We have all been there, sitting in the waiting room nervous and uncomfortable waiting anxiously for an interview to start.  All of the questions you practiced in front of the mirror are jumbling together and then you scare yourself into believing you haven’t prepared enough for the barrage of questions that are going to be thrown at you.  As a gentle reminder, the interview has actually already started as you have already been in contact with a company’s first line of defense…the receptionist.

          Finally, you are sitting in front of an employer and you are cruising through questions, until you are hit with one you didn’t prepare for.  A question you have never heard before, one that requires a negative response or maybe one that doesn’t even have a correct answer.  Seconds feel like minutes as you panic to form some form of rational thought.  Here are some tips to push through the tough interview questions that may make or break your chances of landing your next great opportunity.

          The first question is often ‘tell me a little bit about you’.  Although you would like to talk about the car you drive or the buzzer beating shot you had in high school, this should be brief, touching on your education, qualification and experiences that pertain to your long-term goals and the job you are interviewing for.  This speech is a useful tool for networking when having a conversation with someone new. This is fairly easy to prepare for yet extremely valuable, because bits and pieces can often times be answers to other questions as well.

          Another trap you can find yourself in is with questions that are negative in nature or one that will induce a negative interpretation on yourself or others. A classic is ‘tell me about your weaknesses’.  A solid answer is one that turns a negative into a positive. For example, if you are slow at typing, you can talk about the strides you are making to better yourself in that area, such as taking a class. This can be followed up by the improvements you have made on your weakness. Obviously you do not what to admit to something that will have a negative effect on your job performance. So if you are interviewing for a data entry position, I would strongly urge you to not use the above example.  A trap to avoid is to use the generic answer such as, I work too many hours or I am too detailed oriented. The idea is to make yourself memorable and to standout. The person who interviewed before and after you will probably use the broad generic responses.

          Lastly, a common trick question is ‘tell me about the worst supervisor you have even had’.  By now you should know that this is a trap and is not to be answered literally. If you are going to talk negatively about a prior supervisor, years down the road, what is going to stop you from talking down about the person sitting right across from you?

          A quality response to this question is to describe differences that past managers and coaches have had. You could answer by talking about the different management styles you have been exposed to or different actions that managers have used to engage employees.

          Using these simple suggesting to spin negative answers into positive ones will boost the way you are interpreted by the interviewer. If you are stuck on a question you don’t know how to answer, don’t be afraid to say ‘I need a second to think about it’.  Remain in eye contact and answer in direct sentences regardless of how sure you are in your answer. The most valuable tip of all is prepare Prepare PREPARE! Have a general idea of what is good to say and what is bad. Being prepared will not only help with individual answers, but also give you the confidence to nail your next interview.

Some lucky people look at a job interview with happy anticipation. Others — most of us — don’t.

Here are some tips to help you ace the job interview.

1) Before you go to the interview, be sure you’ve researched the company a bit. Study the website, Google the firm and see what comes up. You can practically guarantee that the interviewer will ask you to “tell me a bit about what you know about the company.” You’ll want to know something. And the more, the better.

2) As you prepare for the interview, select three to five of your best accomplishments or skills that you feel best showcase your candidacy As you interview, you’ll want to aim to keep or steer the conversation so that you’ll be able to bring these accomplishments/skills up to the interviewer. Doing so will help the hiring manager see what you bring to the company.

3) Remember that there really are two purposes to an interview. The first is to showcase your talents (see above). The second is to ascertain if the position is something that will benefit you, that it will move your career in the direction you wish. You also should aim to thoroughly understand the job’s requirements.

You’ll do this by 4) asking intelligent questions. A good interview is not one where the hiring manager alone asks questions while you just sit and answer. No. A good interview is one in which you ask questions, too. Doing so shows the interviewer that you’re really interested in the job. When you ask questions, keep the queries about pay, benefits, paid time off, out of the equation (for the time being). Instead, ask questions such as “Why is the position open?” “What opportunities for advancement are there?” “If you had to require just one skill for this position, what would it be?” “What projects are in the works?” “What would be the very first task you’ll want the person you hire for this position to tackle?”

