How to Prepare for Your Interview with Body, Heart and Mind

How to Prepare for Your Interview with Body, Heart and Mind ‘To fail to plan is to plan to fail’, one of my favourite quotes and no where more true in the area of interviews. But what should you be preparing? Mind, body and heart! Prepare with your mind You need to do a lot of research and thinking before any interview. You need to engage with the future employer and with the role. You need to work out what it is that you are expected to do to add value. What would you need to do in that job to make you ‘a stand out employee’? Job descriptions can be rather broad and general so you need to try to work out from reading as much as you can about the job, about the firm and about the sector, what is the difference between a firm that is good at what it does and one that is excellent and how could you contribute to that excellence? You need to be able to answer that question, how can I add, in this role , make a difference. If there was an advert you might find some clues in the wording of the advert. Adverts are written by people who are doing recruitment for people looking for jobs. Job descriptions are written for a whole host of reasons and often by HR people to make sure that they know what the job is worth. You need to find other people who have done this job or a similar job. To find someone who has worked in the organisation or in that sector.  In the world of social media it is easy to track down people that you may know a little, it is much harder to get them to respond to your requests for a chat or to be joined to another of their friends. So you will need to be persuasive with your approach. You need to think about the things that the interviewer is going to want to hear about.   You will need to talk about your experience and therefore you will need to choose which experiences to describe. Choose recent and relevant examples. Choose examples of doing those things that they will want to see you doing in the new job. Make sure your examples are recent and relevant (I know I’ve said that twice) and make sure you can tell these stories well. You need to make sure that you have thought of all the really obvious questions and have got all your answers prepared. Rehearse so that you can sound confident and know what you are talking about. Prepare your body Obviously you’d expect me to talk about having a good nights sleep. You need to be alert and awake. But there are more physical preparations that you need to make. You need to work out what to wear, make sure it is clean and make sure that it is ironed and looks smart. And you need to do all that the day before. You need to make sure you have smart shoes and   that you look like someone who works in that   business. Yes there are organisations that don’t wear suits and ties but if you have been down to the offices on your trail run of the journey, you will be able to see what the work dress code is. Unless you are very clear that it would be a mistake, wear formal business wear (suit, dress, skirt, etc) take off   jewellery (except small pieces on women) remove piercings, cover up both cleavage and tattoos.   Get a hair cut. Rehearse getting ready, don’t be standing in front of the mirror wondering what to wear when you should be at the bus stop. Prepare your heart The heart is said to be the seat of your emotions and they need some preparation. You need to really enthuse yourself about this role. OK it may not be your dream job, it may just be a job but the future employer wants to know that you are really keen to get the job. Psych yourself up by thinking of all the advantages of having and doing this job. Enthusiasm will take you a long way. You need to make sure that you have done all your research and all your practice so that you can access your confidence emotions. Being nervous is understandable and interviews know that people will be a bit nervous but you do need to be able to overcome them, to be confident enough to be articulate and to be able to answer their questions well. If you are a real bag of nerves you won’t be able to impress the interviewer with your knowledge and describe your skills. Getting your emotions under control can be the hardest part of your preparation, just keep remembering a time when you felt chilled, imagine yourself in a relaxed place. Ask yourself ‘what is the worst that can happen?’. In most interviews you will never have to see the interviewers ever again, so if you do dry up (which you won’t because you have done all your preparation) it will not be the end of the world. Get it all into perspective. And finally, find your lucky charm and pop it in your pocket so that you know that you will perform at your best. Related: The Psychology of Job Interviews: How To Prepare Mentally.

Strictly Finding Your #XFactor Which Judge Should Recruiters Learn From

Strictly Finding Your #XFactor Which Judge Should Recruiters Learn From Dancing shoes ready: I am an avid fan of the BBC1 Dance show, Strictly Come Dancing. As a keen intermediate learner of the ballroom and Latin genre, I can critique the celebrities each week, judging their technical ability over flair, substance over style. Whilst watching this latest series, it dawned on me the parody it has with recruitment and how hiring managers/decision makers should be more like Craig Revel-Horwood As recruiters, we often hire our own staff on superficial style over the actual techniques. Let me explain: As a Rec2Rec, I could easily be bamboozled by recruiters using over indulged jargon and catch phrases- the worst culprits: “engaging with stakeholders”, “devising strategy with my client partners”, and then generalising their achievements with Royal “we” over sales, profit and performance. Keep probing: I learned very early on in my recruitment career (thanks to impressive training from Bill Boorman) that you don’t accept anyone’s first answer. You probe further- the old school putting your pen down when discussing salary expectations, you can’t expect to get £Xk, and so on. a bit naff and I would never be that obvious, however, it does ensure that you get to the bottom of someone’s motivators and ability. Reverting back to the context of Strictly, each week, the performers have to learn, polish and then execute a new dance routine with aplomb, style, finesse and technique. Len and Bruno are renowned for their “sugar coating” feedback- giving positive responses even to the worst dancers- those who simply can’t demonstrate any rhythm or ability. In interviews, do you seek out the positives in someone’s experience like them? Can you ignore their cock ups and their proverbial “floppy arms”? Or should you dwell on the negative aspects as Craig is notorious for. Is it a better strategy for finding out someone’s TRUE ability or is it dismissive and not competitive to display such brutal candour? Have you got the X Factor? If you are more of an X Factor junkie, (I am certainly not this year, but that is a different conversation all together)- we can compare recruiters to Simon Cowell versus Louis Walsh. Simon is incredibly honest- he says the things most people are thinking. I am more like Simon- if someone is unsuccessful in an interview, I tell them exactly why. I won’t dress it up to make them feel better- I do gently warn them it is bad news- but what do we gain if I don’t tell them the truth? Mel B is fast becoming my favourite judge for her innate ability to speak the blatant truth regardless of the person’s ego. I hear so often of recruiters going for interviews through other R2Rs and never hearing back. So obviously, they are a “no” but they never hear why? How does this help anyone learn? If you prefer to avoid uncomfortable feedback, you could always be a Louis or Cheryl; saying encouraging things and ensuring the person still feels amazing. Frequently,    we see contestants on the XFactor who simply just won’t make it in the celebrity world, either because of lack of ability or lack of stage presence. They have people clearly encouraging them out of misguided love and it saddens me that the same happens in the recruitment world. All too often I meet recruiters (usually juniors) who simply aren’t good enough, are not enjoying it and have a ill advised group of people suggesting this challenging career path to them. Be the best you can be! Life is just too short and precious to embark on a career you a) aren’t naturally good at, regardless of how much training you receive and b) you aren’t enjoying very much. So, which judge are you most like, or who do you aspire to be like? When you are recruiting for yourself, or on behalf of your clients, do you rub people’s egos like Bruno and Louis, or do you cut to the chase like Craig, Simon and Mel? Don’t sit on the fence, is my advice. You get splinters and what value to you actually add to the parties involved? Have an opinion and learn to express it tactfully and constructively. So remember.keep dancing J and stay true to yourself in recruitment.

