Saturday, May 30, 2020

?? 3 Simple Ways to Get Resume Responses Company Feedback

?? 3 Simple Ways to Get Resume Responses Company Feedback 88 Applied to many jobs and got no calls? Feel like applying for jobs online doesn't work? These tips are for you. Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet This is a guest post by Chandlee Bryan. You saw a job listing you were excited about. You applied. You told a friend or two you applied. Maybe you got an interview? They said they’d call you. You never heard back. Ever happened to you? If your answer is yes â€" which of course it is â€" and you’ve applied for loads of jobs and got no reply, it’s easy to start feeling like the title of a sad country music song: You Never Even Call Me By My Name Where Do I Fit in the Picture? What Hurts the Most (Is Nothing in My In-Box) While it’s never a good idea to go negative in a job search and storm the workplace to get a response, here are three ways you can work on getting better feedback and improve your chances in the job hunt. Do you typically contact employers before sending your resume? Yes No View Results Free bonus: The One Resume Resource You’ll Ever Need is a handy reference to make your resume get you more job interviews. Download it free now 3 ways to get responses from recruiters 1) Connect with employers besides applying From You Never Even Call Me By My Name to First Name Basis… Employers get dozens if not hundreds of applications for one job. Until you interact with the organization at which you’ve applied, your name is a series of characters online. Make yourself real. Get mentioned. Here’s how to do it: Follow-up after you apply. Be clever. Call the hiring manager. Send a fax. Get introduced by a trusted friend. It doesn’t matter how you do it. Just make it happen. And when you do, go for what my friend Laura Labovich calls the “Forrest Gump” or “James Bond” approach. Mention your name TWICE. As in, “I’m Forrest, Forrest Gump” Or “Bond, James Bond here. I’ve noticed you have a need for someone with experience in defusing explosives.” Saying it twice makes you more memorable. 2) Check for employer updates From What Hurts the Most (Is Nothing in my In-box) to Knowing What Happened… Here’s a secret not always shared- Often employers will give you feedback on the status of your job application, but you have to log back into the account you created to apply for the job to see this information. Sometimes the information you receive isn’t what you wanted â€" your application may not have been viewed, you may have gotten turned down, the job may no longer be available. But knowing what your status is can at least end the waiting game. 3) Follow up after rejections From Where Do I Fit in the Picture to There’s a Place for Me… Have you ever been told you are overqualified? Rejected because your experience far exceeds the requirements for a position? Too senior for a job offer? I call this the Goldilocks Syndrome: a unique condition wherein a potential employer decides you are over- or under-qualified for a job despite the fact that you may actually be a fit. One way to beat this syndrome is to follow up on your rejection, pleasantly express your disappointment at not having the opportunity â€" and say what you would have learned from the job. Restate your interest in the organization. Worst case scenario: You still don’t get the job, but you weren't going to anyway. Best case scenario: The employer reconsiders. I’ve watched a job seeker use this approach to turn a rejection into a job offer. Question of the article Do you typically contact employers before sending your resume? If so, what's your go-to outreach tactic? Tell us in the comments. What others are saying How Can 100 Job Applications Get Zero Replies? Here's How Your resume is not the problem Why don’t I get a call back when I send in my resume???!!! No Response on a Job Application â€" Do This Avoiding the Resume Black Hole: Why 95% of Resumes Never Get Read, and What You Can Do About It Bonus: Resume Not Getting a Response? Do This ASAP! About the Author Chandlee Bryan, M.Ed. is a job search strategist and resume writer at Best Fit Forward, she also serves as the Assistant Director at the Center for Professional Development at Dartmouth College. She is the co-organizer of one of the largest job seekers Meetup groups in the world and enjoys listening to â€" and telling â€" stories in her spare time. You can follow her career advice on Twitter at @chandlee. This article was part of the Over $5000 in Prizes: The 5th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest, which was made possible thanks in large part to our sponsors: Marcus Tandler’s JOBlog is Germany’s oldest blog about job search careers. Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg is an internationally acclaimed advisor to successful business owners, known for his small business ideas. READ NEXT: How to Quickly Recover From Bad Job Interviews

