Yesterday afternoon, I was
invited to conduct a workshop on How to Prepare for a Job Interview to a
group of secondary and university students at the TCCC. I promised that I would put my power
point notes on my blog for the participants. Here they are:
A successful career involves a number of ingredients such
as hard working, working smart, setting goals
for 1 yr, 2 yr, 5 to ten years ( if you are planning to build a career) so you can track the progress whether you are achieving your goals or not. Setting achievable short term goals helps you
to move along and eventually enable you to reach your long term goals. You will also need a
plan of actions to achieve your goals.
Nowadays, some of the
important qualities companies are looking for in their potential employees are:
•
Communication
skills -Very important!
•
Good
command of written/ oral skills
• Speak
with confidence
Equally as important, when
fresh graduates are looking for their first professional job upon
graduation, they will also need:
•
Mentors
and support network
•
Relevant experiences
•
References
•
Understanding
of work cultures and values
In my career as a school administrator and recently as a Human
Resources Manager, I have discovered that many young people do not have much
work experience upon graduation. Many have spent their university summer months
either traveling back to their home country or studying summer school; few
actually got summer employment relevant to their field of studies.
Experience is important!!
Please try you best to accumulate relevant job experience by:
•
Volunteering
• researching government programs that help young people to summer jobs
•
Personal Network
• Part time work
•
Co-op program
Steps for Finding a Job
•
Learn what kinds of jobs you want
•
Research your companies
•
Be Prepared with the following:
•
Covering Letter
•
Resume
•
Interview
Interview Blunders - 3 biggest mistakes people do during interviews:
•
Dress
inappropriately
•
Talk badly about previous job or boss
•
Appears disinterested
After you sent out
numerous application letters and resume, finally you got an interview!
Congratulations, if you've got an interview, some experts says:
You have 50% chance of getting the job!
Therefore do
everything in your power to prepare yourself for the interview as if you are
preparing for your most important final exam.
Learn about the
company
•
Research
the company
•
Know
the products
•
Know
the organization structure
•
Knowledge
is power
Dress
appropriately
• Jeans are not for all occasions!
•
Dress
according to position applied
•
At least 2 Days before the interview date:
•
Pick
out your interview outfit
•
Shoes,
socks – ready
•
Make sure you have good grooming
– good hair cut / neat and clean trimmed nails
•
Check
out location of interview and make a test run
Job Interview – Creating a
Positive Impression
•
Don’t be late1!!!
•
Arrive 15 -20 minutes earlier
•
Check hair, teeth, finger nails – cut & clean
•
Use Deodorant, Moisturizer/
lip palm
•
Avoid
bad breath; use mouth wash or breath mints
Interview – Manners are important!
•
Good
manners = consideration
•
Remember
to shake hands, firm hand shake!!!
•
Smile!!
•
Say
good morning, afternoon, thank you, please etc.
•
Sit only when asked
Maintain Eye contact During the interview
•
Listen
to questions carefully
•
Not afraid to ask for clarification
•
Positive attitude
•
Demonstrate
confidence
Job
Interview – Some Frequently Asked Questions
•
Tell me
about yourself.
•
Tell me
about your experience and qualifications.
•
Why are
you applying for this job?
•
Why are
you the best person for this job?
•
What are
your strengths?
•
Describe
your weakness.
•
What are
the things that motivate you?
•
What do
you do in your spare time?
•
What are
your hobbies?
•
What do
you like the most/ least in your school?
•
What were
some of the most difficult problems you have had in your school or volunteer
work?
•
How did
you solve them?
Interview
- Situational Questions
•
You are
helping a customer who is getting verbally abusive with you. What would you do?
•
You are
working on a team and you are having a problem with another worker? What would
you do to solve this problem?
Where
to find jobs?
•
School /
University
•
Guidance
offices, bulletins around campus
•
Community
/ local newspapers
•
Local
supermarkets, McDonald’s, Tim Horton’s, YMCA
•
Parks and
Recreation
•
Canada
Services Centre – local offices and websites
•
Student
Summer Employment Program
Networking is important when you are looking for jobs. You could expand your contacts by volunteering in your:
•
School / Church/ Workplace / Community
•
Talk to everyone you meet
•
Make connections
•
Learn how to do Small talk with your
supervisors/ teachers/ professors ( Watch for my blog on this topic soon)
•
Make friends with your colleagues/
secretary
•
Attend workshops / Job fairs
•
Be careful
of internet advertisement and interview
location
After
the interview
•
Make
notes of the interview and especially the questions you did not answer
well. Have a notebook to write them down
so that you could learn from your mistakes to improve your future interviews.
•
Follow up
with:
•
Phone
call, Email or thank you note
Be faithful to God
•
Ask God to help you
•
pray and ask God to give you wisdom to show
you the way and open doors
•
Be faithful in your service
•
Put God first and Don’t forget to Tithe
Government
Programs that help young people to find their first jopbs:
•
Mitacs-Enterprise Internship
•
Canada Summer Job
•
Employment Agencies
I will post more entries later as there were a number of questions asked by the workshop participants on Telephone interviews, finding internships and getting volunteering experience. If you have any questions, please don`t hesitant to send them to me via the comment box and I will try my best to answer them.
All the best in you job hunting!
R.T.
Director - TECA
Toronto Education &
Communications Associates
Toronto, Ontario
* The above post was first posted in my blog last year. This is a revised post
