job & interview

About the U.S. News Best Jobs Ranking Methodology

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About the U.S. News Best Jobs Ranking Methodology</h1>
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An insider’s look at our process for selecting and ranking the best jobs of the year.</h2>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">Choosing an occupation is personal, so there is no ideal way to determine the best job overall. Still,</span><a href="http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings" style="color: #005ea6; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none;">U.S. News' Best Jobs rankings</a><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">offer job seekers an intuitive method to compare professions based on components that matter most: the number of expected openings, advancement opportunities, career fulfillment and salary expectations. The result of our efforts is a list of jobs ranked according to their ability to meet those employment concerns.</span></div>
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The Best Jobs methodology is divided into two components: The first is how U.S. News selects jobs to profile. The second is how those jobs are ranked against each other.</div>
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<strong>Selecting the Jobs</strong></div>
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To identify professions that should be included in the 2014 rankings, we started with data on jobs with the greatest hiring demand, or in other words, the highest projected number of openings from 2012 to 2022, as categorized by the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. The jobs at the top of our list were then selected for the 2014 Best Jobs analysis and rankings.</div>
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<strong>Ranking the Jobs</strong></div>
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U.S. News ranks jobs in <a href="http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">an overall list</a> and in category-specific lists, such as "<a href="http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/best-healthcare-jobs" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">Best Health Care Jobs</a>" and "<a href="http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/best-technology-jobs" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">Best Technology Jobs</a>." Occupations are ranked based on our calculated overall score, which combines several components into a single weighted average score between 0 and 10.</div>
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The overall score is calculated from seven component measures: 10-year growth volume, 10-year growth percentage, median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level and work-life balance. For each measure, jobs receive a score between 0 and 10.</div>
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Here are the component measures and their weight in computing the overall score:</div>
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<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">10-Year Growth Volume (10 percent)</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">10-Year Growth Percentage (10 percent)</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">Median Salary (30 percent)</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">Job Prospects (20 percent)</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">Employment Rate (20 percent)</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">Stress Level (5 percent)</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">Work-Life Balance (5 percent)</li>
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<strong>About the Component Measures</strong></div>
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<strong>1. 10-year growth volume. </strong>This is the total number of new jobs the BLS expects will be created for an occupation over 10 years. For example, BLS projects the United States will add 139,900 new <a href="http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;">software developer</a> jobs between 2012 and 2022.</div>
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<em>Why is it important?</em></div>
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An occupation with significant job growth is likely to have many new job opportunities in the future.</div>
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<em>How is this score calculated?</em></div>
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We translate job growth volumes from a number to a score of up to 10 points. Those occupations expected to grow by 500,000 openings or more received the highest score: 10. Occupations with job growth numbers between 200,000 and 499,999 earned 8 points; between 100,000 and 199,999 earned 6 points; less than 100,000 openings earned 4 points and any occupations in which numbers were expected to decrease received 2 points.</div>
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<strong>2. 10-year growth percentage</strong>. This is an occupation's employment percentage growth over the course of 10 years. For example, the BLS estimate of 139,900 new software developer jobs between 2012 and 2022 equates to 22.8 percent job growth.</div>
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<em>Why is it important?</em></div>
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The 10-year growth percentage measures how rapidly an occupation is expanding. A high growth rate indicates strengthening demand for this type of worker.</div>
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<em>How is this score calculated?</em></div>
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We translate job growth percentages from a number to a score of up to 10 points. Occupations for which the projected growth rate increased by 30 percent or more earned the total possible 10 points; those for which growth increased between 20 and 29 percent earned 8 points; where growth increased between 10 and 19 percent, the job earned 6 points and where growth increased by 9 percent or less, the job earned 4 points. Any occupations that saw growth decrease received 2 points.</div>
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<strong>3. Median salary.</strong> This is the median salary earned by someone employed in a given occupation, according to BLS.</div>
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<em>Why is it important?</em></div>
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Most people prefer higher salaries to lower salaries.</div>
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<em>How is this score calculated?</em></div>
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We translate median salary from a dollar amount to a numerical score using the following formula: Salary Score = SQRT(Median Salary) 40. We set a maximum salary score of 10 points.</div>
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<a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2014/01/22/about-the-us-news-best-jobs-ranking-methodology" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View the original article here</a></div>

About the U.S. News Best Jobs Ranking Methodology

About the U.S. News Best Jobs Ranking Methodology An insider’s look at our process for selecting and ranking the best jobs of the year. Choosing an occupation is personal, so there is no ideal way to…

