career

10 Tips for How to Nail a Phone Interview

01/03/2018 By Meg Flanagan

Moving around the world as much as I have, I’ve had my fair share of phone or virtual interviews. At first, it seems great. You can totally chill on the couch in your PJs while securing a new job. I’m 100% there for that!

Until life intervenes and everything blows up.

10 Tips for How to Nail a Phone Interview

You need to prepare for a phone interview a little differently than how you prepare for an in-person one. Here are our tips to help you have a great phone interview.

Help Prevent the Implosion from Happening With These 10 Tips for a Phone Interview

1. Do your research

Before you even get on the phone, it’s important to know about the company and the position. You want this job and are super qualified. You need to communicate that over the phone.

Poke around their website quite a bit. It’s not just the tagline that you need to be able to quote verbatim. Instead, you should be very aware of their mission, history, focus and purpose.

Depending on the position you are applying for, you could also do specific research. Look at the position-related content on the company’s website. Another option, if you have experience in the field already, is to create a brief summary of what you anticipate the position to look like and how you would fill that role most effectively.

2. Practice Questions

Practice makes perfect, especially for a job interview. The most successful interviews I’ve ever had involved hours of prep work.

If you have been in this field before, you’ve likely been through this process as least once. Try to write down, from memory, questions that you’ve been asked at previous interviews. If you are new to this field or just entering the workforce, link up with a mentor or career prep center. They can help you to work through typical job interview questions.

Either way, write out your answers to each potential question. Next, find a partner to practice with. Your spouse, friend, mentor or career advisor will role play the interviewer. They’ll ask you possible questions; you’ll answer. Try not to use your written answers if you’ll be doing a video interview. Having your responses nearby is perfectly fine for phone or off-camera interviews, though!

3. Create a Portfolio

At an in-person interview for a professional position, you’d be sharing your best work with a portfolio or through samples. While you won’t be able to do this during your phone interview, it’s helpful to have your best work on hand for your own reference. It can help trigger anecdotes or create deeper answers to questions.

If your portfolio is digital, you can offer to share your files before, during or after your interview. This shows your dedication and commitment to the position.

4. Tech Logistics

When you plan the interview, you should confirm how everything will take place. If you are in the U.S. calling the U.S., you will have fewer issues. Operating OCONUS and connecting with the U.S.? You’ll need to nail down specifics, especially timing due to the different time zones.

Confirm the time and platform (phone, online call, etc.) 24 hours before your interview. This helps to bring you to the forefront of the interviewer’s mind.

5. Location Location

Where is this interview happening? I’ve always done better in a semi-professional setting where I am comfortable. The best bet is to sit at your desk or dining room table. For on-camera interviews, try to ensure good lighting.

Being in a professional setting means that you will have your career tools easily on hand. From jotting down notes on Post-Its to pulling things up on your computer, being at your control center gives you more, well, control!

6. Noise Control

Speaking of control, what are your plans for noise interference? I have 2 kids and a dog and live in a military flight path. I needed to have a plan for my phone interviews. There is nothing worse than having a rowdy toddler bust into your super serious chat!

If you can, hire a sitter or arrange for your spouse to be home. For things outside of your control, like a dog barking or noisy planes, explain them and apologize for these possible interruptions in advance.

You should also have a back-up plan in case of technical difficulties. If you are unable to connect, immediately email or message the interviewer to apologize and explain the difficulty. Then offer several options to reconnect right away.

7. Dress for Success

While interviewing in your comfy sweatpants sounds great, it might not work in your favor. Wearing relaxing clothes makes you more casual, which is the opposite of what you want to do on this call. Instead, put on real clothes.

I like to wear skinny jeans and a cute blouse for off-camera interviews. For video calls, I wear a professional button down, jewelry and do my hair and make-up.

When I feel professional I act professional. This can totally help you nail the ideal tone of voice and stay on-point.

8. Honesty Always

It’s important to upsell yourself, sure. But there is a fine line between a professional upsell and dishonesty. If you don’t have the exact experience the company is looking for, be honest. If you think you could quickly pick up that skill set or expand your area of expertise, tell your interviewer that.

9. Etiquette

Follow all common interview etiquette rules. Be prompt and prepared at the time the interview. Take water with you in case of coughing or a dry mouth. Ask thoughtful follow-up questions and share only as much personal information as appropriate to the position and the situation.

