Eek! A virtual interview! Now what?

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Almost all hires are being done right now with video or phone interviews. While in person interviews are normally nerve wracking, phone and video interviews can be too!

Here’s some tips to help you out in a virtual interview. These may sound funny but try them!

1. Print out / show on a screen people so that you have something to focus on. This could be random pictures of business people or your interviewer’s picture on LinkedIn.

2. If headphones (or anything else) helps you concentrate, wear them! This can include using a quiet fidget toy, headphones, or even business shoes. Need to pace? Do it.

3. Smile! You can’t rely on body language in a phone (or even a video interview as you can’t see all of the interviewer), so your face and your voice need to express emotion for you a little more than usual. If you smile, it comes across in your voice.

4. Dress like you’re at an in person interview. Doing this will make you feel more like you are in the interview frame of mind. Also, if it’s a video interview and you have to get up… it’s much better to be properly dressed and not be wearing sweatpants!

5. Practice questions in advance. The best to practice are the behavioral questions (what would you do if..) This questions are great because there’s a structure to answering that helps minimizes oversharing/ long answers - SAR (S - situation, A - Action [yours], R - Results)

6. Know what makes you different from others they are considering - this is the answer to “Why should we hire you?”. What makes you unique? What value have you brought to your past work experiences?

7. Make sure you know about the company. Have they been in the news, what’s their philosophy etc. What draws you to this company?

Have your resume ready, the job posting, make sure your phone/ computer is charged, be in a (hopefully!) quiet place and take a deep breath! You’ve got this. :)

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to the country and people I am so proud of. The world thinks of Canada as lakes and mountains, bears and snow, but we have those and: deserts, prairies, dinosaur fossils, universal healthcare, large cities and yes, bears (most often in my backyard!).

Stay safe!

Jaymie

Photo by Social Soup Social Media from Pexels

Image by Joachim Thiemann from Pixabay

Image by James Wheeler from Pixabay

What we can do right now.

I come from a really small town in Canada. Because of where I grew up, I didn’t have a lot of exposure to different cultures. I’ve moved to a bigger city and try to learn (and unlearn!). Everyday, I try to do better (Know better, do better). This morning, I woke up with a really heavy heart and hoped that everyone in the protests, the riots, the rebellions are safe. And they’re not. We’re seeing the pictures and hearing the stories. Peaceful protesters, children, senators are being maced, shot and arrested. Media is being arrested or told they can’t report on what is happening.

Canada isn’t better. Sometimes we like to think we are… we must keep pushing to get there.

#antiracist #blacklivesmatter

9 things you can do for the George Floyd protesters right now

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Happy Easter!

picture from Pixabay

This spring has been … painful. Even though there’s collective sadness and huge amounts of anxiety over the COVID pandemic, I have noticed a lot of kindness, both online and IRL.

What I’ve noticed:

While going out for walks (practicing good social distancing!) people are more likely to smile and say hi.

A local Facebook group has come forward (even more so than normal) and has been coordinating food donations, grocery shopping helpers, ideas for not going bonkers and keeping spirits up.

Noticing all the thank you signs for essential workers everywhere! (again, thank you so much! I know you’re scared and still at your job <3) and hearing the 7pm noise recognition for them.

Seeing lovely art and Easter eggs in windows in our neighbourhood.

Happy Easter.

WFH - It's not always easy!

Image by Mylene2401 from Pixabay

I’m one of those who normally WFH (work from home), so being at home working is not (normally) a challenge for me. What is a challenge, is WFH with other people in the house. People who never leave. People who have to share the office space. Little people who ask a lot of questions, require feeding multiple times a day and now have us as their teachers (can we do more math??)!

However, I recognize just how lucky my family is during this time. We have an office space that we can use. My partner still has a job. It’s nice out! (in BC, it feels like it ALWAYS rains!)

What we’re trying to do is have some loose scheduling. This is the time we get up, this is school, this is outside time. There’s still lots of challenges though… (shh, I’m on a call! …. STOP fighting! … nope, no more TV/electronics/facetime….Can you teach them this?)

In honour of this “interesting” time in the world, I’ve gathered some articles on working from home…

7 Tips for Working From Home With Kids When Coronavirus Has Shut Everything Down (The Muse) (This one has some good tips for parents!)

How to work from home, the right way (BBC)

Working from home for the first time? Here's how to make it a success (CBC)

COVID-19: How to avoid the aches and pains of working from home (Don’t forget about ergonomics while you’re home!)

fx for us all getting through this, healthy in all ways…

What’s your best tips for working from home? How are you dealing a different schedule? How are you getting through this time?

How are you?

How are you doing right now?

The COVID-19 virus has shaken us, all of us, in pretty much every way possible. So, how are you dealing? I hope everything is ok for you and that you have support. FaceTime, phone calls, texts and even streetside conversations really help!

These past two weeks have been full of anxiety for me. I think it has a lot to do with the uncertainty of it all. Is school canceled? Should we stay home (we have been)? What are we going to do all day? Is it safe to get groceries? What’s going to happen with work?

I’ve been hearing so many stories, from so many people. They’ve been laid off…. they’re supposed to start work next week and now have no child care…. they don’t know how they are going to pay their rent or mortgage…they’re at home with their kids and everyone’s going stir crazy!

We will get through this.

If you are looking for work right now and have questions about your job search, email me: jaymie@limitlesscareers.ca

Here are some resources:

Official Government of Canada C-19 site

Google Doc List of Companies Hiring Right Now

Free meditation app: Smiling Mind App

A daily mindfulness and meditation guide at your fingertips

• FREE Programs for children and adults

YouTube exercise videos:

Fun dance videos- The Fitness Marshall Dance Workout

Yoga with Adriene

Best song to help you sleep: Marconi Union Weightless (also on iTunes and Google Play)

Stay healthy, stay home (if you can) and wash your hands. <3

Jaymie

PS. cute puppies to make your day a tiny bit better…

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

First essential item in a Job search: confidence.

Having support is always critical, especially when job hunting, but in the end, how you feel about yourself is up to you. Be gentle.