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Turn Your Red Flags

Into Green Lights
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“Those who first recognize their red flags and then
learn to turn them into green lights will conquer one of the
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major challenges facing ex-offenders.”

HE THREE MOST IMPORTANT things as you get ready for a job interview are
ONLY
preparation, preparation, and preparation. I cannot overstate the importance
Tof being prepared. Some job seekers think they can’t prepare, because they don’t
know what the questions will be, while others are just too lazy to spend the time to
prepare. They think they can just talk there way through a job interview with ease.
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Yes, you can anticipate most of what will happen in a job interview, anticipate the
likely concerns an employer will have about your background, and prepare to do your
very best in the interview. This is the rest of your life we’re talking about. Isn’t it worth
your time and effort to prepare to do the very best you can during the interview? You
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absolutely must prepare if you want to present yourself well. And presenting your best
self is critical to getting a job offer.
I want you to be yourself, but I also want you to be your best self. That is what
preparation is all about. It’s a lot easier to think about your responses to questions or
consider what points you want to make about your background ahead of time, rather
than when you are under the stress you are likely to feel during the job interview. You
can anticipate and prepare for most, if not all, of the questions you will be asked
during your job interviews.

Identify Your Personal Red Flags

You know whether you have things in your past that are likely to raise questions and
concerns in the mind of potential employers. Let’s review several that were mentioned
earlier:

1. Applicant has no high school diploma (or GED)
2. Applicant had poor grades in school

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