Janes-List.com » Career

Job interview warning signs

jane — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:33:20 +0000

Just like you know when to quit your job, the same intuition will inevitably tell you whether or not to accept a job opportunity after you interview. Job interviews. I’ve been to some bad ones and have observed some even worse ones. In my career I’ve witnessed or experienced enough to compile the following job interview warning signs that should steer you from accepting a position that may not be a great fit.

Your Nerves.

Frankly, I believe if you aren’t nervous about something important, then you don’t care enough. That may be the case if you stroll into a job interview without a care in the world. Be careful in that respect, because it’s likely the interviewer may view your confident, laissez-faire attitude as apathy. Nerves come into play in another way. If someone is describing the job and the responsibilities that go with it and you feel your nerves set in, then that may suggest that your skill set doesn’t match with the requirements. In either case you’re not doing anyone any favors (especially yourself!) by accepting a position you’re not passionate about or truly qualified for.

Endless List of Questions.

Just like your intuition will warn you not to accept a job opportunity, a hiring manager’s will tell him or her to hire you. If the hiring manager has an endless list of questions to ask a job candidate, that tells me that he or she may not be so confident in their hiring decisions. What makes someone unconfident in hiring decisions? Past awful decisions about hiring. I find that people will use an endless list of irrelevant questions in a job interview to compensate for a lack of instinct for hiring. Politely and thoughtfully answer each and every question, but if it starts to feel like the Spanish Inquisition, be wary.

Jumping Through Hoops.

In addition to answering a seemingly endless list of questions, a hiring manager may require you to jump through several hoops to win a position. While some testing may be acceptable for some types of positions, if it feels weird and a little unnecessary, then it probably is. This can be another crutch for an unsuccessful hiring manager.

No Next Steps.

There is nothing worse than enduring a terrible job interview only to be met with a swift handshake and, “Well, thanks so much for coming in….” and an comfortable silence before you leave. At the end of a good job interview – no matter how you performed – the hiring manager will give you some indication of the next steps. When can you expect to hear back whether or not you will have another interview? This information is crucial to your career planning and not receiving it can be a warning sign that this job prospect may not be adequately prepared to hire or manage you.

I’ve seen enough excellent hiring managers to know instantly when someone or some company doesn’t have it together. That can be really indicative of you future at a particular company. Be judgemental during job interviews. You should be interviewing the company as closely as they are interviewing you to ensure it’s a place you want to spend the next leg of your career.

Photo by: RichieC

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Eenie, meenie, miney, mo…picking a great business name

Kelly — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:33:34 +0000

If someone had told me two years ago, when I first entertained the thought of starting my own business, that one of the toughest decisions I’d make was what to name the company, I’d have laughed. As it turned out, I would have needed a glass of water to wash down my foot!

The right business name is your first chance to make a great impression on potential customers and give them an idea of what your company is all about. I’m indecisive by nature, so when it came time to brainstorm ideas, I was completely lost. Here are a few steps I took (not necessarily in the order I’ve listed below) that ultimately helped me decide on a name:

Make a list. Write down any and all keywords that relate to your business or the service/product you’re trying to sell. What do you want potential customers to think when they first hear your name?. A thesaurus was vital in helping me find synonyms for words on my list and I highly recommend picking one up if you haven’t already.

Make it memorable, but easy to spell. Originally, I went for a play on words and loved “savoir flair”, but as Kirsty quickly pointed out, not everyone would know how to spell it, which could ultimately prevent traffic from my site. It’s great to pick a name with special meaning or significance to you, but if it’s too obscure or too hard to spell, your creativity will be lost on the very people you’re trying to target.

Keep it to yourself. I made a huge mistake in asking everyone’s opinions on my top ten list of names-it wasn’t that I was unprepared for the criticism, but rather that I was so heavily influenced by their comments that I had no idea what to do next. Friends and family have the best intentions, but, if possible, pick someone with whom to share your list of names that can provide vital feedback for the success of your business. Kirsty’s infinite knowledge of social media and branding was invaluable in helping me find a name that was right on target with the people I was trying to reach.

