Moneywise24 Personal Finance

Dearest readers, I presume that at least on a few occasions in your life you will be confronted with the job interview… at least I hope so. Your first one even might be already during high school or university, but as soon as you receive that valuable piece of paper, life is getting pretty serious; and hopefully it will not be the only job interview you will have in your life.

Some people might be naturally successful during a job interview; they understand the dynamics, the most important do’s and don’t, while some others simply don’t get to the point of getting the contract. I am not promising a bullet proof method for getting that contract, but there are a few simple things to remember before, during, and after the job interview, which may dramatically increase your chances. Below are 10 suggestions to give you on your way, but of course, if you feel that any important do or don’t was omitted from this article, I am very much looking forward to your comments.

#1: Do dress to sell

You are a salesperson, you are selling all of your knowledge and a specific amount of time to a corporation. In a sense, you are a company yourself. Therefore, dress like a business person. I feel each and every man or woman should have at least one very official business outfit readily available. Even if you know, that the company has a very informal style, it does not mean you can show up in jeans during the interview. Make sure your hair is neatly cut, groom well, smell well, and simply be the person for the job.

#2: Do not assume everything will go with the flow

Prepare well for the interview. Each company and business culture has its own set of rules, but there are a few things which reoccur over and over again. These include questions such as “tell me something about yourself”, or “where do you see yourself in 5 years time?”. Buy a book on job interviews, and study the most common questions, prepare the answer well, so that you instantly know how to answer a question when it is asked.

#3: Do your homework on the company well

One of the most embarrassing situations you might get into is to ask a question, which is obvious or which you should have known. Therefore, always research the company before the interview. Where does the company have offices?Which are their business units? How many employees do they have? How much turnover did they have last year? What is the current price of their stock?

#4: Do not fidget

Everyone is nervous during the job interview, but it is also expected that one can control his/her nervousness up to some degree. Therefore, try not to fidget with things like a pencil, or your hands. Be cool.

#5: Do show confidence

Being confident is very powerful. It means walking up straight, with the shoulders relaxed and slightly pushed backwards. When seated, lean in and show interest in the topic, look your counterpart(s) in the eyes frequently, but without creeping them out. Always have a block note and a pen readily available to take notes if necessary.

#6: Do not lie

Selling yourself means putting yourself in the spotlight in the best possible way, but without lying. For example, if you are taking a Chinese course since a month or two, you may tell your counterpart that you speak Chinese, and that you have the potential to be put on China-relevant projects in future and grow to a more prominent position within the company. However, telling your counterpart that you speak Chinese fluently would be merely lying. Any lie will most probably be revealed sooner or later, and the result is usually immediate termination of the contract.

#7: Do engage in small talk

Small talk is a powerful tool to get to know your counterpart a bit better on a more social level. Moreover it is a powerful instrument to build a more personal connection. Give your counterpart the opportunity to start the small talk, and engage in it actively. You may also ask your counterpart a few questions. However, be careful not to become too personal. Typical small talk topics to start with are the weather or whether you had a good trip. Avoid any topics which involves strong personal opinions, such as politics, religion or sexuality.

#8: Do not talk more than you have to

Nervousness often causes a person to say more than is necessary. Some employers may use this against you by simply remaining unresponsive after you have finished answering. It is not uncommon, that the silence is so discomforting to the applicant, that the applicant starts elaborating his answer even further, and therewith sharing information which he never intended to share. The best way to cope with this is simply to keep your mouth shut, and keep the silence. After half a minute or so, you may ask something like “do you have any more questions?”.

#9: Do have one or two questions available for the end of the interview

As a future employee, you really want to demonstrate that the position and company interests you. Therefore, you will want to ask a few questions. Personally, one standard question I use is “why do you enjoy working for company xyz?”. This will give me some personal information how my counterpart sees the company, and it is information which is not likely to be found somewhere publicly.  Best is to write your questions down on your note block, that you should have with you, and put it on the table during the interview. The benefit of doing this is, that even if your questions are automatically answered during the interview, you can still show that you have given a thought about it. You can even state that you had for example written three questions down, which have been answered already. Again, referring back to #3, do not ask questions that you should already have known.

#10: Do not expect everything to go automatically

Once the job interview is over, thank you counterpart, and make an arrangement of when you will hear a result, or at least further information. The company should generally stick to that. If not, give them perhaps two more days time, and then call the person you had the interview with to inquire about it. Some companies might even use this as a test, in order to see how bad you want the job and how persistent you are. Always remain active, not passive.

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I had a bit of a flash today: how many people are truly passionate about the kind of work they do? Actually, I was starting to have these thoughts when I saw a television broadcasting the other day about burn-outs and all sorts of mental disorders as a result of too much stress.  And to be honest, most people I know consistently complain about their work, their bosses, their companies, in one way or the other…

… and yet we keep doing doing what we do, just in order to enter another round of complaining tomorrow.

So how do we get to that point, that we do something that we are truly passionate about? And in the end, it really comes down to only three basic factors, if combined correctly:

• Which topics interest you? What is it, that makes your personal world go round? Be it languages, countries, personal finance, marketing, mathmatics, physics, research, education, family life, children, pets, sports, blogs, internet… anything you can think of. What is it, that you can spend litterally thousands of hours reading about?
• What do you love doing? What kind of activity do you love? Is it writing? Perhaps you would love to fly an airplane? How about researching, teaching, organizing things, leading people, managing projects, reading books, etc.

If you have these two areas of your life answered, you will most probably automatically come to the conclusion of what you are passionate about, or where you have the potential to develop a passion.

For example, someone who would love to fly an airplane and loves traveling would do good to become a pilot. Or how about someone who wants to become a writer, teacher, and knows a lot about the internet and how it works? Such a person might want to start writing a blog. And what if you love to research and you love sports? Perhaps a marketing research specialist at a sports company?

I believe too few people really spend time to figure out what they are passionate about. Worst, many people are simply chasing the money, completely neglecting the fun aspect of their work. Being truly passionate about what you do will keep you healthy on the long-term. But more importantly, it will make your life more fulfilling.

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Yesterday, I met up with a friend of mine for a coffee. As we exchanged some interesting topics, the topic started changing towards career issues. At a certain point, she stated:

“I don’t understand, I am a hard working employee, I deliver the best possible quality, I have been with the company for years, and meet all possible deadlines. And yet, this work is not getting me anywhere. My colleages get all the best options in the company, they get promotions, or new challenges”

Sounds familiar?

As our conversation progressed, I started to develop a better understanding of her situation. Her goal is to be fully committed to her work, and her manager. She wants to make herself irreplacable through the quantity and quality of her work, hoping management will see the great potential that lures inside of her.

The only problem is, that by having made herself irreplacable by all the knowledge she has and the hard work she delivers, management does not want her to leave her current position. She has become so irreplacable, that it has started to work against her. Whereas she has been taking upon all the work, others have had the opportunity to get involved into other activities and build a network throughout the company.

For anyone seeking an interesting career, it is essential to build a diverse network of contacts throughout the company, attend meetings, give presentations, or go for lunch with colleagues and managers. Extremely hard working employees will often skip such events in order to get some more work done. But this is an approach, which will work against you on the long run.

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I wanted to write this short post as a reaction to a phenomenon I saw yesterday at a discount store: hundreds of people were running around in a discount store, which sold many items at extremely low prices. People were virtually falling over each other, just in order to get the cheapest item available. I got curious, and went in.

As soon as I saw the type of products being sold, I was seriously wondering: what is the benefit of buying a low-priced product, if you can throw it away after a month or two? I know, personal finance encourages to cut down expenses where possible, but does it make sense to buy 12 low-qulity items for 7 USD durig  year, or only one high-quality item for 25 USD, which will probably hold for more than a year.

Up to which extent does the low price of an item compensate for its quality? Think about it next time when you go shopping.

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