The first few days of this week have started off unlike many weeks for a lot of people. As I have written in the past, I have two part-time jobs. While I love them both, the people and the work, I also find myself frustrated looking for full-time employment. With CollegeBuzzz, I am having to hire interns for the Clemson website. So yesterday, I went up to Clemson to interview a girl. I talked to her at a local Starbucks for about 40 minutes, getting to know all about her life, passions, and skills. Tomorrow, I have an interview for a full-time position in Washington DC. While I have very little knowledge of the DC area, I have done my homework of this business and the position I would take for them, and I want to share my thoughts of how I am approaching tomorrow.
Research the Company: Find out everything that you can about the company before taking an interview with them. Most importantly, know their mission and industry. One you find out the outline of the industry and company, get into the details. Know the locations of the company. Find out how many employees work for them. Find out their clients and review their work. You can even go as far as looking into employees. Some websites, such as Glassdoor, will give you information of what current and former employees think of the company, as well as look into the process that some of them went through during their interviews. For example, for tomorrow's interview, I know the work-enviornment, the age of most employees, the company's size, their office locations, the salary expectations, and the chance (or lack of) promotions.
Review the Position Requirements: Almost always, a person sends in their application to fill a specific role that the company is looking for. If they give you a description, check it out. Reading over it before the interview will give you create comfort and a pretty good idea of some of the questions you may be asked. Be ready to explain how you possess those skills or how you have used them to achieve success in your past.
Research the Recruiter: If you get the name of the person that is going to be interviewing you, just do a search for them on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google. (Hopefully they will have a good LinkedIn Profile) Getting to know a few things about the person interviewing you, such as where they went to college, can be of great help to you during the interview. In May, I was being interviewed by the president of a small marketing company. After discussing that I had attended Furman and lived in Greenville, he asked if I knew his connection to Greenville. Immediately, I responded that I knew he had attended college there, linking him to one of my previous bosses. To say the least, he was impressed and I was offered the job a few weeks later.
Create a Good Environment: If you are in an office setting having a 1:1 interview, then you have no control over this. If you are having a phone interview, make sure that the setting is quite and has no distractions. I was interviewed during the middle of my intramural softball games one time. I had just scored a run, heard my phone ringing, and had to have a conversation right there on the spot. It was an unneeded challenge and something I will never do again.
Be Yourself: Do not get nervous. Relax and realize that they are going to judge you for whatever you say. You can tell them in a stumbling voice that you have started three companies, or you can state confidently and clearly that you just graduated and are unemployed. The more confident you are with your answers, the better you will be received by someone that is getting paid to judge you. Just relax and prepare to achieve a better interview.
Showing posts with label People. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Why Should You Blog?
When I was in college, I used to think blogging was a funny idea. I believed that it was just a way to write a bunch of crap that nobody cared about. I was forced to start a blog for my Digital Communications class, and over this semester I learned to appreciate the art of blogging. A degree and three semesters later, I decided that I would create my own personal blog. I try to blog about specific topics (marketing, relationships, sales, social media) that will help people and encourage them think differently, while using my creativity to add my own view to my advice. The result: Social Spaghetti, a mixing of ideas and thoughts that help people connect in society in a blog format.
These are the reasons that I started to blog:
1) Establish Yourself as an Expert While I know that I am nowhere close to an expert in the fields of marketing, social media, and relationships, they are fields I am interested in and have some knowledge about. Even though I am young, I still have valuable experiences and advice that I can give people. You can learn from my mistakes, take some advice from my thoughts, and avoid some potential blunders. The more you talk about a certain topic, the more people will listen to you. They know what to expect if you are consistent with your topic and provide some quality advice.
2) Stand Out From The Crowd In this economy, any way you can stand out from the crowd is a good thing. I've thoroughly enjoyed blogging the past month because it helps me to distinguish myself from the crowd. Every new blog post means that I have learned something new, whether this is through personal experience, observation, or reading other material. The more I can learn, the better off I will be in the future. The day that you stop learning is the day you stop growing.
3) Connecting with Similar People Like I mentioned previously, if you are consistent with your content, then people that share the same interests will come and read it. If you look at my Twitter account (@MarketingYoung), you can see that the majority of my followers are connecting with marketing, social media, blogging, and advertising. I read a lot of their daily blogs, and hopefully, they read mine as well. Reading, commenting, or replying to these people has helped me make connections across the global marketing community.
4) To Have Fun Will I ever be a top blogger in the field of marketing, social media, and relationships? Very doubtful. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't get some kind of enjoyment from it. Whether it is analyzing how a TV show can teach you about something (Lost or Suits) or looking at the world of social media, I like the things I am talking about. If you do not want to read about Stealth Marketing, then you can skip that blog post or not read it at all. But if you ever lost the enjoyment of writing or thinking of creative articles, then my blog would slowly become outdated and disappear.
These are the reasons that I started to blog:
1) Establish Yourself as an Expert While I know that I am nowhere close to an expert in the fields of marketing, social media, and relationships, they are fields I am interested in and have some knowledge about. Even though I am young, I still have valuable experiences and advice that I can give people. You can learn from my mistakes, take some advice from my thoughts, and avoid some potential blunders. The more you talk about a certain topic, the more people will listen to you. They know what to expect if you are consistent with your topic and provide some quality advice.
2) Stand Out From The Crowd In this economy, any way you can stand out from the crowd is a good thing. I've thoroughly enjoyed blogging the past month because it helps me to distinguish myself from the crowd. Every new blog post means that I have learned something new, whether this is through personal experience, observation, or reading other material. The more I can learn, the better off I will be in the future. The day that you stop learning is the day you stop growing.
