• FOCUS ON QUALITY. It’s usually more effective to target your efforts towards the opportunities that match your qualifications and goals most closely. You may want to figure out or hire a certified resume writer who knows how to make your resume stand out. Be clear about your purpose and then learn  how to customize your resume and cover letter.

• DEMONSTRATE YOUR VALUE. Show potential employers how you can contribute to their team. Do you know how to sell yourself in an interview? Consider reviewing instructions that will show you how to quanify your accomplishments on your resume and how to quantify results on your resume when your job ins't big on numbers. Also, research companies. This way, you can discuss their unique needs.

 

• PROOFREAD CAREFULLY. Details count. You’ll look more professional if you avoid typos and misspellings. Try online editing tools like Grammarly and ask someone else to double check your materials.

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• CREATE A WEBSITE. Use a personal website in your job search. Many hiring managers care about your online presence. Provide links where they can learn more about you and see samples of your work. Make sure your social media pages make a positive impression too.

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• CONSULT A RECRUITER. Work with a recruiter to diversify your job search. Take advantage of professional expertise. Consider the culture of the staffing industry and be ready when the recruiter calls - dos and don'ts do matter and knowing the right etiquette always makes a difference.. Ask a recruiter to give you feedback on your strengths as a candidate and how to present them. Recruiters may also suggest additional resources and show you how to access the hidden job market.

 

• USE KEYWORDS. Remember the basics. Your materials may have to pass an initial screening by an ATS resume checker (applicant tracking system). Study the job description for what language to use. Customize your resume.

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• ACT QUICKLY. Moving your resume onto the interview pile sometimes comes down to timing. If companies receive a high volume of qualified applications, they may suspend the process. Completing your submission as soon as possible may give you an advantage. If and when you receive an interview invitation for a specific time, make yourself available. But if you are given an option, consider the advice on the best time to schedule a job interview.

​When is the best time to schedule your interview? The easy answer is whenever it works for the interviewer! After all, that’s the goal — to get the interview, and then the job offer.
 
But what if you are offered a choice of dates and/or times for the interview? When should you choose?
 
Is it better to be the first person interviewed? Or to be one of the final candidates considered? Should you schedule your interview for the morning? Or the afternoon?
 
And, if you’re offered the option of a virtual interview, or meeting in-person, which should you choose?
 
Here are the pros and cons of being towards the front of the pack, one of the last, or somewhere in the middle.

Don’t be the first interview of the morning if you can help it. Your interviewer might be running late if he or she runs into traffic (for an in-person interview) or if the interviewer encounters an unexpected situation when beginning the workday. An early-morning interview could be derailed by family/home issues — if you’ve ever walked out the door to a flat tire in the morning, you get it.
 
You also don’t want to be the last thing on the interviewer’s schedule before they get to leave for the day, or they might be impatient to wrap things up. You don’t want to have a great conversation cut short by, “Sorry, I have to leave here by 5 p.m.” Of course, a premature ending to the interview can also happen when the interviewer has another candidate to see, or another task that needs completed. You can ask when scheduling the interview how long you should block out for the interview.
 
If offered a choice of the time of day, consider your natural preferences too. If you are a morning person, try to schedule your interview between 10-11 a.m. Too close to noon and it is possible that you, the interviewer — or both of you — will be getting hungry. If you’re a night owl, it might be difficult for you to be at your best for a morning interview. In that case, consider an interview time in the mid-afternoon. But don’t select a time that is too close to lunchtime, or you — and the interviewer — might be a bit more tired, especially after a carb-heavy lunch.

According to HireVue’s 2022 Global Trends Report, 37 percent of more than 1,600 hiring leaders surveyed said they have moved to a combination of both in-person and virtual interviews.
 
Both types of interviews have their pros and cons.
 
If offered the choice, consider these factors:

• Virtual interviews are more common for screening and first-round interviews, while in-person interviews are more likely for final interviews.
• Take the cue from your interviewer — if they seem to be leaning towards one or the other, consider deferring to that option.
• If the position is a work-from-home or hybrid position, a virtual interview may be the best choice to showcase you have the skills to work remotely.
• If technology may be a barrier (for example, your Internet connection isn’t always reliable or your interview environment has a lot of background noise or distractions), eliminate any potential glitches by interviewing in person.
• How difficult will it be for you to get to the interview in person? If you’re taking time off from your job to interview, consider the time it will take you to get to and from the interview (in addition to the time the interview itself takes). And what about what to wear to a job interview. You may have to change clothes if what you wear for your daily job is substantially different than how you would dress for the interview. Factor in that time as well.
• If you will be relocating for an in-person role, an in-person final interview is important. You want the opportunity to see where you will be working — and living — for yourself.  You may also want to take a look at the relocation cover letter examples.

