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 Dream Job?
Contents
1. Career Change - Career Change - Editorial
2. Career Change - Living Forever with Aloe and Skin
3. Just for a Laugh! - Career Change - Top Twelve Interview Lowlights!  Highly recommended
4. Career Change - Top Ten Career Change Tips
5. Career Change! - Steve Jobs - Fired From Apple
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Editorial: Just come back from Lunch with Vanessa in the grounds of Longbridge Manor (next to Warwick Castle) and there was wine and fine salads and strawberries and nice people generally wandering around in their summer finery and commenting in typical english style - 'It ain't 'alf hot in it?'
The sixteenth century manor has been beautifully restored and houses the headquarters of Forever Living 'Aloe and Honey', Products. (see FLP article below on how brilliant Aloe is for your ageing skin.)
Everybody visiting the manor is self-employed have Forever Living businesses and I have got to say are the most care-free and relaxed bunch of people making a living it has been my good fortune to meet in many a day. I just soaked it in.
Compared to the BT manager I met recently who had bitten his nails down to the quick, the guy from Oracle who is six stone overweight and the lady from a large plastics factory who thought the smell was literally killing her. (and it probably is) these Forever Living types were light years in front. Having another bowl of strawberries was the tense moment of the day. Cream or creme fraiche?
I feel it is my duty to investigate this 'obvious' cult on your behalf and I will be reporting back to you at intervals about their motivations, empowerment and helicopter 'take' on the buffet table. My advice is to steer clear of them for the moment until I've figured out how they get so relaxed and get me some. (It must be all the holidays they seem to be planning - Vanessa has just bought herself a Spanish farmhouse!).
Ill-gotten gains - must be terrible.
2. Career Change - Living Forever with Aloe and Skin
 We all yearn to keep our youthful looks and end up spending a fortune on many so called wonder potions and lotions to put on our skin. Many of these skin products re-hydrate and plump up the skin temporarily but do not have a positive effect on the production of natural collagen.
Cleopatra reputedly bathed in ass’s milk but it is highly likely that her daily routine included Aloe Vera which was in abundance in Egypt at that time.
Dr Ivan Danhof is probably the world’s leading authority on Aloe Vera. He has conducted many studies to discover the secret of its rejuvenating properties. This amazing plant has a unique ability to increase the production of human fibroblasts. Found in the dermis of the skin, they are responsible for making collagen. Collagen is the skin’s support protein and together with elastin, it keeps the skin supple, firm and youthful.
I like to describe collagen and elastin as the bed springs of the skin. Just like a beautifully cooked sponge cake, healthy skin pops back out when you press it in. When our skin ages that mattress starts to get a bit flat and worn and looses its bounce. It’s not only age that attacks our skin, but sunlight, pollution, wind and of course our diet. Skin is like a television screen that reflects what is going on inside and if someone comes to me with a spotty skin, the first questions I ask are about their digestive system. Poor skin is often a sign that things aren’t running smoothly inside. This is where drinking Aloe can be so beneficial too as it works to balance our bodies from within.
Another unique property of this wonderful plant is its ability to penetrate the skin through several layers taking its healing properties and moisture to the area where it is really needed. After all, you will only get good results on the surface if you are producing healthy new tissue at the dermis level.
Aloe’s ability to penetrate is advantageous when used in quality sunscreens. If the base ingredient of your sunscreen is Aloe, it will not block your pores. I used to be a sufferer of prickly heat and rashes from oily sun cream that sloshed around on the surface.
Aloe will strip out toxic materials, increase blood circulation and flush away dead skin. It is a cocktail of nutrients which all work synergistically; after all Mother Nature put these nutrients together, not someone in a white coat in a lab testing them on animals. Aloe relieves itching; its nickname is the ‘burns plant’ and its ability to penetrate will heal a wound without closing off the oxygen. It will also help replace the lost fluid on a burn which is why it reduces scarring so efficiently. It is also anti-bacterial, anti- fungal and anti-viricidal and an excellent pain killer. It has the same pH factor as human skin and is naturally hypoallergenic. What more could we wish for our skin.
We are seeing Aloe in practically every high street shop nowadays. In many cases unfortunately, the amount of Aloe within the products could only be detected with a sophisticated microscope. Aloe is good, but not that good! Check before you buy and ensure that Aloe is the number 1 ingredient on the list and if its not, put it back on the shelf.
As the world’s largest grower of Aloe Vera, Forever Living Products use it as their base ingredient in all their products - number one on the list. If you would like to find out more about how Aloe can help your skin, call Vanessa Sant on 01564 785993 or email at jeff.sant@btinternet.com
- "She wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time."
- "A balding candidate abruptly excused himself. Returned to office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece."
- "... asked to see interviewer's CV to see if the personnel executive was qualified to judge the candidate."
- "Stated that, if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm."
- "Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions."
- "When I asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap dancing around my office."
- "At the end of the interview, while I stood there dumbstruck, he went through my purse, took out a brush, brushed his hair, and left."
- "... pulled out a Polaroid camera and snapped a flash picture of me. Said he collected photos of everyone who interviewed him."
- "Said he wasn't interested because the position paid too much."
- "During the interview, an alarm clock went off from the candidate's brief case. He took it out, shut it off, apologized and said he had to leave for another interview."
- "A telephone call came in for the job applicant. It was from his wife. His side of the conversation went like this: "Which company? When do I start? What's the salary?" I said, "I assume you're not interested in conducting the interview any further." He promptly responded, "I am as long as you'll pay me more. "I didn't hire him, but later found out there was no other job offer. It was a scam to get a higher offer."
- "Candidate said he really didn't want to get a job, but the unemployment office needed proof that he was looking for one."
 From years of consulting with recruiters, successful job-getters, and career clients I have culled their suggestions to come up with the top - ten ways to help you change your career and land the gig you want.
 Most successful job seekers land their dream jobs through contacts that they've previously made and assiduously kept up. John Price, Operational Director at GEC Druck got his last several jobs through contacts and says that he doesn't understand why people don't go the extra mile to stay in touch -- particularly when they're not looking for a job. "The main thing is not burning bridges," he says. After he has left his previous jobs he has made a point of stopping by and saying ‘Hello.’ Once he heard about his current role his former contacts spoke highly of him.
But what if you've just learned of a great job at a company where you don't know a soul? You're just not going about it in the right way. "People who say, 'Gosh, I don't know anyone' are not thinking about the six degrees of separation." Once you've identified a contact who knows somebody at the company, ask him what it's like to work there and for names of people in the department you're targeting. Talk to as many people as possible. The result? The more people you get buzzing about you by the time you go in for the interview, the more it will seem like destiny that you work there.
Buy a three-ring binder to plan out your network strategy. Start taking notes about people you might call. Call key people who you know respect your work or friends who you know would lend advice or help out. Continued.....below
 On average, people spend a total of 15 to 20 seconds on every CV and cover letter that they see. If they're staring at a stack of 300 of CVs and cover letters, it's likely to be even less. Their primary goal at that point is to eliminate as many as possible as quickly as possible. That means you've got very, very little time in which to avoid the wastepaper bin. The best way to do it, is to have a clean, two-page, chronologically organized CV with plenty of white space and a short, to-the-point cover letter. You should include "scope data" - important quantifiable data and discrete facts that tell the person doing the recruiting how you can make his company better. But don't go on too long: Too much clutter is exhausting for someone who's halfway through the stack. The biggest mistake job seekers make is writing a too-long cover letter. The goal of a cover letter is for potential employers to put your CV/ resume into Pile B.
 Sad but true fact: Many people interviewing today still don't act or look presentable. Does that mean wear a suit? It might - but the onus is on you, the job seeker, to find out the dress code at a company and to dress and act accordingly. You need to look the part. Figure out whom you're going to see, and determine the style most important to that person.
That is particularly important if you're going from a dotcom to a larger company. The other day we were interviewing and the interviewee took a mobile phone call during our chat.
A more dignified demeanour is back in style, and that goes for other aspects of your public face as well. Being whimsical is not going to score you points anymore - so remove that personal rendition of the "007 Theme” from your voice mail, and forget about standing outside the office wearing a sandwich board advertising yourself. In more sober times, sending balloon gifts to a prospective employer simply won't cut it. It might get you noticed, but it may not be the kind of notice you want.
 In this tight-fisted environment, any company that is willing to spend money to hire someone must need something pretty badly. The question for the job seeker: What is that itch, and how can I scratch it? If the company has a headache, you want to be the aspirin. Look for ways to present solutions in every contact you have with the company, from the cover letter to the phone call to the interview itself. When asked how you'd handle a particular situation, ask for an opportunity to return at another time and make a presentation on your solution. Prove that you can do the job. Do the assignment and then come back to the company. It's as if you're already working there.
 So be prepared for interviews, keep a master CV on file, listing every worthy achievement of your entire professional career, from negotiating a deal with Microsoft to beating a sales projection by 54%. Add every achievement to the master list, so when it's time to find a new job, you can simply cut and paste the most relevant parts into a slimmed down CV, and can develop very specific talking points for the interview. Imagine a photographer or artist who has a portfolio. What you actually show is one thing, but keep track of all your stuff. Your master CV can have some 25 bullets for each job, and you can easily tailor a CV without having to finesse what you did three years ago all over again.
 In tough times, anyone who goes into an interview unprepared is dead in the water. Everyone knows that you have to research the company thoroughly before you land the interview and go in with guns blazing. You need to be armed with ready examples of what you learned in certain situations, how you demonstrated leadership, and the like. In the new job market, you have to interview like an investor. If you had a few million dollars, would you back the company you're interviewing? When you are to be interviewed, you read everything that you can find on the company and speak to people who are involved with it, including investors and employees. This work pays off two-fold. First, interviewers are impressed that you are so diligent, and second, you land the job with a company that is very well positioned."
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On average, people spend a total of 15 to 20 seconds on every CV and cover letter that they see. If they're staring at a stack of 300 of CVs and cover letters, it's likely to be even less. Their primary goal at that point is to eliminate as many as possible as quickly as possible. That means you've got very, very little time in which to avoid the wastepaper bin. The best way to do it, is to have a clean, two-page, chronologically organized CV with plenty of white space and a short, to-the-point cover letter. You should include "scope data" - important quantifiable data and discrete facts that tell the person doing the recruiting how you can make his company better. But don't go on too long: Too much clutter is exhausting for someone who's halfway through the stack. The biggest mistake job seekers make is writing a too-long cover letter. The goal of a cover letter is for potential employers to put your CV/ resume into Pile B.
Sad but true fact: Many people interviewing today still don't act or look presentable. Does that mean wear a suit? It might - but the onus is on you, the job seeker, to find out the dress code at a company and to dress and act accordingly. You need to look the part. Figure out whom you're going to see, and determine the style most important to that person. 
In this tight-fisted environment, any company that is willing to spend money to hire someone must need something pretty badly. The question for the job seeker: What is that itch, and how can I scratch it? If the company has a headache, you want to be the aspirin. Look for ways to present solutions in every contact you have with the company, from the cover letter to the phone call to the interview itself. When asked how you'd handle a particular situation, ask for an opportunity to return at another time and make a presentation on your solution. Prove that you can do the job. Do the assignment and then come back to the company. It's as if you're already working there. 
So be prepared for interviews, keep a master CV on file, listing every worthy achievement of your entire professional career, from negotiating a deal with Microsoft to beating a sales projection by 54%. Add every achievement to the master list, so when it's time to find a new job, you can simply cut and paste the most relevant parts into a slimmed down CV, and can develop very specific talking points for the interview. Imagine a photographer or artist who has a portfolio. What you actually show is one thing, but keep track of all your stuff. Your master CV can have some 25 bullets for each job, and you can easily tailor a CV without having to finesse what you did three years ago all over again. 
In tough times, anyone who goes into an interview unprepared is dead in the water. Everyone knows that you have to research the company thoroughly before you land the interview and go in with guns blazing. You need to be armed with ready examples of what you learned in certain situations, how you demonstrated leadership, and the like. In the new job market, you have to interview like an investor. If you had a few million dollars, would you back the company you're interviewing? When you are to be interviewed, you read everything that you can find on the company and speak to people who are involved with it, including investors and employees. This work pays off two-fold. First, interviewers are impressed that you are so diligent, and second, you land the job with a company that is very well positioned." 
