Randy’s Career Tips

Countless interviews that I’ve conducted or participated in have all had tragic endings because of the inability of the interviewee to answer the tough questions the right way. One of the most important questions you’ll be asked in an interview is “Have you ever done …?” What we’re looking for is real-world experience. We don’t ask you have you ever done something not directly related to the position or critical to its success. That would be a waste of an interviewer’s time. So you can bet if they’re asking you if you have ever done it, it’s because you need the experience to function correctly in the role. But don’t lose hope – if you haven’t done whatever it is they need that doesn’t exclude you from getting the offer. Use the answers below to coast through this uncomfortable question and sail right through to the offer.

Recently, I was providing my sister in law with some interview coaching tips and tricks for her first interview since she had been home with her children for almost 3 years. She was interviewing for a position that was slightly above her level and battling with the fact that she had been unemployed and a stay-at-home Mom for almost 3 years. On top of all that she had little in the way of real world experience. A couple months here and a couple months there, nothing substantial.

Her experience was mostly in customer service and retail and she was trying to go for a career change and move into a human resources administrator role so that all important question came up: What do I say when they ask me about something I have never done before?

After a brief pause I said you be honest and you say “I haven’t done that before but I am confident that I could do it” or “I haven’t done that before but I’m confident that if someone showed me how I could.” or “I haven’t done that before but I am a very fast-learner and I am Read the rest of this entry »

Wage is received based on position held and amount of work done. More often than not, wage increases in proportion with the qualification and experience held by a person. This is true even in the field of architecture and design. The job scope of an architect varies, depending on the title specification. A landscape architect may be proficient in conceiving and constructing designs for buildings and structures, while a product architect may focus on the development and enhancement of smaller product designs. Thus, such difference shows that there is need to differentiate the salary range although both are defined by the term “architecture”. Like all other professions, architect salary is affected by factors such as employer size, industry, employee credentials and years of experience.

To obtain a degree in architecture, a person may pursue his/her studies up to five years (depending on the country). Upon graduation, a licensed architect one may seek employment with one of the architect firms. However, successful employment happens only after you ace that interview. Among others, an interviewee should read up on the company background and ask intelligent questions regarding the job. The focus should be primarily on the job. Attractive remuneration in terms of salary and benefits will follow suit after you’ve proven yourself a worthy architect.

Architect salary varies from country to country, depending on the factors mentioned above such as employer size and employee credentials. A large architecture firm provides better career advancement opportunities which subsequently indicate better pay or salary. The industrial forecast may have a bearing on employment rate and salary range as well. Other than the external factors, excellent employee credentials and cumulated experience are regarded major plus points in the architecture field.

T Read the rest of this entry »