5) Don’t forget to prepare for “hard” questions. Questions such as “Why should I hire you?” “What do you bring to the table that no other candidate does?” “Tell me about a time you made a big mistake on the job and what you did as a result?” (Hint, the hiring manager wants to know how you fixed the problem and what you learned as a result.)

Understand that the better prepared you are the better your chances of receiving a job offer. When choosing between candidates who generally have the same skills and background, employers tend to go with applicants who took the time to prepare for their job interview.

Bring your résumé, your three to five accomplishments — and a list of great questions to ask — to C.R. Fletcher, Inc. Associates. We can help you find your next position in marketing, human resources, administration, accounting, IT, purchasing, legal and light industrial at some of the Syracuse area’s best firms. We look forward to hearing from you.

As with any place where you have a group of people working in close proximity, there will be people at work who are difficult to get along with. It might be because of work habits, or personality types. Nonetheless, in the workplace, you will have to learn how to cooperate in order to be productive.

What kinds of difficult personality types are you likely to run in to in the average workplace? There are several, but there are ways to handle them and actually work together.

One kind of difficult coworker is the person who just likes to talk. This person is not being malicious. He or she genuinely likes to converse with other people, sharing experiences, thoughts and anything else that may be of interest at the moment What these folks don’t see, however, is that their loquacious ways are hindering other coworkers from getting their jobs done. Sometimes it’s difficult to extricate yourself from conversations with these types of people because you want to be courteous, and often that means trying to listen. But if you want to get away from them, without insulting them, you can put the focus on yourself. Explain to the person, for example, that you just have trouble concentrating on your work while someone is talking to you, but that you would love to hear his or her stories another time.

Another person who can be difficult to work with is one who continually complains. The complaints might cover a range of issues – home life, friends, coworkers, the job, the company, the boss. When this gets to be a problem, one way to handle it is to change the subject whenever the complaining starts. After you do this several times, the complaining person should get the hint that you just aren’t interested in listening.

Other coworkers who can be difficult to work with are those who try to unload some work onto others because they believe they too have much to handle, or because they simply don’t want to do it. If this happens to you, the best way to handle it is to be direct – you simply tell the person you cannot do the task because you have your own work to do.

Another difficult person to work with – and this is someone who can really cause frustration – is the person who likes to take credit for something he or she didn’t do, or someone who inflates the contribution made to some work effort, or who takes all the credit — and praise — for a project that other people worked on as well. The first time this happens, let it go. It may simply be a mistake, or a matter of over enthusiasm. If it happens again, however, you need to make sure those who matter know about your own contributions. And then, unless you have to work with this person, refuse to work with him or her again.

Tired of pushy coworkers? The queens (and kings) of gossip? The backstabbers? The whiners? Then bring your rèsumè to C.R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. and let us help you find your next great position. We “know the good guys” among Syracuse-area employers, and we’d be happy to help you find a great job with one of them. Contact us today!

How do you write that perfect résumé that will land you the job you want?  Here are a few tips.

First, figure out what your job search objective is.  What is the particular job you are looking for?  What is the job you want to do?  Planning your objective will help you focus everything else that follows.  The format of your whole résumé will revolve around that objective, and you won’t come across as vague or unsure of yourself.

You also need to think of your résumé as an advertisement, not just a list of things.  Your résumé is a way of selling yourself.  When you compose it, you need to think of what you need to say that will put you in the best light, what will pique the interest of a hiring manager enough to pick up the phone and call you?  What makes you special or unique?

The purpose of the résumé is to land you an interview, not a job.  You don’t need to include every last little detail.  As was mentioned, you need to generate enough interest in the employer so that he or she will call you.

Keep things simple and direct, clear and concise.  You want to use bullets and short sentences, which will make it easier to read.  Leave white space.  Don’t use a font smaller than 10 points.  Also, use action words.  This will give your writing more power and make it more compelling.  Use numbers, and dollar amounts and percentages, which stick out in your résumé.

You want to put your strong points up front.  Save the lists of employers and educational institutions for the end.  Lead with your strengths and your selling points.  Look at the ads for the job you are applying for, and match the keywords used in the job ad with the bullet points in your résumé.  Also, use the buzzwords of your particular field or profession, which will help show your competence in the field.

