5 Best Things to Say in an Interview

By Catherine Conlan
Monster Contributing Writer

The best things you can say in an interview won’t necessarily get you the job on their own, but they can certainly pave the way. Keep these five things in mind as you go through the interviewing process to give yourself the best chance at landing the job.

Ask Good Questions

According to Howard Pines, founder and CEO of BeamPines, “the best thing a candidate can do at an interview is ask good questions.”

Doing so shows that you are thoughtful and interested in understanding the company. There’s usually a chance to ask questions at the end of your interview, so be ready with questions that show you’re engaged in the process.

Pines suggests several questions, including:

• What are the biggest short- and long-term issues I would need to focus on in this position?
• What would I need to focus on differently than the previous person in this position?
• What organizational issues should I be aware of?

“I’m flexible.”

Whether it’s about possible job duties, a potential start date or simply timing for the second interview, stressing your flexibility makes you easy to get along with.

Hiring managers don’t like complications, and having to coordinate complicated schedules or haggle over a job description eventually just makes you look difficult. While you certainly don’t want to be a pushover -- and “flexible” shouldn’t define your salary negotiation -- show your potential employer that you’re interested in results that work for everyone.

The Company’s Own Words

Before your interview, become familiar with the company’s website and literature. Pay attention to the words used -- what’s important to the organization?

“In your interview, hit key words that appeared on the company website or brochure,” says Olivia Ford ofAdeptio. “These key words might include team, leadership, simplistic, culture or growth.”

Mixing these keywords into your answers can provide a subtle hint that you are plugged in to what the organization is looking for.

“That’s a Good Question.”

Use this phrase instead of blurting out “I don’t know” if the interviewer stumps you with a surprise question. It can give you a few moments to come up with an answer and, in the meantime, strokes the interviewer's ego a little bit too.

Avoid the “I don’t know” answer when possible, but of course don’t lie about your experience or training.

Reasons You Want the Job.

Knowing a job prospect’s motivations is important for managers who are hiring.

During your interview, talk about how this position fits into your future plans and the ideas you have about your career, how it fits with your values, and what you would like to learn from it. Talk about how you see yourself in relation to the company and what you believe you can bring to the position.

These kinds of thoughts show who you are as a person, and go a long way toward giving the hiring manager an idea about how you might fit in the company’s culture and values.

7 Steps to Finding Success as a Millennial Entrepreneur

Image credit: STEPHANGEYER/FLICKR

264

2K

Older generations say millennials have short attention spans, a sense of entitlement, and little patience. The fact is, those qualities are not necessarily bad -- especially for young entrepreneurs.

What some call faults can actually be advantages if leveraged in the right way. The key is finding that sweet-spot between youthful enthusiasm and the more “old-fashioned” values that have served as the backbone of business for generations. I started my company when I was a freshman in college. Fourteen years later, we are generating annual revenues in excess of $10 million.

Here’s what I’ve learned about striking that balance:

1. Stay energetic. Starting a successful business requires tireless enthusiasm. You have to be excited about the product or service you’re providing. If you’re not, no one else will be. On the flip side, enthusiasm is infectious. Your excitement can help you secure business leads and build a committed, energetic team. Your Gen X and Boomer counterparts can attest, you will never have as much energy -- and stamina to work through late nights -- as you do now.

Related: Why We Don't Need New Policies to Boost Startup Rates

2. Be impatient. Ironically, sometimes the same people who tell you not to be so impatient will remind you that the early bird catches the worm. What they don’t realize is that your impatience stems from your desire to get that worm! Take that impatience and run with it. When a problem arises, don’t wait around hoping it will get resolved. Take action to fix it immediately. Speed and your drive to produce immediate, quality results will serve you well.

3. Take risks. Launching a successful business almost always requires risk taking. Lucky for you, that pill is pretty easy to swallow right now. When you’re young, you have less to lose from a failed business attempt than you will ever again. If you think you have a good idea, give it an honest try. At the very least, you’ll learn something. Now is the time to be bold.

4. Stay social. Do your parents ask you for help with “the Twitter?” When you’re done rolling your eyes at them, consider what an advantage you have as an entrepreneur. Social Media is indispensable for expanding your network, increasing product awareness and building your brand. While older business owners may be struggling to learn the latest social protocol, it’s already second nature to you.

Related: 10 Myths About Creativity You Need to Stop Believing Now

5. Seek help and advice. Smart entrepreneurs know how and when to ask for help. Talk to business owners you admire, read about successful innovators, and seek out a mentor.

