another top 10

Have you ever left an interview and thought to yourself, "Dang, I had the perfect answer for that!" knowing that you completely froze when you were asked it... Well, the key to a great interview is being prepared. Take the time to actually write out your answers to these top ten interview questions, and it wouldn't hurt to practice in the mirror either. Trust me! It helps!

Top Ten Interview Questions to Prepare For

1. Tell me about yourself.
Tip: Talk about a couple of your key achievements making sure to focus on highlights of your resume.

2. Tell me about your current/last position. What did you like best about it? Least?
Tip: Be prepared to provide specifics.

3. What is your greatest strength? Weakness?
Tip: Discuss your number one strength making sure to provide a good example. For your weakness, find something that you are currently working on. Provide an example of how you’re working to improve on it.

4. Can you provide me an example of when you provided great customer service?
Tip: Explain the problem/project, discuss the action you took, and provide what the results were.

5. What motivates you in the workplace?
Tip: Challenge, creativity, success, and opportunity are the most used. You can also mention specific skills that you enjoy using such as problem solving, decision making, listening, or counseling others.

6. Did you gain any relevant experience during this time period?
Tip: Most likely, they’re referring to gaps in your work history. Keep your answers professional and work-related. Talk about skills you developed, gained, or worked on while un-employed. You may want to talk about time management skills, how to deal with adversity, problem solving, decision making, etc.

7. What is the most difficult situation you’ve ever faced?
Tip: Pick an example which you successfully resolved a tough situation in the work place. Tell the story briefly and try to reveal as many good qualities as possible. The interviewer is looking for qualities such as perseverance, good judgment, and maturity in a work situation.

8. What experience do you have that will make you the ideal candidate for this position?
Tip: This is a great opportunity to sell you. Talk about your strengths (including ones you did not mention previously) and how they fit the needs of the company. Do your research on both the company and the position before going into the interview.

9. What is the most important thing you are looking for in a job?
Tip: Figure out what it is that you value most in a company and position. You may value challenge, good working conditions, training, or friendly co-workers. Talk about one or two of those items.

10. Have you ever been convicted by any Federal, State or any other law enforcement authorities for any violation of Federal, State, County, or municipal law, regulation, or ordinance?
Tip: This may appear on your application. If so, answer truthfully. If you are offered the job, they will most likely do a background check and its better to be forth-coming with this information. For many companies, this does not omit you as a candidate for the position. If asked about it during the interview, find the positive and talk about how you have moved on from this discretion. There is no need to go into detail. If the interviewer is concerned about your credibility, mention that you can provide a list of professional references that would be able to vouch for your character.

training with limited budgets

Well, It's that time of year again. We all hope that we'll keep the same budget as last year... But with so many companies simply trying to stay afloat, budgets will surely be cut.

So what do we do as trainers with significantly less money to ensure that we're still providing the same level of service? So that we remain as valuable to the company as we were with twice the budget? Investigate! Do a little research! Find out what is important to your fellow employees! This has several different forms. Could be something as simply as an email, conversation in a hallway, or a chat over lunch with a co-worker. Or you can even step it up a notch and send out a survey to your company. The bottom line is find out what is most important to your organization and focus on that. If you meet the needs of your organization with half the budget, you will definitely be noticed and may even get some extra praise!

Once you know what to focus on, there are several ways to cut down on the cost of your training. The most obvious way is to cut out as many external vendors as possible. Bring the training in house! Enjoy the chance to take off your event management hat & step back in front of the group! Another easy way I've been able to cut down on costs is PAPER!!! SOOOO MUCH PAPER! For our New Hire Orientation, we used to print out all of the presentations. How crazy is that? We now put the presentations on a CD-ROM that they can take with them! Plus it takes up so much less space!

What are some tricks you've used to cut down on your budget?