1. The Offshore Trend
2. What Makes Offshoring Possible
3. Offshore Impact to Homeland Techies
4. How to Beat Offshore Trend
US-based companies are sending more and more tech jobs to overseas. Hiring overseas technical talent to do the job is so called offshoring. In recent years, rush to offshore outsourcing has become a significantly growing trend in IT industry – significant enough to draw us to pay serious attentions. (more…)
IT is a fast changing world, which makes work environment stressful sometimes. Interviewers want to know how you react in such a situation. Obviously, employers want someone who performs well in stressful situations and can work under pressure.
It is not a matter of whether or not you can handle stressful situations or you like to work under pressure. Everyone can do it but no one wants it. To play the interview game, you just need to explain how have you dealt with stressful situations in the past, how have you used time management and problem-solving skills to reduce stress, and tell interviews you get used to work under pressure.
Sample Answer:
“I’m not afraid of stress and pressures. I can do a good job in difficult situations. In my previous job I always had to face stress when I was involved in multiple projects and deadlines were near. But I’ve built time management and problem-solving skills to handle this situation and I’ve learned how to adapt to changing situations and shift priorities. Personally I have a few ways to reduce stress: take a break to stretch, have a short walk in fresh air, or get a little exercise, they are all helpful. If I find that the stressful situation would affect my team’s productivity, I would discuss it with my manager.”
Do you have one or more breaks in your employment history? If so, that might be questioned. No matter what caused the breaks, you should not give negative reasons. You should also mention positive activities between jobs such as taking courses or finishing your degree.
Sample Answers:
“I decided to be a stay-at-home mom for my children until they were both in school. I’ve kept my skills current by doing part-time consulting work and taking online courses in Microsoft Exchange Server Administration. I’m ready and eager to re-enter the corporate world.”
This question makes no sense. No one would admit what he or she had done in this situation. But you can give a more impressive answer by saying you’ve done a lot of constructive things in spare time at work.
“First I would check with my supervisor to see if anyone else needs help. I could use the time for self training. I may research for new technologies, and check for the next release of our software tools. In the past I’ve used my spare to review my previous work such as a component or interface I developed, and find improvement options.”
Employers may ask this question when they think you may not quite be qualified. So you need to confirm that you do meet all of the required core qualifications. Use this as an opportunity to promote your best selling points–your relevant educational and professional qualifications, experience and skills.
Sample Answer: (more…)
Managers and HR would like to ask this type of questions. If the company is planning some changes, they may check this on you. They may have has bad experience, — they’ve had employees who were very resistant to change or who left the company rather than accept new policies or procedures.
It’s not question of whether or not you want to change or you can change. Facing this question you have no choice but saying that you handle change very well. It’s better you give a example of how you successfully handled a major change in your job before.
Sample Answer: (more…)
As with all other questions, be confident and enthusiastic when you answer this. However, don’t say you are the best qualified person, because you don’t know the qualifications of the other applicants!
Instead, emphasize several reasons why you should be hired, focusing on how your skills and abilities will benefit the company. Use that list you created of your best selling points.
Sample Answers: (more…)
In IT, job-hopping isn’t that unusual. During the Internet gold rush, people hop from one place to another for pay raise; in the bad time people are often kicked around. If your hopping history is recorded in your resume, employers may ask this question to find out if you are a quitter. No employer wants to invest time and resources in you if it appears that you have no commitment to them and will leave at the first better opportunity that comes along.
The key to answer this question is to give positive, at least acceptable reasons for frequent job changes. Make some acceptable cases such as spouse job relocation, health issues of family members, continuing education, or things beyond your control like company downsizing/reorg.
No matter what reason you give, don’t complain about former companies or bosses. If you did work on one or more jobs for quite long time, point it out. Also emphasize that your current goal is to stay with your next company for a long time.
Sample Answers:
“My husband worked as an IBM consultant, the company has transferred him to different regional offices around the country during these years. Every time IBM moved him to a new region, I’d relocate with him and find a new job. I feel this has actually been beneficial because it provided me with a broad range of experiences and expanded my knowledge and skills. He got a stable job in town this year and we’ve decided to make this area our permanent home, so I won’t be relocating again. I’m looking forward to obtaining a long-term position with a company such as yours.”
1. How to Avoid Layoff
2. Preparing for the Worst
3. How to Survive from Layoff
In IT industry, layoff is inevitable. Most likely, layoff has nothing to do with employee’s job performance but often caused by uncontrollable external situations. In such a highly competitive environment, companies were sometimes forced to reduce workforce due to economic conditions and business operation problems. Layoff is often a result of company reorg, merger and accusations, and so forth. (more…)
Experts cannot be wrong. Human Resources personnel, professional recruiters and various other career experts all agree: one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a job interview is to anticipate questions, develop your answers, and practice, practice, practice.
This website provides lists of popular IT job interview questions, and more importantly, the winning answers. Knowing the types of questions to expect can be very useful. But knowing how to answer those questions can mean the difference between getting the job and getting the “reject letter.”
Here’s the recommended strategy to help you win the job interview: (more…)