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Resume Writing For Students Of Color

Resume Writing For Students Of ColorWith the development of the Internet, more students of color are writing their resumes. This is a welcome change for the millions of black and Hispanic people who work in white-collar jobs and the number continues to grow.However, when people get a chance to make a difference in their resume, they often times feel more anxious about it. In this article, we will discuss some of the things you can do to avoid anxiety. Many people are anxious because they fear that other people will see their resume before they send it out. In order to lessen your anxiety, take some time to review your resume with a fine tooth comb before you send it off.When reviewing your resume, look at your resume in three areas: first, what information does it contain, second, what is included, and third, what information needs to be added. First, let's look at what is in your resume. Make sure that your resume is organized in a logical manner. Although you have a lot of good ide as, it can be hard to find where you went wrong if your resume looks disorganized. The way to make your resume easier to read is to eliminate the unnecessary information and make each section or bullet point concise.Second, look at what is included. Remember that this is a reflection of you, so why include something that doesn't add to the overall picture? If you think your job is great, but your experience wasn't very long, don't include it in your resume.Third, write what you have done. Make sure that it is a professional looking resume. Choose a font that reflects your type of writing and try to use the correct grammar. While this may not sound like a big deal, it can make all the difference between getting a job and getting nothing.A final point to remember is that it is always a good idea to be concise. If you are able to give a single example of what you did, it will be easier for the hiring manager to know what your skills are. They want to get an idea of who you are before t hey get into a more detailed description of your qualifications. Be sure to mention what you did during your last interview and be sure to use both direct and indirect methods to demonstrate your abilities.Being yourself is one of the most important parts of self-expression. Even if you don't realize it, the benefits you receive from being true to yourself will come back to you in a positive way. Whether you are an organizer, student of color, or the parent of a college student, the rewards of being true to yourself will make a big difference in your life.If you aren't sure if you need help with your resume, contact your school counselor or human resources department. Many schools and colleges are looking for professionals that are proficient in writing resumes. Another option is to hire a resume writer who is trained in finding and eliminating errors in resumes.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

What Should I Wear on the Plane For a Business Trip

What Should I Wear on the Plane For a Business Trip Todays edition of Ask Classy Career Girl is written in association with Hotels.com.  If you need a hotel for business travel,  Hotels.com  is a great  resource for easy booking and hotel deals. They also have a  great loyalty program,  welcomerewards. Hi Classy Career Girl!   I graduated from college over the summer, and I just landed my dream job with a consulting firm!  I have a 2 day business trip coming up and Im wondering your advice on what to wear while flying?   Our office dress code is business casual. Ill be traveling on a Sunday (and then a Tuesday), and feel that even though Im traveling on a weekend day, its still important for me to dress well and represent my company. Ill be flying to a very COLD city and will need to think about how to stay warm! Any advice on how to stay warm and classy?   Thank you so much!  I enjoy your blog very much and appreciate your efforts to help women of all ages put our best foot forward.   Youre doing a great thing!   The New Girl (and not the intern anymore!)   What to Wear on a Plane for a Business Trip Hi, New Girl! Congratulations on landing your dream job!  That is awesome! I definitely agree that you need to dress well to represent the company because you never know where you might see someone that you work with or that you know.  You also never know when you might have an amazing networking opportunity with someone you happened to sit next to on a plane. But, it is very important to be comfortable on the plane and my answer depends a lot on how far you are traveling.  I usually have entire days of traveling across the country for work so dressing professionally on the plane sounds horrid to me. I would rather be comfortable than wear something that is not comfortable. I usually wear something that I feel comfortable seeing my clients and co-workers in because I occasionally will see them at the airport. Here are a few tips: Sweatpants and PJs are a major no! I would also rather pack my nice, professional clothes to wear clean and fresh the next day than sit in them for five hours on the plane.  There is something about planes that just makes you feel so gross when you get off that those clothes I dont want to put on the rest of my trip.  So it doesnt make sense for me to wear nice professional clothes on the plane. There are three  items you need to carry or wear on a plane when traveling for work: Jacket or sweater Jeans that are comfy! Boots or Flats (Make sure they are comfy!)  You can even find slippers for women that will work! Here are some styles I want for my next work trip Notice how they are comfortable AND functional. Plus, they can be mixed and matched with other pieces to make multiple outfits. I am all for packing light! Photo: My Style Pill clothedmuch Readers What is your advice for New Girl?  What do you wear on the plane when you are traveling for work? Leave a comment below!  

