5 Reasons Why You Didnt Get the Job

5 Reasons Why You Didnt Get the Job You crafted a great cover letter, made sure everything in your resume was  in order, and landed an interview. Everything seemed to go smoothyl  during the interview and you came out feeling confident. You may have even  decided to put your job search effort on hold because you were pretty sure that you would get this job. A week later, you got an email from your prospective employer telling you that they had chosen another candidate for the position, but they would put your resume on file. What went wrong?! Well, it could be any one of a number of reasons. Here are some of the top ones it could have been. 1) The job description changed Sometimes, after conducting several interviews, the company may decide to revise the job description due to various reasons, including budget issues or changes within the company. As a result, they may alter  the required skills for the position and in some case, may even  scrap the job vacancy  all together. 2) You lost to a current employee You were competing for the position with someone who already worked there and the company ended up making an “internal hire”. This is actually fairly common. Sometimes companies allow existing employees to apply for job postings, and since these candidates are already working in the company, it is low-risk for the company to hire them. 3) You weren’t prepared for the interview You arrived at the interview a couple minutes late, which to you was no big deal. You showed up at the interview in jeans and sneakers, because that was the only clean outfit you had. You woke up late and didn’t have time for breakfast. You grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee on the way and ate your breakfast during the interview (after all the interviewer told you that it was going to be a casual interview). These things might seem minor to you, but they are deadly mistakes that would cost you a job. 4) The interviewer didn’t think you were interested in the job You may think that everything went smoothly at the interview, but it is possible that the interviewer somehow felt that you were not genuinely interested in the job. This is often the result of not asking the right questions (or any question at all) during the interview or a lack of enthusiasm. To show that you are serious about that particular job it is essential that you demonstrate what you could bring to the company and how much you would appreciate the opportunity.   5) Your references weren’t prepared Employers often ask their candidates to provide references during the hiring process. Your references, if caught unprepared, have the potential to can cost you the  job opportunity. If you havent informed your references that you have included them  and your prospective employer gets in contact, it might have catch them by surprise, which could reflect badly on you. When listing someone as a reference, be sure to let them know and refresh their memory about any achievements you would like them to mention.  

