Shalomesq Snippet Weekly LinkedIn Newsletter #14

Hello Family & #TGTIG!! (Thank God Today Is Great),

Now December is running at an alarming rate as we wind down the year 2024, it's already Friday the 13th & we are 12 days away from the most wonderful time of the year - Christmas!!

I am really looking forward to my vacation, spending time with the family & relaxing after a big year of performance & overflow.

How are you doing with your set goals & targets for 2024?

How are things moving along towards achieving those goals & targets?

What % completion rate are you at considering the days we have left in 2024?

What are the things you will need to adjust to finish strong & get a good start in 2025?

If you need support, you can reach out to me here on LinkedIn & I will be more than happy to help.

You can also book a call with me here

This is our 14th weekly LinkedIn newsletter as a brand (Shalomesq Snippet) & we are so happy we could publish consistently despite all of the various activities & projects we are engaged in on a weekly basis.

Career Acceleration

So far, we have taken a deep dive into the topic of Career Acceleration as we lay one brick after another, here is a recap:

1. Attitude & Skill as 2 key ingredients for a great career.
2. The 7Ps to do to have a great LinkedIn Profile
3. Resumes & CVs

You can re-visit all the previous newsletters to catch-up on our discussions.

Today, we will start to look at 10 tips for a successful interview session to land the job of your dreams.

As someone who has been on both sides of the interview table for the last 26 years, I feel I can give some insights into a few things that would help you land that dream job of yours.

First and foremost, I am grateful to God for my education, career and experiences in life that has made me the person I am today. If not for God I don’t know where I will be today?

Secondly, just like the game of table tennis, I realize that I have my part to play and God has got his as well, so I am meticulous on my part, doing my due diligence while I leave a space for God to provide his Favor, accurate timing, etc. it’s a joint effort, I do my little part and God gives the increase and blesses me accordingly.

Here are a few tips:

1. Punctuality: This is a very important point, you would be doing yourself a huge favor if you arrive at the interview venue ahead of time, say like 30mins before it starts.

You will have ample time to find the location, settle down & go through any process you need to go through to be ready.

Things like security checks, initial forms to fill or some initial brief that will help you can be done at this time.

There is nothing as bad as keeping your interview panel waiting because you are late.

If I don’t know the venue of the interview , I try to drive and locate the place a day before or give myself like a 2 hour head start so as to ensure I am not late.

2. Dressing: This?is very important as well. Like Jobberman’s TV ad says “Finding a job is like wooing a girl, you have to impress her”.

You need to dress well and most importantly be comfortable in your dressing.

There will be some form of tension during the interview, but being in a comfortable outfit helps your confidence.

There was a case of a guy whose tie was too tight and he kept tugging at it during the interview. We had to tell him to loosen the tie before we got the best out of him.

It sound funny, but it’s true.

3. Courtesy: Just like dressing is important, so is your mannerism.

Your first impression matters a lot, even if you are older than the people on the interview panel, you will put yourself in a good light by simply being courteous.

For me I turn on all of my charms during interviews, I don’t sit until I’m told to sit.

My “please"," thank you”, “may I”, “Yes please” goes through the roof. I avoid using slangs or catch phrases during interviews.

I particularly remember a girl who was asked” How much are you expecting from us?” Just before she could answer another panelist said “would you work for free?” Her response was “Hell”. Well she got her points ducked and didn’t get the job.

4. Truthfulness:?Being caught in a lie can be very damaging in an interview.

Always be truthful, if you don’t know the answer to a question, simply say “I don’t know”. I usually add “but I can find out”, it takes guts to acknowledge your lack of knowledge in an interview and most panelist respects that.

But for you to start ranting about things and trying to play on the intelligence of the panelist is plain stupid.

Also ensure that everything in your resume is the truth and nothing but the truth.

There was a case of a guy who puts playing chess as part of his hubby.

When asked jokingly by a panelist to explain how to castle, he started saying all sort.

If you can lie on your resume to get a job, then you will lie to keep that job and also lie to move up.

5.?Open-mindedness:?This is related to the point above.

Realize that you don’t know everything, when you don’t have the answer, acknowledge that and be open to correction and inputs from the panelist.

Don’t go about arguing, usually the line manager you will be reporting to is on the panel and he/she will be evaluating your soft-skills as well.

Show the willingness to learn, listen and take other ideas onboard.

This is a great virtue that most employers look for since you will be working in a team and relating to other teams in the organization.

6.?Know your stuff: Interview panelists get excited when they interact with someone who knows their stuff- a subject matter expert- the interview can easily turn into an informal gist where they start asking you how to solve a problem they are currently having.

This was the case in a couple of my interviews, the moment we shifted to an informal discussion, I knew I had the job.

You must be ready and willing to use the board or flip chart to pass across your knowledge, doing this also reduces the tension in the room and increases your confidence as you display your proficiency.

7. Know yourself (strengths & weaknesses): In this modern age, the word “emotional intelligence” has been thrown around a lot.

What is emotional intelligence? According to www.helpguide.org, “Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict.

Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others.

If you have high emotional intelligence you are able to recognize your own emotional state and the emotional states of others, and engage with people in a way that draws them to you.

You can use this understanding of emotions to relate better to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling life”.

There are 4 aspects of EQ:

A. Self-Awareness

B. Self-Management

C. Social Awareness

D. Relationship Management

The first aspect relates to you knowing your strengths & weaknesses.

In relation to a job interview, knowing your strengths & weaknesses highlights the fact that you are emotionally intelligent to a large extent & this will score you more points with the panelist.

In a previous interview, I was?asked “What is your weakness?” My answer was “I have a tendency to be?a traditionalist in the sense that I love things to be the way they are”, I explained further that I have worked on a solution which has allowed me to deliberately think out of the box & challenge the norm, thus turning that weakness into a strength”.

The panelist that asked the question was interested in my solution, I?simply said “I?started playing chess“.

Chess is a strategic game which explores different ways of capturing the opponents King, playing this on a regular basis has trained my mind to be revolutionary.

The panel couldn’t hold back their applause, then they asked about my strength.

I talked about my ability to be resourceful, very coordinated/meticulous in the way I do things etc.

You must know & use these things to your advantage in an interview.

8. Know your worth:?The interview at this stage gets to the reward & remuneration part & a lot of people are not prepared for this.

The HR representative on the panel will essentially ask “What do you currently earn?” & “What do you expect from us?”

People readily answer the first question, but find it difficult to answer the second.

I’ve heard people say “Well this is a big organization & you have properly defined salary scales & grades.”

Personally, that is the wrong answer.

You must know how much you will be asking for the new role.

There should be a moment early in the day that you would have looked at yourself in the mirror & decide on what you are aiming for.

Obviously, you must be asking for a?reasonable amount, you can’t jump from a $2,000/month pay to $20,000/month.?

There is no cast-in-stone rule to determine the percentage increase, but being reasonable & moderate helps a lot & always mention that you are open to further discussions & negotiations.

The most important point here is to know your worth, how much can you take to ensure that you really don’t have to worry about money, but be focused on doing your job excellently well.

I joined an Employment Bootcamp Level 7 Review Session last night as arranged by Naomi Lucas.

Level 7 is tagged Claim Your Victory & in this Level you learn how to evaluate job offers, negotiate fair compensation and close a job application process.

For the negotiation part, you must have a list of deal-breakers, non-negotiables & negotiables.

9. Know about the company:?Doing a bit of research about the company you intend to join gives you an advantage.

For starters, it helps you in point 8 above as you would have known what they pay for your level & grade.

I usually just check out the company on Google, try to know a bit of their history, check them out on the news strip, know about the Chairman/CEO/MD/Shareholders, etc.

I remember a recent interview I had, during the discussion I mentioned a policy paper that was released by the government that puts the company in a very strategic position going forward & how I feel they can take advantage of that new policy.

To my surprise, everyone on the panel didn’t know about it, so I went on to propose some strategies they could adopt.

This was just at the first stage of the interview, to my surprise I was called the next day to come meet the CEO (skipping the other stages) & their HR was already putting some numbers together.

Unfortunately the CEO had to travel on the appointed day & rescheduled, but I wasn’t feeling the numbers from HR & they were not willing to pay for my relocation.

So I turned it down & just spoke with the CEO on the phone instead, I politely explained my reason(s) for turning it down & still ensured that there was the opportunity to open up the conversation anytime.

10. Know that it’s not the end:?I would finally want to point out that in case the interview doesn’t turn out as you expect & you don’t the job, do know that it’s not the end.

I know there is always another chance & things will turn out for good at the end.

If?you take these 10 tips & work on them, you will do better the next time.

Extra Tips

I have a few extra tips for you & that will be shared in our next publication which is next Friday 20th December 2024.

I would love to hear how these newsletters have helped you or someone currently preparing for an interview.

My aim is to ensure that you succeed in that interview & hear that fantastic phrase “YOU’RE HIRED!!!”

Newsletter Focus

This weekly newsletter will be focused on sharing applicable nuggets about life & living with a slant on Family, Work/Career & Professionalism based on insights I have gleaned & used over the last 26 years of my Career.

You can also checkout all of my social media touchpoints & handles by searching for Shalomesq or Shalomesq Snippet to get regular tips & tricks.

My blog is at ShalomesqSnippet & you can check it out as well as subscribe to getting the weekly postings & this newsletter by email.

We are surely looking forward to your subscription & interactions.

Tots Eclectic Season 2 (SHMILY)

On the 4th of December 2024, we launched Season 2 of Tots Eclectic & my focus this season is on Matters of the Heart & we have called this season SHMILY - See How Much I Love You

Please check out the Episodes of Season 2:

Episode #1

Episode #2

This podcast will be weekly every Wednesdays till the end of the season, so stay tuned for this.

Until we catch up again next week Friday, stay liquid & keep moving forward.

I AM SHALOMESQ!!!!!!!