Source: Ask A Manager

“I am a recent graduate looking for an entry-level job. I have been trying to prepare my answers ahead of time to some of the common questions, and I have examples of my previous work experience with things like “dealing with an angry customer” and all that.

I am trying to improve my interviewing skills because I am frustrated that I haven’t been hired anywhere, but my mother told me not to over-prepare and I should “be myself” and “say what I really think” instead of trying to tell them exactly what they want to hear. I’m not sure this is the best advice and I’m confused. What should I do?”

Well, it’s certainly true that you should be yourself rather than telling them what you think they want to hear, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t prepare. Thoroughly preparing and practicing for an interview is one of the best ways to do well in them. Let’s break this down a bit.

What “Be Yourself” Really Means In An Interview

“Being yourself” is important so that you’ll end up in a job and culture that’s a good fit for you, rather than one where you’re miserable or don’t do well. So that means that you shouldn’t hide your personality or put on a very stiff and formal interview persona. You need them to get an idea of what you’re going to be like to work with day-to-day, because if it’s not a good fit, you both need to know that now.

Otherwise you risk ending up in a job where you’re either uncomfortable with each other – or worse. For instance, if you’re naturally chatty and they hate chatty, it’s important that they see that in the interview so that you don’t end up in a job where they’re constantly nagging you to be less chatty, when you can’t. You might be thinking that you just want the job anyway, but truth is, you don’t want to work somewhere that wants you to be something you’re not.

Now, obviously, your professional self is probably a bit different from your social self. So “be yourself” really means “be your professional self.” You’re not going to slouch halfway down in your chair during the interview, or tell a dirty joke, or refer to a customer in bad faith, even if you do those things outside of work.

What you need is your professional self. You probably still have some personality at work, but you put a professional sheen on it, right? That’s the self you need to be in the interview. And if you haven’t had a job before and you’re totally baffled by all this, then just be warm, friendly, and polite. And considering you’re a recent graduate, just being really polite and eager to work — not eager to make money, counts for a lot.

However, none of this has anything to do with whether or not you work on your answers ahead of time and rehearse for the interview. Preparation is key to you doing well in an interview. Go through questions such as “tell me about a time when you had to deal with an angry customer” or “tell me about a time when…” question.

Practicing answers ahead of time means that when you’re sitting in the interview and get asked one of these questions, you actually have a good answer ready, rather than trying to wing it and maybe not being able to come up with a good response right away.

That said, remember not to over-prepare. This is where you’re doing so much that you’re stressing yourself out. Ask yourself; is how you are preparing making you feel more confident? If you’ve passed the more-confident stage and gone into the agonizing-and-freaking-out stage, then you might want to pull back a bit.

In general, preparing is incredibly helpful and a good thing to do, even when you only need to be yourself.

Source: Monster

Today’s job market is tough. Long gone are the company lifers from yesteryear who spent their entire careers in a single position within a single company.

Today, we’re living in an age of job promiscuity, where regularly changing jobs is not just tolerated, but encouraged.
This shift is a fairly recent phenomenon that can be traced back to the dot-com rise and fall of the late 1990s.

Regardless of the reasons for the shift, the current employment climate requires job seekers to be more agile. As such, you’ll notice that fewer and fewer people stay in their jobs for longer than three or four years. Here are four reasons you should be one of these people.

1. Rapidly Evolving Skill Sets
It’s human nature to get comfortable and settle into a predictable routine. If you’re able to perform your job competently, you may have little motivation to improve or update your skills regularly. If this describes you, don’t worry – you’re not alone. But you may want to check out what’s happening on the job market. Companies are always changing how they do business and how they staff their positions. A skill necessary today may not be required tomorrow, and vice versa.

Take a look at the requirements and see if they match your skill set. You may be surprised by what employers are currently looking for.

2. Technological Advancements
As technology evolves, so does the face of entire industries. If you have a technical job, keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry. While your current employer may not be adopting new platforms or technologies, its competitors might be.

If you’ve been with your company for several years as a Windows systems administrator, for example, entire lines of software and hardware may be completely foreign to you. If you haven’t been keeping up with these changes, you may have a hard time taking the next step in your career. You don’t want to become a dinosaur in your industry by staying at a job for too long.

3. Perception
Imagine you’re on a date and discover that your companion has just come out of a 12-year relationship. Think about how you would perceive that person and how he or she may relate to you. Unfair or not, you will make assumptions based on the longevity of your date’s previous relationship.

Your reaction would not be different of a hiring manager when evaluating the CV of a candidate who spent the past 12 years working for another company. Will this person be easy to train? Will he adapt well to a new environment? What made this person leave after so many years? Are his skills current? Is he motivated? The questions are endless and can be enough to put the employer off the candidate entirely.

4. Career Advancement
While you can remain with the same company for many years, holding the same position for more than four years can be problematic. If you aspire to evolve within your company, you should be looking to do so within two years of joining. If you have been in the same job for four years, you may want to consider other options.

For example, if you’re happy with your employer but stuck in a no-growth position, try branching out to other departments. Additionally, ask whether funds are available for you to take some courses that can help develop your skills. As always, consult with your manager since he’ll be in a great position to advise you. The key factor here is to keep moving forward.

A Word of Caution
Keep in mind that being a little too promiscuous with your career can also be damaging. Jumping from job to job can give the impression that you’re not reliable or dependable. Frequent job-hopping can also affect your seniority and leave you feeling that you’re taking a step backward whenever you join a new team.

As with anything in life, think carefully before making any major career decisions. Just don’t let yourself become stagnant where you are. Exploration is vital to keeping you excited and motivated about your work.

By Selipha Kihagi

In the career journey, job seekers will come across a series of advices along the way. Some helpful and others sometimes misleading, if they are not followed by a reasonable explanation or example to support their importance.

While these advices may vary between people of different professions, there are those that every job seeker needs to know for a successful career.

5 Career Tips Every Job Seeker Should Know

1. If your job search strategy is not working, it’s time to stop
Are you always applying to jobs but not getting called to interviews or receiving job offers? If you are, then your strategy needs to undergo a review. For instance, you cannot say you have made over 100 applications but have not been successful.

If so, there is something you are doing wrong in the process and you need to stop and come up with a better plan.

2. More education will not guarantee you your next job
Some job seekers believe that the reason they are not getting jobs is because they do not have a Masters or additional qualifications, that they are not competitive enough and that’s a misleading notion.

Perminus Wainaina, a Recruiting Manager at Corporate Staffing Services says pursuing an MBA because you want to be competitive or pass time will not guarantee you a job, especially for fresh graduates.

“For entry level position you don’t need an MBA. Over 99% of all recruitment we do at Corporate Staffing require only a degree and a professional certification,” he says.

3. Jobs and Growth potential lie in Small Companies
Are you always applying to jobs in large companies because you believe it is best for your career and neglecting the small firms in your applications? If you are, it’s time to stop and try your luck in the small companies.

Firms that are just starting off operations are at a better position to give you the experience top employers are looking for.

4. Any experience is good experience
Most job seekers will not get jobs because they do not believe that some of their experience counts so they leave it out all together. As a job seeker, you need to know that employers are more concerned with your skills and what you can do for them so include any industry related activity you have been part of.

5. Do not beg the employer for a job
You may have encountered a series of frustrations in your job search and are now really feeling desperate. However frustrated, you should avoid insisting how much you want the job or mentioning your struggles to the hiring employer. Instead, stay focused and tell the employer what the value you will be bringing to the company.

To be successful in your job search process, you need to know what works and what doesn’t. Have a strategy.

Source: Jobs.ac.uk

As a job seeker, you probably had dozens or even hundreds of CVs sent out to employers. This means that you will be lucky if your CV is read for more than 10 seconds.

So how do you ensure that your CV is reviewed by employers and considered for a interview

Here then are ten ‘CV blunders’ to avoid that will help keep your CV out of the trash bin.

1. Applying for a position for which you’re not qualified

You may look at a job advert and think, ‘I like the sound of that! I think I’ll apply!’ However, if you don’t have the right qualifications or experience, then it’s probably not the right fit.

Make sure you read the job description carefully and any other additional information that may be available.
Ask yourself, ‘I might like the sound of the job, but do I really have the right skill set and experience?’

If the answer to your question is still ‘yes’ then go ahead and apply, but if you don’t fit the bill then please don’t go any further. Save yourself the heartache of rejection.

2. Providing irrelevant personal information
You may be very proud of your personal achievements,but unless your personal information is relevant to the job you’re applying for, do not include it on your CV.

3. Burying important information
Remember, your CV will have little time to impress. The recruiter will look at your CV and think ‘Why should I interview this person? What will they bring to the organization?’

So when compiling your CV think ‘Benefits and make them obvious. That doesn’t mean putting them in all CAPS. It means making what you’d bring to the role easy to find, easy to understand and, above all, compelling.

4. Spelling errors, typos and poor grammar
This should be obvious. But it obviously isn’t. The number of CVs that recruiters see on a daily basis with spelling errors and other mistakes is terrible.

You’ve got a spell checker. Use it!

5. Unexplained gaps in employment
Having unexplained gaps in your employment history is a big ‘no no’. It makes recruiters nervous. If you’re lucky, they’ll briefly wonder what you were doing during that mystery period as your CV is folded and thrown towards the trash can.

6. Lying or misleading information
Recruiters are not stupid. They can spot information that doesn’t add up. For example, they’re always on the look out for inflated:Qualifications, Salaries, Job titles, Achievements.

Employers are conducting increasingly vigorous background checks on candidates. This can range from conducting a Google search on you to employing a specialist candidate checking service. Something that you think is just ‘bending the truth’ could really cost you.

