Succeeding with Panel Interviews

These days, job interviews often consist of a panel of three-to-six interviewers.

A "team approach" to finding the best candidate can be beneficial for the employer. Each member brings a different set of skills, experience and judgment to the team, and can point out pros (and cons) about a candidate that the other interviewers might miss. 

Panel interviews can also be beneficial for the job seekers.

In a one-on-one interview you only have one shot at making the best impression. With a team doing the interviewing, your odds are increased.

Say for example that Interviewer No. 1 had a bad experience with your past employer and unconsciously (or consciously) holds that against you, even though you had nothing to do with what happened. Interviewers No. 2, 3, and 4 have no such prejudices and so could sway the vote in your favor. 

While panel interviews often seem more intimidating than one-on-one interviews, here are some steps you can take to ease your stress and ensure a better outcome. Vacancy*

1. Relax. Remember that being faced by a panel of strangers (versus one) is better for you.

2. Smile. Everyone in the room will smile back and you'll all get off to a great start.

3. Greet each interviewer individually. Shake hands with each person. Repeat their names as you are introduced (everyone likes to hear their own name, and it will help you to remember them).

4. Include everyone when answering questions. Face and make eye contact with the person who asks the question, but then extend your eye contact to everyone in the room. You're speaking to all of them, not just the person who asked the question.

5. Get their cards. Before leaving, get a business card from each person in the room. These will come in handy when it's time to send your thank-you notes. (If they don't have cards, ask for their names again if you don't remember them; jot them down. You can contact the HR person or receptionist later to get their email or mailing address.)

6. Send individual thank-you notes. Immediately send a thank-you note to each member of the interview panel, but don't make the notes identical. Make it more personal by pointing out something that person said or asked. For example, "When you asked me about my marketing experience, I forgot to mention that in addition to my three years as a marketing representative at ABC company, I also participated on several marketing focus groups while working at XYZ company."

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Interviewing Over Lunch: Are You at Risk?

Sometimes a hiring process will include having lunch with the hiring manager. Despite anything said to the contrary (like "It'll just be an informal lunch so we can get to know each other."), this is a formal part of your interview!

This can be a very tricky situation. 

Impressions made in a restaurant are just as important as those in an office or meeting room.

If you don't want an "eating mishap" to ruin your chances at a new job (or a promotion if you're dining with the boss), follow these tips:

Vacancy > 1. Avoid ordering messy foods.

This includes long pasta, of course, but also anything with stringy cheese... you know, the kind that stretches up with your fork from the plate to your mouth.

Watch out for soup, anything with a sauce or other "drippable" ingredient. No matter how careful you are, you know an invisible hole can magically appear in your spoon and cause you to drip all over yourself!

Even a salad can be hazardous! Have you ever tried to spear a cherry tomato with your fork and squirted yourself, your neighbor, or watched the tomato go flying off your plate? Not impressive. Avoid cherry tomatoes.

2. Mind your manners.

First, let me say I am definitely NOT "Miss Manners." These are just common-sense tips, not something you'd learn at charm school. (So don't send me an email with the "proper" etiquette, OK?)

This may be considered old-fashioned and unnecessary by some (especially women's libbers, if there's still such a thing), but I think it's still a nice courtesy for a man to pull out a chair for a woman. Either sex can offer to take someone's coat and hang it up. In general, just be nice, thoughtful, and courteous.

Thank the servers.

If you're in a fancy place with 6 different forks, 3 knives and 2 spoons, don't freak out about which to use for what. In general, they're placed in the order in which the food that you use them with will be served... implement furthest from the plate being used first. So when the salad comes out first, grab the fork furthest from your plate. Or just watch what the big shot does and follow his/her example.

If your food comes out first, don't start scarfing it down while the other(s) wait for their food to arrive. If they're courteous, they'll invite you to go ahead before your food gets cold. Likewise, if someone else has been served and is waiting while your food is delayed, invite them to go ahead and eat.

Don't reach... ask someone to pass.

Don't use your bread to mop up sauce, soup, or anything else.

Don't slurp or burp. Ever. Yes, this may be acceptable in some countries as a way to show appreciation for good food, but if you're in the U.S., don't do it. Even if the big shot does.

3. Watch the cost.

It doesn't matter if you've been told, "Order anything you'd like, this is on me." Do not order the most expensive thing on the menu! Even if the big shot does.

