How to answer the top 3 toughest interview questions

How to answer the top 3 toughest bewerberinterview questionsHow to answer the top 3 toughest interview questionsIn a recent survey of 2,000 Americans by recruitment agency Randstad US, job seekers said the the top three toughest interview questions were, What are your weaknesses?, Why should I hire you?, and Tell me about yourself.These questions can be tough, but behauptung questions are also among the fruchtwein common that job seekers get asked. They should not be unanswerable. Good job interview questions are not designed to stump you. They are designed to get you to share the story of your career, so that an employer can see if you are the right fit for a role. Armed with the right research and preparation, you can answer each of these questions with ease. Heres how to do itWhats your biggest weakness?This is a subject I have covered at more length in a separate story.Too often, job seekers think they can dodge the question with an answer about not having real weaknesses. But yo u need to admit vulnerability. Recruiters do not want a perfect robotic candidate they want an authentic one that can tell the story of their career, and that includes the parts of yourself you still need to develop.If you cannot share a setback or an area of growth that you need to improve on, you are signaling that you are not self-aware about your own strengths and weaknesses. You need to own up to a shortcoming, and show how you have been addressing it.Why should I hire you?The hiring manager wants to know why you should be picked out of all the candidates being interviewed for this job. Your answer should outline what you have to offer that others may not have. You want to highlight your enthusiasm for the role and your specialties. To come across as the right candidate for the job, you need to do research on what the company most needs to hire. Career development specialistLily Zhang suggests coming across as a problem solver by explaining how you can make the interviewers lif e easier by addressing his most imminent issue.You do not need to have all the answers, but you do want to come in with well-researched ideas of how you would improve a company starting from the day you are hopefully hired.Tell me about yourselfJob seekers can make the mistake of thinking Tell me about yourself means launching into a long answer of your personal ambitions and unnecessary details about your life starting from the day you were born. But you want to keep this answer short and broad. The hiring manager wants a brief summary, not a treatise. Ask a Managers Alison Green suggests hearing the question as give me a broad overview of who you are, professionally speaking, before we go deeper into specifics.If you do not have immediate answers to these questions, do not worry. By reflecting over how to answer these questions, you are on the road to making your answers more polished and substantive. Look over past performance reviews. Ask colleagues about your memorable qualitie s. Brainstorm key stories about your career that you want to include. Practice answers with a friend. Through these research methods, you can sound calm and steady when you are in the room with an interviewer.

Air Force ASVAB Composite Scores

Air Force ASVAB Composite ScoresAir Force ASVAB Composite ScoresThe Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a test all enlisted candidates must take with the recruiter during the enlistment process. It is typically taken in the office on the computer in a shortened format. Then you will take the full ASVAB again at Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) on the day you swear into the Delayed Entry Program (DEP). The test is actually multiple subtests and graded with an overall percentile score not percentage score.In other words, you are ranked accordingly with other recruits and by a percentage that you got correct. A 65% does not mean you got 65% right. You scored better than 65% of those taking the same test. The categories of the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery are the following General Science (GS) Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) Word Knowledge (WK) Paragraph Comprehension (PC) Auto and Shop Information (AS) Mathematics Knowledge (MK) Mechanical Comprehension (MC) Electronics Information (EI) and Sum of Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension (VE). Composite Scores The ASVAB Score is actually the AFQT Score of the ASVAB test. This is a combination of four sub-tests that the recruiters will review to binnensee if you can even enlist into the military. It is little to do with what job in the military you qualify for. The AFQT score is not a pass / fail grade it is basically a minimum standard for recruit entry into the military.Just because you meet the minimum standard does not mean you are granted entry into the military.There are other tests, standards, and qualifications a recruit must meet like medical clearance, criminal history, academic history, and personnel limits. The recruiters have a limit that they can allow in as well as a quota they strive to meet. There are only so many open slots for new recruits in any given time period. For instance, if you are an Air Force recruit and you have the AFQT score of 40. (Minimum Sc ore allowed of 36). Had you scored a 35 or less the recruiter cannot accept you. A 40 means you meet the ASVAB standard, but if the Air Force has several other candidates well above the 70 range (which they typically do) you are likely not competitive enough to get into the Air Force at this time. A recruit should study for the ASVAB as want to score as high as you can, because recruiters are going to take the best first and then work their way down until all positions are filled. The AFQT is also in effect, a composite score itself being derived from four of the subtest areas. But it is the same for all branches. The other Composites are unique to each branch and the jobs related to them. To qualify for specific Air Force jobs, applicants must achieve a specific score in the applicable Air Force Aptitude Qualification Area. The areas are G-General, A-Administrative, M-Mechanical, and E-Electrical. (*GAME). Air Force Composite / Qualification scores are derived from the following a reas of the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) General (G) Determined from Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) and Verbal Expression (VE). of the ASVAB. Administrative (A) This score is computed from the Numerical Operations, Coding Speed, Verbal Expression (VE) Word Knowledge (WK) and Paragraph Comprehension (PC) portions of the ASVAB (see note below). Mechanical (M) Determined from General Science (GS), Mechanical Comprehension (MC), and Auto/Shop (AS) sub-tests of the ASVAB. Electrical (E) Determined from General Science (GS), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), and Electronics Information (EI) sub-tests of the ASVAB. See the Air Force Enlisted Job Description Qualifications pagesto see what composite scores are required for each Air Force enlisted AFSC (job). Air Forcerecruits mustscoreat least 36 points the 99-pointASVAB. The vast majority, some 70 percent, of those accepted for anAir Forceenlistment achieve ascoreof 50 or above Note the Numerical Opera tions and Coding Speed sub-tests were eliminated from the ASVAB in 2002 and 2003. To compensate for these missing values, and to keep the Administrative Composite equal to those who took the ASVAB prior to the change, the Air Force loads a dummy score in place of the NO and CS sub-test scores for those who take the ASVAB after the change. The dummy scores used as replacement values are the average scores received on these two sub-tests from Air Force applicants for the 12-month period prior to the change.

