If you were a breakfast cereal, which one would you be and why? How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the U.S. every year? If you were a crayon color, which color would you be and why? If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors? If you could sing one song on American Idol, what would it be? These are just some of the “left-field” questions that interviewers may ask to throw candidates off guard. This helps the interviewers to see how quickly you are able to think on your toes, your ability to improvise, and to witness how you handle pressure. These questions are designed to learn more about your personality and your personal thought processes. So, how do you prepare for the unexpected questions in an interview? If you’re asked an unexpected [...]

No matter what your position entails, communication is one of the most important skills you can bring to any job. Lack of effective workplace communication leads to disgruntled employees, confused employees, and can cause all sorts of unsettling conflict for leaders. Every day people quit jobs due to lack of communication from their leaders, or employees are fired for their inability to communicate well with their peers. So, how can you improve this vital workplace skill? First, start by fostering a communication-friendly workspace. You can set the tone for this by asking questions, challenging ideas, and communicating your thoughts with your team. To keep communication friendly, pay attention to your non-verbal communication such as smiling, leaning in, and maintaining eye contact. Ask people about their weekend, their kids, their hobbies, etc. Communicate more face-to-face. It’s so easy in the modern workplace [...]

Everyone employed is an employee, even those who are leaders. In order to be a good leader, you must first be a good employee. In order to be a great employee, you must be a team player. Regardless of your title, these 3 simple tips will improve your performance at work. Learn to prioritize. It can feel overwhelming to think about all the tasks you must complete in a week. But, you don’t climb a mountain without taking it one step at a time. The trick to completing a mountain of work is by prioritizing. Use a notebook or a spreadsheet to categorize projects by deadline, and then sort them by importance and executive visibility. You can even rate the projects on difficulty, time needed, or anything else that will help you organize your workload. Focus on what’s most important and [...]

Fall is peak hiring season! Is your professional profile ready? Whether you are interested in applying for an entry level position, or an executive level position, you will need an impressive resume. Peak hiring season provides more opportunities, but it’s also the same time of year that employees are out looking for jobs. If you let one of our Certified Professional Resume Writers help you with your resume, your odds of contact from recruiters will increase by 30-40%! Click here for more information about the resume services we offer.  Don’t forget to get your LinkedIn ready too. Most hiring managers will look for you on LinkedIn before giving you a call for an interview. They will examine how you present yourself online, what kind of connections you have, and what kind of posts you share. We can help with that too! [...]

References are a valuable tool to use during your interviewing process. In many cases, employers will ask to see a list of references towards the end of the hiring process. Hiring managers often use a candidates reference list to narrow down the final 2-3 candidates for the position. They usually don’t have time to call references for every single person they interview. But, many people don’t have a good list of references either because they are scared to ask someone to be a reference, or because they haven’t done a good enough job of seeking out advocates.  Before you begin looking for a job, think of any people who have witnessed your work ethic, who would be able to say good things about the quality of your work. Try to pick people from different organizations—not all coming from the same place, [...]

While your technical skills are of course very important, a candidate’s personality traits may carry just as much weight in the hiring decision. If you want to boost your chances of getting the job, make sure to showcase these 3 traits. 1. Be personable. Hiring managers want to see that you will be able to work well with others, get along with the team, and represent their company culture. Be amiable, courteous, and friendly to everyone you come in contact with on the day of your interview from the parking lot attendant, to the security guard, to the desk assistant, to the hiring manager. Treat everyone with respect and be personable. Interpersonal skills will set you apart. 2. Show Initiative. The best employees are the ones who are adaptable to change, and show a sincere eagerness to learn and grow throughout [...]

The ability to communicate effectively electronically is one of the most important communication skills in the workplace today. The bulk of communication at work now occurs through email. Emails can be your greatest communication tool, or a thorn in your side depending on how you use them. So, how do you write effective emails in the work place? Before you write any email, consider these questions: ·         What are you trying to accomplish? ·         Is email the best way to communicate this message? ·         What will the audience gain or learn from this email? Then, you can tailor your communication based on the answers to these questions. Try to keep your message as clear and concise as possible. Be mindful that the average office employee receives 120+ emails a day (https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2019/05/shocking-truth-about-how-many-emails-sent/). People don't always have enough time in their day to [...]

Leadership skills aren’t just important for leaders. Technical skills will only get you so far in your career. At every level of your profession, it’s important to display leadership skills. The ability to influence is just as critical to success early in your career as it is when you progress through the ranks. While leadership skills comes naturally for some people, it is a skill that needs to be developed for most. So, how do you develop your leadership skills? One of the easiest ways to develop your leadership skills is to show initiative. You can show initiative by taking on more responsibilities, going above and beyond at your current position, learning things that are outside your primary job duties, training others on skills that you possess. Once you have learned new areas of the business, put your critical thinking cap [...]

Your first job is most likely not going to be your dream job. When you are just starting out in your career, you are most likely not going to start in the best job with an ideal pay—what’s important is just getting your foot in the door which will open opportunities to eventually climb your way to your dream job. The old aged about “climbing the corporate ladder” isn’t just a clever thing people say, it’s true. Oftentimes you do have to start at the bottom of the ladder and exert tons of effort to climb your way up. Your first job may not fulfill all of your desires, passions, interests, or even be fun. But, it’s important to use this as a stepping stone—once you just get your foot in the door, a world of opportunities can open for you [...]

Winston Churchill said it best, “Success if not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” Failure is scary—in fact many people have a crippling fear of failure. However, most successful people have accepted the belief that failure is a necessary part of success. Did you know that Bill Gate’s first business failed wretchedly? Yes, that’s right, the richest person in the universe failed to make money on his first business. But, he understood that failure was a part of success, and he later said that this failure is what ultimately helped him to create a better product called Microsoft. Thomas Edison attempted 10,000 times before he successfully invented the light bulb. He responded to what most people would consider failure by saying, “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Do not [...]