After the interview, immediately send a thank you email. Express how much you enjoyed speaking to your interviewer and why you are excited about this position. Close the email by saying that you look forward to continuing your conversation.

10. Be Yourself!

Most companies don’t want a robot doing the job. They want a person with quirks and a sense of humor. Let your light shine and toot your horn loudly. Maybe skip sharing your affinity for true crime, but totally crack a few (safe) jokes if it feels right.

Have you rocked a phone interview? Share your tips to snag a dream job!

National Professional Licenses Would Help Working Military Spouses

06/26/2015 By Julie Provost

You graduated from college and got your teaching license in one state and then the military moved you to another. You want to work but you can’t. Your professional license isn’t valid in your new home state. What a frustrating situation to be in. You are trying to support your spouse and your country and you can’t even work because of a state license, a professional license that you worked hard to earn.

National Professional Licenses Would Help Working Military Spouses

How much money have you spent transferring your professional license?

Sound familiar? There are several careers that military spouses have worked hard to have but they have to give up their job because of state licensing. The process to get a new license can be complicated as well as cost you time and money.

Some states allow out-of-state licenses, others do not. The regulations can be really random and there is no national standard. This isn’t only an issue for military spouses. Civilians move to a new state for their spouses’ jobs too and run into this same type of problem.

So what is the answer? Have you faced this state licensing problem as a military spouse?

It would be great if there was a nationwide license transfer standard. Where it wouldn’t matter where you got your license and where you live in the United States because you could simply transfer your professional license without a lot of issues. Doing this would allow you to find a job in your field without having to worry that you don’t have the right license. This change would make life a lot easier for military spouses who want to further their careers.

The good news is that there is a group trying to make this happen.

The Third Way is a D.C.-based Think Tank working toward an “Interstate Teaching Application.”

Each state would evaluate the person as well as their credentials. Those working as nurses, lawyers and other professions would be able to benefit from something like this too.

I know if I worked hard to get a license and start my career in one state, I would really like to continue to practice my field in another state no matter where the military might send us.

Related: 5 College Degrees Leading to Portable Careers

Life can be hard for military spouses when your career has to be put on hold. Not all spouses want to be a stay-at-home mom. There are so many spouses out there that want to continue working and can’t because of situations like this. It would be better for everyone if something could change to make it possible to easily transfer a professional license.

These changes would also encourage those who are in school or thinking about going to college to pursue one of these careers. They can continue their future careers more easily when the PCS comes. I know if I was debating a certain program, I would want to know that I could continue that career into the future, wherever we might go and whatever state the military might send us.

What do you think? Should professional licenses for nurses, teachers and lawyers be accepted nationwide?

10 Employment Programs to Help Military Spouses Find Jobs

02/25/2015 By Rachel Tringali Marston

There is a constant struggle with finding employment for military spouses. Honestly, that struggle was my biggest fear as I entered the lifestyle. I had a secure job that I absolutely loved, but when my husband received orders to move to another location, I was practically forced out of it because my employer wanted to keep someone in-house. Sounds familiar, right?

At the same time as planning a PCS, I was job hunting and re-evaluating my career path altogether.

I found that lack of consistency seemed to be the classic issue for military spouses. Jobs are difficult to maintain because of the transient lifestyle. National Military Family Association reports that 85% of military spouses either want or need work. To me, that’s a pretty high percentage.

Lucky for us, there is an arsenal full of programs to help ease the job hunt. Researching and utilizing the different programs have helped me understand the job marketplace that’s available to us. So, why not give them a try for your next job hunt?

10 Employment Programs to Help Military Spouses Find a Job

Which military spouse employment programs have you used?

