Life is a Piece of Cake
August 6, 2008 by Lillie
Have a bite of flour.
Yuck!
A little baking soda, then?
Blech!
How about a raw egg?
Ick!
A spoonful of cooking oil?
Nasty!
Maybe a little sugar? A nip of vanilla? A bit of chocolate?
Yeah, those sound good … but all by themselves?
The individual ingredients aren’t very appetizing, yet when they are mixed together and cooked in a hot oven, they come together to form a beautiful and mouth-watering cake.
Ahh … taste that sweet, rich flavor. The creamy smooth frosting, the moist goodness of the cake.
The individual ingredients of life often aren’t very appetizing, either. The yucky flour might be failure, the icky egg pain, the nasty cooking oil loss and grief. The sweetness of love, the tastiness of success, the flavor of joy are wonderful … but all by themselves?
Yet mixed together throughout a lifetime and cooked through heat and pressure, the failure, pain, and loss combine with the love, success, and joy to form a rich and lovely life.
Each of our lives is a piece of cake, and together are lives are a beautiful and mouth-watering cake.
This post is an entry What I Learned From … Metaphors for Life, this month’s group writing project and Middle Zone Musings.
July Thanks to Commenters
August 4, 2008 by Lillie
The first time I recognized my commenters, I thanked commenters for the entire year of 2007. That was such a long list and such a long time for commenters to wait for thanks, I recognized commenters in the first and second quarters this year. Now the numbers have increased so much I’m going to thank commenters monthly. The month of July brought nearly 400 comments from 119 commenters, compared to 300+ comments from 192 commenters in the entire second quarter.
I recognize that Do Follow is one reason for the numbers of comments I get, especially from people who aren’t writers. The variety in where commenters come from and what they do/blog about amazes me. I appreciate the quality of comments and the conversation that is generated from these diverse readers.
A note about my comment policy: In determining whether a comment is legitimate or not, I tend to give commenters the benefit of the doubt. However, I usually delete generic comments such as “thanks” or ”great blog.” I approve comments from people who leave keywords instead of names … but I really prefer to address people by name.
Thanks to these July commenters:
Top Contributor (15 comments)
Jeanne Dininni Writer’s Notes
Major Contributors (8 comments)
Outstanding Contributors (5-7 comments)
Uptake in Ohio
Renae Brumbaugh Morning Coffee
Significant Contributors (2-4 comments)
Alina Popescu Words of a Broken Mirror
Bouncer Bouncer Land
Alina Padilla Precise Edit
Business Networking Schmoozi
Diane Her SCA Blog
Joe My ABC Space
Mobile Blog VaroLogic Blog
Forrest Fine Art Photography Blog
Hamurabi Hamurabi’s Weblog
Karen Putz A Deaf Mom Shares Her World
Kathryn Knittsings
Lionel Acid 42
Monavie Black Diamond University
Polina Skin MD Natural
Important Contributors
Alcohol Rehabilitation The Unloading Zone
Alex Cell Mad
alojamiento rural turispain
Amy Derby Write from Home
Anna Op Art Design
andydunn
Asia’h Epperson
Bang Saphan Info
Ben ARSVENDO
blepharoplasty New York City Blepharoplasty
Blogging Tips Blog About Your Blog
Brad Shorr Word Sell, Inc
Britt Phillips DVD Training Videos
Buy Hand Dyed Yarns Leelee’s Unique Buttons & Yarn
Chan Sui InnTell
child internet habits All Spy
Data Entry Services Data Plus+
Dave Titanium Golf Irons
David W. Discount DSLRs
drug rehab in California Recovery Can
Eric Peterson Leadership and Other Ramblings
Final Expense Insurance EFES
Fiona Argentur-Vergin
Frederick Alopezie
Freelance Jobs Contentfully
frikass Jacken4You
frika The Natural Gems Shop
Gary Capone Palladian International LLC
GBG Business Live Free with GBG
gerda Traumhafte Handtaschen
Gina Paraguay 2 You
Haley Geizkragen
Handmade Buttons Leelee’s Unique Buttons & Yarn
hank My Investing Blog
hank freid Real Estate
Iguana Infos über Natursteine
isabella mori change therapy
Jacob JobMob
Jackie Cameron Consult Cameron
James Chartrand Men with Pens
Jenna Stars Dancewear
Jes Montagehiefer
Joanna Young Confident Writing
Joey Mobile Container
John Hewitt Poewar: Writer’s Resource Center
John M Unlimited Complimentary Ringtones
Julie Madsen
Justin Finish Writing
Karen Alaniz Write Now
Karen Swim Words for Hire
Katie Info4Repair
Kelly She-Power
Laura Spencer Writing Thoughts
Life Coach Life Coach Buzz
Lip Sense Beautiful Lips
Marianne Writer Mommy
Marrie US Citizenship Forms
Marrie Funny Car Videos
Medical Tourism Bangkok Bangkok-Hospitals Info
Mercy CSN Conference
Mike Goad Exit 78
Monavie
Mozie Esme’s Mommy
MP-4 Player Cocos Promotions
NBA Tickets The Ticket Lodge
New Age New Age Internet Marketing Academy
Niall Devitt Beyond the Boardroom
nice guy A Nice Chat
Olivier Getting Rich the Certain Way
Online Calculator Online Calculator
Panthers Carolina Panthers Blog
penny stock trading Trading Penny Stocks Online
Quotes Compare Auto Insurance Quotes
Riana Wedding Belle
Robert Hruzek Middle Zone Musings
Secra einklang-reisen
Sharon Hurley Hall Get Paid to Write Online
Shina auto-pflegetipps
Simon Pingable
Steve Gadgets4Nowt
Susan New WordPress Themes
Tiara Rhinestone Jewelry
Tom Dermal.de
tom kaulitz Abdul Samet Uzun
Violin Popular Songs in Violin
Vivian We Show
yavuz Kaliteliteli Film
Yvonne Russell Grow Your Writing Business
Zak Nicola
If I’ve overlooked someone who commented in July or made a mistake in names or links, please let me know. Thanks again to each commenter and to each of you who read and never let us know you’re here.
