6 ways you can self-promote in the workplace - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

6 ways you can self-promote in the workplace - Viewpoint - careers advice blog None of us like a loud mouth, but if you want to get ahead in the workplace then speaking out about your successes and career ambitions is compulsory. For many people this is an uncomfortable thing to have to do, particularly my fellow UK residents who are famously modest and even reticent when it comes to discussing themselves. In fact our latest research, the Hays Global Gender Diversity Report 2016, found that a significant portion of both men (32 per cent) and women (44 per cent) do not feel they have the opportunity to communicate their ambition and self-promote in the workplace. Take control This is a real problem, but the good news is that we all have the power to do something about it. Everyone has the right to communicate their career ambitions, and so if you’re not granted it, ask for it! This means insisting that your manager arranges routine performance reviews with you, as well as other methods outlined below. Making sure other people know what your career goals are will help make sure you’re considered seriously for future opportunities, and will give you greater control of your future career path. Here are six ways to help raise your profile in the workplace and aid your career progression: 1. Meet your targets Performing well and meeting and exceeding your targets will show your employer a measure of your future potential. This is without doubt the most fundamental way to elevate your profile in the workplace. The best way to convince your manager that you’re ready to take a step up to the next level is to start performing at that level in your job now. 2. Let the world know Don’t be afraid to make others aware of your successes. If you are working hard and performing well don’t be too embarrassed to share your success with your boss and colleagues. This doesn’t mean printing off your sales figures and sticking them up on the wall; there are more subtle ways to go about it. Try looping your boss in an email from a satisfied client or sharing insights you’ve learned from a successful project with your colleagues. Be sure to reciprocate and shout about the success of peers and colleagues too, as it helps show you thrive in a high performance collaborative culture and aspire to develop best practice. 3. Invest in your own development Nothing impresses more and shows you are keen to progress like investing in the continued development of your own skills. Your manager might only have a limited, or non-existent, budget for your learning and development, but that’s OK as there are plenty of free ways you can further yourself. Getting yourself along to industry events or searching out free online courses are great ways to start. You could also request to shadow a colleague in another department, for example. 4. Find yourself a mentor To get noticed you need to be pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. Find yourself a mentor; someone whose career path you admire and who can give you regular guidance on what skills you need to progress. The benefits of a mentor are two-fold. Not only can they offer you guidance and support, they can also be a positive advocate for you to other people in the organisation, or potential employers in their network in the future. It’s also worth stating that mentors aren’t only for interns starting out in their careers; we can all benefit from them, no matter what stage of our careers we’re at. Many C-suite executives rely on a mentor to help as a sounding board. 5. Its about your attitude as much as your aptitude Nothing will affect your reputation like a good attitude on top of your learned aptitude. Get yourself into a positive frame of mind. When you see a problem or challenge, take a solution to your boss, not just the problem. Be enthusiastic to learn and take on new responsibilities, whether this is through shadowing a colleague, becoming a designated IT expert or volunteering to learn new skills and take on projects that go above and beyond your job description. When your boss gives you feedback, take it on board and act on it in a constructive and tangible way. This will demonstrate that you are serious about your development and respect their views. 6. Stand out and speak up at meetings This means preparing well for meetings by getting sight of the agenda and delegates in advance. Start to formulate your views, ideas and relevant action points beforehand so that you are fully armed to stand out in that all important meeting. Volunteering to present for appropriate events can also curry you great favour with those who matter. A final thought Above all, it’s about taking ownership of your career, being proactive and taking the initiative without being afraid or embarrassed to communicate your successes and raise your profile in the workplace. If you don’t take control and take steps to self-promote and push ahead in your career, then who will? This blog was originally published on the PQ Magazine website. Want to progress in your career? Our career progression tips will help you get to where you want to be A refresher guide to communicating at work Why your boss matters more than your job title Successful people create their own luck 15 questions to ask your interviewer Focus your interview on fit Prioritising personality in your hiring process Jobseekers, there’s really no excuse: Research before your interview Share this blog:

