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Monday, November 29, 2010

Facing Atypical Questions in a Job Interview



Article Taken from Jobs Journal

Atypical questions are in fact quite common in job interviews and play a major role in deciding upon the candidate. So, what are atypical questions? Questions that are not directly related to your qualifications or field of work and are meant rather to probe your qualities and attributes are atypical questions.

Questions like ''what would you do if you were in a room full of rats with three big pieces of wood and a ball of yarn?'' The ingenuous might suggest the creation of a rattrap, the vicious might think of fashioning a weapon to beat the rats to death, and the eco-friendly might offer the creation of a wooden platform on which to perch and live in harmony with the rats. There’s no set answer to an atypical question and the interviewers truly want your individual response to assess your mindset. In this case, probably the winner would be the person who refuses the cue of ''three big pieces of wood and a ball of yarn,'' and answers that he or she would just open the door and walk out. You see, nobody said that the room was locked.

Atypical questions are created to probe into your logical abilities and tracks of thought. They are more important than typical questions like ''why do you want this job.'' Whenever you find an atypical question in an interview, a seemingly innocuous question that seems more intended to pass time than useful for the interview, be careful. Know that job interviews have nothing casual about them, and questions that seem casual and insignificant are actually more important and you need to consider carefully before you answer.

A most often cited and used atypical question would be ''who are the two people you would want to be with you on a deserted tropical island?'' The average Joe will instantly mention his loved ones, probably his two kids, or wife and child.

What the interviewers actually expect here is to find out whether the candidate has the ability to size up a situation and visualize its consequences. They want an answer that shows that the candidate has correctly identified the problem and created a solution within the given options. The usual intelligent answer would identify the problem of survival and create its solution with the given options of ''two people.'' So, the ''two people'' could be a Marine and a cook. That would solve the problem of survival and existence.

However, that does not solve the problem of escaping the stranded situation in the given case, but only solves the problem of survival. So, a better answer would be a Marine and a boat builder. While the Marine can help to solve the problem of survival, the boat builder can solve the problem of trying to escape from the deserted island. One of the best answers I ever heard a candidate give to this question was ''a radio operator with his HAM radio and my wife.'' This person went beyond the typical level of having a boat builder or shipwright, and was totally opposed to unnecessary labor. He would have his vacation, make most of the situation, and use the radio operator to signal for help from passing vehicles.

In extreme cases and high-level job interviews (which are rare nowadays) we have also seen companies create full-scale atypical situations. For example, while selecting a batch of management trainees, I remember an interview where eight fresh graduates were called to a five star hotel and each casually given a sum of pocket money to spend during the stay. Nothing else was communicated to the candidates, but a strict watch was kept on how they spent their time and the money given to them. During the interview, each candidate was asked to place the account of their expenditure, and only two candidates turned out to have maintained a log. The company was looking at the expenditure pattern of the job candidates, but more importantly, they were keen to find out which of the candidates had the habit of keeping regular accounts of their minor expenditure.

So, whenever you face an atypical question or an atypical situation in an interview, think deeply, identify the problem presented, and consider the given options and how they might be used to contrive the best solution. Responses to atypical questions are given more weight by interviewers for differentiating between candidates who otherwise seem equally matched. And atypical questions require you to be most attentive, alert , and logical to provide a suitable answer.

Kunin Associates is passionate about getting you the right job and giving you the tools to exceed in the interview process!
Visit our website at www.kuninassociates.com and subscribe to out twice a month newsletter!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Forensic Accountant

Forensic Accountant needed to work on a contract basis on an out-of-state litigation project. Must have experience in loss of income calculations, forensic accounting, business valuation or litigation accounting. Multiple month project. Transportation and lodging provided by company. Experienced professionals needed right away.

Hourly Rate: $20.00 to $40.00
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving From Kunin Associates



Happy Thanksgiving from Kunin Associates

At this season of Thanksgiving we would like to express our appreciation for your friendship and goodwill during the past year. We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Season.


Kunin Associates
608 SE 6th St. Suite 4
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Monday, November 22, 2010

Senior Accountant

Our Miami client is looking to hire a Senior Accountant. In this position you will be key contributor to the Corporate Finance department and the annual/quarterly reporting package by providing technical accounting and reporting expertise. Qualified candidates must have 2-3 years experience including Big4 and be a CPA. Oracle, Hyperion Essbase and Congos planning experience are a plus. Occasional travel might be required. Great opportunity with a stable yet growing corporation. Company offers a leading benefits program.

Salary Range: $65,000 to $75,000
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Friday, November 19, 2010

CFO

Growing Miami distributor looking for a Bilingual CFO. In this role you will be responsible for taking an active approach to leading the accounting and financial function of the company. The ideal candidate will have 4-5 years public accounting audit experience combined with 2+ years progressive private accounting experience. Additional knowledge in dealing with international transactions and large receivables is highly desired. Great company with a positive environment. Must have fluency in Spanish and be a CPA.

Salary Range: $100,000 to $125,000
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Spotting Internet Job Scams



Article taken from Jobs Journal
By Surjit Sen Sharma

While the percentage of simpleminded people, falling for internet job scams, seems to have remained the same this year as before, according to USA News Online, the numbers have definitely gone up. The recession has caused increase in the numbers of desperate jobseekers, and similarly there has been a rise in the numbers of attempts for running internet job scams. Sometimes, these people are just looking for information to add you to a spam list, but mostly they are looking to relieve you of your cash.

The tragedy is that perfectly reputed citizens too, become obsessed with easy money and become scam artists. For example, recently in August, 2010, a former N.B.A. and Michigan State player, Jay Vincent, was indicted for bilking 20, 000 jobseekers out of $2 million through an Internet employment scam.

Internet job scams have some pretty simple signs. Usually, it would be an unsolicited email. At other times, it would be a job advertisement, which asks for money to sign up in some form. Mostly it would be something too good to be true. For example, recently there were some scams offering up to $40 an hour for mystery shopping. These people would be sending cheques for you to cash and wire back the money to their company account, just to test things out. By the time the cheques are caught to be fake, you have lost your money. In fact, the number of mystery shopping scams using even legitimate names have increased so much that well-known organizations like Confero, which actually uses mystery shoppers have gone public to warn people.

The downside of these scams is that besides harming simple job seekers, they also harm genuine businesses. For example, work-at-home offers have almost become synonymous with scams making it difficult for genuine companies that have work to do from home.

Usually, the simple method to find out about scams is to make a Google search about the company making the job advertisement and add ''+ scam'' to the search. So, if xy.com was making a job advertisement, I would run a search like xy.com + scam, and see if anything turns up. If nothing does, chances are looking better, but it also might be a new scammer that people are yet unwary of, or nobody took the pain to report anywhere.

A safe method is to search the web for news about the company, and if the only things that turn up are more job postings, that is something to feel concerned about. Any genuine company would have something more than job postings on the internet.

Another method to check the authenticity of an employer or website is to search the WHOIS database for contact names and particulars. If the listing is private and contact details are not available, you can at least find out for how long the domain name has been registered. If it is only for a year, and short-term, chances are, it would be risky business to release personal information to such people.

Another thing I would like to talk about is virtual or shared office addresses. With the onslaught of the recession, many startup companies are using business center addresses to run their operations, and while business center addresses do raise a question about the strength of the operation, it is certainly not a final indication of a company running a scam. There are certain people who tend to believe that having a business center address or a shared office address tantamount to risk, but you cannot judge that until you go into the details of the job advertised for.

However, it is safer to stick to well known companies and agencies in your job search and not try to grab opportunities that seem illogical and too good to be true.

Kunin Associates has been in the South Florida marketplace for 13 years specializing in the permanent placement of accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals. Please contact us to get started on your job search!
http://www.kuninassociates.com/

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Forensic Accountant

Forensic Accountants needed to work on a contract basis in Louisiana for a large insurance claim. Work schedule is 21 days on followed by 7 days off. Must have experience in loss of income calculations, forensic accounting, business valuation or litigation accounting. Experienced professionals needed right away.

Hourly rate: $15-40 based on level of experience
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tax Associate

Large local Miami accounting firm is looking to hire a Tax Associate. In this role you will be responsible for assisting in tax compliance, tax research and client service. Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, with a Masters in Tax highly preferred, 0-2 years public accounting experience and a desire to work hard. Great firm with plenty of room for advancement.

Salary Range: $40,000 to $45,000
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Monday, November 8, 2010

Forensic Accountant

Forensic Accountants needed to work on a contract basis in Louisiana for a large insurance claim. Work schedule is 21 days on followed by 7 days off. Must have experience in loss of income calculations, forensic accounting, business valuation or litigation accounting. Experienced professionals needed right away.

Hourly rate: $15-40 based on level of experience
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Friday, November 5, 2010

Senior Accountant

Our Miami client is looking to hire a Senior Accountant. In this position you will be key contributor to the Corporate Finance department and the annual/quarterly reporting package by providing technical accounting and reporting expertise. Qualified candidates must have 2-3 years experience including Big4 and be a CPA. Oracle, Hyperion Essbase and Congos planning experience are a plus. Occasional travel might be required. Great opportunity with a stable yet growing corporation. Company offers a leading benefits program.

Salary Range: $65,000 to $75,000
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Controller/CFO

Controller/CFO

Growing South Florida Real Estate Investment firm is looking to hire a Controller/CFO who is a good leader. This role requires someone with a CPA, who has a mix of private and public accounting, is computer savvy and has 5+ years of Real Estate accounting experience. The position requires reporting, accounting and analysis background. The company is customer-focused and needs a professional who is willing to go the extra mile. Pleasant working environment, opportunity for growth and bonus potential.

Salary Range: $125,000 to $150,000

Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Accounting Services Senior

Accounting Services Senior

Our client is a stable prestigious Accounting firm in Miami and is looking to add an Accounting Service Senior. This role requires someone who has excellent technical accounting skills, outstanding interpersonal ability, and is a clear thinker and articulate. You will be responsible for financial statement preparation, general ledger accounting, account analysis, and tax reporting among other duties. 3-5 years experience in public accounting is ideal. Incredible office with a family environment. If you desire a positive career move with advancement possibilities and financial gain then this is the opportunity for you.

Salary Range: $60,000 to $70,000
Email Resume to: JFarrick@KuninAssociates.com