Mastering the Phone Interview

Most people that have been in the job market lately, understand that the phone interview is becoming very popular.  Because there are so many job applicants for a single job, many recruiters and employers have determined that it is very cost effective, and a huge time saver to conduct initial interviews via the phone.

The problem with the phone interview is not many job seekers have practiced interviewing over the phone and really do not know what to expect.  Do not be fooled, thinking that this is just a preliminary interview and you do not need to be prepared.  Quite the contrary – you need to be just as prepared for a phone interview as you would for a face-to-face interview.  Here are some tips you can use to master the phone interview:

• Do you prepare for a face-to-face interview?  Of course you do.  You dress in your best outfit, you do your research on the company so you can ask intelligent questions, and you make bullet notes to remind yourself of key points you want to emphasize.  You should do the same thing for your phone interview.  You must treat your phone interview the same way you would any other interview – be prepared!
• Many recruiters and potential employers will call and ask to conduct a phone interview at that instance.  Politely ask them if you can schedule a time for the phone interview, as you are not available at that time.  You may even wish to allow all your calls to go to your voicemail and then call back once you are prepared.  It is never a good idea to interview “on the fly” as you will not have time to prepare.
• Be sure that you are organized during your allotted interview time.  Be sure to answer the call immediately and have all of your resources available in front of you.  You should have a copy of the resume and cover letter you sent them, as well as the job ad (description), and have information about the company printed or on your computer screen for quick reference.
• Make sure that the time you set for your phone interview is free from all outside distractions.  No kids running around, no music or tv running, no other phones that will ring, etc.  Remove all distractions so you can concentrate on the interview.
• Often times we forget to smile and communicate properly when we are on the phone.  Body language can still be seen via phone.  When you smile, the enthusiasm will show in the pitch and tone of your voice.  Listening is especially important during a phone interview, as cutting the interviewer off in mid-sentence will not go over well.  Be sure that you listen and communicate clearly when it is your turn.

Most often a phone interview will determine whether you will be asked to come in for an additional interview, therefore, it is important that you make a good impression.  Practice these tips above to perfect your phone interview skills.

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Live like a Rock Star (Great Leader)

Not so long ago, the phrase on everyone’s lips was, “I want to live like a rock star.”  Today, that phrase has been replaced with, “I want to be like the great leaders.”  Why?  Because a great leader is typically very successful.  They have mastered the technique of teaching and inspiring others to be great, which equals success for them.

The best performing professionals have learned this and know how to provide guidance, confidence, and accountability to make everyone around them succeed.  So what do these great leaders do differently?  Here is a look at some of the basic characteristics of great leaders – perhaps you will want to incorporate some of these ideas into your life:

• Great leaders always face the facts and accept them for what they are – pieces of information that will help them make adjustments to succeed.  Even if the information is bad news, a great leader looks at it as an opportunity to find a solution and make it better.  Do not take the facts personally, instead embrace the opportunity to turn the situation around.
• The most common personality trait among successful leaders, is accountability.  They all take accountability for their actions.  This allows goals to be set and met consistently.  Make sure you take accountability seriously.
• Always, always, always look for the positive in a situation.  A leader will always look for the positive and find a way to turn a negative around.  This may take some ingenuity or implementing new strategies, but success depends on the positivity of everyone.
• Accepting defeat is very different than accepting failure.  A great leader will accept when a process fails, but will never accept defeat.  Accept that something failed, but then find a new solution and continue on.
• Great leaders know how to motivate and inspire their teams.  They do this in a multitude of ways, including setting goals that are obtainable and rewardable, as well as, allowing everyone to participate in the idea phase of a project.
• Predictability is an attribute most great leaders stay clear of, since it can stunt growth.  Consistency, however, is seen by a leader as an opportunity to focus on reaching the next level.  This allows a successful leader to think outside the box and implement new strategies.
• A great leader will always know where a project stands.  In fact, they often will adjust timelines, or implement different solutions, to ensure a successful outcome.

Businesses that perform well and are consistently at the top of their industry, usually have a great leader within their organization.  If they are lucky, they have more than one!  If you want to live like a great leader, follow some of the tips above, and watch how the growth of success will expand for you and all around you. 

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Is the Web Design Industry Dying?

Are you a web designer and worried about your career future?  No need to worry, your industry will be around for a while.  In fact, it is projected that the web design industry will flourish over the next 10-20 years.  

As businesses today look to have an online presence, many are attempting the do-it-yourself versions available to them.  However, many are finding that these types of websites are not as effective as a website that is created by a professional.  Professional web designers have a unique set of skills that allow them to create a quality website that has been shown to capture the core of the business culture and help drive sales.

