How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile to Your Position

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile to Your Position LinkedIn is an important tool that recruiters use to find potential candidates and clients with over 500 million users, youre sure to find exactly who youre looking for.  On the flip side of this, its also an important place for those looking for suitable jobs and roles. You can display skills and experience as well as your personality and the things that  set you apart from others. But with millions of users on the largest professional network, it can be easy to get lost in the crowds of job seekers and recruiters. Thats why its important to utilize your profile to make yourself a stand-out LinkedIn user. No matter your role, there are ways to improve and impress. Student: Your profile image should be professional but still have some personality. You can be professional and not be a robot! Your profile should be saturated in keywords. Put them in your headline, as this is the place where keywords will improve your search ranking. The higher in your profile the better, but dont forget to include industry relevant keywords in your Summary and Experience sections too. Yes, you really do have experience! Include summer jobs, internships and volunteering. Include rich media in your experience. They pack a punch! Rising professional: Don’t use your job title in your headline. Illustrate your experience and  highlight a passion or two. Did you know that profiles with a photo get 14x more profile views than those that dont. You NEED a profile photo. Have a warm and welcoming expression in your headline. Write your summary in a conversational tone. It should read like you were sharing your accomplishments with a friend. prioritize your skills and endorsements. SMB/Entrepreneur: Upload a custom header photo to your profile. It will make an impact and show off your brand. Use bullet points when describing yourself in your summary or in experience. It will stop people from switching off whilst reading your profile. Use your summary to show off the human side or your company. Create a sense of trust and comfort. Use the experience section as your own personal portfolio of work by uploading rich media. Recommendations make you look reliable. Ask connections and previous clients to give you a short recommendation. Senior leader: Use the header to inject some personality and show off your career highlights. Did you know that LinkedIn users with volunteer experience get 6x more profile views than those who don;t. Write a post to expand your network beyond your connections, and share your insight. Include your volunteer experience. Include your certifications. It will show that you’ve kept your skills sharp! RELATED:  How to Recruit on LinkedIn â€" 15 Practical Tips

How to Write a Top 20 Resume For Anyone

How to Write a Top 20 Resume For AnyoneWith top job search site resumes, you can be one of the top resume writers in the country. If you want to get a great resume, you need to know how to write a resume that will get you the job you are after.A good resume begins with an executive summary. This will make it easy for your interviewer to know what you are all about and where you fit into their company. You don't want to spend more than five minutes on this section because the first impression you give them is the most important impression.Part of a resume is the letters of reference. These letters tell the employer how much you admire their work and how much they should hire you based on that. There are a lot of requirements to pass before your letter is going to be accepted. Don't worry, most recruiters are impressed by anyone who puts forth the effort to provide them with an excellent resume. So you can see how your letters can make or break your chance at the job.Make sure you have a resume cover letter. The cover letter is one of the first things they see when your resume is presented to them. Make sure the cover letter is professional and appealing. There is no time like the present to impress your recruiter and land the job of your dreams.It's not enough to have the right type of skills. You need to have the skills to bring the job you're after to you. Take the time to become a well-rounded professional who knows how to find a job. While you might not be a rocket scientist, you do need to have a general understanding of how the process works and how to use the skills you do have to land the job you are after.Education is also important. In today'tough economy, a high school diploma and an Associate's degree will get you by, but it is not a guarantee. Your resume needs to show that you put some effort into yourself and that you put into your education.There is no secret formula to becoming the ideal candidate. To become one of the top writers in the nation, you need to get out there and get educated. You can be one of the top 20 resume writers in the world and you can get there by putting in the time, getting educated, and by learning how to get the job you want.There is no magic bullet to becoming a top 20 resume writer. In order to succeed, you must get educated, learn about the job market, and find the skills to land the job you want. Becoming the top 20 resume writer is not only possible, but it is within your reach if you take the time to learn.

