Interviewing for Students

My soon to be 20 year old son has a job interview this afternoon.  He is a sophomore in college and this job would be perfect for him since he is burning through money by living off campus.  Last night I gave him some tips about interviewing for this particular job and today I sent him a few more about social media.  Here is what I said:

      Google the position.  My son is interviewing for a server position in a chain restaurant.  The qualities for a server job include:  an outgoing personality, ability to take orders and remember detail about the orders, customer service skills, a pleasant personality, a team player and others. I asked him to come up with examples from either school or other jobs where he had to demonstrate these qualities.  I also suggested going to the company website to read the job description and think about how his skill set matches these.

Note: If the position description says, “Greets guests and builds rapport”, how should you greet the interviewer? 

How would you answer the question “You haven’t been a server in a couple of years?  What makes you think that you could pick it up again with our restaurant?”  In the past few years, my son has been a lifeguard.  I asked him to list the qualities of a life guard (working with people, customer service, friendly and helpful) and align those with the server skills.

Be prepared to answer any questions about strengths, weaknesses and the ever famous, “Why would you want to work here?”  My son needs to come up with examples from school or past jobs to explain his strengths.  As far as weaknesses he needs to select a weakness that doesn't have to do with server skills and talk about he is doing to eliminate it.   For the “Why work here?” question, he suggested saying that he’s been going to this restaurant since he was a kid and he always thought that while it looked like a lot of hard work, it also looked like a lot of fun too and that he has the type of personality and skills that should allow him to fit right in.  Good answer.

Social media. I told him to Google himself and if he sees anything that might not look so good for him, to eliminate it.  This includes Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  He also needs to have a voice message that clearly states his name and message.

Dress nicely.  Wear a pressed collared shirt and slacks and wear socks with your polished shoes. Lay off the cologne for the day, too.

It’s getting to the time of year when the college kids are going to start looking for jobs for the summer.  Taking a few steps to be prepared and show that you care can help ace the interview.  

Your Social Media Presence

I was contracted to help an organization write their Employee Handbook.  Luckily for me they wrote most of it and wanted my help with editing and checking to see if they included all of the things that should be included.  I noticed that they didn't have a policy addressing social media so I wrote up some guidelines.

Today I was looking at some comments within one of my Facebook groups.  It happens to be a political group and I know better than to make any comments; I just like to read the updates. Someone made some very derogatory comments on the page so I did a quick Google search on their name (for the purposes of this blog) and I could see where they worked.  Ooops!

What do these two subjects have in common other than sharing social media (social media can include LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, blogs, wikis and others.)?

1. Your comments, especially in social media may be seen by your company, your clients, your vendors and suppliers.  If you are looking for a job, an organization can easily Google you and see these very same comments. 

 2. The photographs that you post on many of these sites may also be visible to others.

You can Google yourself by putting quote marks around your name in the search box like this, “Nancy Range Anderson”.  If you have an active social media presence, you’ll quickly discover your words and photos. 

Should you stop commenting? That’s up to you and your personal and professional needs.  Just be mindful of what you say and post because it can come back and bite you. Many companies have policies about the use of social media so you have to be very careful where you tread.

New Year's Resolutions

Do you set New Year’s Resolutions? I haven't for the longest time but this year I have.  I set only one, "In 2014 I resolve to step away from my computer." 

I spend way too much time on my laptop, I-phone and I-pad than I should. Even though I work from home and need them for work-related projects and general client communication, I also use them to communicate with the various social media channels. Personal communication whether it is face to face or the telephone is human interaction and should remain that way.  The statistic that says, 70% - 85% of jobs are found through networking refer to the human component of networking and not from the computer.

So who wants to join me by spending a few less hours in front of a screen and more time in front of a living person? 

Here are some resolutions:

1. Resolve to call at least one person a day and let them know of your job search.

2. Resolve to exercise at least 30 minutes a day rather than use Facebook during that time.

3. Resolve to make plans to spend time with family or friends rather than texting or Tweeting them.

4. Resolve to make something that you see on Pinterest and share it with a real person rather that just pinning your interests to various Boards.

5. Resolve to volunteer.  Volunteering gets you out of the house, develops a new skill set or keeps your skills current, allows you to meet new people and helps you network. It also helps someone of something else.

Happy New Year everyone!

Volunteering, Networking, Giving Back

As I've recently posted, my town of Sea Bright NJ was destroyed by Super Storm Sandy.  One hundred percent of the businesses were severely damaged and over 85% of the homes were structurally shattered. My home was one of the 85% so life as I knew it pre-Sandy has not been the same and I apologize for taking a blogging break.  Even though our home in Sea Bright is a second home, it is the place that we intend to retire. Our family spends days, weeks and months in Sea Bright and we have fallen in love with the people and way of life.  I grew up about five miles down the road from the town so I have known Sea Bright and her people for my whole life.

I have managed to continue with my job search training sessions and resume writing clients.  To this I have added volunteering for Sea Bright and of course, the huge clean-out of the house and rebuilding.

One of my hobbies is decorative painting; specifically the One Stroke method of painting.  Over the years I have painted for a few craft shows or painted items for my family and friends. After taking a break from it when I launched Blackbird Learning Associates, I returned to it this past summer when I found that the shells, driftwood and slate from the beach made unique painting surfaces.   

After Sandy I wondered what I could do to help my town. Then I saw this sign in a Facebook post and decided to paint my way into fundraising.

