by Ronnie Ann ~ August 30th, 2010 ·
MagsNJ recently wrote “I always struggle answering the famous question during an interview ‘Tell me a little about yourself.’ Any suggestions??”
Glad you asked, Mags. I’ve been meaning to talk about how to handle the frequently asked “Tell me about yourself ” question. It’s one of the all-time favorite interview questions and can be asked many ways including “What would you like me to know about you?” “Describe yourself” or even “Tell me who you are.”
But this dastardly question may also come at you first thing in the interview, like a fast ball without warm up, in the form of “So tell me why you think you’re right for this job.” Boom. And now the relentless “what’s your answer” spotlight is glaring at YOU…while you still try to kick your bag under the table and get comfortable in the hot seat.
Luckily, all forms of this question can be answered using a similar approach. So here’s my take on MagsNJ’s question:
What I Want To Hear If I Ask You To Tell Me About Yourself [Read more →]
Tags:
by Ronnie Ann ~ August 23rd, 2010 ·
I recently got a great comment from Angela on my I Hate Being a Boss post. She’d had it up to HERE with being a manager – and she wasn’t going to take it any more!
While browsing my stats, I often see search terms like “I hate my employees” “I hate being boss” and “I hate being manager.” And it makes me realize just how many people out there – maybe even your own boss – really hate managing people and don’t even want to be a boss!
Here’s some of what what Angela shared with us in her comment: [Read more →]
Tags:
by Ronnie Ann ~ August 17th, 2010 ·
I so appreciate when readers write to tell us about their hard-won interview experiences – from surviving the horrible interview itself to the seemingly endless post-interview wait to the sweet taste of an actual job offer. Chantey wrote us earlier to tell of some truly awful interview experiences. She made it clear that learning to deal with reality and getting on with interviews in a positive way is important. But she also added:
“Sometimes, you just need to hate the world and maybe throw a chair (alone in your own home of course.)”
I so get that, Chantey. [Read more →]
Tags:
by Ronnie Ann ~ August 9th, 2010 ·
Today I had a surprise call from Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo. Turns out he needs a new resume. Oh…I know you’re thinking “Hey…wait a minute. Hasn’t he been dead since 1564?” Well…yes. But my policy (and I think it’s a good one) is to always give clients the benefit of the doubt. And so I tried my best to help.
Still…as much as I want to help build the best resume possible for Mick (he likes me to call him that) …he has an unbelievably poor work history and exhibits seriously questionable behavior. Oh, I know he has all these amazing talents blah blah blah, but how can I hope to make him look good on a professional resume when THIS is the background info I got from him during our first meeting? [Read more →]
Tags: humor·job hopper·michelangelo·professional resume
by Ronnie Ann ~ August 2nd, 2010 ·
I often hear from readers who have been looking for a job for months and even years. And I can’t help thinking that no matter how talented you are, when you can’t find a job and that continues far longer than you ever imagined, you start to edit your own memories of how good you are.
If no one wants you (or so it seems) then maybe they know something you don’t. At least that’s the kind of self-doubt that begins to creep in. Even normally confident people start to question their value – and wonder if they’ll EVER get a job again. (You will.)
Have I been there at some point in my own career? [Read more →]
Tags:
by Ronnie Ann ~ July 26th, 2010 ·
I was watching NY1 right after a friend asked how to go about finding a career she can truly care about and hopefully even love – rather than just lots of jobs strung together. While arguably, sometimes jobs strung together can be the basis of a career, there on NY1′s New Yorker of the Week segment was a large part of her answer. As they say in comedy, timing is everything.
Broadway performer Luis Salgado founded his organization Revolucion Latina on the idea of “daring to go beyond”. Using that as a guiding principle, Salgado and friends (many of them also Broadway performers) created a free 3-day summer camp for local inner city kids. The camp lets them discover who they are by giving them the chance to sing, dance, act and feel free to simply express themselves. How many of us would love some time at a camp like that! And who better as role model than Salgado, caring, passionate performer and choreographer currently in the Broadway hit In the Heights?
Responding to a question about what value his camp and the principles it’s based on has for young campers, Salgado smiled broadly: “To discover yourself is how you discover your dreams.” I smiled too – both at the power of that simple truth and because I was reminded of a time when [Read more →]
Tags: career advice·careers
by Ronnie Ann ~ July 19th, 2010 ·
We see advice about having a good career story all over social media nowadays…but not everyone knows what that means. So I figured I’d give you an example of a career story from my own work life that I hope will help you in turn create your own career story!
But first as promised…what is a career story? [Read more →]
Tags: career stories·career story
by Ronnie Ann ~ July 12th, 2010 ·
Proudly announcing two new features for the Work Coach Cafe! The first new feature is a still growing Work Coach Cafe career dictionary offering definitions for career and social media terms. But it’s much more than a dictionary – it’s a career resource with expanded definitions, mini-posts and personal tangents as well as a few fun finds:
(click on link above)
The second feature is a Job Search Support Forum where you can share your thoughts and stories, read what others have to say, and find support & ideas from people going through similar things related to job search, interviews, or career in general. Even if you just need to get something off your chest about your job, boss, coworker or the whole crazy-making hiring process, this is the place:
(click on link above)
Please enjoy! ~ Ronnie Ann
Tags: career dictionary·career forum·job search forum
by Ronnie Ann ~ July 6th, 2010 ·
Short of actually being told by the interviewer or someone else in the company during or immediately after your interview (which does happen on VERY rare occasion), after you finish an interview there are just some questions about the job you can’t answer for sure – even if you google the question relentlessly day in and day out groggy from lack of sleep looking for an answer – or even a clue.
And lord knows, don’t let job search advice blogs – even…ahem… good ones like mine – lead you astray! 
Some things you just don’t know and can’t know until you do know. It’s that simple.
So if you’re curious…here’s my top three job search unknowables list. (There are of course many more job search unknowables, so please feel free to add your own favorites!) [Read more →]
Tags:
by Ronnie Ann ~ June 28th, 2010 ·
Most people who come to this blog are looking for a job and therefore at the mercy of employers and anyone employers choose to do screening and interviews for them. (Including computers programmed to screen in ways that often miss a lot of good candidates.) But some of you may one day at one point in your career also have the honor of being an interviewer or playing a role in the hiring process.
So it might be a good thing to create a list of tips for anyone on the buying side of the interview. I’m going to start the ball rolling, but by no means do I consider my list complete. Please feel free to add your own suggestions and thoughts to our Employer Interview Tips list. The interview you save might be your own!
Interview Tips for Employers & Folks in Charge of Hiring [Read more →]
Tags:
