How to Give Your Best Performance in an Interview, by Partners With You

The Handshake
Your handshake contributes to the impression that you make and can determine how the interviewer treats you. Limp or overly strong handshakes are the 2 extremes, but what does your handshake say about you?

Sitting Positively
Push your bottom into the back of the chair
Sit upright in your chair
Pull your head up so that you have a “level” gaze
Allow your legs to be relaxed or lightly crossed
Allow your arms to res in an “open” or lightly crossed position

Eye Contact
Eye contact is really important in communication. It helps you to focus and allows the interviewer to open up and therefore improves the flow of the conversation. When you are communicating well you have more eye contact as the listener than the speaker. When you are talking you naturally look away to think. When you are listening you have more eye contact, which shows you are interested.

Rapport
Build immediate rapport with your interviewer by subtly matching and mirroring. We do mean subtly – you do not want to mimic your interviewer’s action, but to mirror their style of behaviour.

Genuine Smiles
Bared teeth and dead eyes create the look of a snarling animal.
When you next meet your interviewer, think of something that makes you smile – your children, your partner, the interviewer in their underwear – anything so long as when you greet your interviewer you are thinking “Happy”
Smiling adds warmth and animation to the voice and to the face, stopping you look stiff and ridged

Conversation
Next time you are in an interview imagine you are talking to a friend in the pub, it can help you relax and be less fearful. This helps you to look and sound more natural, brings your personality into the conversation and can make you more accessible to the interviewer.

Energy
A great way to add variety and change the mood of your interview is to consider your energy level - what will be most effective and when? Changing the energy level changes your style vocally and physically. Having high energy portrays enthusiasm and vitality whereas low energy can give weight and gravitas to the message. Whatever you do DON’T stay at the same energy level throughout – it will be boring!

Use Humour
If your interviewer laughs it relaxes them and you. Use your natural wit and spontaneity however DON’T tell a joke unless you're a comedian!

The Pause
Use the pause! It's dramatic and powerful. It breaks up your speech patterns and makes you sound more interesting. It gives time for the interviewer to assimilate your message and it also gives you time to think about what on earth you're going to say next!

Less is More
You're better off saying less and having more impact than droning on with every fact available; potentially losing the interviewer so that they remember nothing. Keep your message clear and concise – it will have more impact!

Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is infectious. If you've had a number of interviews and are therefore repeating your answers or questions it may no longer enthuse you, the interviewer will also become bored senseless too! You need to find something to be enthusiastic about. It could be changing your answer or asking a different question, how you will solve their problem by hiring you but above all be enthusiastic about something!

Answering Questions
How do you answer an easy question? You lean forward, smile, keep eye contact - appear confident. How do you answer a challenging question or one you don't know the answer to? You look away, physically pull back, grimace, cough - appear unconfident? No! You physically and vocally do the same as if you knew the answer and are comfortable with the question, thereby giving the impression of not being fazed, being confident and capable!

Partners With You are specialists in enabling professional individuals to feel more confident. They utilise the skills of professional actors who are able to pass on tips, techniques and skills gained from years of experience in their chosen field.

Partners With You have clients across all industry sectors. You will benefit from the interactive training which will help you to resolve your communication issues and enable you to feel more confident in interviews.

If you would like to know more about Partners With You please visit their website http://www.partnerswithyou.co.uk/ call Sally on 01923 842435 referencing Chilli Pepper Global

Your 14 Point Checklist

When it comes to writing your CV, you need to be hard on yourself. We hate to break it to you, but reading your CV is a chore for any employer and, given the slightest excuse they’ll gladly bin it and move on to the next one. They don’t even need to feel guilty about this. After all, if you’re prepared to represent yourself with a document that contains clichés, typos or confusing language, why should they take you seriously as a candidate?

So treat your CV as a serious project. Put aside plenty of time and make it as good as it can possibly be. It’s like getting dressed up for a wedding – everything should be crisp, clean and elegantly turned out. Nothing less will do. The tips below should help you to get it in shape.

