Tips for Following-Up After a Job Interview

Tips for Following-Up After a Job InterviewTips for Following-Up After a Job InterviewRegardless of whether or notlage your job interview welches successful, it is always important to immediately follow-up with your interviewer through email.When your resume and interview accomplish your mission of selling yourself to a target company by highlighting your skill set, experience and interest in a particular position, a follow-up email reiterates your interest in the job, builds on the success of your interview and resume, and keeps your name front and center on the minds of those involved in the hiring process. When you suffer a misstep in an interview, a follow-up letter allows you an opportunity to fix those mistakes you have made.The basic follow-up letter should immediately show your appreciation for even allowing you to interview for the position. Remember, they didnt have to interview you, no matter how qualified you think you are for the position. So, thank them for the opportun ity and then do the followingDemonstrate just how important you are to the company. A company like Accenture is not hiring someone just to fill an empty seat. They have a need to fill. What is the company looking for in this job opening and how can you help fill that need. Tell them exactly what you bring to the table.Expand on the interview. They asked you a question about a aufgabe you faced that you solved and how you solved it. You answered it, but maybe that problem didnt exactly match the issues a company like Lazard is facing. However, when you get home, you remember another problem you solved that would make you the perfect candidate for the job opening. Touch on that and let them know that you were continuing to think about their questions even after the interview was complete. It shows your interest.Show your knowledge of the issues the company faces. Random House has books that sell themselves, but some titles just dont have that power. They ask you how you would promote those titles. You are not as familiar with them, so you provide some generic ideas in the interview. However, when you get home, you research these titles and similar books and come up with a number of ideas that are more specific. Address them in your cover letter. It shows that even when youre not familiar with a topic, youre a quick learner and have the ability to figure things out without guidance.Correct some mistakes you made in the interview. They asked you a questionyou did not answer it fully. Rather than leave things incomplete, acknowledge that you didnt fully answer the question and felt that you should elaborate on what you said earlier. Then add to your answer. Make the answer something that will satisfy the hiring managers. Dont over-share. Dont end up putting your foot in your mouth. The best thing about a follow-up letter is that you can look at it before you send it. So, make sure you go over your response before hitting the send button.Change their minds. A compan y openly expressed their disbelief that you are willing to relocate for a job. This does not bode well for your chances. Make sure they are convinced you are ready. If you have to, include information on your plan of action for what you will do to make a smooth transition from your old home to your new digs in another state. This goes for any other objections they may have. Give it some thought and then address the concerns they have.You should always end a follow-up email making sure the interviewer is fully aware of your interest in the position and your desire to work for the company.With all that said and done, try to keep your follow-up email quick and to the point. There might be some reasons your email will have to be longer than most, but keep it tight make it easy to read and make it a letter that will be memorable for all the right reasons. Dont do all this in a handwritten letter. Emails are the best way to go, because they are immediate. If you want, a second follow-up n ote, sent via snail mail, is ok just to thank them for meeting you. Thats always a nice touch, too.Jon Minners, Vault.com

Why playfulness is now more important than ever

Why playfulness is now more important than everWhy playfulness is now more important than everAfter the death of Isaac Newton - a mythic figure even in his own lifetime - the poet Alexander Pope wrote the following epitaph for himNature and natures laws lay hid in nightGod said Let Newton be and all was light.When you read something like this about a figure of history, it becomes hard to imagine them as mortal. Most of us dont invent calculus or redefine optics in ur 20s. We certainly dont walk around laying down new foundations for the study of nature.But mortal they were. And as fascinating as it is to deify them, its perhaps just as interesting to imagine what they may have been like in person.We know that Newton was both humble and arrogant. When facing the laws of nature, he approached his work with reserved caution. When dealing with his rivals, however, he could be petty and vindictive - not exactly the stoic image of perfection that first comes to mind.We know that in spit e of his great fame, he lived a mostly solitary life, not too focused on developing his interpersonal relationships, perhaps even dying a virgin. It makes you wonder how different the world may have been had he been more tempted by those very normal menschenfreundlich interests.The most telling thing about him, however, I think, comes from a reflection he supposedly shared with a friend about his life right before he diedI do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.I like this because it shows you the child in him, the one we can recognize in our own reflection if we pay attention. But more so, I like it because, from this human image, we can take out something for ourselves, something that I think is becoming more relevant today.The Evolutionary Pur pose of PlayOn one end, the idea that Newton lived such a solitary life brings about a slight sadness that I cant immediately shake. But then, when I read his own description of how it looked from the inside, it fades away.The activity of play is universal among all human cultures that have been studied. We can define it in various ways. When the idea is brought up, each of us imagines something slightly different, but at a core level, its clear that we are all mucksmuschenstill talking about roughly the same thing.Its an activity we do just to do it, at least on the surface. Its fun and exciting, and the fact that it doesnt feel like its stressful because were associating it with some future reward seems to make it more free, more honest.Scientists, of course, disagree a fair bit about both how to define play and what the evolutionary purpose of it is, but without getting bogged down by the details, our simple definition isnt too far detached from any truth, and in terms of purpose , it seems to be agreed that it serves to either train us physically, socially, or cognitively.In this sense, play is an act of learning. More specifically, its a low-cost way to explore the world in order to obtain high-value advantages. To push it even further, its a search for the truth of the reality that we want to effectively inhabit as we live and as we age over time.When you are born into a particular cultural environment, you dont yet have all the tools to make sense of it. You have to do the work to figure out where the boundaries are, what norms are accepted, and the different skills that will be required from you as you become a member of society.Like Newton, as a child, you walk around picking up different pebbles and shells, studying them, identifying their relationships to the surrounding world and to other people, and then based on that, you start to store information that is consistent with your experience as to guide future experiences.The key thing to note about p lay is that because it isnt entirely purposeful, the boundaries are blurred, which then allows you to redefine them so you can see something new, something that provides value in a way you may not have realized by acting out of duty.Mixing Exploration and ExploitationThe most obvious thing about this kind of fun is that its more common in children than it is in adults. And it makes sense By the time you are an adult, you have mostly done the work required to figure out your surroundings.Based on this relationship to play, we can roughly divide life into two realms of existence a period dominated by exploration and a period dominated by ausbeutung. You spend the first part of your life exploring, seeing, and understanding, but once some of it has sunk to a satisfactory level, you start to exploit the fruits growing on the foundation you have laid.By Newtons analogy, after a certain period, you have picked up all the pebbles and shells you are likely to play with, and you walk away fr om the ocean content to just continue rolling those same ones over in your hands.For the physical lessons born out of play, this makes sense. After a certain point, you have learned how to use your body and you dont need to test it in different ways throughout your life. You know how to run, and you know how to play a sport you love, and it makes sense to just keep doing those things over time, with nothing lost.There is, however, a problem when pursuing this same explore-exploit pattern in the social and the cognitive aspects of our life. Today, the social and cognitive aspects are far more complex than before. Our culture is evolving at a rate which means that if you dont keep up with it, then you no longer understand the truth of that reality as you live in it.In a world that doesnt change too fast, a brief childhood of exploration would give you all the information you would need to deal with the various norms around you and with the decision-making patterns that are likely to a rise. But in a culture that is increasingly networked, doubling the amount of information produced every few years, there can no longer be a difference between the exploration and the exploitation phase.Newtons search for truth moved him from pebble to shell throughout his whole life, but it didnt mean that he left the old ones behind for the new ones. He gave exploitation his due attention, while also playfully keeping an eye out for the hidden truths in the peripheries.Not making room for play in modern adult life is a strategic disadvantage. Exploration and exploitation are no longer distinct. They are continually co-evolving as the world quickly unfolds around us.Dealing With a Larger TerrainToday, culture is more complex, information is more abundant, and our collective environment covers a greater terrain of reality.Play is how we map out this terrain. Traditionally, it was enough to simply spend our childhood and some early parts of our youth having our fun, without following the usual rules, without being too constrained by duty and routine, to make sense of everything.This is no longer the case. Our environments are no longer static. Theyre dynamic in a way that means that if you dont keep up, youre essentially not living in the same social and cognitive reality as those around you.While in the past exploration was a distinct phase from exploitation, today, they have merged. You can no longer get away with spending the first few decades of your life playing and then dedicating the last few to work. Play and work have to occupy the same range.To many of us, the idea of play in this way is so foreign that even if all of this makes sense, the question remains What does play look like when you are, say, 30 or 40 or 50? And the answer is that it looks like a space of time, simply left to be dictated by curiosity beyond what you do out of habit - that could mean anything from taking an improv class to simply reading more.The pebbles and the shells Newton p icked up gave us the elementary laws of nature that we have since built our understanding of reality on. They lumineszenzdiode us to uncover the knowledge in front of us so that we could better master our surrounding environment.In the 21st-century, playfulness wont just remain a cute memory of childhood. It will be the foundation that we use to construct and validate the truths of our ever-changing reality.Want to think and live smarter? Zat Rana publishes a free weekly newsletter for 30,000+ readers atDesign Luck.Thisarticlewas originally published onDesign Luck.

What to Wear to Your Legal Job Interview

What to Wear to Your Legal Job InterviewWhat to Wear to Your Legal Job InterviewYou have a legal job interview and are wondering how best to prepare for it. Regarding your appearance, dress conservatively. With few exceptions, you should wear a suit to a law job interview. Its typically better to be overdressed than underdressed on such an occasion. There are, however, a couple of exceptions. If youre interviewing at a very informal non-profit, you may not want to wear a suit. Try to investigate in advance, or ask the part setting up the interview about the dress code, if that seems appropriate. Similarly, if youre interviewing at a tech startup, you may not want to be a suit. Theres a known bias in Silicon Valley against dressing up, so plan accordingly. How to Dress for the Legal Job Interview Assuming yourenotin one of those rare situations, you should wear a formal suit to a law job interview. Here are some tips. Make Sure Everything Fits Properly Get the basics right. Ma ke sure your clothing is not too tight or too loose, or too long or too short. For women, if you are wearing a skirt, check skirt length carefully, and ensure theres no excessive button eu-agrarpolitik on button-down shirts. If you clothing needs alterations, enlist a tailor or ask for assistance in a store. These people are trained to make your clothes fit. Pay Attention to Local Customs Interview style varies throughout the country. If youre a law student from Alabama interviewing in New York City, its worth enlisting some allies to help you figure out how styles differ in the Big Apple. In some areas, only a skirt suit is considered typical, while in others, pants are fine.Theres no one right answer, but you need to know whats customary. Get Rid of Clothing Wrinkles You can have the nicest interview outfit in the world, but its going to look sloppy if its full of wrinkles. Especially if youre traveling to interviews, consider how youre going to keep everything clean and p ressed. Is there a hotel iron or a dry cleaning service? With some thought and preparation, you can have cleanly pressed clothes the morning of that important interview. Buy Decent Shoes Shoes are an important part of your interview outfit. At a minimum, shoes should match your outfit and be just as conservative. Shoes made of leather or faux leather is a good choice. What to Bring to a Legal Job Interview Once youre appropriately attired, its time to think about what to bring. A nice portfolio is useful for carrying copies of all application documents, such as a resume, writing samples, and any notable past and present work. Remember to bring copies of these documents, as your interviewer may want to keep them. Also bring any personal care items you might need, such as mints, a toothbrush, extra hosiery, and makeup. Dont forget directions, including parking locations, if youre driving.Also be sure to turn off your phone before the interview. Being prepared is the first step to mastering a legal job interview. Dress professionally, bring the proper documentation, and arrive on time.