Top 10 Weirdest Job Interview Questions

MIAMI - MARCH 27:  Juan Carlos Soto, who lost ...

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Because the job market is so competitive these days, employers are constantly on the look out for innovative ways to learn about their applicants.

One way that a potential employer can gain some insight about a job applicant is to pop quiz them with weird or interesting job interview questions. Here are ten of the weirdest that you may ever hear.

  1. What sign are you? Although astrology may not seem important in a job search, your star sign may give a potential employer some insight about who you are. From school astrology to work astrology, astrological signs are becoming increasingly prevalent in giving insight into a person’s basic traits.
  2. What kind of tree would you be, if you were a tree? It would be good to have an answer to this prior to your interview, especially if the interviewer should happen to ask you why.
  3. What kind of animal are you? Here is another creativity question. Be prepared to answer this to show that you can think on your feet. Have a solid answer that you can reasonably explain if the interviewer asks why you chose your answer.
  4. Who was the worst boss you ever had? It would be safer to say that you have never had a bad boss, but that every boss provided a unique challenge, learning experiences and the like. Be positive about past jobs and supervisors.
  5. If you were a super hero, what would your superpowers be? This is another creativity question, giving insight into who you are as a person and showing the interviewer that you can think on your feet.
  6. Describe yourself in three words. Be humble but be positive about yourself, using truth to describe yourself with words like “hardworking,” “organized” and “detail-oriented.”
  7. What would your last three supervisors say about you? Be honest, but do not say anything bad about yourself. Turn any potentially bad things into opportunities for growth or improvement.
  8. If you won money in the lottery, how would you spend it? This question gives insight into what your life plans are, and tells the interviewer a little more about who you are as a person.
  9. If there was a news story for your life, how would your headline read? Give an answer that gives insight into your personality and creativity, as well as that you can think on your feet.
  10. Do you have any questions for me? This question always seems bizarre when asked, but it is a very telling question and you must answer it correctly. Come prepared to hear this interview question by researching basic information on the company beforehand and preparing a list of questions about the interviewer or the company.

You should definitely be prepared for curve-ball questions like these during your job interviews. Interviewers are looking for quick-thinking employees who can problem solve, recall information and come up with answers quickly and effectively.

What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked dring an interview? What was your answer?

The Code to Using Other Businesses to Run Smoother

 

Finding ways to make your business run smoother can lead to a lot of advantages that helps you compete against other organizations in your industry.

Your company, however, is not an island unto itself. There are numerous companies out there that offer the types of services that you need to make your own business more successful. By learning more about businesses that make your own business run smoother, you might find that you can create a more efficient, profitable organization that meets consumer demand more effectively that your competitors.

Online Signature Businesses

Your business can waste a lot of time waiting for documents. In some instances, you might have lost deals because an important document got mislaid in the mail or a contract arrived just a few hours too late. An online signature service can help your business send and receive signed documents without any worry.

One of the most notable features of an online signature service is that it can help you save time. You don’t have to wait for documents to reach your clients and business partners through the mail. You don’t even need to wait a couple of hours for a courier service to deliver the document to a client on the other side of town. Online signature services deliver your documents almost instantly, regardless of where they need to go. It doesn’t matter if your client lives across town or in Asia.

These services provide a fast, secure way for you to send them important papers and receive signed documents within minutes.

Some of the top online signature businesses include:

  • EchoSign
  • DocuSign
  • eSigTek
  • AlphaTrust PRONTO Online

Online Fax Services

Fax machines are cumbersome, frustrating and expensive, yet somehow they have remained a staple of the business world. You don’t have to struggle with an unruly fax machine to send documents, though. Instead, you can use online faxing. There are services like Metrofax that have mobile apps (they recently did an update) available for managing faxing when not at your computer.

Other online fax services to consider include

  • eFax
  • Fax Zero
  • Got Free Fax

Explore the features of these businesses to determine whether they can help your company function more smoothly.

These are just a few of the companies that can make your business run smoother. You should also consider exploring VoIP services like Skype, online management software developers and performance tracking software to find ways that you can address problems within your company.

Now that you’ve learned a bit about companies that can help your business operate better, which option will you explore first?

Code For Avoiding Hotels on your Next Business Trip

Orlando Vacation Rental Villa

The summer looms before you, an unhappy season. It’s meant to offer endless shores and hot mornings, the slow greets of waves; but instead it promises tedium. The only thing to shake up your summer is your annual business trip- a thing of glory and networking.

It also doesn’t have to be accepted.

No business trip hould be defined by the limitations of poor lodgings (and really, no company should put you in poor or shady lodging anyway).

