8 Worst Interview Blunders You Can Make

8 Worst Interview Blunders You Can Make No-one likes being taken off-guard. When it comes to preparing for an interview, we all do what it takes in advance to be as ready as we can. We research the company, we dress to impress and fundamentally, we go in there guns blazing and super confident.  So what happens when, despite all your preparations, something goes terribly wrong? Something happens and hits you so hard and out of the blue that you are knocked off your perch and into a never-ending well? Do you go bright red in the face? Do you jump across the table and grab the interviewer by the tie? Do you get up and walk straight out and not look back? The simple answer is no. There will come a time when a question or an event catches you by surprise. The key is to know what to do about it and by knowing what the biggest mistakes you could ever make are, you can avoid them. So without further ado, what are the worst interviewing bloopers on this planet? 1) Not knowing your stuff: Picture the scenario: You apply for a job at a business magazine and are asked “What’s been the biggest breaking business news this year?” Gulp, you don’t know the answer! What’s the point in wasting your time and the interviewer’s time if you don’t know your stuff? If you don’t know anything about business, don’t apply for a position in business. If you haven’t got the foggiest idea about fashion, don’t apply for a job in fashion. Simples. 2) Forget your name/company’s name: It will hardly get you off on the right start if you can’t even recall the name of the firm and they may probably sanction you if you don’t even know your own name. If you apply for numerous jobs at various firms and you can’t keep up with which interview you are actually at, write the name of the company on the palm of your hand.  Then, if you forget where you are at, you can casually look at your hand as a memo. Just remember which hand you’ve marked when it comes to shaking hands, or you’ll get ink all over the interviewer! 3) Keen bean: No-one likes an eager beaver, so don’t arrive too early. You’ll catch the interviewer off guard, straightaway you’ll be in their bad books, and you’ll sit there sweating nervously until they are ready. Try to get there no earlier than 10 minutes. Obviously arriving late is not an option! 4) Use profanities: It is customary to be formal and polite in an interview. Even if your interviewer is being casual and jovial, never swear or use vulgar language. They may be down-to-earth but using expletives just shows that you have a limited vocabulary. Most definitely avoid swearing if it is a public facing position, or if it is a religious organisation. 5) Roll off the same old, same old: Yes you are passionate, yes you are probably organised but blah blah blah blah. So what? The interviewer has probably heard this several times by several other candidates. If you are going to sell yourself, be unique! Gone backpacking across Europe? Volunteer at the local youth school? Have seven cats named after Snow White’s dwarfs? Discover what makes you different and it will set you apart from the rest. READ MORE:  How to Answer Why Do You Want This Job? in an Interview 6) Turn up in the wrong attire: What kind of job you are applying for will affect what you wear. If you have an interview at a reputable law firm, turning up in jeans, converse trainers and a t-shirt is a no-no. This may be acceptable for a Sunday retail job but for an office post a suit or formal outfit is a must. Whatever you wear, make sure it is clean and ironed and that you have matching socks on. READ MORE: How to Dress for Your Job Interview 7) Hit on the interviewer: We’ve all heard the saying “sleep your way to the top” but this is a hopeless case. Whatever you do, do not make a pass at the interviewer. You may be desperate for the job and willing to do whatever it takes, however, it will nine times out of 10 get you nowhere. 8) Have your mobile turned on: Pretty much everyone has a phone. Even one in 10 five-year-olds own a mobile nowadays. It is common courtesy and pure sense to turn your mobile phone on silent before you go into an interview. If you want to be extra cautious, turn it off completely. A phone call from your mum asking what you want for tea in the middle of an interview is a major blooper. So there you have the top 8 worst mistakes you could ever make in an interview. Now whatever you do, avoid them like the plague. Author: Dough Barden is managing partner of barlow-andrews.co.uk, who specialise in financial planning.

