Job applicant having an interview

10 tips for a successful job interview. These rules and tips will help job-seekers to maximize potential employment opportunities… and receive job offers you deserve.

  1. Speak clearly and enthusiastically about your experiences and skills. Be professional, but don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through. Be yourself. Don’t be afraid of short pauses. You may need a few seconds to formulate an answer.
  2. Be positive. Employers do not want to hear a litany of excuses or bad feelings about a negative experience. If you are asked about a low grade, a sudden job change, or a weakness in your background, don’t be defensive. Focus instead on the facts (briefly) and emphasize what you learned from the experience.
  3. Be prepared to market your skills and experiences as they relate to the job described. Work at positioning yourself in the mind of the employer as a person with a particular set of skills and attributes. Employers have problems that need to be solved by employees with particular skills; work to describe your qualifications appropriately.
  4. Research information about the company before the interview. Some important information to look for includes what activities are carried out by the employer, how financially stable the employer is, and what types of jobs exist with the employer. Researching an employer during the job search can help determine more about that organization and your potential place in it. Know how you can help the company and prepare questions to ask the interviewer about the company.
  5. Arrive early for the interview. Plan to arrive for your interview 10-15 minutes before the appointed time. Arriving too early confuses the employer and creates an awkward situation. By the same token, arriving late creates a bad first impression and may doom your chances. Ask for directions when making arrangements for the interview.
  6. Carry a portfolio, notepad or at the very least, a manila file folder labeled with the employer’s name.
  7. Bring extra resumes and a list of questions you need answered. You may refer to your list of questions to be sure you’ve gathered the information you need to make a decision. Do not be preoccupied with taking notes during the interview.
  8. In many career fields, the lunch or dinner included during the interview day encompasses not only employer hospitality, but also a significant part of the interview process. Brush up on your etiquette and carry your share of the conversation during the meal. Often social skills are part of the hiring decision.
  9. After the interview, take time to write down the names and titles (check spelling) of all your interviewers, your impressions, remaining questions and information learned. If you are interviewing regularly, this process will help you keep employers and circumstances clearly defined.
  10. Follow up the interview with a thank-you letter. Employers regard this gesture as evidence of your attention to detail, as well as an indication of your interest in the position.

Final Thoughts on Job-Seeker Interviewing Success

Two bonus interviewing tips from employers:

  • What you don’t say can be as important as what you do say in job interviews. Understanding and maximizing your non-verbals — smiling, eye contact, hand-shake, posture, and the like — will help you excel in the interview.

#Interview, #ThankYouInterview, #Resume

Getting Organized = More Productivity

Business people Working On Laptops In Busy Office

Sometimes, we wish there were more hours in the day. Unfortunately, we can’t control time. What we can control is our productivity. Being cautious with how we spend our time is vital to getting more done during the day. Waking up earlier, meditating, creating daily to-do lists — there are a number of ways to make the most out of every minute.

If you want to be more productive during your day, these simple hacks will help get you on your way.

1. Wake up an hour earlier.

Even if you don’t identify as a “morning person,” you can still become one.

By setting your alarm an hour earlier than usual (and don’t hit the snooze button!), you’ll be able to get an extra hour of uninterrupted, peaceful work time.

Several studies correlate waking up early to productivity and success. Early risers have an advantage — they have extra work time and are more optimistic in general.

2. Make a daily to-do list.

Create a daily list of realistic tasks to tackle everyday. Keep it simple, too. Your tasks don’t need to be massive jobs that will take hours to complete. If you need to fold your laundry, add that to the list. Need to call the doctor? Add it.

These micro-tasks will not only help you get more done on a day-to-day basis, but they’ll also help you reach your bigger goals too.

3. Do the hardest tasks first.

It’s best to get those dreaded tasks out of the way first. After getting that big chunk of difficulty out of the way, the rest of your day is freed to complete everything else. Not only will you feel better, you’ll be much more productive too.

4. Clear off your desk.

As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” That can be true for staying focused too. Taking 15 minutes before work every day to clear off your desk and create a clean workspace will help you focus and avoid distractions. Trash what you don’t need and file what you do.

