Why is this position open?

How often has it been filled in the past 5 to 10 years?

What have been the primary reasons for persons leaving?

Why did the person who held this position most recently leave?

What would you like done differently by the next person who fills this job?

How do you like your people to communicate with you? (Orally, in writing, informally, in meetings, only when necessary?)

Address the skills relevant to the position you are interviewing for, your education, work experience, and interest in the position. Keep your complete answer to about 2 minutes; don’t ramble or elaborate. This is your 2-minute self-introduction.

2. What can you offer us that other candidates can’t?

If this question is asked early in the interview, you might respond by discussing generally how your skills and experience would benefit the company. To get more specific, you will need to know something about the job situation they have in mind. Resist the temptation to frame an answer based on your assumptions about the position. If the question is asked after the interviewer has described the position, then you can relate your accomplishments to the problems of your prospective employer. This is an opportune time to discuss your problem-solving abilities.

3. What are your strengths?

You should be able to list 3 or 4 of your key strengths that are relevant to their needs, based on the research and other data you have gathered about their company.

4. How successful have you been so far?

Be prepared to define success for yourself and then respond. Try to choose accomplishments that relate to the company’s needs and values.

5. What are your limitations?

Respond with a strength which, if overdone, can be a detriment and become a weakness. For example, you might say, “My desire to get the job done sometimes causes me to be overzealous with high expectations. I am aware of this problem and am able to keep it in check.” Or, discuss your need for further training in some aspect of your profession that is not tied directly to performing the responsibilities in this position and, therefore, being successful in it. For example: “One area that I am strengthening is my knowledge of X computer application. To that end, I’ve enrolled in a seminar on the subject.” Do not claim to be faultless, but limit your answer to one specific issue.

6. How much are you worth?

Try to delay answering this until you have learned more about the job and can estimate, based on previous research, the salary range this company endorses for similar positions. If you feel obliged to answer, you might reply in this way: “You are aware of what I have been earning at Employer X, and I would hope that coming to your company would be a progressive step. Perhaps, we can go into this question in more depth after we discuss the job responsibilities and scope further.”

7. What are your ambitions for the future?

Indicate your desire to concentrate on doing the immediate job well – and your confidence that the future will then be promising. You do not want to convey that you have no desire to progress, but you need to avoid statements that are unrealistic, or that might threaten present incumbents.

8. What do you know about our company?

You’ve done your homework, and have studied all that is publicly available about the employer and are therefore aware of many published facts. However, you might state that you would like to know more; then be prepared to ask intelligent questions. Avoid a recitation of the facts, incorporate personal remarks and specific questions to facilitate a lively exchange of information.

9. Why are you seeking a position with our company?

Indicate that from your study of the company, many of the activities and problems are the sort that would give you a chance to contribute to the company through your experience and skills. If you honestly can, express your admiration for the company and what it is that appeals to you.

10. What qualifications do you have that you feel would make you successful here?

If this question is asked after you have sufficient information about the position, talk about two or three of your major skills (supported by accomplishments) which you believe will be useful in the position. If the question is asked earlier, talk about two or three of your major skills and relate them to the extent that you can to the company. Gauge the amount of detail for this and other answers by the time frame set by the interviewer for your meeting and by his or her signals as to how much information is enough.

1. Physical presence. Dress appropriately for the culture you are entering. Be sure your grooming is immaculate. Assume a posture that is neither too relaxed or sloppy, nor too tense or forward. Express your energy and fitness. Avoid awkward hand poses or seating positions. Avoid excessive jewelry, perfume/cologne, smoking, and gum.

2. Movements and mannerisms. Use your natural gestures; don’t close your hands. Avoid fidgeting, scratching, or fussing with objects such as a pen or glasses. Move around naturally and avoid looking stiff or awkward.

3. Manner of speaking. Make sure you can be heard; be aware of the interviewer’s reaction to your voice. Do not mumble or drop your voice to a whisper toward the end of your sentences. Avoid sing-song or monotone recitations, which will give the impression that you are over-rehearsed. Also, avoid slang and colloquialisms like “Ya know,” as well as grunts, hems and haws, and other verbal sounds.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
Associated Press Business Writer (July 8, 2010)

SHANGHAI – Factory workers demanding better wages and working conditions are hastening the eventual end of an era of cheap costs that helped make southern coastal China the world’s factory floor.

