• Seating arrangements can be indicative of the kind of interview you are going to face. If you are sat alone on a chair in front of the panel arrayed in a straight line in front of you it is a pretty good bet that you are going to be in for a grilling.

• More sympathetic arrangements might include the panel being sat round a large table with a space for you to join them.

• Typically in a panel interview each member of the panel will be assigned to ask questions on a particular skill or competency, and there will be an overall chairman.

How to deal with it

• To handle this interview well, you must appear to be confident, don’t hesitate too long before you give an answer. Watch your posture and try not to fidget too much.

• Ensure that you treat all members of the panel equally. Don’t address all your answers to the chairman, nor to whomsoever it was who asked. Make good eye contact with each member of the panel.

• Some panels deliberately contain a "Devil’s advocate". If so, do not allow this person to get under your skin, and answer their questions in the same way as every other member. Equally well, their may be the "good cop, bad cop" game. The way round it is to treat each member of the panel equally.

Must be an effective ‘People Change’ agent as he is responsible for the task of
- understanding the as-is processes that are currently being used by a set of people,
- understanding the gaps/ issues/ improvement areas for as -is processes used by a set of people,
- and propose improvements that will be adopted by a set of people.
So in a summary, he should be able to effectively influence the above mentioned set of people to provide effective inputs to finalise and implement the required process improvements.

He should also have a good temper and ability to ask questions before any activity and answer any questions after.

"The Indian Economy and the Epicentre of Globalization" is a one-week residency in Mumbai from Jan 1 to 8 for University of California, Riverside School of Business Administration undergraduate students, graduate students and alumni. It joins similar one-week Residency Programmes in England and China that were started in the past two years, the university announced on Tuesday.

Future plans call for adding programmes in Russia and Brazil. "The programmes expose students to emerging markets and give them global experience in an academic, business and cultural environment," said Sean Jasso, who organizes the trips and is a lecturer of management at the School of Business Administration.

The programmes started in spring 2010 with a week long residency at the University of Oxford in England. Students returned to Oxford in 2011, and added Guangzhou and Shenzhen, China in June of that year. In 2012, students will return to those two countries and travel to India from Jan 1 to 8. The past trips and the upcoming trip to India have drawn about 80 students.

The residency in India will explore the strategic issues that US and foreign multinationals face when doing business in India. Lecture topics include India as a transitional economy, Mumbai’s economy, financing in India, culture and leadership in India and India’s future economic growth. Participants will visit Tata Consultancy Service, L&T Infotech, a global IT services and solutions provider, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the National Stock Exchange.

The blender question is real. Several Google interviewees recounted to me what happened when they came up against it. And though Google doesn’t comment on the specifics of its hiring process—it likes to maintain an air of mystery, which has led to a cottage industry of samizdat Google questions passed among hopeful future employees and curious outsiders—former and current Google HR specialists have shared rather freely with me what it is that motivates the way they interview job candidates.

We’ll get to the longer answer, but the short answer is that Google isn’t looking for the smartest, or even the most technically capable, candidates. Google is looking for the candidates who will best fit Google.

The blender riddle encapsulates the process of inventing a new product. You begin by brainstorming. There are many possible answers, and you shouldn’t be in a hurry to settle for the first idea that seems "good enough."

The two most popular serious answers to the blender riddle seem to be (1) lie down, below the blades and (2) stand to the side of the blades. There ought to be at least a nickel’s width of clearance between the whirring blades and the bottom or sides of the blender jar. Another common reply is (3) climb atop the blades and position your center of gravity over the axis. Hold tight.

None of the above answers scores you many points at Google. Former and current Google interviewers have told me that the best answer they’ve heard is: Jump out of the jar.

The question supplies an important clue: the word "density." "Being shrunk to the size of a nickel" is not a realistic predicament. For starters, it might mean eliminating 99.99% of the neurons in your brain. To deal with a question like this, you have to decide where to suspend disbelief.

The fact that the interviewer mentions a detail like density is a nudge. It says that things like mass and volume matter in this question and that a successful answer can use simple physics.