5. Clear off your desk.

As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” That can be true for staying focused too. Taking 15 minutes before work every day to clear off your desk and create a clean workspace will help you focus and avoid distractions. Trash what you don’t need and file what you do.

6. Exercise in the morning.

Go for a quick jog or do some morning yoga.

Getting a workout in in the morning is linked to a better mood and higher levels of productivity. Harvard psychiatry professor Dr. John Ratey explains that exercise is vital in reaching “high-performance levels in intellectually demanding jobs.”

7. Set up a system.

Having a system of organization will give you a clear and consistent idea of the projects you have going on. This inventory of commitments will bring clarity, focus and control. It will help you know what’s most important.

8. Focus on one thing at a time.

Focus on getting one project finished before switching to the next.

People usually think that they’re getting more done by multitasking, but in reality, going back and forth from task to task isn’t beneficial. In fact, trying to perform two tasks simultaneously can actually take a toll on productivity, a study by the American Psychological Association reveals.

While most of us are guilty of talking on the phone while typing out an email — it’s not the little tasks that deter productivity, but the larger ones. “The mind and brain were not designed for heavy-duty multitasking,” reports the study.

9. Start saying no.

Sometimes that little word is the hardest to say. But it’s OK to say it. It’s important to manage people’s expectations, so if you can’t take something on and give it 100 percent, then don’t do it at all.

10. Get enough sleep.

This one’s a given, but you’d be surprised how few people actually do get enough sleep every night. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Are you getting that much?

Maybe it’s time to go to bed earlier. Sleep can make or break your productivity and well-being.

11. Keep your emails organized.

Seeing 200 unread messages in your inbox will only give you anxiety. But it’s also important you don’t overlook any important messages. Keep your inbox clean by responding, filing, drafting or deleting an email immediately after you’ve opened it.

12. Shut off social media.

Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the outside world and avoid going on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. They’ll only distract you. For people who need social media for work, make sure you’re logged out of any personal accounts so you don’t get pulled off-task.

 

13. Read, don’t skim.

It’s important to actually read the documents that come your way, not skim through them. Even though it doesn’t always feel this way, skimming can be more time-consuming than reading because you may skip something and have to go back.

14. Schedule chunks of uninterrupted time.

Once you get yourself focused, stay focused.

Although it’s easier said than done, a helpful way to make sure you keep your mind on track is to clear out a specified, uninterrupted time frame where you focus solely on the project at hand. Whether that means turning off your phone or closing your email, create an environment where you are free to focus on one thing — and one thing only.

According to a study by Microsoft researchers, it takes the brain 15 minutes to re-focus after switching our attention to something else. So if you’re constantly being interrupted, it’s going to take you a long time to get your work done.

15. Put your headphones in.

Whether you want to play some tunes or not is up to you. But people are far less likely to disrupt you if they see that you’re zoned out with your headphones in.

16. Meditate before going into the office.

Take a couple minutes right when you wake up to clear your mind and meditate. According to the Art of Living Foundation, morning meditation is particularly powerful because it recharges and prepares you for the challenges that lie ahead.

17. Eliminate unnecessary meetings.

Face-to-face communication is vital in the workplace, but sometimes those long and endless meetings can be a waste of time. When scheduling any meetings, make sure they are truly necessary and whether what you plan to discuss can be handled through email or by phone.

If you do plan an in-person meeting, schedule it for 30 minutes only so it is fast and to-the-point. When people feel crunched on time, they are more likely to get to the important stuff quickly.

18. Make 60-second decisions.

If you want to get more done during your day, you’ve got to work fast. Start by cutting down the amount of time it takes you to make a decision.

Decision-making can be one of the most time-consuming tasks you do on a daily basis, so cut down on it to free up your time. You’ll likely make the same decision you would have made in 20 minutes’ time.

This article was reproduced from Entrepreneur magazine online.
Fight Stress with Healthy Habits

Healthy habits can protect you from the harmful effects of stress. Here are 10 positive healthy habits you may want to develop.

  1. Talk with family and friends.

    A daily dose of friendship is great medicine. Call or writer friends and family to share your feelings, hopes and joys and ask them to share theirs.

