Questions interviewers are asking today.

Your foot is in the door for an interview.

• Hair done – check
• Clothes Clean & Pressed – check
• Good nights sleep – maybe
• Smile, firm handshake – check
• Review company website & latest news – check
• Clean crisp copies of your resume – check

What else can you do to knock it out of the park?

Anticipate interview questions and prepare.  Sifting through the tons of potential questions out there to hone in on ones that might be relevant for your industry or specific employer can be tricky.  Just this morning I stumbled across a site to help with this that you’ll want to be aware of:

http://www.glassdoor.com

You can search as a non-member or you can access to more info with a free account by sharing some anonymous data to add to their database.

Here are some sample interview questions from the site:

• “Describe your current position. What do you do on the daily basis.”
• “Why do you want to leave your current job”
• “Tell me about yourself?”
• “Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty”

The specific employers, positions, and dates these questions were asked are listed, so you can get a good feel for the types of questions that might be reasonable for you to expect.  There is also salary information and reviews on companies.

Just one more tool to add to your toolbox to help you get where you want to go.

Make your best next move & own your career.

“Perfection is Destruction” – What will you overcome today?

Great story about a super talented cellist who found a way to overcome severe stage fright.

The story

Zoe’s creativity and ability to play publicly flows when she’s not frozen by her quest for absolute perfection.  Performing with the expectation that she’ll make mistakes and can adequately cover them up as she goes is the secret that lets her pursue her passion.

Zoe’s stage fright is very real.  It’s not something that  just disappears when she closes her eyes.  She had a very conscious choice to make:

• Work around her fear and enjoy playing her cello
• Give into her fear and spend day after day after day doing something else she likes much less or maybe even hates

If you only do things that you know you can do perfectly, by definition you’ll never do anything new, at least not anything really that’s worth much. You won’t grow, and you won’t come anywhere near reaching your full potential.

Give yourself the gift of imperfection.  Do something you really want to try knowing that you’ll get it wrong the first time, the second time, and maybe even the twentieth time.  If you love what you’re doing and it’s what you know you should be doing, go ahead and fail.  There is nothing wrong with pursuing perfection as you try – but if your formula sounds something like “anything I can’t do perfectly means I’m no good” – it’s time for a fresh perspective that actually works for you.

Take a minute and write a list of what today would have looked like for you if you let yourself take the chance of failing instead of demanding perfection and missing chances.  Would you have:

• Made that phone call (and maybe get shot down)?
• Worked out (and not looked like an Olympian)?
• Asked that question (and risked looking dumb)?
• Worked an entirely different job, or at a different company (if you went on that interview)?
• Made the decision you put off ?

Make tomorrow look totally different by giving perfection a rest and accepting something less to make the progress you wish you had made today.

Own your career.

Everyone Needs a Nudge

I met someone for coffee this morning, and we spoke about some actions she knows she needs to take but hasn’t gotten around to yet.  We chatted about why this was, and crafted an action plan to get things rolling.  She needed a nudge.

She left, and I met another friend for lunch, at the same place (the restaurant is digging this.) We spoke about some things on my plate, and he gave me a nudge on a few items that I need to do.

Although these nudges were different, someone sitting at the table next to me might have grinned to see these 2 conversations taking place –me going from nudger to nudgee. I thought about it, and we really switch from one to the other throughout the day, depending upon the circumstances.  These relationships are great for growth and for leadership development.  This made me recognize the 3 important elements to make this work.

Being supportive, courageous, and accountable are 3 keys to successful nudger / nudge relationships.

Supportive (nudger)

• Anyone genuinely trying to improve their circumstances is going into uncharted territory for them.  If you have some guidance, share it in a way that they can put to use.
• Recognize that their fear or hesitation is real,and something they have to get past, even if it seems silly to you.  Try to help them put it in the proper perspective so they can move past it.

Courageous (nudger)

• Sharing a suggestion may be met with “I knew that!” or “Who are you to tell me?” instead of the thanks you might have expected.
• Don’t look for thanks, and have the courage to share some feedback anyway if you have it. It’s up to them to either use or discard your advice.  Be brave enough to give it anyway.

Accountable (nudgee)

• Show your nudger that you’re listening to their advice and that it’s making a difference by telling them about tangible results you’ve gotten once you’ve put their advice to use.
• If you don’t do this, expect to be given upon.  Nudgers don’t want to waste your time or theirs.

Although we could dissect this further, it’s not really necessary to make this work.  Simply keeping these 3 simple elements in mind will pay off for everyone.

