Stay Composed While Participating in an Interview - Follow These Basic Steps to Achieve Success

Your curriculum vitae was notable, your professional explorations and networking have been fruitfully rewarded, and you have been invited for a personal interview with a firm of your choice. But, now the hardest part of getting a job has arrived. You have to get prepared for an interview. The word itself makes us nervous. But, cast out all your worries and simply follow these steps to prepare yourself.

1. Do some research about the company which is recruiting you, so that; you can put this knowledge to the best use, during an interview with your senior, if he questions you something regarding the firm. This will represent your sincerity with the interviewer.

2. Make a note of documents you are carrying. Try to carry a paper copy of all the necessary documents. Plan your outfit and accessory. Take up a professional look.

3. Keep a record of the office address. If you are familiar with the office location, you’ll get their on time. Make prior arrangements for your transport. Be punctual. Punctuality is an essential factor. So, try to get their at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.

4. Rehearse for your interview before setting out for the final round. Prepare general questions related these topics: talent and abilities, academic records, extra co-curricular activities performed, career goals, work objectives, knowledge and accomplishments, rewards and testimonials, personal information, work experience and salary expected.

5. Practice your responses. Rehearse them repeatedly in order to get rid of nervousness. Also, prepare an impressive Intro for yourself, comprising of 6-7 lines and incorporating all the necessary personal as well as professional details in it.

6. You must contact your former manager, instructors or staff members as your professional references.

7. While giving an interview, stay calm and composed. Be open-minded. Maintain an attentive posture and let your ideas be free. If you freely communicate with the interviewer, you both will be able to discover each-others’ priorities.

8. Remember this quote: “Knowledge is Silver but Silence is Gold”. Be a patient listener, when the interviewer is sharing his experiences with you. This might turn out to be fruitful for you in the near future.

9. Maintain an eye-to-eye contact with the interviewer, it shows your level of interest. Keep your body movement natural so that he is convinced that you’re really interested in this conversation.

10. You are required to exhibit that you are willing to adapt a new working environment. You must read the company policies very carefully.

11. Lastly, do negotiate in terms of salary but don’t act over-demanding, it’ll damage your professional image.

That was all! I am sure that you are full prepared for your interview now. So, just go ahead and rock it!

Stay Composed While Participating in an Interview - Follow These Basic Steps to Achieve Success

Think You Can"t Afford Film College? Think Again

If you want to attend Film College but are afraid you can’t afford it, don’t talk yourself out of it just yet. Let’s face it; millions of people want to attend Film College every year. However, most never make it there because they let the cost of the film education scare them away. Don’t let that happen to you. This article will give you some tips on how you’ll be able to afford Film College.

Are You Sure You Want To Do This?

First of all, you have to ask yourself if you’ve got what it takes to be a successful filmmaker. Is it even for you? The cost of Film College is around $15,000 a year for in state tuition. Before you jump into it, take a career aptitude test online. You can find them easily and they are free. This aptitude test will help you determine if your abilities and desires are a match for one another.

Pick an Accredited School

If you go to 20 Film College website, all 20 will say they are the best. Don’t let that fool you. That’s like asking two brothers which one is better looking. They both have the same answer. A Film University is no different. So don’t look at the biggest school with the highest priced tuition. A lot of community colleges offer a good film education program. You can learn the exact same thing there that you’ll learn in an expensive college.

Let’s face it; movie training 101 is movie training 101. Just make sure the film schools you are looking at offer some kind of financial assistance. The biggest thing to look for in the film college is are they accredited. That way you’ll be able to get financial aid.

Get Financial Aid

After you have picked out the accredited school that will be best for you, your first stop will be the financial aid office. It’s easy, just time consuming. You’ll need to fill out the FAFSA form. A good rule of thumb is if you earn less than $40,000 a year, odds are you can get financial aid. So go ahead and apply. Even if you make more than $40,000 a year you can still receive some help. The best part is this is money that you don’t have to pay back. It’s not a loan, it’s a grant. So look into it.