  2. Engage in daily physical activity.

    Regular physical activity can relieve mental and physical tension. Physically active adults have lower risk of depression and loss of mental functioning. Physical activity can be a great source of pleasure, too. Try walking, swimming, biking or dancing every day.

  3. Embrace the things you are able to change.

    While we may not be able to do some of the things we once enjoyed, we are never too old to learn a new skill, work toward a goal, or love and help others.

  4. Remember to laugh.

    Laughter makes us feel good. Don’t be afraid to laugh out loud at a joke, a funny movie or a comic strip, even when we’re alone.

  5. Give up the bad habits.

    Too much alcohol, cigarettes or caffeine can increase blood pressure. If you smoke, decide to quit now. If you do drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

  6. Slow down.

    Try to “pace” instead of “race.” Plan ahead and allow enough time to get the most important things done without having to rush.

  7. Get enough sleep.

    Try to get six to eight hours of sleep each night. If you can’t sleep, take steps to help reduce stress and depression. Physical activity also may improve the quality of sleep and life in general.

  8. Get organized.

    Use “to do” lists to help you focus on your most important tasks. Approach big tasks one step at a time. For example, start by organizing just one part of your life — your car, desk, kitchen, closet, cupboard or drawer.

  9. Practice giving back.

    Volunteer your time or spend time helping out a friend. Helping others helps you.

  10. Try not to worry.

    The world won’t end if your grass isn’t mowed or your kitchen isn’t cleaned. You may need to do these things, but right now might not be the right time

1st Q 2018 Employment & Economist’s Forecast

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 611,000 non-farm jobs added in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to 364,000 jobs in the third quarter. The unemployment rate was just 4.1 percent throughout the fourth quarter, down 0.6 percentage points over the course of the year.

Driving the increase in employment were healthcare, construction and manufacturing.

Healthcare added 31,000 jobs, exceeding the 12-month average of 25,000. Ambulatory healthcare services (15,000) and hospitals (12,000) were the most active subsectors.

Construction added another 30,000 jobs for a total of 300,000 through the year. December saw 24,000 jobs added in specialty trade contractors, likely due to rebuilding efforts after extensive hurricane damage in Q3 and ongoing wildfire damage in the West.

Manufacturing increased employment by 25,000 in December; 21,000 were in durable goods. The sector grew by 196,000 for 2017, an improvement over the net decrease of 16,000 during 2016.

Professional and business services added 19,000 in December, down from the monthly average of 44,000. Food service and drinking place employment added 25,000 jobs, in keeping with the average 20,750.

Economist’s Forecast 2018

Tax changes that came into effect January 1 and other legislation will have significant impacts on Q1 2018..

Large employers will probably not see a large hiring increase. Tax strategies already keep the effective corporate tax rate to about 15 percent. Companies have record profits and cash on hand and early evidence suggests they will return money to shareholders rather than immediately invest in expansion. But current employment growth also is unlikely to drop.

About half of all employees work for small businesses, which have faced capital access challenges. Lower tax rates could free up money for expansion and make faster employee growth possible.

Although construction saw strong growth last quarter, this quarter could see some slowdown with effects of the polar vortex along many parts of the country. Much will depend on further weather, although continued rebuilding after the hurricanes and fires in western regions could keep demand for help steady.

Professional and business services had averaged 44,000 job additions a month through 2017. December’s 19,000 could see a rebound now that the holidays are over.

Healthcare is also a wild card because of legislative action. The elimination of the personal mandate for insurance will lower demand and uncertainty about the future might reduce future hiring. The sector added 300,000 jobs in 2017, but that was down from the 379,000 in 2016.

Long-term unemployment has remained steady as has the number of people working part time for economic reasons. With legislative struggles over immigration continuing, competition for labor will likely increase. Additionally, 18 states have increased their minimum wage, so wages will continue to rise. However, the rate of increase is still low compared to the 20 years before the global financial collapse, so the ultimate impact on hiring will be moderate.

Changing Bad Habits, Creating Healthy Ones

Old habits can be hard to break, and new habits hard to make, but with these six basic steps you can develop new, healthy behaviors that stick.

Can You Retrain Your Brain?

