Job hunting

Getting Ready for Your Job Interview

Image by fuzzcat via Flickr

Once you get your foot in the door with your resume, the next major obstacle is the interview. The interviewer already knows the basics about your work experience. The point of the interview is to see how you fit with job and how you’d fit with potential co-workers. That means they’re looking for someone with a good personality who will mesh well.

The first step in preparing for the interview is to research the company. It helps to know what the company does and find a reason why you want to work there. Is there a product they’re producing that’s exciting? Are you interested in the service they’re providing? Knowing what the company does goes a long way in impressing the interviewer.

The second step in preparing is knowing how you’ll answer key questions. Find negatives in your past experience (such as not having experience with an aspect of the job) and find a way to turn it around so it’s more positive (such as saying, “Although I don’t have experience with that, I’m excited to learn. It’s something I’ve wanted to know more about, and this is a great opportunity to learn and grow.”). Practice these answers in front of a mirror. This will help you to know whether your facial expression matches what you’re saying. Also practice with someone who can give you feedback.

The third step is to pick out a professional outfit to wear to the interview. Men should wear suits and women should wear a modest business outfit that is moderate in color.

Filed Under: Ethics, Interviews Tagged With: Interview, Job hunting, Job interview

Preparing a Strong Resume

When looking for a job, a resume is one of the most important tools you can have. Your resume provides an overview of your education and work history and is often the key to getting you an interview.

A poorly-written resume that has misspellings, grammar errors, or doesn’t accurately reflect your job experience can hinder your job search. That’s why it’s so important to have a clear, concise, and well-written resume.

If you need to create or update a resume, the following tips will help ensure that it is the best it can be:

Resume Writing Service

A resume writing service will meet with you to discuss your job and education history in detail. It will also want to know your career goals and objectives, as well as the companies and jobs on your application list. From there, the service will create a professional resume for you.

While these services can be costly, you can have peace of mind knowing that your resume was written by professionals who know how to create a resume that gets results. Ask for recommendations and read online reviews before deciding on a service.

Take a Class

Many colleges, libraries, and continuing education centers have resume writing workshops that can show you, in an hour or two, how to create the ideal resume. Many instructors will critique your resume and offer pointers at the end as well.

Read a Book / Visit a Website

There are hundreds of books you can check out and websites you can visit that illustrate step-by-step how to create and proof a resume that will showcase your skills and experience. Just keep in mind that, if you write your resume yourself, make sure you have someone proof it for grammar and spelling.

A well-written resume can be the tool you need to help you land a good job.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Business, Employment, Job hunting, Résumé

Interview Cheaters

There are a lot of great jobs on the internet, but there are also a lot of liars and cheaters out there. It’s important to know the difference, but sometime you can’t tell until you’re already in the interview.

An interview should be one on one. It’s your chance to learn about the company, and the hiring manager’s chance to learn about you. An interview conducted with you, the hiring manager, and one or two other job applicants is not professional behavior by the company. The only reason to have your competition in the room with you is to leave you feeling intimidated and desperate for the job. They’re often hoping you’ll be so wrapped up with trying to get hired that you’ll overlook whatever it is they’re trying to hide.

Don’t do any work for free. The point of a job is to earn money, and if you do any work before you are technically an employee, before you complete any federal tax paperwork, you’re not an employee and they don’t have to pay you. If they ask you to work during the interview as if you’re already hired, then thank them for their time and walk out the door.

You don’t want to work for a liar. If the ad specifically say’s they’re hiring a receptionist, you apply for the receptionist position, they bring you in to interview for the receptionist position, and then tell you all about the sales job you’ll be hired for, they are trying to deceive you and you should leave. If the ad was misleading, and they led you on the entire process just so they could bring you into the office to pitch you their sales job, the chances they’ll lie to you about other things, like your paycheck, is pretty high.

Remember that liars always lie, cheaters always cheat, and you don’t want to enter a work environment that is deceptive from the beginning.

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: Cheating, Interview, Job hunting

Essential Cover Letter Tips

: Image via Wikipedia

The cover letter is one of the most difficult parts of the job application for many job seekers to complete. It can feel very fake and fill-in-the-blank. Cover letters, however, are an important part of the application and often the first thing that a potential employer will see on their desk or in their email.

Find a Name
Whenever possible, try to identify the name of a single person to receive your letter. This shows that you have put some time into the letter and truly looked into the organization. It’s also much more personal than “Dear Hiring Manager.” If no name is given in the job posting, do some website detective work. Look for the name of a head of human resources or the head of the department you would be working in. If you come up dry, address your letter to the CEO or director of the company.

Get Specific
Lay out in your cover letter exactly what caught your interest in this position and why you are applying. Avoid the temptation to write one cover letter for thirty different positions, take the time to show the company why you are the right fit and that you understand what this specific job would entail.

Also attempt to include some of your basic qualifications in your cover letter, this will encourage the reader to continue on to your resume for more information. Don’t be repetitive, but be straightforward about why you are a strong candidate and what skills you bring to the job.

Provide Information
Be sure to lay out all of your contact information and make it easy for people to get in touch with you for interviews. Making yourself accessible is one of the keys to hearing back from your job inquiries. Be the person that they want to call in for more information and you’re likely to hear from the company soon.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Application for employment, Business, coverletter, Employment, Human resources, Job hunting, Résumé, Resumes and Portfolios

Pump Up Your Resume

Templates can be great, but they often include a lot of extra unnecessary information that’s pretty much just fluff. If you cut away the fluff and expand on the meaty parts of your resume you’ll have an end result that stands out from the rest of the pile.

You don’t really need to put your objective, or your hobbies, or anything like that. Your objective is to find a job. No matter how you word it, you wouldn’t be writing a resume if you wanted anything else. And listing your hobbies looks unprofessional. Unless your hobbies are related to the position you want, you don’t need to list how much you love yoga or fishing or painting. If your hobbies are related to the job, then mention it in the interview, but still leave them off your resume.

You need to include your contact information, because without it, no one will be able to get a hold of you. That is the most important part of your resume.

You can state your experience in several ways. You can list your previous employment, then write a short description of your duties and the skills you learned. You can also use bullets to highlight the information. If you have experience that was gained through volunteer work or in school, you can include it in here as well. Don’t include information that isn’t relevant to the job for which you’re applying. It’s okay to leave off unrelated jobs because you’ll have to list them on the application anyway.

During the education portion of the resume, you do want to list whatever schooling or degree you may have, even if it’s unrelated to the job. Showing you can complete a degree is more important than what the degree is actually in.

Finally, list any relevant awards or skills you might have. Now you have a meaty, pumped up resume that can stand up to the rest.

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: Business, Employment, Information, Job hunting, Job Search, Résumé

The Job Finding Maze

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

In this precarious economy, finding a job can be a full time job. There are so many people in lay-off or down-sizing situations, who have found themselves out of a job, maybe for the first time in many years. If you have been out of the job searching business for even a few years, things have changed. With the introduction of the Internet, advanced technology, and people whom you can hire just to find you a job, things have changed considerably. No longer is job hunting just a door knocking, hand shaking deal. You have to “sell” yourself to prospective employers. You need to make them feel that you are doing them a favor by working for them.

The process obviously starts with the job hunt. You have sifted through newspapers, on-line job finding search engines and “NOW HIRING” signs. What comes next? Was your search successful? You can get help at jobcorpsworks.org. This sight will even help you find the available jobs suited to your needs. Tell them what you are qualified to do and they will find employment prospects for you. If you are searching on your own, you can get advice on the job search. Once you find a job or a few jobs that you think might be a good fit, you need to apply for employment. When was the last time you had to write a resume? Have you gone on a job interview lately? What are the right things to say, what is the best way to present yourself? At jobcorpsworks.org you can get advice on resume writing tips, as well as job interview tips and advice.

You know you are amazing, your family knows you are amazing, your friends know you are amazing. With jobcorpsworks.org now your future boss will see how amazing you are, on paper and in person.

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: Business, Business and Economy, Employment, Job hunting, Job interview, Job Search, Résumé, Web search engine

Job Searching Tips: Ways to Find A Job That Comes With Less Competition

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Over the past few years the economy has taken a nosedive and thousands of people are left without jobs. That makes the competition for the limited amount of jobs that much tougher. However, there are ways that you can search for a job listings that haven’t gotten as much attention and therefore your chances of getting the job are better.

Here are some of the ways that you can search for a job and not have to fight to get that final employment spot.

Stick to Less Traditional Websites. There are hundreds of job sites available online. Some are more popular than others. If you are looking for jobs that might have less competition then consider going to some of the sites that aren’t visited frequently by thousands of job seekers. The less often a page is being looked at could mean that less people are viewing the results and your chances are greater of getting a job.

Community Billboards. Some community centers or libraries allow companies to be able to post job listings. While this are visible to the public they aren’t as widely viewed as websites are and you could be facing less competition.

Word of Mouth. For the least amount of competition when it comes to finding a job the best way to go is through friends and family. Many times friends and family members might know someone who is hiring and will extend the offer of employment to you before they even post to job sites or the newspaper. If you are looking for a job make sure that you let everyone know because you never know who might be looking to hire you.

The job market is tough out there but there are ways that you can lessen the chances of having to compete against hundreds of job applicants to get a job.

Filed Under: Ethics Tagged With: Employment, Job hunting, Labour economics

Tips for a Solid Resume

: Image via Wikipedia

Building a solid resume is the single most important part of the job search. Avoiding some common resume mistakes and making your resume a good reflection of your skills and work experience is a critical step in landing your perfect job.

Avoid Resume Templates
Using common word processing templates is a sure way to make your resume blend into the background in a pile of options. The truth is that everyone uses the templates and using your own design is one way to make your resume stand out. Use a font that is easy to read, black ink, and a style that appears clear, orderly, and unique.

Outline What Matters
Use bullet points under your work experience to highlight key skills and roles that you have taken on in your past work. Potential employers should be able to look at your resume and instantly see things that set you apart. Avoid large paragraphs that readers have to sift through to find the key elements of your experience. Instead, these things should instantly jump out as important.

Share Your Resume
Before you begin applying for jobs, send your finished resume to a few close friends who can give you an honest critique. Ask them to let you know if your resume provides an accurate portrayal of who you are as a professional. This will not only allow you a chance to find out if your resume is doing its job, but it will provide a fresh set of eyes to check for spelling and grammar errors that can happen when you have spent too much time looking at a document.

A polished resume is the first step towards an interview and a job. Taking the time to ensure that your resume is up-to-date, accurate, and interesting to the reader will help you to land a job even in a tough economy.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Business, Business and Economy, Employment, Job hunting, Job Search, Labour economics, Résumé, Resumes and Portfolios

Use Craigslist for your Job Search

: Image via CrunchBase

Craigslist can be a dream come true for many job seekers. There are many ways to use it as a resource to find jobs and put yourself out there as a potential new hire. The trick is knowing how to use it to your advantage.

Advertise Yourself
Consider going to the resume section of Craigslist and making a post. Use the headline to sum up your field and experience to catch potential employers eye. Then post highlights from your resume along with a note about what type of a position you are seeking and what skills and experience you bring to the table. Be sure to remove your personal contact information before posting, employers who are hiring can respond to you through replying to the post on Craigslist so they do not have your private information until you choose to share it with them.

Search Jobs
Bookmark job listings for your field and check them regularly. One of the benefits of using Craigslist to search for jobs is that the jobs are updated much more frequently than sites such as Monster and CareerBuilder. Craigslist jobs allow you to reply to postings that happened hours before you sent your resume in to the hiring managers. A quick reply is one way to get noticed as a potential new hire and to show that you are serious about the job hunt process.

Don’t Ignore the Gigs Section
For creative professionals, writers, artists, manual laborers, and event planners, the gigs section of Craigslist offers a unique place to find local jobs that fit their field. This is a great way to learn about upcoming opportunities and fill in your schedule as you are building your resume.

Craigslist is a great resource for job seekers to stay up-to-date with local openings, explore job options, and advertise themselves through resume forums.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Business, CareerBuilder, Craigslist, Employment, Job hunting, Job Search, Monster, Résumé

The Perfect Job

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The job market. Many Americans today are back in the job market. People who have been out of the job market for years and years are finding that they need to reinvent themselves, get back out there and compete for jobs in a market of fresh college graduates. Seasoned professionals are not always the most wanted “new” employees. Men and women who have been employed with their companies for decades are finding that they are beating the pavement just like everyone else looking for work, realizing that the way they found their last job is certainly not the way they need to find a job today.

Looking for a job can be a full time job. Once you have narrowed your search down, you need to dust off that resume and freshen it up. Since it can be many years since you last had to present a resume, let alone write one, you may need some help. At jobcorpsworks.org you can find help. This site was designed to help you find a way to present yourself in the best light. It is more important than ever to show that you are the best person for the job. There are professional resume writers who can write your resume for you, and charge you plenty of money to do that. Being out of work, money is tight, and why spend that money when you can find help on the Internet at jobcorpsworks.org. The resume will tell the employer that you have the skills that they are looking for. However it says so much more. Your possible future employer can learn a lot about you from the resume. It may be the only way to get your foot in the door. You cannot show the boss what you will be able to do for him until you at least get in to see him or her. A good, clean resume is the key to unlock that door.

Filed Under: Business Etiquette Tagged With: Business, Employment, Job hunting, Job Search, Labour economics, LinkedIn, Résumé, United States