Adam Kirk Smith

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5 Ways To Stand Out At Your Next Interview

This is a guest post from Nora B.

Scoring an interview for that job posting you’ve had your eye on is a great feeling. While your resume is getting you through the doors, there are many other factors to consider as you prepare yourself for the big day. With a competitive job market and dozens of other hopeful candidates, being able to stand out is a must. Whether you’ve gone through the interview process a number of times, or you’re just starting out, here are a few fool-proof ways to stand out at your next interview.

Talk to Everyone

Never underestimate the power of being able to engage in conversation. As you walk into the new office building you hope to call your own, make an attempt to talk to and acknowledge every person you encounter. Treat the secretary at the front desk with the exact same respect and kindness as you would the individual who is conducting your interview. Many employers make it a point to ask other workers about their first impression, which is why it’s important to maintain the same enthusiasm with everyone. A talkative person will stand out more than those who remain quiet or aloof.

Bring a Thank You

Thank you letters used to be an interview staple and have since died down in popularity. Though keeping a thank you letter in your pocket might seem a bit old school at first, it will definitely make you stand apart from the other candidates. If you’re looking to make your first impression memorable, write up a simple note expressing your appreciation for the opportunity the company gave you and leave it with the front desk on your way out. Writing the letter will make you instantly unforgettable, and will set you apart from every candidate who did not take the time to write a thank you.

Dress to Impress

There have been many discussions as to whether or not your clothing helps you stand out for an interview, or even if what you wear can actually determine whether or not you land the job. While it’s hard to deny that physical appearance does play at least a small factor in the interview process, don’t let picking out what to wear cause you stress. Simply dressing in a subtle, professional way that fits the tone of the company is enough to make you stand out in an understated way. You can always go bold with some colorful accessories and ties, or play it safe with a name brand outfit. Try a comfortable Lularoe look to get the best of both worlds for less by shopping with online store thredUP. What better way to dress to impress than by turning your thrifted finds into professional looks.

Do the Research

You’d be surprised how many candidates show up to the interview having done little to no research about the company itself. Nowadays, doing your research is enough to set you miles apart from everyone else. As you prep for the upcoming questions be sure to research the company’s website, online reviews, and especially their mission statement. When asked to describe yourself in the interview, try to use vocabulary that aligns with the company’s values. Use the research you’ve done to your advantage by helping the employer see how you are similar to what their corporation holds in high esteem. 

Ask Questions

When it comes time for the end of the interview, be sure to have specific and thought-provoking questions to ask. The key to asking questions at the end of the interview is to be sure that what you’re asking is something you are genuinely interested in. Good interviewers will know when you’re simply asking a question for the sake of asking it, so don’t ask about something that seems fluffy. If you truly want to stand out from other candidates, feel out the interviewer for the opportunity to ask questions that might be a bit bolder than most. From benefits and salary inquiries to simply asking about the company culture, having thoughtful things to ask is an absolute must. 

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How to Motivate Your Team to Achieve Better Results

This is a guest article from Lynda Arbon. She is a passionate and enthusiastic health blogger. You can follow her on Twitter.

Summary: Learning how to motivate your team isn’t always easy, but these methods will give you several different ways of inspiring your employees to do more.

Getting your team motivated to achieve better results isn’t always easy. However, since your employees are your biggest resource, it’s important to know how to encourage and inspire them to go beyond what they’re doing. Fortunately, motivating your employees is actually easier than you may think, and it often costs you nothing. In fact, some of the ways to motivate your team will also improve other parts of your business. Here are some of these motivational methods.

Have Clear Goals

It’s hard to motivate anyone if it’s not clear what they’re supposed to be motivated to do. By setting clear goals and having a vision of where your business is going, it’s much easier for employees to see what they’re working towards. If your goals are also measurable, they will be able to see what progress they’re making, which can serve as a way of motivation, too. Rather than saying you want to bring in more clients this year, state that you’d like to grow your customer base by 20 percent. When you hit that number, your team can celebrate a job well done. They may even be motivated to blow past that goal, too.