Make your list and check it twice. This time you’re going to kill it:

  • Make a healthy snack
  • Go to the gym
  • Don’t waste time on cell phone
  • Read a classic novel
  • House train your pet

We all know habits don’t change overnight — not for simple doggies and not for big-brained human beings.  But there’s good news: research shows that just like Rex can learn that he should go potty outside instead of on your gym bag, you can rewire your brain to change your own habits.1 But we humans need a subtler approach than a few treats and “good boys” to change our ways.

Here’s how you can better understand how habits form and how to replace bad ones with good.

6 Steps to Changing Habits

    1. Identify Cues.
      Something has to trigger a habit, and a cue can be anything. Maybe stress makes you crave chocolate, or the sound of your alarm triggers you to hit the snooze button. Identifying cues helps you understand what puts your habits into motion.
    2. Disrupt Once you know the cues, you can throw bad habits off track. If the alarm cues you to bash the snooze button every morning, put the alarm clock on the other side of the room. Trekking across the cold floor will likely disrupt the snooze habit.
    3. Replace.  Research shows that replacing a bad behavior with a good one is more effective than stopping the bad behavior alone.2 The new behavior “interferes” with the old habit and prevents your brain from going into autopilot. Deciding to eat fruit every time your mind thinks “cookie” substitutes a positive behavior for the negative habit.
    4. Keep It Simple.  It’s usually hard to change a habit because the behavior has become easy and automatic. The opposite is true, too: new behaviors can be hard because your brain’s basal ganglia, (the “autopilot” part), hasn’t taken over this behavior yet.3Simplifying new behaviors helps you integrate them into your autopilot routines.
    5. Think Long-Term.  Habits often form because they satisfy short-term impulses, the way chewing on your nails might immediately calm your nerves.  But short-term desires often have long-term consequences, like nasty, splintered, chewed up fingers.  Focusing long term while trying to change some habits will help you remember why you’re investing the effort.
    6. Persist.  Research has shown that what you’ve done before is a strong indicator of what you’ll do next. This means established habits are hard to break. But the good news is, if you keep at it, your new behaviors will turn into habits, too.4Persistence works — at first it might be painful to get up at 5am for that jog, but soon it will be second nature.

Give it another go with all these tips in mind. This time, toss the chips and replace them with veggies; when your brain craves salty, fried potatoes, it found carrots instead. Promise yourself that when you have the urge to kill some time on your cell phone, you’ll disrupt the urge by picking up good book instead.

Finally, keep your gym bag in the car so you don’t forget it — the first step toward forming a new 15-minutes-on-the-treadmill-during-lunch habit.

So, habits can be changed, and with a bit of time and some effort, healthy behaviors can become second nature. Now get on it, so you can be Healthy For Good!

 

Sources:

1 Putting habit into practice, and practice into habit: a process evaluation and exploration of the acceptability of a habit-based dietary behaviour change intervention, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2014
2 Breaking Habits with Implementation Intentions: A Test of Underlying Processes, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2011
3 The role of the basal ganglia in habit formation, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2006 
4 Theoretical explanations for maintenance of behaviour change: a systematic review of behaviour theories, Health Psychology Review, 2016

Last Updated: January 11, 2018

Copyright © 2018 American Heart Association, Healthy For GoodTM, heart.org/healthyforgood

Thought Leadership

“Thought leader” is a popular term going this year. It sounds impressive and timely, even if we’re not sure what it means. At one level, the term is meaningless. If you aspire to be a thought leader, does that mean you’re currently a thoughtless leader? Joking aside, “thought leader” has come to refer to an expert in a given field who’s been able to monetize that expertise. Some look at the reference as the result of inflated ego, but also as a useful marketing tool for increasing visibility and recognition.

Whether about acclaim, expertise, money or hype, thought leadership is a growing industry. It’s no accident that this is happening even as cyberspace suggests faster is better, anonymous counts — and civility does not. The term’s popularity reflects the increasing rare blend of communication skills, expertise, emotional intelligence, vision and implementation know-how. While this skill set is not entirely unfamiliar to leaders, it’s a combination that is withering on the internet vine.

