What to do when awkward silence descends on your job interview

What to do when awkward silence descends on your job interviewWhat to do when awkward silence descends on your job interviewAwkward silence has a way of eclipsing thefriendly banter that was once putting you and the recruiter at ease during a job interview.But while you might feel really odd if this happens fairly often during the questioning, there are ways to both settle down and use it your advantage.Dont freak out - even if youd rather runVicky Oliver, author of 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions, tells geschftliches miteinander Insider why you shouldnt go down this road in a piece about interview mistakes that wont jeopardize the position.The awkward moment. You know it well. The moment you walk down the hallway with your interviewer, and egads, you have nothing to say, she tells the publication, adding that occasional quietness isnt out of the ordinary at an interview, so theres no need to get worked up over it.Dont read too much into itYoull drive yourself nuts if you do.A post on the Business Talent Solutions website says that you shouldnt overthink the silence.When you dont get an immediate reaction from the interviewer, its easy to start thinking that they didnt like what they heard, that their expectations werent met, or that they are hoping to hear more, the post reads. Dont overthink it. It is likely that they just need some extra time to jot down some notes, think about how your answer matches with the position they are trying to fill, or how they should ask the next question.Ask your questionsCareer coach Hallie Crawford told Glassdoor that you can get your own questions in during awkward silences, because the interviewer may be giving you time to weigh in.Take advantage of the opportunity to address any concerns you might have about the position, the work environment, or something else that might have come up during the interview, Crawford said. You can also take the unexpected silence as a time to let the manager know youre excited about the position and the possibility of working for the organization.The right type of questions could show the recruiter that youre prepared.Count to fiveAlyse Kalish, Associate Editor at The Muse, wrote about this trickin the publication.Count to five between pauses. Odds are high you wont get to five because the pauses are not anywhere near as long as you think, Kalish said. Or, if it really seems like your interviewer is waiting for you to initiate the next conversation, follow up with a question related to your own responses, such as Does your company work the same way?

Rewritten Resume Adds Context, Lands Project Manager New Job

Rewritten Resume Adds Context, Lands Project Manager New JobRewritten Resume Adds Context, Lands Project Manager New JobKeara Fortsons project-management experience told her to focus on the bottom line, but her resume writer helped her to balance numbers with the whole story.Quantify your return on investment, career experts say. Show results, numbers and accomplishments.But are resumes more than that?Well, they should be if you want to get noticed and receive calls about opportunities and interviews, says certified professional resume writer Wendy Haylett, who works with Ladders.In her 25-year career as a resume writer, Haylett said, she has seen countless examples of resumes that arent telling nearly enough about the context of the work performed. Im consistently seeing missing stories from clients. There is a lot of focus on results, but not enough on situations and context, she said.That welches the missing piece for resume client Keara Forston, a senior project manager in health -care information technology.In a project managers resume, focusing on results would seem like the right way to go. Right? How much did you save the company? Were you under budget? Were you on time or early? All key questions you need to answer, and then some.Her resume was not short on accomplishments, results or certifications it was short on situations. Forston, whose resume was redone in April by Haylett, was recently hired as a project manager with Reston, Va.-based High Performance Technologies Inc., which works on federal technology projects.The emphasis on results, while a must-have, is a balancing act that shouldnt overshadow the significance of situations. Keara had solid results info but had a pretty weak summary profile, Haylett said. I needed to know what made her different.A grimy window vs. a soiled windowJob seekers sometimes have difficulty recognizing the importance of that contextual information. If I get some resistance (from a client), I tell them, OK, lets say that you were telling your spouse when she came home that you cleaned the windows. OK, no big deal, right? But what if there had been a fire next door the night before, and your windows were caked with soot? Wouldnt that be something important to know? As an example, Haylett pointed to the generic opening language in Forstons old resumeProven ability to motivate and guide diverse teams to meet organizational expectations. Strong talent for observing and learning quickly, highly motivated and able to take on challenging projects with effective interpersonal and leadership skills. Consistently recognized by senior management for exceptional achievement.That language could have been used for an administrator or anyone, honestly, Haylett said. This was not the story. I found out she was a senior-level project and program manager who had 15 direct reports and helped save a stalled-for-a-year regulatory project, among other things.Stop withholding the whole storyTo a resume subject, compl eting a questionnaire sometimes feels like yet another formality shed rather leave to the writer. After all, she is paying for a service. But only the client knows the context the writer needs to tell the real story. Once Forston found the time, she cranked out a few pages of very useful information about projects shed led. While it took some digging Forston felt good about the experience.Forstons information let Haylett craft the resume to prove Forstons unique value. Haylett was able to inform the resume profile and top half of the resume so that it was easily scannable and showcased Forstons specialties in project management, computer systems and health care.The top half of Page One was something I really focused on improving, Haylett said. The new Project / Program Management profile now readsSENIOR PROJECT MANAGER with more than five years of program management office development and leadership in system development guiding healthcare IT data management and reporting. Record of success driving mandated or needed organizational change - instrumental in development of PMO policy and artificates used to structure project implementation in a newly-developed PMO.Manage high visibility, enterprise-wide projects with a consistent record of success streamlining procedures and documentation to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of people and process. Consistent ability to dive deep into the details while maintaining a big picture perspective for steady program leadership. Known for quickly bridging the communication eu-agrarpolitik between business and IT resources, while driving consensus to achieve program and corporate goals. MBA in Project Leadership and Development with additional competenciesA story-telling resume lands a dream jobI was a little skeptical of the experience at first, Forston said. But within about a week of putting this new resume out there, I was getting calls from recruiters and companies. I had my old resume out there, and I just w asnt getting responses.The new resume worked well enough for Forston to migrate from one job to the next seamlessly.I wanted to get out of health care from the insurance side, she said. And so now (with the new resume), Im on the technology side of the house with a health-care aspect, which is exactly what I wanted.

How balanced active sitting can improve both physical and mental health

How balanced active sitting can improve both physical and mental healthHow balanced active sitting can improve both physical and mental healthDid you know that sitting at a desk all day can actually be worse than smoking or eating donuts?In fact, research links sitting for long periods of time to obesity, spikes in blood pressure, increased blood sugar and unhealthy cholesterol levels. Additionally, if you spend the majority of your day sitting at a desk, insulin effectiveness drops by 24%, leading to an increased risk of diabetes, according to research. If this statistic isnt enough to scare you, the National Cancer Institute reveals that sitting can lead to major increases in your risk for various cancers.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreEven worse, The American Cancer Society finds that workers who sit more than six hours a day increase their risk of death by 19%.As you can, r ecent medical research concludes that sitting for extended periods is so unhealthy that the scientific community has coined the term, sitting disease.Fighting Sitting DiseaseOne solution to combat sitting disease is an approach I like to call Balanced Active Sitting. The technique can improve posture, burn calories, help people stay alert and focused, ultimately resulting in an overall healthier lifestyle.As an experienced ergonomics expert and someone who has personal experience with the negative health consequences of sitting disease, I believe one of the primary components required to make active sitting effective is balance. After working at a desk job in an office for numerous years and experiencing a significant decline in my overall health as a result I decided to research ergonomics and have made it my mission to teach others in the corporate world how to fight sitting disease.Balanced active sitting has been proven to help with physical health and cognitive functioning.Ac cording to research, balancing is one way to improve your memory and cognition by requiring a complex synchronization of mental function and physical movement. One of the four main classifications of fitness along with strength, endurance, and flexibility is balance. It is often overlooked however, it is one of the most critical components and lends itself to the office setting.Challenging the bodys ability to balance is the most effective way to strengthen the paraspinal muscles in the postural system. These muscles keep the vertebra aligned in the spine, support proper posture and are critical to maintaining good balance.Increased caloric burn and heart rate are caused by the activation of the core muscles. Some of the latest specialty office furniture like balance chairs can help activate this required balance, helping to control the amount of energy it takes to stay on your center of gravity. With this method, you leid only improve your posture and burn calories, but you sta y more alert and focused, leading to a healthier lifestyle.Furthermore, many of these modern innovations help promote increased brain activity and improved cognitive performance from the complex synchronization of mental function and the physical movement required for balance.Other ways to get movingIf you drive to work and spend long days hunched over a desk, then you are likely accumulating hours and hours of sitting. However, there are several tactics you can use to fight sitting disease. Here are some ideas to get you startedStand up and stretch every 20 minutes, even if its only for a minute or two. Setting a reminder or timer can help.Take phone calls standing up.Always take the stairs.Use your lunch break to walk. It can add years to your life.Consider organizing team walking meetings (versus sitting in a conference room).If you have to drive to a meeting and park, take the long way. Always park in a spot farthest from the door to get in some additional steps.Refill your wate r every hour. As a bonus, if you keep drinking water all day, chances are that you will also need to use the bathroom more often another opportunity to walk and move your body.Some final thoughtsAt the end of the day, everyone should look for ways to stay in motion throughout the day. The most important aspect to realize about sitting disease is that while it comes with long-term effects and consequences, it is quite easy to prevent.By taking small steps (pun intended), you can reduce your risk of suffering from a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. abflug today by developing new habits and getting the tools you need to set yourself up for ultimate health success.Scott Bahneman is an ergonomics industry expert on a mission to teach others in the corporate world how to combat sitting disease. He is the Founder Chairman of SitTight a company that has transformed sitting into an activity that improves your health by using your bodys natural ability to balance. Bahneman has been featured on Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca, Fast Company Magazine, and last year, SitTight won the bronze at the 2018 Edison AwardsYou might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people