Changing careers can be a challenge, but Craig Fisher offers some sage advice for those looking to transition into another area. Here are Craig’s tips on how to make a career change:

1.  Look at adjacent/complimentary industries: This way you can apply your existing skill set vs. learning a completely new one.

2. List other things you do as ‘jobs’:  Are you on a board? Do you volunteer? If so, list these as you would work experiences.

3.  Start a project online: Creating an online presence in the area of your interest can help you get noticed.

4. Start an industry blog: Post and re-post articles related to the industry you’re targeting and feel free to blog about your job search progress; recruiters and employers are likely to take notice.

5. Focus, focus, focus: Figure out what you love to do, and what you’ve been paid to do and see if there’s an overlap… that could be your new career.

Finally, like any job search, you have to be dedicated and invest the time to research organizations, network and put yourself out there.

Check out Craig’s full article here and good luck in your job search.

Craig Fisher helps companies and people find things and get found. He’s a speaker, trainer, and global consultant on workforce marketing, employer branding and social media strategy. Follow Craig on Twitter – he always has interesting things to say.

There are literally hundreds of interview questions out there, but I thought I would share with you my favorites.

Job seekers – you might find this list helpful if you’re currently interviewing. Select a few questions (by no means feel the need to answer every one) to help get an idea of the types of questions you may be asked in your next interview. The more prepared you feel for the interview, the better you will do. Your answers should be as specific as possible, don’t generalize.

Hiring managers and recruiters – are your interview questions getting stale? Does your interview repertoire need freshening up? If so, please feel free to add a few of these questions to your roster.

So here we go….60 interview questions: 

1. What do you know about the company?
2. Why do you want to work for the company?
3. What do you do in your current position?
4. What do you like or dislike in your current position?
5. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
6. Tell me of a time you had an angry client or conflict in the workplace.
7. Give me an example where you had to train or coach colleagues.
8. Tell me of a success story, or time you went above and beyond.
9. Tell me about one of your proudest moments in your career history.
10. Tell me when you thought you did something wrong or did not achieve your objective.  What did you learn from that experience?
11. Tell me of a time when you had to work under a tight deadline or in a pressure situation.
12. What are your short term and long term goals?
13. What is your understanding of this role?
14. What can you contribute to this role?
15. Based on your knowledge of this role, what kind of candidate do you think we need?
16. What do you think your challenges will be in this role?
17. What do you think you will enjoy most about this role?
18. Tell me of a time you showed initiative.
19. Tell me of a time you showed leadership.
20. Tell me of a time where you streamlined a process or procedure.
21. If you saw problems in your first week of work, what would you do?
22. What would you do if you saw one of your co-workers not pulling their weight?
23. Tell me about a time when you were a member of a great team. What role did you play in making the team great?
24. Tell me about a time when you were given a task to accomplish without any direction.
25. Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone you did not get along with.
26. Tell me about a time when you felt that a decision was unfair. How did you handle it?
27. Tell me about a time when someone asked you for assistance outside the parameters of your job. What did you do?
28. Tell me about a time when you were creative in solving a problem.
29. Tell me about a time when you were the leader of a team and the team disagreed with your decision. How did you handle it?
30. Tell me about a time when you were a team leader and had to mediate with members who disagreed with each other.
31. Tell me about a project that did not go well.
32. Tell me about a time that you worked hard to accomplish something but didn’t.
33. Tell me about a time when you suggested a better way to do something.
34. You are a team member and you disagree with an important decision that you believe will have a negative impact on the project. How will you proceed?
35. You are part of a team working on a project with a one-week deadline. The team leader does not seem to be on top of things and you are worried about reaching the deadline. What do you do?
36. How do you handle a crisis? Describe one that you handled well.
37. Describe a crisis you didn’t handle well and what you would have done differently.
38. It’s five o’clock on Friday and your supervisor gives you an assignment that needs to be finished by 8:00 am Monday morning. You have plans to be away for the weekend. What do you do?
39. Describe a situation that was a great learning experience.
40. Describe a situation where you were given feedback on your performance that wasn’t what you had hoped for.
41. What would your last boss/manager say about you?
42. How would your co-workers describe you?
43. What do you think is the best part of working in teams?
44. What do you think is the worst part of working in a team?
45. How do you define “work ethic”? How would you describe yours?
46. What type of people do you like to work with?
47. What motivates you?
48. Give me 10 adjectives to describe yourself.
49. How do you like to be managed?
50. Tell me about your best manager. Why do you consider them the “best”?
51. Tell me about your worst manager. Why do you consider them the “worst”?
52. What book are you reading now?
53. What books have you read about leadership?
54. Describe your ideal job.
55. What would you like to have done more of in your last role?
56. What would you like to have done less of in your last role?
57. Why did you choose your last job?
58. What are your short- and long-term career goals?
59. In what areas would you like to develop further?
60. What will you do if you don’t get this job? 