On Riding a Segway and a Job Search

On Riding a Segway and a Job Search In a light-hearted moment, I agreed to celebrate my son’s graduation with an activity he selected for us to do together. I certainly wasn’t thinking about a Segway tour! Fear and the promise of exhilaration churned in my stomach as I reluctantly agreed to ride a Segway. As I finally began to enjoy the ride, I let my mind wander to a recent coaching conversation where my client shared how fear gripped her as she wondered if there was another job for her out there. It is hard to imagine the joy in the future when the present focus is fear. This is true in any life situation â€" from a mundane activity like riding a Segway to handling a complex life or career transition. Dealing with Fear Fear is corrosive. It is like the swift bite of a poisonous snake, paralyzing and potentially lethal. Our default response is to immediately raise objections by listing a series of, “I can’t do this.” In a transition, it is easier for us to assume that we might fail in our attempts to try something new and different. A transition brings out our vulnerabilities in full glory, doesn’t it? So, how do you get past that sinkhole? Remember the simple awe and faith with which you approached things in kindergarten. Bring that feeling back as you work through your transition. What activity in kindergarten did you enjoy the most? If you liked to color, pick up crayons and fill a sheet of blank paper with images and ideas. How about pretend play? Try out different job titles by completing a simple analysis of fit. For example, if you were to exchange one day of your work life with someone else, with whom would you exchange? As Tuli Kupferberg said, “When old patterns break, new ideas emerge.” A transition offers the opportunity to step back, take a breath and pay attention to what is essential in your life and work. Make time to reflect on what matters the most to you because the clearer this reflection is, the sharper your career focus. Maybe you are ready for a change in your career path? Or not. Pay attention to and identify at least three life factors that might impact your job search today. What ideas come to your mind as you kick-start feelings of curiosity and optimism and look at your transition as my opportunity is NOW here, rather than my opportunity is nowhere? Dealing with Preparation Some folks like order, make lists and obsess about details. And, some don’t. Whatever your style, remember that how you prepare to handle your transition does matter. Why? Simply because preparation helps you design a framework to conduct a proactive and joyful search. Here are a few ideas that might help you. People will ask, “How can I help you?” “What are you looking for?” Prepare a memorable, concise and upbeat career focus statement. This statement has the potential to convey energy, momentum and promise. So, take the time to craft and practice it. A career focus statement is the foundational piece of your branding statement or 90-sec-pitch. Imagine where the conversation could take you when people listen to your career focus and respond, “Tell me more.” Read the news. Go out and meet people. It’s just that simple. Even for those of us who are introverts. How does this work? For example, you read and share something of value with someone. They remember you because you were generous, intellectually curious and willing to ask questions. They talk about you to the next person they meet. Gradually, you create a buzz. Then, comes a serendipitous bump that opens the door to a remarkable opportunity for you and you graciously walk in! What three topics are trending in your industry/field? Who might be interested in learning more about these topics? Are you that go-to person for value-add information? Dealing with the Grind Most of us start a search with cautious optimism. All seems well until the first bump â€" leads dry up, the phone doesn’t ring, people don’t call back and employers suddenly face a budget crunch. Exhaustion starts to set in. This is the slippery slide back to square one â€" fear and uncertainty that is a reality in a transition. Is there a way to make sense of this complex process? Recognize and accept that a job search is hard work and a focused commitment is required EACH day. Pause for a moment here and think about how much work it took for you to get results in a complex project within a quickly changing business environment. As you plan your week, what ideas or activities will move you closer to one or two identified outcomes for THAT week? What questions do you want answered about a certain opening, a networking conversation or preparation for an upcoming interview? Keep a laser focus on each activity so that you are clear about how it is helping you move toward the intended outcome. Celebrate small wins. Acknowledge what you have done proactively to manage your week, add to your arsenal information you are gathering about yourself and the marketplace and challenge yourself to visualize a day that you control. Make this practical â€" craft a value-add document for the employer who doesn’t return your call, connect with a third-tier networking contact to explore a possibility or loop back with your first-tier network for support and ideas. What other ideas might move you closer to your next opportunity? What are some distractions you might need to attend to? If you could change one thing in your strategy, what would that be? Where did you surprise yourself? There is no guaranteed one job search plan out there. However, there are ideas to be explored, opportunities to go after and talent to share. What would you like to add to this conversation? Related: How To Boost Your Job Search [3 Smart Ways]. Image: Shutterstock

