I haven’t been in town long and I’ve already come across an article sparking my interest design-wise. What does it include? The Olympics of all things!

Recently the logo for the 2012 Olympic Games, which are to be held in London, was unveiled. It is a very rampant approach, tearing down the comfortable previous logo with a broad ravaging new look.

As a designer, what is my take? Honestly, I like the fact that London wants to spice up the games. By changing the logo I feel it shows that the games have their own flavor in each city which hosts them. Unfortunately in this attempt though, the logo conveys far too many things that contradict what the games stand for. For example - notice how all of the pieces are different, but are far from coming together? It’s a contradiction of what the Olympics does best- bringing people of different backgrounds, regions, countries, and all corners of the world together for friendly competition and to celebrate the gift of brotherhood.

Best of luck to London. They have started on a shaky road to the 2012 games and have no where else to go but up.

*Photo credit the AFP and Yahoo*

While browsing through Yahoo I come across an article that really stood out and made a point. A big demographic in the business world is about to go missing in the next 30 years and its a big thing to look at. A current issue is immigration and its recent explosion.

Immigration itself could be the missing piece to the puzzle. Check it out, its - Good Life of Boomers Tied to Better Life for Immigrants.

Hey, I don’t get to say I have failed a lot. Bear with me!

As many of you have read recently, I have been interviewing with a popular technology based company here in the New River Valley. It has been an exciting process and much different than other hiring processes that I have been through in the past.

The news is - I didn’t get the job.

Some of you may be shocked. Some of you may have expected it from the start. I gotta say this - it was an eye-opening experience and is JUST the jump start I needed.

Today’s technology industry is VERY competitive and there are a lot of jobs tailored to specific areas. With this, I was going after the title “web developer” which to me sounded just like my ballpark. I was welcomed in-house for an interview after a few phone interviews and was on my way. Then, once in-house it was a whole different story:

• Web Development is just that - developing programs for the web
• Design and Development are two majorly different spectrums
• Design caters to USD - User Interface Design
• Development caters to making each module work
• Keep your mind sharp. I was given a test with logic answers. Tips or advice include:
• Be able to explain how you answer some things
• As a programmer, dabble in every language you can
• Please, under all circumstances, refresh your memory on syntax!!!!!
• Always bring a small notepad and pencil with you. It helps
• Brush up on brain teasers. These are becoming very popular in the job market

All in all, I may have not got the position. It has not though, detered me from wanting to work with the company in the near future. They really are onto something with their business model and truly care about their employees. This experience has given me incentive to improve upon and take a better interest into a sector of the web world that I have ignored somewhat over the years - true ground up scratch programming.

Typically I never have a problem finding inspiration to write an article. In this installment I will discuss some of my positive points on why I feel employers should look into me for their companies.

Web Design and Development isn’t “work”
I think this is very important with the success of hiring efficient and effective employees. Personally, I do not see web design or development as “work” or a “job”. Not to say I don’t take it seriously, that is not it at all. The fact of the matter is that I can wake up each and everyday and not feel drained from it. I LOVE what I do and that is why I want to make it a career one day.

Knowledge Junkie
This is very important in my industry just because technology and the way society uses it is constantly changing. I adore learning new techniques and methods of implementation. It is nice to keep up to date with new software too because it keeps you one step ahead of the game. I must admit - I am guilty of spending more time in my university’s library reading material related to my field rather than what relates to my homework.

Honest About What I Know - And What I Don’t
This is a very important trait in anyone, in any field, and in any location. Nothing will drive a person up the wall more is when they find out someone has lied about their abilities. It saves a lot of time, money, and stress when you are just straight forward about something being outside of your abilities.

Challenges are nice
I feel I am at my best when I am challenged. We all are. If you have no challenges laid in front of you then you will only accomplish what you KNOW you can do. Challenges arise, they take us out of our loop and we see exactly what we are made of.

How exactly can you survive an interview these days?

I’ve been through my fair share of job interviews and all of them really have had their perks and unique traits. I’ve had various settings, including over lunch, e-mail, phone, and directly in the office. Today I personally finished a phone interview with Webmail.us and it was probably the most professional I’ve experienced to date.

This company means serious business and they really read your resume. To me this shows importance of who they employ and that they really take the time to make the right decision. The contact that I was interviewed by was very professional, was respectful of what I was wanting to accomplish and asked me one thing I have yet to hear during an interview - “What do you want to achieve in the next few years?”

With this I have been motivated to write 5 job interview tips that I feel made this interview a success.

1. Do your research
I feel that the person that interviewed me was impressed that I had prior knowledge of the company and what exactly they represent, their employees, and the products they developed. This is essential to both you and your employer - its best to know what you’re up for.

2. Always have a Plan B
Believe it or not, I was going for one job and the interview was directed into another job more suited to my talents. Always be ready for discussion on topics OTHER than the job you’ve placed your resume in for. You’d be surprised what may come up!

3. Just relax
I personally caught myself getting overly nervous during the first few minutes of the interview. Once I took a few deep breaths and seconds to reflect I was on the go. Remember - it’s just an interview - not the end of the world. The company is getting to know you, not judging you.

4. Check your resume not once, not twice, but at least three times.
Commonly people use a resume for various job applications. I personally tailor my resume for the jobs I go after. This time around I unwittingly forgot to put my phone number on my resume. This was a huge goof on my part but fortunately my interviewer was cool with it. Other tips for this include:

• Keep it to one page minimum if you are just out of high school or college
• can be more than one page if you have a doctorate or lengthy work experience
• Spice it up - don’t use a typical Microsoft Word template - you want to grab their attention
• Use relevant experience. Just because you worked at McDonald’s doesn’t mean you didn’t gain experience that could be used to treat customers effectively.

5. Be confident of your abilities
This occurs sometimes with the best of us. No matter how experienced you are, you could feel that you don’t make the cut. Remember - if they’ve taken the time to pull your resume and interviewed you, then you definitely have something to say about yourself.