In short, if were you shrunk to 1/10 your present height, your muscles would be only 1/100 as powerful—but you’d weigh a mere 1/1,000 as much. All else being equal, small creatures are "stronger" in lifting their bodies against gravity. Were you shrunk to nickel size, you’d be strong enough to leap like Superman, right out of the blender. Think of the feats performed by fleas in a flea circus.

That is the kernel of a good answer to the question. But Google’s interviewers are not just looking for someone who has the basic idea. The best answers to many of the questions begin with, "It depends."

What’s the most efficient way to sort a million 32-bit integers?

It depends on the makeup of the list of integers and the constraints of time and memory. The applicant is expected to ask about these things. In general, Google is not trying to fill a particular job. The way the company morphs and grows, they want to find people who can join in one role and end up doing something completely different.

Google has tried biodata. "Did you ever make a computer from a kit?" was one question that the company found could isolate candidates with a lifelong passion for computers. But such methods have been de-emphasized in favor of its sometimes quirky interviewing process.

Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.

Use a programming language to describe a chicken.

What is the most beautiful equation you have ever seen? Explain.

By design, none of these questions has a right answer. This has led to intense speculation and even paranoia among Google job candidates. It’s also led to other companies adopting Google-esque questions without having any idea what constitutes a good answer. Some more of google questions and the their answers are given below.

1. What’s the next number in this sequence: 10, 9, 60, 90, 70, 66 … ?

A. Spell the numbers out:

Ten

Nine

Sixty

Ninety

Seventy

Sixty-six

They are in ascending order, based on the number of letters in the spelled-out numbers. A correct response will have nine letters: 96, for instance. A cleverer answer is "one googol." That’s the huge number that can be written as a "1" with a hundred zeros after it. Google, the company’s name, was originally a misspelling of "googol."

2. You’re in a car with a helium balloon on a string that is tied to the floor. The windows are closed. When you step on the gas pedal, what happens to the balloon—does it move forward, move backward, or stay put?

A. The near-universal intuition is that the balloon leans backward as you accelerate. Well, the intuition is wrong. Your job is to deduce how the balloon does move and to explain it to the interviewer.

One good response is to draw an analogy to a spirit level. For the not so handy, a spirit level is the little gizmo carpenters use to make sure a surface is horizontal. It contains a narrow glass tube of colored liquid with a bubble in it. Whenever the spirit level rests on a perfectly horizontal surface, the bubble hovers in the middle of the tube. When the surface isn’t so level, the bubble migrates to the higher end of the tube. The takeaway here is that the bubble is simply a "hole" in the liquid. When the surface isn’t level, gravity pulls the liquid toward the lower end. This pushes the bubble wherever the liquid isn’t— toward the opposite end.

Untie the helium balloon and let it hit the moonroof. It becomes a spirit level. The balloon is a "bubble" of lower-density helium in higher-density air, all sealed in a container (the car).

Gravity pulls the heavy air downward, forcing the light balloon against the moonroof.

When the car accelerates, the air is pushed backward, just as your body is. This sends a lighter-than-air balloon forward. When the car brakes suddenly, the air piles up in front of the windshield. This sends the balloon backward. Centrifugal force pushes the air away from the turn and sends the balloon toward the center of the turn. Of course, the same applies when the balloon is tied to something; it’s just less free to move. The short answer to this question is that the balloon nods in the direction of any acceleration.

3. Using only a four-minute hourglass and a seven-minute hourglass, measure exactly nine minutes—without the process taking longer than nine minutes

A. Start both hourglasses at 0 minutes. Flip over the four-minute glass when it runs out (at 4:00); ditto for the seven-minute glass (at 7:00). When the four-minute glass runs out the second time (at 8:00), the seven-minute glass will then have one minute of sand in its lower bulb. Flip the seven-minute glass over again and let the minute of sand run back. When the last grain falls, that will be nine minutes.

4. A book has N pages, numbered the usual way, from 1 to N. The total number of digits in the page numbers is 1,095. How many pages does the book have?