If you need assistance answering any of these questions, ask a career coach or your friendly neighbourhood recruiter for guidance. Alison Doyle has provided a more extensive list of interview questions complete and answers which is also chockablock with helpful links – it’s a veritable pre-interview rabbit hole.

Is there a common interview question that frequently trips you up? If so, ask it in the comments section and I’ll be happy to help.

Melanie Benwell is the Managing Director of PathWorks Personnel and sometimes blogger.  Check out her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.

Firm Type: Media

Type of Position: Full-time

You love the internet. That’s a given. We’re looking for someone who is exceptionally imaginative, collaborative, and truly excited about our mission: to inform, entertain and connect the world.

We’re looking for a Community Manager who will help us manage and grow our social strategy while engaging with our community, both on social platforms and internally.

This role involves building on existing and emerging platforms to create content and conversations with our readers, leading to relationships that matter. To do that, you must be able to manage the strategy and day-to-day interactions with our community. We expect solid grounding in what works, and ideas on how we can get better, with a heavy dose of ‘get it done’ attitude.

The candidate will have prior experience managing social platforms and communities. He or she will be a news junkie, pop culture expert, a superlative writer and editor with some management experience who has gotten his or her hands dirty in a breaking-news environment. Familiarity with online publishing platforms and SEO best practices are key, as our team experiments with new ways to engage with readers, crowdsource content and build our community.

This self-starter has a proven record of doing great journalism that gets read. You know how to Tweet, craft a great SEO and clever headlines, edit for CP style by rote and photo edit while you’re at it. You’re on top of the latest viral video long before it’s gone viral. You can spot a huge story — news, trends, what people want to read –  before anyone else. You won’t hesitate to bring ideas to the table, write on the fly, and fast (but smart) is the way you operate.

Responsibilities:

Increase “talked about” content generation and community size and engagement.

Manage internal and external social platforms
Create content to engage with the community

Social community management and growth though social platforms and tools

Generate ideas to enhance stories with multimedia and social participation, and to maximize viral traffic

Edit and publish news stories

Qualifications:

Bachelor s degree with a strong academic record

3 plus years’ experience in online journalism

Exceptional knowledge of social platforms executed in news environment
Present in the key social platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook
Strong familiarity with current news, particularly national politics and business

Proficiency with web writing and social media

Ability to recognize content with viral potential

Exceptional grasp of web analytics and traffic metrics

Knowledge of HTML and Photoshop

Creativity, open mind, willingness to learn and experiment

Superior communication skills

Just as important as giving the right answers in an interview is asking the right questions. If you’re asked if you have any questions, please don’t say “no”. Not having questions can be the kiss of death after an otherwise great interview. In a competitive job market, asking pertinent questions after an interview can be the differentiator – so make those questions count! Asking questions shows your interest in the position, the company, and it gives you an active role in the interview.

