In today’s tight job market, it’s more important than ever to standout from other candidates. The face-to-face interview is your opportunity to shine. Here are some basic tips to follow when invited for an interview and some things to keep in mind to help you make a good first impression. Thinking through the details will reduce your stress level and help you feel more prepared.

• First and foremost, be early!  If you are unfamiliar with the area, drive by a day early to prevent the possibility of being late because you were lost.
• Dress to impress! Your personal appearance reflects your professionalism and how seriously you are taking this job opportunity.
• Smile, shake hands, use the interviewer’s name, and make eye contact.
• Be yourself! Your goal should be to represent your true self, in the best possible light of course. Pretending to be someone you are not won’t get you very far.  

These things may seem like “no-brainers”. It is normal to be a bit nervous, so be sure not to overlook the small details.

• Be aware of your language and how you articulate your words. Using slang (such as like, ya know, and kinda) can make you sound uneducated and unprofessional.  Take care not to use the same word repeatedly – for example; don’t begin every answer with “basically” or “well”.
• Stay away from negatives especially when talking about former employers or co-workers. For example, if you had a boss who was a micromanager, you might turn that around by explaining that you prefer a position with some independence.
• Provide honest and sincere answers with supporting examples that highlight your true life experiences.  Be specific! Stay away from generalities; interviewers want to know what you did, not what you would do in a given situation. Don’t force the interviewer to continually prompt you for specific answers – offer them up.
• Show confidence in your abilities. Know your strong points and be prepared to discuss them.
• Have reasonable career goals in mind and be ready to discuss your plans to achieve them.
• Take the time to think before you speak! Interviewers understand a moment of silence is helpful to collect your thoughts on an important topic or to recall details.
• Practice interviewing with someone you respect professionally and are comfortable taking constructive criticism from.
• Research the company – know their business so that you can discuss their products and/or services.
• Prepare a few questions to ask about the company or the position, but don’t drill the interviewer.

Ask about next steps in the employment process and when you might follow up.

• Reiterate your interest in the job, and always follow up by thanking the interviewer for the meeting. A quick phone call or an email is appreciated and will be remembered.

 Success factors that employers look for are: 

1. Positive attitude toward work
2. Interpersonal skills and teamwork
3. Communication skills (verbal and written)
4. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
5. Accountability and self-motivation
6. Leadership
7. Flexibility
8. Confidence

 Demonstrating your competence in these areas will help you rise above the competition!  

 Julie Ashurst is the Human Resources Recruiter for Arizona Central Credit Union, where she has worked since 2006. She moved to Arizona in 1983 and resides in Glendale with her family.

In today’s economic environment, many businesses are forced to make tough decisions to keep their financials out of the red, such as layoffs or reductions in salary, benefits and hours. It’s important to have effective working relationships in general, but especially now, when tensions and stresses have increased at work due to the changing environment.

As much as we would like it to be, the workplace is not “all business.” It is a social network and, as such, it is a hotbed of emotions, not to mention stress and conflict. Being effective is a constant work in progress and takes a conscious effort on your part to remain successful. Here are few tips on building effective working relationships.

Recognize the importance of sensitivity. One major barrier that blocks effective working relationships is behaving in ways that are insensitive and uncaring concerning the needs of others. To be effective, you must establish relationships based on trust and respect. Be sensitive to the opinions and feelings of others when communicating with them.

Build relationships informally. Use informal interactions with your peers and supervisors as an opportunity to build valuable working relationships. Use common courtesy such as smiling and saying “hello” when you encounter people casually. Treat your coworkers with respect and be non-judgmental in your dealings with them.

Share credit for accomplishments, ideas and contributions. How often do you accomplish a goal or complete a project with no help from others? Take the time, and expend the energy, to thank, reward and recognize the contributions of the people who help you succeed.

Don’t play the blame game. You alienate everyone when you place blame. Yes, you may need to identify who was involved in a problem. But shouting, “not my fault” and publicly identifying and blaming others will earn you a reputation for being a poor team player.

Make efforts to improve poor working relationships. Consider the peers you work with regularly and identify the individuals with whom you have poor working relationships.