6. Hire experience. There is something to be said for life experience. Consider hiring someone older than you when it makes sense. You’ll set yourself up with a team that has the benefits of youth and the advantages of experience. Mark Zuckerberg hired Sheryl Sandberg, a woman with 15 years more experience than he had. Both of them contribute differently to create a company balanced in youth and business expertise.

Related: 5 Things You Have to Understand Before You Start a Business

7. Stay social, for real. Forming real, personal relationships is good business, and this is often best done face-to-face. I love social networking, but it’s not a replacement for getting to know someone in person. Take your hand off the mouse, move your eyes away from the screen, and go meet someone. What are you waiting for? Your next client is out there waiting for you to find them.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229676#ixzz2rQp2oeuf

5 Tips for Launching a Side Business

Image credit: Unsplash

113

2K

While some entrepreneurs quit their day jobs to follow their dreams, U.S. News & World Report senior money editor Kimberly Palmer started a side business because she was worried about the stability of her dream job.  

"I felt a lot of financial stress myself in 2009, at the height of the recession, and I felt I had very little job security - people were getting laid off all the time," says Palmer.

Spurred by the need for a backup plan, Palmer launched a business in 2011 selling money workbooks on Etsy - an experience she talks about in her new book, The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life, out this month.

"I discovered a whole world of people doing the same thing, starting side businesses. It really was becoming a big trend," says Palmer. She calls these on-the-side gigs "micro-businesses," which she defines as businesses that may not be paying the mortgage but are providing another source of income.  

Today a micro-business owner herself earning approximately $200 per month from her online shop, Palmer shares her five tips for anyone looking to launch a business on the side.

Related: How to Apply for Your First Business Loan

No. 1: Figure out what you have to offer.

Before starting your own business, Palmer says it's necessary to get a sense of the overall market, and where you might be able to fit in.

"Go to popular ecommerce sites like Etsy, or sites like Fiverr, Elance or Freelancer.com, to see how people are making money," says Palmer. (Fiverr is a marketplace for online services costing $5, while Elance and Freelancer.com help people find freelance gigs online.) By exploring online marketplaces, Palmer says budding entrepreneurs can better understand what they might be able to offer that's unique, or how to price services that others are offering.

No. 2: Keep costs down.

Palmer says a common mistake first-time entrepreneurs make is spending too much to get a business off the ground.

"It's easy to take advantage of existing ecommerce sites," says Palmer, like Etsy or eBay. By setting up shop on one of these platforms, Palmer says entrepreneurs can bypass the need for a potentially costly website.

No. 3: Identify your weaknesses.

While you may be an experienced graphic designer, you may not have a lot of marketing or sales experience. Once you figure out what you don't know, Palmer suggests connecting with other entrepreneurs online to improve your own abilities.

"I copied what the people I admired were doing," says Palmer. In her case, the key to marketing her money workbooks was getting coverage on popular online blogs aimed at mothers; by reaching out to these writers, Palmer was able to increase sales.

Related: 3 Things I Learned Launching an App

No. 4: Test the marketplace.

"It's hard to know or predict what customers want," says Palmer. She says soliciting feedback from clients can help you figure out exactly what's going to resonate with your target audience. In her personal experience, Palmer started out selling paper money planners, but soon discovered that buyers were more interested in online money workbooks.

No. 5: Embrace challenges.

If you're a first-time entrepreneur, it's unlikely you'll hit it out of the ballpark on your first try. However, Palmer says new business owners can't let early-stage struggles get them down.

 "Know there will be failures and bumps along the road. Being entrepreneurial means there's going to be rejection. It just means you have to tweak things or slightly change what you're offering," says Palmer.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230978#ixzz2rQoGVVJO

Guo Pei: a fashion designer that knows what Chinese design is

Guo Pei: a fashion designer that knows what Chinese design is

On November the 6th, Guo Pei, a famous Chinese fashion designer, presented her new collection before the China Fashion Week audience in Beijing.
Her wonderful world of dresses enchanted the visitors and confirmed her top-tier position on the international haute-couture scale.


Born in 1967, Guo Pei has worked for a wide range of fashion companies before becoming chief designer for the newly established Tianma (Horse Of Heaven) in 1989. Lead by a talented designer, this clothing company quickly became one of China’s most popular women labels. During 6 years at Tianma, 250 of her garments were produced, totalling some 400 000 items.





In 1995, she moved to the Milano Fashion Company Limited, a Taiwanese-American joint venture. She kept working on her own independent collections by the time she was there and then resigned and established her own company in 1996. Meiguifang (Mayflower) was born.

