How to Go From “Take this Job and Shove It” to “Take this Job and Love It”!

The sad fact is that most Americans hate their jobs. Its pure drudgery and they’re just in it for the paycheck. It doesn’t have to be this way. You really can have a dream job, one that you really love and that pays you well.

No, I’m not in fairy tale land. For the 10 years I worked for AOL, I can honestly say there were few days I didn’t want to go to work. The challenges of each position and the company’s ups and downs were never easy, but I always believed my contribution meant something and I felt that I was being fairly compensated. When this was no longer the case, I found another way to grow my career. job vacancy indonesia

But, unfortunately, my experience is not common. After even a few years into your career, you might be frustrated by any number of things – work that’s not challenging, people who don’t value your abilities, being paid less than you’re worth, to name a few. You might even fantasize walking into your boss’ office and shouting “Take this job and shove it!”

That might feel momentarily satisfying, but it’s never a lasting strategy to build your career. The more productive thing to do is to “take this job and love it!” No, not the job you currently have that leaves you frustrated. I’m taking about a new job, a different job that is a great match for you, your abilities, and your desires.

But, how do you go from “shove” to “love” in your career? employee

Pounding the pavement searching for a more fulfilling career is one of the most stressful events in life. I read that it’s in the top three, right along with divorce and a death in the family. Having a road map can reduce your anxiety. Here are my six steps to get that dream job while you’re fully conscious:

1. Determine That You Need To Change Jobs

Sometimes, it’s worth trying to work things out at your current job. Often, you need to move on. In either case, the big thing is that you need to understand why you are dissatisfied with your current so that you can take that into account when you are looking for a new one.

2. Identify The Job You Really Want

The goal is to have a job where you are excited about getting up every morning and going to work. Allow yourself to dream what that new job might be and then explore what that job is like through online research and informational interviews with people who actually do that job now.

3. Find The Company That Has The Job You Want

Start looking in easy places, both on and offline. For example, check the want ads in the largest general newspaper in town plus the largest business newspaper in town. Go online and search job websites such as www.monster.com and www.careerbuilding.com. Don’t forget any schools or related associations who also may have job postings. One huge way people find jobs that’s often overlooked is networking. Get out and meet people and let them know you’re seeking a new opportunity. Often you’ll get a recommendation of a company or someone to contact.

4. Convince The Hiring Manager You Are The Person They Are Looking For

Be prepared for the interview. Learn all you can beforehand about the company and their current situation. Of all the questions you may get, the most critical answers are the ones where you tie your abilities and experience to the company’s needs. That’s what makes you truly valuable.

5. Negotiate A Fabulous Salary And Compensation Package

Never talk money and compensation until you’ve clearly discussed your value – what you can do to meet the company’s needs right now. Know what the job is worth ahead of time using websites like www.salary.com. Let the hiring manager put out the first number, but never accept it immediately. Often this is their lowest offer. You will often get more in salary or benefits if you ask, but only if they believe you’re worth it.

6. Start Off Your New Job With A Bang
You’ve worked really hard to get to this point. Don’t wait for your boss or your new co-workers to make you feel comfortable and to give you direction. Reach out to them first. Continue to demonstrate through your results and by creating positive relationships that they made the right choice.

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High-powered Jobs Don’t Come Without Consequences

Katie Couric's recent announcement that she is leaving NBC's "Today" to become the next anchor for CBS News is the dawn of a new era at the network and for television news as a whole. The move also shines the spotlight on the issue of women and their role in high-powered jobs.

Beginning this fall, Couric will become the first woman to lead a network evening newscast alone when she begins her five-year deal as anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News.” The third-place CBS hopes Couric’s celebrity can boost its sagging ratings and restore credibility to a network damaged by recent reporting missteps. job vacancy indonesia

The simple fact that Couric’s move has been treated as a major news story is evidence of the progress women have made in the working world, and the lengths they still have to go. The idea of a woman as the lead anchor going solo on the evening news would have been unheard of 30 years ago. Already quite familiar with a high-powered job, Couric will break down another workplace barrier in her new position. employee

Like many women, it’s likely Couric is familiar with the triumphs and struggles that many women with high-end positions face in the corporate world. Naturally, the overwhelming majority of women can’t relate to Couric’s celebrity or $15 million annual salary, but they are quite familiar with the mixed blessings that come with being a highly successful woman. On one hand, these positions have come with a status and self-fulfillment that have resulted in economic power and the removal of boundaries. On the other hand, high-powered women continue to be labeled as missing something in their lives and having a direct impact on traditional roles like child-bearing.

In a recent and controversial article by Alison Wolf, the Kings College of London academic writes that highly successful women have created enormous benefits for society, but have also contributed to “the death of sisterhood, a decline in female altruism and growing disincentives to bear children.”

In developed countries, Wolf believes that women now have the ability to take virtually any career path and the end result has created and will continue to create a fracture in society. Wolf doesn’t argue that it’s the wrong path for women to take, just a direction that will result in consequences, both good and bad.

“Women used to enter the elite as daughters, mothers and wives. Now they do so as individuals,” Wolf writes in the April issue of Prospect Magazine. “Three consequences get far less attention than they deserve. The first is the death of sisterhood: an end to the millennia during which women of all classes shared the same major life experiences to a far greater degree than did their men.

The second is the erosion of ‘female altruism,’ the service ethos which has been profoundly important to modern industrial societies – particularly in the education of their young, and the care of their old and sick. The third is the impact of employment change on childbearing. We are familiar with the prospect of demographic decline, yet we ignore, sometimes willfully, the extent to which educated women face disincentives to bear children.”

Wolf’s views, of course, have been subject to criticism. Many women believe that life in the high-powered fast lane can result in positive opportunities that other women may not be able to access. Many high-profile mothers with six-figure incomes have perks like on-site daycare for children. 

They also have the benefits of housekeepers, accommodating spouses and other support systems. In an age where even the two-income family is struggling just to make ends meet, the woman with the high-end job will be able to give her children and family the advantages and professional awards they otherwise wouldn’t have.

The woman with the elite job faces enormous challenges every day. And if she has afamily, then the life is even more complex. In spite of recent trend stories the past few years that highlighted women opting out of high-powered jobs to raise children and return home, the Center for Economic Policy has squashed that theory, stating that the number of women in the labor market has remained steady over the past few years, according to a March report in the San Francisco Chronicle. In fact, most high-powered women, whether they’re married, have children or are single, say the emotional charge and rewards from their jobs make them better spouses, girlfriends, parents and people vacancy

Get Hired Faster By Changing Your Job Search Strategy

According to most experts, the average job search takes about five months to complete.

Five months is a long time to spend job searching, especially if you are currently out of work!

Why does the average job search take this long? One of the primary reasons is because most job seekers are using the exact same job search strategies. Most of them are using what could be called the "wait and hope" strategy. job vacancy indonesia

The wait and hope strategy is comprised of three primary steps.

1 - Search for jobs which are being advertised;

2 - Submit a resume for selected jobs;

3 - WAIT AND HOPE for an interview.

This is the primary strategy used because this is the way we were all taught to look for jobs.

A Better Job Search Strategy employee

Most people are not aware that only twenty percent of all vacant jobs are actually filled through advertising. This fact is a real eye opener for most people. If only twenty percent of jobs are filled through advertising, that leaves an overwhelming majority of eighty percent which are filled without advertising. If a job is not advertised, how is it ever filled? They are filled through the hidden job market!

What exactly is the hidden job market? These are the jobs that are hidden from public view. For the job seekers who only look for jobs through the classifieds or online advertising, they are completely left out of consideration for these jobs. Considering that eighty percent of jobs are filled this way, they miss out on the majority of jobs that are actually available. This is great news for the job seeker who is willing to learn how to tap into the hidden job market!

Five Easy Steps

You can tap into the hidden job market in five easy steps. Here is a short description of each step.

Step 1 - Develop A Target List Of Employers

The first thing you need to do is to develop a list of employers who have the type of job(s) you are interested in, in the locations you want, and are employers you would like to work for. I call this list of potential employers your job opportunity list. This list of potential employers can be very long, or quite short depending on your interests and needs.

Step 2 - Do Some Research

Once you have your job opportunity list together, use the Internet to do a little research on each potential employer. Use the company’s web site to read about the company, it's mission, it's products, any current news, and most importantly, find a company directory. Use the directory to find out who is the director or supervisor of the department you want to be hired into.

