Yesterday, Dan Schawbel released the free sample pre-edition of his magazine, Personal Branding Magazine. The full issue, which is a paid subscription, is scheduled for publication on May 1.

You can get the free sample or sign up for the paid edition of the magazine by visiting his website www.PersonalBrandingMag.com. We are happy to be of sponsor of Dan’s and highly recommend that our readers take an opportunity to at least check out the sample.

Dan is a subject matter expert on personal branding and writes an engaging blog [called Personal Branding Blog, what else ] and is the first ever Social Media Specialist at EMC Corporation. This latest issue brings together 25 articles from leaders in the recruiting world. Get the sample here.

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

Article Title: Interview like a Rock Star
Author Byline: Phil Rosenebrg, President reCareered
Author Website: http://linkedIN.com/in/philrosenberg

Nope, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke.

You just had a Rock Star interview….you walked out of the office and knew the job was yours for the taking. The company is dying for you, and even you choose that this job isn’t the right move for you – at least the ego boost feels great.

There are two secrets to a Rock Star interview: Preparation and Execution.

Preparation:
Research - Rock Star preparation starts before you even write your resume. Research the company and industry, using SEC reports (if public), Company Website, press releases & Articles, Hoovers, Yahoo Finance, Google searches, social network contacts, and blogs. Find out everything you can about industry trends, how the company is reacting to them, or planning for them. Find out the company’s goals and challenges.

Peel - After you’ve done your research, start to peel the onion a little. Ask yourself what challenges the company is likely to face along the way. How will the company’s changes also change the area you are interviewing for. What problems are likely to arise that your Subject Matter Expertise can uniquely solve.

Solve Problems - Now you’re set to write a Rock Star resume – one that presents a solution to problems your target company faces. Throw out the old biographical resume. Instead, craft a resume that anticipates your target company’s problems, and demonstrates what you’ve already done to solve the exact or similar problems in your past experience.

Bait - To make a truly Rock Star resume, you’ll want to list a few points that cause the reader to ask more questions….questions that you’re dying to answer. Bait your resume with a few partial statements, and leave your audience curious to learn more, helping you to control the interview by what you’ve left out of your resume.

Prepare questions - Lots of them. Forget the questions about work environment career advancement and benefits – you’ll have plenty of time to ask these later. Ask questions to draw out problems and implications – of problems you can uniquely solve. Ask questions you already know the answer to, to see how the prospective employer answers, and how impressed they are that you had the insight to ask.

Anticipate - What questions will the interviewer ask you? Practice answering questions in a positive manner, while still telling the truth.

Execution:
For management/professional roles - Go in with the attitude that you are interviewing the company…not the other way around.

Dress the part – see my earlier post What to Wear? Acing the Interview – Part 1

Open - Stand tall, maintain eye contact, smile, and use a firm handshake – just like Dad taught you.

Initial impressions count - Remember that people form an initial impression of you in the first 30 seconds. That’s before the interview even begins. Start it out with a little small talk or a quick joke – getting your audience to laugh goes a long way to pass the “likability test”.

Control the interview - For more on controlling the interview see my post on How to Take Control of the Interview.

Eye contact - Maintain eye contact while talking, but don’t stare the interviewer down, either.

Questions - You control the interview and demonstrate both Subject Matter Expertise and leadership by asking questions. For more on questions to ask, see my earlier post Do you have any Questions?. Ask the same questions to different people in your interviews and see if they answer differently.

Turn negatives to positives - Why say you left because your boss was an insufferable jerk, when you can say that you didn’t agree with management’s direction? Wouldn’t you look wiser by anticipating the poor strategy of your company, than looking like you were a difficult employee for your boss? Don’t lie in your interview – it’s not necessary, and there’s a high likelihood you’ll get caught.

Close – Closing techniques will take a number of future posts to cover. In general, close by gaining some sort of feedback, and time/action commitment to next steps. If your interviewer is asking you what other companies you are interviewing with, you’re a finalist (not applicable for recruiters – headhunters ask this question to everyone). If your interviewer is asking you when you’ll be making your decision…you’re the Rock Star.

Re-Close - Send a Thank You note. For Thank You note strategies, see my earlier post Thank You! Make an Impact in 5 minutes.

Now that you’ve been through Rock Star School….what are you going to change in your next performance?

If you’d like to discuss how you can turn ordinary interviews into a Rock Star interview, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we’ll schedule a time to talk.

http://recareered.blogspot.com/2008/04/nope-this-isnt-april-fools-joke.html

Phil Rosenberg
President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global
Email: phil.rainmakers@gmail.com
Web: http://reCareered.com
Blog: http://reCareered.blogspot.com
LinkedIN: http://linkedin.com/in/philrosenberg
Facebook: http://profile.to/philrosenberg/

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

Thomas Pretty writes a very informative article about migration to New Zealand and how candidates can put their best foot forward.  In his article he mentions the difficulty that differing time zones can introduce into the interview process.  New Zealand happens to be 17 hours ahead of us (we are in Atlanta on Eastern Time) and is over 8100 miles away.  Those are two big obstacles to overcome if you are trying to migrate there and need to secure employment.

