The Psychology of the Job Interview
Very few people say they genuinely enjoy job interviews. That makes sense because in the same way that most people dislike taking tests, a job interview is a test. Even those who feel confident about their professional past, are up-to-date with job requirement skills, and do not possess many potential liabilities still fear facing the …
Is Your Job Search Progressing Satisfactorily?
Most people complain that their job search has been excessively prolonged. The average or mean time that a person is looking for work is meaningless to a job search, giving merely statistical information. The fact is that in today’s economic job market, people are having a hard time finding what they want because of the …
Communication While in Transition
Disclaimer: My professional background is not in the field of communication, but I still have some opinions.
Certainly, the cliché “It’s not what you know but whom you know” is often true. However, when people are in transition, I would add “but while in transition, who knows you is more important” because you are the …
Are You Looking for a Job?
At times, I am amazed at people in transition who approach the job search the way we used to in the past. Looking for a job nowadays puts job seekers into extremely tough competitions unlike those of the past, and job seekers who do not both understand and apply the rules of the game will …
Being Fired Is Like a Divorce . . .
. . . And based on today’s statistics, that doesn’t sound good. So many articles cover the fact that 50% of all marriages in America end in divorce. Interestingly enough, other articles say 50% of all hires are bad hires. Might there be a correlation between the two? I think there is. But at this …
Interviewing is Emotional and Logical
Interviewing is a combination of art and science thus it has a part which is emotional yet another part which is logical. It very much reminds me a game of Chess. While the interview is typically amicable the “players” are adversaries. One is the seller yet the other person is the buyer who is merely …
Bad Interview—Everybody Loses
During a recent presentation to a job search networking group, I told the audience that 5 out of 10 interviewers do a bad job; 3 do an acceptable job; and the remaining 2 do a very good job. The audience agreed with me, even though many in attendance were in leadership positions themselves and had …
Do You Know Whom to Network With?
By far the most effective way of getting a new job is by networking. When making presentations to large groups, I often test that tenet, and invariably it proves to be true. Therefore, networking is how people in transition should spend most of their time. For many, though, networking is a challenging task because they …
The Job Interview—Morphed into Something Else
Not too long ago, much-respected blogger Tim Tyrell-Smith of Tim’s Strategy conducted a survey, clearly finding that interviewers’ number one concern is “fit with the company’s culture.” From other articles on that subject, too, it seems as if the old-fashioned “Tell me about yourself” and “What are your key accomplishments?” questions—even when answered well—are apparently …
How to Deal with Your Stress While in Transition
Physicians and psychiatrists have proved that there is a positive correlation between stress and illness. People in transition experience various and variable levels of stress. And such stress is not a stand-alone issue but is compounded by other stressors. One study identified three types of life stresses: chemical, physical, and attitudinal. All together there are …