Prepare at least 3 three questions in advance and take notes if you like. A few insightful, knowledgeable questions show that you’ve done your homework and will distinguish you from other candidates. However, as important as asking questions is, asking bad questions like “Do you offer free parking?” is worse.  Also, don’t ask questions that are clearly answered on the employer’s website (see above re: homework).

Here are a few examples of good questions to ask at the end of an interview:

What are the top three tasks you want the candidate to perform after being hired?
This gives you a concrete idea of the projects you will be working on if hired. It will provide more detailed specifications of the role and demonstrates that you are proactive and like to work with an action plan.

What are some of the skills and abilities necessary for someone to succeed in this job?
This tells you exactly what they’re looking for in a candidate and allows you to reiterate your relevant strengths.

What are some of the goals and challenges your group is likely to face in the next year?
This question probes on current challenges and will give you an idea of where you can add value.

Why is this role available?
If this question hasn’t been addressed by the end of the interview, it’s a good question to ask as it will indicate whether the company is enjoying successful growth or employee attrition. If the opening is due to attrition you can find out what the last incumbent was lacking and use the opportunity to highlight how you have the skills to be successful where others weren’t.

What do you enjoy about working at this company?
This question will give you further insight into the company’s corporate culture and will give the interviewer a chance to talk about themselves for a change – and who doesn’t like to talk about themselves

Remember not to fire probing questions like a TMZ reporter and don’t ask overly self-serving questions on how the company can benefit you (please don’t ask about salary or benefits at this stage). Instead, ask a few relevant questions that demonstrate you’ve done your research, that you’re enthusiastic, and that will help you to make an informed decision as to whether or not this is the right opportunity for you… After all, an interview is a two way street. Good luck!

Melanie Benwell is the Managing Director of PathWorks Personnel and sometimes blogger.  Check out her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.

Firm Type: Food Industry

Type of Position: Full Time

Job Description

This role is responsible for buying inventory to fill customer orders, minimize spoiled products and prevent out-of-stock situations.  The role offers an individual the opportunity to play a key role in a growing, fast-paced company.  The incumbent will be expected to work within all levels of the company and build purchasing methodologies and processes that optimize inventory levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Source and purchase inventory to fulfill customer orders.
• Build and maintain effective supplier relationships; monitor and report on supplier performance.
• Forecast inventory levels based upon customer demand, market/economic conditions, marketing sales efforts, and marketing activities.
• Determine and monitor optimal inventory levels to limit product spoilage and minimize out-stock situations.
• Continuously improve the purchasing framework and related-processes, such as economic order quantity, forecasting methodology, performance metrics, and minimum inventory levels.

Other Responsibilities

• Provide management with monthly performance reports and identify opportunities to rationalize SKUs and focus on profitable SKUs.
• Work with different roles to ensure inventory data is reliable and accurate; investigate and resolve inventory-related data quality issues.
• Ensure all POs are closed accurately and invoice issues are resolved / reconciled.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Demonstrates excellent problem solving, analytical, organizational & research skills while working within stringent timelines.
• Ability to prioritize, manage time and meet deadlines.
• Ability to handle high stress situations in a professional business manner.
• Has strong inter-personal and communication skills; influences others in a positive manner
• The ideal candidate will have a pure procurement background:
• Degree qualified (essential criteria) and a purchasing designation / certification an asset
• Proficient with MS Excel
• 3-5 years as a professional purchaser / buyer with forecasting experience
• Confident self-starter with strong work ethic

Firm Type: Consulting

Job Type: 6 month contract with potential to go perm

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

The IT Service Coordinator oversees and coordinates IT services in North America. This includes prioritizing and executing requests ranging from shipment of accessories and loaner items, following up with office IT colleagues on support requests, coordinating office wide laptop migrations, ensuring the timely return of IT assets to the central warehouse, interacting with other support teams and acting as a proxy for the end-user for the above services.

In addition the IT Service Coordinator is responsible for the N. America wide IT asset tracking, and warehouse management for the Service center in the US and for the IT depots in offices across N. America. The responsibilities include management of the refill of central and local depots in cooperation with Purchasing as well as coordination of hardware services providers in the logistic center.