A. Every page number has a digit in the units column. With N pages, that’s N digits right there. All but the first 9 pages have a digit in the tens column. That’s N – 9 more digits.

All but the first 99 pages have a digit in the hundreds column (accounting for N – 99 more digits).

I could go on, but not many books have more than 999 pages. A book with 1,095 digits in its page numbers won’t, anyway.

This means that 1,095 must equal:

N + (N – 9) + (N – 99).

This can be simplified to:

1,095 = 3N – 108.

That means that 3N = 1,203, or N = 401. That’s the answer, 401 pages.

5. A man pushed his car to a hotel and lost his fortune. What happened?

A. He was playing Monopoly.

We are all trained to follow a standard template while preparing our resumes. Standardization is good, but most often we forget to add some essentials to our resume in the process.

1) A resume should always mention the reason why you are passionate about the job you are applying to.

The standard HR rule book rightly says “People need to be passionate about their jobs to give their 100%”. Hence every recruiter is ultimately looking at the amount of passion that you are bringing to the job.

2) A resume should always mention, your strengths which you think qualifies you as a good fit for the job profile on offer.

Never leave a recruiter guessing about whether you are a perfect fit. Always lead him to your strengths, and give sufficient evidence to substantiate the same.

(Note : make sure that you don’t come across as boastful when you project your strengths. You should be confident and proud of what you are, and should never cross the line into arrogance. )

3) A resume should always highlight the aspects of your personality that fits the particular job role on offer.

Taking a personality evaluation test, ( like … Dr. Carol Ritberger’s personality colour indicator test) might help you in scientifically evaluating your personality trait and using them to strengthen your case on a resume.

So, when you frame your resume, make sure that all the information given there covers the above 3 points, and you have mentioned sufficient information that substantiates them.

All the best to all our readers.

Happy Job hunting !!

Fail to deal intelligently with salary questions and issues by not doing research on salary comparables and employers.

Don’t know how much you’re really worth.

Specify a single salary figure when asked "What are your salary requirements?"

Assume your "qualifications" and "performance" will automatically determine your salary level.

Think salaries are predetermined by employers.

Believe you are indispensable to an employer who will give you substantial raises rather than risk losing you to the competition.

Under-value your worth.

Over-value your worth — maybe even think you are the only choice for the employer.
Think the employer is in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiating salary.

Approach salary negotiations from a perspective of need or greed rather than as a process of assigning value to your qualifications and promises of performance.

Personalize salary issues by believing a salary is assigned to you rather than to your position. Focus primarily on yourself rather than on the position to which salary is normally assigned.

Fail to compile supports for a negotiating position.

Prematurely discuss salary before acquiring information on the job or before communicating your qualifications to employers.

Don’t know how to close and follow-up the salary negotiation interview.

Forget to calculate benefits as part of the compensation package.

Put too much emphasis on benefits rather than concentrate on the gross salary figure.

Project an image that is not commensurate with the salary being negotiated.

Put too high a price tag on themselves without providing supports to justify the salary figure, such as previous salary history or indicators of performance.

State a specific salary expectation figure on either their resume or in their cover letter.

Negotiate salary and benefits over the telephone.

Too quick to accept employers’ first or second offers.

Don’t know how to use timing as part of establishing your value in the eyes of employers.

Fail to adequately assess the employer’s needs and develop a strategy to meet those needs as well as relate this strategy to your salary requirements.
Fail to raise intelligent salary questions about the job and the employer.

Don’t know how to handle employers’ salary questions or say the wrong things.

Don’t give themselves much room to negotiate.

Don’t know when to leave a job or company for opportunities elsewhere that will pay better.

Try to play "hard to get" when you have little or nothing to leverage.

Lie about your past salary history or alternative salary offers.

• Working with headhunters: If you are dealing with a headhunter, they will handle a lot of your negotiations on your behalf. He or she will be able to advise you on what sort of salary range the job should command. Do not be afraid to talk openly with your consultant about salary expectations. They can also help you from making a big mistake, either by undervaluing yourself, or by going in to negotiations with too high expectations.  If you are working with a headhunter then, most of the issues or concerns of salary negotiation is handled for you.

