What are some of the most common mistakes that job applicants–particularly those fresh out of college–make during their job interviews?

“One common mistake made during a job interview involves lack of strategic preparation for the interview. The goal of the interview is to provide accurate information about yourself in order to help the interviewers make the best decision. In order to do this, your skills, passions and desired workplace environment need to align with the needed skills, similar passions, and culture of the company. Being strategic in the interview means answering questions and providing information to showcase what you can bring to the company as a match for the opening. “

Interview Tip #2: The More You Know…

Outside of preparing for the questions themselves, is there anything else applicants should do to get ready for a job interview?

“Applicants should do research. Research the company, the job, the industry, and yourself. An interview is just as much about the company seeing if you’re a great fit as it is about you determining if you would be happy to work for the company. Knowing what you are interviewing for ahead of time is helpful for preparations and making the best decision about opportunities.”

Interview Tip #3: Question and Clarify

How can an applicant differentiate his or herself during an interview?

“An applicant can stand out to an interviewer by making sure to ask the employer appropriate questions about the position, company and the interviewer’s experience. Also, wrapping up the interview with a summary statement of how their skills and passions align with the company’s needs and passions. Make sure your passion shines through by demonstrating your desire to obtain the position. “

Interview Tip #4: Don’t Just Phone It In

Is there anything an applicant should do differently to prepare for a phone interview versus an interview in person?

“More and more companies are using phone interviews as the first step in the hiring process. Phone interviews are unique because your voice is your sole representative; there is no assistance from dressing professionally or having a firm handshake. Inflection for passion and pace of your speech are even more important to focus on without having visual cues from your interviewer. A phone interview also allows you to gather materials that will help you succeed and can be easily used during the phone call; your resume, the job description, an agenda for the call and questions for the employer should all be nearby when you complete the call. Most of these items are self-explanatory but the agenda. An agenda for the call could include specific examples that you want to discuss to show your experiences and how you can contribute to the job. One last note: accept that you and the interviewer may interrupt each other or try to speak at the same time. That’s okay! Just make sure to treat the situation with grace and apologize if it does happen.”

Interview Tip #5: Practice, Practice, Practice!

What’s the most unusual thing you’ve heard of happening at a job interview?

“When I worked as a recruiter I interviewed many applicants both in person and on the phone. One particular time I interviewed an IT professional and he was so nervous that he pouted and visibly cringed every time I asked a question. I began to wonder if he was in physical pain or if he even realized he was making the faces! In order to prevent unwanted body language, make sure to practice interviewing with a trusted family member or friend to get feedback on your abilities. Being aware of your nervous ticks can help you avoid them! Unfortunately, in this case, the applicant’s inability to effectively communicate cost him the job!”

25 Things Every Young Professional Should Know by Age 25

25. It’s spelled “definitely,” not “definately.”

24. Read an apartment lease before you sign. All of it.

23. An Excel PivotTable will change your life.

22. A cover letter should add color and personality. It shouldn’t summarize your resume.

21. Everyone likes to receive praise, but the smartest young adults actively seek constructive criticism.

20. The days of a college syllabus are long gone. If you’re waiting for someone to give you direction, have a seat. You’ll be there a while.

19. Multi-tasking is great, but some moments require your undivided attention.

18. Take LinkedIn seriously.

17. Understand the pay-stub that accompanies your paycheck.

16. There’s no such thing as an overnight success. However, people who do “break through” tend to start their day while others are still asleep.

15. Know how income tax works.

14. Even though college is over, you should still find extra curriculars. Among the many reasons, clubs and organizations are terrific places to network.

13. You’re never too busy to write a thank-you note.

12. Start with why.

11. The ability to follow-through on assignments can take you from 25-year-old newbie to essential team member.

10. You probably make more money than some of your friends and less than others. The only thing that matters is that you pay your own bills on time.

9. Bring a lunch to work. It’s healthier and cheaper than eating out.

8. Don’t step into an interview room without research on the company and questions for the employer.

7. Dropbox. Learn it and love it.

6. Treat interns with respect. They’ll provide you with management training and ease your workload.

5. To impress older business associates, ask about their own career path. You may also learn a thing or two.

4. Under-promise. Over-deliver.

3. The less you write, the tighter the message. The less you talk, the stronger the speech.

2. The only failure in your 20s is inaction. Everything else is trial and error.

1. You’re halfway through the most formative decade of your life. You don’t need all the answers, but you must keep asking questions. Start with this one: what’s something new that I can learn right now?