Step 3 - Look For Advertised Jobs

No, I haven't changed my mind. Advertised jobs should not be your primary means of finding your next job, but you should still spend a little time and see what types of jobs are being advertised in your area. Pay special attention to jobs advertised by companies on your job opportunity list.

Step 4 - Start Making Contacts

This is where you can start separating yourself from the competition. Most job seekers just won't make direct contact with potential employers. They are not comfortable applying for a job unless the potential employer has put up a big blinking sign (advertisement) that says, "We have a job opening, please send us your resume."

Make direct contact with the employers and let them know about you, your qualifications and experience, and your interest in working for their organization! vacancy

What To Do When Your Boss Is a Jerk

I've never worked for a boss I didn't like or respect. Sure, some were better than others, but I never considered quitting my job because of a bad boss. Unfortunately, many employees aren't so lucky.

If your boss is a total jerk, someone you'll never get along with, admire or respect no matter how hard you try, there are a few things you can do.

Wait. Is your boss close to retirement or promotion--or even better--termination? If so, try to bide your time and wait until that happy event happens. 

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Bite your tongue. Keeping anger and frustration bottled up inside is not healthy, but neither is complaining about your boss at work. So if your family can tolerate it, vent at home instead. It'll make you feel better even if it does nothing to help your situation. It may be tempting to complain about your boss at work, especially if coworkers are talking about the same problems. But resist that temptation! If your boss finds out that you are complaining about him, he'll have a legitimate reason to take appropriate action against you and make your life under him worse than it already is.
Continue to work hard. Regardless of how your boss treats you, it's in your best self-interest to continue doing your job to the best of your ability. Stay focused and think about how your efforts are helping the company as a whole. If you do a good job, you may get noticed by your boss's colleagues or even his superiors. Maybe a better opportunity will arise.
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Try to improve your relationship. If your boss is a complete jerk, this may be impossible no matter what you do. But if he's only a partial jerk, perhaps it would be worth your time to try to make the situation better. After all, this person may have control over your advancement up the career ladder. And while quitting may seem to be the easiest thing to do, searching for another job, having to explain why you left your last one, and struggling to get a decent reference from an ex-jerk-boss may make leaving a difficult option for you. Instead, swallow your pride and try to understand your boss's management style and personality and adapt yourself to that. For instance, if he's a micromanager, give him constant updates and details on what you're doing (even if you think it's a waste of your time and he should just trust you to do your job).
Effective communication is very important, and it works both ways. If your boss is unclear in telling you what he wants, ask questions until you know exactly what's expected. During performance evaluations or one-on-one discussions, ask him what you can do to meet his expectations.
Go over your boss's head. This is rarely a good idea. But if you've tried everything else, and you feel that your boss is making serious mistakes that affect the company (and not just you), consider talking to his superior. If you take this route, be prepared with specific examples and proof, not just accusations. And realize that this tactic may backfire on you (especially if your boss's boss is also a jerk).
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When and How to Say "I Just Can't Do It!"

We naturally hesitate to tell our boss when we can't do something or are feeling overwhelmed in our job. Bosses don't want to hear that, right? Well, it depends. 

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In many situations, your boss is so busy that he/she doesn't keep track of how much work you're doing. When your boss gives you a new project, he's not thinking about all the other projects you're already working on.

And here's the kicker -- unless you speak up and tell your boss that you can't handle the workload he's giving you, he'll assume everything is fine.

This can have bad consequences for you AND your boss. You know what will happen. Eventually things will start falling through the cracks or you'll rush through tasks and start making mistakes. 

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You can only do so much in a day, and deadlines will be missed. While you're stressing out, work that your boss needs you to do is NOT being done.

When this happens, your boss will not appreciate your excuse: "But I had too much to do, I was overloaded with work!" Saying that AFTER the fact will be much worse than telling your boss up front -- before mistakes occur or deadlines are missed -- that you're having trouble with your workload.

It is your responsibility to tell your boss when you are overwhelmed, and there's nothing wrong with doing this.

Of course, you don't want to tell your boss, "I can't do that; I'm too busy." But you can say, "I'll be happy to take that on, but I need your help with prioritizing the other projects you've already given me. Which jobs can I put on hold or delegate to someone else while I work on this new one?"

That's way better than keeping your mouth shut, trying to do too much, and failing miserably.

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How to Answer the "How Do You Handle Stressful Situations?" Question

When answering the "How do you handle stressful situations?" question during an interview, the best strategy is to give some examples of stressful situations you've dealt successfully with in the past. 

Everyone faces some form of stress on the job now and then. They probably won't believe you if you say, "I've never been in a stressful situation."

So take some time before the interview to think back over your career and come up with some stressful situations you can talk about. Make sure they are situations that had a happy ending, thanks to your reaction.

(If this is for your first job, think of a stressful situation during school or other aspects of your life.) 

Tell how you used time management, problem-solving techniques or decision-making skills to reduce stress. Mention stress-reducing activities such as exercise, stretching and taking breaks.

Don't be afraid to admit that you would ask for assistance if you began to feel overwhelmed.

If it's true, say you actually work better under pressure.

Some jobs are much more stressful than others. This question is often given as a hint of things to come. In other words, they would not be asking about stress if it wasn’t an issue.

So give serious thought not only to the question itself, but why they are asking it.

If you absolutely do not want a stressful job, have an answer ready that makes this clear. It may eliminate you from the running, but you probably wouldn’t want the position anyway if it’s going to stress you out.

Sample Answer:

"I’m not easily stressed. One of my previous bosses even referred to me as ‘unflappable.’ I know the importance of being flexible and am good at adapting to changing situations and shifting priorities. But if I do start to feel stressed, I’ll take a break to stretch or get a little exercise and clear my head. If the stress is affecting my work, and due to something beyond my control, I’ll discuss it with my boss. I remember one situation when I was working at ABC Company where an important client demanded that we finish his project two weeks ahead! of sche dule. At first that seemed like an impossible task. But instead of letting the stress overwhelm me, I took action. I looked at our other projects and found a way to shift some schedules around. It wasn't easy, but we did manage to meet the customer's demand, and he was very happy with the result."

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Standing Out From the Crowd

Standing out from the other job seekers must begin with your resume, cover letter and the tactics you use. The better job seekers have two-to-five resumes that they selectively send to employers, depending on the type of job they are applying for. Instead of only having one resume, as the average job seeker does, I strongly encourage you to have a base resume for each type of position you apply to. The way to stand out is to make slight changes to both the cover letter and resume to target each job you apply for. 

Changes made are mostly wording, however it might include adding truthful information about you that is not typically needed for some jobs, or removing items that are not needed for other jobs.

Getting to this point requires research on the company, its goals and philosophies, and then determining how you can help the company maintain and exceed those goals. 

Steps:

1. Take your generic resume for the type of position you are interested in applying for and compare it to the job ad or description.

2. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you showing in a concise manner all or as many of the relevant requirements that you possess?
• Every job ad has specific key words. What key words from the job ad are you using to start your bullets with?

3. Research the company, taking time to investigate their hiring processes (when possible), the company goals, and their competitors. By doing this, you can learn much about the company and you can demonstrate your research in the cover letter, as well as the resume. This can be done as follows:

• Read the company website, specifically the press releases (or news) and any profiles of senior management (however, do not limit your search to this).
• Also try search engines such as google.com, and look at the links about the company.
• Visit free financial sites such as at hoovers.com and yahoo.com's financials section. These sites show you how well the company is doing, who thei r competition is, and also provide news links and website links.

4. After doing the research, ask yourself this question: “Does my resume and/or cover letter show how beneficial I would be to this particular company and its specific goals?” If the answer is no, then you need to include additional items that will help you stand out among the other applicants and close the deal.

The biggest decisions are those made at the start of your job search, as it then becomes an upward or downward spiral. If you are struggling to match your skills and qualifications to the job ad, then perhaps you need to examine your process of finding a position that is right for you.

Failure to do so, even if you somehow land the job, can result in starting over again in a year or less.

Being confident with matching your cover letter and resume to the position and company will bring the much-needed confidence when you are granted the interview!

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Conquering Competency-Based Interview Questions

I recently responded to a reader asking for help with preparing for competency-based job interview questions. Here's what I told her:

Commonly questioned competencies include adaptability/flexibility, collaboration/teamwork, communication, delegation, conflict management, customer focus, decision-making, and management/leadership.

Most competency-based interview questions are along the lines of "Tell us about a time when you..." They want to hear detailed examples of how you used particular competencies to deal with specific situations. For example, for the adaptability competency, the question might be "Tell us about a time when you had to change plans for a project already underway." If they wanted to tack on a question about the communication competency, they might ask, "How did you explain the need for those changes to others?"