6 Ways To Overcome The Fear of Public Speaking

6 Ways To Overcome The Fear of Public Speaking If you struggle in any way at all with public speaking, statistics show that you are not alone.   Over 74% of people suffer from some kind of speech anxiety. And yet, speaking in public is part of what is required in the corporate world and a necessary skill if you are to go further in your career. My story with the fear of speaking in front of others started early. I was a shy, introverted dreamy child and I surprised a lot of my friends by my career choice as an accountant in the corporate world. There were things that I loved about the corporate environment, like the international travel and the excitement of meeting new people and seeing new places. However, I also had to develop brilliant strategies for avoiding speaking in public, which mainly worked for me. It was completely different when I took a more senior position as an accountant in the Red Cross South Asia Head Office in New Delhi, India. There was no hiding here.    Part of my regular job was giving presentations every few months on the financial situation of the various regional projects. I would worry about these presentations for a couple of months beforehand and then spend the same amount of time afterwards feeling stupid for yet another ‘failure’. As the presentations were at least every six months, this didn’t make for a very relaxing or fun life! Then, to my complete surprise, there was one occasion, in beautiful Sri Lanka, where I suddenly gave a good, confident presentation. At the time, I wasn’t sure how I managed to do that, although it did give me the really useful awareness that there wasn’t actually something “wrong” with me. Like you and others who suffer from a fear of public speaking, I was not missing the vital ‘good at public speaking gene’. It was more that I did not have the information required to speak in front of other people. Now, years later, with the benefit of my training as a communications and voice expert, I can see the factors that were a contribution to me that day and some others that I would love to share with you. I am not going to talk about knowing your subject well and doing the preparation that is required. That is the starting point that I know you are already doing. So, here are some pragmatic, simple tools to help you overcome the fear of public speaking, and enjoy success in your career. Connect with your audience If you are afraid of public speaking, it is likely that you appear neutral or even disengaged to your audience. Or you may be trying to impart information to your audience, which means you can appear ‘pushy’. This tends to mean your audience becomes defensive and less open to hearing you. An alternative to being neutral or being pushy is to connect with your audience. You can do this by imagining a connection from behind the audience, through the audience, to you and through you. Perhaps it would help to visualise an imaginary thread weaving between members of the audience. Having this connection makes your audience feel energised, alert and engaged with you, even before you have opened your mouth. Although this may sound a bit mysterious, it is what a lot of leaders or performers do, without even consciously trying. Somebody like Madonna very naturally does this and it is a technique everyone can learn. Dress with confidence Your audience will notice how you are dressed. So, dress for how you would like to be seen by your audience. If this is different from your normal dress, I suggest practicing, wearing these types of clothes at home or when you’re out with friends and getting comfortable in them. As you start to feel comfortable in these new clothes, you will already be becoming the person who is confident giving this talk. Stay present It can be so easy to drift off, on a stage or even in an important presentation. Before you even start to speak, I suggest you feel your feet on the ground and breathe down deeply into your abdomen. As well as this, you can expand outwards. By this, I mean simply become aware of what is going on beyond the stage, beyond the room you are in. As you do this, you are no longer so tightly focussed on the room and the people in the room, which leads to a relaxation in you and in your audience. Remembering these two simple things will allow you to be present in the room, so people can engage with you and feel your presence, without you becoming overwhelmed. Fear or excitement? It is so common to be afraid of public speaking, that we don’t even question it. Someone who is confident in this area is absolutely the exception. So, when you feel those bubbles of anticipation in your stomach, when you feel your mind racing, I would like you to ask yourself “is this fear, or is this excitement?” It is often the case that we have confused excitement and fear. Often, as children, our parents assume we are afraid of something when we are actually really excited. We then assume we must be afraid and act afraid. Knowing this may be enough to change your situation. It makes sense that you could be excited to get the chance to share something in public. Beyond this, just know, that even with the physical sensations that may feel like fear, you can carry on and speak with confidence and ease. You can develop the ‘muscle of speaking’ (or continuing with your life) even when your mind is racing or you have panicky sensations in your body. Move your body Speaking is about more than just the voice. It is about the body, too. If there is a lack of confidence in your world around speaking, there is likely to be a build up of tension in your body. Your hands might shake or you may feel sick in your stomach. I suggest before you even get to the talk that you stretch your body or do your favourite exercise routine. Sometimes before a talk, I go to the ladies room and just stretch or even jump up and down a bit! During your talk, you may want to walk up and down as you speak, Keep it slow and natural, or it may appear frenzied. If you do start to shake, don’t worry or make it significant. Your audience will take their lead from you and if you carry on without making it important, your audience will do the same. Let go of perfection Our upbringing and our culture gives us implicit and explicit messages that we need to be perfect and that as the ‘expert up front’, we need to have all the answers. When you are already nervous about giving a presentation, this can lead to additional panic. Needing to be perfect and have the answers limits what is possible for you, as part of your mind is occupied in checking in to see whether you are getting it right or are already making a mistake! Of course, be well prepared. That goes without saying, and my guess is that you are already well prepared for your talk. Just know that if you do make a mistake, you can apologise, smile and move on. If you don’t know the answer to a question, tell the audience you will find out for them and get back to them quickly. Again, your audience will take its cue from you. If you do not make yourself wrong for making a ‘mistake’ or not knowing the answer to a question, they will not either. It can be a big relief for the audience to see the speaker able to make a ‘mistake’ without feeling invalidated â€" it means that it can be true for them, too. I hope you find these tips useful and that they can allow you to know that you, too, can speak with ease in front of an audience, and have the success in your career that you desire and deserve. This guest post was authored by Fiona Cutts Fiona Cutts is a communications coach, linguist and facilitator for Right Voice for You, a special program by Access Consciousness. An extremely shy and dreamy child, Fiona found herself drawn to languages and travel from a very young age. She speaks English, German and French, and has lived in, or travelled through, countries all over the world. During her career as an accountant and auditor, Fiona struggled with an intense fear of public speaking and presentation delivery. As a Right Voice for You facilitator, she draws upon that experience to help others liberate themselves from fear and judgment, and unleash their confident and authentic voice. www.fionacutts.com . Main image credit. Speaker image.

