There’s no question about it. Job interviews can be stressful, but they are also a life changing opportunity. At Moore Staffing we are involved in a lot of them and understand what it takes to ace it. We know it’s important to make sure you are putting your best foot forward, so here are some tips for every type of interview situation that should help you accomplish just that.
Start with our general interview tips and tricks and then check out the extra tips we have for your specific interview type!
General Interview Tips, Tricks & Resources:
Do your research: Visit the company website/ Google the company to review recent news articles
Connect with key people on LinkedIn.
Bring a notebook, pen and a water bottle.
Set your cell phone to silent mode.
Be prepared to answer the basic questions
“Why are you interested in this role?”
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
“What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
Prepare questions to ask. The right questions to ask should be around the position & company such as:
What are the main challenges?
What the interviewer likes about working with the company?
What current projects they are working on? etc.
Stay away from asking about pay, benefits etc.
Wear your best smile and come off as genuine and interested during the meeting!
Use the STAR interview method to prepare on “Tell me about a time when… “ questions and past examples of your success or failures
Determine if the video interview is going to be recorded answering of prompts or a video conference with back and forth conversation between you and the hiring manager.
Download the correct video chat platform and create account using the same email on your resume prior to your scheduled interview time.
Check your internet connection.
Be close to your router if you need better connection, plug into the ethernet or disconnect all other devices from WIFI for the time being.
Dress the part.
Wear the attire you would expect during an in person interview.
We recommend pulling your hair out of your face as shadows appear darker on screens.
Don’t get interrupted.
Be sure notifications are turned off and that potential noise making applications are closed.
Be conscious of your background and lighting.
You should be well lit so that they can see your face clearly without distracting objects behind you.
Have bulleted notes for answers to potential questions at hand
Keep your resume in clear view .
Be sure they have received an updated copy and have the file available to send if needed.
Have the job description available to look at.
Highlight key words before the interview to help you make sure you hit those key points
If it is a video conference using a video chat application, arrive a few minutes early.
If it is recorded interview questions, write down your thoughts and practice saying them with direct eye contact at the camera. Then record.
8 Smart Questions to Ask Hiring Mangers in a Job Interview: here
Now that you’ve read your list of tips and tricks, take a deep breath and know that you will be presented the opportunity you were made for. We have complete confidence in you and you should too. While it may feel awkward to promote yourself, you are being honest and genuine about your abilities and it is information your potential employer will be glad to hear. You are amazing, so express that! Not that you’ll need it, but good luck!
Comment below your favorite trip or trick and how you have used it! We’d love to hear from you.
Supply Chain, Engineering & Manufacturing Staffing Solutions- An Explanation of Our Vertical and the Importance of Specialization
Moore provides organizations top talent to design, plan, manufacture and ship products worldwide with our Lean Six Sigma certified Supply Chain, Engineering & Manufacturing Staffing Solutions Team (SEMSST).
So what does it mean for a Staffing Solutions Team to have expertise in the Supply Chain, Engineering & Manufacturing industry and why does it matter?
The simple answer is that it means to have knowledge in the industry to further understand and exceed your clients expectations.
More specifically, for our SEMSST, it means that we understand the trade specific skills and how to probe potential candidates for their proficiency in them. And with over 40 years of experience, we can say we’ve done just that.
By maintaining relationships with our clients, we become an extension of their organization and educate ourselves according to both their companies innovations, as well as, the entire industry’s. Using this knowledge and understanding of the client’s culture, we are able to source and back valuable candidates for our client to choose from. Being able to identify candidates with the “right” skill sets as they apply to the client’s needs are crucial in placing candidates into positions that play to their strengths. Specializing in the vertical allows us to have a better understanding of the engineering world as a whole and therefore, we are able to “talk the same talk” with both candidates and clients.
Our staffing managers make a point of following the market trends. By staying in tune with the projection of their industry, they are able to better assess what skills candidates will need to progress and further their future employer’s business. By attending webinars, classes (more recently online) and professional development sessions, we are constantly building our knowledge on the skills it takes to complete and exceed a job.
For example, additive manufacturing has been developed within the more recent years and has begun to expand as an industry. With this being the trend, we have made efforts to stay on top of these skills even if they aren’t required by the client due to the fact that they may be in the near future. Understanding the industry trends and expectations for roles gives our managers a base for their search, but understanding the client culture and requirements for an individual client is done through relationship building and experience.
This service isn’t limited to a particular level of employee or sector. Being a small business ourselves, we understand what it has meant to build from the ground up. Because of this we are able to apply our knowledge to ground level employee fills, all the way up to senior management. We also understand the cross functionality of employment within an organization and have the ability to fill all job types within the company.