6 WARNING Signs Youre Getting Fired - TheJobNetwork

6 WARNING Signs Youre Getting Fired - TheJobNetwork Apprehensive you may lose your employment? It is safe to say that you are beginning to avoid your supervisor when you see her coming? As opposed to live in dread, why not go up against the circumstance and consider the accompanying 6 admonition signs youre getting terminated? That way you could perhaps take care of business and stay away from the unavoidable. You could attempt to make something happen at your present organization or begin searching for a new position while you despite everything have the security net of a check. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-advertisement 1467144145037-0'); }); Here are the best 6 admonition signs youre getting fired:1. Job shiftYour work has changed, and not to improve things. In the event that your job out of nowhere moves or you're moved to an alternate office without clarification, and that move is horizontalâ€"for example you haven't been advanced, at that point you're presumably in the peril zone.2. More duties, sam e payIf you've been given parts more to do, or some increasingly troublesome ventures, however you haven't been given a boost in compensation to go with it, at that point that most likely methods you're retaining crafted by somebody who was laid offâ€"or somebody they were anticipating employing yet didn't, out of the blue. It's never a decent sign to be approached to accomplish more without being redressed. Keep your eyes open from here on out.3. The big enchiladas are bouncing shipIf your organization's top entertainers are bailing and taking occupations somewhere else, at that point you may do well to tail them. Trust that they best folks realize where to go so as to be esteemed. What's more, wonder why you're not doing the same.4. Your industry is overOkay, possibly not finished, however kind of sinking. Your organization might be alright, yet your industry is encountering somewhat of a break or slack. Try not to get self-satisfied. Begin thinking how your aptitudes and position may convert into different fields and don't get captured with your jeans down.5. Your organization has another strategyThis suggests that the bygone one wasn't working so well. Attempt to abstain from turning out to be related with that old system, or hazard getting tossed out alongside it.6. Your organization relocatesAny time an organization moves, they cast off a great deal of their additional weight and costly representatives. You could be one loss of their cost-cutting.

How to Conduct an Effective Exit Interview

Step by step instructions to Conduct an Effective Exit Interview Step by step instructions to Conduct an Effective Exit Interview A post employment survey is a gathering with a firing representative that is by and large led by a HR staff part. The post employment survey gives your association the chance to get forthcoming and genuine criticism from the worker who is leaving your business. Chiefs and bosses are additionally urged to direct post employment surveys. When trust exists, the post employment survey input is helpful for hierarchical improvement and advancement. The post employment survey is an indispensable part of your work finishing process on the grounds that the data you acquire can make significant enhancements in your association. In certain associations, the post employment survey is led as a piece of the work end meeting notwithstanding the remainder of the means on the business end agenda. Pose Inquiries, and Pay Close Attention You will need to listen cautiously to what you are told in a post employment survey and ensure that you pose a great deal of inquiries. This will help guarantee that you are hearing what the worker is stating and what the person in question isn't stating. Both are significant. It is anything but difficult to make an act of pure trust and accept that you comprehend what the worker is portraying, yet the representatives words may not precisely pass on the representatives genuine sentiments. During a post employment survey, being sensitive to the workers unobtrusive contrasts in significance is vital to the helpfulness of the data you get. Its additionally best to write down what the worker says because you dont need to confide in your memory. Understanding the Positive Aspects of Employment By understanding the positive parts of work with your association, it will be simpler to hold basic representatives and improve workplace productivity. Since you are permitted to pose practically any inquiry in a post employment survey, its a decent an ideal opportunity to ask about remuneration and advantages at competing organizations. You may find you top the rundown. You could likewise approach the individual that is leaving for any positive data they need to share about supervisors, the authoritative crucial, vision of the organization, and if your association exceeds expectations at correspondence. Making aComfortable Environment The way to leading a powerful post employment survey is to make a situation where the leaving representative is happy with