Вы недавно заполнили анкету, претендуя на работу вашей мечты, и сейчас находитесь в состоянии нервного ожидания и разноречивых предчувствий о предстоящем собеседовании? Или, возможно, Вы уже получили долгожданное подтверждение даты и времени встречи с вашим будущим нанимателем? Тогда продолжайте читать эту статью – она для Вас.

Как сказал великий Бенджамин Франклин, провалишь подготовку – подготовишься к провалу. Поэтому мой главный совет: нужна предварительная качественная подготовка, которая должна стартовать не за неделю или пару дней до Вашего собеседования, а в момент, когда Вы определились со своим выбором.

И дабы потом не пожалеть об этом выборе, начните с глубокого всестороннего изучения компании, в которой Вы собираетесь служить, а именно: ее финансовой мощи (или немощи), ее административного штата (всегда дотошного и въедливого), ее конкурентов и деловых сделок (успешных или провальных). Отправной точкой могут служить независимые отчеты, выполненные в Mintel и Euromonitor.

Эти отчеты, зачастую, содержат подробные списки конкурентов и оценку их рыночного потенциала. Помните: каждая индустрия (в бизнесе, промышленности, производстве) имеет свой четко очерченный круг авторитетных отраслевых изданий, которые и следует читать в первую очередь. Помимо этого, на данной стадии сбора информации, полезным источником может служить социальная сеть для поиска и установления деловых контактов LinkedIn: здесь Вы можете разыскать действующих и бывших работников компании, возможно договориться с ними о краткой, информативной  телефонной беседе.

Настоятельно рекомендую отслеживать новости компании и отзывы о ней в масс-медиа. И поможет Вам в этом система Twitter, благодаря которой Вы будете в курсе всех деловых новостей, достоверных фактов и слухов относительно «предмета» Вашего интереса.

Второй совет: постарайтесь проникнуться сутью и содержанием того дела, которым Вы собираетесь заниматься, будучи принятым на работу. При этом Вы наверняка натолкнетесь на проблемы, факты и данные, которые не в состоянии самостоятельно осмыслить или прояснить их смысл до конца. Систематизируйте их (обязательно в письменном виде), чтобы затем,  «сымпровизировав»,  трансформировать их в  вопросы для обсуждения  во время собеседования.

Это наиболее результативный и наименее затратный путь, позволяющий решить триединую задачу:

1. подготовить компетентные вопросы к интервью
2. продемонстрировать свою деловую осведомленность и заинтересованность
3. восполнить пробелы в своих знаниях о компании и сути вашей будущей работе.

Помните: интервьюеры предпочитают кандидатов, всесторонне осведомленных (вплоть до самых мелких деталей) об их компании, даже тем, кто может похвастать документально подтвержденными достижениями в прошлом.

Третий совет: попрактикуйтесь в роли интервьюируемого, выбрав в качестве интервьюера квалифицированного консультанта, друга, члена семьи  или даже … зеркало, поскольку язык тела иногда говорит о человеке гораздо больше, чем он может предполагать. При этом попросите Вашего визави быть откровенным при оценке содержания и формы Ваших ответов и жестикуляции.

Лапидарность и лаконичность ответов-вопросов должны сочетаться с их содержательностью и компетентностью, ибо пустословие и «растекание мыслью по древу» быстро утомляют обе стороны, участвующие в собеседовании.

Примерные типы вопросов для тренинга: «Укажите на наиболее чувствительный просчет в вашем послужном списке» или «Назовите слабые стороны ваших деловых качеств» или «Если бы вы говорили с вашим прежним боссом, в какой слабости вы бы признались ему сейчас» и т.д. и т.п. В интернете существуют мириады подобных вопросов, и нет ни одного повода отказать себе потренироваться отвечать хотя бы на некоторые из них.

Итак, сделайте только три шага: 1) сбор информации, 2) анализ и систематизация, 3) тренинг, и успех тоже шагнет к Вам навстречу.

The original article can be accessed here: http://thebusinesscourier.co.uk/2013/05/10/sovety-professionala-uspeshnoe-sobesedovanie-v-3-shaga/

For each of the next few weeks I will be posting and replying to a career-related question. This week…

How can I get a consultant job at McKinsey, Bain, BCG etc?

• Do in-depth research on each company and its latest news. Researching general industry trends can also come in handy at interview
• Get to know someone who can be your point of reference at the company prior, during and after you submit your CV and an application form. Aim not to submit a single application through the website
• Attend networking events at the consultancy of interest to you and make sure you leave a positive impression
• Practise, practise and practise case studies! Allow at least a couple of months for this crucial part of the process and do role plays with different people to get as much exposure to relevant case studies as possible. You are sure to encounter a case study at a second or third interview round
• Get an MBA (if possible!)

During my professional career, I have read a lot of business emails and have written a fair number too.

