How to Impress, Not Distress a Hiring Manager

By Val Matta on Sep 8, 2015 1:30:41 AM

alphaspirit;Bigstock You’ve finally snagged a face-to-face job interview. As you’re waiting to be called into the hiring manager’s office, you look around and see all of the other candidates waiting for their job interview. Sure, you’re sporting a perfectly ironed shirt, but so are th …

Read Story

5 Things Your Interviewer Never Told You But Wanted To

By Val Matta on Jun 29, 2015 4:30:21 AM

alexraths; BigStock You’ve been sending out resumes like rapid fire and have probably done plenty of preparing for a job interview. You’ve gathered your references, list of accomplishments, and sorted out ways you’ll answer any crazy interview questions. But, there’s another thing to …

Read Story

5 Out of the Box Interview Questions You Need To Ask

By Val Matta on Jun 15, 2015 1:30:29 AM

Your job interview is coming to an end, and you really nailed this one. You’ve built rapport with the interviewer, given strong answers to everything you were asked, and kept cool under pressure. But just when you think it’s in the bag, the interviewer looks at you and asks, “Do you h …

Read Story

5 Things To Never Do During A Job Interview

By Val Matta on Nov 10, 2014 12:00:37 AM

Image: aastock; BigStock Many applicants, despite stellar resumes and cover letters, fail to make it past the interview stage. Often, this is due to little mistakes during the interview that leave a big impression. Here are five things never to do during a job interview:

Read Story

How to Ace Interview Screenings

By Val Matta on Sep 2, 2014 2:00:08 AM

Martin Cathrae; Flickr Whether it’s a phone interview, video interview, or background check, most employers screen potential candidates. This helps employers determine whether it’s worth sending an individual to the next round of interviews. A job interview screening is one of the fir …

Read Story

How To Be Your Best Self During A Job Interview

By Val Matta on May 19, 2014 2:30:22 AM

Many job seekers share a common perception during a job interview — that they must please employers with their answers. However, this can cause you to come off as “fake” or lacking integrity during the interview. When it comes to job interviews, employers actually want to learn why yo …

Read Story

Tell Me About Yourself

By Val Matta on Jan 18, 2011 4:40:52 AM

The ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Question: Use this question as an opportunity to position yourself for success. Why is this question asked? to see how candidates handle themselves in an unstructured situation. to see how articulate they are how confident they are generally what type of i …

Read Story

Nailing the Second Round Interview

By Val Matta on Jul 13, 2010 12:10:48 PM

Chances are good that if you’re being invited back for a second round of interviews, then you’ve made a good initial impression and have something that they want. How do you show your initiative in a way that you can be the candidate to make a lasting impression that the company will …

Read Story

Make Yourself Stand Out in the Interview

By Val Matta on May 27, 2010 5:32:18 AM

I was recently at the MBACSWP Conference , where we discussed a subject that is near to all of our hearts, as it relates to the job search. This burning question is how can we make ourselves stand out in the interview process. Is it the exceptional resume, the right clothes, the eye c …

Read Story

Now is the Time To Set Up Informational Interviews

By Val Matta on Oct 22, 2009 5:52:39 AM

Whether you have a job or are searching, informational interviews are a big key to success. Instead of sitting around waiting for call-backs and interviews, human resources professionals recommend that job seekers set up informational interviews with managers and executives within the …

Read Story

Posts about:

Interviewing (2)

How to Impress, Not Distress a Hiring Manager

alphaspirit;Bigstock

You’ve finally snagged a face-to-face job interview. As you’re waiting to be called into the hiring manager’s office, you look around and see all of the other candidates waiting for their job interview.

Sure, you’re sporting a perfectly ironed shirt, but so are they. You’ve checked and rechecked your resume, but they’ve probably done the same. You spent the last few days practicing a nice, firm handshake, but if they want this job as much as you do, they have, too. Panic begins to creep in as you rack your brain for a way to stand out from the rest of the pack and land the job.