giving fair criticism. The authoritative culture that cultivates helpful post employment survey input is one in which representatives are happy with sharing thoughts transparently are urged to scrutinize procedures, and strategies and are never rebuffed for sharing their musings. Distil Employee Anxiety You have to guarantee the worker who is leaving that the criticism the person gives will be joined other representative input and introduced to the board in a collected organization. This distils any tension with respect to the worker that there will be backlashes for not exactly positive input. Workers are worried about their notorieties, and they stress over how the post employment survey information will be utilized. They need to be guaranteed that in the event that they run into their administrator or associates later on, their data has been kept hidden. How you quit your place of employment can influence your future. So representatives stress over cutting off ties and leaving the business with a not exactly positive impression on the off chance that they talk too sincerely at a post employment survey. You will likely make a situation wherein the representative trusts that their criticism is utilized in an accumulated configuration with the objective of improving the association. Pose the Most Important Inquiry At long last, ensure that each post employment survey contains the most basic inquiry that you have to pose to the worker. You need to comprehend what made the representative beginning searching for a new position in any case. Truly, radiant open doors do fall into a people lap, and job offers to climb the administrative stepping stool happen every so often, too. Be that as it may, for your normal worker who is leaving, you need to know why the representative was available to a new position and why the person in question was glancing in any case.

WSJ Live - How not to Bomb a Job Interview

WSJ Live - How not to Bomb a Job Interview Big Interview co-founder (and chief coach) Pamela Skillings recently spoke with Nikki Waller of the Wall Street Journal to share tips and answer questions on not bombing the interview. Geared toward college students and new grads, watch the video below to learn how to impress while avoiding common pitfalls so that you land the right internship or job.Video TranscriptNikki Waller: So youve polished your resume, fired up your networking, and you scored a job interview. Now what? I am Nikki Waller, the Wall Street Journals Management and Careers Editor. And today, we are going to share tips, talk about strategies, and take your questions on how not to bomb a job interview.Joining me today via Skype is Pamela Skillings, a top job interview coach and the founder of Big Interview, an online job interview training system licensed by more than 70 universities and government agencies. She has helped hundreds of clients from college graduates to C.E.O.s land their dream jobs. Hi, Pam. Welcome. Pamela Skillings: Hi, Nikki. Thanks for having me. Very happy to be here.Nikki Waller: Its great to have you, too. So for everyone joining in, we are talking about those interviews for your first job. It is a sometimes mystifying time and process.And so lets talk about some of the basics. Obviously, we have you here. Were very lucky. You are a guru in the world of job interviews. And you also are giving us tips that you charge a lot for. So this is a great thing. We appreciate your time. Can you talk about some of the very, very basics. If Im on campus, I am starting to dip a toe into the working world, what are some of the basics that I have to have in mind and realize as Im about to begin this process?Pamela Skillings: I think the biggest thing I see… And yeah, Im a big geek on the subject. I work with people all day everyday on interviewing. So I say this a lot. This is based on a lot of data. The biggest mistake that I see and, especially, I think, for people who are new to in terviewing, people who are still in school, or new grads, soon to be grads, is lack of preparation. And Im not talking about memorizing answers or being a robot in the interview because thats too far in the direction.But I think a lot of people feel like, hey, its just a meeting. Yes, its not an important meeting, but I have good communication skills. Im smart. Ill go in there. Ill wing it. It should be fine. Right? And most of the time, you could have been a lot better if youd just done some simple preparation, research, self-analysis, and just thinking about the key points that you want to make. This is an important meeting. Youre going to have limited time, so being strategic about what you want to communicate.Nikki Waller: I think thats absolutely right. So if you guys are taking notes, that rule number one from Pam is no winging it or limited winging it. What are some of the ways that people can prepare themselves for different types of interviews, too? I mean, theres the spect rum of the informational interview. And then theres also the on-campus sort of coffee interview. And then theres, of course, the more formal one. Can you talk a little bit about ways that people should prepare and what their expectations should be?Pamela Skillings: Absolutely. I think there are definitely some points that if you get real comfortable with core questions and topics, it’s