How to Prepare for an Interview - Source of Hires

Do you know from which external sources job hires come from? To better your success rate in securing interviews and job offers you need to understand where companies source applicants from.

CareerXRoads, a staffing strategy consulting firm, has released their 10th annual Source of Hire Study. The results point out the need for job candidates to have a diversified approach to finding job leads.

50.3% of all job openings were filled by internal candidates. Of the remaining 49.7%, 27.5% were sourced through referrals. Another 24.9% of job hires came as the results of career boards. The other half of hires were sourced from a variety of other methods.

The action item is for you to review your current approach to finding job leads. If you aren't using multiple channels then you are hurting your potential opportunity.


To read a more in-depth article visit the How to Prepare for an Interview blog.

Tips for Job Interview Success - Create a DVD Resume

When suggesting tips for job interview success I want to offer advice that will set the applicant apart from their competition. This is especially important in a tight job market like we are experiencing today.

I recently saw a video by Don Schechter on how to create a DVD resume. This is a creative way to set yourself apart from the competition in landing interviews for positions that you would most like to pursue. A DVD resume is an effective way for you to introduce your capabilities to a hiring manager you have met through networking.

You can watch the video here. I think you will find the video informative.

Tips for Job Interview Success - Master Needed Basic Skills

In order to have job interview success you must learn how to properly prepare for an interview. But it is equally important to master some underlying skills that will increase the productivity of your job search. Briefly they are:

1) Learn the skills of time management and other productivity enhancers.

You need to spend your valuable time on activities that will move you ahead towards your goals. There are many ways you can do this. I employ mindmaps to keep me on track towards my goals. A mindmap is a visual diagram of the project you are working on, or the tasks that need to get done. Once you create it can be referenced easily and keep you moving ahead. You can get a no cost copy of Freemind mind mapping software HERE.

If you know what you want then you can accomplish more in less time.

2) Improve your networking skill set

According to the February 2010 CareerXRoads 9th annual Source of Hire study, 26.7% of external job hires are filled by candidates who were referred to the hiring company. This is by far the largest source of external hires. 
 
To find out about the largest source of external hires you need a solid networking gameplan. This will allow you to find out about what opportunities are available that your competition isn't seeing. Many people are afraid of networking because they are uncomfortable going to meetings and events to meet new people. But guess what, you can be great at networking just by focusing on the people you already know. How easy can it get?

Vickie Austin, author of Your Golden Rolodex, is teaching a seminar, Creating Your Networking Game Plan: A Workshop. Get the details here.

3) Creating information products about yourself.

You need to be good at creating resumes, cover letters, follow up letters, thank you notes and success stories. This communication skill is important. You will become dramatically more successful if you become more proficient in this area. Learn how to incorporate key words into your various means of communication that tie to the specific job that you are interested in. You need to leave the person who sees or listens to your various forms of communication with the impression that you are a candidate who can make things happen.

The above skills are the building blocks to a successful job search campaign. Mastering the skills of productivity enhancement, networking, and targeted communication will help you in all areas of your life. They will set you apart from the average person.

Tips for Job Interview Success - Do You Possess the Traits of a Top Performer?

Companies are searching for people who can make an outstanding contribution. Job candidates who can demonstrate that they are capable of superior performance will greatly increase the probability of a job offer. A tip for interview success is to understand what the traits of a top performing employee are. Once these are understood you can prepare to showcase them in an interview.

There are many traits that are important for the top performing individual. We will take a look at three in this post. They are:

1. Superior Communication Skills - It is the rare exceptional performer who doesn't possess outstanding communication skills. These are skills across all of the different communication modes; conversational, presentational, written, etc. The top performer communicates in a way that inspires others to pay attention and take action. Their communications are clear and concise and delivered with energy and enthusiasm. In the interview process you will be demonstrating your communication skill set across a variety of mediums.


2. Computer Educated - In today’s business world it is not acceptable to have a low level of computer knowledge. One cannot be successful without knowing how to leverage the power of the Internet. Those that do not make the effort to hone superior computer literacy will be left behind. If you are not above average in this area you should create a plan to improve your computer proficiency. This is a skill you should already have so do this now!

3. Intelligence - The superior performers are smart enough to make decisions on the fly as situations come up. Their intelligence allows them to adapt most situations they might find themselves in.. The top performer understands that they don’t know everything. They do not act as a "know it all" During your interview preparation you can create success stories that demonstrate your ability to think intelligently.

Read more at the How to Prepare for an Interview Blog.

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Tips for Job Interview Success - The Real Source of Job Hires

In February of 2010, CareerXRoads released their 9th annual Source of Hire study. There are some interesting findings from the study that you should be aware of. These findings may give you some new ideas on how to spend your time hunting for opportunities.

