No matter where you are in your career, interviews are part life. Whether you’re looking for an internship, an entry-level role, or a senior position, everyone has to follow the same basic guidelines for interview etiquette.

How you present yourself, what you bring, and how you communicate are essential to the outcome of any interview. Every piece of preparation for an interview is just as essential to the process as the interview itself.

Some of the highlights of basic interview etiquette include:

• Before the interview, you need to research the company, prepare your resume, silence your cell phone, and show up on time.
• During the interview, you need to make sure you hit all of the basics like body language and verbal cues, no matter if it takes place in an office or over dinner.
• After the interview, it is essential to follow-up with your interviewer. Send a personalized thank you note!

The following infographic from Ramussen College highlights best practices for interview etiquette including the prep, the interview itself, and the follow-up.

Following these guidelines can mean the difference between landing the job and heading back out into the search.

What are some other important factors for interview etiquette?

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Life is pretty expensive. For some of you interning this summer (myself included), you might need to pick up a part-time job, in addition to your internship, for some extra income. It can be challenging to balance the two while maintaining some sort of life outside of work.

Here are some tips for those of you who have to balance your internship with a part-time job:

The Internship. The internship is what will benefit your career in the long-term. You’ll learn valuable skills and make connections to help you succeed in your future. When you find the perfect internship, you don’t want anything to stand the way of accepting an offer. This might mean your internship is unpaid, requires a long commute, or even temporary relocation. Whatever the obstacles, you have to try to make them work.

The Part-Time Job. Whether your internship is unpaid or just doesn’t pay enough, a part-time job might be necessary to survive. Look for jobs with flexible hours so you can work around your internship. Find somewhere you can work evenings and weekends. Some ideal jobs like this might be babysitting, waitressing, bar-tending, or tutoring. Flexible hours are key.

The Schedule. Work with your managers at both jobs to devise a schedule. This could mean certain days at the internship and certain days at the part-time job. Or it could mean mornings at your internship and evenings at the part-time job. Figure out what works best for you and your employers. Allow for some free time, as well. You need to be able to rest in order to perform your best at both jobs.

The Vacation. It is summer, so you’ll probably want to go on vacation at some point during the time off from school. Make sure you inform both employers well in advance. Assure everything has been approved by both employers so you can enjoy your time off.

You. Don’t neglect to take care of yourself. Take a moment every once in a while to make sure you’re not over-worked or exhausted. Stress is never good for anyone. If you’re too stressed out, you’ll be less productive at both jobs and won’t gain anything from the experiences. If you’re having issues, it’s OK to talk to your manager(s) about altering your schedule or workload. If it gets too bad, it’s also OK to consider quitting. Your well-being is important.

It can be tough to balance an internship with a part-time job. There can be pressure to make time for all of your responsibilities, and you don’t want to neglect your own happiness. Constantly evaluate your situation to make sure you’re truly benefiting.

What else is important to balancing an internship with a part-time job?

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Just because an internship seemed like the perfect fit when you applied, doesn’t mean it will turn out the way you anticipated. Occasionally, interns will get stuck in a negative internship experience. You might end up feeling undervalued, unappreciated, or overworked.

Whatever the case may be, here are 10 steps to cope with a negative internship experience:

1. Identify the problems. Make a list of all of the problems you’re facing in your internship. Be as specific as you can. Use the list to determine where to go from here. What problems can you fix? Communication and boredom are the roots of many negative work experiences, but they’re easily fixable. Identifying your problems is the first step to finding a solution.

2. Speak to your supervisor. If the problem is not something you can fix yourself, set up a meeting with your supervisor. Let them know how you’re feeling and what changes you think will help. Whether it’s your workload, responsibilities, flexibility, communication, or something else, they can probably help.

3. Find a mentor. If you’re not clicking with your direct supervisor, find another person in the organization to be an additional mentor. Maybe it’s someone with whom you identify better, or maybe it’s someone in a role you’d like to have one day. However you find them, having a mentor might improve the quality of your internship.

4. Make new friends. One problem many interns have is they don’t befriend their coworkers. Whether it’s other interns or full-time employees, finding friends in the workplace can greatly improve your mood. Throughout the work day, socialize with coworkers when you can. Make sure you attend events outside of work, too. The more allies you make, the better the experience will be.

