Common job interview questions and how to respond to them

In this article we aim to look at the most common questions you will be asked during an important Job interview and what you should consider when answering them. There is nothing worse than being caught off guard by an interview question and stuttering out some ramblings that don't make sense. So it is always best to try and think of good answers for expected questions. Each different company and job type will lead to specific questions but in this article we are going to look at some common questions that crop up.

Can you tell me about yourself? This is an extremely common question and can be expected in almost all job interviews. So why is it asked? Well most interviewers think they can tell a lot about the interviewee from how they respond to this. Apparently they first response you give to this question is how you see yourself and your defining characteristic. For example if you respond with "I get on with everyone", then you will be seen as sociable and extraverted. If you answer with "I am career minded and focussed" then the interviewer will see you as ambitious. The answers will be viewed as positive or negative depending on the job type. If you have trouble answering this question, then it can be seen that you aren't very interested in the job and aren't prepared for business situations.

Where do you see yourself in five years? This is another classic that comes up in a lot of interview situations. The interviewer will be most likely checking that the job you are applying for fits in with the career path you see yourself on. They want to know if you are going to work hard and stick around. It is not a good idea to tell the interviewer that you want to work with animals if you are applying for an accounting job. This sends a message that you will not be around for long and will probably leave to try and pursue your long term interests. There are two ways of looking at this, one is maybe keep this radical career plan to yourself and give them an answer they want to hear or the sensible option would be to consider if this job is even right for you and not something that is tied into what you aim to do in the future.

How do you balance your work and life? With this question, the interviewer wants to establish that you will be focussed at work and will be organised in your out of work time. They want to know whether you have set plans for taking children to school or if you have social pursuits that will be interfering with work. The best way to answer these questions are to be honest, but demonstrate how you are organised and can handle these situations.

What did you do during your gap in employment? Most people will have some gaps in their CVs where they will have been between work . The interviewer will be looking for an answer that shows you haven't wasted this time and have done something constructive. Not everyone will have been to Africa, volunteering to build schools so you will need to provide an answer that makes you appear to have gained something. Learning new skills, (i.e programming languages), travelling and taking in culture, reflected over your desired career path are all good examples of using your time constructively.

These are only some of the common questions that will crop up during interviews. Look for further articles where we will look at more expected questions and how to prepare for them.

by Artavia.seo

Working in Dubai

The number of people that go to Dubai to work there is increasing by the day. The main attraction that pulls expatriates into Dubai for jobs is the salary that is offered and the enviable lifestyle that Dubai has to offer. Dubai is seeing an explosion in development. It is growing fast and the foreign population is playing a crucial role in helping Dubai attain the status that it now enjoys. With this rapid development, the employment opportunities in Dubai have also increased manifold. There are job opportunities available in every sector. Oil & gas jobs, construction jobs, IT jobs, banking jobs, teaching jobs and more such specialized jobs are up for grabs in Dubai.

For all those planning to apply for a job in Dubai or take up a job in the emirate, it is advisable to do a beforehand study of the place and of the sector that wish to apply for. While the common perception is that all jobs in Dubai are lucrative and pay well, that is not particularly true. The jobs that require special skill sets and expertise pay the most. In other menial jobs, the salaries are just the same as anywhere else. However, the best part about earning in Dubai is that one gets to save up a lot.

Also, there is a highly enjoyable social life to enjoy in Dubai. These reasons combine together to make Dubai a preferred destination for expatriates.

This also accounts for the fact that major recruitment companies have set shop in Dubai. These agencies help in sourcing talent from various parts of the world to fit in the right positions in Dubai. However, the best way to land a job in Dubai is to post your resume at various job sites and to those sites that specialize in hiring in the Gulf. At these websites, there is enough information available about the living and working conditions in Dubai.

For foreign workers, it is important to know that work hours in any job in Dubai are generally long. The work week is generally from Saturday to Wednesday or Sunday to Thursday. Friday is a holiday in Dubai. Generally, workers are expected to work for 10-12 hours per day, even six days a week. So, one must consider this before making a career move. It would be a good idea to write to your employer or to the HR department of the organization with which you wish to work, and find out all these details well in advance.

Basis this information, you can take a well-informed decision whether to take your family along or not while moving to do a job in Dubai. Do proper research and try to network with the people who are working in the same industry. This would give you an insight into what it is like to be working in the kind of industry and profile that you wish to take up in Dubai.