Scour the internet. You’ve found a name that you love and want to tell everyone. Hold your horses! Go online to see if the doman name is available and if there are other companies with the same (or similar) name. Going back to my example of “Savoir Flair”, there was a fashion styling company and a wedding website with the same name. I’m in interior design, and could have still used it, but with so many other options with the same name, I opted not to.

Register your domain ASAP. There are tons of inexpensive registrars with whom you can register your domain name (as well as any variations of it). The sooner you register it, the better. The most popular is GoDaddy, but there is also Nettica, Network Solutions, Dreamhost and Dotster.

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New Year, New You! Job hunting tips for 2011

Kelly — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:15:54 +0000

It’s January…time to put those New Year’s resolutions to work-especially if that includes finding a new job. The economy is slowly, but surely, starting to improve, and with the upswing there will inevitably be more job openings to come. Unfortunately, with the number of Americans out of work, you won’t be the only one applying for each position as it becomes available. Don’t make one of the many mistakes so many job hunters fall victim to when searching for a new job. Here are a few things to remember when looking:

Do your research. Companies are just as interested in finding out as much about you as you are about them. Do your homework and find out everything you can about the company you are interviewing with, including benefits, history, opportunities for advancement, financial status and community involvement, to name a few.

Trade publications like Fortune, BusinessWeek, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal are excellent resources. You can also find industry blogs online for help. It may sound overwhelming, however, knowing this not only helps you make a fabulous first impression, it also gives you a leg up on the competition interviewing for the same position.

Tone down your Facebook page. Gone are the days when Facebook was just for finding long lost friends. Nowadays, employers are accessing profile pages and using them to help decide whether or not they will hire you. Have pictures of you doing body shots at last weekend’s kegger, or shots of you frolicking at the beach in that itty bitty bikini? Be prepared for a potential employer to be able to see it, as well.

Your best bet is to set your profile to private so that only friends can see. If you choose not to make it private, be wary of whatever you post on your profile: if you don’t want your potential future boss to see it, DON’T POST IT!

Create a professional email address. This should be a given, but you’d be surprised how many resumes came across my desk in years past with email addresses like “machoman5″, “sportymullet” or “babycakes1999″. It may seem trivial, but your email address should be representative of you and your professionalism. It’s perfectly fine to use email addresses like the ones mentioned above for personal use, but creating a separate, professional one (for example your first and last name @ hotmail.com) could mean the difference between getting an interview and your resume ending up in the circular file.

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Starting over…

Kelly — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:35:40 +0000

If you’ve been following this blog, you might know that my husband was transferred last year. In February, we sold our first house and moved into a new one that we proudly built from the ground up. Two weeks after moving in, the hubby deployed, leaving me in a new town, without a job, knowing not a single soul.

At first, our decision to live as far away from the new base as possible felt like a bad idea-we ended up in another resort town, which is beautiful, but seriously lacking in the job department. I took the advice we give here on our blog and called all my contacts, sent resumes and began the interview process. Surprisingly, I had appointments lined up quicker than I thought, but my heart just wasn’t in it like it should have been. I don’t know if it was the deployment “blah’s” or the fact that we live more than an hour from the thriving metropolis in which I was interviewing, making for close to a three-hour commute each day, but in the back of my mind, I had other plans.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on my own over the last seven years, thanks to crazy deployment schedules, and though I always had a career, my passion, so to speak, lay more in the homes I decorated for friends, family, neighbors and even clients. Long deployments didn’t seem so bad when I had my day job to keep me busy during the week and homes to transform on weekends.

Before I knew it, I was getting referrals from friends of friends and people who happened to see my “work” at playdates for their kids or dinner parties at friend’s houses. The small network I had built made it that much harder to pack up and leave when my husband was transferred, but because I did it once, I had hopes I could do it again.

So, almost a year later, here I am. Trying to start my own business in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns in recent history. Up to my ears learning Quickbooks and all the not-so-glamorous details necessary to do your own thing, regardless of how small it may be. It’s tough, but I’ve never been so happy. I know many of our readers have started their own businesses, so I thought it might be fun to chronicle the ups and downs I’ve faced along the way. Here we go!