A series of strikes over the past two months have been a rude wakeup call for the many foreign companies that depend on China’s low costs to compete overseas, from makers of Christmas trees to manufacturers of gadgets like the iPad.

Where once low-tech factories and scant wages were welcomed in a China eager to escape isolation and poverty, workers are now demanding a bigger share of the profits. The government, meanwhile, is pushing foreign companies to make investments in areas it believes will create greater wealth for China, like high technology.

Many companies are striving to stay profitable by shifting factories to cheaper areas farther inland or to other developing countries, and a few are even resuming production in the West.

“China is going to go through a very dramatic period. The big companies are starting to exit. We all see the writing on the wall,” said Rick Goodwin, a China trade veteran of 22 years, whose company links foreign buyers with Chinese suppliers.

“I have 15 major clients. My job is to give the best advice I can give. I tell it like it is. I tell them, put your helmet on, it’s going to get ugly,” said Goodwin, who says dissatisfied workers and hard-to-predict exchange rates are his top worries.

Beijing’s decision to stop tethering the Chinese currency to the U.S. dollar, allowing it to appreciate and thus boosting costs in yuan, has multiplied the uncertainty for companies already struggling with meager profit margins.

In an about-face mocked on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Wham-O, the company that created the Hula-Hoop and Slip ‘n Slide, decided to bring half of its Frisbee production and some production of its other products back to the U.S.

At the other end of the scale, some in research-intensive sectors such as pharmaceutical, biotech and other life sciences companies are also reconsidering China for a range of reasons, including costs and incentives being offered in other countries.

“Life sciences companies have shifted some production back to the U.S. from China. In some cases, the U.S. was becoming cheaper,” said Sean Correll, director of consulting services for Burlington, Mass.-based Emptoris.

That may soon become true for publishers, too. Printing a 9-by-9-inch, 334-page hardcover book in China costs about 44 to 45 cents now, with another 3 cents for shipping, says Goodwin. The same book costs 65 to 68 cents to make in the U.S.

“If costs go up by half, it’s about the same price as in the U.S. And you don’t have 30 days on the water in shipping,” he says.

Even with recent increases, wages for Chinese workers are still a fraction of those for Americans. But studies do show China’s overall cost advantage is shrinking.

Labor costs have been climbing about 15 percent a year since a 2008 labor contract law that made workers more aware of their rights. Tax preferences for foreign companies ended in 2007. Land, water, energy and shipping costs are on the rise.

In its most recent survey, issued in February, restructuring firm Alix Partners found that overall China was more expensive than Mexico, India, Vietnam, Russia and Romania.

Mexico, in particular, has gained an edge thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement and fast, inexpensive trucking, says Mike Romeri, an executive with Emptoris, the consulting firm.

Makers of toys and trinkets, Christmas trees and cheap shoes already have folded by the thousands or moved away, some to Vietnam, Indonesia or Cambodia. But those countries lack the huge work force, infrastructure and markets China can offer, and most face the same labor issues as China.

So far, the biggest impact appears to be in and around Shenzhen, a former fishing village in Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, that is home to thousands of export manufacturers.

That includes Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology, a supplier of iPhones and iPads to Apple Inc. Foxconn responded to a spate of suicides at its 400,000-worker Shenzhen complex with pay hikes that more than doubled basic monthly worker salaries to $290. Strike-stricken suppliers to Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., among many others, also have hiked wages.

Foxconn refused repeated requests for comment on plans to move much of its manufacturing capacity to central China’s impoverished Henan province, where a local government website has advertised for tens of thousands of workers on its behalf.

But among other projects farther inland, Foxconn is teaming up with some of the biggest global computer makers to build what may be the world’s largest laptop production hub in Chongqing, a western China city of 32 million where labor costs are estimated to be 20 to 40 percent lower than in coastal cities.

Given the intricate supply chains and logistics systems that have helped make southern China an export manufacturing powerhouse, such changes won’t be easy.

But for manufacturers looking to boost sales inside fast-growing China, shifting production to the inland areas where many migrant workers come from, and costs are lower, offers the most realistic alternative.

“The new game is to find a way to do the domestic market,” says Goodwin.