Danny Rubin Managing Editor, News To Live By

No matter what your professional goals and visions are, there are six core actions that will support you to achieve greater success and fulfillment over the long arch of your professional life. These actions will help you understand what you truly want to be in life, take the right action to build your desired professional identity, and get the support you need to sustain you through the tough times.

The top 6 actions to take to achieve the success and fulfillment you want in your career are:

1. Gaining Clarity

Bar none, this is the most important action if you want to achieve anything significant in life. You must understand exactly what you want and what matters most to you – what you’ll give up everything for. It can’t be some vague, nebulous notion like “I want to do something meaningful” or “I want to make a difference.” That’s a great start, but you need to drill down deep and peel the layers to understand what “meaningful” signifies to you, personally and specifically.

The reason so many people fail today to create fulfilling and exciting careers is that they simply won’t do the inner and outer work to determine how best to “connect the dots” – to uncover their unique talents, skills, and passions, and find the right career fit that will draw on those talents and passions. They also won’t do the work to see how they are contributing to and co-creating their problems and challenges. As I learned in my marriage and family therapy training, “greater awareness equals greater choice.” Successful professionals commit to increasing their awareness of who they long to be in the world, how they want to be of service, uniquely, and what’s in the way. When you’re clear about that, and believe you’re worthy of your visions, doors will open and new opportunities for your growth will emerge. (Download my free Career Path Self-Assessment to help you “connect the dots.”)

2. Transforming Desperation Into Inspiration

Today, I had a great conversation with a new colleague Vanessa McGovern of Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs who shared a concept she heard from Jairek Robbins that we must learn how to “turn our desperation into inspiration.” This is a vitally important endeavor – to move away from feeling desperate, victimized and out of control in the face of your professional challenges. The key is to learn how to be more accountable, responsible and capable – viewing what’s happening as a way for you to learn and grow. So many entrepreneurial and business women come to me sharing their stories of woe about the unfair positions they’re in (due to the economy, a toxic boss, a crushing political situation, etc.) and they’re not able to see the powerful lessons that their life is trying to teach them. If you break yourself against what is, and resist it, rather than using it to help you be all you can be, you’ll not achieve the success you deserve and long for. Find a way to turn your desperation into inspiration for change, growth and success.

3. Enforcing Your Boundaries

Once you know what you want, you have to be strong enough to protect your boundaries, honor your priorities, and communicate what’s necessary to succeed and grow. I know hundreds of brilliant, accomplished women who know what they want to achieve, but when push comes to shove, they won’t power up and stand up for what they want. In short, they cave. There are many well-researched and documented factors that contribute to this “caving” behavior, but whatever the reasons, women need to overcome their insecurities and fears, and feelings of guilt, shame and unworthiness, and learn to be strong enough to stand up for what they need and want, and ask for it.

4. Committing Yourself 1000%

To be successful in life and work, it takes commitment that doesn’t wane. It takes believing that you can create movement in your life and business, even when the waters are still and the three dimensional world is giving evidence that you’re not going to make it to your destination. And it demands risk.

That doesn’t mean that you should continue on your course blindly, crashing into the rocks without modifying your course. It means that you know when you need help, and you ask for it before it’s too late. You commit yourself to your goals without doubt, without reservation, and do what’s required, while at the same time learn to be flexible and avoid overly attaching to how it has to look or one particular outcome. Professionals who realize they have vulnerabilities and gaps in their knowledge and ability, and work diligently and committedly to close these gaps, succeed at a much higher level than those who hide their heads in the sand.

5. Communicating Powerfully

Highly successful professionals and entrepreneurs are typically very captivating storytellers. They know how to talk about their businesses, or their endeavors and visions in ways that inspire others to follow and support them. They know the “why” behind what they are doing, and they attract supporters, clients, and customers who share their values and beliefs. These successful business people are highly adept at speaking about their accomplishments and visions in an engaging way that doesn’t put off others, but excites people to partner with them. Successful professionals also know how to negotiate and advocate for themselves and for others powerfully – sharing the right information at the right time, in the right way to build rapport, gain support, and engender loyalty.

6. Nurturing Empowered Relationships

Finally, highly successful professionals understand that they cannot achieve their visions alone or in a vacuum. They invest time and energy in building mutually-beneficial relationships, and solid bonds and energizing partnerships that last over time. They also develop an empowering, engaged community that paves the way for their success. These relationships are built on trust, honesty, integrity, and on common values.

On the other hand, folks who step on others on the way up, or who narcissistically surround themselves only with people who say “yes” and never challenge them, won’t succeed in the long term. If you wield your power in negative ways to hurt, diminish, or squelch others, or if you’re overly-invested in corporate politics because you think you’ll “win” that way, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Guerrilla warfare and political tactics to overthrow your “enemies” at work simply won’t sustain your success or growth over time.

Can you find career success without taking these six actions – maybe, but it will be a far bumpier ride with many more agonizing detours. And you’ll wake up at the end of the journey wondering why you feel so lost and unfulfilled.

Which of these success behaviors and actions do you need to develop to help your career flourish?

Source: Kathy Caprino, Contributor

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2012/11/13/the-top-6-actions-that-promote-career-success/

Victoria is forecast to post a $155 million surplus for 2012/13, keeping to the Government’s pre-election promise of minimum $100 million surpluses. A further 600 public servants will lose their jobs on top of 3600 already announced last December.

While the Government hopes most of the extra 600 job cuts can be achieved through voluntary redundancies and not renewing contracts, in limited circumstances workers could be sacked.

Treasurer Kim Wells did not rule out further cuts or future asset sales and privatisation.

He said an $8.3 billion revenue writedown meant further efficiencies had to be found to enable the Government to deliver a surplus, as sending the state into the red was not an option.

“This is the most difficult budget for at least a decade,” he told reporters inside the Budget lock-up. Mr Wells said the former Labor Government allowed spending to grow at an average annual rate of 7.3 per cent while revenue only grew by 6.9 per cent. “Victoria needs to live within its means – for too long we haven’t done that,” he said.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/business/worklife/over-4000-victorian-public-servants-to-go/story-e6frfm9r-1226343863691

Tourism Australia today announced a competition called “Best Jobs In The World,” in which six winners will each get a six-month job. The positions range from park ranger to lifestyle photographer, wildlife caretaker to Outback adventurer. Each job comes with a salary package worth $100,000 Australian ($101,000 USD) including living costs.

The campaign targets travelers aged 18 and 30, but anyone of any age and from any country can apply, either through Facebook or a dedicated Best Jobs website. The application deadline is April 9, 2013 in the U.S. (April 10 in Australia). Winners will be announced in mid-June, and all six jobs start August 1.

Jane Whitehead, vice president for the Americas of Tourism Australia, tells ABC News the jobs are meant to appeal to youth travelers’ sense of fun and adventure and to young job-seekers looking to add international work experience to their resumes, as a way to enhance career prospects back home.

Youth tourism, Whitehead says, already accounts for 26 percent of all international arrivals in Australia, under the country’s existing “working holiday” visa program. People eligible for the visa can stay 12 months in Australia, provided they work for six months or less. Though such workers last year contributed $2.5 billion (Australian) to her nation’s economy, Whitehead thinks the future contribution could be far higher.

She cites studies done by America Wave, a company that surveys Americans on their willingness to relocate overseas. Its most recent survey finds that between 2007 and 2011 the number of Americans aged 18 to 24 who want to move overseas shot from 12 percent to 40 percent.

Young Americans’ interest in working in Australia Whitehead attributes in part to the strength of the nation’s economy: Provided a job seeker can obtain the necessary visas, he or she may find it easier to find a temporary job as a waiter or a laborer in Australia than in the U.S. Australia right now is looking to fill 36,000 international employment positions in a variety of industries, says Whitehead.

A former Australian Tourism Commission member acknowledges not all of those are what a young traveler might consider a dream job. Don Morris was quoted in a Cairns Post story about the working holiday program as saying that young foreigners are being recruited “to do the 1001 jobs that young Aussies don’t want to do.” Without South Korean students to pick bananas, he said, “there’d be no fruit in the bowl at home.”

The paper reports that Britain, South Korea, Ireland, France and Germany top the list of countries whose young apply for working holiday visas.

Of the six “Best Jobs” created by the new competition, the most enjoyable may be “Chief Funster” for state of New South Wales. Reads the description: “You will assist to promote events all over the state including food festivals, lifestyle, sports, cultural, entertainment and arts events. Work behind the scenes of Sydney Festival, Mardi Gras and Vivid Festival, all leading up to the spectacular New Years’ Eve fireworks on Sydney Harbour.”

Another of the six jobs—”Taste Master” for Western Australia—requires someone willing to sample and help promote that state’s fresh produce, gourmet cuisine, world-class vineyards and quality micro-breweries and lobster-eateries.

Australia is not alone in offering a working holiday visa program. Travel experts say similar programs exist in at least 34 other nations—though not in the U.S. Because the U.S. does not participate, most countries that have programs exclude Americans.