Private Financing

Film College is usually a little more expensive than your average college degree. Even if you get a grant, you may still need to use some out of pocket money to finance your film education. But don’t worry yet. Because there are places that give out awards and grants to young filmmakers like you.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gives out grants and scholarships to students like you every year. The smallest grant awarded is $5,000 per student each year and the largest grant awarded is $25,000 per student each year. Just do a Google search on The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and you’ll find the information you need.

Keep in mind that whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. If being a director or producer is your passion then go for it and don’t let the cost of film school stop you.

Think You Can"t Afford Film College? Think Again

Hire the Right Employees by Performing Background Checks

Resumes and live interviews are not enough for an employer to pass judgment on an aspiring applicant. There are several articles that are not written on an applicant’s curriculum vitae, or shown in a video resume. What if the applicant is a sex offender? An illegal alien? A deceiver? A criminal? In this light comes the need for a comprehensive background check.

Background checks are done on applicants and present employees by every company to ensure that their employees have satisfied the company’s choices. Applicants may think that this will breech their privacy and rights as a person. That, however, is not the case, as there are laws governing the conduction of background checks.

When an employee acts on a misdemeanor involving the company he is working for, not only is he destroying his name, but of his company as well. Employers check the “past lives” of their applicants to make sure that they are of sound mind and body, and that they will be unable to act uncaringly. Hiring a reputable applicant will bereave the company, in both the finance and reputation aspects of the company. Furthermore, the employer will also be filed a case against, since he has overlooked a particularly risky characteristic of an applicant.

So, for employers out there, you have to make sure to hire the right employees, you need to choose the right applicants. You can do this by conducting background checks. In performing your search, you can get lots of information that can help you select the right applicants that can be assets to your companies.

Hire the Right Employees by Performing Background Checks

Selecting the Best Call Center Applicants

Choosing the best applicants to fit in your call center company will take certain considerations. The survival of your outsourcing company against strong competition in the market will depend on how competent your employees in catering to the concerns of your clients.

Selecting the potential applicants to be trained and employed should undergo strict process. If you want for the best then help yourself in hunting for persons who will qualify in handling your account. Human resource personnel are mostly in charge in interviewing the walk-in applicants who wish to get employed in your company. As the chief operating officer or simply hired as country manager of the company you work for proper documentation of the volume of applicants your office received should be recorded.

The fastest way to be employed easily is applying at any contact center industry. Every outsourcing company is accommodating applicants to fill in their vacant position. The applicants can browse jobs opening through online job companies offering services like this. A job advertised online is the convenient approach when applying for a job. Jobseekers can save time and money because companies are going to respond with their application within only few working days. Another way of searching job is viewing the listing under the classified ads of the national daily newspapers. Big contact center companies allocated budget in paying the commercial rates when posting for their jobs opening. Outsourcing companies spent huge amount of money in letting the public informed about available jobs.

When receiving volumes of bio data, resume, and curriculum vitae from the applicants, the personnel from the Human Resource Department will start selecting the potential jobseekers to schedule for interview. There’ll be stages to be done to in hiring new employees.

As an interviewee, you need to pinpoint the strength and weaknesses of the applicants. If you have big companies catering inbound and outbound services, chat support, web content writing, and technical support, ask first the applicant what position he or she applying for. If from the beginning of the interview, if the applicants answer your questions directly and clearly then they might be eligible to proceed to the next level. The interviewee should watch out the grammar and sentence construction of a particular applicant. The accent is not much under priority because the applicants will learn it during training period.

The interviewee should also observe the behavior of the applicant. If you see undesirable attitude from the beginning then it’s an indication not to precede the application to avoid problem in the near future. However, as an interviewee you need to say it in a nice way. The hardest part of being in-charge for the selection process is turning down the applicants. However, you should not be affected with this because you are just doing your job in maintaining the company’s policy in choosing for the competent employees.

In call center companies, attrition rate is one of the most concerns because people come and go. If you want your center to achieve its goal, the skills, aptitude tests, and abilities of every people employed are very important. There are so many challenges in call center industry today. Maintaining people and choosing the right one are serious matter.

