Common Mistakes Made at Job Interviews

Common Mistakes Made at Job InterviewsCommon Mistakes Made at Job InterviewsGet through your interview without the fear of making an avoidable mistake. Preparing for that upcoming interview can be difficult. You should be doing research about both the company you are interviewing for and the position you want. You want to be knowledgeable, if possible, about the person that will be conducting your interview. Youve probably gone over common interview questions and how you will answer them when the time comes. However, there is no way to be fully prepared. Its okay to make mistakes at a job interview- it happens to everyone. But learning about the most common mistakes that are made, can help you avoid these blunders during your own interview.Being too modest. You may have a hard time talking about yourself and your accomplishments- you dont want to come across as bragging. But this interview is the time to do exactly that. You want the hiring company to know all of your good qualities and what you can bring to the position. If you fail to talk about yourself and your skills, the interviewer may think that you arent qualified enough. Do not be afraid to talk about everything youve done at your previous positions.Appearing too nervous or too confident.This is really a double-edged sword- and it can be hard to find the perfect amount of confidence and calm. If you are too nervous for a job interview, you are much mora likely to flub answers to important questions. An interviewer will also see this nervousness and may think you arent confident enough for the job. However, being too confident, bordering on cocky, can also be a large turn-off for interviews. They may think that you arent taking the interview seriously enough, or that you wont fit in well with the rest of the team.Bad-mouthing your previous company.While you may have had bad experiences with your previous employer or co-workers, now is not the time to talk about it. You can sum up your experiences by si mply saying you didnt see eye to eye, or did not think you were the right fit. Interviewers see bad-mouthing as unprofessional and may think of you as a problem-maker.Making up answers.There are hundreds of questions that can be brought up during an interview. If youve taken the time needed to prepare, you probably already have a solid grasp of the types of questions that might come up and how you will respond. Still, there may be that one questions that throws you off. If this happens, do not try to guess or make up an answer. Your interview will be able to see through this. Instead, you can use tactics to gain extra time to answer the question, such as asking for the question to be repeated. If you simply dont know the answer, tell the interviewer.Underdressing.Showing up for an interview, one of the first impressions that an interviewer receives of you is the way you present yourself. This doesnt just mean with your clothes. No, you should not be wearing jeans. Even if the interv iew is described as casual, you should show up in business-casual wear. You should also make sure that your hair is properly groomed and your nails are clean and short. You can easily sabotage your interview by showing up in clothing that is too casual. An interviewer may think you are not taking the interview seriously or do not feel the need to impress the company.Failing to ask questions.When you think of an interview, you think of getting the third-degree about your skills, previous work experience, etc. But another large aspect of the interview is turning the tables and asking the interview your own questions. These are questions that you should already have prepared before the interview. You should have at least three or four questions. This shows the interviewer that youve done your own research about the company and that you have an interest in the position.

January 2018 Jobs Report Summary

January 2018 Jobs Report Summary January 2018 Jobs Report Summary The U.S. economy has gotten off to a solid start in 2018. According to the first jobs report of the year, employers expanded payrolls by 200,000 positions in January. That’s about 20,000 more jobs than economists had expected.   The U.S. has now seen job growth for a record 88 consecutive months.   Over the last three months, job gains have averaged 192,000 per month. That figure accounts for revised numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which show that 24,000 fewer positions were created in November and December 2017 than previously reported. Overall job growth in 2017 was more than 2.1 million. Another bright spot in the latest jobs report: Average hourly earnings increased 2.9 percent in January from a year earlier, the strongest gain since 2009.   Education and health services sector leads job growth The education and health services sector saw the most job gains in January, with employers expanding payrolls by 38,000 positions. Healthcare alone grew by 21,000 jobs. Here are the sectors that saw the most new jobs added in January 2018: Education and health services - 38,000 jobs added Construction - 36,000 jobs added Leisure and hospitality - 35,000 jobs added Professional and business services - 23,000 jobs added Retail trade - 15,400 jobs added Unemployment remains at a 17-year low The national unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent for the fourth straight month, the lowest rate since December 2000. The unemployment rate for college-degreed workers who are 25 or older was unchanged at 2.1 percent for the third consecutive month. These are the professionals in highest demand by employers. Unemployment rates for some occupations are even lower. For example, the unemployment rate for accountants and auditors was 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the BLS. It was the same for software developers. The unemployment rate for financial managers was 1.0 percent and just 0.8 percent for financial analysts. What employers need to know Skilled candidates are in short supply. But many professionals, motivated by New Year’s resolutions, are determined to land new jobs this year. In fact, our research shows that 29 percent of workers plan to launch a job search in the next 12 months. If you’re in hiring mode, be sure your job postings are sharp. They’re the primary vehicle for driving excitement and interest around your open roles. Use job ads to not only describe the ins and outs of the position but also why your firm is a great place to work.   Make no mistake about it: In-demand professionals remain selective when weighing employment opportunities. They’re carefully searching for companies that offer an appealing corporate culture, competitive pay, and leading benefits and perks. What job seekers need to know The new year is a great time to explore the job market. Many businesses have fresh hiring budgets in place and new business initiatives planned that they need skilled professionals to help drive forward.   Even though companies are eager to staff up and get new projects underway, they are still taking time to ensure they make smart, strategic hires. So be prepared to explain to a target employer why you’d be an asset to the firm - including how you could potentially add value, whether you’re willing to learn new skills, and why you’d thrive in the corporate culture.  