Recognize Your Employees

When someone goes above and beyond, make sure they’re recognized in some way. This doesn’t always mean a company-wide awards ceremony, but you should certainly think about doing that once or twice a year. Sometimes, simply telling someone they’ve done a great job is all it takes. Recognition does more than just motivate people—it helps create a bond between you and your team. It also makes your employees feel more appreciated and accepted at work. People have a basic need to be recognized and appreciated, and it’s important that you fulfill that need.

Share the “Why” of it

Taking a few extra minutes to explain why something is important makes your employees feel like you’re treating them fairly and giving them more ownership of a project than simply telling them to go do certain tasks. They see why what they’re doing is important, even if it’s a menial task or a very meticulous one that they don’t enjoy doing. It gives your employees a big-picture perspective, and that can actually help motivate them to accomplish low-level tasks that no one really wants to do. However, since they will see how that onerous task fits into the project and understand the reasoning behind why it must be done, they will be more willing to take it on.

Give Your Team Autonomy

No one wants to be micromanaged or have to fill out multiple forms just to get one small thing approved. The more autonomy you can give your team, the more likely they’re going to feel motivated to take ownership of the project and get it done quickly. Of course, there are some people who do need more supervision than others, but once someone proves themselves, step back and let them handle things on their own. Trust them to get the job done. Rather than micromanaging, spend that time gathering information and resources your team needs to get things done.

Be Your Team’s Biggest Cheerleader

You always want your team to feel as if you’re their biggest cheerleader. You always want to back them up and be there for them when things get tough. Part of this is giving them the recognition they deserve, but there’s more to it than that. You also need to show that you’re willing to help them grow and become more than what they are.

One way of doing this is to bring in motivational speakers. These speakers can help motivate your team in a number of different ways. Some may help them discover skills they never knew they had. Others might help them learn how to be more effective communicators, a skill they can use in all parts of their life. Bringing in speakers to help your employees grow as people, not just as workers, is a great way of showing them that you see them as more than just a person doing a job.

Don’t Focus on the Negative

When providing feedback, your first instinct may be to focus on the areas where an employee needs improvement. However, this can often come across as a negative conversation. Your employee may feel as if you’re coming down very hard on them, and that can sap their motivation. Instead of providing nothing but negative criticism, be sure you always take time to discuss a person’s strengths and their triumphs. Let them know what they’ve done that’s amazing. Point out their positives and talk about what they bring to the team. Constructive criticism is important and it does help your employees see what they need to work on, but never provide nothing by negative feedback.

Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New

One way to motivate and excite your employees is to change things up a little bit. Just because you’ve always done something one way doesn’t mean it can’t be done differently. Giving your employees projects that are different from what they normally work on can excite them. It can also help them learn new skills and how to use resources in a different way. Sometimes even changing up the décor in the conference room or taking your team out to lunch just because you feel like it can feel like a major change and spark creativity and motivation.

Communicate with Your Team

Communication is a key element of just about everything we do in life. Do you know how each employee feels? Are they happy with their job? Do they have any issues with coworkers or their supervisors? Do they actually enjoy working at your company? If not, what can you do to change that? Don’t simply let an employee suffer. Maybe they should move to a different position or department. Maybe you need to provide them with new challenges or with training courses to help them develop new skills. Be willing to step up and help each employee find their happiness.

These are just a few ways you can motivate your employees and improve their work efforts. Not every method is going to work for every employee, though, which is why you must discover what motivates your team and what doesn’t. It’s a bit of trial and error, but in the end, you’ll find that a motivated team is worth the effort.

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Six Ways Entrepreneurs Sabotage Themselves

This is a guest post from Devin Morrissey. He has been a dishwasher, a business owner, and everything in between. You can follow him on Twitter.

Starting a business is an exciting, but often scary, new venture. As an entrepreneur, you may feel a lot of pressure to succeed because if you don’t, the fault of failing lays only on you. This pressure can be enough to psych someone out and prevent them from putting their best foot forward — a crucial step for an entrepreneur. However, by being proactive and not letting fear or pressure get in your way, you can successfully achieve your business goals. 

