One growing trend in the workplace is that employers are using recruiters more to look for workers as part of their hiring process. If you are looking for a job, it is to your advantage to know how to work with recruiters, and to know how they work.

Preparation is key here. If you have never been contacted by a recruiter, or it’s been some time since you’ve talked with one, do some research and learn about the process, or to refresh your memory.

Although the recruiter is working for the employer, he or she can be very helpful to you as a job seeker. The recruiter can give you advice about the process and be used for feedback for your own impressions.  The recruiter also can be a go-between for employers and job applicants.  The recruiter can pass along information or respond to other concerns even before actual contact between the parties occurs.

Find out the payment system that the recruiter is using.  Is he being paid on a retainer basis, where he will receive payment regardless of the outcome, or on a strictly commission basis, which tends to make the recruiter work to close the deal as quickly as possible?   Knowing this as a job candidate is important because if the recruiter is working on a retainer, you can be more confident knowing that he will not be in a rush to close the deal and will be more concerned about finding the right person for the job.

You need to be able to sell yourself to a recruiter.  You need to give the recruiter a solid understanding of your skills and experience, as well as what kind of position you seek.

It’s also important in dealing with a recruiter to be yourself.  Trying to create an appearance that is not the real you just to fit a job description will sooner or later lead to problems because you may end up in a job that is not a good fit.  Try not to come across as too eager, which might be seen as desperation.  You need to be poised and confident in dealing with a recruiter.

As with any job search, you also want to investigate your potential employer and make yourself as informed as possible about the company.

You need to let the recruiter know if you are following up on any other job leads. The recruiter and the employer know that candidates are pursuing as many opportunities as they can find, so this is not a problem. It might also make you look better to a company if it knows you are being sought by other employers as well.

You also have to be willing to take suggestions and even criticism from the recruiter. Don’t take it personally because the recruiter is simply trying to improve your attractiveness as a job candidate.

If you’re looking for work in the construction, engineering or architecture sectors in the Washington, DC area, contact a recruiter at RealStreet Staffing. We have many temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments with some of DC’s best companies. We look forward to hearing from you.

As most people know, there are different kinds of interviews, and different interviewing techniques. Most of the attention given to interviews goes to those where a job is at stake.

But there is another kind of interview –  the informational interview — that doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves, because it too can be an effective way to land a job or boost a career.

The informational interview can be used to help you gain real, practical knowledge about an industry or help you expand your network of people. More people need to use them, according to Annie Favreau, a career counselor.

She offers some advice on how to get the most out of the informational interview, beginning with doing the proper research. You should never go into these kinds of interviews without doing research on the person you are interviewing and the industry in which he or she works. You need to have some idea about what the individual does. You can perform this research in a number of ways, looking through books, on the Internet, or even talking to family and friends.

You should also have a specific reason for meeting with the person, a purpose in mind. Yes, you are gathering information, but for what, and why? You need to answer these important questions before you ever approach the person for a meeting. This is important for making a good impression on the person, because he or she will probably be a little frustrated if you are unclear why you want to talk to him or her. For example, are you interested in learning the specific duties of a certain job, or what the hurdles are to getting into a certain profession, or what you need to do to be successful in a certain job? Prepare questions in advance that relate to your reason for requesting a meeting.

And don’t waste the person’s time by asking questions you can find the answer to yourself by doing a little reading. You are there to get information that only this person can provide, the answers that come from actually working in the industry.

Finally, this is an informational interview, not a job interview, so do not ask for a job. This is a kind of bait-and-switch tactic that will only annoy the person you are talking to.

If you’re looking to find a new position, the recruiters at RealStreet Staffing would love to meet with you to discuss what types of jobs are out there. We have many terrific temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire positions with some of Washington, DC’s top construction, engineering and architecture firms. Contact us today!

“Tell me a little about yourself.”

That’s a common line in any job interview. It’s something you should know is coming and something for which you should prepare. You should have some idea as to how you are going to answer such a question, so you’re not left stammering or giving a rambling, hard-to-follow answer.

