening available, employers and their recruitment staff will often instigate a phone interview stage in order to weed out applicants who might not quite be suitable for interview. Sometimes it might be just to confirm particular qualifications or details that are not a good enough reason in and of themselves to call someone to an interview for.

Many experts hold that when approaching a phone interview, or the risk of a phone interview, the wisest course of action is to treat it mentally as a face to face interview. In some respects, this advice is sound. The importance of both cannot be underestimated. Similarly, what you say on paper and how you say it matter equally to the voice on the other end of the phone as they might to the man sitting across the desk. However if you know what to look for, there are subtleties available to the resume writer that can be exploited to give you the added edge when it comes to selection for the phone interview stage.

The first thing to consider when writing your resume with an eye to grabbing the phone interview is why they interview via phone in the first place. There is a big difference between someone who interviews by phone as a preference and a recruitment officer who interviews via phone out of necessity instead. If you can find out if phone interviews are the normal application practice for this particular firm then you will be in a better position to assess how to adapt your resume for that application.

If they are done out of preference then you’ve got a clear green light for adapting your resume to fit. Typically, phone interviewers rely on a slightly different set of criteria for evaluating a potential employee’s performance than standard face to face interviewers do. Frequently of course, the interviewer will be experienced at both types of interview, but luckily there are certain implicit factors that tend to get more noticed via the medium of telephony than when face to face with someone. You can use knowledge of these to the advantage of your resume.

Your resume for phone interview applications needs to focus more heavily on positive results and your potential value in tangible, applicable terms than it might do for standard interview applications. This is because you have less opportunity to build a personal rapport with your interviewer via phone which leads them to place greater focus on your achievements and less on your personality.

One trick to consider for certain types of job applications is to include a multimedia element to your resume. Several photos are a good idea when applying for phone interview determined jobs. The interviewer needs to have a good idea of how you look – even if you don’t think you are attractive it will help make them visualise you working for their company. Equally, a CD with brief footage of you ‘in action’ such as a receptionist welcoming guests to a building, can do wonders for convincing the recruiter that you fit the job and would ‘fit in’ well.

Increasingly these days, employers are looking for ‘team players’ to add to their staff. You don’t get much opportunity to show off your teamwork skills over the phone, so mentioning your ability and enjoyment of working in a team in your resume can cover this potential problem. Seeing a desire to be ‘part of their team’ will make an interviewer reach for the phone that little bit faster.

Finally, another lateral approach is to include a ‘hook’ in your resume. An example would be to mention that you have read the company’s plans for the next year and have some ideas they might like to hear, but not to specify what these are. If you have the credentials to impress, they will want to speak to you.

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