Fear of Failure

Most entrepreneurs encounter failure at some point, and that’s okay. Those who get it right the first time are few and far between, and these rare individuals often luck out by simply knowing the right person or being at the right place at the right time. The truth is, starting a business is a lot of work, and even with an extensive background in business, you’re going to have to make a few mistakes along the way to learn from them and figure out how to do things right. Every failure brings you a step closer to finding the answer to your business, so take the missteps in stride and consider them valuable experience. 

Lack of Vision

When starting a business, it’s important to have a clear vision of what you want to create and to be driven by the desire to bring those ideas to life, rather than by the idea of making a profit. Entrepreneurs who start a business simply to create a job for themselves and see the money roll in are often not sufficiently determined in their business plan. Because new businesses don’t usually see a profit until after a few years, half of these businesses close within five years. 

Not Doing the Research

Great ideas can only take you so far. As an entrepreneur, you’re responsible for cultivating a business plan that will grow through every step of your business. Therefore, each aspect of your business plan should be calculated and account for the growth you hope to see in your business. Each investment you make should be an educated and thought-out business decision, as well as backed with the research of the proposed return on investment and what it will help the business achieve. There are scores of data available on every kind of business, and by using this data in your decision-making, you can learn from the experiences of other businesses.

Becoming Complacent

Capitalism drives startup business as much as it drives large corporations. To run a successful business, it’s necessary to not only keep up with your competition, but to work to get ahead of them and to innovate continuously. Even if your business has steady customers and is meeting its necessary business sales to remain afloat, you should always continue looking for ways to meet more customer needs and attain more business — because if you don’t, someone else will.

However, it can be difficult to know how to do this, which is why more than 80 percent of enterprises consider in-database analytics the most critical predictive analytics platforms. This is the information that helps Starbucks decide what city corner to place their new location on or what style of sweater JCPenney or Kohl’s should keep in stores for longer. By researching what customers want and need, and how to successfully deliver these things, you can fill the customer needs that other businesses aren’t filling and market your business by highlighting these areas where you rise above the competition.

Not Setting Goals

When starting a business, entrepreneurs often create elaborate plans for how they will grow their business from the ground up because it’s necessary to think at least that far into the future. However, once the business gets started, some owners may not realize that’s only the beginning of the work they need to do to continue growing their business. 

Unless a business is constantly striving to meet goals and able to pivot plans when something unexpected occurs, a company can’t continue to grow and sustain itself. Successful entrepreneurs know that a business needs to constantly work towards something. If business leadership doesn’t know where to go next, the organization won’t go anywhere. 

After your business has gained some traction, it’s usually a good time to look for business partners and other professionals who can help give expertise insight on how you can improve it. One person simply does not have enough insight to take a business down a path of success without other intelligent business partners to support their original ideas. Entrepreneurs need to find the right people who share their vision and will help take the business where it needs to go. 

Not Protecting the Business

Everything an entrepreneur has should be protected. It’s one thing to never have the ability to open the business or shop at all, but it’s an entirely different thing to lose it after putting all of the work in to finally make it happen. 

From the get go, an important investment for businesses to make is to acquire business insurance that will protect them from any number of incidents. Whether your business has a brick-and-mortar location or is based solely online, business insurance can help protect you against cybercriminals, customer information breaches, and data theft. Although it can seem unlikely that an online business will suffer such damages, in the age of the internet and advanced technology, protection against cybercrime is more important than ever.

It’s no secret that the life of an entrepreneur is fraught with challenges and, by extension, a high failure rate for those who do pursue personal business endeavors. However, a surefire way an entrepreneur can find themselves victim to these threats is by failing to take steps to proactively combat them. Entrepreneurs must not fear failure. They should be willing to make investments and take leaps of faith to build their business, as creating a successful business never comes without risk. By making educated investments, developing a clear vision, setting ambitious but clear, attainable goals, and taking care to protect your business, you can make your business dreams a reality.