Own your career.

Parents of Recent College Grads – Stay Invisible

I had lunch this week with a friend of mine who is a recruiter for a firm that hires recent college graduates.Her firm is known for being one of the top companies to work for in Atlanta.She shared details about several misconceptions many of the candidates have as they try to get hired, which we’ll touch on another day.

I asked her if there was any one thing that stood out as the biggest reason some don’t get hired.

She didn’t hesitate for a second.

She said, “When parents get involved in any aspect of the hiring process.”

You’ve probably heard of helicopter parents. They “hover” over their kids while watching, influencing and controlling as much as they can.Even when this is done with the best of intentions, the consequences can crush any hopes of independent thinking, acting, or decision making.That’s a discussion for another day too.

I asked her how they’re getting involved.She said she has parents who call her (sometimes 3 and 4 times), to say, “You haven’t called my Johnny back yet.When is he going to hear from you?”She has parents who write cover letters for their kids.They’re something along the lines of:“Dear HR Director, Johnny is my son and he’d be a great addition to your company….”She’s even had a sister write on behalf of her brother, “My brother is interested in a position with your company”

What happens when parents (and other relatives) don’t stay behind the scenes and actually interact with her directly on behalf of the candidate?

The candidate loses any chance of getting hired.They’re out.The door of opportunity completely slams shut.

Parents, you should be congratulated for taking a deep interest in your child’s success, but you should also take a stay behind the scenes and let your child represent themselves as an adult.What might seem like a great short term idea, contacting employers to help your child get going, isn’t.Employers look down upon and avoid recent grads whose aren’t capable of fending for themselves yet.It’s also a very poor long-term idea, because you aren’t giving your child the chance to succeed or fail on their own, which are necessary parts of growing up that you really shouldn’t steal from them.

Keep on helping them, they may really need it, and they may appreciate it too, but stay invisible while you do it.

Help your child own their career.

Want to See an Interviewer Fall Back in their Chair? Focus on the Employer’s Needs by doing this Today.

If you want to be understood – and hired, put a strong focus on the employer’s needs.

What does that mean?

The person sitting across from you conducting your next interview will have some goals in mind. Do you know what they are? How can you find out? Guess? Ask?

The answer: Both.

You can make some reasonable assumptions about the interviewer’s needs that should permeate your entire conversation.

• They have a problem that needs to be solved – finding someone who can do the job you are interviewing for.
• They don’t want to make a hiring mistake.
• They want to understand whether you are the solution to their problem that they are looking for or not.

To focus on their needs, you’ll have to keep those things in mind, so you can find common ground to build your conversation upon. Those are the guesses, and chances are very high that they’re good guesses.

What about the rest of the interviewer’s needs? How can you uncover that great mystery? Ask.

It might sound something like, “Thanks for inviting me in to discuss the position you’re trying to fill. What specifically are you looking for in a candidate?”

Notice one subtle point in this communication – you are not thanking them for the “opportunity to discuss the position” because that would be “you focused.” Instead you’re focusing upon their need “…the position you’re trying to fill.” It paints you in a completely different light, as a problem solver, someone is focused upon their needs instead of your need to get a job.

The other less subtle point in this communication is that it needs to take place as early on in the conversation as you can comfortably fit it in. That is going to drive how you respond the rest of the time. It’s the answer to the test you are about to take, the interview. For example, if the interviewer starts off saying “Tell me about yourself,” and you reply, “Sure, I’d be glad to, but if you don’t mind, could I first ask you to share specifically what you’re looking for in a candidate? This way I can make sure I frame my response in a way that will make the most sense.”

The pause you’ll see next is the interviewer trying to keep from falling back in their chair because you took the time to make sure you are focused upon what they’re looking for, instead of how witty and composed you are in responding to their question.

Write down the main points they give you – switching back and forth with eye contact and note taking, and make sure you tie in the rest of your responses throughout the interview to the needs they shared with you.

Do this in every interview and watch how much more interest employers start to take in you. Employers are interested in people who clearly demonstrate a genuine interest in them.

Own your career.

A Recent Grad Enjoying Huge Success

He graduated last May. His mother, a business associate of mine, suggested he reach out to me for some tips to help him get started with his career. I talk to a lot of college students and grads, but this guy really stood out by being a sponge for knowledge and then showing me how he put our conversations to use to make things happen.

He’s very impressive, and the success he’s enjoying comes as no surprise to me.