Job Search: Part 3—Interviews
August 2, 2008 by Lillie
Table of contents for Job Search
- Job Search: Part 1—How to Write an Interview-Winning Resume
- Job Search: Part 2—Cover Letters
- Job Search: Part 3—Interviews
Your cover letter did its job and got your resume reviewed. Your resume did its job and got you an interview. Now what?
Don’t just expect to show up at the appointed time without preparation and get the job. If you want to be successful, you need to prepare for the interview.
You will find it helpful to know what kind of interview you will be having. In addition to the traditional interview where one person—probably your potential supervisor—meets with you to discuss your experience, you may encounter several other types of interviews. Especially if you are applying for an executive level job, you will probably have several interviews before a decision is made.
Some of these kinds of interviews may be used together—you may be interviewed by a panel that asks behavior-based questions, for example—or you may go through a series of different kinds of interviews.
- Telephone Interview: The employer may use a telephone interview to narrow down the candidates for an in-person interview or to save travel expenses when interviewing out-of-town candidates.
- Panel Interview: The panel may include your potential supervisor along with higher level executives and representatives from Human Resources and other departments you will interact with if hired. Each of these people will have different interests and concerns.
- Behavior-based Interview: This type of interview—sometimes called the competency interview—is based on the theory that past performance is the best indicator of future performance. You will be asked questions about specific challenges you have encountered in your previous work life and be asked to described how you responded to them.
You will need to be prepared for any or all of these kinds of interviews.
- Research the company and the interviewer(s). You should have researched the company for your cover letter, but you may want to dig a little deeper to be prepared for the interview. If you know the name(s) of the person(s) who will be interviewing you, do some research on them, too. Congratulating an interviewer on a recent award or sharing that you volunteer for the same charity will make a favorable impression.
- Know your resume backward and forward. You may have had to research to find details and numbers for your resume. Remember, the interviewer may be looking at your resume during the interview and will catch any discrepancies. Be sure you have everything on the resume committed to memory or have it front of you and know where to find any piece of information immediately.
- Be prepared with questions of your own. After you answer the interviewer’s questions, you will be given an opportunity to ask questions. Questions prepared in advance will keep you from being caught off guard. You want to ask questions about the company and the job, not about salary or benefits at this point. Raise those issues after the job offer—asking during the job interview makes the interviewer think that you are more interested in how much you will make than in what you will be doing.
- Be ready for typical questions. In addition to being able to address everything on your resume, you will need to prepared for other questions. See sample questions and suggested answers at Quint Careers. You may not know you will having a behavior-based interview, but you need to be prepared to answer those kinds of questions. A typical competency question might be, “Tell me about a time in a previous job when you faced a difficult challenge.” The best answers to these kinds of questions are stories of your experiences that follow the SAR format: S=Situation (the challenge or problem), A=Action (what you did about it), and R=Results (what happened). Mentioning a compliment from your boss or other third party reinforcement of the good results makes your story more powerful.
- Practice for the interview. Give a friend or family member a list of typical questions and ask them to be the interviewer in a mock interview. Every time you answer a question, you will become more comfortable, and when you’re in the actual interview, you will be prepared for suitable answers. You can find mock interview guides for a variety of jobs at Job-Interview.net.
- Dress appropriately. What is appropriate depends on the kind of job you are applying for, but you should dress in the kind of attire you would wear on the job or slightly more formal if that is work or casual clothes. Even on a telephone interview, many people feel that dressing up gives them more confidence for the interview. Put extra effort into your grooming as well.
- Plan your schedule and logistics. If you traveling to an in-person interview, even if the trip is only a few blocks, allow time for construction and other delays. If possible, check out the location in advance so you know exactly where you’re going and the best route to get there. Plan to arrive in plenty of time to make a last-minute stop in the restroom and still check in with the receptionist several minutes before the appointed time. Realize that you might be observed as you sit in the waiting room—sit up straight, smile, and look relaxed and confident. If you are expecting a phone call from an employer for an interview, eliminate distractions such as barking dogs and loud music. Use a corded phone or be sure your phone battery is fully charged and give yourself a chance to relax and take a deep breath before the phone rings.
- Have everything you need with you. Have extra copies of your resume. Although the interviewers should all have your resume, be prepared if someone doesn’t. Also have notepad and pen to take notes.
- Introduce yourself and shake hands with the interviewer(s). If you are in a panel interview, shake hands with each interviewer. Ask for business cards or write down each name so you can address the person by name during the interview and send them a thank-you note later.
- Give your full attention to the interviewer and answer questions distinctly and honestly. Don’t rush or mumble your answers. Look at the interviewer as you speak. If you are addressing a panel, give your attention to the person asking the question at the beginning and end of your answer and look at each person on the panel during the answer. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say you will get the information and get back with an answer. Make a note to be sure you remember to follow up.
- Ask your questions if they haven’t already been answered. The interviewer(s) will give you the chance to ask any questions that haven’t been covered. Taking advantage of the opportunity demonstrates your interest in the job.
- After the interview, send a handwritten thank-you note to each interviewer. You can also include any additional information that you would like the interviewers to know, elaborate on any of your answers, or emphasize how you can contribute to the company.
Do you have any advice for job-seekers on how to succeed in a job interview? Share them in comments.
Good luck to you job seekers. Tell us about your success.