going to serve you across the spectrum, whether its phone, Skype, on-campus, informational. There are some key points that you need to be really comfortable talking about yourself. And most of us dont talk about ourselves this way in real life, and thats why winging it is hard. So regardless of the type of interviewing, there are special things you can do for phone or special challenges based on format. But across the board, I think focusing on the topics, the key questions. And I saw in the pre-session questions that you shared with me, a lot of these coming up, a lot of key themes that I recommend people work on.So that basic tell me about yourself, that open-ended first question, talking about strengths, talking about weaknesses, talking about your experiences, your behavioral stories. So I think across the board type of interview, focusing on this core elements, and knowing what you want to say. They might phrase the question a little bit differently from interview to interview, but theres definitely a most common set. And even across industries, theyre definitely going to ask some of the core questions.Nikki Waller: And what are some of those core questions that everyone should be prepared for?Pamela Skillings: Well, the first one and the one that I think is probably most important is that tell-me-about-yourself question. Right? And its not always phrased exactly that way. Sometimes they say, Walk me through your resume. Sometimes they say, Tell me a bit about your background. But regardless thats usually the first question. And I would say a vast majority, 97% of intervi ews, thats the first question.And so you want to be prepared. You dont want to wing that question. Thats your opportunity. I see that question as an opportunity. Its awkward if you havent prepared for it. I see a lot of people struggle with it. Theyre not quite sure where to start or what to include, and how personal versus professional. But if you prepare for it, that answer can set the tone for the whole interview and really help you start strong. Its basically your elevator pitch. Get their attention right from the beginning and focus on some of the things that you want them to know about you, that you want them to remember about you.Nikki Waller: I think youre really smart and really great to bring up the elevator pitch, which is also another way of thinking about the tell-me-about-yourself question.Pamela Skillings: Yeah.Nikki Waller: And especially as your starting out, I think all of us interviewing for all kinds of jobs struggle with tell-me-about-yourself. It’s something that will be perennially a part of your life. But when you are a college student, when you are just beginning the working world, where do you start? How much detail do you give? And what should your objective be when your entering that question?Pamela Skillings: The objective there, I think, is to introduce yourself, focus on the professional versus the personal, but a little bit of your personality in there. But basically sum up what youre all about and why youre a fit for this position in one or two minutes. Easy right? And I think for students in particular, it’s actually a little bit easier for students and those who have been working for 10 years in trying to figure out what to cram in there. But I do recommend to my clients a three-part model, just sort of focusing on a couple of things. So starting with who I am professionally, and it’s sort of like a big picture professional state. Right? And a lot of people who are undergrads or who are still students that statement is, Im currently a senior at university studying blah, blah, blah, blah and recently completed an internship. So kind of summing up who you are right now professionally. And often for students, thats kind of the most relevant information that you want to lead off with any way.And then that second part. So who I am is the first part. Second part is, why Im qualified. So here is where you bring out a select, kind of bullet points, of what you think are kind of your greatest hits, your most interesting things. And this could be chronological or not. You could talk about your extracurriculars, you could talk about awards youve won, academic accomplishments, part-time jobs, internships and being select at the things that you want to focus on that are most relevant.And then I think its wise to wrap the answer up, part three, is why Im here. And this could be really simple. It could just be, Im really excited about this opportunity because I think its a great company and an excellent match wi th my background. All right? It just gives you a way to make your interests very clear, and also to end answer in a nice, crisp, purposeful way instead of kind of trailing off, which is what some do. They go on and on. Sometimes people start, I was born, I was raised, I went to kindergarten, And then they kind of trail off at the end like, I guess thats it. I dont know. Is there anything else you want to know about me? And that just kind of makes you look unfocused and not as confident as if youre able to really kind of end in a purposeful way.Nikki Waller: I think thats a great strategy. And I know we have this Skype, this mythical beast. And so for just a recap, because we had some audio going in and out there, the three big components are number one, who