As an experienced job seeker, you may find yourself sending out dozens of resumes each day, sitting back, and waiting to have that call for an interview. Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and before you know it you realize you cannot find a job. Unfortunately, all those scenarios are typical when it comes to looking for a job in this tough economy, and leads to great amounts of stress and frustration for job seekers.

When it comes to writing a professional and powerful resume, one which has a better chance of receiving a call back, hiring a professional resume writer can help get you to the head of the job seeking line. Why hire a professional resume writer? Quite simply put, a professional writer will take all the information you provide relating to your past experience, job-related skills, educational background, and personal objective and spin it into a masterpiece bound to get the attention of the hiring manager.

With your resume being such a crucial element in your overall job search, taking the time to make sure you hire the best resume writing services will help you not only save the time you would have taken in order to create your own resume, but will also save you money. With each resume you print, you are adding the cost of ink, paper, envelopes, and stamps to your job seeking budget. However, by using the services of a professional resume writer, you can help cut down on some of those costs. Depending on how much work is required to whip your resume in shape, you can expect to pay anywhere between $89 and $500. Is this worth it? You bet!

Once you have decided to make the decision to hire a professional resume writer, one of the first things you need to do is have a list of questions ready when speaking with the writer. They essentially have your financial well being in their hands, as the resume they come up with will be the largest factor in determining if you will be called in for an interview. Entrusting your livelihood to just anyone is never advisable, and knowing exactly what to ask is crucial.

When speaking with resume writing services for the first time, just some of the questions you will want to ask are:

·Exactly what services are provided?  Will your writer simply write your resume, or will they compose a cover letter as well?

·How do you charge for your services? Will the writer charge by the hour (which can add up quickly!), or charge for the finished document?

·What format will my resume come back to me in? This is important to know, as some jobs require the resume in PDF format, or HTML format, or even DOC format. Having your resume properly formatted is very important, as obviously you will want to make sure your potential employer will be able to read the resume.

Above are just a few of the questions you will want to ask a potential resume writer. Once you feel comfortable with the answers given, you will have to decide whether or not to hire them to create your professional resume. When you are serious regarding finding the perfect position to match your skills and abilities, having a resume writer on your side is one step closer to the final prize.

When the future of your job success lies on the line, one of the best things you can do for yourself is look into hiring a professional resume writer. A resume writer is a skilled professional who can easily take your information and turn it into a resume work of art.

However, just with any professional you hire, there are some factors you always need to take into consideration when hiring a professional to write your resume. Knowing what to look for when hiring the best resume service means the difference between having a resume which will get you an interview each and every time, and a resume which will just end up in the bottom of a trash pile.

Read on below to find out the top tips on how to hire professional resume writers to help you land your dream interview.

1. Make sure the resume writer understands your business. This is perhaps one of the most important steps to take into consideration. If you are looking for a career within the medical field, for instance, you will want to make sure your writer knows the medical jargon to put into your resume. The same goes for if you are looking for a career within the legal field. If your resume doesn’t have buzz words which industry professionals would know, chances are your potential employers will think you are not worthy of even an interview.

2. Learn more about the writer working for the best resume service. Depending on the structure of the company you choose to write your resume, you may either end up with a writer who has not written a single resume, or a resume writer with years of experience. With something as important as your resume, you will want to make sure you find out how long your writer has been writing resumes, their education level, and any special experience you may have. Being comfortable with your resume writer will offer you the sense of peace you need.

3. Before making a final decision on the resume writers, make absolutely sure you understand the pricing breakdown for the services. It is important to know how much you will be paying, and what you will be receiving in return. Some resume writing companies only charge for one resume writing and will not allow for any re-writes or edits. You will also want to make sure you sign a contract stating exactly what you should expect.

4. Once you have all the preliminaries out of the way (researching a company, picking a resume writer, learning more information, and understanding the price), the next point to take under consideration is knowing exactly what you want for a job. Entering into the resume writing process, you should know exactly what type of career you are interested in, which will make the resume writing process move so much smoother. Another great rule of thumb is to have a listing of all your previous positions, including the names and addresses of each place you worked, in order to make it easier for the resume writer. Having all this information together in one place will allow for a stream lined writing process.

5. Keep all your expectations realistic. A common mistake for job seekers who have yet to utilize the services of a resume writer is thinking the resume writer will come up with an award winning resume with little to no work on your end. This is simply not the case. As mentioned above, you will want to make sure you put some research into your background in order to provide the writer with a chronological listing of all your previous work. This makes the process move faster, as you will not have to halt the work being done in order to hunt down the dates you worked for a certain company.

After all is said and done, hiring a resume writer will be a job related expense which is more than worth it. With unemployment still being an all time high, the competition for each position is so much more so than in years past. Nowadays, merely typing up a resume on your home computer will not cut it when trying to land your plum position. Making sure to take the time to research and know exactly what to expect during the entire process will help to ensure a pleasant and rewarding experience.

All at sea? Sinking fast?

That’s how it can seem if you don’t address the situation.

Similar situation-related dilemmas are popular fodder for graduate level business courses: in an ‘either/or’ situation, does one play to one’s strengths or address one’s weaknesses? The difference is that where the application of finite corporate resources are concerned, the ‘either/or’ choice may arise, and it could well be a case of either one or the other. However, where you are concerned, there’s no reason why you can’t do both. In case you say that it makes applying for jobs too much like hard work, there is absolutely no question that concentrating your efforts on a few specific jobs is far more likely to prove successful than firing off loads of grapeshot-style applications à la ‘hit and hope’ method of job-seeking.

One thing you should never do is pretend that you have a key qualification when you don’t. Misleading an employer in such a way could result in repaying your salary, possibly plus a huge fine, or even going to jail. No matter how desperate you are, don’t do it. If you’re still tempted, take out a copy of ‘Les Miserables‘ and read how the defense that ‘need justifies a crime’ is a complete non-starter.

So, given that you can’t lie and that you can’t turn the clock back to make yourself ten or twenty years younger, what can you do?

There are two principal ways in which you can trump the vitality of youth, and those are through your experience, and your proven track record in the world of work. Instead of apologetically explaining how you weren’t able to take a specific exam or training course, or how it ‘didn’t exist in your day’, describe in reasonable detail all the higher level functions of the job you are applying for and how you have already successfully undertaken comparable duties. Try to quote some specific examples or to attach documentary evidence. Make sure that you do so with the appropriate permissions or, at the very least, with any identifying data securely obliterated. If you don’t do this, you will be sending a very bleak message to the interviewer about your understanding of the word ‘confidential’.

When you describe these duties, opt for a bullet-pointed style which is quick and easy to digest. Leave a space between the lines, too, as this gives an interviewer an opportunity to highlight and annotate your resume.

Always put yourself in the position of the manager responsible for the successful candidate because they have to train the new recruit in all the skills which you already possess. Once you’ve identified the elements which are likely to present the biggest stumbling blocks, concentrate on establishing how you could walk straight in to the job and perform them after minimal instruction.

If you have a good sick record, but can’t say precisely how many days you’ve taken off in a specific period, ask your current personnel or payroll department for quantification. If you’re worried about being asked ‘Why?’, you can always come up with a little white lie such as that you need the information for a life assurance application. Being able to say “I’ve had two days off sick in twenty-four months” is far more convincing than “I have an excellent sick record” or “I’ve only had the odd day off”.

Sell yourself

From an employer’s point of view, the ‘Devil you know’ can be a better bet than someone who’s completely untried.

Showing you can do the job, however, isn’t the same as having the necessary piece of paper. It may be that the employer is a stickler for qualifications, or it may be that it’s mandatory for the post-holder to have passed a specific examination, in which case you have no choice but to take it if you want to progress.

Again, the best way of seeing a solution to this dilemma is to consider the point of view of the interviewer. Imagine you were interviewing someone and you’d just asked if they had a specific qualification, to which they’d baldly replied “No”. Where would you go from there given that you had four other scheduled candidates, all of whom you knew did have the aforesaid qualification? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Humans are naturally inclined to follow the easy option, and a hard-pressed interviewer isn’t going to get bogged down with a lost cause.

The answer is to sweeten the pill a bit. Instead of saying “No”, have some solutions to hand so that you can say “I propose to obtain the qualification by … “. Depending upon both you and the nature of the post, this could involve taking evening classes, following a correspondence course, signing up for online tuition, or being sponsored by your new company through a residential course at a university or a vocational college. Take some literature about each option to the interview with you and offer to leave copies with the interviewer. While this doesn’t solve the problem of you not having taken the exam, it does present at least one possible solution, and that makes it infinitely superior to the terminal, “No, sorry, I didn’t take it”.

It may be back to school

With corporate profit margins sliced to the bone, many companies are concerned about engaging graduates whose only aim is to gain the experience you already have. These ambitious youngsters are fully capable of learning the ropes, getting their rough edges knocked off and then, six months later, handing in their notice and disappearing off to work for a major competitor armed with inside knowledge of their first employer. You can present a different proposition which, if you handle it properly, will definitely appeal to some managers.

After all, you only need one job offer.

Clive West ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, Clive was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

Ready! Steady! Go!!!!!

I’ve read in some advice articles that going for a job is like being an entrant in a sprint race. You do hours of tough preparation, turn up on the day of the race, and then run like the hounds of hell are baying at your heels until you (hopefully) are the one who breaks the tape at the end.

Piffle.

While I appreciate the sentiment (and don’t entirely disagree with much of the analogy), the fact is that once the race is over, our 100 meter champion will be looking down on the others who will be busy doing their Christopher Robin impersonations, spraying them with champers, and contemplating how good they look wearing their gold medal. The triumphant job applicant, on the other hand, is thrown into a completely unknown environment where they are expected to work successfully with strangers and unfamiliar systems.

You see, landing a job isn’t just about being the one the interviewer phones up/emails afterwards, it’s also about still being in the job 6 months later.

Yes, this is obvious but then why do so many people get off on the wrong footing in a new job? I suggest that a large proportion of them are subconsciously suffering from the sprinter theory. You know, it’s like how Homer Simpson behaves just before a major pig-out: belt unbuckled, top button of his trousers opened and ‘let it all hang out’. It’s the ‘I’ve got the job now I can relax’ syndrome.

To further illustrate my point, I’m now going to do something I’ve not done in any of the other blogs; I’m going to draw up some stereotypes. I’d like you to see how many times I hit a home run.

“The Mouse”

The mouse loves being quiet and unobtrusive. They come into a new job and, beyond a few polite greeting-style exchanges, almost totally fail to interact with the other staff.

Management’s perception

They don’t notice the newcomer therefore perceive no obvious benefit from their recruitment.

Other staff’s perception

The newbie is ‘not one of us’ and contact is generally to be avoided. Alienation can then quickly set in.

“The Militant”

The militant comes into a new job like a whirlwind. Their heads are full of rules and regulations and they place loyalty to this cause far above either loyalty to the company which has engaged them or to their new team mates. For them, stirring up trouble is a way of life and confrontation an occupational hazard.

Then raise the scarlet standard high

Management’s perception

The person is pure trouble. The phrase ‘before <their name> came along it was …’ will soon become popular and a divisive culture of ‘us and them’ between management and workforce may well come to exist. Modern economic history has repeatedly shown that everyone loses when this happens.

Other staff’s perception

Some workers may feel the militant has a cause and will want to follow but others will not agree. They won’t care about some minor infringement which they had not hitherto been aware of and will see the writing on the wall about the long-term future of their employer. The militant will make both ardent friends and enemies.

The “Eager Beaver”

The eager beaver will want to break all company records in their first month and thus will set off at an absolute breakneck pace which cannot be sustained. However such performance records tend to exist because they reflect outstanding effort. Not only that, they’re usually only held by the most experienced and capable members of staff. The eager beaver will only be able to approach these feats through cutting corners and ignoring errors.

Management’s perception

The new worker will be regarded as someone who makes mistakes because they don’t listen or, worse still, because they just aren’t capable of getting it right first time. The excessive amount of micro-management will also be noted. Ironically, someone like this who set out to make a ‘great impression’ only ends up supplying nails for their own coffin.

Other staff’s perception

The eager beaver is likely to be quickly despised. Their slapdash efforts at becoming a shining star will not be appreciated nor will the consequential (but maybe not deliberate) attempts at making co-workers look sluggish and poorly performing.

The “Jobsworth”

These people scour the minutiae of their job descriptions looking for what isn’t mentioned as opposed to what is covered either specifically or by clear implication. The requirements of the job are an irrelevance making them liabilities in a crisis. Worse still, the Jobsworth feeds off the frustration of others and revels in saying ‘No’.

Management’s perception

Since the Jobsworth does do their job (albeit nothing beyond it), management may not be fully aware of their nature. However, they will find out at some future point when the frustration and irritation of co-workers or even clients brings it to the fore.

Other staff’s perception

Anyone working with the Jobsworth will dread contact with them. Those who don’t suffer directly at their hands may joke about it but, sooner or later, the humor will wear thin and that’s when the trouble will begin. There was an era when the Jobsworth was an expected fact of life but those days are behind us.

The “Know-It-All”

The know-it-all descends on their new employer with the complete confidence that, despite anything that may be said to them to the contrary, they know best. Systems, rules, regulations, procedures and standards are all ignored in favor of the know-it-all’s own.

Management perception

We’ve made a mistake – get rid of them as soon as possible!

Other staff’s perception

They see the know-it-all as a fool who is best avoided, ignored or bypassed. Once someone like this is allowed into a key post, their colleagues are either forced to do the know-it-all’s work for them or to enter into frequent confrontations.

It's all that matters

As I said earlier, these are caricatures of people. In reality, most of us are mixtures of all of the above and more. The thought I’d like to leave you with, though, is the question of not ‘Am I any of these?’ but (and much more importantly), ‘Am I perceived as being any of these?’.

Getting the job is not winning; getting it and keeping it is.

Good luck.

Clive West ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, Clive was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

In our clean-shaven society one could also say that a man might be ‘dopey’ if he wasn’t – until recently, that is.

Confused? If I said that I’m referring to male Disneyland employees, maybe I’d make a bit more sense. It’d be clearer still if I used a capital ‘D’ for ‘Dopey’.

Don’t worry if you think I’m raving. You see, that’s the trouble with dress codes, for the most part, they just don’t make any sense whatsoever.

Get that face fungus cut!

Dopey is the only one of the Seven Dwarves without a beard and, despite the many billions of dollars which he and his six hirsute colleagues have earned Disney over their superannuated lifespan, he’s the sole band member who would not have faced dismissal since Disney introduced a ban on beards in the Cold War era of the 50′s.

This ban has finally been lifted, and although a ‘Rasputin’ look is still going to fast-track you to the Disney barbers, a short and neat display of facial hair can now be tolerated.

Despite this relaxation on beards and also the downgrading of wearing pantyhose to ‘optional’ for female employees, Disney still imposes a strict dress code on its workers – a document which covers hair coloring, jewelry, and even the length of finger nails.

However, that’s nothing in comparison to UBS, who operate a 40-page tome governing what’s hot and what’s not in the world of Swiss Banking office wear.

Here are some of the highlights.

"Sorry, but you're not quite the sort of material that the bank is looking for right now."

Women must not wear:

• Flashy jewelry
• Colored artificial nails
• Black nail polish

Women must wear:

• Non-flesh-colored undergarments

They should also avoid showing their roots if they color their hair, and should always carry a spare pair of stockings.

Men must not:

• Let their beards get out of control
• Wear earrings

Men must:

• Knot their ties correctly
• Get monthly haircuts
• Dress in the right color suits

Both sexes are to:

• Wear wristwatches (demonstrates trustworthiness and a commitment to punctuality)
• Keep their spectacles clean (dirty glasses reduce vision and also suggest negligence)
• Refrain from eating garlic or onions

There are further ‘suggestions’ such as how to repair stockings with nail polish, how to extend the life of hosiery by keeping toenails clipped and filed, how to choose the right aftershave or perfume, and how to apply make-up and select the right pair of stockings.

While this is a bit extreme, it illustrates what can be deemed acceptable in terms of attire and personal appearance. No wonder that there isn’t even a country-wide code specifying the areas of dress and presentation an employer may pronounce upon.

So, when does one’s right to self-expression get over-ridden by an employer’s right to set standards and to protect or operate their business?

In the case ofUBS, the underlying cause behind such an all-encompassing charter is almost certainly an attempt to bounce back from a major crash which saw them on the receiving end of a $6bn prop courtesy of the Swiss government.

Unfortunately for those who believe it is their right to turn up for any job wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, there are some obvious cases where ‘self-expression’ has to take a back seat to the needs of the job. The most obvious of these are where the clothing:

Protects – Fire-fighters, steel-fixers, dentists, paint-sprayers, divers, waste disposal personnel

Identifies – Armed forces, police, nurses, postmen, flight attendants, ship’s crew

Enhances – Dancers and other entertainers

… but we should also consider those whose clothing:

Engenders respect – Leaders, teachers, professionals, managers

Is part of their job (i.e. it promotes or reinforces a brand image) – Shop workers, restaurant staff, baristas

However, if your particular job is not covered by one of these categories, should you be able to dress how you want?

If you’re reading this and feeling shocked at how regimented the UBS workers are, then just stop and consider for a moment. To my mind, an employer (of one of the sections not covered in the five above) has the right to expect his or her staff to dress in a way that will allow them to perform their duties to the best of their abilities while, at the same time, not devaluing the company in the eyes of its customers, shareholders or the public generally.

Thus, if an employee wears something to work which results in:

• Other employees suffering or being made to feel miserable (e.g. a tee-shirt bearing an offensive message or one which smells)
• Their productivity being hampered (e.g. cumbersome clothing which prevents free movement)
• Increased risk to them or their colleagues (e.g. garments which can easily become tangled in machinery)
• A quantifiable loss being suffered by their employer (e.g. where the attire is so sloppy as to undermine confidence in the company)

… then they have crossed a line between their own freedom of expression and the rights of others.

But this does nothing to address the rulings against tattoos and body piercings which are OK in some situations (but not in others) or which are ‘OK, provided that …’.

We exist in a multi-cultural, self-expressive and diverse society yet we are incredibly intolerant and conservative when it comes to work.

Male politicians have been wearing them for years

I’d like you to imagine that someone had just introduced a rule which said that all female office workers must wear high heels and all male ones must wear a tie. Imagine the outcry. Think of the legal ramifications of accidents resulting from these rulings.

The trouble is that, as a species, we seem to pride ourselves on our knee-jerk assessments. Why should an orange-haired bank manager with his tartan mini-kilt be any less competent than a short-back-and-sided pin-striped one and what justification do I have for taking a denim shorts-wearing tax officer with a nose stud less seriously than a twin-suited equivalent with a pearl necklace?

Ironically, experiments done with young children and disfigured teachers show that, if the whole thing is played down and dealt with matter-of-factly, then all that counts is the standard of teaching. Commonsense, at long last.

Well, as Dopey wouldn’t say, that’s enough muttering in my beard for one day.

Clive West ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, Clive was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

He also has a ‘Dutch’ beard and a moustache!

Go on, admit it – you’ve been there and then had a panic attack.

"Welcome aboard" or "We'll let you know"?

The strange thing is that we know it’s coming but never prepare for it. I’m reminded of examples of people who’ve had the questions (and even the answers) to an exam and then somewhat incredibly ended up doing worse than if they’d not had the knowledge. It’s bizarre, isn’t it?

There are three basic options available to you. You can say some variant of:

• “Umm, well, no I think you’ve covered it all.”
• “How much Christmas bonus/holiday can I expect?”
• “Can you tell me more about <some aspect of the job, company, workforce, client base etc>?”

There are no gold stars on offer for choosing the right one.

You see, in my simple little head, I can’t imagine why any sane person goes for an interview unless they’re actually trying to get the job. It could be that the interviewer puts you off the job during the interview (I’ve been in that situation) but you did start off wanting the job.

So, what sort of questions could you ask?

I’m going to give you some suggestions to which you can obviously add more. Let’s start by creating three categories.

So, Interviewer Person, tell me about …

• The company
• My future colleagues
• How I would fit in

Now I’d like to give you five sample questions for each category.

The company

• Can you tell me more about the company’s values and aspirations?
• How do you see the company in, say, 5 years time?
• Why has this job arisen?
• What are the company’s weaknesses (you’ve probably already heard about the strengths) and how are these being addressed?
• What support does the company give to new employees?

Don't be one.

Its workforce

• Could you fill me in on the people I’d be working with in terms of their individual experience and strength?
• When people resign from the company, generally why do they leave and which companies do they go to?
• How is performance assessed and what feedback/encouragement/assistance is given?
• What specific human qualities in whoever occupies this post would complement those already possessed by the organization?
• On average, how long do senior staff stay with the company?

How I’d fit in

• How could I add value to your company?
• What could I do to impress you once I was in the post?
• Please could you outline any concerns you might have about engaging me?
• How can I get you to put me in the position of top-listed candidate?
• When can I expect to hear back from you?

I’m sure that you can come up with plenty more so get thinking.

To help you, there’s an excellent video on Youtube which gives 7 interview questions and the psychology behind them.

I’m pleased to see that whoever made the video shares my opinion that, beyond an awkward silence, the next worse response to “Do you have any questions?” is the cringingly awful “Well, I think you’ve covered it all pretty well already” that I gave as one of the basic options above. Start the bus, please, someone!

What I’m suggesting is you ask 3 questions, taking one from each of the above categories. Trying to ask all fifteen questions would make them sound like you’re reading a script and, besides which, there won’t be sufficient time before the next interviewee is due in.

By selecting such a spread of questions, you show yourself in the best possible light.

The psychology is fascinating but quite logical when you think about it. You’re trying to:

• Show the interviewer your managerial capabilities
• Understand how the company define, measure, encourage and reward success
• Establish just what the interviewer is looking for
• Figure out whether this would be a long-term job or merely a stepping stone
• Get the interviewer to visualize you in the post
• Push yourself to No1 in the interviewer’s rankings
• Decide whether you really want the job
• Ascertain how your personal success would be quantified
• Find out the level of support you can expect to get
• Learn what’s going to be expected from the successful candidate

… and a host of other things that you’d never otherwise find out.

Hold the aces by asking the right questions

Of course, these questions are no substitute for doing your homework on the company. With the power of the internet behind you, there can be no excuse for not knowing the major projects the company is involved in, where it seems to be going, its corporate structure and, of course, the general ‘scuttlebutt’ that trails any major organization. Be wary of asking the latter but keep it at the back of your mind.

I’ll be honest, the cheekiest question I’ve ever asked was “When do I start?” I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone and I only dared to do it after I’d proved myself worthy following a thorough grilling from the interviewer. He’d created an imaginary scenario which he then complicated one step at a time, asking me how I’d deal with it in every case. Eventually the scenario had got so complex that I just admitted I had no idea – it was way too difficult for my humble brain. I then asked him the answer to which he joked that I’d left him behind several complications back. We laughed about it for a while, then he got me a drink and I asked that question. His answer was “I’ll call you” to which I replied, “I’ll wait, then.” A few hours later he was on the phone offering me a starting date.

Getting these questions right is vital. If you’ve been asked to an interview, then no matter who you’re up against, you’ve got a chance. If you could be a fly on the wall, you’d see that most interviews are pretty much identical with the only distinguishing feature being the questions asked by the candidates. Since most of those will be dull or dim, make sure that you really shine.

Good luck.

Clive West ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, Clive was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

In case you'd missed it.

It’s 2012 in case you hadn’t noticed. Did you make your New Year’s resolutions and, more to the point perhaps, have you already broken them? That’s the trouble with good intentions – our actions (or inactions) often mean that we quickly start falling short of our lofty goals and then, frustrated with ourselves, we simply give up.

However, don’t worry. There’s still plenty of the year left in which some very worthwhile job-seeking goals can be reached through a few straightforward resolutions. These are ones which you can definitely keep and which will dramatically boost your chances of finding worthwhile and lasting work.

Today's the day!

For example: have you checked your resume through thoroughly? Are all of your contact details current? An employer faced with more job applications than they know what to do with is not going to waste their time trying to figure out if you’ve accidentally reversed two digits in your phone number or that you’ve left a full-stop out of the name in your email address. If they draw a blank with their first attempt, they’ll just write ‘Can’t be contacted’ on your application and that will be the last you ever hear of them. Your first resolution is that, having got your resume up-to-date, you’ll now keep it that way for the rest of 2012 and hopefully beyond.

Your second New Year’s resolution should be to make sure your cover letter is always targeted towards the specific job you are actually applying for. Too many job applications arrive in front of employers looking like they’ve been generated in a huge batch before being summarily stuffed in the nearest envelope irrespective of its color, condition, or size. While there is really no need for expensive hand-made vellum stationery, using good qualify white or maize-colored paper and envelopes is professional looking and more tactile to the interviewer. Decide that you will carefully dispose of your old resumes, and that you will henceforth only use the right size envelopes.

The third New Year’s resolution is to just get out there and never say die. When you’ve had the door shut in your face more times than you can remember, it’s all too easy to concede defeat. However, faint heart never won fair lady and if you don’t persevere, you definitely won’t succeed. Decide that, despite what may have gone before, 2012 is the year that you’ll be truly pro-active.

To complement your pro-active resolution, make a list of all the companies who might have suitable job vacancies, get together a bespoke package for each of them, and then pay them a visit during their off-peak hours. This would normally mean avoiding Monday mornings or Friday afternoons, first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, and the day before or after a Public Holiday. When you arrive, ask if there is a relevant manager you could see and, even if you are turned away, get the person’s name, a direct phone number, and their job title. Leave your cover letter and resume and then, a day or two later, call at an off-peak time to see if they’ve got it and if there is any possibility of coming along – not for an interview, but just for a quick informal chat and an opportunity to see the company. While this may seem one step back from an interview, you will be making a potentially valuable contact and also personalizing your application.

Don’t let a refusal put you off. Accept it politely, dust yourself off, and move on to the next.

Your fourth resolution is to network. If you don’t already do this, you are missing out on an estimated three-quarters or more of all job vacancies. Incredible, isn’t it? In this age of instant electronic communication, it still isn’t a case of ‘what you know’, it’s more ‘who you know’.

Networking can be very enjoyable as well as rewarding. The thing to bear in mind is that you cannot tell which contact is going to come up trumps – that’s part of the fun of it. Dead certs prove lemons and long shots romp home. That’s the basic law of networking, therefore ‘throw no-one away’ must be the rule of the day. Faithfully record the name, phone number and email address of every contact you make in either a ‘Little Black Book’ or on a spreadsheet and, having gone this far, keep in touch with them.

Make sure you're going the right way.

My fifth and final New Year’s Resolution is aimed at the long-term unemployed. If you’re unfortunate enough to live in an area with high unemployment or one where your skills are no longer in demand, finding work can be tough; very tough. If you haven’t already tried it, I’d like you to start thinking laterally. Go back to basics. I know it’s stating the obvious but answer the question “Why do I need to go to work?”

It’s the money of course. But just consider the bottom line instead of how the sum’s arrived at. What I’m suggesting is that, if you can’t find full-time work, why not piece together a combination of part-time and temporary jobs propped up with some work from home? There are plenty of jobs which can be done without leaving the house and, even if they aren’t particularly well-paid, there are no associated traveling costs nor wasted commuting time to consider. Think it’s a silly idea? If so, read one of my earlier blogs about the cash benefit of working from home and you’ll see how it stacks up.

Getting the right job isn’t just a numbers game; it’s also a case of hitting the mark. It’s a bit like one of the underlying principles behind self-defense where a small force applied with accuracy can overcome a much larger force which lacks discipline or direction.

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

• Unclean
• Creepy
• Depressed
• Irritated
• Desperate to get away
• In need of immediate physiotherapy

Will you get it right?

Come on, be honest with me. I don’t know about you but a large proportion of the countless handshakes I’ve had over the years have left me feeling one or more of those unwelcome emotions. I’ve then spent the few minutes immediately subsequent to the initial encounter frantically trying to block the experience out of my memory.

Now transfer this to an interview situation. Ridiculous as it may be, just through an unsatisfactory handshake, you have ‘single-handedly’ (sorry but I really couldn’t resist that joke) destroyed the critical opening few moments of contact during which you make a lasting impression on the other party.

First impressions count.

It’s an old saying but it’s every bit as true in the Electronic Age as it was in the Stone Age and, if you’re getting the interviews but not the job offers, maybe you should stop and examine the way in which you are introducing yourself. It could be that you are unconsciously giving out bad vibes about yourself.

And I’m not the only one who thinks that way.

A recent survey of about 2,000 people turned up that 400 of them openly judged others by the way in which they shook hands. If you add in those who almost certainly do it subconsciously, that represents an absolutely staggering percentage. It also means that if your shake is less than firm and confident you may as well turn round and head back home.

But why is this? Why are handshakes so important to us?

How interviews were conducted before handshakes were invented.

There are a host of different explanations about why a right-handed handshake is the preferred greeting ritual for two people who already have or who are looking to have a professional or formal relationship (such as in a employer-job applicant situation). The most likely origin stems from the Middle Ages when strangers meeting could demonstrate that they were not threatening the other by presenting an unarmed hand at full stretch. The specific choice of the right hand over the left could be down to the Christian belief that the left path is that of the Devil or, alternatively, from the Muslim doctrine that the left hand should be reserved for aiding the less sanitary of body functions. Or it may of course just be due to the fact that there are more ‘righties’ than ‘lefties’ therefore the right hand is statistically more likely to be the one that is carrying a weapon.

Further substantiation of the medieval origin for handshaking is that, until relatively recently, it was very gender specific: since women were less likely to carry a weapon, handshaking was predominantly a male thing. However, nowadays that’s no longer so (I mean the bit about it being exclusively a male domain, not the weapon carrying notion) and having a solid and confident handshake is essential for both genders in order to succeed in the ever more competitive job-seeking world.

Returning to that percentage of people (like me) who pay close attention to the body language of greetings, it is clear that possessing a strong, confident, inspiring, healthy handshake is every bit as important as a finely-tuned resume. While the latter gets you into the interview room, the former can keep you under consideration.

With all that in mind, have you ever wondered which type of handshake you have?

A victim of the bonecrusher school of handshakes

Rather than list the different types of handshake, here’s an excellent video that was on Fox. Not only does it show the main handshake types in action, it also explains what each tells the other party. Since nine of these ten different shakes are no-no’s, it’s pretty easy to focus down on the one to adopt.

And returning to the catchphrase coiner in our title, watching and listening to James Bond meeting and greeting people is an excellent study in body language. The way Bond holds himself and the firm and positive ‘tells’ that he gives off have clearly always been a salient part of Cubby Brocolli‘s conveying of Bond’s charm. Notice the way that he is both a “Man’s man” and a “Ladies’ man” at the same time. Accordingly, there is much to gain from observing the way in which the various incarnations of the character (as portrayed by Connery, Moore, Lazenby, Brosnan, Dalton, Craig) have all displayed the same signals (confident stance, eye contact, enigmatic smile etc). Now imagine a ‘limp lettuce/shrinking violet’ type Bond or a gruff ‘shake-your-arm-until-it-drops-off’ sort.

It just doesn’t work half as well, does it?

The very fact that Bond says his name twice in his introduction (“My name’s Bond. James Bond”) is memorable in itself. In a less positive character displaying more submissive gestures, this needless repetition would just weaken him further, making him sound very uncertain or desperately lacking in confidence. However, this same repetition said with a firm and confident handshake, a leaning forward by Bond to further emphasize the contact, and his full-on eye contact, makes it very strong. In the film, you know that it’s mainly said to antagonize the ‘bad guys’ but in your job-seeking it can demonstrate that you are a force to be reckoned with. However, one word of caution. Don’t overdo the eye contact (just keep it full-on for the duration of the handshake) as it can make you look too aggressive.

So, will you stir the interviewer with your handshake?

Your homework is to practice on friends and family and, if we should meet in some corner of a foreign field etc, I just hope that you won’t feel I’ve fallen foul of another one-liner famously uttered by 007 (in the re-make of Casino Royale): “Why is it that those who can’t take advice, insist on giving it?”

Good luck!

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

Don’t underestimate the significance of the Christmas Beanfeast, it’s the great leveler and the perfect occasion for making and breaking reputations.

Has life suddenly become just a blur?

It’s also the time when slime-balls sound smooth, suave, and sophisticated, hairy-chinned cleaners seem irresistibly sexy, and inhibitions scare local air traffic controllers by suddenly taking off for an unscheduled flight out of the nearest open window. The corporate Christmas party gives plenty of opportunity for tongues to loosen through an excess of alcoholic lubrication which, in turn, often causes some words to be said which might have been better left unsaid.

What starts off as a laudable exercise in team bonding can easily end up as a dog- or cat-fight (depending upon gender, personality, and choice of weaponry).

Once upon of time when I was a mere sprog (as we used to say when referring to us invisible office juniors), what got said in the heat of the moment was usually forgotten. Bizarre antics (which only make sense after an excess of beer and spirits) such as announcing the winner of an unofficial competition to find the ugliest wife or the most obnoxious co-worker would be put down to ‘not being able to hold his/her drink’ and get relatively quickly forgotten. Even a full-scale bar brawl resulting in the odd lost tooth or broken nose might well go unpunished.

If the governor did feel it needed to be taken further, a sharp word from ‘on high’ and you either gave a sincere and humble apology to the offended party or summarily dismissed from the company as appropriate. Either way it was deemed to be over.

Nowadays it’s a very different matter. We’ve already looked at the dangers of having your infamous moments recorded for posterity (but not prosperity) on one of the ubiquitous mobile telephones / camera / social media devices. Bent double in the parking lot with your stomach divesting itself of the spicy chicken wings, salty bar nibbles and copious amounts of alcohol you subjected it to earlier, some happy snapper will be there capturing the moment ready to share it with the world. Better still if you didn’t make it out of the party room.

That’s just what you need. While the photographer may think it’s funny, you definitely won’t when you get turned down for promotion or an interview for a new job. It’s not so innocent either. I have no doubt that more than one click-happy amateur shutterbug will be ‘carpe-dieming’ in order to sabotage a rival. And, with redundancies and lay-offs becoming increasingly common, I’m not just talking about the ambitious ‘bright young things’. I’m on about the ordinary Joe/Jo too who is anxious that they are looking good for an extended unpaid vacation.

Again, this is a sign of the times. Twenty years ago to get someone’s reputation shot in this way would have entailed bringing an expensive camera along to the party (clearly not a good idea), staying sober enough to get the photo in focus (unlikely), paying to get the film developed and then paying again (the best part of a small fortune) to take out large adverts in a selection of national newspapers (who probably would have been wary of printing something so potentially libelous).

Even then the chances are that only a handful of people would notice or remember the piece. Employers whom the ‘hit’ contacted years from the date of the incident would certainly not recall it – why should they?

And don’t think that only the well-heeled upper echelons of your organization are in the firing line. It applies to workers at all levels. Jobs are scarce and the few employers who are recruiting at the moment are undoubtedly finding it difficult to discriminate between a selection of promising candidates. Imagine you were the boss and you had two equivalent resumes in front of you, but one candidate was being depicted on the internet showing parts of their body best left clothed, picking a beery fight with the aforementioned slime-ball in accounts, or cavorting with another member of staff while their spouse is clearly blithely unaware.

Hey! Check out my Facebook page.

There are some entertaining reminiscences of how not to behave at company Christmas parties on this blog.  All I will say on the matter is that the writer was lucky to get away with it at the time. But what would happen now? If a recruitment officer read this or saw photos of the events happening how would they view his job application? Read it again and put yourself in the employer’s position .

See what I mean?

While I am advocating having fun – it’s a party, after all – I’m also saying now is not the time to break the mold. Dress conventionally, behave formally, and give the traffic cop who pulls you over a major disappointment when they find you’ve been on sodas all night or, if you did drink, you stuck to one glass of beer or wine and made it last.

At the Christmas party you are what you drink and, if you deviate from the accepted boring old norm, you will be remembered for what you do. If you head to a bar or six first and then act like a frat or sorority kid who’s been let loose in a liquor store, you jeopardize not just your immediate job prospects but also those for years to come. Likewise, using the moment to settle a few ‘old scores’ is not recommended.

That is, not unless you’re the crafty dude with the camera. In which case, snap away!

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

Even at $4 a gallon, the US is being heavily protected from what will definitely soon come to pass. Just across the ‘Big Pond’, UK drivers (remember they have North Sea oil) are paying nearly $10 a gallon.

With that in mind, just how much are you prepared to shell out before you ask yourself the simple question ‘Is it worth me going to work?’. Or, to be a bit more precise, ‘Is my current employment situation proving viable?’ and that’s the one I want to put to you now.

After all, it’s a pretty basic con trick where the conman asks the ‘mark’ for change from a twenty but really only ends up handing over a ten or a one. If someone is offering to give you a dollar but it’s going to cost you twenty to get it, you already know what your answer’s going to be, don’t you? And with that analogy, I’m hoping my question doesn’t seem quite so daft because it isn’t, trust me.

Traveling to work is not just about gas consumption, it’s about a whole host of factors. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to do some basic economics. So let’s look at the sums together and see how it all stacks up.

I’m going to assume that you’ve got an average family saloon runaround. Using some pretty typical values you end up with about $0.60 per mile.

According to ABC News, the mean commute distance in the US is 16 miles. That’s 160 miles a week and 8,000 a year. The same survey suggests that an average of about an hour a day is spent commuting and, let’s face it, neither gas prices nor commuting times are set to decrease any time soon (do I really need to use the word ‘soon’?). So, we’re looking at 500 hours a year just driving backwards and forwards, risking life and limb (I’ve been hit 3 times from behind and I’ve spent the last 20 years being unable to walk more than a few yards because of a rear shunt) just for the privilege of working. It’s a bizarre way to spend a life, isn’t it?

The Office of National Statistics have just done a study in the UK  relating to how long people spend commuting each year – it’s staggering when you look at it over a period of time. What a waste of life!

"Welcome to our city"

Now, if I take your time driving as being worth just the minimum wage, the true annual running cost is $8,550 a year. In other words, you could afford to be that much worse off if someone paid you just over $7 an hour to work from home. Not only that, if you are on a 35-hour week and receiving Minimum Wage, this would be equal to nearly two-thirds of what you are getting gross. Basically, you may as well sit at home and watch daytime soaps.

That’s a thought to let rattle around your brainbox for a while although how much of one you’d have left after a few weeks of watching daytime soaps is debatable.

Based on that – the concept of how much money you are paying in order to work (as opposed to the consequences of back-to-back sessions of ‘The Doctor Is In’ and ‘Families And Friends’) – I’d like to put forward some radical ideas for you to ponder on. Even if they aren’t completely applicable to you in your current situation, I’d still like you to contemplate how they could be adapted to fit. Of course, you could just trade your job in for one that’s geographically nearer but with work being so hard to find, I’m going to assume that’s either an unpalatable or unrealistic expectation.

Working from home

Do you have skills which could be used to work from home? If so, and as long as you are prepared to sell your car, you could afford to cut your rate of pay (or cut your lunch break a bit) as an incentive to your employer to let you work from your den or home office. Maybe you’d still have to go in some days but that is an improvement on driving to work every day. Using our ‘Average Joe/Jo’ as a character, you could even afford to offer your company a couple of thousand bucks a year as an incentive. That may seem hard to swallow but keep your eyes focused on the bottom line. If you end up with more money to spend, does it matter how the sum breaks down? Given how strapped employers are at the moment, this may sound appealing to your boss.

Home is where the heart is (and the office)

If you don’t get an entirely negative reception to your suggestion, why not take it one stage further and offer to make yourself a coordinator of other staff doing the same thing? If your company’s worried about paying people for watching telly, all they have to do is to purchase some relative cheap software which monitors when staff are working remotely. Thus you would ‘clock on’ in the morning from your den and ‘clock off’ again at lunchtime and so on.

With video conferencing being entirely free, there is definitely a good argument for not commuting.

From your company’s point of view, you save them on heating and lighting as well as possibly reducing their insurance premiums. It’s a win-win situation for once.

Shifting your hours

If you work normal daylight hours, a big part of your commuting problem is because you are like the majority of the working population. You all churn out onto the same bit of highway at the same time as each other. If you could just shift that by an hour at each end, you would literally save hundreds of hours a year in reduced travel times. I realize that you may have personal commitments such as taking the kids to school but I bet that some small rearrangement of your time is possible.

I’ve just looked at two ideas here but hopefully it will have set you thinking. I’ll cover working from home in more detail in another blog – something which represents the absolute optimum solution, of course.

No more commuting equals no more road rage

Commonsense is the main obstacle to a more eco-friendly and economic solution to the commuting problem. Unless you actually manufacture a product, must physically meet people or you use an expensive piece of equipment in your work, there are few justifications for making people travel to work. So why do it any more?

Just remember next time you drive to work – you’re paying for the privilege.

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist working from home.

Everyone else is doin’ it …

Didn’t think they’d miss it …

It was just the first time …

Won’t happen again, I promise …

It's all too easy to slip up

Apart from the subject matter, they’ve all got one thing in common – none of them work. If you get caught taking a bribe, you’ll have to face the music. That’s what I want to talk about in this blog.

Like it or not, bribes are a big part of our working culture and they’ve been around since long before some pyramid-construction overseer coughed quietly and patted the saddlebag on his camel just before signing off a whole load of non-existent slave overtime sheets to their owner. Bribery is all around us, from the perfectly legitimate ‘something for nothing’ special offers that shops use all the time, through to corrupt officials taking payments for turning a blind eye to an act that will cause tangible misery.

Witness the number of words and phrases we have for the act:

• Backhander
• Bung
• Grease
• Hush money
• Kickback
• Payola
• Sweetener
• Wet my beak

… and other cultures are no different.

Most of us will face a situation at some time in our working lives where we are given a straightforward choice – to do what we know is legally and morally right, or to choose either to go against this or to look the other way.

By the way, in case you’re worried, this is no ‘moral high ground’ pulpit-style rant. I am just looking at what is best for you in both the short and long term. I won’t complicate the issue by invoking greater considerations and complications. Preaching is for preachers.

I’ve encountered corruption more than a few times in my life. I’ll also confess that I’ve been tempted – who wouldn’t be? Taking a bung promises easy money for doing very little, but, you see, that’s not really how it works and it’s this rationale that I want to leave you thinking about.

In my experience, the single factor most likely to leave you out of your depth is to have a briber lead you from your normal comfort zone. That’s the way they work – they put you on the spot and then seduce you into going along for the ride. If that is your conscious decision then so be it, but chances are you’ll just get caught up in the moment and then regret it afterwards.

I’d like you to shed the notion that this is just something that happens in South America, China, or some other far-off country. It also happens a lot in Hometownville, US of A. According to a study carried out by the anti-corruption association, Transparency International, on 3,000 executives in 28 countries, the US ranked only tenth best, lagging just behind the UK.

Not only that, I’m 100% confident that they’ve just scratched the tip of the iceberg with that survey. The rot is far greater, believe me.

One size fits all

A briber’s initial strike is like that of a tetchy snake on acid, and it’s this sheer suddenness that can easily overwhelm you. Of the four main occasions in my life where I’ve been exposed to it, each bung has been hurled at me without warning or precursor. The reason I’m looking out at mountains through the window next to my desk and not an asphalt courtyard through a set of iron bars, is that I managed to stall the first time and give myself long enough to think things through. Subsequently, I’ve just fallen back on that original logic and stuck to my guns.

That first time, I was desperate for cash. I was earning far less than minimum wage, my family had abandoned me, and I had bills coming out of my ears. All I’d been asked to do was make one phone call, give a six or seven digit number, and then hang up. That was all. And it I would have been paid more than a whole year’s salary for one act taking under one minute to complete.

I confess I was sorely tempted but I’ll give you my answer in a moment. First, I’ll just tell you about another occasion which didn’t involve me directly but … well, you’ll see.

I’d been invited to a trade dinner at the Savoy in London and was coming back with two friends (who’d invited me to take a seat on their company’s board) and two other men. I didn’t know these other two and they only seemed to be fringe acquaintances of my mates. They worked for a water company and there was something about them that made me feel uneasy. They also got very drunk and we had to keep stopping
on the way home for one or the other to be sick.

My gut feeling of unease turned out to be well justified.

I later discovered they’d been approving invoices for payment for work which hadn’t been done and, in return, getting a backhander from the relevant contractor. For example, they would be sent a bill for, say, $10,000 relating to some non-existent project. They would then authorize payment and get $1,000 back for their trouble. When they were eventually caught, they got a nice term in one of Her Majesty’s
finest full-board establishments, complete with the window bars and an asphalt courtyard.

Now, back to me, and the message I’d like to leave with you.

When you are first approached about taking cash, a “gift”, or other goods in return either for doing something illegal yourself, or for ‘not seeing’ someone else do it, remember this. The other party wants something so desperately that they are prepared to pay handsomely for it. This gives you all the cards and means you can name your price – lucky you.

Take the money and run?

Once you’ve taken a bribe, the second time you won’t be so lucky when it comes to the greenbacks – you’ll get what you are given. After the second time, you are already ‘bought and paid for’. You’ll do what you are told to do because, if you don’t, you’ll be blackmailed until you do.

If you are offered a bribe, you have two alternatives. You can set the price so high that you can take the money and disappear forever to somewhere that doesn’t have an extradition treaty. Or alternatively, you can do what I did and say, “Sorry, didn’t hear you – and don’t repeat it”.

Good luck.

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

• It won’t work
• I couldn’t do it
• No-one likes it
• I’d only put the company’s back up

All very negative. It’s understandable though because, for most of us, a cold-call is a euphemism for some idiot phoning you in the middle of:

• Dinner
• A row with your partner
• Putting the kids to bed
• The dénouement of a film which you’d been really enjoying
• Getting ready to go out when you’re already late
• A quick nap you’d been promising yourself for hours

These very negative experiences we then apply to the whole idea of cold-calling. Our picture of a cold-caller is someone who is ‘a <insert expletives of your choice> nuisance’. Now imagine a world where no-one told us about new products, offers, shops, job vacancies.

You see, there is a real contradiction here. Advising us about an offer is on the one hand, ‘nothing but a nuisance’ yet, on the other hand, we feel ‘cheated’ if we are left out of the loop.

The key word here is ‘nuisance’. Inappropriate timing, poor caller training and bad product targeting transforms the relaying of useful information into the worst kind of irritation.

Not everyone's sorry you phoned

Now I want you to imagine the exact opposite. Suppose someone calls you out-of-the-blue (but at an opportune moment) with a product or service you have immediate need for, and then proceeds to explain it to you in a knowledgeable and non-pushy way.

That’s not a nuisance call – that’s top-notch information.

So, now I want to ask you that question again. Doesn’t cold-calling just mean the cold-shoulder?

The correct answer is “not necessarily”.

Given that as many as 80% of job vacancies are filled before they ever get advertised (if, in fact, they ever do), turning your back on a technique like cold-calling just throws you in with all the other job-seekers who are busily pursuing the remaining 20%.

It’s called the 80-20 rule: you get 80% of the reward for 20% of the effort and chasing the remaining 20% takes 80% of the effort.

Now I want to apply the foregoing logic to cold-calling so that the negative outcomes I listed at the beginning of this blog can be canceled out.

There’s a Youtube video which makes the point of being properly prepared – I like the choice of setting (Father Brown meets James Bond).

This means you need to utilize:

• Excellent targeting
• Good timing
• Competent and concise spiel

So, let’s look at each of those in turn.

Targeting

Of all three elements, I bet this is the one that gets skipped over the most. By targeting, I mean sniffing out all the possible companies and organizations that you could call. Chances are that if I stopped ten people at random and asked them to list out whom they would ring, nine would be adamant that they would know exactly who to phone.

Wrong. You don’t know everyone and don’t kid yourself you do.

New companies come on the block all the time and with these you are more likely to get fresh faces, forward-looking points of view, and a genuine pleasure that you’ve called and expressed interest in working for them.

But a positive response is only going to happen if you do your homework properly. Therefore I want you to start a spreadsheet recording (for each company):

• Name
• Contact
• Phone number
• Location
• Website
• Email address

… and you’ll find these companies by:

• Going through the paper Yellow Pages
• Searching the YP’s online (it often gives different results)
• Scouring the internet for relevant search phrases plus <yourtown>
• Asking contacts
• Looking in newspapers and trade magazines

The only absolute certainty is that there is no way, no how, that you knew them all.

Now score them by dint of how:

• Likely they are to want you
• Easy they are to commute to
• Relevant their work is
• Much you’d like to work for them

… keeping an open mind at all times

When you’ve finished, sort the companies in order of high score. Now you’ve got your calling list.

Timing

Think of the person you want to call and what their working life must be like. How would you appreciate me ringing you up to talk about a job just as you were:

• Arriving at work
• Getting ready to go home
• Going off to lunch
• Coming back from lunch
• Starting the week
• Finishing the week

An important cold-calling tool

This means (for a typical 9 to 5 job) don’t call:

• Before 10 am
• Between 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm
• After 4 pm
• Monday morning or Friday afternoon
• The day before or after a Public Holiday

That still leaves plenty of time however and just because the person you want to speak to actually answers the phone, don’t assume that they can talk to you. Have a pre-determined question to see if they have the time such as:

“Hello. I’d like to speak to you about your company. Is now a good time to talk or should I call back?”

Notice how I didn’t say “I want to speak to you about a job”. That would be too direct and off-putting. After all, by the time you’ve chatted you may not want to work there or they may very clearly not want you. It also makes you sound desperate (which is bad).

Spiel

This word is unfortunately misused because its true meaning implies verbosity – something which you should definitely avoid. The knack to developing an effective spiel is to do your homework beforehand so that ‘come the day’ you are properly prepared. By this I mean your speech should be structured as follows:

• Are you free to talk to me?
• I’m very interested in your company because …
• Can you tell me a bit more, please?
• The sort of work I’m looking for is …
• Do you have that kind of vacancy at the moment?
• If it’s OK with you, I’d like to keep in touch. May I have a direct email address, please?
• Thank you. Goodbye.

You see, I’m not going straight for the nitty-gritty. I’ve established that you have time to talk to me now, I’ve pre-answered the question “Why do you want this job?”, I’ve shown interest above and beyond ‘give me a job’, I’ve been professional about what I’m looking for, and I’ve closed by saying I’d like to keep in touch but without being a nuisance.

Now I can’t promise you that this is the winning formula because the other person could still be rude, disinterested, dismissive, cold, uncommunicative and so forth but would you really want to work for a person like that, anyway?!!!

Whatever happens you MUST close with a ‘thank you for your time’ and a ‘goodbye’. No matter how ignorant a pig you’ve just spoken to, there is no reason to drop to their level.

General rules

My last tip concerns talking to the receptionist when you first make contact. If you proudly announce “I want a job” you will be abruptly slammed through to HR whom (I bet) won’t appreciate a cold-call. You’ll get told to “Just send in your resume” which, if you comply, will get stuffed in a folder and then forgotten. Therefore, when you call, say, “I’d like to speak to someone who deals with …” the subject matter being related to what you do for a living. Get a name and direct phone number if you can.

Cold-calling isn’t easy. You will get turned down but there will be a few occasions when you will be so glad you did give it a shot. After all, you only need one person to say “When can you come in for an interview?” because the chances are that you are the only one competing for the job.

That’s a million times better than running yourself ragged chasing the same positions as the rest of the pack – don’t you agree?

Are you just marking time?

No, I mean it. Are you?

If you’re contemplating looking for a job or you’re currently actively seeking one, I’d like you to just stop for a moment and ask yourself what sort of job you’re chasing and why you’re pursuing it.

Here are a few answers (some of which overlap) – see if any of these caps fit. It’s:

• Because I’ve always done that sort of work
• Because it’s the next step in my career
• Because I just need a job – any job
• Because that’s what I’m expected to do
• Because that’s what I’ve trained to do

… and you can add some more if you like.

The point is that not one of those was ‘Because I really want to do it’. Now that is a real tragedy because you spend a large part of your life at work and you will not get that time again.

How did you get into the line of work you’re in, anyway?

Was it because of:

• An introduction to it from someone
• Advice from a careers consultant
• Pressure from family or friends
• It was all that was on offer
• You liked the idea of it at the time

If you chose anything except the last answer, there’s your problem. The other reasons were good at the time but they’re stop-gap reasons and not a justification for a career. If you’re not happy in your job then, at the risk of sounding like some long-haired 60′s relic:

Why don’t you reinvent yourself?

Have you finished laughing?

I can hear the skeptics screaming things like “You don’t understand, I’ve got a family to feed/bills to pay …” etc. Yes, I’m sure you have, but please just bear with me for a minute or two while I explain my rationale.

According to this video, 84% of working people are fed up with what they do. Are you one of them?

As I’ve said on numerous occasions in these blogs, in my career I’ve had to wade through literally thousands of resumes, CV’s, application forms – call them what you will. One of the glaring things which came through from reading all those pages was that the vast majority of people were really just expressing a token interest in the jobs our company had on offer. And why was this?

Because deep-down they didn’t want the job and their subconscious was telling them not to get it. Which is exactly what happened – they didn’t.

No, this isn’t psycho-babble (I can’t stand that stuff either). It’s reality and I can prove it.

Goodbye and fare thee well

Think about a relationship you’ve been in where you’ve realized that it was going nowhere. Concentrate on remembering your mannerisms, the language you’ve used, the fights you’ve picked, the little niggles that irritated you in the forerunning to the big bust-up. There will have been times – probably numerous – when you said things which you knew were provocative. Chances are you couldn’t help yourself; the words just tumbled out.

That’s exactly what I mean.

With your job applications there are a host of things that give the game away that you don’t really want the job. For example:

• Choice of language
• How the job application is compiled
• Handwriting
• Sloppy spelling and grammar
• Adherence to submission instructions

… and if the application doesn’t betray you, wait until I do the interview!

In other words, there’s just no point in submitting hundreds of applications for jobs you don’t really want because you won’t get them. That is, not unless the company is desperate (in which case, would you want to work for them?) or you’ve been lucky enough to get a sloppy interviewer.

So, by now I hope that my notion of reinventing yourself isn’t sounding quite so crazy. Just for the record, when I use the phrase, I’m not talking about dropping out and spending your days smoking something unmentionable in a Thai beach hut.

Attractive though that may be, I’m talking about the real world and real responsibility.

So, how DO you reinvent yourself? The best answer depends on how your thought processes work so I’m going to give you two ways I consider pretty effective. With any luck, one or the other should suit you.

Before you start

We all have hidden talents

I’d like you to write down all the things that you’re good at. I don’t just mean work, I mean hobbies and interests, too. Bizarre? No, not really. Your hobbies and interests describe you far better than your job title ever can. Additionally, please write down your major aspirations (and I mean realistic ones, not daydreams!).

Method 1
I want you to put that list aside for a day or two because I need you to come to it with a clear mind. Then, read it through and write a profile of the person based solely on what you see – no ‘remembering’, ‘adjusting’, ‘editing’ or anything else you dream up. Stick to what the words tell you – no reading between the lines.

What job would you advise the person on the paper to do?

Method 2
I want you to pretend you’re in front of a senior employment agency representative and he or she is interviewing you about what job you should be put in for. The job you’ve always done is not available – not now, not ever. Therefore, whatever you decide, you’ve got to come up with something different.

Is the job you come up with ‘more you’ than the one you actually do every day?

Bears thinking about, doesn’t it?

In conclusion

I’m well aware of all the arguments for staying put:

• It’s the devil I know
• I’m good at it
• That’s what’s available
• It pays the bills

And I’m also aware that the grass is always greener on the other slope but sometimes it pays to travel a bit and, as I’ve said, there’s no point just sending in resume after resume in a half-hearted attempt to get jobs you don’t really want.

After all, and returning to my original comment about barking up the wrong tree, sometimes it pays to branch out.

Good luck.

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

Why then, do some individuals insist on using weird and wonderful typefaces in a wholly misguided effort at standing out from the crowd? I’m guessing that they’ve either got no sense of style or that they’re just confused by the befuddling array of fonts which programs like WORD throw up. As an interviewer, all I want is the information about the candidate. If I wanted to look at graffiti, I’d go to the nearest subway.

The writing is on the wall for this font

Yes, I know, but you don't have to threaten me first!

When it comes down to it, I can’t imagine anyone (with the exception of graphic design companies or other artistic enterprises) paying overdue attention to your choice of typeface as long as it is legible. Goodness knows, I’ve seen enough that weren’t in my time, so I just rejoiced when one landed in front of me that I could read without it giving me myopia or indoor snow-blindness.

However, I think a little bit of style never went amiss and there is also some psychology in your font selection.

At this point you could choose to use an experienced resume design company found on ResumeLines.com or, if you have access to a good quality printer, you could opt to do it yourself. If you are going down the latter path, your choice of font is key (and I really couldn’t resist that pun).

The main contenders in the font stakes

Courier

Good old courier. It’s been around since the dawn of the typewriter era and, for that reason, it became despised once WORD-type programs miraculously thrust dozens of bizarre fonts on us that hitherto had only appeared in glossy brochures, on product labels, and in comics.

Courier’s made a bit of a comeback recently (not that it’s ever really gone away) and the (New) Courier typeface is, as you can see, definitely quite presentable. However, one word to the wise, you do need to choose a font size a couple of points above which you would normally select. Therefore, for a resume, you should consider using 12pt.

Courier implies you’re a bit of a traditionalist. What you’re really saying is ‘I’ve bought this computer but I’d really rather prefer my old Olivetti typewriter’.

Its principal drawback is that it doesn’t tend to come out very well on scans or with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software.

Boss factor: Idiosyncratic, certainly, but too many snags for my liking

Arial

Arial has been with us since the second generation of word-processing programs came out. It is usually the default font in a word-processing program because it is conveniently common to many other Office-type programs should you need to convert a file or embed something.

Arial is what’s called a ‘sans-serif’ font because, unlike Courier, it doesn’t have those spiky flourishes at the end of each character. I would suggest 11 point for a resume.

The good news is that Arial is very easy to read and scan (OCR) and this makes it a sensible choice. The trouble is that it is so sensible. Because of its ‘default’ status, its use tends to suggest that the user is not particularly IT-literate because they weren’t confident enough to choose another font.

Boss factor: Good choice but too ‘sensible’ for my liking.

Times New Roman

The standard alternative to Arial as a default and one of the main fonts which appeared in the early word-processing programs – hence its continuing popularity, I suppose.

This is a full-blown serif font with all its spikes and curls. Some people feel that this makes the font look businesslike and ‘official’ however, for much the same reason, it can look a bit cold and sterile. It’s also not the best font for easy reading or scanning. I admit that it does work but I personally feel that it creaks a lot along the way.

Like Courier, it does need to be reasonably big in order to see it. The problem is that, once you go over about 12pt, the font suddenly becomes very chunky.

I’ve seen resumes done in this style and many looked kiddie and unprofessional.

Boss factor: You either love Times or you hate it. Used properly it can look smart but it’s not an easy beast to master.

Verdana

I guess I’m biased but I tend to use Verdana a lot therefore you should read what I say in that light!

It’s quite a big and bulky sans-serif font – something which I’m sure will mean that it doesn’t merit universal appeal. You don’t need a big font size (which can be an advantage when trying to make things fit on a page) – 10 point is perfectly legible.

Verdana has the advantage at smaller sizes because it addresses what is called kerning problems. Kerning is the adjustment of the white space between characters when what the mathematical spacing rule says is right does not match up with what our eyes tell us is right. For example when you have a word ending in ‘titis’. Left to its own devices, there would be a huge gap between the I’s and the T’s. Kerning automatically reduces that gap to what ‘looks right’.

One issue is that ‘cl’ looks a bit like ‘d’ and this can be confusing.

Verdana is otherwise easy to read and scan in. However many don’t appreciate its blockiness.

Boss factor: Clear and effective but can be perceived as being ugly.

Other fonts

Tahoma
A bit too rounded and with too little space between the letters for my liking (look at ‘liking’ for example). It could, therefore, benefit from Verdana’s kerning. 11pt is about the right size to use.

Gill Sans
Definitely a bit idiosyncratic. The characters are almost primitive but, because of that, they aren’t too easy to read. Not my cup of tea although I could see the attraction for using it as a main heading:

The Boss: Resume And Career History

Yes, that is quite smart. I wouldn’t want to use it elsewhere on my resume though.

Trebuchet

Another Verdana and Arial spin-off. It’s easier to read than Gill Sans and a definite candidate if you want to be a bit different. I like its open style and I’d give it definite consideration for large blocks of text. I don’t think it’s suitable for small work, though.

There’s a good video on Youtube about font selection.

So, what do I suggest you do?

I know I said at the outset about mixing fonts. I meant mixing them in the text so that it looks like a 5-year old had been playing around with the keyboard.

Not very professional

However, if you combine the strengths of a ‘heading-type’ font like Gill Sans with a good, clear, simple font like Verdana or Arial as the main text, your resume is both easy to read and stylish.

Thus:

Name: The Boss

Address: The Penthouse, Cloud 9

The horizontal line makes a clear visual separation between the two fonts so there is no ‘confusion’ or suggestion that somehow you made a mistake.

Ultimately, what matters is that your resume:

• Is easy to read
• Can be electronically scanned
• Looks professional
• Is logically structured
• Doesn’t give the reader a headache

Yes, it is a matter of taste but those are the ground rules. Ultimately the content is more important than the presentation but, if the presentation is lousy, the content just won’t get viewed. Take it from me, I’ve literally given up on hundreds of resumes which fell short through poor presentation.

Let’s not allow yours to go the same way.

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

Just to reiterate (because I really can’t say it enough times), preparation is king. I don’t want to put undue pressure on you but you may well only get one shot at some of the more important people and you need to get it right first time.

But don’t let that un-nerve you!

It’s not just me who thinks networking is important – see this news article.

Business Cards

I recommend getting 2 sets printed – one for you as a company person and one for you as a private individual as there will be times when one is more appropriate than the other.  For example, it may be that you don’t want someone getting involved with your place of work. Perhaps it’s to do with a new job offer?

For both cards, go for a simple, easy-to-read design without flashiness. There are dozens of internet companies who will produce these for you for just a few dollars. A basic design is both easy to read and professional-looking so K.I.S.S.

Personal Preparation

Who shall I be today?

Get clear in your head who you are and where you want to go with your life. The people whom hopefully you will be meeting will admire strength and confidence and, no matter how hard they might try to the contrary, they will ultimately shy away from signs of weakness and hesitancy.

Figure out what you want to be and how you are going to get there. You should also work out what you can offer your contacts because, after all, this is just one big self-help scheme. We discussed this in the last section so I’m not going to spend long here on it but it does link in with what I’m going to say later.

At The Event

Whether it’s an organized networking event or an event at which networking is possible, there are going to be two main opportunities for you to add valuable contacts to your growing database of ‘handy people’.

For ease of discussion, I’m going to assume that this is your first event and you know nobody there. Hopefully that should be your worst-case scenario.

The Groups

The chances are that many of the people present will know each other and will take the opportunity to get reacquainted. As a result, if you rush in to press the flesh while they are exchanging small-talk, you will be perceived as a nuisance. Therefore take your time at the start of the event to carry out a careful reconnaissance. Five minutes watching and noting who goes where and with whom will pay dividends later.

Let the conversations die back a bit before you make a move to join a group. If they are experiencing an ‘awkward silence’ moment they will be glad of a distraction – that’s you.

In order to break into a group, you really need either an introduction or some kind of ice-breaker. I’ve given some suggestions for opening remarks a bit later in this article.

The Buffet

How many stains does this represent?

Once food is introduced, it’s back to an ‘every man for himself’ situation. If you don’t believe me, study the faces and body language of two social acquaintances when they are both considering taking the last sausage on a stick. If they could bare teeth and snarl they would.

Thus, as long as you aren’t challenging for food, this is a good situation for breaking through social barriers and getting a conversation going.

You can easily achieve a high status by appearing to have already eaten (high ranking animals feed first). So, grab a sandwich or two before you leave home and then just content yourself with the odd nibble at the event.

Not eating also gives you time to think and allows you to preserve your dignity (no food down best clothes, no spluttering an answer while your mouth is full of potato chips etc).

There are five basic openings to a conversation in this situation. These are:

• Introduce yourself, “Hi, I’m …”
• Comment on them, “I like your …” (best if it’s complimentary but not threatening)
• Make a joke (ideally about the event – don’t lampoon someone)
• Lead with a question, “What did you think of the speech by …?”
• Remark on the event, “This looks well-attended”

Starting by introducing yourself can be a bit intimidating for some people. After all, they may not want to know you. In such an uncontrolled situation where there is no guarantee that either of you have anything (interests, career aspirations, chosen industry etc) in common, leading out with your name is not the best choice.

He's probably not interested

Far better to test the ground with one of the other openings. Keep a careful eye on their body language to see if it is (or becomes) open – that is their arms unfold, they start to mirror your stance, look you in the eye, visibly relax etc. If so, you have made a contact – you just now need to work on establishing a rapport. If not, then politely terminate conversation, just realize that you have “spotted someone …” and move on.

Rehearse some harmless and amusing jokey-type comments beforehand (try them on a friend first if you can).

With regards to your name, wear a name badge on your right lapel. That way, when you shake hands, the badge will move up towards their eyeline – just monitor whether they show any interest in it.

Here is a really funny video but, nevertheless, one which serves to illustrate exactly what I’ve been saying. See how many mistakes you can spot (gold star possibilities at the end of the blog).

Remember at all times, networking is very similar to dating. It is not about filling your address book with names and phone numbers – if that’s your game just go to any conference and play ‘Swap business cards’. No, networking is about making lasting, symbiotic business relationships and you won’t do that by being ‘lame’.

Let’s return to the dating analogy. If you had finally plucked up the courage to talk to a potential girlfriend/boyfriend, how would you like to leave it?

“I’m often at this sort of place so we might well meet again”

“Maybe you might ring me sometime or I could phone you, perhaps?”

“I’ll leave it up to you”

“I’d really love to take you out – are you doing anything on …?”

Cheesy examples? Yes, guilty as charged. But you get the point? If you want to call this person a true ‘network contact’ then you need to get them to like you, value you, and want you as a contact. Thus, go with the attitude that making one or two good contacts is infinitely better than dozens of ‘names and numbers’.

If you’re still a bit uncertain about breaking the ice, I’ll look at that in detail in a later blog. For the moment, just believe in yourself and never ever concern yourself with the notion of ‘feeling a fool’.

People who don’t try are fools, not those who do.

Finally, never turn any potential network contact away on the grounds that they are irrelevant. You cannot possibly know who or what you will need in the future nor should you discriminate on such grounds. If someone is keen to know you, seize the day, shake hands, get to know one another and add them (and all their contacts) to your growing list.

Good luck.

Gold star if you spotted his ID badge was on the wrong lapel.

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

That’s the guts of networking – knowing that we can take on challenges that might otherwise scare the living daylights out of us. I so love these old quotes – the Greek and Roman philosophers spent ages considering their choice of words and the message that they really wanted to convey. Nowadays it tends to be just insincere spin. Epicurus knew what he was talking about so, how do we put this into action?

We looked at the basic whys and wherefores of networking in the first part of this series along with how to do it passively. Now I want to investigate the concept of active networking and this first part will cover how to make sure that you get the maximum benefit from your efforts.

Thorough preparation really is crucial to your success. If you are not properly prepared then you will:

• Not be able to take full advantage of your networking
• Look inefficient and thus ‘unappealing’ as a network contact

This last point is very important – don’t forget that you have to appeal to the other person. Come across as sloppy, disorganized, careless etc and they will make their excuses and disappear never to return.

Therefore, wherever you go, carry the following with you:

• Your hardback networking notebook (see part 1)
• Pen and pencil (take both as one may well give up the ghost just when you need it)
• Personal contact (business) cards – you can get some nice but simple ones printed on the internet for only a few dollars

Discreet packaging

If your family are hard-put to find a Christmas present for you, suggest one of the new digital speech recorders. Some of them are now so small and well-disguised that they look like you’ve raided the 007 props room. However, they are only any good if you then carefully transcribe the notes you have taken into your database.

Just don’t start calling me ‘Q’, OK?

It takes dedication and commitment to make a success of networking. If you only write things down sporadically, you will only get very limited benefit. It’s like keeping a diary – if you don’t do it every day, it will soon become pointless.

Proper mental preparation is also essential. After all, it’s no good going along to a networking event if you aren’t in the right frame of mind or haven’t got the occasion in proper focus.

If you don’t believe in yourself, no-one else will – that’s as sure as eggs are eggs.

I’ve ruminated for some time over the best description for what takes place when you’re networking. The experience isn’t as impersonal as some so-called gurus would have you believe – it is a personal thing, there is a form of attraction that works. Of course it isn’t a physical one, I’m not suggesting that you both romp off to the nearest motel, but, in order for your networking to be successful, you do have to make a connection.

In other words, your co-networker has to find you someone whom they can work and communicate with, and trust as far as is necessary. Although not totally mandatory, it really is a major boon if they actually like you.

I don’t feel qualified to advise anyone about making themselves ‘attractive’ in this sense but I do know that you will fare a sight better if you are:

• Friendly
• Confident
• Ambitious (but sensibly so)

It is essential for you to believe that you are going places. If you don’t, you will come home from a networking event disappointed and dejected and this will either carry forward to the next one or you will just give up – it will be much the same either way.

Success breeds success.

Woah, you've got bad vibes issues, man.

My suggestion is that before you go to your first networking event, you work out exactly who you are (sounds like something from the Sixties, doesn’t it?). “Hey, I’m trying to find myself, man”. Seriously though, you must decide on:

• Who you are
• What you can offer your network contacts
• What you might want from them
• Where you want to go with your career

This does not need to be written in stone as you are bound to need to change it later, but at least start out knowing where you want to go.

I deliberately missed one important thing out of the list for making yourself attractive because it merits a mention on its own. While being friendly and confident are very important, the ability to listen is vital. We all love people who listen to us. It makes us feel important, valued, worthwhile, etc.

If you aren’t a particularly good listener, now is the time to change things. Since it’s got to become a way of life, you might as well start at home. So, practice on your spouse. He or she will be delighted but perhaps a bit suspicious about the motivation! Find things to test your memory over. Play ‘Happy Families’, study family trees and then test yourself on what you remember, and do anything and everything to increase your short-term memory retention.

Here is a video which, although a bit on the quick side, does give some really good suggestions for remembering names.

There are also plenty of ‘text’ websites which promote ways of boosting your memory and helping you to recall details e.g. with mnemonics such as the schoolroom ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’ which helps children to remember the colors of the rainbow in the correct order.

There was a recent survey carried out in the UK about just how many jobs go to people ‘on the nod’ – aka ‘connected’, ‘networked’ or, through its old-fashioned title of ’nepotism’. With a calculated 34% of the working population benefiting this way, it’s a case of “If you can’t beat them, join them”.

At the risk of breaking my own rule about not saying anything negative in a conclusion, I am going to issue this by way of an explanation and also a warning to the unwary.

It is possible that you feel I’ve made a meal out of the need for proper preparation – I haven’t. The fact is that if you don’t prepare properly you will:

• Waste your time
• ‘Burn’ valuable contacts
• Get a bad reputation

There are a finite number of worthwhile people in your industry and, if you are lucky, you will get a chance to add them to your growing list of valuable contacts. If you don’t handle it properly, your reputation will precede you and not only will you not acquire network contacts, you also risk becoming a pariah.

First impressions count so be prepared.

Networking is the thinking person’s alternative to:

• Going to the ‘right school’
• Belonging to some fraternity, sorority, or dubious society
• Being an offspring of one of the directors

Work is such a bore, don't you find?

It is, without doubt, one of the most valuable weapons in your arsenal. Spend the time preparing like I have suggested and become a great networker!

The next part will cover meeting people and effective behavior at networking events.

“We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends behave to us.“: Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)

Two sayings from Greek and Roman philosophy. Sure, but what have they got to do with the modern world? The answer is … ‘everything’. So, just in case you’d skip-read the quotes, here are three things that they tell us:

• Find like-minded people and bond with them
• Don’t cheat your buddies because they will do the same to you (and turn from buddies to enemies in the process)
• You aren’t paying attention to what I’m saying and, if you don’t start paying attention, you will never get anywhere

Available for hire - with operator

We naturally admire people who have ‘stood on their own two feet’ or ‘gone it alone’ – it’s the monosyllabic hero who rides into town and metes out his own brand of justice. If you like the genre, it makes for a great film, but ultimately it’s not very realistic.

In real life, we need our friends and contacts. The quotation, ‘No man is an island’ is much more germane.

The thing is, that through the eyes of the media, when we see an entrepreneur who’s made it, we only see the individual – we don’t see the host of people who’ve given him or her essential support and advice along the way. And it’s not that the entrepreneur wants to hog the limelight, it’s just that many of these other support people have only been peripheral and they don’t fit in with the romantic ‘Man With No Name’ image.

But, without those myriad other people, our entrepreneur’s biggest claim to fame would probably be a standard entry in the local phone directory.

If you want to rise above the rank and file, you need to follow the advice of those philosophers. That is to:

• Find contacts who coincide with and complement your chosen career
• Respect them by treating them in a fair and honest manner

You’ll find these people everywhere but you have to keep your eyes open or you will not see them – they may not always be so obvious. It can be anywhere you meet similar-minded strangers en masse such as at jobs fairs for example. We discussed how to get the best from these in an earlier blog.

But what can networking really do for you? If you split your career ambitions down into a play with three acts, here’s a brief list of what your network contacts might help you with, act by act. They can:

Short Term 

• Lead you towards possible solutions for immediate problems
• Mentor you through a difficult phase in your career
• Inspire you and give you confidence when you need it

Medium Term

• Tip you off about jobs and courses that may not have been advertised
• Show you how they have successfully handled similar situations
• Put you in touch with their own networking contacts

Long Term 

• Help you by letting you talk through your long-range career plans
• Give you suggestions about how you might reinvent yourself
• Guide you through setting up your own business

These are just suggestions but hopefully they will have got you thinking.

One day you get lucky

The point is that networking is like a lottery – you won’t win if you don’t buy a ticket. Fortunately, with networking, it doesn’t need to cost you anything but it does take time and commitment. Networking is a bit like setting up one of your own fraternities (or sororities) except there are no strange initiation ceremonies, hazings, or bizarre handshakes. That said, your network contacts will expect to be able to call upon you to help them where you can. It’s a two-way street so don’t think everything’s going in your direction.

Networking should be viewed as an investment. While you may get lucky and just ‘bump into someone’, the probability is that you won’t. However, if you get a sufficient number of contacts over a long enough period of time, sooner or later you will find people who can individually or collectively make a difference to your life.

The power of networking has been demonstrated in a recent UK survey among graduates where two-thirds of the interviewees said that they believed who you know is as important as your qualifications.

But why should anyone help you? There’s only one real reason and that is because they know that if they get in a muddle, you’ll help them if you can.

There is a good video on Youtube about business networking. It offers excellent advice but you will need to keep pausing the film in order to digest what it is saying. The video’s style is a bit (how can I put it?) low budget, but ten out of ten for content, hence my recommendation.

Please note, network contacts aren’t like family or close friends (although they may become that) so you are not expected to throw yourself under a bus in order to push them to safety. These are commercial friends – people who understand that you will help them provided that it is not against your interests or the interests of your company. Bear in mind that this will be their attitude towards you as well.

A losing hand in the long run

Another attitude some of you reading this will have to shake is the idea that you get to the top by being sharp. What I mean by that is that you should refrain from adopting the attitude of an old boss of mine who thought that his network contacts were usable commodities, to be stabbed in the back if the mood took him. While it worked very well for J R Ewing in Dallas, it doesn’t turn out so happily in real life and the end result will be that all trust will be lost and, once lost, it will never be regained.

I’m going to explore the idea of successful networking more in subsequent articles. In the meantime, I’d like to get you started in the right direction. If you don’t have one, invest in an alphabetized notebook – the sort of thing that we used to write phone numbers in, long before smart phones came along that could lose all of our data at the click of a button. Get a hard-back book – the sort that will last because this is an investment for your working career and well worth a few bucks.

Now, I’d like you to jot down in there every contact you make who:

• Seems like they’re going somewhere
• Clearly enjoys being helpful
• Shares similar viewpoints and ambitions to you
• Works for a company which offers an unusual product or service

Don’t put your normal domestic and work contact phone numbers in the book, just record the ‘special’ ones.

You’ve now taken the first steps towards becoming a successful networker. We’ll look at how you can boost the number of your contacts and how best to access the people you find in further blog articles.

Good luck

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

Wrong!

What I mean is a verbal (well, written, to be precise) ‘hook’ that makes the interviewer really want to see you because you are intriguing.

Let me explain.

Can you imagine what it’s like for the interviewer when a job vacancy’s been advertised? Hundreds of resumes and application forms flood in. Many are semi-literate scrawl that are destined only for the no-hopers bin. Of the remainder? There’s dozens of the dratted things. Your desk is overflowing with desperate wannabe’s who are all theoretically in with a chance. From that, you have to reduce it to a manageable shortlist.

So, you pick out 6, 8 or 10 likely candidates and tell the secretary to schedule them for interview.

The day arrives, you hastily gulp down the antacid medicine that permanently resides in your desk’s middle drawer, and you wander aimlessly down to the interview room dreading what’s coming next.

You have a list of questions you’ve agreed with your boss or the line manager whose vacancy you’re dealing with. They’re all the same dreadful Politically Correct questions that you so hate. How you long to ask something shocking but you daren’t, otherwise the next job being advertised will be your own.

You go through the motions with each candidate noticing only that they all say the same thing. All mental images of them merge together (like when you get dragged along to look at unaffordable lounge suites with the wife) at the end of what’s been an interminably long day. You then hastily make your recommendation and leave it to others to sort out the paperwork.

Rewind that.

One of the cover letters on your desk has really caught your attention. The person actually sounds interesting, and even though there might be a few better qualified or more experienced candidates, you suddenly find yourself looking forward to meeting them.

That cover letter or, more particularly, what it contains, is the hook I’ve been referring to. Now you’ve seen why it’s important, let’s look at what it actually is and how you can benefit. I guarantee one thing and that is you have at least one hook in your arsenal (even if you don’t realize it) and, in all probability, quite a few more.

A hook is an item which captures the attention of the interviewer and makes them want to see you. It won’t get you the job but it will get you an interview.

OK, let’s look at the structure of our standard cover letter and see how we can build in a hook.

Here’s how it goes:

• Job title
• Salutation
• Standard intro
• Why you want the job
• Standard outro
• Salutation

Now this is OK. It does the job and will work but it’s like saying tepid water would quench your thirst on a hot day. A chilled beer (or soda if you’re teetotal) is surely preferable, isn’t it?

Let’s pretend you are applying for a job as assistant store manager for a big retail chain.

You can happily use the standard cover letter template but, instead of the ‘why you want the job’ text, let’s change it for this.

Before:

“I am particularly interested in this vacancy as it would represent a natural career progression for me from my current role as senior supervisor.”

After:

“I note from several visits to your store that white goods do not seem to sell as well as they might. I have some ideas for how this could be improved upon and would love to discuss these with you should I be successful in my application.”

What NOT to be!

Have I got your attention (Mr/Ms Interviewer) or what?

You could have latched onto how Oriental foodstuffs could be better promoted and mentioned your love of Asian cuisine.

… it doesn’t matter.

Let me give another example to show that it works for the public sector just as well.

You want to apply to work in your local municipal works department.

Take the trouble to find out what projects they’ve got in the pipeline, or what major contracts they’ve handled recently, then mention how much you’d like to be involved in something like that.

A hook:

• Suggests you have a unique interest in the job
• Links you and your job application in a unique way
• Describes something that would entice the interviewer to find out more about you

The third one comes into play when you really can’t think of anything for the first two. Like, for example, you’ve recently back-packed across Australia or taught yourself sign language.

Here are some examples of what you might consider for each of these hook types.

Interest

• What the organization stands for
• What they’ve done recently
• Anything that’s been in the news about them
• What they’ve been saying they want to do

Link

• Hobbies or interests (outside of work) that complement the organization’s business
• Something out-of-the-ordinary that you’ve done or would like to do that fits in with the organization’s ethos or ambitions.

... and then there was the time ...

Factoid

• Some significant personal achievement you’ve managed
• Another quirky personal fact that links you to the job in some way

We’ve already looked at the reason why grape-shooting may be fine for turkeys but is not the way to land yourself a job. Therefore it is worth spending time on developing your hook. It may well be that you don’t get it right first time and that some employers may take one look at it and dismiss you out of hand.

But stop and think about it. They noticed you.

OK, THEY didn’t like your application but they did really read it. Logically, therefore, there will be an employer out there who sees what you’ve said in a more positive light – someone who sees you as not just another applicant looking for just another job (even if that’s what you are at heart).

It’s easy for jobseekers to dehumanize employers but, when it comes down to it, you are just a person trying to appeal to another person and you only need one success to make it all worthwhile.

Make sure you keep a spreadsheet of who you’ve applied to and what hook you’ve used. If the rest of the cover letter is standard (which is fine), just record the hook part. That way you can see what works and what doesn’t.

A finely-tuned hook will cost you nothing bar a bit of effort, and will sooner or later get your toe in the door. From there it’s up to you and another of our blogs!

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

Why do people do this?

My theory is that someone has given out the message that when you’re struggling to find work, the answer is to send out hundreds of applications because it’s ‘just a numbers game’. The problem with this is that the logic is partially correct but fatally flawed.

Let me explain.

Imagine you had to pass a 100-question test for which you have to get 50% to pass. It’s multiple choice and you have to choose an answer from A to E. You decide that you will sit the test thousands of times and pick ‘E’ for every question, every time. By the straight laws of probability you will get 20% each test but that’s nowhere near good enough.

If you take the test an effectively infinite number of times and, if the distribution of the correct answers is chosen randomly by the computer generating the test, one day you will get the magic 50%. The trouble is that it will probably take you several lifetimes (mathematicians can work this out more precisely but I don’t want to know the answer).

You see, yes, it is a numbers game but you will only get the winning ticket if you improve your chances by taking care over your applications. Since you don’t have an infinite amount of time to spend on submitting job applications, this means that you are far more likely to succeed in getting an interview if you:

• Target your jobs
• Groom your applications

Aim before you fire!

I’m interested in the second part for the moment and I want to explore how you can submit a truly humming cover letter to give yourself the best possible chance.

This blog is all about writing the cover letter (which I recommend you do yourself). You can then get your resume done professionally for under $100 if you shop around.

My job as a careers journalist means I regularly read stories like the one about the 17,000 workers applying for 1,800 jobs at Ford and then being (literally) subjected to the indignity of a lottery for a chance of work which pays half of what other Ford workers are paid. This screams to me, “Make every chance count!”

First, I want to show you the five main categories which unsuccessful cover letters fall into. If you recognize yourself here, you know you have some serious rethinking to do.

Insulting

• “You can send me details of the job” (Can I now? That’s good of me.)
• “I am interested in applying for the job” (Clearly a mass-produced application)
• “How much do you pay?” (Most dramatic effect achieved when it’s the only thing in the letter)

Confusing

• “I want to apply for a job you have advertised” (Which job?)
• “This is my resume” (And? What is this for? Was I supposed to think it was someone else’s?)

Confusing to everyone

• “I want a staff job and am particularly interested in the Christmas work” (What? Do you want permanent or temporary?)
• “If there’s a job, I’d like to apply” (Works very well when a multitude of jobs are advertised at once)

Off-putting

• “If I am wanted for interview, I could come as long as it’s on a Tuesday before 3pm or on a Thursday before 4pm except when it’s raining in which case I could only come in the mornings but not the last Tuesday in the month because the bus doesn’t run”
• “I’m not sure about the job but I could have a go”
• “I haven’t worked for a long time” (This is not inspiring. NB I’m not judging you because you’re unemployed, I’m judging you because you sound bone idle)

Showing you couldn’t be bothered by having a cover letter which is:

• Full of spelling and grammar mistakes
• Photocopied on poor quality paper
• Not addressed to any particular individual
• Devoid of any job name or reference
• Folded into an impossibly small bundle so it fits into the tiniest envelope possible (and when it’s unfolded, it will be illegible)
• Missing a stamp and with ‘Business Reply Mail’ on the envelope instead (the secretary will love dealing with that)

I particularly enjoy a badly formed staple so that I can prick my fingers on the letter. The trail of blood all over it makes it stand out from the crowd, very nicely.

Small details speak volumes

Now here are some other daft ideas not to try:

• Using scented paper (or scenting it – I thought only animals did that)
• Writing it on fluorescent paper (I get migraines just thinking about those applications)
• Illustrating it (save it for your girlfriend/boyfriend/teddy bear)
• Handwriting it copperplate style (impressive but no-one will read it)
• Applying your knowledge of origami to be a bit creative (we do not need another duck)

OK, so, the funny bit over, what do you do?

You need to begin with the heading. Here are some suggestions. I don’t have a strong preference which you use. Let’s pretend that you are applying for a job as a clockwatcher.

• “Vacancy For Clockwatcher”
• “Clockwatcher Job Vacancy“

… anything like that is acceptable. It clearly states what you are interested in and allows your application to be quickly directed to the right person.

Now the salutation.

“Dear Sirs” is the standard opening. Only use “Dear Sir” if you are addressing it to one person or “Dear Madam” if you know for 100% certainty that the person is female. Use “Dear Sirs” if you don’t know the gender or the genders are mixed. Now is not the time to be Politically Correct – this is just a convention, not a way of thinking.

Next the intro. Yes, of course they know why you are writing but the point of this next sentence is to judge your attitude.

“I would like to express my interest in the above vacancy (you don’t need to say what it is because your heading takes care of that) and attach herewith (you can also use ‘enclose herewith’ but it’s not as correct) my resume for your consideration.”

Now the hardsell.

“The position (avoid repetition of ‘job’, ‘vacancy’, ‘position’ by using them in rotation) is of particular relevance to me because I have long term aspirations of a career in wasting time.” This sentence shows that:

• Your application is considered and not mass-produced
• You are actually interested in this job and not any job
• There is a chance you will be with the company a reasonable period of time

This is followed by a ‘clincher’.

“If required, I can usually attend an interview at short notice.” Well worth putting as, even if you don’t make the shortlist, one of them may cry off, not show, get a job elsewhere etc and it wouldn’t be the first time that a new employee has not turned up for the first day at work. I’ve had it happen.

Now, the ending.

“I look forward to hearing from you in due course.” Confident and to the point. No need for floweriness, and begging just makes you look desperate.

Outgoing salutation.

“Yours faithfully.” Only use ‘Yours sincerely’ if you began the cover letter ‘Dear Mr <name>’ or ‘Dear Mrs / Miss / Ms …’, all of which should be avoided in 95% plus of cases. Never, ever use ‘Best regards’, ‘Kind regards’, ‘Yours truly’ or any weird and wonderful ending you dream up.

Your name. Type it under your handwritten signature.

This is the basic model and can be improved upon although it is still perfectly suitable for most situations. Now it is finished, you should check it through for grammar and spelling errors. Never rely on your computer’s spellchecker unless it has a way of telling ‘which’ from ‘witch’, ‘there’ from ‘they’re’ and ‘their’ and ‘piece’ from ‘peace’ etc. Get someone else to look at your letter.

As a final word, if the application instructions tell you to quote a reference, put it in the title. If they tell you to address it to a particular person, write ‘For the attention of <name>’ above the title and still use ‘Dear Sirs’.

So, the finished letter might read:

Vacancy for clockwatcher

For the attention of Mr Minuteman

Dear Sirs

I would like to express my interest in the above vacancy and attach herewith my resume for your consideration.

The position is of particular relevance to me because I have long term aspirations of a career in wasting time.

If required, I can usually attend an interview at short notice.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

A S Kiver

You gamble, he wins

When one in ten applicants gets a job, it doesn’t mean that you have to submit ten applications to be guaranteed a job. Most of those successful applicants are ones whose covering letters and resumes made the grade. If you want to gamble, go to a casino – don’t just apply to work at one.

Good luck.

Now find out how you can pep up your cover letter by adding a hook.

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

Are you linked in?

Here are three statements – see if you agree with any of them:

• LinkedIn is some new kind of garden fence
• Facebook is what a plastic surgeon shows you before you get a nose job
• Youtube is something a plumber might make with a blowtorch

Seriously now, go on to Youtube and do a search for Video Resume and see what happens.

There are 5,400 results returned. That’s a lot of people who have boosted their job chances by creating a video resume for themselves.

Now is the time to realize that employers are looking at the virtual world to fill their key posts with the top-dollar salaries. But why? Why should an employer or their HR department want to sit down in front of a computer and wade through a load of home-made videos?

The answer is because we’ve strangled businesses with our endless Political Correctness rules. We’ve emasculated the lion and poured water on the fire. The virtual world is the one place where employers can find out the real low-down on employees because nowadays they are barely allowed to ask ‘Your Name?’ on an application form.

This is what drives bosses to the internet (and we’ll look at that notion again later in this blog).

So, if I’ve convinced you to get a video resume, what do you need to get started?

The first thing is your webcam. Do you still (or ever) use the thing that came with your computer? In any case, it’s time to chuck it and invest in a new one that can record in HD (High Definition) – and make sure that it has a good quality microphone, too. Expect to spend around $50, but it will be worth every cent because you don’t want to appear as a cross between a ghost and a nasty smear on your boss-to-be’s monitor.

Now, go back to Youtube and find a good video which shows you how to make a video resume. If you think you already know what to do, watch this one – it’s everything you shouldn’t do in a 2-minute spoof resume. Hilarious or what!

But here is a link to a really useful video showing you how to make a video resume just using free tools (and your webcam).

And this link gives you 9 video resume pitfalls to avoid so you don’t end up with egg on your face.

When you’ve finished, include a link to your video on all your correspondence with companies and on your paper resume. Create backlinks in the usual SEO way – especially if you write articles or make contributions on forums – and you will get passive traffic, that is you will be found by employers.

If you have a website or blog, instead of embedding the video in your html code, use the code that Youtube gives you. Since Google owns Youtube, you linking there is kudos to you and will help boost your rankings. If this is too techie for you, don’t worry but, those of you who have websites and blogs will know where I’m coming from. Make sure you do it the right way round.

The great thing about video resumes is that they are still relatively new, and if you put the effort in, you will stand out from the crowd. Managers and recruiters can view your video on their Androids and iPhones – just handy for them to be impressed by you as they make their daily commute.

There are jobs websites where they encourage you to post your video resume for free.

I'm interested in your CEO position

However, a word of warning. If you’ve already got a Youtube account (or belong to any of the social media sites), everything that shows you, links to you, or mentions you is fair game for employers to see and take into account when assessing your suitability for a job. Therefore, a video of you and your mates doing a drunken moon on vacation will be held against you by an employer looking for a sober-minded individual to lead their team.

Unfair it may be but there’s no point bleating about a system you can’t change.

If you haven’t already done so, scour the internet for your name. Did you know you could also get this done for you? And free of charge, too. Just create a Google alert and don’t forget to put speech marks around “your name” so that it reads it as one. If it’s a common name, use a plus sign to add in your town so your search would be +”my name” +mytown and Google would then send you email showing every time your name and your home town appeared on the same internet page.

Scanning the internet like this is essential. You need to know what is being said about you because that is what an employer cross-referencing your name and home town will see, too.

It’s called your online reputation and nearly 90% of managers who use the internet reckon that they take it into account when hiring someone for a top job. Remember, it’s hard work getting a good reputation but any fool can (and does) get a bad one quite easily.

Stardom beckons

So, it’s not just your video resume, it’s also your online reputation that matters. You need to see that they both send the right message about you to potential employers otherwise you’ll be left sitting at home with plenty of time to study Youtube’s latest videos.

OK, I guess I’ve got a thing about people who can’t follow instructions.

Over the years, I’ve lost count of how many of aptitude-style tests I’ve devised but they all boil down to analyzing three basic aspects of a candidate’s character and make-up.

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

What they used to call the 3R’s where I come from and I’ve had more than my share of job candidates who think that ‘writing’ begins with an ‘R’, contains two ‘T’s’ or doesn’t end in a ‘G’. Sometimes a combination.

Believe it or not, there are still many employers who like their workers to be able to communicate without ambiguity (especially through lack of punctuation). For example, in the old chestnut, “Don’t do that”, which, if not punctuated correctly could be either:

“Don’t do that”

or

“Don’t! Do that!”

… with potentially disastrous consequences for an erroneous usage. Good spelling and grammar are also perceived as signs of intelligence so, unless you have good medical reasons (are dyslexic, for example), knuckle down and start getting it right.

Think, think, think!

I can’t give you an easy (nor ‘ez’) solution for this however now is the time to finally get to grips with rules like “‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’”. It’s also the occasion to learn when it’s “it’s” instead of “its” and to know when it’s “to” instead of “too” – and (vice versa, of course). There’s a good discussion on Yahoo Answers about favorite spelling errors but, if you’ve a lot (rather than the hideously awful “alot”) of time, you should visit the Washington State University page, ‘Common Errors in English Usage’.

And never, never, never, never, never, use ‘textspeak’ in any part of an aptitude test. How much clearer can I be?

Don’t forget your multiplication tables, fractions, ratios and percentages – if you can’t do them, get help. Try the BBC website for free tuition and also tests to see if you are up to speed.

You’re never too old to learn.

Competency

This part of an aptitude test is aimed at assessing if you know your onions therefore obviously what you are likely to be asked depends on your job. However, I would say that test writers love to see if you are paying attention and not just mindlessly churning out answers. They do this by turning questions on their head.

For example, “Which substance can’t be used for fighting fire – powder, foam, kerosene, water?” OK, this one was obvious because I drew your attention to it but put it in with 19 other questions all asking the positive and it soon sorts out who’s (not whose) awake and who isn’t.

These questions are invariably multiple choice style because a) the interviewer wants to ‘control’ your response for ease of marking and b) the results are often entered into a computer for detailed analysis by management.

Remember, if the question seems unbelievably specific (for example, it requires you to know something that you couldn’t possibly know) then either the test is flawed or you aren’t reading the question properly. Guess which one is the most likely.

Pay attention to each question!

By the way, if you’re wondering about the rationale behind aptitude tests, there’s a video on Youtube that puts it very clearly although I do wish that the writer had invested in some actors or, at the very least, an avatar.

Anyway, to return and onwards to the last of my three categories and the one which is closest to my own heart (rumor has it I have one).

Employability

Now this (to my humble mind) is where the aptitude test really comes into its own. Any interviewer worth their (not they’re) salt is dying to ask:

If I gave you a job …

• “.. will you cheat/rob me?”
• “.. will you stand by and watch/encourage others to cheat/rob?”
• “… will you actually work when I’m not watching you like a hawk?”

… and so on.

Apart from any legal aspect of asking such a question at interview, what purpose would it serve? Would a robber say, “Oh, yes, I’m a robber. You’ve caught me out with that question”? Probably not, unless they were a particularly mentally-challenged or honest kind of robber.

Let’s look at how an aptitude test might tackle the same issue. I’m going to take the case of a brewery I once did a lot of work for about twenty lifetimes back. There was a lot of pilfering going on.

You’re on the night shift and you see one of your mates carrying a crate of beer out to his car. When you ask what’s going on, he tells you to either look the other way or help yourself. What do you do?

• Call the cops
• Call the boss at home
• Tell the boss anonymously
• Tell the boss when you see him next
• Say that if he doesn’t put the crate back, you’ll rat on him
• Do a football tackle on the guy there and then
• Shout for help
• Carry a crate out to your own car – heck, if you can’t beat them, join them
• Suddenly remember you’ve got something very important to do elsewhere and forget all about what you’ve seen
• Quit your job because you don’t like the situation you’re in
• Ponder on the matter but then decide that next time you’ll have a crate, too – after all, it’s just a perk of the job
• Decide that it’s clearly been going on a long time therefore management probably secretly approves

How many would fit in your boot?

You may think the right answer’s obvious but I’ll tell you now that only a very small percentage will choose it. You might be surprised at how many will think that they have a right to steal (and that’s exactly what it is) or are too lame to realize that robbing the company is like hammering a nail in your own coffin (if the company loses money, you lose your job).

In the end, and if you are interested, the brewery in my example gave their workers a 1 gallon can a week and the opportunity to purchase more ‘at cost’. Pilfering more or less stopped overnight but it had been very bad until then.

These type of questions, which on the surface seem very chatty and friendly, are really highly-searching. They allow the interviewer to put you in positions that just would not be possible in direct questioning and, they shine a laser beam right through to your core. A dozen questions like my example, will exhaust an average candidate and, irrespective of how hard they try, the last few will probably hit home.

Stay alert and think what your answer says about you. Remember all that you need to know is in the question.

The best use for dummies

I’ve used these extensively in my assessment of applicants and I love them – so much so that I can’t wait for someone to introduce a virtual reality version. That would be just too cool for words!

There are many free aptitude tests on the internet. Check them out, notice the wording, brush up on your spelling and grammar (and never rely on the computer’s spellcheck facility – that really is for morons). Finally, think carefully about what your answers to an aptitude test are telling the company you want to work for – a bad choice could lose (not loose) you a chance.

Would you give you a job?

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

OK, I didn’t say I wasn’t a hypocrite. I do, however, have years of experience running an employment agency and I’ve seen more of that real trash than I care to think about.

So, what do I mean?

T.R.A.S.H in this case stands for Target – Relevance – Attitude – Standards – Hook and, if your resume doesn’t have it, then you may as well consign it to the trash can right now.

Stand out from the crowd

Remember, having a resume written professionally needn’t cost the earth – it’s perfectly possible to get it done properly for under $100. Just use this guide to give the resume company the raw material they need to make you shine.

So, now let’s look at each of the five T.R.A.S.H. elements individually.

Target

Target means that you have a specific job for a specific company in mind. Firing off hundreds of ‘generic’ emailed applications is a complete waste of e-stamps (note to self – invent ‘e-stamps’). For an application to be successful, you need to aim it towards a definite job. The personal statement, for example, needs to reflect the rigors of the position you are applying for. Writing “I am very good at working alone on projects” is not going to impress an interviewer who is under instruction to find a ‘team-player’.

Everything about your resume needs to be geared towards the job you are applying for. This does not mean that you have to write each CV out individually. To save time, do have pre-written blocks of text that are aimed for each of the job types you are applying for, and don’t be afraid to adapt pieces or add to them as the occasion arises.

One Resume – One Job – so is it decreed

Relevance

Sometimes our need for a job or career change takes us off in different directions to what we are used to. The trouble is that, if all your working life you’ve been a baker (for example), what do you know about a job in factory management? Your resume is going to drone on about how you’ve made various loaves, cakes, cookies etc but that will singularly fail to impress a recruitment officer trying to fill a position for a production controller. On the other hand (and assuming that you are actually capable of doing the work), you can make sure that your ‘Principal duties’ for each job, include some relevant statement(s). For example:

• “Oversaw junior staff and ensured products were ready in time for agreed deadlines”
• “Chased up suppliers to prevent tardiness of goods inwards”
• “Organized baking schedules to run at optimum efficiency”
• “Liaised with stores, negotiated viable delivery times, and followed up to see that these were always met”

Basically, you are showing that you understand the main thrust of the job and can demonstrate you are capable of doing it. No good boasting about the different types of things you’ve made or how many thousand loaves a week you’ve turned out – it’s just not relevant!

Relevance – If you don’t know why they should give you the job, why should they?

Attitude

I’ve seen some terrible things in resumes over the years. The trouble is that this is such a wide field that all I can give you are examples of highly revealing comments written into CV’s and their covering letters.

If you've got attitude, don't show it

You are best advised to get a friend to carefully scrutinize your own offerings to see that you aren’t guilty of including something similar to the below:

• “I’m looking for something not too taxing”
• “Will I be refunded for my traveling expenses?”
• “How much are you paying?”
• “I’ve got holidays booked so I’ll need to work round them”
• “I don’t like working overtime”

… and so on.

While, with the exception of the first, they may all be things that eventually need to be discussed, they do not belong in an application. Your resume wants to sing out (in a subtle way) about how wonderfully diligent you are, about what an asset you would be, and to generally entice the company to invite you to attend an interview.

A fisherman doesn’t wind in his line until the fish has firmly taken the bait.

Attitude – if you have it, don’t show it, because, if you do, it will cost you the job.

Standards

When I was a lad, one of the senior managers took me on one side and said, “Son, this you have to know. When in a strange town, always look for the bakery with a queue outside at lunchtime – that’s the one to go in.”

Great words of wisdom, indeed.

Sometimes you have to judge things by implication rather than by direct experience. The interviewer can’t try out half a dozen candidates to see which is best – they want to get it right first time. Therefore if you send in a resume peppered with spelling and grammar mistakes, what does it say about you?

The following ‘qualities’ come to mind:

• Illiterate
• Sloppy
• Poorly educated
• Disrespectful
• Lazy

There’s a good video on Youtube which can help you make sure that your resume goes out error-free.

The level of the standards you display in your resume is directly proportional to the probability of you getting an interview.

Hook

The hook is what makes your resume stand out. This does not mean spraying it with perfume/cologne, printing it on luminous paper (don’t even think about it) or stapling a pair of lacy undies to it (especially if you are a man).

Big fish = Big hook

The hook is what truly personalizes your application and entices the interviewer to want to know more about you. Understand that, as the interviewer, you would be swamped with applications – many pointless or semi-insulting, loads of other no-hopers, and a few genuine candidates among a heap of dross.

The person doing the pre-screening is probably bored rigid (I used to be) so think of them. Give them something original to ask at your interview.

A hook can be defined as a snippet of information which:

• Connects you and the job in a unique way
• Shows how the job appeals to you for some reason other than money or work
• Tells the interviewer a truly fascinating fact about yourself which they will want to follow up on

The hook is like a competition tie-breaker so, if every job has a catch, every application should have its hook.

If you’ve been out of work, it’s easy to give up. The simple answer is – don’t! No matter how dark it may be, there is light at the end of the tunnel so it’s just a case of persevering. However, if you’ve read this blog, you should, hopefully, have some ideas on how to stack the odds in your favor and that never hurt anyone!

Summarizing, you should always be on the look-out to see your resume and covering letter tackle the following questions:

• What exactly are you applying for?
• Why should they give you the job?
• What hidden message are you conveying about yourself?
• Why should you be trusted to do this particular job?
• What will make the interviewer want to see you?

If, on looking back at your resume, you haven’t at least adequately answered these questions, you really should consign it to the trash can and start again.

The Boss

The Boss ran an employment agency for 12 years before selling it to a rival company. During the years of his directorship, the business received over 15,000 job applications and had nearly 1,000 active outworkers at any one time. Before that, The Boss was a senior officer in marketing and management. As a key part of his work, he has both devised aptitude tests and interviewed extensively. He is now a busy careers journalist.

We look at some of the popular jobs scams that these dregs of humanity perpetrate.

Premium rate phone cons

For a couple of hundred bucks, a company can set itself up with a premium rate phone number. They then use this and a copied and pasted advert from (usually) a genuine company, along with reasonable remuneration but no postal address, website or email account. Potential job applicants are asked to phone a premium rate number costing up to $5 a minute just to ‘get more information’. The number, of course, just plays music or a bland and uninformative script. The Federal Trade Commission’s 900 Number Rule has done much to prevent this scam but it is still easy to get caught up in the moment.

Identity grabbing

Not necessarily identity theft but well down the road to it. The scammer takes out an advert for plausible but well-paid jobs with instructions to call a toll-free number for application details. In the light of the previous scam, this seems reasonable. Unfortunately and ‘surprise, surprise’, there are no jobs although callers are invited to send in their CV’s ‘just in case’. The data that arrives is then sold on to telemarketing companies who use the information to ‘target’ suitable victims. There is also the possibility that, using information like maiden names, places and dates of birth etc, banks can be persuaded to part with your cash. This is then full-blown identity theft.

People will sell you anything

Phishing

An even more vicious form of abuse of your personal details. Some lowlife decides to tell you that you have been offered a job but you need to send them your bank details in order to set up wire transfers or the like. Once they have your information, they use it to access your account and steal your hard-earned cash. This type of con is particularly prevalent with working from home jobs where there is no expectation to physically meet up with an employer or other members of staff. Don’t even think of giving your Social Security number or date of birth/family name to anyone you don’t know.

Pyramids belong in Egypt

For sale, desirable residence, one careful owner

Although the ‘great’ era of pyramid-selling is thankfully over, there are still plenty of unpleasant variants around. One of the modern ‘favorites’ is to advertise well-paid jobs through an employment agency. When the unsuspecting worker shows any interest, they are told that they are highly suitable (you bet they are) however they just need to purchase a start-up package. This package, of course, costs money. If you pay, you are typically sent a poor quality leaflet telling you how to place an advert in a magazine or newspaper offering well-paid jobs which require applicants to complete a training package for which they must pay. Does all this sound sickeningly familiar?

So sorry!

Specific jobs are advertised in the papers which offer silly amounts of money for doing a relatively small and simple task. For example, ‘There’s $500 in it for you if you will pick someone up and run them to the airport terminal.’ You tell them that you can do it and are accepted, and they say they will be in touch with the collection details. A few day later, a check arrives but it will be for $1,000 – shortly followed by a phone call from the company saying that they are so sorry but their new administrative assistant goofed and ‘please could you pay it into your bank and send them a check for the balance?’. Of course their check will bounce but, if you’ve been gullible enough to send them yours in the meantime, you can kiss goodbye to the money.

No experience necessary

Of course experience is necessary! Unless a job is completely unskilled or you are starting off on the bottom rung of the ladder moneywise, anyone that tells you to the contrary is not being straight. Of course, in order to get the well-paid job you are being offered, you just need to sign up for a short training program – something for which you have to pay. Needless to say, there is no job at the end of it.

If you’d like to see more disgustign cons, there is a scams website which makes compulsive reading.

Here are two more dodges which are arguably not scams, in the sense that you do get paid for your labor. However they are not what one might call ‘honest’ either – hence their inclusion.

A rose by any other name

This is what a sucker should look like

You see a well-paid, attractive sounding job advertised, apply and are summoned for interview. That’s when the fun starts. The interviewer gradually gets around to explaining that the original job has been filled and that you seem ‘remarkably suitable’ for another ‘similar’ position which is why you’ve been invited to come along. The other job turns out to be some thankless task that no-one wants to do because of its nature, salary or, most likely, both combined. The psychology is that it is easier to hard-sell the work to a captive audience (you’re far too polite to get up and walk out).

Too good to be true

How many times has it been said that if it is too good to be true then it isn’t (true)? A job offering FREE training and good rates of pay is advertised. You apply, and are told that you will be collected from home. Someone arrives – probably another worker – and you are driven a long way from home to some shady neighborhood where you are faced with the choice of either doing some lousy job like distributing flyers or coupons for next-to-no-pay or finding your own way back home.

These are just some of the many scams that are out there. If the parasites that operated them put half as much energy into an honest day’s work as they do to dreaming up new cons, the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately it isn’t going to happen so you need to keep your eyes open and your thinking head on at all times.

There are also some great career resources here – use these to find that genuine job that’s out there waiting for you!

What about a job fair? How can you get the best out of one?

A job fair is usually hosted at a posh hotel conference center. It can be a bit daunting if you’re not used to it – being surrounded by your competitors is often more difficult than sparring remotely. However, with some simple preparation techniques, you can come out a winner. Or, if not an immediate winner, at least with some options and possibilities.

The thing to do is to view a job fair as being a bit like a speed-dating event. It comes in four phases – making a good visual impression, having the chat to back up your looks, being interested in your partner, and then making yourself (pleasantly) unforgettable.

So, how do you put this concept into practice at a job fair when there are likely to be dozens of employers and hundreds or even thousands of fellow jobseekers?

Time to get up!

Remember, no-one owes you a living. If you don’t make the effort, nothing will happen so prepare for the event with a go-getting attitude. There are jobs for the taking and you are going to get one.

Let’s look at ten steps to success.

Before the event

Step 1 – When and where?

Look in the local papers, ask at the Department of Labor, put the word out with friends, and check out the National Careers website where you will find career fairs sorted by state, city and zip code.  Having identified the fairs you want to go to, make sure you know how you are going to get there. Do a dry run and research public transport times or parking (including charges so that you have the right change handy). You need to be arriving just before the event opens so that you can get quality time with the companies that interest you most.

Step 2 – Who’s going to be there?

Get a list of attending companies and organizations. This can be obtained by asking at the conference center’s reception or by looking online (these events always have a website). You need this list as far in advance as possible although companies often sign up after the lists are prepared so it’s worth phoning the contact number a few days beforehand to see if there’s anyone new coming.

Step 3 – Do your homework

Have you ever been stuck for words and come away thinking, “I wish I’d said …”? Well, the Job Fair is not the place to let that happen. Use a highlighter pen to divide the list of companies into 3 categories; ‘must see’, ‘definite possibles’ and ‘not really’ (NB never rule anyone out – no matter how unlikely a contender they might seem.) Now, go through all of the ‘Must see’ companies and research them thoroughly. Write down some intelligent and unique questions for each.

For example:

• “Tell me more about you <insert name> training scheme”
• “Can you explain about your fast-track training program?”
• “What are the prospects for getting an interview for your new store in <name>?”

Show that you’ve bothered to find out about them but don’t labor the point.

Rehearse your questions well but don’t be afraid to take the list in with you – it makes you look organized!

When you’ve done the ‘must see’ list, start on the ‘definite possibilities’ candidates, and so on.

Step 4 – Prepare your resume

Fine tune your resume to meet the needs of the employers you will be meeting and make sure your personal statement is appropriate for the jobs they are likely to be offering. If possible, have different versions for your main employers and put them in separate (and labeled) manila envelopes. When you think you’ve finished get everyone you can think of to read your resume(s) through and let them snag it mercilessly. Print out more resumes than you think you will need – you never know!

Step 5 – Write a 30-second speech

Do the elevator routine. You know, imagine you’ve got just 30 seconds of the big boss’ time to impress them in. Think carefully about what you want to cover so that you:

• Introduce yourself
• Target (what are you interested in)
• State relevance (i.e. why you should be considered)
• Clarify the benefit of engaging you
• Hook them (an interesting fact about yourself that will entice them to start talking)

Try reading slowly and clearly into a microphone (or get someone to time you) so that you can see how many words you are likely to say in 30 seconds.

On the day

Step 6 – Dress to impress

It doesn’t matter which jobs interest you nor how casual you think others will look, you should always dress smartly and in a businesslike attire. You need to demonstrate to potential employers that you respect them and take them seriously so don’t wear overbearing deodorant or perfume, nor anything that is too tight, revealing, or that creases easily.

Now is not the time for Mufti.

Step 7 – The early bird gets the worm

Don't be the last to arrive!

Be at the head of the queue when the job fair opens. Don’t make an undignified entrance by getting into a brawl (!) but equally don’t let others get to your first choice employer before you if you can help it.

However, if your favorite employer is busy, go for your second choice and so on. Never get distracted by visually appealing booths that aren’t on your ‘must see’ list.

Step 8 – Meet the recruiters’ eyes and talk clearly

Make eye contact

Looking someone in the eye helps reassure them of your own integrity and sincerity. No matter how shy you are or how much you suffer from nerves, this is your moment in the sun and you need to shine back. If this were a speed-dating event, you’d have no more than a few seconds in which to make a favorable impression and a job fair is no different in this respect. Wow employers with your honed spiel, ask intelligent questions, and listen attentively to the answers. Make sure that you leave with a contact name and number and that they go away with your resume.

There’s quite a helpful (and mildly amusing) video on Youtube although the acting is a bit wooden.

Step 9 – The more, the merrier

This is a golden opportunity to network so, even if a company doesn’t seem relevant, give them a visit (if time permits) and definitely leave them with your contact details. One thing is absolutely for certain – that you never know what is going to come up trumps. As the old saying goes, “You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince”. So, pucker up!

Network, network, network.

After the event

Step 10

Always follow up

Follow up with a ’thank you for seeing me’ email, or quick phone call (don’t pick Monday mornings or Friday afternoons to ring!) – just something to remind them you exist and are still interested. Understand that you are one of (possibly) hundreds that may have been seen so don’t get huffy if you aren’t instantly remembered and always be sensitive to being considered a pest.

A job fair is a golden opportunity to kill a lot of birds with one stone. Make sure it’s a nicely-rounded stone and that your aim is true.

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Your exit interview. This can be one of the most uncomfortable parts of leaving a job. Most companies will request one no matter what the situation is and they can be held at inopportune times for you as the employee. Nevertheless, exit interviews are a must for progressive companies that want to look inward for reasons for an employee’s exit.

There are different viewpoints about exit interviews as to the need for them in the first place. Should the exiting employee participate in it? If yes, how will it benefit him or her? Secondly, an exiting employee can hardly afford to ignore the fact that his or her revelations can be used against them, especially if they are in writing.

Participating In the Exit Interview Is Your Prerogative

When you are faced with the exit interview, you need to think carefully about what you are going to say or write, as it can jeopardize any possibility of your re-employability, if there is any. Even if you are assured that your comments will not be used against you but for company analysis, you should still be diplomatic.

Five Tips To Help You Confidently Face The Exit Interview

On the surface, exit interviews serve to help organizations to correct themselves by collecting information such as possible discrimination, lack of opportunities, etc. So, picking up the motivation behind the exit interview will help you to know how to approach one.

1. Attending Is A Courtesy: On your part, attending the exit interview is usually not mandatory. Even though you are not going to gain anything from the exit interview, you must make sure that the interview is not being used against you. If at any time you suspect this is the case, simply excuse yourself.

2. Maintain Your Composure: Maintaining your composure is critical. The questions may appear trivial, although this may not be the case when you are being laid off or fired. Treat this as your chance to make them think again (and perhaps be sorry) for having fired you.

3. Do Not Sign Papers Hastily: There will probably be more than a few documents that will need to be signed, such as acknowledgement of your resignation or separation, and receipt of your final paycheck. But if you are asked to sign anything questionable, ask for time to review them, and to read and understand the contents. Ask whether it is mandatory. Any organization can always wait for a few more days.

4. Return Any Company Property: This could be documents, keys etc, but list all of them on paper and get the interviewer to acknowledge receipt of these things.

5. Commenting On Superiors And Colleagues: Typically, exit interviews are well structured and come down to the core issues. Remember, it is unnecessary for you to comment on someone (negatively) who you are not going to see for much longer.

Remember that the exit interview is probably not mandatory. If you don’t have time, or feel uncomfortable about the company’s motives, just politely decline the invitation to attend. It is best to leave things on good terms, when possible. Your exit interview can be the chance for you to leave your old job proudly and move onto bigger and better things.

Additional Resources:

An employment thank you letter shows good taste, gratitude, and in general shows a new employer that they made a wise decision in hiring you. Most new hires do not write an employment thank you letter, so if you are one of the smart few people who do, your relationship with your new employer will get off to a great start.

When you write an employment thank you letter, the main goal you wish to accomplish is solidifying the new relationship. You can do this in the employment thank you letter by re-stating the qualifications you have that will be beneficial to the company. Remind the hiring manager in this way of the reasons he had for hiring you. You are, in this way, congratulating him on his good sense, but doing so in a non-offensive, and non-egotistical manner. Be matter of fact, and to the point, because that is businesslike and you and he are there to conduct business. With luck you two will have a very long and mutually rewarding relationship.

If you are accepting a job in sales, marketing, promotions or a related field, then your employment thank you letter should remind the hiring manager of accomplishments you’ve had in the past in sales or marketing. Tell the hiring manager that you are motivated and looking forward to working with your new team, adding sales to their gross and profits to their bottom line.

If you are accepting a job in retail management, your employment thank you letter should re-emphasize to the reader your strong skills in customer service, your work ethic, willingness to be an active and cohesive part of the management team, and your ability to work well with the general public and your co-workers, leading by example and presenting a positive company image to the public.

A person working in education, as a teacher or administrator, should have an employment thank you letter that emphasizes a willingness to work as part of the education team, teaching your subject to students and in the process, hopefully instilling in your charges a contagious enthusiasm for learning.

Your employment thank you letter may also be a place to elaborate on goals you may have during your tenure with the organization. A salesman may mention his desire to increase sales by a certain percentage. A project manager may mention his or her desire to participate in a particular project that is important to the company’s success. A teacher may mention school organization’s that he or she wishes to sponsor.

While your resume made your first impression, and you during the interview obviously made a positive second impression to have been offered the job, your employment thank you letter will reinforce those impressions, taking away any buyer’s remorse or cold feet the hiring authority might have later. Your employment thank you letter will service to convince them that they made a good decision in bringing you on board as a part of their team.

Additional Resources:

An employment job search can be a daunting and confusing task for anyone, whether he or she is just entering the job market, looking for a better job position or find him or herself without a job after several years with one employer. An employment job search can be successful when the person looking for a job knows exactly what they should and should not do when looking for a new job. Once a person has located a job position that they desire, the applicant needs to get their resume ready and avoid the most common mistakes that job seekers make during an employment job search.

When performing an employment job search, just about everyone is likely to come across a job position that they would like to have an interview for. The first thing most people do is to prepare their resume or fill out a job application depending on how the potential employer prefers to screen their applicants. Resumes are more common when an employment job search turns up a position that is full-time in a professional line of work. Part-time positions often require a company job application be submitted in lieu of a resume. Honoring the kind of application method that is requested by the company offering a job position is an important part of an employment job search. Submitting the requested application or resume is the first step in showing a potential employer that an individual is cooperative and able to follow directions.

If an individual is performing an employment job search and knows that they desire full-time professional work, he or she will want to have a well-written, error free resume. If a resume has typing or grammar errors, it can affect how a potential employer views the quality of work an applicant might submit if hired. Choosing to have a professional resume writing service complete a resume before an employment job search can eliminate the kinds of errors that could lead to a resume rejection. In addition, an applicant should be able to submit an attractive and appealing resume that is more likely to result in consideration.

An employment job search and resume services are easier than ever to access through the Internet. Employment web sites and services can make an employment job search quick and simple with search options and even the ability to eliminate certain positions that might arise in a particular search. Employment job search web sites often offer their own resume writing services to simplify the job search and application even more. The right combination of employment job search and resume resources that allow for outstanding applications can make finding a new job easier and faster than ever.

Additional Resources:

The best way to begin an executive job search is to have an exceptional resume that provides any potential employer with an individualized declaration of an individual’s educational and employment history in addition to the professional direction anticipated for the future. The resume is such an important part of an executive job search that it can truly mean the difference between landing an interview or having a resume discarded. There are a number of things that can set one person apart from another when two people are applying for the same position and an outstanding resume can be a great start.

Before beginning an executive job search, make sure that you already have a resume that you can be proud of and that will impress any potential employers. For each position that interests you in your executive job search, present your resume with a well-defined goal specific to the position for which you are after. Make sure that all experience is conveyed as clearly as possible with numbers and facts that can establish how your work has had a positive impact with previous employers. Do not weigh down a resume so that it is drawn out for more than two pages while keeping all of your information organized and in reverse chronological order.

All positions in an executive job search are looking for employees who take pride in their accomplishments and don’t simply list duties. A clean and error-free resume as well as a crisp and clean appearance will appeal to the eye and draw attention to the contents of a resume. Any position that is listed for an executive job search will need to have as much personal information as possible.

An executive job search can be a daunting task by itself without the pressure and stress of preparing a resume that may or may not be what is required for an executive position. A number of resume services provide executive resume writing so those professionals can not only focus on their executive job search, but be able to present a flawless resume to the potential employers.

Additional Resources:

Many years ago, a federal job search was a long, complicated and drawn out process. Today, it has been become far less complex and is now just a three-step process. Finding a federal job used to be accomplished through postings in a government office branch and sometimes in libraries. Today, finding an opening during a federal job search can be done right on the Internet. There is a web site that lists federal jobs also lists many state, local and even private business positions. Many of the federal, state and local jobs can be applied for right online. If a position requires a resume, individuals can take advantage of online resume development and transmission.

A federal job search can be done at most Federal buildings around the country and even through an interactive voice response telephone system for the hearing impaired. A federal job search may turn up something called a ‘hot job’, which is a job that needs to be filled immediately. The office of personnel management usually posts these for those who are in need of immediate employment. If a person performing a federal job search would like to work with a specific federal agency, many times each federal agency will list their job openings right on their individual web site.

Most individuals doing a federal job search can complete the application process by submitting a resume, a federal employment application or even other written form of application approved by the department accepting applications. The federal government does provide application forms like the optional application for federal employment form OF-612 and the SF-171.

If an individual has done a federal job search and found positions that he or she would like to apply for, whatever type of application is submitted should contain important information. Applicants should include all of the job information that was included in the job listing, the applicants personal information including all contact information, the applicant’s educational history, previous employment record and any pertinent experience related to the job position. Once the federal job search and application process is complete, applicants simply need to wait for a response.

Additional Resources:

An IT job search is one of the easiest to perform due to the incredibly high demand in the IT field. As the Internet grows, corporations network through Intranets and even the advancement of science has the demand for anyone with IT skills at an all time high. Computer technology continues to advance, change and grow and in turn increases the demand for new and diverse IT jobs. An IT job search for a person with the right skills is not only easy, but can be quite quickly done with the accessibility of online IT employment web sites.

When embarking on an IT job search, it is important to keep in mind that IT jobs tend to pay very well. With the high demand for IT employees, the first IT job that an individual comes across may not be the best one as far as pay and benefits. Contrary to how many other people looking for employment have to search, submit resumes and often settle for less pay or entry level positions, IT professionals can often take the time to ‘shop’ around for the best job offers before accepting any position.

The Internet offers a number of web sites that provides the opportunity for anyone to search through potentially millions of listings in order to find a few that meet any individual’s qualifications. An IT job search can be done on any one of these kinds of web sites, but with the increasing demand for IT employees it has brought about a number of IT job search web sites that cater specifically to IT professionals. In addition to Internet job listings, IT professionals can do an IT job search through trade publications and even newspaper employment classifieds.

While having IT skills doesn’t guarantee a quick and easy IT job search, having a well-written resume can help in how many positions will earn an individual consideration. IT professionals can always find help with putting their resumes together through resume writing services or software that guides an individual through resume templates. However an IT professional goes about his or her IT job search, the tool of their trade is most likely the best way for them to find the right position.

Additional Resources:

A student job search has become easier than ever for those who are graduating from school and looking to enter the workforce. Many schools offer guidance services as well as networking opportunities for graduates looking for work after finishing school. Recruiters often work hand in hand with career services on a number of campuses to connect with the kind of individuals they have in mind for specific positions. While these types of services can open doors to several people, nothing offers more in a student job search than online employment web sites.

The number of online employment web sites with thousands of positions just waiting for the right person to apply for them are plentiful and most likely one of the best places to do a student job search. Online job web sites feature a number of entry level positions as well as higher level positions to those who meet specific qualifications. Those who aren’t limited to a restricted location for employment can benefit from online employment web sites that feature national job listings. People who have a specific locale that they need to work in can often narrow down their student job search by region.

When beginning a student job search, some flexibility and focus is necessary to broaden the number of opportunities that can be applied for. Online employment web sites don’t usually limit the number jobs that can be applied for, so submitting resumes or applications to several job opportunities could result in more interviews. While carrying out a student job search, it is a good idea to make as many professional connections as possible and network extensively.

A student job search through an online employment web site provides an individual with a number of valuable tools and exposure to countless potential employers. Student job search advice and ideas can be found online as well as helpful services including resume completion, resume posting and job search ideas. An online student job search can be the most effective tool an individual has in finding employment.

Additional Resources:

An online job search is easier than ever, but also more confusing than ever. Any Internet user doing an online job search will find that they can choose from hundreds of national employment listing web sites and the numbers can often be staggering. When performing on online job search, it is a good idea to choose from an online employment classified web site that allows for regional searching. Localized searches can narrow down employment opportunities so that the job searcher doesn’t have to search through hundreds or even thousands of posts in order to locate a handful of listings in an individual’s local area.

When performing an online job search, it is important to keep in mind that not all local employers will post job listings on the Internet, but they will post their openings in local newspapers. Most newspapers allow for an online job search in their classified sections if the newspaper is also available for viewing the Internet.

If doing an online job search is the way an individual prefers to begin searching for employment, the best way to begin is to use the job search box that is often located somewhere on the home page of employment web sites. By using the search box, an online job search can get results from many different categories in various databases that might not have been present if an individual chose to search in a single database. Searching options can be very simple or allow an individual to search by specific keywords, job location and other relevant information. An online job search may not always present an individual with the kind of results that they are looking for, but most employment sites will send notification of new listings that might be of interest as they become available.

The advantages of an online job search reach far beyond accessing thousands of available positions around the world. Most employment sites offer resume assistance, the ability to post resumes for potential employers to view and even the ability to instantly submit a resume to positions of interest. An online job search eliminates a part of the stress associated looking for work as well as matches employees with employers much faster than ever for better pairing and more effective results.

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What interview question to ask is a good question in itself, and one that always comes up when a conscientious person is preparing for a big job interview. If you’re wondering this yourself then that means you are a proactive individual, intent on making a good impression and proper presentation of skills and experience.

The best interview question to ask, according to many human resource management professionals, is “what can I do to benefit the company?” This question shows a good, positive attitude and will lead the HR manager to think of you as a go getter and team player and the type of individual the company needs.

The worst interview question to ask would be anything that makes you, as an applicant, appear to be selfish or self centered. A bad interview question to ask would be a question related to vacation, pay or raises too early in the interview. It is best to first establish that there could be a good ongoing professional relationship between you as an employee and the company as an employer before getting into the details. Of course vacation, raises and starting pay are important to you, and the answers will come in good time, but it is best to show the interviewer that you will be a team player who thinks of the good of the company and the team.

When interviewing remember that the HR manager or other decision maker you are interviewing with has been through the process dozens of times, if not hundreds. The decision maker may be a little bored, and is looking for a way to liven up the conversation and get some information on your personality. In that case a good interview question to ask the decision maker would be anything that relieves their boredom and allows them to talk. It is an accepted fact of making friends and influencing people that people love to talk, love the sound of their own voice, and love to hear their own name. The sweetest sound anyone can ever hear is the sound of his or her own name, so be sure to call the interviewer by name. That is just basic human nature.

Give these tips a try on what questions to ask during an interview. You never know, they may just lead you to a great job.

Additional Resources:

Interview preparation can mean the difference between a good interview and a great interview. You don’t want to give up the opportunity to really set yourself apart from the rest of the candidates. It’s your time to shine…

Do Your Research

The best way to be prepared for an interview is to do as much background research as possible on a potential employer. Many employers will ask candidates what they know about their company and why an applicant would want to work with them. Interview preparation prepares a candidate with the kind of information that can provide reciprocal conversation to give one person an edge over another. Many places of employment have their own web site and most interview preparation can be done from there.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The expression ‘practice makes perfect’ applies to interview preparation and can increase how prepared and professional a candidate comes across. Practicing an interview with a friend or relative can help an individual target their strengths and weaknesses for a well-balanced and carefully considered interview. Research and review of frequently asked interview questions for interview preparation can also be used in a practice interview so that each answer can become more genuine and personalized.

Be Prompt & Courteous

Interview preparation should include planning on arriving for an interview at least ten to fifteen minutes before the interview is scheduled to begin. If a candidate is going to an interview in a building or area that he or she is not familiar with, he or she should make a trip to the location so that there isn’t a chance of becoming lost on the day of the interview. When an interview is scheduled, find out what the name is of the person doing the interview and use it throughout the interview process. Having an extra resume handy for reference during an interview is a good idea to show that a candidate plans ahead and is prepared.

Finish It Off

In any interview preparation, prepare to end the interview by thanking the interviewer. A personal thank you note after an interview is often a nice touch and can go a long way when it comes to candidate consideration.

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It can be nerve-wracking preparing for a phone interview. It is the second impression that you will make on a hiring decision maker – the first impression was obviously made for you by your resume and cover letter, and must have been positive, or you would not have the phone interview appointment. That being the case, it is worth while to prepare and be ready to put your best foot forward.

Step One

Rehearse your responses to possbile questions. Practice in front of the mirror, or with a friend or spouse listening to you, asking questions and playing the part of the interviewer. Make a list of questions you expect the interviewer to ask and have good answers prepared, but have them on the top of your head in general and not memorized. Memorized answers can sound canned and not real, and will hurt you more than help you. You need to appear genuine and real during the phone interview.

Step Two

Prepare and practice two or three ideas that you want to get across to the interviewer as to why you are the right person for this job. If you are having trouble thinking of ideas, read your resume again. Look for the key points, qualifications or accomplishments you have written that helped you get the phone interview in the first place, and be ready to discuss them.

Step Three

Think of what you can do for the company. The hiring manager really doesn’t care why you would like the job; he cares about how you can help his company if you are hired.

Step Four

Get dressed. Wear the same clothes when you are on the phone that you would wear if you were in front of the interviewer in person. Dress for success and your attitude will reflect it. Dress in your pajamas or an old sweat shirt and your attitude may reflect that as well.

Step Five

Smile. Smiles are contagious, even if they can’t be seen. Good salesmen know this and practice smiling on the phone. There is something in your voice and attitude that is conveyed when you smile, and the person on the other end of the phone can sense it. There is truth in the old saying, “Smile and the world smiles with you.” It is basic human nature.

Step Six

Speak clearly and enunciate. Use a good quality phone, a land line not a cordless. If at all possible do not use a cellular phone for the phone interview. Crackling noises are distractions and bad cell sites, leading to dropped calls, are a negative. You want the employer to be thinking positive things during your interview.

Step Seven

The phone interview itself. Relax, be yourself and do your best. When the phone interview is over remember to thank the interviewer for his or her time, and offer to provide any other information they might need to make a decision. Be professional during the phone interview and you may well be rewarded with a job.

Additional Resources:

One of the most stressful parts about the interview process is that you may involved in an interview style you are not familiar with. Companies are getting very creative on how to find the best person for the job. It can be very overwhelming, in some instances.

So you can better prepare yourself, be sure to find out beforehand what kind of interview you will be subjected to. If you are not offered an itinerary, ask for one. You’ll get familiar with the names and positions of people you are going to meet which will, in turn, make you a little more comfortable when it comes to meet face-to-face.

Types of Interviews
by ResumeEdge.com – The Net’s Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service

All job interviews have the same objective, but employers reach that objective in a variety of ways. You might enter the room expecting to tell stories about your professional successes and instead find yourself selling the interviewer a bridge or editing code at a computer. One strategy for performing your best during an interview is to know the rules of the particular game you are playing when you walk through the door. 

Screening | Informational | Directive | Meandering
Stress | Behavioral | Audition | Group
Tag-Team | Mealtime | Follow-up

The Screening Interview

Companies use screening tools to ensure that candidates meet minimum qualification requirements. Computer programs are among the tools used to weed out unqualified candidates. (This is why you need a digital resume that is screening-friendly. See our resume center for help.) Sometimes human professionals are the gatekeepers. Screening interviewers often have honed skills to determine whether there is anything that might disqualify you for the position. Remember-they do not need to know whether you are the best fit for the position, only whether you are not a match. For this reason, screeners tend to dig for dirt. Screeners will hone in on gaps in your employment history or pieces of information that look inconsistent. They also will want to know from the outset whether you will be too expensive for the company.

Some tips for maintaining confidence during screening interviews:

* Highlight your accomplishments and qualifications.
* Get into the straightforward groove. Personality is not as important to the screener as verifying your qualifications. Answer questions directly and succinctly. Save your winning personality for the person making hiring decisions!
* Be tactful about addressing income requirements. Give a range, and try to avoid giving specifics by replying, “I would be willing to consider your best offer.”
* If the interview is conducted by phone, it is helpful to have note cards with your vital information sitting next to the phone. That way, whether the interviewer catches you sleeping or vacuuming the floor, you will be able to switch gears quickly.

The Informational Interview

On the opposite end of the stress spectrum from screening interviews is the informational interview. A meeting that you initiate, the informational interview is underutilized by job-seekers who might otherwise consider themselves savvy to the merits of networking. Job seekers ostensibly secure informational meetings in order to seek the advice of someone in their current or desired field as well as to gain further references to people who can lend insight. Employers that like to stay apprised of available talent even when they do not have current job openings, are often open to informational interviews, especially if they like to share their knowledge, feel flattered by your interest, or esteem the mutual friend that connected you to them. During an informational interview, the jobseeker and employer exchange information and get to know one another better without reference to a specific job opening.

This takes off some of the performance pressure, but be intentional nonetheless:

* Come prepared with thoughtful questions about the field and the company.
* Gain references to other people and make sure that the interviewer would be comfortable if you contact other people and use his or her name.
* Give the interviewer your card, contact information and resume.
* Write a thank you note to the interviewer.

The Directive Style

In this style of interview, the interviewer has a clear agenda that he or she follows unflinchingly. Sometimes companies use this rigid format to ensure parity between interviews; when interviewers ask each candidate the same series of questions, they can more readily compare the results. Directive interviewers rely upon their own questions and methods to tease from you what they wish to know. You might feel like you are being steam-rolled, or you might find the conversation develops naturally. Their style does not necessarily mean that they have dominance issues, although you should keep an eye open for these if the interviewer would be your supervisor.

Either way, remember:

* Flex with the interviewer, following his or her lead.
* Do not relinquish complete control of the interview. If the interviewer does not ask you for information that you think is important to proving your superiority as a candidate, politely interject it.

The Meandering Style

This interview type, usually used by inexperienced interviewers, relies on you to lead the discussion. It might begin with a statement like “tell me about yourself,” which you can use to your advantage. The interviewer might ask you another broad, open-ended question before falling into silence. This interview style allows you tactfully to guide the discussion in a way that best serves you.

The following strategies, which are helpful for any interview, are particularly important when interviewers use a non-directive approach:

* Come to the interview prepared with highlights and anecdotes of your skills, qualities and experiences. Do not rely on the interviewer to spark your memory-jot down some notes that you can reference throughout the interview.
* Remain alert to the interviewer. Even if you feel like you can take the driver’s seat and go in any direction you wish, remain respectful of the interviewer’s role. If he or she becomes more directive during the interview, adjust.
* Ask well-placed questions. Although the open format allows you significantly to shape the interview, running with your own agenda and dominating the conversation means that you run the risk of missing important information about the company and its needs.

The Stress Interview

Astounding as this is, the Greek hazing system has made its way into professional interviews. Either employers view the stress interview as a legitimate way of determining candidates’ aptness for a position or someone has latent maniacal tendencies. You might be held in the waiting room for an hour before the interviewer greets you. You might face long silences or cold stares. The interviewer might openly challenge your believes or judgment. You might be called upon to perform an impossible task on the fly-like convincing the interviewer to exchange shoes with you. Insults and miscommunication are common. All this is designed to see whether you have the mettle to withstand the company culture, the clients or other potential stress.

Besides wearing a strong anti-perspirant, you will do well to:

* Remember that this is a game. It is not personal. View it as the surreal interaction that it is.
* Prepare and memorize your main message before walking through the door. If you are flustered, you will better maintain clarity of mind if you do not have to wing your responses.
* Even if the interviewer is rude, remain calm and tactful.
* Go into the interview relaxed and rested. If you go into it feeling stressed, you will have a more difficult time keeping a cool perspective.

The Behavioral Interview

Many companies increasingly rely on behavior interviews since they use your previous behavior to indicate your future performance. In these interviews, employers use standardized methods to mine information relevant to your competency in a particular area or position. Depending upon the responsibilities of the job and the working environment, you might be asked to describe a time that required problem-solving skills, adaptability, leadership, conflict resolution, multi-tasking, initiative or stress management. You will be asked how you dealt with the situations.

Your responses require not only reflection, but also organization. To maximize your responses in the behavioral format:

* Anticipate the transferable skills and personal qualities that are required for the job.
* Review your resume. Any of the qualities and skills you have included in your resume are fair game for an interviewer to press.
* Reflect on your own professional, volunteer, educational and personal experience to develop brief stories that highlight these skills and qualities in you. You should have a story for each of the competencies on your resume as well as those you anticipate the job requires.
* Prepare stories by identifying the context, logically highlighting your actions in the situation, and identifying the results of your
actions. Keep your responses concise and present them in less than two minutes.

The Audition

For some positions, such as computer programmers or trainers, companies want to see you in action before they make their decision. For this reason, they might take you through a simulation or brief exercise in order to evaluate your skills. An audition can be enormously useful to you as well, since it allows you to demonstrate your abilities in interactive ways that are likely familiar to you. The simulations and exercises should also give you a simplified sense of what the job would be like. If you sense that other candidates have an edge on you in terms of experience or other qualifications, requesting an audition can help level the playing field.

To maximize on auditions, remember to:

* Clearly understand the instructions and expectations for the exercise. Communication is half the battle in real life, and you should demonstrate to the prospective employer that you make the effort to do things right the first time by minimizing confusion.
* Treat the situation as if you are a professional with responsibility for the task laid before you. Take ownership of your work.
* Brush up on your skills before an interview if you think they might be tested.

The Group Interview

Interviewing simultaneously with other candidates can be disconcerting, but it provides the company with a sense of your leadership potential and style. The group interview helps the company get a glimpse of how you interact with peers-are you timid or bossy, are you attentive or do you seek attention, do others turn to you instinctively, or do you compete for authority? The interviewer also wants to view what your tools of persuasion are: do you use argumentation and careful reasoning to gain support or do you divide and conquer? The interviewer might call on you to discuss an issue with the other candidates, solve a problem collectively, or discuss your peculiar qualifications in front of the other candidates.

This environment might seem overwhelming or hard to control, but there are a few tips that will help you navigate the group interview successfully:

* Observe to determine the dynamics the interviewer establishes and try to discern the rules of the game. If you are unsure of what is expected from you, ask for clarification from the interviewer.
* Treat others with respect while exerting influence over others.
* Avoid overt power conflicts, which will make you look uncooperative and immature.
* Keep an eye on the interviewer throughout the process so that you do not miss important cues.

The Tag-Team Interview

Expecting to meet with Ms. Glenn, you might find yourself in a room with four other people: Ms. Glenn, two of her staff, and the Sales Director. Companies often want to gain the insights of various people when interviewing candidates. This method of interviewing is often attractive for companies that rely heavily on team cooperation. Not only does the company want to know whether your skills balance that of the company, but also whether you can get along with the other workers. In some companies, multiple people will interview you simultaneously. In other companies, you will proceed through a series of one-on-one interviews.

Some helpful tips for maximizing on this interview format:

* Treat each person as an important individual. Gain each person’s business card at the beginning of the meeting, if possible, and refer to each person by name. If there are several people in the room at once, you might wish to scribble down their names on a sheet of paper according to where each is sitting. Make eye contact with each person and speak directly to the person asking each question.
* Use the opportunity to gain as much information about the company as you can. Just as each interviewer has a different function in the company, they each have a unique perspective. When asking questions, be sensitive not to place anyone in a position that invites him to compromise confidentiality or loyalty.
* Bring at least double the anecdotes and sound-bites to the interview as you would for a traditional one-on-one interview. Be ready to illustrate your main message in a variety of ways to a variety of people.
* Prepare psychologically to expend more energy and be more alert than you would in a one-on-one interview. Stay focused and adjustable.

The Mealtime Interview

For many, interviewing over a meal sounds like a professional and digestive catastrophe in the making. If you have difficulty chewing gum while walking, this could be a challenge. With some preparation and psychological readjustment, you can enjoy the process. Meals often have a cementing social effect-breaking bread together tends to facilitate deals, marriages, friendships, and religious communion. Mealtime interviews rely on this logic, and expand it.

Particularly when your job requires interpersonal acuity, companies want to know what you are like in a social setting. Are you relaxed and charming or awkward and evasive? Companies want to observe not only how you handle a fork, but also how you treat your host, any other guests, and the serving staff.

Some basic social tips help ease the complexity of mixing food with business:

* Take cues from your interviewer, remembering that you are the guest. Do not sit down until your host does. Order something slightly less extravagant than your interviewer. If he badly wants you to try a particular dish, oblige him. If he recommends an appetizer to you, he likely intends to order one himself. Do not begin eating until he does. If he orders coffee and dessert, do not leave him eating alone.
* If your interviewer wants to talk business, do so. If she and the other guests discuss their upcoming travel plans or their families, do not launch into business.
* Try to set aside dietary restrictions and preferences. Remember, the interviewer is your host. It is rude to be finicky unless you absolutely must. If you must, be as tactful as you can. Avoid phrases like: “I do not eat mammals,” or “Shrimp makes my eyes swell and water.”
* Choose manageable food items, if possible. Avoid barbeque ribs and spaghetti.
* Find a discrete way to check your teeth after eating. Excuse yourself from the table for a moment.
* Practice eating and discussing something important simultaneously.
* Thank your interviewer for the meal.

The Follow-up Interview

Companies bring candidates back for second and sometimes third or fourth interviews for a number of reasons. Sometimes they just want to confirm that you are the amazing worker they first thought you to be. Sometimes they are having difficulty deciding between a short-list of candidates. Other times, the interviewer’s supervisor or other decision makers in the company want to gain a sense of you before signing a hiring decision.

The second interview could go in a variety of directions, and you must prepare for each of them. When meeting with the same person again, you do not need to be as assertive in your communication of your skills. You can focus on cementing rapport, understanding where the company is going and how your skills mesh with the company vision and culture. Still, the interviewer should view you as the answer to their needs. You might find yourself negotiating a compensation package. Alternatively, you might find that you are starting from the beginning with a new person.

Some tips for managing second interviews:

* Be confident. Accentuate what you have to offer and your interest in the position.
* Probe tactfully to discover more information about the internal company dynamics and culture.
* Walk through the front door with a plan for negotiating a salary.
* Be prepared for anything: to relax with an employer or to address the company’s qualms about you.

Additional Resources:

Interview advice is available from just about everywhere and everyone. A good piece of interview is about the kind of attitude to have when going on an interview. An interview can be seen as an opportunity instead of a trial, which is what most people feel that they are on when they are being interviewed for any job position. It is as much of an opportunity for a potential employer to discover what a candidate has to offer their company as well as what the company can offer the candidate. Just as it is expected that an interviewer will ask questions during an interview, some good interview advice is to be prepared to ask your own questions during the interview. Asking questions shows the interviewer that you are interested in their company and have put thought into becoming an employee.

Another piece of interview advice that is not often thought of is to do research on the company that is considering your application or resume. Many company web sites feature a lot of the information a candidate might want to know before heading in for an interview. Showing an interest in the company and having some common knowledge to allow for intelligent conversation is a great way to make a lasting impression.

Being aware of exactly what a specific position demands and the kind of skills that are needed in order to perform the job well can allow you to use specific examples of how you might personally tackle tasks and difficulties that may arise. Common interview advice will always begin with ‘be prepared’ and knowledgeable about the position that is being interviewed for and act excited about the opportunity.

Appearance is something that is always addressed whenever someone gives interview advice. A professional and organized look leaves an attractive and likable impression. When the time for the interview comes, the best interview advice is to be thoughtful, speak clearly, remain spirited about the position and appear confident yet not aloof.

Additional Resources:

Things can go really against you despite your thorough preparation for a just a couple of ‘types’ of interview questions. However, it is possible to ignore or forget the other types of possible interview questions. This brings us to different ‘types’ of interview questions, along with traditional questions or questions pertaining to your core skills.

Types Of Interview Questions

It is crucial for you to be able to anticipate different types of questions that may come up in an interview. Let’s categorize them into three types:

1. ‘Out of the box’ questions and hardcore questions are the traditionally asked ones that cannot be readily anticipated. They may or may not be related to the job at hand, and are designed to see how well you can ‘think on your feet’.

2. Questions That Test Behavior And Problem Solving Abilities. These aim to find how you have conducted yourself in difficult situations and how will you do if the situation were to repeat itself. Interviewers always want to test you for unexpected and accidental circumstances.

3. Lastly, There Are Illegal Questions which are sometimes cleverly framed. These are aimed to find out your nationality, religious or ethnic background, marital status, etc. Illegal questions are not always intentional, but sometimes they are. The world isn’t fair, and you may as well know this going in.

Sample Questions

Let’s look at some samples from two categories:

Traditional Questions/Behavioral Questions

1. Tell us about yourself. In my humble opinion, the most overused and overworked, and unfortunately the most likely first question in any interview. This question can be manifested in any form. As there is no right or wrong answer to this, this is an open-ended question, most often used by inexperienced interviewers. However, if this question does come up (and you should assume that it will), then stick to answering strictly in business terms; NEVER volunteer personal information.

2. Why do you want to join us? This is another question belonging to the same category as the earlier one but usually follows it. As such, it is routinely predictable and you should have your answer ready. You need to list the benefits of your joining them from both points of view (the employer’s first, then yours).

3. How would you describe yourself? Adopt a realistic approach towards this question and use adjectives like ‘honest’, ‘hard working’, etc., instead of the overused/ambiguous answers like ‘courageous’ or ‘results-oriented’.

4. ‘Describe a situation which demanded working overtime’ (or any variations on this question). If you have been in the corporate world for any length of time, you should have encountered this scenario. This question is devised only to see how you will possibly conduct yourself, as the new employer is probably anticipating similar situations happening should you be hired.

5. ‘Tell me about a decision that you made which was a bad one’. This may well be a hypothetical question. But if you had had made a bad decision, a ‘positive you’ will explain this in a structured mixture of truth, admission, failure analysis and so on. In other words, logically turn a potential negative answer into a positive one – avoid making yourself look incompetent at all costs.

Let’s take a look at some possible illegal questions. Employers know they aren’t supposed to ask them, but many do anyway (and some in different variations, so as not to be overtly illegal):

Illegal Questions

6. Does your religion preclude you from working weekends? (overtly illegal question)
7. Are you planning to have kids? (designed to reveal your family status, or perhaps your sexual orientation)
8. When/Where were you born? (A clever way of finding out your age or ethnicity)
9. Your last name sounds unusual; what’s your origin? (designed to reveal your ethnic background)

As a job seeker, you will invariable come across all types of interview questions. There are as many different types of questions as there are interviewers. It pays to be aware of the many types of questions that you will encounter – doing so will ensure that you handle such questions with confidence.

Additional Resources:

When you are called for the interview, that is where you have to play to win. Although this one step will determine whether you get an offer or not, what actually determines how you perform in an interview depends on many things. So preparing with specific interview techniques in mind carries equal importance as being skilled for the position.

Five Tips: Your Job Interview

There are as many aspects to consider and prepare in with regard to an interview as there are career counselors and job sites. But trick lies in identifying what applies to you specifically. At the same time, you can’t forget there are some fundamental tricks that will help you get through even the toughest interview:

1. Preparing Well And Presenting Your Skills And Abilities: This is this core area which is going to be tested at the interview. And it is the fundamental reason for which employers will either hire you or not. So brush up and update your knowledge base by preparing well in the preceding week. You can anticipate harder questions in these areas and prepare accordingly. New grads need to be able to relate their knowledge to practical situations and this can be easier with internship experience.

2. Presenting The Best You: This may seem obvious, but sadly, it isn’t practiced all the time. Well groomed/combed hair, manicured nails, pressed suit and tie, and references & any certificates/resume copies neatly arranged in a decent folder are an important part of this step. Then your manners, body language, composure and reactions to harder questions come into play. Because your body language can give away any negative feelings that you may have, you can practice mock interviews with a friend beforehand. During the interview, try to stay relaxed and focused.

3. The First Impression Will Be The Only One: It’s not fair, but neither is life. Over-politeness, silence, unnecessary fear, stuttering, hesitation to question the interviewer for information and not asking for a question to be repeated if you didn’t hear clearly will be one-time mistakes. Be alert during the interview; if you need more time to think about a question, let the interviewer know this rather than just jumping in with an answer that is not well thought out.

4. Honesty And Accepting Weaknesses: Accept that you have weaknesses; be honest while highlighting your achievements, previous salary or reasons for quitting the previous job. You can and should project honesty and personal accountability as your best traits, particularly if you have already established that your skills and other abilities fit what the employer is looking for.

5. Be Specific: Answering the “Tell us about yourself” question should be about your career achievements and goals. In this respect, you need to answer specifically without getting into personal points of your life. The same goes when explaining how you handle particular tasks. The point of contention is how focused you are and how effectively you can employ this tactic.

The key to a successful job interview is to be prepared and be yourself. That said, you can’t let your guard down so much that you start revealing information that was not asked. Stick to the questions, and follow the tips above to nail your next interview.

Additional Resources:

The interview thank you letter is a piece of correspondence that will definitely help a good candidate win a position. Think of the interview thank you letter as an extension of the interview itself and as a way of emphasizing any positive points that you may have made about yourself and your willingness to work for the company you’ve interviewed with.

Your interview thank you letter should be sincere, and informative but it should also be short. Show that you respect the time of the decision maker you are sending the interview thank you letter to. Keep your interview thank you letter down to two or three paragraphs, get straight to the point and keep it businesslike and you’ll have a winner, and may be pleasantly surprised with a good job offer.

Your interview thank you letter should of course start with the date, name of the addressee, his or her address, and a salutation, like “Dear sir” or “Dear Mr. Jones.” Then get right to the point and thank the decision maker for spending time with you. Remind the decision maker of two or three key points you discussed in the interview or that you may emphasize on your resume. You may do that in a paragraph form, but many people prefer a bullet point interview thank you letter since it allows you to use fewer words and make your points quicker, while graphically using white space to draw the eye of the reader to the parts of the letter you want to be sure they are to read.

The interview thank you letter should always include a final paragraph that points out to the decision maker that you are available by phone, in person or by email if they have further questions. This shows that you are going out of your way to provide the decision maker with the information needed to make a sound decision, which indicates that you would be a great employee to have.

When typing the interview thank you letter, use a computer and word processing software. In the old days typewriters were fine, but these days computers are expected. Format the interview thank you letter in a simple block fashion with double spacing between paragraphs. Indentations used to be standard but in the past few years double spacing between paragraphs has become more acceptable and expected. Choose an easy to read font. Times Roman 12 point is a good choice. If you find 12 point too large, then 11 point is fine, but 10 point is too small and should be avoided. If you don’t care for Times Roman, then Bookman or 20th Century Schoolbook are also good choices. These are serif fonts, which means they have little hooks on them. Serif fonts are considered friendlier and more personal than san serif fonts, which don’t have the little hooks. Newspapers and magazines usually use serif fonts for copy because they are easy on the eyes.

Print your interview thank you letter on good quality paper using a high quality printer, and drop it in the mail as soon as possible after the interview and you’ll make a great impression.

Additional Resources:

Think of the interview follow up latter as a second chance. Some people don’t interview in person as well as they can write. Living up to the standards your resume set for you may be difficult. If that is the case, then the interview follow up letter will improve your appearance after the fact. Other people interview well in person, and are able to use the interview follow up letter to reemphasize key points discussed with the hiring manager, and remind the hiring manager of the good points about the applicant. In either case the interview follow up letter is essential and if prepared properly will help the applicant get the job.

The following sample interview follow up letter gives an idea of what should be included.

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Date
Name of addressee and title
Name of Company
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear ______,

The time I spent interviewing with you today gave me a clear picture of your organization’s operation as well as your work environment. I want to thank you for the thorough picture you painted of your organizational needs.

I left our meeting feeling very enthusiastic about the scope of the position as well as its close match to my abilities. I believe the key strengths that I can offer you are:

· Experience in dealing with people of all types and backgrounds through my life experience, education and training.

· Proven ability to operate a business at a profit, supervise and train personnel, facilitate activities to improve morale and cash flow, and interact successfully with both staff and customers.

· Excellent communication skills—particularly the ability to gain feedback and summarize succinctly.

With my energetic work style, strong people skills and attention to detail, I believe that I am an excellent match for this position. I welcome a chance to meet with you further to elaborate on my background and possibilities of future association.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to meeting with you soon.

Sincerely,

John Doe

You’ll notice that the interview follow up letter is written in a positive and upbeat style. In sales, many successful salesmen assume the close. This interview follow up letter does essentially that. The applicant in writing this letter is controlling the conversation and steering it towards positive attributes that he or she possesses, which would make the applicant appear valuable to the company. In addition, by using an interview follow up letter an applicant is “walking the walk as well as talking the talk” simply because most applicants fail to use an interview follow up letter after an interview. Using a letter like this shows that the applicant is conscientious, thoughtful, intelligent, and just the kind of person the company needs. Using an interview follow up letter will lead to more job offers and more jobs.

How to write a thank you letter to use after an interview, a phone interview, or even to someone who passed your name on to a hiring manager is an art that is not taught as often as it should be by placement services and others who help job seekers with finding jobs. They always cover the basics of resume writing, interview preparation, cover letter writing, how to create a reference sheet, and even how to prepare a salary history, which isn’t even required that often, but how to write a thank you letter is a subject that should be covered. It is a necessary skill that puts the capstone on the interview or other contact you had, makes you appear to be thoughtful and intelligent, and put you above the crowd.

Some hiring managers are so swamped with resumes and cover letters when they post a listing on an online job bank or run a newspaper classified ad that they look for reasons to discard resumes. Having five hundred resumes in your email in box can be quite intimidating. Some hiring managers have been known to send out an automated response to all applicants letting them know that the resume was received. They will then sit back and wait for further communication. If an applicant knows how to write a thank you letter they have a jump on the competition immediately.

How to do it? As in all formal correspondence it should be block formatted with proper spelling, addresses and salutations. Keep it short—two or three paragraphs. In the first paragraph express your primary purpose by thanking the person you are writing to for their time and consideration. Business people are busy and time is a valuable commodity. In the second paragraph restate one or two key job skills you can bring to the position. Remind the reader as to why you are a good candidate for the job. In the third paragraph, thank the reader again, and reiterate that you are available by phone, email or in person should they have further questions. End with the traditional business ending “sincerely yours”.

An example of how knowing how to write a thank you letter occurred with one job seeker a few years ago at a business brokerage in the Midwest. This job seeker was already working as a part-time telemarketer. She was competing for a full-time office manager position against two other. One of the men had a bachelors degree and the other was about to receive her bachelors. Both had several more years experience in office administration Obviously the other candidates were more qualified than the first applicant, but she knew how to write a thank you letter, and proved it. After her interview with the company owner, the managing broker and the old office manager (who was retiring and helping choose her own replacement) the fist candidate composed a thank you letter. She then printed out individualized copies for each person she interviewed with mailed them that evening. When the interviewers received the thank you letters the next day they were impressed with her thoughtfulness and adherence to protocol. Despite the fact that the other two applicants were more qualified, she was hired. The fact that she knew how to write a thank you letter probably got her the job she was seeking.

Additional Resources:

The interview follow-up letter is the last of the essential tools in your job-hunting bag. This will be for more than one reason. The two obvious ones are the thank you and follow-up, and the other important reason is to fill in any holes that you suspect that you left open during the interview. Because they are so important, you need to take care in creating an interview follow-up letter that serves its intended purpose.

1. Write The Follow-Up Letter Immediately: Once you return home, write the follow-up letter the same day as the interview. Being late with the letter can potentially reflect badly on you, or worse, make you be forgotten.

2. Include An Incident That Occurred At The Interview: Make reference to any small but pleasant incident (or subject matter) that might have occurred at the interview that will catch the interviewers’ attention. How will this help you? This makes you stand out from the crowd and triggers memories of the entire interview. It gets the interviewer to think beyond the notes he or she made during the interview.

3. Write To Every Interviewer: Writing individual letters not only demonstrates your manners but emphasizes your recognition of individual opinions. Not everyone will be impressed with the same things in the interview; there can be at least one person who is either more or less impressed or even indifferent. Address each one of them independently, and write each letter differently. One another point here is they may (and probably will) discuss the letters among themselves at some point.

4. Show Your Awareness Of Company Culture: Employers like it when they know that a candidate is knowledgeable about company work ethics and culture. This helps eliminate any ambiguity that whether you will fit in at the company.

5. Write In A Positive Tone: Don’t make the interview follow-up letter a ritual or boring one. Use language and a format which is as lively and professional as possible. Proofreading the letter is critical. There is no restriction on handwritten letters or the delivery method; mail it, email it or even hand deliver it, but make sure it gets there.

You can’t ignore the hidden power of interview follow-up letters. They help cement your candidacy, considering there were probably countless other candidates for the position. The fact is, not many interviewees will write any type of letter, let alone a follow-up letter. They demonstrates your interest in the company and position so pay lots of attention to writing it carefully. By following the five tips above, you will be able to write compelling interview follow-up letters that work in your favor.

Additional Resources:

Check out some cover letter samples

Here’s a cover letter tip to get more interviews. Use a bulleted format cover letter rather than a standard letter in paragraphs. The bulleted format is more eye catching, and is more likely to be glanced at by the hiring manager or other person assigned to sort through resumes. This cover letter tip will help you get your resume seen by more people and as a result get more interviews and more job offers.

If you follow this cover letter tip and decide to use the bulleted format, make sure that each bullet point specifies a reason for the hiring manager to talk with you. This reason can be your number of years experience, your education, a personality trait that you have, or an accomplishment.

Examples of bulleted points would be:

• Over 20 years experience in Human Resource Management.
Or…
• Outstanding work ethic. Lead by example.
Or…
• Master of Science in Education. Currently enrolled in Doctorate program.
Or…
• Saved last employer $30,000 in revenue through modernization of accounting system.
Or…
• Increased sales by 25% last quarter.

This cover letter format allows you to toot your own horn, but in a way that does not seem egotistical because, in bulleted format, it is obviously part of a resume package.

Another cover letter tip that will increase the readability of your cover letter is to use bold faced fonts on occasion to emphasize points you want read. Bold face catches the eye, and is a common device used by graphic designers in advertising copy. Your resume and cover letter are marketing tools for you, just as a print media advertising piece is a marketing tool for a business. Consider using bold face as a cover letter tip from the Fortune 500 ad agencies that you can use without charge.

The next cover letter tip to consider concerns the final paragraph of the cover letter, and will help you in your follow up efforts. When following up often times the hardest thing to do is to get past the gatekeeper. The secretary or administrative assistant that screens calls for his or her boss has an important job to do, but so do you, and reaching the decision maker will make you look good. The gatekeeper will try to stop you if the decision maker is busy—after all, he has better things to do with his time than speak with job seekers. So, in the final paragraph of your cover letter, before the “sincerely” and your name, simply state “I will call you next week to check on a convenient time to speak with you in person.” You’ve told the hiring manager you will be calling. Logically he should be expecting your call. For this reason you may tell the gatekeeper that ” Mr. HR Manager is expecting my call this week.” This will increase your chances of getting through, and of getting the interview. This cover letter tip is a variation on techniques that good business-to-business sales people use, and will work for you as well, bringing you more interviews and more job offers.

Additional Resources:

By Heather Eagar

Check out some cover letter samples

Any good job hunter needs a cover letter resume package. The two, cover letter and resume, always go together, and do the same basic thing in slightly different ways. A job hunter without a cover letter resume package will probably not get very far in the search for a good career position.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the cover letter resume package should do for you. The first part, the cover letter, is a short one page letter consisting of three or four paragraphs. It serves as an introduction to the resume. It is the first half of the resume cover letter package, and the part that will always be seen by the gatekeeper.

The second part of the resume cover letter package is the resume itself. Many job hunters make the mistake of thinking they can just leave a resume without a cover letter. That is like putting on a suit and tie, but forgetting the shirt or the pants. The resume cover letter package is a package and they go together.

The resume itself may be in either functional or chronological format. The functional format concentrates on skills. The chronological format concentrates on employment listings. The most effective resumes use elements of both formats to create a combination resume that gets results. The resume should be laid out in a graphically appealing style, with adequate use of white space, bullet points to draw attention to important parts, and conservative fonts used. While you will occasionally bold face or italicize a font to draw attention to a point or break up a large section of type, changing fonts often makes it hard to read, so stick with one basic font. Also never go smaller than ten point type, and if possible stick with twelve or eleven point. Those sizes are easier to read. If your cover letter resume package is in a small type and hard to read it simply will not be read, and will not help you.

Many job seekers wonder how they should present the cover letter resume package to the decision maker. There are several acceptable methods. If mailing the cover letter resume package, use a large nine by twelve white envelope to avoid folding your materials. The white envelopes look nicer than the tan manila commonly used in business. Also large envelopes are generally the first thing people open when they get their mail. If not the first then they may save the large envelope for last. Since people tend to remember the first and the last – the alpha and the omega – while forgetting much of what is in the middle, either first or last is a good thing.

If you are hand delivering your cover letter resume package stop by an office supply shop and pick up a clear plastic folder with a pressure binder spine and place your cover letter resume package in it. It makes a great presentation and will complement a well prepared cover letter resume package. Use these tools well and you are on your way.

Additional Resources: ]]> http://www.resumelines.com/career-resources/career-articles/cover-letter-resume-package.html/feed 0 http://www.resumelines.com/career-resources/career-articles/cover-letter-sample.html http://www.resumelines.com/career-resources/career-articles/cover-letter-sample.html#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:37:03 +0000 Clive http://www.resumelines.com/dev/?p=305 By Heather Eagar

Check out some cover letter samples

The following cover letter sample gives an idea of what most job hunters should do when composing cover letters. It consists of only a very few paragraphs, and is therefore short and easy to read. The reason for this cover letter sample being short is simply because hiring managers are extremely busy and will not read long letters. They may glance at them, or skim them for statements that jump out at them, but they probably will not have time to read them. Use this cover letter sample when composing your own cover letters, and you’ll save time and get more interviews.

Date
HR Manager’s name
Company Name
Address
City
State
Zip

RE: Job Reference number (if one is available)

Dear Mr. Blank,

I’m writing to introduce myself in hopes of joining your organization, and have enclosed a copy of my resume for your review.

My background, skills and talents are in all aspects of veterinary medicine, with a particular emphasis in embryo collection and transplant. I also have strong skills in general veterinary practice, management and business operations.

I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and exchange ideas. I will call you over the next several days to make an appointment. If you prefer, you may reach me at the phone number or email address listed above.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to meeting with you soon.

Sincerely,

John R. Doe, DVM

Enclosure

This cover letter sample was obviously for a veterinarian, but anyone in any profession can use it and customize it to suit their own needs. This cover letter sample is a traditional letter done in paragraph style. Another option that is gaining in popularity is the bulleted letter. A cover letter sample in the bulleted format follows.

Date

Manager
ABC Company
Street Address
City, state, zip code

RE: (reference position applied for)

Dear (add name),

With over 20 years of experience as a military officer, I can make an immediate contribution to your organization. Highlights of my background include:

· Experienced as a pilot, flight instructor, security officer, and operations officer in charge of millions of dollars in government property and responsible for hundreds of personnel.

· Skilled in staff management, project management, security & safety, executive management briefing, and leadership of highly skilled technicians and professionals.

· Demonstrated ability to handle multiple tasks concurrently, and lead by example. Utilize sound decision making judgement as evidenced by increased levels of responsibility and professional commendations.

I would like to discuss in greater detail the valuable contributions I would make at your organization. I can be reached at (555) 555-5555. Your time and consideration are most appreciated.

Sincerely,

John Doe

Enclosure

This cover letter sample was for a retired military aviation officer, but the basic format would stay the same for a teacher, CEO, salesman, firefighter, accountant or almost any other profession. There are two or three bulleted paragraphs that repeat qualifications, accomplishments or other highlights from the resume. The bulleted format makes them easy to see, and the bold facing on key points draws the attention of the reader to what the writer of the cover letter sample wants the reader to see, and read. Use the cover letter sample above, or the first cover letter sample, depending on your own needs, and customize them to your profession.

Additional Resources:

Check out a sample resume cover letter for teachers

Cover letters for teachers need to emphasize qualifications as well as attitude. Education professionals need to come into the field with an attitude of service coupled with a commitment to excellence and a desire to work closely with students. Cover letters for teachers should reflect all of these points, as should resumes for teachers, and any other self marketing materials used by education professionals.

When writing cover letters for teachers most professional resume writers and job counselors take into consideration the specific needs of the school or school system being applied to. Cover letters for teachers are read by the school superintendent, principal, HR director and other education professionals. Additionally in some school systems cover letters for teachers are ready by members of the school board. Since teachers are there to instruct and educate young minds cover letters for teachers need to be especially well written, free of spelling and grammatical errors. Quality printing is essential, as is good quality paper which matches the resume and reference sheet. Cover letters for teachers, followed by resumes for teachers, are the first impressions made of the teachers to their potential new employers, and must be free of error. Cover letters for teachers also must emphasize the fact that the teacher is a professional, with academic qualifications in the field as well as experience, if applicable.

Teaching is a profession that most enter into for love of learning and a desire to shape future generations. Most teachers are not interested in making a lot of money or they would be in another line of work. Sure, they need to make a decent living, but teaching is not a “get rich” profession. Cover letters for teachers should also emphasize that fact: that the prospective teacher is a skilled and trained professional with a desire to shape the future by teaching students – whatever the age – the designated subject, as well as critical and analytical thinking skills they will use later in life.

Cover letters for teachers have to say a lot, but they should still adhere to basic cover letter writing rules and be as brief as possible. Cover letters for teachers can be written in a standard blocked paragraph form, or in a bulleted form. Both forms are good, and when preparing cover letters for teachers personal preference of style and format should be taken into consideration, as well as the audience. Administrators such as school superintendents and principals are probably better reached with the bulleted form, while school board members tend to be community members from other professions, and the more traditional paragraphed format is probably a better choice if they are the intended readers.
When involved in a job hunt, teachers should spend adequate time on cover letters, since the cover letter introduces the resume and makes it more likely to be read. Cover letters for teachers must be well written, to present the teacher in the best light possible.

Additional Resources:

Check out some cover letter samples

Cover letter writing is almost as important a skill for a job seeker to learn as resume writing. The cover letter accompanies the resume at all times as the primary support document. Whether you use traditional mail, email, faxing, or another type of electronic submission, a cover letter should always be sent with the resume. There are, of course, other tools you’ll use when job seeking. Your cover letter and resume come first of course, followed by follow-up letters, thank-you letters for after the interview, reference sheets, salary histories, and job acceptance letters. If you have good cover letter writing skills, and good resume writing skills, the other written tools should be a snap to compose.

Your goal in cover letter writing is to get the attention of the hiring manager, just as it is with resume writing. The method and format are a little different however. Your resume will cover all, or most of your professional career, and will be from one to two pages. Your cover letter will be a very brief page serving as an introduction to the resume. Cover letter writing style must be direct, to the point, and able to grab the attention of the reader quickly, with a goal of making the reader want to read the attached resume.

Many people, when engaged in cover letter writing, have a tendency to say too much. Good cover letter writing is short and punchy, and will take two or three key points from the resume and emphasize them. The old adage “tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them” holds true in both resume writing and cover letter writing.

As an example, let’s assume that you are a materials handling manager for a defense contractor, seeking another position. In your line of work the buzz words are MRP, lean manufacturing, ISO 9000, and cost savings. Your cover letter writing efforts should reflect these buzz words to show your value to your current employer and any future employers. Your resume will go into more detail about how you accomplished these goals. The cover letter will simply point out to the hiring manager that you accomplished them. An example of this would be two bulleted paragraphs in the body of the cover letter that say….

* Experienced in quality assurance and quality control, MRP, ISO 9000, QS 9000, and Lean Manufacturing.
* Demonstrated results in saving significant money for employers through cost savings, inventory level reductions, and on-time supplier delivery.

The hiring manager, according to many surveys, devotes only about fifteen seconds to each resume and cover letter he or she reviews. With that in mind your cover letter writing skills need to be top notch to get this person to look at your resume. Your resume writing skills need to be just as good to get the reader to want to grant you an interview. In turn, your interviewing skills need to be excellent to get the hiring manager to offer you the position. This long, and hopefully positive chain of events begins with good cover letter writing skills and ends with job satisfaction and a nice paycheck.

Additional Resources:

Check out a sample cover letter with salary requirements

Most professional job postings request that a resume or cover letter with salary requirement be submitted when applying for the position. Often, in addition to disclosing a salary requirement a history of previous salaries will be asked for as well. The first rule to follow when submitting a cover letter with salary requirement is that is the job posting or advertisement does not ask for salary information, do not provide any. All salary information is best broached by the potential employer at his or her chosen time.

A cover letter with salary requirement is commonly requested by potential employers for a number of reasons. Cover letters with salary requirements that are too high for a particular position will often be discarded due to the fact that the employer won’t pay that kind of money for a position or they simply won’t bother offering someone less pay than required in a cover letter. If a cover letter with salary requirement is less than an employer was planning on paying for a particular position, he or she will most likely offer a lower salary. The worst thing a job applicant can do when asked to submit a cover letter with salary requirement is to disregard a salary requirement and/or history request. Most employers will not grant interviews to applicants who do not follow instructions and include all of the information that has been requested.

Submitting a cover letter with salary requirement is a daunting task for many, as they do not want to risk being eliminated from consideration for a job position because they asked for too much money. Others would like to make the maximum amount of money for a position and don’t want to submit a salary requirement that is lower than it could have been. Job seekers can always propose a salary requirement range based on what similar positions are paying. Another way to express flexibility in a cover letter with salary requirement is to state that an individual’s salary requirements are flexible based on the complete compensation package the company can offer including benefits.

Thorough research in regards to what a particular position is worth will help make a cover letter salary requirement realistic and attainable. A great way to go about exploring salary ranges for different positions is to access salary survey information for the specific position that is being applied for. When all else fails, make sure your cover letter with salary requirement is clearly flexible when it comes to salary negotiations.

Additional Resources:

Check out some cover letter samples

The initial contact with a potential employer usually is comprised of a cover letter and a resume, but many people don’t know how to write a resume cover letter that complements their resume. The resume is usually a basic description about an applicant including their education, skills and achievements. The cover letter is the perfect opportunity for an individual to specifically address the reasons why a potential employer might want to consider an individual for a particular job position.

A mistake many individuals make with a cover letter is to send a simple, generic cover letter along with each resume. When learning how to write a resume cover letter, the applicant needs to understand that a potential employer will use both the resume and the cover letter in order to learn what they need to know about a potential employee. The entire package presented to a potential employer should be composed in such a way as to help make a decision about whether or not to grant the applicant an interview. Keeping that goal in mind when learning how to write a resume cover letter can help direct the individual composing the cover letter to captivate the reader and compel him or her to move on to read through the entire resume.

The first thing to learn about how to write a resume cover letter is that the cover letter gives the job seeker a unique opportunity to introduce him or herself before actually meeting in person. A good cover letter should demonstrate some personality, display a keen eye for detail, the ability to communicate well through writing, a strong interest in working with a company and the precise reason the company you are applying to interests you why you should interest them.

When learning how to write a resume cover letter, it is important to note that addressing each cover letter so that it is personalized for each position being apply for will show both respect and initiative when taking the extra time to ensure the application ends up in the right hands. Cover letters are completed in paragraph form and should remain in a professional yet conversational tone.

A number of tools are available for anyone who would like to learn how to write a resume cover letter including books, software and online resume services. When making a first impression and learning how to write a resume cover letter, the extra time and money could be a wise investment to ensure your resume and cover letter get results.

Additional Resources:

Check out some resume examples

Choosing a resume writing format can be difficult unless an individual has an understanding of the different types of resume formats that are used. Using the right format for a resume can determine how effective the resume will be at catching the eye of a potential employer so that the resume will result in an interview. Resume writing formats can range from quite simple to complex resumes that contain everything about an individual’s qualifications right down to the smallest details. The three most common types of resume writing formats are chronological resumes, functional resumes and combined resumes.

The chronological resume is considered to be a traditional type of resume. The chronological resume writing format relies heavily on the experience of the job applicant and each previous position that has been held is listed at the beginning of the resume. A chronological resume often has a statement stating any goal that is intended and attainable in a new position. People often choose the chronological resume writing format if they are simply changing positions from one position to a similar one or in conventional fields. Many individuals applying for law or teaching positions use the chronological resume writing format as well.

The functional resume writing format spotlights an individual’s outstanding skills and achievements. Functional resumes point out to a potential employer how it will benefit his or her company by hiring an individual rather than using an itemized demonstration. The functional resume writing format is ideal for those who are looking to begin working in a new field by presenting the significant skills and qualifications acquired from previous positions. Individuals who are looking to change careers, are recent graduates or those who have careers that branch out in many directions benefit from the functional resume writing format.

A combined resume writing format contains components of both the chronological and functional resume writing formats. The combined resume writing format can maximize the advantages of the chronological and functional resume format depending on the needs of the applicant. The most common combination resume writing formats will begin with a detailing of practical skills and relevant qualifications succeeded by a reversed chronological employment history. The combined resume writing format is popular because it allows an applicant to directly showcase their best qualifications as well as offering the employment timeline that is often required by potential employers. New graduates, current students, individuals who have been out of work for some time and anyone who has a reliable and stable employment history can benefit from the combination resume writing format.

While there is no truly correct resume writing format, different resume types are better received for different situations and should be chosen accordingly. Any resume writing format should be consistent throughout and free of spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Professional resume writing services are experts at choosing the right format for your situation.

Additional Resources:

Check out some resume examples

Writing an effective resume is essential for any applicant in making the right first impression with potential employers. Employers normally spend less than 30 seconds on each resume, so effective resume writing is crucial in making the kind of lasting impression that will lead to an interview. Making sure that all crucial achievements, skills and knowledge or experience stand out during the first glance at any resume can take some very creative and effective resume writing. Knowing that catching the eye of a potential employer is the first goal in effective resume writing can help any individual work on preparing their resume for that purpose.

The first thing to tackle in effective resume writing is a separate cover letter specifically designed for a particular position. Part of effective resume writing is dedicating a good amount of time to ensure that the cover letter makes a positive impact and lasting impression on the potential employer.

A common error most individuals make in effective resume writing is in composing a cover letter that is a quick overview of what is already contained in their resume. The cover letter is really an outstanding opportunity to increase the value of your resume and complement any achievements and qualifications that will be contained in the actual resume. A great cover letter will create the information including concepts and data that are contained in a resume along with incorporating a personal touch. Effective resume writing will include a cover letter that lets any potential employer know that the individual who submitted their resume will not only be of value to their company, but bring with them additional personal and professional skills that can make them invaluable.

Effective resume writing can be a challenge for even the brightest individual with the most impressive qualifications if he or she is unsure of how to present him or herself on paper. Fortunately, a number of services exist for anyone who feels that they need assistance with effective resume writing to choose from. Choosing to have a professional who is skilled at effective resume writing could very well make the difference between landing an interview or having a resume passed over again and again. Effective resume writing is worth the research and even financial investment when looking for any desirable job position.

Additional Resources: ]]> http://www.resumelines.com/career-resources/career-articles/effective-resume-writing.html/feed 0 http://www.resumelines.com/career-resources/career-articles/executive-resume-writing.html http://www.resumelines.com/career-resources/career-articles/executive-resume-writing.html#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:50:56 +0000 Clive http://www.resumelines.com/dev/?p=289

Check out some resume examples

Effective executive resume writing begins with understanding that an executive resume requires more than the basic itemization of accomplishments on an executive resume. With executive positions, it is beneficial for anyone who submits a resume does so with the intent to set himself or herself apart from any other potential candidate for a particular position. While accomplishments should be a part of any resume, effective executive resume writing needs to be able to present any individual in a diverse and attractive way as to make the applicant surpass the qualifications of any other applicants.

Some important additions a person might want to consider adding when approaching executive resume writing might include skills that seem difficult to put into words but done well can put their executive resume on the top of the consideration list. In executive resume writing, the ability to express skills beyond a concrete list of accomplishments in a succinct and powerful style can be more effective than a compilation of the most impressive list of accomplishments. Potential employers have come to expect more from potential candidates and because the first impression is made through executive resume writing, presenting a good balance of any achievements as well as an individual’s personal performance and influence on others is essential in effective executive resume writing.

Executive resume writing should include as much about the leadership qualities an applicant possesses as possible. Executive job positions may seem to have a limited need for extensive leadership qualities, but the actual requirements of any job can reach far beyond what is initially described to potential applicants. Executive resume writing should include specific character traits that are always beneficial in an executive position like the ability to communicate with others and work well in team-based environment as well as being able to face tasks and challenges with an open mind, motivation and professional character.

Executive resume writing can be difficult for even the brightest and most qualified individual for any type of executive position. Fortunately, a number of executive resume writing services are available to put together executive resumes that are designed to demonstrate exactly what employers are looking for in a potential employee. Describing personal and professional attributes in executive resume writing is essential even for lower-level positions to make an applicant a long-term employee with the skills necessary to complete each task and the potential for advancement.

Additional Resources:

While many resumes serve as more of an introduction for a potential employee to many businesses, federal resume writing is quite different in the fact that is it all about providing the maximum amount of factual information required upon resume submittal. If an individual submits a resume for a federal position that is lacking or missing some information required by the federal government, it will more than likely result in the resume not even being considered. In fact, in federal resume writing there is a specific federal job resume format that should be followed in order to have the appropriate information on the resume and for employment consideration.

When preparing for federal resume writing, it is important to note that all federal government applicants are ranked according to their work experience and level of education by using what is known as the Federal Qualification Standards. Keeping these standards in mind when undertaking federal resume writing can help make the process as detailed and thorough as possible. If a federal resume is ranked well enough for immediate consideration, it is then passed on to the functionary who will be selecting the new employee.

When putting together a federal resume, it is essential to include the job position a person is applying for including all pertinent identifying information like announcement number and title, all personal information from first and last name to social security number, any military history and a complete educational background. Transcripts from all schools should be included in federal resume writing. As with most resumes, federal resume writing should include a thorough work history including the kind of work experience, skills and any other qualifications that will make one resume stand out over another.

Successful federal resume writing can be accomplished by making sure that all qualifications are met and that all of the required information is included in a resume. A number of programs and services are available for federal resume writing to ensure a complete, accurate and impressive resume is submitted for each desired position or a person can simply purchase software with federal resume templates to guide them through the resume writing process. No matter what path an individual takes in federal resume writing, providing the information that is called for determines the acceptance or rejection of a resume.

Check out some resume examples

You finally did it. You made the decision to leave a career that makes you dread every Monday morning and pursue one that you feel is your true calling. Congratulations! Making the decision was the hard part, right? Unfortunately, no. You’ve convinced yourself that this is the right move…how do you convince everyone else? It’s time to work on your resume.

Resume writing for this situation can be challenging, to say the least. Why? Think about it for a moment – how do you go from a retail manager to a purchasing agent in a corporate environment? Or from an accountant to a salesperson? Not all career changes are that drastic, but you get the picture. Once you look at it from this point of view though, it makes you wonder how in the world you’ll get a job in a new field.

There are a number of things your resume has to portray to the reader:
• The skills that you learned and honed in your past jobs transfer to the one for which you are applying.
• Your strengths and accomplishments compliment the field and position (or type) of position you want.
• You can do something other than what you are currently doing.

So how exactly do you do this? How do you convince a potential employer that you have what it takes to meet and exceed the expectations for the job – no matter what previous jobs you’ve held in the past? One way is by writing a functional resume.

A functional resume is one that you don’t see nearly as often as the tradition chronological and combination ones. That’s because they are used when the situation for the job seeker is not ideal. Other instances may be returning to the workforce after a long period of time or job hopping. A functional resume is used when it wouldn’t be as effective as if you had a solid work history, no gaps in employment and are looking for a job similar to the one you are currently in, if not a step-up.

Your resume may start out with an executive profile or summary of what you have done in the past and what you are looking to do in the future. This is the time to really “talk yourself up”. You do not want to modest.

An example might be:
Accomplished and experienced professional with a 10-year proven record of developing accurate sales plans based on intensive analysis and communication with integral departments. Combines astute strategic and business skills with an impeccable work ethic and drive for success. Self-starter that is enthusiastic, forward-thinking and recognized as a peak performer.

How do you begin to write the body of your resume? Take all your achievements, strengths, education and/or training and write them down. Which ones can you group together under one heading? Headings could include:
• Leadership
• Financial Management
• Account Management
• Goal Setting & Achievement

Of course, these headings are just examples to get your own wheels turning. They will differ depending on your own experience and achievements.

As you are compiling your lists, keep in mind that you are writing for you new career, not your present or past ones. Present this valuable information in a compelling manner that shows how you can be a benefit to a company in your desired career. Use strong adjectives, verbs and keywords to really get your point across.

Now that you have the difficult part done, the next steps are easy. Include your work history, education and any other special training and/or skills that you deem important at the end of your resume. Even though the focus is on the main body of your resume, the other information needs to be on there for reference sake.

And that’s it! You’re done writing your resume. Hard work – yes, but well worth it when you consider what you are now able to tackle – a new job, a new career…a new life.

Additional Resources:

Here are some great resources for you to download from your computer. Some are e-books that you can print off and read and others are software programs. With the right tools, your job search will be a success — sooner and better!

Need to find a job? These sites are where to look. Browse around for the job(s) that fit your criteria and best suit your needs. Many of these job search portals also allow you to post you resume so that employers can find you.

SalesTrax
Uniting sales people with sales careers through Job Board, career fair services, and direct placement in the pharmaceutical, financial services, technology, and business services industries.

Beyond.com
Bored with your job? We can help you find a new job today.

Freelance Work Exchange
Change your life for $2.95. Get instant access to a lucrative freelance career.

JobGuru.com
Provides job candidates like you a competitive edge by locating 10, 20, or 40 recently advertised job openings that are ideal matches for your specified employment background.

JobsInSports.com
The most popular sports job board in America.

Monster.com
Search jobs, get your resume written by professionals, post your resume and network with people all over the country.

WorkTree.com
The largest job search portal in the world.

6FigureJobs.com
The leading online executive career portal.

More Resources

Job Vacancies
Job search at international organizations.

JSecurity Clearance Jobs
Have a security clearance? ClearanceJobs.com is the premier place to find top security clearance jobs.

JDiversityWorking
The Career Opportunity Job Search Engine for cultural diversity in the workplace.

JCareer and Job Search Engine
Offers free online searching for career and job opportunities. Plus listings of online job search, resume writing, and employer services.

JWineAndHospitalityJobs.com
The job site for the wine & hospitality industry throughout the US. Specializing in job posting for all aspects of the wine industry & upscale restaurants, hotels, inns, resorts, private clubs & more.

JGetJobs.com
GetJobs.com provides jobs in all categories. Free job search and resume management for jobseekers. Also, online career resources available.

JJob Listings Online
Freelancers can find work – Business owners can outsource their projects.

JIT jobs in London
A boutique executive search consultancy that specialises in recruiting and placing finance and IT professionals.

AnalyzeMyCareer
Need a career change? Aptitude tests, personality tests, occupational interest assessments.

CareerFitter.com
Offers a highly successful online Career Personality Assessment. Showing people the careers that best fit their personality as well as personality strengths and weaknesses.

Salary.com
What are your salary expectations? Find out what you’re worth.

More Resources

DiSC Profiles – DiSC Personality Test
Intesi! Resources is your source for the DiSC Products, Assessments, Personality Test, Learning Instruments and Training Materials that have resulted from years of research.