5. Avoid making enemies. The best way to make your internship a negative experience is to make enemies of your coworkers. To make sure this doesn’t happen, skip the office gossip and drama. Not only will you come off as the mature intern, but also you’ll feel better when you’re on good terms with your coworkers.

6. Ask for more work. Is the problem with your internship simply boredom? That’s an easy fix. Say so and ask for more things to do. Your supervisor probably didn’t even realize how you felt. Speak up when you’ve completed your assignments. Once you become consistently busy, you’ll no longer have time to be bored.

7. Suggest a side project. Do you have an idea to make things more productive or solve an unanswered problem? Again, speak up! Show off your skills by volunteering your down time for  a new project. Taking an idea from problem to solution will impress your current supervisor, as well as future employers. Get creative and be impressive.

8. Remember the time frame. An internship takes up a relatively small portion of your life, probably only a few months. Keep the time in mind as you fight your way through a negative experience. You can learn just as much from a negative experience as you can from a positive one. For the time being, take it one day at a time and count down until the end.

9. Don’t focus on it. Your life should not be consumed by your internship. When you leave the office, leave your problems there, too. Go home and do something you love. Forget about the reasons you’re miserable at work and just relax.

10. Picture the positive. Wrap it up with the opposite of the first step. Identify the positive things about your internship. You might have gotten really close with your coworkers or found the perfect mentor. What have you learned? It might not be as bad as it seems.

How would you recommend handling a negative internship experience?

Kirk and Spock returned to the big screen this weekend in Star Trek: Into Darkness. During the film, both characters learn a lot about life and leadership.

Here are a few leadership lessons from Star Trek: Into Darkness:

Take responsibility for your actions. The film starts off with the USS Enterprise docked near a primitive planet, for observation only. When Spock’s life is in danger, Captain Kirk decides to expose the Enterprise to the primitive people in order to save him, in violation of the law. When they return to Earth, Kirk is demoted from Captain of the Enterprise. Kirk makes lots of excuses but never fully accepts responsibility for his actions. As a leader (of a spacecraft or a company), it is important to take responsibility for your decisions. You cannot earn the respect of your team if you don’t. The rules apply to you, too.

Image Credit: Giphy

Have a mentor. Kirk’s mentor is Admiral Pike, the previous captain of the Enterprise. When Kirk is demoted at the beginning of the film, Pike vouches for Kirk and requests to keep him on the Enterprise as his First Officer. Even still, Pike doesn’t give up the opportunity to impart some advice. He says, “There’s greatness in you, but there’s not an ounce of humility. You think that you can’t make mistakes, but there’s going to come a moment when you realize you’re wrong.” A good leader should have a mentor who will advocate for you and give you advice.

Image Credit: Tumblr

Sometimes you need to rely on others. The Enterprise cannot run without the work of an entire team. Captain Kirk has a lot of people he relies on for a successful voyage. Spock is First Officer who takes over for Kirk when he is unable to command the ship. Uhura is the communications officer, specializing in alien languages. Scotty is second officer and chief engineer. Sulu is third officer and helmsman. McCoy is chief medical officer. Chekov is the navigator. Throughout their voyage, everyone has to constantly step in for each other. Spock steps in for Kirk; Chekov steps in for Scotty; Sulu steps in for Spock. A good leader needs to rely on his team members to fill in when necessary.

Image Credit: Photobucket

The team is more important than you. Without spoiling too much, at the end of the film, Kirk does something that puts his life in grave danger in order to save the rest of his crew. While this is an extreme example, it is important for a leader to put the team above everything else. Put your people before yourself. There is no room in leadership for selfishness. A good leader helps the rest of the team succeed (or if you’re Kirk, survive).

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These are just a few of the many lessons in leadership from the film. There are plenty more, but they involve some pretty big spoilers. If you’re a sci-fi fan, check out the film to see what you learn.

What else can we learn about leadership from Star Trek?

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For many interns, having a job is new territory. As a result, there are quite a few opportunities to make misguided decisions in the workplace. You don’t want to do something you’ll regret and end up getting fired from your first internship.

Here are seven things that will get you fired from your internship this summer:

Skipping work. There is no excuse to simply skip a day of work, especially as an intern. This is not like college classes, where you can miss a day and make up the work later. When you skip a day of work, or show up late for that matter, you are letting down your entire team. If it’s important enough, arrange the day with your supervisor in advance. Otherwise, you’re expected to show up on time. Bonus points if you’re early.