Here are a few of our success stories:
Start-up Additives Manufacturing Client:
Startups are usually in a division within an industry all to themselves. Still, as always, understanding this additive manufacturing client’s needs was imperative to finding their perfect fit. Having the foresight to see the Manufacturing Industry’s innovations move toward additive manufacturing, our solutions team had already taken the initiative to understand how this breakthrough technology changed the requirements for engineers and manufacturers being hired. Because of this, we have been able to develop a relationship with one of the top startup additive manufacturers in the area and have successfully placed candidates all the way up to leadership roles. We continue to be an extension of this startup and have been able to watch it succeed in the industry.
Using this knowledge we were able to place senior staff members, pushing the success of our client to their full potential. Read why staffing agencies are imperative to start up success here.
Essential Workers:
During a time of need, manufacturers of various products became medical device focused overnight. Due to the increase need in production, several previous and new clients looked to Moore Staffing for assistance in finding potential manufacturers to increase their workforce.
Having maintained relationships with these clients we were able to quickly ramp up their team to support the ongoing pandemic response. Knowing each client specifically, we were able to better match candidates to their workplace environment. It has been some of our favorite success stories because we were able to quickly provide both clients and candidates the support they needed while also supporting our community.
Flexible Placements:
We always enjoy working with clients who are understanding of candidates that might not always fit the criteria of a particular position but possess the drive and diligence in learning to become the role they need them to be. These clients are flexible enough to give candidates an opportunity and chance to prove themselves. Over the years one of our design and engineering clients in particular, has shown to be one of those clients. We have a relationship with this company that allows for both sides to work with each other and trust in each others judgement. Our communication is truly a conversation and our client and candidates have benefited greatly.
Candidate:
One of our favorite candidate placements had moved into this area from Colorado the first week of January 2020. He had no job at the time and was living with friends until he could secure a job. We reached out to him about an assembly position and submitted him as a candidate seeing that his resume exemplified hard work and dedication. He interviewed the next day and was offered the position. Within 5 days of moving here from Colorado, he had a secured position and a new career.
Here at Moore Staffing, our Supply Chain, Engineering & Manufacturing Staffing Solutions Team understands that specializing and gaining knowledge in their vertical expands their ability to exceed both candidates’ and clients’ needs. It is truly about finding solutions and having the expertise in the industry provides tremendous results.
Looking to hire?
Looking to add someone to the team? Check out our Contract to Hire option!
“A person who won’t read has no advantage over the one who can’t read” – Mark Twain
Education and developing skills is something that drastically changes after we decide to leave the traditional school route. Many of us leave this system after high school, undergraduate or masters and that’s it. If professional development is required or created by our employer, we attend and participate, but many of us do not seek out education on our own. But continuing education doesn’t have to be in the traditional sense through a school, the internet has changed the way we can continue to learn.
If the recent times has taught us anything here at Moore Staffing, we have learned that seeking education to develop our skills is of the utmost importance. It is a great way to support or extend your resume, sticking out as a potential employee. (Come back soon for ways to fine tune your resume and stick out to hiring managers specifically. It’ll be series on our blog over the next few weeks.)
Continuing education does not directly have to align with your career either. Developing new skills strengthens other skill sets that may apply to your profession. In attempting to fill our day with meaning during these times, taking steps to explore education online is in everyone’s best interest.
To put one skill, reading, into perspective, here are a few statistics:
“Less than a third of 13-year-olds were daily readers in 2007, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. For 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20 year period.” (From: here)
“21 million Americans can’t read at all, 45 million are marginally illiterate and one-fifth of high school graduates can’t read their diplomas.” (From: here)
Education is the greatest weapon in our arsenal. Many times it’s as simple as dedicating time to pick up a book. The billionaires of the world are a perfect example of how education, more specifically reading, correlates to your success. If reading isn’t enjoyable, audio books are a great way to receive the same content and pass the time.
Online resources are extensive and great opportunities to capitalize on. While motivating oneself to be on top of learning in this way is an adjustment, practice makes perfect and there are plenty of free opportunities to get in the swing of things.
There is a great quote about education from Andy McIntyre stating “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” And there are many aspects to this statement that are true, but we also realize many people are on a budget or don’t have the same access to education as others. For that reason, below is a list of mostly free, some paid for opportunities to learn almost anything online.
We recommend starting with something you’re passionate about or interested in to get into the swing of dedicating time to learning and producing work outside of your workplace. It will keep motivation high and add to the amount of fun in your day during times where we feel stuck. Then progress to other skills that may not be as intriguing but necessary or complimentary to your chosen or future profession. For example, our Marketing Strategist has been taking the Imagineering in a Box course on Khan Academy created by Disney. While imagineering and creating a theme park does not apply to her career, she has been developing and increasing her skills regarding creativity and the importance of genuineness.
Comment below what your favorite course have been and why! Wed love to gain some feedback on which learning channels have worked for you and provide others with suggestions on where to start.
Accounting and Finance Staffing Solutions- An Explanation of Our Vertical and the Importance of Specialization
Moore Staffing provides various sized organizations in a wide spectrum of industries with top accounting, financial, revenue cycle management and bookkeeping talent. We ensure that candidates meet and exceed the job description provided by our clients through specializing and becoming experts in our verticals.
So what does it mean for a Staffing Solutions Team to have expertise in the Accounting and Finance industry and why does it matter?
The simple answer, from a staffing perspective, is that it means to have knowledge in the industry to further understand and exceed your clients expectations.
More specifically, for our Accounting and Finance Staffing Solutions team, it means that we understand the trade specific skills and how to probe potential candidates for their proficiency in them. And with over 40 years of experience, we can say we’ve done just that.
Our staffing managers make a point of following the market trends. By staying in tune with the projection of their industry, they are able to better assess what skills candidates will need to progress and further their future employer’s business.
For example, back 20+ years ago, accounting and bookkeeping had just begun to use computerized systems. It was important to be ahead of the trend and source accountants with specific computer skills and program experience. This not only did this impressed our clients but gave them the flexibility with their new hire to start onboarding the innovations into their business model without needing to educate or train them.
A more recent trend has been cloud accounting. With this being the trend we have made efforts to stay on top of these skills even if they aren’t required by the client due to the fact that they may be in the near future. Understanding the industry trends and expectations for roles gives our managers a base for their search, but understanding the client culture and requirements for an individual client is done through relationship building and experience.
By maintaining relationships with our clients, we become an extension of their organization and educate ourselves according to their companies mission and differentiation points. Using this knowledge and our understanding of the client’s workplace culture, we are able to source and back valuable candidates for our client to choose from. More recently, accounting and financial services have seen a shift in work from home capabilities. Different clients offer different supports in their work from home shift, so when sourcing talent, we verify that a candidates at home capabilities complies with what the company is able to provide.
Our service isn’t limited to a particular level of employee or sector within the clientele. Being a small business ourselves, we understand what it has meant to build from the ground up. Because of this we are able to apply our knowledge to ground level employee fills, all the way up to senior management. We also understand the cross functionality of employment within an organization and have the ability to fill all job types within the company. Our vertical can be applied across industries to organizations that need financing and accounting roles filled or to finance and accounting firms who need various roles filled.
Specializing in the vertical also allows us to be experts when speaking with potential candidates in ways outside of examining their skills. While speaking to their experience and their career goals is our first look at candidates, we also strive to understand their personality and how they interact with people. Like our clients, building relationships with our candidates is of the utmost importance so we make efforts to follow up with them and keep communication open even after they have been placed. We often find that exemplary candidates just need slight tweaks to their resume presentation or their interview skills and being specialized in their field, we are able to provide them the best advice possible.
Specializing gives a more quality focused service to both our candidates and clients.
Here are a few of our success stories:
Working with our client who does prototyping through production for critical applications in all types of metals and plastics has been one of our favorites. This was a client that had no HR middle person to engage with onboarding new personnel. Building trust and rapport with this client was essential to get our candidate in their office, but also that allowed us be more engaged and having them trust us with more openings. Being able to collaborate with another vertical within Moore Staffing gave us even more expertise in sourcing their perfect candidate as a cross sector fill within the company. We have been able to continue our relationship with this client and always look forward to working with them.
Another great success was with our client who is one of the largest workwear and textile service companies in North America. It has been a great experience for us mutually. Making sure we understand the hiring manager needs, has allowed us to fill jobs, but also for this client to trust us with sending us more job orders across their organization. That open communication was key to supporting this client.
One candidate for a Tax Manager placement was one of our favorite candidate stories yet. He had come to us with over 20 years of experience and having his own firm but with no resume. We coached him, helped him build his Curriculum Vitae and placed him at a top local public accounting firm. Both our client and candidate were fulfilled with the placement.
Here at Moore Staffing, our Accounting and Finance Solutions Team understands that specializing and gaining knowledge in their vertical expands their ability to exceed both candidates’ and clients’ needs. It is truly about finding solutions and having the expertise in the industry provides tremendous results.