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Lessons learned from a female boss

Kelly — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:19:17 +0000

Having spent most of my career in the often male-dominated land of finance, I literally jumped at the chance to work for a woman-run business a few years ago. The night before my first day at my new job I was giddy like a schoolgirl-picking out my clothes, packing my lunch and looking forward to soaking up every tidbit of female amazingness as possible. Having always worked for male-run companies, I had high hopes that my new boss would become a mentor, nurturing and inspiring my new career path and showing how a successful woman gets the job done.

Much to my surprise, my experience couldn’t have been further from my expectations. I’m sure the owner meant well and I certainly didn’t envy her running a business in a tanking economy, however, there were many obstacles that got in the way of running a tight ship. Here’s what I learned:

Don’t take it personal. One thing that was never an issue when I worked for male-run businesses was emotions. That’s not to say my co-workers were jerks, but rather they didn’t let emotions get in the way of doing business. I quickly learned that if someone was short with me it was because they were having a bad day or were stressed over a project, not because of something I did or didn’t do.

With my female boss, emotions were always running high. It’s easy to get your feelings hurt, but don’t. Check them at the door. There are a million reasons someone may be in a bad mood and more than likely they have nothing to do with you. As long as you do your job and do it well, you will know that you did your best and the rest won’t matter.

Turn the other cheek. It’s hard not to feel frustrated, resentful, misunderstood and even angry when working for someone who never seems satisfied with your work, but as long as you do your job and do it well, not only will you know that you did your best, but it also protects you when performance reviews roll around.

Learn everything you possibly can. Sometimes watching someone else make mistakes is the best way to learn the right way to do things. Whether it’s how to treat employees and clients or how to motivate staff and improve morale, pay attention to everything that goes on in the office. Pay attention in staff meetings; take detailed notes along the way to see how a project could go better next time; watch how clients and employees are treated.

Photo by T.U.I.M.

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Brainstorming best practices

jane — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:13:06 +0000

I‘m lucky that my work requires me to operate daily in highly creative environments with people who are so creative, it would knock your socks off. In the 7-some years I’ve been doing it, I’ve picked up a few best practices that can be applied to anyone who is facilitating or participating in a brainstorming session. Whether you are brainstorming marketing strategies, publicity stunts, concepts for a new brochure or website, or themes for an employee retreat, consider the following tactics to make the most of the session and ensure your creative juices have runneth over.

Be visual

People learn in different ways – some learn by reading, some by doing and some learn best through visualizations. That’s why it’s helpful to incorporate a dry erase board or post-it notes in your brainstorming sessions. Post-its allow team members to contribute ideas that you can then display, so that everyone can view and comment. Incorporating visual elements is important to your sessions so that all members of the team can participate in the most optimal fashion.

Think big or go home

You can come up with ordinary ideas all by yourself. For big ideas, for those outside-of-the-box ideas, brainstorm with others. I’m of the opinion that any idea can become better if you welcome a new point of view into the mix. Make the best use of your unique point of view by thinking big in brainstorming sessions.

Anything goes

Thinking big also means, “anything goes.” Say what comes to your mind. Work it out verbally with other team members. You never know if the best idea may be the one you hold back. Brainstorming is not a contest, but a building project. To build something great you need a lot of good material.

Don’t shoot down ideas

Don’t shoot down ideas – yours or anyone else’s. Don’t correct someone in a brainstorming. It’s not a strategy session, it’s not a planning session, it’s a brainstorming exercise in which, more is always better! This goes for your own ideas too. Once they are out there, don’t think of ways it “wouldn’t work.” You may miss out on an opportunity for someone to build upon it and then make it better!

Get the point?

Creativity without context can be a dangerous thing. Stay focused on the project’s objectives. And while you don’t want to shoot down any ideas in a brainstorming session, you should be focused on the task at hand to ensure that you deliver a creative solution that meets your essential business needs.

Photo by: @boetter

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Keeping your cool in a job you’re overqualified for

Kelly — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:47:32 +0000

Last week I had dinner with a good friend who recently lost her job as Director of Human Resources when the BioTech firm for which she’d worked the last five years downsized. Armed with two masters degrees, thirteen years experience and a Rolodex the size of Texas, she knew finding a job would be tough, but not impossible. After an exhaustive job search, she landed an office manager position for a carpet manufacturer. I asked her what was the most difficult part of this new job situation. Her reply? The hit to her ego.

