When it's your turn do you know what questions to ask during an interview?

Congratulations on getting invited to the interview. Your efforts have paid off and you're part way through the job search process.

There's a lot of stress involved in preparing for a job interview. What to wear, How to answer the questions, what will they ask? Etc. and to think that when you make it to the end of the interview it's not over yet!

The interviewer will most likely ask one final question, "Do you have any questions?"

So what are the questions to ask during an interview?

Don't be surprised or caught off guard - be prepared as it will show the employer that you've done your research and you're interested in knowing if this job is a "fit" for you.

Unfortunately you can't ask the question you'd love to ask, "Do I get the job?"

One of the key questions to ask that may give you some insight into how you did is, "What are the next steps after the interview and the timelines?"

How soon can I expect to receive feedback on your decision? Will it be 1, 2, 3, or more weeks?

If the employer takes the time to explain their process to you, how many people are being interviewed, timeline for decision, and they'll be contacting you by phone then you should feel good about how you did.

If, however, they give indirect responses and tell you they'll let you know what their decision is by mail don't get your hopes up too high. It's not a foolproof way to gauge how the interview went, but it can give indications on the interest level.

Think about what you're looking for in a job and what it is about the organization you're interviewing with that interests you. Take the time to write a list of questions you would like to ask and have answered. Create a list of 10 to 15 questions. When asked if you have any questions pull out your list. Feel free to take notes by writing down their responses. It will impress the employer.

Use this sample list of questions to ask during an interview to generate your own ideas:

• What kind of advancement or promotion opportunities exists?
  
• Are most of your promotions done internally or through external hires?
  
• Are personal & professional growth opportunities encouraged by this organization? How?
  
• What is a typical workday like in this position? Hours? Overtime? Weekends / Holidays?
  
• Why are you hiring for this position?
  
• How many people have held this position in the last 3-years?
  
• What are the challenges that need to be faced?
  
• What is the vacation policy and benefits like?
  

As you can see the questions can be endless. Armed with this knowledge you'll be better prepared when deciding what questions to ask during an interview.

During these tough times a large number of people are re-entering the job market. Stay-at-home mothers going back to work, part-time workers looking for a full time position, people who took time out to get qualifications are finding that economic conditions are forcing them back into the job market. Time out of the workforce for a while can make one anxious about entering the job market again. The key element during your job interview is to emphasize the skills and experience you now bring to the position, what constructive steps you have taken to stay up-to-date during your absence and the new and valuable skills you have learned during this time that can be transferred to the workplace. Prepare for these interview questions about your re-entry into the workforce:

Your resume shows no work experience over the last few years. Can you tell me what you have been doing?

The interviewer is asking why you have not been working. It is important to be honest and straightforward about your reasons for deciding to take time out of the workplace.

For parents who have been at home raising kids this can be an frustrating question as you have most definitely been working! Use this as an opportunity to highlight the skills and behaviors you have learned during your time at home such as stress tolerance, planning, scheduling, time management and to confirm why you are ready and eager to return to employment.

If the reason is more complicated such as an illness or having to look after a sick relative you can still use the same approach. You may feel tempted to play upon your interviewer's sympathies and discuss the difficulties you have experienced but it is far wiser to provide a straightforward explanation of your time off. Explain why you decided to leave your job after careful evaluation of the situation. Detail what you learned from the experience. Assure the interviewer that the reasons have now resolved themselves and you are eager to be back at work and focused on your career. Steer the conversation back to your skills and experience and communicate clearly what you are able to offer to the position and the company.

The important thing to remember is that you do not have to defend your absence from the workforce, you only need to explain it. The employer wants to know and understand what your reasons were and why you are now looking to re-enter the job market. Address these concerns in a factual, non-defensive way and you can successfully move on to the next part of the job interview.

What did you gain during this time?

Remember that experience does not have to be paid to count as valuable and relevant. What new skills have you learned during your time away from the workforce? What steps did you take to keep current with industry news and happenings. Did you take any courses or programs?

In a confident and positive manner discuss your experiences and why they would make you a good employee. Refer to skills such as budgeting, planning and organizing, prioritizing that you learned while raising your family. These can all transfer to on-the-job skills. Doing community work or looking after a sick relative means learning to adjust to different demands and needs.

Be positive about how busy and active you have been, regardless of why you were not formally employed.

What makes you the right candidate for this position?

This is when you refer to your past employment history. Make sure that you highlight why this previous work experience is still relevant to the position you are interviewing for today and to the work environment you will be in. Focus on your own competencies, such as problem-solving, planning, organizing and communicating, that you bring to the position. Emphasize your maturity and adaptability, your re-commitment to your career and your willingness to work hard and learn quickly.

Re-entering the job market holds a number of challenges, but with perseverance and preparation they shouldn't hold you back in your job interview. Use this opportunity to show them you're the best person for the job.

Job hunting can be a long, arduous process and very frustrating. There are always jobs available but, unless you are desperate for an income, you will want to find the perfect job where you can use your skills and experience.