Here are 10 different programs aimed to help military spouses find the perfect job:

Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP): This career portal matches military spouses to appropriate jobs for them. Employers partner with this program, so they already know that you’re a military spouse. Therefore, the job will most likely be one that you can take with you or is friendly to moving with more than one job site. The partnership also provides career advice and education for those that seek it.
Spouse Education & Career Opportunities (SECO): SECO helps military spouses set the career stage meaning it provides guidance and resources to help with mapping out the right career plan for us. If you feel like you need a change of pace or are in a job rut, this program might be something to consider. A counselor can give you the right tools needed to evaluate a career transition.
Veterans Career Transition Program (VCTP): Don’t let the name fool you. VCTP also serves military spouses. The program, run by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, offers free online courses educating and training students by giving them what they need once they enter the workforce.
Military Spouse eMentor Program: I’ve found that networking is a particularly powerful practice for military spouses because it gives us the opportunity to express our passion directly to potential employers. The Military Spouse eMentor Program is apart of the Hiring Our Heroes, a nationwide incentive to help veterans and military spouses find fulfilling employment. It allows us to connect with a registered mentor that’s eager to assist with anything and everything career-related. As you continue your search, your mentor could point you in the right direction to a serious job opportunity.
Career Spark: Also apart of the Hiring Our Heroes incentive, Career Spark is an organization created by military spouses for military spouses. The program helps build and tailor the ideal resume for you and gets you ready for the workforce by offering tips and advice.
Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN): This nonprofit organization offers employment readiness programs and job placement solutions for military spouses. They also provide great live training sessions online that are all designed to make you competitive in the workplace.
National Military Spouse Network (NMSN): This organization was my gateway to networking with other military spouses. I attended their career summit a couple years ago and I was immediately hooked with the idea of military spouses helping each other with career advice, professional aspirations and mentorship. They also have lots of resources and content available online.
The Milspo Project: The Milspo Project launched their Embark career conference last year and will be doing the same this year in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their goal is to raise awareness about the obstacles military spouses face and providing an event environment to empower. Are you near Fayetteville? It’s worth giving their career conference a shot.
In Gear Career: If it’s not obvious, I’m a huge advocate of military spouse networking. Networking is actually how I landed my job(s). In Gear Career takes networking to the local level by connecting career-minded military spouses together to create meaningful relationships. Don’t see a chapter in your area? They also have a virtual chapter.
Local Installation Employment Readiness Programs: When I first moved to the Fort Belvoir area, I was excited that they hosted local job fairs via the Employment Readiness Program (ERP) for both recently separated military members and military spouses. It’s a great resource that’s local to your installation that can assist with locating a job in your area. Keep a very close eye on base or post for events and/or opportunities.

Which military spouse employment programs have you used? Share your experiences.

Disclose or Hide? Should You Say You’re a MilSpouse During a Job Interview

11/17/2014 By Kimber Green

Do you tell potential employers that you’re a military spouse?

Should you tell an interviewer you are a military spouse? The answer depends on you. There are many professionals that will tell you both yes and no.

I have always been worried about this situation. I have a fantastic education, I’ve traveled the world and I am a hard worker. Unfortunately, my resume looks like Swiss cheese. Being part of a military family can create gaps in your resume. Moving is just part of the experience and I’ve always had a hard time finding the right job.

There are those questions that military spouses fear in a job interview. Why did you choose to move here? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Why do you have gaps in your resume and why are all of your jobs in different states? The recruiters I spoke with all had different answers.

These are average interview questions, but are they really fishing to see if you are a military spouse? It is illegal to ask an interviewee if they are a military spouse so there are some people that use these types of questions to get around it. My biggest fear in saying I was a milspouse was that they would skip past my other qualifications and see me as someone who is going to leave in a short time. Why hire me when they know they’ll be back searching for another person soon?

I would avoid any mention of the military during job interviews for this reason.

My answers would be that I moved to the area because I loved what it had to offer and I was looking for a place to put down roots. Why did I move so much and change jobs often or have gaps in my resume? I loved to travel and learn new things that would prepare me for the right career instead of just a job. At the time, I thought they were great answers and that I had side-stepped the questions. When I got the job I would always feel guilty that I didn’t tell them that I was a military spouse. They would find out all too soon that I was and surprisingly they have never been upset.

That’s when I realized that being part of the military family was not something I should hold back, but a great asset that I should utilize in an interview. Next time you are faced with these questions consider saying that being a milspouse has made you a flexible team player, a quick learner, a problem-solver and the person that they are going to hire.

Don’t worry too much about the interviewer focusing on the likelihood that you will be leaving in a few short years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the average number of years workers typically stay with a job, as reported in September 2014, was 4.6 years. Turnover is high these days as the younger generation chooses to explore different jobs and opportunities.

