How to wow your interviewers

It’s been hours.

You’ve met half a dozen people who’ve filed in and out of the conference room you’ve been camped in all day. You’ve answered their questions like a champ time after time and the final session is winding down.

“Do you have any questions for us?” your potential boss asks. Your mind is suddenly wiped clean. You blurt, “No, thank you.” The interview is over. And after all that hard mental work, you’ve left a limp last impression.

It’s a common career nightmare—and reality. Fortunately, John Kador, author of 301 Best Questions to ASK In Your Interview, is ready to wake you up with questions that will showcase your smarts, experience, and intuition. Join the free webinar:

Master the Art and Science of Interviewing
Wednesday, December 3, 8 pm EST

“What’s the most important thing I can accomplish in the first 60 days?” “Am I going to be a mentor or will I be mentored?” “Now that we’ve talked about my qualifications and the job, do you have any concerns about my being successful in this position?”

These are just a taste of the questions Kador wants you to add to your repertoire. He writes, “Asking questions like these is not for the faint of heart but, then again, neither is succeeding in today’s hyper-competitive job market.”

This The Muse article adds that telling interesting, well-paced stories is the best way to communicate your value and connect with the people across the table. Here are a few tips about preparing and delivering your stories for maximum impact.

Want more? Join the Ace That Interview! free tele-seminar on December 5 at Noon EST.

Best,
Leslie

leslie.warner@tufts.edu | 617-627-3299 | Visit Alumni Career Services 

Supercharge your profile

LinkedIn is one of the largest employment ponds out there. Unfortunately, you’re far from the biggest fish.

Instead of constantly searching upstream, let LinkedIn do the work for you. Viveka Rosen, author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day, is giving a free tele-seminar for Tufts alumni. She'll teach you how to most effectively use LinkedIn to up your page views, fast track your job search, and build your brand or business.

    Let LinkedIn Market Your Skills and Experience
    Wednesday, November 5
    8 pm EST

Get the basics. Listen to archived webinars or join upcoming tele-seminars:

• Seven Mistakes Job Seekers Make Online
• Getting Started with LinkedIn
• Advanced LinkedIn: Not Just for Job Seekers  

Get inspired. Check out this TED Talk by Simon Sinek on how great leaders and brands inspire action.



Best,
Leslie

leslie.warner@tufts.edu | 617-627-3299 | Visit Alumni Career Services 

Think you need a personal website?

You might.

Many of the best career thinkers agree: you need to understand employers’ needs, know your own personal brand, and communicate your “value proposition” clearly. Sometimes putting together a personal website can make all the difference.

Check out these inspiring real-world examples in this article from by Erin Greenwald on The Muse. Sometimes employers will find you based on your virtual calling card. What a great change that would be! 

If you aren't too tech savvy, that's okay. There are plenty of easy-to-use templates out there.

Ready to take the creative plunge? Peruse the The Muse's 14 stunning ways to build your personal website this week.

Good luck!
Leslie

leslie.warner@tufts.edu | 617-627-3299 | Visit Alumni Career Services

Cover letter face-lift

Until an HR rep or hiring manager has Googled you, your cover letter is the face—and personality—of your resume. Make sure it shines. Here are a few writing tips from The Muse to cut, freshen, and revive.

Buh-bye, cookie cutters
Beginning a cover letter with the title of the job for which you’re applying and your intent to apply is old news. Be original; be you—you only have this one page to sell yourself. Don’t bury the lead.

Not sure where to start? Here are 31 catchy cover letters that did the trick. 

When Spellcheck isn’t enough
Don’t you sometimes wish Microsoft would just tell you, “that sentence is too long,” or “stop using overly complicated GRE vocabulary”? Enter Hemingway, an app that’ll give your cover letter a readability score and help you downsize the fear of rejection.

The 101
If you’re new to the application process and don’t know where to start with your cover letter, here’s the gist in 60 seconds, thanks to TED Ed.



Want to share a cover letter success story? I would love hear from you. Send me an email at leslie.warner@tufts.edu. And in the meantime, have a fantastic rest of the summer!

Best,
Leslie

leslie.warner@tufts.edu | 617-627-3299 | Visit Alumni Career Services

To infinity and beyond!

“If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?”

If you’ve ever been stumped by this question in an interview, you’re not alone. However, successful people in all fields know themselves and their strengths. Discovering your professional superpower will help you focus your efforts in all aspects of your life.

Let this be an invitation to know yourself better. Some tools:

• Sarah Chang’s Muse article on harnessing your superpower provides ideas and inspiration about tapping into your unique gifts 
• Strengthsfinder will give you a detailed report about your strengths. The assessment does have a cost, but many have found it well worth it. 
• Another approach to discovering what really drives you is to think about your life purpose, which will generally involve using or sharing your superpower. This Psychology Today article might help you hone in on your purpose.

And, there’s always the tried and true: call your lifelines.

1. Talk one-on-one with several people who know you very well: a friend, a coworker or boss, a relative. It’s good to have folks from different parts of your life. 
2. Ask, what are my strengths? What is one thing I could improve or develop? Using my strengths, what would I be great at doing? 
3. Record this conversation. It's generally hard for us to fully take in praise or criticism—you’ll want to listen to or transcribe the recording later. 

Others aren't experts on you, but they do see you from a perspective you lack, and can often highlight gifts you may take for granted. We often discount the things that come most naturally to us, especially if we haven’t been rewarded or paid for them.

Once you have a handle on your superpower, it’s time to take a look at how you’re showing up in the world, how you’re communicating, also known as your personal brand. Look back soon for ways to communicate and share your brand.

Best,
Leslie

leslie.warner@tufts.edu | 617-627-3299 | Visit Alumni Career Services

Like it or not, we're all in sales

Dan Pink, author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, makes the case that while the majority of us aren't out on the battlefields of a used car lot, we're all selling something.

In teaching, consulting, writing, researching, or in any field in which we're convincing or persuading others, we aren't necessarily asking for money in return (time, attention, and effort carry the list), but we still want results. We want our ideas to take hold.

But if the class won't listen, the research isn't picked up, or the client just doesn't hear you: how do you continue to sell yourself? What tools do you need to stay afloat?

Watch Pink offer answers in this great lecture from the Authors@Wharton series:




Want more? Check out Molly Gordon's fantastic site, Authentic Promotion. After dropping out of college and entering rehab, Gordon began a wearable art business and eventually started Shaboom!, an authentic wealth coaching company where she "draws road maps for other accidental entrepreneurs" and small business owners, so they don't lose heart while building wealth.

Check out her posts on self promotion.

Best,
Leslie

leslie.warner@tufts.edu | 617-627-3299 | Visit Alumni Career Services

What’s your true value?

And how do you sell what you’re really worth to your target market?

You have a lot to offer, but if you’re like most people, you don’t feel comfortable bragging about it. Whether you’re introverted or just don’t know how to best highlight your achievements, Tufts can help.

Join John Boyd, author of The Illustrated Guide to Selling You, for a free webinar on learning to sell yourself—without selling your principles or selling yourself short:

How to Define Your True Value and Sell It
Wednesday, June 4 at 8 pm EST
Listen live or from the archive

You're worth more than you know. Trust me!

Best,
Leslie

leslie.warner@tufts.edu | 617-627-3299 | Visit Alumni Career Services