The BEST article on video interviews for job seekers

The BEST article on video interviews for job seekers Ive seen a lot of articles on video interviews, this one easily takes the cake: How To Nail A Video Interview. Save it, print it out, highlight it, and read it three times before you do a video interview.  There are examples of what not to do (keep your finger out of your nose, even if you think the interview is over / dont get sloshed to calm your nerves) and a great list of what you SHOULD do. Yes, you can buy the guys book if you want, but make sure you save this article for a quick reference when you are preparing for the interview.  From lighting to makeup to waiting 3 seconds after the question is asked this stuff WILL make or break your interview. The BEST article on video interviews for job seekers Ive seen a lot of articles on video interviews, this one easily takes the cake: How To Nail A Video Interview. Save it, print it out, highlight it, and read it three times before you do a video interview.  There are examples of what not to do (keep your finger out of your nose, even if you think the interview is over / dont get sloshed to calm your nerves) and a great list of what you SHOULD do. Yes, you can buy the guys book if you want, but make sure you save this article for a quick reference when you are preparing for the interview.  From lighting to makeup to waiting 3 seconds after the question is asked this stuff WILL make or break your interview.

Creative Briefs And Personal Branding Success - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Creative Briefs And Personal Branding Success - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career If youre building your personal brand with the help of freelancers like copywriters, graphic designers, coaches, or web consultants, you should be preparing a creative brief for each project. Creative briefs are short documents, typically just 1 or 2 pages long. They save time, money, and frustration by identifying the crucial elements of a project. Creative briefs eliminate misunderstandings. They help clients and vendors address potential problem areas as soon as possible, defining and agreeing upon topics like: Project goals Target market Main and secondary ideas Call to action Deliverables Creative briefs should be filled-out and signed by both parties at the beginning of each project. They can be filled-out by hand, or created using word processing or spreadsheet software. Creative briefs differ from proposals in that they are not focused on costs, butinsteadthe focus is exclusively on project details and mutual expectations. If additional details are needed, they can be referenced and provided in a memo or addendum. When do creative briefs make sense? Creative briefs are appropriate for preparing all marketing and promotional materials, including: Book cover design Back cover copy One sheets Speaker’s kits Seminar and teleconference marketing Blog design and setup Search engine optimization In the case of large projects, you can use separate creative briefs for each step, indicating the tasks to be completed, the information or approvals clients will provide, and deadlines. Examples of separate tasks include: Research Copywriting Creative design Production and layout Coding Why are creative briefs so important? Mutual expectations are highest at the start of a project. In the rush to get started, client and vendor both assume the best about each other. As a result, important details may get overlookedonly to surface later on in a barrage of  I thought, and But, I thought conversations and emails. In the resulting rushed atmosphere, its important to take the time to mutually fully explore the details of your pending project in as much detail as possible. At a time when the skills of so many people, often freelancers, are involved in creating even simple personal branding projects, its essential that everyones expectations are spelled out in detail well before work begins. Have you used creative briefs? Share your experiences working with vendors, both with and without the benefit of creative briefs. And, if youd like to learn more about creative briefs, feel free to download a PDF copy of my creative brief example, shown above,   to use a model for creating your own creative brief. Author: Roger C. Parker is an author, book coach, designer, consultant who works with authors, marketers, business professionals to achieve success with brand-building books practical marketing strategy. Visit Roger’s blog to learn more about writing productivity tips or to ask a question.

3 tips to ace your first round interview - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