At the beginning of the interview, you may notice that most of the applicants are showing their interests such as politeness, enthusiastic, and very responsive to the questions. However, once get hired these people often found out slacking off the floor and showing undesirable traits. This is the reason why contact centers often give competitive tests to have more access to the applicant’s performance. For instance, from 10 applicants usually one or two were able to make it because of the stringent selection process.

The best way to select potential jobseekers are forming strategies, which could be used in the hiring process. At the end of the day, your company have selected new batch of people to be scheduled for training and placed under probationary status.

Selecting the Best Call Center Applicants

Resume Cover Letter - Creating A Powerful P.S. Section

It’s like some strange, uncontrollable addiction. With any letter, whether it’s sales, personal, or a resume cover letter, most of us can’t help but shoot straight to that P.S. section and just gobble it up, word for word.

Now just imagine this powerful, irresistible P.S. section at the bottom of your resume cover letter. Something that your potential employer can hardly keep his eyes off of. Here are some of the best ways to use a P.S. on your resume cover letter:

Resume Cover Letter P.S. #1–Ask for the interview

Doing this shows that you’re passionate about this position and that you truly want to work for their company. So differentiate yourself, take that extra step forward, and use that P.S. on your resume cover letter to ASK for that interview.

P.S. As I said before, I would love to be interviewed for the customer service position. I’m available right away, and you can call me at (323) 294-xxxx. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

Resume Cover Letter P.S. #2–Restate a benefit about yourself, or better yet, mention a whole new one

Make it something powerful…one that you’d like to sear into the mind of your potential employer. Don’t forget, it’ll be the last thing on your resume cover letter this person reads, so make it something great!

P.S. I’ve won HG School’s Teacher of the Year award twice, for my creativity and commitment to great learning. I’m anxious to bring these attributes to you at Alton School.

Resume Cover Letter P.S. #3–Use a quote/testimonial

Like the P.S., quotes/testimonials have always been one of the strongest marketing strategies ever used. That another employer is actually willing to speak on your behalf only says great things about you.

P.S. My supervisor said, “Nola isn’t afraid to solve problems, and whatever answers she doesn’t have, she’ll do research, and will ask questions. In other words, she works harder than what’s asked of her, always.”

Resume Cover Letter P.S. #4–Mention something that recently happened involving the company

Keeping up with company developments shows that you have a genuine interest & a true desire to work there. Check out the company’s website. You might learn a few things–information about a new product, a new partnership, or a new problem they’re facing.

P.S. Congratulations on your 17% increase in sales to overseas clients. With my 8 years of experience in international marketing, I’d love to not only help maintain this increase, but to help raise it to an even higher percentage.

So why not try it? Use that jewel of a P.S. section on your resume cover letter to say what you’d like your potential employer to remember most. That phone of yours will start ringing with interview offers soon enough!

Here’s to your future success, and never give up!

Resume Cover Letter - Creating A Powerful P.S. Section

MBA Admission Secrets - What Do Business School Admission Committee Members Look For?

In my 15 years of work as an Admission Counselor, I have answered thousands of questions from hundreds of MBA aspirants. While some of the questions are unique and context specific, a majority of questions (and their answers) are straight forward and informational in nature.

In this article, I will address a question that has intrigued almost all applicants since MBA programs gained reputation among students and professionals. The question is: What makes an MBA application – a winning application? Others may ask: Among varied factors such as GPA, GMAT score, Recommendation letters and Statement of purpose – Which one is the most important? Still others may question – What weight age does GMAT score have over GPA or work experience? In the following sections I will elucidate the relative importance of the factors.

Grade Point Average (GPA): The grade point average is the evaluative summary of one’s academic performance in school and college. The overall score may depend on several factors such as the grading standards in the institution and ranking of the school or college. MBA applicants are expected to have a ‘decent’ GPA, but this criterion should not be over emphasized. While its importance may vary from school to school, experts attribute 25-30% points to GPA.