• Identify interpersonal barriers. What gets in the way of your working relationships with those individuals? Determine how you can remove these barriers.
• Be willing to adapt. Resolving interpersonal differences requires asking yourself what aspects of the other person’s style can be dealt with by simply acknowledging them and being prepared to face them. Other problems may require an ability to adapt your style when interacting with others.

If you regularly work on these few things, you will develop effective work relationships. Coworkers will value you as a colleague and bosses will believe you play on the right team. You’ll accomplish your work goals, and you may even experience fun, recognition, and personal motivation.

Cori Colvin is the Operations Trainer for Arizona Central Credit Union, where she as worked since 2007. She is an Arizona native, born and raised in Tucson and has resided in Phoenix since 2004.

Here are some of the most common employment scams:

• Work from home - Scammers advertise that people can stuff envelopes or do assembly work from home. All you have to do is pay money upfront.
• Guaranteed job placement - After posting your resume online, you are contacted by somebody who promises guaranteed job placement in return for an upfront payment.
• Survey work – You are told to do surveys online and earn money for each survey completed.
• Mystery shopping – You receive a check and a survey in the mail with instructions to shop retailers. In most cases the check is not legitimate and/or a counterfeit. You will be held responsible by your financial institution for the funds due if you cash the check and spend the money.
• Money transfers – You are asked to open a bank account and deposit checks that are sent to you. The scammer usually claims to conduct business in a foreign country and asks you to wire-transfer those funds to their overseas account. You are acting as a “money transfer agent” and might be involved in illegal activities.

The main goal of scammers is to either steal your money by promising you a “too-good-to-be-true” job or your identity by getting access to your Social Security number or bank account and credit card information.

If you are asked to pay money upfront, give out credit card or bank account information, or provide your Social Security number before an interview is conducted, be extremely careful – it most likely is a scam.

To avoid becoming a victim of an employment scam, you should always thoroughly research the company, check references, read reports on the Better Business Bureau’s website and check if the sender’s email address matches the company name.

If you are a victim of an employment scam, report it immediately so action can be taken against it. You can report an employment scam to:
 

• Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
• Better Business Bureau – www.arizonabbb.org, www.tucson.bbb.org, (602) 264-1721 or (520) 888-5353

Alexandra Schindler is the Human Resources Associate for Arizona Central Credit Union, where she has worked since January 2008. She is from Europe and moved to Arizona in 2007 where she lives with her family.

LinkedIn is a social network site geared toward professionals. You can effectively use connections to network and find opportunities that may not be advertised elsewhere, and even apply for jobs.

• Company Search - One of the best ways to use LinkedIn is if you have a specific company you are interested in. You search that company, and hopefully find people who are connected to other people you know.
• Job Postings - LinkedIn allows employers to post jobs, which are usually high-quality, professional jobs.
• Status Updates - Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn has status updates. This can help you better inform your connections what your current interests are.
• Headline - LinkedIn provides a place to add a professional headline. Rather than “Consultant” make your headline more attractive by saying something like “Innovative marketer with a drive for results.”

Facebook is a social network similar to MySpace that many people also use for professional networking.

• Notes - Post a “note” on Facebook, explaining your employment situation and what you are looking for.
• Status Updates – Frequently post status updates relating to your job search, such as “I had a great interview this morning… keep your fingers crossed!” or “I have a networking meeting later today with a company I’m really interested in.”

Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service utilizing instant messaging. Companies and job boards post job openings on Twitter, and job seekers network through Twitter to help facilitate their job search. Users post updates on Twitter that are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The best part of Twitter is that it allows you to connect with people you don’t know, based on common interests.

• TwitterJobSearch.com is a search engine that scours Twitter for positions that match the keywords you enter.
• JobShouts.com is a free resource for both employers and job seekers. Employers can post their jobs for free; those jobs are then automatically “tweeted” to users on Twitter. 

Take full advantage of the tools these websites offer to enhance your job search. It may be how you land your next job!

Julie Ashurst is the Human Resources Recruiter for Arizona Central Credit Union, where she has worked since 2006. She moved to Arizona in 1983 and resides in Glendale with her family.