I am sure you have seen emails like the one below all too often. It is ineffective for a number of obvious reasons: the CAPITAL LETTERS and multiple exclamation marks in the subject line, the weird salutation in bold text, the poorly written message including spelling errors (“hear in your area”), and the fact that the message is sent from the address ‘sexybeast@gmail.com’. I’m sure you can spot additional problems.

So what is a perfect business email and does it even exist? I would say that the layout and tone of an email is heavily dependent on the target person/organisation, how well you know them and which country they are from.

For instance, an addressee from Eastern and Central Europe, France or Italy would most likely prefer a more respectful and formal tone. However, if you are writing to somebody from the United States, your email may be quite informal (of course depending on the level of personal knowledge of the person and their seniority).

I would also suggest that formality of your email would also depend on the industry or organisation your recipient belongs to. For instance, financial services prefer more formal and succinct emails, which sales are more open to an informal conversational style.

But there are some universal truths about effective written business communication and if you would like your recipient to open your email, you should probably consider the following key points:

1. Aim to write a captivating subject line – something unusual that is certain to stir recipient’s curiosity and make him or her open your message. Avoid just putting your company name in the subject line as these emails are rarely opened. Sometimes, adding a humorous line can also serve you well but be mindful of the industry/organisation you are dealing with.
2. Spend some time on laying out your email and breaking the text into more manageable and easy to read paragraphs. Due to lack of time, a lot of people end up scanning through their emails so add the most important points in the first paragraph. Aim to be brief and to the point.
3. Proofread, proofread, and proofread. I can’t stress the importance of correctly spelt words and lack of avoidable mistakes. It goes without saying that you can undermine your chances of closing a sale, finalising an important contract or being invited for an interview if your message is full of grammatical mistakes and incorrect punctuation. You could perhaps print out a copy of your email to check as it is easier to spot mistakes on a printed version. You could also read your email backwards to re-programme your mind to spot mistakes more easily.
4. Provide a brief account of case studies, testimonials, and statistics to support your proposition but make sure it is all accurate and honest.
5. Add a proper signature: your name, position, company name, website, Twitter and LinkedIn links. You want to make it easy for people to search for you online and to check your credentials.

These are just some suggestions on how to improve your business email communication. I would be interested to receive your own stories of what makes you click ‘open’ or delete when you receive business emails and feel free to email me the worst emails you have encountered!

Dasha Amrom

I moved to London after working in the US for nearly 6 years, thinking, “How different could it be?” And oh boy! Was it different! That said, I wouldn’t trade the 5 year-London experience for anything else! For me working in America was about political correctness (i.e. no “F-bombs” in the office) long hours and short holidays. I brought that with me to London and was surprised. Jaw-droppingly surprised.

Pens dropped and the familiar computer shutdown tunes sounded mid-sentence at 5:30PM; people actually took 2 to 3 week-long holidays (vacation, for you Americans reading this) without worry of losing their job. I was amazed by the natural ease at with the perceived work-life balance played out and dug it! But my two all-time favourite experiences were –

1)      A liquid (read: multiple Guinnesses) lunch & a test of my knowledge of football (soccer, for you Americans reading this) rules with my sales guys. I passed and I was declared one of the team!

2)      A business meeting after work with a French client from a prominent American corporation. I nearly fell of my chair when the conversation started with (imagine heavy French accent), “You American women are just not sexy… we French men like women showing a little bit of lingerie.” I hung in there and finished the meeting and the pitch.

When working in multiple geographies, a thick skin helps, so too does a sense of humor, flexibility and the ability to “not hear” odd-ball comments. I didn’t win the business with the aforementioned client but I doubt it was due to my sex appeal (after all he did want to take me to dinner after). And I will forever have a great story to tell about my rocky start at the London office.

This is a guest blog by Rema Iyer, who now works in Boston, USA

Margaret Thatcher died on 8^th April and the United Kingdom is bitterly divided on the kind of funeral proceedings befitting the former prime-minister. It is true, she was disliked by many due to her controversial policies and convictions but she was Britain’s only female prime-minister (for 10.5 years) – a great achievement in itself and a tough act to follow.

Despite her contentious political legacy, one thing stands true – her amazing work ethic, determination to achieve what she had set out to do, and an immense amount of perseverance and thick-skinnedness she exhibited to carry out these goals despite often strong resistance of her cabinet and the British people. Moreover, being the first woman prime-minister surrounded by the cabinet full of men required high levels of confidence and assertiveness.

