Wait a minute! I’ve been on a few job interviews. They definitely asked me more than one question.

No. Not really. You were only being asked one question. It was just worded about 50 different ways.

Every job interview question is a another way for an employer to ask you why they should hire you.

Make sure your job interview answers tell them why. Here are the three most important reasons you’ll need to convince an employer why they should hire you:

Do You Have The Skills?

There are two ways to show you have the skills necessary to perform the job well. Through formal training (i.e. degrees and certificates) and hands on experience.

If you only have one or the other then emphasize the benefits of the skills you do have. Most people I know never fit perfectly into the job description requirements.

Job descriptions are written for perfect world scenarios. In a perfect world the job candidate should meet all the requirements. In the real world that rarely happens. So play up to your strengths and minimize the weaknesses.

Remember a job search is a sales process. You’re either selling an employer on why you are the solution to a problem or being sold on moving back in with your parents because you can’t find a job.

Be the solution.

Do You Have The Experience?

Some jobs have strict experience requirements for you to qualify. But most don’t. Many experience requirements are flexible and mostly used to weed out totally unqualified people who are just wasting time by applying to the job.

You have to be able to show the employer you know how to meet the demands and challenges of the position.

Lets say your most recent work experience is as a waitress. Now you want to apply for a fast paced but entry level office position.

You need to show the employer how you would be perfect for the position due to your experience anticipating customer needs, performing multiple tasks simultaneously, and exceeding customer expectations to maximize profit.

And you thought you were just getting refills!

Will You End Up Embarrassing Me?

This is a big issue that I rarely hear anyone discuss about the hiring process. Everyone cares about how they are viewed by their peers, including hiring managers.

Hiring managers might get some of the credit for hiring winners but they definitely get all of the credit for hiring the losers. Every hiring manager is afraid of hiring “memorable” employees.

It seems like every office has a “cat lady” who refers to each of her two dozen or so cats as her children. Then there is that one guy who makes everyone nervous because he looks like he could snap and go “postal”.

It may be fun laughing at them privately but no one ever wants to take responsibility for hiring them publicly.

Like this post? Then Like my Facebook Page and follow me on Twitter.

Maximize Your Exposure

There’s no way to find a job if no one knows you’re looking. Don’t just keep posting your resume on job search websites.

Let the people around you know that you’re looking for a job. Don’t just tell them that you need a job. Let them know how they can help you.

You are more likely to get real help that way. Not everyone can do everything for you. Have a friend that you know that writes well. Have them help you with your cover letter.

Have another friend that performs well in public settings? Practice job interviews with her. Break down the tasks you need to accomplish for a successful job search into manageable pieces. Then recruit different people to help you complete different things.

That way your friends will be more able and willing to help you.  Your network feels better for being able to help. You’ll find a job sooner with their help. It’s win win for everyone. By involving everyone  into your career network you will maximize your results.

Find Out Where The Jobs Are

Are you in a dying career field? If you want to find a job this year you need to know this. If so, what skills do you have that can transfer to one of the growing career fields?

This is really critical to your success this year. It doesn’t matter how much you network, or how many job search websites you have your resume on if you are laser focused on a dying career field with few jobs available.

See The Big Picture

How can you sell your skills to an employer if you don’t know what you have to offer? The job search process is one big selling process.

Employers are selling you the idea that they are the best employer for you to give your most valuable asset, time.

You are selling employers the idea that they should give you their most valuable asset, money.

You are exchanging time for money. Make sure you get what you’re worth. Identify exactly you bring to this sales process and highlight it in every interaction.

Your Resume Controls Your Job Search

Anyone can put together a resume. That doesn’t make them good resumes. Good resumes sell your skills as the the perfect solution for that employer. Bad resumes list job descriptions. Smart people don’t list job descriptions on their resumes.

Even in a booming job market your resume only gets about 30 seconds to impress the hiring manager. In this job market you’ll get much less time than that.  Make sure your resume focuses on your selling points right from the start.

A general rule of thumb for your resume is: Accomplishments sell, job descriptions kill.

There’s a sucker born every minute   -David Hannum

P. T. Barnum of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus made a living off of scamming the paying public. Barnum built his fame and fortune producing elaborate hoaxes that he then charged people to see.

