BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! The hardest part of any job search is knowing how to market yourself to employers. In this summit, we'll take all the guesswork out of it. By the end of the day, you will have a clear understanding of what you need to be successful.
Join Work It Daily Founder, J.T. O'Donnell, and Head Professional Coach, Ariella Coombs for the Work It Daily Online Job Search Summit. Space is limited - sign up while you still can!
What You'll Learn
During this 4+ hour live event, you'll learn:
How to properly optimize and format your resume
How to optimize your LinkedIn profile & network effectively on LinkedIn
How to write a disruptive cover letter that get's results
How to ace your next job interview using our techniques
Meet Your Presenters
J.T. O'Donnell
CEO & Head Executive Coach | Work It Daily
J.T. O'Donnell has been in the development, HR, employment and job search industry for 18+ years.
She founded Work It Daily to disrupt the industry and bring career coaching and professional support to professionals of all professions and skill levels. She wanted to make access to professional growth affordable to everyone, not just the elite.
Having written articles for such publications as LinkedIn, INC magazine, Forbes, The New York Times and Hearst, she is an authority in her space and one of the best in the business.
Ariella Coombs
Head Professional Coach | Work It Daily
Ariella Coombs is a career growth specialist at Work It Daily.
She helps people with their career planning and job search strategy so they can achieve success and satisfaction in their careers.
She was personally trained by Work It Daily's head coach and founder, J.T. O'Donnell.
Her advice has been featured in 12+ online publications, including TeenVogue, Business Insider, Forbes, H&R Block, Elite Daily, and more.
Join us for Networking Masters (think Toastmasters but for networking)! During this interactive group session, you'll exercise your networking and presenting skills so you can be a more confident connector!
July 20, 2022: How To Get A Promotion (And A Raise)
It can be tough getting that promotion at work, especially when you're not sure how to show you deserve one. If you want to get a promotion (and a raise!), attend this live event and learn how to make the case for a higher job title and salary.
What You'll Learn:
Indicate that you’re ready to take your career to the next level
Tips on how to position yourself for a promotion or raise
Demonstrate your unique value and advice on how to have this conversation with your manager
Join us for Networking Masters (think Toastmasters but for networking)! During this interactive group session, you'll exercise your networking and presenting skills so you can be a more confident connector!
July 27, 2022: How To Make A Career Change When You've Been Laid Off
Not sure if it's time to change careers, or how to make a career change when you ARE ready? Sign up for this live event to learn exactly how to make a career change when you've been laid off.
What You'll Learn:
Determine if a career change is the right move for you
Identify a career path that aligns with your passions
Develop an effective job search strategy that serves you
Join us for Networking Masters (think Toastmasters but for networking)! During this interactive group session, you'll exercise your networking and presenting skills so you can be a more confident connector!
Interview questions are not as straightforward as they seem, and answering just one question incorrectly may put you out of the running for a job.
The takeaway? Be ready to read between the lines.
Here are seven of the most common interview questions, what the hiring manager is really asking, and how you should respond:
1. "Tell Me About Yourself."
What the hiring manager is really asking...
"How does your education, work history, and professional aspirations relate to this position?"
How to respond: Select key work and education information that shows the hiring manager why you are a perfect fit for the job and for the company.
For example, a recent grad might say something like, "I went to X University where I majored in Y and completed an internship at Z Company. During my internship, I did this and that (name achievements that match the job description), which really solidified my passion for this line of work."
2. "Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years?"
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What the hiring manager is really asking...
"Does this position fit into your long-term career goals? Do you even have long-term career goals?"
How to respond: Do NOT say you don't know (even if you don't) and do not focus on your personal life (it's nice that you want to get married, but it's not relevant). Show the employer you've thought about your career path and that your professional goals align with the job.
How to respond: A good way to answer this is with real-life feedback that you received in the past. For instance, maybe a former boss told you that you needed to work on your presentation skills.
Note that fact, then tell the employer how you've been proactively improving. Avoid any deal breakers ("I don't like working with other people.") or cliché answers ("I'm a perfectionist and I work too hard.").
4. "What Motivates You To Perform?"
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What the hiring manager is really asking...
"Are you a hard worker? Am I going to have to force you to produce quality work?"
How to respond: Ideal employees are intrinsically motivated, so tell the hiring manager that you find motivation when working toward a goal, contributing to a team effort, and/or developing your skills. Provide a specific example that supports your response.
Finally, even if it's true, do not tell an employer that you're motivated by bragging rights, material things, or the fear of being disciplined.
5. "Tell Me About A Time That You Failed."
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What the hiring manager is really asking...
"How do you respond to failure? Do you learn from your mistakes? Are you resilient?"
To do this, acknowledge one of your failures, take responsibility for it, and explain how you improved as a result. Don't say you've never failed (Delusional much?), don't play the blame game, and don't bring up something that's a deal-breaker ("I failed a drug test once...").
How to respond: Your goal for this response is to demonstrate why you and the company are a great match in terms of philosophy and skill. Discuss what you've learned about them, noting how you align with their mission, company culture, and reputation.
