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Articles by Peggy McKee

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By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q64

What is good customer service? This job interview question will generally be asked in interviews for retail or customer service jobs, but there’s really a wide range of jobs that have contact with customers, or people who pay money for a good or service. Engineers, accountants, and manufacturers can have contact with customers, too. I think that the best explanation of “good customer service” came from a recruiting client of mine who wanted to hire a good customer service rep. When I asked what that meant to them, they said, “Customer delight.”

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,714 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q51

What are your pet peeves? Why would they ask about your pet peeves in a job interview? They can actually find out quite a lot about you by what you choose to say when you answer this question: Do you get irritated easily? (How long is your list?) Will you be a good fit for their company culture? (If you hate being micromanaged and they’re very focused on being ‘involved’ with employee projects, then chances are, you won’t.)

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,711 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Fastest Way to Find a Job - Tip 6 - Trade Shows

Trade Shows Trade shows can be fantastic, rich resources for the aggressive job seeker. They are full of real, live contacts from a concentrated selection of companies in your field. You may not come away from the show with a job, but you very well could come away from the show with a valuable contact within that company who can point you to the hiring manager you need to be talking to. To make the most of these opportunities, prepare before the show, have a strategy to follow during the show, and follow up after the show. Before the Show:

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,710 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Questions to Ask During a Job Interview

The questions you should ask in your job interviews might surprise you. In general, you always want to ask questions during your interview because (1) it shows that you researched the company, rn(2) it helps you have a more relaxed and productive conversation, and rn(3) it helps you uncover information you can't get anywhere else.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,709 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

The 5 Questions to Ask Your Interviewer

Here’s a tip that you should always keep in mind. Never leave all the question asking up to the interviewer. You always want to ask questions during your job interview. There are three reasons for this: - It helps you uncover information you can’t get anywhere else…who’s a better source than the person hiring for the job? - It helps you have a more relaxed and productive conversation. The key word here is ‘conversation’. Asking questions will make it feel less like you’re in an interrogation. - It shows that you researched the company when you ask informed, thoughtful questions.r

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,709 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

What to Look for In a Great Interview Coach

Today’s job search is unlike any we’ve seen before. Competition is especially fierce in this economy, and candidates get weeded out quickly. If you’ve landed the interview, you need to bring your best game right off the bat and knock the socks off the hiring manager. One of the most effective ways to become an all-star candidate is to hire an interview coach. Individualized coaching takes your personal work history and talents into account and customizes solutions for you.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,706 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Phone Interview Tips - Number 34: Thank You Notes

How do you follow up after a phone interview? You better follow up the exact same way you would after a face-to-face interview: you send a well-thought-out, comprehensive, and timely thank you note.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,701 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q32

If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently? Hmmm….what would I do differently? I wouldn’t speed when I was going to get a ticket… I wouldn’t have invested money in those stocks… I wouldn’t have bought those shoes… Maybe those kinds of things are what come to your mind when you’re asked about what you would do differently, but when they ask you that question in a job interview, that’s not quite what they mean. This is another way to ask the ‘weakness’ question. They’re looking for your flaws.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,700 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q63

What have you learned from your mistakes? This job interview question is an opportunity for you to show them that you’re a “growth” person…someone who learns from their mistakes and grows from it, developing into a stronger, smarter, better version of yourself.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,699 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

What You MUST Ask Before You Leave The Interview

To prepare for a job interview in medical or health care sales, you have to make sure you're ready to answer both common and tough interview questions, and know how to frame your answers to highlight what you're going to bring to the company (a great way to do that is to structure your answers in the form of stories that spotlight your skills). You also have to have some interview questions of your own ready--after all, you're interviewing them, too. You want to know if that company's a good fit for you, and is going to be a place where you can succeed.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,699 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Fastest Way to Find a Job - Tip 12 - Job Boards

Job Boards What do I mean by job boards? The big ones are Monster, CareerBuilder, SimplyHired, and Indeed. Companies post job openings and requirements on there, with instructions for how to apply for that job.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,697 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Sales Interviews Are Different – Why?

The job interview is always, at its core, a sales process, because your ultimate goal is to get the manager (the buyer) to hire and pay you for doing a particular job (buy your product, which is your skills as an employee). Even though that’s true, sales interviews are not like regular job interviews. Why are sales interviews different? Because, in a regular job interview, the potential employer is looking at your experience and skills. In a sales interview, the skills they’re looking for ARE the sales skills. You are actively demonstrating your sales skills during the interview.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,697 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q52

What are your salary expectations? Oh, the dreaded salary question! The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a big problem for you if you know how to handle it. The primary strategy I teach my job seekers is “Do your research so that you know what the going rate is for that job in your part of the country, and then deflect naming a number for as long as possible.” Still, there are different approaches to use depending on who is asking you this question.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,695 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

What Is LinkedIn? And Why Should I Care?

