Competing for a Job With La Crème de la Crème

Competing for a Job With La Crme de la CrmeCompeting for a Job With La Crme de la CrmeIf you want a well-paid position at Apple, Google, McKinsey, etc, youll compete against some of the worlds smartest and well-prepared applicants. The standard advice wont cut it. Heres what mightInclude a great work sample. With your application, include a work sample demonstrating that you can produce higher-quality work than can other top applicants. For example, if youre in marketing, the brilliant business plan you developed. If youre a programmer, the fruchtwein elegant code youve written. If youre in project management, the thoughtful, necessarily complex flowchart you developed.Pepper the interview with smart questions, ideally those that spring from an interviewers question. For example, Your last question seems to imply theres a bit of internecine warfare between the two divisions. If thats true, what have you tried to deal with that?Look for an opportunity to take charge. If you sense the interviewers would like the hired candidate to tackle a particular problem, treat that as an opportunity to demonstrate your excellence in a context they care about. For example, Would you mind if I take a minute or two to give you a sense of how Id tackle the problem? If they agree, say something like, While I have ideas, my way would often be to first ask for your input. All wisdom doesnt reside within me. So OK, any thoughts on how to address the problem? Take a comment or two, listing them on the white board if available. Then add an idea of your own and conclude with, I hope this gives you a window into the way in which I work.Give killer responses to killer questions. The interviewer may ask you one of those impossible to answer questions, for example, the classic, How do you move Mt. Fuji? or this one recently asked of a McKinsey applicant How would you calculate the annual carbon emissions from electric versus gas vehicles in the EU?Do not resent such questions. They do asse ss your poise and ability to think on your feet, which are critical in most high-level jobs. Another plus for such questions is that theyre not coachable. When an interviewer asks stock questions like Tell me a problem you solved, the interviewer doesnt know if your answer reflects your ability to think, is an answer you found on the internet or one that was concocted by a smart colleague or career coach.Of course, theres no right or wrong answer to impossible to answer questions. Your job is only to demonstrate a rigorously analytical yet innovative approach in roughly 100 words. For example, First, Id calculate how much carbon is emitted annually from the average gas-powered car sold in the EU and multiply that by the number of gas-powered cars in the EU. For the EV figure, Id find out how much electricity the average EV uses per year, the carbon footprint required to create that amount of electricity, and multiply that by the number of EVs in the EU. Then, so the comparison is me aningful, Id adjust the figure for EVs to compensate for the fact that gas-driven vehicles are driven mora miles per year than are electric ones.Make more of your thank-you note. Rather than just sending the usual toadying thank-you note after the interview, offer a response to a concern the interviewers raised. For example, if the interviewers probed about a China strategy, you might submit a one-page business plan on that. To avoid seeming presumptuous, accompany that with a disclaimer such as, Of course, Im not privy to all youve already tried and to insider company information that would influence the plan, but I submit this to you as another sample of the way I think.Prime your recommenders. Even many lackluster applicants provide references that make them appear godlike. So you need to prime your potential references to give you a reference that presents you as a Master of the Universe. For example, Joe, Im applying for a VP marketing job at Citi and Im sure the competition is fierce. Do you feel comfortable giving me an unusually strong reference? If he says yes, you might ask, Would it be helpful for me to email you some supporting details that might add credibility to the reference?Of course, most applicants are unable to pull off such strategies. Thats why top companies pay top dollar for top employees.The San Francisco Bay Guardian called Dr. Nemko The Bay Areas Best Career Coach. His latest books are How to Do Life What They Didnt Teach You in School and Whats the Big Idea? 39 Disruptive Proposals for a Better America. He writes weekly for AOL.com as well as for USNews.com. mora than 1,000 of his published writings are free on www.martynemko.com.