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Building a Customer-Centric Organization That Employees Love

Building a Customer-Centric Organization That Employees Love Greg Reed had never heard of HomeServe before he joined. Now he claims to have the best job in the world. During his time with the company they were hit with a £30 million fee for mis-selling, had a complete change of management and the business has reinvented itself in a remarkable way with a focus on people. Have a listen to our chat below, keep reading for a summary and don’t forget to subscribe to the Employer Branding Podcast. Talk us through the steps that you took to turn around the business of HomeServe? The first thing that we did was just not selling any more, it was a good symbol to everyone that something was going to change. From there, my boss, Martin Bennett, myself and a few others, sat down and we looked at whether we were really going to be a company that was about its people who wanted to create a great environment for customers off the back of that. How were we going to rebuild the credibility of the company for the staff, because the staff felt incredibly let down and betrayed. So the first thing we did was we looked at our products and things that we didn’t think were core to what we did, like Legal Cover, we just cancelled those products and gave up some income. And some other products, we thought maybe they were too expensive.One product we cut the price in half and we fixed the value. The biggest thing we did was we looked at, as an insurance company, every time we told the customer, “no,” was there a reason for that. Martin and I had a belief that on a product that was discretionary, any time we told a customer, “no,” it would destroy value. So we went and we changed everything about the way the products were built. One of the things that the FCA is pleased about is the fact that our claims rate has doubled over the past four years. We go out twice as much as we used to with a similar amount of customers. So the customers are getting a lot more value out of the product than they used to. Once we had that credibility established with the staff, we told them how we wanted customers to be dealt with. That when you’re on the phone with a customer and if there’s something else that you want to do, then you should do it. And I think the staff reacted to that with “That’s nice, but we’re not sure that you mean it.” What is the “People Promise”? Our customer promise came first. We trained staff talking to customers in a workshop session. Once there was credibility, we could go back out and really create something special for the people promises. They are similar to things that you would see in any other company when you have these type of commitments â€" “Dare to care, do the right thing, own it, always improve, win together, trust each other”. Then what we’ve done through the communication (like Yammer), is given people the ability to talk about these things, and that’s how we recognize and congratulate each other. It’s also how we criticize each other. We have a reward and recognition system. I sent one to an engineer today for £50 for ‘owning it’ because I had been involved in a complaint. It ended up being the Gas Board’s issue, but the engineer, instead of just saying, “Call the Gas Board,” he called the Gas Board and had them fix their stuff. When they stop and the take the time like that with a cu stomer, it’s great to have a way to say, “Thank you for owning that”. The way we’ve set it up (without being abused by frauds) is anyone can send anyone out one of these. Did you take any specific measures to attract talent? On the staff side, we decided to focus on Glassdoor. We actively encourage our staff because we think that they love working here, we can tell from our engagement score and from our staff attrition, we know how they feel about working here. So take the dare and encourage lots of them to go online and talk about the company in an anonymous review. We’ve put messages on the big message boards around. We’ve put messages on everyone’s desktop. You do get bad reviews, but you get good reviews, and the good reviews tell a story because it’s consistent and detailed. The same things come up like the staff will mention customer first as one of the benefits, which I’m particularly proud of. You will get the same cons, the same types of things you would get in a big front-line business like ours because some people aren’t going to enjoy it, but one of the things that’s really important for us is that we are very open in public about addressing the cons, or giving context about why they are that way. What other companies inspire you in terms of culture and employer brand? When I look at companies that I admire, they are the ones who have a consistent strategy. It’s very apparent what they’re doing because I think that is really critical for the staff to be engaged in what they’re doing. If you’re one of these companies who has a customer-facing brand, and then you have an employer brand that’s different, I think you’re living two lives. In today’s age when the staff and millennials are doing so much research, it’s so hard to understand companies, and that two-faced nature will kill you. I looked at Amazon, and despite not allegedly being a great place to work. Their focus on the customer pervades everything they do. I think people do like working there because they like that idea. It’s the same thing for someone like Apple or John Lewis, you really feel when you talk to someone in John Lewis compared to another department store, that they will figure out a way to try to get you what you want. It’s that little extra bit that can rea lly make a difference. I look for consistency in the brand, especially in a service brand. For the staff to be able to deliver that consumer-facing brand that becomes the employer brand â€" they’re all intertwined. Follow Greg on Twitter @MGregoryReed.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

