Interview tips

How to Speak Effectively in Interviews When English is My Second Language

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Two weeks ago, I wrote about  how to improve my communication skills when English is my second language. It was prompted by this question below from a member.

I am a software engineer at a major American tech company.  I came here two years ago but have been studying English since the first grade.  I want to do an MBA and move into business development.  I feel my communication skills are holding me back.  I need to improve my communication skills. I want to feel more confident, speak fluently and answer to the point. I feel I tend to jump into answers, get too excited and do not know when to be quiet. Can you suggest how can I improve on this? ...  read more

How to Prepare for a Graduate School Interview – 4 Tips

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how to prepare for a graduate school interview

Learning tips early on how to prepare for a graduate school interview will give you an advantage.  Applying to graduate school is a stressful and busy process. From choosing the programs you’re interested in to polishing your resume, securing references, and writing essays, there’s just a great deal to keep track of. But in the whole process, one of the trickiest steps is going through interviews with admissions officers. ...  read more

Changing Careers – How to Interview Effectively

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changing careers

 Changing careers is not easy for some. However, once you master effective interviewing when changing careers, the path to success becomes a lot clearer.

I had a chance to interview one of our Executive Authors, Helena Light, who is a master at changing careers. In eight years at one bank, she had four different careers: ...  read more

What are Case Interviews and How to Ace Them

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case interviews

Consulting companies like McKinsey and BCG invented the case interview method.  Now pretty much all consulting firms as well as many hiring managers outside of consulting use the case interview to help them identify the best candidate for a business job opening.

So what is an case interview?  Simply, it’s when the interviewer gives you a scenario (like a business situation or an interpersonal situation) and ask you questions about how would you go about addressing it.  This method works well in interviews because the scenario and their related questions (aka the case) often has nothing to do with the interviewee’s past work experience.  It is designed to be a complete surprise so that the interviewer can test your true capabilities as a business candidate ...  read more

Interview Rejection – 5 Tips on How to Deal

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Rejection concept.

Interview rejection is always going to be difficult to hear.  Regardless whether you are a recent graduate or you have been working for years, it’s never nice when you get that phone call/email/letter telling you that you were just not right for the role and thus letting you know the interview did not go well. ...  read more

Job Interview Tips – 5 Things to Avoid

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job interview tips

Job interviews are always a nerve-wracking experience. Even for the most confident person, going into a situation where you have half an hour to talk yourself up, stretch your qualifications as far as they will go, and convince a stranger that you are the right person for the job is enough to get anyone feeling a little jittery and anxious. One of the best ways to feel better going into the interview is to prepare yourself for what things to say, but you’re more likely to leave an even better impression if you know what things to avoid as well. ...  read more