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Have you ever had a situational interview? In situational interviews, interviewers ask candidates questions on how they might handle specific situations in the workplace; these interviews differ from behavioral interviews. When recruiters ask you behavioral questions, they ask you how you have handled situations in the past. When recruiters ask you situational questions, they want to know how you would hypothetically handle situations should they occur in the future. For students and recent grads who may lack work experience, situational questions give you a chance to shine and showcase your problem solving and critical thinking skills. These interviews also tell potential employers whether or not you’re the right cultural fit for their companies based on what you will do in the future, not what you’ve done in the past. Whether you’re a college student, recent graduate, or other job seeker, here are three tips to prepare you for a successful situational interview.

1. See yourself in the job.

When answering questions, answer them to explain the way you might behave in real settings in the workplace. Describe the action you would take as an employee and explain why you would take that action.

2. Research potential employers.

You don’t want to go into any interview without researching a potential employer. Understanding a company’s policies and company culture will give you a better idea of what it expects of employees. This can help you answer situational interview questions because you can, at least partly, base your responses on research.

3. Avoid profanity and stay positive.

Be careful not to use profanity during your situational interview. You may not only offend the interviewer, but you also leave a negative impression of how you might talk to co-workers. Stay positive, and keep focused on how you will help a potential employer. Never bash former employers or focus on what has gone wrong in the past. Situational interviews give you the chance to discuss what you might do differently if given the chance, so focus on being positive, hopeful, and optimistic.

Situational interviews foreshadow what job seekers could be like in the workplace. Prepare to answer questions relevant to the job and company you’re interested in, so employers will see you as the best fit for them.

Do you need more information on interviewing for your job search? Click on over to the College Recruiter blog and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

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Social media can enhance the recruiting efforts of hiring managers. Because college students and recent graduates love social media, recruiters should use it to highlight their companies in a positive light. That doesn’t just mean the work itself but also the company culture. One company using social media this way in college recruiting is Lockton.

More than 5,600 professionals at Lockton provide 48,000 clients around the world with risk management, insurance, employee benefits consulting, and retirement services that improve their businesses. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, Lockton has attracted entrepreneurial professionals who have driven its growth to become the largest privately held, independent insurance broker in the world and 10th largest overall. For seven consecutive years, Business Insurance magazine has recognized Lockton as a “Best Place to Work in Insurance.”

Kelly Dippold, Senior Recruiting Specialist at Lockton, discusses how her company uses social media in college recruiting to reflect its company culture.

“At Lockton, we recently launched two social media programs to help recruit college students.

First, we created the hashtag #LocktonLife and began using it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and in all of our college recruiting materials. Our goal is to show college students what it’s really like working at Lockton and that insurance is more than writing policies and processing claims. Photos and posts with #LocktonLife show associates giving back to the community, having fun inside and outside of work (think ping pong and Mardi Gras), and engaging in wellness activities like Lockton 5k events.

Then, we invited associates from across the country to join us as brand ambassadors. Using their own personal social media networks, these brand ambassadors shared even more photos and posts using #LocktonLife and encouraged others in their offices to do the same. We now have about 30 brand ambassadors in cities like Washington, D.C., Denver, Houston, and Los Angeles posting pictures of charity events, happy hours, team-building activities, and more.

On Friday March 4th, we hosted Lockton University Day at our headquarters in Kansas City. Students met, mingled, and learned from young Lockton Associates and leaders, and were encouraged to post on social media using #LocktonLife and tagging us (@Lockton, @LocktonBenefits, and @Lockton_Retire) for the chance to win fun prizes. We hope our social media campaign added some excitement to the event and helped spread the word that Lockton is a rewarding, fast-paced, and fun place to work.”

If you’re looking for more information on using social media for college recruiting, visit our blog and follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Kelly Dippold, Senior Recruiting Specialist at Lockton

Kelly Dippold has more than 10 years of experience in recruiting and human relations in both the telecommunications and insurance industries. She joined Lockton in 2010, where she leads teams of college recruiters and has excelled in the company’s entrepreneurial, competitive, and empowering culture. Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas. Her professional designations and affiliations include Professional in Human Resources (PHR), SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and Member, National SHRM.

Employers should avoid discriminating against LGBT candidates and employees in same-sex relationships. The Supreme Court ruling in June of 2015 recognizes same-sex marriages across the United States and grants benefits that opposite-sex married couples receive. As a result of the ruling, employers must review their policies concerning employee benefits.

To help explore these issues, College Recruiter recently hosted a College Recruiting Bootcamp on LGBT and other diversity hiring issues on Tuesday, September 29, at the Twilio headquarters in San Francisco.

College Recruiter has been publishing the opinions from a number of talent acquisition and recruiting leaders about why and how employers should diversify their workforces. Beth Zoller, Legal Editor for XpertHR, explains how the Supreme Court ruling affects employee benefits of same-sex married couples. Continue Reading

Most employers’ lists of policies and procedures include a dress code for employees. However, employers should be sensitive to LGBTQ employees and candidates when creating and enforcing the dress code. No bias should exist with how employees and candidates dress. They should dress based on their gender identities, and reflect a professional appearance in the workplace.

To help explore these issues, College Recruiter recently hosted a College Recruiting Bootcamp on LGBT and other diversity hiring issues on Tuesday, September 29, at the Twilio headquarters in San Francisco.

College Recruiter has been publishing the opinions from a number of talent acquisition and recruiting leaders about why and how employers should diversify their workforces. Beth Zoller, Legal Editor for XpertHR, discusses accommodating LGBTQ employees with dress code modifications. Continue Reading

A candidate’s gender identity and sexual orientation shouldn’t affect whether or not they obtain or retain a job. Employers should respect the rights of LGBT candidates and employees and should keep this information private. Employers need to establish policies for handling disclosure of employees’ personal information.

To help explore these issues, College Recruiter is hosting a College Recruiting Bootcamp on LGBT and other diversity hiring issues on Tuesday, September 29th at the Twilio headquarters in San Francisco. Join us.

Prior to that event, we’ll publish the opinions from a number of talent acquisition and recruiting leaders about why and how employers should diversify their workforces. Beth Zoller, Legal Editor for XpertHR, discusses keeping LGBT candidates and employees personal information private. Continue Reading

For recruiters looking for new ways to find the best job candidates, there are seven strategies being used today they can implement that are found in the following post.

Recruiting isn’t what it used to be. And for most recruiters, that’s a good thing. These days, there’s less reading through stacks of formal resumes and cover letters, and more interacting with candidates on a casual — and often digital — basis. Here are seven modern methods recruiters are using to bring in new talent: 1. Open-ended job postings You

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There may be times on your entry level job where you will deal with conflict among co-workers.  When this is the case, you need to handle it appropriately.  The following post discusses three ways to resolve confrontations at work.

What causes confrontations?   Improving confrontations in the workplace is often a matter of understanding the origins or motivation for each type of confrontation, which often stem from specific circumstances. Knowing the source of a given confrontation can often be key to understanding how to defuse it if you are a manager, or handle it if

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Getting a job out of college is hard enough, what with all the resumes you send to employers, the applications you fill out for the ones who are interested, and the telephone and onsite interviews that stand in the way of getting an offer. Once you accept an offer, you think the hard part is done.

Then, when your first day finally arrives, you can pretty much count on a human resources representative bombarding you with even more documents to sign before you ever even catch a glimpse of your desk. Continue Reading

While there may be someone on the job you are interested in pursuing a personal relationship with, don’t allow the attraction to create a downfall in your career.

Sonya Madison

Sonya Madison is Workplace Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia and a legal analyst for various online mediums. She has conducted numerous seminars on labor and employment issues and advises employers on employment policies and labor law.

Here is Sonya’s point of view on workplace romance policies: Continue Reading