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1ST STEPS IN THE HUNT
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Resume Services
December 08, 2000
Whether you are starting a job hunt or continuing one, you have to look over that resume. Fortunately, the Internet has eliminated the need for you to harangue your friends and loved ones into checking it over for you. For a minimal fee (if any), there is always someone out there that can provide information or services for anything you need. This is especially true in the area of Resumes.
Several Resume Services you may consider to help you get started:
Resume.com and Resume Cafe help you create resume, as well as additional materials with prices that range from $12 up to about $180. Resume Card allows you to build an online resume that relates to your 'business' card.
Interviewing
December 07, 2000
When all is said and done, the purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. Anything that distracts from that goal is a negative; anything that moves you closer is a positive. When you review your credentials package, ask an unbiased peson whether or not they'd be interested in talking to someone like this.
As far as interviewing goes, there are few moments that generate as much fear. The web is chock full of advice that preys on these fears. A simple search on Employment Interviewing will give you about 9,000 places to look for advice and consolation.
The bottom line? Everyone gets nervous when preparing for an employment interview. Knowing as much as you can about the company; making comfortable conversation and solid eye contact; and relaxing while you're in the process are the basic pieces of making your interview a success. Being on time is a good start.
We're currently suggesting that you don't include your resume as an attachment to email. Many of your intended recipients are like us and more or less trash attachments without looking at them. Don't ask your audience to do extra work for you.
Everyone Needs an Informant
December 06, 2000
Take a look at Informant (your personal search agent on the Internet). The service is a product of the Dartmouth labs and performs some functions similar to URL Minder. The Informant will save your favorite search engine queries and web sites, check them periodically, then, notify you of changes by email. Enter the URLs of your favorite job search sites and let Informant notify you when they've changed.
Behavioral Interviews
December 04, 2000
Hiring Managers have the nearly impossible task of figuring out whether you are the best Job candidate to fill their company's open position. You know your resume is peppered with examples of 'positive spin', creative literary attempts to show your skills in the best light possible.
Well, they know it too. Your resume is one of hundreds a Hiring Manager sees every day - if they have been in their Job for any length of time, they've probably seen hundreds of thousands of them. They've seen great cover letters, typos out the wazoo, the clever and the cute. How they manage to actually read another resume is beyond human comprehension.
So don't worry too much about presenting the 'perfect resume', it's only going to get skimmed, at best. Concentrate on being able to answer questions designed to get at the root of how you might act if you get the Job you are applying for. Assuming you have assessed the Job function after researching the company, you should prepare for the Interview by considering some of the following questions:
Interviewers assume that your past behavior is a good indicator of future actions. They will be looking into your past through the stories you tell during the Interview, attempting to determine if your methods for solving potentially problematic situations will make a good fit within their company. Your resume says you have certain skills - do your stories about how you solved problems at your last Job show these skills in action?
Before you enter the Interview stage you should attempt to figure out what the core competencies of the Job are, and remember/create stories that clearly show how you possess these particular skills. Do exactly what the Hiring Manager is doing - trying to figure out what skills and kinds of behavior the Job requires. Are the skills related to technical proficiency, or more toward motivational or leadership skills?
Ask for a copy of the Job description, and see if you can uncover what abilities will be assessed in the Interview. Talk to Employees at the company to get clues as to the company's core values and culture. You may not get all the answers, but you'll be better prepared with a few stories from your last few Jobs. This is the kind of edge you'll need to separated yourself from the other twenty people Interviewing for the Job.
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Materials written by John Sumser © TwoColorHat. All Rights Reserved.