10 Commonly Asked Interview Questions:  (I have no idea where I got this.)

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Where do you expect to be in 5 years?
3. What do you know about our organization?
4. What do you want in a job?
5. Why are you or did you leave your prior  position?
6. What did you like best about your prior job?  Least?
7. What have been your most important career successes?
8. What are you good at?  Poor at?
9. Describe a typical day in your job?
10.  Why should I hire you? 

Coach Charles

Getting what your "really!!" want

Getting What You Want – Part 3

 

One of the besetting fears each of us face is the fear of being judged.  Image is based almost entirely on what we think others think of us. I think it possible that they are not thinking of us at all.   We grew up wanting the approval of our parents, teachers and peers.  As adults we carry this into our life, our family, our job and social relations.  It is this fear that we won’t measure up that keeps us from doing what we want or need.  It keeps us from going after our dreams and goals.  In general, judging others or ourselves is a waste of time and does nothing at all for us.    We have all heard the phrase, “What will people think?”  We second guess ourselves, by asking, “Did I make the correct decision?”  You have heard of the man who was so fearful of other’s opinion about him, that he wouldn’t watch football on TV.  He was afraid that the team in the huddle was talking about him.

Giving up being judgmental about yourself and about others will enable you to go to new levels in your life and work.  You can do anything you want, but not with the “critic” in your pocket.  My advice is that you give up being critical about yourself first.  Give yourself permission to both succeed and fail, without judging yourself.

  Think about what you fear if you think someone is judging you.  If you are like me, you want to feel like you are accepted.  We want others to accept us and when they seem to be judging us we become unsure of ourselves.   

In school we wanted the approval of our teachers and the students we knew, our peers.  I carried these things right into my adult life and maybe you did too.  What this does is to keep us from going after our dreams and goals.  I lost several jobs, not because I failed at the work, but because I felt I had failed.  I got knocked down and had difficulty regaining my ability to pursue life again.   

In general, judging others or ourselves is a waste of time and does nothing at all for us.  Yes, we have heard that question: “What will people think?”  Thus, we second guess ourselves and get the wrong answer to the question: “Did I make the correct decision?”  It is kind of like avoiding watching television football and thinking that those guys in the huddle are talking about me. 

Giving up be judgmental about yourself and others will energize you to go to whole, new levels in your life and work.  Knowing that you can do anything you want, barring the “critic” in you pocket. So, just give up criticizing or being critical about everything, everybody, and yes yourself.   

Give yourself permission to go for it, succeed or fail, without judging yourself.  Give yourself to being the best you that you can be.

Coach Charles

Getting what you want without fear or guilt

How to Get What You Want, Without Fear or Guilt

 

Fear is a real factor in getting what you want.  The fear of leaving a dead-end job for whatever reason, can petrify you for weeks or months..  Could be that you don't have an alternative to your present, so you stick with it, staying where you are.  "Better the devil you know, than the one you don't." the saying goes.  Besides, its scary to be out on a limb with no one there,with you,  who has your best interests in mind

 

What is it that keeps you awake at night, afraid to go for what you want?  Is it your fear of success, your fear of failure, or a fear of being alone or abandoned?  Maybe you have no one to encourage you.  (Get a coach!)  Honestly a good coach can become your best support and get you centered and moving in a way that is really you.

 

Let's look at the fear of failure.  When we ask people why they don't go for it, the most frequent answer is fear, fear of loosing a sure thing that doesn't meet your needs, to grasping that which will.  We have the idea that everything we do must be perfect and perfectly done in order to call it a success.  It is what I call the merry-go-round argument.  As long as you go along and get along, why try to get the brass ring?

We say, "I am in a merry-go-round situation and I can't get off until I learn how to ride it properly." It becomes the death by a thousand cuts, and so we don't go for it. I've been there and done that.  Maybe you are there and need to get off. 

 

"Fear knocked at the door, and faith answered, and no one was there."

 

Hope this helps,

 

Coach Charles

Overwhelmed?

 

The word “overwhelmed” and its sister, “underwhelmed” have always intrigued me.  We know what both of these mean, but what does it mean to be “whelmed”?  Looking at a dictionary doesn’t help. It is to be crushed or run over, both of which make me think of “overwhelmed.  So, why bring this up?

 

The world has you by the tail rather than the other way around?  You have too much of everything, and you have too little time for anything?  Welcome to the year 2009, where it is only going to get worse.  What with Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, Linkedin, and a hundred other opportunities to have two million friends, none of which you know, but you think they read what you write.

 

This, of course, does not mean you have to quit, but it might be nice to get some relief.  One thing that helps is to be fully present.  This is that state of being here in the now, rather than reminiscing about what you didn't get done last year, or what you are afraid of in the year to come.  Someone has figured that 80% of our thoughts on any given day are about the past or the future rather than the present.  Is this not a tremendous dilution of your energy? 

 

To be fully present is to be engaged in what is taking place at this exact moment.  Being distracted is an annoyance and to tolerate it a waste of time and energy.  Being present enables one to do what is important at this time and then you will have no need to come back and redo it next week or next year. 

 

It is time to get “whelmed.”

 

Coach

Part of the art of interviewing

Ten Questions to ask:

 1. Tell me about yourself?
 2. Where do you expect to be in five years?
 3. What do you know about our organization?
 4. What do you look for in a job?
 5. Why are you leaving your present position?
 6. What did you like most about your previous job?  Least?
 7. What have been your most important career accomplishments?
 8. What are your strengths?  Weaknesses?
 9. Describe a typical day in your job.
10. Why should we hire you?

Copied, source unknown.  Coach Charles

Another blog 

Ah Yes, networking, bah humbug!!

There is so much stuff out in the book market and weblog market and lots of other places that put a lot of effort into convincing that the key to success in any endeavor is networking.  Well, it isn't.

Like any other tool, it is just a tool.  Thus to use it correctly may mean you get what you are after, but to wrongly use it leads to ruin.

A couple weeks ago, a couple insurance representatives came to my office.  It was obvious to me after a few moments, that this was about them helping themselves by using me and my resources.  It became even clearer when I told them that at best it was still in the exploratory stage.  That didn't take the pressure off one bit.  And while I don't dislike these fellows, I don't trust them.  They made no attempt to engage my trust, but rather to get what they had come for.  Yes, I do find that a turn off.

Have you ever had a friend, or someone you know at a networking event that walks over and flat out tries to sell you?

Whatever the typical response is, I want to run to the woods. 

So how do we, or I, do it?  How can I approach you without taking advantage of you?  How can I network without doing this, without trying to take advantage of you or of our relationship?  How can I recruit you without you feeling imposed on, or for that matter not, in fact, being imposed upon? 

My ideas of marketing is to develop relationships, not clients.  I seek your help in finding others you know that need my services and I do likewise.  I send out stuff for you, not because you asked me, but because it is good for both you and me.  If I send out a brochure or something from you, I put a  post-it on it telling how I know you and what you can  possible do for them.  For example:  I am working through some stuff about Living Trusts, part of which is long term care.  So my Chiropractor, Steven Prom of Fairview, OR gives me Shelly's card.  He tells me she might be able to help.  Well, she works as a financial representative for Country Financial.  It also happens that my grandson, who lives in Washington, works for Country also.   I get them together to help me, and to help each other.  By the by, Shelly is in Wood Village, OR across the street from Fairview.

If you should be interested in any of these, here are their phone numbers:
                                  Dr. Steve Prom, 503-465-9100
                                  Shelly Gorton, 503-492-2228

Now was that so hard?  It is all about relationships, not sales, pressure or whatever.  It is not only who you know, but how you know them.

Coach Charles