Recently, a CareerBuilder survey listed some of the most over-the-top tactics job applicants have used to try and stick out in the hiring manager’s mind. Here’s a look at some of the worst mistakes and ways you can avoid becoming a #CandidateFail:

Read More

5 Things Your Interviewer Never Told You But Wanted To

alexraths; BigStock

You’ve been sending out resumes like rapid fire and have probably done plenty of preparing for a job interview. You’ve gathered your references, list of accomplishments, and sorted out ways you’ll answer any crazy interview questions.

But, there’s another thing to consider when preparing for a job interview. Employers have had some memorable interview experiences, both good and bad. And they don’t always cue the candidate when their chances of being hired are going south.

If you want to leave a good impression at your job interview, be aware of what information the employer is looking for and what you shouldn’t bother saying. They often won’t tell you directly.

Here are a few things you might never hear an interviewer say, but you can bet they’ve thought:

Read More

5 Out of the Box Interview Questions You Need To Ask

Your job interview is coming to an end, and you really nailed this one. You’ve built rapport with the interviewer, given strong answers to everything you were asked, and kept cool under pressure. But just when you think it’s in the bag, the interviewer looks at you and asks, “Do you have any questions?”

Sure, you prepared interview questions about the company and position, but the conversation went so smoothly that the interviewer has already answered them. Now what?

Don’t panic, there’s always more to learn about a job opportunity. You’ll just need to think outside of the box. Ask these creative questions to impress the employer and learn more about the job:

Read More

How to Ace Interview Screenings

Martin Cathrae; Flickr

Whether it’s a phone interview, video interview, or background check, most employers screen potential candidates. This helps employers determine whether it’s worth sending an individual to the next round of interviews.

A job interview screening is one of the first steps of the hiring process for employers. It usually consists of a series of questions that help hiring managers decide whether a candidate is a good fit and honestly submitted their job application.

If you’ve recently applied for a job and a hiring manager has mentioned getting in touch with you, it’s a good chance they’re going to perform a candidate screening. Here are four tips to help you prepare for and stand out during the interview:

Read More

How To Be Your Best Self During A Job Interview

Many job seekers share a common perception during a job interview — that they must please employers with their answers. However, this can cause you to come off as “fake” or lacking integrity during the interview.

When it comes to job interviews, employers actually want to learn why you’re the best fit for the position and how your personality, experience, and skills qualify you for the job. Employers want to learn the real you in order to gain a better understanding of how your character and behaviors fit the position and their culture.

As you prepare for your next job interview, here are some tips to help you be your very best self:

Read More

Tell Me About Yourself

The ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Question:

Use this question as an opportunity to position yourself for success. Why is this question asked?

  • to see how candidates handle themselves in an unstructured situation.
  • to see how articulate they are
  • how confident they are
  • generally what type of impression they would make on the people with whom they came into contact on the job
  • to get a sense of what they think is important
Read More

Make Yourself Stand Out in the Interview

I was recently at the MBACSWP Conference , where we discussed a subject that is near to all of our hearts, as it relates to the job search. This burning question is how can we make ourselves stand out in the interview process. Is it the exceptional resume, the right clothes, the eye contact, the firm handshake, asking the right questions or the glowing references that make the difference? There is no doubt that all of these add to the reasons we get the interview in the first place.

The difference, according to our keynote speaker, Nick Corcodilos, of AskTheHeadhunter.com, is boiled down to the very simple notion:

Read More

Now is the Time To Set Up Informational Interviews

Whether you have a job or are searching, informational interviews are a big key to success. Instead of sitting around waiting for call-backs and interviews, human resources professionals recommend that job seekers set up informational interviews with managers and executives within their target companies. You will see if a company’s particular culture is a fit , practice your “tell me about yourself” speech, gain confidence, valuable insight and get networked into that manager’s world, as well as his/her organization and industry.

Read More