Having it All Possible or Just a Trap

Having it All Possible or Just a Trap “I want it all.” …You’ve either started singing the Queen song or you’re rolling your eyes. But let’s face it â€" each of us wants it all.  As simple as it may seem, the idea of “having it all” is one of the most controversial concepts around, with its own fair share of prejudice. I don’t know a single woman who doesn’t have her own opinion about what it’s like to have it all, or how to have it all, or whether they even can  have it all. As a successful career girl I’m sure you have big dreams â€" but it’s just out of your reach, right? We all said we wanted to be an astronaut as children, but that’s a pipe dream, right? WRONG. Ok, let’s rewind. Let me make one thing crystal clear â€" you can have it all. It’s just not possible to wake up one day and find it in your lap. The road to success is paved with a lot of stepping stones, some changes to your thinking, and a willingness to keep going at it day after day. I’m not saying it’s time to cue the Rocky montage; I’m saying it’s time to wake up and decide that you’re going to make an effort, in the big ways and the small, to reach your idea of success. Step one: Get “ Having It All ” in Perspective. What someone wants is entirely dependent on their own tastes and what they enjoy in life. For some, having it all may be reclining on a beach with hunky towel boys and expensive Champaign in a flute glass. For others, it can be a quiet apartment with a good book and a nice cup of tea. Would you like to spend more time with your kids? Are you looking to make big impact at work? Full time job? Part time? Your own gig? The value of these goals are only determined by how much the person enjoys them â€" which means you can have it all, but only if you know what your “all” is! This is all about declaring your vision of success. It has nothing to do with your bank account and everything to do with how you feel about your life and work. Step two: Create a Motto! When you understand what your dream career and life look like, it’s time to pack them up in a guiding rule â€" aka your motto. Figure out a sentence that defines your approach. What are you going to say every morning to keep yourself going? What personifies your ideal dream of success? What personifies the person you want to be at the end of this?   Get really clear on what having it all means to you.  This year I’ve created a motto for myself to live by to help me to have a wonderful year and achieve my goals; it’s a motto that means something to me and helps me focus my priorities again. What’s yours? Step three: Start (with small stepping stones) Today. Often we think we can only live our dream lifestyles when we’ve reached our big goals, but I don’t believe that to be true. We can start living our dream life now. We just need to think about the small things (and the big things) that could help us live our dream life this year. Maybe you really, really, really want to be a carpenter; that doesn’t mean you have to get a degree right now or build a table tomorrow. You can start planning the small stepping stones that are going to get you that end result. Who should you reach out to? What books should you start reading? What hobbies will help cultivate that dream in your daily life? Those are the fundamentals to really making it work. It won’t always be easy but at least you know where you’re headed.  Yes, having it all is out there, and its waiting for you!

Ignite Word of Mouth with the New LinkedIn Contacts - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Ignite Word of Mouth with the New LinkedIn Contacts - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career LinkedIn is often considered as the avant-garde of online job portals, and quite rightly so. As a professional Rolodex, using word of mouth marketing has helped LinkedIn become something users can turn to when theyre on the lookout for a job or meeting someone for business purposes. But now the website is looking to expand as it realizes that it can offer multiple services and a lot more can be done than just looking for a new job opportunity. The New LinkedIn Contacts App LinkedIn’s new app, LinkedIn Contacts, is the social company’s latest attempt to make the best of all the issues that networking poses today. The app combines contact information from email accounts such as Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Evernote and even the iPhone address book to give users a wider base of information. The user gets to choose the address books he/she wishes to give the LinkedIn Contacts App access to. This process is based on the works of Connected, a creation that LinkedIn acquired in early 2011. The LinkedIn Contacts application will enable you to search for your connections across various services, compiling a crisp picture of your relationship history with each person including meetings and past mails. You have the ability to sort your contacts with fully customizable widgets such as stay in touch or investors.” Under the tab ‘’To Do,’’ the app highlights all the people you can get in touch with either because they changed jobs pretty recently, its their birthday, or simply because they live in an area your itinerary says youll soon be visiting. Contacts that are sourced from other services, however, dont become LinkedIn connections by default. On the LinkedIn website, the To Do prompts sits quietly perched on top of the remodeled Contacts tab, and are also sent to you via your daily email. Relationships and LinkedIn LinkedIn has grown from feat to feat purely on the basis of word of mouth marketing and the company does not aim to change this business model for its latest endeavor. To this effect, LinkedIn has included a relationship module in the app. By collecting information through other sources to enrich the web profiles, the app will keep a tab on your relationship logs with the person whose profile youre on. You can even leave notes for yourself or set prompts to stay in touch. A great add-on when youre looking to build your network. LinkedIn believes that integration with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is not really necessary as its app offers users everything with a professional perspective in mind. To make it more efficient LinkedIn have launched new features such as notifications, contributed content, and the mention of other users and endorsements. These give users reasons to go to the website or use the app more often than they did before. Word of mouth marketing has increased page views by 67 percent in the last quarter alone according to LinkedIn heads, which suggests that the company’s consumers are indeed happy with the services being offered. And the only way is up with the new app (pun intended). With this latest venture into the mobile market, LinkedIn will make it even easier for you to stay in touch with your professional connections, while also reaching to more potential customers out there. Author: Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of  buzz2bucksâ€"  a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand.   Maria Duron is founder  and moderator of  #brandchat   a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of  branding  that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

