For individuals in transition between jobs, this is the time to practice your virtual interview skills. Here are some helpful tips for a successful virtual interview. First, prepare an introduction (approximately one minute long). Next, prepare yourself to answer the following questions:

• Why are you the right fit for the organization? What about your attributes and experiences makes you the best candidate for the role?
• What is a succinct example that illustrates you have the qualities needed to make a difference and contribute towards the organization’s success?

Record yourself three times. Then watch your recordings and pick the best one to send to colleagues for review. Pinterest and Instagram are wonderful resources to find information as to what to wear and what to say.

These guidelines will help prepare you for a virtual interview or a phone interview. Just like preparing for an in-person interview, you need to think ahead. In these times, you also need to consider your virtual presence

It’s always been who knows you not who you know. The who knows you is your capital in business as well as socially. Building deep relationships through regular contact is best. However, because of busy schedules, getting together for a cup of coffee is not always doable. Being involved in activities where natural connections are made through committee memberships or event participation works best.

Often, we must work with a person who takes up all the air in the room. With a larger than life personality this person can also be very fun to be with. If this individual is a group leader, sometimes, details and tasks never get addressed or completed.

Allow this person their moment and when there is a break in conversation, rejoin the discussion with the task in mind. Avoid trying to control this person but instead manage them. This happened at Thanksgiving with my larger than life youngest sister. Instead of trying to rein her in, I asked her to make the gravy and everything went back on track!

Build confidence by doing it. Practice bolsters confidence even when there is failure. In the early stages of my work, whether speaking to a group of 20 or to one thousand, it took constant practice to fortify my confidence.

Go to different events to study the styles of those who are really the best. Watch Oprah or Zig Ziglar and note their speech patterns and talking points. Receiving feedback, good and bad, will always help you improve as it did for me.

In today’s work and personal environments, to accomplish all that is needed, we can easily become overwhelmed. This sometimes lead to anxiety. Harnessing the anxiety to shift it into motivation, is the best way change the emotion needed to move toward accomplishment. Taking note of the anxiety triggers will help turn the it into motivation to achieve the goal.

The cooking competition show is about more than just the food. It provides a visual of ways contestants and judges work under pressure to deliver successful products and give constructive feedback. The show that continues to give feedback gems is the Kid’s Championship Baking Show.

Duff and Valerie are the judges and it is the way they use the three to one rule that clicks. They look for the three positives and one not-so-positive area to help the contestants achieve success as a baker. The judges balance the fine line on these impressionable young minds. We understand they were chosen for their baking skills, personality, and how they receive feedback.
All us of revert to the child in ourselves when under review and feeling pressured. (Even when we try to toughen up!)

Giving 110% plus is easy when we are passionate about our work or project. The 110% plus comes naturally if the job is a natural fit for the needed skill set. When the passion is lacking, what can be done to create it? If passion is lacking because of time constraints and task overload, take a break from it. Whether you leave for an hour or half of a day, not thinking about the work will result in the energy needed. Passion and the drive to succeed needs to be organic or burn out occurs.

Recognize that sharks are folks who use their power positions to ensure they will succeed, especially during a conflict or in a competition. Some sharks have developed through the environment they were born into. They manipulate people / situations and are masters at spin. Staying aware and taking precautions will help you avoid sharks by just staying out of their way.

In a perfect world, mistakes are never made. However, in the real-world, mistakes are critical to growth and learning. It is also important to recognize that when a mistake is made, an apology might be needed. Apologies can be verbal or written. Sometimes, even a gift is sent with a note. The most important element is that the apology is offered. Too many times that does not occur, and that becomes the real mistake.

Understanding cultural differences and similarities helps bridge communications. For example, I am a first-generation Chinese born and raised in Chicago and sometimes work with natural born Chinese (born in China) even though the individual may be in the US for an extended time.

We may look and even sound similar, but we think and communicate very differently. I am  direct, a distinctly US quality. Individuals from another culture may agree even though they disagree to save face. The main similarity is that we both want to succeed but get there in different manners. To connect and avoid a saving face situation, present a solution in a way that will achieve the main goal.