Facebook Audience Optimization to Better Target Your Brand Audience - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Facebook Audience Optimization to Better Target Your Brand Audience - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Facebook was once a great way for personal brands to immediately start building an audience for their Pages. In the last few years algorithms have changed all of that, but a new feature aims to solve the organic growth problem. Many brands and businesses post content, images and video on Facebook as a way to attract likes, comments, and shares. But many of these posts are no longer seen in the News Feeds. This can be a challenge for visibility, which Facebook Audience Optimization offers to fix with targeted posts. The new feature can help your brand focus on the right audience based on your topic and related interests. With the addition of specific tags a post has more potential to reach your community and attract new Fans. When you publish a new post on Facebook your brand can is place its content in front of the eyes of thousands of readers who will be more likely to be interested in your products or services. A simple addition of a few key terms is all that is needed. How Facebook Audience Optimization Can Increase Visibility Here are several ways the new Facebook feature can enhance your organic visibility: Targeted marketing on Facebook While a paid advertising campaign can allow for demographics and keywords, a specific group of tags can potentially attract the same Fans as along as it is not too broad and relates well to your content. Attracts interested readers Even if your brand is posting on a specific topic you can include tags for followers who are interested in anything related to that. This can even include the use of large brand names and even celebrities. Facebook provides the potential reach for every tag used. News feed visibility A post that includes targeted tags is more like to be seen in the New Feeds than one that is not. If your posts are no longer being seen by your Fans then this could bring your visibility back to their profiles. Tags that include terms that are not too broad in scope, but are more specific will have a better reach. Increase in conversions When your brand researches your target market for the right post tags then your readers will be more likely to make a purchase. Because you are honing in on a specific market they will have a greater interest in what you have to offer. Creating a Facebook Audience Optimization strategy for your brand is simple to set up in your Page settings if your Fan base is under 5,000 Fans. Otherwise the feature is automatically available to all English speaking brand Pages. The next time your business publishes a post you will be able to focus on a targeted audience with the ability to attract more visibility and leads.

Personal Branding Interview Howard Gardner - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Howard Gardner - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke with Howard Gardner, who is a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education, has authored over twenty books, and is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences.   In this interview, we discussed Howards latest book called Five Minds for the Future.   Howard goes over what the five minds are, an example of someone who has all of them, and how this impacts education and the recruitment of employees. What are the five minds for the future?  Which mind do you have? Three of the minds are cognitive: Disciplinedâ€"mastering at least one area Synthesizingâ€"being able to put ideas together in a coherent framework Creatingâ€"putting forth new ideas, practices, answers The last two have to do with human relations: Respectfulâ€"giving others your attention and the benefit of the doubt Ethicalâ€"fulfilling the role of worker and citizen responsibly I hope that I possess all of these minds to some extent; as a thinker, I have come to realize that I am basically a synthesizer. Can you think of anyone  who is a good example of all of these types of intelligence? Even before he became President, I was convinced that in our world, Barack Obama comes as close as anyone to embodying the five minds. He is an accomplished lawyer, professor, and politician; he is able to put together ideas in an impressive intellectual tapestry; his campaign and life are marked by considerable originality. Most important, he seems genuinely to respect others and to attempt to behave ethically and to surround himself with others who are ethical. How with your theorys change how companies recruit talent? In this century, the most important mind will be the synthesizing mind. We don’t yet know how to select for or nurture this kind of mind; but I expect that the capacity to synthesize will increasingly be at a premium. To obtain short term success, we in the US have sacrificed the ethical mind in recent years. One of the possibly positive outcomes of the financial meltdown will be a heightened appreciation of how only ethical institutions and individuals will survive over the long haul. How will  educational institutions restructure due to these different minds? As stated, once the importance of synthesizing is well appreciated, forward looking institutions will begin to train the process of synthesis. Disciplines will continue to be important. As machines carry out nearly everything that is routine, there will be a higher premium on nurturing creativity in human beings. In our increasingly globalized world, unless educational institutions cultivate respect and ethics, they will not survive. Which mind has a better chance of career success and why? Each of these minds is important, but respect and ethics are essential going forward. No one gets a ‘pass’ on these minds. But I think that there will be a division of labor among the first three cognitively-oriented minds. That is, some individuals will excel in mastering a discipline, some will be masterful synthesizers, and some will embody the creative spark. The skilled leader will make sure that all kinds and combinations of minds are represented in the organization. - Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981. In 1990, he was the first American to receive the University of Louisville’s Grawemeyer Award in Education. He has received honorary degrees from twenty-two colleges and universities, including institutions in Chile, Ireland, Israel, and Italy.   The author of over twenty books translated into twenty-seven languages, and several hundred articles, Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments. Building on his studies of intelligence, Gardner has also authored Leading Minds, Changing Minds, Extraordinary Minds and his latest book, Five Minds for the Future.

5 Ways to Keep Your Executive Job Search Confidential on LinkedIn - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

5 Ways to Keep Your Executive Job Search Confidential on