Statement of Purpose: In this essay, the applicant is expected to state his/her reasons for applying to the program. It is an important piece of document that outlines the philosophy and purpose of the student. Some experts believe that it may tilt the balance in your favor if one ties with others on remaining criteria. It may be noticed that several professional bodies, admission counselors and review courses may provide services to craft someone’s statement of purpose. This practice has made admission committee members suspect a ‘well-written’ statement of purpose with suspect, especially if other components of application package are not as stellar. One can attribute about 10-20% points to statement of purpose.

Recommendation Letter: Most schools ask for reference letters from three people who have had a chance to observe the candidates’ work and behavior. Usually, professional supervisors and course professors write a confidential letter of recommendation. Schools use these letters to validate claims made by the applicant. However, given the fact that an applicant will always request some one to write a letter with whom he/she has had a positive work/academic relationship, admission officers choose not to give more than 15-25% points to this evidence.

GMAT score: While psychologists, academicians and decisions makers may differ on the appropriateness of an aptitude test as an evidence for future performance in studies and work, the GMAT score remains the most important criterion for selecting the right candidate among a group of applicants. Experts also concur that it is one of the most objective methods of selection per evidence obtained, for the MBA program. Despite varied views on GMAT test/score, most experts maintain that a candidate’s selection depends 40-60% on the GMAT score.

Work Experience: It is encouraged to have considerable and relevant job experience in order to appreciate the courses taught in the MBA program. Most candidates have 2 to 5 years of full-time work experience. While things may vary from school to school in granting admissions, admission committee members may give 10-25% points to job experience.

Having quantified various criteria for gaining admission in the MBA programs, I would like to add that no single factor may secure an admission. On the other hand, a very poor showing on one or more components may be a deal-breaker. Ultimately it is the ‘right’ mix of above-mentioned factors that may work in one’s favor.

MBA Admission Secrets - What Do Business School Admission Committee Members Look For?

How to Write an Effective Resume for That Terrific Restaurant Job Opening

With 1.9 million new restaurant jobs projected by the year 2016, it is no wonder why a career in the hospitality business is such a popular choice. Or why so many persons want to know how to write an effective resume; to nab hotel or restaurant management jobs, food preparation positions, or restaurant server jobs.

The potential for hospitality career advancement is excellent. Regardless if the person has attended one of the top culinary schools, has an associate of science degree, or simply seeks a position as a waiter waitress. Employees who exemplify a positive workplace attitude and have good people skill and job performance competence can quickly excel on the hospitality ladder to career success.

Deciding What Jobs to Apply For When deciding which hospitality establishment you might like to work for, consider this; the nicer the establishment, the more detailed the hospitality services – the more focus will be put on hospitality training and good job skill instruction.

And many times employee benefit, pay, work conditions, and chances for career advancement will be superior to that of less stylish establishments.

Let’s say you are interested in working for an upscale restaurant, but are hesitant to apply for a position because previous work experience was with more casual type establishments. A neat, attractive appearance, friendly, outgoing personality, and confident demeanor can go a long way in compensating work experience short comings.

Why not visit the restaurant just before rush time. When hospitality management is most likely to be present, but not too busy for an impromptu meeting. This will increase your chance of talking directly with the person responsible for hiring. If you make a good impression, you very well might be considered for a position, despite your lack of the type experience desired.

How to Write an Effective Resume Knowing what to write in a resume and how to prepare for a job interview will boost your confidence and help you make a positive impression; increasing your chances of landing the job.

When you write your resume, keep the following in mind:

o Regardless if the resume is for restaurant management jobs or restaurant server jobs – keep resume format and tone as professional as possible.

o Avoid “fluff.”  Keep focus on resume objective and the type resume job for which you are applying. Experience, skills, and attributes should be job relevant.

o Another great resume tip is to keep it short; no more than a single page long. Think of your resume as an appetizer; make it appealing, but brief. You can always expand on aspects of your resume during the job interview.