Pharrell Williams tells grads the secret of motivation Serve humanity

Pharrell Williams tells grads the secret of motivation 'Serve humanity' Pharrell Williams tells grads the secret of motivation 'Serve humanity' On Wednesday, the next generation’s future was the focus of Pharrell Williams’ commencement speech to New York University students. As a musician, producer, business mogul, and fashion-forward millinery maestro,  Williams has always been about the future, years ahead of his peers in his music and style.  Don’t be motivated by attentionWilliams highlighted the work of the other NYU honorary degree recipients as a lesson to students on how to achieve success by staying focused. They included Thomas Frieden, the ex-head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving female U.S. senator, former Congresswoman and gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.The lesson from their accomplishments? They stay focused on their goals. The honorees  weren’t distracted by the fame their high-profile positions brought them: “They are not motivated by attention. But rather, they are motivated by the idea of creating change.”In other words: Don’t chase fame. Chase results.Although Williams has over nine million followers on Instagram, he does not consider that a metric of success.“These great scientists, public servants, and activists cannot be bothered with building their Instagram followers,” he said. “Or how many views they get on Youtube…But they are the real influencers. Their work makes us healthier, safer, more enriched, and more intelligent. Their work is designed to improve the quality of life for all people, not just themselves.”‘There is no humanity without education’Calling himself “forever a student,” Williams told the Class of 2017  that education was the key to their  success.“There is no humanity without education. There is no education without demand. You are all walking endorsements for education. Embrace it.”Williams did not finish  college himself, but he has invested in education. In 2016, he held an emotionally moving masterclass on mus ic for NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.The next generation will close the gender gapWilliams emphasized that women are the future, and that the Class of 2017 is “the first generation that navigates the world with the security and confidence to treat women as equal.”Williams is hopeful that the future generation will help close the gender gap: “Your generation is unraveling deeply entrenched laws, principals, and misguided values that have held women back for far too long and, therefore, have held us all back.”Williams recognizes that success can seem distant and even unattainable in the beginning of a career. He sought to inspire students by bringing his and the other honorees’ accomplishments down to Earth.“Just like you, these recipients are brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters,” he said. “We all put our pants on one leg at a time. We all have a daily commute, but we do so with an eye towards something bigger: Serving humanity.”

ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive Director

ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive Director ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive Director ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive Director Michael Merker Michael Merker, a dedicated member of ASMEs staff for more than three decades, has been named the Societys new associate executive director of Standards Certification. Merker has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility since joining the ASME staff in 1981, most recently guiding the global expansion of ASMEs Conformity Assessment programs and contributing to the growth and development of ASMEs digital publishing endeavors as managing director of Conformity Assessment Publishing. In his new role as associate executive director, Merker will oversee ASMEs Standards, Technology Personnel Certification, and Training Development groups, and retain his current responsibilities for Conformity Assessment Publishing. He will also continue to serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, which reports directly to ASME Executive Director Thomas G. Loughlin. Michael Merker, with more than 30 years at the Society, has the necessary experience, breadth of knowledge, and business acumen to successfully carry on the important work of standards and certification in the global engineering marketplace, Loughlin said. His is a most deserving promotion. > >

