I’ve been on a bunch of job interviews. I’ve been interviewed by one person, a panel of three, in multiple cities, for varying sizes of companies, and for everything from retail to administrative to creative positions. There are a few general rules for job interviewing:

Eye contact
Speak succinctly and with clarity
Allow the interviewer to lead the interview
Bring multiple copies of your resume handy
Do prior research on the company your interviewing with

These will definitely help get you out of The Shire. However, there’s one golden rule above them all that is guaranteed to make you a “can’t miss” prospect.

It’s not about what they can do for you, it’s about what you can do for them.

They called you in. They called you in to see what you can offer them. This approach will have you focus on what your strengths are, allow you to comment on what exemplifies the company you want to be apart of, and how you can become an indispensable addition, because you can contribute.

Maybe you can refill a stapler in under 6.5 seconds. Maybe you can run a half-mile in 2 minutes-whatever your skills, strengths, or accomplishments, this kind of mentality allows you to focus on those and how they work within the system you’re attempting to get involved with.

You don’t have to phrase this as in, “This is what I think you’re missing,” but rather, “This is what I love about this place, and here’s how I can add something to it.” It makes you appear proactive, eager, appreciative, and a team player. Because that’s the key to any job: remembering that you’re not going to be on your own the whole time but working with other people.

It’s not about what they can do for you, it’s about what you can do for them.

Every question they ask, think that thought. Every time you see an opening to elaborate on an answer, think that thought. It’s a way of keeping your focus in the room. You have something to offer them. Make the offer.

Always Be Closing,

The Dude

A Navy fighter jet crashed into an apartment building in Virginia Beach on Friday afternoon. Before you get nervous, nobody died… but the alarming event did cause billows of black smoke to rise up over the complex and at least six people to be hospitalized. A student was piloting the aircraft with an instructor in the back, but the event was apparently due to an inexplicable mechanical problem rather than human error. The crash could have been tragic, but the pilots made the smart move to dump their remaining fuel before impact. Had they not, all of that flammable liquid would have caused a massive explosion, and certain death.

President Barack Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law on Thursday. The Act had both Republican and Democratic fans – a happening that is way, way too rare in today’s partisan political game. The legislation would basically make it easier for business startups to raise capital. The tech industry cheered, but the labor party – which has usually been a fan of Obama – was not so happy. Despite all the hubbub, economic experts predict the Act will have little affect on the economy and open up possibilities for financial fraud. Read More »

I’m a junior in college, and I’m getting really, really antsy to graduate. I didn’t think I would get sick of college, because there are so many things I love about it. But the student life is getting old. I want to be a real person with a real job! I want to get home from work and be done for the day, no homework! I want to have time on the weekends!

But I think that sometimes I get carried away imagining my glamorous post-grad life. In reality, graduation can be a really humbling experience. I’ve always had lots of older friends, and I’ve watched some of them go through some difficult (but hilarious) times after graduation. So to remind us all that things don’t always go as planned, I present Expectation vs. Reality: Graduation Edition.

initiating the gallery...

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

[Lead image via unguryanu/Shutterstock]

Many of you may be graduating this year, and although it’s only February, it’s not too early to start thinking about what you plan to do after you graduate. Some of you may already have graduate school plans, intentions to travel or a job already lined up. If that’s the case, congrats! However, others of you might not have anything decided yet — and that’s okay, you’re not alone!

But if you do want to start thinking about finding a job after you graduate, a great site called Zumeo can help you along the way! With Zumeo, you can set yourself apart from other job-seekers by creating a three-in-one “mini professional website” that includes a professional profile, your resumé and portfolio.

Once you have your professional website set up, Zumeo will browse through its thousands of job listings to match you with those that you’d be a fit for. Zumeo also does the homework on top employers to provide you with the important information you need about entry-level positions and internships and the hiring process, as well as connecting you with people who know recruiters at each company! Read More »

Since it’s that time of year, the time for choosing colleges (and for some, leaving college) Jezebel has decided to depart some wisdom on all the high school senior hopefuls out here, asking them to really think about what they want out of there college experience, about why they’re choosing the schools they’re choosing, and the effects those choices will have on their college careers.

Well, their great advice has inspired me to give a little advice of my own. Less about choosing a college, and more about the things you should remember once you get there, about how to bridge that gap between college and the real world, and how to make the most of your opportunities while you still have them.

I mean it’s not all boys, beer, and parties (even though those are important too), so here are a few things I wish I knew when I was a mere freshman.

1. You’ll change your major at least once. Everyone always told me this, but I would just shake my head at them and laugh. Not me, I knew what I wanted to major in. I loved to read and to write. I was going to be an English major. But even I eventually had a moment of doubt. The entire second semester of my freshman year into the summer before my sophomore I was convinced I would be changing my major to information systems. That seemed like a far more practical choice with better options for post-grad jobs. Granted I eventually realized I was not made to be an information systems major and found my way back to English (and later, Philosophy) but I was so concerned with trying to pick a major that I didn’t even realize that… Read More »

Whether you’re graduating this spring or you’re hunting for a summer internship, you’re probably stressed about acing your interviews. To help alleviate some of that stress, we reached out to the experts from Excelle and asked them for their tips on making a great first impression. Check back every Thursday for more helpful career tips and articles!