As a professional web designer, you should always be looking to enhance your current skill set.  Since web technology is always changing, you must keep current with the new trends and new tools available.  This will give you the edge to continually find work as a web designer.  Here are a few areas which will set you apart from the rest of the field:

• Design – it is important that you stay current with design technology.  What works and what doesn’t work, will help you in recommending and designing sites.  Your employer or customer will look to you for guidance in visualization, as well as how to blend the site together to strategically attract traffic and business.
• Ease – understanding the different options available for an online presence is key to continually having web design projects.  Explaining the features of a responsive site or how the layout can affect search engine optimization will show expertise they will value in achieving the results they seek.
• Versatility – by learning new skills, such as backend development, you will show that you have the versatility to handle the entire project.  While frontend development may slow down, backend development is more complex and will be in demand for a long time to come.

Yes, businesses will continually use the pre-boxed web templates, but those businesses that want to excel and really make a mark on the web will need your skill set.  As you can see, there is still a need for web designers, and there are many businesses looking for master designers.  

If you are a web designer, don’t give up on your passion.  Instead, become the best designer you can be.  Expand your skills, stay current with trends and technology, and always provide the best quality work!

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Mistakes Managers Make – You Need to Avoid

Managers are often the most passed over positions in any company.  Why?  Because managers are often misunderstood.  Employees look at managers as the people that are there to make their life difficult.  It is not easy being a manager, and in fact takes someone with a special skill set to be a great manager.

Whether you are currently a manager or thinking about becoming a manager, you must know that managers make mistakes.  You are not only in your job to manage the workflow, but you are there to manage the people around you.  This can be messy if not handled properly.  Here are some of the most common mistakes made by managers that drive their employee’s crazy – try to avoid these at all costs:

• Know everyone on your team!  Yes, that means their name, their title, and maybe even something personal about their life outside of work.  When you get to know your employees, they will feel like you are invested in them, since you took the time to get to know them.
• Pay close attention to who you assign work to.  Nothing upsets an employee more than realizing that they were given an assignment that was also given to a co-worker.  They will feel like they have wasted time on the assignment and will be very upset with the manager for not realizing this.
• Show appreciation when it is warranted.  Bringing you a bagel and coffee for a meeting does deserve a thank you, but more appreciation must be shown to the worker who stayed late to meet a deadline.  The employee will under-perform with no appreciation shown for being a team player and getting the project done.
• Do not claim to have an open door policy and then not allow your employees to come to you.  This will upset your employees and make them feel like you really do not care.  They need to feel like they can come to you for anything and that you will listen and hear them.
• Always follow through on everything you tell your employees.  If you promise to discuss vending machines for the break room with the owner, make sure you do.  Do it timely and always inform your employees of the decision.  This will make them feel that you are willing to go to bat for them and in turn, they will do the same for you.
• Be consistent.  The number one complaint among employees about their managers, is that their manager is not consistent.  They treat one employee differently than the rest, for whatever reason.  You must be consistent with every employee on your team.

As a manager, you are under scrutiny for all of your actions.  Make sure that you behave and carry yourself in the same manner you expect from your employees.  Be a good mentor to your staff, avoid the mistakes mentioned, and you will find that your staff will give you 150%, just as you would for them.

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How to be the Best Interviewer

Businesses are constantly looking for the perfect employee, however, many times lose a potential great hire at the interview stage.  Have you had this happen and then sit back and wonder why you are unable to “close the deal.”

The fact is that interviewing is a skill that many have not mastered, and with candidates being more selective with who they work for, it is becoming more difficult to gain the attention of a potential candidate with someone who does not interview well.  If you want to attract great candidates and actually get the hire, invest time into the person conducting your interviews.  Here are several tips to becoming the best interviewer:

• Great interviewers did not just sit down one day and decide to do the interviews.  They have sat in on numerous interviews and have participated in the conversations conducted.  Each interview is different and by sitting in on countless interviews, you can see how each is handled.
• As an interviewer, you must understand all of the legalities surrounding interview questions.  Knowing what you can and cannot ask is step one.  
• You must be able to communicate well.  If you have trouble communicating or holding a conversation for about an hour, then you will never succeed at being the best interviewer.  You should be comfortable with holding a conversation with the potential candidate regarding multiple topics, both business and non-business related.  
• All interviewers MUST understand the job they are hiring for.  This is the reason most candidates decide to go elsewhere.  When the interview has no knowledge of the actual job, they are unable to provide meaningful answers to the candidate.  You should be able to explain the position in detail and even give them information about a typical day on the job.
• Also in line with understanding the position, you MUST know the intended salary range and benefits of the position.  A potential candidate is going to want to know all of this information, so they can make an informed decision.
• You need to be a salesperson.  You will need to sell your company to the potential candidate.  If you cannot sell what your company is about, how do you expect them to be passionate about the company?  
• The best interviewers understand body language.  The blank stares, the half nod, the fake smiles, and more.  Learning to read the body language of your candidate will save you both a lot of time.  You should be able to tell when a candidate is genuinely interested or is just wasting your time.