This is the secret to being interesting to other people at parties

This is the secret to being interesting to other people at parties This is the secret to being interesting to other people at parties If the thought of thinking up small talk at networking events and office holiday parties gives you stress, do not fear - there’s a science-backed solution on how you can sound interesting to other people.It does not require you to remember talking points, trivia facts, or local weather patterns. It does require you to be fully present, to not just wait for your turn to talk, to genuinely listen to what is being said. For some people used to working off of scripts, this level of attention is much harder, but the rewards will be much greater. That’s because studies have found that being curious about other people is the key to being remembered as interesting in conversations.To be seen as the most interesting person in the room, it is more important to be interested in other people, rather than be inherently interesting yourself.The researchOne 2004 study found that strangers who acted curious in first-time conversations - people who asked follow-up questions, who asked intimate questions about a person’s future and goals - were seen  as more attractive and socially closer to the recipient than strangers who acted less curious.“Being  interested  is more important in cultivating a relationship and maintaining a relationship than being interesting; that’s what gets the dialogue going,” one of the study’s authors, Todd Kashdan of George Mason University, concluded. “It’s the secret juice of relationships.”When people show genuine interest in our hobbies and goals, this also gives us the chance to speak about our favorite topic: ourselves. Neuroscience research has found that when we talk about ourselves, we feel good because that topic activates the pleasure and reward areas in our brains. In other words, that person you met who chattered away about themselves may remember you fondly simply because you gave them the chance to talk your ear off.How to show interest in other peopleBeing interested in your conversation partner means letting go o f your assumptions about who the other person is. It means going into a conversation with the belief that everyone is interesting, regardless of their social status, connections, or occupation.Being genuinely interested in someone means showing each person you run into at the party the same level of politeness. As writer Paul Ford advised, politeness buys both parties time.“People silently struggle from all kinds of terrible things,” Ford writes. “The good thing about politeness is that you can treat these people exactly the same. And then wait to see what happens. You don’t have to have an opinion. You don’t need to make a judgment.”So next time you’re at a party and the dreaded lull in the conversation occurs - speak up. Ask to hear more about that vacation, that pet, or that hobby, and then close your mouth, pay attention, and listen.

Study These kind of job descriptions are more likely to turn away women candidates

Study These kind of job descriptions are more likely to turn away women candidates Study These kind of job descriptions are more likely to turn away women candidates A job listing is the first impression you’ll give to a candidate of your company. As an employer, you want every qualified candidate to feel welcomed by your listing.A  new study, however, has found that how you frame a role’s requirements can alienate and deter qualified candidates from applying.Study: Job requirements framed as personality traits can be turn offs for women applicantsTo show the effect of a job advertisement’s wording, University of Ghent researchers recruited woman job seekers to take a personality test, look at job ads, and rate the ads’ attractiveness. They found that women were less attracted to requirements framed as traits - “You are calm/not nervous” - than requirements framed as behaviors - “You remain calm in stressful situations” - when they held the belief that men would penalize them for being emotional or insecure. The researchers call these beliefs “negative meta-stereotypes.”“Women may infer from a negatively meta-stereotyped trait that they would be assessed in accordance with the negative stereotypes recruiters hold about their social group. If this is perceived as a threat to their social identity, women job seekers would be less attracted to the job and refrain from applying,” the researchers said.In a separate experiment, the researchers found that wording a listing as a trait would make a woman less likely to apply for a job. Thus, the researchers conclude that including rigid personality traits like “You are calm” as a job requirement “underlines that the way job ads are written may have a discriminatory effect even when there is no discriminatory intent.”Why getting the wording right   in a job ad mattersIn the early recruitment stage of a job hunt, candidates have little information to base their decisions on, so verbal cues within job listings take on an outsized influence. That’s why asking for a ninja or a guru for your next hire can deter qualified applicants from applying.The b ottom lineEverything - from how the role is framed to what words you choose to include - matters. It’s a reminder for employers to spend as much time crafting their job listing to get the wording right as they do with any other component of the hiring process.