In 1997, Guo Pei was named one of China’s top ten fashion designers. She now works in her studio in the D zone of Dashanzi in Beijing.

Tags: ready-to-wear

DIY Ombre Tights

About a week ago, I stumbled upon a blog post about ombre tights.  It was love at first sight!  I had to give it try, so I purchased 2 pairs of opaque tights from American Apparel (white and sangria).  Through a series of trial and errors, I figured out how to achieve the ombre dye look on tights.  

My goal was to have a clean gradient transition without any splatter marks or obvious gradient lines.  I also wanted the gradient to fade to black.  For the first dye job, I followed a video tutorial from the Martha Stewart Show on ombre dying (click here).  This is a great video tutorial, however they dye cotton, where as I needed to dye a nylon blend.  The end result was this...

Super cute, however my original intention was to have the gradient fade to black.  Instead, the black dye only darkened the pink color. I believe part of the problem was that I used a RIT dye, which is better for cotton than nylon.  Another possible reason for why it didn't take as well, could have been that I used hot water as opposed to the stove top method that uses boiling water.  From what I now know, nylon needs to be really hot for the dye to take, which is why boiling water is recommended.  So, back to the drawing board I went.

I decided to ask my facebook friends about dying nylon.  Rebekah was kind enough to suggest iDye.  I followed her suggestion and used 2 packets of iDye poly, which is for polyester and nylon.  This worked amazingly well!  

  

Here's how you ombre dye colored tights with iDye poly.

1)  Purchase color opaque tights and 2 packets of iDye poly in black.  As I already mentioned, I used American Apparel tights.   

2)  Decide where you want the color to end and the black to begin.  Being as black is a slimming color, I felt it would look best with black going towards the thighs rather than a color.  I wanted the color transition to begin around mid calf.  You can either pin where you want the color transition to begin or you can eyeball the distance.  I eyeballed it at about 9" from the toe seam of the tights. 

3)  Soak the tights in clear hot water to remove any finish on the tights.  Let it sit there for about 5 minutes or so.

4)  Follow instructions on dye packet for mixing dye over stove top.

5)  Place tights in water waist first.  Be sure not to dip the color portion of the tights into the dye mixture (see pic below).  Lay the color portion over the pot and onto another pot.  You don't want the tights to dangle over the pot, because it may catch fire, which would totally ruin the ombre look =) 

6)  After about 2 minutes of the dying process, gently pull about 1 - 2" of the tights out of the boiling water.  This will help make the gradient less obvious.  However, don't pull too much of the fabric out of the pot, because it will create a blotchy look (see mistakes to avoid pic below).

7)  Once the dying process is completed, turn off the heat and let the fabric cool.  Next, rinse the tights in cold water, making sure to not let the dye run onto the color part of the tights.  It's ok if the color part gets wet and if the black blends with the color portion.  You just don't want it to drip and run onto the color portion.  I held the tights upright with the feet up, while rinsing the excess dye off.

8)  With mild detergent, hand wash your tights.  My washer has a hand wash cycle, which I used.  

9)  Dry your tights.  This next tip is very important - Don't hang dry your tights!  As your tights dry there will likely still be some excess dye leftover.  If you hang dry them, the excess dye will make a lovely line down the tights as gravity pulls the excess water towards the ground.  Trust me I know.  No, I don't want to talk about it =(.  You can lay the tights on a towel to dry.

10)  Voila!  

Mistakes to avoid...

~ Don't lift too much of the tights out of the dye in step 6 or else it will look blotchy as shown below...

~ Don't hang dry or else you will have dye lines running down your tights.

That's about it!  Be sure to share your ombre tight creations here.

Cheers!

Jamie

8 Tips for Underwater Model Photography

Motherland Chronicles #23 - Dive

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to shoot underwater in L.A. recently. It was a very wonderful learning experience and so I wanted to share what I learnt! Keep in mind that these tips may only apply to first-timers like I was, but I hope it makes a good read either way. :D


I love water, if you follow my work you know I love putting models near and into water all the time rather frequently. Imagine how excited I was to finally get to shoot underwater for real~ 

Redemption

Porcelain

Motherland Chronicles #7 - Self Portrait in Water

Having sort-of worked with water in some ways before, I went in to the shoot with some ideas of the type of pictures I wanted to make and planned my shoot based on those. 

If you're not sure about what you want to do, the first thing to do naturally is look up lots of underwater photos and check out the possibilities. Try to pin down a shot or two that you'd like to attempt, then plan your shoot from there.


