Why Should I Hire You? Thought it as an interviewer
In today's job market, where many seasoned workers have found themselves out of a job and plenty of young but inexperienced graduates are entering the work force, do you have the right answer to beat out the competition?
Here are three common scenarios job seekers find themselves in and how they might handle each one:
The employer thinks ... you don't have relevant experience.
So you ... explain how all experience is relevant.
Simpson's tips for workers whose experience is seemingly irrelevant are similar to her advice for seeming unqualified workers: Make your past an asset, not a drawback.
"Give specific examples of how your experience is relevant to the job," Simpson explains. "Customer service experience gained while waiting tables is often negated. Waiters deal with all kinds of people and situations while multitasking, working under pressure of short-term deadlines while keeping customers happy."
Don't expect employers to connect the dots -- they're busy and have a wealth of candidates from which to choose. Do the work for them. In this economy, plenty of laid-off workers are looking for jobs in new industries, which means you're not the only one experiencing this dilemma. Get an edge over other job seekers by turning your varied experience into proof that you're the right candidate.
To be continued……
Jobs That Let You See the World
Not all jobs are translatable to international positions without a little extra learning or language proficiency -- and you will need to acquire working permits and other legal documentation -- but here are some jobs that can take you away if you're up for the move:
1. Teacher
It's no news that teachers aren't highly paid, but if you're an instructor in South Dakota, you're among the lowest-paid in the nation, with an average salary of $33,236, according to a 2003-04 survey by the American Federation of Teachers. Try taking your skills abroad. Learning English is in high demand internationally, and Germany, Switzerland and South Korea are among the countries that pay the largest teacher salaries. South Korea's median teacher salaries range between $25,000 and $60,000, and the country has a positive reputation for providing high income to educators. Salaries in Switzerland range from $65,000 to $80,000. An added perk to employment in Germany is that state employees are regarded as permanent workers, meaning that they are paid necessary social insurances.
Requirements: A four-year degree in education or a related field, teaching experience and a TESL/TEFL certificate. You will also need an international work visa and work permits, which can be obtained personally or through the school that employs you.
2. Chef If you are an established chef, international hotels and restaurants may offer the opportunity to build on your career overseas while, in many cases, offering you room and board for a minimum costs. In the United States, the median annual income of a head chef/chef is $40,000, and $43,000 if you work as a chef for a hotel. Kingsbrook USA Inc. is one company that works to place chefs in international regions. They reported England's hotel chef positions as offering £14000, or roughly $26,730 U.S. dollars per year for Chef deParties. Kingsbrook also reported between $32,458 and $38,186 per year for Sous Chefs and between $38,186 and $47,732 per year for Head Chef.
Requirements: An associate degree and at least three years of culinary experience. Letters of Reference, transcripts and health records and exams will also be required.
3. Caterer
Catering managers make an average median salary of $35,590 in the United States, and while other countries offer this position, the commute from national to international can literally be a matter of taste. Caterers who create a name for themselves in the U.S. industry can earn a trusted reputation and follow clients to overseas events. Rock stars and celebrities may have a variety of different catering companies working for them throughout the United States, but larger acts and A-listers like to have a trusted source to make sure their diet is in line with their requests. Working for one of these companies may put you on tour with the band, and if national gigs go well, you could find yourself overseas for the next tour.
Requirements: Chefs and management have culinary training, but staff servers may have little or no experience. To garner a spot on a worldwide tour, a caterer will generally have a lot of experience. Passports are needed for international work.
You can’t be prepared for every salary interview question
You can't be prepared for everything, but you can be ready for most eventualities. The steps to getting prepared are pretty obvious. You have probably have thought of all of them. Still, I find it's helpful to put all my salary considerations down on paper and then review them before going into an interview. 
1, How much do you want to earn? Realistically, how much do you think someone with your skills and experience should be able to command? People with several years of experience in a field have a pretty accurate sense of what the market will bear. But if you're new to a field it's a bit more difficult. Do some research. Talk with knowledgeable people, check with an employment recruiter, search the job information that's so plentiful on the Internet. And remember that salary is only one part of the compensation package. An employer may offer other benefits that reduce your salary requirements. Health insurance, a retirement plan, profit sharing are all worth money. In your research, try to find out how quickly compensation increases in your line of work. How much does someone with, say, five years of experience typically make? Future year earnings potential may alter your views of how much you need to make initially.
2, How valuable are the non-salary benefits to you? It's not enough to know what they are. You should put a price on them. If, for example, you really need health insurance, then the value of that policy to you would be equal to what you'd have to spend if you went out and bought your own. You should know how much lower a salary you could accept or how much higher it would have to be, depending on whether or not the job includes a good health insurance program. Suppose you don't need health insurance. Then you should estimate how much money you'd be saving the new employer who didn't have to provide it to you. If it's offered as part of the package, say you'd rather take an increase in salary instead. Perhaps your employer offers commuter subsidies, day care facilities, or other perks that offset your costs of going to work. You should determine what value you place on them and factor them into the salary that's offered.
3, How low will you go? At some point, the compensation just doesn't justify getting dressed to go to work in the morning not unless you're independently wealthy and only work for the fun or it. Or unless you're willing to moonlight doing pizza delivery. You need to know when you walk into an interview what your absolute bottom line is, including the trade-offs between salary and other benefits you might be offered. That doesn't mean you should tell the interviewer what your bottom line is, since your floor could become the interviewer's first point of negotiations. But you should know what it is.
Tough interview question, "Tell me about yourself."
This is usually the opening question in an interview and it's the perfect moment for you to toot your own horn -- not to tell your life history. Your answers should be a quick rundown of your qualifications and experience. Talk about your education, work history, recent career experience and future goals.
Suggested answer: "I graduated from University X and since then, I have been working in public relations with an agency where I have generated millions of PR hits for my clients. While I've enjoyed working on the agency side, I'm looking to expand my horizons and start doing PR for corporate companies such as this one."
Tough interview question, "Tell me about yourself."
This is usually the opening question in an interview and it's the perfect moment for you to toot your own horn -- not to tell your life history. Your answers should be a quick rundown of your qualifications and experience. Talk about your education, work history, recent career experience and future goals.
Suggested answer: "I graduated from University X and since then, I have been working in public relations with an agency where I have generated millions of PR hits for my clients. While I've enjoyed working on the agency side, I'm looking to expand my horizons and start doing PR for corporate companies such as this one."
