Interviewing for a Company you used to Work For

Reposted from The Daily Muse

Over time, your career path can take some pretty unexpected twists and turns. Like—when you suddenly find yourself trying to rejoin a company or team you once left behind.

If you’re lucky, you were approached by your old boss or co-workers—and they really want you back. But maybe you realized that you made a mistake by leaving in the first place; or, after spending time elsewhere for a few years, you see a great new opportunity available. No matter what the reason, though, that first step back to reconnecting with your former company is one that needs to be handled carefully.

So, how do you make the initial connection and interview a little less awkward and a lot more productive? In order to get some useful tips, I talked to a few professionals who were once in your very same shoes. And while their “return stories” were all a little different, their suggestions hit on some similar themes.

1. Review Your Resignation Letter and Exit Interview

Hopefully, you left your former job on good terms and had a carefully crafted resignation letter—the last thing you want is HR pulling out your file and remembering your choice words about the company on your last day. (And frankly, if you didn’t leave on a good note, you need to really ask yourself if going back is worth it.)

But assuming your parting words were complimentary and thoughtful, they can be useful icebreakers when you apply or when you first contact those influential employees who can help you land an interview. For example, did you say that you were leaving to gain management experience at a bigger company, or mention that you would be open to certain kinds of opportunities in the future? Use that as an opener or a segue to more detailed discussion about your future responsibilities.

2. Treat the Interview Seriously

So you’ve landed an interview with the company you once left behind—great! But don’t automatically assume you’re a shoo-in. Sure, your familiarity with the company is a huge plus, but keep in mind that you’re likely one of many other qualified candidates. Any one of them may have expertise that surpasses yours, and some of your company-specific experience may not be relevant anymore.

In addition, consider who you’ll be interviewing with. You may be meeting with newer employees (who will look at you just like any other “fresh” candidate), or interviewers who do know you but may not remember your former contributions. Make sure you not only describe your past accomplishments and responsibilities in detail, but that you also highlight any new skills you’ve gained since you left.

3. Be Prepared for the Tough Questions

Keep in mind that those same interviewers who never knew you from your previous job (and even some who did) may be skeptical of your motives for coming back. There may even be some resentment, especially if you left them in a bind or if they had invested a lot of time and money into your career.

So it’s your job to assure everyone that you’re not a flight risk and convince them that you’re worth the investment once again. Be prepared for lots of questions about your departure, and have specific reasons for why you’re excited to come back. And when in doubt, be honest. If you made a mistake leaving the company in the first place, don’t afraid to admit that.

4. Address Your Concerns

That said, while the interviewers need to be assured that you’ll be the right fit, don’t forget to ask them your questions as well. First, don’t assume that you already know everything about the company and its culture; company dynamics, policies, management, and more may have significantly shifted since you left. And if you were disappointed with the company when you quit, you’ll need reassurance that things have changed. Think back: What were the specific reasons you left? Was your career path limited? Were you unchallenged? Make sure that the interviewers can give you exact details on how these things have evolved so that you don’t run into the same disappointments again.

One last note: Even if the company specifically contacted you and only you for the gig, make sure that you thank your interviewers for the opportunity. Follow up with thank-you letters right after the interview and make sure you’re gracious to the people who believe in you enough to ask you to come back. If you make the right moves, your old company could be the start of a wonderful new chapter in your career.

Jamie's Career Tip for Today

We are getting near the end of Job Search month on wehelpwomen.com and we hope that our career tips have provided inspiration and valuable information to support you in your job search and career development.

Here is one of the last remaining career tips from our very own Jamie Starner...

For an interview, regardless of clothing trends and seasonal styles always dress in neutral colors and wear minimal jewelry. Your attitude, skills and background should get you a job not your outfit! Always dress conservative and you can never go wrong with a suit.

Good luck in your job search!

How to Give a Presentation at a Job Interview

In order to gauge if you are the best person for the job, interviewers may ask you to give a presentation during the interview. Asking top candidates to give presentations as part of the job interview process is common for positions in training and sales, but may also be called upon for other positions.

Typically the first and second interviews are designed to determine if you have the right skills for the position and if you would be a good fit for the company culture. After this initial assessment, they’ll most likely ask you to put on a presentation in order to get an idea of your presentation skills.

Even people who have presented in front of hundreds of people get jittery about giving a presentation in front of a few interviewers. Others are so confident that they can get the job that they put minimal time and effort into preparing for this interview. It’s normal to experience these feelings, but don’t let them get in your way. Yes, you’ve made it far but chances are that they’re still interviewing other people, so it’s important to not let your confidence or lack of confidence get to you.

For the presentation, remember to:

1.       Have an attention-grabber at the beginning. Keep in mind that it’s important that you impress 
          them in the beginning.

2.       Discuss the objectives of the training and what they will learn how to do. Also let them know
          how the information will benefit them.

3.       If you’re using presentation slides such as PowerPoint, don’t overcrowd your slides with text.
          Include a few bullet points and images, but you should not be reading off of your slides.

4.       Don’t tell jokes. If you use humor, keep it appropriate.

5.       Incorporate video and images into your presentation. People are visual learners and they will be
          more likely to remember what you talk about if you include associated images.

6.       Be prepared. The more prepared you are, the more confident and less nervous you’ll feel.

7.       Typically there won’t be enough time for you to conduct participant activities. However, you
          should still ask questions or find quick ways to encourage participation.

8.      Include a handout to supplement your training. Remember to make sure that it looks
         professional and include the company logo if you have access to it.

 

Sheila is a Human Resources / Training Consultant and Career Coach who guides organizations and people in setting and reaching their goals and achieving their definition of success.  She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, medium sized, and small companies including Target, Apollo Group, University of Phoenix, Corporate Psychologists, Knight Transportation and Auckland Museum.