Why Your Professional Network Is More Important than Your Job

Why Your Professional Network Is More Important than Your JobWhy Your Professional Network Is More Important than Your JobThink you dont need a robust professional network? Think again.No one loves the term networking. Including me. And yet, we all want what professional networking has to offer Opportunities. Camaraderie. Business. Friendship. Reach. Plus, who doesnt love recommending smart friends and colleagues for interesting career opportunities?The problem is that few people like walking into a room full of strangers. But thats not the totality of networking thats just one part of it. Industry conferences and business events are where networking starts, but not where it ends.In order for your professional network to mean something and to serve you, you must serve it. This is why building and maintaining a strong network is so critical. (And no, clicking Connect on LinkedIn doesnt count.)Here are five reasons why Ive found that building a thriving, expansive professional network is even mora important than your current jobInvesting in relationships pays off long termYour resume is where youve been. Your job is where you are right now. Your professional network encompasses all the people youve worked with and known it will also connect you with important people youve yet to meet. Its your past, present and future. After all, you might leave your job, or it might leave you. Your network has the power to grow - and take you with it. But you have to make the time to deepen and expand your network.Read the authors tips on building your personal brand.Your professional network makes you more valuableWhat benefits you also benefits the company you work with or for. Knowing good people who could become valuable clients, vendors, employees and freelancers is key. If you stay plugged into your network, youll also be exposed to ideas and practices outside of your company, or even your industry. That means youll learn things that you wouldnt in the confines of your jo b. This will make you a more effective contributor, and positively impact the way you think about and do your job.It makes you more independent, not lessThe presumption of need makes everyone uncomfortable. But thats why you dont network only when youre in dire straits. Your network thrives most when you come to it freely and happily, eager to give others a job lead, advice or a referral. Consistently devoting time to your network will give you far more options and resources. Its a bit of a safety net. When the chips are down youll find support and be less likely to feel needy, dependent or desperate.Check out these networking mistakes to avoid at all costs.It helps you find (and leave) workI bet you didnt think of it this way. But its so true. All too often we view networking as a way to get us something - job offers, freelance assignments, new clients. And while a healthy network will bring business in, it also gives you a way out of where you are if you want it. Show me a person who feels trapped and stuck, and Ill show you a person who has put little effort into their network.No one really works aloneAnyone whos achieved a thing worth having has done it with the help of someone else. In other words, no creative professional is above networking. And despite all our rah-rah-ing around entrepreneurialism and independence, the fact is we will never not need each other. And thats actually a good thing.Stop seeing your professional network as an umbrella, something you reach for only when it rains. Because if you wait until the day of a downpour, there will be nothing to reach for. Instead, think of networking as an ongoing game, like Minecraft, which holds my nephews attention for hours. You play and win by building stuff together. Your network can be that, too - a game where everyone wins.Terri Trespicio is a writer and brand strategist, and the co-creator of Lights Camera Expert, a program for helping entrepreneurs, experts and authors get media attention f or their big ideas. You can get a free copy of her ebook Take the Work Out of Networking at territrespicio.com.

Quality Assurance Director Job Description

Quality Assurance Director Job DescriptionQuality Assurance Director Job DescriptionQuality Assurance Director Job DescriptionThis quality assurance director sample job description can assist in your creating a job application that will attract job candidates who are qualified for the job. Feel free to revise this job description to meet your specific job duties and job requirements.Quality Assurance Director Job ResponsibilitiesAssures quality products and processes by establishing and enforcing quality standards testing materials and product.Quality Assurance Director Job DutiesEstablishes quality and reliability standards by studying product and consumer requirements with other members of management and with production operators, technicians, and engineers.Establishes raw material standards by studying manufacturing and engineering requirements conferring and negotiating with suppliers devising testing methods and procedures.Establishes in-process product inspection standards by s tudying manufacturing methods devising testing methods and procedures.Establishes standards for the disposition of finished product by devising evaluation tests, methods, and procedures.Establishes rework standards by devising inspection and physical testing methods and procedures.Establishes product quality documentation system by writing and updating quality assurance procedures.Maintains product quality by enforcing quality assurance policies and procedures and government requirements collaborating with other members of management to develop new product and engineering designs and manufacturing and training methods.Prepares product and process quality reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends.Completes quality assurance operational requirements by scheduling and assigning employees following up on work results.Maintains quality assurance staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting, and training employees.Maintains quality assurance staff job results b y coaching, counseling, and disciplining employees planning, monitoring, and appraising job results.Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops reviewing professional publications establishing personal networks participating in professional societies.Achieves financial objectives by preparing the quality assurance budget scheduling expenditures analyzing variances initiating corrective actions.Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.Quality Assurance Director Skills and QualificationsPeople Management, Analyzing Information , Reporting Research Results, Technical Understanding, Promoting Process Improvement, Developing Standards, Managing Processes, Manufacturing Methods and Procedures, Dealing with Complexity, Problem Solving, Process ImprovementEmployers Post a job in minutes to reach candidates everywhere. Job Seekers Search Quality Assurance Director Jobs and apply on now. Learn more abouthow to hireWriting a Jo b Description Reign in Job RequirementsEvaluate a Job Candidates Social SkillsInterviewing Gaffes and Recruiting Disasters