I bet a lot of you have accepted jobs for which you were grossly overqualified at one time or another, thanks, in part, to the fact that not all military bases are located in or near cities with industry. I know I certainly have. It’s a different ballgame now, though, with the struggling economy and unemployment rates still high: beggars can’t be choosers. Instead of focusing on the negatives, try to look at the positives. Does the company have a good reputation? Are there opportunities for advancement? And let’s not forget that it’s a paycheck. Here are a few other things to consider:

Grin and bear it. Right now everyone is either unemployed, holding on to their job with both hands or accepting lower-paying jobs. Chances are you took this position knowing full well it wasn’t going to be permanent, so treat it as a stepping stone until you are able to find something more fitting.

Ask for more responsibility every chance you get. Even if it’s company policy to stay a certain period of time before advancing to another position, if you exceed the expectations of your position now, it will be noticed and you will be considered for higher-level positions as they become available.

Always be on the lookout for your next job. This is true even in a good economy…you never know when there will be a vacancy in your dream job.

Keep an open mind. Be open to the possibility that you don’t know everything there is to a lower-level position. You may even learn things you didn’t know before that can help you down the road. One thing is certain, though: you don’t want to be viewed as the know-it-all newcomer who thinks you’re too good for or know everything about grunt work.

Photo by Eduard Titov

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Networking…it’s easier than you think!

Kelly — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:03:01 +0000

Having had a heavy sales background, networking was like second nature to me. Put me in a room full of strangers and, more than likely, I was walking out of there at the end of the night with a pocket full of business cards. Friends would tell me the idea of striking up a conversation with a total stranger was intimidating, but to me, it was a surefire way to make acquaintances-both professionally as well as socially.

After relocating to a new base last February, my hubby deployed two weeks later. I found myself in a new house in a new city not knowing a soul. It was time to take my own advice, otherwise, it was going to be the longest deployment ever. Thankfully, some of the wives whose husbands were deployed with mine were wonderful-inviting me to get-togethers where I met other people-some military, some not. I’ve always thought this was one of the best parts of being married to someone in the military: getting to meet new people all the time. Many times, we end up forming bonds with people we never would have crossed paths or connected with in “civilian” life, and to me, that’s such a great opportunity.

We’ve talked about networking to get the job you want, but it’s just as important socially. The same rules apply and it’s easier than you may think:

Be yourself. Relax. Have a normal conversation with someone new and see what happens. I’ve met people at small barbeques and military functions who quickly became some of my life-long friends, just after discovering we had the same hobbies, interests or political views.

Don’t talk business. If you’re meeting military wives, chances are they are going to ask what you do for a living within the first three minutes of introducing yourself. Tell them, but then change the topic of conversation to what they do for fun, where the last vacationed, books they’re reading or movies they saw, instead. If you’re new to the area, ask about restaurant recommendations. The important thing is to keep the conversation light and easy.

Keep the focus on them. Whether it be their kids, their job or their house, who doesn’t like to gush about the things that are important to them? Get someone new to talk about themselves and not only will they think you’re charming, but it will give you the chance to find some common interests with them.

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The power of saying “Yes” at work

Kirsty — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:31:38 +0000

Last month we discussed why saying “yes” to everything in the office isn’t always healthy. Indeed it’s not. It does no one good to over promise, over extend yourself and ultimately under-deliver. But as military spouses, we are always quick with a “yes sir!” or a “yes ma’am!” Master multitaskers that we are: yes we will have that report ready by the end of the day! Yes, we will get those care packages out to our husbands on our lunch break! Yes, we will relieve the sitter at 5 and have dinner ready on the table at 6! We hope our post about the art of saying no, provided some sensible rationale that persuaded you that you don’t have to be all things to all people at all times.

However, playing devil’s advocate on the topic, you should be aware of some key situations in which it is a good idea to say “yes” at work. If you are squarely focused on career management and professional development and already understand the art of saying no at work, consider the following situations as the most important times to say “yes!”