The most important factor for success in a job interview isn’t the time of day or day of the week -- it’s your qualifications for the role, your preparation for the interview, and the connection you make about your suitability for the position.
 
The ideal situation, of course, is that you interview when there are few distractions, after a couple of weaker candidates, you and the interviewer both have high energy levels, and you are the best applicant in the bunch. But you can only control a few of those factors, so take the best time, date, placement, and format and make the most of it!

Source: ​https://www.market-connections.net/blog/best-time-to-schedule-a-job-interview

There are four components to the STAR formula:
(S) – Situation
(T) – Task
(A) – Action
(R) – Result
 
You can also add an optional section at the end of your STAR story: Reflection. What were the lessons learned from the situation? If the result was failure, you can talk about what you learned from the experience or changed as a result.

STAR STORY: Collaborated With Others & Had a Conflict With an Employee
 
SITUATION: In my role as manager at GATE Corporation, I added three new team members when we acquired LoneStar Productions. My team of five had all worked together for more than two years at this point, so integrating new staff was a big deal — both for me and the team. Unfortunately, the new employees were used to different processes and methods for project management, which led to problems on the first project we worked on after the acquisition.
 
TASK: As the direct supervisor of the team, it was my job to make sure that the onboarding of the new team members went smoothly. Both my existing team members and my new team members recognized right away that there was a problem, and they looked to me for a solution.
 
ACTION: The first thing I did was sit down with the new team members to get a better understanding of how they were used to tackling projects. I also shared with them the standard operating processes that our team used for project management. Next, I organized a team-building challenge that had nothing to do with the current project — a way for the whole team to get to know each other, without the pressure of the project that was hanging over our heads.
 
RESULT: As a result of the team-building challenge, the employees got to know each other better. The specific team-building exercise focused on communication styles, which had been at the root of the project problems. As the team members interacted more, they were able to communicate more effectively to address some of the differences in project management processes. We ended up blending some of our existing methods with ideas from the new team members, which made the whole process more effective. Even though we had gotten off to a rough start, I ended up bringing the project in on time and on budget, and that team of eight has now been together for the past year.
 
REFLECTION: I always knew the importance of bringing diverse project management workstyles together, but this situation reinforced that. Now, whenever we bring in someone from the “outside” to work on a project, we sit down and make sure we’re on the same page before we dive in.
 
Exercise: Choose a prompt from the list and fill in information for each part of the STAR formula. Then, write a STAR story based on the information. Repeat the process until you have 3-5 STAR stories to draw from.​

SOURCE: https://www.market-connections.net/blog/star-method-interview-questions

​Interviews are pretty stressful experiences. Even if you’re excited by the prospect of potentially getting a new job, the chances are you’re feeling nervous about being “under the microscope” with your interviewer.
 
Afterall, the person you’re speaking to in this interview is there to judge you. They need to determine if you’re the right person for the role, and that’s enough to crank up anyone’s nerves.
 
If it helps, you’re not the only person to feel stressed before an interview. One study found that around 92% of US adults feel anxious about job interviews. It’s natural.

​Most career experts recommend practicing a few interview questions with your friends and family members, but you can even go beyond this to prepare a little more.
 
Research demonstrates that experiencing success increases our feelings of confidence, even if we’re just imagining an interview going well.
 
With that in mind, close your eyes and walk through what it might look like if you were to go through the interview successfully, answering questions perfectly every time. Imagine yourself looking calm, prepared, and confident, as you answer question and ace the interview.
 
If you get any sparks of creativity about how you can improve your interview experience, make a note to come back to them later. 

Music has a unique ability to influence the way we feel. You’ve probably noticed this if you’ve ever used a playlist to get your energy levels up for the gym. When you’re preparing for a big interview, your musical strategy should be all about motivation.
 
Choose songs that make you feel good, and play them in the morning before you head out for your interview.
 
It might also be worth setting up a similarly positive playlist for after the interview, so you can wind down again. 

Self-affirmation is a surprisingly powerful tool!
 
Most people don’t realize it, but we tend to spend a lot of time putting ourselves down and not as much time building ourselves up.
 
Chances are, if you’re panicking about your upcoming interview, you’re thinking about the experiences that didn’t go so well for you in the past, or you’re telling yourself how hard it’s going to be to compete against other candidates.
 
What would happen if you flipped the script and reminded yourself how great you are instead? Let yourself know that you deserve this role just as much as anyone else.
 