Create a Social Media Strategy for Your Employees - Classy Career Girl

Create a Social Media Strategy for Your Employees Whatever you stand behind as a company, your employees are the embodiment of your standards and the culture of your company. Letting your clients in on your culture and allowing your employees to share the fun on social media is a great way to move forward and gain momentum. Each employee is a connection to the community around you. How To Create a Social Media Strategy for Your Employees Part 1: Why You Should One of the hardest parts of social media is proving that you are real and that people should care about you. The built-in social media advocate army that is your employees is ripe for the picking. If anything, you’ll be begging them to get off Facebook! Social Equity Prove to your audience that you are a real company. Show the real faces and people behind it by posting the actual faces of your company. Have regular contributors on social media. Show that youre more than a faceless company name. Showing the real rockstars in posts or encouraging those super-awesome employees to share some of their work and achievements is a great way to do that. That great sales member who attends every conference and stays late helping take things down? Show them off on your social to build trust in your company face. Boosts Branding Boost your branding with interactive traffic that matters. Your employees are a great way to get some ‘dark social’ started. Hit off that social equity and build out branding. You build brand trust off a variety of factors: technical branding, local SEO, reviews, and word of mouth. Taking advantage of the positive word-of-mouth recommendations that your employees spout and giving them a platform to spit out those recommendations is another amazing benefit that opening your social media to your employees offers. Show Off Kick-Butt Culture You know what people love? Awesome people. A great company culture will make better employees (which is great for your clients and you), so why not show it off? Letting people know what sort company they are dealing with right off the bat with your social media is incredibly helpful for client communication. Are you a firm that specializes in transparency, or customer service? Besides low cost, is there something that makes you special as a company? That culture that encourages growth and makes you and your employees amazing is something that customers should know. Give them the playbook on you. Talk About Achievements Getting employees as social media advocates?is wonderful content for your social platforms. Did your HR team win a prize for being the most kick-butt HR team in the city? Share that content. Similarly, if someone on your team is so great in their field that they get awards for it in the industry, show off the talent you have at your company. It builds the trust that people have in your company and is a great way to brag without seeming too self-promotional. [RELATED: 9 Social Media Tools to Enhance Your Content] Part 2: How To Get People To Do It Actively engaged employees who are comfortable in their jobs will post about your company in a positive, productive way. Defining what can/cannot be posted, posting your own things, and taking care of your employees will give you a solid base to grow from. Set Guidelines Clearly defining what can be posted?allows you to shut down inappropriate posts. “Working here blows” or whatever other offhanded comments could ?come along on social media. Steering the hashtags and conversations toward work related subjects with  onsite encouragement is also really helpful for any website refresher. Additionally, posting your own things and inviting employees to like them or tagging people in pictures is also a great way to get your employees invested in your social media. Make Sure Your Employees Actually Like Your Company Caring for your employees is also a great way to get people into your company online. A cared for, actively engaged employee is more likely to be involved in social media. This could cover a variety of needs that your employees might have. A  quiet place to live?(and sleep!), enough money to cover their living expenses, or a safe and comfortable working environment are a few. Social media is a great place to vent. If there are more people looking to vent instead of cheer, you might have some work to do internally before showing it off online. Make It Easy Make it easy for people to share your stuff. This means sharing pages on the site, showing off posts in internal emails, and just straight up asking people if they want to follow your company social for updates on when things go public. Making it easy for your employees to find and interact with your company online is important if you want them to be a part of your social media success. Part 3: Things to Watch Out For Social media success isn’t just about launching an army of employees out online. There are a few reasons to hold back. If you treat your employees like trash, productivity is a large issue, or you aren’t sure what sort of people you work with, don’t rely on them to vouch for you online. If You Underpay Your Employees You could never pay your valued employees all that they really deserve for being such rockstars every day. Before you get them online to post about your company, make sure that you are paying them enough. If your IP address is littered with searches and articles about  negotiating raises?and Linkedin updates, consider putting your focus into internal care before getting your employees to spill all over social media. The problem may not be with underpaid employees. They might just feel undervalued in your company or may not be connected to the superb company that you run. Work on those issues before letting them loose on the web. If Production Levels Are a Major Issue Encouraging your employees to get on Facebook more does not increase productivity. It may do wonders for your social media campaign if your employees actively engage in all company news and announcements. Conversely, it does not bode well if your employees already lack basic production skills. Laying out goals, expecting people to meet them,  scenting the office for concentration, reducing stress, and giving your employees more information gives them the power to move forward. If You Don’t Know Your Company Are you wildly uncertain if people will conform to the rules you outlined for social media posting? Are you also uncertain of the relationship your employees have with your company? Look before you leap. Like hiring a good employee, you should make sure they will represent you well. If your employees have social accounts full of wild nights in the club lights, they may not be the best fit for your accounting firm. However, if your employees fit right into your niche and demographic, then encourage away. An on-brand message can be very important, even when coming from an outside source. Social media engagement from your employees is a huge booster in your social equity and brand building. In addition, it can also be a great way to show off. On the other hand, if your employees are hooligans who hate their jobs, consider focusing your energy on making a better staff.

Resume Writing Experts - Getting More Information

Resume Writing Experts - Getting More InformationResume writing experts often have a special method of creating resumes for clients that can be quite different than the standard template. Many of them have additional information to include, such as official certificates and certification. It is always a good idea to contact the company before committing to any job.How do you know if a company has any resume writing specialists? Some may have their own specialized freelance writers who handle all of their work in house. This is not usually the case though, since most companies rely on outside professionals to create their resumes. The most important thing to look for is if they provide samples of their work.These specialists often offer a wide range of services, from custom to basic and everything in between. This is a good sign, since it will show you the amount of attention they pay to detail. They also often go out of their way to meet your needs, and most of the time, are willing to take more time to answer your questions.You can also find a lot of companies that have highly skilled and devoted employees who are dedicated to creating a resume that will stand out among the rest. This is not easy to find, but it's worth the effort if you're serious about landing that dream job. If you plan on asking for samples of their work, it would help to do so in writing, so it all makes sense.Since these service providers are relatively new, they tend to be fairly new too. It would be great to get some opinions on these companies, so if you want to research anything more in depth, you can contact those who have tried the service providers before. This will help narrow down your options and let you know which one is right for you.Another factor you should consider is whether or not these companies offer personalized service. You want to feel like you are working with someone you can trust, and this should be an option that is available. You will also want to see samples o f how the resume is going to look, so if you think you are not satisfied with the results, this could be the reason why.Some of these companies actually go out of their way to give you a personal touch. For example, you may be asked to upload photos of yourself to your resume, which may make you uncomfortable. Instead, you may be asked to send them a copy of your passport or other document.You should definitely make sure you have all the information you need before hiring resume writing experts to make your resume. Since so many of them do not have enough experience to work as an expert on your behalf, you want to be sure they can do what you need them to do. Remember that this is not the place to ask questions, and that you should only do so in writing, which will help to narrow down your options.