I am and where I am in my life. Number two is why Im qualified for whatever job were talking about. And three is why Im here, how this connects to your broader life goals. And then a crisp and purposeful finish.Pamela Skillings: Yes, perfect summary.Nikki Waller: Yes. Is there nothing about, “In kindergarten I discovered a love for the finger paints?”Pamela Skillings: Yeah.Nikki Waller: We got a lot of questions from people ahead of time for this session. More than 120. And I have to say, probably… We looked at this together, a real big chunk, maybe a quarter of them, wanting to know how to answer the questions about, what is your greatest weakness?Pamela Skillings: Yeah. Some question that is.Nikki Waller: How do you counsel people to master and answer those responses?Pamela Skillings: Great. I think this, this also kind of falls in that group of questions that everybody should be prepared for regardless of the type of interview. And for different reasons, I think you want to be prepared to talk about your strengths because, hey, those are your selling points and you want to get comfortable with it, especially if youre a little bit more modest by nature. And I know I work with a lot of people who are maybe a little more introverted, or they just arent people who are comfortable saying, Im great. You know, just because of their personality or how theyve been raised. And so thats why I think its really important to prepare for that strengths question in advance.Actually writing down a list of your core strengths, you know, at least five. Force yourself at least five, maybe more. And for each of those strengths, capturing a proof point. I call it a proof point, but its either an example that demonstrates our strength from the past, brief example, or sort of a general description of your background and what youve done that demonstrates that, if theres not sort of one example that shows youre a great team player, for example.So having those strengths defined, prioritized, and getting comfortable practicing them. And I do feel practice is hugely, hugely, hugely important in addressing all of the things that can go wrong in the interview. It helps you eliminate fillers, it helps you a void blanking out, nerves, all kinds of stuff. And it also helps you get comfortable talking about what you are in your own voice even if thats not your comfort zone.So strengths. And strengths also applies a lot of questions. They may ask it that way. They may ask, What are your strengths? They may also ask, Why are you a fit for the role? Or Why should we hire you instead of all these other brilliant people we’re talking to? All of those are basically asking you, tell me all your strengths. So thats strength.Nikki Waller: Awesome. And I think this is good for job seekers of all ages, depending on whos watching, is to have really close at hand five strengths and a proof point for each that really illustrates. So in the parlance of journalism, youre showing and not just telling people about your strength.Pamela Skillings: Exactly.Nikki Waller: And practice that over and over and over again. And I think you make a good point about practice. Its a hard thing to do and it can feel a little bit silly, but its often the differentiator between who gets the job and who doesnt.Pamela Skillings: Yeah. And it can solve a whole set of problems. And I see it every day because I work with people over the course of a couple of months. And even within one coaching session, the difference between the beginning and then having practiced a few times in terms of projecting confidence, knowing what youre talking about, remembering the key points, and dealing with little nonverbal things.When youre nervous and youre wondering about what youre going to say next, those nonverbal tics come out, right? Youre avoiding eye contact, or you’re shifting around, or youre doing other things, these little habit that come up. So yeah, Im a huge, huge believer in practice. And actually, thats a big part of what Big Interview is. It’s got a lot of information on there, too. But we do have a tool where people can practice with their webcam and in the privacy of their own homes, so that its not quite so awkward. Of course, you can totally practice with a friend or a mentor, but you can also practice on your own now. Technology makes it possible to avoid some of that awkwardness if you want to just do it by yourself.Nikki Waller: So Pam, whats your great weakness?Pamela Skillings: Okay. So this one also is very important, and for different reasons. This is still comes up surprisingly often. You know a lot of people will say, this is an old school question. It’s such a cliché. It doesnt make sense to ask because everybodys prepared for it. But so many companies still ask this question. So you need to be prepared for it, just like you need to be prepared for any other potentially tricky or negative question. So that might also be included if you’ve got a gap on your resume, or a low G.P.A. or something of that nature. You want to practice any of those in advance. And so I recommend everybody be prepared with a weakness to talk about.And the biggest mistake I see made here aside from saying you have no weaknesses at all, which is definitely not the right move, but I also see people, you know… Theres some advice floating out