How to Ace Your Interview

I created this video blog to help my candidates prepare when I send them in for an interview with one of our clients. It basically covers everything you need to know to leave a lasting positive impression with an interviewer and hopefully get a job offer:

• How to get ready
• What to bring
• What to wear
• How to make a great first impression
• How to answer the question, "Tell me about yourself"
• Tips for answering the tough questions
• What questions to ask

Here's the video. It's less than 5 minutes long. Your comments and questions are welcome!

All the best!

Related Articles:
How to Handle Behavioural Interview Questions
Interview Tips for Jobs: Why Should We Hire You? The Great Answer
What Should I Wear to an Interview for a Job?
How to Sparkle in a Room Full of Diamonds
How to Land a Job in 7 Seconds

About the Author:

Neil Wiseblott, Technical Recruiter
Stafflink Solutions
Website:  http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email:      neil@stafflink.ca
LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/neilwiseblott

Interview Tips for Jobs: Why Should We Hire You? The Great Answer

Here's a video created by one of my LinkedIn buddies, Katherine Moody. Katherine is a Job Search Consultant and Recruiter. In this video she demonstrates how to ace a job interview by answering one question: "Why should we hire you?" Katherine offers a step-by-step plan to craft a succinct and memorable positioning statement that will make you stand out from other job candidates.

About the Author
Katherine Moody is a networking guru and job search coach. For more tips on navigating the hidden job market go to Katherine Moody's website HiddenJobMarketSecrets.com. Follow Katherine on Twitter @justathought99.



Further Reading:

• Build an e-Resume/Portfolio Site with WordPress
• IT Resume Template: Optimize Your Resume for Job Boards and Recruiters
• How to Get a Recruiter to Open Your Resume
• 10 Job Networking Strategies to Consider if You're a Newcomer to Canada
• 3 Resume Publishing Tools to Pump Up Your Job Market Value

How to Handle Behavioural Interview Questions

Have you recently shown up to an interview feeling fully prepared to prove that you would be the best person for the job?

You thought you had it all figured out and had come prepared to tell the interviewer why you would be a perfect fit for the position.

However, when you sat down and the interviewer started asking you questions about your past work-related behaviour, it threw you off your game. You were not prepared and could not remember examples of your behaviour in past jobs. Who knew that the way you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker on your IT team several years ago would be pertinent in obtaining a new position?

Behavioural interview questions have become widely popular with interviewers. This is when an interviewer asks you a question where you are required to describe a specific example of past work-related behaviour. This technique is so popular that today it is rare to go through an entire interview without being asked at least a few of these types of questions.

The reason is that employers believe past work-related behaviour is a good indicator of future behaviour. If you could convince a team to work on a project they were less than thrilled about in your last job, then you could probably be a great Team Leader today.

Here are some tips on being successful at answering behavioural interview questions:

Show You Are Competent:
There are no right or wrong answers to behavioural interview questions, although there are definitely certain competencies and skills that employers are looking for when they are analyzing the behaviours you describe in your answers.

The best way to answer successfully is to think about what types of behaviours and competencies that the employer is looking for in the specific role and then come up with examples where you have demonstrated these in your past jobs.

Be Prepared:
Go through the job posting and do your research on the company. What does the company value? If the job posting is looking for someone with proven customer service skills, then come up with an example where you successfully dealt with a difficult customer in the past. If it says they value organizational skills, then they may ask you to talk about a time where you had a lot on your plate and had to prioritize.

If you take the time to think about the role, then it will not be too difficult to pinpoint some of the questions that may be

Stay On Topic and Answer the Question:
Get to the point. Have a game plan on how to answer behavioural questions in general. First, describe the situation, then how you reacted and why, and finally, describe the result, or what your actions accomplished. Do not go off on tangents or get off topic. Make sure you answer the question that is asked and try not to be too long winded when doing so.

Prove You Can Do the Job
Behavioural interview questions are a great way to prove that you are the right person for the job. They can be prepared for easily and allow you to demonstrate that you have the reactions and competencies necessary to be successful in a role. So be prepared and embrace your chance to be direct. Be ready to prove that you have previously used and demonstrated the skills that the job requires.

Although behavioural question can be difficult to answer on the spot when unprepared, they should be easy to predict, related to the job, and an advantage for someone who has the proper qualifications.

Written By Dan Leibner
email: daniel.leibner@gmail.com
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/dan-leibner/21/a8/9b9

http://twitter.com/#!/DLeibner

Related Articles
How to Sparkle in a Room Full of Diamonds
What Should I Wear to an Interview for a Job?
10 Job Networking Strategies to Consider if You're a Newcomer to Canada
How to Land a Job in 7 Seconds
What's Your Superpower?

How to Sparkle in a Room Full of Diamonds

Phones are ringing, calendars’ are booked and recruiters are drinking more coffee -- it can only mean one thing… job openings! The good news? The job market is turning around. The bad news? The competition is fierce.

