In my booth at Passport 2 Success in Greensboro, NC

Today, I had the honor and privilege of volunteering as a Career Coach for the WFMY Passport 2 Success event. This was my second time

WFMY Passport 2 Success 2010

working with this event and I continue to enjoy being able to contribute to others in such a significant way. I really enjoyed helping job seekers by providing suggestions, feedback and resources to assist in being better prepared for their searches. Two of the things I saw consistently were lack of clarity about what type of job is actually desired, and lack of confidence that someone would hire them. It always hurts me when I see a person convince themselves that they are not worthy or valuable. It’s my life’s purpose to help people, specifically women, to acknowledge their worth and know their value. That’s one reason I’m so grateful to be able to give back by participating in events like this.

If you are looking for a new job, here’s my advice:

• Prepare for the interview by researching the company, do NOT go into an interview unprepared
• Ask questions of your interviewer, you can NOT possibly know everything about the company or the position, ASK QUESTIONS
• Understand your worth and why you will be a valuable employee to the company
• Let yourself grieve the loss of your last job, if you don’t do this your negative feelings are likely to show through as you present yourself
• Know your strengths, and be able to discuss them with specific examples (if you can include numbers like how much you saved the company, etc that even better)
• Know your weaknesses, and be able to describe how you work around them
• Be able to explain how you benefited your previous employer (why was the company better off because you worked there)
• Focus on personal grooming and hygiene (it shouldn’t have to be mentioned, but unfortunately it NEEDS to be mentioned)
• Smile and be confident that you are the best candidate for the position
• If you believe you must wear a black & white outfit to the interview, please make sure it helps you stand out in a good way, not blend into the background and become very forgettable as a job candidate. If everyone wears black and white, how will they remember you specifically. Your purpose is to stand out above the rest of the applicants and prove to the employer that you are the best fit for the job and the company culture.

In front of my booth at Passport 2 Success in Greensboro, NC