Black In Business

When in an interview for employment you often are asked to review your work history. You will be asked to explain why you left certain positions or companies. On the flip side you may be asked why you stayed so long. There may be a situation where your performance was below par and you are asked to explain why. The interviewer will have interest in your answer but your body language and composure offers just as much insight. If you are not comfortable it will show, if you are smooth as silk and confident in your answer, it will turn a potentiality bad situation into a neutral or positive one.
Prior to going on a interview, anticipate areas in your past that you could be challenged on.Develope a logical explanation that is fact based and with out anger and resist the temptation to bad mouth. For example, if your results show years of great numbers, but suddenly you have a bad year, you will have to explain. The numbers may have been poor due to something the company did and was beyond your control. Let’s say your company suffered a recall. Quickly explain the situation and the fact you anticipated customer resistance. Now talk about the tremendous effort you made to reach your goal and the things you tried different. The numbers are what they are but you can articulate a never say never attitude and tactical mind.
After the interview, review the salient points of discussion. You will want to send a follow up correspondence and remind the interviewer of your value, point by point. Some top interviewers provide a 90 day action plan. The action plan can be reviewed during the interview or sent attached to the thank you follow up letter.
Interviewing is a science and it is something you may not want to an expert at but need some knowledge of. I hope to hear from you guys about your best and worst interviews, either as the interviewer or the person being interviewed.

There are some highly talented and experienced people looking for jobs. Your resume represents you as a part of the job search process. We discussed the resume in my 3 previous posts. Let’s assume your resume has piqued interests in your candidacy for a position. Are you ready to present your self as the best choice for hire? Normally this is done in an interview.
People look for jobs for different reasons. Some are fresh out of college, some have been out of the market for various reasons, and some are dissatisfied with their current job status. What ever your reason for seeking a job is, you will need to be able and willing to articulate it in a positive confident manner. This is critical to comprehend. If you hate your boss, or were unfairly let go, dress it up. If you are angry about your current status, take the time to understand why and calm yourself prior to job hunting. Do not be bitter, don’t worry, be happy!
We mentioned an executive profile statement as an introduction to your resume. That profile describes you as a executive. The traits you use to describe your self should be pointed out during your interview. You can refer to positions and what your outcomes of accomplishment were. Now you can describe how you used the traits you referred to in your profile. Your accomplishments are proof of performance and if need be you should have documentation to back your story.
You need to understand what your goal for the interview is. In most cases it will be to receive the approval and backing of the person your are speaking with. You also want to know their goal. “Ms. Hiring manager, Thank you for having this interview with me today. I am very excited about this opportunity and wondering what your goals for todays are meeting?” The answer will be to access your fit for this position. “Ms Hiring manager, I know your time is valuable, and I want to be sure to address the right criteria to help with your assessment. What are the most important things about myself I can share that will with your decision making?” The answer could be your experience managing change, your track record of hitting profits, and the logic of the career decisions you have made.
“Ms. Hiring manager, if we are fortunate today and I am able to successfully show you examples of change management I led that provided record sustainable profits and additionally explained to logic of my decision making, would you support my candidacy?” You only ask this question one time because most managers will not commit but it will show you are confident.
Answer all questions with examples from your resume of accomplishments and preferably those that can be numerical. Do not speak poorly about your company or boss, be positive and be confident. It is important to dress well and you are better being over dressed rather than under dressed. I prefer a business suit and tie for men and like wise business wear for women. Even you are told the company is business casual, you are better with at least a sport coat and nice slacks, with a tie for men. It is the same for women; do not show up casual for a business interview.
Ask the interviewer for feed back, “Did I answer your question to your satisfaction?” As you are closing the interview, you need to have researched the company prior so you can ask about their strategy, competition and new products. The internet or an annual report will provide a lot of information.
Your last question provides you an opportunity to learn how the interview went. “What are the first projects you need me to take off your hands when I start? How about you, any interview tips for us, any stories from either side of the desk? Keep Hope Alive.

We spoke about listing out your most impressive credential first on your résumé. If you have heavy experience, and that is your most marketable trait, list you job history first. In situations where your education is it, list your University, major, and if over 3.5 GPA, your grade point average.
If you are a recent graduate with out much work experience, it is time to get creative. If you contributed to the cost of your education, relate the percentage you paid. A statement like, “I paid 75% of my educational cost through savings from summer jobs and part time works while a student,” is one way to point this out. It is impressive to have had to figure out the financial aspect of your education. Hopefully you have some internship related to your field you can itemize and refer to what you accomplished in the internships.
If you were active in the student body, list out your activities, such as sports or student leadership organizations. You should not refer to “the Friday afternoon drinking club,” as one of your activities. Another good item to list is volunteer organizations. Please make sure to visit your social networking sites to clean up any thing that may cause a hiring manager to question your judgment.
Those of us for whom our experience is the most vital selling point, a way to keep your resume to 2 pages or less, is to only itemize your most recent experiences. In a previous post, we spoke about listing 2 to 3 accomplishments for each position. I suggest you do not do that for positions over 15 years back. You can have a section called Earlier Career Experience. You would list the companies and position you held along with the timeframe. You should list any community involvement or board post you have held. It is not necessary to review your marital status or age.
Keep in mind, your resume’s job is to get you into a interview. You want to intrigue the hiring company but also save to best for the interview, yourself! In a future post I will discuss the interview. Please share your thought on resumes and job hunting here.