If you are not sure how to answer the question, here are a few tips on how to approach it.
When the interviewer asks a question like this, he or she is trying to determine how good a fit you will be with the company. The hiring manager is trying to get a sense of your personality and attitude. If, for example, you come across as a sober and straitlaced type, and the company or department has a more informal, relaxed atmosphere, that might raise some reservations in the hiring manager’s mind as to whether the company/department is the right place for you.

The irony of the situation is that a hiring manager doesn’t really want to know a lot about you personally.  You can save the biographical information for another time.

What an interviewer is most interested in hearing about is what you’ve achieved in career or job history. And now is a good time to expand on what you have on your résumé, to go beyond the bullet points and talk about what you have done, the contributions you have made, and to do it in a bit more depth. The interviewer wants to know what kind of job you are going to do in his or her company/department and telling him or her what you’ve done in the past will give the hiring manager an idea of how you’ll be able to contribute in the future.

You can also add a little information here about your attitude and personality, how you see yourself, what personality traits define you.

And, while many job applicants are under the mistaken impression that they need to be as brief as possible in their answers, you do need to watch so that you don’t wander off topic. Before you answer, take a little time to collect your thoughts and come up with a general plan as to what you are going to say. And again, it’s perfectly acceptable to talk for a few minutes about your background and experience, but watch that you don’t take any detours from your main point.

Got the job interview jitters? We’ll help calm you and give you some great tips when we send you for an interview with one of our client companies. Call RealStreet Staffing today so that we can help you find temporary and direct-hire positions with some of Washington DC’s top architecture, construction and engineering firms. We look forward to hearing from you!

In the world of classical music, orchestra musicians are notoriously unhappy – with a job satisfaction lower than that of a prison guard.  While at the same time, the people at the top of the job satisfaction ladder are chamber orchestra musicians.

It is this dichotomy that has important lessons for everyone on how to lead and learn in business and in life, according to Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.  For him, the difference in outlook between the two comes down to leadership.

In the large orchestra, the management is top down.  It is for the most part a very autocratic arrangement, with the conductor having all of the power.  In the chamber orchestra, however, each player is pretty much autonomous, and the players cooperate to perform.

Taking his cue from the chamber orchestra, Zander sees his job as a conductor to help the musicians he is conducting achieve their best performance.  They need to look at possibilities, not limitations.  The same is true for businesses, which are taking note of Zander’s approach.

To look at things in terms of possibilities, we must realize that all of our actions are the result of a choice.  We can do things as we have always done them, or we can make the choice to question the assumptions we have always had.  Zander uses a piece of music as an example.  We can play the music as it has always been played, or, by questioning our assumptions about it, and reinterpreting it, we can change it into something altogether new.

As part of his leadership style, Zander now focuses on what he can offer to society, not just what he can accomplish for himself.  Looking at things this way takes the image of success and failure out of the picture.

When it comes to managing and solving problems, we all have choices, Zander says.  We can take on a problem with a range of different attitudes – fear, anger, boredom.  But we also can see the possibility inherent in each situation.  And looking at the possibilities in each problem will lead us to take a hard look at our assumptions because it is these assumptions which are often obstacles to making real innovation.  In every organization, we all need to look at the assumptions we make and make those assumptions explicit so that we can examine them and adjust as needed.

If you’re looking for a great new position in the engineering, architecture or construction sectors in the Washington, DC area, conduct yourself on over to RealStreet Staffing. We’re waiting to hear from you!

No matter if you’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates over the years or if you’re new to the “art of the interview,” here are some tips to help you as you work to find your next great hire.

Listen. Really listen. Talk less. A good rule of thumb is to listen 80 percent of the time. Let your candidate be the one who does almost all of the talking. You’ll learn quite a bit that way. Get comfortable with silence — don’t feel you have to rush in and ask another question as soon as your interviewee finishes answering a question. You can use this time to finish jotting down notes or coming up with another question based on something your candidate just mentioned.

This also shows your candidate that you’re interested in what he has to say and that you’re really considering what he’s saying.