Fight the job hunt blues try these tips

Fight the job hunt blues â€" try these tips There it is, the last straw â€" you’ve sent out a thousand CVs by post, 10,000 by email, a few tear-stained covering letters, made more visits to the Jobcentre than someone who actually works there and still, stlll, you can’t get a job. Maybe it’s time to pack it all in. Settle down to a lifetime of afternoon television. Withstand Jeremy Kyle forever bellowing at you as you tuck into your eighth Pot Noodle of the day. When that last straw snaps, don’t subject yourself to Jeremy Kyle â€" find a new angle, a new grift to tackle the job hunt from a fresh perspective. That’s why we’ve come up with a few tips for you. Have a look at our list before that last straw breaks. Push your limits As the job hunt wears on like a heavily administrative version of Waiting for Godot, you’ll probably have a fair bit of time on your hands. Use it wisely and well â€" study for something to give your CV extra pizzazz. Unless you’re shooting for a specific field, try a catch-all course like BA Marketing for transferable skills that will work in almost any environment. And if you’re worried about the cost, have a gander at organisations offering bursaries and grants to budding applicants. Just make sure you choose the right university for the job â€" try open days, graduate reviews and tours of the area before jumping straight in. Tailor your job hunts You know what an employer hates when they look at a CV? Loads of useless info with the personality of a flannel. It’s tempting to fill your job application with more experience than a 100-year-old raconteur, but no employer is interested in the paper round you had when you were 14. Instead, tailor your employment past and qualifications to suit the job you’re applying for. This’ll make you look focussed, like every move on the chessboard of career trajectories was aimed at this one specific job. A purposeful, taut CV looks all the more appealing to an employer, so make your words count. Get yourself connected You might have seen them at parties â€" the type of smooth-talking, schmoozing, whip-smart businessperson who asks for a job and somehow manages to get a management position and their own private holiday home in Aruba. You have to become one of them. Head to networking events in your local area, don your best interview clothes and casually make connections to lead you to the ideal position. In the good ol’ world of the net, hit up LinkedIn, the business oriented social networking site, and make your profile look like an employer’s dream. With the right connections, you’ll find the best

Writing Resume After Twenty Years at Same Job

Writing Resume After Twenty Years at Same JobDo you feel that you need to do some work on your resume after twenty years at the same job? If so, you're not alone. Most people realize at some point that they need to update their resumes and it is usually during an interview or when searching for a new job.Why would you need to write a new resume when your resume has already been in the same place for twenty years? First of all, most people are very organized and they can tell when something is missing or is outdated. Second, employers want to hire people who can be happy and excited about their jobs.Before you can do this, though, you need to decide what type of resume you are going to write. Usually, if you have worked for a particular company for more than twenty years, your resume is probably exactly the same as the resumes of every other employee. You may have a high number of awards and certifications, but these do not change. This is another reason why you need to make sure that your resume has been updated.One of the most common mistakes that people make when updating their resumes is that they put it in chronological order. Don't do this. Charts and graphs, on the other hand, can be updated immediately to reflect changes in your career.You should also use electronic format instead of hard copy. This means that your resume will be formatted like an e-mail and can be sent directly to an employer through an online form. When employers receive your resume electronically, they will be able to see all of the things that are unique about you and quickly assess you for an interview.Take a look at your old resume, go over it one more time and re-format it. Again, your professional skills and experience will be reflected in your updated resume. In addition, any certificates or awards that you have received from your organization should be included. By including these elements, you will impress the employer and he will remember your resume for future interviews.Wit h a little bit of effort, you can put yourself ahead of the job seeker. Even though the resume is outdated, you can still land the job. By re-writing it, you are increasing your chances of getting hired. You can also contact current employers and remind them that you are applying for a job, which will help to improve your chances even more.When a job seeker is looking for a job, this is one of the best ways to catch the attention of a potential employer. By revising your resume after twenty years at the same job, you are putting yourself ahead of the game.

