Boosting Up Confidence before the Interview

Almost every job seeker is familiar with excitement and panic fear before the interview. Unsure speech, trembling hands, preposterous answers can permanently cross out the perspective of employment in the company. How to increase your confidence, to show your best sides and become a worthy candidate?

Excitement is one of the main dangers of jobseekers, because of which a huge number of qualified candidates are not able find a good job.

Before the interview

Step 1 - only positive emotions

To be prepared and know preliminary answers to possible questions is not enough for the successful interview. But you might ask, “How is it possible to stay in a good mood if the excitement and uncertainty are becoming the main competitors?”. There are at least 3 ways to reach it:

• Come for the interview 30-40 minutes before the appointed time. Find a quite place where you feel comfortable and relaxed. Try to remember the most pleasant moments of your life: a good holiday, the most successful professional achievements of the previous work, etc. It is very important that these episodes will bring only good emotions which you could absorb and soak up. This method really helps to raise confidence and stay in the right mood.

• Call your best or close friends and ask them for a conversation that can encourage and support you. Maybe this will help and you will hear the words which allow looking at the situation with a different view.

• Think about your best personal and professional qualities and identify those that are appropriate for the position. Do not be afraid to share them with the employer. Remember that your advantages are your strength, so therefore you actually begin to believe in your own abilities and skills.

Positive attitude is the initial and a very important step on the way to your goal. Try to relax before the interview, remember the good moments of life, and call a friend to give confidence for the conversation with the employer.

Step 2 – Pay attention to the emotional part

In fact, little excitement is even useful, it actually helps to mobilize forces and concentrate on the task. If you have a little time, you can effectively increase your confidence by doing breathing exercises or with the help of autotraining. 

Step 3 - At a job interview

What to do if the excessive excitement does not leave you during an interview with a recruiter? Try to do a simple exercise: take a few deep slow breaths and smile. It will be better if you look into the eyes of the recruiter during your dialogue.

Sometimes there are situations when the fear is so paralyzing that the person is not able to answer questions. In this case, it is better to ask for cup of water and explain that you are too worried. In most cases the employer is willing to make concessions, especially if the candidate is a true professional.

Try to understand the main causes of fear - lack of work experience, age, long break from work etc. In many cases, these negative aspects can be presented on the other side and may be turned it into the advantage.

Breathing exercises or auto-training are very useful before the interview. In any case try to understand the reasons of your panic and think about the ways of solution the problem.

BE THE FIRST TO GET THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 WITH FREE DATA IN NIGERIA

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is coming to Nigeria earlier than we imagined. Everyone one is talking about it, everyone wants to have it, it may perhaps be one of the most anticipated smartphones from device giants Samsung.

Samsung has a history of firsts and the S5 tops more charts. Photographers will salute its excellent camera boasting a 16MP shooter with a super-fast auto focus and support for selective focus and HDR modes. Internet gurus will be in awe over its super-fast internet connectivity that combines the 5th generation WiFi and the 4G LTE to give users an unrivaled download speed. And fitness geeks will better appreciate the upgraded S Health app complete with a pedometer and an in-built heart monitor.

Thanks to Nigeria’s Largest Online Mall, Konga.com, everyone that preorders the Samsung Galaxy S5 here will get 250mb data courtesy Etisalat!

One thing is certain: the Samsung S5 is a dream phone and thanks to Konga you can be one of the first to use it in Nigeria.

Do you want to be the first to own a Samsung Galaxy S5? Pre-order on Konga.com here---à http://www.konga.com/s5preorder. You can read more about the features of the Samsung Galaxy S5 here, and check out other new smartphones here. 

Why aren't you called back when you are perfect for a job?

Sometimes when looking for a job even the most qualified candidates can have a hard time. You can really lose it if after a series of resumes sent out nobody is calling back. But why is that happening? Why even qualified candidates sometimes do not even get a call back? Let’s take a look at the most important factors that influence HR managers when deciding to call back. 