The amount of well qualified candidates looking for new opportunities is tremendous. So how do you stand out in a group of front runners? How do you make your mark? More specifically, how do you prove to prospective employers, that you are the one worth investing in? When the competition is close and many applicants fit the position, the best thing you can do is find a way to shine.

Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to stand outside an employer’s office with a stereo above your head singing a song to the hiring team. I am simply asking you to put in that extra effort.Not sure where to start? Not a problem. I’ve started a list of some creative ideas that will help you make your mark. Test a few out and see what you can add.

1) Watch Your Manners: Reaching out for a handshake, remembering names and saying thank you can go a long way. Manners not only demonstrate your professionalism but they make employers feel valued.

2) Find Shared Interests: Look around the employer’s office – what is hanging on the walls? You can tell a lot about a person’s interest by their office environment. If you see a fishing picture, strike up a conversation about your last fishing trip. Maybe everyone can do the job but not everyone can listen to someone talk about their eight hour fishing expedition.

3) Promote Yourself: If you look through your office, chances are you have a few promotional items from various companies. Why do they do this? So you remember them! Whether it is creating your own portfolio, blog/website or handing out a personal business card – find a way to promote your personal brand.

4) Snail Mail: In today’s fast-paced environment, an email may seem like the most appropriate form of communication to send a thank you letter. It’s fast, quick and convenient. However, if you want the job – convenience should not matter. Yes, it is true that most employers will want to receive a thank you letter within 48 hours of your interview. So why not express post a hand written thank you letter? Snail mail (that isn’t a bill) always catches my attention.

5) Sizzle in Style: One of our very own Stafflink employee’s used this trick. He wore a baby pink dress shirt to stand out among the sea of black suits. Whether it’s wearing your favourite red dress or sporting that bright bold tie, find something in your closet that helps give you that extra punch. Some people might be taken back if you show up in a bright orange suit, but a bright purple tie just might make you the perfect amount of memorable.

Not every idea will suit everyone. Pick something that feels comfortable and honest. The point is to find a way to show your personality, passion and drive to prospective employers. If you are truly passionate about a position, demonstrate that passion and there will be no stopping you. As a wise philosopher once said, “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius.

Do you have any tips for standing out in the crowd while you're searching for a job? Please share your strategies in the comments.

Related Articles:
What Should I Wear to an Interview for a Job?
10 Job Networking Strategies to Consider if You're a Newcomer to Canada
Build an e-Resume Portfolio Site with WordPress
How to Land a Job in 7 Seconds
What's Your Superpower?


Written by: Michelle De Rubeis, Technical Recruiter, StaffLink Solutions Ltd.
Website: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis

What Should I Wear to an Interview for a Job?

Your appearance, your smile and your handshake create that all important first impression. You know what they say--people form a lasting impression within 20 seconds of meeting you. I've also read that people know in the first 20 seconds whether they would be willing to hire you. The first impression has very little to do with your words and a great deal to do with your attitude, energy and appearance. Why not tip the scales in your favour with a great outfit.

I was struggling with what to blog about this week when I stumbled upon this awesome little video from Harry Rosen. Harry Rosen caters to men but I think the principles apply to everyone. Even if the office you are interviewing at has a business casual dress code you still need to take special care with choosing what to wear to the interview.

With few exceptions you should dress more formally for an interview than you would normally dress when you go to work. The care you take with your personal appearance implies respect for the employer and interest in the job.

But please don't feel like you have to run out to Harry Rosen and spend $1000 for a new suit! You can put together a great outfit for a much lower price if you shop around a bit. You might have to invest a few dollars in tailoring and dry cleaning to make the outfit look perfect, but it will be worth it.

So here's the video for what it's worth!



Related Posts:
Five Tips to Stay Motivated During the Job Search
How to Land a Job in 7 Seconds
The Hidden Job Market: How Tim Got In!
Interview Dos and Don'ts

Written by Laura Upcott
http://stafflink.ca/
laurau@stafflink.ca
http://www.twitter.com/lauraupcott
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lauraupcott

Diary of a Delusional Laptop Shopper

Sometimes you get what you pay for. At least that was true for me when I bought some new laptops for our office last week. Maybe you fall into one of these categories:

• Bargain Hunter: You want a decent system for a great price.
• Power Ranger: You want the fastest, most kickass system money can buy.
• Empowered Consumer: You want a quality system with excellent support.
• Apple Devotee: You just march into the Apple store and pick the sexiest Mac your credit card can handle.
• DIY Ninja: You build your own computers from scratch with components ordered online from a secret network of suppliers.

Me? I thought I was a power ranger but a recent mistake proves that I’m more of a delusional bargain hunter.

