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How Not To Screw Up That Job
Interview
So, you eventually want to get that job that possibly lands you in the
running for a spot on the annual NPT Power & Influence Top 50 list of movers
and shakers. Joe St. Leger, Managing Director, Reaction Search International, in
New York City, assists candidates in taking their career to the next level. He
has a list of what should not be followed in any interview process:
Don't
...
Answer vague questions. Rather than
trying to answer an unclear question, ask the interviewer for more specifics.
Interrupt the interviewer. If you
don't have time to listen, then neither does the person conducting the
interview.
Place anything on the interviewer's
desk.
Be overly familiar, even if the
interviewer is.
Ramble. Long answers can make you
sound apologetic or indecisive. On the other hand, don't answer questions with a
simple "yes" or "no." Explain yourself in detail whenever
possible.
Lie. Answer questions as truthfully
as possible.
Make derogatory remarks about your
present or former employers or companies. This could have a negative effect on
the interviewer's perception of you.
By the same token, there are certain questions that interviewers generally
like to ask, such as:
"Tell me about yourself."
Keep your answers in the professional realm only, including information about
your previous positions, education and other forms of training, specialized
skills, and any other credentials that may pertain to the position.
"What do you know about our
organization?" This is where your research will come in handy.
"Why are you interested in this
position?" Emphasize any skills or qualifications you have that make you
the best candidate for the position. Also, reiterate your desire to work for
this particular employer.
"What have been your most
significant career accomplishments to date?" Provide the interviewer with a
brief rundown of some of your most recent accomplishments and/or projects.
"Describe a situation in which
your work was criticized." Place your focus not on the criticism itself,
but on how you provided a remedy for the situation.
"How would you describe your
personality?" Accentuate the positive aspects.
"How do you perform under
pressure?" Provide a specific example of how you met a tight deadline.
"What have you done to improve
yourself over the past year?" Examples could include taking training
courses, attending seminars, networking with others in the industry.
"What did you like least about your last position?" Stick to
examples in which you can illustrate how you overcame a certain situation or
dilemma.
"Why are you leaving your current employer?" Answers such as
"I'm looking for an opportunity to advance in my career" work best.
Again, accentuate the positive.
"How would your co-workers
describe you?" Be honest, and be prepared to provide the name of someone
who can vouch for what you tell them. Some interviewers may want to contact a
co-worker.
"What do you think of your boss?" Again, think positive.
"What are your career goals?" If you're interested in a
long-term position for the company you are interviewing with, tell the
interviewer. Provide specifics about what makes the company a good fit for you.
"Where do you see yourself in two years?" Concentrate on
accomplishments you would like to achieve.
"Why should we hire you?" This is your opportunity to wax
poetic. If you think you're best suited for the position, say so. And be
prepared to tell the interviewer why.
Conversely, most executive recruiters will tell you that there are four
mistakes that stand out as the ones most commonly made by candidates
interviewing for a position. In order of importance, they are:
Losing sight of the interview objective. The objective is to get the job
offer. This can't be over emphasized. If you lose sight of this objective, be
prepared for the unpleasant consequences because the offer will likely go to
someone else.
Being too modest. Candidates tend to understate their capabilities. This
doesn't mean you should overstate your qualifications; it merely means that you
should make the most of what you have. Do not forget that knowledge of how to
solve a particular problem can be a strong qualification, even though that
knowledge may not have been applied directly in your job experience. A little
modesty is a good thing, but don't overdo it.
Asking too many "Me" questions. Remember, your objective is to
get the job. Chances are that most of your questions in this area will be
answered either by the personnel department or the interviewers. Don't pursue
questions about what the company can do for you during the interview. Emphasize
your ability to contribute to the company's goals.
There will be a time to ask "me" questions after you get the
offer -- not during the interview. If you leave the impression that salary and
related perks are your number one goal, be prepared to accept the inevitable
consequence of having the offer go elsewhere.
Failure to "sell" your abilities throughout the interview
sequence. There is no such thing as a token interview. It may be true that some
people you interview have no power to hire you, but they certainly have the
power to keep you from getting the offer. You should treat every interviewer as
the person responsible for getting the job. Do not treat anyone you meet as
unimportant.
Do not
even allow yourself to think an interviewer to be less important than others.
Never depend on someone else to sell your abilities to others. Make the strong
and positive pitch yourself.
By: Stuart Kahan, of the Non Profit Times. The Non Profit Times
is the leading business publication for nonprofit management.
The ASCPA is pleased
to announce a new member service agreement with PassMatrix Learning Systems, for
a discount to Arkansas Society of CPA associate and student members on the
MicroMash® CPA Review for both 4-part review course purchases as well as
individual exam sections.
The retail price of the CPA Review program is $995 for the full review and
$295 per section. PassMatrix offers ASCPA associate and student members
the discounted rate of $845 for all 4 review exam sections, or $270 per
individual review exam section.
For more information on this new member service, ASCPA members should click
on the PassMatrix icon on the Student Lounge section of the ASCPA website: www.arcpa.org.
Bill Gates’
11 Rules for Living
Here is a list of 11 things, according to Bill Gates that many high school
and college graduates did not learn in school.
RULE 1
Life is
not fair; get used to it.
RULE 2
The world
won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish
something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
RULE 3
You will
NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won’t be a
vice president with a car phone, until you earn both.
RULE 4
If you
think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss (who doesn’t have
tenure).
RULE 5
Flipping
burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for
burger flipping; they called it opportunity.
RULE 6
If you
mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes,
learn from them.
RULE 7
Before
you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that
way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk
about how cool you are. So before you save the rainforest from the parasites of
your parents’ generation, try “delousing” the closet in your own room.
RULE 8
Your
school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some
schools they have abolished failing grades; they’ll give you as many times as
you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance
to ANYTHING in real life.
RULE 9
Life is
not divided into semesters.
You
don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you
find yourself. Do that on your own time.
RULE 10
Television
is NOT real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop
and go to jobs.
RULE 11
Be nice to
nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
It Pays to Hold
CPA Designation
CareerBank.com, a website for
accounting, finance and banking jobs has released its fourth annual Salary
Survey Report. Over 2,800 respondents working in the accounting, finance
and banking professions around the country responded to this voluntary online
survey.
The data revealed that workers with a professional credential of some type
earned 30 percent more in 2004 than those working without any kind of
credential. The average annual salary for CPAs participating in the survey
increased just over 2 percent from 2003 to $73,295. CPA salaries were not broken
down by career longevity, but three-quarters of all respondents had been working
in their current position for less than five years.
Professionals with a credential of some kind (about half of the
respondents) were earning $70,096 compared to those without any kind of
credential who are earning only $53,748. Of credentialed respondents, more than
62 percent held the CPA designation.
Among the survey's other findings: The average 2004 salary for those
women respondents from the accounting, finance and banking professions
(including CPAs) rose nearly $2,000 to $52,012 while the average salary for men
in the same fields dropped $190 to $69,848.
Men are 25 percent more likely than women to hold a professional
credential but women with a credential are earning 31 percent more ($60,942),
than their female counterparts. Men with a credential are earning 23 percent
more ($77,343), compared to those men without a credential.
Higher education showed its pluses with those with a Master's degree
earning 22% more than 2004 ($71,850 versus $70,265).
Wages for most sectors stayed close to last year's average salaries or
decreased, while government jobs paid 18 percent more than they did last year
($52,298 to $61,601).
Longevity is positive to higher salaries with those in positions more than
five years earning 25% more ($69,791 to $75,858). Thirty-eight percent
(38%) of workers received a 3-5% annual raise.
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