The number one thing...

It's amazing. You ask ten people the same question - you get ten different answers. Opinions are like Elbows, everyone's got them in spades!

So, when I went of a search spree to find out the 'Number one' Interview questions, or thing you must do in an interview, it's not a surprise that I received many different answers. But here's a collection of some of the things I did find. My advice for the 'Number One' thing you must do - be prepared. Some great 'they' - as in 'they tell me', or 'they say' - said if you aren't planning for success you plan for failure.

So here they are, in no particular order because they are all (and also because I phrased the question in different ways when quizzing those amazing search engines) 'The number one thing':

The #1 Interview Question AND How to Answer It!.

How to Answer Interview Questions - The Number One Job Interview Tip

The Best Interview Question of All Time

Job Interview Question Database:
Questions with Excellent Sample Responses (great if you are new to the job market or haven't interviewed much)

Common Interview Questions, Part 1

And lets wrap it up with these, shall we?:

Get the job of your dreams: Post-interview Follow-up

The Number One Thing You Must Do After a Job Interview

Job Interview Strategies
You Use AFTER the Interview
Can Make the Difference!

So there you have it - the Number one Thing.. err things. Confused yet, don't be. See - you should be prepared for every interview to be completely different. Even if you were asked the *exact* same questions at four different interviews, the turnout may be very different at the end.

Happy Hunting!

Work pops up in the strangest of places

Who knew that my little corner of the world would be near the top of the list in the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey and, sure you could go there and read the dry report, but I have to admit Resumark did a great job of highlighting some of the important stuff with their blog post The Best and the Worst U.S. Cities for Jobs in 2010. Interestingly enough, U-haul also recently put Vermont as number two on it's list too: U-Haul tracking data suggests more families migrating to Kentucky, Vermont than other states.

I guess things sometimes aren't where you expect them to be. Sometimes jobs are.

* Chamber of Commerce mixers
* Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, etc.
* Trade and professional association meetings
* Lectures, workshops, conferences, and fundraisers
* Social, cultural, and sporting events esp. if they have receptions
* Private gatherings organized on Meetup, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
* Job clubs, networking groups and others - often found on your local Craigslist

Happy Hunting!

Head straight to the soupkitchen, or other places nearby

Yep, you heard my advice correctly - go straight to the soup kitchen, or a 'Habitat for Humanity' job site, volunteer your services on Craigslist, offer to build a website for a new business, check the books over for the local non-profit.

Now, if you're searching for a job, why would you want to do this? It's all about networking and connecting. Everyone (well almost everyone anyway) is intimidated by the interview process - so maybe find a way that gets you right in the door.

By heading to the volunteer site, guess who you will run into? You're going to meet (especially if you do your homework and time it right) executives and their spouses, human resources managers and entire teams of people from industry. Who do you think those people are volunteering locally? Yep, it's the working people, taking time to commit to their environmental goals on Earth Day - April 22nd - or Green up Day - usually between April and May in states that observe it.

So all these industries are offering their workforce to volunteer during the slow times. Use your knowledge of the industry you've been in, do some homework, or just look at the local places who need lots of volunteers - the companies that send their employees will often show their commitment to volunteering and put up posters that tell you when they'll be on site. Show up to be a 'regular volunteer' a bit before, then that day you'll rub shoulders and teach people the basics to the people you might want to be working for. Then you have some familiar faces, they've learned about you - probably ask what you do - and give you the opportunity to tell them your elevator speech. So now you might walk into to an interview with a friendly face!


If you volunteer to do work in the area you know, or have lots of schooling on and little to now applied skills - it allows you to keep your mind sharp, and apply some new experience to your resume. Plus, it gives you a reason to get up in the morning, head out and start your day off in a positive way, then you can spend the afternoon 'pounding the pavement' with your head held high.

Here's a good list of links if you want to read more:

One from eHow:

How to Find a Job through Volunteer Work

and these from Monster:

Leverage Volunteer Work on your Resume

Tips for Turning a Volunteer Position into a Full Time Job

Volunteer for Your Career

Online Volunteering, a Win-Win for Technies, Non-Profits

Happy Hunting!