Ask Henrietta Barker

⚡️About The Work Edition. I (Henrietta) started The Work Edition. because we’re in a moment in time when many of you are really finding this new career territory incredibly challenging. The world has changed and so has the world of work and it has changed FAST. I wanted to bring the most modern and up to date thoughts about careers, job searching and the work of work to you as things were changing. I've been a recruiter for over ten years and I launched my business because I was sick of working for bigger agencies who didn't value relationships over profit. I love sharing what I know WORKS not just for other people but for YOU. If you want relevant and up to date information, education and motivation about everything to do with work then you’re in the right place. Get in touch if you have any questions you'd like me to answer for you. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Hate Being on Camera? Need to work out how to video interview and FAST! In the last few months the rise of online interviews has grown exponentially. None of us thought that online interviews would become the norm and while we have got used to Zooms and other video conferencing there is something totally daunting about doing an interview at home and online. I know that interviewing at the best of times can feel stressful, there's so much to remember and so much to think about. We’re all so used to interviewing face to face, for so many of us it’s all we’ve ever known and we can feel intimidated by new things when the stakes are high and you have done all the hard work of getting to this point that you really want to make it count. We’re all somehow expected to be camera ready and comfortable with tech but what if you’re not? In this episode we cover: ⚡️ Getting comfortable with tech and which platform you’re using ⚡️ Check your lighting, how your lighting can make you look more enthusiastic and interested ⚡️ Preparing for your interview, what to say and how to say it ⚡️ Creating a great environment so you’re ready to interview and be relaxed ⚡️ How to use the camera so you’re engaging with the interviewer ⚡️ How you use your energy on camera ************************************************************************************************************************************************************** The Work Edition.

If you’re career focussed and ambitious then you’ve found the right place. Three times a week you’ll find new episodes offering you everything you need to know about how you can strategise, position and create opportunities for your career to develop and grow. Interviews, educational episodes and much more is waiting for you so make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theworkedition/message

Ahh, the final video in this series where I have covered 30 of the most commonly asked interview questions. Using this as a framework will help you prepare so thoroughly for all the different types of questions that may be thrown your way. If you’re unsure about how to answer what salary you want then I have got it covered. Remember to use the essay style structure when you answer your questions and include a beginning, middle and end to each of your answers. That is really going to help you when you structure your answer. The questions I cover in this video are: 1. What is your favourite book? Any question like this is about understanding a bit more about who you are. You don’t need to be really well read, they’re just trying to get a feel for who you are and what you’re interested in. This question can also come up in other forms as well. Be ready for them. 2. Do you have any questions for us? YES! Write them down if you need to, try and remember the ones that popped up throughout the interview as well. This is where you get to answer all the questions about the role that you need to know. Take the space here and ask away, the things you ask are important, they are key to you understanding if this is a role that interests you and excites you. 3. What motivates you? A job well done, money, impact on a business. Whatever your motivation, they’re all good. Some people want to be leaders and love being the person who calls all the shots, others not so much. However you feel motivated is important because if you’re in sales, you’re going to need to be motivated by the ability to smash your goals. I like the problem solving element in my role, thats what motivates me. What works for you? 4 What are your salary requirements? You must make up your own mind about how to answer this, there are so many conflicting pieces of advice. Some people like to let their recruiter talk about money because they don’t like discussing it. Others speak about a range, you may also prefer to just be really upfront. Whatever you do try and gauge a salary level before you interview if possible although some employers are hideously cagey about it. Just do your research, ensure that you have looked at some salary requirements for other roles in that industry and you feel confident asking for the salary that you want. I would always try and keep that open a little bit so you can have a conversation about it. 5. Why should we hire you? The elevator pitch of interview answers. Get this ready and KNOW what sets you apart, what you can bring to the interview and how you are the right person for the job. Please prepare this, it will be a culmination of everything that you have worked on and all your best points so go ahead and brag a bit. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

I look at another five interview questions and give examples about how you can prepare for your interview really well. I am excited to share them with you because these are so helpful when you’re about to interview. Working through a few of these videos will get you fully prepared and feeling relaxed and confident. The questions I look at today are: 1. What are your strengths? 2. What does a typical day look like? 3. Gaps in your work history 4. How do you handle high pressure situations? 5. What’s your management style? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

Hate tricky interview questions? I’ve got it covered, here are five new questions for today so you can work through them and get ready to do amazingly in your next interview

