BCjobs Blog

You’re sitting in a conference room or office, face-to-face with the person you most want to impress – your prospective boss – and he or she is asking you, “What is your biggest weakness?” How do you answer a question like that?

No matter how much you may prepare yourself for a job interview, you may never be completely ready when that interviewer asks you why manhole covers are round. Even that question has been asked so often by now, it’s considered one of the easy ones. Microsoft is partly to blame.

IT professionals often dress casually on the job, but those looking for work may want to step up their style, a new survey suggests. More than four out of ten (43 per cent) chief information officers
(CIOs) polled said tailored separates are the most appropriate interview attire.

With continually increasing workloads, more hiring managers are relying on short, preliminary phone conversations to determine who should be called for interviews.

Having a winning personality has always helped in making friends or getting a date, but a recent survey confirms it also opens doors in the job search.

Less than 40% of job seekers take the time to send a thank you note after an interview, according to an article by MSNBC. But, this important follow-up can make the difference between receiving the job offer and being written-off as disinterested. In fact, because it’s such a rare step for most job seekers, it’s a very valuable tool to show your professionalism and enthusiasm for a job.

You’re one of the lucky ones. You’ve been selected for interview for a fast-track career program with a well-known employer. But you know for a fact that each year, scores of candidates are chosen to attend an interview, from which only a few are taken on — so how do you ensure you’re one of them?

Cold calling is an effective method of introducing yourself to potential hiring managers to enquire about employment with their company. However, what should you do if the hiring manager doesn’t answer the phone and you reach their voice mailbox?

A job interview over lunch can feel as nerve-wracking as a blind date. Not only must you demonstrate that you are intelligent, pleasant and capable, you must also appear graceful while eating. You may even prefer to pass up the opportunity rather than face an intimidating line-up of eating utensils.

If you’re a job seeker, you probably breathe a sigh of relief when you finish your first interview. After all the resume crafting, researching and rehearsing answers, you’ve survived time in the hot seat.