This article gives some advice on how to go about finding the ideal job.

1.Recruitment Agencies - Recruitment agencies can be a great help when searching for jobs because they are experts at matching people to vacant positions. Recruitment agencies will send your CV out to relevant employers, arrange interviews for you and keep you up to date on progress. Some recruitment agencies offer services like CV polishing or writing and help with interview techniques. Take advantage of these services if your recruitment agency offers them.

2.Networking - If you have friends or family who work for a company you would like to work for, ask them if there are any openings. You may be able to find out about jobs before they are advertised and friends and family may even put in a good word for you. You will also get inside knowledge about the company, the boss, conditions, salary and how interviews are held.

3.Classified section of newspapers and magazines - Local and national newspapers advertise job vacancies as do specialist magazines for particular professions. Send your CV off to relevant companies or contact them for an application form. Always follow up applications by phoning the company to check that they have received your application.

Newspapers will also have adverts for local recruitment agencies.

4.Company Websites - Although some companies will use recruitment agencies for their staffing requirements, most will have a company website listing current vacancies. Make sure that you check websites regularly for updates and that you follow the set procedure for applying for a job.

5.Job Search websites - With these sites you can search for jobs online which meet your criteria and are in a specific area and with a specific salary.

6.Job fairs or exhibitions - Go to job fairs or exhibitions with plenty of copies of your CV printed out on good quality A4 paper. Chat to potential employers and give them your CV.

7.The telephone book, Yellow Pages and local business directory - Use these directories to find the contact details of potential employers. Phone their personnel departments to ask about current vacancies and, even if they do not have any current vacancies, send your CV in for them to keep on file.

8.Offer to do voluntary work or job experience for a company so that they can get to know you.

The very best thing to do to increase your exposure is to register with a recruitment agency, or a few recruitment agencies, and then do all of the above. If you are motivated and make an effort, you will find a job much quicker than someone who only tries one or two ways of finding a job. Ask your recruitment agency if they have any further tips or advice on job hunting.

Everyone wants the key to a successful career, right? I always did and I'm sure you do too. None of us want to be left at the starting gait feeling disenchanted and broke. Your career path is taking a trip down many different roads hoping to make 'right' choices in the decision making process.

Many times you may have made wrong turns in the road but got back up again. Your future success is controlled by a willingness to never give up. None of us are guaranteed anything in the workplace. Even when we've done great work and exceeded all the usual expectations of the boss... we can still get outsourced ' downsized or simply fired for no good reason without recourse.

Get back up and go again. Your employer is the loser not keeping you as an employee. Your good attitude will carry you on to the next level of success in your career path. Nothing can stop you.

Only once in my long career was I fired from my position but it turned out to be the BEST thing to happen for me... and to their demise [failure].

You are the IN-CHARGE person to make decisions about your future career path. Don't let folks tell you otherwise. As you've heard before, if YOU don't do it then it'll never get done... understand that no one will do it for you.

Each step or action you take is one move closer to your career journey arrival... it's like a road map on your way to your destination.

Over and over.... it's all about TAKING ACTION. Everything you read is... "losers wait for a miracle while the action taker gets the job."

Which one are you? Are you a procrastinator? Are you unwilling to take responsibility for yourself or to care enough to get going now?

Success may mean making 100 phone calls; 200 resumes sent into the marketplace; 20 interviews may be in your future to arrive at your new career position... does it matter? Not really if you get the end results desired.

Your #1 goal is to have SUCCESS in the search for your Dream Job. Do not let anything or anyone get you sidetracked. It's all about FOCUS, so if you have ADHD or ADD... get professional help. There's nothing wrong with asking for guidance in your career search.

Methods change - there are some who use VIDEOS - audio - the latest in marketing techniques to promote YOU to a possible new employer. There's NO guarantee that one idea or method will work better than any of the others.

DO something EVERYDAY. Even a wrong decision is better than doing nothing but feeling sorry for yourself and wasting your time.

You're losing income every day of unemployment or staying in the wrong career path. Get focused on your journey now, not later.

In the past few years, an enormous amount has been learned about the human brain and its architecture. It is possible to use these insights to interview and communicate more effectively and memorably.

To understand the way human beings think, it is necessary to understand a little bit about the human brain and its architecture - how it responds to and represents information.

The Brain's Duality

Essentially, there are two sources of volition within the brain - two parts that, of all the parts of your body, are capable of generating instructions - the neocortex and the amygdala.

Every other part of your body - all your muscles, all your bones, all the glands, 99% of your neurology, are made for carrying out and supporting instructions.

This duality exists because the brain, as an organ that has evolved to survive, has developed to divide all human experience into two categories: non-danger and danger.

These two circumstances - non-danger and danger - require completely different responses and, by inference, completely different responses.

Non-danger and Danger

The experience of non-danger is dealt with by the Neocortex. The neocortex is the "rational" part of the brain, it exists within the conscious and operates according to what most of us would consider rational principles. It is the higher part of the brain, responsible for logic, reasoning, higher concepts.