Choose your time carefully when discussing your salary expectations

“How much are you looking for?"

• At some point you will be asked this question. The key here is that you only answer in detail when (a) your potential employer knows they want you – more than any other candidate they are talking to, and (b) you have a good view of what the possible salary (and it might be a range) on offer for this position

• But what happens if the question is asked earlier? Essentially you need to avoid providing the detail, without appearing rude, indecisive or unhelpful.  Of course only you can make a judgement about what kind of response would work in your particular situation but the following are some example responses:

“I feel I need to find out more about the role and the company before I can give you a good answer to that question.”

“I feel that I have strong skills and would hope that any offer would be competitive in the market, but right now I think I need more time to consider the detail.”

“What is your current package?

•Again try to avoid answering without appearing negative. Example responses that work include:

“I would much prefer to talk about salary details later in the process when we know more about one another – I don’t want my salary to either qualify me in nor out at such an early stage”

"My current employer pays me a good salary for the job I do, but that is very different employer/position from the one we are discussing – I’d rather keep this out of the discussion until we find out more about one another”

When to discuss salary

• Not until they have gotten to know you, at your best, so they can see how you stand out above the other applicants

• Not until they have gotten to know you, as completely as you can, so you can tell when they are being firm, or when they are being flexible

• Not until you’ve found out exactly what the job entails

• Not until they’ve had a chance to find out how well you match the job requirements

• Not until you’re in the final interview at that place, for that job

• Not until you’ve decided ‘I’d really like to work here’

• Not until they’ve said ‘we want you’

• Not until they’ve said ‘we’ve got to have you"

What color is your parachute, Richard N Bolles

Talking salary expectations

•When you do get to the point of being ready to talk salary expectations, here are some things to think about:

• Understand the package, not just the base salary.  Make sure you know what your current package consists of so that it can be properly compared to an offer you may receive. Base salary and car allowances are easy to compare, but less easy are factors like pension schemes, share options, shares, bonuses, equity, insurance. You may want to consider speaking to a financial advisor.

• Factor in risk.  The more risky the business is, the more you would expect to see an upside in your remuneration.

• Compare: Take a look at similar job roles and the packages on offer. There is nothing more powerful – and confidence building – than having good data to back you up.

• Give a range, rather than a figure. When it comes to finally presenting your salary expectations, present these as a range, with the minimum your true minimum and the maximum being 5 – 10% more. Don’t be tempted to give a larger range as it will look indecisive

  Foreigners working in Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperative businesses and exclusively foreign-owned enterprises in China and their family members(spouse, underage children) should hold Visa "Z"(work) to enter China and apply for, within 30 days of entry, residence permit to the Division of Exit-Entry Administration of Beijing Public Security Bureau. The residence permit shall be valid for no more than one year within the validity period of the passport.

  I. When applying for residence permit, applicants should present the following documents and certificates:

    1. Valid passports and visa;

    2. Master copy and photocopy of the "Business License" issued by the Administrative Bodies for industry and Commerce;

    3. Master copy and photocopy of the "Employment Certificate", issued by Beijing Bureau of Labor and Social Security;

    4. "Health Certificate" issued by Beijing Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau;

    5. Two recently taken, half-length bareheaded and full-faced photos of 2 inch size(either color or black-white).Those applicants who work in Beijing for less than 1 year should apply for temporary residence permit, without presenting "Health Certificate".

   II. When applying for extension or alternation to residence permit, applicants should present the following documents:

    1. Valid passports and residence permits;

    2. Master copy and photocopy of the "Business License" issued by the Administrative Bodies for Industry and Commerce. Master copy and photocopy of the "Employment Certificate", issued by Beijing Bureau of Labor and Social Security;

    3. Should there be any alternations to the contents of the residence permits (name, nationality, occupation or identity, address, passport number, children), the permit-holders shall register, within 10 days, the changes at the Division of Exit-Entry Administration of Beijing Public Security Bureau. If there is any change relating to work units, occupation or identity, the permit holders should also present the documents certifying the termination of his/her work from the previous enterprises, as well as a certification of the present work unit. Should the permit holders move into or out of Beijing, they shall finish the transferring procedure before they move. After they reach the destination, they should handle the moving-in procedure within 10 days.

