You’ve drafted your resume, vetted through it dozens of time and submitted it to your dream organization for your desired position. Weeks later, you received a mail from them, revealing that you have been shortlisted for the interview in two weeks’ time.

Your heart leaps for joy for about a minute, although somewhere inside you felt a tinge of uncertainty. As the days go by, your uncertainty escalates from worry to panic!

Don’t fret! We’re here to help you out. If you haven’t read my previous post on how you should tackle the 10 most asked interview questions, I suggest you do. You never know if they may help. After going through a number of interview tips on the Net, I’ve come up with five ‘truths’ about job interviews that you should note prior to the big day itself.

1. Impress EVERYONE

Many interviewees are not aware that some organizations seek the opinions of receptionists on their hiring decisions. After all, formal interviews do not reveal the social skills they may or may not possess. A well-rounded assessment may take into account what occurs behind the scene, particularly how interviewees act while waiting for their turn.

This is where they meet the other job applicants as well as the receptionist, so it’s a good chance for the potential employer to evaluate their people skills in an informal setting.

Body Language Speaks

Apart from that, receptionists can tell if the interviewee is well prepared and can even have a rough gauge of their personality from his or her demeanor.

For instance, if you’re fumbling through your interview notes or frequenting the toilet a lot, the receptionist would note that you’re anxious and insecure about yourself.

Recommended post: Top 10 Most Asked Interview Questions

On the other hand, if you enter the waiting area composed, with a friendly smile and a positive outlook, the receptionist will probably think that you’re all thoroughly prepared for the interview.

What Should You Do Then?

Just behave like how you’ll behave if you know you are being watched or interviewed. Some interviewees tend to take those moments to rehearse or to relax a little before they enter the room.

Little did they know that they are being watched. So long as you don’t do anything weird or inappropriate, you won’t get marked down unnecessarily.

2. First Impressions (Really) Count

Yes, we all know that first impressions count when it comes to meeting someone new. This is more important when it comes to occasions like an interview: when someone is deliberately assessing you and scrutinizing your speech and body language. In fact, the first five minutes of your interview is the critical moment for you to impress them. Miss it and you might find yourself losing the deal even if you have sent in a top-notch resume.

One Chance To Nail It

Psychological studies have even showed that it takes only seven to seventeen seconds to make that first impression with someone new. Perhaps if we’re talking about interviews where interviewers are consciously reminding themselves to stay objective, the first impression may take longer to form.

Nevertheless, the point is that the faster you are in projecting yourself as a good potential employee during the interview, the higher the chance of you landing that job. After all, not all interviewers are well trained, so they are susceptible to influences like the first impression you give them.

The Bare Necessities

There are a number things you should take note of, and I’m sure you’re aware of them too. Things like being punctual for the interview, adhering to the dress code, maintaining a straight but relaxed posture, making eye contact and smiling matter when it comes to making an impression.

It’s also vital to give a good introduction of yourself when prompted by the interviewer. This is where you show your confidence and passion for the job by varying your tone of voice, and exhibiting the right kind of body language.

3. Gestures Speak Louder Than Words

Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, eye contact, gestures or hand movements, posture, etc. Social psychologists believe that such non-verbal communication makes up close to two-thirds of any communication between people. What this means for you as the interviewee is that landing the job depends more on how you move than what you have to say.

Of course, to be fair, it probably takes a combination of both non-verbal and verbal communication to make an interview a success. It would be strange to see someone getting his or her dream job without uttering a word during the interview!

Confidence Rules

The rule of thumb is to stay positive and upbeat about yourself and about the position. Be as confident as you can as you give him or her that firm handshake, introduce yourself and tackle the questions one by one.

Another thing you should be aware of is what you tend to do subconsciously when you get anxious. Common symptoms of a person with the interview jitters include leg shaking, hair stroking and finger tapping.

4. Know Your Resume Inside-Out

Remember that you’ve already submitted your resume and had it read by the interviewer prior to the interview. This means that they are more than likely to question you based on that piece of paper.

