As always, I'm delighted to send you this months new newsletter; I am sure you'll find the subjects interesting and the content useful. There is quite a lot to read this month so... take your time and enjoy!

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With the children soon back to school, many of you may be thinking more about where your career is going and what you should be doing about it.

If its not as good as you know it could be, use my guidance and take the first steps to complete your career change.

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In recent issues we covered:

• The Interview;
• Dealing with Interview Nerves;
• Assessment Centres;
• Psychometric Tests;
• Body Language;
• What do you look like?
• Presentations;
• Assert yourself and how to
• Avoid Your CV Ending Up in the Bin

Just follow the link at the bottom of this newsletter if you want to check out the back-issues

And in this month's issue we're going to talk about:

• Interview Perspectives - some things that go wrong

• Networking

• Stress & Career Change

• Some Ideas for Your Own Web Business

Quote of the Month

"We must never despair; our situation has been compromising before; and it changed for the better; so I trust it will again; If difficulties arise; we must put forth new exertion and proportion our efforts to the exigencies of the times."

George Washington

Interview Perspectives

In my practice I’ve come across all sorts of interview feedback from my clients, but these two interview perspectives stand out as being worthy of bringing to your attention.

With all of my clients we cover the importance of interview preparation; knowing what you have to offer and being able to discuss why you want the job and are the most suitable candidate. In addition having the confidence to conduct the interview on an equal footing with the interviewer so you can make your decision about whether the job is right for you.

All of this depends on actually taking part in the interview of course and if the interviewer – through incompetence or other reason – doesn’t allow that, what can you do? What I’ve outlined here are two real situations (I’ve changed the names) where things were so unusual, so if you come across anything like them you’ll know what to do.

1. The Interviewer Who Wouldn’t Stop Talking

This is an account of John’s interview and the interviewer who wouldn’t stop talking.

John came back from his interview appointment totally perplexed. “I arrived 10 minutes early and was shown in to meet Mr Lowden, the Office Manager, exactly on time. I thought everything would go the way we discussed in our pre-interview talks and I knew I was fully prepared; the job sounded absolutely right for me.”

But it wasn’t exactly the interview he expected because once the introductions were made, the interviewer Mr Lowden started talking and didn’t stop until he said:

“Thank you for coming, I’ve enjoyed our meeting, I’ll let you know the outcome as soon as possible.”

So John arrived to talk it through with me. What could he have done?

Many hiring managers simply do not know how to conduct an interview, and it would be wrong to write off the job because of this manager’s ineptitude. Although quite unusual this was an extreme example of the manager who talks because they don’t know what questions to ask.

John had done his preparation very carefully and knew what the requirements were for the job and the successful candidate, so he had the keys to this dilemma in his hands.

To break into the interviewer’s monologue you have to ask a question and this can be difficult without appearing too rude.

What you do first is break the eye contact – look away – then while you are looking away, you say “may I ask you a question?” and on the last syllable of ‘question’ you re-engage firm eye contact which will elicit a positive response. The eye contact is crucial for you to seize control at that moment.

You can then use your knowledge to ask a relevant question such as: “Is it true that the most important area of this role is meeting monthly deadlines?”

When you have your response you then immediately say:

“May I tell you how I am able to meet this most important aspect of the job?”

You shouldn’t have to repeat this ploy as the interview will now open up; but you know what to do if this ever happens to you.

2. The Interviewer Who Wouldn’t Interview

The story is about the interviewer who sent my client, Chuck, away without any discussion whatsoever.

When Chuck returned, he was really down.

“I did everything right and I know I am the best person for this particular Field Sales role, but he just wouldn’t talk to me, and sent me away; what a waste of time!”

What happened was that when Chuck was shown into the interview room, the Field Sales Director barely looked up from what he was writing and just said:

“Thanks for coming – you’re not what we want, check with the desk for your travel expenses, goodbye.”

Most firms don’t intentionally waste your time, so you have to ask yourself what is going on.

What happened here was the Field Sales Director’s way of putting Chuck to an immediate test – how would he react at being rejected?

Rejection is the greatest problem for Field Sales people to overcome, but Chuck never expected to encounter it at his interview.

When I got Chuck to think about this he realised that he should have applied his sales skills to the situation to find out if there really was a problem.

So what he should have done was ask “What is it about me that makes you think I’m not right for the job?” This way if there was a genuine problem he would have the chance to deal with it, or if it was just a test he would have passed the first stage. This is generally known as ‘objection selling’ and is a powerful technique.