Figure out what in your background is irrelevant to the job you are applying for and leave it out.  For example, if there are some duties in your current job that have nothing to do with the job you are applying for, don’t include them.  If you think including your date of graduation from college may cast you in a negative light with your age, don’t include it.  Focus on the things that support your job objective.

And again, use the résumé to show breadth of knowledge and experience, rather than waste space going into detail or depth.  Save showing your depth of knowledge for the interview.

Have someone take a look at your résumé.  She may find things that you missed.  Ask her if she found it engaging and interesting.

Finally, a point about résumé length.  Conventional wisdom says you should keep the résumé to one page, two at most.  Generally, this is pretty good advice. But it’s not set in stone.  Again, you need to look at your objective and what you need to do to best advertise yourself, and if you find that you can do it best in a résumé that is longer than two pages, then do it.

When looking for your next great position in the Syracuse area, Bring your résumé to C.R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. We have many career and temporary positions just waiting for your skills and terrific work ethic. We look forward to hearing from you!

Job burnout is a prevalent issue, particularly in times of economic turmoil when employers are forced to cut corners and cut back on their workforce and other resources. Remaining employees often are left to work even harder, generally for the same rate of pay they had before added responsibilities entered the picture.

Job burnout occurs when employees have worked long and hard consistently and simply feel indifferent or unmotivated about their job, their position, their goals or just about anything else related to their career. However, there are some tips you can adhere to in order to ensure that you don’t fall victim to this type of burnout and discontent.

• Switch up your routine. Try not to fall into the habit of doing the same thing every day. If you have a certain routine at work that you must complete in order to reach a daily goal, mix it up. Carry out tasks at various times of the day. Sign up for new projects to add variety to your job responsibilities.
• Focus on the creative aspects of your job. To avoid burnout, tap into the creative aspects of your job. This will allow you an outlet to avoid some of the more mundane aspects of your daily work. Are there special projects you can take on or a new way in which you can accomplish certain goals? This can be anything from organizing office PowerPoint presentations to being responsible for in-office events.
• Alert your boss if you are feeling overwhelmed. If you see yourself headed for burnout because of added responsibilities, speak up. Talk to your boss and see if there is any way your responsibilities can either be lightened or goals relaxed to give you more time to accomplish them.
• Get organized and prioritize tasks. Perhaps there is no way to lighten your workload and your goals must remain the same. To prevent added stress and burnout, get organized. Make folders for each task and place all corresponding paperwork in its proper folder. Make a calendar of deadlines corresponding to your various goals and tasks so that you have a clear idea of what is due and when. The more organized you are, the better you can anticipate your workload and plan your week accordingly.

When “the thrill is gone” from you current position, come to C.R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. We can meet with you to discuss your career goals and help you take the first steps to finding a new position. We have many great positions with some of Onondaga County’s finest employers. We look forward to hearing from you.

No matter how good you are at doing your job, you will — eventually, someday, possibly even today — make a mistake This could be something as innocuous as misspelling an important company executive’s name, or as serious as getting the “must ship today!” project complete and out three days late.

Here are some tips on how to handle these mistakes with grace, professionalism, maturity — and only a teeny bit of damage to your reputation.

1) As soon as you learn you’ve made a mistake, own up to it. Tell your supervisor about the mistake as soon as you can, especially if it’s a mistake that could be very embarrassing or costly to your company. When you go to your boss, be sure to tell him or her how you’re going to fix the mistake or that you’ve already done so. If you need help righting the problem, ask for input, but be sure you’ve already thought of different solutions for fixing the error.

2) If your mistake was a minor one, and more embarrassing than critical, apologize as quickly as possible. If, for example, you sent an e-mail to the company president and misspelled her name, e-mail her your apology right away (or as soon as learn of the mistake). If the president is the one to point your mistake out, apologize profusely and let her know it will never happen again.

3) Some mistakes require that you explain how the mistake was made. If this is the case, never try to foist the mistake onto someone else. Always take responsibility for your mistakes. This shows maturity and professionalism. Since you explained how/why the mistake was made, tell your supervisor the steps you will take to make sure it never happens again.