Dressing unprofessionally. As an intern, it is essential for you to dress professionally. Pay attention to how your supervisor dresses and follow suit (pun intended). During the summer, it might be tempting to show more skin, but you need to put the temptation aside. Dressing too casually or showing too much skin will get you in to trouble, whereas dressing professionally will get you farther in your career.

Complaining about your assignments. An intern is most likely the lowest on the totem pole in the office. This means some of the busy work will get passed on to you. No matter if you’re photocopying or licking stamps, it’s important to just suck it up and do what is asked of you. Complaining about these things too often will get you fired. When you do the boring tasks efficiently with a positive attitude, you can move on to interesting assignments more quickly.

Creating office drama. One of the most important things you’ll learn in an internship is teamwork. You will get nowhere in your career if you create tension among your coworkers. Forming cliques or gossiping about your peers is a major no-no. This goes for both in and out of the office. You never know who is listening and you may get yourself fired.

Bringing your personal life to work. When you’re in the office, you should only be doing work-related tasks. Your internship time is not for Facebook, texting, personal calls, or scheduling appointments. You don’t want to get caught doing any of these things. If you have some down time, find something else to do by asking your supervisor for another assignment. Your boss will be impressed by your initiative.

Dating a superior. It is never a good idea to become romantically involved with your boss, or anyone else who out-ranks you in the office. Your internship lasts a brief amount of time and should be used to learn things about your industry, not dating the boss. If things don’t work out, you might just get fired.

Getting drunk with your coworkers. If you’re invited out with your coworkers, do not — I repeat, DO NOT — get drunk. Just because you’re old enough and it’s outside of the office does not make it appropriate to get drunk in the presence of your coworkers. It’s perfectly OK to attend happy hour with your peers, so long as you conduct yourself appropriately. You never know what will get back to your boss.

While some of these things are pretty obvious, it’s important not to overlook anything that could get you fired. An internship is an opportunity to advance your career. Don’t ruin it by making a stupid mistake.

What are some other things that will get you fired from your internship?

Social media has become a popular way for recruiters to connect with candidates. Recruiters are looking beyond the traditional resume in order to discover who their candidates are and the types of qualities they possess. From using LinkedIn to contact candidates to searching Facebook profiles to learn about the their personality, recruiters are using social media to search for the best of the best.

Did you know 37 percent of recruiters are putting the traditional resume aside and researching your online presence? This means recruiters are searching for you throughout different social media platforms to learn about the type of professional you are. Hiring managers are also looking to see how you present yourself professionally, how you socialize with your networks, and if you meet their qualifications.

The key findings from this infographic by OnlineColleges display how job seekers must have a professional online presence. This is an important message for job seekers who haven’t spent much time transforming their social media accounts into job-friendly profiles. Sixty-five percent of recruiters check a candidate’s Facebook profile to determine what kind of candidate they are. This can be a downfall for job seekers who haven’t taken the time to clean up their content.

If you want to land a job, but you’re concerned about your social media profiles, check out this infographic to learn how you can create a recruiter-friendly and searchable online presence:

By creating a professional online presence, you will be able to be discovered by more recruiters. This is an opportunity for you to make a positive first impression on employers and market your skills and experience. This way, you will be able to stand out to recruiters and increase your chances of landing a job.

What ways do you think job seekers can improve their social media profiles to create a professional online presence?

While many people have the tendency to think Gen Y’ers are self-entitled, they actually have a lot to offer for the future of our job market and workforce.

Gen Y’ers are some of the most creative and innovative people the workforce has seen. This generation is a group of entrepreneurs and fresh thinkers who give the workforce hope for a brighter future, filled with more jobs and advancements in technology.

While older generations may think Gen Y’ers are only concerned about themselves, they actually want to make a difference in the way people live and work together. Still not convinced this generation can save the workforce? Here are five ways Gen Y’ers make a difference in our workforce:

They’re passionate people. Gen Y’ers were told from an early age to “dream big” and to pursue their dreams. Because of this, when many of them enter college, they study a profession that helps them accomplish those goals.

Not only do Gen Y’ers want to have a satisfying career, but also they pursue their work with passion. This is important for the future of the workforce because it will help create more opportunities in the job market to allow people to have rewarding careers.

They’re driven. Their drive for success motivates them to go above and beyond in their work, which is an important characteristic of employees in today’s workforce. Gen Y’ers understand the competition in the job market and want to do everything possible to rise to the top. Therefore, this attitude will help more people become motivated to achieve their career goals and create opportunities for growth.

They want to make a difference. As young children, society has told this generation they are “the future of America.” From dreams of being the President of the United States to ending world hunger, Gen Y’ers from the very beginning have wanted to make a difference in the world.

This passion for making a difference is what our job market needs. It will allow room for new ideas and advancements in technologies, which will help the world become a better place. Additionally, this generation has the drive and passion to make those changes a reality.

They’re innovative. Gen Y’ers are bright and creative thinkers. Because they were raised in the age of technology, they are constantly looking for new ways to be efficient at work. They also believe in working in a creative environment that allows them to utilize their skills and experience to their best potential.

They’re open-minded. Gen Y’ers welcome new ideas and embrace change. This is important because it will allow the workforce to keep moving forward. By discovering new ways to create jobs and make the workforce more efficient, Gen Y’ers will improve the job market and create a better future.

The future of the workforce and the economy is dependent on Gen Y’ers. Just because they have a strong desire to chase their dreams doesn’t mean they are a self-entitled generation. Remember — their dreams, passion, and creativity will drive the future of the workforce in a positive direction.

What ways do you think Gen Y’ers will save the future of our workforce?

The following is a guest post by Sarah Boisvert.

Living in an age of online information overload almost guarantees job seekers can easily research the digital business reputation of a company they are considering joining. The Internet is full of tools for a simple yet comprehensive search to determine if a firm has a good or bad web reputation that could impact your career’s future.

Here are a few to get you started looking into a company’s digital reputation:

Google

Almost all online searches these days start with the most popular search engine, Google. But beyond a keyword search, it’s also very easy to create a Google Alert that will let you know via email or an RSS feed if there is news about a particular company, industry, or any combination of keywords you choose. This guarantees you’ll have the most current information about a company’s digital business reputation.

If you have the time to track a company’s web reputation over a period of time, you will also see the level of online reputation management. Should mentions appear that imply a bad reputation, you may immediately see tactics aimed at reputation repair. These include corrections from webmasters or even removal of negative posts. Many companies use online reputation management services to stay on top of their business reputation.

Technorati.com



The blog post index Technorati is a great tool for finding a company’s business reputation since it will bring up all blogs that mention a company or its executives. Like Google, you can request alerts via an RSS feed to give you updates that apply to a company’s digital reputation.

Boardtracker.com

Boardtracker goes even farther to pull up mentions of a company in discussion threads. While companies with strong online reputation management programs will often get a webmaster to remove anything that hints at a bad reputation, they often overlook comments that are buried deeper.

Search.twitter.com

Image Credit: Flickr, mkhmarketing

It’s easy for a business reputation to be tarnished in the quick world of micro-blogging only 140 characters on Twitter. So many companies forget to include social media in their online reputation management programs. Conduct searches via www.search.twitter.com of the company names, as well as key executives who may be tweeting under their own names and unwittingly creating a bad reputation.

FriendFeed

For a company with strong online reputation management, you’ll find the real-time feed aggregation tool FriendFeed is a must. Firms on the offensive repairing a bad reputation will be active in multiple social media, blogging, micro-blogging, and other online forums combating negative comments. This website will help greatly in your company reputation search.

Trackur

If you aren’t getting satisfaction finding a company’s web reputation with these free tools, you may want to invest in the services of Trackur, a pay-as-you-go social media reputation tracking service. You will even receive neutral, good, or bad reputation ratings.

Of course, it isn’t quite that simple. Disgruntled employees, unhappy customers, or competitors may have undertaken blatant smear campaigns. That said, while some companies with strong online reputation management are well versed in reputation recovery tactics, others may not be aware there are remedies to a poor digital business reputation.

And keep in mind that companies can take steps to improve a poor image, even if it is true! So while an online search may be a good start, you still may have to do some digging to get to the truth behind a company’s web reputation.

About the Author:

Sarah Boisvert is a business writer who has extensive experience in marketing, public relations, and sales. She also covers topics in manufacturing such as 3D Printing and digital fabrication.

