These days, interviews don't come easily. When you get The Call, make the most of your time -- and go for it!
1. Investigate the company's culture, markets, and finances. But resist the temptation to show off what you've researched: "I just read that you're about to embark on a new product line") unless you have a question directly related to your career.
2. Look like you belong. Learn the company's dress code and err on the side of conservatism. When you're seeking a senior position based on industry experience, you'll be expected to know the rules without being told.
3. Take charge of the interview! The most successful interviews feel like friendly conversations. When your interviewer has an agenda (such as the infamous "stress interview") stay relaxed. Think of playing a game.
4. Assume everyone you meet will provide feedback to the decision-maker. Some companies hand out comment forms to receptionists, security guards and potential peers who take you to lunch.
5. Communicate interest and enthusiasm, even if you're not sure you're ready to commit. You'll rarely have all the facts until you're looking at an offer.
6. Bring extra copies of your correspondence from this company as well as your resume, references, writing samples, portfolio and current business cards. Interviewers lose documents and conversations move in unexpected directions.
7. Create a relaxed, positive attitude by devising a realistic game plan. When your career isn't riding on a single interview, you'll have fun and make a confident, relaxed impression.
8. Write a thank you letter within forty-eight hours. Create a low-key sales letter, emphasizing how your qualifications match the company's needs. Present yourself as a resource, not a supplicant.
9. After you write the letter, forget about the interview. Email or phone only if you've received a competing offer with a deadline.
Occasionally you may make points with follow-up mailings. A sports team public relations applicant sent puzzles, games and press releases -- and she got the job. Use your intuition.
10. Keep notes of what you learned from the process. What worked? What would you do differently?
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Seven Tips to a Job-Winning Interview
The Alaska Cruise- A Living Memory
The Alaska cruise is a major attraction drawing vacationers with its majestic scenery, gleaming glaciers, exotic wildlife, and Native American culture. Ships are normally on a seven-day excursion package to Alaska and they stop at four ports on their passage, visiting Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay National Park. You may like to opt for an extended cruise-tour comprehensive package where you go by train around Alaska and it includes lodging and seeing the sights in Denali National Park.
Due to weather hindrances, cruises to Alaska are strictly restricted during the summer months from early May to Mid Sept. June, July and August are the peak seasons when the average daily temperatures reach up to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The best time to sail is May and September as temperatures soar around 50 degrees. Luxury vessels and midsize ships sail from Vancouver, BC and Seattle. At both embarkment and disembarkment points, you are able to visit the ports of Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.
The wonder world of Alaska is waiting for you. The mountains, waterfalls, the humpback whales and frolicking sea lions, the breathtaking forests, wildlife and the snowcapped mountains-is all there for you. Alaska is fascinating, explorative and full of new discoveries. Each new day ushers in new surprises. Alaska is the most memorable place on the earth. You see the breathtaking view of Mt. McKinley as it rises grandly over Denali National Park. Imagine yourself bird watching, hiking through the glacier waterfalls outside Juneau and sea kayak on the Tongass National Park harbor.
Alaska is a place full of adventures with its one hundred thousand glaciers and 3 million lakes. To enjoy the Alaska experience your first option should be a Gulf of Alaska cruise tour, along with Voyage of the Glaciers cruise with an option of land tours. You won't soon forget the Freestyle Cruising Alaska offers.
Experience the early frontier existence from America's oldest Russian Orthodox Church in the San Diego's Gaslamp District, and the vineries of Santa Barbara. You will enjoy a trolley car ride to Chinatown or Fisherman's Wharf. As your ship sails through Glacier Bay, you experience nature to the fullest.
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