Generally, employers offer a good remuneration package to potential and worthy candidates. The package may include a housing allowance, health care benefits and allowance towards children's education, money for annual trip home and other such benefits. While you are considering a job offer, keep in mind that housing and schooling in Dubai are expensive. So, any job offer that pays for both would let you save a lot. Then, all you need to do is to weigh it in terms of number of hours that will need to be worked each week to make a decision whether the offer is acceptable or not.

The work culture in Dubai is to work hard and socialize harder. If you are career focused and are willing to spend extra hours at work, working in Dubai might turn out to be a very fruitful experience. However, if your family is accompanying you, then you have to give it a clear thought. You might not get as much time as you would want to spend with your family otherwise. You just have to be comfortable with this idea in your mind to get real joy out of living and working in Dubai. To get a real feel of what it is like to live in Dubai, you can become a part of forums to get feedback from people who are living and working in Dubai. Here you will find useful advice to give you a base to form your expectations.

Before moving to Dubai, get in touch with the embassy of your country. They will be able to provide you useful information about the industry that you wish to work in and also about other apprehensions that you might have about living and working in Dubai. If you accept Dubai with an open mind, it will welcome you with open arms. There is a lot of expatriate population, so you wouldn't be alone. People would mostly be friendly and willing to give a helping hand.

Some useful links: www.naukrigulf.com www.naukrigulf.com/ni/nijobsearch/loc-jobs-dubai/

by geetika jain

How to Manage Salary Negotiations

Whether you're looking for a new job or trying to make financial gains at the one you're at, you may find that at some point you'll need to make a salary negotiation. But how can you do it if you never have before?

It's not as difficult as you may think. In fact, in many ways it can be similar to any other business transaction. So if you've been thinking that it's time to get a raise, or ask for a specific salary with a new job, take a look at some ways to get it done.

Approaching the Employer

Probably one of the most challenging prospects of negotiating your salary is deciding how to approach an employer. It can feel very intimidating to tell a company how much you want them to pay you. But this task is easier if you keep in mind that you're simply expressing your desire to be paid based on your skills and ability to perform.

So when is the right time to make the approach? If you're in the process of accepting a new position, then the right time is when you reach that point in the conversation. However, if you're looking to ask for a raise with your current employer, you'll want to make sure that you've explored the reasons that you feel it's time to increase your pay (years employed, responsibilities fulfilled, etc.). When you're ready to approach your boss you can simply ask for a meeting to discuss your salary. Then openly and honestly discuss the reason you feel it's time to increase your pay.

How Much to Ask For

The amount you should ask for will vary widely based on your field and the position you're in/seeking. This means it will be important for you to conduct some research to determine how much individuals with your level of education/experience in the position you're in/seeking are typically paid.

Also, the city you live in can make a difference. For instance, someone living in New York City might expect to make much more working as a Human Resources Recruiter than someone living in Nashville, Tennessee. There are a number of books and websites that can help you get an idea of what you might want to ask for within the parameters of your specific circumstances. So be sure to conduct your research to make sure you're not asking for too much or too little.

What Else You Need to Know

If you find that the salary you hoped for is not agreed upon, you don't have to give up hope. There are other factors like healthcare benefits, additional vacation days and bonuses that you may be able to adjust to create a financial equivalent. But if you are surprised with an offer that equals or surpasses what you planned to ask for, don't be afraid to still negotiate. You may find that you may be able to sweeten the pot even more.

Engaging in salary negotiations can seem like a fierce battle, but they typically are not. If you go in with an idea of what you want to make and the reasons why, you will most likely come out making more than you thought you would.

by Heather Eagar

Job Seeking Online with Digital Resumes

With the Internet becoming more and more a big part of our daily lives, we can't avoid the inevitable - like it or not, job hunting online is here to stay. Technology has changed the way we do things now. Can you remember how job hunting was like before the Internet arrived? Everything had to be done manually. You had to scour newspapers for job listings. Then you had to print out hard copies of your resumes, and send them out. If someone calls you, that's good news. But most of the time, there will be no reply.

Now, job seeking is very different. You can do everything online. New websites and applications are being invented and released to help manage the job hunting process. Both employers and employees must learn how to make full use of technology to help them achieve their goals.

Understanding both sides of the process.

The employer.

Even if you are a seeker, it will certainly help if you can understand more about what is happening on the side of the employer. Here is what usually happens when an employer wants to find new employees online.

The employer goes to a number of job search websites, and pays a small fee to post a job listing. The post contains job description, and all other relevant information about the job position. Contact information and job application details will also be listed. The employer will then manage the job applications from the respective job sites.

The employee.

