SURAHMIN BUSINESS

Let me introduce myself. I’m a young businessman situated in the UK. I started my life writing and producing music at an early age. As with any freelance job the hours you work are long and the money little, even when you hit some considerable success. I decided to take what id made and with the help of other people invest into the restaurant industry.

My partner, a qualified barrister, had previous experience in catering. She was also disillusioned with the legal industry so we decided together to do everything we could to take the plunge.

Two years and a lot of very hard work later, it looks like we’re going to have to close down.

So, why, you might ask, would essentially a failed restaurateur have anything to tell me? Oh boy, I could provide more valuable information than any book you can buy off the shelf right now. In the last two years we have tweaked our businesses so much I could tell you angles of attack that work and some that would be a complete waste of your time that would be invaluable.

We opened a sushi restaurant in a reasonably small but affluent city in the North West of England. Unlike the states, sushi is not on every single corner or Side Street. In the UK sushi is very much only popular in the big cities. For this reason we decided to take on a reasonably small unit and attack the gap in the market.

We were right; the City was perfect for sushi. We were a huge hit. We were busy when other places were not but we generally followed the trend. If everyone was busy so we were. If the biggest restaurant in town were quiet…so were we.

There is no way to convince people to eat if they don’t want to – humans are funny creatures like that. NEVER think you’re going to buck the trend and fill your restaurant at quiet times, you will not. Never think you can put offers on to get people in, you might increase trade a little but you’d be surprised at how hard (virtually impossible) it is to get people in at off peak times. Even if your restaurant is unbearably busy at peak times people will still want to eat at that time. Personally I hold off, I hate the crowds, I hate queues, and this doesn’t apply to the general masses though.

Competency Based Interviews

The job market is difficult at present and will continue like this for some time. In some industries the job market is continuing to get worse with no sign of improvement.

If you are applying for jobs sooner or later you will come across competency based interviews.

Competency based or situational interview techniques used a structured approach that has proven to be more effective and accurate than unstructured interviews.

You will notice that you will send off a lot of job applications and receive very few job interviews. It is vital that you perform well with the few opportunities you will get.

You need to understand competency based applications and interviews as this is a method being used by all sorts of organizations big and small.

The idea is relatively straightforward, you will be asked to give examples from your career of when and how you exhibited a particular competency. The competency can be anything from communications to leadership to initiative to ethics. The competency will vary with the job and there are few clues provided by the interviewer as to what they are looking for.

You will be assessed on how relevant your example is did it demonstrate the competency adequately, is it sufficiently current and does it show a transferable skill. The interviewer will be using a pre-determined scoring system and will ask every candidate exactly the same questions. This allows a direct comparison between every candidate and introduces an impartial assessment.

So, how are you going to make use of the few interview opportunities you will have?

What you must do is research and prepare. It is highly unlikely that you will be provided with the competency based questions in advance of the interview. You need to look at the job description in detail, information about the organization you are applying to and consider the seniority of the position. From this research you should be able to determine what competencies the interviewer is likely to be seeking. Having determined that write down the examples you can provide demonstrating that you have those competencies.

Employee Training: It’s not a given that hiring managers understand legal requirements that apply to the hiring process. That’s why HR professionals need to “train, train, train” managers to interview correctly.

HR professionals need to insist that managers review the job description of the position that is being filled and give managers a checklist of the things they must not ask during an interview, such as anything having to do with race or ethnicity, health or disability, marital status, pregnancy, and in some states, sexual orientation. Make sure managers ask questions that are job-related and ask all candidates the same questions, which provides a real basis for comparison.

Asking, “Do you have children?” might be twisted into evidence of a bias toward working mothers and asking “Where are you from?” could be used as evidence of national origin bias. It may be an incredible leap in logic, but it happens all the time. So keep the conversation work-related and avoid the chance of someone twisting your words around.

Also, have more than one person involved whenever possible in the interview process. This provides a check to ensure that one manager isn’t “going rogue,” and an additional witness is there in the event there is any he said/she said.

Managers usually overlook the fact that an interview is an employment test, not just a casual conversation or a contest to see who they like and get along with the most. For many jobs, the person who gives the most fun or interesting interview may not be the best qualified for the job but is often selected because she is the one who the manager most enjoyed interviewing. The problem is that, unfortunately, this can often be the person who was most like the decision-maker and can lead to results with adverse impact.

So here is today’s Daily HR tip: Train managers involved in the hiring process. Nobody should be doing any interviewing without some basic training as to what they can and cannot ask.

Are you happy about getting an interview call from your dream company yet worried about what will happen? Are you not very sure whether you should read job interview tips or just be yourself in the interview? Is it confusing to decide whether interview tips will really make a difference or just waste your time and effort? If an answer to any of the above questions is yes, I can assure you that you have reached the right place to get a solution to all your queries and doubts. This article will explain whether or not interview tips can make a difference.

When you search for interview tips online, you get thousands of results from all across the world. Even your elders, friends, relatives, colleagues, etc. who have landed up in a good job are eager to share some interview tips with you. But the question is should you act according to what others have to say or just do what you feel is correct? Here is the answer. There is no harm in learning from the mistakes others have made in the interview and avoid missing a good opportunity. Indeed tips on interviews are useful, if you absorb what is required and strain away the irrelevant portion. Every job interview is not similar. You must use your own presence of mind and say and behave in the way you believe in, rather than showing under confidence in speaking what someone else feels to be the best answer. Preparing for an interview is important and one of the best ways to do that is by researching about the company you have an interview with. Tips for interview are useful if the source is reliable. Not everyone is competent enough to advice on how to behave, what to wear, how to talk, how to sit, etc. during an interview. Only someone who is experienced enough and has seen both success and failures during an interview can be the best guide. It’s a tough job to find a reliable source.

Resume Cover Letters are an important addition when submitting your resume. It’s common for most job seekers to omit the cover letters on their resume submission. I advise you to have one if you’re directing your resume to a targeted company or recruiter.

1. Research target company-Use the title and name of the targeted company Human Resources or manager you’re writing to. If that’s not possible” whom it may concern” is less effective but still works.

2. Brevity of content-Short is the best way to approach a cover letter. Identify your skills and experience and how they satisfy the needs of the position. These company requirements can be found in the posted job description off the internet, their web site or newspaper.

3. Give explanations-If you need to address something in your work or schooling past experience, this is the place to address these issues.

4. Remember the objective-Keep your letter focused on why you are qualified for the position. It’s intent to secure an interview with the targeted company or individual. The cover letter is the calling card to peak their interest not to get a job, that’s the objective of the interview.

5. Proof read-correct grammar and misspelled words or your effort will probably in vein. These issues are most likely to terminate your opportunities with this employer. There is zero tolerance from employers for sloppy work. Follow these simple rules when drafting your cover letter.

The fact that you took the time to preplan your introduction with a personalized cover letter can make a significant difference in your job search. IT JUST MIGHT BE THE DIFFERENCE!