Resume

There are many different reasons why one is not getting a call back from the company. The first one can be in the quality of the resume. Make sure you check grammar, styles, use formal language and write truthful information about yourself. 

Networking – when you have found the company you want to work for check whether you have any friends or past colleagues working there. When the company gets few hundred resumes, it is nice to have someone to pass your resume directly to the HR and say a few words about you. 

All in all, when you have found a perfect job offer you have to try to be noticed among other candidates.

Qualifications

 

Every job offer is aimed at finding the right person for the company. Sometimes being overqualified is the reason the company is not calling you back. Indeed, even if you are ready to go for a beginner position, the company will most probably ignore your resume. This happens because such candidate is most probably viewing this position as a temporary one and will most probably move on as soon as he finds a more appropriate offer.

If you are looking for a change in job but have some experience working in the other field, make sure you alter the resume for the position you are going for. If you have several qualifications and are experienced in all of them, make sure you create individual resumes for each offer. This way the employer will see you are really interested in the position and will get the most necessary information required for the offer they have. 

Interview

Prepare yourself for the interview, do some research on the company, on its traditions and on the person they are looking for. The managers will appreciate it very much and will surely notice you. 

The interview is the most important chance for a candidate to make a good impression on the company. If you do it wrong, you will never stand a chance even If you were perfect for a job. Indeed, there are so many things that influence the decision – let’s start with the looks.

Make sure you are dressed appropriately for the position – check your clothes, your shoes, hair and accessories. Check if everything is according to the company standards and that you will fit in. When the company is looking for a perfect candidate one of the most important things would be if the person is going to fit in. So you better make sure you check all those things.

Attitude – one of the most important advice would be to stay true, do not lie, brag or talk too much. Indeed, the most common rules of behaving will work at any job interview. Let the company know you are interested in the position, but do not be desperate. 

Three Guerilla Marketing Tips to Distinguish Your Brand

South by Southwest (SXSW) is just around the corner, and companies of all sizes are trying to capture the attention of attendees and the press. Earning publicity at any event is challenging, especially one of this magnitude, but with a bit of creativity and planning, you can earn some press of your own. Guerilla marketing tactics are a great way to get your name out there and distinguish your company from the rest. Leave attendees buzzing with these three top tips:
1 Use Your Imagination. Guerilla marketing is about the unconventional. Construct a 10-story billboard. Break into a flash mob. Create a piece of interactive artwork that passersby can’t resist. Whatever you do, have fun with it and be creative. Last year, Mashable hosted Grumpy Cat at its party, and it took SXSW by storm.   2 Go Big or Go Home. People attend events like SXSW to be wowed, so the same should go for your guerilla marketing campaign. Big doesn't have to mean expensive – be memorable to get people talking. No one’s going to remember a product or service that’s touted with timid, run-of-the-mill marketing. Surprise people with an unexpected approach. The Homeless Hotspot from BBH Labs at SXSW 2012 was hotly contested, but in the end, embraced by the homeless community as means to modernize the old Street Newspaper model. 3 Let Your Audience Do the Talking. Authentic word-of-mouth is the best form of publicity. Devise your plan, carry it out and then step back and let your audience do the rest of the work. A successful guerilla marketing campaign will inspire people to share what they see, hear or experience with their professional and social circles. Many a darling have been made at SXSW, including Twitter, Foursquare and GroupMe, thanks to real buzz arising from interactive festival attendees. Above all else, have fun! Events are the perfect place to let your company culture and personality shine. Get a little crazy and let your brand’s voice be heard.

Jobs of the Future - how to make sure you will get one?

There is no doubt that job market situation is changing rapidly every decade. 40 years ago for example, a young person had a very good chance of finding a job if he was educated and motivated, if he had a high school diploma he had a much bigger chance.

Nowadays technology and globalization leads to many jobs being phased out and future holds even more surprises. 