Job Interview Preparation After delivering your resume, think positive and begin preparing for a job interview:

o Learn all you can about the hospitality company you are applying to and the type hospitality services they provide.

o Rehearse answers to questions you are likely to be asked during the interview. For instance, how you would deal with a hard to get along with coworker in a particular situation. By thinking about responses to such questions before the interview, you avoid appearing frazzled trying to formulate answers on the spot.

o One question you should be prepared to answer during the job skill assessment part of the interview is what special people skill attributes or job talent you have that make you a good candidate for the job. Consider your attributes carefully. This is no time for false modesty, but be honest; don’t exaggerate.

o Most upscale restaurants require employees to know key food preparation methods and terms used. It might be a good idea to become familiar with the various food items on the restaurant’s menu before your interview.

o Speaking a second language, especially Spanish, is a great job skill asset to flaunt. Especially in large cities with non-English speaking employees or patrons, or in areas frequented by tourists.

Aside from how to write an effective resume, one other tip that will help make a good impression is to send a job interview thank you note; expressing gratitude for the opportunity to be considered as a part of their employment team.

How to Write an Effective Resume for That Terrific Restaurant Job Opening

Careers in the Coast Guard

A career as a Coast Guard officer in the U.S. demands a conscientious and dedicated approach to the duties and responsibilities that accompany the job profile. There are a number of options open for people that want to pursue this career path. The job not only gives you a chance to serve a humane purpose but also gives you the opportunity to stretch your physical and mental capabilities beyond the ordinary.

The department was founded in 1790 as the United States Coast Guard or USCG, as part of the Department of Treasury. Initially, the job involved countering smuggling off the U.S. coastline. However, today the Coast Guard is responsible for the promotion of peace and rescue operations.

Basic Requirements

The following are some of the requirements for becoming a Coast Guard officer:

– You should be a citizen of the U.S. or a resident alien.

– You should be between 17 to 27 years of age to qualify for active service.

– You should be a high school graduate.

– You should have cleared the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test or ASVAB.

– You should have passed a military entrance exam.

Benefits Of Becoming A Coast Guard Officer

– Steady Income: You are paid twice a month, depending on the specified pay grade at the time of recruitment.

– Chances Of Promotion: Your work is periodically appraised on the basis of performance, time served in a particular pay grade and service requirements.

– Paid Vacation: You are eligible for paid leave, comprising of 30 days in a year.

– Health Care: You are eligible for complete medical and dental health care, absolutely free.

– Life Insurance: You are covered under a $400,000 life insurance plan.

Training

The training for a Coast Guard officer involves training at a boot camp at Cape May, New Jersey.  The training lasts for 8 weeks and is mentally and physically challenging. Water survival techniques are taught hands on. The physical fitness regime adopted differs for the male and female recruits. Candidates are grouped to instill teamwork and co-ordination from the very start. The ability to swim is not a prerequisite for the Coast Guard. The selected candidates are given lessons in swimming and basic water rescue operations.

The Coast Guard Academy

The academy is one of the five federal military service academies in the U.S. Candidates are not charged a tuition fee and the academy offers various options to recruits. Some of them are:

– Civil Engineering.

– Mechanical Engineering.

– Naval Architecture.

– Marine Engineering.

– Operations Research and Computer Analysis.

All the options within the job profile of a Coast Guard involve rigorous training and detailed, specific education with regards to the department chosen.

How To Apply

Applications are accepted online, with the deadline being March 1st of each year. All inquires can be made directly to:

The Director of Admissions

U.S. Coast Guard Academy

15, Mohegan Avenue

New London

CT-06320 9807

Other Options

The U.S. Coast Guard Reserves offers part-time recruitment also. It is the perfect way for those in college or already working to gain experience with the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard also welcomes the services of physicians, dentists and pharmacists.

The job involves rescue operations, aircraft missions, interception of illegal migrants and port safety checks. The diversity of activity handled by the Coast Guard is attractive and a planned approach to becoming a part of the United States Coast Guard is not difficult at all.

Careers in the Coast Guard

How to Create a Killer Pilot Resume - Part 2

This is a continuation of my first article on how to create a killer pilot resume.

Okay, flight times are often overdone. It depends on the aircraft you’re applying to fly. If it’s a prop, tell them your Total Time, PIC, Multi Engine, Multi PIC,CC, Instrument, and Night. That’s it.

