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Jay Whitenoreply@blogger.com2008-07-03T17:34:46.293-05:005 Key Steps to Acing Your First Job Interview</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 class="write">Written on 7/03/2008 by Abhijeet Mukherjee, of <a href="http://www.jeetblog.com/">Jeet Blog</a>.</h7></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnjoh/177832416/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SG04R3hALWI/AAAAAAAAB6M/GvlRyBAyheY/s400/interview.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218889422803578210" border="0" /></a>So you've graduated from college and you're eagerly awaiting D-day - your first job interview. So how do you feel? Are you brimming with confidence or are you absolutely freaked out? I am sure we all pass through this stage in life. It's a time of big change and we're eager to make the jump into the corporate world. Nailing the first interview is a tall order but there are things you can do ahead of time to better prepare yourself. However, and this is something you have to come to terms with quickly, there are things that you can no longer control such as previous academic achievements, schooling, background, etc. Once you understand that, it's time to focus your attention on some basic pre-interview preparations. Some of these points might seem elementary but they are the ones which are often overlooked. Doing so is almost an immediate red flag to the hiring manager so get these simple points down and you'll be on your way! <ul><li>Research in the right direction It's important to research well and in the right direction. Like the entire world, organizations and their HR departments have evolved in the past few years. Interviewers expect the candidates to go that extra mile and talk candidly about various things, especially about current affairs in the respective field. They will try to test your knowledge about their firm too. Hence you should stay updated about your field and do extensive research about the company you want to work for. Start your research by going to the company website and spending time exploring and analyzing their products and services, how they make money, how your position will aid in their making money, etc. If it's a comprehensive website, you'll gain good knowledge about the way the company works and what else you should know about in order to pass the interview.</li> <li>Resume Your resume is normally the only document that you'll carry into the interview (note: bring 2 copies: one for them, one for you in case the interviewer wants to discuss it line-by-line). Apart from accounting for your achievements and bragging about yourself, it's also a reflection of your personality. A <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/04/lets-fine-tune-your-resume.html">well-prepared resume</a> can be easily distinguished from a resume made in haste and the former always gives an edge to the candidate appearing for the interview. Hence part of your research should involve preparing and presenting your resume. You might consider preparing an unconventional and unique resume but make sure that you check the company profile before you do it. Companies like Google encourage you to do that but every company may not appreciate it. Just keep in mind that your resume should be clean and the HR executive should easily be able to glance and extract the required information from it. </li> <li>Utilize the social networks If you've been using the social aspects of the internet then it's time to make use of it. Your friends on various social networks like Facebook, MySpace, etc., could give you valuable insight on different aspects of the interview. Social networks like <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/">LinkedIn</a> could come in very handy during this time. You can connect with people already working at that company and perhaps learn more about the work culture and the interview trends. You could also check the online communities formed by the employees of that firm in various social networks and try and get in touch with some of them. </li> <li>Prepare the answers Have your answers ready. There are tons of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-answer-23-of-the-most-common-interview-questions">common interview questions</a> that you can anticipate. Prepare in advance and do whatever else you can to avoid "um this", and "um that" responses. I am not asking you to write the answers and cram them into your brain like you're studying for an exam, but you should have some key points ready to flow when you're asked a common question. Even the most confident person tends to get nervous at times so why not practice and perfect your pitch?</li> <li>Practice Wanna know how to practice before facing the interview? Face the mirror and answer the questions you expect to be asked. If you have a video camera, consider taking a video of the entire practice session so you can replay it several times. This act, which may seem childish to some of you, could instill new confidence because it allows you to refine verbiage, facial expressions, hand movements, nervous twitches, etc. Just don't let your buddy get hold of that video because it's one of the last things you want showing up on YouTube! Simple, isn't it ?</li></ul>I hope these points help all those who are preparing to grab their first job or perhaps trying to fine tune their interview style. If you'd like to add more points then do it in comments. I'd love to know your thoughts and experience. Cheers, Abhijeet <img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=8bf2b0d37ffe0675db0790ecf0552c85" height="1" width="1"/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=8bf2b0d37ffe0675db0790ecf0552c85" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?a=K3e4aH"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?i=K3e4aH" border="0"></img></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=DJEBuj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=DJEBuj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=2gykJj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=2gykJj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=mFx9Kj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=mFx9Kj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=3naF8j"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=3naF8j" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=nmekCJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=nmekCJ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DumbLittleMan/~4/326100425" height="1" width="1"/></content><author><name>Jay White</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry><entry><updated>2008-07-03T09:28:49.951-05:00</updated><title type="text">Hidden Calorie Bombs to Avoid at Restaurants</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 class="write">Written on 7/03/2008 by Garrett Whelan who writes about cooking for men or anyone trying to kick the fast food habit at <a href="http://fatbastardeats.com/">FatBastardEats.com</a>.</h7></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/imnotquitejack/147906740/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SGzgIr8bsvI/AAAAAAAAB6E/ij3TOT1sU7U/s320/burger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218792508055335666" border="0" /></a>For most of us, going out to eat is a special experience. We'll try things we ordinarily wouldn't, both exotic and rich, and we usually don't have regrets in the morning. But if we're going to choose which foods are worth the caloric price, we need to know how much that bill is going to be beforehand. Unfortunately, there is no nutritional data next to the Cordon Bleu so you can only speculate as to how they are preparing food.To help, I hereby present The 5 Most Common Hidden Calorie Bombs: <ol><li> Soups, and in particular anything bisque. People see soup and they think "Oh, that's got to be healthy." The reality is that in 90% of restaurant's soups are loaded with fat and cholesterol. In fact, <a href="http://www.quiznos.com/menu/soups.aspx">Quiznos's Mushroom Bisque</a> has 11 grams of fat per cup. That's 17% of your <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_Daily_Intake">RDA</a>. I wouldn't label it an empty effort, that's why restaurant soup is usually so much better than the stuff you make at home. But be aware that substituting soup for a salad is not the healthier choice.</li> <li>The infamous Awesome Blossom. Truth is, no one thinks that a deep fried onion is healthy. But, people don't realize just how bad it really is. The pieces are so irregular it takes different amounts of time for sections of the same petal to cook. This means that some parts are invariably overcooked. When you overcook deep fried food, all the moisture is released and the oil is let in. That's why onion blossoms are so much greasier and calorie-laden than say onion rings. In fact, Chili's Awesome Blossom <a href="http://stuffedandstarved.org/drupal/node/264">contains 2,710 calories</a>. Even if you split that 4 ways it's more than a meal all by itself. </li> <li> Muffins. Sly little muffins. Muffins aren't the worst thing you can get when you go out, but they seem like they should actually be good for you. They're like calorie claymores waiting for the unsuspecting morning commuter who missed breakfast. The fact is, however, that a Starbucks Lowfat Apricot Blueberry Muffin muffin <a href="http://www.starbucks.com/retail/nutrition_food_detail.asp?selProducts=%7BD4CF47FD-76E9-4795-8195-30FED2730519%7D&store=11087&foodZone=62">contains 380 calories</a>. Yes, that's the lowfat one. The regular muffins average about 475 calories each. Be wary of muffins, they're calories in sheep's clothing.</li> <li> Full meat portions. Over in my <a href="http://fatbastardeats.com/food-tips-tricks-facts/rules-for-bad-ass-burgers/">burger series</a> I recommend 6 oz. burgers. The reality is that's a large portion of meat, but you wouldn't know it if you ordered one in a restaurant today. While the USDA says 4 oz. of meat is one serving, the typical restaurant burger is 8-10 oz. And you can't even order a steak less than 10 oz. Hell, most restaurants have some gargantuan special 18 oz. steak on the menu. But don't be fooled by the pervasiveness of these massive meat portions, 4 oz is still the standard. Anything more than 6 should come with a side of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipitor">Lipitor</a>.</li> <li> Soda. The problem with soda isn't so much that we don't know it's terrible for us, it's that we don't know how much of it we're drinking. Most restaurants want to charge you $2 for it. Since soda is made up of about 5 cents of sugar and water they give you free refills to convince you it's a good deal. And since you want to get your money's worth from these suckers, you're going to keep asking for glass after glass when really one was plenty. You should never plan on having more than one glass, it adds up to too many calories, too quickly, for too little flavor. When have you ever said, "That was such a great restaurant last night, I couldn't stop drinking their soda." It's not worth it.</li></ol>Have fun when you go out. Indulge. But indulge wisely, know what food is worth it and what food isn't. 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