Sheila received her Master’s degree in Human Resources from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and her Bachelor’s degree from Boston University.  Sheila runs her own consulting company MyLeadership Solution LLC and can be contacted at sn@mlsolutionsgroup.com.

Jamie's Career Tip of the Day

Jamie's Career Tip for this Monday!

 

Thinking about career transitioning? Take a look at your transferrable skills: start networking with new professional contacts in different industries, consider using a combination resume, and lastly, see what certifications and skills you can add or refresh.

Jamie's Career Tip for Today

Today's Career Tip from Jamie:

 

Trust in yourself.  YOU are your biggest advocate. It is okay to be assertive in an interview and show the hiring manager you have what the job requires. Be careful not to come across cocky or egotistical but instead confident.

Job Search: Promote Yourself Online

Reposted from Brazen Careerist

Looking to get hired can be a painstaking experience, one full of rejection. But rather than seeing this rejection as another blow to your self-confidence, approach it as an opportunity to market yourself better.

That includes treating your online activity much more seriously. Your reputation on social media now plays an important role in determining whether employers should ask you to join their team. So promote yourself effectively by publishing high-quality and thoughtful posts on your online profiles. This will help you you strengthen your presence on the Web, increasing your chances of getting a job.

Here are three ways to leverage your skills online:

1. Use your real name

It’s understandable that you prefer to hide behind an obscure username and keep your true identity a secret. But consider the advantages of using your real name for your email and social profiles. You’ll add positive branding to your name, which can greatly affect search results when someone searches for you.

Start by customizing your URL on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Using a “vanity” URL helps you remain consistent with your brand name and breed familiarity across all your social media profiles. Always keep this in mind when creating new profiles on different sites.

2. Create an online portfolio and begin blogging

Regardless of your job or industry, developing an online portfolio provides employers and headhunters with quick access to your resume and sample work. Include links to works you have published online for easy reference.

Owning a blog allows you to talk about your expertise and share valuable information with readers interested in your field or industry. Through consistent blogging, you help yourself become an authority in your field of interest, which can greatly affect your chances of getting employed.

Sites where you can create your online portfolio include BrandYourself and About.me. Sites like WordPress, Blogger and Weebly can help you set up a free blog to voice your professional opinion.

3. Engage

The online world is not just a place to update your status messages, play the latest Zynga game and stick to your comfort zone. Stop beating around the bush and do something productive online to benefit your professional life.

Here are a few ideas:

·        Browse Q&A sites like Quora or Yahoo! Answers and search for questions related to your expertise. Aside from providing invaluable insight, also ask questions to elicit conversation.

·        Search for blogs and comment on posts related to your industry. This will help you build relationships with bloggers you can talk to about job-related topics. Not sure where to start? Try Topsy, Social Mention and Google Blog Search.

·        Join groups on LinkedIn to share and discuss your latest blog posts, comments and ideas about the industry with like-minded professionals.

The idea here is to stay proactive, even when the chips are down. Unemployment can be a drag, but it will be more so if you let yourself get defeated by another obstacle on your way to getting hired.

By following the tips featured above, you can remain competitive—if not gain an advantage—in the market by keeping your online presence in tip-top shape and refining the edges of your overall portfolio.

Christopher Jan Benitez is the writer for the PrintRunner Blog and swears by print brochures as his choice for promoting himself and his business. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Define Your Purpose

 

I had the pleasure of attending the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) 2012 Conference held in Denver, Colorado this past year. It was a great conference, but one seminar in particular held my attention.

In his seminar, The Achievement Addiction, Dr. Jim Loehr, performance psychologist and co-founder of the Human Performance Institute, talked about why there are many people who have a long list of impressive accomplishments yet fail to feel fulfilled.

He used the example of a world-famous tennis star, who was also one of his clients. From the outside looking in, it looked as if this star had all the fixings of the perfect life. However, people who knew him noticed that he had become angry, unhappy, and difficult to work with, which is why he needed help. He had started to actually hate tennis, the sport that had propelled him to be the ultimate sports star who was raking in millions of dollars per year. The problem was that he hadn’t defined his purpose and was instead putting his energy toward a path different from what he really wanted.

After defining his purpose he decided that he wanted to repurpose tennis to help kids be happier and healthier and started charter schools. The anger and unhappiness lifted once he started to work toward his purpose.

These days, people are succeeding, setting records, and producing great results. Now more than ever, stress, depression, and anxiety threaten to take over our lives. It’s as if achieving has become a goal in itself, which we keep chasing, without ever fully reaching the goal.

By no means are these researchers advocating sitting on our butts and having no ambitions. They propose that we first define our purpose. Then we can go after the successes we seek. Take a truly honest look at yourself and your accomplishments. Do you know your purpose? Are your accomplishments aligned with your purpose? If not, here are some steps that may help you.

• Brainstorm talents and skills that you have. Ask yourself “What do I enjoy doing? What am I good at doing? What will people pay me to do?” Once you have an answer that fits into all 3 questions, pursue it.
• Define your mission in life and write it down. What do you want people to remember you for?
• Define your values that you will adhere to while you work toward your mission.
• Create short-term and long-term goals that tie to your mission.
• Put together a plan and place it where you can see it.
• Tell someone about your plan and have that person help hold you accountable.
• Take action.

Sheila is a Human Resources / Training Consultant and Career Coach who guides organizations and people in setting and reaching their goals and achieving their definition of success.  She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, medium sized, and small companies including Target, Apollo Group, University of Phoenix, Corporate Psychologists, Knight Transportation and Auckland Museum.

Sheila received her Master’s degree in Human Resources from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and her Bachelor’s degree from Boston University.  Sheila runs her own consulting company MyLeadership Solution LLC and can be contacted at sn@mlsolutionsgroup.com.