Guest Post - Mayank Mantani

Mayank is one of Chris' Spring 2012 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here he writes about job interviews.

Getting a job is no longer an “apply-appear-approved” deal. In the era of globalization, exposure, cutting edge competition and focused specialization; it has become the need of the hour to align an individual with the organization, as well as the job title, the job description, and its respective entailments.

We have known our parents and their parents, and them theirs, to work decades in a specific job as a duty and nothing more. Passion has been lacking in the majority of people we know of the bygone generations, and job satisfaction has been somewhat of a whimsical paradox. What changed? Here, one can point out that the change has been an oxymoron, a bad good if you must. It took the world time aplenty to figure out what lacked. Passion is the answer to it, the answer to happiness in that 9 to 5, the satisfaction of contributing something to the world and not just scrounging food for the family. To quote Annie Gottlier- “It’s so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to.”

This is the reason why we must choose something that we love, and not what we think the world will love about us. Mind you, no work is any less respectable, only when it comes to loving what you do, can you achieve a true corporate nirvana. 

Finding what you want to do in life is not just a single brainstorm process with your parents or the school counselor; it’s having a talk with yourself. What ticks you, what excites you and what you see yourself doing, and doing happily at that, ten years down the line.

Chances are, what you want to do will be a lot different than what you will attain if you lack that razor sharp focus. To this, one needs to follow a certain protocol. From the basic steps to knowing the field you will choose, to shortlisting the loosely based fields in the same genre for you to experiment; it is a huge intellectual and challenging experience. Once you’ve got that covered, one must brainstorm with veterans of the same field to get insight that no search engine, no book, no colleague can give. This insight comes from experience. To bend your head down in humility, and learn the art from the masters will give you a much-required jumpstart in the industry.

Simultaneously with this, networking is extremely important. The idea is to let you out there. Seek challenges; be always up for tasks that will let you go that extra mile. After all, finding a job is not just getting home a paycheck, it is writing your identity in a life manual called resume. What best than pick something that’s a heart’s desire backed by sheer grey intellect.

Lately, social networking has provided a boost to the professionals by connecting them at a single click. Websites such as Linkedin connect professionals from over the world in their desired respective industries. Increasingly it has become a platform to find jobs, recruit professionals and connect companies engaging in sought after business deals.

For every working professional once in their life comes a point, where they come across a job which requires the perfect use of their skill set and provides opportunities to feed their hunger to grow.

To focus on ‘that’ ideal company, it’s pertinent to strengthen your foothold in the networking industry. This can be done through various mediums such as career fairs, online opportunities, recruiting agencies, industry specific seminars etc.

Web is proving to be quite an effective medium where fast growing companies are adept at updating their needs and requirements to the world of applicants. Continuous networking with the company personnel will put you in the front row of the candidacy.

The quest for the ideal job will only be converted to reality when one does not indiscriminately hand out resumes; rather a need specific applying behavior is adopted. Applying wherever one can lay hands on will only dilute your vision from what should be your focus. Know the job; know the company, the product, the industry, and the working environment. Once it fits the bill, make sure you know the company profile in and out, like you are on the payroll already. Hard core knowledge about the company profile is the first step to landing that perfect job.

If there is one advice to be given to find a perfect job, frankly there will be none. Although a continuous pursuit with enthusiasm to learn and the ability to connect will surely put you on the right path till you can find that job that we call a dream come true. Finally, one must never forget the ethics of a job. In the end, a job is not a mere stepping-stone to success for you. Always be up to contributing to the organization you work for, and never shy away from additional responsibility. 

Guest Post - Neharika Kadali

Neha is one of Chris' Spring 2012 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here she writes about job interviews.

With hundred and one ways to land a job interview, it is quite exhausting to choose the perfect path to search for a job. The compelling question that haunted me day in and day out in my initial stages while I was applying for an internship was which course of line should I be taking. I had expertise in programming, should I be a Programmer? The courses I would be taking are more management inclined, should I be looking into relevant jobs? The most important thing that I love about life is the story behind every face I come across, should I be incorporating the same motto in my job search and look for jobs that require my interpersonal skills? I realized I was doing it all wrong. Rather than thinking in every way all at once. I should break it down into piece by piece and analyze. The questions I should be asking myself are, what is the best for me? How useful I could be for the company?

The questions came easily to me but finding solutions for them took some effort. To be critical on oneself would be the hardest part, as one has to narrow down his/her choices. I am everything that happened to me in the course of time. Like your behavior depends on the way you were brought up and circumstances you have faced. My professionalism depends on the skills you have acquired, the lessons you learnt the hard way in a professional atmosphere, the projects you have done and the passion you developed towards the kind of work you did. Once I have taken this approach, it was easy for me to pin down the industry I wanted to work in; the kind of job I wanted to do.

Once the life’s hardest question is answered; I thought it was going to be easy from here. Keeping the industry in mind, I made a list of jobs I was interested in and where my acquired skills would be useful. I developed my resume around the kind of work I have done, my experience, class projects and my extracurricular activities. I started applying to the jobs and simultaneously started working on my interview.

The first thing I did when preparing for my job interview is to know as many things as I could about the company. The culture of the firm, how the company has evolved, what kind of markets it is in, what’s the motto of the company etc. I made sure I was up-to-date with the current ventures of the company. I practiced introduction in front of the mirror. I incorporated everything the employer should know about me in 5 logical and concise lines. When I was doing the research, I was bombarded with lots of questions. I noted all of them and screened the ones, which would be useful for me to understand the company better. Given a chance, I could ask these questions to the interviewer during the interview process to keep the interviewer engaged. The interview should be an exchange of ideas, a pleasant interesting conversation that leaves the interviewer disappointed when it is finally coming to an end.

From my personal experience, I strongly believe feedback is as important as the interview process. It helps you in not repeating a mistake. Sending the interviewer a ‘thank you’ note is the best way to get it. It also gives you another chance to woo the interviewer. If there is a particular question he asked in the interview which you weren’t satisfied with the answer, writing him about it might give you a shot at the job. It also conveys you are genuinely interested in the job.

On the day of the interview, rather than hurrying with so many things in head, you have to relax. It is going to be a good conversation; you will learn a lot of things from the interview. The best that could happen is you will get the job; the worst would be you have gained enough experience to try the next best one. 

Guest Post - Huayi Zhu

Huayi is one of Chris' Spring 2012 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. This post is about job interviews.

To get an ideal job is a big project. It takes a lot of effort and can be very frustrating.

The first issue is when should you start. If you ask this question to anyone who has experience in job hunting, most likely, you will get the answer: as early as possible.

This is because the thing that matters most for you to get a job is your background. Since academic background is kind of unchangable for each person, you should probably focus on your professional background.

There are a lot of ways to make you more professional. The first choice should be finding internship positions in related fields. For example, one who wants to go to Google is encouraged to take some internship in those technical companies that provide web based services. If you don’t have such a good opportunity to work in the industry, or you just simply have a very heavy workload, another wonderful choice is to take courses with large related projects. Finally, all these precious experiences can be wrapped into your resume.

After you build a solid background in your field, it is the time to send out your resumes. There are various ways to get your resume reach recuiters’ hands. The first one comes to your mind must be through companies’ online application systems. This method works but since these companies’ recuiters receive hundreds of resumes every day, it will be very hard to make your resume stand out. A better way to deliver your resume is through your school’s career service. Like CMU’s TartanTRAK, almost all the universities provide job application systems for their students. The best way to get recuiters’ attention is through reference. If you know someone in the company, and s/he is willing to refer you and hands your resume directly to the recuiter, you will probably receive an interview invitation. The referer can be your professor, your friend, your alumni or just someone you meet in a networking meeting. This brings building and expanding a professional network to a very important position. Again, you should try to build such a network as early as possible.

Now fortunately, you get an interview invitation, you know what you should do: prepare for it. First, you should figure out which kind of questions you will be asked. Expect for some basic questions like “tell me something about yourself” or “go through your resume for me”,  interview questions can be quite dependent on the certain company and the certain position you apply. The best way to get less confused is search “historical data” on the web. For instance, you can find thousands of former interview questions for the software engineer position in Google. Then you task is simply answer these questions and practice your answer.

Guest Post - Zhi Li

Zhi is one of Chris' Spring 2012 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here he writes about job interviews.

Many people are trying to get a full-time position or internship from a company in the U.S while they are still at school and are about to graduate. And the first step and one of the most critical parts would be getting the job interview which is the only chance that let your employer know more about you and decide to whether or not to hire you. In the following of this passage I’d like to talk about how to get interviews from the company you want.

First of all, you should think of a list of companies that you wish to work for. This is important because I always consider one should try his best to find a job that match the combination of personal interests and skills. Otherwise he will find the job boring, which is not good for personal growth and career path.

After you have your own list, you can begin browse their websites for more information and available positions that offered. Then, just pick some positions that you are interested and match your academic and professional skills and also make a list, separate them into different group according to their main functions, like “Software Developer”, “Technology Analyst” and so on. According to different groups you should prepare different resume.

Preparation of Resume is the core part of this passage. A brilliant resume would definitely help you get interviews from companies that you want to work for. It is the only way through which the recruiting team to know about you before giving you the interview. Thus it would be very important to have an attractive resume.

A good resume focus more on the content itself other than the format. A beautifully formatted resume with boring or not match contents definitely would not let you to gain an interview. A good resume is generated through multiple modified and updated.

Actually, I think the process of writing resume is a good opportunity for ones to reflect on themselves. They have to figure out what they did and accomplished which making themselves match the positions they are applying for. So, trust me, just spend more time on writing the resume. 

Another significant thing is your submitted resume should show that you are the right person who is matching the posted position. Do not only put everything you do previously on the resume to show you are experienced. What the employee looking for is whether you are Mr. Right for the position.

There are lots of factors in whether one can get interview from a company. But better preparation always makes you exposed to more opportunity.

Guest Post - Soundarya Chandar

Soundarya is one of Chris' Spring 2012 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here she writes about job interviews.

“My heart is in the work” is a famous quote by Andrew Carnegie. This quote is meaningful in so many ways when one is looking for a job. We want to be able to find a job where we can apply our skills whole-heartedly to accomplish the task at hand. Several research studies have been conducted that prove that one’s productivity is directly proportional to the satisfaction he/she finds at work. How does one go about finding the perfect job? How do you go about securing the job you want?

Find your passion

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle” is a famous quote by the legendary visionary of this century, Steve Jobs. His passion was to change the world by creating products that can be used by everyone and needless to say, he was very successful in achieving his mission. The first key step in getting a job you want is to understand where your passions lie. One way to do this is to do a self retrospection to understand what you really care about, what you enjoy doing the most in your free time, what kind of industry news you read, who are the people you find interesting on twitter, what kind of pages you follow Facebook, etc. There are also official aptitude tests to identify your interests, which may then help you find your true passion.

Find the company and make the right connections

Once the passion has been identified, one can start to think about what kind of companies will help them achieve their career goals. For example, if your passion lies in the social media space, you can start to look at social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn for job opportunities. Your search however, should not be limited to big companies only. Subscribing to the job boards of various job search websites might also help in identifying smaller companies that are doing interesting work in your area of interest. Once you have identified the company, one must to do some fieldwork and research about the company to understand the kind of work they do, open opportunities, company culture, etc. This will help one understand if they can truly connect with the company and if it is the kind of place they can see themselves in. The next step would be to identify connections within one’s social networks. Another great way of learning more about the company is to network with individuals from the industry of interest to identify opportunities and connect with them to have them recommend you into the company. Networking goes a long way in helping one find the right kind of job.

Prepare your resume and cover letter

Resume is your first chance to create an impression with recruiters. A resume should be representative of your experience, skills, and achievements. A good resume is easy to read and clearly states the relevant skills necessary for the job.

It is important to spend a lot of time making a resume and having it reviewed by several people. Similarly, a cover letter can help one express their interest in the company and describe how best they fit the desired profile. With a resume and cover letter in hand, one must confidently approach the interview.

The Interview

There are a few basic questions that one must be prepared to answer. Are you a good fit for our company? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What value can you bring into the organization in terms of technical and managerial skills? What makes you different from other applicants? What are your salary expectations?

In addition to the above questions, one must be prepared to solve problems, think logically, and provide insightful solutions to challenging problems posed during the interviews.

Final Thoughts

Getting a good job can be a tough task. There will be several obstacles in the way, but one must remember to reflect back on every interview experience to improve on any possible mistakes one might have committed. A good attitude, a strong skill set, and a great sense of confidence will help one achieve his/her career goals and land his/her dream job.

Guest Post: Chengyao Gu

Chengyao is one of Chris' Fall 2011 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here she writes about getting the job you want.

Lucky or Smart?

How to get the job you want? In most cases, we obtain the job opportunities as we expect and get fully ready; in other situations, however, jobs just come to us ‘by accident’. Today, I’d like to share some stories of my friend and myself, focusing on how to seize the job opportunity by consistent efforts or by coincidence, or maybe both.

One of my buddies Jason, a 22-year-old fresh undergrad, told me recently that he hopped from a local vehicle outlet to an international automobile corporation. Acquainted with Jason and his sales talent, I was not stunned by the promotion itself. Actually, what interested me most, was how he met with his new boss! He was playing online racing game at some weekend, and he hopped the job! That’s it? Yes, that’s all. Because the one who was playing on the other side of the online game with Jason was that ‘boss’. While chatting causally after the game, the boss found Jason knew a lot about the automobile market, including the models, trend, customer segmentation. And most importantly, boss found Jason a good person to work with. He liked Jason! So he offered the position of assistant sales manager.



The magical story provides several insights:
- Your specialties as well as extensive knowledge are the key to getting offers;
- In some unofficial context, there also exist job openings. Go and grab it;
- When someone likes you, especially when ‘someone’ refers to your boss-to-be, there is a good chance he will be your boss in the end.

You may say ‘oh, it’s quite lucky of your buddy Jason. Little chance of us to run into our boss of same hobby.’ That’s true. Actually, the common case is that we have already had a clear vision of what company to go or what position to hold. And what we need to do is just get prepared, prepared and prepared! Make ourselves a perfect fit to the certain position of the certain company. This reminds me of my interview experience with BI team in eBay. To be frank, I’ve got three chances of interview before finally getting into BI team. After each of the first two unsuccessful interview, I reflected on my performance while collecting the feedback from my interviewers. Then I upgraded my technical and soft skills, especially those needed for BI position. After almost one year, I felt ready. And by writing emails to those interviewers and managed to get another chance of interview. This time, I made it!

Thus, in either story I mentioned above, if you are the person the companies want and if you let them know that you are the right one, then the jobs are not that far from you.

Guest Post: Jawad Diab Damir

Jawad is one of Chris' Fall 2011 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

One of the issues that greatly disturb the student, especially in the graduation year, is securing a job. A recent research in Britain has revealed that three out of four students worry they will be out of work when they graduate. In this blog post, getting the job you want, we present a reasonable approach for getting the job that the student is looking for.

The first step in the proposed approach is to specify a job preference. In this step, the student should determine which kind of job he or she is looking for. To know more about the market needs, the student can consult the career services at his school or the people who work in the same industry. Moreover, the student should consider the other criteria that limit his or her options. Criteria might include the business type, the company location, size, and reputation, as well as any other criteria that the student feel is important to his or her decision. Each student is expected to assign different weights to the criteria.

Once the preference is determined and the other criteria are specified, the student should prepare a list of all companies that have an available position that satisfies his or her preferences. The list might be prepared from different sources; such as the university career services website, public job websites, newspapers, business social networks, companies’ information sessions, as well as any other sources that the student might use to find jobs. The list should include information about the company name, location and contact info, the position title, and the required skills for this position. After preparing the first draft of the list, the student can search more sources to expand the list, or to filter the list.

At this time, the student should have prepared the resume. The resume is a document used by employers to explore the job seeker’s abilities, skills, education, experience, and any other information that might be helpful for the recruiter to make the employment decision. The resume should be typed in a way that is clear and easy to read. For students with 2 or less years of professional experience, a one page resume is preferred. Despite that there is no specific format for resumes, a common sense for formatting resumes exist. For example, the first section in the resume is usually the objective section; which explains why the student is applying for the job. Furthermore, the education section usually comes before the work experience section, and the items in both sections are ordered chronologically. There are many websites that provide detailed information about the resume format, style, and guidelines.

Then the student should send the resume to the companies on the list. The student might send a customized resume for each company or a general resume for all companies. If the student is found eligible for the position, he or she should expect a call or email from the company to schedule an interview. Simple questions about the job preference and future plans may be asked during this call. During the interview, the student is encouraged to have a copy of the resume. The rational for this recommendation is that many of the questions asked in the interview are derived from the resume; and so, the student can expect the next question before he or she is asked about it. If called for a second interview, the student should use the questions raised in the first interview as a roadmap to prepare for the second interview.

Finally, the student should keep in touch with the employer; even that he or she didn't get the job.

Guest Post: Daniel Decapria

Daniel is one of Chris' Fall 2011 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

“So tell me a little bit about yourself”….the introductory, catch-all question by anyone going through a first interview. We’ve all sat at that conference table well dressed in a suit, freshly printed resume on the table, unsure of the conversation ahead. Your mind is racing – will my years of education be challenged through tests and problems? Or, will they be interested in my experience? Regardless, my future lays in the outcome of “tell me a little about yourself?” and subsequent problems. So how do I prove that I deserve this job? It’s ok. Remember, you’re prepared for this.

First, keep it clear. Be concise, be thorough, and be strategic when you answer each and every question. Don’t ramble, and stick to things that you know well because you’ll probably begin to say detrimental things. If you need, take a moment after the question to collect your thoughts then proceed. When you respond, word your answer from beginning to end of thought. Provide complete ideas or solutions to a problem.

Next, show off a bit. Don’t be modest with your education or experience background. Trust that you’ve got the skills and background needed to get the job down. Show it off by providing visuals, physical examples. If asked, provide a mathematical proof, I don’t know, of Cauchy’s Mean Value Theorem on a white board - that’ll do. Provide a visual and you are less likely to be forgotten.

Finally, be interesting and interested. The former means – don’t provide answers you think they want to hear. Give honest thoughts or solutions. Reference your experience, provide examples, and name-drop if you have to. The more you can provide identifiers to your background, the more likely the interviewer(s) will trust your skills and in you. The latter, be interested in the interviewer(s). If you’re able to turn the interview into a conversation, you’ve advanced your chances of landing that job. Positively reinforce your personal branding and be confident to ask questions about your interviewer’s background with the company and see if you have any common ground professionally.

To conclude, reinforce that you’re the right fit for the position – it’s your job to get the job. Wrap up the conversation well; obtain contact information and thank them for their time, but don’t think your work is over when you leave the room. Perform a self post-mortem of your experience to learn from in the future. Then you can send a follow-up response to not only express your thanks but as an opportunity to revisit the conversation and confirm your passion and enthusiasm for the position. “Tell me a little about yourself” is now a great segue into “so, when can you start.”

Guest Post: Eshwar Narayan

Eshwar is one of Chris' Summer 2011 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

Interviewing is one of the most difficult things everyone faces in their life. Interviews are not given daily and hence most of the people face difficulties in preparing for an interview. If you give interviews daily, you will master the skill of giving a very good interview. But interviews happen only intermittently. Once you are settled into a job, you hardly will think of any interviews.

What I’m going to do now is put summarize the things essential for preparing for an interview.

What is an interview? The answer is simple. It is the inner view of you. What are you from inside? For any person to know you, it takes days, weeks and months. But you need to accomplish this in a span of 1-2 hours in an interview.

Remember the basic concept – What’s in it for the interviewer to interview you spending his precious time? Try to know:
What they are looking for in you? Every employer needs a candidate to be active, energetic, have good communication skills, and fit into the organization culture. Try to gather their requirements and try to achieve them and in turn you will achieve your goals.

Why are you here?
There are some basic things that you already have and hence they have called you for an interview. The most basic is that you are good at something that the company works on (like technical skills). It is taken for granted that you know it well. The next core skills they look at are leadership skills and how good are you at networking. As you go to the upper layers of the core values – they look at whether your goals match with the organization’s goals, and how good are your communication skills.

What can you do for us?
How much value can you add to the organization? A person who is hiring you wants to utilize you to increase the revenue of the company or decrease the cost of production or wants to increase the productivity of the company. Try to prove that you can achieve and you will surely impress the interviewer.

What kind of person are you?
Any organization wants to hire people whose goals and ambitions match with the organization goals. This is an obvious fact. It’s a win-win situation for both the organization and the employee. So you need to see if you fit into their organization goals and culture.

What makes you different?
There are thousands of people applying for the same job. If you want to get recognized among the crowd, you need to have some bullet points to showcase yourself that keep you apart from the herd. Try to think differently and give a broader picture about your experiences.

Can we afford you?
Be prepared to give a range of salary you are expecting. You can just tell them that, according to the current market for a person with so many years of experience on this particular domain the market salary range in between X and Y. So you would like to be placed in that range.

Prepare yourself for an interview –

1. Do a research about the company – Find out the facts like who founded the company, what business line are they working on, what are their stock prices, etc. Find out about the culture of the company. Prepare answers that are in sync with the culture of the company. Never try to give practice interviews at any company. Always give 110% at any interview.
2. Resume – The most important part of the interview process. This is like the trailer of a movie. You have very limited time and space to tell about yourself to the company. So keep it small and crisp but use lot of keywords that have a powerful effect on anyone in no time. Always carry multiple copies of your resume along with you to an interview.
3. Interview – Always keep in mind that you will perform better when you start thinking of an interview as a conversation with any other person. This will reduce your stress levels and you will be yourself. Since it is a conversation, there should be questions from each side. So don’t think that you need to wait for the end to ask your questions. You can ask questions about the company in between. By doing so you show your interest towards the company.
4. Before the Day of Interview – Always relax, rehearse and get a good night’s sleep the day before interview.
5. Be Early to the Interviews – Always try to be early to the interviews. 15 minutes early is best way. If you are too early, try to spend some time at the nearby coffee shop and then head to the company.
6. Politeness Rule – always be polite to all the people you meet in the company floor. Your interview is not over until you step out of the office premises.
7. Introduction – Go for a firm handshake with good eye contact. This is a first impression you are making. Get dressed well in formals and have positive body language. Introduce yourself and tell about your hobbies and your passion toward one thing you like.
8. Stories – Always try to build a story of what you are telling to the interviewer. This will keep the interviewer interested in you. Get the interviewer engaged in the conversation.
9. Wrap-up – Wait for the interviewer to end the session and then get up and say goodbye. Don’t be the first one to end any interview.
10. Post interview email – Always send an email; this is one more opportunity to express yourself in a proper way. You can give better answers to some of the questions that you were not able to excel at in the interview and send a thank you note. A paper letter will have more weight than an email.

Guest Post: Syenny (Wen-Hsien) Lee

Syenny is one of Chris' Summer 2011 Professional Speaking students at Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here she blogs about getting the job you want.

Have you found the company you want to work for? Congratulations if you have! If not, don’t be dismayed. Here are a few steps to find the kinds of companies you’d want to work for.

Step 1: Know who you are. Ask yourself these questions, “What are the things that I am passionate about?” “Do I like to work in an A/C office with a computer or do I like to be outdoors and meeting different people?” “Are there ways to turn those into business opportunities?” If you are not sure about what your passion is, start eliminating some jobs or industries by asking, “What are the things that I definitely won’t enjoy doing?” Make a list and see if there are any correlations to it.

Step 2: Make a list of companies. Once you have an idea of which industries you are interested in, you can research for the most well-known companies/organizations in those industries. Research thoroughly on the companies: Fact, culture, story. The goal is to find the best fit. According to the article “What Kind of Company Do You Want to Work For?” by Joyce Gioia, Herman Group, here is a list of questions to ask yourself to find out the makeup and styles of a specific company you want to work for:

• Do you want to work for a market leader or a start-up?
• Do you want to work for a company with solid name recognition?
• Do you want to work in a large organization or a small one?
• Do you want to know where the company has been, and where it is headed?
• Is the quality of a company’s goods and services a deciding factor?

Step 3: Find job openings through different media, channels and connections.
Here are some tools I use to obtain job opening information:

• Social media: LinkedIn. Join an alumni group of your school and you will receive job posting emails regularly.
• Personal relationships: Go to networking events; network through colleagues who know someone else who can connect you to a potential employer; talk to alumni who are working in your targeted industry; engage with guest speakers whom you identify with and are in your dream field.
• School resources: Career service provides counseling and email job openings updates very often; pay attention to those emails and follow with ones that interest you. Don’t delete the emails, keep an archive. You may find it useful one day.
• Conferences/Exhibitions: Attend big conferences in the industry you are interested in. Besides taking the lessons provided at the conference, also attend social events such as business luncheons and dinner events. You will meet people with similar backgrounds who are already in the industry. This is a chance to build a professional network. I have been to the American Association of Museums Annual Conference (AAM) and met so many museum professionals and exchanged thoughts and experiences with them. They are great resources for future references.

Step 4: A few reminders on interviewing

• Be early. I always arrive 30 minutes to 10 minutes early. Once I interviewed an applicant who was late, which immediately left me with a bad impression.
• Bring work samples and projects (or anything that can demonstrate your skills tangibly) to show and tell (especially if your job is related to marketing).
• Ask questions. I always ask questions, to gain information I don’t know and to show the interviewer that I am serious about this job.
• Smile, be confident. Have a positive attitude. People like to be with happy people.
  

Be honest to your heart. Be prepared, and relax!

Guest Post: Hemant Mohan

Hemant is one of Chris' Summer 2011 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

The job market is like a box full of chocolates. Jobs are available in all sorts of flavors and sizes. The trick is to pick the one job that best suits your palate. Finding the right company that fits your bill requires introspection. Know what it is you want to do. Recognizing your talents and skills is important, so that you can understand the way you can make a career out of them. Once you clear this stage, you start researching companies that do business, which require a workforce with your skills and talents. More often than not, your skills and talents are the areas of work that would interest you the most.

To find the kinds of companies you’d want to work for, it is important that you connect with present and ex-employees of such prospective companies. They are the best resources to give you an idea of the working environment of a company. Understand if the company’s culture fits your own personality. Ask such questions as, do I enjoy dressing up in formal business attire everyday or am I comfortable in going to work in casuals? Do I like to be bossed around or am I more of an independent worker? What are the employee benefits? What is the company’s vision and mission statement? It is very important that you fit with the prospective company’s culture else down the line you might be reading this article again!

Making the right connections with present or ex-employees within a company of your choice might land you a job interview through employee referrals. Posting your resume on the career services websites or on the prospective company’s website is also recommended. Make sure that your resume clearly draws a connection between your previous work experience or education and the job requirement that you want to interview for. The more focused you are in your job search, the more likely you are to find a job that matches your career and life goals.

Guest Post: Jayesh Nachnani

Jayesh is one of Chris' Summer 2011 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon University. In this post, he writes about getting the job you want.

There are two fundamental questions one needs to ask oneself before looking for a job. These are:

What kind of role is he/she looking for? and

Which companies best suit his/her requirements?

Finding companies and roles first requires that we find out more about ourselves. Knowing what we are looking for is often not a straight forward question and requires some amount of soul searching on our part. For example, working for a small start-up in California is very different from working for a huge bank in New York. People also prefer different types of roles and companies at different times in their career. Once we have analyzed our preferences (along with our strengths and weaknesses) it is time to look for companies and roles that match these.

An excellent way to research what qualifications and responsibilities each role requires is to go through the Occupational Outlook handbook (http://bls.gov/oco/).The handbook contains up to date and comprehensive information regarding the nature of work, job outlook, projections and earnings of various roles in diverse industries. Matching these with our own preferences is a good way to shortlist the roles.

Researching the kinds of companies we want to work for is extremely important. This can be done in various ways. Websites like vault.com and glassdoor.com provide valuable information. Other ways to find about companies is through alumni or personal networks. Information sessions by companies and networking events can be great ways to find out more about our dream companies. Once a few potential companies are identified, going through the company websites provides valuable insight into the inner workings of the organizations.

One of the most important things to do in order to get a job interview is to be proactive. We should always have a few copies of our current resume and business cards handy. The function of the resume is to get us the job interview. The resume should always be up to date. It should highlight our strengths, past work experience and achievements that ‘fit’ with the job we are looking for. In this day and age of social and professional networks, having an updated and presentable public profile is also extremely important. Employers tend to look up people on social and professional networks.

One of the best ways to get an interview is to get referred. Often, we don’t realize that we could get ourselves referred through various people. Attending conferences and networking events and handing out our business cards and resume are also brute force ways of getting the job interviews. For those of us in college, career services are one of the most important ways to land interviews. If the above stated methods cannot be used for certain companies, posting our resume in response to requirements listed on company websites can be a useful way to get a few calls.

Guest Post: Rituparna Dey

Rituparna is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon University. Here she writes about getting the job you want.

“We never get a second chance to make a first impression” -Anonymous

Organizations want to hire employees who reflect the organization’s values and are presentable to their stakeholders. In the last company I worked for, I often conducted first-round technical interviews. On a particularly busy day, I had to wait for 30 minutes before my interviewee showed up. In addition, when he did arrive, I noticed that he was in sweat pants. My first thoughts were- “Would I be willing to project him to my top clientele?” He clearly did not value my time. He had not dressed appropriately for the interview. His attitude reflected lack of seriousness and utter carelessness. Although he was technically sound, the position required a true professional, and unfortunately I had to let him go. First impressions do matter! Turn up early for an interview. Allow enough room for contingencies like a traffic jam or a road accident. Dress up according to the norms of the organization, although a business suit is the most preferred attire. Talk amicably – everything counts towards your favorable disposition. When an organization hires you, it acquires you in entirety. Your demeanor, attitude and skills portray the values of the organization. Make the interview memorable for you and for your interviewer.

“Completed 12 years of high school”

I happened to come across this accomplishment in one resume! Be practical. Under normal circumstances, any company receives hundreds of resumes for one position. How do you think you will stand out? How will you increase your chances of getting past the first stage? Why should I summon you for an interview over the 30 resumes that I rejected? Your resume needs to be concise and relevant to the position. When you arrive for an interview, carry copies of your latest resume and hand one over to the interviewer. You never know whether he has had the opportunity to look through your particulars.

“Why do you think you would be a fit for this company?”

I was interviewing with a well-known IT firm for a software developer position. After four grueling rounds of technical interviews, I was scheduled to meet the HR. Thinking that it would be a breeze; I stomped in only to be spellbound by her first question. Although, I had an idea of what the company did, I did not know why I would be a value-add to the organization. Very strange, but my interviewer instantly realized that I was not sufficiently cognizant of my prospective employer. I had not highlighted my enthusiasm to learn about its history. Nor had I bothered to ponder about whether I would fit in its culture. They trashed my resume. After hearing Chris Labash talk about how important it is to be a good fit in an organization, I would have done the same!

“Tell me something about yourself” or some variant is a sure-shot icebreaker in an interview.

Should you have a rehearsed answer or is it impromptu? I suggest, think in advance, about what you want to say. Rehearsed answers often sound memorized- you definitely do not want to appear as a school kid reciting a verse. However, each company wants to hear something specific. Hence, your answer, tailored to the organization you are interviewing for, should be checkered with your asset points.

“There are some people who leave impressions not so lasting as the imprint of an oar upon the water.” – Kate Chopin

Was your interview successful? Was it interesting for the interviewer? Will he remember you 3 days after your meeting with him? The answer to all three questions is YES if you have managed to turn your interview into a conversation. Look for natural pauses to enter into a discussion. Throw insightful comments. The last time you interviewed with a company- did you wish for your interview to end or did you regret that it ended too soon? If you are in the latter group, you were conversing with the interviewer.

“Questions are never indiscreet, answers sometimes are” - Syrus

Do not be afraid to ask questions. Ask the interviewer about the projects you would work on or the culture of the company. It exhibits your readiness to join. Should you have questions about compensation, be upfront at the end of the interview. Quote industry benchmarks to display your awareness of the situation. You might even ask him what follows the interview stage.

“All’s well that ends well; but we are not quite there” (modified well-known proverb)

The end is as important as the beginning. After the interview, thank the interviewer seriously and shake hands. Remember – you still have a chance to correct your goof ups. You could send him a thank you note or email. This is your last chance before he makes up his mind. According to CareerBuilder, "Nearly 15% of hiring managers say they would not hire someone who failed to send a thank-you letter after the interview. Thirty-two percent say they would still consider the candidate, but would think less of him or her." You could actually hurt your chances by not sending that tiny note.

“Who says there is no a reason to cry over spilt milk?” (modified well-known proverb)

You are out. The show is over. Relax! Ruminate! Think about what went right. What should you work on before your next interview? Should you improvise your answers? How did the interview close? What is your gut feeling about the interview? In fact, research shows that good post mortems create better thank you notes. The learning prepares you for your subsequent interviews.

Now is when your job interview is formally over.

Guest Post: Aruna Bhat

Aruna is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here she writes about getting the job you want.

What is my field of interest? Am I right for the job? How do I get the job I like?

How important is it to answer these questions? Seems very, as they decide where we finally land in our career. After all, we all work to live and hence it only makes sense to do what we enjoy doing. This article talks about the points one needs to keep in mind when searching for a job.

First and foremost, one has to figure out what interests them the most. Do not fret if you cannot decide immediately on this! Most influential personalities in the world were not clear about their goals till very late in their lives. Try to clear your mind of all diversions and think about the one thing you would love to do for the rest of your life. If you like talking to people and are a good orator, then you are probably good for a consulting or a management profile. On the other hand, if you enjoy working behind the scenes and are good in technical aspects, you are suitable for a technical job. Once decided, the next step is to think about how to go about it. Make use of the one thing that practically gives you all the information you need; the internet. Research on the kind of job you are interested in, network with friends and acquaintances and discuss the prospects.

Once you are satisfied with the outcome, browse through the companies which have openings for similar positions and assess whether you fit the role. Learn about the background and any interesting facts of the company on a higher level. On a granular level, learn about the business of the company, their strategy and their upcoming projects. Also, read about its competitors and where it stands as compared to the competitors. Try to get in touch with the current employees and ask them about the culture of the company and any information that will help you decide if that is indeed the company you are looking for. It is important to research these factors as at the time of interview, it shows the interviewer that you have done your homework and are interested in working for the company.

Now that you have figured out the kind of job you want and researched on the company, your next task is to prepare an impressive resume. Due to the volume of resumes the recruiters receive, it is believed that they spare just about a few seconds on each resume. Hence, they look for keywords to help them filter good resumes from the bad ones. The rule here is to keep your resume short and concise with keywords relevant to the job description. Print your name clearly along with your e-mail ID and contact number. Then, briefly write in one sentence about your experience and how it fits with the company. This should be followed by qualification and work experience. Instead of writing paragraphs on your past roles and responsibilities, mention two or three significant responsibilities which yielded results. A good resume goes a long way in getting an interview call.

Up until this point, you have done everything that it takes to get an interview call and you do not want to ruin your efforts by feeling drowsy at the time of the interview! Ensure you get a good night’s sleep to keep your brain active and alert the next day. Dress professionally; reach early at the venue and be polite to everyone around because it talks volumes about your personality. During the interview, keep your cool and be confident. Talk about your asset points and tell the interviewer how you fit the company’s culture and how you can contribute for its growth. All the research you did on the company initially will guide you through this. Talk about STAR (Situation, Task, Approach/Action, Result) as applicable. Try to turn an interview into a conversation by asking questions. After completing the interview, take a few minutes to retrospect on the events that happened at the time of the interview. As a last step, send them a thank you note for giving you an opportunity to interview with them and if possible give them one more reason as to why you think you are right for the job.

To conclude, these points, if religiously followed, coupled with good communication can definitely fetch you the job you aspire for.

Guest Post: Punit Parikh

Punit is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. You read it correctly. Life would be fun if every day of the week would be a Sunday. Alas! Only if this could be true. Let’s face it we all have suffered from Monday morning blues at some point of time in our professional lives. OK, we have tried getting to bed early, have our clothes washed and ironed on Sunday night but it clearly does not seem to work every time. When we introspect, we ask ourselves am I really enjoying my work? Do I really belong to this organization? Am I a good fit in this organization? If you answered “NO” to above questions, then continue reading and I promise to untie the knots.

Thanks for continuing to read. Remember acting upon a thought is half the battle won! Now that you have identified it is time to switch not only jobs or organizations but also get a career for yourself that you value and cherish, it is action time. Let us get started by identifying the organizations and job profiles that match your skill-sets. For example, if you have never done any kind of computer programming then you have very slim chances of getting a job at Microsoft or Google Inc in an engineer work profile. Once you listed down organizations and work profiles it is time to get on your internet and do online research about the organizations you wish to work. In this internet era, there is plethora of resources available and there is no excuse for lack of it. You can use Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. to connect with people who work in those organizations in the same profile. Try to learn from their experiences. Try to gauge the culture of the organization from your online research and interactions with people who work there. This will give you a preliminary idea about the organization and work profile so that you can make an inform decision.

Next, let us build our own database that includes our strengths. Building a database, does that sound intimidating? Punit, what are you saying it isn’t difficult? No, it is not. All I am asking you to do is talk about yourself. Don’t you enjoy talking about yourselves? OK, it is not talking about how good looking you are and all good stuff. It is about your professional strengths. Therefore, get your pen and paper, and start listing them down. Do not hesitate to ask your old co-workers, mentors and teammates about your strengths. Voila! Part of your database is complete. The other half will complete when you tie an engaging story to each of your assets to justify it. For example, rather than simply saying I have good analytical skills you should say my analytical skills helped our organization save or increase revenue by X %. Support this claim by a story. Story? Yes let me tell you what I mean by a story.

A good engaging story should follow the STAR technique. Describe a Situation to set the context of your story, describe your Task, describe your Action and finally describe the Results produced by that action. Once the database is ready, we can refer to this and select those assets that are highly valued by different organizations. For example, if you are interviewing with Apple Inc, you definitely want to highlight your creativity strength in addition to strong technical and analytical skills. This database will be a very handy tool in your job search.

I hope you found this information useful. In my next blog, we will tackle another important aspect of job search. I know by now you must have already guessed. It is none other than editing your resume!

Guest Post: Pratik Chawla

Pratik is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon University. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

Why do you work? An obvious answer would be to earn money to meet your needs. So, what if you win a lottery? Would you immediately call up your manager to say that he can’t suck any more life out of you? And then you spend the rest of your life of leisure at your new beach house in Miami! I bet many of you would jump to grab this opportunity!

Well, for the rest of us (which accounts to 99.99% of the people), the good news is that a job can be FUN! How? Let’s find out. First of all, you really need to know what you are good at. And knowing your strength to, what kind of job you would want to apply your strengths. Imagine if Zidane had used his feet for tap dancing rather than playing football! Sounds scary! Isn’t it? So, in any case, make sure you do not land up this way! List the companies with expertise in your field of interest. Reach out to people working at the company, through personal contacts or through social networking sites, and check how well you fit into the job and the culture of a company.

Now that you have aimed your target, it’s time to shoot. But hold on, do you have the right bullets? That is when a strong resume plays its role. A resume should be strong enough to pierce through the multiple filters that HR guys apply to select candidates for interview round. How to get that? Well, make sure your resume reflects the perfect fit for the desired role. Highlight all your skills and accomplishments, and most importantly get it reviewed by an expert. All set? Now find the best way to get your resume across. If you know someone in the company, tell him to refer you. If not, then try to find a person through networking. If you can’t get to know anyone in the company, only then post the resume directly on the website of the company.

Did you get the email saying “you have been shortlisted for the interview”? Leave your computer, get out of bed and get your best suit to dry cleaners. You cannot afford to wear a wrinkled shirt on your D-day. On the interview day, dress neatly, do not put a lot of cologne; make sure you carry many copies of your resume and that you reach at least 15 minutes before the interview. Use this time to fix your dress and redo your hair.

At the time of interview, be confident and relax. I remember one of my friends was so terrified at his interview, that he actually asked the interviewer if he could go for a piss! So, empty your tanks well before. Try to turn the interview into more of a conversation. How? Ask questions!

Lastly, thank the interviewer for giving you the opportunity and if possible, acknowledge the interviewer over an email, when you reach home. Well, you have done it all. Congratulate yourself for a good interview, and learn from the bad ones.

Hope you do not have to wait long to hear the golden word, “Congratulations!” from the company. All the best!

Guest Post: Nithin Betegeri

Nithin is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

Riding the Job Search Boat

“You can describe Michelangelo in detail but do you know what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel? You can describe a Shakespeare’s sonnet about love but do you know what it is to look in a woman’s eye and be totally vulnerable?” When Robin Williams asked these questions to Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, I wondered how will it be to work at #1, Infinite Loop, Cupertino; the place where Apple Inc. is located. We all know that the story of one person, one computer, changing the world is an inspiring read. But does it quench the thirst to create the next best innovation after bread came sliced?

It does not matter what books or others say until we experience this beautiful world ourselves. The same philosophy is true with a job search as well. A job review site may highly rank a company for its work culture but can you really be sure until you work there? Of course, you can’t be. I believe that one’s search for a job should begin from oneself. We question our interests and passion. The answers to those questions should indicate the company that we should look for.

I am an artist who likes experimenting with colors on a palette. I love technology for the wonders we can create out of it. Combine both of them, and you will know what I am passionate about. I do not like Apple because of the ratings in the latest Wired magazine but because it works on products that I am passionate about, products that I would love to develop as an engineer. From my experience, introspection is always the first step of one’s job search.

Once we have a list of companies, we should research on their work culture, products and history. We should understand what it takes to work 9 to 5, five days a week for them. We should understand their value system, and know what makes someone a best employee at that company. These analyses will not only help us in our interview, but stoke our passions further. It will help us refine our choices as well. Last but not the least; we should research the recent trends in those industries and companies that are available ubiquitously over the internet.

Once our background work is done, we should apply to these companies in every possible medium. Apply over their websites, call them, mail them, and finally, contact friends and alumni working in those companies. No medium is bad enough for us to give opportunities to express our interests and passion. We should express our interests and talk about benefits to the company from hiring us. We can match our skill sets to those required with that of the job posted. That’s what it takes to follow our passion. We should repeat this entire process until we land interviews. It does not matter if it’s a recession or a honeymoon period for the market, persistence and hard work will surely bring results. After all, as Adidas puts it, “Impossible is nothing.” Isn’t it?

Guest Post: Nisha Balasubramanian

Nisha is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon University. Here she writes about getting the job you want.

How many times have we had a feeling of “Oh my Gosh!!!” after an interview? Well almost every time!!! What is it that went wrong? I thought I was the best fit for the job, but I feel lost now. What was I thinking? All these are very common feelings one has after an interview. How do we overcome this? How do we find ‘the right job’? What does it take to crack an interview? These are some questions that I will try to answer here and I am sure it will help you be better prepared for your next interview.

The first and the foremost task at hand is to find out what interests you. Before you begin your job search, you need to know what kind of job drives you the most, which job makes you hit the office with full enthusiasm day after day. Most of the time people fail to understand the need to identify their area of interest. As a result they just follow the crowd and finally end up in a job that leaves them not only unsatisfied but also frustrated to the core. Finding the right job is like finding your true love. In order to do that go back to your childhood days and remember what did you always wanted to become, identify the subjects that used to interest you the most during your undergraduate studies, talk to your best friends/mentors/colleagues who may help you identify the things you like to do the most. If you have had prior work experience, think about what you liked the most and what you disliked about the job. This would give you a sense of direction for your career path. Yes, that is the word- CAREER. The secret of having an excellent job is that it should fall in line with your career path.

Once you have identified your area of interest, the next step is to look out for opportunities that match your interests. List the companies with profiles that interest you. Do thorough research on the companies you may want to work with- their core competencies, their product and services, their target market, the work environment, your role in the company, the compensation, etc. Talk to current and former employees about their experiences with the company. Once you have all these details, check if it matches your career interests and if you would you really like to work for the company. Often people just look out for things that they are missing in their current job. They forget to see what they like in the current profile which they might miss in the new job. Most importantly, one has to see where the new job will take them in their career, in the long run. Alas, finding the right company is as important as choosing a life partner!

So, you have defined your interests, short listed the companies you want to join and have applied for the job. The next big thing and I would say the most important is to crack the interview. One fact you need to register in your mind while preparing for the interview is – “Be well prepared and be yourself.” So what does an interviewer look for in a potential employee? Are they just looking for a bunch of people, who can do any task assigned to them within minutes but are afraid to communicate with the person sitting next to them at work? Sometimes you really need to think from an interviewer’s perspective. Below are some of the aspects which MUST be considered while preparing for the interview:

1. Do extensive research on the company. Try to find minute details of the company as well as your job profile. Prepare several intelligent questions to ask your interviewer. This shows that you have really done your research well and that you are genuinely interested in working for the company.
2. Prepare specific examples from your past work, which may help showcase your skills and experience and how they will be of great help to the company you intend to join. Having your PAR (Problem-Action-Result) stories in place, about your experience, your education, and specific skills goes a great deal in portraying you as a serious candidate for the job.
3. Take out sufficient time to review your resume. It is the first thing which the interviewers look at and that one page resume says a lot about your personality and goals.
4. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Try to find out what you are good at: consult your co-workers or trusted friends to get feedback on your work. List down all the skills which you think might help you fit it to the kind of job you are looking for. You don’t need to just focus from a work perspective, but what kind of a person you are, what is that one thing that differentiates you from the others, how the company will be benefitted from hiring you. Highlight them during the interview. At the same time, it is very important that you get genuine feedback on your weaknesses, so that you may be aware of tough situations that you may encounter in your new job and think of ways to overcome them. Find a way to frame the weaknesses positively, so that the prospective employer knows that you are aware and working on your weaknesses.
5. Find out your market value as per the industry standards. The company hiring you would like to know whether they can really afford you. Let them give you an offer first, but if you know what you are worth, do let them know. The employer will surely appreciate your honesty and confidence.
6. On the D-day, it is most important for you to look confident. I know it is very difficult to stay calm on the D day and it is perfectly fine to be a little nervous. But the important thing is how confidently you portray yourself to the interviewer. Put on your best suit and make sure that you are well groomed. They generally look for people who will take control of a crisis situation confidently.
7. Print out a few extra copies of your resume and cover letter. This will help you tackle a multiple interviewer situation.
8. Arrive on time for the interview. Arriving early gives an impression that you want this job at any cost. At the same time, arriving late gives an impression of being careless. Smile and shake hands when you meet the interviewer for the first time. Do the same, when you leave after the interview.
9. Last but not least, send a ‘Thank You’ message to the person who interviewed you. A handwritten note will go a long way in creating a favorable impression.
   

Phew!!! I know that was an extensive list of “Things to remember” but the most important thing is to RELAX and SMILE. After all, the company needs people who are pleasant to work with. All the best for your interview!!

Guest Post: Nikolaos Kagkalos

Nikolaos is one of Chris' 2010 Professional Speaking MISM students at Carnegie Mellon University. Here he writes about the art of interviewing.

I still remember a teacher of mine during the undergraduate school years repeating and almost yelling at my class: "You, guys, when you have free time in the future, just go to interviews. Not one or two. Not even three or four. GO TO MANY! Tens, twenties...go to as many as you can! If you can do a hundred, it's awesome!" What a wise advice for future graduates...

The crucial question for everyone who seeks a job is: "What does a company wants to know about someone who wants to hire?" The pyramid of the information the company wants to gather has many levels; company wants to know about the knowledge of the candidate, his/her personality, confidence and trust, sincerity and probably thousands of others. A little bit above all these is the value of the person, that is, how much the company can get from him/her. But above all is the question "Is he/she a pleasant person?" or "Does he/she fit?"

From the candidate's view, what company should we choose to work for? Everyone has a bunch of companies they would like to work for. We see people saying: "I want to work for Google so bad! I have seen pictures from their offices and they are so cool!" Yeah! But this is not a good reason to apply there. And just the name of the company does not mean too much sometimes. Before applying, do RESEARCH; what is the history of the company? What is the culture fostered in there? How do they treat employees and how much do they pay? What are the prospects of promotions? All these enquiries lead us to clarify whether the company is the right pick for us. And how do we get the answers? Ask! Google it! There are many ways to find out. As long as you really want it, you can find the way to get it. Remember: the more information you get, the less are the chances to be hired by a company that does not fit you.

From the time you pick your target and before you arrange an interview, you should be able to answer convincingly questions like:

Why you are here?
What kind of person are you?
What can you offer to our company?
What differentiates you from the rest?
Desired salary?

In addition, be prepared for "hypothetical, real situation questions". For example, "what would you do if..." or "let's say the company...how would you act?" Depending on the position you seek, build working scenarios and answer them. As an inference, organize your thought, write down your answers, practice on them like it was a performance. Make mock interviews with experts from your school or teachers or even with yourself in front of the mirror! It is very important to know everything by heart.

After all this preparation, hit the target. Go for the company and seek an interview. You cannot do much here. If they want to hire people, you will be called - and this will be based on your solid resume (or in other words, your personal...flyer). Put much effort into this and remember: make it short and accurate, demonstrate results, and use keywords. Once you are called, also figure out the following tips to get the most out of it- which is getting the job:

• Try to know the company - again, it is very important
• Prepare your answers and pick interesting life stories that describe yourself
• At the time of the conversation: perform like an actor, be relaxed, be natural, make the interview look like a CONVERSATION by asking questions!
• Express in a diplomatic way how passionate you are for the job
• Be polite. Support your opinions in a good manner BUT never go beyond the limits

Interview is mostly actions; get your act together, practice, perform. Many words sometimes do not count - actions do. So go out, walk and get what you want!

This content is based on my personal experience and the lectures of Professor Labash.

Guest Post: Nidhu Nalin

Nidhu is one of Chris' 2010 Professional Speaking students at Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University. Here she writes about getting your dream job.

When you wait impatiently for your turn to face your job interview, what is the only thing that is going on in your head? Most of you would agree with me when I say that the question is whether I will be able to crack this interview or not? Likewise, the things concerning Mr. John are will you be able to fit in the organization? Will you be adding value to the organization? Will you be able to do the job? And yes, you are right! Mr. John is indeed the interviewer.

When you stand outside that door to meet Mr. John, you should remember that the even though you have the right skills, education and experience for the job, so do those 90 people who have applied for the same job. So, what will make you that unanimous choice? Of course, the interview which you are about to give. Let’s explore further into developing the right interview skills.

As noted by Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, “When you meet someone for the first time . . . your mind takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions.” Hence it is very important to create a positive first impression. Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and a pleasant smile. Dress appropriately. Personal grooming and hygiene are important. Do not wear anything which is too distracting. For example, your interviewer might get distracted with that green eye-shadow of yours instead of focusing on what you are talking. Having said all of that, it is equally important that you are comfortable in whatever you are wearing.

Throughout the interview, maintain positive eye-contact. Speak in a polite manner. While responding, do not be too slow or too fast. This is your chance to present yourself as a best fit for the role, hence talk about things which describe you as a person capable of doing the job. Repetition of information already present in your resume should be avoided. Once in an interview, my interviewer asked me not to repeat the things which are not there in my resume.

Do research about the company and the position for which you have applied. In today’s information rich world, it would not go down too well with the interviewer, if you appear to be ignorant towards some big recent event associated with the company. Having the right information about the company shows your true interest in the company and more importantly will support your answer to the question “why do you want to join our company?”

While talking about yourself, do not be abstract. Always corroborate your statements with a relevant story from your experience. For example, if I simply say that I am a good problem solver, I am being too abstract. However when I say that once in an award function which I was anchoring, the certificates got delayed by 30 minutes, and to make up for the time delay, I started asking random fun questions to the audience. The audience enjoyed the fun-question event and we could smoothly continue with the function once the certificates arrived. This depicts strongly that you are a good problem solver in addition to being quick and creative.

Engage in conversation instead of a question answer session. What could be the best possible way to engage in a conversation? Ask questions. Look for natural pauses or just excuse and ask for any relevant question. By saying relevant, I am indicating that you would obviously not interrupt Mr. John to ask whether dogs are better than cats as pets. However, if Mr. John says that he also used to play football in his college and loves the game just like you, then it is not inappropriate to ask which team he supports for FIFA world cup 2010.

The way you end an interview is very important. It could be as simple as saying “Thank you for your time” or extend to something more elaborate. According to Shawn Graham, the author of Courting Your Career: Match Yourself with the Perfect Job, the job interview close is the equivalent of the “call me” moment at the end of a good date.

Research done by CareerPlaybook indicates that about 65% of the time, the hired employee meets fewer than 50% of the job qualifications. Hence, in addition to having a powerful resume you need to have the right interview skills in place to get that dream job.