You can anticipate the type of questions likely to be asked by reading the position descriptions and looking for the competencies they mention. Also, a helpful website offering several example competency-based questions is here:Competency Interviews.

With these kinds of questions it's difficult to provide you with sample answers, because your answers must be specific to your own experiences.

The key is to be prepared to talk about specific situations in which you actually used the particular competencies in successful or effective ways.

When responding to the questions, you want to:

(1) Describe the situation you were faced with or the task you had to accomplish. Whenever possible, talk about specific situations rather than generic overviews of what you have done in the past. Give details.

(2) Describe the challenges you needed to overcome. The bigger the challenges, the more impressive your story will be. (But don't exaggerate; stick to the facts.)

(3) Describe the action you took to overcome the challenges and resolve the situation. If you are discussing a group project, it's okay to mention that it was a team effort and share the credit, BUT be sure to focus primarily on the actionsYOU took, rather than the actions of the team.

(4) Describe the results you achieved; e.g., money saved, process improved, customer pleased, etc. Be specific.

You can think of this question-answering process in terms of the acronym SCAR for Situation, Challenges, Action, Results. It's a very effective way to answer competency-based (and other types of) job interview questions.

While it's best to talk about actual situations, if they ask about something you have no specific experience with, admit that and follow up with how you WOULD handle it. Say for example they asked, "Tell us about a time when you disagreed with your boss about how to accomplish a task, and how you convinced him or her to let you do it your way." This could be related to the decision-making competency. You could say "I've never been in a situation where I disagreed with my boss and felt it was necessary to convince him to do something differently, but if happened, I would explain the reasons why.

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Leadership Is a Process

By Gbitse Barrow

Do you have a boss, supervisor, manager or CEO who doesn’t meet your expectations as a leader? Are you concerned that your new boss or manager doesn’t have the right attitude, knowledge, skills and behaviour to lead, or are you worried that despite many years in a position of leadership, your boss continues to fall short of everyone’s expectations? These are real life scenarios that play out each day in our workplaces, businesses and communities. Even on a larger scale in society, how satisfied are we of our civil and political leaders and their abilities to lead us effectively and towards success?

If you are dealing with a leader similar to the ones described above, or you suspect that you may be indeed that positional leader who is falling short of the expectation, one of the most important lessons you must learn about leadership is that it is a process, and not an event. Leaders grow each day, and leadership is in itself a journey. The mere fact that you have won an election, started a new business, married a wife,gotten a promotion, or arrived at a position of leadership doesn’t make you a leader. Authentic leadership is about a life-long commitment to learning and transformational change, which is required for you to create the positive influence and success required of you as a leader.

Some of the challenges we have with ourselves as leaders, as well as with our positional leaders is because we haven’t recognized and understood that Leadership is a process and a journey. Through this journey of leadership leaders need to grow and become more aware of themselves by reflecting, asking questions, and getting feedback from the people they lead. The new learnings from this process will enable them adopt different styles and approaches and engage their followers more effectively. A lot of leaders jettison this process, and believe that having arrived at their positions they would all of a sudden achieve a “god-status”, and that all the powers and successes that “leaders” have will suddenly become theirs.

A great example of what I am describing can best be seen when a new leader is promoted from within the team. How can you be so myopic to believe that from the first day you will gain everyone’s respect or buy-in; how can you fit into the shoes of the previous leader so quickly; how can you heal all the wounds of the past and move forward? Honestly, these things take time, which if you do not apply yourself to as a systematic process, may indeed take forever, or actually never happen. A lot of new leaders who were great team members and performers fail to recognize this and fail woefully in their first leadership assignments. I have seen people fall into this trap, and struggle to retrace their steps quickly enough and learn the competencies required to be leaders. Some of them escape, wobble and fumble along to higher positions of leadership, but carry with them forever, the scars of their leadership events, rather than the learnings and changes required of a leadership journey.

Look around today, and think about those examples of positional leaders who are not effective leaders, there is perhaps a lesson or two that can be learned from their first leadership events or positions. As you look at newly appointed or elected leaders who seem not to have what it takes - do endeavor to give them a chance and support them through their journeys. If they are committed to life-long learning and transformational learning like all great leaders should be, then their journey to leadership, although challenging will be blessed with success in the long-run.