Now think about this. As an employee, how do you come to know about the job opportunities available? You make a keyword search based on the position right? When you make a keyword search at a job site, all the jobs with the relevant keywords will be presented to you. You may then proceed to read the job descriptions, and decide whether you want to apply for the job or not.

There are several ways you can submit your job application. Some employers accept only resumes in Word Doc. Some may require you to email the resume to a specific email address, while others may just need you to post your digital resume (assuming that you have already saved your resume on the website). The employer will then shortlist the job candidates, and contact them to arrange for face to face or telephone interviews.

This is the most common process. Sometimes, the process can be reversed. That means, instead of the employee seeking out the right job opportunities, employers now attempt to seek out the right job candidates. How do they do so? They can conduct resume searches. Again, the searches are based on keywords.

By now, you must have realized the importance of keywords in a resume. Use all the relevant keywords you can think of in your resume before uploading it to a job site. That will greatly increase your chances of being exposed to the right employers.

Know the Corporate Culture When Interviewing For a Job

It is often said that going to party dressed wrong or inappropriately will not get you the date. So it is with seeking gainful employment through job interviews, interviewing and the whole interview, employment and career seeking game or procedure. How you present yourself may well determine whether or not you will or will get the job proposal or whether or not you will or will not be offered the position at the firm or organization.

Differences in "Corporate Culture" and what might be called "value systems" can well determine whether or not a certain personal style or profile will be acceptable. What goes at a major corporation in terms of skills and job traits may not be the skills that are preferred say as a night manager at a halfway house for former convicts or other persons of similar traits.

Good interview strategy would entail that you must first find out something about the culture of the organization of the culture in which you hopefully will be working in and with, and what traits, characteristics and behaviors that are desired, preferred. Corporate and business cultures generally hire those that have the attitudes and mindsets that they like and feel most comfortable with.

In essence you will take sample and determine the "cultural temperature" of the business or organization long before your arrival at the interview meeting site or room. If you are fortunate enough to have people or contacts "on the inside" this is easier. If not you can even be at arms length through contacts one step away. Interestingly with the networking available through modern communication networks and the internet, social networking services such as "Linkedin" are now providing this function of networking with insiders of companies in an easier and more sophisticated 21'st century means and manner. With such a social networking service such as Linkedin you can more easily and quickly stay informed about your chosen industry, its people and its trends. As well you can more easily find the contact people and the strategic information that you need for your purposes. Why not take full advantage of such services to accomplish your goals.

It can be said and summarized that without some advance insight concerning any organization or business that you are applying for employment with and that organizations preferences for certain characteristics and behaviors. Your chances or succeeding at obtaining successful employment are no better than hitting a bull's-eye at a hundred paces while blindfolded. Your situation can be like a ship sailing in the fog without a map and navigation balance. You will in essence be flying blind.

How else will you be able to "correctly" answer questions that come your way in an interview setting? By being well prepared with your research information you will in essence be "marketing "yourself successfully. It is not lying in any manner. It's simply a matter of being able to present the same information in a manner that fulfills the expectations of the questioner in a style and fashion that they want and are looking for.

In the end it can be said that the whole interview process is about matching the right candidate with the right job. But more importantly it's about you getting that job. Do your homework first, on the corporate culture of any jobs that you are applying for. Do your homework. Be prepared. Its well worth the effort, time and expense when it comes down to that job employment interview.

Using A Job Cover Letter Sample When Looking For A Job

Due to the number of job seekers today, your resume really has to be stand out.Handing an excellent cover letter along with your resume to your potential employer could greatly increase your chances of getting hired.If you don't have any idea how to create such a letter, there is some help available.

A good job cover letter sample can be extremely helpful to you when you start writing your own cover letter.When you apply for a job, you should also find out what cover letter format is best for your job type.The required format will definitely change from one industry to the next.

When perusing a job cover letter sample, of particular importance is the way the company information and your information is presented in the heading.You should also pay attention to the way the body of the cover letter should be written.This is where you have to be at your most persuasive to convince your potential employer to hire you.

When your have finished writing it, print out your cover letter.If you made any errors while writing your cover letter, this is where you should catch them.If you do indeed manage to locate an error, take the time to correct it.An error in your cover letter could cause your potential employer to dismiss your job application immediately.A cover letter is no longer effective if you cannot keep it free of mistakes.You can be quite certain that job cover letter sample did not have any mistakes in it.

Any name that company gives you must be included in your cover letter.A cover letter that has nothing other than the title of the human resources department on it will likely be a long time in reaching your potential employer.

by Emmitt Streat