4 Overlooked LinkedIn Features to Help You With Your Next Job Search - CareerMetis.com

4 Overlooked LinkedIn Features to Help You With Your Next Job Search LinkedIn is the social media site that every professional turns towards to build their professional networking. With more than 530 million users, it’s a one stop destination for anyone looking to increase their network.While the initial aim for LinkedIn was to connect professional, it very soon diversified into other horizontals and one of which was to help people find jobs.Now, these features have been there for a while, but haven’t been fully utilised by professionals. In this article, we would try to guide you on how to utilise this platform so that you land your dream jobs.evalFollowing are some of the amazing features available on LinkedIn that has been mostly overlooked1) Open CandidatesevalBeing a professional social network, LinkedIn should definitely be the first choice of everyone looking for a job. While there are several ways people have been using LinkedIn to improve their networking, grab jobs, etc.There is one feature that despite being one of the best for job seek ers has often been overlooked. It’s when you open your profile to new opportunities.Following are the steps one should follow to use this feature:A. Go to your LinkedIn profile. B. There you would see an option where you can enter your Career Interest. Click to open it. C. The first thing is to allow the recruiters that you’re open for job. D. Next, you have to fill certain informations like- ‘Note to Recruiters’, ‘Job Titles’’, ‘Location’, ‘Preferred Industries’ and ‘Company Size’. E. Save the changes.Once you have saved the changes, your profile would be visible to recruiters who are hiring in that domain. Also, do not worry about your present recruiter, as LinkedIn does it’s best that it does not show your profile to your current employer and his associate company.Now, our advice would be that if you are truly looking for a job change, then definitely use this LinkedIn feature. The point to keep in mind is that you should chose the job role and the pre ferred industry wisely and the one you have interest in.evalAlso in the ‘Note to Recruiters’, one should say why he/she is suitable for the role.2. LinkedIn SalaryFinding the market salary for a particular post is nearly an impossible task. There are several factor such as experience, location, etc. which help in determining the salary for a particular post. But, the problem is that neither people nor a company usually shares the salary of an employee.To overcome this problem, LinkedIn started LinkedIn salary. Now, LinkedIn not only provides salary information based on location, demographic, experience, etc.evalBut it also provides certain features that can provide an invaluable help to you in making career decision like-A. Industries where you can get higher package for a particular job post. B. Cities where a particular job profile is in high demand. C. Do you need to get higher education to get better salary?There are several such questions, which LinkedIn salary can help you get answered. Now, since the service has been very recently started, you may not find large number of data for your field. But, be patient and we are very sure that your job profile would have sufficient data on LinkedIn.Now, the one problem that LinkedIn might face is gathering the data and ensuring that it is accurate.Right now, LinkedIn asks it’s users to upload their salary and then cross-validates it. While, the problem that the user might face is that you can view LinkedIn salary only if you first upload the data of your current salary or have premium account. If this is your first job you are looking for, then having a premium account is your only option. 3. Enhanced Employer PageLinkedIn employer page has been changed for good. The page now easily provides information about the company, jobs openings and the life at the company. Now,the enhanced employer page is an optional offering, which every business does not have.But, if the company you are looking into has this, the n following is what you can get-A.A brief information about the company in the ‘Overview’ tab.eval B. In the job sections this is what you can get 1.‘Jobs that match your skill’â€" This section would tell about the job openings in the company that matches your skill. When you click on a particular job you get to know the number of matching skills, job description and an option to apply for the job. 2.‘All Jobs at this company’â€" Here you can see all the job openings at the company. 3.‘Employee Insights’- In employee insights, one can see various information about the company such as ‘where they work’, ‘skills’, ‘Language spoken by employees’, etc.C.Next in the ‘Life’ tab one can see what it’s like to work in the company, the journey shared by the employees, etc.eval4) LinkedIn ProfinderThe freelancer economy is booming with thousands of freelancers joining the community every month. Now, the companies too are placing their trust in these freela ncers to get things done. And, what better resource could be there other than LinkedIn to find freelance professionals.With LinkedIn profinder, one can easily find freelancer for a specific work. All you have to do is answer some questions related to your project. Once done you would receive 5 proposal that has been curated from LinkedIn’s freelancer’s list.Now, if you are a freelancer, you can send upto 10 proposals. After reaching the limit the freelancer has to pay $47.99/month.Now, if you are a professional looking for a job, we hope that these features would help you to find a better one. Not only this, if you are looking for a freelancing opportunity, then also this article has something for you.While there are several features that can help you find jobs on LinkedIn, we think what’s most important is how you make your profile look.So, make sure that your profile catches immediate action of the recruiters and you would definitely land an amazing job.All the best!