In the past month I have hand-painted over 100 Christmas ornaments to benefit a grass-roots organization called Sea Bright Rising. The mission of the group is to provide funding and support for the needy and/or displaced and the general recovery of the businesses and residents of Sea Bright.  The ornaments are filled with local sand, shells and sea glass and I am donating 100% of the proceeds.  So far my friends have donated over$1100 to the relief efforts and I intend to paint and fill as many as I can in time for a planned fund-raising event scheduled for December 15^th.

So that is where I have been.  All along I have witnessed and been a part of unbelievable networking opportunities.  (To bring it back to the job search).  I have also seen a number of people who have picked up temporary work related to Sandy and who have networked for full-time work.

I will be back in 2013 with more job search articles and guest bloggers.  In the meantime, it’s back to ornament painting for me.

Be well!

Drowning My Memories

I threw away a lot of memories today. Hurricane Sandy drowned them in filthy water and putrid sand and mud. It hurt when I tossed the guest books from the funeral homes that took care of my grandparents and parents.  Inside one of them was a letter that I wrote to my dad toward the end of his life.  My handwriting is still visible on the slippery paper but I'm afraid that if I move the paper the words will slide off.  In this same soggy mess I found a perfect dollar bill where my dad had written, “I Love You” to my mom. It made me cry.

I had to toss my parent’s record albums.  When we cleaned out their home four years ago we saved the Frank Sinatra Christmas album, a couple of German marching songs along with the other records that reminded us of our childhood.  Today I stuffed them in a black contractor bag because they were covered with mold spores. I had a quick thought that I might save them if I threw them in the sink with some dish soap but no, I’d just be wasting my time and I had to keep moving.

Most of the things that Sandy stole were pieces of my childhood.  Of course I have my memories but as I get older, the memories will begin to fade and I might need something to touch, read or gaze at. I dumped a bunch of old pictures too.  They were of relatives from a century ago.  Sandy washed their names away so I tossed them in the black bags too; so long strangers.

I wound up keeping a couple of sweaters that belonged to my dad and mom along with a bag of my mom- mom’s linens.  I also picked up a sampler that my mom worked on in elementary school. I can’t get all of the mold spots out of it but at least I saved it.

As I pitched the pieces of my childhood I had a thought.  Perhaps my parents had Sandy destroy all that stuff because they wanted me to get rid of it and to save some of my own memories. Maybe, but when that happens I’ll be sure to place them on the highest shelf.

Has Your Job or Business Been Impacted by Hurricane Sandy?

While waiting in line to get into Sea Bright the other day, I heard a woman say that she was fired from her job because she couldn't get to work due to Hurricane Sandy. That's not right but is it legal? Unfortunately, we'll be hearing more and more stories like this.

This is an email from my friend, Mary Ellen Clark, Assistant Commissioner of Labor, Workforce Development at New Jersey. The links will take you to the information you will need as a business owner or individual job seeker and have been affected by the hurricane.

There are two worksheets posted on www.jobs4jersey.com with information for both employers and individuals in NJ who have been impacted due to Sandy. NJ was awarded a National Emergency grant and working with local municipalities for them to hire to do clean up and humanitarian work. Almost all of our One-Stop Career Centers are open as of today (exceptions being Eatontown and New Brunswick who may still be without power), people can go there to get help and internet access. We have a SandyHelp hotline and email set up to answer inquiries and help direct people to assistance – info on the fast fact sheets. As we get set up for the emergency grant and temporary work, we will be using our 23 Jersey Job Clubs as places for information about temporary and volunteer work – the calendars for workshops are up on the www.jobs4jersey.com website."

Sandy

Hurricane Sandy swept up the east coast like the Wicked Witch of the West; just in time to ruin Halloween and spit out buildings and property like so many broken teeth. As I sit here without power for going on ten days, I think about S-A-N-D-Y and her wrath.

Mud and silt on the windowsill along with a stereo speaker.

S- Social Media: I relied on my smart phone to get through our first few days without electricity. Until we got a stronger generator three days after the storm, we’d charge our phones in the car and then log on to Facebook to learn of the destruction, curfews, and to see the photographs and videos the decimated towns.

Waters pushed the bed and furniture across the room.

A- Angst: Unless you are in this area, you cannot fathom the destruction. Sandy was our Katrina. She has killed 41 people in NY City alone and caused billions of dollars of destruction. She has pounded the citizens of NY and NJ and thousands are still in the dark.  Help is needed and some people won't leave their dark,cold homes for fear of looting.

Beach club cabanas swept across the street and landed in a boat yard.

N-Normalcy and Nastiness: Putting aside gas rationing and grocery store madness, things are starting to return to normal. At first, tempers spilled over and blood pressures were on the rise but that gave way to compassion, normalcy, humor and caring.  It will take a while but NJ has proven to the world that we are "Jersey Strong", and not at all like the "Jersey Shore".

Major road buried under 6 feet of sand.

D- Destruction: Sandy was a killer and she battered buildings and fences and beaches and roads like a prize-fighter.

Sandy tossed the living room furniture after lifting it up four feet.

Y – Why: Sandy has passed and the clean-up has started.  If you are in the area, why not volunteer at one of the many organizations that are begging for help collecting or sorting clothing, driving patients to doctor appointments, feeding the homeless or assisting someone clean up the destruction.

The day after the hurricane. Beauty and serenity.