What to Look For in Professional Resume Writing Services

What to Look For in Professional Resume Writing ServicesThe best professional resume writing services in Denver, Colorado are not always the cheapest but they can definitely deliver excellent results. They are your best choice when you are seeking to apply for a job in Denver or any other city in Colorado and are hoping to be hired.So what should you look for when it comes to a company's resume? There are certain key points that you should look for when researching for the perfect service.A top notch resume is a project that requires constant refinement and change. Although a company may be incredibly responsive and helpful, if the resume is not filled with correct information, it is useless. The company needs to meet the expectations of their employer and provide them with accurate, up to date and truthful information.A resume is an endorsement of your abilities, your abilities as a team member and your skill as a leader. It will be utilized by the company you have selected as a ref erence on your application. They need to be used as a selling tool when you apply for a job in Denver. The goal of the resume is to provide the right information to the company and how you would fit into their organization.When writing your resume, it is important to be objective about your experience and qualifications. What skills did you have in the past? What was your highest level of accomplishment? Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but in general, the higher the number of years you have been employed, the better.Companies use resumes to get a feel for the person being interviewed. A good professional resume writer knows how to properly craft a resume that clearly indicates their professional experience and educational background. To get this right, the writer must be able to communicate with the interviewer in a professional way.Many times an applicant will spend so much time on his or her resume, they will not pay the attention to other aspects of the interv iew that require a lot of attention, such as what the interviewer is really looking for. A resume writer understands how to concisely and properly explain one's experiences and accomplishments to an interviewer. The more attention an applicant pays to the details, the more attention the interviewer is going to pay to the details.A professional resume is very important to getting hired and keeping the job. Make sure that you take the time to research each and every resume writer that you encounter in the market.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