I've purchased many Dells over the past 15 years and until recently I was an enthusiastic cheerleader for Dell. Over all our Dell computers have been quality machines that lasted many years without issue. I've rarely needed to call for technical support. But with the last two Dell laptops I purchased I've noticed a change in the quality of their customer service. On two occassions an automated solution Dell offered us was buggy and usuable with our system. So I'm ready to take a chance with another brand. Here's my story:

It’s my lucky day. It’s back to school season, computers are on sale everywhere and I need to replace some old computers at the office. I'm in Staples shopping for a geometry kit when a shiny Acer laptop catches my eye. I check out the specs: 2.2 GHz Intel processor, 4 GB memory, video cam and OMG it's only $399! It's way more computer than the Pentium IV Dells I bought 5 years ago for less than half the price I paid then. What a steal!

A sales rep approaches me at that moment. He has me at "hello." But when he mentions that Staples services their computers on site I'm really sold. Two days later I proudly present new Acer laptops to our recruiters.

Red Flag 1: One of the Acer keyboards freezes. It seems to be a "one-off" so we reboot and carry on.

Red flag 2: The other Acer freezes three times in one day. I bring the repeat offender back to Staples. The rep who originally sold me is there. I'm in and out of the store within 15 minutes carrying an identical replacement Acer. Problem solved, or so I thought.

Red Flag 3: I read Joe Stoll's blog “How a $400 PC from Future Shop for Your Business Can End Up Costing You Double.” Uh-oh.

On the weekend I notice that The Shopping Channel is offering special build of Dell Inspiron Laptops for $699. I’m mesmerized by the rainbow of glossy colours they come in. So tempting. But I decide to wait and see what happens with the Acers.

On Tuesday the replacement Acer freezes several times. Maybe I should buy those Dells from The Shopping Channel after all? My staff selects colours-I'm a bit iffy about the purple. A voice of wisdom (Tim Collins) warns me not to buy the Dells until after I return the Acers to Staples.

When I march those defective Acers back into Staples that evening, Todd Roberts, a divisional sales manager, is there to help out. He takes the Acers back without batting an eye. Then he refers me to his #1 sales guy who up-sells me (of course). You get what you pay for right?

I’m an easy mark but it feels like a win-win. After experiencing Staples' excellent customer service with the defective Acers, and knowing that they do most of their repairs onsite, I feel okay about buying HP Pavillion DV6's for $699. I’m impressed with the technology team at Staples (Dundas and Winston Churchill, Oakville). Even when they made mistakes they took responsibility for fixing them. Time will tell but so far it looks like my story has a happy ending.

This morning Todd drove all the way from Staples Oakville to our office in downtown Toronto and personally delivered two gorgeous new HP laptops to our office. So far so good. Our recruiters love their new HPs.

What’s next if my rosy relationship with Staples and HP changes for the worse? I might be forced to become a DIY Ninja and build my own computers from scratch. How hard can it be?...ya right =)

Related Post: Got any old computers lying around?

Written by Laura Upcott
http://stafflink.ca/
laurau@stafflink.ca
http://www.twitter.com/lauraupcott
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lauraupcott

3 Resume Publishing Tools to Pump Up Your Job Market Value

We avoid printing paper resumes. It's not only about saving trees. An online resume or portfolio is so much more engaging and revealing. It's searchable, it doesn't pile up on your desk and it's easy to share. Plus, a well-designed online CV or portfolio gives us a window into your work ethic, professionalism and abilities. It's like staging a house before you put it on the market. If it's done well it increases your market value and creates demand for your work. The potential employer will be excited to meet you.

You can make your professional profile sing - literally. Show off your technical skills and work experience with photos, video and slide shows. Showcase projects you've been involved with. Best of all, you can share your resume/portfolio through email, job boards and social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Here are three tools that might help you land that next job or contract:

My Resume by Elegant Themes

Nick Roach's designs are polished and elegant. He offers a cost-effective shortcut to a professionally designed personal website or online portfolio. Set up can be time consuming but it's worth it because you get access to the endless possibilities of the Wordpress platform with Nick Roach's beautiful designs. I'm amazed a the value you get for a yearly fee of $39 - a catalog of premium designs including several portfolio designs plus an online business card template. Potential employers will be impressed. http://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/myresume/

Cons: Set up may be time consuming depending on your level of technical skills.

Difficulty: ElegantThemes works on top of Wordpress - a free, open source publishing platform available at Wordpress.org. You need to register a domain name, sign up with a web host and install Wordpress to take advantage of the ElegantThemes designs. Basic web development skills (HTML, CSS, FTP, image editing) make set up easier. FAQs and an active members forum are available if you need help.

