Sum
mer’s over, which for many means the prospect of the school bell ringing in a new academic year. But it’s not just kids who get caught up in the stress of September. Parents everywhere will be rejoining the daily commute to the office after vacation season or maybe considering a move back to the workplace after time off caring for young children.
You might not be a kid anymore, but according to a recent study by Staples, almost 90% of adults can revisit their school days just by smelling nostalgic scents such as chalk or sharpened pencils. Whether it’s the sights, sounds or smells of back-to-school season that take you back, why not take a trip down memory lane and channel your own inner school child to help you get organized for a whole new career season? (Click here to tweet this thought.)
Whether you’re looking for a new job or hoping to advance in your current position, here’s your syllabus:
If You’re in Interview Mode…
If you’ve secured a job interview (or interviews!) this fall, why not take inspiration from your old back-to-school routines to ensure you’ll have everything you need to arrive feeling prepared and professional?
1. Create a Supplies Checklist
Think of everything you might need before and during the interview. This could include:
- Map/directions to your interview.
- Travel tickets/loose change for parking.
- Copies of your resume. (In the digital age, many forget this important step, but it remains part of a polished interview performance.)
- A portfolio of your best work. (Consider using Evernote or a similar app to create a portfolio that will impress.)
- Pens/pencils.
- Notebook.
2. Make Like Your Middle School Self and Do a Dry Run
Just like starting at a new school, if you’re heading off to an unfamiliar workplace, you would be wise to practice your journey ahead of the big day.
Memorize your route and time yourself to avoid getting lost or arriving late. Most smartphones these days have apps that will map out a route for you, as well as provide you with estimated times of arrival. Or, if you prefer, good old MapQuest is still tops for directions you can print out and bring with you.
3. Be Prepared for Anything
Kids aren’t the only ones who can split a seam, lose a button or spill something down their shirts. Heading to your interview knowing you’re prepared for anything will give you the extra lift in your step you’ll need to rock it. Carry a small sewing kit with you to avoid last-minute slipups. A spare scarf or neck tie could be just the thing to hide unsightly stains when you don’t have time for a complete outfit change.
4. Get Comfortable
If you’re walking or taking public transport to your interview, make sure you wear smart, flat shoes that can be slipped easily into your bag and changed for fancier shoes on arrival. While those new heels or Italian loafers may look snazzy, arriving at your interview with blisters could mean that you’re less than your usually charming self.
5. Reach for the Gold STAR
A dynamite way to prepare for tricky interview questions is to practice with the popular STAR method. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Results. Prepping for interview questions with STAR in mind will help you be thorough and organized in your answers.
Let’s say you’re asked to describe a project you were proud of. First, think of a meaningful or challenging work event. This is your Situation. Your Task is the role that you played in the situation–needing to find money for an already tight budget, for example. Your Action is the steps you took to resolve the Situation. Finally, your Results are the final outcome of your actions.
Practicing with STAR will ensure that you answer questions in a coherent and analytical way, which is sure to impress your hiring manager.
6. Remember, There Are No Stupid Questions
Teachers love to remind students of this, and it holds true in interviews as well. Usually, interviewers allot a small amount of time for questions at the end of the interview session. When your potential manager asks if you “Have any questions for us?”, you would be wise to have some well-thought-out questions on hand.
A knockout strategy for devising appropriate questions is to look over the company’s website for interesting news and developments. Framing your question in the following way shows that you’ve done your homework and are engaged in what goes on in the organization: “I read on your website that employees were involved in X activity last year. Is this a typical opportunity for employees here?”
Not only does asking questions demonstrate your engagement; it can also give you just that little more time with the interview team to let them get to know you.
7. Relax and Be Yourself
Once you get to the interview, all you need to do is relax and be yourself. First impressions count, so act confident and smile from the outset, then let your skills and experience do the rest.
Helpful tips to calm nerves before an interview include focusing on praise you have received recently and taking calming breaths. Many interviewees find that typical waiting room behavior such as phone-checking and going over last-minute notes can actually make them more nervous. Whatever tactic you choose to employ to calm yourself, remember that an enthusiastic smile goes a long way!
If It’s Time for a Career Boost…
If you’re already employed, a new school year can present a fantastic opportunity to review your career plans and take those all-important steps toward promotion or career progression. As you know, projects tend to slow in the summer months and ramp up again in autumn, so now is the perfect time to harness some of that seasonal energy.
Here are some top tips to help you kickstart your career:
1. Take It Easy
You might be a little rusty after a relaxing summer vacation, so go easy on yourself for the first few days. Avoid scheduling heavy meetings or major deadlines as you likely won’t have time to prepare well and could make mistakes.
2. Make Time to Catch Up
Catch up with colleagues to find out what you might have missed while you were away. Once you’re up to speed on any developments, prioritize any upcoming action items and work through them. It can be tough to prioritize if you’ve been out the office or missed a recent development, so sit down with a boss or trusted colleague to make sure your priorities align with the company’s larger goals.
3. Identify Opportunities
Now it’s time to turn your attention to your career prospects. Talk to your line manager or HR department about potential job openings that could help you get ahead or routes to promotion in your existing role.
Make sure you prepare for these conversations in advance. Rather than waylaying your boss or HR agent by the microwave, set up a meeting with them, and be upfront about the fact that you want to talk about career paths. Come prepared with information about positions you’re interested in, as well as evidence to support your case. Looking at your company’s HR site or the internal openings section of your company website is a great place to start your search.
4. Set Achievable Goals
When you were a schoolchild, you were probably admonished not to cram for that test or try to do a whole project in one night. Instead, you were told to do a little bit each day. The same goes for setting goals at work. Instead of trying to tackle everything all at the same time, draw up a list of things you need to achieve in order to move up the career ladder, and set yourself a timeframe in which to achieve them.
5. Rise to the Challenge
Just like when you were a sophomore or junior in high school, advancing in your career is a lot like moving up to the next grade, so prepare for your new challenge in the same way. Take extra classes or set yourself homework so you can polish your skills and qualifications while your energy is still boosted from your vacation. 2013 has been dubbed the Year of the MOOC ( massive open online course), and you can use the plethora of online courses available to help you take your career to the next level.
6. Reflect and Review
Put regular time aside to reflect on your goals and assess your progress so far. You could do this in your own time or schedule monthly meetings with a mentor or manager.
Whatever your career plans, a few positive steps will help you appear organized and professional from the outset and impress potential and existing employers alike. It’s going to be a great year!
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