Before you’ve gotten to your job interview, practice at home with a friend or family member. Get a hint of what’s to come with some practice questions. Although they will likely focus their queries on nursing and the medical sector, there are still some all-rounders you can bet on being asked.

If you’ve prepared some general points in response to questions you’re certain you’ll get asked, you’ll be entering the interview with less nerves and a clearer mind. Have some solid answers prepared to impress your interviewer – the more practice you do, the better.

Back yourself up with a worthy CV

If your CV is good enough, you’ll have laid a foundation for your potential employer and already set yourself up as a viable candidate for the position. Part of your job is already done if your CV does a fraction of the work for you. this way, you can enter the room with the confidence of knowing you’ve already made a good impression.

Make sure to include all of your education and work experience, making it very clear what your previous roles entailed in order to give your potential employers a hint of how experienced you are in the nursing field. Hobbies, interests and other details should all set you up as a trustworthy candidate.

Be sure to present yourself as a desirable candidate

When it’s time for the interview itself, be sure to immediately present yourself as confident as soon as you arrive. Make sure you dress appropriately, looking smart and presentable – a must if you want to appear confident and prepared in the eyes of your potential employer.

Don’t slouch, be polite and positive and maintain a confident demeanour throughout the interview, and you’ll come off as a standout candidate without a doubt. Your confidence emanates from how exactly you present yourself, so you need to be conscious of this.

Talk yourself up – modesty isn’t the key

When you’re being asked questions about you as a person, make sure you’re talking yourself up to your fullest potential. There’s simply no point being modest – you don’t know what other candidates have said about themselves, and so it’s important you’re not falling behind.

Again, it’s important to be confident in this aspect and ensure you’re promoting yourself to your fullest potential – a lacklustre interview isn’t going to make you particularly memorable. Go all out and really talk yourself up in order to make a worthy impression.

Don’t have anything to hide

Last but not least, don’t hide anything from the employers. Be honest about things such as why you left your last job – they will appreciate the truth more than any cover-ups, and you’ll once again come across as a trustworthy individual.

It’s all about standing out and being genuine in your interview. Should you be timid and reserved, you’re unlikely to make much of an impression at all. Be confident, and you’ll have much more success. Good luck.

Directional Motivation founder Russ Hovendick speaks with scholarship winner Karla.
Karla will be attending the University of California Los Angeles studying to become an occupational therapist.

If you would have an interest in applying for our scholarship please click here

We are proud to announce our scholarship winner for August 2015 is…..Namrata.

Namrata will be attending Georgia Tech as a freshman in the fall, majoring in business administration and minoring in pre-health. She plans to fulfill all the requirements for occupational and physical therapy school after graduating successfully with a bachelors in business. Namrata’s hope is to someday be able to open her own rehabilitation clinic for pediatrics.

Coaching is normally thought of as something that is bought in. You need a coach? You go out and get one. Maybe you always wanted one; and maybe you could only watch as your peers received the advice that you wanted from one, but didn’t.

You know, there are likely to be people who work for you who feel the same way. While there may not be coaches within your company and which they have no access to, no doubt they have friends in other companies who are benefiting in this way.

Although external coaches can bring in outside expertise as well as a fresh perspective, you are in the best position to coach your people. You see them every day. Why not take advantage of that opportunity?

In order to understand how coaching fits into organizations today, we need to revisit traditional supervision.

It started life as close supervision. It’s still used to a certain extent today. Any place where the employee has comparatively little skill compared to what is needed at the moment. It’s been said that every new employee is incompetent for six months. That’s because it takes time to learn how the organization does things. Even within the same one, different locations have their idiosyncrasies. But close supervision shouldn’t last for very long. If it does, then there will be for just one of three reasons: you’re a micro-manager; you’re a poor teacher, or you hired the wrong person.