Don’t be shy about asking for clarification. If, for example, a candidate mentions he was the project manager for a multi-million dollar project, ask for specifics. What was the actual dollar amount? How many people did he manage during the project? How long was the project? Did it end on time and under or at budget?

Listening more and talking less allows you to get a good idea of a candidate’s personality and will help you ascertain if he will be a “good fit” for your company or department’s culture.

Here are some questions you may want to consider asking:

Why do you want to work here? This question lets you see how much a candidate knows about your firm. The more detail a candidate offers (“I’ve followed how your company is earning more and more government contracts and I want to be a part of a company that’s growing”) shows you that the applicant has done his research.

Why should I hire you over someone else? This question lets the candidate tell you in more detail about his skills and background. If a candidate relays that experience in a way that shows how that experience will help you, all the better.

Tell me a bit about your background. You already know a bit about this from reading an applicant’s résumé. Yet asking this question allows you to see if the candidate couches his work history in a way that shows how it will benefit your business. On the other hand, if the candidate goes on too much about how working for you will benefit him (it would be a great promotion, he could save more for a down payment on a home, it’s always been his dream to work in Washington, DC, etc.), you can pretty much see that this candidate doesn’t understand that you’re hiring him to solve your company’s problems, not his.

When you need skilled and reliable engineering, architecture and construction professionals for your Washington Metro-area firm, contact RealStreet Staffing. We can provide you with top-notch temporary, temp-to-hire or direct hire professionals. We look forward to hearing from you!

If you’re working for a difficult boss, our heartfelt sympathy goes out to you.

Still, sympathy doesn’t make the bad boss go away. So here are some tips on how to work with a difficult boss.

First of all, if your boss is making your life miserable, here are a few things you should not do:

Don’t stoop to his or her behavior, especially if there’s shouting, derision and rudeness.
Don’t be meek and “just take it.”
Don’t avoid interacting with your boss.
Don’t start missing work just because you want to avoid your boss.

You should sit down and figure out what you believe to be the source of your conflict with your boss. Is it truly a personality clash, or is it because you and your boss have a different way of looking at the world of work?

If you feel you and your boss clash because you look at the world differently, try these tips:

• Remember that the two of you are different and you don’t have to see or feel things in the same way in order to get along at work.
• Work to solve your disagreement; don’t try to win the argument. Compromise should become your middle name.
• Go to your boss in a conciliatory manner. Ask for his or her thoughts, ideas, and reasons about an issue and really listen to what your boss has to say.
• Compliment your boss on any suggestions or ideas you like, then suggest your own ideas. Explain how these will benefit your company. You also may want to bring up the drawbacks to your ideas and how you could go about fixing these “problems.” It’s always a good idea to highlight both pros and cons — it makes it appear you’ve given balanced thought to your ideas.

If you and your boss have a personality clash, consider these points:

• Does your boss tread everyone poorly, or is it just you?
• If it’s just you, do the two of you have some unresolved beef going on between you?
• Be honest – is there really something your boss legitimately can dislike about you, such as poor performance, lackadaisical attitude or some other on-the-job issue?
• Do you have issues with other people? If so, maybe it’s not your boss; maybe it’s you.

Once you’ve figured out the “why,” it’s time to see “how” you can fix the relationship with your boss.

• Keep calm. Your boss may have bad people skills. Don’t take the bad behavior personally.
• When you approach your boss, do so calmly and reasonably. If your boss starts yelling, don’t yell back. Instead, calmly state that you don’t appreciate being spoken to in such a manner.
• If your boss says something with which you can agree, say so. People often rant because they feel they’re aren’t being heard or validated. Agreeing with your boss, even if it’s on something minor, can go a long way to opening the lines of communication.
• Discuss your needs calmly and clearly.
• If your boss shows aggressive or abusive behavior, contact your boss’ supervisor or your human resources department.

If, no matter how hard you try, your relationship with your boss still is fraught with stress and difficulty, it may be time to begin looking for your next opportunity. If so, bring your resume to RealStreet Staffing. We can help you find your next great opportunity at some of Washington DC’s best construction, engineering and architecture firms. Contact us today.

