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With 11 million job openings in the U.S., it's a job seeker's market. SANJERI/GETTY IMAGES
SANJERI/GETTY IMAGESPreparing for an interview—no matter how good the job market may be—is tough. Talking about yourself is hard. Touting your accomplishments is even harder. Asking those tricky questions about weaknesses and that time you did something that had a huge impact in a job 10 years ago can feel impossible.
But with a record 48 million Americans quitting their jobs last year amid the Great Resignation, and more than 11 million open jobs, Forbes assistant editor Emmy Lucas writes, it’s also a job seeker's market. If you’re one of the many people who’ve changed jobs over the last year or so, you’re practiced at the art of the interview. For those of us who may need a refresher, we’ve got you covered.
Emmy’s recent story shares reminders you probably know: Do your homework (it’s critical), practice (of course) and write a thank you note (your mother will be proud). But she also sheds light on the best answers to some of the most common questions—pick the right strengths to highlight, for instance, and focus on specifics and outcomes—as well as what the questions you ask say about you.
It’s nice when preparing to remember you are more likely to be in the driver’s seat. “We’ve never had a greater imbalance between the demand for labor and the supply of available labor,” Adam Robinson, founder and CEO of Hireology, told Lucas, saying “it has completely flipped the narrative. There’s things candidates can do to be fully prepared and things they have more control over.” Still, a little extra preparation can go a long way.
FEATURED STORY
FedEx’s New Delivery Guy
In his first interview since being named CEO-elect of FedEx, Raj Subramaniam talks about preparing for a high-profile succession, setting a path for what’s next and how a chance encounter 31 years ago led to getting hired by the logistics giant in the first place. Replacing Frederick W. Smith, an iconic leader who remains a vocal champion for U.S. business at 77, means all eyes will be tracking his every move. “If someone had told me when I joined this company 30 years ago that this is the role I would be playing, I would have thought I'd have a better chance to play for the Memphis Grizzlies,” Subramaniam told Forbes of FedEx’s hometown NBA team. Read more from my story here—which includes succession planning insights from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
FedEx CEO-Elect Raj Subramaniam during the final round of the World Golf Championships - FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesWORK SMARTER
The best way to answer the interview question about your “weaknesses.”
Chronic work stress can damage your brain. Here are 10 things you can do to alleviate it.
What to do when you feel “stuck” at work: Identify the source, play devil’s advocate and take action.
Recently laid off? Here are four ways to rebuild your confidence.
Eleven rules for being a good manager, from a tweet that went viral.
ON OUR AGENDA
Conquering Career Obstacles: Our latest subscriber series launched April 21, featuring yours truly interviewing bestselling author Marcus Buckingham about embracing your fears about work. Whether it’s making a job change, asking for a raise or worrying you’ll never find what you love to do, Buckingham suggests embracing your fears to help guide you to what you really love. Our recap is here—and if you’re a Forbes subscriber who’d like to join our next conversations with bestselling authors Dan Pink or Gretchen Rubin, register here.
America’s Best Employers For Diversity: Two years since George Floyd’s murder prompted a national reckoning on race, companies have only increased their efforts to expand the diversity of their ranks and cultures that value inclusion and belonging. Here, we highlight the best employers for diversity, according to surveys by Statista, with Progressive, VMWare and Booz Allen Hamilton rounding out the top three.
Double standard: A new study published in Psychology of Women Quarterly found “no evidence” for gender differences in risk-taking at work, writes senior contributor Kim Elsesser. These findings are in stark contrast to past studies that found men were more likely to be risk-takers, the study makes clear that one of the problems is measuring stereotypically masculine risks, Elsesser writes.
Never mind the MBA: Why go to grad school when the job offers are rolling in? A new story in the Wall Street Journal looks at how applications to some schools appear to be down, and business schools increasingly face competition from employers to lure candidates.
Zoom, the creativity killer: A new study in Nature found what most people already know: Video-conferencing, it turns out, is subpar compared to in-person meetings when it comes to generating new ideas.
BOOK CLUB
Forbes contributor Michael Arthur spoke with economist Matthew Kahn about his new book, Going Remote: How The Flexible Work Economy Can Improve Our Lives And Our Cities, calling it “a pathbreaking book, rich in clear economic argument relevant to every career owner on the planet.”
Key quote: “I start the book with the recently opened Apple Headquarters,” Kahn told Arthur. “They have built this mother ship, and I asked my book editor ‘If Apple had a second chance, would it have built the same circular spaceship that it did, or would it have built a different, smaller ship?’ We are locked into several decisions that will play out over decades, including where and why companies will build their headquarters, with a range of implications for how and where people will work and what career opportunities they will experience.”