The second type and most popular type of supervision is what might be called laissez-faire. Instead of pointing out every step, as you do with close supervision, this type is more like “course correction.” In it, your goal is to get people up and running as quickly as possible, and then to let them get on with whatever it is that they need to do. Of course, you make yourself available for help. All they have to do is ask. But for the most part, you try to leave them alone. Most employees prefer this approach, too.

The third type is coaching. This could be called a strategy for excellence. It’s using the idea of “letting people get on with their jobs” as a means, rather than an end. The end is excellence in everything: To be the best they can be so that they can be promoted so that they can develop their career so that they can coach others. The end with laissez-faire is just to let people get on with their jobs; but there’s no goal beyond that.

You may be thinking, “So what’s wrong with that? Why bother to coach people? They’ll just leave anyway, and I’ll have to start all over again.”

You may even be thinking that there are a lot of people waiting in the wings who’d be all too happy to take the job of your employees, and that because of that you don’t need to coach anyone. If that’s what you’re thinking, then you need to be aware of something. There’s a shortage of people who are skilled to the level that you want them to be. There aren’t enough to go around. And if it really does take six months to bring someone who already knows for the most part what to do up to a level where they can contribute real value to your organization on their own, then you can see already that it’s essential for you to hold onto the people you have.

Most people don’t really want to leave their current place of employment. They want to be happy where they are. Moving is a hassle at the best of times. You have to sell the house, pack your stuff, move it yourself or give it to a moving company. You have to find a place to live at the other end, buy or rent, move your stuff in, and deal with the utility and internet companies. It’s a nightmare. If you have children in school, it’s worse.

The only reason that people will leave is if they feel that you’re holding them back. As long as they feel they’re being sufficiently challenged, that they’re advancing, that they’re being compensated fairly for what they do and that you respect and value them, they’ll stay with you. And that means that you need to be their coach. In fact, you should always be coaching them.

Close supervision is simply telling people what to do. At the other extreme is laissez-faire – hardly ever doing so.

Coaching is different. In it you’re tailoring your guidance according to the needs and abilities of the individual employee; not just the organization; and when you do that, both you and those you coach benefit more than if you did nothing.

Coaching demonstrates that you value your employees. There simply is no substitute for providing individual help and encouragement.

Do you think that you’re too busy to do this? This is the most important part of any day you care to name.

Whatever else you have to do, it won’t happen without the people in your charge. You can do it with them, or you can do it alone.

It’s up to you.

Morag Barrett is the best-selling author of Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships and CEO of SkyeTeam, an international HR consulting and leadership development company. Morag’s experience ranges from senior executive coaching to developing leaders and teams across Europe, America and Asia. SkyeTeam works with clients in a range of industries including: Healthcare, Telecoms, Mining, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology.

Image credit: Atsuke, license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/atsuke/4613987073

These days, it is quite common to hear people complain about age discrimination in regards to seeking employment. Younger job seekers feel that they are brushed over by hiring managers because they lack experience. Older job applicants feel that they are disregarded because they are viewed as outdated. However, it is likely that many members of both groups are not being hired for reasons other than their birth dates. With this in mind, read the following for tips on how to land your dream job at any age.

Maintain the Right Image

Perhaps in a perfect world appearances wouldn’t matter. However, in today’s competitive business environment, they do. As such, whether you are young or old, you need to be aware of what the current trends in business dress are. If you are fresh out of college, make sure you don’t look like a kid pledging at a fraternity. Likewise, if you have a few more years under your belt ensure that your wardrobe is up to date and that you don’t appear to live in a retirement home. Regardless of your birth date, you should:

• Get a modern, professional haircut
• Professional accessories
• Modern business attire

Though you may want to wear something slightly more casual on days when you are not attending an interview, remember that you never know where you may meet the contact that will end up getting you your dream job. As such, you should dress professionally whenever you think you might encounter professionals from your industry. If you dress like a professional, people will perceive you as one. For some helpful tips on what to wear to the office, check out this article from Business Insider.

Be Selective

Applying for every job on the Internet and in the classifieds is not a good plan. If you are currently seeking employment, then you should spend some time seriously thinking about what jobs you are qualified for and what jobs you actually want.