10 Ways You Can Market Like Apple [Infographic]

10 Ways You Can Market Like Apple [Infographic] Photo credit: telepathicparanoia via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND It was a small white boxy thing with a little black and white screen.   Hardly bigger than a lunchbox.   But it saved me. Up until that time Id hammered away at a top speed of 30 words a minute on the electric typewriter.   Keeping the correction tape and fluid handy to fix the mistakes I often made.   Doing a college paper was a nightmare.   I had to draw a line an inch from the bottom of each piece of paper so I didnt type too far and end up with a mess on the last line of the page. For many who didnt grow up with manual typewriters, carbon paper, and lots of painful redos, you probably wont recognize the joy that came in that little white box. My roommate got it.   And it turned things around for me. I was a computer major at U. C. Davis.   It was my first time on my own.   Away from family.   And school was difficult.   And help wasnt around.   Typing papers was slow.   Until that little white box. Yes.   It was the first Macintosh Computer. And it was a Godsend. What it did for me was help me type of a college paper and even if I made mistakes I could correct them and print out a clean report.   No messy mistake-riddled or painstakingly slow redos.   Just pure word processor joy. That was the Apply promise.   Make it simple, easy and fun.   Yes, not having to be at the typewriter for hours on end retyping pages, was fun. Over the years Apple has evolved.   Steve Jobs when from a crazy dictator, to being run out of his own company, to coming back as an evangelist leading an Apple resurgence and a mission that would not be stopped. Now Apple may seem unique.   And it was in many ways.   But the marketing approach that Steve made into a juggernaut is available to you. This graphic (from The Website Group) brings out 10 lessons from Apple.   10 ways you can revamp your marketing approach and get more traction. And like moving from a typewriter to a computers word processor, you too can put your marketing on rocket fuel. Courtesy of: The Website Group