4 Essential Steps To Figuring Out What You Should Be Doing With Your Career (And Your Life) - Kathy Caprino

4 Essential Steps To Figuring Out What You Should Be Doing With Your Career (And Your Life) As a career success coach, writer, and researcher, I’ve had the opportunity to observe key trends among thousands of professionals around the world, particularly about how they get stuck and stay stuck in careers they dislike, and how they effectively change directions to a new path that’s rewarding and successful. One challenge I hear literally every day goes something like this: “Kathy, I don’t like my career and I know that I want to change it, but I simply can’t figure out what to do next. What will make me happy, give me the money I need and want, and offer more meaning and purpose. And what do I need to change? If you’ve read anything of work or background, you know that I lived the pain of this experience â€" being stuck for years in a corporate identity that simply didn’t fit me and that was filled with toxicity. After a brutal layoff in the days following 9/11, I finally decided I had to reclaim my life, but to do it, I wanted to learn more about how women overcome professional crisis. I conducted my own yearlong research study and the findings were so powerful and helpful to me, I wrote a book about their stories and effective strategies for career transformation. After 10 years of career coaching now, I’ve seen that there are four critical steps that help people overcome their internal and external career challenges, and transform their lives. The four key steps to transforming your career to something you’ll love are: 1. Dig deep to figure out what you want to keep or leave behind Just last month in a call in my Amazing Career Project course, a participant asked for help determining if it’s her career that’s making her miserable or the environment (employer). She just couldn’t identify what needed to change, and she’s not alone. Here’s what to do: Conduct a thorough assessment of what you would like to preserve and maintain in your current career and job function, and what needs to be shed. To learn more about your current line of work, think about this: If you were to interview 100 people in your line of work, what elements would be consistent â€" what tasks, functions and outcomes do the majority of people in your career engage in, regardless of the employer or environment? What challenges and rewards are consistent among these professionals, regardless of where they work? If you have no clue, go out and starting connecting with and talking to people in your line of work and then ask yourself: “Are these tasks and functions in my job (that are consistent across employers) enjoyable and rewarding to me?” If not, it’s a sign that your career has to change. As an example, I spent my first professional years as a copywriter in publishing. Truthfully, I always liked to write but not as a copywriter selling books and journals. I realized years later that I don’t like writing for marketing purposes, especially pushing other people’s products that I didnt believe in or care much about.   Instead, I love writing about ideas, trends, psychological and therapeutic issues, society, women at work, and solutions, rather than copy for promotional purposes. Writing, then, is a rewarding, fulfilling endeavor for me only when it’s for a purpose I care about. On the other hand, if it’s the job environment that’s killing you, tease out exactly what you dislike about it. (Here’s why most people hate their jobs.) Is it the leadership, the people, the focus, the crushing schedule, the values of the organization, the outcomes they care about, the way they manage, etc.? Brainstorm a list of other organizations you might want to work for who have traits you admire, and start your networking and interviewing process this month.   (By the way, whether youre happy or not in your job, you should be interviewing every four months at least, to get a sense of whats available in the marketplace and what you have to offer other organizations.) Tailor your resume and LinkedIn profile to highlight specifically what you love to do and want to do more of, and communicate about your contributions and talents powerfully. (Heres more on how to do that on LinkedIn). Trust me, your eyes will be opened throughout this process. 