4) If your mistake embarrassed someone or proves embarrassing to your department or company, let your supervisor and/or the person or people you embarrassed know how badly you feel about it. Telling your manager how terrible you feel for making mistake lets him know that you know that mistakes can and do affect others. This also helps your supervisor believe you truly will be more careful in the future.

5) Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself when you make a mistake. You’re human and therefore imperfect and imperfect beings make mistakes. The best thing you can do is own up to your mistake, apologize and then figure out ways to never make the same mistake again. Do so and your mistake actually could make you a better worker and person.

Making mistakes goes hand in and with the job search. Misspelled names on cover letters. “Failing” critical job interview questions. But don’t despair. If you live in the Syracuse, NY area, give C.R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. a call. We can help you get over your job search mistakes and steer you to great positions in some of the Onondaga County’s top employers. Contact us today.

It’s 6 a.m. and the alarm clock jolts you out of a fitful slumber. The last dream you remember
was about work. Recently work has been on your mind constantly, now it’s even invading your
dreams. It’s puzzling; you enjoy what you do, but in recent weeks every single thing involving
your job has become a chore, even the little things such as driving in to work have become a source of dread. You watch the clock, wishing you could make yourself go home at 5 p.m. like everyone else. You live for Friday evening, and feel sick to your stomach right on schedule by Sunday at 8 p.m.

What’s going on?

Odds are you are experiencing the classics symptoms of burnout. This is most common in people
who tend to be “workaholics” by nature and who go by the motto of “live to work,” but the reality is that burnout can happen to absolutely anyone at any time.

If you suddenly realize one day that this is you, what can you do to get through it?

The first thing to do is be accepting of your current struggles. Though your nature may be to
work until you drop, for a period of time commit to going home at the end of your normal workday, instead of working deep into the night as might be your norm.

If you’re one of those people who either never takes lunch, or if you quickly eat lunch at your desk while continuing to work non-stop, force yourself to get away from your desk for at least 30
minutes (60 is better) and clear your mind. By combining this with sticking as closely as possible
to an eight-hour work day, you will find yourself working in a pair of shorter, four-hour “bursts.”

Finally, commit to not taking your work home with you for a defined period of time. Dealing
with work issues all day long, then adding to them all evening is a surefire way to force your
brain to literally deal with work even as you sleep. You never truly rest, and you never really get
a good, solid break.

By committing to these three changes for a period of time (start with two weeks, and go longer if
you possibly can) you will begin to feel as if you are on a sort of vacation (and really you are –
you’ve allowed your brain to rest for at least eight more hours per day than you were previously) and it’s very likely you’re burnout spell will be short-lived.

If you try the above and you still find you dread coming in to work each day, it may be time to find another job. If that’s the case, come to CR Fletcher Associates, Inc. We have many terrific positions with some of the Syracuse-area’s top employers. Contact us today.

“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”

“Why are manhole covers round?”

“If Hollywood were going to make a movie about your life, who would you want to play you?”

“If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you be?”

Questions from a quiz show or dating show?  Not exactly.  These are some of the interview questions asked of job candidates.

And if you are preparing for a job interview now, you can expect that one or more of these off-the-wall questions will probably pop up in your interview.

Why?  There are a number of reasons.  The purpose of these questions is to test an applicant’s ability to improvise, think on his or her feet, and be creative.  They also give the interviewer a glimpse into your personality by seeing how you respond.  It gives the hiring manager an opportunity to see how your mind works.

So, when you get one of these zingers tossed your way, how should you respond?

Before you answer, relax.  Take a deep breath and collect your thoughts. You don’t want to just start babbling away before you’ve had a chance to think about your answer.   These questions also show the interviewer how you handle stress.  Do you become frazzled or do you remain calm and poised?  When you answer, be candid.  I t often is a mistake to try to think about what the interviewer wants to hear.  The best strategy here is to just be yourself.  There are no right or wrong answers to these types of questions.  And there is no one size fits all – each interview is geared toward the particular job that is open.

