10 questions you should ask in an interview

When preparing for an interview, most applicants concentrate on formulating well-crafted answers to potential questions from their interviewers. However, not many realize it is just as important to prepare a few good questions they should ask during the interview.

What can asking questions in an interview do for you?
# Show your interest in the position and the company
# Give you an active role in the interview
# Offer explanations about the position and the company, which help you decide if you want to work for that organization
# Showcase the depth of your knowledge and help you guide the discussion into a particular area of expertise

"A few insightful, knowledgeable questions can speak volumes about you and distinguish you from other job candidates. "However as important as asking questions is asking bad questions, such as, 'How many vacation days does the company offer?' is worse."

Ask these 10 questions during your next interview:
1. What are the top three tasks you want the candidate to perform after being hired?
This gives you a concrete idea of the projects you will be working on if hired. Often job ads list general qualities and capabilities the position requires, but the answer to this question will lay out the actual specifics of the job.

2. Why did you choose this company?
The answer will help you determine the organization's strengths and weaknesses with this insider's perspective.

3. How do you see me benefiting the company?
This tells you exactly what they're looking for in a candidate and where they see your strengths.

4. Is there room for growth and advancement?
This points to your drive and initiative and underscores your intent to secure a career, not just a job.

5. Are there opportunities for professional training or further education?
This shows a willingness to learn and adapt as changes in the position or industry occur. Adaptability is very important in today's fickle employment market and may make you very valuable to the company should a reorganization occur.

6. How will I be evaluated and by whom?
This provides insight into the company's corporate culture and the department structure in which you will be working.

7. What is the general culture of the company?
This can tell you if you will fit into the organization. If they're strictly a "suit and tie" operation and you're all about comfort clothes, you may want to rethink the position.

8. Are there other job responsibilities not mentioned in the ad?
This reveals exactly what the ad meant when it said: "...and other duties as assigned." Will you be helping other departments in a pinch? Making coffee? These are things you should know before going any further in the candidate selection process.

9. When will you be making a decision on the successful candidate?
Knowing this helps you gauge when to follow up on the interview.

10. May I call you if other questions arise?
This keeps the door open for further communication.

The interview is an artful conversation designed to help both parties learn more about each other in an effort to decide if the candidate and the position are a good match. Use it as an opportunity to spotlight your accomplishments and determine if the job is right for you.

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Recession Proof Super Jobs

Economic downturn has got everyone giving a second thought to their careers. Those who have experienced a layoff are stepping forward with the help of research about what are the jobs that don't get affected by recessions? Others, who are still in jobs, are preparing to equip themselves with the necessary skills for these recession proof jobs and still others who are already blessed with such jobs are thanking god for placing them there. So, what are these so called 'recession proof jobs'? Time has prepared a list of 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs and here are the details of top recession proof jobs

Health Care: Hospitals/health care is such a field that will never go out of demand. Whether a doctor, nurse, or diagnostic lab technicians- they will be well placed any time. After all, health needs attention- recession or not! However, some of the sectors in health care industry too can get slightly affected by the recessions. For example, dentists can see more impact of recession with people putting off getting dental care.

Computer Systems Analysts: Almost all the organizations today depend on computer and information technology to operate their business efficiently. Computer systems analysts use their technological knowledge effectively to incorporate new technologies into their existing systems. Not only system analyst, in fact, all computer jobs are more or less safer in the times of economic meltdown.

Sales and marketing: Laying off people from sales team doesn't seem to be the strategy of any company. Sales jobs are one of the safest jobs when it comes to recession. After all generating new business in tough times is more than essential to survive.

Government Jobs: No country can afford to loose its administrative personnel at any time, leave alone recession. Government jobs, anyhow, are considered the most stable of jobs.

Accounting Jobs: There's only one situation when accounting jobs are in danger zone- when a company closes down. In every other situation, including recession, all companies need to keep finances and taxes in shape (howsoever bad is the condition of finance).