Indeed, now a person can search for an apartment, books, buy tickets and reserve a plane ticket online. Future holds even more possibilities, soon enough students will be able to learn from Harvard and Oxford professors. without the need to come to big classes, live in dorms and go to university cafeterias.

However, imagine how many good things products and services will be accessible for the youth of tomorrow, many of which were not even in dreams of youth of the past.  With more qualified youth the competition at the job market will be much higher. But what will be good jobs of tomorrow? What should the youth be studying to make sure they will be valued at the job market? 

Keeping in mind that professions will keep on changing and will be requiring more and more qualifications, dealing with stress and ability to adapt to changes, the most important questions will deal with qualities one should possess to be able to work in future.

Indeed, if you ask people on the streets with at least 10 years after college if they have continued working exactly according to their diploma, you will be surprised by the high number of people who have changed their profession. 

Let’s take a look at most important qualities youth of the future should consider.

Skills

The most important skills nowadays and for the nearest future are communication skills. The ability to speak clearly, correctly, to present ideas clearly are of great importance in any sphere. 

Adaptation

Ability to change quickly according to the rapidly changing job market will determine for how long the person will be competitive on the job market. 

Expertise

Indeed, to be successful in any sphere it isn't enough just to be a good person and easy to adapt to changes. A professional with experience that can be transferable to the other spheres will help you always get a job. Young people that are ready to learn, train and practice will surely be successful.

Curiosity

True interest in a job helps any young person achieve high level of success. High level of curiosity leads to higher educated workers and to amazing results. 

Behavioral Interview Q and A

Being stressful enough as it is, an interview holds many moments when you as a candidate can feel even more uncomfortable. Behavioral interview is one of those moments.

A behavioral interview is an interview aimed at finding out people skills and is based upon a study that previous experience influences future experiences. True, more and more companies are looking for ways not to waste time on wrong candidates and improve the efficiency of first interviews. Various techniques are used to check whether the person is good for the job and nowadays recruiters find behavioral interviews as one of the best ways to do that. 

No matter how uncomfortable you are when answering the questions and no matter how stupid you think they might be, keep in mind that if you want to get the job - “the recruiter is always right”.

Before we list all the questions and answers that identify an interview as a behavioral one, we must list the reasons the HR team think this interview is important.

Reasons

Any interview is aimed at finding out two most important moments – whether the person is as qualified as is required for the job and whether the candidate is a good person and will fit in. All in all, whether he can do the job and whether he is a good man (pardon for gender stereotypes).

Questions – how to determine a behavioral interview

1. The first sign you are at a behavioral interview is when you are asked to describe a situation or asked to give an example of a situation from your past. 

2. The second one would be any question that demands description of your behavior in a hypothetical situation.

3. The third one is when you are asked to provide examples of decisions you had to make involving personal relations and communications.

4. If you are asked to tell stories about how you worked under pressure and in any stressful situations.

What to do

The first most important thing the recruiter is looking for is your actual experience. Indeed, you may want to show you know how some things are done theoretically, however all they want to know is do you know how it is really done. 

The second thing you should do is to prepare for such interview. Remember, you will not be told in advance that the interview will be a behavioral; still there is a way to prepare yourself once and for all. 

The most common scheme is to review a Situation – check for Tasks required, - look for the Actions you took, - and find the Results that took place. Take a look at your previous job experience, consider what kind of situations took place there – dilemmas, problems, conflicts, and write down how you would describe them in the following manner. 

If you have troubles finding the right answer on the spot, do not be afraid to ask for specifics. Remember, this is not an exam, the most important point they are looking for is a professional with good people skills.  

Examples

1. Give an example of a situation when you had to conform to a company policy that did not appeal to yourself.

2. Tell me about the important goals you had set for yourself and how you managed to reach them.

3. Describe a situation in which you had to cooperate with a colleague you did not get along with and how you managed to do that.