While there are many attributes associated with being the best interviewer, these tips can help you become a great interviewer and have candidates wanting to know more.  Take the interview seriously, and watch how your candidates and interviews become more productive for all involved.

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Tips on Getting the Career You Want

There are many reasons why we look for new careers – ready for a change, just graduating from college, dying industry forcing you to make a change – it does not matter if your reason is for a renewal or a new beginning, changing careers is an important step in your life.

Over the last several years, career choices and career paths have changed for many.  Bad economic times, less quality jobs available, and an abundance of educated candidates, make finding the perfect job and career harder to accomplish.  There is no exact science to finding the right career path for you, however, understanding what you want and how to get it will help you in your journey.  Here are a few tips to help you in getting the career you want:

• You MUST know exactly what you want.  How can you expect to get what you want, if you do not know what you want?  Determine what type of career you want and then visualize how you will get there, by setting goals to help you achieve the results you desire.  You then will be able to clearly tell potential employers exactly what you expect.  This will help you whether you are looking for a promotion or negotiating for a new job.
• Often when we are so focused on attaining the next step in our career, we forgot about others around us.  Remember, relationships will help you in getting the career you want.  Don’t forget to listen, continue to learn, collaborate with others, and build relationships.  You are not on an island by yourself, keep building those relationships.
• Approval is not needed!  So many times we focus on attaining the approval of others, that we forget our main reason for working so hard.  Remember why you wanted this career?  Do not become complacent.  It is important that you keep and continue your work ethic and drive.  Find ways to contribute or become active in the process – not because you need the approval of the others around you – but because you want results that move you closer to your overall goals.
• You must adapt to change.  Industries and careers are constantly changing, and you must be able to change with them.  As your career field changes, you need to adapt and grow with it.  This may cause your goals to change, or require you to make adjustments to your work plan.  Be open to these necessary changes.

A career is more than a title, a job, or something to fill your day – it is and should be something that you are passionate about and matters to you.  Only then will you find the perfect career and something that matters to you!  

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Be Aware! 3 Things that will Kill your Productivity

For decades, people have fought and struggled with ways to become more productive.  We have become a society that feels everything has to be shoved in as few hours as possible.  We have become the masters of time…  Or, have we?

Productivity is an area that is heavily scrutinized today, especially with so many trying to find the right work-life balance.  As both employers and employees search for the right balance, both often look for ways to increase productivity without upsetting the balance.  After years of research, the following things have been shown to be productivity killers, which you should be aware of.

• When is it ok to check email?  With technology advancing every day, we have found ourselves attached to our email 24/7.  The shift went from arriving at the office early to check our email, to checking email on our smart device all hours of the day and night.  Unfortunately, studies have shown that checking email constantly is actually very unproductive.  When you are constantly checking email, you will find that it is hard to concentrate and finish any task.  It has been recommended that you check email periodically throughout the day.  If you must check it first thing in the morning before even getting out of bed, then do so, but then leave it alone for a few hours while you get ready for your day.  Same is true during the day.  Do not leave your email open, instead check it in between tasks or every couple of hours.  The point is to not look at it constantly every time you hear the email notification, which takes your focus away from your current task, leaving you less productive.
• What is your best schedule?  Employers have realized over the last several years, that allowing their employees to work modified schedules boosts productivity substantially.  Why?  Because everyone works better at different times of the day.  As employees try to find that work-life balance, a piece of that is determining what is the best schedule.  Are you a morning person?  Then working during the morning hours will be more productive for you.  Night owls, do their best work at night.  Determine what time of day you work best and adjust your schedule around that so you are doing your best work during your most productive hours.
• Do you multitask often?  You must accept the fact that most people are not multi-taskers.  In fact, there are few who have the ability to multi-task effectively.  Your productivity will increase when you tackle tasks one at a time.  Concentrate on the task at hand, finish it, then move on to the next.  You will see your productivity increase by doing so.  

As you can see, these three simple things have the ability to kill your productivity, or if you are aware and change them, will boost your productivity.  Try one and see the difference it makes in your productivity.

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