If you’re currently employed and — lucky you! — have been offered another position — in this economy! — you now have some thinking to do.

Taking the new job may not be an automatic no-brainer. Here are some tips to help you decide if you should stay where you are now or if you should take the new position.

First of all, consider why you applied for the position in the first place. Is your current commute too long and adversely affecting the quality of your personal life. Are you being paid below-market wages? Is there little room for advancement?

If the new position is much closer to home, if you’re receiving a good pay increase and/or if the new job entails a promotion or the opportunity to face new challenges and opportunities (additional skills, etc.), it probably is a good idea to take the offer.

However, and this is important, whenever you leave one position for another, you should be doing so because you’re running to something, not running  from something. If your boss is a jerk, if your co-workers stink, if you’ve discovered the job isn’t a good fit, do not take the first job opportunity that comes along. If you do, you’re trying to escape a bad situation and  you could be running yourself directly into another. Instead, if your current job really is hell on earth, you still should take your time and wait until a truly good opportunity for you comes along.

As you weigh whether or not to accept a new job, here are some things to ask yourself:

• Does the job offer more interesting and challenging work?
• What’s the company culture like? Do you think you’ll be comfortable working there? (For example, the new position will have you working in a cubicle in a large room, but you’re used to having your own office. Will you be able to function in a room that undoubtedly will have more noise and interruptions?
• How much is your total compensation? Is it about the same as your salary now, but are you going from two weeks paid vacation a year to four (and is that important to you)?
• Will the new job be a promotion?
• What is the reputation of the company in your industry? Will having this company as part of your resume be helpful? Do you even care?
• Will the new position give you continuous opportunities to learn new skills?
• How long will your commute be? If you’ll need to move, will the salary allow you to live comfortably in the new city? (Many cost-of-living calculators on the Internet can help you answer that question.)
• How well did you and your potential new boss hit it off? Naturally, you both were on your best behavior during your interviews, but take a deep breath and really think back on your interactions. Look for clues as to how your boss really works. For example, he may have mentioned he hates it when his crew come in late by even just five minutes without calling. Could this be a sign of a micro-manager, or is he someone who just really wants people to be on time because customers/clients start calling at 8 a.m. sharp and it’s important that his team be there to serve them? Think on this type of information and trust your gut.)

You can trust RealStreet Staffing to help you find your next great opportunity at some of Washington DC’s best construction, engineering and architecture firms. When you’re looking for a new opportunity, we want to hear from you.

If having more control over where and for whom you work appeals to you, if the idea of having many different workplace experiences and duties pleases you, if the chance to make more money per hour than you would working as a “permanent” employee intrigues you, work as a contract employee may be right for you.

Many employers today hire contract and/or free-lance workers during peaks in their production schedules, or during crunch times.  They use the contract workers only when they need to, letting them go — by mutual agreement — when production slows down and/or the crunch time eases up.

In fact, more and more employers are looking to contract workers as a big part of their regular business strategy; as our information and “just in time” economy kicks back into gear, many businesses may permanently run with just a “core” number of full-time employees, hiring contractor and free-lancers only when necessary.

Many companies pay contractors on a different pay scale than the one they use to pay regular employees. Contract workers often receive an hourly pay rate much higher than salaried employees because the employer doesn’t need to cover a contract worker’s health insurance, time off, unemployment insurance, etc.

Another terrific benefit of contract work is the flexibility if offers. If you don’t want to work for a certain company, doing a certain task between certain dates, you don’t have to. If you finish one position, you can arrange for your next position to start when you want it to — you can take a vacation knowing you’ll have work when you return. If you want to take an entire month between contracts, you can.

You’ll also have the opportunity to work on assignments and for people that interest you — and not work on assignments that don’t. You’ll have little chance of becoming bored on the job due to the fact that you’ll constantly be working on new projects in new settings.

If you’re looking for contract positions with some of Washington Metro’s best construction, architecture and engineering firms, contact RealStreet Staffing. We can help you find your next contract assignment — or help you find a regular, full-time position.