First identify if there is a real problem (objection) and then you have the opportunity to minimise it or make it go away altogether.

In this case Chuck would then be able to offer up some solid reasons why he was right for the job. And once he got started he would be on the way to securing the job he knew was right for him.

Make sure you consider this when preparing for your interview - although it probably won't happen - then at least you will not be caught out. Also be sure that you have prepared as fully as possible and have answers to all the most common questions fully prepared.

Networking

These are just some of the things you could be doing right now.

Get to know at least three people more senior than you within your profession to give you advice and professional guidance.

Keep in contact with people once you’ve met, on a regular basis, rather than only contacting them when you want something.

Make an effort to meet people face to face on their home ground, at least once a year rather than just talking to them over the phone, emailing or writing to them.

Show an interest in and an understanding of other people, rather than viewing a meeting as just an opportunity for you to talk to them about yourself.

Be interested in the 'whole' person rather than just the business part of them, so that you know what is important to them and how you can gain their trust and respect.

Congratulate people on their achievements and new announcements.

View networking as a business opportunity rather than as a chore or a distraction.

Develop a good memory for people's names and conversations you had.

Don’t be seen as a social climber because you only bother with those senior to you.

When you start to network naturally you will find it becomes second nature.

To remind yourself of the rules for networking click here.

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Stress & Career Change

Top ten tips for stress:

1. Avoid self medicating with tobacco, alcohol, coffee or pills
2. Take physical exercise to work off stress – try walking for just 20 minutes a day
3. Make time to relax every day and treat yourself – try a massage with a friend
4. Get enough rest and good quality sleep to recharge your batteries; try to take a break when you are tired
5. Eat a good balanced diet with 5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables every day
6. Negotiate with people who cause you conflict – its better than avoiding things altogether
7. Learn to accept the things you cannot change and save your emotional energy
8. Manage your time better and delegate where possible
9. Practise thinking positively – it’s amazing how effective it is
10. Plan ahead to prevent too much pressure building up and learn when to say "no"

Finally, next time you get a chance to go out into your garden, or other outdoor space, just take a few moments to smell the flowers scent, listen to the song thrushes and enjoy the fresh air. Chill out and take some time for yourself. Your body will love it and your stress levels will reduce!

Some Ideas for Your Own Web Business

We’ve talked elsewhere about you considering or even choosing to build your own on-line web business as your career change.

There are lots of ways to do this and I use Site Build It! as my toolbox; go there to learn more about whether it would help you as well.

Here are some additional tools and strategies that I am finding both inspiring and helpful.

If you are getting frustrated by a lack of traffic to your own websites - I empathize. I’ve been there.

But I also have something better than empathy: I have found a solution. I can show you exactly how to get masses of traffic to and sales from any site you wish, and once you get going it’s like throwing a switch.

This strategy is called the Content Based Traffic System, and I have seen it used to generate over 5.1 million visitors to Kevin Bidwell’s sites. Each day it automatically brings him several thousand more visitors, so it’s worth learning how he does this.

No matter what you offer on the Web, your site must SELL!

Has your own profitable Web site just been a dream until now? Well, everyone's an expert on something!

Think! Brainstorm a little. Can you offer?

• World-class consulting services on your special area of expertise?

• Special travel services, like bike tours through the Andes?

• Unique info-products, based on knowledge from your job or hobby?

It doesn't matter. Here's the bottom line – this book Make Your Site Sell will show you exactly what to do.

And to learn about filling your site with words that make people want to buy, you should take a look at this book, Make Your Words Sell

This is pretty serious stuff, especially when so many people think... "I Am Not a Writer"

I hope these help you as they are helping me.

Comments, ideas or feedback?

I'd really love to hear from you - just reply to this e-zine and let me know what you think.

Best Regards

Peter

p.s if you haven't yet signed up for your own FREE copy of Careers Update click here and I'll make sure you get one.

Disclaimer: As with all advertising, you should examine the opportunities thoroughly and take appropriate advice before committng yourself.

90 Days to Your Dream Job

To help you make the most of your career change, I've written a book '90 Days to Your Dream Job' which you might want to take a quick preview - see the e-book here. But don't forget to claim your 7-part email course 'Get Your Dream Job in 90 Days' - it's FREE and based on my book.

Just click here.