Five Interview Pitfalls

If you saw Friday's video, you'll know that I was about to interview some people who wanted to join the company I work for. In honour of that, I've put together a quick guide on how to avoid the most common interview mistakes.

1. Turn up. Please don't be the person who just doesn't turn up for the interview. We want to employ you but do this and your chance of succeeding is zero.
2. Turn up on time. If you're not horrendously late you'll still be interviewed but your lateness will be noticed and won't help your cause.
3. Dress appropriately. You're not visiting a nightclub and you're not auditioning for a music video. Business wear please, including (my fellow gentlemen) a tie.
4. Do your research on the company and the role - please don't ask questions about the wrong part of the business or enquire about international business travel when applying for a six-month entry-level contract.
5. The business interviewing you has something that you want (a job!), so act accordingly. If you're short with the receptionist or interviewer or anyone else the recruiting manager WILL find out and you WON'T get the job.

The First Day: What to expect and how to make the most of it.

Congratulations on getting the job! To help you get off to a great start, here’s my ultimate guide to a great first day. Firstly, the basics:

1.     Get a good night’s sleep the night before – staying out late or celebrating with a drink as a hangover is not recommended.

2.     The following morning (assuming you have a morning start time, which you will with most jobs) get an early start so you’re not rushing around getting flustered.

3.     Please be well-groomed and make sure that whatever you’re planning to wear (check the company dress code) is freshly washed and ironed.

4.     Be on time – being late on your first day gives a really bad impression which can be lasting. Leave early (but not too early so you’re not waiting around for hours) to allow time for any transport delays.

5.     It’s likely that you’ll have been asked to report to reception – if you have, please be polite to the staff at the reception desk. You might think this advice is unnecessary but I have seen plenty of people leave a terrible first impression by being rude.

6.     If you’ve been asked to take documentation to prove who you are and that you’re entitled to work, please don’t forget it.

Most often, your manager or a trainer will collect you, provide you with credentials so you can enter the building and take you either to the place where you’ll be working or to the area where you’ll be trained.

If you start in a training area, you’ll probably be working with a full-time trainer and often there’ll also be a Subject Matter Expert (SME). The SME is usually experienced at the job you’ll be doing and is there to answer your questions and help with any computer systems while the trainer is there to be in charge overall and guide you through the training.

If you’re trained by a SME in the area you’ll be working in (sometimes this is called ‘on the job’ training) they’ll most likely start by showing you how the job is done. As the day goes on, they’ll switch over to watching you work. Once you’ve done this, they’ll be able to let you know how you’re doing.

See next week’s more detailed guide on how to succeed in the training environment.

If you’ve followed this guide, you’re going to be tired by the end of the day. Well done, keep up the good work and take a well-deserved rest. See you next time

Upcoming blogs

25/03/2019: The First Day: What to expect and how to make the most of it.

01/04/2019: Training: Do’s and Don’ts to help you pass with flying colours.

08/04/2019: On the Job: How (and how not!) to impress your new colleagues and managers.

And that's not all - check back regularly for bonus content!

Five Mistakes People Make When Starting Their First Job

1. They show up late and leave early. Doing this will get you fired in a real hurry - what employer wants anyone who doesn't even work the time they're being paid for? You should be in the office and ready to work (computer turned on and logged in) at your start time. At the end of the day, you should remain working until your shift ends.
2. They see their manager as their enemy. In reality, your manager isn't being paid that much more than you are and has a ton of extra work. Don't waste your time trying to outsmart them - people with this attitude don't usually stay employed very long.
3. They get distracted too easily. It's very tempting to get involved in things such as workplace conversations and social media but this is another example of not working the time you're being paid for. Let other people waste their time in this way while you get on with having a career.
4. They don't think long-term. This page is all about having a great career and great life, not just a job - stick around to see how this is possible.
5. They don't see the bigger picture. It's important to understand what your company does and how what you do fits into the company objectives. Once you do, you'll have a big edge on colleagues who don't.

What Matters; What Doesn't

Today, I'm going to share with you the most important thing I have learned in the workplace - how to identify what does and doesn't matter and how to focus on the things that really matter.
In his multi-million selling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen R. Covey devotes a decent-sized section to what he calls the Circle of Influence and the Circle of Concern.
The Circle of Influence contains the things we have control over - for example, our attitude to work, the way we interact with others and the things we do to improve ourselves. 
The Circle of Concern contains the Circle of Influence and everything in it as well as things that we have no control over - for example, the overall direction of the company you work for or the political direction of the country.
The really important point is that by working only in the Circle of Influence, we enlarge it so that it includes things that were previously only in the Circle of Concern. That is how we gain influence over people and things we care about and gain an advantage over ineffective people who spend too much time in the Circle of Concern.
Please post any questions in the comments and don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss future posts. See you next time!

My Story

My name is Stephen Armstrong and I want to share my story with you. I have now achieved my goal of managing colleagues and I will soon be qualified to provide advice to customers, but the road there has been long with many ups and downs.

The ups include progressing rapidly soon after joining the workforce while the downs include my employer going out of business not long after.
In this blog, I want to show you how to avoid making the same career mistakes that I made. Some of the things I’ll cover are:

·         What to do on your first day at work.

·         The advantage of only expending time and effort on things that we have control over, and how doing this increases the number of things we have control over.

·         How to think critically about workplace processes and make suggestions for improvement.

We have a great journey ahead and I hope you’ll enjoy coming along. To ensure you miss nothing, press the ‘Subscribe’ button. Thanks for reading and see you soon!