Last week we touched on questions you should ask in an interview. But what about those you should NEVER ask?

Ask these questions and you can probably wave good bye to any chance of getting hired or getting the salary you truly deserve:

How much paid vacation time do I get? While there’s inherently nothing wrong with this question, this one becomes a job-offer killer depending on when you ask it. Ask it during the first interview and you come across as wanting a job only to get a paid vacation. Most employers want their employees to have some R and R after working: employees come back refreshed and ready to be productive, but this questions smacks of “what can you do for me, Ms. Employer?” rather than “Here are my skills and knowledge and here’s how they will benefit your company.”

Can you see the difference? The first gives the impression that you don’t understand why employers hire people. Hint: they are not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. Businesses hire people to solve problems. Show an employer how you will solve her problems! That’s truly the key to a successful job interview, one that leads to a job offer.

So save questions about vacation, benefits, etc. for the second or third interview. If the employer happens to mention in the first interview how much vacation time you may expect, thank her for the information and leave it at that.

How much does this position pay? There are two big problems with this question. First of all, it shows the employer you haven’t done any research about her company nor the position for which you’re applying. You should have a general idea as to a salary you can expect for the type of position, the industry and the area of the country where the business is located

The second reason you should never ask this question is that it puts you at a distinct disadvantage. Why? Because 1) if the employer answers with a set amount or even range, you have no wiggle room. The salary is what is, even if you are able to show the employer that your skills are more valuable. 2) The hiring manager actually is most likely to ask you what kind of salary you are looking for.  You pretty much have to answer because it was you, after all, who brought the topic of salary up. So you mention a number/range and, poof! there goes any leverage you had for negotiation.

Never bring up salary until your second or third interview. If the company will be hiring based on just one interview, wait for your interviewer to bring the salary question up.

Residents of the Washington DC area with construction, engineering, architectural and project management skills looking to work with some of the best Metro Washington companies, should contact RealStreet Staffing. We have the contacts, resources an experiences to help you take your career to the next level. Contact us today!

So you’ve landed an interview. Congratulations!

Now you need to prepare for it, and prepare well.

If you researched the company some as you were writing your cover letter and resume (you did didn’t you, so that you could reference your knowledge of the company in your cover letter?), you now need to really dig in so that you’ll be able to discuss thoroughly how your specific skills and background will help the business meet its goals and challenges.

Most of your interview will be filled with you answering questions about your qualifications, your experience and skills and your successes.

But eventually, usually near the end of the session, the hiring manager/interviewer will probably utter these five words: “Do you have any questions?”

Here are some questions you should ask:

• What are the major challenges you see the person who gets the job will face?
• What are the skills and background of the perfect candidate? (Really listen to the answer and then talk about how your skills/background fit the bill.)
• What are the first things you want the person who gets the job to do in the first few weeks of being here?
• Why is the position open? (With this question,  you’ll learn if the position is a new one. Or, if the person who had it before was promoted, you know that this position is a good stepping stone to more responsibility — and pay.)
• You asked me where I want to be in five years; where would you see the person who gets the this job in five years?
• What do you see me lacking for this position? (You can then talk about how, yes, you don’t have this particular skill, but you do have this one, and this one. In fact, you can be very upfront about a skill you lack: “I don’t have the PowerPoint skills you need, but I have excellent Word, Excel, QuickBooks and Publisher skills and I know I can learn PowerPoint quickly and well.”)

As the interview winds up, you should definitely ask what the next steps are. This will tell you if second interviews will be conducted, and when.

Finally, the most important question you can ask is to ask for the job.

When you get up after the interview is over and you’re ready to say good-bye, take the interviewer’s hand, look her straight in the eye and say something like “I really enjoyed speaking with you. I like the opportunity as you presented it and I feel my skills and background are a great fit. I want to work for you and I hope you’ll choose me as the winning candidate.”

Good luck!

If you work in the construction, engineering, architecture and other technical industries in the Washington DC area, contact RealStreet Staffing. We have terrific opportunities with some of the Washington Metro area’s finest firms. We look forward to hearing from you!