With over 40 million members and still growing, LinkedIn is the biggest professional network in the entire world. It connects an individual with numerous contacts. But, there is more to LinkedIn than just connections....after all, recent developments in networking technology should provide more than just size. LinkedIn is able to facilitate the exchange of ideas on a larger scale. In other words, the network does not just exist – it exists for a specific purpose, which is to increase professional and business opportunities for users.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,695 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Fastest Way to Find a Job - Tip 7 - Career Fairs

Career Fairs I’ve got to say, career fairs are not my preferred method of finding a job fast. They are mobbed with job seekers and it can be a little unnerving to line up shoulder-to-shoulder with your competition. They usually require you to stand in long lines for a lot of the day which can wear you out. They can be difficult for people who are a little shy and reserved. It takes a lot of guts to walk up to someone and introduce yourself with a handshake.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,694 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q96

Why do you want to work for someone else after owning your own business / freelancing? LOTS of hiring managers will have a hard time believing that you can start taking orders after being your own boss. It’s not a big leap for them to make…it would be difficult for many people. Your best answer to this difficult job interview question will be honest but positive.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,694 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Phone Interview Tips - Number 37: How to Prepare for a Phone Interview

Phone interviews are an incredibly critical tipping point in the hiring process. They liked what they saw your resume enough to talk to you…will this phone call make them like you enough to call you in for a face-to-face interview? There’s a lot you can do to prepare for phone interviews and make sure that happens.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,679 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Fastest Way to Find a Job – Tip 4 – Facebook

Facebook Do you think that LinkedIn is for business and Facebook is for friends? You’re partly right; but the line between the two is very, very fuzzy when it comes to job searching. I found some stats on Mashable that says as of December 2011, over 18 million people have gotten jobs through Facebook. 18 million.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,674 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q89

Why did you leave your last position? The underlying questions behind “Why did you leave your last position?” are, “Is there something wrong with you?” “Did you get fired for a reason?” “Will I regret hiring you?” Those are the concerns that you need to address when you answer this question.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,670 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q91

Why do you believe you are the best fit for this position? This job interview question closely resembles “Why should we hire you?” It’s one question that makes candidates very uncomfortable because it puts them on the spot, but it’s really a fantastic question. Why? It allows you free rein to sell yourself for the job. Remember that every job interview is a sales process. You are the product (and the sales rep), and the hiring manager is the buyer. Why should he or she choose you above all the other products available?

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,665 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Phone Interview Tips - Number 35: The One Question You Should Ask

Do you know the most important question you should ask in phone interviews? Hopefully, you already know that it’s important that you should ask questions in your telephone interview. But you might not know that one question in particular can ensure a good interview or even turn the tide of a bad interview. What’s the question? The question is: What does your ideal candidate look like? What’s on their wish list of skills and qualifications of someone in this role? If a person with those qualities walked through the door now, they’d be drooling and trying to hire them on the spot.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,663 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q74

What was the last book you read?

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,662 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q88

Why did you freelance for so long? A lot of people have taken up freelancing, consulting, or other independent work in the last few years just out of necessity. In many industries, it’s been difficult to find a job. Others have struck out on their own because there has been just so much opportunity—especially in consulting, writing, graphic design, web programming, web design, and online marketing. Whatever your situation was, employers are going to have questions about your reasons for doing what you did and consequently, why you want to work for their company now.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,660 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Phone Interview Tips - Number 16: How to Project the Right Image Over the Phone

Phone interviews are notoriously difficult for the simple reason that the interviewer can’t see you. So much of how we communicate is through gestures and expressions and those have no meaning at all on the phone. But phone interview or not, it’s still vitally important that you project an image that will make them want to move you forward to the next step. Just like in any job interview, you need your image to be one of competence, professionalism, and enthusiasm. So how do you do that when you only have your voice to do it with? You have a lot more options that you probably realize.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,659 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

What's the Greatest Barrier to a Successful Job Search?

What’s keeping you from getting the job? It could be the same thing that trips up others: you don’t understand (yet) that the job search is a sales process. It doesn’t matter what career you are involved in: to get the job, you have to sell yourself to the hiring manager. That means that you’re the product. You’re trying to get the hiring manager to pay you a salary to do work (or, to buy the product to get a benefit). Once you understand this, it changes EVERYTHING. If the job search is a sales process, what does that mean for you?