However, as well as avoiding the obvious pitfalls, you also need to make sure your CV contains the goods. This means understanding how the system works. For example, CVs are mostly scanned rather than read. The employer will look out for evidence of specific experience, relevant qualifications and certain key sentences that show understanding of the role. So you’ll need to tailor your CV accordingly.

There’s no need to become obsessive. Just put in the things the employer wants to see and leave out the things no one wants to see. In essence try and make it as easy as possible for someone to find what they need within your CV as quickly as possible so they gain a favourable overall impression of who you are and what you have to offer.

1)Make sure you have an up to date CV in Word or PDF format
Obvious, yes, but trust us on this: if your dream job suddenly came along, you really wouldn’t want to be staying up beyond midnight desperately updating a five year old CV. Also, by up to date I mean some time in the last 6 months at most.

2)Don’t get too ‘creative’
Take care that your CV is clearly formatted, so it’s easy to read and looks professional. For printed copies, use good quality white paper and plain fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman in black print. Avoid italics, underlining or lined borders.

Regarding electronic delivery, remember: anything that hinders the smooth delivery of your CV to the right person’s desk must be ruthlessly eliminated.

There are two particular problems with overly complex formats:
1. They don’t always look the same on someone else’s computer.
2. They take longer to download which may mean they never get there.

Make sure you give your CV the best possible chance to get read.

3)Try to keep it to 2 pages
If you can’t sell yourself in 2 pages then it’s unlikely you’ll do it in 3 or 4. Yes, your CV should be kept updated but, no, this doesn’t mean it must grow in length. Each time you add new detail at the front, remove or minimise less recent or less important experience.

4)Use clear, simple language that people understand
Avoid all abbreviations, acronyms and industry jargons unless they are absolutely standard and unavoidable within your particular working niche. Even then be careful and always veer towards the conservative side.

5)Check and check and check again
How often are you irritated by spelling or grammar mistakes in documents? What does it make you feel about the writer? If that writer was you, how do you think a prospective employer would feel? Not a comforting thought, is it. So make sure every word is correct. However, don’t be too hard on yourself. Checking your own text isn’t easy, computer spell checks are useful but inconsistent (sometimes even misleading). The best solution is to ask reliable friends or relatives to proof read the text for you. Another useful tip, if you’re not sure about a sentence, is to put it into Google with inverted commas either side. If it doesn’t appear anywhere there might be something wrong with it. If it comes up nine million times, it’s probably a cliché. However, friends, especially those with writing skills, will always be your best bet.

6)Personal information is no longer necessary
Following the introduction of the discrimination law in October 2006 it is no longer required to state your marital status, number of children or place of birth.

7)Keep your email address and voice messages professional
What amuses your friends is unlikely to impress a potential employer. A sense of humour is important but you must always lead on your professionalism.

8)Never, ever lie
You could lose your job or, worse, face legal action from your new employer. Perhaps in the past people got away with lying on their CV. No longer. Many companies now outsource their referencing department and there are strict procedures in place to ensure NOTHING goes unnoticed. If you’re unsure of details such as qualification grades then take the time to find them out, but under no circumstances should you try and guess them.

9)Don’t hide gaps in your CV
Instead, explain them. If a prospective employer discovers a gap they may be inclined to draw their own conclusions as to what you were doing and why you didn’t mention it. Don’t give them any opportunity to feel nervous or unsure about you.

10)Don’t enclose a photograph
Not unless specifically asked to do so. Unfortunately people can sometimes pre-judge on appearance. Also, photographs can bulk up the size of an electronic CV and slowing its download time or even causing it to be rejected (see point 2).

11)Avoid using the 1st person
To keep your CV document professional we advise candidates against using the terms ‘me’, ‘my’ or ‘I’.

12)Always print off a copy to review before sending
We don’t know why but somehow it’s easier to pick up minor errors from a printed copy. So take the trouble to print out any CV as soon as it’s finished and then read it to yourself out loud.

