Archive for the 'Jobs / Employment' Category

Dress to Impress: What to Wear When Interviewing

Tuesday, April 18th, 2006

The more effort you put into dressing the part, the higher your chances of getting the job. This is one of the most fundamental and basic rules of impressing during an interview. This may be an old rule but even in this modern age, dressing to impress continues to play a major role in helping interviewers select the right candidate.

When you put a lot of effort into your clothing for the interview, it tells the interviewer that the job is important to you or that you are serious about getting the job. While you might impress your interviewer with your attitude and guts by turning up in shorts, sneakers and t-shirt, you probably will not get the job. At the first point of introduction, you would have been mentally sized up and then struck off the list of potential candidates!

Sadly, even in this modern era, it is better to err on the side of being conventional and conservative rather than trying to dress according to the work that you are required to do. Stick to conventional rules and you cannot go very far off the mark.

Right now, you are probably thinking to yourself - “How do I dress to impress my potential employer during an interview and STILL keep to conventional rules?” It’s hard to impress with your dressing when you look just like everyone else.

That is not entirely true though. You see, for women, keep to solid colors (preferably a suit), well coordinated blouse, corporate-looking shoes (sandals are out of the question), tone down on the jewelry, and groom your hair neatly - you will not go far wrong. As long as you do not go overboard with the makeup, wear too much perfume, or have unruly hair, you will be quite safe.

Dressing for an interview does not mean that you have to shock your interviewers, try to keep things relatively simple, and combine your proper dressing with proper etiquette, attitude and qualification; there is little doubt that your potential employer will be impressed!

This does not mean that men do not have to dress to impress the interviewer. In fact, it has been shown that interviewers can be stricter and more stringent on men’s dress code during an interview. One small mistake and the first impression may be ruined, and we all know that the first impression is very hard to reverse - if not impossible.

Men should also keep to solid colors and also preferably a suit. A colorful and fancy tie design will not impress your interviewer. And, although teaming a high quality professional suit with a sports shoe might leave a lasting impression on the interviewer, it may not be the kind of lasting impression you want them to have.

As you can see, what you decide to wear to your job interview continues to be one of the biggest influencing factors that determine if you are ultimately successful or otherwise. If you do not want to be struck off the list the moment you walk into the interview room, keep to the norm and impress them with the effort you’ve put in to look right for the part.

Leaving the Comfort Zone Could Be Good

Thursday, April 13th, 2006

It can be very scary when forced to survive on unemployment because of a job lost due to the downturn in an industry. It can be extremely frightening when there are monthly house payments and other financial obligations to meet each month with little income coming in to pay for them. But, it may also be a blessing in disguise because it may force one to have to leave their comfort zone, and in doing so give them the opportunity to try a new and exciting career change. Possibly a career change that they have always wanted to try but they did not have the self-motivation to do so on their own. It is not easy to move away from your comfort zone and most people will not do it until a life changing event occurs that forces them to make the move away from what is familiar and stable to them.

Life changing events almost always occur before a person will make a dramatic change in their life. But, often times this type of change is just the thing someone needs to create a more fulfilling and successful life for themselves. Many people are unhappy with their current jobs and income but they are complacent to go along day by day living that way because they do not know how to make the change away from their comfort zones. It is typical human nature to try and avoid change. But, change can often be rewarding. Change will often present new life directions and better opportunities.

Many people lost their jobs during the massive high-tech industry downturn in the years of 2000 and 2001. Many were decent people who were hard-working and had families and monthly bills to support. They had worked for the same company for years and never suspected that anything like that could ever happen to them. They were devastated and worried about the future security of their family. Their lives were thrown into the path of change.

The overall slowdown in the economy with severe negative impacts to the high tech electronics industries made for few jobs that were difficult to get. But for some it was the lucky break of a life time, even though they may not have realized it at the time. The downturn in the economy had forcefully pushed many people out of their comfort zones, which in turn gave them opportunities to explore and try new things in their lives. And, this is when many people discovered that they could make money by running a business on the Internet. Many people learned that they could make more money working an Internet business than they had been making working in the electronics industry and that losing their job was actually a blessing in disguise.

Many of these same people discovered that it is not a quick or easy process to make money on-line. In fact, many also spent several thousand dollars getting involved in every program that came across their monitors promising them a great income. Some were fortunate enough to make a few dollars here and there, but later found out that consistency in producing income on-line was a difficult challenge to master. Many people bought and read every ebook and money-making program they could get their hands on, but they still could not figure out the key to high profits and success with doing business on-line.