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,656 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Fastest Way to Find a Job - Tip 17 Newspapers (or Craigslist)

Newspapers (or Craigslist) If you know that I’m not very fond of job boards as a job search resource, then you must be really surprised that I would talk about newspapers or even Craigslist in a series about the fastest way to find a job. I’m sure you assume that I think newspapers belong to the Dark Ages and Craigslist is just the online version of classified ads. Which it is…but bear with me.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,654 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q38

Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult situation with a co-worker.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,654 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q94

Why do you want to join this company? All companies want to know that you want to work for them rather than you just want a job. An enthusiastic employee is a better employee—and more pleasant to work with, too. Your answer to this question should sound like, “I want to join this company because…” and then you need to list at least 3 reasons why.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,653 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q49

What are your hobbies? Asking about your hobbies and interests seems like an odd interview question, but companies are asking more and more of those ‘personality’ type questions these days in an effort to make sure that you’re going to be a good cultural fit for the organization. And the indirectness of this question is also sort of a fishing expedition for them to see if you’ll reveal things about yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,651 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q87

Why are you looking to leave your current job? It’s very important that you think about this job interview question well before you set foot in an interview. Interviewers always want to know why you want to leave your current job, and you must have a good answer ready to go.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,650 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q71

What questions do you have for us? By the end of the job interview, when they ask if you have any questions for them, you probably feel like you’re toast. You’re just done, and you want to go home. That’s the way most people feel, so the most common response to this question is, “I don’t have any questions, I think you’ve covered everything.” That’s bad, bad, bad. It’s one of the things you should never say in a job interview. It makes you look uninterested in the job.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,648 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Phone Interview Tips - Number 19: Secret Tricks to Phone Interview Success

Telephone interviews are tricky things. Even though they seem more casual, they are very, very important and should not be taken lightly. Even though it seems less stressful to talk to someone on the phone rather than facing them in your business suit, it’s actually a little unnerving to not be able to see the interviewer’s face while you talk. And even though phone interviews present a few challenges, they also present you with a few advantages. The “trick” is to work with the unique circumstances of a phone interview to make the most of it and get to the next step: the face-to-face.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,648 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q16

How do you deal with difficult customers? Dealing with difficult customers is a fact of life for a TON of jobs: sales reps, customer service reps, retail store clerks, receptionists, restaurant waitstaff, and a hundred other service-industry jobs. The people in those roles are in the front lines. They are the face of their respective companies, and have a tremendous impact on the company’s image, which directly affects growth and revenue. You want your answer to make it very clear that you understand how important your role is and you take it very seriously.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,646 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q97

Why have you been out of work for so long? Boy, I bet you’d like to know the answer to that question, too! The job search can be a very difficult time for many people, but it’s important that you show a positive face to everyone. Answer every job interview question with as much positivity and as little negativity as you can. It makes you more appealing to others and puts you in a better spot to receive a job offer.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,642 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q98

Why have you changed jobs so frequently over the past X years? Job-hopping is not a great habit. When you stay at a job for only a few months or a year, over and over again, you are cultivating an image of someone who can’t be depended upon, who doesn’t know what they want, and who’s probably more than a little immature. Employers question your loyalty, and tend to shy away from hiring you because you look like a very expensive disruption rather than a potentially valuable and stable employee.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,642 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q26

How was your working relationship with your previous supervisor? How was your working relationship with your last boss? This is an attitude question for sure. They don’t really care about your last boss, they care about you. Hiring managers know that past behavior predicts future performance, so they are very interested in your answer. Are you going to trash your old boss? Are you going to complain about how you were misunderstood? Or are you going to talk about how much you learned? This is a pretty standard job interview question, so make sure you’re ready for it.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,641 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q50

What are your least favorite things to do in your role as a XXXX? This is a slightly different version of, “What did you dislike about your previous job?” They are trying to find out more about you and how you think. If you are transferring roles in more of a lateral move, your answer will tell them about how you will perform in this new job. If you’re making a move up the career ladder, there’s not such a direct correlation, but it will still shed light on you, your performance, and even on how much you understand about this new role.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,639 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

***5 Phone Interview Questions You Will Be Asked (And Tips on How to Answer Them)

How to answer common phone interview questions Hiring managers don't necessarily want to spend a lot of time, money and energy interviewing every potential candidate face-to-face. So most of them fall back on the practical: phone interviews. Do well with the phone interview, and the hiring manager will probably decide you're worth that extra effort of an in-person meeting. Do a poor job, and you're out.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,638 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q67

What is your least favorite managerial task? With this job interview question, they are trying to get a feel for any potential weaknesses you’ll be bringing to the job, without asking directly about your weaknesses. Hiring managers are fully aware that you’ll be ready for the ‘weakness’ question, but maybe not so prepared for this one…so they hope they’ll get an honest answer. Are you irritated by the details? Are you impatient with subordinates and their issues?