Focus on re-affirming your skills and talents and reminding yourself of what makes you good for this job. You’ll feel better, and you’ll come up with some great ideas on how to respond to questions your interviewer might ask about your suitability for the role too.

This might seem like a bit of a negative strategy when you’re trying to focus on positivity, but it can be reassuring to prepare for the worst. The reality is the worst thing that can likely happen at the end of your interview is that you don’t get the job.
 
So, ask yourself what you’re going to do if that happens. The answer is probably just “look for something else and try again.”
 
You can also go through some other fears that are worrying you about the interview and come up with ways to prepare for them. For instance, if you’re worried about not having an answer to a question, learn how to cover your tracks when this happens. You could even have an interview cheat-sheet ready in your pocket, just in case.

Plan something nice for the hours after your interview, so you have something to look forward to when you’re sweating through some tough questions.
 
You can even plan for some productive things to do when the interview is over, like applying for other roles just in case, or talking through the interview process with your friends to make yourself feel better about any hiccups that might have happened.
 
Looking forward to what comes after the interview will stop you from feeling too frozen in fear by the event itself to focus properly.

​Once you’ve done your regular preparations for the interview, try to relieve stress and feel more confident beforehand by using these techniques. This will enable you to focus on putting your best foot forward during the interview itself

It's very important to know what to wear to a job interview. Just because you can go to work or a video meeting wearing casual attire, it doesn’t mean you should. If you’re having a professional conference or an interview, dress professionally. Wear a full suit or other attire appropriate for you and the setting.
 
Avoid simply dressing up the top half of your body. You might end up standing up. As countless events have shown, it’s easy to forget that you’re not wearing your bottom half of clothing when you’re in the middle of an animated conversation.
 
It’s also worth noting that dressing correctly can give you a crucial confidence boost too. Dressing appropriately makes you feel like you deserve the job you’re applying for. 

Video conferencing is now an important part of our lifestyle and of the business landscape. Learn to excel in using video and take advantage of these tips to make a positive impression via video. You’ll be glad you did!

Zoom is an easy-to-use cloud-based chatting tool and it is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android. Its great features including desktop and mobile support, multi-sharing, free video replays, auto-recording meetings, and so much more are the reasons for its popularity. 

Let’s dive into how you can take advantage of the flexibility and convenience it brings.

Sign up for Zoom by visiting their website or downloading their app. Enter your preferred email address, allow important resources such as how-to-guides to be sent to your email account, enter your credentials, activate your Zoom account by clicking on the confirmation email sent to your inbox. Remember to use strong passwords to secure your meetings and keep scammers out.
 
Download and install the app on your desktop. Launch the app, enter the required information such as your email address and password. When logged in, head over to the top-right corner and manage your profile. Go to ‘Settings’ to change defaults and activate your preferences. Such as automatically copying the URL once the meeting starts, stopping your video or audio when the display is off, etc.

​You can create a test meeting before inviting participants if you like to get comfortable with how the platform works. Go to ‘Start Meeting’ and use speakers to join audio. Go full screen and test the speaker or microphone.

Schedule meetings and choose how you want to manage them by heading over to the ‘Meetings’ tab. Select ‘Schedule a new meeting’, enter the name, description, as well as time and date. Invite people by selecting the ‘invite’ button, copying the URL, and sharing it. Send the link via email or text. The invitees only need the link as well as the time and date or password where applicable to join. They simply launch the app, enter their Zoom ID, and click on ‘Join’.
 
Set up daily or weekly meetings by using the ‘Recurring’ option under the ‘Meetings tab’. This helps you to lock in settings and ensure you don’t constantly send out invites to participants.

After the sign-up process, install important recommended add-ons before proceeding. Schedule or start a meeting by signing in to the web portal. Click ‘Host a meeting’ to set one up and then ‘Join from your browser.’ Add participants by going to ‘Participants’ and ‘Invites’. Invite people by copying and sending your URL via email.
 
Your attendees will join meetings by following the link or pasting it onto their browser.
 
Keep them engaged by enabling the Q&As section, chat-texting, and screen sharing.

It is important to note that you won’t have access to all Zoom features with this option.

​Download the app from the Play Store or the App Store. Install and launch it. Sign up for an account or log in to your existing account following the prompts.
 
Start new meetings by clicking on ‘New Meeting’ and then ‘Start new meeting’. Go to ‘Participants’ then ‘Invite’. The mobile version also allows you to adjust your settings, similar to the desktop one. Add participants by copying, pasting, and sending them the URL via email, messaging, or other available options.
 
They will attend meetings or webinars by following the same method outlined under the desktop version.