There are many different ways to make money on-line, such as: being a reseller (acquiring resale rights to another person’s product and selling it), affiliate marketing, virtual real estate (VREs), Ezine advertising, membership sites, web space advertising, Adsense sites, and many more. One of the best ways to make money on-line is by having your own product to promote, which requires market research to determine a demand, and then product development to satisfy the demand.

Many people do not have their own product and have no idea how to develop one so it is often recommended that they start out as an Affiliate Marketer. This is where they sign up for someone else’s affiliate program and then market that person’s product or service and they are paid a commission for each sale they make. It is important to do some research before becoming an Affiliate Marketer in order to determine which products are in demand and if the percentage of the sales commission you will receive justifies the time and effort involved in making the sale. It is also important to determine if the owner is dependable and pays his affiliates as agreed upon.

It does not matter if you market your own products, or the products or services from someone else, but a critical factor to realize is that “the money is in the list.” You have probably heard this a million times before, but unless you are actively building your contact list on a continual basis you have not fully understood the importance of these six words. Anyone wanting to make money doing business on-line should take serious note of this statement and put immediate action toward building up their own customer contact list. Do not procrastinate about doing this. It is critical for your success. If you do not know how then just conduct a search on list building and you will come up with thousands of references. Be careful not to be cheated out of your hard earned money because there are a lot of scammers on-line. You will be able to find a multitude of free resources you can use to start your list building process by doing a simple search on “list building” by using either Yahoo or Google.

To be successful with an on-line business you need to stay focused on one thing at a time and not jump around trying every program that comes along. It is best if you develop daily, weekly, and monthly schedules and stick to them but still allow yourself enough flexibility for additional critical activities as they occur. Create a plan for saturating your primary marketplace and decide which products you are going to use to promote to that marketplace. And, always track the results of you promotions so you know what was successful and what was not successful.

It may not be easy and it will probably take you a considerable amount of time, but with focus and dedication you too can learn how to make a consistent income with an on-line business. At first it will be painful to be pushed out of your comfort zone, but in the long run you will have much more freedom and happiness because of it. A move out of your comfort zone could be a good thing if you allow it.

Re-Entering the Workforce

Monday, February 20th, 2006

Many women (and an increasing number of men) decide to put their careers on hold from time to time.

The most common reason for doing this is to become a full-time parent after a new baby joins the family. Other reasons include taking time off to care for an ailing parent, going back to school to pursue a degree, starting a home business, or taking an extended leave due to stress or illness.

Regardless of the reason, people who have put their careers on hold often make the decision to re-enter the workforce.

If they have been away from the workforce for a significant period of time, they may be at a disadvantage when they try to resume their career. Their values may have changed due to their nonworking lifestyle; their skills may not be as sharp due to lack of practice; technological advances may even have caused their once sought-after skills to become obsolete.

There’s also the issue of lack of self-confidence, as people desiring to re-enter the workforce consider those and other roadblocks now in their path.

But all is not lost. Here are six steps that will make re-entering the workforce easier.

1. Decide what’s most important. People who have been away from a regular job for a while may find it difficult to get back into the rat race. It can be dissatisfying to get a job, be there a few months, and then realize it’s no longer something they want to do. They should consider various options, and make sure that resuming their career is the right path before heading in that direction.

2. Be picky. This could be the perfect time to think about new career options, instead of just going back to what was done before. People re-entering the workforce might want to think about other jobs — perhaps what they always wanted to try before they got tied down to a specific job. Accepting temporary or freelance work would be a good way to experiment with new fields and opportunities.

3. Be realistic. People who have been out of the job market for a while must realize that significant changes may have occurred — in themselves, in the career field, in the competition. It may be unrealistic to think a career that has been put on hold can now be resumed without taking a step back on the career ladder. People who were once mid-managers may now need to consider entry-level positions.

4. Brush up on skills. People who have become “outdated” should do whatever is necessary to become marketable again (especially in highly technical fields). They can do this by taking classes, doing volunteer work, asking for assistance and coaching.

5. Be positive and enthusiastic. Yes, there are obstacles, but it’s important to focus on the advantages. People re-entering the workforce have experience, skills and knowledge that make them more desirable candidates than those entering the workforce for the first time. To regain confidence and a positive attitude, they should focus on those strengths while updating their resumes and preparing for job interviews.

6. Use connections. Often the best way to re-enter the workforce is to contact former bosses and colleagues, and use networking to find out where the opportunities are.

Re-entering the workforce can be a challenge, but it’s one that can be overcome. Having a plan and being prepared will help to make the re-entry a successful and rewarding experience.