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,637 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q77

What were the major challenges of your last job and how did you handle them? This is a tough job interview question to answer because the major challenges of your last job typically are going to be the key job skills that you’re bringing to the new one. (The exception being if you’re a brand new graduate or transitioning careers). Since most jobs you interview for build on the job you had before, you’re actually likely to be talking about the job skills that you’re going to take on in this new role.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,633 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Use a Tradeshow to Get a Great Job!

Tradeshows are great places to gather industry information and really great networking opportunities. However, they are also useful avenues for job searches. To be successful at this, you need a plan for before, during, and after the show. First (before the show): · Send out an e-mail to all of your contacts, letting them know what's going on, that you'll be at the tradeshow, and that you're looking for contacts and opportunities. Be specific in describing what kind of position you want. · Use your online social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter).

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,632 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Phone Interview Tips - Number 21: How to Listen Well

The art of conversation requires that you not only express yourself well, but also that you listen well. Good listeners are valued. Being a good listener means that you’re going to have a more productive, higher-quality conversation than you would otherwise.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,629 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q55

What did you like or dislike about your previous jobs? Asking what you liked or disliked about your previous job sounds like a ‘get-to-know-you’ question, but don’t get too comfortable. This is another way to get at your strengths and weaknesses, and you can trip yourself up. Always remember your primary focus is to sell yourself for this job. Be strategic.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,627 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q100

Why should we give you the job over the other candidates? This is a tough job interview question. Most people are not that comfortable with the idea of tooting their own horn, but that’s exactly what you have to do in a job search and in a job interview, and that’s especially what you have to do when you answer this question. So feel free to brag. They are looking for you to sell yourself for the job. Tell them why they need you.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,627 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Fastest Way to Find a Job – Tip 3 – LinkedIn

LinkedIn I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: LinkedIn is great job search resource. Why? It’s packed with information and potential connections, and it’s entirely business-focused (unlike Facebook, which is socially-focused). Everyone there is interested in making more connections and growing their network to further their careers. That means that you can, too. On LinkedIn, you can find people, you can message people, you can find people who work at companies you would be interested in working for. There are no limitations.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,625 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q93

Why do you think you can manage a team without any prior managerial experience? If you are interviewing for your first management-level job, you will definitely be asked some version of this question. They are going to want to know if you think you can do this job and why.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,625 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q25

How much did / do you make? Here’s a question guaranteed to make you uncomfortable in the job interview process. It’s one of the big hot-potato questions. No one wants to say a number first. But you don’t have to feel pressured or stressed. There are some great ways to handle this question.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,624 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions - Q65

What’s Your Greatest Weakness? “What’s your greatest weakness?” is possibly the most annoying job interview question just because of its sheer ridiculousness…your choices seem to be either to give them an obviously fake weakness (like you’re a perfectionist or you work too hard…ugh!), or a real weakness (like you’re disorganized or you have a bad temper), which means you might as well kiss your job offer goodbye now. Most people stick with the safe route and go for the fake one. Do you? It turns out, the ‘safe’ route is not the best route.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,624 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

How to Answer Interview Questions – Q95

Why do you want to switch from an academic field to business/industry? The one big perception / misconception about academics is that they can’t make it in the ‘real’ world. They are secure in their ivory towers and not coming out any time soon. So if you find yourself trying to leap from your own ivory tower (or ivory laboratory, as the case may be) your interviewer is going to want to know why. What will you have to say for yourself? This question is an excellent jumping-off point for you to talk about your drive, your enthusiasm, and your ambition. Break the stereotype!

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,624 views

By Peggy McKeeRecently published1 topic

Phone Interview Tips - Number 32: Good Telephone Communication

Job interviews are all about communication, right? You will only get the job if you can successfully communicate that you understand the job, that you can do the job, that you will do the job, and that you pose no risk to this person’s continued employment. (That’s why 30-60-90-day plans are such great job interview tools.) That requires good, clear communication.

Primary topic: Interviewing Skills

Interviewing Skills

1,624 views

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