10 Questions to Answer Before Your Interview

Awhile back, I was on vacation with my family when the phone rang. It was an internal recruiter who asked if I come in for an interview. It was certainly an answer to prayers!So what did I do? I delayed the interview.Seriously.Why?Because I had one shot at the interview and I wasn't about to go in unprepared.So I discovered a local library to begin my research. Let's just say getting an internet terminal at the North Myrtle Beach public library on a beautiful beach day wasn't difficult. I was determined to go above and beyond in my research.When I returned home to Virginia, I did more research in preparation for my interview.So

The Truth Is Out There - 10 Things to Discover About the Hiring Manager

When it comes to job interviewing, a huge benefit of social media is that you can discover so much about a person and an organization before you ever have a conversation about employment.The wonder is why do so few candidates actually take the time to do the research.Earlier, we discussed why you should not say Hello when answering the phone for an interview. Then, we shared valuable and safe tips for setting up the right environment for your phone interview.This is the third blog post in my series on phone interview strategy. We'll call it The Truth is Out There. And this particular advice

Interviewing and Driving Don't Mix

Last week in my blog, I shared my Phone Interview Rule #1: Don't Say Hello.Overall, thefeedback I received via the blog and LinkedIn wasconsistent with my recommendation. A couple of the responses mademe (and some other people) think about things differently or simply scratchmy head. I welcome the debate. Thank you for your continued feedback, stories, and recommendations.On Tue 8/25, I am giving a presentationtothe Virginia CareerNetworkonHow to Ace a PhoneInterview, and I planning to share the feedback Iam receiving on thistopic. Afterwards, I will also share the recommendations from the audience on this blog. (As a sidenote,

Don't Say Hello in a Phone Interview

The other week, it happened again. I had scheduled a phone interview with a candidate at an exact time and date. So my phone call was to be expected. And when I placed the call to the number given, I expected the greeting on the other end to be at a minimum professional. Ideally, it would also be an immediate recognition of the appointment.Why? Because it sets the right tone for the rest of this very important conversation. Instead, I received the unfortunate and awkward Hello. After I paused to shake my head in disappointment, I had no choice but to ask the candidate (in this case, we'll