The resume only holds critical information that you want the reader to capture. They would only have the chance to go into the details with you during the interview itself.

By the way if you are looking for new ideas to make your resumes more prominent, we’d suggest:

• 45 Creative Resumes to Seize Attention
• 25 other innovative ideas for resumes

Practice What You Preach

Apart from practicing on how to answer the questions they will pose, know your resume like the back of your hand so you can cite evidence and concrete examples to support your claims. You may say that you have rich in-depth experience with customer service but they would expect you to explain why and how.

This is when you should trace back to a time when you handled a very difficult customer successfully. If you have already thought of this example while you were reviewing your resume, relaying the incident will come as a breeze.

Blow that Trumpet

Having examples of incidents when you exhibit a certain quality essential for the job is just one area to look out for.

Another thing which they are interested to hear about is the figures in your list of achievements in your previous jobs or posts, for instance, how much increase in net profit you have contributed to the organizations you worked with previously. Such numbers would provide evidence to substantiate your various claims. Anticipate questions that target those parts of your resume that are relevant to the position you’ve applied to.

5. You’re Expected to Ask Questions

Nearing the end of the interview, you should expect the interviewer to ask if you have any questions. Not asking any is a big mistake because it may reflect badly on you. It gives the impression that you aren’t really enthusiastic enough about the job to find out more. This is really the time for you to shine, but only if you ask the right questions.

To get an idea of what interviewers usually look for when trying to secure the right candidate for the job, check out the link.

Ask the Right Questions

First and foremost, try not to ask close-ended questions that can be answered with a YES or NO. Some interviewers may be kind enough to elaborate further, but you don’t get that all the time. It may result in a moment of awkward silence and chances are that you wouldn’t get the answer you want for your question.

Secondly, some interviewers actually judge you based on the nature of your question. If the question is pretty straightforward and the answer can actually be found if you took the time to explore the organization’s website, it goes to show that you didn’t do enough research for the interview. If, however, you demonstrated that you had done your homework with your questions, and had come up with an intelligent one, the interviewer would be impressed, which adds points for you.

Further Reading: How to Make a Great First Impression.

Conclusion

There’re no hard and fast rules about the kind of questions you should ask, but you should keep in mind that it is your last chance for you to seal the deal before the interview ends. On the other hand, if you do have burning questions that needed clarification, go ahead and ask even if they don’t sound impressive. After all, an interview is a bi-directional process involving your participation to find that job that fits. Have other tips to share? Please do.

We have covered CSS3 gradients a few times, from linear gradient, radial gradient and repeating gradient. This time, we try to utilize these features to create a nice effect, which previously required using a few images for it to work.

In this post, we are going to create the glossy button effect as shown in the above screenshot using CSS3 Gradients and with simple HTML markup.

• View Demo

HTML Structure

As in other tutorials, we will first prepare some essential stuff and, this time, we only need this linen texture for the background. Then create an HTML document, and put the following HTML structure.

  <!DOCTYPE html>  <html>  <head>  	<title>Glossy Effect with CSS3 Gradient</title>    	<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://necolas.github.com/normalize.css/2.0.1/normalize.css">  	<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style.css">  </head>  <body>  	<div class="container">  		<div class="glossy">  			<a>Click Here</a>  		</div>  	</div>  </body>  </html>  

Styles

Then, we start working on the stylesheet. We start off by adding background texture in the body, specify the container width and align the text to the center, as follows.

  body {  	background: url('../img/ios-linen-white.jpg?new');  }  .container {  	width: 100px;  	margin: 50px auto;  }  .glossy a {  	margin: 6px 0 0 0;  	text-align: center;  	display: block;  	width: 100%;  	height: 100%;  	text-decoration: none;  	color: #000;  }  

Next, we add some decorative styles to the div with .glossy class, including the border radius, border color, and the gradient color. There are some handy tools to create CSS3 Gradients, such as from Colorzilla or Gradientoo. Regarding this gradient color, we only mix two colors, and adjust the first color stop for 31%.

  .glossy {  	width: 100px;  	height: 25px;    	margin: 10px auto;  	position: relative;    	background: #94c4fe;  	background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(31%,#94c4fe), color-stop(100%,#d3f6fe));  	background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top,  #94c4fe 31%,#d3f6fe 100%);  	background: -moz-linear-gradient(top,  #94c4fe 31%, #d3f6fe 100%);  	background: -o-linear-gradient(top,  #94c4fe 31%,#d3f6fe 100%);  	background: -ms-linear-gradient(top,  #94c4fe 31%,#d3f6fe 100%);  	background: linear-gradient(to bottom,  #94c4fe 31%,#d3f6fe 100%);  	filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#94c4fe', endColorstr='#d3f6fe',GradientType=0 );    	-webkit-border-radius: 25px;  	-moz-border-radius: 25px;  	border-radius: 25px;    	border: 1px solid #4864a9;    	color: #000;  	font-size: 0.750em;  	text-shadow: 1px 1px 0px rgba(255,255,255,.5);    	-webkit-box-shadow:  0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .2);          box-shadow:  0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .2);        position: relative;  }  

At this stage, here is how it looks like.

Now, we make it more realistic by adding a shining effect on top of it, and we will add it with :before pseudo-element. Similarly, we will also add some decorative styles, like border radius and gradient colors. But, this time, we will use RGBA color format with a low Alpha channel for the background colors, as follows.

  .glossy:before {  	content: "";  	width: 90px;  	height: 16px;    	display: block;  	position: absolute;  	left: 5px;    	-webkit-border-radius: 8px;  	-moz-border-radius: 8px;  	border-radius: 8px;    	background: -moz-linear-gradient(top,  rgba(255,255,255,1) 0%, rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 8%, rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%);  	background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(255,255,255,1)), color-stop(8%,rgba(255,255,255,0.7)), color-stop(100%,rgba(255,255,255,0)));  	background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top,  rgba(255,255,255,1) 0%,rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 8%,rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%);  	background: -o-linear-gradient(top,  rgba(255,255,255,1) 0%,rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 8%,rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%);  	background: -ms-linear-gradient(top,  rgba(255,255,255,1) 0%,rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 8%,rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%);  	background: linear-gradient(to bottom,  rgba(255,255,255,1) 0%,rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 8%,rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%);  	filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#ffffff', endColorstr='#00ffffff',GradientType=0 );  }  

And, at this stage, it looks much nicer.

But, as we can see, the text is slightly covered with the gradient from :before pseudo-element. So, we need to shift it higher, by specifying the z-index higher, like so.

  .glossy p {  	.glossy a {  	margin: 6px 0 0 0;  	text-align: center;  	display: block;  	width: 100%;  	height: 100%;    	text-decoration: none;  	color: #000;    	position: relative;  	z-index: 1;  }  

Now, it looks much better.

You can also try with other colors. In this example, we also add another glossy effect with green. Below is the CSS codes required.

  .glossys {  	background: #54bc3e;  	background: -moz-linear-gradient(top,  #54bc3e 0%, #aee850 100%);  	background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,#54bc3e), color-stop(100%,#aee850));  	background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top,  #54bc3e 0%,#aee850 100%);  	background: -o-linear-gradient(top,  #54bc3e 0%,#aee850 100%);  	background: -ms-linear-gradient(top,  #54bc3e 0%,#aee850 100%);  	background: linear-gradient(to bottom,  #54bc3e 0%,#aee850 100%);  	filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#54bc3e', endColorstr='#aee850',GradientType=0 );  	border: 1px solid #1d6511;  }  

Lastly, you can view the demo and download the source below.

• View Demo
• Download Source

Ever need help with a complex software but your trusty co-worker is halfway around the world, unable to assist you? Something like remote assistance could do but with a program like Screenhero, you’ll get features that are non-existent in remote assistance programs.

When sharing your screen with someone else, Screenhero gives each of you your own mouse cursor, giving both of you the ability to control any software installed on the host’s computer.

The program is absolutely free and is no hassle to use as sharing can be done in a click of a button. Both users have to sign up for an account and use a messenger-like program. It works like the Share Screen function on Mac OS but it’s better in the sense that it works cross-platform.

Recommended Reading: Collaborate On Design Projects Remotely With GoVisually

Getting Started

Here’s how to use Screenhero. First, head over to the Screenhero website to download the program.

There is a Windows (7 & 8) and Mac (10.6.8 and up) version which covers majority of users out there. After you have installed the program, run it and you’ll see this login screen. Click on Create a New Account at the bottom, fill in your details and you can begin using Screenhero.

Screenhero looks very simple. You add other users simply by entering their email and they will appear on your contact list.

Screen Sharing Features Of Screenhero

With a contact is added to your list, you can chat with them by pressing the green chat box next to their name. A chatbox will pop out and you can begin chatting with them.

To share a program window or entire screen with the other user, click on the Share button will allow. When you request to share your screen, the other person will receive a notification which they can accept or ignore.

The person who accepts gains control to whatever program is being shared, and each user gets their own mouse cursor labeled with their names.

Here’s how it looks like from my side. You can see my cursor, and hongkiat controlling the other cursor. We can both edit the Excel spreadsheet simultaneously.

On hongkiat’s side, he gets pretty much the same view as what I see, but in a window form, labeled ‘Brian’s Desktop’.

Any program can be shared and controlled with the 2 mouse cursors.

This program is probably great for troubleshooting or for showing someone how to use a program, putting both users literally on the same page.

Web development and designing can take out a big chunk of time for us web creators, especially in big web projects with a tight deadline. Here is a tool that makes it easier and faster to create your basic web pages – Strikingly.

Strikingly is a one-page website builder that lets anyone create simple yet unconventional online showcases and websites. Best of all you don’t even have to touch the coding to do so.

Recommended Reading: 30 Quick Ideas to Make your Website Look Nicer

Creating a Webpage

Strikingly features a very sleek and organized dashboard that is very easy to use. Register for a free account and start creating your first web page by clicking on the very large, yellow button you see in your dashboard.

Choose to create a new business project, a personal site or a portfolio. You can then choose through pre-made templates ready for you to edit.

Editing

Next, time to start looking into what feature each editor has to offer.

Background Editor

Did you choose a one-page template with a background like I did? You can easily change the background to another one they provided or easily upload your own by clicking the black ‘background’ button in the top right corner.

Settings

On the website editor menu, the ‘Settings’ button shows you customization you can do to the title and url, descriptions, custom domains, mobile actions, header and footer settings, webpage privacy, custom codes, templates, services and a bunch more in between!

Image Editor

You don’t just have to stick with only an upload button, when it comes to Strikingly they have implemented the reputable Aviary editor right into the image uploader. You can easily resize, crop, add image effects, adjust brightness, adjust contrast and more right in Strikingly all without leaving your browser!

Text Editor

Strikingly’s text editor is not only simple to use but also has some great little features including a font editor, bold and italics, lists and more.

Extra: Going Pro

Strikingly’s pro membership allows you to gain a load of more great and useful features including:

• The ability to connect a custom domain with your webpage,
• Unlimited website visitors,
• Publish 5 websites,
• Free domain and email,
• Access to the Strikingly app store,
• Mobile action buttons,
• Embed HTML, CSS and Javascript,
• Password protected websites,
• Advanced image editing, and
• The ability to remove that annoying and intrusive website branding.  

Going Pro is only $16/month; in comparison, the Starter pack is $8/month. You can use this for free, but with limited features. For more info, check the pricing plans here.

Don’t have the budget for it? Strikingly features a rewards tab in your dashboard that allows you to earn a free pro membership by doing things like sharing it on Twitter.

Conclusion

The membership pricings are a bit on the pricier side but, of course you have a full and easy to use website editor which comes with hosting and possibly a discounted domain in which, it may just be worth it!