If you are unemployed or unhappy at your current job, then you may feel desperation. As such, you might be motivated to find and fill any position with any company.

However, applying for jobs that you are not qualified for is likely a waste of time. It is highly improbable that a hiring manager will employ a candidate that lacks the skills and knowledge to fill a position well.

In addition, if you get a job that you don’t really want, then you will probably find yourself unhappy and looking for employment again in a matter of months.

Therefore, don’t be in a rush. Take the time needed to carefully select the jobs you apply for. In the end, you will probably end up getting hired more quickly and enjoying the position you fill.

Create Tailored Resumes and Cover Letters

One mistake that many job applicants make, both young and old, is sending out generic resumes and cover letters. By doing this, you will seem to be immediately irrelevant in today’s business world.

These days, employers expect job applicants to be able to create eye-catching resumes and cover letters that are tailored specifically to the company they are applying to and the position they hope to fill. If you are using a resume and cover letter that is so non-specific that it can be sent to multiple employers, then you need to rethink your strategy.

Take some time to rework your resume so that it shows how your work experience is relevant to the position you are applying for. In addition, research the company that you will be applying to and make sure that your cover letter really sends a message that shows why you would be a good fit there. Also, make sure that your resume:

Can be easily scanned for important information

• Is not too long (there is almost no reason for your resume to be longer than one page)
• Is not written in a small or hard-to-read font

Regardless of your age, taking the above advice will start getting you noticed and on the right track to gainful employment. However, for more information on how to get a job, read this article from Forbes. By taking the right steps, you will soon find yourself off the street and behind a desk.

About the author

Nicole Abrahams is writing on a freelance basis for Career Savvy, an online resource by eRecruit Solutions that was created to cater to the needs of job applicants in need of helpful advice.

Jone M. Bosworth, J.D.

Visiting a dear friend in Omaha recently, she shared something one of her Catholic priests mentioned to her: “He said that he was walking out of a restaurant one night, wearing his collar, and an apparently homeless woman stopped him and said, hey, I like your Pope.”

Once I got past the sense that this embodies the makings of a good joke, and consternated about whether the priest had done something immediately to assist the woman (he didn’t, at least according to the second-hand story), I realized that I was in radical agreement with the homeless woman: I like Pope Francis’ leadership thus far too.

I’m not Catholic but I do recognize that popes are incredibly important global CEOs. Because how they lead matters to so many, it also matters to me. According to the Vatican, there are 1.2 Billion Catholics in the world today. In the U.S., 72.8 people self-identify as Catholics.

When His Holiness Pope Francis presented the vision for his papacy, he showed who he is as a leader. He called on Catholics to battle the “globalization of indifference” and challenged the church to be more compassionate, to champion the poor and work to achieve social justice.

Five Francis-Catalyzed Leadership Reflections

1. As CEOs, the sheer volume of followers makes leading as Pope tricky. It is pretty hard to make 1.2 Billion people comfortable that you’re leading them how they want to be led.

Leadership, however, isn’t really about popularity but about influence, integrity — using your ‘whole person,’ your skills, knowledge, your gut and heart instincts—to do the right thing. Impressively, Pope Francis sent out a survey to gain followers’ perspectives—that’s leading.

2. Popes, like most leaders, have to deal with followers who make their own decisions about whether to follow or not. For popes, there’s been a significant shift in followers over the past few decades. The BBC paints the picture of this through data, “{s]ince 1970, Catholicism has seen a global shift southwards – the proportion of Catholics living in Europe has declined, while Africa has seen a growth in the number of Catholics – from 45 million in 1970 to 176 million in 2012. Asia has also seen a growth in Catholicism and now represents almost 12% of the total Catholic population in the world, or 137 million people.” BBC News

For all leaders today, recognition of massive social, economic, technological and climate shifts should be impacting what you do, but it does not mean changing your values. Pope Francis is clearly mindful that the world has changed and continues to change at a rapid rate. Still, he is making his vision and values courageously clear—that’s leading.