Twentysomething Blogging is the new graduate school

Twentysomething Blogging is the new graduate school By Ryan Healy like most people our age, my friends dont really read blogs. So I created a My Space page to market my blog. At first, this worked out great. Our friends could see bulletins every time a new post went up and people got a better sense of what the blog was all about. On top of this, every night before bed I left an AIM away message stating, click here and people would be sent to the site. I also updated my Facebook profile every time a new post went up. All of these things worked great for the first few weeks. My friends went to the site, and someone new would ask about it nearly every day. Despite all of this, we realized that it is not easy to convert the average twentysomething to the wonderful world of the blogosphere. Even my friends and acquaintances that appreciate what Im doing and compliment my site do not frequent my blog or any other blog on a regular basis. And when they do visit the site they almost never leave a comment. Its ironic, though, because blogging is a way to deal with the biggest problem at the beginning of ones career: No expertise. If you offer intelligent opinions or advice on a credible blog, then you are an expert. This is why more young people should blog. If you have a focused blog, then you can jump from job to job and learn many skills, but the constant will be that you are an expert in whatever area you choose to research and write about. A great example of someone establishing themselves as an expert through a blog is Ramit Sethi of Iwillteachyoutoberich.com. He started writing about personal finance a few years ago and now he gives speeches on the topic, has a book coming out and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. Sure it takes a little hard work, but the end result can certainly justify the means. If you are interested in a subject but really dont know much about it, creating a blog is a great way to learn. If you are really clueless at first, then start your blog as a clearing house for everything related to your niche. Scan the web for articles, create Google alerts for key words and contact a few experts. Eventually you will absorb so much about the topic that you can write intelligent posts as often as you would like. Get Rich Slowly is an example of a blog that started as mostly links and summaries of other peoples posts. Quickly, though, author JD Roth became expert enough to write his own commentary in addition to linking. One of the hardest parts about starting a blog is that nearly every subject worth writing about has been covered to death. The solution to this is to put your own spin on it. If you are a young person the easiest thing to do is highlight the fact that you are young and write about it from a young persons point of view. For example, if you are interested in marketing, research how the experts try to reach young people and then write about what works and what doesnt. People are bound to listen; everyone is trying to figure us out. Creating a blog will not only turn you into a subject matter expert, but it shows drive and motivation when trying to get your next job. Highlight the blog on your resume, discuss how you balanced blogging with working and brag about your site statistics and mentions around the web. Maybe blogging is the new graduate school. Ryan Healys blog is Employee Evolution.

Shifting Thoughts on How Work Is Valued

Shifting Thoughts on How Work Is Valued In 2018’s business climate, most companies don’t actively promote the idea that men are better suited for some jobs and women for others. The idea of “women’s work” has faded, if not from everyone’s minds, at least from common vernacular. But that doesn’t mean that jobs aren’t still coded “male” and “female”, and that “masculine” work isn’t deemed more valuable than “feminine” work. This piece will explore how work is valued in our society, the reasons for this valuation, and how it intersects with gender. What Work Is Most Highly Valued? “Value” is a word that can mean many things. In a capitalist economic system, money paid is the most effective way of showing a job’s value. In theory, the jobs that are the highest paid are seen as the most important. According to Glassdoor, these are some of the highest paying jobs in demand: Physician Software Architect Finance Manager Lawyer Product Manager Supply Chain Manager Database Administrator No one’s going to argue that a doctor’s job isn’t valuable â€" but let’s look at jobs that people feel contribute the most to society: Soldiers Teachers Physicians Scientists Engineers Overall, people in this study did not think business executives contributed much to society. When you look at what jobs media promotes as respectable though, you’ll often see business executives, lawyers, and other suit-clad professions. According to Payscale, the people who found their jobs most meaningful were mostly in the education and healthcare fields. While physicians and surgeons are highly paid, other healthcare services, like rehabilitation counseling, occupational therapy and epidemiology, pay significantly less. It can be argued that a surgery is seen as valuable because it is a billable service item with demonstrable need and immediate gratification. Conversely, an epidemiologist might save hundreds of lives by preventing the spread of Ebola and other viruses, but because the benefit is widespread and there’s no individual to charge,  the work is compensated with less money. Few would argue that epidemiology isn’t valuable, but the money isn’t behind it because it doesn’t serve commercial interests. How Do Gender Roles Function Economically? In theory, once a job’s value is established, whoever fills that role would make commensurate compensation. But perception of value is fluid, and jobs get analyzed according to how society views the people in those jobs. In general, media idolizes traits that are valued in men: strength,  power, and ambition. When women portray these traits, they are not valued as highly. So the jobs that get the most outward respect and are rewarded with compensation are jobs that utilize these skills: soldier, lawyer, and manager. Because the traits that are important to success in these fields have been deemed masculine and are valued more in men, it is generally assumed that men do better in these positions. Conversely, work that requires traits  that are deemed more feminine â€" compassion, caring for others,   multitasking abilities â€" is valued economically, if not always by perception. This can be seen in how social workers and caregivers, positions which are often coded female, are often lower paid.People value teachers but won’t always agree that they deserve more compensation. It is sometimes argued that teachers should love what they do, so they shouldn’t need more compensation. That argument is almost exclusively made for jobs where the value lies in human well-being rather than products. Why Don’t Economic and Perceived Value Always Line Up? Even though there are some correlations with gender and perceptions of gender roles, the disconnect between jobs that people see as important and jobs people think deserve to be highly paid stems directly from the economic structure of our society. The jobs that benefit the economy are the jobs that will be rewarded economically. This means that jobs that create more opportunities for money to be spent and made. Companies exist to make money. Even companies with humanitarian causes can only exist as long as there is money to support them. People with money tend to want to invest it in ways that create more money, or at the very least do not come with monetary losses. Few would argue that safeguarding vulnerable populations isn’t important, but they’re also unlikely to pay social workers as much as a lawyer would charge a client. Keeping someone healthy and safe doesn’t have a monetary payout unless that person is rich or there’s someone to sue. The economic system works very well to feed and sustain itself. But it doesn’t necessarily work to build a better world. When products are valued but people aren’t, people without resources get left behind. This has an environmental impact as well.   And if left unchecked, could result in society’s creations lasting longer than its people. How Do We Shift Pay Structures? So if we want to see a world where work that benefits people rather than just production so that social workers don’t have to give up their health in order to make a living, what can we do? It starts in our businesses. Analyze what jobs are well paid and which aren’t. Do you have jobs that focus exclusively on people’s well-being? Are they compensated as highly as those focused on customer service? Or are you maybe even a step further behind ? Do tasks that recognize employees’ humanity get pushed to the back burner as someone’s side projects instead of being given priority? When you hire, look at people’s traits and skills instead of just their job history. There are many transferable skills that get discounted because of a lack of specific job experience. For example, teachers are experts at delegation and room control by necessity. These could be extremely valuable skills in a customer education position. Social workers have to be highly empathetic and understanding of where people are coming from. Wouldn’t that be great for customer de-escalation? When you consider people’s skills from a human perspective rather than just how much money they bring in, you can build an understanding, productive team that will likely serve customers better and result in higher retention and a better reputation. Focusing on people doesn’t have to be exclusive of making money. But it does have to be a factor. Otherwise, the company will eventually lose any value it offers to people and become only valuable to the economic system it serves. This guest post was authored by Brooke Faulkner Brooke  Faulkner is a writer, mom and adventurer in the Pacific Northwest.  She spends her days pondering what makes a good leader.   And then dreaming up ways to teach these virtues to her sons, without getting groans and eye rolls in response.

