The Work Edition

⚡️About The Work Edition.

I (Henrietta) started The Work Edition. because we’re in a moment in time when many of you are really finding this new career territory incredibly challenging.

The world has changed and so has the world of work and it has changed FAST. I wanted to bring the most modern and up to date thoughts about careers, job searching and the work of work to you as things were changing.

I've been a recruiter for over ten years and I launched my business because I was sick of working for bigger agencies who didn't value relationships over profit. I love sharing what I know WORKS not just for other people but for YOU.

If you want relevant and up to date information, education and motivation about everything to do with work then you’re in the right place.

Get in touch if you have any questions you'd like me to answer for you. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

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Hate Being on Camera? Need to work out how to video interview and FAST!

In the last few months the rise of online interviews has grown exponentially. None of us thought that online interviews would become the norm and while we have got used to Zooms and other video conferencing there is something totally daunting about doing an interview at home and online.

I know that interviewing at the best of times can feel stressful, there's so much to remember and so much to think about. We’re all so used to interviewing face to face, for so many of us it’s all we’ve ever known and we can feel intimidated by new things when the stakes are high and you have done all the hard work of getting to this point that you really want to make it count.

We’re all somehow expected to be camera ready and comfortable with tech but what if you’re not?

In this episode we cover:

⚡️ Getting comfortable with tech and which platform you’re using

⚡️ Check your lighting, how your lighting can make you look more enthusiastic and interested

⚡️ Preparing for your interview, what to say and how to say it

⚡️ Creating a great environment so you’re ready to interview and be relaxed

⚡️ How to use the camera so you’re engaging with the interviewer

⚡️ How you use your energy on camera

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The Work Edition.

If you’re career focussed and ambitious then you’ve found the right place. Three times a week you’ll find new episodes offering you everything you need to know about how you can strategise, position and create opportunities for your career to develop and grow. Interviews, educational episodes and much more is waiting for you so make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode.

Ahh, the final video in this series where I have covered 30 of the most commonly asked interview questions. Using this as a framework will help you prepare so thoroughly for all the different types of questions that may be thrown your way. If you’re unsure about how to answer what salary you want then I have got it covered.

Remember to use the essay style structure when you answer your questions and include a beginning, middle and end to each of your answers. That is really going to help you when you structure your answer.

The questions I cover in this video are:

1. What is your favourite book?

Any question like this is about understanding a bit more about who you are. You don’t need to be really well read, they’re just trying to get a feel for who you are and what you’re interested in. This question can also come up in other forms as well. Be ready for them.

2. Do you have any questions for us?

YES! Write them down if you need to, try and remember the ones that popped up throughout the interview as well. This is where you get to answer all the questions about the role that you need to know. Take the space here and ask away, the things you ask are important, they are key to you understanding if this is a role that interests you and excites you.

3. What motivates you?

A job well done, money, impact on a business. Whatever your motivation, they’re all good. Some people want to be leaders and love being the person who calls all the shots, others not so much. However you feel motivated is important because if you’re in sales, you’re going to need to be motivated by the ability to smash your goals. I like the problem solving element in my role, thats what motivates me. What works for you?

4 What are your salary requirements?

You must make up your own mind about how to answer this, there are so many conflicting pieces of advice. Some people like to let their recruiter talk about money because they don’t like discussing it. Others speak about a range, you may also prefer to just be really upfront. Whatever you do try and gauge a salary level before you interview if possible although some employers are hideously cagey about it. Just do your research, ensure that you have looked at some salary requirements for other roles in that industry and you feel confident asking for the salary that you want. I would always try and keep that open a little bit so you can have a conversation about it.

5. Why should we hire you?

The elevator pitch of interview answers. Get this ready and KNOW what sets you apart, what you can bring to the interview and how you are the right person for the job. Please prepare this, it will be a culmination of everything that you have worked on and all your best points so go ahead and brag a bit.

I look at another five interview questions and give examples about how you can prepare for your interview really well. I am excited to share them with you because these are so helpful when you’re about to interview. Working through a few of these videos will get you fully prepared and feeling relaxed and confident.