You are presented with a new challenge.

“Two roads diverged in a road and I — I took the one less traveled by. And that made all the difference.” That is one of my favorite lines from Robert Frost’s poetry. If you have the attitude that encourages you to take the rougher road, I think you will always succeed in whatever you do. In terms of the workplace, you should always accept new challenges. What’s the worst that can happen? You may fail, but you will likely learn something important. Facebook – one of our country’s greatest incubators for creativity and innovation posts a sign in its headquarters that reads, simply, “Fail Harder.” Companies like Facebook understand the value of employees that strive for excellence, regardless of the consequences. Strive to be one of those people and say, yes, I will meet that new challenge head on!

A co-worker needs help

There are two kinds of people at work – one kind, when you reach out to see if they have any extra bandwith, who will always tell you, “no.” You know they aren’t practicing the art of saying no as we suggested, but instead uses it as a dangerous crutch. The other kind of person will always say, “yes.” I suggest being this kind of person. Always say yes to someone who needs help. If you are unable to help her at that exact moment in time, tell her, “yes, I would love to explain that to you/proof your memo/discuss your question, but I need 10 minutes or so to wrap up this project.” She will appreciate your honesty and respect your time and attention even more when you are able to speak. It’s so important to be a “yes” person around your colleagues because you never know when you may require their undivided attention yourself. Do unto others is the golden rule in the workplace!

Accepting responsibility

Let’s be clear, I’m not asking you to take the blame or cover for someone, for something you didn’t do. That can be lethal in the workplace, and when you feel your head on the chopping block at work because of it, you will regret ever uttering the word, “yes” to your co-worker’s “Do you mind covering for me?” What I am saying is that it takes a strong and confident professional to admit when they’ve done something wrong. A professional tells bad news fast, gives her team a heads up if something is about to go awry and owns up to her mistake if she made one.

At the end of they day, you make a choice of whether you want to be a positive or negative presence in the workplace. Don’t mistake being assertive, direct and grounded for being negative. You can have all of those qualities and still be positive, managing to play your “Yes” card when it counts!

Photo by: michelle

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The art of saying “No” at work

Kelly — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:58:16 +0000

Does your boss have a knack for heaping one last thing on your plate five minutes before the weekend? Do you work with someone who turns to you whenever he or she needs help with anything? Have you noticed how much easier it is to say yes, even when it means putting your own responsibililities and obligations on the back burner to do so?

Yes, the economy is bad and you may be grateful just to have a job, but that doesn’t necessarily mean saying no to adding more responsibilities to an already heavy workload will get you fired or viewed as an incompetent co-worker. The truth is, there is a fine line between helping and being taken advantage of. I’ve struggled with this myself, both professionally and personally, but as I’ve learned, sometimes it’s better to just be honest and admit that you just can’t do it all.

Always saying yes isn’t healthly. As we over-commit ourselves, our stress levels can go through the roof, taking a toll on our bodies and overall health. Here are a few tips to help you learn how to say no at work:

Give a reason. When saying no, you will more than likely be expected to give a reason why. Explain that your other projects, deadlines and responsibilities will prevent you from devoting the necessary time and focus on this new project and getting it done right.

Don’t answer right away. Listen to what is being asked of you and say, ”Let me check my schedule and get back to you”, and then respond. If you say no immediately, your boss may think you just don’t want any added responsibility.

Don’t give a million details. Rambling on about unnecessary details, hoping that will make it easier for your boss to hear you say no can sound like you’re just making excuses. It can also backfire; every detail you give could only make your boss push harder to make you say yes. Be polite, but direct in your response.

Ask questions. If your boss is constantly asking you for help on projects without really thinking it through, ask a lot of questions. “How much time would this project require?” “Is this more important than Project ABC you just assigned?” It may not always get you out of helping, but, with any luck, you can respectfully help your boss to see that this latest request may not be a great idea.

Try to help solve the problem. Do you know of someone else in the office who is working on a similar project? Without selling that person out, or adding to his or her workload, suggest they take a look at it.

Photo by Kapitall Screenshots