there going out there about turning a negative into a positive where you say, I work hard, Im too committed, Im too good looking, whatever. Right? Nobody buys that. Maybe it worked once, you know, 10 years ago for somebody, but nobody buys that anymore.You do have to pick out a real weakness, you know, something that you could work on. And its important to pick what I would say is a good one. So one thats not a red flag. So if youre interviewing for accounting and you say you hate math, thats going to be a problem, right? You want to pick something that is relatively mild related to job at hand, and also that you can definitely improve in. Its not some inherent fundamental flaw, its something that you can and are working on.So mention it briefly, describe it briefly. And then, really important, kind of the biggest thing to do here, is talk about how youre already working on this. Youve already taken a class. Youve already worked with your mentor. Youve already taken on a project to get more experience in this area. This shows that youre self-aware enough to know that, hey, yes, you do have weaknesses. And youre also someone whos driven to improve yourself. So identify your weakness and youre already working on getting better.Nikki Waller: So to recap because, again, we have a little bit of an audio hiccup there. You got to pick a real weakness. I know Pam does a lot of interview coaching as The Wall Street Journal. I talk to a lot of hiring experts and I also interview people myself for jobs. And we are on to you if you are saying that you work too hard or sometimes you care too much about your job. That doesnt cut it. So find a real weakness, but not something that will also have the interviewer calling the security guard midway through the interview.Pamela Skillings: Yes.Nikki Waller: So the next mo st popular question that has come up, I think, is that answering… I think this is especially hard to do when you are on the precipice of graduating college. Answering the question of where do you see yourself in five years or 10 years when so much you are just thinking, I want a paying job after college and that is my lifes most cherished goal right now. How do you answer the long-term question?Pamela Skillings: Yeah, this is one of those questions, too, I guess like weakness in some ways that, yeah, nobody knows where they are going to be in five years. Right? Its absolutely not something that anyone could answer with complete accuracy. So why do companies ask this question? And that of course gives you some insight into how you should answer it. Because if you can get into the head of your interview with all of these, with any questions, if you cant understand why theyre asking this, it’s going to help you figure out a smart answer.And so the reason theyre asking you, where do you see yourself, whether its five years, 10 years, whatever, is because theyre trying to get a sense of your goals and your plan for your career, and make sure their decision fits into that. They want to make sure that youre serious about this career. And that if they hire you, and they spend the time and effort and budget to bring you on board, to train you, etc., that youre not going to leave in six months because this is not really what you want to do, you just kind of want the job. Right?Now, of course, sometimes thats the situation, but you want to make sure that you’re not advertising that, and that youre coming across really identifying that this is something, if hired, you could see this being a long-term position for you where you could learn, and grow, showing that you could be a reliable, low risk hire basically.Nikki Waller: Fantastic. I think thats a really smart answer to that question. And then another question that has come up is And after this we will be taking Thank you guys for sending in questions live as well. We’ll be answering some of those questions in just a moment. But also, there is the giant elephant in the room with some of this, which is money. Everyones interested in it, but when do you talk about it and how?Pamela Skillings: Well, my recommendation is usually, wait to talk about it as long as you can. As in any negotiation, anything that involves money negotiation, the person who named the number first is going to be at a little bit of a disadvantage. Right? So unfortunately, you dont have all of the control when youre going to a job interview, so you may not be able to put them off indefinitely. And no, you definitely dont want to refuse to answer the question. One way I think works pretty well to sort of deflect a little bit maybe at the beginning is that they ask you what kind of compensation are you looking for. Saying something along the lines of, Well, you know money is not my top consideration right now. Im really l ooking for the perfect fit, so I would be open to a competitive offer. Right? I love the phrase competitive offer because it shows that you’re a little bit flexible, that you are deflecting.But it also shows that youre not going to sell yourself for cheap, that you believe youre worth being paid fairly, of course. So I think that’s kind of a nice way to try to deflect. And sometimes it works and sometimes they will press you and say, Well, no really. What are you thinking? And so you do want to be prepared. You do want to do your