The questions I look at today are:

1. What are your strengths?

2. What does a typical day look like?

3. Gaps in your work history

4. How do you handle high pressure situations?

5. What’s your management style?

Hate tricky interview questions? I’ve got it covered, here are five new questions for today so you can work through them and get ready to do amazingly in your next interview

The interview questions I want to go through today are ones you can prepare for. I ask you to prepare a lot, the reason for this is because I know that if you are able to answer these kinds of questions, have some reference points to be able to go back to then these interviews are going to feel much more like an enjoyable experience. It also means that you’ll be able to feel connected and participate in the interview, I am so confident that everyone can do really well in interviews and if you feel good then you’re going to show the great parts of who you are and what you can bring to the business.

1. What would you do if unsure how to do a task that you have been given to do?

Run or ignore it? No, what the hiring manager wants to know is what are your problem solving skills like? Are you able to take initiative and work as part of a team and find someone who can help you to solve the problem? Interviewers just love to hear about how you can positively frame a problem problem and fix it. You can use an example of when you have done this before too. Give a real life scenario to help them realise that you have experience doing this and feel confident to be able to work independently.

2. Why were you fired?

Make sure if you were made redundant that they realise the distinction. I really want you to feel unashamed of things that have happened in the past. You may have been made redundant but there shouldn’t be any stigma around that happening to you. Especially at the moment, we know that so many people have lost their jobs because of this pandemic.

3. What didn’t you enjoy about your last job?

Ok, tread really carefully with this one. There isn’t an easy way to answer especially if you’re moving from one Assistant job to another Assistant job for example. I would suggest some real time preparing for this. Just keep it simple and to the point. You’re never going to win if you moan about the business, the company or the specific people in the business. They may even know them, it’s a small world out there so steer clear of specifics. Use sentence starters such as ‘I was frustrated about…’ or ‘I had challenges around…’ so that you can speak about this in the past tense.

4. What are your weaknesses?

Ugh, everyone hates this question and it isn’t easy to answer. Don’t say perfectionism, its a rubbish answer and not worth saying. What you must demonstrate is that you’re self aware, ready for growth and open to it too. No one is perfect at their job, just tell the truth without giving away too much. Don’t fear this question though, you’re an expert in you so you can say that you’re not too great at x but that you have improved or that you’re finding strategies to change that. Start the answer with ‘I’ve had to train myself to…’ or ‘I quickly realised that I had to learn…’ Use historical situations that you overcame.

5. Tell me about a challenging situation that you overcame at work?

People love asking these these types of questions and what you have to try to do is to be able to think of an example of a situation where you had an issue and you found a suitable solution that was beneficial to the business. For example, when I joined the business I found the stationary ordering really unfocussed and so I found one supplier to supply all our stationary which led to a reduction in spend’. It doesn’t have to be something huge, it certainly doesn’t have to be a save the day kind of example, just make sure its relevant to the work that you do and that you had a favourable outcome.

So, this is interview Questions Part 2 with another five questions for us to go through together and work out how you can answer these questions really well. Lets get started and straight into the questions. I’ll put the link in the description for the other videos if you want to watch them too. Remember, if you love interviews or hate them, the only way to feel ready, or as ready as you can be is to prepare. The other way to be ready is to start interviewing, you aren’t going to get that much better unless you practise. You can practice with a friend or family member or just say the answers out loud, they may feel silly at first but keep going.

1. Why have you changed jobs so many times?

2. Why did you change careers?

3. What is your greatest achievement?

4. Can you give an example of a time when you went above and beyond your responsibilities?

5. What do you think the main challenges of the job will be?

Love them or hate them, they’re going to happen and there’s so much that you can prepare so that you feel great on the day. There are two groups of people, some love interviewing and some not so much

Researching businesses for an interview can be a bit ambiguous. What do you need to know and how do you find the information that you need? Having taken feedback from businesses about interviews for twenty years I know that this is what companies want you to know about their business before you go in and meet them.

Here are my top five things to do: