IS RESEARCH THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN A JOB INTERVIEW?

according to bob lankard research is key to interview:

According to him a job seeker gets off on the wrong foot in an interview by stating they came to the interview to “learn about the company.”

A goal for the interviewee is to know as much about the company as if you worked there already. Research is the way to gain that knowledge.

By doing research the interviewer will know you have spent time and energy rather than just walking in. Learn about the company by looking at the company website, Google the company, do a news search, use social media, talk to employees, customers, the chamber of commerce.

• Company website: Learn goals, needs and company culture.

• Google the company: This may turn up problems, interesting news articles or potential questions to ask.

• Social media: Many  companies now have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn sites. These can give you information on those who run the company.

Are you on Facebook? Keeping up with who is getting married or having a baby? Does it surprise you that Facebook can be a good place to find a job?

A job seeker’s purpose in using Facebook should be to network with professionals in the field by joining and getting active in groups in your line of work.

The secret for the job hunting Facebooker is to give your profile a professional tone.

The profile should highlight accomplishments, skills, experience and education.

Companies also have Facebook pages and they can be a source of information. One job seeker, after looking at a company’s Facebook page, was able to use things he learned about the company and key employees in his cover letter when applying for a job.

Some believe using Facebook for both fun and job hunting is a bad idea. They argue that you will lose out on jobs because of what employers will see on your “fun Facebook.” Others argue that it is safe for the job seekers who set their privacy setting high and highlight their work experience.

• Talk to employees and customers: These conversations may give you inside information. But beware of those with an ax to grind.

• Chamber of commerce: This information may give clues to the history and ups and downs of the company’s history.

• Friends in the community: They also can give you inside information that may not be available elsewhere.

Learning about the employer before the interview or sending your r￩sum￩ gives you the advantage that you already know about the company. You’ve spent time learning about them. And through social media you can have some connection to the person who interviews you.

This may be the key to getting you hired.

SO IS RESEARCH THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN A JOB INTERVIEW?

Tips on starting your own business; HGTV's Jeff Sarty

1. Accept that you will have to put your life on hold

Sarty says that starting a business at the age of 19 gave him a hard reality check, because while his friends were out partying every weekend, he was working to make a name for himself. Thankfully, it all paid off.

2. Set your goals. When you reach them, make more 

His best advice for someone looking to start up their own business: create both realistic and unrealistic goals every year. Try to figure something out that is a possibility, as well as goals that might seem like pipe dreams. See what you can do differently, what you can improve, or how to tailor the business to better serve your customers.

3. Seize every opportunity 

According to this reality TV star, tackling anything that comes down the pipeline is an absolute requirement of the new business owner. Even if you have to stretch yourself paper thin for a short time, do it. It pays off in the end. 

4. Avoid working with your friends 

While it can be near impossible to start a business without leaning on friends and family for support, hiring them might not always be the best idea. If you do need to, Sarty says to make sure that there is a clear and defined line between work hours and friend hours.

5. Have fun 


If you are spending more days hating your working life than enjoying it - try something else.

What other tips could you add to these if any?

By jeff Sarty

WHAT IS AN ONLINE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?

Learning is a continuous process and will always be useful in all aspects of people’s lives; meanwhile people are so busy with their careers these days that they barely have time to attend lectures/classes. That is why it is necessary for universities, vocational trainings or certification bodies to adopt the online learning management system (LMS) in order to record their lectures online so that their students can learn online with ease and convinience. I will briefly explain its meaning and its benefits.

AN ONLINE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

An online learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of electronic educational technology (also called e-learning) for degrees, courses or training programs. LMS is a powerful software that is combined with digital frameworks for managing curriculum, educational and training materials, as well as evaluation tools. Colleges/universities, vocational training and certification bodies use LMS to deliver online courses, augment on-campus courses and keep records as well as employee registration.

1. It delivers courses, degrees and certifications with quick reach and flexibility. 
2. It provides the users the ability to manage its continued use over time and also provides an easy, simple and modern user interface. 
3. Easily adapting and reusing materials over time.
4. More choices for creators of curriculum, such as method of delivery, design of materials, and techniques for evaluation.
5. It is economic as it make it less costly for universities, vocational training and certification bodies to develop and maintain content.
6. Improvements in professional development and evaluation, allowing companies to get more value from human resources while empowering individuals with additional tools for self-improvement.

WHAT ARE OTHER POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF USING A ONLINE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?

CAN ONE MAKE A CAREER BASED ON WHAT THEY ENJOYED OR WHAT THEY PASSED IN HIGH SCHOOL?

Another thing one should consider when trying to discover your career is what you enjoyed while you were in school, while comparing it to what subject/course you passed in high school. You might find yourself happily attending and enjoying a subject a lot, but then you always passed another subject. This means your career could lie within any of those, and therefore you need to consider and compare them.

WHAT YOU ENJOY/ ENJOYED VS WHAT YOU PASSED IN HIGH SCHOOL

While in school, you would realize that there were a few subjects that you enjoyed (and you also made distinctive results in). Your favorite class in high school could very well launch you into your future career, also choosing a career based on something you are skilled(subjects you excelled at in high school) at can help you excel and provide a secure future for you. Academic subjects translate well into future careers but may require more schooling than other types of careers. For example, if you loved technical drawing in high school, maybe you should consider becoming an architect or technical drawing related job.

What you are good at in school is different from what you pass in school. I never really enjoyed mathematics, but I always passed it while in high school. Sometimes you also find out that there are some subjects you enjoy but do not pass, and also those you pass but do not enjoy. Which is why you need to compare these two points individually and connect them to your dream career.

If you like attending the class for technical drawing but always pass mathematics, you could think about being an architect, a mathematician or even combining them both and being a civil engineer.

WHAT OCCUPATIONS COULD BE BASED ON WHAT ONE ENJOYED OR WHAT ONE PASSED IN HIGH SCHOOL?

WHAT MEDIUMS COULD BE USED TO MARKET EDUCATIONAL TRAINING PROVIDERS?

Furthermore from our previous discussion on 13/04/2015, another important step in creating a marketing plan is to choose the mediums with which you will market your training facility, certification body or university.  

Having chosen the key message (Unique Selling Proposition) to pass to your audience, you need to find suitable medium to communicate to your target audience. There are paid and free ways to market your university, vocational training or certification body and reach out to your target audience.

You should list all the possible mediums of marketing, use as many as possible and then measure the effectiveness of each medium by asking customers that contact you how they heard about you. Select the ones that sold your school the most over time and make use of them while still testing their significance.

The following includes a list of all possible mediums to use in communicating your university, vocational training or certification body to the students, their parents and the employers; choose the ones that are perfect for you. They are;

1. careergong.com (remember that careergong.com identifies and communicates your target audience) Click here to register with us and market your services.,
2.  Television,
3. Radio,
4. Newspaper,
5. Magazines,
6. Cable and
7. Satellites,          
8. Websites,
9. Mail order, 
10. Billboards,
11. Bus ads,
12. Taxi signs,
13. Fliers,
14. Paintings,
15. Catalogs,
16. Telephone calls,
17. Postcards,
18. Door-to-door,
19. Direct tv respons),
20. Classified ads,
21. Blogging,
22. Article marketing,
23. Facebook,
24. Twitter,
25. Linkedin,
26. Career advertising agents

WHAT OTHER MEDIUMS BESIDES THESE LISTED ABOVE COULD BE USED TO MARKET EDUCATIONAL TRAINING PROVIDERS?

WHAT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS SHOULD NOT BE ASKED BY A JOB INTERVIEWER?

Before interviewing job seekers for a vacancy, you should have drafted out a few questions to ask them. This is because in the course of trying to find out the best questions to ask them, you might ask the wrong questions that can be seen as inappropriate and make them uncomfortable. 

Job seekers are not the only ones to worry about saying the inappropriate things, employees are also under this pressure most times. When it comes to drawing the line between what is and isn't appropriate to ask a job candidate, the parameters aren't always clear. That is why it is always necessary to have a brief meeting with your recruitment committee to jointly draft out the questions for the interview. 

Most questions however seem inappropriate depending on the way they are being asked, here are some of them.

1. When do you plan to retire?” Asking candidates what their long-term goals are is okay, but asking when they plan to retire is not good.
2. Why were you discharged from your previous work? Asking why your employer was discharged is illegal; however asking what type of education, training or work experience received is not.
3. Are you a citizen of the country? While it’s okay to ask if a candidate is legally eligible for employment in your country, it’s not okay to ask about citizenship or national origin.

However, some other interview questions that are illegal and thus shouldn't be asked include;

1. Are you married?
2. Are you pregnant?
3. How old are you?
4. What is your political affiliation?
5. What is your race, color or ethnicity?
6. Are you in debt?
7. What is your religious affiliation?
8. Do you have children or plan to?
9. Do you social drink or smoke?   

     Click here to advertise your job vacancies and manage applications FREE and in a socially responsible way 

WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS DO YOU THINK SHOULD NOT BE ASKED BY A JOB INTERVIEWER?

SOURCE

HOW DOES ONE GET THEIR CV SEEN BY PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYERS?

In the course of writing a CV, you should also think about how you would get your CV to prospective employers. To do this, you should widen your horizon so that you can get yourself known to a lot of people and companies. One of the ways you can widen your job search horizon is through the internet. The internet is a very fast and efficient way to pass your CV to your prospective employers.

The internet has made it possible for job seekers’ CVs to be displayed and advertised to recruiters. Recruiters who post job vacancies also are able to screen CVs for the job. The internet allows for a wide range of job opening, recruiters and companies. You also have access to information of prospective employers.

John Yate stated some importance of using the internet for job search;

1. To create customized documents and communicate with potential employers and recruiters almost instantly.
2. Find job openings through job banks and employers’ job sites.
3. Have potential employers find you, whether you are currently looking for a position or just maintaining visibility for career growth opportunities
4. Use database and networking sites to identify names and titles.
5. Pick up useful job search and career management advice.

Your CV is going to be kept in a database so that when employers want to search for CVs, they type in a job title of their choice and then choose the CVs relevant to them. The more keywords you have in your CV, the greater the chance of it being listed first.

Careergong.com helps to write professional CVs, to get these services click here .

PLEASE LIST OUT POSSIBLE WAYS ONE COULD GET THEIR CV SEEN BY PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYERS?