Before You Interview, Learn and Practice Ed's "Zip a Lip" Theory

Before You Interview, Learn and Practice Ed's "Zip a Lip" Theory
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

My best advice to clients about to interview for a job is
to treat the interview like an IRS audit.

When the Internal Revenue Service thinks you are cheating
on your annual tax return, and they ask you a question
during an audit, it is a real good idea to answer the field
auditor's question and shut up.

The same strategy works during job interviews. When the
interviewer asks you a job-related question, answer the
question and shut up. Use my "Zip a Lip" theory and you
will more likely stay out of trouble and get an offer when
all is said and done.

Too many clients answer a question and then feel compelled
to explain or justify their answer. This is almost always a
bad idea. You have perhaps heard the expression "better to
remain silent than remove all doubt". A job interview is
no time to be the life of the party or a chatty Cathy.

Once I asked a potential hire a job-related question and
about 30 seconds into his answer he drifted into a
discussion of his sled dog experience in Alaska. Something
he had said triggered a word association in his mind and
caused him to veer off track. I let him yak on and it was
about 8 minutes before he shut up. He did not get a job
offer.

When asked a question, answer the question and invoke Ed's
Zip a Lip theory. If the interviewer wants more
information, force him or her to ask a more specific
question, then answer the question and again use my Zip a
Lip theory.

Few potential hires realize that by adopting this strategy,
you actually gain significant positive points doing so. The
fact of the matter is that when you answer a question and
remain silent when it is appropriate to do so, the smarter,
the more intelligent and more accomplished you appear to
the interviewer.

Again, it is only when you keep talking that you reveal too
much of yourself, and run the risk of saying something out
of turn that could create a seed of doubt. Creating a seed
of doubt is something you simply cannot afford to do when
interviewing. It causes the interviewer to start checking
out something about you that could lead to a negative
reaction.

When you remain silent you do not have to look sullen. You
can smile without talking the interviewer to death.

Using my Zip a Lip theory also moves the interview along,
and saves time for all concerned. Be short and succinct in
your answers and you will appear to be better organized,
more in control of yourself and excited about the
opportunity in question.

----------------------------------------------------
Read my 4-part series on Job Interviews: "It Is Not What
You Say, But How You Say It That Counts ' Part 1", "How to
Answer When Asked Your Strengths and Weaknesses ' Part 2",
"How to Handle Job References ' Part 3" and "What Do
Employers Really Want When Hiring? ' Part 4".
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/JobsandCareers.html

Annual Return And Accounting Rules For A UK Dormant Company

Annual Return And Accounting Rules For A UK Dormant Company
A dormant company in the UK is defined as a company that
has had no significant accounting transactions during its
financial year. It is not sufficient that the company may
not have traded if the company has had any accounting
transactions at all with the exception of three specific
transactions that are allowed.

Transactions regarded as allowable for the company to
retain its dormant company status are the amount received
by the company in respect of the first shares issued to the
memorandum of association subscribers, the annual filing
fee payable to companies house and fines and penalties
issued by companies house for non filing of the annual
return.

The term dormant company has legal significance quite
separate to a company which might be described as a non
trading company. The difference being that a non trading
company may still have other financial transactions entered
into its accounting records which even though not related t
trading would disqualify that company as a dormant company
and the special rules applicable to a dormant company.

A company may be in a dormant state for a number of reasons
such as holding assets or documents or merely protecting a
trading name or perhaps plans to start a business have
otherwise been delayed.

There is no limit on how long a company can remain dormant
however there are procedures which must be followed to
avoid fines and keep the company on the companies house
register. Every dormant company must retain at least two
officers, a director and company secretary.

The directors are responsible for ensuring the dormant
company submits the annual return, form 363, each year
which contains details of the directors, company secretary,
registered office and shareholders. The companies house
filing fee of thirty pounds which is reduced to fifteen
pounds if the web filing service is used to file the return
online.

In addition the directors are also responsible for
submitting to companies house a set of financial accounts
each year. Failure to submit a set of accounts can result
in companies house striking off the company from the
company register and would also leave the directors open to
penalty fines and a potential criminal prosecution.

If the dormant company is no longer required the directors
can arrange for the company to be dissolved by one of two
methods dependent upon whether the company has outstanding
financial affairs. If the company has no liabilities then
it may be able to apply to companies house for a voluntary
striking off and dissolution. If the company has
outstanding financial affairs then the voluntary
liquidation procedures need to be followed.

The annual accounts a dormant company must submit to
companies house each year consist of a balance sheet which
also contains statutory notes in compliance with the
companies act. For a private company the annual accounts
must be delivered within 10 months of the financial year
end, commonly called the accounting reference date and
filed each year thereafter even if the company has never
traded.

The accounts of a dormant company can be filed online.

The annual accounts of a private dormant company do not
have to be audited if exemption is claimed and would
normally consist of an abbreviated balance sheet with the
statutory notes. The directors report and profit and loss
account are not required. If there has been any accounting
transactions that would have appeared in a profit and loss
account then the company would be disqualified from being
dormant except for the exemptions stated above.

Companies house provide a standard form for the submission
of a dormant company accounts. While suitable for companies
that have not traded this form may not be suitable for a
company that has balance sheet entries from a previous
years trading activities when a more detailed balance sheet
would be required.

The model set of balance sheets that a dormant might adopt
are available from the companies house website and contain
the statutory statements that should accompany the annual
accounts stating the entitlement to exemptions from
detailed accounts and audit and include a statement from
the directors that the accounts have been correctly
prepared.

The balance sheet must be signed and dated by a director
before submission. If the option to file online has not
been taken then the annual accounts should be posted either
to companies house at Cardiff if the company registered
office is situated in England and Wales or to Edinburgh if
the registered office is situated in Scotland.

----------------------------------------------------
Terry Cartwright at DIY Accounting provides accounting and
payroll software http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/ plus
inexpensive company formation packs at

http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/company.htm

Is Making Income from Home for you

Is Making Income from Home for you
When I get out of bed I earn a six figure income from home.
Isn't that a statement we all wish we could say and
actually have it be true? Well the reality is that
earning a living from home is not the fast and easy
afternoon delight that many scam artists want to make you
believe it is. Working at home is just as hard and
sometimes even harder than working outside of the home.
Making a good income from home is indeed possible but it is
just as difficult as making a living outside of the home,
and work from home brings with it a whole new set of
challenges. It is not as stress free as some people seem to
think.

The good news is that there are honest and legitimate jobs
that you can do from home. Home based businesses have
always been a choice one can make but most people want to
just work and get a paycheck at the end of the week. This
is indeed possible, you just have to make sure that you
steer clear of the scams that are out there just waiting
for a chance to take your money. There are many ways to
accomplish this but the biggest way to weed out the
scammers is to follow that old advice that your mother
might have given you "if it seems too good to be true, it
probably is". Many work at home scam artists feed on the
desperation that a lot of people have to make income from
home. Many people want to work at home to give their
children a better quality of life by having a parent home
with them instead of shipping them out to a daycare. They
feel that by doing work from home jobs they will have more
time with their kids. That can sometimes work out and
sometimes not.

One of the biggest challenges to making an income from
home, aside from finding legitimate work, is time
management. It is very easy to get sucked into working all
the time when you do your work from home. If this happens
then the whole reason for working from home has just become
null and void. It takes a certain type of person who can
manage their time and stick to it and you won't really know
if working from home is right for you until you give it a
try. If you are spending all your time working because you
cannot seem to get away from the work now that your office
is in your home, then your quality of life and that of your
family is going to suffer. Additionally when you are trying
to make an income from home it is sometimes difficult to
have other people take your work seriously. Family and
friends can be sources of constant interruption because
they cannot understand that you are indeed working and
cannot socialize with them. This is the second biggest
challenge of working at home and is something you need to
fix as soon as possible if you want to keep working.
Letting your family, friends, parents and whomever else
intrudes on your work time know that you really have a job
and need to be left alone at certain times is imperative to
your success.

----------------------------------------------------
http://www.Trade4net.com
http://www.Trade4Net.com/blog/
http://www.Trade4net.com/wpblog

Three Effective Words to Control The Executive Interview

Three Effective Words to Control The Executive Interview
A powerful control technique in an executive interview is
effective story-telling; especially when you concentrate on
action-oriented stories that portray several capabilities.
Invariably, incidental situations in the story will
register memorably because of their relevance to the
interviewer's needs and an executive job offer will be
forthcoming.

Brief anecdotes emphasize your values and strengths, and
establish your credentials in areas of employer need or
concern. One of the most impressive ways of presenting
value is to do so in a manner that succinctly describes
problems you were successful in solving by using a "Three
C" format: Circumstance, Conduct, and Conclusion.

Three C General Format for Executive Interviews:

* The Circumstance: What was the opportunity, problem, or
business challenge? State in no more than two sentences.

* The Conduct: What specific actions did you take, or why
did you take action? Three or four actions should be
identified, along with the rationale. Use the personal
pronoun "I" followed by an action word, such as managed,
directed, led, designed, created, formulated, negotiated,
planned, trained, sold, etc. State in no more than two
sentences.

* The Conclusion: What was the positive outcome? Quantify
results and include a time frame. The Conclusion should be
limited to two or three sentences.

An effective Three C story presents a scenario in which the
executive interviewer can identify with the challenges you
faced in considering your circumstances and conduct. Strong
Three C's position your skills to the employers' needs; the
listener will identify with the favorable objectives and
positive results. Invite interviewer questions, especially
when you have excellent back-up data.

The most successful presentations are typically brief; each
should be able to be told in less than 90 seconds. You
guide the conversation in the direction that will best
highlight your value; effectively controlling the entire
executive interview process by offering the interviewer a
choice of Three C stories.

The interviewer at some point will ask a question relevant
to immediate productivity. "If I understand the question
properly, you want to know if I'll be able to hit the
ground running, and the answer is, 'absolutely.' I have a
history of rapidly assessing business problems and
implementing effective solutions. For example, there was a
time when I implemented a multi-billion dollar IT program
overnight and another time I stepped into a new role and
prevented a hostile takeover. Which would you like to hear
about?"

"I was hired in as VP of Information Systems after the
rapid departure of my predecessor and in the middle of a
complete infrastructure rebuild. Each day of delay was
costing the company a quarter of a million dollars, vendors
were late, software was buggy and employees were frazzled.

I segmented the project into two components: hardware and
software, and assigned a manager to each. It took 24 hours
non-stop just to lay out the objectives with the managers
and develop an operational plan; another full day for the
managers to implement the plan with the employees and
vendors. I gave the entire IT department the third day off
and pressured the vendors to have everything in place by
close of business.

Early next morning, every employee showed up re-energized
and motivated after 24 hours off, and by 6 AM the next
morning, the entire network was up and running. The
$250,000 per day hemorrhaging had stopped and the owner
later confided that it saved his company."

A good storyteller is welcomed and remembered in almost any
environment. Many executives, upon successful completion of
their campaigns, cite the Three C technique as the most
effective of all approaches used in converting executive
interviews to executive job offers.

When you leave the organization no second option, your
negotiation position is strengthened. By controlling the
interview with powerful stories, you'll get the offer by
destroying the competition.

----------------------------------------------------
In 1982, Randolph L. Stevens, President and CEO,
incorporated R.L. Stevens & Associates based on a strong
desire to help people succeed and built on an unwavering
commitment to helping executives achieve their career
goals. To find out how we might help your executive search,
contact us ==>
http://www.ExecutiveJobOffers.com

How do you sell yourself effectively?

How do you sell yourself effectively?
The key to selling has always been about understanding your
customer's requirements and then offering product that
directly addresses their needs. The recruitment process is
simply another form of selling with you as the product.

In order to sell your self, you have to understand the
employer's requirements and then package your self as
attractively as possible. How many candidates do you think
sell themselves?

The answer may surprise you. From my experience, it is less
than 10%! Most CVs, Resumes and covering letters fail as
they make the assumption that describing your work
activities will win the best jobs.

You must package your self as attractively as possible for
each individual employer to maximise your chances of
success. This principally means that you must speak their
language and understand why they would employ you. The more
attractive the package, the more quickly an employer must
act to ensure that they recruit you. Everyone has a "shelf
life". The higher your value to an employer, the less time
you will be on the shelf.

This particularly applies to agencies. A strong candidate
will earn a good commission in a short space of time. If
you fall into this category, they will pull out all the
stops to place you.

Your CV is effectively an advert and describes the product
on offer. If you get this right, the response you receive
will be of a different order of magnitude to the "run of
the mill" CV.

Many CVs ramble about and simply give you a "dump" of the
various activities that the candidate undertaken. In some
industries, there will also be a list of every vague skill
you have acquired along the way.

Well guess what? An employer is not looking for this! They
need someone who can address their requirements. They don't
want to spend loads of time working out whether you can do
the job.

You MUST work out the words that will get the best
response. If you put yourself in the other person's shoes,
you find that the way you write your CV will change
significantly.

For instance, if you are working in sales, you will be
measured in terms of your results. Therefore a potential
employer will be interested in measurements which indicate
your potential and your current successes.

1. Achievement of target. Did you achieve or over-achieve
your target? This is one of the easiest sales messages to
put in your CV.

2. Revenue. How much business have you bought in to your
employer? The bigger the figure, the more attractive.

3. Level of customer contact. What are the positions of
your contacts within your clients? The higher level your
contacts, the higher your worth. Even if you only
occasionally deal with a very senior level of contact, you
can still say that you have dealt with all levels of client
from purchasing through to directors.

4. Retention. How well did you keep your customers or win
back potential drifter's?

As a manager, you may be measured in a number of ways.
Typical ones include:

1. Profitability. How much money did you make? What revenue
were your responsible for?

2. Performance against budgets. If you are responsible for
managing a budget, then you need to mention the amount and
your performance.

3. Staff numbers. How many people do you manage? If you
have achieved better than average staff retention then this
is also important. It shows you are a good manager.

For engineers, a different set of figures may apply.
Typical ones include:

1. Deliverables. What activities have you undertaken. For
instance you may have been responsible for designing a new
fuel pump or engine control system. A civil engineer may
have designed new bridges and structures.

2. Role. What was your role in the projects you have been
involved with? Did you undertake a key component, manage
staff or were responsible for the delivery of the project.

3. Time & Cost. Are there any financial values you can
assign to your activities? For instance if you supervised
the development of a new engine, then quote the development
budget. If you delivered ahead of schedule, then quote the
appropriate metrics.

4. Quality. This is an increasingly important measure of
the success of a project. Did it meet its objectives and
budgets. How did your deliverables perform against the
customer's requirements?

If you are not already familiar with the metrics of your
position and industry, then do some research to find out.
Your agency will be able to help if these are not obvious.

----------------------------------------------------
Steve Butler is the CEO of GetMoreJobOffers.com, a company
dedicated to helping job seekers find and win the best job
opportunities. This site contains many proven strategies to
help position you to win a promotion or get your next job
in less time. http://www.getmorejoboffers.com

Ladies . . . Start Your Engines!

Ladies . . . Start Your Engines!
Have you ever watched the Indy 500? Billed as the "greatest
spectacle in racing," it is one of the most famous
motor-sport events in the world. The beginning is always
dramatic. The audience cheers when it hears, "Gentlemen . .
. start your engines!" These four words announce the start
of something big.

Putting together a promotion plan is the start of something
big, too. Essentially, it means putting down on paper a
well-thought-out sequence of events leading to a desired
outcome for your business, product, or service. When done
right, a promotion plan helps you focus on your market,
streamline your advertising activities, and ensure that you
portray a consistent, high quality image in the business
world.

When done wrong, a promotion plan will keep you awake at
night, not net you the results you expect, and drain you of
human and financial resources.

If a promotion plan can do so much, why aren't more
women-owned businesses, especially small ones, taking the
time to write one?

Top 5 Reasons Women Business Owners Put Off Writing
Promotion Plans

1. They aren't comfortable promoting.

Women think there is something wrong with promoting their
businesses. They see promoting the products and services of
their business as promoting themselves. And they consider
promoting themselves as outstandingly poor form.

2. They don't know who their market is.

Women don't often take the time to really know who their
niche market is. Identifying and knowing how to reach the
kind of people who would be most interested in their
products or services, however, is critical to their
business success.

3. They're in too much of a rush to get out there and make
money.

Thinking they will get around to it later, when they're not
so busy, many women business owners simply don't take the
time to come up with a clear and compelling vision for
their business. This makes it difficult to put together an
effective promotion plan.

4. They don't know what they can do to promote themselves.

With so many possibilities to consider, it's easy to become
overwhelmed and confused about what's best and where to
start. This is why it's important that women not rush to
get a product or service out there. This will give them the
time they need to thoughtfully consider the best ways to
promote their businesses.

5. They don't have much money to spend.

Starting up a business and growing it takes money. Many
women business owners either don't have much money to spend
on promotion or don't understand the value in allocating
resources to do so.

If you have been putting off doing your promotion plan,
here are some ideas to get you started.

7 Affordable Things You Can Do to Jump-start Your Promotion
Plan

1. In 25 words or less, identify and describe the number
one thing you want your prospects to know about what you do
and how it will be of benefit to them.

2. Come up with a unique sales proposition that is clear,
concise and compelling.

3. Call or e-mail everyone you know and bring them
up-to-date on what you are doing! Leave no family member,
friend, colleague, or customer in the dark.

4. Put together an inventory of 5 to 10 well-written
articles, reports, or tips sheets, authored by you, each of
which addresses a specific solution to your target market's
challenge. Aim to inform and educate, rather than sell.

5. Build your 30-mile sphere of influence list. Record the
name, contact person, address, email, phone number, and
website of every business, organization, and media outlet
that would be beneficial to your promotion plan.

6. Join a professional business networking organization,
and go to the meetings.

7. My favorite: Have lots of one-on-one breakfasts
throughout the year. As Jim McCraigh says, "Breakfast means
business."

One of the most significant things you can do for your
business success is develop a promotion plan. A promotion
plan covers all phases of communication between you and
your potential customers. It is especially useful when you
are rolling out a new product, establishing or changing
your company image, or want to promote special services or
events. A promotion plan can do many things for you,
including positioning you as an expert and leader in your
industry, cultivating new markets, and enhancing your
reputation.

So, what are you waiting for? Ladies . . . start your
engines!

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Susan L. Reid is a business coach and consultant for
entrepreneurial women starting up businesses. She is the
author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The
Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success. Susan
provides intuitive small business solutions, powerful
attraction marketing tools, inspiration, and direction.
Visit http://www.SuccessfulSmallBizOwners.com and download
your copy of her latest free business success article.

How to get sales representatives to speak business

How to get sales representatives to speak business
Recently reported in many newspapers is an announcement by
the United States Postal Service to team with HBO Studios.
The rationale for this decision is to assist promoting a
new mini series by HBO- John Adams.

Aside from his former role as President of the United
States, Mr. Adams and his wife Abigail are credited with
writing over 1000 personal letters. With the proliferation
of electronic inventions from the personal computer to the
Blackberry, such feats as letter writing seem unfathomable.
Writing a letter takes time, energy and concentration.
Imagine in today's world taking time for all three
simultaneously.

Letter writing is an art. One need not only to take the
time but find the proper language. Moreover, good language
achieves emotion; both happy and sad. Therefore letter
writing creates activity and differentiation.

The present world is too muddled with distraction and
basics. The lack of articulation is bromide. People are too
busy to take initiative. However, the greatest success tool
for any business is differentiation. Being different
captivates attention and helps rise above a crowded field.
One of the best methods is letter writing.

There still exist a number of organizations and individuals
that believe Cold Calling is functional for selling
success. Show me a successful real estate agent,
stockbroker or insurance agent that achieved financial
prosperity from cold calling. This technique is an
intrusion. If you want the attention of a decision maker
research the organization first and write an articulate
introductory letter. Then inform the person of your
intention of calling at a particular date and time. The
difference in writing an introductory letter must be the
variable that gets you through the threshold.

A terrific mentor informed me recently that there is a
"Dumbing Down in America". I concur. While preparing for
this article, I read a recent article in the New York Times
that the readability index of Microsoft Word is set for a
fifth grade reading level. What has happened to the power
of language? Writing with distinction requires good
language skills. I recently conducted a training program
and no one in the audience understood the word voracious.
Read books, magazines, anything you can get your hands on
and learn a new word everyday. When possible use these new
words in your correspondence.

Finally, one of the best methods and most succinct forms of
communication is a thank you note. Clients new and old
appreciate the time spent. Individually written thank you
and holiday notes are terrific means of maintaining contact
while illustrating differentiation. These need not be the
great American novels but they should be articulate.

The ability to write a good letter or concise note
illustrates your empathy for building solid client
relationships. Writing takes time and commitment but
rewards will come. Writing can also be completed anytime,
anywhere. Unlike computers and personal digital assistants;
pads and pens do not crash and require rebooting. I wrote
this article for you in the first few moments of my son's
baseball practice. The power of the quill.

----------------------------------------------------
Drew Stevens PhD
http://www.gettingtothefinishline.com
Drew Stevens Phd works with organizations to maximize sales
in less time. Drew can assist your organization with sales
or customer service. Order his latest book now, Split
Second Selling available on Amazon.com or at his
website,http://www.gettingtothefinishline.com/products.php

The Biggest Mistake Potential Hires Make While Interviewing for a Job

The Biggest Mistake Potential Hires Make While Interviewing for a Job
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

If I told a lot of potential hires that sometimes they have
as much or more to do with getting a job offer as I do as
the interviewer, most of them would not believe me. After
all, I am the interviewer and, in many cases, I might also
be the owner, manager, supervisor or personnel specialist
charged with the responsibility for making an offer.

Having said this, I would also share with you that
sometimes the potential hire talks himself or herself into
an offer and then right back out. The reason why is they
commit the biggest mistake a person could make when
interviewing for a job, and this is it:

They are asked a question, they answer the question, and
then they feel compelled to explain or justify the answer
they have given.

I might ask, "Where are you educationally?"

They might answer, "Well, I thought about going to college
but I only completed high school." Then they will launch
into a big explanation of why they could not go to college
because of their circumstances at the time. Too often, the
reasons given are lame excuses and it becomes pretty clear
that they simply did not give education any kind of
priority in advancing their lot in life.

Maybe their parents thought education was a waste of time,
or that it cost too much, or that they (the parents) would
not pay the cost. Or perhaps the potential hire started an
academic program but did not finish, or they did not like a
professor they had, or needed to work to support their wife
and new baby.

I might ask, "Why did you leave your last job?"

They might answer, "I was laid off" or "I quit" or "I was
fired." Then they will explain the circumstances about how
the company was downsizing, or they hated their boss, or
the company forced them to work overtime, or the company
would not allow them to work overtime.

I asked a potential hire a job-related question, and about
30 seconds into his answer, the candidate launched into the
story of his sled dog trip in Alaska and droned on for
about 10 minutes. Rather than interrupt him, I let him yak
on. The interview was just 10 minutes shorter, I did not
get my questions answered, and he did not get an offer. I
would have been more interested had I been in the mushing
business, delivering goods across the great tundra. Such is
life.

Obviously, when allowed to talk too much, the potential
hire gives the interviewer all sorts of reasons why they
should not receive an offer.

The one thing you absolutely can not afford to do in an
interview is to create a seed of doubt about why you should
be offered a position. When you do so, the interviewer
feels obligated to start checking all kinds of things about
you to validate their suspicion and pretty soon, you are
eliminated from consideration.

And seriously now, who among us, if put under intense
scrutiny, does not have a chink in his or her armor? We all
do.

The message of this reality is: keep your answers short and
succinct. Interviewing is a business activity, not a social
activity. Be businesslike and be professional. Save the
small talk for after you are hired and not on the job.

----------------------------------------------------
Read my 4-part series on Job Interviews: "It Is Not What
You Say, But How You Say It That Counts ' Part 1", "How to
Answer When Asked Your Strengths and Weaknesses ' Part 2",
"How to Handle Job References ' Part 3" and "What Do
Employers Really Want When Hiring? ' Part 4".
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/JobsandCareers.html