I'll break the tips down by some of the things I did, difficulties I faced while underwater as well as the stuff Brenda (my wonderful guide/teacher/assistant) adviced me on. A list of the equipment I used can be found at the end of this post. 

Tips for Underwater Model Photography

1.  Research & Plan

Before going in to the details, I want emphasize how important research and planning is. It should be a given, but maybe you're like me and sometimes enjoy just winging a shoot, but in this case, keep in mind that when the environment is completely different, it's not quite like simply testing a new light setup.

There will be discomforts, logistics complications, and unexpected difficulties just because it's not everyday that most of us spend a few hours underwater. So make sure to read up as much as you can. It will help you prepare both mentally and logistically, and make your underwater shooting experience a smooth-sailing and fun one.

Motherland Chronicles #33 - Ascend

2.  Rehearse

This is similar to when I do movement shots -- take a few tests and rehearse the movements with the model in the beginning. This will save time and energy as you're looking at the general picture and feel of the pose and framing. The model won't have to school her expressions or make sure her hair and clothes are perfectly in place, those things take 10 times longer to adjust in water than on land, and it gets cold and uncomfortable in water very quickly. You want to conserve her energy as much as possible.

3. Communication

After every couple of dives, give feedback and show the model pictures of what you like and don't. Point out what are great and what can be improved, so she will know to make note on how to better the pose for you. 

4. On Sinking & Floating

Most of the time you'll want to sink for flexibility in angles, but it's difficult and often you'll end up floating more.

Let go of all your breath before you hold it so there's less air in your lungs. Tying some weights to your waist will help staying down easier. And depending on the model's pose, sometimes a weight for her helps as well.

I had weights behind my back initially, but found that moving them to the front helps my dive so I shifted them later.

5. Staying Still/Moving for Shots Will Be Tricky

Some photographers like shooting with a tripod, I like moving around to change my angles and framing organically. This unfortunately doesn't translate well underwater.

It's both difficult to stay still and move in water because, well, it's hard to be still when you're floating, and hard to move/paddle when your hands are occupied with the camera.

The best way I've found for myself is to simply decide a course of movement, go for it, then press the shutter many many times. :D

6. Camera Focusing Issues and Loss of Colors on Model's Skin

This usually happens due to loss of light underwater and being far from the model. Brenda overcomes this by using a 10-17mm on a crop sensor camera so I could move in closer (very close!). 

The problem that arises from this is that every little movement distorts and changes the composition drastically. I use the 70-200mm 95% of the time for my work, so it definitely took some getting used to to shoot with a lens so much wider for a complete shoot. I still want to explore using a long lens underwater in the future, hope it's possible. :(

7. Have Extra Hands

Logistics of shooting underwater is painful. Every little adjustment takes a lot longer than it would on the ground. Depending on your light setup, just for clothes/fabrics alone I think you'll need at least 2 assistants underwater.

I only had Brenda so we had one side of the model covered. I ended up using my feet to adjust the fabrics while trying to stay in place for shots sometimes, it's definitely not ideal and more assistants would've helped the shoot move faster. 

I also attempted directing+paddling with my left hand, but all I managed was hurt my right pinkie finger for trying to balance the entire weight of the camera and a strobe on it. :( 

From our behind-the-scenes video.

8. Shoot Fast or Get Cold

It isn't too bad if the weather is warm and there's lots of sun. But if it's overcast or your pool's in the shade, the water's going to feel pretty cold for your model for long-session shooting.

Get some large towels and bathrobes and keep them by the pool. If you're going to take some time reviewing photos, let your model get out of the water to warm up a little. It's easier for the photographer here because we can keep some body heat in with a wet suit. But don't push yourself if you start getting cold too! Remember to take a break as well.

Most importantly remember to have fun! Shooting underwater can be a little frustrating at times, but it's definitely quite magical, not to mention addictive.


Last but not least, a mini-guide made with thanks to the awesome people on Facebook! - 
- Find water.
- Do not breathe the water.
- Do not put camera into water unless it's waterproof or has a housing.
- Learn how to swim.

And that's it! I hope this gives a bit of insight to the shoot along with my behind-the-scenes. If you think of any other points or questions please feel free to ask! :D

Once again, special thanks to Jessica, Brenda and Brian for making this shoot happen. ♥


Equipment List:
Housing: Sea and Sea MDX300
Camera: Nikon D300
Lights: Sea and Sea YS-250 strobes
Lens: Tokina 10-17mm
Cables: Custom made by Reef Photo in Florida