As we look around us, we must also look at ourselves, and ask the pertinent questions - How have I dealt with my past and current leadership positions? Is leadership just an event, or am I in a committed systematic process of growing each day as a leader? Whatever your answers may be, just remember that you can re-trace your steps and create a real leadership journey as you continue to grow as leader. Focus on continuous learning, feedback and a willingness to change, and be committed, deliberate and systematic about it!

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How to Answer Questions About Underperforming Co-workers

A new subscriber recently asked me how to respond to this type of interview question: "What would you do if a colleague was not pulling his weight?"

Note: since the question is worded with "colleague" and not "employee" or "subordinate," I'm going to answer this as it would apply to a NONSUPERVISORY position. 

There are generally two management styles that determine how employers want their people to handle such situations. Unfortunately, they are completely different.

One style encourages employees to resolve conflicts and fix problems at the lowest level. So in that case, they'd probably want you to talk to your colleague one-on-one, to explain what he or she is doing wrong and how it's bad for the company and his/her own job

security. Then offer to help that person improve (as long as it did not adversely affect your own duties). If you can help this person improve, then you are helping the employee pull his/her weight (meaning he/she may not have to be replaced), you are helping the company maintain its quality standards, and also helping the supervisor/manager by saving them from having to deal with this problem.

The other style encourages employees to notify supervisor/managers immediately whenever there is a problem. The theory here is that management needs to know what's going on so they can make improvements. If there's an employee who is not performing up to standards, it could mean that employee was poorly trained, is not being properly motivated, or should never have been hired. Any of those situations should be addressed by management, so the best thing would be to bring the colleague's poor performance to the attention of your supervisor. He/she can then decide what to do about it.

As you can see, these management styles are opposite in nature. If possible, it would be good if you could find out which type of approach is preferred by the company involved. But I realize that may be difficult. In that case, I believe the best way to answer that question is something like this:

"My first step would be to determine how ABC Company prefers for these types of situations to be handled -- whether they want such problems resolved at the lowest level, or immediately broght to management's attention. Can you tell me which is preferred by ABC Company?"

If they do tell you, then you can easily adjust your answer to fit their particular management style. If they do not tell you, then you'll have to say something like, "Well, if they prefer that these situations be handled at the lowest level, then I would personally try to help the employee to improve his performance (as long as it did not affect my own duties)." (Then go into some detail about ways you could help, such as answering his questions, showing him how to do a particular task, etc.)

"If my attempts to help the employee were unsuccessful and I felt his performance was going to continue to be below ABC Company standards, I would bring the matter to the attention of my supervisor. I know that ABC Company prides itself on quality service and performance, so I feel it would be my responsibility to ensure those standards are upheld, not only by myself, but by those around me.

"If ABC Company prefers that such situations be immediately brought to the attention of the appropriate supervisor or manager, then I would, of course, do that instead of spending time trying to help the employee improve."

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Dealing With "How Would You...?" Questions

If you're a newsletter subscriber or frequent visitor to my website, you know that I'm always preaching about proper preparation prior to interviews. If you research the position and company carefully, you can anticipate likely questions and prepare excellent answers.

But something I also tell job seekers is that you can never anticipate every single question.

I once had to respond to a "How would you...?" question about exhuming a dead duck. I am not making this up. The position involved community affairs work for a sewer treatment plant. How could I have anticipated such a strange question? It took me totally by surprise.

But I got the job.

Often with problem-solving questions, the interviewer isn't looking for a "right" or "wrong" answer. He or she is more interested in the thought processes you demonstrate to come up with your answer.

The dead-duck question was based on an actual incident, and the person who asked it is the person who had to deal with it. My response showed that I would have handled the situation differently than she had, but it also showed that I knew about problem solving. I didn't panic at the unexpected question; I didn't answer before thinking about it for a few seconds; and I didn't blow it by giving a lame response like, "Gosh, that's a really tough question! I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation."

Here are a few tips to help you deal with "How would you...?" problem-solving questions:

1. Ask questions to determine exactly what the interviewer is looking for. (This will also give you a bit more time to think.)

2. Explain how you would gather the information and data necessary to develop a solution to the problem.

3. Tell how you’d use the information you gathered to develop and analyze alternative courses of action.

4. And finally, tell them your solution or recommendation, explaining how you feel it's the best option based on the info you were given.