2. Uncover the hidden beliefs, mindsets and assumptions that keep your feet planted in stone. Everyone on the planet carries with them thousands of embedded beliefs, mindsets and assumptions â€" about themselves, the world, work, and the people around them. And people who are stuck have often made some costly or rigid assumptions about what they’re capable of creating, their worthiness, and what they need to be happy. The most damaging belief is this: I can’t get what I want.   Clients by the hundreds have shared with me that they don’t feel capable of making the changes they dream of, but from my perspective as a researcher and career coach, I know they are far more capable and competent than they believe. The assumptions (most often unconscious) that keep people trapped are these: I’ve been at this so long, I can’t change I need to earn $XXX to live the life I want My marriage or family won’t survive my making this change I’ll be too old by the time I make this change I don’t have what he/she has I’m unskilled, uneducated or out of touch with current trends I have nothing important to offer I can’t compete today There’s nothing geographically near me that I’d want I’m too exhausted and burnt out to try anything different I’m really down and sad that what I have isn’t working out (and don’t really believe the next thing will be better) Sound familiar? If you have beliefs and mindsets that hold you back, you have to take one key step: revise what you think and believe to something that will serve you better. You might need outside help for that, but it’s about understanding that your beliefs are not set in stone, (they often came from someone else), and you can change them. And when you shift what you believe to something more positive and life- and self-affirming, all is transformed. Go out and talk to some career changers, for instance, and ask yourself: “Are these folks who’ve reinvented their careers really so different from me, or can I do this?” 3. Gain clarity about the best path for you Ask yourself these questions and conduct some research to answer: What are my deepest passions, and which of these make sense as a livelihood and which are better as hobbies? Based on my authentic passions, talents, skills and values,   what are the best careers for me? What are all the factors I also need to address in planning my next direction (money, timing, well-being, geography, family needs, support, enjoyment, health, etc.) Am I making any erroneous assumptions about myself and my life that I need to rethink? Do I know what it takes to be successful in this new direction, and am I committed to it 100%? Do I really want to start my own business, or am I just running away from something? How will I fund my career change or transition? Where will I find the ongoing support I need? 4. Now…tie it all together After you’ve done the work of identifying exactly what you want to change, and revising your mindset that it’s possible, it’s time to connect the dots (listen to the amazing Steve Jobs TED talk) about how to make sense of the key themes of your life, and honor them. Explore a new path that will bring forward what matters to you, and leverage what you’re great at, within an environment that brings out the best in you. View this as a life project rather than a be-all-and-end-all experience. Make this a 6-month endeavor where you explore, research and try on new directions to learn whats best for you going forward. As one who has interviewed hundreds of career changers, I know that what’s required are the 6 C’s: Clarity…to understand what needs to change, specifically Confidence… to believe in yourself that you can do it Courage… to start engaging in the sometimes intimidating work of change Commitment…to keep going through the challenges and do what’s required, and get an accountability buddy to help you Connection…to build a powerful support network and community who can help A powerful change plan…to engage in the right steps that will bring you to a more satisfying outcome (there is a right way, and a wrong way, to change your career.) Don’t make the same huge blunders that so many career changers make. Do the inner and outer work required to 1) discover who you are and what really matters to you, 2) overcome the obstacles in the way of your success, and 3) identify and “try on” several new paths to identify the ones that will bring you the happiness and success you long for. Finally, understand and believe that you’re capable of reaching your highest potential in this life. I believe that you are. To build your happiest career, join me this Spring in my Amazing Career Project 16-week career transformation course. And for hands-on help today, watch my video series Work You Love.