Next, highlight how you would benefit professionally from the job and how the company would benefit professionally from you.
7. "How Many Couches Are There In America?"
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What the hiring manager is really asking...
"Can you think on your feet? Can you handle pressure? Can you think critically?"
How to respond: When faced with a seemingly absurd question like this one, it's important you're not caught off guard.
Resist the urge to tell the interviewer the question is stupid and irrelevant, and instead walk them through your problem-solving thought process. For this particular question, you would talk about how many people are in the U.S., where couches are found (homes, hotels, furniture stores), etc.
As with other parts of the job application process, it's a good idea to solicit feedback from family, friends, and former colleagues. Try out your answers to each of these questions with at least two people, then revise based on their feedback.
The importance of preparation before an interview cannot be stressed enough. The more you practice, the more confident you'll be. If you successfully answer the most common interview questions, you'll be sure to stand out to employers as a great candidate for the position.
Need more help preparing for your next job interview?
We'd love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades. More importantly, we have tons of resources inside our community that can help you prepare for your next job interview.
It's time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Rapidly expanding businesses are like bubbles. The only thing that keeps them together is a very thin skin.
As the headcount grew, so did the number of people running into problems and needing answers. They looked to their leaders to answer their questions and solve their problems. Their leaders were overwhelmed with more questions and problems than they could possibly handle.
The answer was to devolve problem-solving and decision-making lower down the chain of command. The staff needed training to think about and solve problems independently. Problem-solving is rarely taught as a skill in itself.
The 4-Step Coaching/Thinking Approach
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The basic principle of coaching is helping people solve their own problems by asking questions. I revisited my coaching training and identified four basic questions that could be a simple problem-solving framework.
I trained the lowest level of team leaders to ask their staff these questions when they encountered problems so that later, team members would ask themselves the same questions and work independently and effectively. Here are the questions.
1. What are you trying to do?
This is better than “What’s the problem?” because it focuses on the goal. When asking someone, “What’s the problem?” you often find that you have to ask more questions to get the full picture. This tells you where they want to go. You can follow up with other questions:
What makes this so important?The initial or “surface” problem often hides something a lot more important. Sometimes an individual may confuse the method of achieving the goal with the goal itself.
What will success look like? / How will you know if you have succeeded? When doing something for the first time, people do not always consider what the final result will look like. As a result, they may over-complicate their solution.
2. What’s stopping you?
This is what most people think is the “problem.” Sometimes it helps to be like Columbo, the TV detective, and play “dumb.” This gets the other person to explain the challenge in more detail, and as she explains it, she starts to understand it better by thinking aloud.
Here are some follow-up questions:
What’s the situation now? You can use this where someone tells you about a series of events. It helps them concentrate on the current situation instead of “historic” causes that are no longer relevant.
What makes this a problem? Frustrated people don’t always think clearly. Asking this helps them to put things in perspective. They may either realize that the obstacle isn’t so massive, or they may stop, think, and understand what makes the problem such a massive obstacle. This may lead to a solution.
What do you need? The obstacle may be lack of time, effort, or resources. When they answer, follow up with “How will this help?” This makes them validate their answer and reduce/remove wishful thinking.
3. What are your options?
This gets us into brainstorming mode. Brainstorming comes in two stages: idea generation, where there is no such thing as a stupid idea, and idea filtration where we filter the ideas to find what is practical.
What other options do you have? Tell me more! Assume you need at least five ideas to get one feasible idea. Inject some urgency to get ideas flowing. Activate your colleague’s unconscious creativity.
Now rank these options in order of practicality. Ask this to sort the ideas you can use from the ones you can’t.
Why did you reject this one? Most people think conventionally and may reject good ideas because they seem too strange. Take a look at a suitcase from the 1960s. Why did it take someone so long to put wheels on luggage?
4. What’s your plan?
Ideas are worth nothing unless they are translated into a concrete plan. Good plans have a start and end date, a concrete objective, and some sort of contingency in case things go wrong. Follow-up questions here include:
When are you going to start?
When are you going to finish?
What are the deliverables?
What could go wrong?
How are you going to take this into account?
Ask these, and you will get your plan.
How Can You Use These Questions?
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Here are three ways to use these questions. I recommend using them in the order presented to introduce these questions as a framework for thinking.
1. Coaching-based leadership
Ask your team members these questions to lead them through the thought process. At first, you may need to tell them answers in the “options” and “plan” phases. Later, they will answer themselves.
2. Peer coaching
When your team gets comfortable with these questions, get them to ask each other. At first, you should make it a structured activity. Later, they will start doing it with your prompting them.
3. Self-coaching
Encourage your staff to ask themselves these questions when they hit a problem. You can put the questions on the wall as a reminder. When they come to you with a problem, ask them, “Have you asked yourself these questions?”
If you have the budget, why not put these four questions on posters, mouse pads, coffee mugs, or T-shirts?
Does this work for you?
Are you trying to empower your team to work more independently? Try using this method! Let me know how you get on! I’d love to hear about it!
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