By Eric Shannon

Photo: andthatswhyyouresingle

• Start a conversation with a little background – for example, say “Eric, remember last Friday when we discussed…”
• always use names instead of pronouns – say “Jack wrote it” not “he wrote it”
• use titles instead of nouns – say “I read The Cat in the Hat” not “I read a book”
• use dates – say ”Thursday September 8th” not  “next week” or “next Thursday” or “very soon”
• use real-life examples to illustrate instead of speaking in generalities
• provide links or copies of any text you refer to

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Don’t allow the interviewer ask all the questions. Here are a few questions to consider asking in your next interview:

What would a typical day in this job be like? If you can’t sit at a desk for very long and this job will require you to sit nearly all day, then it may not be for you. If you prefer to work with people and this position is simply data entry, you may want to consider looking. 

How much does the job pay? Don’t be afraid to ask this question! Your time and talents are worth something and the figure needs to be acceptable to both you and the employer. Don’t undersell yourself by settling for a wage that is below industry standard. If you’ve worked hard to become educated and qualified for the position, ask for what you think you’re worth.

Remember that when you ask these questions you need to be assertive but not arrogant. 

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Today’s interview was written and compiled by CareerSparx 

Today’s interview is with the viral sensation Matthew Epstein who launched his own campaign (GooglePleaseHireMe) in order to be noticed, and eventually hired, by Google. Matthew just had his first phone interview with Google, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for him!

What advice do you have for college students/recent graduates in regard to pursuing their passion?

Definitely first and foremost, don’t take a job for the money. Unless of course, you absolutely need the money, and then you have to take the job for the money. If you can, take less money or even an internship somewhere where you are going to love what you do, but more importantly, you’re going to learn the skills that you want to learn. I see a lot of people like me, or who were my age, applying to jobs just because they need a job or money, but it’s not really in line with what they want to do long term. So they find themselves in a situation where they have three years experience, but not experience for what they actually want to do. So the first thing, whatever you do, if you don’t absolutely need money, find something (whether it’s an internship or less money, even if you have to move somewhere) or get a job (if you know what you want to do) that’s going to apply to your skills in the long term.

The other thing is there are some people who are smart enough, just naturally genius, and people like that should be shooting for the stars, shooting for Google right off the bat. But the fact of the matter is you’re probably not going to land your dream job right out of college. Outside of an internship, that’s probably not going to happen, and that’s just reality. That’s why I said, make sure during your first few years you’re knee deep in what it is you want to do. Dedicating two to four years out of college to land your dream job really isn’t that bad when people spend 20 years trying to land their dream job.

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By Jennifer Armitstead, Career Coach

Funny comic, isn’t it? Reminder of how important it is to be clear about your skills during an interview.

Be clear about what you want in the interview and follow these few steps:

1. Know your skills and how they are best used and bring the most value.
2. Research the needs of the company before applying to uncover what their potential problems are. Do you want to be a part of that organization? Do you want to work to fix those types of problems?
3. Even if you’re desperate for a job, don’t come across as “I’ll take anything! Just give me a job!” in the interview. 
4. Because you’ve done your research, be clear about what you want to do… and what you’ll be best at doing.
5. Before taking the position, be clear about what the role will entail.

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What are you passionate about? Meriam loves to paint. Photo: Delmo Dela Cruz

Earlier this year, I heard Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speak to a Technology Forum at Brigham Young University and one of my biggest takeaways from his presentation was this: “Most people have something that they’re super passionate about, and I would just encourage you guys to find that thing.” A lot of us do the things we love after hours — after work, after school, after our responsibilities. But why not take your hobby, your love and turn it into a career? Here are some steps you can take to kickstart your hobbyist career.

Do What You Love. Do you like building model airplanes? Taking photos of babies? Making silkscreen T-shirt prints? Making delicious baked goods and caramels? Whatever it is that you love doing, if you’re good at it, chances are there’s someone out there who would be willing to pay for what you do. Instead of trying to find a job doing XYZ, why not flex your entrepreneurial muscle and do that thing on the side?

Start an Etsy Store. While you can design your own website elsewhere, Etsy is far easier and affordable for the average start-up. So if you have chocolate, clothes, or cards that you can sell on Etsy, start a store and get going! If you need another reason to go through Etsy, consider the millions of sales that have been through Etsy. It’s where people go to buy. Tap into it today.

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Written on April 26, 2011 by Curtis Walter

Photo: Pulpolux on Flickr

Over the last 12 years, I have successfully placed hundreds of employees in new careers and realized early on in that I couldn’t send out candidates to interviews without properly coaching. Case in point: I had a great candidate with an excellent background, an accountant, who I sent to one of my clients for an interview. When he reviewed her resume he wanted to meet her right away.

After the interview I follower up and asked the employer if he would like to make this candidate a job offer. He hesitated and said, “We really liked her, but I’m not sure she would work well with the group.” When I questioned his response he said, “When I asked her if she worked better in a group setting or by herself,” she replied, “I am not one who needs a lot of help.  I can work on my own. With my experience I can accept assignments and get them done with minimal supervision.” Unfortunately, the client translated this to mean this candidate would be a loner.

Before recommending this candidate, I personally spent 1.5 hours interviewing her.  She was a lovely lady, someone everyone would enjoy working with. I called the employer back and explained the candidate was trying to convey she could work on her own without requiring much of his assistance. Even so, the employer still refused to hire her.

Moral of the story? When asked if you work better in a group or by yourself I recommend this answer, “I do well in both settings. I don’t require much supervision but really enjoy working with my colleagues in a group project setting.”

(Source: mycollegesandcareers.com)