He said he didn’t consider it ripping people off if they were entertained in the process.

I disagree.

Scammers are everywhere eagerly waiting to rip you off. Whether they succeed or not is up to you. The second you became unemployed you became a prime target for scumbags hawking their employment scams.

1. Don’t Believe The Hype

Work sucks. That’s why you get paid to do it. If work didn’t suck you would do it for free. If it sounds too good to be true then it definitely is too good to be true. Don’t waste any time or money on a scam artist’s snake oil. Follow your instincts on this.

Every scam is designed to exploit some personal flaw or vulnerability you have. In this case your vulnerability is your loss of income.  Without a job you’re worried about how you are going to pay your bills and feed your family.

Scammers know this. So every scam they throw at you will magically solve this major problem with little or no work on your part. Isn’t that great?

All you have to do is send them your address, phone number, bank account information, social security number  and mother’s maiden name. After that all your problems will be solved.

2. The Devil Is In The Details

Most scams are filled with promises of quick and easy solutions to your life’s problems. What they aren’t full of are details.

A common employment scam is one where the scammer gets you to send them your personal information on the pretense of a job offer.

You get an email from some guy you have never heard of  before. He works at some company you have never heard of before.  You’re in luck. He’s hiring people just like you. You can even start immediately.

But first, send him all of your personal information so he can steal your identity, open fraudulent accounts in your name, and leave you much worse off than just being unemployed.

Check out the person and the company before you share any of your information with someone you don’t know over email or phone.

Call and ask for the guy. But don’t use the number he gives you. Google the company and location. See if his information checks out.

Here’s two details you should know:

A. Most job search websites have an option for you to keep your information private. Potential employers can contact you without having your email or regular address and phone number. Use it.

B. Legitimate offers of employment don’t pressure you into revealing your personal information and never require you to pay fees upfront.

3. Make Them An Offer They Can’t Refuse

Most scams involve some sort of deal or trade. This trade is supposed to have some super benefit for you. My absolute favorite way to sniff out a scam is to reverse the terms of the deal being offered.

An especially annoying bill collector kept harassing me a while back. I was trying to settle up my outstanding debts after getting back on my feet. But this jerk wouldn’t send me the settlement agreement  in writing.

He kept trying to pressure me into giving him my bank account information to set up the payments without me having anything in writing from the company. Yeah right!

Finally I suggested that he should credit my account as paid in full. Then he should send notices to the credit agencies informing them that the debt was paid in full. Once I saw the credit agencies change the account status then I would send in the payment.

This was essentially the same deal he was offering me.

He wanted me to give a stranger (him) my financial information over the phone. Then I was supposed to trust this stranger will use that information honestly, credit my account and then send me something in writing that I could use as proof of our agreement after the fact.

When you’re faced with a decision about a deal that you’re unsure about, flip the terms. Make them the offer that the guy is offering you.  If it’s such a good deal for you then the scammers should be eager to jump all over it for themselves, right?

Needless to say,  suddenly the bill collector didn’t think that was so great of a deal anymore. Eventually,  I received the settlement offer in writing and I was able to confirm that the collection company was legitimately  entitled to collect on the debt.

It was obvious that this bill collector was using the same high pressure scam tactics that crooks use everyday to rip you off. Don’t let it happen.

What tips do you have for avoiding scams? Let me know in the comments below.

1. Become A Bigger And Better Twit

The site has a twitter account, @unemployees. I don’t really interact on Twitter as much as I should. I just don’t see how people find the time to do so. But as my grandfather use to say anything worth doing is worth doing well. So this year I will be a better Twit and tweet with reckless abandon.

Along with random useless details of celebrities’ lives there are plenty of good nuggets of information on navigating the job market on Twitter. I will make it a point to find and bring these nuggets to you this year.

2. Spend More Face Time On Facebook

Instead of tending to digital mobs, mafias, farms and cities, I will dedicate more time and unique content to the site’s facebook page. It’s just another thing that takes up the most precious resource people have, time.

Coming soon there will be an ongoing resume tips section exclusively for Unemployed Help’s facebook fans.

3. Making A List And Checking It Twice

This year I will dedicate more time to my email subscribers. Some of my best interactions come from my email subscribers. So this year I will show them more love by developing an email course just for them.

If there are any topics you would really like to see covered about how to find a job let me know here.

Now that we’re done with that here’s a list of the top five Unemployed Help posts from 2010:

1. How McDonald’s Big Mac Can Help You Find A Job

2. 8 Scam Free Ways To Work From Home

3. 14 Things Potential Employers Wished You Knew

4. Get Hired Sooner With A Better Job Search

5. Five Things Unemployed People Can Learn From Mel Gibson

Happy New Year!

Career

Tired of scams and ripoffs? Here’s a list of eight scam free ways to work from home. Really legitimate. That means none of the you pay us now and we’ll pay you never crap that’s everywhere.

The first three scam free ways to work from home on the list give you the best chance at earning enough money to actually replace the income you lost when you lost your job.

The best part of these sites is that there is a demand for all levels of work experience from posting comments on blogs to high tech computer programing jobs. Almost any job experience that you have you will find a market for on the following sites.

1. Odesk

2. Elance

3. VWorker

Work From Home Freelance Tips

• This is not quick or easy. But making real money is definitely possible and of course scam free.
• Take the skill tests provided. It’s crucial that you build a profile that makes potential clients trust you, especially when you are just starting out.
• Bulding credibility is going to take some time. Generally about 100 hours or 15 -20 projects.  Until you reach that threshold you’re probably going to have to accept lowball offers.  Once you have proof of the quality of your work through the positive feedback that your clients leave, the amount of money you can make will really increase.
• Link to your portfolio or create one. People like to see proof before giving you their money.

Paid Online Surveys

I almost didn’t include this part of the list. There are just so many “get paid to fill out surveys”  scams out there it’s ridiculous. Even the ones that ‘pay’ don’t give you a chance at meaningful income.

I would still include the scam free work from home survey sites below because you can receive small payments and win prizes. It’s enough money to potentially pay for a restaurant lunch bill for two but nothing to pay your rent with. The sites below are free to join so you have nothing to lose and free lunches to gain.

The first sign that you are being scammed is if  the paid online survey site asks you to make any upfront payments to join the site or access the survey.  None of the handful of legitimate paid online survey sites that I have found require any upfront payments of any kind.

4. Cash Crate

5. Mysurvey

Work From Home Survey Tips

• Don’t dedicate more than maybe thirty minutes on these survey sites. The pay doesn’t warrant spending much time here unless you just really enjoy giving your opinion to influence marketing and product decisions.
• Any survey site that asks for you to pay for access is a SCAM!

Article Submission Sites

The next few sites are user generated content sites. That means you write an article and get paid based on its popularity. These are good if you enjoy writing about different topics or just know more about certain topics than most people.

6. Associated Content

7. HubPages

8. Squidoo

Work From Home Article Submission Tips

• Don’t worry about writing like Shakespeare. If you can read the articles on these sites then you can write them.
• Focus on topics that are popular. You can figure out what the popular topics either on the sites themselves or by searching Google Trends or even Twitter.
• “How To” articles and videos tend to perform the best.

Keep in mind that work from home is still work. Each one of these methods can and will pay off if you put the effort into making it work.  If you want more information about scam free ways to work from home join the Unemployees Club and send me a message.

Job Interview Answer:

Don’t let the informal nature of this question trick you into actually blabbing on on about yourself like you’re on a first date. The whole point of any interview is to sell yourself. Your answer should be short and structured.

Mention your career field, your level of experience, and then the benefit to the employer. This how the answer should look.

I am a (engineer, project manager, admin assistant) with (X) years of experience that can (increase sales, increase productivity, reduce overhead) from day one.

Keep it short simple and to the point. You will have a chance to expand on this answer later in the interview with the second most common job interview question.

Job Interview Tips:

You want to be prepared without sounding rehearsed. Say it, mean it and move on.

What’s your best answer to this question? Share it below!

Recently, Scott Pelley from 60 Minutes highlighted the unemployment crisis in San Jose, CA otherwise known as Silicon Valley.  The unemployment rate is about 12 percent there. The unemployment and underemployment rate is about 22 percent in  all of California. Many of these folks are facing the end of their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.

Is The Recession Over For You?

What’s so special about Silicon Valley’s unemployment situation that they get a segment on 60 Minutes? Apparently, the economy wasn’t really a problem until it started affecting the really smart people.

The segment highlights what most of us already knew. That getting a job today is tougher than ever no matter what experience and qualifications you have.

Job Security Is Dead

You can no longer expect and rely on working for an employer for 20-30 years then retiring with full benefits. The economy will eventually recover as it is slowly doing now. Companies are slowly starting to increase hiring. Don’t let any of that fool you into trusting your financial security with another “big and reliable” company again.

Don’t get me wrong. When the opportunity comes to work for another company offering to trade you the next twenty years of your life for cash and benefits, you should probably take it. You might have to take it. But don’t ever rely solely on income from that job again, ever. This recession has proven that companies will not honor their end of the bargain when the going gets tough.

Companies are increasingly willing to  get a bankruptcy judge to allow them to stop providing you the “benefits” they promised would be there for you wen you really need them though. Now you’re up a creek and they’re off the hook.

Outsource Yourself

Outsourcing isn’t just for large corporations any more. It’s actually the best way to fend off financial doom when you’ve lost your major source of income. Outsourcing yourself, better known as freelancing, is the new job security.

The only true job security these days is having multiple skills that you get paid to provide or by providing your one skill to multiple places that need it.
Luckily for you outsourcing yourself is easier than it’s ever been.

Go To Where The Jobs Are

Join online communities where peole are loking for short term and contract employees. Just because employers aren’t hiring full time workers in droves doesn’t mean they don’t need to have specific projects completed by competent people.

• Create free accounts on sites like Elance, Odesk, and vWorker. These sites have employers looking for people to perform jobs at every skill level from posting comments on blogs to real technical jobs like computer programming. Whatever your skill set you can find something you will be able to do.

• Don’t give up if your first few bids aren’t accepted. Until you have  built up a good reputation employers will be hesitant to trust you with their really important (code for higher paying projects). Once you build up a solid track record you will start earning income replacing money. How long depends on what skills you offer and your work ethic but it’s definitely possible.

• As in every aspect of your life, beware of scammers trying to get you to work for free. These freelance sites have systems in place to prevent fraud but you should always be on the lookout. If it sounds to good to be true or the employer has a shady ranking just say no and move on.

Career

Find A Job Help

Job Interview

Resume Help

Unemployment

Technorati tags:

carnival of the unemployed, blog carnival.

Even when the economy is doing well people suffer from the loss of a job. It may be the business has failed or that you’ve been replaced by someone else. What you need to keep in mind is every door that closes opens a new one.

It could very well prove to be the best thing that ever happens to you. Keeping a positive outlook and seeking out the benefits of taking stock of your life can help enormously in dealing with the anxiety.

Here are some tips to deal with the unpleasant experience of losing your job.

1. You need to discuss with your spouse your plan for adjusting spending to deal with the lack of income you may experience. Setting a new budget immediately and discussing your plans for the future is critical. Financial strain can cause strain on a relationship, by clearing setting forth the new plans, much of the strife can be avoided. Working as a team you can get through the tough times.

2. Be sure to determine your health insurance benefits. Some companies offer a severance package with a continued health insurance benefit. The last thing you need is to have a major medical expense while you’re looking for a new position.

3. Apply for unemployment benefits. Although the income is not very substantial, unemployment benefits can give you some benefits in the short term. Many states offer online application processes which expedite the process substantially.

4. Pull out the resume and update it with your specific achievements. Remember the resume is just to get you in the door. Make yourself look good with percentages of increase in business, cost cutting, awards or honors. Always be truthful and remember you are in competition with other people who want the job as well.

5. Realize and keep in mind that all experiences in life come to pass. Good times will arrive again. Be sure to look for new job postings daily as new jobs become available daily.

6. Consider new options. Perhaps this is the perfect time to take on a new career path. Realize you may have to take a pay cut for the short term. Finding a new profession that you truly enjoy may make this job loss the best thing to ever happen to you.

Ryan Camana MNLP, MHt, MTT, BA is one of the worlds foremost experts on rapid personal development. With his extensive knowledge in hypnosis, NLP, TIME Techniques and his own proprietary healing techniques Ryan guides people all over the world to overcome the issues that have held them back from living to their full potential. For more information about Ryan and his services please visit, http://www.DynamicBreakthroughs.com.