4. Beer or wine?

Have you seen that commercial where several guys are at a restaurant with a big shot and he asks what they want to drink? They go around the table and all order a non-alcoholic drink except for the last guy, who orders a Sam Adams (beer). The big shot is "impressed" and orders the same.

Hah! Never fall for anything you see in a beer commercial!

Would you have a beer or glass of wine at the office? (You better say "No!") Despite the surroundings, food and drink, if this is a business function (and it certainly is if you're interviewing or discussing business with your boss), do NOT order alcohol! Even if the big shot does.

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Finding a Job When You Don't Know What You Want to Do

By : Anthony Balderrama

One of the most exciting aspects of a job hunt is the opportunity to pursue any career you want. An endless array of jobs awaits you; hundreds, thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands. Surely you can throw out enough résumés to net the job of your dreams, right?

Alas, it's not that easy. You can't expect to compete with other job seekers if you don't know what you want. Unfortunately, a lot of job seekers don't know what they want to do when they find themselves looking for a job.

Maybe you're young and unsure of your future -- you might even have a degree. You might have been part of the work force for a decade or more and recently realized you don't like what you're doing, but you don't know what's next for you. Not knowing what to do first can be overwhelming, if not disheartening.

"Candidates looking for a job have to start somewhere," says Donna Flagg, president of the Krysalis Group, a business and management consulting firm. "I think the most important thing is not to try to decide on what long-term career is best, because it's too daunting. However, it's not hard to think about places, jobs or things that make you happy or that interest you. Start there and back into employers that may offer such an environment."

The problem, of course, comes with singling out a job that you'll enjoy.

Write it down
Your first step should get your brain working, according to Simma Lieberman, a performance improvement consultant and coach.

"Make a list of jobs, careers and topic areas that have interested you. Don't censor yourself or think of reasons why you shouldn't list them," she suggests. Then start researching.

Browse your social and professional networks for people in the industries that interest you and ask them any questions you have. Try to find experts in these fields who would be willing to have a brief informational interview with you. "After your interviews and research, list the pros and cons, skills and experience needed to be successful, and determine what careers or jobs match your interests, needs and wants."

Throughout this process, remember that you shouldn't close off any avenues without good reason. If you're a numbers person who can't even draw a smiley face to save your life, then you may want to cross artistic careers off the list and consider something in finance. But don't assume any field in finance is off limits because of a scant work history.

Of course, experience is key. Not just the experience you have, but also the experience you're willing to gain, says Annemarie Segaric, author of "Step into the Right Career: Change Your Life While Still Paying the Bills."

"Realize that it's often unreasonable to expect to know exactly what you want without the experience of working in different jobs in the first place. This will take the pressure off of you from having to know what you want to take action," she says. "Instead, taking action on different opportunities will help you hone in what you like and don't like."

If you have worked for two years or just have an internship under your belt, you should already have some idea of what you're good at and what you don't like. Even if it's as simple as realizing you don't like working with customers on a regular basis or you can't stand a cubicle job, knowing what you won't do is helpful to find out what you will do.

"Remember this is not the last job you'll ever have, so let your degree, your passions or even your alumni contacts in a certain industry guide you," she reminds. "You will be able to make this job a steppingstone on this long and often winding career journey."

The process
Once you've got the right mind-set to find a job, you still have to apply and interview, just like all other job candidates, many of whom have known what they wanted to do since they first uttered the words "director of human resources" while still wearing diapers. So when you walk in to an interview, you might not be 100 percent certain you want the job, but don't let the hiring manager know.

Tina Hamilton, president and CEO of HR company hireVision Group, offers some tips for job seekers still trying to find their direction.

· Look for jobs that align with your education.
While you don't want to limit yourself too much during the job hunt, don't apply for a job as an investment banker if you're about to complete a bachelor's in studio art.

· Use your cover letter to illustrate your qualifications.
As with any job hunt, help the hiring manager see why you're a good fit for the position. Don't make him work too hard.

· Don't indicate your lack of direction.
If you admit to the hiring manager you're just trying this job on for size, you're telling him or her that you might not stick around for too long and you raise doubts about your qualifications.

· Don't ask the hiring manager, "What position do you think I should be applying for?"
"These are not career counselors," Hamilton cautions. "If you are turned away for a job you may ask if there is another area in the organization that the interviewer feels might be a better fit for you."