Friday, May 8, 2020

Paramedic Science Degree Interview Questions Answers

Paramedic Science Degree Interview Questions Answers Competition for paramedic roles is fiercely competitive. For every opportunity, you can expect that there will be hundreds of other applicants fighting for the same position as you. With this in mind, it’s essential that you can give yourself the maximum advantage when applying. A great way to do this, is to complete a paramedic science degree. Completing a paramedic science degree won’t just give you an advantage over the competition, but it will also allow you to experience what it’s like working as a paramedic, and give you essential practice for the future. In this blog, we’ll give you some tips on how to secure your spot on a paramedic science degree, largely focusing upon the interview.The Paramedic Science DegreeStudents who wish to enrol on a paramedic science degree course will be required to pass a selection process that includes a numeracy and literacy test, a fitness test and an interview. In relation to the fitness test, candidates are usually required to underta ke the multi-stage fitness test, or bleep test, as it is otherwise known.It is the interview that the majority of candidates are concerned with, as they need to successfully convince the panel that they should choose them to embark on the paramedic science degree course. The interview panel will normally consist of a university course tutor and a paramedic. The member of the panel who is from the university will be primarily interested in assessing whether or not you have the ability to successfully pass the course, while the paramedic will be more concerned with whether or not you possess the right skills to become a paramedic.In the build up to the paramedic science degree interview you should concentrate your preparation on the following main areas:Preparing answers to potential interview questions.How you would react to certain emergency incidents.The role of a paramedic and the ambulance service.Why you want to become a paramedic.Why you think you can successfully pass the cour se.Issues that are affecting the NHS and the ambulance service at that particular time.In order to help you prepare more effectively, we will now take a look at each area in detail and, more importantly, the reasons why the panel want to know this information.How you would react to certain emergency incidentsAs you can imagine, part of the role of the paramedic is having the ability to remain calm during extremely testing incidents. The interview panel, especially the paramedic, will be interested to see how you react to certain emergency incidents. The majority of students who apply to become a paramedic will have hopefully never witnessed a fatality, so therefore they will need to provide an explanation of how they believe they would act in such a situation.When preparing for this type of question think about how you would react in any of the following scenarios:Scenario 1 How do you think you would react if you were the first person to arrive at the scene of a serious road traffi c collision?Things to consider:It is important that paramedics remain calm at all times whilst attending emergency incidents. If they are calm then they are in control and they will therefore be able to perform their duties competently and professionally.Whilst attending road traffic collisions paramedics and other members of the emergency services need to carry out a ‘dynamic risk assessment’ (DRA). In basic terms, the DRA is the management of risk through a continuous process of identifying hazards, assessing risks, taking action to eliminate or reduce risk, monitoring and reviewing, all in the rapidly changing circumstances of the operational incident. It is their responsibility to ensure that they and other people at the scene are safe.Patient care is vitally important. Assessing the needs of each of the casualties and providing the appropriate level of care would be the task of the paramedic.Scenario 2 As a paramedic you receive a 999 call to an incident at a nightclub. A m an has been attacked and his attacker has left the scene. What would you do?Things to consider:One of the first priorities, in addition to patient care, would be to request the attendance of the police. They would need to attend in order to gather details of the alleged attack and also to provide you with support and protection whilst you treat the injured.Again, you would need to carry out a dynamic risk assessment of the scene to ensure that you are safe.At all times you must remain calm. During incidents where alcohol is involved, those under the influence may act in an aggressive, violent or confrontational manner and you would need to ensure that your exit is maintained at all times.During incidents of this nature you may also be required to calm people down and create space so that you can attend to the casualty. During such incidents onlookers tend to gather, which can impede your ability as a paramedic to treat the patient.The role of a Paramedic and the Ambulance ServiceDur ing your training, you will have read and absorbed a large amount of information that is relevant to the role of a paramedic and the ambulance service. This information will be sufficient to prepare you for job-related questions that may come up during the paramedic science degree interview.Things to consider:Take a look at the website of the ambulance service or NHS trust that you are interested in joining if you successfully pass the paramedic science degree course. What does it say about the role and what does it say about the ambulance service?Consider learning the vision and the values of the service. The panel will be impressed if you are able to recite these.Try to arrange a visit to your local ambulance station and ask the paramedics about their role and what it involves.Why you want to become a paramedicOnly you will know the reason why you want to become a paramedic. When considering your response to questions based around this theme, try to think about the qualities of a paramedic that you are able to match. Keep away from reasons such as salary, pension and the opportunity to drive around in an ambulance with the blue lights flashing!The positive aspects of the role include:The chance to make a difference.Working with a highly professional team of people.The opportunity to work within a diverse workforce and a diverse community.Learning new skills and obtaining qualifications.Working in a job where no two days are the same â€" the variety of the job.Why you think you can successfully pass the courseThose candidates who can demonstrate they have previous history of successfully completing difficult tasks and training courses are far more likely to stick with the degree course and pass it. During the interview the panel may ask you to explain why you think you can successfully pass the paramedic science degree course. During your response it is important that you can provide details of where you have previously worked hard in order to gain a qualific ation or complete a training course. You will most probably have studied hard previously to pass either your GCSEs or A-Levels and this evidence should form the basis of your response.The panel will also want to see a demonstration of enthusiasm and passion from you, as this will provide further evidence of your commitment to successfully completing the course. Questions of this nature are usually designed to separate those candidates who are genuinely interested and passionate about becoming a paramedic from those who are simply going through the motions and have not put any real thought into their chosen course or career path.Things to consider:Provide details of where you have previously studied over a long period of time and obtained some form of qualification.Demonstrate a level of passion and enthusiasm for the course and for the role of a paramedic.Provide evidence of where you have gone out of your way to find out about the course and also the role of a paramedic.Issues that are affecting the NHS and the ambulance service at that particular timeAt any particular time there will be certain issues affecting the NHS. For example, at the time of writing this guide one of the most important issues affecting the NHS is that of ‘swine flu’ and how the government and the NHS aim to tackle the problem and prevent its spread.The reason why the panel ask this type of question is to assess whether or not you have a genuine interest in the NHS and the Ambulance Service. Make sure you keep up to date with current affairs that are affecting the NHS, the role of a paramedic and the Ambulance Service.Things to consider:In the build up to your interview visit websites and chat forums on the internet to learn what the current topical issues are that are affecting the NHS.Consider subscribing to a paramedic journal or magazine, as these will usually contain up-to-date issues and current affairs. This entry was posted in Education, Interviews. Bookmark the permalink. Jordan Cooke How to Pass the Australian Police Officer Numerical Reasoning TestThe Police Officer Application Form: How To Score Top Marks