research, and kind of get a feel for whats the market rate for this type of position. And theres a lot of places you can go. Places like Glassdoor, and Payscale.com, and Salary.com, where you can do a little bit of research and get a feel for what the range in your city, for the title, type of company. And that at least you gives you a range.You can speak to the range and say, Well, you know, based on my research, heres what Ive seen the range to be, an d so thats kind of what I had in mind. So keeping it still fairly general. And ideally you want to wait to have a real hardcore negotiation on money until they love you so much, and the offer has been extended, and they want to bring you on board, then you have much more leverage to start to get into specifics.Nikki Waller: Excellent. So that magical phrase is ‘open to a competitive offer’ and also having a sense of the range, which is really We have gotten a lot of questions both live and pre-game about the questions that you should ask. And I think that it is great, as a career editor and an expert, Im really excited that people are wondering what questions they should I ask because I think that interview serves really a dual-purpose, which is one, as an employer I want to know about you. But also I want to know that the job candidate have a sense of what the company does, and how this job isnt about you, but how you are going to help the company move forward. So how do you st rategize questions to ask that can show that to the employer and then also give you real information?Pamela Skillings: Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, the questions that you ask, they tell a lot to the employer. It’s not just about, okay, I have to ask a question. As Nikki said, it shows if youve done the homework and also it shows if youre interested. You know, you’re interested and youre smart, that you ask good questions in general. So I think part of it has to do with doing your research in advance. And I think thats important to do anyway, doing some research on the company because youre going to want to use it.Another very important question is, why do you want to work here? Why do you want this job? You definitely want to prepare for that one. And so doing that research will prepare you for those types of questions and also to be able to ask smart questions at the end of the interview. So taking a look at recent press releases, recent mentions in the press of the company, inte rviews with their executives, information about their products, their marketing campaigns, sort of depending on what division youre interviewing for. So ask something based on recent news about the company or recent initiatives is great so you kind of know the space And you know, its not always possible, right? So its good to have some general questions prepared in advance, just in case they address that question or you need more.So its good to have general questions prepared as well, just in case. But you want to steer clear of anything that seems too self-serving especially early on. Right? Anything about vacation, when am Im going to get promoted? Do you pay for relocation? Anything like that, avoid, avoid, avoid especially during the first couple of rounds. Wait until youve got some leverage, like with the money, to start talking about that.Any questions you ask, even the general ones should be about showing your interest in the company and interest in doing a great job if you a re hired. So things like, what do you think are the biggest opportunities for this department over the next six my months? What do you think are the changes happening in the company right now? What do you see…? Stuff like that shows that youre already thinking about doing a good job. So those are the kind of general questions that can work really well.Nikki Waller: I agree. I think those are excellent points. And as someone who has been a hiring manager and is one, do follow her advice. These are great questions. And someone actually has asked from the audience how what were hearing today matches up to my interview experience at the Journal before I was hired.Pamela Skillings: Interesting.Nikki Waller: Yeah. Happily, I was hired not right out of college at the Journal. So that’s seven years ago and I think everything that were talking about today holds totally true. Especially that were just talking about understanding where the company is at and where it wants to go. Especially because I join the company in a digital position, I was able to ask a lot of questions about what they thought as some of the obstacles, and what were some of strategic plans in the next several months that would help the Journal get where it wanted to go. And asking those questions also allowed me to sort of sell myself in that context, too.So thats the other great upside of asking this kind questions is that you can say, well, that’s awesome that you guys want to grow this part of the business because I have this experience doing this or an internship doing that, or in my classes, I have worked on projects that look at this, and I think I have access to some of the best and most precious information on these points. And then actually, I didnt want to ask you, Pam, this kind of thing around here, but is it a good idea to talk about your coursework in interviews, or does it make you seem