3) Connecting with Similar People Like I mentioned previously, if you are consistent with your content, then people that share the same interests will come and read it. If you look at my Twitter account (@MarketingYoung), you can see that the majority of my followers are connecting with marketing, social media, blogging, and advertising. I read a lot of their daily blogs, and hopefully, they read mine as well. Reading, commenting, or replying to these people has helped me make connections across the global marketing community.
4) To Have Fun Will I ever be a top blogger in the field of marketing, social media, and relationships? Very doubtful. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't get some kind of enjoyment from it. Whether it is analyzing how a TV show can teach you about something (Lost or Suits) or looking at the world of social media, I like the things I am talking about. If you do not want to read about Stealth Marketing, then you can skip that blog post or not read it at all. But if you ever lost the enjoyment of writing or thinking of creative articles, then my blog would slowly become outdated and disappear.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
5 Tips for First Impressions that Impress
A large part of anyone's life is interacting with people. Whether working hard on the job or mixing in a social setting, you can't avoid it. While some people are painfully shy and others can talk to anyone about anything, being able to successfully interact with someone the first time you meet them is vital to growing and maintaing a relationship. You are not trying to do what Brad Pitt (Rusty) suggested to Matt Damon (Linus) in Ocean's Eleven:
I know that many people have problems of standing out in a crowd, making a lasting impression, or even just getting the courage to interact with others; it is very difficult at times. Don't worry, that is natural! We all worry about what people think about us, but worrying about it gets us nowhere. Take these five simple steps to help people walk away with a positive first impression of you.
Image:
Whether we want to believe it or not, our society is highly judging on appearance. While this can be shallow and unfair, the way we appear to someone the first time we meet them will always be stuck in their head, even if we haven't said a word. This judgment can be positive, negative, or neutral, but it does make a difference. Try to dress appropriately for whatever situation you are in. I am not going to tell you to buy the nicest clothes or to lose weight, but I am going to tell you to be yourself. Dress nicely and let your style reveal who you are.
Tone of Voice & Speech:
When meeting someone for the first time, you need to sound confident. Whether this is talking to that attractive girl at the bar or meeting a new client, you need to not stumble on your words. Think about what you want to say prior to meeting them, but know that you can never plan a conversation perfectly. Planning will only give you opportunities to get into the conversation and easy your mind. Also, pauses are okay. God allows for our mouths to shut. Instead of rambling, making up filler sentences, or saying "uhhhhhh" a bunch of times, just gather your thoughts and then speak confidently.
Say Their Name:
Saying the name of the person that you have just met in conversation can do a few things. First, it will let them know you are listening to what they are saying. If you repeat their name, you likely are remembering the other things they are saying as well. Second, it will let them know that you care. It shows that you are focused on them, their time, and your conversation. And third, it will help you remember the girl/guy/client/contact better. If you see them later in a different setting, it allows you to go up to them, and personally ask how they are doing. This is always a way to impress people.
Find Common Interests:
Finding something that you share in common with someone leads to a genuine shared interest, a prolonged topic of conversation, and generally more areas to talk about. Getting an idea of a person's school, job, hobbies, or family can lead to many more conversations if they are something that you can both relate to.
Be Yourself:
Do not try to act like someone that you aren't. Creating lies or putting up a front during a first conversation will ruin anything you establish on that false foundation. Don't act like you know more than you do, just relax and be yourself.
"Don't use seven words when four will do. Don't shift your weight, look always at your mark but don't stare, be specific but not memorable, be funny but don't make him laugh. He's got to like you then forget you the moment you've left his side"
I know that many people have problems of standing out in a crowd, making a lasting impression, or even just getting the courage to interact with others; it is very difficult at times. Don't worry, that is natural! We all worry about what people think about us, but worrying about it gets us nowhere. Take these five simple steps to help people walk away with a positive first impression of you.
Image:
Whether we want to believe it or not, our society is highly judging on appearance. While this can be shallow and unfair, the way we appear to someone the first time we meet them will always be stuck in their head, even if we haven't said a word. This judgment can be positive, negative, or neutral, but it does make a difference. Try to dress appropriately for whatever situation you are in. I am not going to tell you to buy the nicest clothes or to lose weight, but I am going to tell you to be yourself. Dress nicely and let your style reveal who you are.
This style shoes originally and individualism while looking nice and approachable.
Tone of Voice & Speech:
When meeting someone for the first time, you need to sound confident. Whether this is talking to that attractive girl at the bar or meeting a new client, you need to not stumble on your words. Think about what you want to say prior to meeting them, but know that you can never plan a conversation perfectly. Planning will only give you opportunities to get into the conversation and easy your mind. Also, pauses are okay. God allows for our mouths to shut. Instead of rambling, making up filler sentences, or saying "uhhhhhh" a bunch of times, just gather your thoughts and then speak confidently.
Say Their Name:
Saying the name of the person that you have just met in conversation can do a few things. First, it will let them know you are listening to what they are saying. If you repeat their name, you likely are remembering the other things they are saying as well. Second, it will let them know that you care. It shows that you are focused on them, their time, and your conversation. And third, it will help you remember the girl/guy/client/contact better. If you see them later in a different setting, it allows you to go up to them, and personally ask how they are doing. This is always a way to impress people.
Find Common Interests:
Finding something that you share in common with someone leads to a genuine shared interest, a prolonged topic of conversation, and generally more areas to talk about. Getting an idea of a person's school, job, hobbies, or family can lead to many more conversations if they are something that you can both relate to.
Be Yourself:
Do not try to act like someone that you aren't. Creating lies or putting up a front during a first conversation will ruin anything you establish on that false foundation. Don't act like you know more than you do, just relax and be yourself.
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