Many factories in Foshan, another city in Guangdong that saw strikes at auto parts plants supplying Japan’s Honda, have left in the past few months, mostly moving inland to Henan, Hunan and Jiangxi, said Lin Liyuan, dean at the privately run Institute of Territorial Economics in Guangzhou.

Massive investments in roads, railways and other infrastructure are reducing the isolation of the inland cities, part of a decade-old “Develop the West” strategy aimed at shrinking the huge, politically volatile gap in wealth between city dwellers and the country’s 600 million farmers.

Gambling that the unrest will not spill over from foreign-owned factories, China’s leaders are using the chance to push investment in regions that have lagged the country’s industrial boom.

They have little choice. Many of today’s factory workers have higher ambitions than their parents, who generally saved their earnings from assembling toys and television sets for retirement in their rural hometowns. They are also choosier about wages and working conditions. “The conflicts are challenging the current set-up of low-wage, low-tech manufacturing, and may catalyze the transformation of China’s industrial sector,” said Yu Hai, a sociology professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University.

1-Recognize your reasons for making a change

Are you tired of your work and need something that provides greater stimulation and challenge? Or, are you seeking social interaction and personal reward that your present occupation doesn’t offer? For example, I coached a client who became an executive director for a nonprofit organization in order to give back to the community.

2-Determine your commitment

Decide if you want to work full time or part time; if you want to job share or telecommute at least part of the time. Are you attracted to seasonal or cyclical work? Depending on your career choice, it may mean starting out at an entry level.

3-Consider a hobby or a passion

Many people find successful new careers and businesses based on their hobbies … love of antiques, outdoors, environment, animals, fitness, etc. Sometimes it isn’t so obvious. For example, one person converted her passion for organizing and strengths in negotiating into a career as an a meeting and events planner.

4-Know your limitations

You may be great at arranging things, but dislike dealing with customers. You may enjoy talking to your pet, but have little patience for cleaning kitty litter pans. Although it’s important to know what you like, pay attention to your head. Conduct a thorough self assessment or seek career coaching before you pull the plug on your current career. Take ownership of your career and life plans; resist the temptation to follow someone else’s dream for you. After all, it’s your life.

Below are excerpts from the article on other tips she offers.

Although executive recruiters have deep connections at the world’s leading organizations, having a realistic perspective about how search consultants work is essential if you hope to establish relationships that will ultimately lead to a new role.

It is important to recognize that recruiters at the leading retained search firms work for their clients – the hiring organizations – and not the candidates. If you are seeking to connect with a search consultant for the first time, you will stand the best chance if your background and skills directly match an opportunity that the recruiter is actively working on.

Recruiters want to help you succeed, but they interact with dozens of candidates every day. It helps to be introduced directly by someone the recruiter trusts and respects, including their clients or a well-known industry contact. Leverage your network to be put in touch with a recruiter specializing in your sector, function or geography.

If you are actively looking for a job, strategically target a single recruiter within a firm, rather than contact many recruiters at that same firm. Your contact can will facilitate connections to others within the company who might be able to help you.

Introduce yourself in an email; that allows the recruiter to circulate your credentials to colleagues. Include an updated version of your resume and an introductory letter. Include a quick snapshot of your career accomplishments and the types of opportunities that interest you.

Assess opportunities realistically and do not feign interest in a job that you don’t intend to follow through on simply to get face-time with a recruiter. You won’t be taken seriously as a candidate if you do. At the same time, be open to different job possibilities. Particularly in this economy, avoid narrowing your scope so dramatically that you limit your options.

Building a personal relationship with a recruiter should not be your goal. In fact, it is something that they will avoid to maintain an ethical code of conduct. Rather, you can expect a recruiter to prepare (but not coach) you before an interview at the hiring organization; represent you throughout the negotiations; and track your progress during the first 90 days on a job. Recruiters are not career counselors. They can give you a snapshot of what is happening in the market at large, but cannot help you focus your job search if you lack clarity.

Stand out by sharing contacts and market knowledge to prove that you know what is happening behind the scenes in your industry. This will help you stay in a recruiter’s mind longer and will provide a reason to reconnect periodically.

Finally, be transparent without making claims that will not stand up to rigorous background and reference checking. Recruiters are responsible for thoroughly investigating potential employees, and they will discover anything that is fabricated or exaggerated.

The use of social networking sites is growing quickly. Pew Internet and American Life Project reported in December 2008 that between 2005 and 2008, adult internet users who have online profiles quadrupled and was expected to continue to grow. Businesses caught on to this phenomenon and quickly realized that they could find out a lot of interesting information about their job candidates by doing a few quick internet searches.

In December 2009, Microsoft commissioned an online reputation study that found that 79% of hiring managers and job recruiters in the United States looked up job applicants on the internet. And 70% of those hiring managers and job recruiters actually rejected candidates based solely on what they found online, even when their experiences and references were stellar. CareerBuilder’s August 2009 survey had similar results. They also noted that 11% of the companies that were not currently using social networking sites to screen applicants, were planning on doing so in the future.

The lesson here is that your online life is never completely private. And future employers, even current employers, may be secretly watching the things you say, the pictures you post, and the people you associate with online. It doesn’t matter how perfect an employee you are if your online presence is controversial. With this tough job market, if your competition has a clean online identity while yours is not, they will have the winning edge. Watch what you say and do online and increase your odds of a successful job search.

Assuming a return to healthy economic growth and no change in immigration or labor force participation rates, Barry Bluestone, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, predicts that within the next eight years there could be at least 5 million potential job vacancies in the United States, nearly half of them (2.4 million) in social sector jobs in education, health care, government and nonprofit organizations.

“If the baby boom generation retires from the labor force at the same rate and age as current older workers, the baby bust generation that follows will likely be too small to fill many of the projected new jobs,” states Bluestone’s report, “After the Recovery: Help Needed – The Coming Labor Shortage and How People in Encore Careers Can Help Solve It.”

Bluestone’s research is one of four papers written by independent experts and released March 22 by MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures, a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose.  All four papers, which can be found at www.encore.org/research, assert that engaging workers over 55 in encore careers will be vital to meeting work force shortages and critical social needs.

Bluestone’s analysis builds on the 2008 MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey conducted by Peter D. Hart and Associates, which shows that most people expect to work longer than previous generations, but that half of those aged 44 to 70 want encore careers that combine personal meaning, continued income and social impact. “Not only will there be jobs for these experienced workers to fill,” Bluestone writes, “but the nation will absolutely need older workers to step up and take them.”

Shady companies with less than reputable practices abound in this market. Pay attention to their practices. If they seem questionable to you, or you don’t have a good feeling about them, trust your instinct. Here’s a few tips to keep in mind so that you don’t get disappointed.

• Research the company’s name on Google. Within the first page you will find potential problems. If so, don’t waste your time any further.
• Trust your instincts and investigate before you invest time and money to buy into any business.
• Mass interviews are a giveaway that it’s really a sales presentation to convince you to fight for the chance to get hired.
• Regarding benefits… if the company will not answer your questions or provide crucial information in writing, something is wrong.
• Get the job offer in writing and do not accept it unless you understand and agree with all the terms.

Even legitimate companies are sometimes guilty of promoting jobs without fully disclosing the job, the compensation or the benefits. It’s up to the applicant to check and verify each step of the way. If something doesn’t seem right, ask questions. If the answers are inadequate or don’t make sense, walk away. The suggestions above apply to any job situation—not just to obvious scams.

A groundbreaking new book to boost your career was just released that I’d like to tell you about. It’s called The Twitter Job Search Guide. LinkedIn isn’t the only online social media site that today’s job seekers need in their job search toolkit.

Twitter is the new face of virtual business networking and is becoming an essential career management tool. In fact, some recruiters predict Twitter will replace job boards as a primary source for finding quality candidates.

For anyone in the market for a new job, considering a change of industry or job function, or wanting to increase their visibility, can be a useful resource. (It’s so informative and helpful that syndicated careers columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy stated in a recent article: “this is a book I’d wish I’d written – the how-to chapters are that good!”)

Tips from a handful of selected career professionals worldwide (my tips are among those featured) will help you learn how to gain momentum in your job search and career through “tweets” that consist of no more than 140 characters. It will show you how to exponentially increase the size of your personal and professional networks by exchanging ideas, demonstrating subject-matter expertise, enhancing their reputation, and developing a “fan club.”

A step-by-step guide, this book addresses how to build your professional brand, boost your online identity, find job leads, discover unadvertised positions, research companies, uncover industry trends, prepare for interviews, and raise your value as an expert in your field.