Wednesday, April 13, 2016

My Boss Has Been Fired... Now what?

Hi Everyone,


I got a reader question that I wanted to answer.  For any new readers and for BL, I cover the basics so much of what I say to BL may or may not apply to them.  However, for new EAs, and those climbing the ladder, I want to be as thorough as possible. Here is their question:


"Hi!


I came across your blog and found it so informative and interesting.


I landed my dream job a year ago, I absolutely loved it and had plans to stay for the very long-term.


That's when the universe lowered the boom on me! My boss, the CEO, got fired in September last year and the company still hasn't started the process to replace him.


The company has told me they value me and want me to stay on, but it's been seven months now and I don't have any work to do, despite offering my services to a variety of Partners.


My company has now recently started 'cost savings initiatives'. I know that I earn SIGNIFICANTLY more than any of the other Assistants so I'm feeling vulnerable. I want to put my CV on the market but I don't know how to say that I'm leaving behind because my boss has been fired, I don't know when they're going to replace him, I don't have any work to do and I'm worried I'm next on the chopping block!


Is there any advice you can give me?"


Saturday, April 9, 2016

Interview Styles: How I Aced A Job Interview Without Selling Myself

I’ve been on many interviews over my career and have encountered many different interview styles - the behavioral interview, the panel format with a few people interviewing me at once, the “mean” interviewer, and so forth.  One interview “style” that caught me off guard was the NON interview style.  It was almost like going out for coffee, as it was more of a hello, meet and greet, and ZERO questions were asked about my background, skill set, or qualifications.  My resume was not even looked at.  So in an interview style without the actual interview questions to answer and sell myself, it was hard for me to figure out my competitive edge.  In the end, I passed with flying colors and here’s how.