The "How would you...?" type of problem-solving questions are popular in interviews these days. You must not let them scare you. Don't rush your response and don't stress yourself out wondering what answer they're looking for. 

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8 Ways To Use Speaking to Further Your Career Goals

Professional speaking is one of the easiest ways to enhance your career. Opportunities abound; no matter how experienced or inexperienced. The more you speak the better you will become. You will establish a reputation as someone knowledgeable in your field and people will contact you for speaking opportunities as a result.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Here are 10 ways learning to be a speaker can enhance your career.

1. When you speak you automatically assume the role of an expert. People are coming to hear what you say, right? That routinely positions you in the role of an expert. The more credentials you add to your "expert" status the more valuable you become.

2. Speakers get high profile visibility. Look to get your name included in programs, brochures, email announcements, agendas and other handouts, press announcements and online posting of conference materials. This is especially important when you are starting out and are not being paid. Ask up front what type of PR they will be doing for the event. NOTE: Pay attention to important submission deadlines.

3. As a speaker, you get to meet other colleagues and associates. It?s a place where you can chat up your competition without any repercussions. Look to see who's on the agenda and make sure to meet as many other speakers as you can. Ask them to keep you in mind at other events where they might be speaking.

4. Speaking can open doors to people you want to meet. It?s easy to pick up the phone and ask someone to come to your event or send them an email invitation. Even if they can't attend it will position you as someone of note. It?s also a great way to follow up with a copy of your name in print as an expert on the program.

5. The media looks for speakers at conferences and events as potential interviews. Make a point of introducing yourself to the media. It gives you an excellent way to follow up for future conversations. Add the media to your master press list and send them announcement any time you are speaking. Note: Don't just blast a boring announcement. Spice it up with some clever opening subject line.

6. Speaking enables you to come back with report on other events and activities. Make sure you listen to the other speakers not only as a benchmark to your expertise but to learn something new. If you are an employee, be sure and follow up your presentation with a report to your boss. Send a note to associates on anything you found of interest.

7. Often you can attend other sessions free of charge. Take advantage of this opportunity. Some times conferences are running concurrent tracts. Maximize your time there.

8. As a speaker you get face time with executives that you may not any other way. The higher the level of conference, the higher the level of attendee. You may use this as a vehicle to meet someone you have been trying to track down. Note: After is better than before. Also use the networking sessions which are commonplace to work the attendees and speakers

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I'll File a Grievance!

I recently went to a retirement party with my husband for one of his co-workers. I worked at this same place six years ago (that's where I met my husband, but that's another story), so I knew most of the people at the party. 

One person I didn't know (I'll call her Jill but that's not her real name) was talking about how bored she is in her current job. She's been with the agency for about three months and is doing administrative work.

"I'm way overqualified for this position," she said. "I used to be an Office Manager. I only took this job because I heard this agency was a good place to work. I know I can get something better."

Jill told me she planned to apply for a new opening at the same agency -- a slightly better-paying administrative position. That position became vacant recently when that secretary retired. It's been filled by a temp for about three weeks.

"I know I'm way more qualified than that temp!" Jill said. "If she gets hired instead of me, I'm going to file a grievance!"

If she hadn't quickly disappeared, I would've given her some advice. If you've ever had the same attitude as Jill, maybe you can use this advice.

First, an employer is not under any obligation to hire the most qualified candidate. They can hire the least qualified candidate, as long as that candidate meets the minimum qualifications stated in the position announcement.

Second, employers are people, and people hire those they like and want to work with. As long as there is no discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, marital status, age, gender, sexual orientation or physical/mental disability, employers can legally hire whomever they want.

The fact of the matter is, a candidate is never hired based solely on her qualifications. A candidate is hired because she convinces the hiring manager that she can do the job and be a positive, enthusiastic, pleasant-to-work-with member of the team.

Someone who is blabbing to co-workers (and strangers!) that she'll file a grievance if she doesn't get hired is unlikely to fit that bill.

If you're thinking of applying for a promotion within your current company, please realize that more than your experience, skills and qualifications will be judged.

What's your reputation? If you're a dedicated team player, great!

But if you're a complainer whom your current boss and co-workers would not miss, you've got some reputation repair work to do first!

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