By way of preparation, it might help to think of a few stories or examples of your abilities that relate to the opening you are applying for.  Whether the question is run-of-the-mill or something out of left field, career counselors say the interviewer is essentially trying to get the same information – how you deal with uncertainty, innovate, think creatively, and evaluate situations.

Another piece of advice is to work through your answer out loud, rather than sit there for any length of time quietly ruminating about your response.  That way, the interviewer will be able to get a glimpse of how your mind works, how you solve a problem piece by piece.

Also, when you are confronted with one of these questions, think about how you can tie your answer to who you are and what you can offer a company.  You need to think about the overall impression you are trying to convey to the interviewer with your answer.

If you’d like to interview with some terrific Syracuse, NY companies, send your  resume to C.R. Fletcher Associates. We offer area residents great job and career opportunities with some of the regions best employers.

If you think there’s no way you could get a promotion in this economy, think again.

Hard working people — those who bring great value to their employers — can find themselves in a new position with more responsibility and a bigger paycheck no matter how the economy is doing.

Here’s how to do it:

First of all, understand that you will have to work to get a promotion. We’re not talking about coming up with a strategy to convince your boss to give you a raise or a job with more responsibility. No, we mean work. As in do the job you were hired to do — and more.

In other words, you’re going to have to over perform in your current position. For example, Iis one requirement of your sales position that you bring in one new account a week? If so, bring in two. Or three.

Are you an accounts payable manager who normally processes 10 accounts a day? Aim for 12.

And so on.

Document your successes and accomplishments. Regularly send updates to your boss about what you’ve accomplished. You can send these reports weekly, monthly or quarterly. At the least, keep tabs on all you’ve done as you do it and send that report to your boss before your annual review (or the appointment you’ve set to ask her for a raise).

Maintain a great attitude. Don’t overindulge in whining with the gang at lunch. Stay positive. Focus on solutions, not problems. You probably could get promoted with a poor attitude so long as your a top performer, but a promotion will come so much more easily if you’re a person people like to be around.

Ask for the promotion. Do not expect all your hard work to get you a raise and new job title by itself. Yes, some managers are quite observant, noticing when their subordinates do exceptional work and then rewarding them for it. But these types of managers are pretty rare.

But ask for a promotion — with the document results to prove you deserve it — and your manager very well may slap herself on the forehead and say “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that! You’ve been stellar, outstanding, a real asset to the company. You’ve been performing at a high level and you deserve to be rewarded for it!”

Promote yourself to a great new job by contacting C.R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. We have many great positions for Syracuse-area professionals with skills in accounting and finance, administration, sales and marketing, customer service, human resources, and more. We look forward to hearing from you.

Even if you’re not now looking for a new or different job, keep your resume updated — you never know when you may need it.

Aside from the fact that you could lose your job tomorrow — people are laid off and fired at the drop of a hat nowadays — you should keep your resume current and handy because, conversely, a terrific opportunity could come your way and, with your resume at the ready, you could apply for it instantly.

No need to take time to find your old one buried somewhere in your computer’s files. No need to try to remember all the great things you’ve done at your current employer. No need to hunt down the continuing education courses you’ve taken over the years so that you can list them on your resume.

Instead, your resume will be ready and able to go to work for you the instant you need it. For example, your company is expanding and your boss wants you to apply for a promotion running a new branch. Or your dream job opens up at your dream company and — because you’ve quietly made your interest known in the past few months that you’d love to work there — a hiring manager contacts you about an opening for which you’d be perfect. Or your wife suddenly gets the opportunity of a lifetime and so you’ll be moving to a new town a few hundred — or thousand — miles away.

Anything can happen in today’s economy; it’s downright foolish not to keep your resume up-to-date.

It’s not hard or time consuming to keep your resume current. You can update it every quarter, for example, or every time you accomplish something major at work. Win the employee of the month award? Add it to your resume. Finish your bachelor’s degree? Place it you know where. Get promoted to assistant manager? On your resume it should go.

If you’re looking for that next terrific career opportunity, send that current resume to C.R. Fletcher Associates. We offer residents of the Syracuse, NY area great job and career opportunities with some of the regions best employers.