JOB SCOPE:

The responsibilities of the IT Service Coordinator include:

• Coordination of provisioning, replacement and return of IT equipment and accessories.
• Handle and prioritize service requests and find the most effective logistics solution e.g. by negotiation of the right solution with the end-user, by selecting the appropriate shipping method or by finding workarounds that meet the users expectations.
• Ensure an always up-to-date asset and license management repository, including abuse monitoring.
• Manage stock-level of IT products and supplies in the logistic center and office depots, trigger refill and disposal, be a liaison for IT staff in offices, vendors and Regional IT Buyers.
• Support implementation of new IT products and the end-of-life process for hardware by proactive adjustment of stock levels end refreshing the product portfolio in stock.
• Ensure the timely provisioning of IT equipment for new-hires in cooperation with HR departments and IT staff in offices.
• Support various regional IT projects (e.g. rollouts, migrations, and services implementation).
• Continuously seek improvement opportunities in processes and tools for ensuring efficient and best practices, including continuous refinement and improve stocking model.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Exceptional service attitude and sense for urgency
• Must be a team player with a positive attitude
• Ability to deal with conflicting priorities and high workload situations
• Very strong analytical, coordination and administrative skills with a strong attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)

Firm Type: Consulting

Type of Position: 6 month contract with potential to go perm

OVERVIEW OF THIS POSITION:

This position will be part of the team supporting the global wireless telecom consolidation.  The Service Coordinator will be responsible for the administration of the carrier and device service and account management.  The responsibilities will be a combination of general administrative tasks as it relates to the deployment, asset management, carrier and subscription management and also taking support inquiries from the global user community on those same topics.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

• Maintain asset/device information
• Ensure accuracy of all data; perform quality checks on a frequent basis
• Generate reports for administration and cost control
• Have a strong working relationship with all of the wireless carriers and have escalation paths
• Coordination of troubleshooting with the carrier
• Provide direct user facing support
• Provide counsel on the best cost and service options, for both base plans and also traveling phones

 DESIRED SKILLS:

• Knowledge of wireless services
• Knowledge of company  processes and standard equipment policies
• 2+ years of IT user support experience
• Exceptional service attitude and sense for urgency with strong customer service orientation
• Must be a team player with a positive attitude
• Very strong analytical, coordination and administrative skills with attention to details
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written).

BACKGROUND AND TRAINING:

• Knowledge of the TEM tool would be an asset
• Prior experience in an end user facing role in IT would be beneficial

Firm Type: Consulting

Type of Position: Full-time: 12:00-5:00 Monday – Friday

Role Description

The Video Conference Coordinator is a member of a high-profile service team providing distinct, professional High Definition Video Conference (HDVC) support to internal and external customers across the globe.

The Video Conference Coordinator is responsible for providing general information and guidance, scheduling, meeting consulting and coordinating real-time support with regards to High Definition Video Conferencing. In this respect s/he is also responsible for coordinating the support activities by our internal and external technical HDVC support teams.

The Video Conference Coordinator is a prominent support role as s/he supports not only internal colleagues but also external clients and as such represents  our standard for top class service to the outside world. Due to the global scope of this service all communication is in English.

Working in a fast-paced environment the Video Conference Coordinator handles a variety of support requests on a regular basis in the defined area. This requires the individual to be highly adaptable and open to work on new tasks. S/he has to keep up with this challenging environment through a strong willingness and ability to learn. Also s/he has to be highly flexible and should bring in a natural preference to communicate and interact effectively with changing audiences.

The Video Conference Coordinator delivers high quality HDVC support by implementing the best possible solution for the customer. An outstanding service mindset, excellent follow-through and communication skills are key requirements in this role. In applying this, the individual often works against tight deadlines and goes the extra-mile as needed.

