Career Cube Blog

You have those interview questions you hate.

The ones you dread and stay awake at night worrying about.

The ones that every time they’re asked, you don’t have a good answer.

So what are you doing to get better about answering them?

For some of you, it’s Tell Me About Yourself, for others it’s What’s your greatest weakness? Others of you stumble over the salary question.

Whatever it is, it’s time to get tough on yourself and prepare an answer. Stop kidding yourself that although you stumbled over that one question you saved the rest of the interview. Chances are that somewhere in the back of your mind your confidence was rattled when they asked you that question, and you spent the rest of the time trying to figure out how you could have answered that better, or stressed out that you didn’t answer it well at all.

Read more

Popularity: 4% [?]

Back when I was looking for jobs, temp agencies didn’t have the best reputations. They were fine if you were just looking for a filler job until something you really wanted opened up. There also was the hopeful temp to perm position, but it all seemed a little shady to me.

However today more and more companies are outsourcing their recruiting to these firms and some have some pretty prime slots to fill. This past Saturday I spent the morning manning a desk at an open house of an agency in Stamford, CT. They recognize the benefit of having me there to help the people who have great resumes but aren’t confident in an interview, or the people who are great in an interview but their resume could use some work. In return I got some great insight into what their candidates are like. They told me some great anecdotes. Read more

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’m sure that many of you just made that inward “ick” sound when reading those two words. It conjures up feelings of having to uncomfortably call people on the phone or ask them in person essentially if you can pick their brains useful information to help your career, and probably not help them in return.

Yeah–”ick”.

But, that’s just how you feel. That’s not necessarily, 100% how the person on the other end of the phone is going to feel when you call them and ask them for their expertise. I’m guessing that they’d feel kind of flattered. Here’s you, nervous, unsure, curious and anxious, calling them-and perceiving them as confident, knowledgeable and helpful. See where the natural opportunity for flattery comes in?

However, you still need to handle it like a pro. Used effectively, these interviews can be the quickest way to jump-start your career. But you need to do ‘em right.

Informational interviews are a chance for you to sit down with someone (either in-person or over the phone) and learn about their job, their industry or their career and specifically how it relates to your experiences. You want to get information from them that will enable you to take the next step.

Read more

Popularity: 3% [?]