This is another broad interview question that can take you down the wrong road unless you’ve done some thinking ahead of time. This question is purely about selling yourself. Think of yourself as the product. Why should the customer buy?

The Wrong Track
Spencer answers by saying, “Because I need and want a job.” That’s nice, but the bottom line here is, “What can you do for us?”

Mariana says, “I’m a hard worker and really want to work for this company.” The majority of people think of themselves as hard workers — and why this company?

The Right Track
Tom’s answer to this question is, “Because I’m a good fit for the position.” Getting warmer, but more details, please.

Sharon answers, “I have what it takes to solve problems and do the job.” This is the best answer so far. Expand on this, and you’ve got it.

So last week, I had a bit of a meltdown. A pre-grad crisis if you will, freaking out about what comes next before I even get there. So this week, I’m trying to fix that in the best way I know how. By eating lots of ice cream and watching old episodes of Gossip Girl making a list. But not just any list, a list of post-grad goals for myself. They’re rather vague but they are things worth working towards, things that I actually want to achieve someday.

1. Find a job that makes me happy. I double majored in English Literature and Philosophy. Not exactly majors that have a set career path. And so in the past four years I’ve contemplated everything from lawyer to information technology assistant to Food Network star (mostly just so I could co-host with Bobby Flay) and I’m really no closer to figuring out where I’m going to end up. But even if I have to take a few starter jobs along the way I am eventually going to choose a career that makes me happy, whatever that may be.

2. Get my masters. I’m not sure if I’ll be starting grad school in the fall or not, but I do know that I will be attending at some point. And not just because some statistic somewhere says that some number of people who get their masters are some percentage more likely to make a higher salary (I want to write…who am I kidding, anyway), but because it’s a personal goal of mine. I’ve always been a lover of learning, and even though I’ve had my fair share of complaints about classes this year, when it comes down to it all, I really do enjoy it. So I want to get my masters. At some point.

Read More »

Whether you’re graduating this spring or you’re hunting for a summer internship, you’re probably stressed about acing your interviews. To help alleviate some of that stress, we reached out to the experts from Excelle and asked them for their tips on making a great first impression. Check back every Thursday for more helpful career tips and articles!

You may look good on paper or in your suit, but if you’re looking to nail your big interview, looks aren’t everything. How you sound is often more important. But many job seekers let careless speech habits sink their chances of landing that plum job.

The Bottom Line: You don’t have to study elocution to speak well. Simply slow down, take time to pronounce all the syllables, and leave slang at home.

Companies want job candidates who are well-spoken and articulate, and recruiters won’t represent a job candidate if they don’t match the client’s profile. According to Lori Zelman, vice president of human resources at Strategic Workforce Solutions in New York City, “The people most highly sought after are the ones who are succinct in the explanation of their work experience.”

Here are six common language mistakes and how to keep them from sabotaging your interview or meetings with clients.

Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. Sometimes with mean words. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like prepubescent fashion!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

From basically the time I was in kindergarten, I was ingrained with the understanding that this is how the system works: you go to school, you get good grades, you go to college, you get good grades, and then one day you get a job… so your kids can do it all over again. Aside from the incredible level of depressing involved in that, it was always my inherent understanding that this was the way things would work. Then I got into college and realized that job part wasn’t exactly a guarantee with a degree. Even more disconcertingly, it turns out that sometimes, for some lucky people, it works the other way around – getting offered a job before they’ve even finished college. The question is, is it a good idea to skip ahead a step.

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We live in a social media obsessed world. There’s Facebook, Myspace, (although I wonder if anyone actually still uses it), Twitter, and many blogging platforms such as Tumblr, WordPress, and Blogger. Although we upload our pictures to Flickr and Facebook all the time or write about our weekend experiences in personal blogs, there could be a possible downside to all of this internet exposure: According to the Wall Street Journal, 85% of hiring managers Google a candidate before or after an interview. This fact, which is becoming more and more well-known, brings up the question: To blog or not to blog?

While I’m not saying that anyone who publicly posts pictures of themselves puking into a fraternity bathroom shouldn’t be a cause for concern, I am posing the question of boundaries and what and when a company should base their decision on hiring someone because of what comes up when they use Google. For example, take all the CollegeCandy contributors. Should our future bosses decline an interview with us, even though our resumes may be well qualified, simply because we once wrote an article that mentions sex or highlights the importance of birth control?

Personally, I think keeping a blog of any kind is a worthwhile venture. As a writer, I like to post things I’m interested in, things that drive me crazy, and of course, continuously write about things that matter to me (this includes everything from literary theory criticisms to the correct usage of the Real Housewives of New Jersey’s infamous phrase “prostitution whore”). However, I often worry that if I post liberal-sided articles or a picture of me enjoying a glass of wine that someone may use those things against me and blow them out of proportion one day. Despite more and more social media outlets being introduced to society on a regular basis, it seems like the idea of censorship or hiding oneself (at least the internet brand of oneself) is becoming a constant battle. Read More »