Interview Myths That Keep You From Landing the Job

With so few jobs currently available and so many people currently hoping to fill those jobs, standing out in an interview is of utmost importance. While jobs themselves are scarce, job advice is overly abundant. And with an influx of information comes an influx of confusion. What career counsel do you take, and what do you ignore?

There are a number of common misconceptions related to interview best practices, experts say. Kera Greene of the Career Counselors Consortium and executive coach Barbara Frankel offer tips below that can help you stand out from other interview subjects, avoid frequent pitfalls, and secure the job.

Myth #1: Be prepared with a list of questions to ask at the close of the interview.
There is some truth in this common piece of advice: You should always be prepared, and that usually includes developing questions related to the job. The myth here is that you must wait until it is "your turn" to speak.
By waiting until the interviewer asks you if you have any questions, "it becomes an interrogation instead of a conversation," says Greene.
Greene recommends that you think of an interview as a sales call. You are the product and you are selling yourself to the employer. "You can't be passive in a sales call or you aren't going to sell your product."
Frankel mimics Greene's comments. "It's a two-way street," she says. "I recommend asking a follow-up question at the tail end of your responses."
For example, Frankel says, if the interviewer says, "Tell me about yourself," you first respond to that question and complete your response with a question like, "Can you tell me more about the position?" The interview should be a dialogue.

Myth #2: Do not show weakness in an interview.
The reality is that it is OK to have flaws. In fact, almost every interviewer will ask you to name one. Typically job seekers are told to either avoid this question by providing a "good flaw." One such "good flaw" which is often recommends is: "I am too committed to my work." But, these kinds of responses will only hurt you.
"Every recruiter can see through that," Greene says of faux flaws.
Recruiters conduct interviews all day, every day. They've seen it all and can see through candidates who dodge questions. "They prefer to hire someone who is honest than someone who is obviously lying," Greene says.
And for those of you who claim to be flaw-free, think again. "Everybody has weaknesses," Frankel states. But one is enough. According to Frankel, supply your interviewer with one genuine flaw, explain how you are working to correct it, and then move on to a new question.

Myth #3: Be sure to point out all of your strengths and skills to the employer.
Of course, you want the interviewer to know why you are a valuable candidate, but a laundry list of your skills isn't going to win you any points. Inevitably, in an interview, you will be asked about your skills. What can go wrong in this scenario?
"You don't want to list a litany of strengths," Frankel says.
"What is typical is that they will say: 'I'm a good communicator,' 'I have excellent interpersonal skills,' 'I am responsible,'" Greene explains. "You have to give accomplishments. I need to know what did you accomplish when using these skills."
Frankel recommends doing a little groundwork before your interview so that you are best equipped to answer this question. She tells her clients to find out what the prospective job role consists of. "What makes an interview powerful is to give an example related to their particular needs or challenges that you have demonstrated in the past."
Provide three strengths, with examples. You will get much further with a handful of real strengths than with an unconvincing list of traits.

Myth #4: Let the employer know your salary expectations.
One of the trickiest questions to answer in an interview relates to salary. Money talk can be uncomfortable, but it doesn't have to be. The fact is you don't even have to answer when asked about desired salary.
According to the book "Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get You The Job!" a perfect response would be: "I want to earn a salary that is commensurate with the contributions I can make. I am confident I can make a substantial contribution at your firm. What does your firm plan to pay for this position?"
Greene suggests a similar response: "I prefer to discuss the compensation package after you've decided that I'm the best candidate and we can sit down and negotiate the package."

Myth #5: The employer determines whether or not you get the job.
While yes, the employer must be the one to offer you the position, interviewees have more control than they often realize. According to both Greene and Frankel, candidates have a larger say in the final hiring decision than they think.
"They should call the interviewer or hiring manager and say: 'I'd really like to be part of the company,'" says Greene. "It can't hurt you. It can only help."
"Acing the Interview" encourages all candidates to conclude their interviews with one question: "'Based on our interview, do you have any concerns about my ability to do the job?' -- If the answer is yes, ask the interviewer to be explicit. Deal forthrightly with each concern."

105 Masters Scholarship for Africa, India and Commonwealth Countries

Developing Solutions Masters Scholarship for Africa, India and Commonwealth Countries
Do you want to make a difference to the development of your home country?
105 scholarships are available for Masters students from Africa, India and countries of the Commonwealth and for candidates who want to make a real difference to the development and prosperity of their home country.

30 Full Tuition Fee Scholarships
75 Tuition Fee Scholarships of 50%
You can apply for this scholarship if you
• are from Africa, India or one of the Commonwealth countries listed below* AND
• are classed as an overseas student for fee purposes AND
• already hold an offer to start a full-time Masters degree programme (including MRes) at Nottingham in 2010 – Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences and Faculty of Science, plus some courses in the School of Geography, Institute for Science & Society, Institute of Work, Health & Organisations, and courses allied to Operations Management in the Business School.
1 FULL Tuition Fee Scholarship is also available for a student from
Africa for the MSc in Crop Improvement School of Biosciences

How to apply
• Complete and submit an online application form by 30 April 2010
• Application forms are available at:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/international/_online_forms/scholarships/application_page.php

We aim to notify applicants of the outcome within 6 weeks of the closing date.