Want to know more about such recession proof jobs, read Top 5 Professions to Stick to During This Recession

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Top Work From Home Jobs

Not everyone likes to go office everyday and follow the instructions of boss at every step. Some others are there, especially the stay home moms, who can not go to office due to their responsibilities towards some other high priority in their lives at that certain point of time. That doesn't, at all mean that these people cannot earn a decent amount of money and be satisfied with the feeling of being self dependent. They can, of course, get 'work at home jobs.' Just go through the Checklist For Home Based Worker and then read about the following hot choices for work at home jobs that give both- flexibility to adjust your time and a decent earning for you.

Freelance Writing

If you are good with words, you have many options to explore related to freelance writing. Here, you work for a while and build up some or the other subject matter expertise. Web sites are looking for new bloggers every day. Many sites offer free blog space to anyone interested in writing. Blogging can, in fact, be a good way to earn extra income for all types of home-based workers. Freelance writers should remain flexible about taking on a variety of different assignments but should also specialize in an area, such as public policy, technology, or education. They can both, be a generalist and a specialist at the same time.

Mystery Shopping

Many reputable companies pay for reports and reviews of retail establishments and products. You have to just act as an average customer and then analyze a store or service. Doing surveys or participating in focus groups can be even more lucrative in terms of money paid for the job. Research companies search for reliable, articulate, detail-oriented people and pay well to those who consistently perform well. You love shopping or not, you have to anyway go to the shops for buying this or that. Avail this opportunity and be a mystery shopper or survey taker. Internet has made finding these jobs easier.

Online-Auction

If you know some craft and create them sitting at home, you can go for an online-auction career. Leave alone the crafts, if you want to sell some household items that you would otherwise put in a garage sale then also it is a good option. You can even look for bargains at local retailers and then auction them off for a profit on the site. Most of the auction sites have "how to" sections to teach beginners with the selling process. A little research further can help you know the best way to market your offerings.

Transcription Jobs

Transcription is converting voice-recorded reports, as dictated by professionals, into text format. This is more common in health profession (medical transcription) but not very uncommon in other general and legal fields. However, these jobs require a specific set of skills or experience. If you have such experience, you can very well opt for transcription job- it is one of the most sought after jobs today. If you don't have any such skill, you can even go for short duration training courses which have become very common these days. The institutes offering such courses also help in finding the initial home based transcription job and once you get experienced, you can move forward on your own.

Finding home based job has been made easier by Internet as never before but there is always a possibility of your being a victim of Work at Home Scams. Just be sure to avoid these scams and work happily at your own terms.

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Law Enforcement Jobs in India

Like in all other nations, a major portion of youth in India too is desirous of joining some or the other kind of law enforcement jobs. Main opportunity in this field is getting a job into the Indian Police Service (IPS). The police infrastructure in India is divided in three levels- State Police, Metropolitan police, and Traffic Police. Each state has a state police force, recruitment in which is done by the State Public Service Commissions through competitive examination. Apart from the state police, major cities have their own police forces which may or may not be subordinate to the state police. Delhi Police, Mumbai Police, Chennai Police and other police agencies in metropolitan cities are under control of Central Government and the officers here are the members of Indian Police Service (IPS) selected by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) through Civil Service Examination. The Traffic Police in the small towns is under State Police but in major cities, they come under Metropolitan Police.

The recruitment process for various levels of the police force is different. The Superintendents of Police (SP) are recruited every year by the UPSC through the highly competitive Civil Service Examination and are appointed into the Indian Police Service (IPS). The IPS officers are then assigned to a state force. The officers directly recruited in the State police force may also be promoted to the IPS. Superintendents of Police have to udergo a rigorous training for 44 weeks. The other levels of police force is selected by state or the central government and are trained at Police Recruit Schools. Inspectors are roughly trained for a year, and constables for about 9 months. The training staff for these schools is drawn from the police department itself.

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