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Making LinkedIn Work for You - The Juggle. By Sue Shellenbarger Bloomberg News Some Juggle commenters have asked for a post on the professional networking website LinkedIn. The site passed 100 million users in March and continues to grow by about one million members a week. Its public offering this week is drawing even more attention. Non-users of LinkedIn may wonder, why bother?

Of course, LinkedIn can help you find a job and research prospective employers by contacting current and former employees. But even if you aren’t looking for a job, LinkedIn is a tool for displaying your work and credentials to colleagues and potential clients, gathering intelligence about trends and competitors from others in your industry or profession, and keeping in touch with alumni and other groups that matter to you. The first step is to sign up and create a profile. It is also OK to include a little personal information that would be suitable for your resume, such as being an avid runner, says J. Twenty something? Job seeker? How to dramatically increase your chances of getting the job. Face it: the job market sucks. Interviewing and not getting the job sucks, too. The good news? There are a few simple things you can do to make yourself stand out from other applicants and greatly increase your odds of landing the job. Doing these things will require a little bit of effort and time, but they’re well worth it.

Why does anyone get hired? When you cut through all the noise, there are only a few reasons why anyone gets hired: You possess the technical skills – you can do the jobYou seem likable and a “good fit” – you can get along with othersYou display energy and initiative – you have passion and energy I can’t help you with the first at all. As for fit and people skills, I would simply encourage you to be upbeat and friendly with everyone you meet at the interviewing company without going overboard and seeming phony. What one thing will set you apart from every other applicant? This leaves us with the third factor listed above.

For you, that’s fantastic news. “Hmm. “Yeah. Fistful of Talent: 11 Helpful Sites for Job Seekers - US News & World Report. Eight New Trends Every Job Seeker Should Know About. 64 Interview Questions. Interview Questions. Job Interview Weakness. Mental fear of the unknown is often what produces the physical symptoms of nervousness. In addition to preparing yourself physically, you also need to prepare yourself mentally. The best way to prepare mentally is to know what may be coming. Fear of the unknown can only exist when there is an unknown. Take the time to understand some of the "standards" when it comes to interviewing questions. The following are some of the most difficult questions you will face in the course of your job interviews. Some questions may seem rather simple on the surface--such as "Tell me about yourself"--but these questions can have a variety of answers.

The more open-ended the question, the wider the variation in the answers. Others are "classic" interview questions, such as, "What is your greatest weakness? " The following answers are provided to give you a new perspective on how to answer tough interview questions. In reviewing the above responses, please remember that these are sample answers.

Companies that hire home workers. Ten Tips for the Shy Job Seeker. In my previous post , I discussed the challenges for shy (or introverted ) people in the job market. I offered some general advice, but in this post I'd like to highlight ten things you can do (or think about) that might give you the edge in the very situations you prefer to avoid. 1. First, stop apologizing for being who you are. Work with it-- find your strengths and get to know them so well that they are all you think of when you are in the interview. You may never be comfortable in certain settings-- but you can learn to function well in them, and then you can go home where you are comfortable. A small amount of discomfort and pain and "faking it" can go a long way. You are who you are-- which means you are talented in a lot of areas and you can learn to extravert yourself when needed. 2.

So after an interview, networking event, or any other extraverted activity don't be too hard on yourself. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Interview Questions You Must Ask. In many ways, moving ahead in our careers depends on our bosses: the people who can motivate us, advise us, challenge us, or — on the other hand — make our lives miserable. If you've never had a boss who made you miserable, consider yourself lucky. And if you want to wind up lucky in a new job, you need to know something about your would-be boss.

That's why you should ask these three questions in your first or second interview to determine whether this is someone you’d want to work with: What words would you use to describe the people who report to you? What you want to hear: A quick answer with positive-sounding words like creative, smart, friendly, or talented. If you had a problem with something I did, how would you tell me? What you want to hear: A thoughtful answer spoken in a soft tone — something like, "I'd ask you to come into my office, explain why it was a problem, and ask why and how it happened. Mistakes happen, and they're often our best lessons for improving our skills.