What to do when you dont want to give a LinkedIn recommendation

What to do when you dont want to give a LinkedIn recommendationWhat to do when you dont want to give a LinkedIn recommendationIn addition to keeping you connected to previous - and possibly future - co-workers and employers and providing a one-stop shop for recruiters interested in learning mora about your career path, social media networking giant LinkedIn is also an important distributions-mix to amass recommendations from those who have firsthand knowledge of your work - or for giving glowing reviews of those youve worked with.But when a former co-worker, manager or direct-report approaches you for a recommendation and you were less than enthusiastic about their work performance, it can feel like a sticky situation.LinkedIn recommendations add credibility to your LinkedIn profile. They are important because those who view your profile are able to read these recommendations to get a better feel of your work style and overall performance, Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D., industrial-organ izational psychology practitioner and workplace expert says.Since your name and profile are associated with that recommendation, you should make sure that you truly know the individual and can vouch for his/her work product. After all, someone may hire that person based on your recommendation.Heres how to know when its the right move to politely and professionally decline the invite to recommend someone - and how to excuse yourself without causing offenseIf you dont remember their name, say noWhen you first started your career, do you remember the IT manager who set up your laptop and your workspace for you? Or, when you made the move to a larger company, what about the assistant to the assistant of your executive manager? While its true that all roles are important parts that keep the company oiled and running, its tough to give an accurate assessment on someones ability to perform a job is you dont recall working with him or her.You might be tempted to completely ignore the ask, but Hakim says this is a situation when being direct and clear will be in your best favor. You dont want to create a back-and-forth conversation where theyre filling up your inbox with repeated requests for a review, but you do want to encourage them to seek out abedrngnisher colleague or boss who can help them out.To get out of giving a recommendation for this reason, say something like, Thanks for asking me to write a recommendation I remember working together a few years back, but I think that someone who worked with you more recently is better suited to provide feedback on your performance. Sorry I cant be of more help, Hakim says.If you cant say anything nice, dont say anything at allThe words of wisdom your grandmother (and her grandmother) may have bestowed upon you as a child transcend generations for a reason. Though granny likely aimed to keep you out of the tangled-circle of gossip in social groups that never leads to anything positive, the same rule of thumb applies when considering recommending someone you currently work with or used to. Since its support theyre seeking and not critique, a public-facing Linkedin post thatll live on their profile isnt the place for negativity. You can use this as an opportunity to explain in a private message why you wont be writing them your sanction of approval, but make sure to finish on a somewhat encouraging note, since it might be tough for them to digest if they were expecting your blessing. Hakim suggesting ending with, Im probably not the best choice here as Im not comfortable writing a recommendation. Best of luck, and sorry that I cant be of more helpRemember, it isnt required, even if you laid someone offWe all have those could-have-been great stories about our careers. Maybe an applicant impressed you during their interview process, only to quickly fall short of your expectations once they were hired. Or, you came into a new team to manage and while you enjoyed their personalities, their professional s kills werent up to the level you needed to meet your goals, and you had to make tough decisions. When layoffs or firings happen, its tempting to throw in the Im happy to recommend you line to soften the blow. But think about whether youd actually have something to say for that person thats truthful, honest or helpful.It is not your obligation to write anyone a recommendation, whether on LinkedIn or elsewhere, Hakim says. Even if you feel guilty or uneasy about having to part ways and leave someone unemployed, in the long run, your ability to explain what isnt working will motivate them to work harder and differently for their next employer.Dont give in to peer pressureOne of the main issues you probably have with resisting the urge to give a recommendation you dont want to give is due to pressure. The request is there, in your inbox, urging you to take just a moment to help a pal out. But if theres any reason you dont want to list out accomplishments for a person you cant vouch for, its better to decline than to simply write for the sake of not looking rude.Say something polite yet direct and to-the-point like, Im sorry, but I wont be able to help you with that. Best of luck with your search Sorry that I cant be of more help, Hakim suggests. Know that some may feel offended if you do not accept their request to write a recommendation. But, you have that choice, and should never feel pressured to do so.