4. Please give me an example of solving a very important company problem.

5. Tell me about a situation which required you making important decisions very quickly.

6. Describe the most creative project you had worked on.

7. Give an example of how you had to convince the team to work on a project they were not excited about.

8. Did you ever disagree with your boss? How did you handle such situation?

9. Have you had a disagreement or a difficult situation with your co-workers, clients? How did you handle them?

10. Give me an example of how you prioritized several tasks.

The list is not complete, and we would be glad if you could provide us examples of your stories from behavioral interviews and how you managed or did not manage them.

How to look like you are busy when you are on a break?

You know a workaholic when you see one. Indeed, some people are having a bad time relaxing at work as they are really scared of getting fired for seen surfing Facebook or reading a newspaper in the office hours. 

However, it may seem a surprise for you, but all the employers know that in a 9 hour working day, there are 5-6 hours of productive time. All the rest is used in getting ready while moving from one task to the other, having a break and researching.

Indeed, when you had a lot of tasks to do, you should keep in mind that a small break will help you work better, improve your concentration and boost up your results.

Here is the list of ways you can have a break while looking busy and not attracting too much attention.

Type more
The number one thing that will help you look busy at all times is typing. You may be writing e-mails to your friends that will help you network a bit more and develop useful professional connections.
Yes, it is true for most office workers and it will surely not attract attention of your co-workers. However, you should keep in mind that if you are a web-designer and supposed to work the whole day with your mouse, the sound of you typing a lot will tell everyone that you are having a long chat with your friends. You may instead look through news sites and check what’s going on in the world.
This technique won’t also work if you are a sales representative and are supposed to be on the phone for the whole day making sales.

All in all, keep in mind the tasks you are supposed to do when you have them and make use of these tactics.

Take a notebook with you
When you are on your way to your colleagues in the other room, or are going to get a cup of coffee make sure you take your notepad and a pen everywhere you go. It may seem strange, especially if you do not need one for having a cup of coffee, still no one in the office will think you are having too much of a break when you must have something very important to do.

Make calls
When you have the time, take the chance to make those important calls you have been postponing for a day or two. If you are in sales, here is your chance to catch up with your clients and make some new connections over the phone. Make sure you check if the time is right and  the person you are calling is ready to talk to you for a couple of minutes. To have the best use of your calls, make a list of people you should call and write down one or two things you wanted to ask about. Take your notepad and a pen with you when making calls – this will keep you organized, make sure you do not forget anything and will make an impression of a very busy and organized person.

Go faster
When you have a matter you want to discuss with your colleague, or want to have some water or coffee, it will be a good idea to walk a little bit faster than usual. True, when your colleagues see you walking slow, everyone will think you are having a break and have nothing important to do.
 Increase your pace, take the notepad or a work-related book with you and you will always look like you’re up to something very important even if you are just going on a coffee break.

NB

Know what is expected of you at the end of the day. Always keep in mind that is you want to keep the job you should do the work required.

If you have your job done in time and it is done well, nobody will ever think of getting you fired for doing something else or having too many  coffee breaks. This is true, as once we had a copywriter in our staff who managed to write twice the number of articles required (impeccable quality btw) and still managed to be watching “Friends” at the same time. This is a rare quality, however remember not to forget what you are paid for.

SOURCE

Difference In Mentality Of Vocational Students & Academic Students

Have you ever wondered why vocational students don't cry of unemployment?, I think its the differences in our mentality.

Academic students in nigeria had this mentality of going to school, graduate with good grades and then become gainfully employed by an established organisation while the vocational students had the mentality of learning any vocational skills of their choice, (tailoring, barbing, hairdressing, etc) and after their freedom, they become there own boss by establishing themselves and start training others and the chain of self-reliance continues

Back in the 90's, the academic students always mocked their counterparts in the vocational line with the mentality that they (academic student) will make a better life than the vocational students. According to a pry song we do sing in my school back then, "if u go to school, ur shoes will be making ko-ko-ka sound but if you don't go to school, your shoe sole will be flat. Meaning that if you go to school, the vocational student will be serving you and you will be there leader, though this theory worked back then when there are jobs on ground for graduates after school, but in this era. The table had been turned around, the vocational graduates who are self established are now recruiting academic graduates as their children's home lesson teacher, as their P.A, some has office assistance. The worse part of it is that so many graduates are even going back to this vocational people to learn skills.

