Job Interviews | Journey

Proving Your Soft Skills in an Interview

By Job Journey on Thursday, July 22, 2021

When it comes to interviews, job applicants usually focus on hard skills, defined by Investopedia as “learned abilities acquired and enhanced through practice, repetition, and education.” Skills such as knowing how to use a certain program, experience working in a certain industry, or being familiar with a certain product or service.

However, employers are just as interested, if not more, in soft skills, defined as “character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person’s relationship with other people.” When looking for hireable applicants, decision-makers often look for certain soft skills in their applicants. Specifically, they look for a good combination of willingness to learn, dependability, and communication skills. Here’s how to show you have these abilities in your next interview. (more…)

Job Interviews The Job Search

Explaining Why You Left a Toxic Job in an Interview

By Job Journey on Thursday, July 15, 2021

How do you answer?

Some jobs are just bad. Maybe things didn’t start out that way, but one day you realize you work in a toxic environment. It could be because of nepotism, shady business dealings, gossip in the office, or co-workers spying on you. Instead of staying in such an unpleasant situation, you decide it’s time to move on.

But now you have to explain why you left in an interview. You want to be positive, but you don’t want to outright lie; how do you strike a balance? We’re here to help. (more…)

Job Interviews The Job Search

Unique Questions to Ask After Your Interview

By Job Journey on Tuesday, June 22, 2021

You breeze through your interview, and your interviewer asks if you have any questions. You say “no thanks, nothing else to ask!” and make your way home. See anything wrong with this picture?

In general, you want to ask at least a few questions after the interview to show your interest in the company. It’s another chance to shine as a candidate for the job. Think of it this way—if you and another candidate both ace the interview, but the other candidate asks insightful questions that show they care about the position and company, who do you think is going to get the job?

Here are a few unique questions to ask. (more…)

Answering the Interview Question The Job Search

Answering the Interview Question 2021 Check-In

By Job Journey on Thursday, May 13, 2021

With more and more of the population getting vaccinated, many employees are returning to the workplace. Companies are hiring again, which means its time to prepare for your next interview.

Here at Job Journey, our readers tell us they want help answering the toughest interview questions. That’s why we created the Answering the Interview Question eBook. Here are a few highlights to help with your interviews this year. (more…)

Job Interviews The Job Search

Asking the Right Questions in an Interview

By Job Journey on Thursday, December 17, 2020

Fear not with these top tips.

Interviews are awkward. You’re trying to prove you’re both a fun person to work with and that you have the best skills for the job. You’ve finished explaining your resume and answering their questions, and then they ask if you have any questions in return. They want to know you’re interested in the job and did your research, so saying you don’t have anything further to ask isn’t a great idea.

We previously detailed five of the top questions to ask, and now we’re back with four more! (more…)

Answering the Interview Question The Job Search

Answering the Interview Question: Why Did You Have So Many Jobs in Such a Short Amount of Time?

By Job Journey on Thursday, November 12, 2020

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out like we think it’s going to. You might start what you thought was a perfect job and find out you hate it. Or you get hired in one state but your significant other has to move and you decide to go with them, leaving that new job behind. Or maybe a family member gets sick and you have to quit your new job to take care of them.

Regardless of what the reason is, your resume makes you look like a job hopper—you’ve had multiple jobs in a short time span, like three jobs in two years. This can scare potential employers who want an employee to stay for the long haul.

According to Bersin by Deloitte, as reported by Glassdoor, the average cost per hire is around $4,000. And that doesn’t even include the time it takes to train a new employee. Employers don’t want to spend all of that time and money only to see a new hire quit a few months later. They’re going to ask why you had so many jobs, so it’s important to have a planned answer ready. Here are our thoughts on how to answer. (more…)

Answering the Interview Question The Job Search

Answering the Interview Question Recap: Why Are You Leaving Your Current Company, Tell Me About Yourself, and More!

By Job Journey on Thursday, September 10, 2020

According to a survey conducted by Everest College as reported by GlobalNewswire, 92% of people are stressed by at least one thing about the job interview process.

Interviews are stressful because job applicants don’t always know what to expect. That’s where Answering the Interview Question comes in. The posts shared in this series detail how to handle the toughest interview questions to relieve some of that stress. If you missed the series, here’s a recap of some of our favorite pieces. (more…)