less experienced than you really might be?Pamela Skillings: Well, I definitely think its fine to talk about your coursework. You know, you have to kind of use good judgment about whats relevant. I also think its important if you do have work experience, or even internship experience or part-time type of work. I think its important that you have some stories and examples from that experience as well, and its not just about your coursework. Even if its extracurriculars where you’re kind of got in a non-academic world because they kind of see can this person work in an office? And its a little bit different than functioning in an academic environment.But I do think its great if you had a team project that was part of a course. Often, those can be great examples to share showing teamwork, problem solving, and other things. So I definitely wouldnt shy away from it, but just make sure youre not underselling the work experience because, you know, sometimes early on in college, our work experience isnt that exciting, and we dont think its that impressive. But it is good to be abl e to talk about your ability to work in that kind of environment.Nikki Waller: Great. And we have about five minutes left. So there are a couple of quick things I want. Lets do a really brief answer to this question because I think it is so interesting. How does a candidate best prepare for a job interview in a foreign country or for a preposition in a foreign country?Pamela Skillings: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that obviously raises additional challenges, right? So here, research is even more important. Because, yes, depending on the country, the interview process and the interview expectations can be different. And a lot of it depends. Is this a U.S.-based company with offices abroad? Is this a company based in a particular country? It might change the culture that youre walking into in terms of who youre speaking.So doing your research is the key, you know, a lot of Google action, reading up. But do what you can to tap into your network, your professors, your career services center, anywhere that you can go, to find out, is there someone you can talk to who’s worked in that country or who can give you some more insight into how to prepare. Because, yeah, you want to make sure that you are able to translate your American experience, and also that youre prepared for any difficult questions or different approaches that could come out.Nikki Waller: Excellent. And for the last part, I really want to talk with you about follow-up. I think one of the best ways to bomb a job interview is after you’ve left the room. So wed like to help people to avoid that. Can you talk a little bit about the best ways to follow up after a job interview, how to do the thank-you notes. And then also, how often can you check in with people before youre a pest? Whats the right way to do that?Pamela Skillings: Yes, its always tricky to figure out. Theres a lot of metaphors between dating and interviewing, and thats one of them like, okay, how long should I wait to call? And what if the y dont call me back? And you know, all that kind of stuff. So I guess the first point about following up, absolutely, you need to send a thank-you note. And Im a big believer in sending an email thank-you note right away. Right? Within 24 hours. It shows that youre excited. It shows that you’re prompt, that you respond quickly. And so I think having a quick email thing. It can mean you can also send something by mail, a handwritten note. And yeah, we can talk about when that might make sense. But I think you always want to send an email thank-you note immediately.And it can be very simple. You want to thank them for their time. You want to reiterate that you had a great experience. And then you do want to refer to something personal that you remember from the interview, something they told you that was interesting, and ideally, link that to. Im so excited to hear about And I really think that my background… With this company would be a great fit for you. I bring my experience do ing ABC into the campaigns. So being able to address some of that, something personal, something specific, if you can.And then wrapping up by further expressing your interest, Im really looking forward to hearing from you. Please let me know if I can answer any question. Something along those lines. It can be pretty simple. You dont want to overwhelm them with a huge block of text that they probably arent going to read it anyway. But if you keep it fairly short and personal and make it clear that its not just a form note, I think thats probably the best thing.Nikki Waller: Excellent. All these are very, very wise words. We are just about out of time. Thank you everyone for joining us today. Hopefully you are merging with a sense of how not to bomb a job interview. And even better, we hope that you are feeling more equipped to succeed at a job interview and ace it on all fronts. Thank you to everyone for joining and thanks for your very smart questions. And thanks especially for Pame la Skillings of Big Interview, one of the best interview coaches in the game. Pam, thanks for joining us.Pamela Skillings: Thank you. It was a lot of fun.Nikki Waller: All right. Thanks, on behalf of The Wall Street Journal. And good luck out there everyone.