This month he was recognized at work with a bunch of sales awards which included some great financial rewards. When he decides it’s time to change jobs, he’s build a powerful stack of stories to impress potential employers so he can keep his momentum going. He’s building a pattern of success that future employers will expect to see from him, and they’ll get from him. He also continues to build a great professional network who already knows what he’s about.

I asked him to share some tips with other students and graduates so they could put his formula for success to use for themselves. There are no secrets. He doesn’t have anything he needs to hide to keep a competitive advantage. He has enough success to share. Here is what he said:

Never be afraid to ask for help. Regardless of the relationship, people are willing to help to the best of their ability and knowledge. So never take it personally if someone doesn’t move mountains for you. Also remember to pay it forward when the time comes. No one gets where they are without the help of someone else.

Practice “Little Bets” – In short, failures are a good thing. If you have interests in multiple fields, don’t try to make a decision that you might regret in the long run. Your ability to learn, your drive and talents are all transferrable. They can be taken from one profession to another. This concept can be applied to anything that most people “plan” for. Some people can’t admit that there are so many variables that you shouldn’t stress yourself so much and be attached to the idea that everything you do has to be a success the first time. The less attachment you have, the higher the likelihood you will have to learn from the situation and improve as quickly as possible to where you are supposed to be.

Surround yourself with people who have similar ambitions, standards and interests. Their knowledge and luck will rub off on you.

Exemplify Humility - Approach every situation like you are going to learn something new. Try your best to know what you don’t know and admit it. As much as you think you are a self made success, there were many people along the way that helped you get where you are today.

Be flexible - Know that your goals can and will change as you progress through your career. Understand that your success and happiness should be a measurement of what makes you happy and not just “what looks good.” The quality of your life along the way to your goals will ultimately fuel the attitude you need to keep moving forward.

Jump at the slightest hint of opportunity! Be courageous – if a project interests you, realize that you may not have all the answers right now but know that you have been given the tools to figure it out along the way.

Don’t be arrogant or be overly impressed with yourself. No one likes the guy who puts himself on a pedestal. If you are enjoying success, be sure to give back and realize that others may not have had the same opportunities as you.

His success is a conscious choice that he’s worked hard to achieve. His short journey has already included failures, advice, help, being flexible, taking chances, and surrounding himself with the right people. He didn’t do all of this overnight, he stays focused and chips away at it every hour of every day as he continues to learn how this career thing works. Although he’s still pretty new to it, he’s going into it with open eyes and a huge willingness to learn and change.

Borrow his ideas, make them your own, and do what it takes to have blogs written about your success.

Own your career.

Click for Video – Why did she get a job when 90% of her Classmates haven’t yet.?

Who is she?

She’s just now finishing her masters’ thesis and she already has a job lined up once she graduates. Any guesses as to why she has a job and 90% of her classmates don’t?

I had a guess, but I wanted to hear firsthand what she thought the reasons were, so I asked her. She didn’t say, “My grades.” She did say:

1. God’s grace
2. Networking
3. Parents who didn’t pay for her advanced degree although they could easily have afforded it
4. Parents who will not support her financially after graduation because she’s an adult
5. Parents who allowed her be independent and take responsibility for herself to build her confidence (they made her fill out her own tax form at age 15 instead of doing it for her)
6. Parents who will allow her to experience failure, if she doesn’t step up and succeed

Every semester another class of graduates enters the workforce. It is the resourceful, creative, aggressive students from each class who will get jobs. It’s not a game of who graduated first or who had the best grades. As you know, it’s actually not a game at all. The stakes are very high and they’re very real, so it takes effective solutions and diligent action to come out on top.

Creativity is fostered by scarcity. When threatened by the scarcity of a place to live, a career, and money, this student got creative and aggressive, and made something happen. She worked an internship. She made it a specific point to meet a lot of people during lunch every day, making friends who would become her advocates. She did so by listening to them and being genuine rather than by trying to impress them. When she received advice, like what a good idea it might be to contact a certain headhunter about a job, she didn’t just nod her head and say, “Sounds like a great idea,” she actually acted on it. That resulted in another job offer that she turned down.

You can create the kind of growth opportunities this student had in your life. Do you have a crutch, an excuse, or something comfortable that’s keeping you from doing what you know you need to do? Trash it. It’s costing you too much and it’s holding you back.

Own your career.

Intimidated by the Job Market? Step back and refocus.

What can be intimidating about finding a job today?