If you do want to get a leg up on the competition there is a program, Military Spouse Preference (MSP), which is designed to help spouses stay in the workforce and find jobs easier when PCSing. It only applies to positions with the Department of Defense (DoD) and for military spouses who meet specific criteria. There are two types of federal employment within the DoD. These include civil service or Appropriated Fund and Non-Appropriated Fund. Those that make the short list of candidates for a job are given preference. If a federal position with the DoD is something you are interested in, utilize this program.

What questions have you been asked in an interview?

What questions have you been asked in a job interview?

For tools beyond Monster.com and Craigslist, use military spouse specific search engines when looking for a job. Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) is there to help you hone your skills and find the right job.

MSEP, a targeted recruitment and employment solution, creates employment connections that provide companies with direct access to military spouses seeking career opportunities and spouses with direct access to employers who are actively recruiting. MSEP currently has more than 220 partners, who have hired over 60,000 military spouses.

Don’t be part of the 25 percent of military spouses that are looking for employment but haven’t found a job just because you are afraid of saying, or not saying, in an interview that you are a milspouse.

Have you experienced this disclosure dilemma in a job interview? How did you handle it?

Plan B: The Military Spouse Breadwinner

09/27/2014 By Kimber Green

While downsizing the military will trim the government’s budget, it’s leaving a lot of families wondering how they are going to pay the bills. Just last month it was announced that 550 Army majors were told they will be without a job next spring. Some of these soldiers were deployed when they were given the news. While some may have been told ahead of time that their job was on the line, for others it was a shock. How are they going to support their families? Where will they find work? Will their spouse need to return to the workforce as well?

Plan B: A Military Spouse as a Breadwinner

Are you a military spouse searching for a job?

DoD statistics show that 1 in 4 military spouses are unemployed and seeking work. Some may be looking for any position that will pay the bills while others search for positions in their career field. Either way, there are resources available to help you find the right fit for your needs.

Military OneSource is a great tool that has had tremendous success in partnering spouses with jobs. Since 2011 they have employed more than 60,000 military spouses. Their Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) website is a job database. Search your area for open positions or use their career advice section to help you get a start on your job search.

National Military Family Association has a wonderful collection of information including links to just about any military spouse employment channel. It has information on Military Spouse Preference and how to apply with it, how to apply for federal jobs, starting a home-based business and details on unemployment.

Military Spouse as the Family's Breadwinner

Have you been searching for a job?

Military Spouse Corporate Career Network is a free service to all military spouses including those of retired service members and caregivers to those wounded in war. They offer job placement and training. For those spouses that have been out of the career force, they offer gap skills training and apprenticeships.

Each branch of the military has a dedicated program to help spouses find employment. Each program offers classes and seminars on things such as resume writing and interview prep as well as tips on networking. They have dedicated counselors that you can meet with you one-on-one to go over your resume and answer any employment questions.

These are the military spouse employment programs:

Army: Employment Readiness Program

Navy: Spouse Employment Assistance Program

Air Force: Career Focus Program

Marine Corps: Family Member Employment Assistance Program

Coast Guard: Access CG SUPRT or call (855) 247-8778

These are all great resources for spouses returning to work. Remember your fellow military spouses as well. Networking is key these days to finding employment. Attend an FRG event and talk to some of them. They may know of an opening at their company they work for or have tips on how they found a job in that market.

Don’t jump right in and blast your “one size fits all” resume to every company in town. Take the time to tailor it to that specific job. An interviewer typically spends 30 seconds reviewing a resume before deciding if it goes in the trash or into the contact stack. Make sure you read the job posting and put those keywords in your resume. If it is sent electronically, there are computer programs that search for specific words and automatically filter out those that don’t contain them. Employers are busy and don’t want to waste their time on general resumes. Show that you are truly interested in the position by proving you took the time to read their job ad.

Military Spouse as the Family Breadwinner

Being the family breadwinner can be stressful.

Looking for a job can be scary, especially if your spouse will be losing his or her job. Will you now become the breadwinner of the family? Take some time and seriously consider what you want in a job and what is most important to you. How many hours will you be able to realistically work? What is the minimum amount of money you will need to pay the bills if you are the main source of income for the family? Are you willing to take an entry level position and work your way up? Start your job search early so you don’t end up rushing into a job that will make you miserable.

Finding a job to provide for your family is stressful. Utilize these resources and tips to help ease the process.