Guest Post: How to Ace a Phone Interview

The great guest posts continue to roll in here at Astron Solutions World of HR. Phone interviews can be some of the most stressful parts of an interview process since you can't actually see the person you are speaking to (and sometimes can't hear them well either). Alexis Bonari has a blog post today to help you ace that interview. Alexis is currently a resident blogger at College Scholarships, where recently she’s been researching arabic scholarships as well as tips on finding archery scholarships. Whenever this WAHM gets some free time she enjoys doing yoga, cooking with the freshest organic in-season fare, and practicing the art of coupon clipping. Here is Alexis' guest post:
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More and more employers and recruiters have started interviewing potential job candidates over the phone because it is relatively cheap, and can be done fairly quickly. If you are a recent grad student, then participating in a phone interview with a potential employer could be stressful and intimidating.
Because of this, it’s extremely important to take the proper steps beforehand to make sure you are fully prepared for a phone interview in order to succeed in your job search.

The first step in preparing for a phone interview is to make sure your cell phone is completely charged, and that you are in an area with excellent reception. (If you are using a land line then this shouldn’t be a concern for you).

It’s also important to make sure you are in a quiet room so there won’t be any background noise that will distract you as you are on the phone with your (hopefully) future employer.
You should also make sure your phone volume is set on high, and turn off any appliances, or even your TV or stereo, because they could act as potential distractions. (It may even be a good idea to place a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door as well, just in case).

The next step is preparing some notes of what you would like to say or bring up during the interview. Write down some questions or even points you want to make beforehand, and have a paper and pen handy so you can write down notes during the interview as well. Remember one of the benefits of a phone interview is that the person interviewing you can’t see what you’re doing, so take advantage of this and lay out pages and pages of notes and questions you want to cover during the interview.

Guest Post: Before You Worry About the Interview Questions

I'm sorry to have been absent from the blogging world for a while but I just recently entered the world of dog ownership (picture on the right) and the puppy has been occupying way too much of my time. But I'm back now and we've got some great stuff on tap for this week including a few great guest posts. The first guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of online universities. She welcomes your comments at her email: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.
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A picture of little Jack taking a nap

We often read so much about how to prepare for the actual back and forth discussion part of our job interview that we don't actually get any advice about how to prepare for the logistics of going to a job interview. When I say logistics, I mean all of the details surrounding the interview itself. If you don't get these details right, they can seriously hamper your efforts to nail down that job. And in this economy, you can't afford to let the details keep you from getting a steady paycheck.

Anyhow, when you get ready to go off to your interview, take a moment to track down some of these logistical details. These may seem obvious and common sense, but you'd be surprised at how many people might forget these in the nervous rush of thinking about the interview. And, of course, good luck!

Plan Your Route

Before you leave for the interview, plan out the route you will drive to get there. Keep in mind an alternate route as well so that you can adjust where you go in case there is a traffic jam. Also, use a traffic monitoring system, such as the one on your GPS, or use the radio to get traffic updates.

Figure Out the Parking Situation

Next, you should try to figure out the parking situation at the place where you are interviewing. Some places have easy parking, while others will require you to get your parking ticket validated. Simply check with whomever helped you set up the interview for more information.

Where Will You Meet?

This is a pretty basic step, but it's still one that needs to be taken so that you can avoid some anxiety once you arrive at the office. Simply establish where you will wait or how you will meet with whomever is going to interview you. Should you wait in the lobby? Will someone come and get you? Do you take the elevator up? Establish the process here to save yourself some trouble the morning of the interview.

Know Your Interviewers

Cleaning Out the Links Part 6

The last part of our links clean out is upon us...let's check out the links:

First from the New York Times was a very depressing article from May that talks about the new poor and that some jobs from our economy are never coming back: "Millions of workers who have already been unemployed for months, if not years, will most likely remain that way even as the overall job market continues to improve, economists say. The occupations they worked in, and the skills they currently possess, are never coming back in style. And the demand for new types of skills moves a lot more quickly than workers — especially older and less mobile workers — are able to retrain and gain those skills. There is no easy policy solution for helping the people left behind. The usual unemployment measures — like jobless benefits and food stamps — can serve as temporary palliatives, but they cannot make workers’ skills relevant again."

Also from the New York Times, an article about a service charging $400 per hour to get 20-somethings off their couch to be coached in finding jobs.

Next from the Boston Globe is some advice for the job seeker on trimming down a resume that is too long. It's something that makes looking at a candidates resume a lot easier.

Lastly, from howtonailaninterview.com is advice on, well, how to nail a job interview.

Cleaning Out the Links Part 3

We start out on this Monday morning with 18 common e-mail mistakes from US News and World Report via Yahoo! Finance (H/T Sarah). I can tell you from the experience of receiving e-mails (in both my professional and personal life) that people hit reply all way too often when they just mean to hit plain ole reply.

Next, from FINS we have Goldman Sachs updating their interview tips via a nifty little video (H/T Wendy). The most important advice, in my opinion, is the last point: "At the End. Ask two or three questions about the company or about the interviewer's view of broad industry trends. Don't ask about salary and benefits. You'll have plenty of time for that once you get an offer. And, of course, e-mail a thank you note. It's a classy touch."

ABC News is next with some things not to do during an interview such as, well, bringing mom. Some of these are priceless.

Next, from USA Photos Pictures Blog is a list of the top ten worst jobs in the United States...with pictures of each.

Lastly, from SIFMA, a list of what the positions really mean in simpledetails.

A Few Post-MLK Day Articles

Hope that everyone who was off yesterday had a nice day off and everyone who had to work didn't have too bad of a Monday. As we all exercise our ability to be part of this workforce, we can thank people like Martin Luther King Jr. and others who made this opportunity possible for us. Even those who are out of work can certainly take a day to reflect and that's the important part of holidays like yesterday.

HR.BLR takes it one step further and says that MLK Day should be an opportunity for workplaces to celebrate diversity and instead of talking about how we're all the same, talk about the unique ways in which we are different. Everyone brings something to the workplace and having diverse backgrounds is one way to help build a successful organization.

The New York Times has a story about some Starbucks workers in New York City who took the holiday to celebrate...and then to protest. If you're trying to argue for some sort of equality, MLK Day seems like a good occasion to do so, even for baristas.

Lastly, from the Boston Globe JobDoc, some advice on handling a canceled interview. Although this information is for the candidate, a lot of advice can be extracted for the interviewer in how they handle their interview cancellations.

Cleaning Out the Links Part 1

Winter Cleaning! I have tons of great links to share with everyone that I will post here at the Astron Solutions blog over the next few days:

The first is from way back in May from ResumeBear and, with the national spotlight on the healthcare, they have a list of the healthiest companies in America.

From back in December about how young entrepreneurs are making their own jobs in this bad job market instead of waiting around to find one from the New York Times.

Then on to ABC News which has tips for interviewing and 5 tips that no one mentions. These are helpful hints not only for the job applier but for Human Resources as well.

Next, from this past week, some advice from TLNT on how you can avoid a people management fiasco at your company like the Juan Williams/NPR case.

Lastly, from FINS we have an article which states there's actually a science behind your employees blowing their bonuses.

Hiring or Not for 2010?

Since it is a week before Thanksgiving, many would think that hiring for 2010 would be, for the most part, done. And with an economy bouncing up and down, many companies would seem to be wise to halt hiring for the time being. But judging by the amount of new job postings floating around the interwebs, it would seem that the opposite may be the case. More and more companies are listing for positions and looking to hire "immediately". So where is the disconnect here?

Well it seems that while many companies are posting for jobs, and some are even interviewing candidates, very few are actually hiring. Some companies are just using this as a "feeling out" period, trying to figure out what type of candidate pool they have to choose from and about how much it would cost them if they wanted to actually hire the candidates. Other companies want to get candidates in the door so they can have their names and their interviews taken care of so when the 2011 budget dollars get released, they can go ahead and spend.

But there is yet another class of companies that just seem to be interviewing for the sake of interviewing. I have spoken to more than one person who said their company has instituted a hiring freeze, but still continue to list jobs online and even bring in people to interview knowing full well they can't hire them.

One of the questions hiring managers, human resources, and even the candidate being interviewed need to ask is: when is this job for? Is it really immediate hire or is the budget there for sometime in 2011--or is this just a fishing expedition? An understanding between all parties in this process will make for a much more effective and trustworthy hiring process.

Fake Companies Are All Over the Place

When I was finishing up my Masters studies, I scoured Monster.com, Careerbuilder and Craigslist to see who would hire me. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do (I still don't know), but at the time I was just looking for something that sounded fun and exciting. So when I saw an advertisement for a sports marketing firm that was hiring for an executive training program, I was very excited. I was even more excited when I got a call about setting up an interview at the office in New Jersey. I had no clue what I was in store for, though.

I completed my 45 minute commute to the company's offices in an office park and since I was early, I camped out for a little while in my car and read up on what I knew about the company. From their website they seemed to be a large sports marketing company that worked with the New York Yankees--among other accounts. As I was sitting in the car, I saw many young people leaving the building in suits and thought that this seemed like a cool work environment.

I decided to enter the office 15 minutes early and was surprised to find that the area I was ushered into seemed to be a single office. In the waiting room were a ton of other young people like me in suits and looked much like the people I'd seen leaving the building. I checked in and sat in the large waiting area. Someone came out of the office and a name was called and they went in to interview. Seeing about 10 people in front of me, I wondered how I was going to get interviewed any time soon.

My answer came when the door opened 5 minutes later and the person in there left. I thought this was odd, but figured maybe the interview didn't go well and they were just cutting it short. Except the next person had the same time limit--and the next person as well.

Saturday in the Park

Not exactly in the park, but it is a beautiful Saturday to be there and if you want some great links while you're lounging in the sun.

From ben's blog, some advice about the right way to lay off an employee. The steps? Get your head right, don't delay, be clear in your own mind about why you are laying people off, train your managers, be visible and be present. "After seeing their friends laid off, employees were no longer willing to make the requisite sacrifices needed to build a company. He said that although it was possible to survive an isolated layoff, it was hugely unlikely that a company would experience great success."

From ESPN New York, an interesting conflict between the New York Jets and a female reporter. The interesting part of this story has been the response from other female journalists who have been less than supportive of Ines Sainz, the woman who filed the complaint of discrimination and harassment.

Interview Tips has 20 ways to nail an interview with some hilarious videos of people who didn't come close to doing so (H/T Wendy). Number 16 may be the worst.

There are job reports out there, but finally there is The Hidden Job Report.

And lastly, some advice about what a company blog should look like from The New York Enterprise Report (H/T Jennifer)

The Resume and the Interview

Some good links on a HOT Wednesday for the resume and the interview:

The New York Times from back in February had some advice on writing a resume that shouts "hire me". Good advice at a time when so many resumes are being received--and they all look the same.

AOL's Barbara Safani (also of Career Solvers) wants to know if you're lying on your resume saying "it is critical that all information reported on the document is accurate and something you can back up with facts if questioned."

We go back to AOL and Safani for the toughest job interview question out there (what is your weakness?) as well as a few other tough questions and the best ways to answer them

The Staffing Advisor asks how you got all that from reading a resume and tells the story of a church committee rejecting Jesus Christ as a candidate

Lastly, FINS has some advice on making a good first impression and nailing your finance interview

Unemployed...and Frustrated

On this Good Friday, we bring you some good links that are not so good if you're unemployed:

It's frustrating when you go through a few interviews and don't get a job offer. But one person went through 52 interviews at Goldman Sachs and got only one job offer according to Here Is The City (H/T Wendy). Wow

How many people are taking jobs right now they are overqualified for? But it doesn't mean they aren't really happy to be employed according to the New York Times (H/T Sarah and picture from the NYT article)

There is one time when "any work" is worse than "no work": unemployment benefits and the Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo! explains (H/T Wendy)

And Tom Delay, you have egg on your face after saying that people are unemployed because they want to be. Details of that non-PC and non-true statement from Huffington Post via Yahoo! (H/T Wendy)

Know It When You See It

Sorry we've missed you for a few days here at the Astron blog. In the middle of moving and that has been no fun. But I have some fun links for you to read over the weekend. Here's how to know it when you see it.

The first is from Career Solvers and is good advice for the job seeker on how to spot a job scam.

Next comes from The Recruiters Lounge and it's advice for a the interviewer of how to know if you're being lied to in a job interview...and how to counter it.

From Grub Street New York, word that the Gristedes supermarket chain's gender discrimination lawsuit is becoming a class action lawsuit--if only people knew what to spot beforehand..

Lastly, from the Examier, a very off-color way to answer weird interview questions. Not exactly PC, but shows how dumb some of the questions are when you see how you can answer them.

Deception, Credit Checks and the Receptionist in the Job Search

A few older articles to get out of the way today, but that doesn't make them unrelevant!

From a mid-February New York Times report, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued seven job placement operators for deception. The victims were innocent people just looking for a job and part of an expanding array of fraudulent job placement and work-at-home schemes. This is sad news for the job market where cruel people are taking advantage of the desperation of people to get hired.

From earlier this week a Yahoo! News and AP report says that states may ban credit check on job applicants (H/T Wendy). As we said above, it's hard enough to get a job in this economy, but now job applicants are facing another hurdle in the form of bad credit histories. From the article:

Sixty percent of employers recently surveyed by the Society for Human Resources Management said they run credit checks on at least some job applicants, compared with 42 percent in a somewhat similar survey in 2006.

Employers say such checks give them valuable information about an applicant's honesty and sense of responsibility. But lawmakers in at least 16 states from South Carolina to Oregon have proposed outlawing most credit checks, saying the practice traps people in debt because their past financial problems prevent them from finding work.

And lastly, from the New York Times "Corner Office" is a C.E.O. that says that one of the things she looks for in a job candidate is how they treated the receptionist when they came in for the interview: "I’ll want to know if someone comes in and if they weren’t polite, if they didn’t say, “Hello,” or ask them how they were. It’s really important to me." Good advice!

Questions (Not) To Ask During an Interview

assertTrue( ) has a list of 9 question to ask during an interview on their website but I figured it would be a good idea to expand on their list of questions not to ask from the candidate and the interviewer. Here are 5 for each:

For the candidate:

1. Don't ask about time off. If you have a vacation planned after you're supposed to start the new position, there's a time and a place about it. But don't start your relationship with a hiring manager or human resource professional by talking about how much time you won't be spending in the office

2. Be careful about how you talk about your last/current employer. There are good reasons why you want to leave your job and then there are reasons that will send up huge red flags at your new company. Don't hide anything from them that they need to know...but don't start by talking about the body odor of your current boss.

3. Don't ask any question about the company you can find out on the website. There is a fine line between being interested about a company and finding out more and being lazy and just not searching the company's website before the interview. Actually, it isn't a fine line. Do your research before you step into the office.

4. Leave something non-essential off the resume. I feel that some question will come up that's best described by something that's not essential to be on the resume, but something which will describe you well. If you were president of an organization but that was years ago, you can talk about the initiative you took to climb up the ranks without having it as one line in a resume. Also, if there's something on your resume just to pad it, it may look like you're confused about your career path and/or using a generic resume. Don't do that.

5. Don't go in without any knowledge of who you'll be speaking with. Not everyone has a bio up on the website, but if they do, give it a little study. If they don't, ask the person who sets up the interview to tell you a little bit about who you'll be interviewing with. Eventually you'll get a chance to ask a question and you don't want to be totally stumped/totally unoriginal. If you've done the research into them, it'll pay off.


For the HR Professional/Hiring Manager

1. Don't be nervous. I guarantee the person sitting across from you is 100x more nervous that you are. If you're nervous, it'll make them nervous and make for a very awkward interview. Some people hate operating in this type of setting but you need to find a way to feel comfortable doing this.

2. Force the interviewee to go off script. Basically, don't ask only generic questions. Ask them something they will have to think about for a few seconds and show some creativity/problem solving skills in thinking. Maybe talk about a problem and see how they would solve it or ask them how they feel about something in current events relating to the job (or to something else). In one of my interviews for my current role, I spent more than half the time speaking about A-Rod opting out of his contract with the Yankees. It had nothing to do with the role, but it allowed me to show how I spoke, how I solved problems and my creative side. But most importantly, it forced me to go off script.

3. Read the resume before the interview. I've had way too many interviews where I could tell the person interviewing me had no clue anything about me. If you're expecting the candidate to be prepared and do research on the company, you should provide the same courtesy and do the minimal amount of research required to read their resume. It can also help you frame questions for #2.

4. Keep the interview moving. You're like the producer of a radio show. If the host or callers get off topic for too long, you're job is to move it along to the next step. Don't cut anyone off, but you can't allow an interviewer to just ramble. Part of any job is fitting what you need to say within a timeframe and this is great practice for it. Also, you don't want the interviewee veering into too many personal details, so keep it on track.

5. Know what the position requires. This seems like it should be above for "candidates" but I think this is just as important for interviewers. I had an interview where the job description, HR representative and hiring manager all gave me a different shpeel about what the position required. There's no easier way to confuse a candidate than not being all on the same page. I was asked about certain licenses that had nothing to do with the job and the HR rep thought I was wholly unqualified by the time she got done speaking with me, when, in fact, I had all the requirements listed on the job description. It's not considerate to the person being interviewed.

Hope those are some good hints. I figured it was a few non-obvious Dos and Do Nots for the interviewer and the interviewee.

"A Common App" for Job Applications

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!

When I applied to college, I was happy to find out a school I was applying to used the "Common App". For those unfamiliar with it, this is basically a general college application that you could fill out once and then submit to all schools that would accept it. It saved me time and energy and focused me on finding the schools I was really interested in rather than worrying about what their application requirements were.

The other day I got to wondering: why can't we do this for job searches? Maybe we can call it the "Professional App". Really, why can't there be one generic job application that someone could fill out and submit to any companies that accepted it? Every job application a person fills out has the same information: Name, Address, Past Employment, Education. But for every job one applies to, they need to fill out a separate job application, manually inputting all the same information. Why can't this be standardized into one form? For each company you want to apply to, you can submit this form but still can personalize your cover letter and attached resume. And like the college-bound Common App, the Professional App could have specific answers for specific jobs as well, but keep the common information the same (in college apps these are essays, but in the Professional App, it could be specific questions for the job one would need to do). 

For a company receiving applications, there could be benefits as well. They wouldn't have to spend as much money to host their own job application site. The companies would be able to receive applications in an easy-to-use format and would be able to differentiate between candidates easily. And companies should receive more candidates to choose from because of the ease of applying. They may get a few more "lazy" applicants, but with a cover letter still to write and interviews still to do, the talent pool would certainly grow.

Thoughts? Do you think this would work? Would your company use it?

What I'm Hearing...Free-Flowing Interviews

With Andrew "Down Under" for the next two weeks, I'll be taking the lead on blog posts. To kick things off, I'll comment on his excellent post from Saturday.

First, to clarify Andrew's comment regarding his Astron interview, as I remember it was about two hours long. And a fun two hours! Andrew made me laugh with his impressions of a favorite college professor and, more importantly, what he got out of that class. He showed me that he was cool under pressure, knew how to have fun, and wasn't overly self-conscious. Fantastic traits for success in a consulting environment!

Andrew makes several important points in his post regarding probing questions. Best HR practice dictates that interviewers, especially inexperienced interviewers, ask the same questions of each candidate to prevent inadvertent discrimination. While it's not a fun approach, it is a wise one.

However, asking the same questions without the necessary follow up probes reduces the overall effectiveness of the interview. If a standard question reveals a potential red flag, interviewers have the responsibility to delve further to determine suitability for the position and potential risk to the organization. Effective interviewing that balances both these needs is a skill that develops with time, practice, and mentoring.

How structured is the interview process at your organization? How can you make it more effective for both parties?

The Best Interviews Are Free-Flowing

About six months back, I had to do my first interview for my new company. One of the things that I was surprised about was the rigidity in which I was supposed to do this. The candidates would only be meeting with me for an hour of one-on-one time before I passed them off through the three other interviews they had set up for them. Not only that, Human Resources instructed me to come up with certain questions that I had to use for every candidate.

That didn't quite sit well with me. All my best interviews that I've either been the interviewer or the interviewee have been free-flowing conversations that allow the candidate to show their true self. I've spent hours interviewing at times. The Astron interview certainly comes to mind here. Jennifer and I spoke for what seemed like hours. It allowed both her to learn more about me and me to learn more about her and the company. One interview for my current job, I walked in and the interviewer, having read my resume and realizing I was a sports fan, had an article on his screen about Alex Rodriguez from the Wall Street Journal, pointed at it and asked me what I thought about the situation. Later he told me the point was just to see how I communicated and presented myself. But he allowed me to get into a comfortable zone by starting the interview off like that. We still got to the important/mandatory/obligatory questions, but we started out on the right foot.

My feeling is that when you have rigidity in interviews, you make people answer questions they've already prepared for. Surprise them. One of my co-workers had to interview potential managers to be his boss. He would ask all of the potential managers during the interview: "what if I wanted to come in late every day?" One interview I was in I was asked to tell a joke. Another, I had to shout something at the top of my lungs in a crowded room of interviewers. The point is not to embarrass people but to see their creativity, their ability to think on the spot, and also to avoid getting answers they've practiced in front of the mirror many times and don't reveal their true self.

I'm not saying don't ask: "what is your greatest weakness?" but be willing to follow up on that. If someone goes "I'm a perfectionist, to a fault" make them elaborate and give examples. If the interviewer asks where you want to see yourself in five years, give an answer and then turn it around and ask them where the want to be in five years or if they ended up where they thought they'd be five years before. Engage. Be willing to push from both sides of the interview. Ask the other person "if you weren't working here but could be doing anything else in the world, what would you want to do/where would you be?"

I know, I know...to seem fair and that you're not discriminating between candidates, you can't deviate too much from interview to interview. But the last thing you want to do is judge each candidate based on a set of canned questions. Make them open up. Even just a little. You will have to work with this person if you hire them; it would be a good idea to see a little of who they really are.

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And with that, I'm out of here for two weeks. I'm heading to the Land Down Under. I will try to get some blog posts in from down there, but can't promise anything. In the meantime, Jennifer and the rest of the Astron crew should be taking over for me here. So, trust me, you're in good hands :)

Great Articles on a Great Day

Those who've gone outside in New York today know it was a beautiful day. Where here are some links to enjoy once you're done enjoying the weather...

Got some good stuff from the Boston Globe's Job Docs, the first article is about a couple of bad apples spoiling things for everyone at work: click here

Also from Job Docs, advice on whether it is appropriate to get calls for jobs--while at work: click here

Lastly from Job Docs, it's not just in the school yard anymore--job interview do overs: click here

From the Wall Street Journal, word that recruiting at business schools has dropped: click here

Also from the Journal, despite cutbacks in firms, they are still investing in developing future leaders: click here

Lastly from the Journal, an article making the case for executive education: click here

And our last article for the day, from Dice, 8 ways to keep your career moving while out of work (H/T Wendy): click here

Hiring and Firing

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution starts us off with an article about whether you should dress business casual for an interview: click here

A Human Resource Management Solutions article following up on a HR World article for our next entry on five quick hiring tips: click here

The Houston Business Daily has next for us a Human Resources Guide to employment issues resulting from Hurricane Ike: click here

The Gazette of Colorado Springs says that everyone, especially the employer, benefits by handling layoffs fairly and honestly: click here

Lastly, the Orlando Business Journal cites a study that says that most workers are puzzled about their benefits: click here

Astronology At Its Best

So many times in this blog I've harped on the merits of subscribing to Astron's bi-weekly newsletter, Astronology. It's really, really simple to sign up (I'll even give you the link again here), it's a great resource, we won't spam you, and sometimes you get to read about really awesome stuff (plus I penned a few back in the day if you check out the archives here)...

And while the latest issue has some great stuff (click here)...nothing compares to this amazing interview with yours truly:


Mini-Interview
The next Astron Solutions team member to let it all hang loose is our Blogmaster, Andrew Katz. Also, this won’t be the last mini-interview of our series! Stay tuned to our website for big news! Now, without further adieu:

1) What is your position in Astron Solutions, and how long have you had this position?

I guess you could call me the official Blogmaster. I've done this since snagging an internship with Astron back in the Summer of 2006. I wanted to stay active with Astron once I went back to school and this gave me a great opportunity to do so.

2) What convinced you to do HR consulting?

The interview with Jennifer. HR consulting was FAR from anything I had ever thought of doing but one Human Resources lesson to learn is that while the candidate is trying to woo the interviewer, a company can attract good employees through a great interview. Hearing about what Astron did and stood for and seeing how happy the employees were really went a long way into convincing me to join the Astron family.

3) What do you do when you are not consulting?

I work double duties...I also work at Genworth Financial in Stamford, CT. But blogging has become a passion of mine and I love doing it. Having to keep my readers up-to-date on what's going on in the world of HR also keeps me up-to-date and I'm always plugged into the latest news. I'm also an avid sports fan so I'm always watching games and talking sports with my friends.

4) What is your favorite place to travel to and why?

I spent a semester studying abroad in Copenhagen. Although 90% of people I know can't pick it out on a map, it really is an amazing place. When most people think of visiting Europe they think of London and Paris and Italy...but Copenhagen is one of those treasures that I think has to be part of any European travel. The people are amazingly nice, the city is so much fun, and it has been named the "Happiest Place on Earth" the past two years. And bonus: everyone speaks English so you won't need to carry around a dictionary!

5) Where do you see Astron Solutions this day next year?

It's amazing to see Astron continuing to grow. I think that as Astron continues to attract new and diverse customers through word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers, you'll see Astron out there more and more with the big names in the market. Genworth is a "People Driven" company very involved in the local community and I see Astron continuing to follow those same ideals.

iShuffle

As we continue our trek through getting to know the Astron Solutions team better, we find ourselves with the iShuffle yet again. Again, Blogmaster Andrew Katz has helped us out with this! We thank Andrew for both his blogging skills, and his time for this. Enjoy the list, and the questions!

Kanye West - Through the Wire
Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static
Fallout Boy (feat. John Mayer) - Beat It
Madonna and Justin Timberlake (feat. Timbaland) - 4 Minutes
Rick Ross (feat. T-Pain) - The Boss
Lupe Fiasco - Hip-Hop Saved My Life
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Counting Crows - Rain King (Live from Soho)
N.E.R.D. - Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing on the Line...)
Dave Matthews (feat. Tim Reynolds) - Lie In Our Graves (Live at Radio City)

Favorite - Everybody Nose. The song gets you pumped, smiling, and is just overall fun. You know a song is good when you get into it in the first 15 seconds you hear the song for the first time.

Least Favorite - 4 Minutes. There's nothing wrong with the song at all. Actually I like it. But it's repetitive and you get sick of it too quickly. When a song comes on and I start reaching for the ipod, it's a BAD sign.

Seen Live - Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Counting Crows, N.E.R.D., and Dave Matthews I have all seen live this summer (and I saw John Mayer in the past). Dave is my favorite live act. Some people have great songs. Some sing really well. But very few combine both these and put on a great, entertaining SHOW. Dave does this. I went to a Dave Matthews Band concert after my Junior year of high school and I really was not a big fan at the time. He put on such a great show that I'm not only a huge fan, I've been to his concert every summer since (at least once).