1. Constant news about the poor job market and the economy
2. Your friends struggling to find jobs and coming up empty handed
3. Sympathy from well-meaning people
4. Displaced workers with much more experience than you failing to find work
5. Wondering if you have enough education, experience, or even the right degree
6. Networking challenges
7. Feeling like you don’t have the right tools to tackle the task of getting a good job (communication skills, an impressive resume, social media savvy)

The list goes on…….

Unfortunately these factors aren’t imaginary, they’re very real. When they’re all taken together the picture can be bleak, if you let it get that way.

Your #1 job is to avoid the downward spiral. The downward spiral is when your focus is on the negative, your expectations are low, and the way you see everything validates your concerns.

What happens if you don’t change your focus?

1. You won’t recognize great opportunities that might be right under your nose.
2. Your negativity will come across to employers, which will hurt your chances of getting hired.
3. You’ll justify not taking more action (meeting people, applying for jobs) because it seems pointless.
4. You won’t put the time and energy into learning things that you need to improve about yourself today.
5. You’ll spend time doing things to escape instead of facing your challenges head on and overcoming them.
6. You’ll settle for a job significantly below your abilities, that doesn’t interest you, and wind up feeling stuck there.

How do you stop the downward spiral?

Make the conscious, immediate, and drastic choice to ignore every single negative influence.

1. Get very busy doing things to make progress
2. Set specific, measurable goals
3. Track your progress as you achieve these outcomes
4. Stay busy, keeping your focus on your goals

Do this every day and you will turn things around. Will they turn around as quickly as you want? Maybe not, but you’ll definitely change the direction you’re heading and be much further along than someone who stays intimidated and inside the downward spiral instead.

Own your career.

Harvard Business Review – 9 Things Successful People do Differently

How many times have you let lack of clarity, not seizing moments to make things happen, or your lack of willpower steal the results you want right out from under your nose? Tired of living with that yet?

Heidi Grant Halvorson, PhD really hits some nails on the head when it comes to achieving goals and enjoying success.

The article: http://bit.ly/iDqZ9n

The 9 things:

1. Get Specific
2. Seize the Moment to Act on your Goals – increase your chances of success by 300%
3. Know Exactly how far you have left to go
4. Be a Realistic Optimist
5. Focus on Getting Better Rather than Being Good
6. Have Grit
7. Build your Willpower Muscle
8. Don’t Tempt Fate
9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do

If you’re serious about accomplishing more, read what she has to say and put it to work for you. Powerful articles like hers are just interesting until you make them useful by actually using them.

Most notable – #5 – “believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability.” The concept of “fixed ability” is challenged – and it’s in your favor! Acknowledging that you don’t have the ability to reach a particular goal right now, but you can get the ability you need opens up a lot of possibilities for you.

Tracking Goals and Redefining limiting beliefs are two key elements of Career Foresight that align nicely with Dr. Halvorson’s framework. http://www.careerforesight.com/tour.php

Dr. Halvorson’s powerful framework combined with Career Foresight’s powerful software and your grit (#6) will add you to the list of “Successful People” she’s talking about!

Tell us how it worked out for you.

Recent Grads who aren’t complaining about the Tough Job Market? Yeah – really.

Why aren’t they complaining? Rich parents?

Nope.

Staying focused and setting themselves apart by doing things others aren’t?

Yup.

Binghamton University published these Smart Moves Success Stories that have some great examples worth emulating:

http://www2.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/students/success-stories.html

Keywords you’ll find:

Volunteering, Internships, Campus and Community Service, Academic Focus, Persistence, Study Abroad, Strong Record of Involvement, Making a difference

Sample Advice from the students and recent grads that you’ll find:

“Get Involved”

“It takes persistence”

“Plan way ahead of graduation”

“I would recommend looking at internships. It’s important to get that hands-on experience. Don’t be disappointed by rejection; keep at it and work to better yourself. Do your research online before going to an agency, and use your contacts.”

“Don’t go in [to college] with the expectation that what you set out to do as a freshman will be what you want to do as a senior.”

“Also, don’t limit yourself. Many companies in other industries have departments that can utilize your skills and experience as well; don’t just search within one specific industry”

“Among all the steps that I have taken, the most essential step was believing in myself. It is human nature to compare yourself to others, but when you compare yourself to yourself, you do not feel inferior or prideful. So, do not compare yourself, create your own path to success.”

You deserve and can enjoy the same results. Use these great examples that they’ve shared as models to combine with your unique strengths and interests to get the results you want.

I promise its way more useful and fun than complaining.