Saturday, December 27, 2008

Interviewing In The New Millenium

By Craig Calvin

In these tough economic times, many people are finding themselves in the less than enviable position of having to search for a new job. Competition is fierce, and nowadays landing that dream job is more difficult than ever. If you haven't been on a job interview in recent years, you may be in for a few surprises. Today, it takes a lot more than a good first impression and a strong resume to get you the job. Employers are upping the ante by using a variety of interviewing styles and questions that you may not be expecting. Interviewing styles may range from being rather relaxed to downright intimidating.

These days employers want to know more than your work history and what your responsibilities were. They want to know more about you as a person and one way to get to that answer is to conduct a behavioral interview. Get ready, because chances are good that you'll encounter an employer who chooses to use intimidation as a way to find out what you're made of. It is not a personal issue. They just want to know how you conduct yourself in difficult situations and how you get yourself out of them.

The employer is going to want to know as much about your personality as possible. They will want to know how you would handle situations you've never even been in. For example, what if you didn't have problems on your last job? Get ready for it. The questions are simple, but may trip you up if you're not prepared.

If you want to prepare, you may do an internet search for the term "job interview questions", and then study the results. The information out there is plentiful and should be able to give you access to current questions on the minds of employers. Be sure to allow yourself ample time to prepare, maybe even a few days. Being the last one interviewed is always an advantage.

The advantage of being last is because you and your answers are still fresh in the mind of the interviewer. When they make their final decision, they'll be thinking of you. Remember, no matter how grueling the interview process has been for you, they have likely had to do it several times just for one position. They want the process over too, and if you seem prepared and confident, you'll be ahead of the pack when it comes to landing the job. - 16459

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