Rental homes allow that to happen, providing a wealth of advantages that cannot be ignored, as well as the space, freedom and probably a better internet connection to do business. Here are some reasons to choose a vacation home over a hotel when on a business trip.

Pennies Saved, Rewards Earned

Budgeting is such an ugly notion. It demands too much and its effects rarely satisfy, force you to bear the confines of a hotel. But the refusal of luxury still requires dollars and, often, you can’t even spend a week on your vacation. The cost is too high. Rental homes, however, provide relief. These massive lodgings enable a company to reduce expenses due to how many can stay in one.

Their rates favor wisdom, not excess; and they even offer such values as the ability to cook meals (rather than ordering penny stealing room service). Money is saved.

Peace and Privacy

It’s the shriek of children, the slam of doors, the shove of luggage against the wall: hotels rattle with unfortunate sounds, force you to suffer echoes. There’s no quiet to be found. There’s no seclusion to seek. There’s only the thin walls and cheap plaster, with all noises creeping between. Rentals avoid this, however. All homes provide peace — with no crowds to battle or conversations to share. They’re separated from all distractions, enabling you to focus on your work and not what’s going on in other hotel rooms.

Luxury Squared

The world is defined to tiny corners, the small pathways beside a bed. A hotel is stuffed with endless rooms, has shoved them in inelegantly — sacrificing comfort for extra lodgings. And the burden belongs now to you. You can’t move. You can’t breathe. Instead you’re trapped on the sheets, claiming what little space you can and elbowing to find room away from your coworkers.

This isn’t the purpose of a business trip; it’s merely the effect. Rentals allow you to find comfort, however. All homes are large, affording easy floor-plans and extra footage. There’s no longer a struggle for elegance. It’s instead experienced in every inch.

Clean Sheets, Friendly Spaces

It’s a suspicious stain. You stare at it, uncertain of its origin, unwilling to reach out and guess the texture. It’s sprawled across a bed, was hidden beneath the covers (discovered only as you pulled them back, went searching for spiders. You saw one nesting in the corner earlier. You’ve been fretting ever since). And you try to curl yourself around it, avoiding the splatter. It’s a reflection of the room itself — the dirty walls and questionable carpets. A hotel is… filthy. Vacation rentals, however, are not.

These are homes and are treated as such. They’re meant to please: offering clean spaces and well-maintained furnishings. The intention isn’t to let customer after customer ruin the decor. It’s instead to ensure those customers are offered an experience they’ll enjoy.

Redefine your business trip. Escape the terrors of hotels. It’s time for something better — rent your pleasure.

The Code to Investing in Site Usability

The highest traffic numbers don’t mean a thing if your guests aren’t able to easily understand how to use your site once they arrive at the landing page. If it looks too complicated or various features simply don’t work, an unvested user will simply move on to the next choice–your competition.

On the other hand, a visually-appealing page with simple navigation and intuitive features could translate into an engaged user who sticks around long enough to become a dedicated customer. Let’s take a look at a few more reasons why you should invest in your site’s usability:

Educated Customers are More Valuable Customers

By creating a usable site, your customers are more apt to look around the site to learn more about your product offerings. If you provide great information, many Internet users will come to depend on your site as a trusted source. This usually means they will return to purchase from your site again, and they may recommend you to their friends and family.

Reduce Your Overhead

A highly-usable site can reduce your overhead in addition to driving sales. Customers who are comfortable navigating your site and feel like they understand the product line have less need to email, call or chat with your customer service staff.

By knowing more about what they are buying, they will also be less likely to return the product they ordered. This will reduce your restocking and inventory management costs.

Usability Features

So, what makes an extremely usable site? Here are a few pointers to help you get started:

• User-friendly navigation - This should include text links that are consistent from page to page, a site map, easy-to-use links to return to the home page and a search bar.

• Clear, simple content – Use scannable content and put the most important information in an easy-to-find location. Use contrasting background colors that leave the text clearly visible.

• Use consistent branding - Make pages and colors consistent, develop a customized error page and use your company’s logo, slogan or tag-line on every page.

Solicit user feedback – Provide a user-friendly method for your customers to tell you how you’re doing. Address their concerns whenever possible.

• User-test the site – Although you should always test your site in-house, don’t stop there. Either hire a group of typical users to test your site or contract this task to a third-party provider.

An Example of a Site that Did it Right

If you’d like to see a great example of a business that has recently made changes to dramatically increase their usability, check out the Metrofax redesign. This successful business supports online faxing to and from almost any platform imaginable. Because this is a very user-intensive service, it was critical to improve site usability in order to compete in Metrofax’s industry.

With improved site usability, your business can not only earn higher traffic numbers but increase its customer base and revenue at the same time. How will you make your site more usable?

Oprah’s Role in Shaping Fashion for Curvy Women

There are a great number of unsuspecting designers out there, who have chosen to advocate what the social media perspective has rectified as abnormal. Celebs like Oprah and Queen Latifa have chosen to focus on the curvy styles and the designers of Coogi clothing who pictured the urban style in every aspect of their designs

Oprah Winfrey has been on television for decades shaping and impacting the opinions of many people. Women are especially affected by her views because they are often at home with the children and watching her daytime television show. Oprah’s weight issue has been a roller coaster struggle about which she has been very open with her audiences. She has given curvy and plus size women a media icon to look up to when making fashion choices.

Oprah’s Television Show and Fashion Choices

Women know when they tune in to Oprah’s show that they will see her dressed appropriately for her age and for today’s trends. Oprah has never kept her weight struggles a secret and, in recent years, has come to better terms with the issue. Many of her television broadcasts feature makeovers for women of all shapes and sizes. Her plus size viewers know that when they tune in, they will receive some kind of fashion guidance from time to time.

Fashion Tips for Curvy Women in Oprah’s Magazine

Oprah’s magazine also provides tips for curvy and plus size women. The advice includes all aspects of fashion, including the importance of the right undergarments and footwear. A common tip for curvy women is to avoid wearing over-sized clothes that actually make the body look larger. When it comes to necklines, a V-neck top actually elongates the neck and is a good suggestion for a woman who carries a lot of weight in the upper body.

Oprah Winfrey has served as a beacon of hope for larger women who are surrounded by media images of the tall and thin. These images sometimes make women feel inferior. Oprah, as a positive role model for larger women, has been authentic about her own weight struggles while also embracing her current weight and sharing fashion tips along the way.

Meeting etiquette

Conference hall 

Image by Jackson Lee via Flickr

Meetings happen to everyone almost everyday. When working in a company, you would at least know what the word ”meeting” means the least. You might have even organized one on a large scale. Meetings are as important to the business as the business itself. Without it there would be no co-ordination between people in an organization.

A meeting is a formal interaction between people in a business. Even an interview of a prospective candidate can be considered as a meeting. As part of soft skills training, training managers have always valued the importance of meeting etiquette. Having good manners during meetings helps the meetings in various ways.

So what are these etiquette?

Prepare

You need sound preparation before getting into a meeting. If you didn’t have time to prepare, at least note down quickly what you want to discuss. Well-prepared itineraries make meetings fruitful. Lack of preparation is a waste of time. For you and your fellow participants.

Switch off your mobile phone

Don’t turn on your mobile devices. It can cause disturbance during the meeting. You should remember that turning off your mobile phone does not mean switching it off. It means just keeping it in silent mode. You can always message back the caller saying that you are in a meeting. The best option would be to set something up automatically.
Speak and let speakDo not interrupt anyone’s speech. Try to raise your hand when you want to speak. In a meeting room with a lot of people talking, raising your hand should not be a problem. It will actually be a nice way of saying that you want to speak.

The Code to Productivity Suites or Tools for Small Businesses

Evernote Screenshot

Image via Wikipedia

If you are setting up a small business, chances are that there are many aspects you have yet to master.Even if you don’t think about it, there’s a general “underlying” code that businesses need to act efficiently and productively when to handling business and internal processes.

Each successful business is made up of a stream of processes that keep things running quickly and efficiently. It can be quite challenging to juggle these processes by yourself, especially if you are setting up your business on your own.

However, there are a number of productivity tools that you can use to speed up your transactional and administrative procedures, helping your business to run smoothly. Here we go. :)

To-do lists

Once your business starts to grow, one of the most challenging things can be simply keeping track of your daily tasks and objectives. Certain online tools can help you structure your day and keep track of what you’re doing.

  • Toodledo – Toodledo allows you to organize and sort your tasks on a tiered model, enabling you to categorize things by priority. It is also fully optimized for mobile devices, helping you keep organized on the move.
  • Gmail Tasks – Google’s to-do list service links directly to your Gmail account, providing easy access for any company that already uses Google’s services. The system is maintained on cloud servers, ensuring that it works quickly while data is stored in a safe environment.

Digital note taking

If you often have conference calls or meetings with clients or personnel in remote areas, you need to use some sort of cloud computing note service that allows each member of the team to access data from their location. There are a number of digital services that provide this requirement for you.

  • Evernote – Evernote can take care of all your note needs and can be accessed in a variety of ways, from desktop to mobile app, and even Twitter. You can even use the service to scan images such as business cards so that you can share pictorial information with your team.
  • Springnote – Based on wiki technology, Springnote allows users to link concepts and pages in a quick and easy manner. You can also share individual notebooks with others on the service.

Information and news

Concrete data and accurate, reliable news is key to any business that is looking to grow. Many companies provide a range of services based around these two key points, and can help your business grow exponentially.

  • Echosign – Echosign provides a wide range of electronic business solutions. Most notable is its online signature program, which allows users to sign any number of documents electronically. This service can often speed up the time it takes for important contracts and business deals to be completed and as you know, speed is important for any thriving business.
  • Read It Later – One of the problems of having news at your fingertips is that it can be difficult to sift through and find the relevant articles that you need. Read It Later allows you to scan news documents and save them for later.

These six productivity suites can help your business grow in no time. Which one will you use first?

Mobile Device Etiquette

Everyone has been on public transit or in a meeting where someone is braying into their cell phone, interrupts a conversation to use their BlackBerry, or ignores everyone around them while they play Angry Birds during an important meeting. While much has been said about the decline of civility in our society, you can take charge of your own mobile device-related behavior to avoid wasting time and good will. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Back in the days of analog phones, we could hear ourselves speaking through the receiver and modulate our tone accordingly. Cell phones work differently and our tendency is to overcompensate by yelling, to be sure we are heard when we cannot hear ourselves. Guess what: there is no need to do this. Try to maintain your normal tone of voice while speaking on the phone in public places, especially enclosed places like the subway. If you enunciate clearly, you will still get your point across, even in a soft voice.

Cell phone ringing can be very intrusive. Unless you are a doctor on call, leave your phone at home, in your desk, or in your car while you are at the movies, at a religious service, wedding, funeral, or business meeting. You can catch up with your calls afterwards. Receiving a call when you are supposed to be paying attention to someone else can make them feel cheated of your attention. If you must field a call from a sick family member or under-deadline co-worker during a meeting, then excuse yourself to take the call. Everyone around you does not need to know your business. If you leave your phone in your office, change the ringer to vibrate so as not to distract everyone around you.

Last but not least, avoid the temptation of answering the phone while you are using the restroom. Enough said.

 

Taking Charitable Deductions as a Business

Many companies make charitable contributions to various worthwhile organizations.  Every year organizations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Kars for Kids receive general support from many businesses. Corporations can deduct up to10% of their income for contributions made to charitable organizations, as long as they are qualified organizations under IRS standards.

One of the benefits of businesses donating to charitable organizations is the fact that their donations are tax deductible. At tax time businesses should be sure to take advantage of this savings on their tax returns. Businesses do not deduct charitable contributions using the same method as private individuals. Businesses must be a sole proprietor, partnership or a share holder to utilize this deduction. If the business is a partnership or involves shareholders, the contribution will be split between the latter.

If a business makes a non-cash donation, such as a vehicle or electronics, their accountant will figure out how much of that item can be deducted. Depreciation comes into play for items that have decreased in value. The amount donated will be the amount the item would bring in the market today.

The rules and regulations for charitable contributions for businesses vary. It is best for businesses to consult an accountant in their own to find out what is appropriate for them.

It is important for businesses to remember to keep good records of their charitable contributions. If the amount is less than $250, a cancelled check or bank statement will suffice. If the amount is greater than $250, a letter or receipt is needed. If the organization or business is ever audited by the Internal Revenue Service, these records or receipts will be needed to prove their donations were made and the organization benefited from the donation.

Donating to charitable organizations is a win-win situation for the charity and the business donating.

Dietary Etiquette: How to Graciously Accommodate Your Business Guests

If you have ever been to a business meeting or social event where everyone around you was enjoying a hearty meal of which you could barely partake because your dietary restrictions prohibited almost everything on the menu, then you know how bad it feels to be left out of the social aspect of eating. There are a few differences you should keep in mind while serving a diverse crowd of business colleagues so that everyone will feel welcome (and more likely to engage in business with you!):

  • Practitioners of the Hindu religion, most of whom are from India, are often vegetarian. They do not typically eat meat or fish, though some make an exception for chicken. Some Buddhists are also vegetarian.
  • Observant Muslims and Jews do not eat pork. Jews also have an injunction against eating sea creatures without fins or scales and will not eat meat and milk together in the same meal. Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol.
  • Greek Orthodox people have several periods of fasting during the year when they cannot eat meat or dairy or drink wine.
  • People with some physiological conditions must avoid certain foods. Lactose-intolerant people cannot drink milk that has not been digested with lactase and cannot eat many dairy foods. Celiac disease causes serious problems for patients who consume wheat, and sometimes all gluten products, so their carbohydrate intake is limited to select grains.

All of this may seem overwhelming, but it is possible to accommodate most needs. Ask your guests ahead of time about their dietary restrictions and preferences. Be sure to serve a variety of dishes, including some without meat or dairy. Make sure you stock non-alcoholic beverage choices.