  III. The procedure of applying for a exit-entry visa

    With their passports and residence permits, applicants could apply for a single journey Exit-Entry visa which is valid for 3 months, or a double and multiple return visa valid for a half year, or a multiple Exit-Entry visa valid for a year (the term of validity of visa should be within the validity of residence permit).Applicants can apply for visa and residence permits at the same time.

   IV. Applying for the alternation to the category of visa

    Chairman of the board, vice-chairman of the board, general manager, deputy general manager, factory director and deputy director of the above mentioned three kinds of foreign-invested enterprises, who enter China with visa "L"(touring and visiting relatives)and visa "F"(visiting), can change their visa to visa "Z"(work) under some special circumstances after approval. When applying for the alternation to the category visa, they should present the following documents;

    1. Valid passports and visa,

    2. Master copy and photocopy of the "Business License" issued by the Administrative Bodies for industry and Commerce;

    3. Master copy and photocopy of the "Employment Certificate", issued by Beijing Bureau of Labor and Social Security;

    4. The resolution passed by the board of directors;

    5. Official letter provided by his/her work unit to state the reason for alternation.

V. Filling in the application form and points for attention

    1. When handling the above mentioned procedures, applicants should fill in the "application form for visa and residence permit", on which a recently taken, half-length bareheaded and full-faced photos of 2 inch size should be stuck.

    2. Applicants should fill in the application form with the seal of the host enterprises.

    3. The application form should be clearly and neatly filled in with blue-black ink pen or ballpoints.

Application Procedures for Permanent Residence Permit

I. Submit an application to a city-level Public Security Bureau or at the county-level branch of the Public Security Bureau directly responsible for the community of the applicant’s major investment or long-term residence.

    II. Provide the specified application documents.

    III. The public security body shall investigate and verify the conditions of the applicant according to the specified pre-requisites.

    IV. The local department will submit the application to the Ministry of Public Security for examination and approval.

    V. The ministry shall decide whether to approve or reject the application for permanent residence permit within 6 months of receiving the application.

    VI. Upon the approval of the Ministry of Public Security, the applicant will be granted a Foreigner Permanent Residency Permit by the Ministry of Public Security.

    A Chinese permanent residence card is not equivalent to Chinese nationality. Presently China does not recognize dual or multiple nationalities. Thus, if one wants to become a Chinese national, original nationality status would have to be cancelled.

    Those who obtain a Chinese permanent residence card should not stay in China less than three months in a year or less than a year in five years. Special causes will need approval from city level public security bureaus.

    Expats with a Chinese permanent residence card will still need to observe rules concerning traveling, temporary living in other cities, and visiting areas closed to the public.

    For further information or for a free copy of the "Chinese Green Card Guide," call Xiang Yang at the Beijing Zhongfu Law Firm at 6329-3541.

    Location: Beijing Commercial Guild Hall, Bldg 1 Yulinli, You’anmenwai

Requirements for Permanent Residence Permit

You Should Submit: (a) Valid Passport or equivalent; (b) Health certificate issued at state level; (c) Credentials proving no criminal record by China embassies or consulates; (d) Two passport photos, no hat; (e) Other relevant credentials if required.

    Fees: The fee for the new green card certificate is 300 yuan or about US$36. The cost of getting a new card is 1500 yuan or about US$180.

    Time: The agency is open from Monday to Saturday, 8:30 to 12:00 in the morning, 13:00 to 17:00 in the afternoon.

    In order to qualify for permanent residence status, you must fulfill at least one of the following criteria:

    I. Be a high-level foreign expert holding a post which promotes China’s economic, scientific and technological development, or social progress.

