On Inevitable Job Interview Question - Why Did You Leave?
Friday, 15 February 2008
On Inevitable Job Interview Question - Why Did You Leave?
The Inevitable Job Interview Question: "Why Did You Leave (Are Planning To Leave) Your Last Position?" and How to Deal With It.
This is a question that you can almost count on being asked at your next interview What the interviewer wants to know is, "Why are you available?"
The answer you give could set the tone for the rest of the interview. For instance, if you were to indicate that you were bored or burned out at your last job, the interviewer would quickly become concerned about your performance at this company. The question can be especially tricky if you've had less than favorable conditions regarding your departure from a company. Regardless of the circumstances that have caused you to move, or are causing you to think about moving, you should be prepared to answer this question.
Below are examples of possible answers to this critical question. After reading them try to determine which is the strongest answer.
(A) The company had a re-organization, and my department was eliminated. The work had begun to dwindle so it was not a complete surprise. I liked my job and the people I was working with so I had been hoping that it wouldn't affect us but unfortunately we were all let go. I would like to find a job similar to the one I lost.
(B) I am looking for a new challenge. I have been with my current company for two years now and don't find the work as interesting as I once did. I am looking for a company where I can take on new challenges and grow. My current job is dead-ended for me.
(C) Since there are no advancement opportunities within the company, I have decided it would be a good time for me to look outside. I have set some career goals for myself that I could not achieve at that company. What I am looking for is a job with a bigger company where I can contribute, but also move on a career path that has more responsibility.
I have been travelling to France for nearly 25 years- usually on holiday- to most of the main regions. I so enjoyed all my trips, that I decided to move lock, stock and 2 smoking barrels to start my new life actually living in this great country. I bought a 300 year old house, part of which was the original ramparts of the walled town. I am in heaven- the weather is 38 C as I write this article, the cicadas are screeching outside, and soon I shall walk the 30 yards to the river and swim in mountain water at a temperature of 20 C. Bliss.
Before I can frolic, let me share some stories, myths and information about one of the French’s and also its visitors favourite pass times. Food, glorious food. What is perhaps less widely recognized is that France's reputation for fine food is not so much based on long-held traditions but on constant change. In fact, the general expectation of good eating is a relatively new experience for the French. At the time the Bastille was stormed in 1789, at least 80% of the French population were subsistence farmers, with bread and cereals as the basis of their diet, essentially unchanged since the time of the ancient Gauls nearly two millennia before. In the mid-nineteenth century, following the demise of the aristocracy, food was a conspicuous symbol of social position, swiftly adopted by a new ruling class of bourgeoisie, who recreated the sumptuous meals of the very aristocracy they had once criticized. At the same time, two-thirds of Parisians were either starving or ill-fed, five times more likely to be nourished from vegetable proteins than from any meats or dairy products. The golden age of haute cuisine benefited only those at the very top of the social ladder. It took a world war at the beginning of the twentieth century to halt the gross inequality of wealth at the table, and to bring about a more even distribution of the nation's produce. The advent of improved transportation, especially by train, brought culinary revolution to the regions, and slowly the spreading affluence could put a chicken on every peasant's table. Eventually, tourism fanned the flames of change in France's commercial kitchens, as chefs were obliged to create dishes appealing to an ever-widening audience of British, Japanese, Middle Easterners, and Americans, as well as French travellers hungering for new experiences. In some instances the reasons for change in regional products were a pragmatic reaction to a decline in other industries (such a silk) or to the economic disaster brought about by the Phylloxera pest, which wiped out most of France's grape vines at the turn of the century.
If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the world-famous Bordeaux region of southwestern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you'll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a Bordeaux rose from an internationally renowned producer.
Among France's eleven wine-growing regions Bordeaux ranks first in acreage with about 50% more land devoted to vineyards than the second-place Rhone Valley. But it's more than just a question of acreage and volume. Bordeaux is widely considered as one of the top wine producing regions of the entire earth and has been for centuries. The wine reviewed below comes from somewhere in Bordeaux.
Bordeaux produces over seventy million cases of wine per year, about 85% red, 12% white, and the rest rose. That means a total of more than two million cases of rose wine per year. When I wrote the first Bordeaux article in this series, I Love French Wine and Food - A Bordeaux Merlot I stated that I didn't remember ever tasting a Bordeaux rose. I also promised to deal with this problem and I'll review Bordeaux rose in this article.