10 Nov 2014

How to Crush the All-Day Marathon Interview

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How to Crush the All-Day Marathon Interview</h1>
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The seven-step, no-energy-drink-necessary plan to coming out on top of a very long day.</h2>
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Plant your feet, dig deep and finish strong. We're not talking about a race, but an all-day marathon interview may feel like one, so make sure you're prepared.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">A marathon race: 26.2 miles, buckets of sweat from demanding so much of the body, a sense of achievement after crossing the finish line.</span></div>
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A marathon interview: 26.2 references to your work history, buckets of sweat from talking and talking and listening and listening, and a sense of achievement after leaving the final interview of the day and buying yourself a latte, because you deserve it.<br /><b><br /></b>Both are long days, and both require preparation and a plan to keep your energy high. Consider this your all-day marathon interview training guide:</div>
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<b>1. Come to terms with the nature of these interviews. </b>Yes, you will probably be asked the same question by a few different interviewers. And yes, by 3 p.m., that will get old. "Make peace with the fact that you're going to be repeating stuff," says Mary Ellen Slayter, Monster's career advice expert and founder of the marketing company Reputation Capital Media Services. Accept this quirk of marathon interviews as you make small talk about your hobbies for the third time.</div>
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<b>2. Get organized.</b> You have a notepad. You have copies of your résumé and the job post. You have a pen. You have your business cards. Later, you'll have <i>their </i>business cards. And you've got to cart all this stuff around from interview to interview. To get organized (and to appear organized), Slayter suggests adopting a padfolio system with a notepad inside a folder that has compartments for business cards.</div>
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Now that you've organized your gear, organize your thoughts. "Think to yourself: What are the three main take-aways I want every person in the conversation to come away with after talking with me?" Slayter says. "Write that down, and keep it in front of you as the first page in the notebook." On the big day, read through this page before each interview to refocus, she adds.</div>
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<b>[See: </b><a class="" href="http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/slideshows/the-8-best-questions-to-ask-a-job-interviewer" style="color: #005ea6; text-decoration: none;" title="Link: http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/slideshows/the-8-best-questions-to-ask-a-job-interviewer"><b>The 8 Best Questions to Ask a Job Interviewer</b></a><b>.]</b></div>
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<b>3. Research the interviewers. </b>When scheduling your interview, ask the point of contact with whom you'll be meeting. And then, just as you should investigate the company, research each individual on LinkedIn, says Peggy McKee, CEO of Career Confidential, a job search training company. So many job seekers skip this step, she says. "It's stunning to me, because by not doing that, you’re missing a huge opportunity to connect with that person, to show them that you value them, that they’re important and to start that off on the right foot." She adds: While researching, keep an eye out for talking points. Do you have shared connections, rival alma maters or similar backgrounds?</div>
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<b>4. Eat for energy. </b>Just like marathon runners, marathon interviewers must be mindful of what they put in their bodies before and on the big day. It's not a great time to feel jittery, sleepy or nauseated when you're trying to describe a professional challenge you've overcome. To feel full throughout the day, McKee advises her clients to load up on protein the night before and for breakfast and lunch. So go for something more substantial than a handful of cereal and a slug of coffee for breakfast.<br /><br />Speaking of coffee, take it easy. Limit your caffeine intake before the interview, because you're likely already full of nervous energy, Slayter says. When you're feeling drained and about speak with your prospective boss's<i> </i>boss four interviews later, however, go for it. "Save your caffeine burst for when you actually need it," Slayter says.</div>
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<b>5. Shape your questions to each interviewer's position. </b>Marathon interviews often include meetings with the following types of people, Slayter says, and here's what to consider:</div>
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<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0.9em; text-indent: -0.9em;"><i>Hiring manager</i>:<i> </i>During this interview, Slayter says, "dig into the nitty-gritty of what are the skills, traits and habits of what makes someone successful in this job." Get a sense of this manager's work style, too, and if it will gel with your own. If he or she stresses the importance of being punctual, for example, and you're notoriously late, that clash is worth jotting in your padfolio.</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0.9em; text-indent: -0.9em;"><i>Colleague: </i>When meeting with a prospective team member, ask questions about what it’s like to work on the team and for the boss, Slayter says. Ask: "What makes someone successful on a team like this?"</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0.9em; text-indent: -0.9em;"><i>Hiring manager's boss</i>:<i> "</i>You need to impress the pants off them, and you probably don’t have them for very long," Slayter says. To make the most of your time with him or her, "elevate your conversation," Slayter says. Ask about industry trends, what he or she envisions for the team and where he or she sees the company in five years, she adds.</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0.9em; text-indent: -0.9em;"><i>Human resources employee: </i>For this meeting, focus on how the role fits in with the overall plan for the company, along with long-term opportunities for development, Slayter says.</li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0.9em; text-indent: -0.9em;"><i>Wild card</i>: <i></i>It's not uncommon for companies to gain a different perspective of a candidate by adding an employee who is not directly part of the team to the interview queue. When talking to these people, Slayter suggests asking what they like about working at the company and their perspective of the prospective team. </li>
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<a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2014/09/25/how-to-crush-the-all-day-marathon-interview" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View the original article here</a></div>

How to Crush the All-Day Marathon Interview

How to Crush the All-Day Marathon Interview The seven-step, no-energy-drink-necessary plan to coming out on top of a very long day. Plant your feet, dig deep and finish strong. We're not talking abou…

10 Nov 2014

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