Ironically, social networks are seeing a rise in thought leadership groups. They attempt to support emerging thought leaders and embed the term into the general consciousness in the process. Group members are doing a community service by translating the skill set into digestible, actionable quick reads. Here are several quotes from thought leaders in one of these groups.

“Thought leadership requires being able to leverage your own ideas into frameworks made simple for others to follow.”

“Thought leadership means being able to voice ideas, concepts or life questions in ways that help others make sense of them and/or contribute to a better understanding, development or actualization of an organization or community.”

“A thought leader is a conscious leader with a high level of emotional intelligence, serving and growing at a higher level.”

Based on these quotes on thought leadership, how does an organization develop training that produces an/or nurtures these leaders? How do they create what are essentially futurists who can communicate complex ideas, demonstrate emotional intelligence and actively contribute to the organization’s growth and success? The answer lies in a four-step process with each stage being both stand alone and sequential.

1. Communication: Leaders must be aware that every detail of communication matters. Each detail changes the context, the perception and the response in an interaction. Whether written, verbal or nonverbal, or just the tone of voice, we are always on stage. Further, the cultural expressions and idioms we use every day are shorthand for the full range of our beliefs, traditions and values. Awareness of and sensitivity to an organization’s culture are the building blocks of cultural competency. Without such cultural awareness and sensitivity, A lack of awareness and sensitivity can lead to a train wreck on the knowledge highway between team members, customers, and vendors.

2. Emotional intelligence: Some call it learning to work outside of your comfort zone, others refer to this as conflict management. Thought leadership requires self-awareness that is nuanced, in-depth, and disciplined. There needs to be multiple levels in our comfort zones. The levels become a commonly shared metric not only of inner discomfort but of the severity of interpersonal conflicts. Blend awareness of inner and external stressors and crises can be anticipated and redirected.

3. Vision: Change agents, futurists and innovators are at a premium today. These innovators’ expertise is fundamental to their talents, but it does not stand alone. To be believable and actionable, a vision should also be trustworthy. Visionaries must establish and continually reinforce their dependability, accountability and responsibility along with the traits of empathy, hope and fairness. An impactful vision not only draws on the logic of ideas, but also on the faith and values of beliefs.

4. Action plan: When communication expertise, emotional intelligence and vision are folded into the planning process, thought leadership emerges. The decision-making matrix of goals, objectives, tasks and timelines blends the three elements into an actionable reality for team building, engagement and collaboration towards a common goal.

As we assess the past year and look to the future, thought leadership becomes our most valuable asset. We put together the story of our 2017 accomplishments and communicate it with emotional intelligence, honoring the expertise that made our achievements possible. We also put together the story for 2018 with a vision for the year and a plan for attaining it. The new year is a time for thought leaders to model being thankful and gracious and demonstrating actionable hope that the best is yet to come.

Deborah Levine, an award-winning author and trainer/coach, is editor of the American Diversity Report. Contact her at www.americandiversityreport.com This article first appeared in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, January 14, 2018.

Tips to Make Your First Day a Success

The night before, lay out your clothes, including shoes, (socks), minimal jewelry, if any. In today’s ultra-sensitive office and other environments, err on the side of caution and conservatism when it comes to both your apparel, as well as your cologne or body sprays.

Be prepared with any paperwork you’ve been asked to complete or other documents you may need for Human Resources (HR).  If you’ve been given any other instructions, such as safety wear/gear, tools, have these ready as well. Do not plan on chatting on your cell phone, even if your coworkers are, except during lunch and that’s only if you are walking or driving yourself somewhere and it’s absolutely necessary.

Get a good nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and pack a lunch and snack, just in case, but also be prepared to eat out with your new co-workers to socialize. Leave your house with enough time to arrive at least 15 minute early, even if you have to wait in your car for a few minutes. Allow time for navigating through traffic, or unfamilair routes, but also where to park and time to walk in and get settled.

   Say hello and smile at everyone that you meet or pass by. Introduce yourself if no-one else is around to introduce you. If you are terrible at remembering names, repeat their name during the introduction or the conversation. During lunch, head over to the break room and join a table of co-workers. This shows them that you are friendly and approachable. (Be sure to bring food with you.) Try not to get caught up in any office gossip. Be prepared with safe, small talk topics such as recent or upcoming holidays, sports or cultural activities.