Nine Ways your Staffing Firm Can Give Top Candidates the Royal Treatment

Nine Ways your Staffing Firm Can Give Top Candidates the Royal Treatment Nine Ways your Staffing Firm Can Give Top Candidates the Royal Treatment Nine Ways your Staffing Firm Can Give Top Candidates the Royal Treatment Rossheim As your staffing firm forges into 2018 and the need for new talent accelerates, you may be haunted by the ghosts of hiring past (like the record 6 million American jobs that needed filling during most months of 2017). And then there are all those open reqs that may be easy to getbut will definitely be hard to fill. (The Congressional Budget Office has projected that any remaining slack in the labor market will disappear in 2018.) For guidance on how to close sales in todays scrunchy-tight talent market, checked in with some top recruiters. Their advice on how to hook top talent boiled down to one essential concept: Give quality candidates the royal treatment. Use these nine tactics in the months ahead to tack your way to success. Pour it on for that first candidate contact. You wont win if you dont even begin giving a candidate a great experience until shes selected as a finalist. Good candidates are receiving multiple offers and counteroffers, says Scott Samuels, CEO of search firm Horizon Hospitality. More and more, something comes up and a candidate declines the offer. We have to be smarter on how we approach the process on day 1 to avoid problems on day 30. Making immediate personal contactsay, a quick phone callwith all candidates who submit promising resumes is one way to get the recruitment experience off to a good start. Set a schedule of touch points for all candidates. Create a template for keeping in touch with candidates on a regular schedule. Make sure the content of these brief communications is genuine and meaningful to the candidate, not just checking in. Consider sending the candidate a map of the companys campus, says Laura Handrick, an HR analyst with FitSmallBusiness, and point out some of its unique offerings. Another day, share information on the companys tuition reimbursement program, or another benefit that aligns with the candidates expressed interests. Dont be that recruiter who goes silent. Whether justified or not, many candidates believe that recruiters will only be in touch when their own bottom line is at stake. Candidates expectation is that were not going to get back to them, were going to leave them hanging, says Brady. Theyre pleasantly surprised with how we treat them. Even if candidates dont get the job, we make them feel respected. And that helps build long-term loyalty. Always customize the candidate experience. Candidates want a personalized experience, says Natasha Stough, Americas director of campus recruiting at EY, formerly Ernst Young. Were hiring close to 8,500 students in 2018, so its challenging to personalize, but thats what this generation expects. Weve found that we do need to work with each candidate and tap into whats important to them. Asking candidates about their own professional development goals is one way to get personal. Show clients how to turn an interview into a compelling conversation. Its a mistake for a recruiter or her clients to treat an interview as an administrative transaction rather than a genuine conversation, according to Gene Brady, director in the automotive practice at executive recruiter SCN. So see if you can find a way to demonstrate to the client how to fully engage candidates in a conversation that addresses everyones goals. Build cultural bridges for distant candidates. If your candidate is relocating, send them a care package, suggests John Nykolaiszyn, director of the Florida International University College of Business Career Management Services. Include several items that are only available locallycraft beer, craft roasted coffee, local honeyas well as the local Sunday newspaper and arts paper. Bring along clients who hesitate. A client who drags out hiring decisions presents a delicate situation, says Brady. If I dont get feedback, I will professionally be persistent, spell out in email how long the delay has been, point out why the person is a good candidate. If they dont get back to me quickly, I have a phone call with the client. Explain to young candidates how recruitment works. Inexperienced candidates may not at first appreciate the fundamental relationships among recruiters, clients and candidates. Sometimes candidates have a misperception, says Samuels. Im seeing more candidates who expect you to find them a job. So let them know that client companiesor for internal recruiters, hiring managersare recruiters paying customers. Break out of the resume-first mold. With highly qualified, hard-to-get talent, dont reduce the recruitment process to an exercise in hoop-jumping. Consider starting the experience with one-to-one quality time. The principal with the MarCom Group suggested that we get together for lunch, says John Bersentes, vice president client strategy at the marketing firm. He basically asked me, Hey, what is it you really want to do? That got me thinking. Be forthright about the timeline to offer. Explain the timing of all key steps in the recruitment process, and then explain it again. EYs career site states that we usually make a decision within two weeks of the second interview. The prospect of waiting 14 days will fail to meet the expectations of many candidates, especially Gen Zers. We do try to move that timing up as much as possible, says Stough. And we tell them, If youve got another deadline with another company, let us know.