 Key responsibilities

• Meeting scheduling and consulting
• ŸWork closely with customers and provide general information and guidance on HDVC
• ŸManage complex, high profile video conferences:
• ŸThrough in-depth consulting, help customers understand and choose the right setup for their video conferences, i.e. screen layout, content sharing options, seating, audio and camera setup
• ŸDevelop meeting scripts (e.g. build timeline and flow for participants, create instructions for technical team)
• ŸWork closely with clients to plan and organize external video conferences and to coordinate the technical preparation

Real-time meeting support

• ŸWork closely with on-site colleagues in offices worldwide to ensure proper setup and configuration of HDVC equipments and rooms
• ŸBe the single point of contact for support request during high profile video conferences
• ŸCoordinate and execute real-time meetings in collaboration with on-site colleagues, external service providers and other support teams
• Best practice and process development
• ŸContribute to knowledge building within the team by finding and documenting common solutions for reoccurring problems and by providing training for other team members
• ŸContribute to problem prevention by developing recommendations for improvements and by building best practices

Prerequisites

• ŸStudying for a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality / Event Management, Business Administration, Computer Science, or equivalent subject
• ŸFlexible availability for possible after-hours “on-call” duties
• Non-technical competencies
• ŸStrong talent for planning and organizing global meetings with multiple participants
• Excellent problem-solving skills, i.e. ability to apply a highly logical and well-organized approach to the analysis and resolution of issues
• ŸOutstanding customer orientation, i.e. ability to build rapport and trust quickly and to influence an audience through communication to arrive at the best solution
• ŸExcellent written and verbal communication skills, i.e. active listening, ability to cogently summarize an issue, both in writing and verbally
• ŸTeam player with an optimistic attitude and a strong team spirit
• ŸExceptional service attitude and high level of professionalism

Technical skills and experience

• ŸStrong affinity to and interest in IT in general and video conferencing technology in particular
• ŸKnowledge and business experience in working with Lotus Notes, PowerPoint and Excel

Firm Type: Interactive Marketing Agency

Type of Position: Full-Time

The Company:

Our client is an interactive agency that uses the online channel to solve marketing and communications challenges for their clients. Their digital efforts include websites, microsites, email marketing campaigns, mobile, and online media buys and other tactics in the online space.

PROFILE

Account Managers are able to ensure that projects are in line strategically with their client’s marketing, communications and overall business strategy. Account Managers promote the success of online activities by

creating client solutions that include effective builds, marketing activities, tracking and reporting, and maintenance or administration support.

Account Managers are responsible for the year-to-year revenue growth of their clients. This revenue growth will be achieved through successful projects, meaningful relationships and consultative selling.

As the “owner” of the relationship the Account Manager should use sound business knowledge, solid judgment, and

vertical and industry expertise to exceed client expectations.

Problem solving, visible leadership, positive attitude and a genuine desire to service further the business and communication objectives of  our clients are the cornerstones of a successful Account Manager

 RESPONSIBILITIES

 Account Growth / Relationship Management – 40%

1. Manage a set of relationships that can yield $1M+ in revenue per year. Network the client relationships to open up new revenue opportunities

2. Account Managers are accountable for the profitability of their accounts.

3. Build meaningful strategic relationships with middle to senior level decision-makers such as brand or product managers. Respond to, and at times predict, the client’s needs and excel at meeting those needs.

4. Develop and grow business within identified accounts through consultative selling and effective relationship building. This will include leading the proposal process, preparing presentations and showing initiative and visible leadership when mining new business within existing accounts.

5. Account Managers are responsible for all aspects of their accounts and therefore should be aware of, consolidate and strategize on a broad range of account activities including Consulting, Marketing, Builds, and Maintenance.

6. Keep abreast of industry and vertical trends to an extent that clients see the Account Manager as a strategic partner such that we can fulfill on its core service offering of combining both delivery and vertical expertise.