    II. Have made outstanding contributions of special importance to China

    III. Have made a large direct investment of over US$ 500,000 in China

    IV. Have come to China to be with your family, such as spouse, dependent minors or senior citizens.

Residence registration in Beijing

After a foreigner arrives in Beijing, the entity that he works for or that hosts him may send a note (official letter) to the Chinese visa authorities and apply for him a residence registration with the valid visa and the valid passport. Name, gender, nationality, type and serial number of passport, relations between the person and the entity and planned duration of stay in China should be specified in the note (official letter).

    As for foreign experts (instructors) working in Beijing and their dependents (spouse minor children) should hold "Z" (vocational) visa when entry, and process resident application procedures to Exit & Entry Administration, Public Security Bureau in Beijing within 30 days after entry, generally, the valid period of residence permit will not exceed one year, and not exceed the expiry of the passport, too.

    Must provide the following documents and evidential materials when process residence permit’s application:

    1. One’s valid passport and visa;

    2. Originals and copies of "Expert Certificate" issued by the National Expert Bureau of Foreign Affairs Office of Municipal Government;

    3. Original "Health Certification" submitted by Beijing Exit & Entry Inspection & Quarantine Bureau;

    4. Two recent, two in. bareheaded, full-faced photo (both black-and-white photophotochrome is ok).

    5. Adding the official seal of the unit when fill out "Application Form for Visa Residence Permit", and stick a recent, two in., bareheaded, full-faced photo.

    Working not exceed one year in Beijing, can apply for temporary residence permit, and the "Health Certificate" is waived.

Validity Period of Residence Registration

The validity period of the residence registration is normally the same as the validity period of the visa (the validity period of residence registration for foreigners whose country has mutual visa exemption arrangement with china is usually one year).

    If you cannot leave China before the validity of your residence registration expires, you must request the entity you work for or that hosts you to state to the Chinese visa authorities the reason and length of extension in a note (official letter) attached with valid passport at least three days before the expiry of your residence registration for extension of your residence registration.

If you had all the money in the world, what would you be doing with yourself? Don’t hold back. This is brainstorming time. Make a list of all the things you’d rather be doing with your time. Your first few answers will probably be something like: Take a tropical vacation, spend more time with the kids, etc. But push your thinking beyond that. Ask yourself if you are content with stringent working hours, accounting to higher authorities etc. If this is what you don’t like, then strive for a self actualizing job that gives you exactly what you desire or hope to achieve.

Evaluate your skills and talents. Ask yourself: What am I good at? What do I most enjoy doing? Write down every skill you’re capable of. Don’t be shy. check to see if your current job gives you satisfaction and utilizes all your potential.

Identify transferable skills. After deciding what career best suits you, and have listed all known skills and talents, identify what skills will best transfer over into your new line of work. The longer the list the easier the transition. If you have only a few or no transferable skills, do not be discouraged. Pursue your passion to find happiness. Always remember that new skills can be easily learned. Other life experiences can also make this transition easy. Some basic life skills have already been acquired. Give yourself a boost and some credit.

Think of jobs that allow you to do what you really want to do, at least in some form, and apply your skills and talents every day. Be creative and open-minded. Focus on what your inner feelings guide you to do.

Conduct informational interviews. Informational interviews are a gem twofold: you get straight talk about your considered profession from actual professionals, and you achieve face time with individuals that possibly have the power to hire you later down the line.

Consider your financial situation. How much does it cost, on a monthly and annual basis, to support your current standard of living? Are you willing to lower your standard so that you can take a job that pays less? Try to supplement your income in other ways. Small investments or a part time business can financially make up for the deficit, should your new career pay less. It takes a great deal of courage to do something your heart desires at the cost of some financial loss. Go for it if this will make you happy.

Make a list of everything you want in your new job, and one of everything you don’t. Work gradually towards your needs and wants.Stay focused and do not allow yourself to be distracted along the way.

Browse job descriptions in your desired field. Visit a site like Salary.com to find out how much you can expect to earn in your new career. (However, do realize that Salary.com is NOT the source businesses use to set salaries- they use services that survey other businesses. Salary.com just shows a possible average of salaries and is a decent general place to start for career info.) Also refer to the Occupational Outlook Handbookto see how competitive the job market may be.