Job search horror stories, PT II -

Job search horror stories, PT II - In honor of Halloween week, I thought it would be fun to commiserate and share some job search horror stories! The goal is to share tales from job seekers (so you know youre not alone) AND from hiring managers, so job seekers can learn what things might NOT work. This is another story that, to me, illustrates how some job seekers create their own results in their search. Thanks to Laurie S. for sharing this tale: After finding myself a smart self starting college educated experienced individual laid off and unable to find work for 15 months you can imagine I have a million stories. The following is just one of many from my journal. The interview lined up for today was for a part-time position. Because there was nothing to chose from in the full time job opportunities. Unless a person is maybe a nurse or a DUI Attorneyit is slim pickings. The interview was with a small insurance company and I had been going round with trying to set up an interview with them. Finally, I received an email from the company saying they would like to set up an interview and when would be a good time for me. This email hit me as a little odd. It would have made more sense for them to call me to set something up Johnny on the Spot instead of playing email games. I replied to their email because there was not a phone number to call. My reply email was greeted with yet another email letting me know the date and time I selected was not available. The sender of the email sent it out late Friday, which means I did not receive their reply to my reply until Saturday morning. The sender of the email let me know they had 9AM or 11AM on Monday morning available. I let them know I would see them on Monday morning at 9AM. This response would have been a reply to their reply of my reply to their reply are you catching my drift about the insanity with this? The office was right in front of me; however, there were no lights on in the office. Actually, there was not a soul in the office. “Great now what?” I said aloud and with much disappointment. I was less and less feeling like being involved with an interview at this moment. I was not in the mood to answer the obligatory question, So, what is your 5-year plan? My mood grew from irritated and indignant to a mischievous twinkle in my right eye. I had decided that I was not leaving until I had an interview. If I had to camp out on the bench I was sitting on all day long, somebody from the insurance office was going to sit down and look at my happy little smile. After about 30 minutes, a young woman came through the front doors and headed toward the office space I wanted to call my new home. She opened the front doors, turned the lights and sat down at the front computer. I gave her a few minutes to catch her breath. I made my way into the office space. I put on my brightest smile. “Hello,” I said warmly. The young gal looked at me and smiled back. “I believe I have an interview for 9am this morning.” I continued. “Okay let me give Jason a call.” She said. She picked up the phone, “Hey your 9am interview is here. Umm.. I do not know. Uhhh yes…sure okay I will tell her.” “Okay Jason will be in about 15 minutes. Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.” She said. “Great thank you.” I replied. I took a seat and thought about the magazine I had left in the lobby. I should have brought it in because I do not want to sit and stare at the wall. I pulled out my day planner and made it look like I was organizing something in my life. As luck would have it, my new friend at the front desk was a chatty. I  learned they received over 500 resumes for this part-time position. “I am sorry I was late today but I had to stop and pick up the mail at our old office.” She said. “No problem.” I answered. “Jason should be here soon. He is actually a friend of mine that is how I got this job.” She laughed. “We all just came back from a weekend trip to Las Vegas.” She smiled Hmm.. I thought to myself. I am not sure about how I feel about that idea. This gal was about half my age. I was getting the feeling we did not have much in common. I lied and said, “Really that is cool your employer paid for you to have a weekend in Las Vegas.” I said “So what do you do now?” She asked. “Well I am one of those casualties of the economy and lost my job. It is tough out there right now so I am bartending at the moment.” I said. A young guy with curly blonde hair whipped through the front doors. “Hi, sorry I am running late I will be with you in a moment. Uhh, actually just follow me back.” he said breathlessly. I followed Jason into a conference room. “Well this is our conference room.” he said. “Have a seat.” He said. I took out a fresh resume for him. I knew since he had been running around at Mach 2 speed this morning and had forgotten our interview he would need to be refreshed about my qualifications. After my conversation with Chatty Kathy, I learned the guy sitting in front of me was 27 and it was his Daddy’s company. He took his time looking at my resume. “Uh huh, uh huh” she said while nodding his head. When he finished he put his hands on the table  and said, “Well you are over qualified for this position. Why do you want to work here?” He looked at me. Now my real answer floating in my head was because I do not have a Daddy to give me a job. However, I smiled my most charming smile I could muster and said, “Look I would like to work in an industry that I know is going to be around. I have a lot to skills to offer a company. I have friends who work in the insurance industry and it seems to be somewhat stable. Job security is really important to me.” I finished. “Well where do you see yourself in 5 years?” he asked. There it was the question I most hated. I wonder if there is some unwritten rule in an interview that this stupid question must be asked by the employer or the 5-year plan association people fine them some exurbanite fee. I took a breath looked directly into Jason’s eyes and said. “Everyone has plans and goals but I have personally found life these days is more about figuring out how to maneuver around all of the stuff that life throws at you. I certainly did not plan on my father dying when I was 22. I did not plan on the economy taking the biggest dump in history since The Great Depression. My brother did not plan on his employer laying him off exactly a week after he told him that he and his wife were expecting their first child. It has been in my best interest to figure out how to not let things get in my way and to continue to move forward.” I finished. I do not think Jason knew what to make of my answer. But it was the truth. It took him a moment to get back on track. “Well we have more business then we know what to do with and that is why we are needing to add to our staff.” He said. “You are very blessed and this is a nice thing to hear.” I smiled. “Would you like a tour of the office?” He asked. “I would love one,” I answered. I think a tour of the office is a good sign. If he were not interested in my filling the position, he would not waste his time with a tour. There was not much to see in the office. He showed me to the part of the office that would have my cubicle. It was not much but it was more then I had now. And as he said in the interview, it was a position that could grow into different things. “Jason, do you know when you would like to have the position filled?” I asked. “By the end of the week,” He answered. “If you are still seriously considering this position when you get home if you could shoot me an email,” he requested. Something about the request felt strange and I could not put my finger on what it was. I mean why I would not want the job? I held out my hand to shake his and said, “It was a pleasure to meet you. Regardless of sending my email to let him know I was interested in the position and several calls to the office I never heard from Jason. Probably a blessing in disguise.   It seems to me that Laurie sealed her own fate here by answering questions in a bit of a defiant manner. Instead launching into a tirade indicating that she wanted job security, she could have given some plausible, believable reasons that she was applying for the job. She might have expressed a real interest in the organization itself or in the industry. In describing her future plans, she could have given an answer that did not incorporate her personal story or that of her family. Clearly, she knew she had made the interviewer uncomfortable with her reply. She knew to be prepared for this question, and could have delivered an answer that would have appealed to a prospective employer and given her a chance to land the job and to turn it down. In my estimation, the tour was just a way to end the interview, not a positive sign of an impending offer. On the other hand, clearly, Laurie had pretty much made up her mind that this was not the right place for her. They were late for the interview, traveled as a team for fun and it was a family business. None of this added up in Lauries mind as a great opportunity. However, as a job seeker, it is important to follow through so that YOU are the one turning down the opportunity that is not right. Throwing an interview and not taking things seriously just makes this another in a series of negative job experiences. How great would it have been for Laurie had she landed this job, and then decided whether or not it was not the right environment for her? She could have declined the job, but boosted her confidence level at the same time. So think about itAre your horror stories someone elses fault? Or, are you contributing to your own downward spiral?