Keep a notebook and write down any questions you may have for your boss/manager, HR or a co-worker. There is bound to be a learning curve and you want to allow yourself time to learn and grow. Don’t be in a rush. Be confident about your skills and experience.

At the end of the first day, don’t be the first one out the door. Linger a few minutes, write down notes about your first day, procedures, etc. Clean up your desk or work station and smile on your way out. Congratulations you made it through your first day and are on your way to enjoying a new job/career.

Job Market Overview- November 2017

November’s snapshot of the American economy revealed 228,000 jobs were added, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.1%. According to The New York Times, the United States has added jobs for 86 consecutive months.

The November report also revealed insights into the holiday hiring season. CNBC reported that preliminary data shows online shoppers spent 18% more this year on Black Friday than in 2016, which businesses were prepared to support with job gains in industries like manufacturing (31,000,) warehousing and storage (8,100,) and most notably, retail trade (18,700,) which has seen near-steady job loss each month up until November of this year.

If businesses were not able to support consumer demand this year due to a shortage of talent, economists say it can be blamed on the hot topic of 2017 – low wage growth.  Wages rose by 5 cents in November, after falling by a single cent in October, bringing the annual wage growth to 2.5%. While still below average for the health of our economy – and barely enough to keep up with inflation – the 5 cent gain signals businesses are accepting that they have to raise pay rates in order to attract the talent they need.

Magnifying glass over a newspaper classified section with Job Market text

Here are 4 Other Things you need to know about November’s job report:

  1. Talent Scarcity – Employment growth has averaged 174,000 per month in 2017, compared with an average of 187,000 in 2016. According to ABC, this is typical when unemployment falls to this low of a level, making available talent scarce.
  1. Tax Cut Plan – Economists are unclear how the current $1.5 trillion tax cut plan, which President Trump could sign this month, could affect the economy, according to The New York Times. While some expect the tax breaks to provide a lift to the economy, others fear the lift will crash just as fast: if the economy overheats, inflation could be pushed up.
  2. Professional and Business Services Boom – The industry include jobs such as legal services, bookkeeping, accounting, and management – added 46,000 jobs in November, and nearly 550,000 total this year.
  3. Healthcare In Demand – The industry added 30,000 jobs in November, with ambulatory health care making up more than 80% of that number. These numbers include the offices of physicians and outpatient care centers.
  4. Stabilizing Food Services – Food services and drinking places, which saw massive job increases in October due to businesses re-opening following Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, rose by a modest 19,000 in November. Leisure and hospitality, which also rose significantly in October following the hurricanes, saw slightly fewer job gains at just 14,000.

Consumer holiday spending, as predicted, was high this year – and some companies can’t meet their demand due to not being able to find enough workers. The Wall Street Journal reported UPS, for example, is overwhelmed by online orders, asking push drivers to work extra hours, and warning customers about potential delays in delivery.

This same issue could carry into 2018, as the health of the economy will continue driving consumer spending and demand. And with certain generations in the workforce aging-out, talent could become increasingly harder to find.

Why Won’t They Hire You? You Didn’t Google Yourself

Today’s job market, like most of the rest of our lives, has been taken over by the internet. Applications have moved online; interviews are conducted over Skype, and over 3.7 million employees spend at least half their time working from home. Most companies use the internet to research potential new hires before the interview.

About 60 percent of employers perform a web search on applicants before the interview. If you are looking for an IT position, the chances of your interviewer Googling you shoot up to 76 percent.

… Read More >>

5 Things To Look For in Your Next Staffing Agency

From small to large businesses, the process of hiring and managing workforce can be quite a handful sometimes. Being at the heart of productivity, this is one of the most crucial parts in the success of any business. Occasionally, businesses have paced up to meet the urgency in getting new employees in place due to a number of factors; this is where the staffing agencies come in. These professionals specialize in handling the recruitment and other few operations for businesses.

Here are a few things you should consider before engaging a staffing agency to get the job done. … Read More >>

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