JobSpice Resume Builder

Easy to use, cost-effective and fast to set up. Over 30 professionally-designed styles are available to format your resume. Recommended by PCWorld, Fast Company and Mashable. Basic access is free. For $20/year you can export your resume to PDF, publish it at your own personal URL and add privacy controls. http://www.jobspice.com/

Cons: You can't include images, slide shows, video or hyperlinks so the end result looks like a nicely formatted traditional paper resume.

Difficulty: Easy - if you can use a word processing program you'll be fine.

VisualCV Online Multimedia Resume

Enables you to set up an Internet-based multimedia resume including work samples, charts, video and images. Your VisualCV will have a unique website address. It's free to set up a basic VisualCV. For $59.95 you can customize the URL and create multiple CVs plus some other features. http://www.visualcv.com/

Cons: The formatting is a bit cookie-cutter but it's customizable and the final result is impressive.

Difficulty: To quote VisualCV: "Rest assured that you don't have to be a Web guru to create and share your own VisualCV. In fact, the VisualCV editor makes it a snap to tweak text, add multimedia elements, and rearrange pieces of your VisualCV. And sharing your VisualCV is as easy as clicking a link and telling us who you want to share with."

Bottom Line

I'm a Wordpress fanatic so ElegantThemes.com is my favourite option. But ElegantThemes involves a steep learning curve unless you have web development experience. VisualCV is a great option if you want to rock your resume with multimedia elements but you're not ready to set up a Wordpress site. JobSpice is good choice if you want to get your resume up in a hurry and you don't need all the multimedia bell and whistles. A JobSpice Resume might be a good interim solution while you set up a fancier site.

Please let me know if you have another online resume publishing solution to recommend, or if you have experience with any of the options I mentioned.

Stayed tuned...a tutorial to help you get started with the ElegantThemes "My Resume" option is in the works!

Written by Laura Upcott
http://stafflink.ca/
laurau@stafflink.ca
http://www.twitter.com/lauraupcott
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lauraupcott


Suggestions fo Further Reading
Build an e-Resume Portfolio Site with WordPress
IT Resume Template: Optimize Your Resume for Job Boards and Recruiters
Your Resume Isn't Only About You, It's About the Reader Too
Resume Tips From A Guy Who's Placed 1000 People
Kawasaki's “1 Page Resume” Rule Revisited

The Hidden Job Market: How Tim Got In!

Here's an excerpt from Katherine Moody's interview with Tim Collins:

Tim Collins is founder and President of Toronto-based Stafflink Solutions, a full service permanent and contract IT recruiting firm. I’m delighted to have had a chance to talk to Tim Collins recently about how he got 4 jobs through the hidden job market mechanism. And how networking has helped his company, Stafflink Solutions, have its best year ever! Continue...

Listen to the interview
See a transcript of the interview

About the Author
Katherine Moody is a networking guru and job search coach. For more tips on navigating the hidden job market I highly recommend Katherine Moody's blog HRJobSecrets.com. Follow Katherine on Twitter @justathought99.

How to Land a Job in 7 Seconds

What does the weather, last night's Raptors game or traffic conditions have to do with landing a job? A lot if you want to make a good impression.

It only takes about 7 seconds to decide if you like someone. If you put a handshake and sincere goodwill in those first 7 seconds, you'll probably make a good impression. Follow up with a little friendly chitchat and you've set the tone for a productive meeting of minds.

Attitude trumps skills. Translation: employers will hire a friendly motivated candidate who's willing to learn over a more qualified candidate with a questionable attitude. And that judgement is made in a snap.

Stick to safe topics. Small talk gives people something to do while they get a feel for each other. The topic isn't that important as long as its familiar to both parties and offensive to neither. The Raptors is only a good icebreaker if you know you're with a basketball fan. But most people can appreciate the challenge of bad traffic or the euphoria of the first warm days of spring.

Feelings trump words. Neither of you is likely to remember much of what was said in  those first few minutes. You're both too busy reading each others expressions, body language, mood and attitude. You're making a split second judgments about the person's personality, confidence, and sincerity. You can't help it - it's automatic and mostly unconscious. But you can improve your chances of making a good impression.

Lighten up. Begin a meeting with light comment. It doesn't have to be a joke. Prepare a few opening comments before arriving then say what feels right at the time.

Harness the power of small. Be polite. Open doors. Offer sincere appreciation. Pay for the coffee. It goes a long way.

Listen. Jay Leno makes every guest the centre of his attention. This works in a job interview too. Ask questions. Give the interviewer the opportunity to tell their story to an engaged and curious audience.

Be a detective. Whenever I enter somebody's office I look for pictures, diplomas, sports equipment, clues. It helps to engage people about something they care about: a family photo, their alma mater (you can research this before a meeting), a new laptop or smart phone. Note these things in your CRM. Remember to mention how well their university is doing in the NCAA tournament during your next meeting and I guarantee the rest of your conversation will be smoother.

Small Talk is like putting. The more you practice it the better you get.

Tim Collins

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins