Interviewing Tips

How do you make sure that you get a face-to-face interview once the recruiter calls you? What can you do to make sure that your first interview leads to a second? And, what questions can you ask to find out if the company is one at which you will be happy and successful?
Here are a few interview tips that may help you to put your best foot forward and to seal the deal once your fantastic resume gets you in the door!

Be friendly. This seems so simple and the extroverts of the world may not need this reminder. However, anyone who is shy, reserved, or introverted, should remember that making eye contact and being courteous and friendly to everyone you meet during the interview process will help your candidacy. From the security guard at the entrance of the building to the recruiter with whom you interview, each of the people you come in contact with may have input with the hiring manager. So smile and be friendly and courteous when you interview because good social graces can go a long way toward helping you land the job you want.

Listen before you speak. Do you ever know the answer to a question before the recruiter is even finished asking it? If so, an interview is not a good time to show that you can anticipate someone else's next words. One thing that recruiters almost always assess is your ability to listen carefully and think before you speak. So, when an interviewer is speaking you should listen carefully, then take a deep breath and carefully formulate your answer. You don't get points in an interview for speed but you do get points for thoughtful, well articulated answers.

Be positive. Are you angry that you were laid off from your last job or that you had a personality conflict with your former boss? If so, don't let it show during an interview. It doesn't matter if you were right and your former employer was wrong, you don't want the recruiter to get the impression that you could be a difficult employee. Find a way to answer honestly but describe situations in a positive light.

Be prepared. Before you interview do your homework on the company. Almost every company has a website and publicly traded companies have annual reports that are available upon request. In addition to impressing your future employer you may find out some important information that can help you make employment decisions. For example, information in the annual report can tell you about the company's financial situation. Is it a healthy company or has it reported losses for the past few years? Is the industry a healthy and growing one or is it in a slow decline? Is the corporate culture one that seems to value diversity? Doing internet research on the company and its competitors can tell you this information and much more. In addition, the preparation you do before the interview may help you to think of some questions that you can ask the interviewer. Remember that an interview is a two way street; you want to impress the interviewer but you also want to find out if this is a company that you would like to work for.

Mind your handshake. A handshake should be firm but not so firm that it crushes the other person's hand. A handshake that is either bone crushing or limp sends the person with whom you are meeting a message about you. Make sure that your handshake is firm and that it sends a message that you are confident but not overbearing.

Wear appropriate clothing that fits you.You should always be neat and well-groomed. Appropriate clothing is in the eye of the beholder. It's good to dress the way you think the interviewer will want you to dress but it's also good to be yourself. If they wear suits and you despise suits, it's probably best to punt on the interview and look for a job at a place where you'll feel at home. If fashion isn't your strength, visit a department store and ask for advice and, before the interview, have a trusted friend inspect you to avoid an avoidable fashion faux pas.

This article was written by Liz Handlin, CEO, Ultimate Resumes.

Tips for Parents: Helping Children Watching From a Distance To Understand the Impact of Hurricane Katrina

It may seem that children several states away from the Gulf Coast may not need to talk about Hurricane Katrina or to need reassurance or assistance. This is not true, however. Television and other news sources provide information about the situation continuously, and the involvement of pop stars and other media figures brings the events into the lives of children across the country.

Children are also aware of the economic implications of this massive storm. They hear and see information and speculation about the hurricane’s possible impact on gas prices. School bus policies are changing, the cost of goods used by children may rise, and many communities are likely to cut services that benefit children.

These occurrences can cause children confusion, anxiety, and anger as they experience the cancellation of field trips, sports events, and daily bus transportation to school.
As a parent or relative of children watching events unfold from a distance, you may wonder what you can do to help them understand and cope with such a massive disruption to our national life. They may want to help in some way. Perhaps these tips will be of use to you.

It will likely be important to reassure your children and correct misunderstandings. They may be afraid that a hurricane will come to their community.

• Let them know that there are things they can do to help prepare for dangers.
• Reassure them that hurricanes will not come to their area—if this is true.
• Take time to tell children about natural hazards that are local, and teach them some simple ways to keep themselves safe

Although it is important to deal with children’s fears, expect their emotions to go beyond fear.

• Take time to listen carefully to their feelings and thoughts. o Let them express the full range of emotions about this disaster. o They will likely also be sad about what is happening to other people.
• They may be angry that not everyone is being helped as quickly as they would like.

Provide some factual information to your children.

• Answer their questions, and consider looking up answers to questions you cannot answer quickly.
• Follow each child’s lead. Stop talking about the situation when your child seems satisfied. Each child is a unique individual and is also at a different developmental level from his or her brothers or sisters. Each child will probably have different reactions to your information.
• Be prepared for new questions to appear weeks, months, or even years later.

Monitor media exposure.

• It is not appropriate for young children to see many of the graphic images of destruction. Such images cause unnecessary anxieties, even nightmares in some cases.
• Adults should watch the news when children appear to be busy with other things, but the children may be listening and watching while playing.
• The younger the children, the less they will benefit from the news coverage. Young children are likely to lose patience quickly with the constant news reporting when a major event has occurred. However, some of the reporting is likely to include a large amount of action footage that gets children’s attention.
• You can encourage your children to watch favorite age-appropriate videos instead.
• Better yet, you can turn off the TV and go outside or play a game with them.
• It is good for older children to learn about current events. But the intense news coverage may not be the best way for them to learn about the hurricane and its aftermath.
• A better way to help them learn about the hurricane events may be with print media or the Internet. Newspaper pictures are less disturbing than TV. Adults also can preview a newspaper or look at a Web site before showing it to the child. Previewing cannot usually happen with live TV.

Find ways for your children to take action and help. Taking action can help children feel in control. The kind of action taken may vary according to the child’s age.
Young children benefit from play. They may act out the events in the news and try to get control by playing out the outcome. Some play activities related to hurricanes include building houses and knocking them down (and building them back up), playing with boats and water, hiding toys in a pile of blocks or in the sand and searching for them, pretending to be rescue workers, or drawing pictures of natural disasters.
School-age children may want to help collect materials to support families and relief workers; draw, write poems, or letters; prepare a performance such as a play, dance, or skit; write letters to children in the affected communities or to those who have lost loved ones; or learn about hurricanes or geography.
Adolescents can help collect materials for the support of displaced families and survivors; give blood; write letters to specific people or communities; organize a vigil or memorial service; or study weather, geography, history of the region, oil production, or the distribution of goods in a disaster.
Young adults can reach out to people in their community who have survived disasters or are preparing for them, organize discussion or action groups, give blood, and raise funds. They may want to study the effectiveness of preparedness efforts and city planning in high-risk areas as well as explore the role of poverty in this disaster.

Talk with children about the ways people respond to stress.

• Point out some negative things that some people have done, such as using violence.
• Talk with children about what else people could do. Explore the frustration and anger that seems to be responsible for some negative behavior.
• Parents and other adults can tell how they deal with stress themselves, helping children make plans for what they will do the next time they feel stress.

Work to preserve essential services for families, children, and communities. Remember that the most vulnerable individuals in any community—children, the elderly, and those with special health and learning needs—are affected first when hardships occur. Reductions in services have long-lasting, negative implications. Communities will be strong if they care for and support their weaker citizens.

Consult research findings and experts to make the most educated decisions regarding meeting the needs of children.

Communicate with decision-makers and the community. Children may want to write letters, draw pictures, and/or set up displays to express their feelings about the hurricane. They could share their thoughts with the newspaper, the mayor, or the President.

Developed by Carole A. Gnatuk, Ed.D., Extension Child Development Specialist; Kay Bradford, Ph.D., UK
Department of Family Studies; and Alex Lesueur, Jr., M.S.L.S., Staff Support Associate. Adapted with
permission from the fact sheet Children as Victims of Hurricane Katrina by Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D.,
CFLE, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN. September 2005
Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability,
or national origin.

11 free tips improve studying result

1. Study in Short, Frequent Sessions.
   It has been proven that short bursts of concentration repeated frequently are much more effective than one long session. So, even if you only have 10 minutes, DO IT. Take a break. Then study another 10 minutes. This “distributed learning” approach is highly efficient because it honors the way the brain likes to work.
2. The brain needs recovery and recharging time for “protein synthesis.” The rest periods are when your brain assimilates your effort. They are a powerful tool which many teachers do not acknowledge. To sit and study for hours and hours is not only boring, it creates fatigue, stress, and distraction. You cannot learn if you are fatigued, stressed, and distracted!
3. Take Guilt-Free Days of Rest.
   This follows the same principle as above, but on a longer, daily time cycle. The reason for resting is to refresh oneself. However, if you feel guilty (“I really should be studying”) then your precious rest period has been used to create more stress. The brain will not absorb new data if it is stressed. On days off from studying, really enjoy yourself and do not feel bad about not studying.
4. Honor Your Emotional State.
   Do not study if you are tired, angry, distracted, or in a hurry. When the brain is relaxed, it is like a sponge and it naturally absorbs data without effort. If you are emotionally stressed, your brain literally repels data. Forcing yourself to sit and study when your mind is on other things is a complete waste of time!
5. Review the Same Day.
   When you learn something new, try to go over the points the same day. If you wait a few days and then make efforts to review the material, it will seem much less familiar. However, a quick review later in the day will tend to cement the information into your brain so that the next “official” study session, you will recognize it and it will seem easy.
6. Observe the Natural Learning Sequence.
   Think of the activities you did when you were in nursery school. Using your whole arm, you probably performed the song that goes: “Put your right hand in, Put your right hand out.” Then, in kindergarten, using your hand, you might have been asked to draw lines or circles with crayons. Later, in first grade, now holding the pencil with your fingers, you drew smaller lines and circles to create letters. Believe it or not, this natural learning sequence, moving from large to small, coarse to fine, still remains effective even though we are now older. When you study, if you try first to grasp the big picture and then fill in the details, you often have a more likely chance of success.
7. Use Exaggeration.
   Why does a baseball batter warm up by swinging two or three bats? Why do runners sometimes strap lead weights to their legs? In both cases, exaggeration during practice makes the final result seem easy. This concept can be applied to studying anything. For example, if you are studying spelling, exaggerate the sound of the letters to help to remember them. So for studying purposes, “naive” would be pronounced “NAY-IVY.” By getting used to this exaggerated pronunciation, the correct spelling seems obvious.
8. Prepare Your Study Environment.
   If you require certain elements in your environment to help you study, try to always make these a priority. For example, do you need special lighting, silence, music, privacy, available snacks, etc.? Pay attention to what works for you and repeat it each time you study for best success.
9. Respect “Brain Fade.”
   It is normal for the brain to have an attrition rate and to forget things. This does not mean that you are stupid! Instead of getting mad about this fact, you should expect it and deal with it accordingly. See your brain as depositing layers of knowledge. As you place more information on top, the lower levels become older and less available to your immediate recall. The trick here is simply to review. Since we can anticipate the eventual fading of our memory, creating a review aspect to our study session will solve the problem. Once every two or three study sessions, simply review older material that you will be still needing to remember. Often, a quick overview is sufficient. Sometimes, a complete detailed study session of the older material is required. “Brain fade” is completely normal. (Unless you are gifted with a photographic memory, which is extremely rare.)
10. Create a Study Routine.
    Generally, if you schedule certain times of the day to study, you will get into a routine and accomplish more. If you just “fit it in” during your day, chances are that there will never be any time. An effective way to do this is to literally mark it down in your datebook calendar as if you have an appointment, like going to the doctor. For example: “Tuesday 3-4:30 P.M. — Study.”
11. Set Reasonable Goals.
    One of the main reasons people do not reach their goals is because they set them too high. If you set goals that are manageable, even if they seem too simple, you get in the habit of accomplishing them and gradually you can set higher goals. Also, recognize the difference between long-term and short-term goals. Set your vision on the long-term dream, but your day-to-day activity should be focused exclusively on the short-term, enabling steps.
12. Avoid the Frustration Enemy.
    Ironically, the quicker the person’s nervous system, the faster they learn. Yet, this fast nervous system also works overtime in being self-critical. So they are the ones who always think they aren’t going fast enough! In contrast, the “Type B,” less intense person who learns slower yet is more self-accepting, ends up ultimately learning the material in a shorter period of time. This is because he/she doesn’t waste energy blocking, getting upset, and thinking that they’re not good enough — they simply keep moving forward at a slower (but un-blocked) pace.

These tips were prepared by Howard Richman

ten tips for safer and smarter sex

It is always smart to talk about sex with your partner, a peer educator or a healthcare professional before you make the decision to have sex. While sexual intercourse always involves some risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease, there are definitely ways of making your sexual experiences safer. Here are 10 simple things you can do, say and think about now before you have sex:

1. Talk smart sex first. Have smart sex later. STIs and unintended pregnancies affect both partners, not just one person. If you feel uncomfortable discussing sex and birth control with your partner, then you shouldn't be having sex! Be straightforward and talk about sex beforehand so both partners know what to expect. It's easier to be rational and reasonable before you're in the "heat of the moment!"
2. Two are better than one! To help prevent both pregnancy and STIs, you should correctly and consistently use a birth control method like the Pill, Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection or diaphragm (for pregnancy prevention) and a condom (to prevent STIs). Condom use is essential, especially in relationships that are not monogamous. If your partner says no to contraceptives that may prevent STIs, like condoms, it's probably time to rethink your relationship. Nothing is worth the potential lifetime consequences of a few minutes of unprotected fun.
3. Don't feel pressured to have sex. Or have sex out of fear - fear of hurting someone's feelings by saying no or fear of being the "only one" who isn't doing it. Virtually everyone wants to fit in with his or her friends, but you should never compromise your values to be "part of the crowd." If you don't want to have sex, be honest, discuss the reasons behind your decision with your partner and stay true to you.
4. Don't abuse alcohol/use drugs if you think things could get physical. Drug use or alcohol abuse interferes with decision-making, which can lead to date rape, forgetting to use contraceptives or contracting an STI. The lowering of inhibitions that often accompanies alcohol use might make you think you'll enjoy sex more, but in fact, for a variety of biochemical reasons, too much alcohol actually makes sex less enjoyable for both men and women.
5. Use the buddy system. If you go to a party or a bar, go with friends and keep an eye out for each other. Agree that you won't leave with another person without telling someone. Sometimes a friend's "second opinion" could help prevent you from making decisions that you might regret later.
6. Remember that "no" means NO and passed out doesn't mean YES. Being drunk isn't a defense for committing sexual assault or a reason for being a victim of sexual assault. If you are too drunk to understand a person trying to say no; if you are too drunk to listen and respect a person saying no; or if you have sex with somebody who is passed out or incapable of giving consent, it can be considered rape.
7. Respect everyone's right to make his/her own personal decision - including yourself. There is no imaginary "deadline," no ideal age, no perfect point in a relationship where sex has to happen. If your partner tells you that he or she is not ready to have sex, respect his/her decision, be supportive and discuss the reasons behind it. It is everyone's ultimate right to decide when and how they have sex - be it the first time or the tenth time.
8. Be prepared for a sex emergency. Consider carrying two condoms with you just in case one breaks or tears while it's being put on. Both men and women are equally responsible for preventing STIs, using contraceptives and both should carry condoms. Sometimes things go wrong even when you try to do everything right. Maybe the condom broke or you forgot to take your birth control pill. Whatever the reason, women should know about emergency contraception or EC. Taken within 72 hours of intercourse, EC may prevent pregnancy.
9. The best protection doesn't mean less affection. Abstinence is actually the most effective way to protect against STIs and prevent pregnancy. But practicing abstinence doesn't mean you can't have an intimate physical relationship with someone - it just means you don't have vaginal or anal intercourse. There are many other ways to be intimate and not have intercourse - just be aware that alternatives, like oral sex, carry their own risks.
10. Make sexual health a priority. Whether you are having sex or not, both men and women need to have regular check-ups to make sure they are sexually healthy. Women should have annual gynecological exams. In fact, most campus doctors book months in advance - make your appointment today!