Why you need to do a mock interview?
Are you currently unemployed and looking for a job? Even if you are employed right now, are you looking to change jobs or careers? If so, you may soon start examining all available job openings in your area, as well as submit job applications or resumes for those openings. With luck, you will soon find yourself with a number of scheduled interviews.
Speaking of job interviews, when was the last time that you had one? If it has been awhile since your last job interview, you may want to consider doing a few practice runs. These practice runs are commonly referred to as mock interviews. Although mock interviews may seem a little bit silly, there are a number of benefits to doing them.
One of the benefit to doing mock interviews before a real job interview is your options. Most job seekers try to use their friends and family members for practice. If this an approach that you would like to take, you will want to have your partner ask you common job interview questions, such what your strengths and weaknesses are. Be sure to answer with professional responses, just as if you would in real job interview. You can also do a mock interview in front of your mirror. While this approach isn’t as realistic, it can help you practice your intended interview questions.
Another one of the many benefits to doing mock interviews, before you have a real interview, is the practice that you will receive. It is no secret that job interviews can be nerve-wracking. Even if this isn’t your first job interview, they can still cause you nervousness. Many job seekers find that holding mock job interviews with their friends or family members helps to ease the nervousness often associated with job interviews. In fact, many also have reported a slight increase in confidence.
Preparation is another one of the many benefits of mock interviews. The goal of a mock or practice interview is to help you prepare for an upcoming job interview. This preparation may include answering common interview questions in a timely matter, giving a proper greeting, as well as departing properly from a job interview. If this is your first job interview or if you haven’t attend a job interview in awhile now, you may be unsure as to how the process will proceed. Mock interviews are not only a great way to calm your nerves, but they can also give you guidance, which can help you sail through your next job interview like a breeze.
If you are able to do a mock interview with a close friend or family member, you may get a number of pointers. Using other individuals, especially those who are known for their unbiased opinions is the best way to examine your job interview approach. If your friends or family members have any suggestions, like tips on how you can improve your answers, you may want to consider their suggestions. In, fact, you may learn something new or important by doing a mock interview with your friends or family members.
As outlined above, there are a number of benefits to doing a mock interview with a close friend or family member. As a reminder, it is also possible for you to practice in front of a mirror, but you may have the best luck with someone who can give you feedback or provide you with helpful suggestions.
To your IT career success,
Ivan Hurt
The IT and Technology Career Strategist
Stop Learning and Stop Earning
Before, I begin; I just to want to let all of my readers know that I am getting married tomorrow, October 17th to the loveliest woman in the world, Yanni.
So, I this will be my last post until November 1, 2009.
I’m going on my honeymoon and leaving AdvanceYourITCareer.com in the wonderful hands of my assistant, Thomas Murray, who will be holding down the fort until I come back.
Since this is going to be my last post for a bit, I wanted to leave IT and technology professionals with something they could ponder over the next two weeks.
This took me a while, but I came up with answer after a few career coaching sessions with some of IT professionals needing to re-evaluate their IT career.
Many IT professionals can not answer these 2 simple questions when it comes to their IT career.
- What skills are companies looking in desperate need for?
- Are you developing these IT skills?
You see once an IT professional learns a skill, such as
- Programming Visual Basic.NET applications
- Administrating a Red Hat Linux server
- Managing Windows 2008 Server
They stop learning.
Information Technology is an ever growing and changing field, you need to grow and change with it.
You need to always be on the lookout for the next IT skills that companies need and start developing these skills.
This is the secret to keeping and maintaining a successful IT career.
Companies always want to get ahead of the competition and rely heavily on technology to do it.
So as an IT professional, your responsibility is to be on the look out for IT skills that companies need and start developing them.
By doing this, you will always stay employed.
Here’s an example:
You are a PC technician who is A+ certified. You are currently working as a desktop support specialist whose company runs Windows XP client operating system. In addition, you know how to support Windows Vista because some workstations have it installed.
Let’s say it’s about 1 year before Windows 7 rolls out and you are this PC technician:
- You read IT magazines and find out that Windows 7 rolls out
- You read that companies will migrate to Windows 7 once its released
- Microsoft announced Windows 7 beta
Do start to learn about Windows 7 or not?
Let’s day you are do what many IT professionals do and skip the Windows 7 beta.
Let’s fast forward to today and you are still that PC technician, except now you want to find a new job. Do you think using the Windows 7 beta would have give you an advantage over other PC technicians?
The answer is YES because it gives you an edge during the interview.
An IT recruiter or IT manager wants IT professionals who stay ahead of the curve and are willing to pay top dollar for those types of professionals.
Companies pay top dollar for those continually learn because these types of IT professionals are hard to find.
During my career as an IT hiring manager, I would give more money to the IT professional who stayed ahead of the curve by learning new technology because they generally performed better.
When it came time to lay people off, the IT professionals who did not learn new IT skills were laid off first because I knew I could easily replace them.
However, the IT professional who keeps on learning is hard to find and even harder to replace.
My advice to you is over the next two weeks, take stock of your IT career and see if you are developing new IT skills that companies are looking for.
Remember, if you stop learning, you stop earning and it will destroy your IT career.
To your IT career success,
Ivan Hurt
The IT and Technology Career Strategist
P.S. See everybody in November after I come back from my honeymoon.
DHS to hire up to 1,000 Cyber-Security Pros
With the unemployment rate at 9.8% nationally and higher in a lot of other cities, it’s good to be an information technology professional, especially if you have network security, information assurance, or cyber-security experience. The DHS wants to hire you.
October 1, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano announces the start of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. However, that is not the biggest news to information technology professionals with expertise in information assurance and network security.
The DHS Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budge announced that it will recruit up to 1,000 new IT professional over the next 3 years. The DHS is in dire need of cyber-security professionals to protect country’s network and cyber infrastructure.
Some of the key areas the DHS needs are IT pros with experience in:
• Risk and strategic analysis
• Incident response
• Vulnerability detection
• Investigation
• Network and systems engineering
Now DHS says it will not fill all 1,000 positions, but with unemployment at 9.8%, this is still a bright spot for information technology professionals. In addition, the government has a good benefit package, job security, and an excellent retirement benefits.
Another bright spot with this announcement is that if the government is in desperate need of security pros, then the private sector is also in need of security pros, creating a win-win situation for IT professionals with a cyber-security background.
Here’s the downside of this announcement, I personally don’t believe the hiring is going to begin today. In fact, I believe the hiring will start over the next few months, possibly once a national cyber-coordinator is hired and on the job for a few months. This is one of the reasons; I believe the DHS is giving a 3-year hiring timeline.
If you are a cyber-security professional, the government wants to hire you, so get your IT resume ready.
To your IT career success,
Ivan Hurt
The IT and Technology Career Strategist
