So why did you leave your last job?

OK, so you are an honest person and your gut is telling you to say, “my manager was a complete asshole - he spent too much time with his head surgically attached to the owners butt that he made life hell for me”.  While that is a completely valid motive, you still need come up with something slight more diplomatic for your interview.

After all, although it seems they want to know why you are moving on - they really want to see how you deal with the question and that is the way you need to approach the situation.

To help you out a bit, I’ve knocked up a quick list of reasons you can give for leaving your last job - some of them are useful, and others…well, not so useful but if you are feely cheeky you could go for it anyway!

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It could perhaps be the most horrid part of the job interview - “So, do you have any questions you would like to ask us?” - Aaarrrgh! :)  You know fine well that a sheepish smile while shaking your head and saying “Nah I’m good thanks” isn’t exactly what they want to hear!

So with that in mind, I’ve decided to prepare you a kick ass list of questions you can ask your interviewer.  Keep in mind though - not all of these questions will be appropriate for every job interview out there.  The one thing you should take away from this is that every job and every interviewer is different - these are just some generic examples so make an effort to think of questions relating to the job when you are preparing for your interview.

Also, these questions aren’t just a list of stuff you can say just to be a smart arse at your interview and get the job.  Many of these questions will help you understand more about the job and company you are applying for.  Use this list as a basis for your research - take notes where appropriate so you can have an intelligent discussion with your interviewer and prepare yourself for starting employment should you get a job.

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For most people, the job interview can be one of the most nerve wracking points in their career, especially early on.  You get told about the interview for a job you really want - then you spend the next few days (or even weeks) worrying about how it will go!  After all, this could be your big break - what if you screw it up?

This doesn’t need to be the case.  It is natural to get nervous before important events in your life - you can turn this fear into your ally that will help you succeed at your interview…

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It’s all too easy to sit at the beginning of your career (or at any point throughout your career) and drown yourself with thoughts of the future.  Having a goal is good but procrastinating about how you will reach that goal can end up consuming you.

There are really simple steps you can take to avoid falling into the trap of spending your life wondering “what if” - the key to remember is that no matter how large the obstacles in front of you seem to be, breaking them down into manageable chunks can be easy to do.  If you find yourself in a career rut, either not sure what you want to do for a living or just simply if you hate your job, then follow these steps to moving yourself forward… (Read Full Post)

I’ve seen this question asked over and over - what do you hate most about your job?  Well, here are 10 peeves from employees around the world (in no particular order)!

1. Lack of somewhere to buy decent food at lunchtime.  This really does my head in - I need a good lunch!
2. Idiot managers.  Basically, any manager you’ve ever had whos job you could do better than they can.
3. Office politics. Bitching and backstabbing.
4. Chronic liars.  Usually management or sales people. :)  People who promise the world but never deliver.
5. Long commutes.  The working day is long enough without a 2 hour round trip.
6. Out of hours meetings.  Any client facing job will generally involve some travelling for meetings or working late.  But I think more employers should be more concious of the impact of prolonged / unexpected overtime.
7. No praise for good work done.  Nuff said.
8. Someone else taking credit for your work!  Bastards!
9. Changed job.  That job you applied for and worked in for a while has now changed - it isn’t what you want to be doing and you feel stuck!
10. Poorly managed companies.  See “idiot managers”. 

There are loads of issues that people have with their jobs - but the key thing to remember is to not allow these issues to overwhelm you.  (Read Full Post)

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