Not to worry though.  Thomas suggests (and we do as well) that you try setting up a video interview.  Since he only talked about how video interviews could help with the distance problem, we surmise that he wasn’t familiar with the time-shifted video interviews that Interview on Demand offers.  Our video job interviews can help employers and candidates bridge the ‘distance gap’ and make the interview possible without having to travel anywhere near 8000 miles.  Simply plug in your webcam, and take answer interview questions that the employer has stored on our system.   Now, using our video career profile for jobseekers, you could even send a mini-interview to an employer who doesn’t even know about video interviewing.

Even if you aren’t trying to migrate to New Zealand, video job interviews and video career profiles by Interview on Demand can help you close the gaps of time and distance when you are trying to find new employment.

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

I hope you all read our recent post Interview On Demand is TiVo for hiring.  (We love TiVo.)  In an interesting coincidence, I ran across some news recently:  As cool as TiVo is, it has trouble attracting, identifying and hiring top candidates.  I can’t believe it, but OK.  In an effort to improve their stats, TiVo has signed up to be a tester for the beta version of LinkedIn Recruiter–in a nutshell, this setup has upgraded search features, allows recruiters to group candidates in folders and tag them with comments and offers teams the ability to collectively keep track of candidates to avoid repeating contacts (and annoying the daylights out of passive candidates).  Every little bit helps, right?  The whole concept’s getting some nice attention…(see what TechCrunch and Cheezhead have to say.)

Of course, at Interview On Demand we know the value of keeping track of candidates online and allowing teams to work together in the interest of acquiring the best talent.  We’d also like to put our two cents in: going after passive candidates becomes a little easier and more acceptable to them if their first interview can be done online at their convenience and at their own location.  It’s much less intrusive to them, and having a first interview recorded for teams at the hiring company to see makes multiple contacts much less necessary until there’s something serious going on.  Hiring top candidates can be a tricky business, but Interview On Demand is here to help!

Are you listening, TiVo?

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

Today, jobseekers have a new tool to differentiate themselves from the masses. Interview on Demand, LLC. introduces the Video Career Profile! This is a web page that showcases the jobseeker in a way that will generate interviews and ultimately - “The Job Offer”. And isn’t that what all jobseekers want?

The Video Career Profile will show a video clip of the jobseeker in an interview situation, the resume and a short “why you should hire me” summary. Here is a sample Video Career Profile.

Click the player below to listen to Peggy McKee talk about this product and what it means to the jobseeker!

Then check out our website at www.interview-on-demand.com to complete your Video Career Profile!

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

While I was wandering around the web looking for material that would benefit our readers, I came across a few articles discussing virtual interviews through something called Second Life.  Assuming it would be something very similar to video interviewing, I started through this stuff and discovered that Second Life is a 3-D virtual world where you can create an avatar (a virtual self) and have a “second life.”  So then, this virtual self can participate in a real-life job interview.  There are articles on tips for how to conduct yourself during a virtual interview and some comments on how this is a huge technological leap for businesses. 

My question is this:  Are you telling me that a serious, grown-up business is going to conduct interviews and hire its people through a video game????  You can’t be serious. 

The best argument I’ve seen so far for virtual interviews is that they enable employers to reach more potential employees and save on travel costs that typically come with regular interviews.  That’s an argument that also applies to the much better option of video interviews.  Using Interview On Demand, employers can see the actual candidate answer questions instead of a virtual being that could conceal a candidate’s true qualities.  And if you’re a great candidate, why wouldn’t you want to put your best self forward in the first place?

There’s one article on virtual interviews called “No Need to Show Up for this Job Interview.”  No kidding.  I think that about says it all.

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

We’ve spent a lot of time here pointing out all the money-saving and time-saving conveniences of online job interviews.  Now, I’d like to call your attention to a great article on the environmental impact of video interviews.  Direct quote:  “Virtual interviews require electricity and aren’t zero-impact but they do help cut down air, transit and car travel which means less emissions and a smaller carbon footprint all around.” 

Given our country’s growing concern for the environment, it’s (if nothing else) good PR for companies to use eco-friendly practices in every aspect of their businesses. 

Go green!  Use Interview On Demand and Save Our Planet!

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

A customer hires quite a lot of employees every month (~ 20 per month). The in-house recruiter sorts through the resumes —-narrows down to 100 candidates that seem relevant to the positions. Then calls all 100 candidates on the phone. Not all answer the call or even return the call. But he spends approximately 50 hours per month talking with candidates on the phone (screening down to a final number that he sees in person). Because he hires for a facility, he is setting up a interview room off of the front entrance.