If you get too detailed and tell them how many night-instrument-complex-taildragger-landings-while-receiving-instruction-in-the-last-90-days, you’ll come off as inexperienced in the world of commercial aviation and you go in the trash can.

For a jet, you need to only include your total time, Multi Engine, PIC, Turbojet Total, SIC or PIC Turbojet (whichever is higher), and Time in type or make that the employer actually operates if you have some.

Leave any other details off unless you are responding to an ad requesting specifics, like international time for example. Also, round off the fractions to the nearest hour only.

Honestly, that’s all that most employers are going to read unless they like you. It’s theme at and potatoes of your pilot resume, and that’s why it’s listed first. If they even skim through the rest, you’re looking good.

When you’re listing your past jobs, just list the name of the company, their address, dates you worked, and a brief description of what you did.Aircraft type, position, Part 135, 121, or 91, and where you went, and avoid pronouns like “I” and “me.”

Also, only list flying jobs and only the most recent ones to fill the page, maybe three. Of course, if you don’t have a few, that’s okay, just avoid listing the Red Lobster job you took to supplement your flight instructing, they don’t care.

If you have a period of more than two months of unemployment, you should list it, but make sure you use the description area to explain what you were doing all that time, and “hanging out at the airport” won’t cut it. You should have accomplished something.

Education should be flight schools and college only. No high school or anything non-aviation.

I’ve seen some guys write an “achievement” section at the end. You know, awards and things, like the time you won first place in your town’s cat grooming competition.Guess what? They don’t care! There will be plenty of time to talk about that stuff later.I know a few chief pilots that would trashcan your pilot resume just because of stuff like that.

The only exception I can think of is if you happen to know that the boss is particularly fond of cat grooming. I’m not sure how you figured that out, and I don’t want to know,but trust me, you’re hired!

I should mention something here about listing references. This has become a bad practice. Don’t do it unless it was requested. I guess too many people wrote down their family barber of 20 years and it’s just meaningless now.

That’s it, you’re done. Okay, have someone else, (preferably not your “gifted and talented” four year old) proofread the thing. This is important; you’ll miss grammatical or spelling mistakes on something you’ve been looking at for too long.

Unless you’re printer is from 1982 and says “Atari” on it, it’s okay to print out your pilot resume at home in black ink on regular white paper, and use the same kind for your cover letter too.You’ll know if it looks crisp and clean.

Save your pilot resume on Microsoft Word or as a PDF as they are the standard file type to send in emails.

In summary, you have to keep in mind that, unlike most other professions, your pilot resume is not about your personality. Less is more.It’s just a quick-glance-type source for your prospective employer to make sure you’re technically qualified for the position.

A good cover letter on the other hand, is about you and your character. In it, you’ll have a chance to convey that you’re the kind of guy or gal they can get along with on the road, which is just as important to you getting the job as your pilot skills. And what’s funny is that a good cover letter can be the thing that gets you the call back, even if you’re qualifications are somehow lacking.

Be sure to catch my next article “How To Create a Killer Pilot Jobs Cover Letter”.

How to Create a Killer Pilot Resume - Part 2

How to Become a Licensed Electrician

Hiring a licensed electrician means peace of mind that your residential or commercial project, no matter how large or small, will be completed correctly the first time. Licensure means more work for better pay when you are on the job as well as greater job opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of opportunities for professional electrical contractors is expected to increase 7 percent from 2010 to 2016, with an average earning rate of approximately $15 to $32 an hour, thus ensuring a promising market for prospective electricians.

In order to become licensed, an individual needs to enroll in an apprenticeship program. Participating in such a program enables individuals to gain experience in the field under the leadership of an experienced professional. Once a person completes the program, they will have the opportunity to join a trade group or union such as the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) or the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC).