It reminded me of back in NYSC days when vocational courses like barbing, catering, event planning, beads making, and so on was introduced, It happend that i picked up paint making to learn, the guy who came to teach us then came in a nice saloon car. He came up to the hall and started the lecture, you need to see the gbagauns he was throwing. As he noticed that we were laughing at him, then he paused the lecture and switched over to his life story......

He began by telling us his academic history. He said he dropped out in ss2 due to lack of funds in 2002. How he was mocked by his friends who proceeded to university. How he went to a paint company to work as a casual staff, there he learnt basic paints making. From there, he attended a seminar on making quality paints, bought the book and then started his life from there. He said 10years later which was 2012 that he came to teach us, he said he has built 2 houses, bought 3 nice cars, became a millionaire and finally, He had trained close to 3000 B.sc graduates on paint making business. 

He ended his story by saying "getting rich in life doesn't depend on your qualifications or your english speaking accents, but your level of understanding how to be on your own, identifying people's need and providing solutions to it and then making your own money through it. Every1 in the hall suddenly kept quiet and tears started rolling from the eyes of most of us. The practical training class suddenly became a motivational class. 

So I think the academic students and graduates of nowadays should stop or minimise the mentality of going to school, get good grades, and start applying for jobs but rather learn from the vocational students who studied to be the boss of their own.

In conclusion, academic students can also learn vocations along side to be self reliant, or they should develop the mindset of creating jobs rather than hunting for jobs.


SOURCE

Konga.com Trends 2013 How Nigerians Shopped This Year.

2013 has been an explosive year for online retail in Nigeria as a whole with expanding product offerings, new technology investments, improved logistics, etc. As a company Konga.com recorded tremendous growth this year across all channels with several milestones, some were reported, and others were kept closely to their chests. This year Konga.com introduced; Pay on delivery in many locations across Nigeria, opened new pick up points, increased our books category to over 100,000 book titles, moved to a new 120,000 sq. feet distribution center, received different awards and successfully brought Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to Nigerians. Konga.com also silently rolled out a new responsive website in November 2013 to the delight of our users and are continuously optimizing to make it a lot better

Most importantly Konga.com completed their first 365 days as an online retailer in Nigeria, making new friends and observing the habits of their returning customers. As Konga.com prepares to enter 2014, they have compiled some of the trends that they noticed among Nigerian shoppers on konga.com in 2013;

Best Smart Phone of the Year: Techno Phantom A+. This is ranked in terms of number of search queries on Konga.com, total number of purchases and total number of requests on the Konga social channels.

Most Anticipated Tech Gadget Launch of the Year: Playstation 4 and Tecno Phantom A3. The Playstation4 and the Tecno Phantom A3 were the most anticipated Tech Gadget launches on Konga.com based on number of search queries on our website, total number of orders and sales.

2013 Book Of The Year: Chimamanda Adichie’s “ Americanah” .

2013 Brand of the Year (Fashion): Entourage

2013 Brand of the Year (Gadgets): Tecno

2013 Brand of the Year (Home and Kitchen): Samsung

2013 Brand of the Year (Game): Rockstar Games for Grand Theft Auto V (Based on total number of searches, purchases and requests on Konga social platforms)

Most Anticipated Sales time of the year: Fall Yakata Christmas Sale (Black Friday- Cyber Monday Sale). Day 1 of the Konga Fall Yakata Sale Konga had recorded more sales than the whole of December 2012.

Konga second highest sale was the Konga Anniversary Sale.

Konga.com third major sale of the year was the “Workers day Mega Sale” which held from April 29th to May 2nd, 2013  

These are some of the trends Konga.com observed in the past year, and as they prepare to enter 2014, look forward to a bigger and better year.