There are over twenty two thousand vineyards in Bordeaux englobing about 280 thousand acres. This means the average Bordeaux vineyard is less than 13 acres or somewhat more than 5 hectares, which is not a big area. About half of the vineyards produce their own wine, and about six thousand produce and sell their own wine, the rest selling wine through cooperatives. Bordeaux boasts about 60 different wine appellations ranging from fair-to-middling to world class with plenty in between. Some Bordeaux wine classifications date back to 1855 and have barely changed since, except that Baron Rothschild was able to get his best wine promoted from Second Cru (Second Growth) to Premier Cru (First Growth). Those in the know say that his Chateau Lafitte definitely deserves this honor. We'll review some fairly top-notch Bordeaux wines sooner or later, but the wine reviewed below is quite inexpensive. Interestingly Chateau Petrus, crafted by another internationally known Bordeaux wine producer holds no prestigious classification. However, Chateau Petrus is definitely world class and comes with a price to match, if the wine merchant will even look at your money.
Practice For Your Job Interview With This Two-Minute Drill
Friday, 15 February 2008
Practice For Your Job Interview With This Two-Minute Drill
Studies have shown that most people form an opinion about another's ability or competence within the first two minutes, and as much as 93% of a person's communication effectiveness is determined by style ¬ how someone comes across. In today's tight job market making a good impression is not only desirable - it is essential.
A look at a worst and a best-case scenario illustrates the point.
Worst Case
Jack is nervous about his interview as he sits in the lobby. Anyone watching can see the signs ¬ his foot is tapping rapidly, he is muttering to himself (obviously rehearsing his lines). He is slouched down in his chair. When he spots the interviewer coming down the hall he begins to wipe his sweaty hand on his pant leg. He stands, but as he does the magazine on his lap falls to the floor. When he bends to pick it up, he knocks over his portfolio and papers fall out. The interviewer stands to the side observing his behavior. She is thinking to herself, "This guy is a basket case. He doesn't look like the kind of person we want representing our product line." When Jack does pull himself together, he holds out his hand, but his handshake is weak. This interview is already headed in the wrong direction.
Best Case
Joann feels prepared and confident as she waits in the lobby for her interviewer. She knows she looks good, and, as a result, she feels good. She has practiced and prepared, and knows she can do this job. She will concentrate on selling herself as the solution to the employer's problems. As her interviewer approaches she stands and smiles looking directly in his direction. She notices the color of his eyes as she extends her hand. She gives a firm shake and smiles. "This is a very confident woman. Someone who shows real promise," is the thought going through the interviewer's mind. The first impression has been made ¬ and it is a positive one.
The faculty, staff, students, and trustees of The Culinary Institute of America mourn the passing of CIA ambassador and beloved former instructor Joseph Amendola.
Paul Prudhomme called him the “teacher that teaches the teachers.” Author Marion Cunningham paid tribute to him in The Fanny Farmer Baking Book. But to everyone who was ever fortunate enough to know him at the CIA, Joe Amendola was “Mr. A.”
An honorary alumnus of the CIA, Mr. Amendola was with the college since the very beginning, helping establish the newly founded New Haven Restaurant Institute (later The Culinary Institute of America) and becoming the school’s first baking instructor in 1948. In his 60-plus years with The Culinary, he was acting president, senior vice president, director of development, dean of students, faculty member, andsince 1989senior ambassador. He was one of the true mainstays of the college over the past six decades, and was instrumental in the tremendous growth of the CIA as it moved from New Haven, CT to the present home of its main campus in Hyde Park, NY.
Enjoy the flavors of New Orleans after you've packed up your beads and gone home
By Carol Penn-Romine
Once in New Orleans, when eyes-bigger-than-tummy syndrome overcame us, my husband and I found ourselves stuffed to the gills with mufuletta, and only halfway through the sandwich. The remainder of that gargantuan New Orleans specialty, a round of Italian bread filled with layers of salami and cheese and laden with garlicky olive salad, was too good to leave behind. Since we were heading for the train station to board The City of New Orleans and go home to Memphis, we decided our leftovers would make an excellent dinner. So we bundled up the other half of the sandwich for the return trip.
I personally love moles, but honestly I like some of them better than others. My favorite is the Mole Blanco (white mole) not very famous or popular yet, then the Mole Negro, (black mole) which is one of the Oaxacan varieties, Mole Poblano.
You may have a recipe for a mole but each time one is prepared each chili and seed gives the mole its own flavor, aroma and thickness. No two moles are ever alike or taste exactly the same. The chilies in the sauce are not going to have same "picante", (spice or heat). Chilies of the same type may be hotter, bigger or thicker so recipe amounts do not produce the same results.
The 7 Moles Oaxaca has the largest variety of moles. They are:
The faculty, staff, students, and trustees of The Culinary Institute of America mourn the passing of CIA ambassador and beloved former instructor Joseph Amendola.