The interview questions I want to go through today are ones you can prepare for. I ask you to prepare a lot, the reason for this is because I know that if you are able to answer these kinds of questions, have some reference points to be able to go back to then these interviews are going to feel much more like an enjoyable experience. It also means that you’ll be able to feel connected and participate in the interview, I am so confident that everyone can do really well in interviews and if you feel good then you’re going to show the great parts of who you are and what you can bring to the business. 1. What would you do if unsure how to do a task that you have been given to do? Run or ignore it? No, what the hiring manager wants to know is what are your problem solving skills like? Are you able to take initiative and work as part of a team and find someone who can help you to solve the problem? Interviewers just love to hear about how you can positively frame a problem problem and fix it. You can use an example of when you have done this before too. Give a real life scenario to help them realise that you have experience doing this and feel confident to be able to work independently. 2. Why were you fired? Make sure if you were made redundant that they realise the distinction. I really want you to feel unashamed of things that have happened in the past. You may have been made redundant but there shouldn’t be any stigma around that happening to you. Especially at the moment, we know that so many people have lost their jobs because of this pandemic. 3. What didn’t you enjoy about your last job? Ok, tread really carefully with this one. There isn’t an easy way to answer especially if you’re moving from one Assistant job to another Assistant job for example. I would suggest some real time preparing for this. Just keep it simple and to the point. You’re never going to win if you moan about the business, the company or the specific people in the business. They may even know them, it’s a small world out there so steer clear of specifics. Use sentence starters such as ‘I was frustrated about…’ or ‘I had challenges around…’ so that you can speak about this in the past tense. 4. What are your weaknesses? Ugh, everyone hates this question and it isn’t easy to answer. Don’t say perfectionism, its a rubbish answer and not worth saying. What you must demonstrate is that you’re self aware, ready for growth and open to it too. No one is perfect at their job, just tell the truth without giving away too much. Don’t fear this question though, you’re an expert in you so you can say that you’re not too great at x but that you have improved or that you’re finding strategies to change that. Start the answer with ‘I’ve had to train myself to…’ or ‘I quickly realised that I had to learn…’ Use historical situations that you overcame. 5. Tell me about a challenging situation that you overcame at work? People love asking these these types of questions and what you have to try to do is to be able to think of an example of a situation where you had an issue and you found a suitable solution that was beneficial to the business. For example, when I joined the business I found the stationary ordering really unfocussed and so I found one supplier to supply all our stationary which led to a reduction in spend’. It doesn’t have to be something huge, it certainly doesn’t have to be a save the day kind of example, just make sure its relevant to the work that you do and that you had a favourable outcome. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

As some of you know, I’m a recruiter. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had so many messages from people who have lost their job, feel worried about long term job security or have had their search paused. I really understand how hard this is because it’s such an overwhelmingly emotional and stressful time without having any job concerns but you’re not alone. There are a lot of people, who, through no fault of their own are struggling to find work. The only way I can help as many people as possible is by speaking about the issues that you may be facing and delving into the strategies I really know work. I’m going to show up everyday to give you the tools to be able to succeed in securing a job to bring some money in now and your long term career.  We’re all having to diversify and some of us have to pivot completely but I want to make sure you have everything you need to succeed in order to get a job for now or plan your career for the future. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

So, this is interview Questions Part 2 with another five questions for us to go through together and work out how you can answer these questions really well. Lets get started and straight into the questions. I’ll put the link in the description for the other videos if you want to watch them too. Remember, if you love interviews or hate them, the only way to feel ready, or as ready as you can be is to prepare. The other way to be ready is to start interviewing, you aren’t going to get that much better unless you practise. You can practice with a friend or family member or just say the answers out loud, they may feel silly at first but keep going. 1. Why have you changed jobs so many times? 2. Why did you change careers? 3. What is your greatest achievement? 4. Can you give an example of a time when you went above and beyond your responsibilities? 5. What do you think the main challenges of the job will be? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

Love them or hate them, they’re going to happen and there’s so much that you can prepare so that you feel great on the day. There are two groups of people, some love interviewing and some not so much

Researching businesses for an interview can be a bit ambiguous. What do you need to know and how do you find the information that you need? Having taken feedback from businesses about interviews for twenty years I know that this is what companies want you to know about their business before you go in and meet them. Here are my top five things to do: Research their website - ask questions such as: what does the business do? Where are all their offices? how many employees do they have in each location? What are their values? Not only do you not want to get caught out when they speak about their office, employees etc but by understanding their values then you have a great way to know what kind of employee they want. Some businesses practice radical candour for example, this gives you an insight into their structure, the way they want to treat people and how the team works as a whole. Get this information so you’re ready to tailor your answers to their questions. Who are the key people in the business? CEO, general leadership team names are important, who are they and why are they there? LinkedIn can help if you’re not sure who the key players are. They usually have their bios on their website but also check for their names on twitter to see if anyone is talking about them or the business. This gives you some great insights too. Check on google to see if there has been any recent news about the business, you can look on their website as well for any potential press but many businesses don’t have that info on their website. What’s happening with the business and what does this mean for you? Especially now, this is important, the pandemic has shown some key flaws in a lot of businesses. What would this mean for you? Company culture and mission is super important to research. In fact, a Millennial Branding study says 43 percent of HR professionals believe cultural fit is the most important quality job seekers can have during the hiring process. If thats the case, knowing what is important to their culture can help you answer the questions really well. What are there products and services and who are their clients? If they sell online, find out what the top three things are that they sell. Who do they provide a service for and what does their company provide. If you don’t know, you can’t answer any questions in a confident way. If you can’t find that information out, make sure YOU ask them about what their top products are. You’ll find out how engaged HR are in the business as well. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

What do I mean by this and how can you do it? There are three stages of interview prep:

Many of you won’t enjoy doing video interviews as much as a face to face but that is only because we haven’t been in this situation before so you’re main experience will have been a face to face interview. I’m going to talk you through how to do a video interview and show you how it’s actually easier to do a video interview than a face to face one. First things first -

What do I mean by this and how to Ido it? There are three stages of interview prep: About yourself About the company About the job In this video it’s all about how to prep about YOU. No one has ever had a perfect interview. No one else who is interviewing for the job is going to do a perfect job. The OBJECTIVE is to show up, let them know the expertise or experience you are bringing to the table and get to know them a bit. You are interviewing them too. It’s not a one way street here so make sure you understand that, it can make all the difference about how you FEEL going into the interview. If you feel relaxed and confident you’ll interview really well. A quick caveat, if you don’t get asked back, it doesn’t mean that you haven’t done a good interview. Know what you’re talking about, give the information they want to hear, get comfortable talking about yourself and In this video I am going to explain the 5 ways to prep for a fantastic interview: 1.Write down a list of potential interview questions and practise answering them. Answer them out loud, video them on your phone. Get a sense of how they sound aloud. Its not easy to verbalise what you have done, what you’re good at and communicate this easily so practice. You can download a list of interview questions on my website. 2. Get comfortable talking about your successes. What are you proud of, you’re going to have to speak about it so get used to telling someone what you have achieved in your last job. If you haven’t had a job before then find some examples from uni or just situations that you have been in. The interviewer just wants to hear real life examples of scenarios that you’ve been in where you have been able to find a solution to a problem. 3. Figure out what you’re most nervous about being asked. Worried about how to answer why you left your last job? 4. Mindset, stay positive. No one will ask you to meet with them unless they think you are a strong contender for the job. Why? Because people hate wasting time so be reassured that you are there for a reason. If you feel nervous, lower the stakes a bit, imagine someone else has been offered the job and that you’re just going in to chat about it. 5. Come up with some questions to ask, this is where so many people don’t know what to say. Ask them about what a typical day looks like or what would a successful first year look like. These are pretty vague questions and thats a good thing, you want to be able to hear what your interviewer deems important. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

Your CV isn’t a magic document that’s going to get you hired. What it DOES do is communicate your skills and experience and give people the chance to find out more. So you want it to be the BEST possible CV you can write. It doesn’t need to perfect but it’s got to show off what you can do.

LinkedIn is the singularly most important element to your job search. With 500 million users and 260 million users every month you must be on there. This week alone in the UK 500,000 jobs were posted on LinkedIn so you can’t afford not to be on there. I know, you may not want to create a profile and be visible on yet another platform but if you haven’t created a profile yet please do it. It’s visible to hiring managers and businesses who are looking for you to join them. I explain exactly how to answer these questions: What’s your story? What are your greatest strengths? What have you done? Your true successes What do you believe in? Where do you want to go? By answering these questions you’re able to start to create your profile which should always include: *Banner and profile picture *Profile Heading *Privacy Switch *Summary *Articles and activity *Experience *Education *Skills and Endorsements *Interests In this video I explain exactly how to create a brilliant profile, so that you can really be SEEN on LinkedIn and that you’ll come up in searches which will help you SO much. I also show you my profile and walk you through how I use key words to optimise my profile and come up in searches more often. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

If you are looking for a new job, scheduling is such a key part of the process for the following reasons: - You can feel demotivated - You can feel like you’re not doing enough or achieving enough - You put too many time limits on yourself - You can worry that you have too much to do and you won’t be able to get it all done. Some people are more naturally able to organise their time and keep up their motivation BUT when things get stressful, you might feel fear and that there isn’t going to be a great job for you at the end of this then we have to keep you motivated and feeling that you really are winning. The best way to feel like that is to get strategic and be able to prepare for the future and create goals every day that are achievable so that you can keep your momentum going and before you know it you are going to start seeing results. FOUR things that you can do for your Job Search every single day. You can set the time limit, you have to create the space to achieve these things so that you KNOW that you’re taking action towards your goals. These are the areas that we are going to focus on: New Job Applications - Apply for new jobs every day. This sounds simple but you have to find the jobs online and some of the applications can be really lengthy so give yourself enough time to be able to fill out the applications really well and with plenty of detail. It may take you two days to get the application done, that's fine as long as you know its within the application time frame. Be realistic. LinkedIn Engagement - I am assuming that your LinkedIn profile is written and ready to go but now is the time to start engaging with the people on there. What do I mean by this? Commenting on posts, joining groups and messaging people you KNOW letting them know that you’re looking for a job. By engaging on LinkedIn in this way you are going to really start to become part of a community. I have met and connected with so many people on LInkedIn that I wouldn’t have done in real life so get commenting today! Create opportunities for yourself, get informational interviews, discuss what you’re looking for with people and create your own job opportunities. Interview Prep - Whether you have an interview booked in now or not, you must prep for interviews every day. Just ten or fifteen minutes to think and prepare about how you’re able to describe your successes, how to speak about your role and feel comfortable. You’re also going to potentially have a video interview which you may not have had before and that can take some time to prepare for too. Just use this time to think, practise and get good at speaking about how amazing you are. Company Research - Start compiling a list of businesses to approach, this is going to be a working document and you’re going to keep adding businesses all the time. You’ll start to notice companies on LinkedIn that you can add and create connections with their hiring teams too. This will allow you to start creating opportunities for yourself in the future. Keeping track of what you have achieved on a physical document can really help as well. It helps you know which jobs you have applied for, how you can follow up and any keywords from the advert or job description that you want to keep track of. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

Have you lost your job? This is tough, I do understand and I want you know that I really want to help. I’ve been a recruiter for a long time and throughout my career I’ve been able to help people who are desperately looking for a job. It IS possible to find a job, even in this climate so here are some of the things it’s worth considering if you need to find work now. ⭐️ Go on LinkedIn and check their job boards, companies are posting their jobs on there as well as on the job board section of the site. Make sure your profile states that you’re interested in hearing new opportunities. Only recruiters can see this so don’t worry, you don’t have to write it all over your profile. ⭐️ Check your CV/resume and make sure it outlines the kind of job you want NEXT not just what you have done in the past. ⭐️Do you need a job now? Pivot. Apply for jobs in sectors and industries that you may not have been interested in working in before. Supermarkets in the UK have a fast track scheme for applications and other big hirers are doing the same. ⭐️If you’re not able or you don’t want to change career paths at the moment then really focus on applying for jobs, networking on LinkedIn and being really consistent about your search. ⭐️Emotions run high, they can for all of us at the moment. That’s ok, just an hour of consistent job searching per day adds us to nearly a whole working days worth of applying for jobs. Take it slowly and don’t rush to get applications in because you’ll burn out. ⭐️There are jobs out there and companies are STILL hiring, you can do this. DM me if there’s anything you want me to particularly cover. I’ll be her everyday with a new video for you. Stay safe ❤️ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message

If Coronavirus has paused your job search. I’m so sorry that you’re in this position, it’s so disappointing and worrying not to be able to find work in this climate. There are some things you really can do that will make a difference to your success at this time. Make yourself more visible, now is the time to get on LinkedIn and make sure you have your profile set up with all the details about your job history and experience. You can even put your CV on there so people can view it if they’re hiring. Double and triple check your CV, make sure that you’re writing in the same tone throughout and that you have no spelling mistakes. Also, double check that you have a statement outlining your skills and experience and what you can bring to a business. It’s also great if you can show the breadth of your skills. This gives people information about what your capabilities are and a bit more insight into the type of job you’re interested in at the moment. There are still jobs available, they may not be in the industries that you have previously considered. Many businesses are booming now, they’re in desperate need of great people to join them to help them cope with the demand. You’re probably the person they need to join them to help. Be open when you’re considering different industries, they may be a great move for you. Look for work in all the usual places such as job boards, LinkedIn and through your network but also look on Facebook Communities. Join FB groups or LinkedIn groups and ask people if they know of anyone hiring. You’ll be supposed at how willing people are to help. Persue all avenues, there’s lots of ways to find a job. Don’t devalue yourself, your skills and personality are needed. Whether you’re volunteering or in paid employment we all need to play our part it helping each other and adding value. You’re important and your contribution is fantastic. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/henriettabarker/message