7. A long CV
Keep your CV short, punchy and to the point. This means it shouldn’t be more than 2 pages of A4. When your CV is too long ,then this suggests that you’ve been either job hopping or you can’t write concisely.

For the older job seeker, focus on your recent experience and achievements. If you must refer to a job(s) from a while back, then you could create a separate ‘Previous Employment’ document and refer to it in your cover letter. This will show you’ve thought about your application and will put you in a good light.

8. Badly formatted CV
Format your CV so that it is easy to read on a screen.Stick with fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman at font size 10 or 12. Use italics sparingly and don’t use any colours, crazy backgrounds or, heaven forbid, flowery page borders.

9. Meaningless introductions
Your CV has got to make the recruiter get on the phone to call you and appoint you on the spot. Your CV has got to get you noticed and invited in for interview. So an opening paragraph that says everything and nothing at the same time is not going to do it.

10. The ‘So What’ CV
To give yourself the best chance of it actually being read, make sure that it ‘looks right’. Make sure that it’s not too long, that it’s laid out correctly, is properly formatted and so on. If you do all of these things then you have a chance.

Your CV has to sell you. It has to make you sound interesting. It has to make you sound as though you’ll fit into the organization and that you’ll make a quick and substantial difference.

Because if all your CV does is make the recruiter think, ‘so what?’ you’ll have dropped the biggest CV clanger of all.

By Sera Kazungu

“I have been applying for so many jobs, but I have never got any positive response. I am still job searching. It is so frustrating,”shares Karume Mugo via email.

His sentiments are shared by many job seekers out there. The most interesting thing is that what they do not know, is that the fault could very well be theirs. Did you know that the way you respond to a job advert matters a great deal?

What To Consider Before Applying

1. Only apply if you match at least 75% of the job qualifications.
The truth is that applying for a job that you do not qualify for is like winking in the dark;it will have no effect whatsoever. You have to remain realistic in your job search.

Being ambitious is a good thing, but don’t overdo it. Keep your search limited to the experience and qualifications that you know you possess.

2. The location of the job
Most job seekers neglect to pay close attention to the location where the job is being offered. It has to be around where you live. You cannot ,for example apply for a job in Busia when you reside in Mombasa unless, you have no problem with moving.

Carefully consider the cost, implications and requirements for moving before taking such a big step. Remember that you are only starting out and savings go a long way in ensuring your comfort.

3. Is the advert still valid
Have you ever stumbled upon a job advert and immediately applied for it, then later realized the application date has passed? Be keen to check all the details in a job advert before rushing to respond to it.

Can you imagine how long you will have to wait for a response? To avoid frustration and waiting in vain, ensure that you scrutinize every detail in an advert before applying for it.

4. Is there any payment that you are required to make
Sometimes the need to get a job may stand in the Way of clear judgement. If you see a job advert directing you to part with some cash, chances are that it is not a genuine job. You will part with your cash and all you will be left with is bitterness and joblessness.

Do not apply for jobs that require you to deposit any amount of money for whatever purposes. Real employers will offer you competitive salaries,not ask you to line their pockets.

Be a smart job seeker. Keep your head up and eventually you will land that job.wishing you the best in your job search.

By Selipha Kihagi

If you’ve been to an interview before you have an idea of how interviews are like, you can already foresee what to expect in the next one, but have you been to a panel interview? If you haven’t, you are more or less in the same position as one who hasn’t been to an interview at all.

Every interview is different and requires the candidate to prepare a fresh before going to the interview. Sometimes you will know when you’re going to face a panel interview, especially if you did your research well on the company you applied to but sometimes you don’t know what to expect.

So, How Do You Handle A Nasty Panel Interview?

1. You must be prepared to repeat yourself
Picture yourself seated in front of two or more people who are completely strangers, you don’t know them and they don’t know you. You have to impress each one of them in their own capacity.

Not every one will hear and understand what you say, some may want you to explain yourself better or may not have been listening to you and end up asking you a question you have already answered.

This might provoke a reaction from you that might be picked as being rude or negative. To avoid this, ensure that you go to the interview expecting to repeat yourself.

2. Identify which of the interviewers you should work to impress
In a panel, it is only normal that there is the good guy and the bad one; the interviewer with a friendly face who appears to be listening to all you are saying, and the one who scares you by just looking at you, making you feel like you don’t know what you are saying.

To do well in the interview, know who the bad guy is and focus on impressing him/her. While you may feel inclined to concentrate on those giving you a response, try address the one who looks tough in the room.

3. Change how you ask your question at the end of the interview
You probably have gone through a list of questions that you can ask in an interview and have them ready with you. How you ask these questions in a one on one interview is different to how you should approach it in a panel interviews.

To handle a panel interview, engage all interviewers in the room in your question and let it centre around what was discussed in the interview. You could ask each one to give their view on a certain issue.

Panel interviews can be intimidating and demoralising but they don’t have to weigh you down, do your research well and be ready for anything.