Doctors Resume Writing Service

Doctors Resume Writing ServiceToday, doctors should be more confident and professional about what they are presenting on their doctor's resume. It's no longer enough to present a generic job history. Today's doctors must be able to stand out from the crowd and show how they've become more successful as a result of their new career path.Well, written and impressive doctors resume is an effective way to showcase a candidate's abilities and qualifications. Resumes can be very intimidating documents and make an impact on those who read them. It's much easier to feel impressed with the content if the candidate does a good job with their doctors resume writing service. The more successful the content is, the higher your chances of getting an interview.A good service will not only focus on the content, but should also include a good font style in the body of the document. There are plenty of good lettering styles to choose from. However, the best style will be the one that suits the persona l branding of the person. They should choose a font style that has strong contrasting character, will look good, and clearly presents the content of the document.Using good formatting is the cornerstone of a good resume. Doctors should use proper formatting throughout the document to ensure it meets these requirements. There are templates online that will help with this. They are often far better than the examples you'll find in school books or with your local university.Not all formatting and lettering can make up for a good quality resume. Most content online focuses on education, training, and experience, and can be highly misleading. There are some great professionals who have been published by famous publishing houses who know how to craft a top notch document.This is why the best professional service is more than just offering content. They have extensive experience in the industry, have multiple clients, and possess the experience to make their resumes stand out from the crow d. They should understand where to create a good profile. Some services are also equipped with the latest design and layout software tools.Make sure you're getting value for your money. You want to ensure the company offers everything you need to produce a complete package and give you the credentials to get the interview. Make sure you know the size of the resume template and ask for samples of testimonials before signing any contract.If you hire a professional service, you will have everything you need to get your dream job without wasting time on content and proofreading. With proper formatting and a good design, your doctor's resume will stand out from the crowd.

World-wide happiness at work - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

World-wide happiness at work - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Im very proud to announce the first international forum on happiness at work, September 7-9 in Copenhagen. Read all about it and sign up here. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Exercise Talking stick - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Exercise Talking stick - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Talking stick is an excellent way to promote better and deeper dialogue. If you need to slow down the pace of a discussion, to make room for more reflection and listening, consider trying it. Its really simple. Basically, you find a stick (or some other object), and whoever holds the stick can speak, everybody else listens. When youve finished talking, you can put down the stick (for somebody else to pick up), or you can hand it to somebody, allowing that person to speak. It sounds almost too simple to work, but it does. It usually has several effects: People listen more to what is being said, in stead of waiting for their turn to speak. People dont talk too much. If youre constantly holding the stick, youll notice, and pass it on. The pace of the discussion slows. Theres less disagreement. Theres a detailed description of talking stick here. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related