There several requirements needed in order to enter an apprenticeship program. A prospective electrician must:

o Be 18 years of age or older

o Have a high school diploma or GED including a year of Algebra

o Must have proper identification and documents including social security card, birth certificate and a high school transcript

o Be physically capable of performing the duties necessary for each job

o Score high on the NJATC or the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) test

o Drug free

A typical apprenticeship program takes 4 to 5 years to complete and includes 2,000 hours of on the job training and 144 hours of classroom instruction per year. Once a person becomes a licensed electrician, they are ready to perform higher level electrician jobs. They can also continue their skills by participating in a journeyman program.

How to Become a Licensed Electrician

Recruiting For Personality Fit

Hiring the wrong person for the job can be detrimental to the productivity of the company, and may cause avoidable expenses.

The cost of hiring the wrong person is higher than taking the time to find someone with the right personality fit for your business. Think about the time and monetary costs of having to go through the recruitment and training process again. It is better to find the right person in the first place.

The key to finding that candidate – is to concentrate on their personality & culture fit within an organization. Here are some tips to help make your recruitment job easier.

Effective interview techniques

It is not just the jobseeker who needs to be prepared for the interview – you need to do some homework too. A recruiter will need a good understanding of what type of individual will fit into the business which including their personality, skills base, attitude and manner. Use these techniques to ensure you always have effective interviews:

o Be clear on the competencies required for the job, including your required output and key performance indicators.

o Determine characteristics and traits of the person you think will succeed in the role. Look at employees who are doing well in the same job and list what they bring to the position.

o Prepare a job description for candidates.

o Read each person’s resume and cover letter before meeting them so you know their experience. It will also give you a springboard for questions.

o Prepare interview questions beforehand covering the skills base you need, but also questions that will help you assess the candidate’s behaviour. Using the same set of questions for each interviewee is fairer and makes it easier for you to determine the candidate with the best fit.

o Help the candidate relax with small talk and easy questions first.

o Listen more than talk.

o Watch for non-verbal clues, such as body language and facial expressions, and look at how the jobseeker is presented.

o Explain the recruitment process clearly and remain neutral throughout.

Use behavioural questions

A candidate’s past behaviour is a great way to understand how they will operate in the future. Use behavioural questions to find out how the candidate responded in a previous situation similar to the job they are interviewing for, or give them a role play example and ask what they would do. This technique will give you a good insight into which people have the traits, characteristics and competencies suitable for the job.

Ask non work-related questions

While you are finding out which activities a candidate enjoys in their free time, you can assess how they will fit into your business. For instance, someone who likes BASE jumping is a risk taker who might get bored with data entry, or a person who enjoys spending their spare time alone might not like a job where a lot of networking is involved.

Go with you gut instinct

With all the tools available to assess the suitability of a candidate, your gut feeling is still an important indicator. If you have spent the whole interview thinking their personality is going to wreak havoc in your business, it makes good business sense to listen to that instinct. You know what type of person fits into your organisation, so trust that knowledge.

Research the right personality fit for your organisation

An organisation’s cultural fit is difficult to define, but you know when you have found the right employee because they feel right. Culture is made up of the life experiences, values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviour of the entire organisation, from the executives to the trainees. Basically, it is the rules of your workplace and you need to have a very clear idea of what that is before embarking on any recruitment. Once you know the organisation’s cultural fit, it should be easy to work out the personality profile of the person you need to recruit.

Identify culture fit through psychometric testing

Many employers now use psychometric testing as one of their recruitment tools. This testing method gives an insight into the way a candidate thinks and works that you cannot find out through their resume or in a 20-minute interview.

Psychometric testing falls into two categories: aptitude and personality. Aptitude tests measure numerical, verbal, comprehension, abstract or spatial reasoning skills and information checking. Personality assessments look more at interests and motivations through a series of questions. Candidate’s answers are compiled into a profile, which you can compare with the profile of the person you are seeking.

Reference checks

After sorting through a bundle of candidate’s resumes, choosing a short-list, interviewing, psychometric testing and listening to your instinct, there is one more task to ensure you have chosen the right person for your business – check their references.

Be specific when you speak to referees and ask how the person coped in behavioural situations to help assess whether their personality fits with your business.

Recruiting For Personality Fit