3. Popes experience “loose/tight” control despite the centralized veneer of the (“home office”) Vatican. There’s no way Pope-as-CEO can actually control what churches, and what individual Catholics, do. I’d wager that he cannot even control his managers at the Vatican if history holds true. I suppose popes do have a carrot, something like ‘get into heaven’ or for the extraordinary few, become a saint, but there’s not much of a stick here on earth. (If my ignorance of Catholic practice shows, apologies to all Catholics but this is generally how it goes, right?)

Likewise for all secular leaders, carrot/sticks aren’t really all that meaningful, it is inspiration that influences followers, its letting followers know that you really value them, care about their well-being that matters, not threats of penalties. Pope Francis picks up the phone and calls followers directly in response to letters they’ve written to him—that’s leading.

4. Popes have unique communication challenges due to a culturally diverse and diffuse population of followers. Not only has Pope Francis committed his leadership vision and expectations to written form, his actions speak volumes. This CEO takes the bus. This CEO washes people’s feet. This CEO has a twitter account.

As leaders, demonstrating who you are with actions will go a long way toward bridging communication gaps across cultures and individuals. Pope Francis’ actions actually spoke to the world before his “Evangelii Gaudium” document did—that’s leading.

5. Francis is up against what most leaders face: resistance to change. One of the most compelling things Pope Francis has said is that doing things the same old way is not at all what he expects; he expects boldness, he expects kindness, and he desires greater connectedness and, gulp, he expects people to change.

There’s nothing more courageous than taking on the status quo. Woodrow Wilson famously wrote, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” For a global CEO to not only talk about change but to live, breathe and act upon a clear vision for change over time shows extraordinary leadership. So far, Francis has shown himself to be a model for change in words and deeds, but of course, overcoming the resistance to change will be the true test—that’s leading.

To quote a wise woman, hey, I like your Pope.

Photo Credit: Vincenzo Pinto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

Jone M. Bosworth, J.D. is the CEO of inCourage Leading, LLC. She writes about leadership, advancing women, and loves serving as strategist and executive coach for leaders and business that care beyond the bottom line by being mindful about the entire human family’s success. Follow Jone at http://incourageleading.com and @jonebosworth. She loves connecting via jone@incourageleading.com

Pictured below is Jim Prostrollo, Employment Specialist – Veteran’s Services and Wylla Satterness, Employment Specialist – Business Outreach along with Directional Motivation Founder and Author Russ Hovendick

The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs was one of over 100 vendors at the Sioux Falls Job Fair held at the Elmen Center at Augustana College Wednesday.
Deputy Secretary Aaron Pollard, Field Officer Steven Lund and Veterans Service Officer Regina Boeve were on hand to answer questions regarding veterans benefits and services.
Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether kicked off the event by reading a proclamation proclaiming Wednesday, August 6, as Veterans and Spouses Job Fair Day in Sioux Falls.
This is the eighth annual job fair offered to assist veterans, military personnel readjust to their civilian life.
Recently, SDDVA provided all CTVSOs with the book “Deployment to Employment,” a guide for military veterans transitioning to civilian employment. The book provides a step-by-stepguide to success in landing civilian employment. SDDVA Secretary Zimmerman believes that the book is a great resource for veterans to use in developing their resume, preparing for interviews and landing a job.

The winner of our Directional Motivation Scholarship is Jason Hsieh. Jason is currently an undergraduate student studying at the University of Southern California, aspiring to become a pediatrician. He works with children after school to educate them on numerous areas of health such as eating well and anti-bullying. At the same time, he is also a researcher at the Keck School of Medicine Stem Cell Center learning about the regenerative abilities of periosteums surrounding the bone. When he needs to step away from science and academics, he says he likes to focus on dance – letting his emotions and stress escape through his body as he surrounds himself with music. Congratulations Jason!