The experience of danger, however, is entirely different. Danger has a completely different set of rules and demands. A major distinction is that danger has generally required speed i.e. the lion is going to gobble you up in a few seconds, the oncoming car you see out of the periphery of your vision is going to hit you into next week in half a second.

Danger also requires a fire alarm - the ability to override whatever else you may be daydreaming about and force you to focus on what is happening.

The Logic of Emotion

These two qualities, speed and the quality of a fire alarm, are the keys to understanding what emotions are, how they work, and by extension what people will remember and what they will be motivated to do.

The need for speed and the need for a fire alarm are fulfilled by the amygdala. For one thing, the amygdala is very powerfully wired into the rest of the brain, the neural paths coming out of the amygdala are very wide and thick. As a result, the signals coming out of the amygdala are very powerful, very difficult to resist. This is what we mean by "emotion."

Consider walking down a dirt path. While enjoying the scenery you suddenly see what appears to be a snake. You become agitated, alarmed, frightened - whatever word you choose to use - in half a second. However, upon closer inspection, you see that what you thought was a snake was actually a stick or a shadow. It now takes you a few minutes to calm down.

This is what we mean by the directionality of the brain's architecture.

The other requirement, the need for speed, is crucial to understanding the amygdala and understanding the logic of emotion.

Since the amygdala must be fast, it is restricted to a corner-cutting, crude logic that is completely different from we would generally call rational thought.

Be Visceral, Specific, and Personal

Faced with the need for speed, and so restricted to a quick corner-cutting logic, the amygdala is not capable of certain higher concepts. For example, the amygdala doesn't have language. It understands impressions, sensations and feelings, but not words.

Neither can it understand the concept of plurality, the concept of more than one. This is why, for example, when certain politicians and demagogues want to inflame an audience they will use entities and images which are singular .i.e. the white man, the welfare queen.

Understanding these concepts allows us to craft presentations that are more emotive and effective and allows us to distinguish ourselves from a crowd of competitors.

Descriptions which appeal to the senses and emotions tends to have a higher impact than dry factual overviews.

"What the toughest work problem I've ever had? Well, my phone rang at 3AM once. My boss sounded like he was about to have a coronary. A huge fire at a facility in New Jersey had melted highly refined pipes that we were counting on."

Remembering that the subconscious reduces everything to a singular, using singular images, especially images that evoke fear, allow us to connect more directly into this "reptile brain."

"Am I comfortable in a high-pressure environment? Until you've seen a raging options trader whose trading station has just crashed, you can't imagine what pressure is."

Not Just What You Say But How You Say It

Another crucial aspect of the brains architecture that affects the impact of communication is how different senses are wired into the brain.

Vision, because it tends to connote what is immediate and imminent, enters our consciousness in a way that imputes more credibility. Consider the difference between appealing to a persons vision, as opposed to another sense such as hearing.

"I saw that the server was down and knew I had to act fast..."

"I had heard that they were having a problem in the data center..."

Insights offered by cerebral neurology allow us to communicate in a way that is effective and memorable and give us the chance to do more than simply smile and hope we "click" with people whose impressions of us influence our future.

Since the massive rise of job boards like monster, reed and many more finding a job can be quite impersonal and this has taken away the personal element that many people strive for.

Finding the right UK specialist recruitment companies and websites can help you get a job and save you time, stress and money.

Most of the specialist recruitment consultants are qualified in, or practised within skills in a particular market and offer a specialist service to their customers which helps.

Many of the UK's specialist recruitment consultants are based in London, UK also able to offer more than just traditional recruitment services but also helping with employment law and business advice.

Invariably Independent Recruitment Company offer tailor made solutions to our clients and candidates a like with many Consultants offering confidential, knowledgeable and career focused advice combining their own career background with recruitment expertise.

Professional industry-trained recruitment consultants can help you fill your to offer a fully-integrated approach to the recruitment process who have a wealth of skills to offer the highest standard of recruitment services for temporary and permanent staff.

One big benefit of the internet is being able to review general salary data (UK) for many jobs and this can help many people recognize that the job on offer offers good salary and overall package.

Many recruitment companies flourish because of the quality of their consultants but little reward them adequately for their efforts and this can be a large commercial advantage for the ones that do because the consultants are building relationships with both candidates and clients which has a massive benefit for the business in the longer term.

Using a recruitment company is effectively outsourcing a large chunk of the process and this will save you time. Another benefit is that in some instances, you can try out temporary workers before employing them permanently. In some instances you can often get a rebate (within certain time periods) and be provided with another candidate if the first candidate you take on is unsuitable. Recruitment agencies usually pay temporary workers directly and take care of tax issues, which again will save you, time.

Jumping jobs is not easy for most of us and finding the perfect job is something that incurs time, energy and stress so getting it right for the candidate and the company is essential and this is where specialist recruitment firms earn their fees and offer the best service to compete in the long term.