The following is a guest post by Arlene Chandler.

Image Credit: Wikicommons

It’s natural to feel stifled in the workplace from time to time; most people have bouts of feeling like their efforts go unnoticed or they’re not as far along in their career as they’d like to be, but it’s important to look at the ways your actions contribute to that frustration before you start blaming external sources.

Whether you feel overshadowed, under-appreciated, or unmotivated, it’s important to see if you’re guilty of practicing these three habits that hold you back and stifle your personal development:

Not Communicating Your Ideas and Suggestions

Even if you show up on time and deliver positive results on a consistent basis, it’s also important to show you’re thinking of the big picture. Employees who frequently suggest ideas on how to make the company run more efficiently — and even question the current way things are done — stand out to employers. If you’re under the impression your suggestions would be invaluable, you’re severely limiting the opportunities you have to make a strong impact. Most companies hire employees to start at a base level in hopes of building future leaders, and if you’re too afraid of putting your thoughts out there, your name won’t come to mind when your boss is thinking of who to promote.

The point is not to have something to say about every topic at every meeting but to simply voice your opinion when something does pop up in your mind. Don’t assume someone else’s ideas carry more merit than yours because they have been employed at the company longer than you have or because they are the outspoken type. Your ideas are worth sharing, and making your voice heard will set you up to have a better future with your occupation.

Being Afraid of Additional Responsibility

Many people stay in the same position for years because the thought of what advancement entails makes them nervous, and if this is why you’re not pushing yourself to inquire about promotions, it’s time to snap out of that mindset.

When you start any position, it’s nerve-wracking, but you eventually learn from the experience, grow from it, and adjust to what the daily responsibilities require. Just because a new position might involve more doesn’t mean you won’t transition to it the same as you would a lower one. It might be something you really flourish in, and going through life afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone will only set you up to miss many chances.

Feeling a Lack of Direction 

Often times, people hold themselves back by not knowing what they’re restricting themselves from. One of the biggest contributors stunting your personal development is feeling aimless in where you want your future to go, and that’s why it’s easy to want to stay in the same position. Going to work every day and knowing what to expect allows you to stay comfortably adrift, and it’s not until you make the effort to discover what direction you want your career to go that you’ll realize how long you’ve been floating in the same spot.

Think about where you want to see yourself in the company in the next year — or if you even want to stay with them at all. Understanding what direction will bring you closer to feeling content will help you decide what course of action is best for you.

It’s normal to reach a point of feeling stuck in the workplace, and while some of that feeling is circumstantial, other forms of it could be self-inflicted. If you’re afraid to speak up, nervous about handling increased responsibility, or unsure of what direction to take your career, then you’re partly responsible for those feelings of frustration. On a positive note, realizing you are capable of holding yourself back is the first step in realizing that you’re also capable of pushing yourself forward; you just have to gather the motivation to make the change.

About the Author:

Arlene Chandler is a freelance writer who loves helping people face the uncertainty of tomorrow. When she’s not enjoying the sun with her two yellow labs, she writes about finance tips, career advice, and income protection insurance (Suncorp).

Based on data from more than 20,000 companies with flexible work options, FlexJobs released the top 10 companies hiring the most flexible jobs. In April 2013, these 10 companies had the most job openings that included work-from-home jobs, flexible scheduling, part-time hours, and contract or freelance positions.

“Every month, we take a good look at our job listing data to find out the top industries hiring for flexible jobs,” Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs, said. “This month we decided to study the top companies who have the most positions available that offer some type of flexibility, and we are very excited to see such big name companies offering flexible work options. It really shows that, despite high-profile controversies over flexible work options like with Yahoo, that large companies are still embracing this way of working.”

Here are the top 10 companies hiring for flexible jobs:

1. ADP
2. Xerox
3. AT&T
4. Enterprise Contact Center
5. Sodexo
6. U-Haul
7. Ecolab
8. HealthFitness
9. HD Supply
10. Internet Brands, Inc.

Flexible jobs are great for people who want to fulfill personal obligations, be available for family responsibilities, reduce or eliminate commutes, or lower their stress levels. Whether you’re looking for flexible work options to compress your work days, flex your daily hours, or even to work from home, one of these companies might be the right fit for you.

Do you work for any of the companies on the list from FlexJobs? What other companies are hiring great flexible jobs?