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Interviewing Using Your Personality Type

Awareness is important in job interviews. Self-awareness is even more important. With years placing finance & accounting execs, I’ve seen how personality types—introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts—shape success differently during the interview process. Leveraging your personality type can turn a potential hair-raising grilling into a big win. 🏆 Introverts, about 36% of U.S. workers (APA, 2025), excel in focused settings—one-on-ones are their turf—but group [...]

dhobeika2025-03-18T10:16:39-04:00March 18th, 2025|

Interview Follies

Interviews can veer into the absurd—after 25+ years recruiting & interviewing CPAs and finance leaders in Tampa Bay, I’ve got stories. Some candidates stroll in with resumes or PowerPoints, one once showed up with ice cream for the hiring manager. Others bring a sideshow. 🎪 Picture a CFO candidate I once interviewed. We got to the end of our introductory interview, and I [...]

dhobeika2025-03-13T10:10:31-04:00March 13th, 2025|

Job Search During Layoffs

Layoffs are continuing into 2025. Major behemoths like Starbucks, Boeing, Warner Bros and UPS have announced massive layoffs at the national level. Nationally, it’s grim—1.8 million layoffs hit in December 2024 alone - heading into 2025 (BLS, Feb 2025). Tampa Bay is feeling the heat with cuts at major local employers like Pfizer, Coca Cola, e-Telequote and Stryker among others. For CPAs and [...]

dhobeika2025-03-06T09:52:18-05:00March 6th, 2025|

Interview Follow Ups

Congrats on nailing that job interview! But here’s the catch—your work isn’t done yet. A thoughtful follow-up can set you apart from the pack, while forgetting or overdoing this phase could undo your hard work. While thank yous are common courtesy, they aren’t all that common. Let’s break down a few of the dos and don’ts of job interview follow-ups, backed by some [...]

dhobeika2025-03-04T10:06:22-05:00March 4th, 2025|

Tough Interview Questions

You’ve landed that big interview. Are you ready? Most interviews are scheduled during the workday, squeezed in between your everyday work responsibilities. That said, make certain to prepare your thoughts the night before and calm your mind as you head into the appointment. But how to handle those tough interview situations and/or questions? They can come in many different forms. 🤔 As a [...]

dhobeika2025-02-14T08:57:40-05:00February 14th, 2025|

Deepfake Candidates

Here’s a (relatively) new concept in hiring & recruiting. And with evolving AI technology, the problem might only get worse. The issue is Deepfake Candidates. This sophisticated use of AI technology to impersonate job applicants can lead to costly and damaging consequences for organizations. 💰 Recent insights reveal that hiring a deepfake candidate could cost companies millions, not just in financial terms but [...]

dhobeika2025-01-10T10:44:31-05:00January 10th, 2025|

Notice Periods – How Long?

You’ve navigated the interview process (whew) and accepted the offer. Now its notice time. How long should you make that notice period? NewCo wants you to start ASAP but you want to be professional and don’t want to leave your current teammates hanging. Let’s dive into the topic of notice periods and see what’s minimum, what’s appropriate and what is overkill. 💼 According [...]

dhobeika2024-10-30T08:43:06-04:00October 30th, 2024|

STAR Method of Interviewing

Have a job interview this week? Let’s revisit the STAR method for interviewing. The STAR technique has proven to be highly effective in evaluating candidates' experiences and skills. So, let's gear up and get prepared for a question that frequently appears in interviews: "Can you give me an example of a time when you faced a challenge at work and how you overcame [...]

dhobeika2024-09-11T08:19:29-04:00September 11th, 2024|

Interview Follow Up – What’s Too Pushy?

💼 Well that interview seemed to go really well! But what happens after the big day? How do you ensure you stay top-of-mind without being too pushy? 🤔 Following up after a job interview is important to the hiring process, and it's important to do it right. Here are four non-annoying ways to follow up after an interview, so you can stand out [...]

dhobeika2024-05-23T08:58:25-04:00May 23rd, 2024|

Resume Fraud

We’ve discussed assembling a resume a few times in the last couple months. Now it’s time to (metaphorically) put pen to paper and get that thing polished up. 📄 Hmm. How do we describe our skills, titles, experiences & degrees, especially if we see a job we are particularly interested in? Yes – the temptation could be there to fudge or inflate. There’s [...]

dhobeika2024-05-07T08:33:37-04:00May 7th, 2024|

Job Interviews