An interview gives you the opportunity to showcase your qualifications to an employer, so it pays to be well prepared. The following information provides some helpful hints.

Preparation:

* Learn about the organization.
* Have a specific job or jobs in mind.
* Review your qualifications for the job.
* Prepare answers to broad questions about yourself.
* Review your résumé.
* Practice an interview with a friend or relative.
* Arrive before the scheduled time of your interview.

Personal appearance:

* Be well groomed.
* Dress appropriately.
* Do not chew gum or smoke.

Sad to say, there are many ways to sabotage a career. Here’s a list of 20 of the most “popular” timebombs identified by career counselors. How many of them have you seen at play in your workplace? Are you endangering your chances for job success by engaging in any of them?

1. Never stand out from the crowd. Adjust your pace to stay in the middle of the pack, not quite the slowest or the fastest, so you won’t attract attention.

2. Believe you are entitled to success and job security. Think that all you have to do is show up.

Have you wondered why it seems some people are so successful in their career and others are not? This is true, since most people who are unsuccessful in their career give up their hopes and dreams. These are the people who settle for something lower than their own capabilities would qualify them for. They did not do the things which people who are successful in their career do, which is keeping their focus on their future path, and working towards it no matter what may happen.

Mentoring is not a common business practice these days. That’s too bad - whether you are looking for a job or simply managing a burgeoning career, a mentor can be of assistance.

A good mentor will provide impartial advice, coach you and answer questions, help prepare you for unfolding career challenges, and may teach you new skills. For example, he or she may use role playing to prepare you for tough interviews. A mentor may even be able to help open some doors, enabling you to land interviews with employers that you’d otherwise struggle to get into (more on this point to follow.) Mentoring is traditionally not something you pay for - generally, successful business people volunteer for this role because someone helped them in a similar way in the past. On a paid basis, similar assistance is available from career coaches.

All jobs solve problems. That’s the secret to landing a new job. Identify the employer’s problem and show the hiring manager how you’ll solve it.

Most job seekers don’t follow this approach. They concentrate on their own skills, experiences and past job duties. They never really connect with the employer’s needs.

“So many of the resumes that I see offer just a traditional listing of past titles, employers and work duties,” says Sharon Willen, a career counselor at Growth Connections Inc., a career counseling and training firm in Huntington, N.Y. “That’s a job history. It really doesn’t speak to the next employer’s needs.”

While doing some research online, I saw this lovely article that I am sure
will benefit a lot of people. I have seen a lot of people say what matters
most is the money they want to make and outside of this, nothing else.

Please take time to go through this article and discover the true essence of
life. You can print this out and read it as often as you can so that the message
can sink it. At the end of the day, you will realise it is not about the money
afterall.

Just embarking on a job search, a graduating M.B.A. in management at Hong Kong University hoped to land a position at a consulting firm. With his undergraduate B.S. degree in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloane School and his new M.B.A. degree, he was confident of receiving several offers.

But job hunting was a new skill. To make sure he’d do well in interviews, he needed to develop an effective strategy. He decided to call his uncle, a businessman, for advice. His uncle coached him on a strategy that not only got him the job but also helped him to negotiate a salary that was 25% more than he expected.

Who would want to undermine his or her interview performance? Job candidates do it all the time. If you’re inclined to sabotage your job interviews, follow these guidelines to make sure you fail. They’ll guarantee you won’t get the job you deserve. If your wish to sidestep these landmines, heed the advice that follows.

1. Focus on negative thoughts.

You may be the best candidate for the job. But if negativity dominates your mind, no one will discover what you have to offer. You may look professional on the outside, but if on the inside you’re bombarding your mind with cheap shots, you’re set up to fail.

Job interviews in many organizations are getting sophisticated these days. Psychological tests, role plays, and challenges to one’s “quick intelligence” and street smarts are often part of the package. While it’s impossible to anticipate everything you may encounter, here are ten tips that will help you negotiate the interview process successfully.

1. Prepare and over-prepare.

Are you looking for a new job? If you are and if you also have internet access, there is a good chance that you may end up turning to career hunting or job hunting websites.  Two examples of these types of websites are CareerBuilder.com, Hotjobsng.com and Monster.com. Although these websites are great ways to gain access to hundreds, if not thousands, of up-to-date job listings, if you want to be successful it is advised that you know how to get the most out of these websites.  A few helpful tips that you may want to familiarize yourself with are outlined below.