Three for Friday - February - Sterling Career Concepts

Three for Friday - February Three for Friday February How to Say “Look at Me!” to an Online Recruiter By Phyllis Korkki I love my colleague Barbara Safani’s suggestion of posting such videos as giving a speech or training presentation on YouTube to gain credibility and add to your online searchability. How to ace a Skype job interview By Amy Levin-Epstein This article offers five great pointers, with my favorite being to maintain good posture and, for women, to dress in solid jewel tones (versus the old stand-by or default of black) to brighten your face “without appearing bleak or busy.” Online Career Fairs More of an announcement than an article, but Tory Johnson’s organization, Women for Hire, has transitioned their career fairs to an online format with three this spring â€" Thursday, February 28th, March 28th, and April 25th from 1-4 pm ET/10 am-1 pm PT   They are free to register and attend. The set up offers you the opportunity to connect via chat with a recruiter or company representative for a full seven minutes. To take advantage of this time and direct exposure, Women for Hire recommends you do your homework ahead of the event as to who will be at each “booth,” have your elevator pitch or selling points ready to copy and paste into the chat function, ask open-ended questions, and keep an eye on the clock so you leave yourself enough time for a thoughtful wrap up. Do you have questions about any of these resources? Feel free to contact me. Id be happy to help you with your online Skype interview techniques, as well as strategies for attending an online career fair, and other job search tools you need assistance with.

Will you love your first job out of college A message to the class of 2011

Will you love your first job out of college A message to the class of 2011 44 Flares 44 Flares Starting blog posts like these are never easy.  Id like to hurry up and give you the short answer, but its just not that simple, and the more I think about it, the more I realize there is no short answer to this question. Actually wait, lets pause for a second and take a quick step back.  My sincerest congratulations go to the Class of 2011 on your achievement.  I imagine four years ago you never thought this day would come, and now that it has, youre wondering how time moved so fast and how your body handled so much alcohol over the years.  While you spent the last several years of your life learning, studying, and vomiting information onto a paper or test and answering questions, maybe the biggest question of your life now faces you.  The bitch of it all is that no matter how long you studied, what courses you took, or what school you went to, most of you just wont know the answer till it hits you square in the head.   So, whats the question? Whats next and will I enjoy it? Repeating what Ive said from the beginning, Id love to make this a short answer, but there are too many factors in play.  With that said, Im not sure this question deserves 4,000 words. Mildly short and very bittersweet, heres my answer. The Answer You will probably NOT love your very first job out of college.  This is for a number of reasons, but its mostly because the pay isnt where youd like it to be, you believe its a stepping stone job/organization, and lastly because you just dont know any better. Folks who held internships may be more welcoming of their first job, being that they are able to judge it against other work environments.  Others just arent so lucky.  Many friends of mine were miserable in their first job out of college.  Hatred was a weak word in this situation, and those feelings caused them to look for new opportunities far too soon.  To their disappointment, new organizations expected much more and the work environments were far worse.  While their salaries and responsibilities grew, so did their misery and disappointment.  They missed their first job, and regretted their decisions. So, what is one to do? Dont fret if you do not love your first job.  Its often not until the 3rd, 4th, or 5th company when a person feels theyve found their home, and even then, their home can quickly turn into their old neighborhood.  Youll find your place and security eventually, so use your first job for what it is a first job.  Gain the experience you need to move up in that company or into another organization, learn skills and make connections needed to advance your career and salary, and treasure what you have because many of your peers are not as lucky and cant find work. COTJs Last Words Things have a hilarious way of working themselves out.  I do believe this happens for most people, but if your life doesnt magically work itself out in front of your eyes, then maybe youre looking too hard.  Let life come to you, but be ready for it when it does.  Be prepared to take advantage of opportunities that come your way, no matter what they are related to. Most plans in life fail.  Its just true.  Plan your night out for your birthday.  Plan your trip to Greece.  Plan to DVR the season finale of the office.  Just dont plan too heavy into your career or your life in general.  Its just too much fun to let major decisions hit you in the face.  Just be ready for them. Congratulations again to the class of 2011.  Now go out there and do the damn thing! Picture Credit