Developing Solutions/Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme
In partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID) under the British Aid programme and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), The University of Nottingham will also offer 6 FULL Scholarships (tuition fees, airfare, maintenance award and additional allowances) to new students registering on Masters programmes in the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences in September 2010.

A list of eligible countries for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme can be found at

http://www.cscuk.org.uk/docs/ListofdevelopingCommonwealthcountries.pdf

Please note that nominations for this scholarship will be chosen from the Developing Solutions Scholarship applications – you should apply only once on the Developing Solutions Scholarship application form

MSc Scholarships in African Studies, Oxford University

The African Studies Committee of the Oxford University invites applications for the ORISHA Studentship for MSc in African Studies from persons who will be registered as students for the MSc in African Studies from October 2010. The scholarship will cover full university and college fees and a maintenance allowance.

In order to be considered for the ORISHA scholarship, the following must be noted:

1. Indicate in the funding section of your admissions application that you intend to apply for ORISHA MSc Scholarship and
2. You must name St. Cross OR St. Antony’s college as your first college choice.
3. Your application for admission to the course must be submitted to the Graduate Admissions office by the closing date of the 2nd application deadline (22nd January 2010) if you wish to be considered for the ORISHA scholarship.

Incomplete applications received by this deadline will not be considered for ORISHA.

Further Scholarship Information and Application
http://www.africanstudies.ox.ac.uk/prospective_students

Full-Tuition African Health and Humanitarian Systems Scholarship

The MIT-Zaragoza Program and Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC) are awarding one African Health and Humanitarian Systems Scholarship for an outstanding candidate to undertake the Master of Engineering in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (ZLOG) program.

Through this scholarship, the Foundation hopes to attract outstanding future leaders who can make a vital contribution to filling the capacity gap in Africa for well-trained supply chain and logistics professionals dedicated to the field of health and humanitarian logistics. Scholarship holders will work for well-established and reputed organizations in Africa in the area of health-care logistics, health-systems, health policy, drug procurement and distribution, humanitarian logistics, disaster relief logistics, etc. for a period of at least two years upon graduation of the ZLOG Program.

Eligibility
Open to all individuals, although preference will be given to applicants who are African nationals.

Furthermore, candidates must comply with the following criteria:
• Fluency in English, minimum TOEFL score of 105 points
• Professional excellence with a background or experience in developing countries, interaction with or working for public health or humanitarian and development aid agencies, or exceptional academic achievement.
• Experience in developing countries; or in interacting with or working for public health or humanitarian and development aid agencies will be highly appreciated.
Coverage
The scholarship holder will receive the full tuition cost that currently amounts to €21,500.
Application deadline April 15th 2010!

Job Homepage : ZLOG African Health and Humanitarian Systems Scholarship
Category : International Scholarship
Contact address : Zaragoza Logistics Center
Financial Aid Office
Calle Bari 55
Edificio Náyade, Bloque 5
PLAZA
50197 Zaragoza (SPAIN)
Tel:+34 976 077 603
Fax: +34 976 077 601
Skype: zlc_financial_aid_office
www.zlc.edu.es
Keywords : Scholarship, Master, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, MIT, Health and Humanitarian Systems

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Political Thought, South Africa

A National Research Foundation (NRF) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is on offer for one year (renewable for another) in the Department of Politics, University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa. It will be under the mentorship of Professor Lawrence Hamilton, who holds an NRF President’s Award, and will be located within the Department and within the Centre of Political Thought at UJ. The fellowship can be taken up from 1 February or 1 July 2010, and is set at the UJ’s rate for postdoctoral fellowships, currently R160 000 per annum, sufficient to cover living expenses.

The Centre of Political Thought at UJ is a unique environment in South Africa for research in political thought and theory. Existing members of the Centre research on a variety of topics within the history of political thought and political philosophy, including human needs and rights; political judgement; freedom, constitutionalism, poverty and public debt in South Africa; German Idealist political thought; language and politics; 10th century Islamic political thought; the intellectual history of freedom in America; African political thought; and the thought of Rousseau, Sieyès and Marx.

Applicants should not feel, however, that they have to restrict their research proposals to these or cognate areas. The proposed postdoctoral research can be on any topic within the fields of history of political thought, political philosophy or political theory – including research that makes use of empirical analysis and case studies to further the understanding or applicability of a question within political theory. The final choice of candidate will not be influenced by their choice of research topic.

Candidates are only eligible if they have been awarded a doctoral degree within the last five years; and, if they have yet to receive the degree, they must have it in hand by the time they take up the position, or preferably by the end of 2009.
Interested candidates should email their curriculum vitae, the names of three referees, an example of their written (preferably published) work of about 10 000 words, and a one-page summary of their proposed postdoctoral research to Professor Hamilton