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3 Hot Career Tips for Fresh Graduates

By: Annie Yap

Annie Yap is the founder and Managing Director of AYP Associates. Based in Singapore, it specialises in executive search of mid to senior level management talents across various job functions and industries.

Besides Singapore, AYP Associates helps companies to source for talents from Malaysia, PRC, Vietnam, Eastern Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia, UK and even USA.

Find out more at www.aypassociates.com


Annie, how can students prepare themselves to successfully enter the working world?

1. Know what you want – It's good to do some personality profiling tests to find out about your personality so that you will be more guided as to what kind of job suits you. For example, are you an introvert or extrovert? Are you people oriented? What are your interests? What are you passionate about? These factors will help you in deciding what type of career to pursue.

2. Be disciplined – when you start out in your new job, be focused and put in the hard work for the first 5 to 10 years of your working career. This is the crucial stage that will lay a solid foundation for your career progress.

Sharing from my own personal experience, I worked at GMP for 15 years since I graduated. The truth is, fresh graduates will definitely face many obstacles and challenges in the working world, but it's important to persevere, endure, and resist the temptation to job hop every time we face a problem, or join another company for small salary increments.

3. Be flexible – working life is very competitive as we all live in a global economy now and business functions at a very fast pace. In order to stay on top of things, we have to constantly equip ourselves with new knowledge, keep an open mind and be flexible to change so that we can successfully adapt to new environments.


What is one piece of important career advice that you have for everyone?

Don't chase after money, but rather, chase after career progression and money will eventually look for you.

About the Author

Get to know more of Annie Yap's career tips for Fresh Graduates, as she shares her experiences with JobsDB Singapore. See her YouTube video as she talks more about Career Tips for Fresh Graduates.

(ArticlesBase SC #2404589)

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Give yourself a Competitive Edge With Feng Shui Career Tips

By: Amit Bhalla

Our career is the central point of our lives and although money cannot buy everything, however a successful career can definitely open up the path to achieving the big and small pleasures of life. All of us try to get that extra edge over competition in every area of our life, be it through enhancing our career skills, polishing our knowledge or through other means such as luck enhancing tactics. The ancient practice of Feng Shui is one such tool available to individuals through which they can enhance different aspects of their lives. This Chinese practice balances the various elements like wind, water, air and fire to achieve peace and harmony in the crucial areas of our life like career, health, wealth and ofcourse personal relationships. Among the most popular methods is the Feng Shui career luck enhancing tips.





You may face a certain phase in your life where nothing seems to work out for you in the career front, or perhaps you are not being able to achieve the level of success that you deserve. At times some negative energy blocks our career luck, preventing us from successfully moving ahead in life. At times we do many things and act in ways which work against the Feng Shui career tips, thereby negating all our positive efforts. The implementation of the right and effective Feng Shui career guidance is therefore crucial to open up and activate the career luck of an individual. An individual’s career is ruled by particular direction according to his kua number and enhancing that corner will work wonders for his career.





Some Feng Shui career tips are general in nature and are beneficial for one and all. The water element is a strong force in activating career luck. The goldfish or terrapin turtle are popular choices for activating career luck. However, the direction in which you are placing the water body containing the fish or the turtle will play a crucial role in determining the positive effect on career luck. The Chinese coins are believed to be an auspicious tool in attracting wealth and luck. Place three coins tied together with a red ribbon in your wallet and you will see your wealth luck changing. The coins are also an auspicious symbol to be hung at the doorknob, facing the room. As the wealth and career factor are somewhat related, enhancing one also works in a complementary manner for the other.





Feng Shui career tips are very potent tools that can make a great change in your professional life. However, it is always advisable to implement any Feng Shui tips only after a consultation with an authentic professional. The elements need to be properly balanced in our living space to provide the best results. Wrongly implemented tips could very well play havoc and cause more harm than good. So implement Feng Shui career tips with care and see your life change for the better with the passage of time. Also let other tips and guidance enhance each aspect of your life successfully.

About the Author

Amit Bhalla works to help all those who want information about the latest and the best, most happening places in the city. To know more about local search services delhi, Conversion Service, Yellow Pages India, Local Search India, Feng Shui career tips visit www.myquest.in

(ArticlesBase SC #298741)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Give yourself a Competitive Edge With Feng Shui Career Tips

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