No matter how good looking you are, or how nice your biceps look, do not put pictures on your resume. As recruiters, when we look at resumes we are looking for your skills, your experience, your education and what you can offer the company. Your looks are irrelevant.

2. Spelling and Grammar

There is really no excuse for have spelling mistakes on a resume. All word processing software has a spelling and grammar check option. Use it. It’s also crucial that your dictionary settings are switched to English (Aus). Generally, if you have something mispelt on your resume, it’s going straight to the trash.

3. Nothing Interesting

If you don’t have any interests or you don’t have any volunteering experience on your resume you won’t stand out from the crowd. You must remember, there are literally hundreds of people who have the same skills and and same level of professional experience as both you and me. It’s the interesting things that will make you stand out. Whether it be winning silver medals in wrestling or being a member of a public speaking society, these things will make you stand out and make you seem like more of a person. Employers don’t want to hire a robot, they want to hire someone who is both interesting and a great worker.

4. Laundry list of duties

If the job descriptions on your resume resemble a laundry list of your duties, this does not reflect great communication skills or your ability to express ideas coherently. Here is an example of a laundry list from one of our clients at KEAT International.

Sold mobile phones
Opened the store
Closed the store
Chirering
Hiring

We changed this laundry list to:

Managed a local cellular phone phone distribution store in all aspects, including hiring, store security, inventory, training, selling, scheduling, advertising and supervising 4 full-time employees.

A good formula to go by is STAR (Situation, task, action, result). Here is another example:

Established a marketing plan to collaborate with businesses in the CBD with the promotion of advertising and sales marketing resulting in a seasonal 25% profit increase.

The formula is just a guideline, however, it fundamentally allows you to quantify the impact you’ve had on an organisation.

5. Bad Communication Skills

If you feel this is your weakness, don’t make excuses. Get out there and improve your communication skills. Whether it means taking some language classes or some form of specialised course. If you are going to take the IELTS, there are plenty of courses out there to help you prepare for these tests. Getting involved in community and volunteering initiatives are also a great way to improve your communication skills. Do what it takes to be the best you can be. Improving your communication will take time and a lot of energy, however, great communications skills are essential to be the successful applicant. If you put in the effort, you will get the results.

6. Saying sorry.

As a job seeker – perhaps having had quite a few rejection letters – you have to be your own harshest judge. When you are unsuccessful during an application process, you don’t need to say sorry to your parents or your career coach.The only person you need to apologise to is yourself. If you didn’t perform during in an interview, you are the only person to blame. So, identify your weaknesses and address the issues.

7. The awkward date syndrome

I’m sure we’ve all had those awkward dates where we ask a question and we get a one word answer followed by an awkward silence. If your interviews are as awkward as those dates, you aren’t going to get the position. You need to make the conversation flow during an interview. If you give one word answers, this just demonstrates that you are lacking confidence. If they ask you where you are from, don’t just give them a one word answer like ‘Sydney’. Tell them about your experiences in Sydney and what brought you to Melbourne. In doing so you come across more personable whilst demonstrating great communication skills.

Also, as much as the they are interviewing you, you are also interviewing them. Your workplace is where you will spend most of your time, so you want to make sure that the organisation is the right fit for you. Asking questions such as “What is the culture like? Who will my boss be? Who will my mentor be? Can I meet the people I will be working with?”. Asking questions such as these will not only show that you are genuinely interested in the organisation, but it will help you decide whether you actually want to work there.

8. Interview Jitters

The interview is just a formality. The hard part is the hours of preparation prior to the interview. The applicant who has prepared and practiced answers to a variety of interview scenarios is going to get the job over someone who has spent the days prior to the interview partying with their friends. The interview is just a formality. You win or lose in the weeks and months prior to that interview. You will always be nervous before an interview, however, if you are prepared, the nerves will wear off soon after you begin to nail every question thrown your way.

9. Not believing in yourself

Never think that something is wrong with ‘you’ because you’ve received 20 rejection letters. Nothing is wrong with you. Something is going wrong with your process. You have to keep your head up. Don’t doubt yourself. Keep every rejection letter you receive and stick it to your wall. This will drive you to do better. Make sure you ask for feedback after an interview, this will help you identify where you need to improve.

10. SMILE & Be Positive

When you smile, it makes you happier. Also, when you smile, it’s contagious. You will be surprised how easily you can make others around you smile by just smiling yourself. So when you’re smiling and feeling positive, that’s contagious to the person who is interviewing you. Obviously you don’t want to seem too fake during an interview, but if you begin to smile more outside of the professional workplace, smiling during an interview, or whilst you are working, will just come naturally. This will make yourself and others around you feel happier.