This is going to sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people make this mistake when they walk into an interview for a job: they never bothered to research the company.
When you get the dreaded question, “why are you applying for this position?”, do you know enough about the company to answer confidently? Imagine the impression that interviewer will have of you when you say, “I am interested in this position because of the company’s mission statement” or “I enjoy the field of _________ and this position offers many opportunities in that area”. It is important to know at least the basics about the company, its structure, and its stated mission/goals/purpose. The person who is interviewing you is attempting to discern if you will fit into their company culture and become a viable team member. They want to know that you care enough about the job. By demonstrating you’ve taken the time to learn about the position gives the interviewer an idea of what kind of employee you’ll be. When you are acquainted with the company you are ready for the interview. If you are asked “Do you have any questions?,” you can intelligently respond with queries that show you did your homework. You are aware of the size of the workforce and the structure of the management team. You know the stated goals of the organization. Researching the company before the interview is worth every minute you invest because it prepares you for anything you may be asked.
You’ve just graduated and now the future looms. You worked at a minimum wage job through school, so you are already past an ‘entry level’ resume, right? Wrong. An Entry-Level resume goes past the job history in the school cafeteria and coffee shop to include everything that makes YOU a good candidate for a career with the company you are hoping to join. It combines your coursework, skill sets, internships, and all your experience to showcase the benefits you bring to the hiring table. One example would be your probable expertise with technology, and the ability to multi-task. You might not realize that being able to use Photoshop and being unintimidated by computer programs can be assets, but they are useful skills. A generation that has grown up with smartphones has the ability to go on to other technologies with ease. A good resume can turn that into a point in your favor during the interview (assuming you have turned off that smartphone to give your full attention to what is happening!) Did you show up on time without fail at that school job? Did you have any good reviews? Your research paper on Medieval French Literature might not apply to the job you are seeking, but the skills you developed and used will. Most employers will appreciate a worker who can research what needs to be done, break it down intelligently, and explain the steps coherently in lucid writing. You could figure out this resume writing all by yourself because you do have the research skills. But it might be a good investment to see what a professional service can do for you. A lot of the time, a graduate doesn’t have the time or the understanding of what employers are looking for. It’s difficult to figure out which skills are assets if you don’t know how to look at the whole picture. In today’s job market, you need expert advice to make your entry level resume showcase your skills and education and get you started on your career path with confidence.
By now everyone has heard about people being hired and then either dismissed during the probationary period or shunned to the back room because of tattoos and/or piercings.Because these displays of individuality are becoming more common, you might not give it a second thought when you arrive at your interview with a nose ring. The truth is: you should be giving your appearance a second thought when looking for employment. As part of your job search/interview prep, you need to determine the climate of the place where you are applying. Some companies have no problem with body art or multiple piercings. However, other work environments consider them to be detrimental to the company image. While it’s rare that a stellar candidate would be automatically excluded based on this alone, in a tough job market where there are several great candidates vying for every position, it could be problematic. New graduates need to remember that it’s rare that others of their immediate generation will be the ones hiring. You will generally be interviewed by someone who has been in the workforce for a number of years, so their standards are the ones you need to be mindful of when deciding whether or not to wear your piercings to job interviews or on the job. On the other hand, some companies may simply not care at all. Common sense advice: research the company prior to applying for the job. Of course the reality is that often people apply to every place with an opening. Either way, add to your list of things to look into the personal grooming policies of the company regarding tattoos and piercings. You want to project a professional image that is inline with others at the company. Abiding by the dress code in the environment you’re applying to will save you from entering into an awkward situation with the hiring manager, and, could even be the difference in getting the job or politely being shown the door.
Some people never really leave high school. Even as adults you will still find them hanging out and spreading the latest gossip. The problem is that no matter how they go about it, a workplace gossip is killing their own career. It’s one thing to spend a few minutes chatting about the latest ball scores or last night’s, “Castle” episode, or to discuss the co-worker who has just returned from maternity leave, in a positive manner. It’s quite another to be dishing the dirt on anyone or anything at work. No one really trusts a gossip. If you pay attention, you will see that their careers are going nowhere fast. What does this have to do with you as you are hunting for a new job? The best resume and cover letter in the world isn’t going to change what your boss has to say about you when he or she is called. If you think that your boss either doesn’t know you are a gossip or isn’t going to say anything about it, you’re wrong. Your boss will mention it and it will hurt your chances at a new company. Gossips are rarely liked and it’s even more rare that they are trusted with sensitive material. More importantly, being a workplace gossip means you have two character traits that employers loathe; you have the potential to cause discord and you waste time. Gossip often harms people and relationships. This is bad for the work environment. An employer needs people who work well together and a gossip can often bring out the worst in people, not the best. The wasting time issue is self-explanatory. You are being hired to do a job, not talk about people. So what do you do if you have been the go-to person for the latest dirt? Knock it off now. A few weeks and people will forget all about your past as the ultimate gossip.
While LinkedIn has become extremely popular with businesses and companies, it still seems to be lagging a bit when it comes to those seeking jobs. That’s a shame because it’s one of the easiest and most effective job search tools available today. Many company hiring managers check LinkedIn before looking anywhere else for new employees.
The main reason that LinkedIn isn’t being used as much as it should be by job seekers is because it’s considered a form of social media and that term alone makes people think of it as a leisure activity. Nothing could be further from the truth where LinkedIn is concerned. There are, of course, a variety of ways to use the service and some are naturally better than others.
To start, you want to make sure that your profile is 100% complete. If you aren’t sure how to go about doing this, consider hiring a professional to translate your resume into your LinkedIn profile. Having a completed profile that stands out is a great way to give potential employers a good look at you before the interview process.
It’s also important to note that many companies are asking for your LinkedIn profile when you submit a resume. It has actually become so common that many people just include their LinkedIn URL on their resume to begin with.
LinkedIn can also be used overtly for an active job search. Because thousands of companies have company profiles and use the site for headhunting, many of their job openings are published on the site before, or even instead of, any place else. Once you have a completed profile, you can simply click a button and apply for a multitude of jobs.
Consider updating, or even beginning to use, LinkedIn as a job search tool. It’s a great way to be seen by thousands of companies fast.
Are Your Social Media Profiles Speaking For You or Against You?
Social media is a great tool for your job search and job application process because it allows you to get your name out to the entire world. Employers are starting to utilize social media sites to not only find prospective applicants, but also to investigate current applicants. This means that you need to make sure that your online profiles are showing off your best attributes and give the impressiona that you would be a great employee.
Here are some things that you should be aware of so you don’t lose opportunities due to what is on your profile.
Vulgarity or Obscenities: Refrain from including vulgar or obscene words in your profile or your posts. These could be offensive to employers and could give them a bad impression of you. You also need to watch what your “friends” post on your profile. While you may not have posted the information yourself, the content still reflects on you.
Negativity: If you have a lot of posts that are negative or if you are overly negative in your own posts, you can put off employers. Employers don’t want to work with people who are negative and will bring them down. So
Bad Talking About People: If you talk bad about people in your life currently, then what will keep you from talking bad about your potential coworkers or employers? Even though you may say, “I would never talk bad about my employers on the internet!” the potential employers looking at your profile will not know that. They will only know what they can see in your posts.
Social media can be a great tool for your job search. However, if not used properly, it can also be one of the biggest obstacles in your search. But make sure that you utilize it so you get the most desirable results and check to ensure that you don’t have anything on your profiles that could be harmful to your opportunities.
While the job interview can be scary, it doesn’t have to be hard to make a good impression. In fact, if you follow these 8 simple tips you will be able to make it through the interview without freaking out, impress the employer, and be able to move forward with your job search process.
Eye Contact: This is one of the most important things you can do in an interview. Making eye contact with your interviewer shows that you are confident in your expertise and interested in what your interviewer is saying. However, be careful that you are not staring your interviewer down. Be confident, not creepy.
Smile: This will also show confidence as well as put your interviewer at ease. A smile makes people feel like you are an enjoyable person and they will mirror the smile back. When you see your interviewer smiling, it will help you feel at ease and the cycle will continue throughout the interview.
Speak Clearly and With Purpose: If you need to, take a small moment and think about what you want to say (not too long or it will become awkward) in order to avoid using fillers such as “mm” “um” or “hmm.” This will make your answers precise, purposeful, and clear.
Be On Time: There is nothing that will put your interviewer off more than tardiness. Their time is valuable and if you are wasting it, even for a moment, you are giving the impression that you don’t care about them or their time. Be early if you can, but do not be late.
Be Honest: Lying is not appropriate or acceptable in the real world, so why would it be okay in a job interview? It isn’t. Be honest and it will make your life and your interview easier, as well as will prevent a termination down the road, if your lie is discovered.
Dress Professionally: It is an easy thing to overlook, but if you go into the interview looking dingy or unkempt, then you will put off an image that you don’t care about yourself or the interviewers. Dress like you care about yourself, the job, and the interviewer, and you will be on the right path to getting the job.
Don’t Interrupt: It seems simple enough, but it is important to remember. While you want to make sure that you express who you are and why you would be good for the job, you do not ever want to interrupt the interviewer. No matter how good you think your comment is, it is not good enough to interrupt your interviewer.
Be Friendly: Don’t be sarcastic or rude. Even if you are having a bad day or you just want to be done with the interview, make it seem like there is nowhere else you would rather be.
Follow these tips and you will be in good standing for your interview and you will be on your way to getting the job.
It is inevitable that your experience, skills, and achievements will change and increase.That is just a part of working and progressing in your career. With career progression comes the need to update your resume to reflect your career highlights and history. Since most people don’t really think about updating their resume until they are looking for a new job, job seekers today need to make sure that resume updates are made only after careful thought and time have been put forth. Quick updates could mean making critical errors, and we all know that errors on a resume don’t lead to an interview-errors lead to the trash pile. Here is some food for thought to ponder before you start making revisions to your resume:
If you are rushing to put something onto your resume last minute, chances are it will not look as good as the rest of your resume. You will not take the time necessary to edit and make sure that the piece of information you have just put in matches the flow of the rest of your resume. If one part of your resume looks different from the rest of the document, employers may take this as a sign that you do not give attention to detail, or that you are disorganized.
If you put something on last minute, more likely than not you will forget what it is that you have just put on. This means that in an interview, if you are asked about the addition, you may need to scramble to figure out what exactly it is and why you put it on your resume in the first place. That scrambling looks, to your interviewer, like you don’t know what they are talking about (which could make it seem like you never did it in the first place), and it will make you look inadequate and incompetent. Not a good first impression!
Quick fixes lead to quick errors. Job seekers are more likely to have spelling, spacing and grammar errors when making quick edits. Read your changes over several times and ensure you don’t have typos. Better yet-try a second set of eyes. Ask a friend or colleague to review your changes just to be sure you didn’t miss anything. If you have errors on your resume, the employer will expect that you will make errors in your daily work, and may not see you as a strong candidate for the position, regardless of your skills and expertise.
All in all, it is just better to add additions right when they happen. Make your resume a living document. Receive an award? Add it to your resume. Complete a professional development class? Add it to your resume. Keeping your revisions current will give you time to know exactly what is on your resume and why you included certain information. Doing so will save you from bumbling and looking unprofessional in an interview, as well as will make your resume look more impressive overall.