7. Qualify projects and accounts, making go / no-go recommendations when necessary

Project Participation – 40%

1. Ensure contractual coverage for all client and project work.

2. Ensure full and meaningful knowledge transfer to the PM and the delivery team at the beginning of each project.

3. The AM is accountable to the PM for certain project related deliverables activities, including Requirements Gathering and Analysis, Strategic Direction Setting, and client expectation management

4. Facilitate and coordinate the requirements analysis phase of a project and prepare the Requirements Analysis document.

5. The Account Manager is accountable for the quality of client facing deliverables, including documentation

and presentations. The Account Manager should support the PM to achieve timely sign off on project deliverables.

6. The Account Manager is responsible for initial project negotiations as well as for any communication related

to changes that affect timeline, budget, client expectation setting or policy. This communication should be coordinated with the Project Manager and should be based on input by the project team.

Administration – 10%

1. Forecast and justify potential project/revenue possibilities for each account over a six-month period on a monthly basis

2. Prepare and present project progress reports and other valuable status information to clients and Sr. Management

3. Create and review monthly invoices

Other – 10%

1. Participate in departmental initiatives including, process re-engineering, template creation and review, departmental strategic planning.

2. Tracking time and meeting personal billable utilization targets

 QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 5+ years of industry experience
• Interactive marketing strategy experience, in particular with pharma or healthcare clients
• Success in growing accounts and delivering on new business quotas

 SOFT SKILL REQUIREMENTS

• Have the ability to work in a leadership position on a high performing team of specialists.
•  Add to a positive, proactive departmental focus.
•  Show good judgment and professionalism in dealing with both clients and internal team members
• Must be able to handle job-related stress, particularly with respect to meeting deadlines and managing to clients and teams, including pushing back.
• Must be able to work with little supervisions and manage time and priorities.
• Have a genuine interest in the success of our clients and facilitate that success by bringing industry and interactive experience to bear on client solutions.

I recently had an interesting chat with my friend Ben Baldwin, the co-founder of ClearFit, about sales. Ben is a great sales person, and he believes selling is a science and not an art.  Here’s what he told PathWorks:

PathWorks: Ben, tell us a little bit about yourself. 

To set the record straight, I don’t think I’m a good salesperson — I work with great products that sell themselves.  I am, however, good at getting people excited to try the products.

I started my first software company in 1999.  It applied highly sophisticated behavioral assessment software that we created with a bunch of PhDs to help big companies hire people who fit their cultures.  Over the past 13 years, I’ve helped hundreds of companies select thousands of employees, on 5 continents.  Then I realized that no hiring solution existed for small or growing businesses, so we created ClearFit — for anyone to use.  ClearFit is the only solution that makes it easy for absolutely anyone to find and hire the best person for their business — or as we say: ClearFit “fixes hiring.”

PW: Why do you believe selling is a science and not an art? 

Sales is a predictable, repeatable process that has measurable outcomes.  Over time, sales organizations develop sales processes, scripts and metrics that work in their jobs.  The variable component that seems to throw people off is the salesperson’s behavior, but we know this to be a science and not an art as well.  It’s actually quite easy to predict future behavior if you have the right tool.  That’s why we created a tool that predicts employment success: ClearFit.

PW: Do you think anyone can be successful in sales? 

No.  A salesperson needs the right personality and motivation to succeed on the job … and there are several types of sales roles to boot.  For instance, it takes a different type of person to sell a low-cost appliance than a high-cost service.

PW: Do you think sales tactics or approaches have changed over the years?   

The consumer is definitely more educated, so “old school” sales techniques don’t work all the time.

PW: What 3 pieces of advice would you give to anyone in sales? 

1. Make sure you’re the right fit for your job;
2. You’d better enjoy being rejected, because you’ll get rejected more frequently than making a sale (and if you don’t you’re not pushing yourself enough);
3. Don’t blame others or the product: be the product.

So that’s Ben’s take on selling as a science. What do you think? Is sales a science or an art? Let us know in the comments below.

Melanie Benwell is the Managing Director of PathWorks Personnel and sometimes blogger.  Check out her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.