13)Keep a copy with you at all times
You could keep it in your briefcase so you can review it at different times of day in different circumstances. You might just get ideas about how to make parts of it stronger.

14)Don’t skimp on it – this is your most important job finding tool
For some reason a lot of people regard writing their CV as a chore to complete on rainy Sunday mornings every year or so. Yet this is the document that could decide how much you earn over the next few years. Don’t skimp. Work on it, review it, obsess over it - try anything you can to make it better.

Time invested in your CV is time invested in your future.

Nikki Hutchison, founder of Chilli Pepper Global http://www.chillipepperglobal.com/ advising you on every aspect of the job seeking process guiding you step by step all the way.

It's a Numbers Game

I’m surprised by the number of people who don’t treat looking for a new job as a job itself. This is especially the case if they are not currently working. Too often I hear from people who are disappointed by the fact that they haven’t got any interviews arranged from one week to the next. I will give you an example of a recent conversation I had with a client:

Client: Nikki, I’ve now been out of work for 6 weeks and I have yet to secure an interview.
Me: OK, how many jobs have you applied for?
Client: I’ve sent my CV to 6 jobs.
Me: OK, you’ve been out of work for 6 weeks and applied for 6 jobs?
Client: Yes, that’s correct.
Me: So basically you have applied for just 1 job a week?
Client: Yes.
Me: On the basis that you are applying for 1 job a week are you now surprised that you haven’t received any invitations to interview?
Client: I guess I need to apply for more jobs.

Input Activity = Output Results

I appreciate it’s difficult to look for new opportunities when working as it’s not always possible to search the internet and make phone calls when in the office.

If, however, you are out of work then you should be making it your job to find a new one. This means spending the whole day as you would otherwise, as if you were at work.

You should be searching the internet, calling potential employers and networking with recruiters, ex colleagues and friends within your industry. Another great excuse is to say, “I have called my agency and there aren’t any suitable opportunities that fit my skill set right now.” Then sit back and either wait for them to call you or make the same call again the following week.

Jobs won’t come knocking on your door YOU have to put the effort in to find them.

Everyday employers are making job offers to someone and by taking the appropriate ACTION that someone could be YOU.

Jack Canfield
“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.”

Nikki Hutchison, founder of Chilli Pepper Global http://www.chillipepperglobal.com/ advising you on every aspect of the job seeking process guiding you step by step.

Recession Blessing in Disguise?

I can honestly say that the recession of the early 1990’s had no effect on my life what so ever. My father a policeman and my mother a housewife with 4 children to support, always managed, and still do live within their means. Don’t get me wrong, as children we never went without and enjoyed holidays abroad every year, but if my parents were finding it difficult then I was never made aware of the fact.

I left school in 1990 to go to work at the age of 17, I bought a brand new car at the age of 18 and my first house by the time I was 20. Everything was great and a decade later I found myself self employed and running a successful Investment Banking recruitment business with my husband and his business partner. Life couldn’t be better.

Then, without any prior warning, the financial markets crisis hit in early 2008 and RECESSION hit the globe.

So now, I’m 35 with 2 young children to support and a modest mortgage and lifestyle to maintain. My world was starting to crack around me. Having no income for the first time in 20 years meant that I had to make some serious changes to my life. I sat and hoped for a number of months and do you know what happened? NOTHING! My confidence had been knocked sideways, my self esteem was lower than low, so what did I do?

Firstly, I had to identify what it was that I LOVE about my job.
Secondly, I had to look at myself and get back my SELF BELIEF. I had to write down my goals and devise a plan as to how I was going to get back on the road to success.
Thirdly, I had to stop making excuses, doing nothing and instead change my mindset and take ACTION.

We are all faced with challenges at some stage in our lives and I'm passionate about helping others to create the life they deserve. With no work for over a year, 2009 for me was a life changing experience although it took me almost a year to realize!

Martin Luther King, Jr.“The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy.”

Nikki Hutchison, founder of Chilli Pepper Global http://www.chillipepperglobal.com/ advising you on every aspect of the job seeking process guiding you step by step.