There are a few lessons I believe women in male-dominated professions can learn from Mrs Thatcher and her career to be successful at their jobs:

• Don’t hide or suppress your femininity. There are numerous occasions when it can be used to your advantage. Your unique abilities, empathy, specific communication style can differentiate you from others in your organisation. For instance, in top sales jobs usually dominated by men, women can really make a difference working with challenging clients. The same is the case in the sales environment at investment banks where employing ambitious women has become a regular occurrence. Being yourself is the best way to earn respect of your colleagues and bosses. Mrs Thatcher was not unknown to use her charm (and sometimes even tears) to get her own way. 
• Don’t be afraid of failure. Everyone will encounter various setbacks during the course of their careers. One can either get ‘subdued’ and ‘sunk’ by failure or, on the contrary, can use it as a springboard to attempt something new and to turn this negative experience in their favour. Failure and challenges should inspire you to act, to change something, to prove you can still succeed and get to the top. The key theme here is not to give up in the face of unavoidable challenges. ‘Defeat? I do not recognise the meaning of the word!’ (M. Thatcher)
• It is really a given that to get promoted, to exceed your boss’s expectations and stand out among  your colleagues you will need to work hard and work hard every day. Thatcher once said, “I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near”.  If it is so obvious, then why do so many people slack and cut corners in their jobs? Well, oftentimes we do not like what we do and end up in a particular job by pure circumstance or out of financial necessity. We are all guilty of this but once we realise that we don’t get inspired by what we do, we can try and re-assess are career path and aspirations. I believe that it is never late to take a step back and try to change the course of your career, attempt something new, something that you have always dreamt of doing. Fair enough, it takes a certain degree of courage and determination, but it can well be worth the effort to escape the ordeal of having to show up somewhere you would rather avoid every morning. So work hard and find something you are truly passionate about. “What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose” (M.Thatcher).

 SHARED KNOWLEDGE: DASHA AMROM

A profile of Warwick alumna Dasha Amrom

1. What are you working on?

After graduating from Warwick Business School, I set up my own career and business coaching consultancy in London. Currently, I’m concentrating on running individual and executive career coaching sessions and developing sales and social media marketing training programmes for small business owners and entrepreneurs. I also contribute articles and editorials, both for the Guardian and for a local paper. My article on the Guardian’s Small Business Network was published recently ( ‘If you have an idea for a business, don’t let it slip through your fingers’ ). I was also invited to participate in a couple of the Guardian’s live Q&A career advice sessions to advise individuals about MBAs and placements and internships.

2. Aside from the money, what do you get out of your job?

I love interacting with people, talking to them about their life experiences, dreams and aspirations. It’s amazing to see again and again how different we all are and a lot of people I speak to as part of my job have diverse international backgrounds, so I tend to learn a lot about their countries, culture and specific working practices. So I am lucky to be able to both share my knowledge and receive new exciting information in return!

I also like to see people succeed – if anything, this is one of the main reasons I have decided to set up my company. I wanted to share the knowledge I have accumulated during the years of working for large international organisations so that other people can use it to advance and, hopefully, avoid the mistakes that I made along my career path.

You have to be mentally prepared for a lot of disappointment and difficult times on the way to success

3. How did you get where you are today?

Education, hard work and confidence that I can do what I have set my mind to. I have to say that my parents first instilled the tremendous respect for education and constant self-improvement in me as a teenager, which has eventually led me to complete two Masters degrees and work my way up in the organisations I had worked in. I am fortunate that my husband has also been very supportive of the idea of me setting up my own business and has helped a lot along the way.

4. What’s the best advice you could give to someone wishing to follow in your footsteps?

I would say ‘be daring’ and prepare yourself for a lot of rejections and challenges! You have to be mentally prepared for a lot of disappointment and difficult times on the way to success. I have lived through a lot of low points when you start reassessing whether you have made the right decision but I learned not to dwell on negative points and to move forward through constant innovation. As a manager of a small business, you should never be complacent – strive to amend your strategies on a daily basis. If you see something isn’t quite working out, try something else until you find your optimum.

I would also advise that whatever you do, aim to provide your customers with best-in-class customer service and try to fulfil your promises. I find that people give great reviews and choose to stay with a particular service provider if they have received one-to-one attention – a follow-up courtesy phone call may be all that is necessary to ensure your current customer recommends your firm to others and comes back to you for more work in the future.

5. Tell us something unusual about yourself

I consider myself ‘a citizen of the world’ – I can’t really pinpoint where my home is. I have lived and worked in the United States, Belarus, the UK, South Korea, and Czech Republic and travelled in many other countries.

6. Quick fire round:

Favourite book: ‘Capital’ by John Lanchester

Favourite app: I like all kinds of WordPress apps for website development

Favourite artist: I really like the paintings of Claude Monet

Favourite place: The East coast of Australia

Favourite number: 5 (the top grade in the Russian school system)

Favourite idea: “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen”. JFK

Favourite food: Russian borsch

Favourite thing: Person, actually – my son!

Favourite thing about yourself: My optimism

You can access the interview here: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/knowledge/business/dashaamrom/