There is a pervasive myth out there among job candidates that the interview is about you. It should be easy to go in and talk about yourself, your achievements, your vision. Make no mistake. The interview isn’t about you at all. It’s about the business pain that the hiring manager and company have. The hiring manager doesn’t want to listen to your life’s story or a rehashing of every project on whic...

When you line up and go through job interviews, are you wasting your time? This is not an easy question for most of us to answer, although you might have an opinion based on your experience as a candidate (good or bad). Recently I came across an article indicating that companies themselves tend to place more emphasis on the value of in-person interviews than on objective assessment, even though it’s often not justi...

Success is measured by your results. You’ve had this ingrained in you:. It follows that if you didn’t get an offer after your interview, you failed. Your self-esteem takes a hit and maybe even depression sets in. “Nobody wants me.” You make all about you. You all have heard about how much a “bad hire” costs the company. Well it costs you as well. Your zeal to get the offer by ov...

If you’re open to new job opportunities, you know it’s smart to keep your resume updated. But did you know it’s equally important to be ready for a phone screen interview – which could happen at any time? And are you ready? A headhunter may find you through a personal referral or LinkedIn and give you a call. Make no mistake – this “chat” is an interview! And typically fewer t...

Emotional intelligence is a huge factor in employee success, and hiring managers are increasingly looking for it during job interviews. Studies at Google have found that their most productive employees and teams excelled not because of their technical skills, but because of emotional intelligence and related soft skills such as communication, listening, problem solving, understanding others and showing empathy. Psycho...

Interviews: They’re all about pressing the flesh or running for office, or a first date. You are talking to a complete stranger. Sweat comes out of glands you didn’t know you had. Relax: It’s probably easier to just blow them off. If you want to know how to “blow” an interview, be sure to take any or all of the following actions: Don’t prepare. Your intention to be sponta...

You’ve waited for months to finally get invited to the interview for your dream job, and tomorrow the big day will have arrived. Excitement and enthusiasm about the role can add a lot and sometimes even push a candidate to the top of the choices. But if you’ve not prepared sufficiently, neither excitement nor enthusiasm will take the place of carefully thought-out responses to interview questions. In the past...

The term “ambush interview” refers to an unscheduled interview that occurs because someone has forced or tricked another into on-the-spot participation. Although the press typically uses the term to describe a journalism interview tactic, it can also refer to a tactic used by some employers and job seekers. An ambush interview can have a negative or positive result depending on the ambusher. Are you prepared...

The original article can be found on Thea's blog. I hated writing that title. There is not some big GONG! that sounds at age 50 shutting us out of opportunities. But ageism and stereotypes are common, so if you're older you'd be wise to adopt strategies to reduce the drag that these mindsets can have on your interview success. Age discrimination can occur regardless of the interviewer's age, but...

Did you know that subjective traits play a critical role in the evaluation of your candidacy and the determination of the recruiter to hire or not hire you? Wouldn’t it then be to your benefit to know exactly which traits are the most important to recruiters when making a hiring decision? Of course it would! I’m going to share with you the eight traits that recruiters said play a determining factor in their deci...