Check local schools for courses and programs that may give you an edge. Start taking night classes while you’re still at your current job. Establish rapport with your teacher – he or she will prove to be a valuable reference when you’re applying for a new job. Manage your time effectively.

Volunteer for organizations related to your desired career. For example, if you want to work in architecture, volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for disadvantaged families. You get experience, and they get a helping hand!

etwork. Talk to people in your desired field. Explain your situation. Ask them for advice. Give them your contact information. If what they say is true – "It’s not what you know, it’s who you know" – then cover all your bases in this department.

• Networking Rules are no more than the strongest possible guidelines for your effective use of this most important of all job searching skills. In just a few lines I’m going to give you the basic Networking Rules:
• Recognize your very own individual value, contribution and power. If you can’t, or won’t, nobody else will either.
• Get to know at least three people more senior than you within your profession who will be able to give you advice and professional input.
• One of the most fundamental networking rules is to keep in contact with people regularly rather than only when you want something.
• Make the effort to meet people in person rather than just talking to them on the phone, or e-mailing them.
• Show you are interested in them as a person, rather than just an opportunity for you to advance yourself.
• When you hear about a contact’s accomplishments write to formally congratulate them.
• When networking make sure you ‘bring something to the party’ rather than expecting one-way traffic.
• Never expect anything other than information and advice, or new contacts to meet.
• After meeting each new contact, ask for feedback on their first impression of you.
• Be generous in your thanks to people who do help you, this is one of the most important networking rules.
• Do your best to develop a good memory for people’s names and conversations you have with them.
• Don’t only bother with those senior to you, other people have unique knowledge and their own contacts.
• Build a long-list of all your contacts.
• Make sure you respond with information and advice when others contact you.
• Networking is for life not just for a new job. Keep working on it and it will work for you.

Save enough money to support yourself for 3-6 months, or however long you think it’ll take to find a job in your new career that will support you adequately. Once again, stay focused.

Write a new resume.

Apply for the jobs that you might not have all the qualifications for. If there is a position that seems too good to be true and above and beyond what you are qualified for, apply anyway. There is little to lose with the exception of time and chances are, you might be exactly what the firm is looking for.

Start your job search and good luck!

Be certain that you want to join the Army. Once you’re in you have to serve a minimum of three years except in extreme circumstances, so do not join the Army if you’re not sure.

Do your research. Visit the Army website, see links below.

http://www.army.mod.uk/

Decide which regiment you would like to be in. The Army website has a section where you input information about you and it tells you roles that might be suited to you. Don’t forget about logistic roles such as drivers, chefs, or the military police.

• Signals
• Artillery
• Air
• Armoured
• Engineers
• Infantry
• Logistics
• Intelligence
• Medical
• Special Forces

Go to your nearest recruitment office to discuss it with the soldiers there. Again the Army website has a list of the offices. The soldiers there will be able to give you an accurate idea of what life in the Army is like from their perspective, and be able to discuss your ideas with you.

Arrange to sit your BARB test and the maths and literacy tests. The BARB test is just to ensure that the Army will be able to train you and also will give them an idea of what roles you would be most suited to, and the maths and literacy tests are just to make sure that you have a basic understanding that will ensure you can do the job you want to in the Army. Practice tests can be found on the Army website.

If you move on from these tests you can arrange to go through the selection process. This involves physical, team work, and basic intelligence tests, and a final interview, it is at this interview when you will find out if the Army want to offer you a position. You will then move onto basic training.

Explanation of some of the roles within the Army. The Army have their own youtube account so you can watch more videos on there.

• If you are a woman you will not be able to join the infantry and some other regiments, the only combat regiment women can join is the Royal Artillery.
• With the Army you can earn qualifications, be payed to play sports, have at least 38 days payed leave a year, and more opportunities and lead a fuller life than you would have in ‘civvy street’.

• Not everyone is cut out for the Army, but if they don’t accept you then try to find out why and see if you can build on this, for example if your fitness is not up to standard, work on your fitness and then reapply at a later date.
• In combat your life will be at risk, obvious but worth pointing out.