3 tips to ace your first round interview - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The majority of job interviews are broken down into 3 stages: 1st round: On the phone conducted with a recruiter 2nd round: On the phone or in-house with a manager 3rd round: In-house with an executive or VP This post is specifically about the 1st round interview with the company recruiter. The goal of the 1st-round interviewer The 1st-round interviewer has several priorities: Weed out the large applicant pool so that the decision makers of the company only interview qualified candidates Sell the applicant on why the company is amazing Understand and set expectations for salary, company culture, and job responsibilities The 1st round interviewer will therefore focus mainly on behavioral type questions. Types of questions that the 1st-round interviewer will ask Tell me about yourself: There is a right way and a wrong way to answer this question.  The wrong way of answering this question is to blindly start telling the interviewer about yourself: education, work experience, and hobbies.  Though Im sure youre very interesting, the interviewer has better things to do than to listen to you talk about your life story. The right way to answer the question is to tell a story that explains why you can bring unique value to the company.  Your answer should model the following structure: Your current job position and the role you play at your company (10 seconds) What skill-sets and abilities youve developed throughout your career highlighted by achievements (40 seconds) Why you can bring unique value to the company youre interviewing with (20 seconds) What youre looking for in a company to work for highlighting specific reasons why this company matches the criteria for your ideal company (20 seconds) What do you know about the company: The interviewer wants to know if you have a thorough understanding about the company.  After all, if a candidate has no idea what the company does, then it shows that the candidate is lazy (because he did not spend 10 minutes to research the company) and that the candidate doesnt care about the company; instead, hes just applying to the company because he needs a job. If you really want the position, then you need to have a thorough understanding of what the company does. Do you have any questions for me: This is the time to make a final impression on the interviewer to let him know that you care about the company, youre looking to stay at the company for a long time, and that you can add unique value. The following questions are good core questions that can be asked at the end of every interview: Im looking to join a company with rapid growth potential.  Does your company prioritize hiring from within? In my previous position Ive excelled at X and Y.  Does your company currently have a lead for X and Y? I know that companies A and B are the closest competitors to your company.  How do you differentiate yourselves in the market? What the 1st-round interviewer is looking for Ultimately, the 1st-round interviewer needs to weed out as many people as possible and only push through a select few to the 2nd round interview.  The 1st-round interviewer is looking for candidates that fit the company culture, understand what the company does, and bring skill-sets and experience that will bring the company value. Your goal is to make the recruiter your champion.  If you do, then the recruiter will work with the manager or supervisor to push you to the top of the recruiting list and fit you into their busy schedules for an in-person interview. Author: Jun Loayza has sold 2 internet companies and lead social media technology campaigns for Sephora, Whole Foods Market, Levis, LG, and Activision.  Learn more about how to get a job interview and the secret to getting job interviews.

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese 5 Reasons Your Team Hates Data -- and How to Get Them to Love It

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese 5 Reasons Your Team Hates Data -- and How to Get Them to Love It When leaders start to talk about data to non-technical employees, reactions can vary. Some employees will immediately break eye contact, thinking about how to fake an aneurism to get out of the room. Others will nod agreeably, but seem to have a glazed look in their eyes as if theyve just entered a parallel universe. Still others will get agitated or angry, sort of like 5-year-olds who have just been told they will now only get broccoli for dessert. Still, its how leaders react that will make the biggest difference when it comes to using data in todays workplace. If leaders choose to ignore warning signs from employees showing they clearly only think of data as painful, then they will be wasting time and resources. But, if leaders do their homework and are ready to make a clear-cut and easy-to-understand case about why data can truly help employees do their jobs better and easier, then theyre going to make important headway. So, here are some of the reasons why employees dislike data and how to change their minds and get more business insights and value out of it: Its not accessible to everyone. Some employees may have had experiences that required them to learn a new tool or system and then poof! that changes and they can no longer access key information. So, they start doing things manually, which is always slower and adds to the potential for mistakes. But if leaders can offer data that areeasily refreshedand approachable for everyone, then those with lesser skills are no longer locked out and employees feel comfortable abandoning their manual processes. They trust the data will be user-friendly and accessible when they need it. They dont understand the strategy behind it.If you want employees to embrace data and be happy about it then you need to explainwhyits important. Help them understand it means their commissions will be paid in a timely (read more here) Photo: steamfeed

A Visual Representation of the Modern Workplace in the UK CareerMetis.com

A Visual Representation of the Modern Workplace in the UKâ€" CareerMetis.com Source â€" DepositPhotos.comToday’s society is diverse, multicultural, and multilingual. The result of this is a fantastic, colourful, and vibrant community, who share values and ideas that spur on the advancement of creativity, technology, and human knowledge. Reflecting the make-up of our society in the workplace is important to ensure that these discussions also take place within industries.To reflect how far the UK workplace is currently representative of the country’s population, office stationery suppliers Vikinghave broken the workforce down to what it’d look like if it was made up of just 100 people.The digestible results have then been compared to the same breakdown for the UK population, to highlight areas of under-representation.evalThe data has been visualised to illustrate these areas.The visualisation helps to prompt managers and employers to examine their staff from a diversity standpoint. Should similar issues be noticed in their workplaces, it can be beneficial for employers to put thought into why this might be the case.Does a lack of representation stem from a lack of diversity in the local area? Or could your business be doing more to attract employees from different backgrounds?Often barriers can exist to individuals entering a workplace that aren’t immediately obvious to those who have not walked in that person’s shoes. Assess what your office might look like from someone else’s point of view.Are there facilities for religious people to pray? Would a disabled person be able to navigate it without substantial changes being made? It’s important to consider these things when expanding your team.2011 Census data from the Office of National Statistics was used to undertake the study. Nine different points were analysed.Each of these points was split into different demographic groups found in the UK population and were then calculated as a percentage of the whole workforce and population. This percentage was then used to formulate the UK workplace as 100 people.