Now instead of calling those 100 candidates (and spending an average of 30 minutes on the phone with those that he actually engages), he is going to invite them to take a video job interview at his site. All he needs is a computer, with a webcam and high speed internet. Done! So now instead of spending time on the phone he can actually “see and hear” his candidates answer his interview questions! This means that the candidates that he is able to screen down to invite for an actual face to face are even more qualified than before and he saved countless hours talking with candidates that weren’t qualified. Oh - and because they have to come to the facility to take the video interview, they are much more interested in his position (or they would not have made the trip,)

He can, also, have an intro video that brands his company and the position for them to view! Key attributes of the Video Job Interview that will really provide value to his organization:

1. Completely standardized questions.
2. He can share the interviews with the hiring managers - they can help decide what candidates make the cut. This means that the hiring manager has greater buy in on the final candidates (and we all know that this is important).
3. The time and energy that he saves can be utilized to find new ways to recruit….(maybe he can start recruiting in another geography (using the Video Job Interview). He can see candidates that are interested in his position (will relocate themselves to his city) using TiVo for hiring!
4. Like he said, now he can pursue on-campus recruiting without being on campus!

If you are interested is finding out how Interview on Demand can help you save time, money, and make better quality hires, please give me a call at (800) 881-4557.

-Author Peggy McKee, VP Sales & Marketing at Interview on Demand, LLC. Interview on Demand is a leading provider of video job interviews and career video products that serve recruiters, employers, and jobseekers in the hiring process.

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

The SouthWest Alliance of MBA programs partnered Interview on Demand to provide video job interviews for the annual spring virtual career fair. Interview on Demand provided recorded video job interviews of the participating students for the prospective employers.

The hiring process has been around for centuries. Before the telephone, the process was basically face to face interviews. The talent pool was limited to those who could actually meet with you in person. With the invention of the telephone and telephone interviews the talent pool was greatly increased. With Interview on Demand video job interviews, we can now see and hear candidates recorded answers to job specific interview questions, anywhere, anytime. In time, we will wonder how we ever hired without it.

The Southwest Alliance of MBA programs hosts a spring virtual career fair annually. With the help of Interview on Demand, LLC. we were able to provide recorded video interviews of our students online for our participating employees. The system is so easy to use. Working with each college, Interview on Demand, LLC. was able to invite over 1200 students to take a video interview in less than an hour of time! Interview on Demand provides a fantastic path for employers and prospective hires to move through the process faster and with reduced costs. I predict that we will see more employers embrace this technology as they realize the very real value it can provide in the hiring process. - Mel Penn, Director, Student Support Center/MBA Corporate Relations Executive at the Price College of Business – University of Oklahoma

Faculty and career center staff weren’t the only ones who saw the value of the opportunity.

In order to attend my first virtual career fair, I needed a video job interview in addition to my resume. By using Interview on Demand’s website to post a video job interview, I was able to craft and modify my responses at my own pace to create the best version that I wanted potential companies to see. The ease with which I was able to upload my responses to their website was amazing considering that it was my first time creating a video job interview. In doing research, it appears that more companies are moving towards video job interviews to save time and screen candidates. Interview on Demand has allowed me to make an easy transition to video job interviewing and what could be a new era in corporate recruiting. - Kevin D., MBA Student - SMU Cox School of Business.

If your school or organization would be interested in hosting a virtual career fair contact me at (800) 881-4557 ext. 100 to discuss how Interview on Demand and its virtual career fair technology can make it easy for you to invite and present video job interviews or video career profiles of candidates/jobseekers/students to hiring companies.

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.

You know you need to appear confident when you go to a job interview.  No one wants to hire someone who doesn’t seem to know what they’re doing or appears hesitant about their own ability to do the job. 

Interviewing on video brings another level of anxiety to this process, because you’re not speaking to a person, you’re speaking to a camera.  (Although that could work in your favor–you don’t have to worry about establishing rapport with a camera.  You just have to remember to look at it.  And smile.) 

The good news is, tips on how to build up your confidence for an interview also apply to your situation in a video interview.  For instance, you can practice your presentation skills and approach.  Research the company before the interview and practice answers to common questions (from 20 Interview Tips).  One tip from Calming Your Interview Jitters suggests you should pretend you are talking to a relative, which is pretty easy to do with a webcam. 

Just be careful that your confidence doesn’t veer into know-it-all, overconfident behavior.  The kind where you don’t acknowledge any problems you’ve ever had (which leaves you unable to convey your ability to overcome them) or where you don’t give any credit to co-workers or managers who have helped you.  That kind of attitude can turn off a hiring manager, no matter how much experience you have.  It can be a fine line, according to Heather Hamilton from Microsoft.   

Interview On Demand provides tutorials that walk you through the interview process, complete with more tips on interviewing, and practice questions so that you can see how you’re coming across before it counts for real.  And remember, the company is already interested in you, which is why they contacted you for the video interview.  That should make it easier to maintain your confidence.

INTERVIEW on DEMAND - removing the barriers between TOP CANDIDATES and the COMPANIES that seek them.
Hiring managers - make faster, better hires while reducing costs.
Recruiters - make more placements with more companies, faster.