Two major findings of the study are:

1. The biggest source of external hires at 26.7% was referrals.
2. Job boards contribute just 13.2% of external hires, and this number has been flat for years.

I find that too many people spend the bulk of their job searching efforts submitting resumes to postings on the major job boards. But, the study indicates that companies are trying to reduce their search expenditures in this area. Are you spending the bulk of your time on a search technique that is only responsible for filling 1.3 out of every 10 jobs?

A majority of candidates spend no time trying to increase their networking abilities. Perhaps they should given that over 1 out of 4 external hires comes from a referral.

To find out more findings visit How to Prepare for an Interview.

Tips for Job Interview Success - Make Your Success Stories Come Alive!

As we approach the summer 2010 the job market is still very tight. In periods such as this, the employers have the advantage as there are more individuals seeking employment than there are jobs available. With more candidates competing for fewer positions, it takes more interviews to get an offer than it does in a normal job market. So the challenge is to learn how to set yourself apart from the competition. It is important to remember that the most qualified person does not necessarily get the job. It is the person who best convinces the hiring manager of their capabilities to produce for the organization. Learning how to prepare for an interview is a critical skill in today's job market.

One way to set yourself apart from the competition is to create and relate success stories in an impactful manner. The key is that your story must evoke a positive response in the hiring manager. A success story told without enthusiasm, using passive words will not make an impact. Inject energy into your voice as you talk your successes using action oriented words.

Some examples:

    Passive - My responsibilities include customer interaction.
    Active - I re-energized communication between our company and the customers.

    Passive - I received the salesperson of the month award.
    Active - My superior sales performance earned me the salesperson of the month award.

    Passive - I am the accounting.
    Active - As the manager, I direct the activities of the accounting department.

These action oriented sentences will spark the interest of the interviewer. You would further explain, again using words of action, how you re-energized communication, earned the salesperson of the month award, and directed accounting department activities. This approach ties your actions to the accomplishment, further building your credentials in the eye of the hiring manager. To get you started, here is a small list of action oriented words:

    Solve(d)
    Create(d)
    Design(ed)
    Manage(d)
    Close(d)
    Author(ed)
    Organize(d)
    Increase(d)

Brainstorm some of your own action words. You will be surprised how they make your success stories come alive. The interviewer will perceive you as an employee who gets the job done. Most candidates talk in generalities about their previous job responsibilities and skills. You can set yourself apart by relating the specific results that you have achieved. If you do this effectively your job offers will come more frequently.

How to Prepare for an Interview - Research the Hiring Company

One of the critical steps to successful interview preparation is to research the organization you are seeking employment with. It is productive to perform this research prior to trying to secure an interview so that you focus on those opportunities that best suit you. But in any case, there are three reasons that you must do this step thoroughly;

1. To answer the question: Do I really want to work there?
2. To gather information to formulate thought provoking questions to ask.
3. The information you gather will help you stand out from your competition.

There are countless ways to find out information on an organization, but here we will focus on three of the most productive;

• On-line resources. In many cases you can find pages of information about an organization using the Internet. But if you are seeking employment with a small privately held organization you may need to rely on other sources. Good sources of on-line information are:

• The organization's external website - This is how they want to be perceived.
• Financial websites like Google Finance, Yahoo Finance, Money Central and The Wall Street Journal On-line will provide financial information as well as the latest new stories about the company. Here you can see how others are perceiving the company. Google Reader will allow you subscribe to different sources of information, making it easier to get fresh news each day.
• Linked-In. This business social networking site can point you to contacts that can help you with your research. You should consider joining if you are not yet a member.

• Industry publications and business directories. There are many valuable directories that are expensive to own or access on-line. But most are available at your local library. Visit a research librarian to help identify which resources would help you the most in your job search. An example is the Corporate Yellow Pages. This book provides background information on the key executives. Much can be learned from this type of research that will help you understand what the company is about.

• Contacts. This is probably the best source of company information. While this takes more effort, if you can talk with someone who has a relationship with the company you will uncover valuable information not available to most other candidates. Try to identify current or former employees, suppliers or others who have had contact with the company or its representatives. Your network or a social networking site like Linked-In can help you identify the people to talk with.

Now that you know where to look, let's identify what to search for;

• Company strengths/weaknesses -  From a financial, sales, products and people perspective
• Industry trends - Where does the company fit in the industry, are they an innovator or follower
• Who are the competitors and what are their strengths/weaknesses
• Current company strategies and initiatives
• Company culture, what is it like to work at the organization

Based on what you find or don't find you can formulate questions to demonstrate your preparedness, insight and fill in the answers to things that you want to know more about.

The reason that this research technique works is that most people put in minimal preparation and are in react mode during the interview. Those that take the time to prepare will clearly stand out above the rest.

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