This is certainly off-topic for this group and obviously spam designed to
push a website.
So as a public service, I'd like to present Roger's Job Hunting Clinic.
Free of charge, no website needed.
Roger's Job Hunting Clinic
RESUME
First of all, understand the purpose of a resume. It is NOT to sell you to
prospective employers. The purpose of a resume is to get you past the FIRST
step in the hiring process. That step is the HR person (or some equivalent)
who's job it is to reject applications.
Understand, HR spends most of its time rejecting people, so that's their
main focus. You don't want anything in the resume to make you rejectable.
* Don't make a general resume, tailor it to the individual job and company.
* Look for a good *current* book of resume examples. Often the lowest
levels of HR workers will be the first filters and they still believe what
their profs in college told them.
* Making the resume more than one page might make you rejectable to some,
(see above) so keep it short. Besides, if it's too long, it might just get
rejected as being too much trouble, especially if they have a lot of
applications.
* Make sure you fulfill the minimum job requirements.
* If you have other qualifications, list those too, but be careful. Having
too much may get you rejected as being over qualified.
* DON'T EVER lie on your resume.
* Make sure you spell the company's name correctly.
* Don't do anything weird to try to make you stand out. They've seen it all
and will not be amused.
* Pay scale: This one is tricky. If they don't list a pay range, don't list
a required salary. This is a sure way to get kicked. If there is a pay range
listed, aim for the center or slightly below. Most places keep their actual
pay at the center of the range. New hires are generally slightly below this
to give them room to give a pay raise after the probation period. WHEN IN
DOUBT, LEAVE IT OFF.
* List your experience, but don't list dates, especially if there are gaps.
Gaps make them wonder what you've been doing with yourself in the interim.
Even if you've got more, list the latest 3 or 4 jobs that are relevant to
the job you are applying for. Listing your experience at a day-care will not
get you much when applying for an office job. However, if that's all the
experience you have, list it. Hopefully, your educational qualifications
will make up for it.
~ Note: Have an additional list available (say in an interview) with ALL
of your job experience in reverse chronological order with dates.
* Don't put references on your resume if you can help it, unless that
person works at that company.
~ Again, have a complete reference list available if requested.
FIRST INTERVIEW
The first interview will most likely be with an HR person. Again, since HR
is looking to weed out applicants, your goal here is to do nothing that will
get you rejected. Again, you aren't trying to convince this person to hire
you, they can't. That's not their job.
You'll also likely have to fill out an application at this point. HR
requires the paperwork, even though you've got all that information on your
resume. So this is where your additional lists come in. Have your complete
list of educational and job qualifications in reverse chronological order.
Have a list of 6 personal references and 6 professional references. You
won't need that many, but it's doesn't hurt to be prepared. Have their
names, addresses, and phone numbers. Nothing looks so inept as asking for a
phone book to look up a phone number.
Dress appropriately. What is appropriate? Look at the kind of dress the
position requires and dress up a step or two. So if it is factory work,
dress in business casual. If the job dress is business casual, wear a suit.
Generally, over dressing is not an issue, but you might be uncomfortable if
your interviewer is in business casual and you're in a tuxedo.
I got my first job out of college as a computer salesman because I was the
only one who wore a suit. The others dressed like the computer geeks they
were.
It goes without saying that you should be clean, groomed, and smelling fresh
(neither BO or over-powering cologne).
Strategy here is to basically answer the interviewer's questions without
volunteering too much extra information. It's the extras that can trip you
up. Don't go for humor. Humor varies from person to person and yours may not
mesh. Be pleasant, be succinct, and get out of there as soon as you can.
If the pay rate question comes up, try to dodge it. Tell them you assume the
pay will be appropriate for the job. If they insist, ask what the posted
range is and strike for the middle. Shooting low isn't generally a problem
because most places have a pay rate they are planning to pay anyway. Asking
too much, however, will reduce your chances of being called back. And
remember, that's the purpose of this interview from your standpoint. The HR
person won't have any say in what you get paid anyway.
Be prepared for the "HR" or "psych" type questions: "If you were a tree,
what kind of tree would you be and why?" HR people love those. See if you
can find a current interview preparation book. They may have lists of these.
Lastly, practice your interview with someone else. Pretend you are in an
actual interview and play it straight. If you know an HR person in another
company, see if you can enlist their help.
SECOND INTERVIEW
This is where you really want to impress the person interviewing you. He or
she is the Decision Maker, and quite likely your prospective boss. Your
purpose here is to impress this person, but you have to do so in a
particular way. Always keep in mind that the DM wants to hire you to make
HIS job easier. So don't talk about what you want to get out of this job.
Always focus on how hiring you will make his job easier, will make him look
better, will get him that next promotion. Obviously, you won't be so crass
as to actually say these things, but always craft your answers so that he
can see these things for himself. He'll be looking for that anyway.
If he's interested in your qualifications, this might be the place to
present him with your complete list, but ONLY if he asks for additional
information.
This interview is also the place to remember that the less said, the better.
Answer questions clearly and succinctly and don't spend a lot of time
elaborating. The more you talk, the more likely you will slip up and say
something stupid.
In fact, it's a really good strategy to get the DM talking as much as
possible. Most people love to hear themselves talk and you'll make more
points by being a good listener than a good talker. If you can get them
talking enough, they'll be impressed by how intelligent you are without you
having to say anything.
The DM may not be as comfortable interviewing as the HR person because
that's not his job. But be prepared for a question that gives you a scenario
and asks how you would solve it. Interview books can help with these too.
Also be ready to ask questions of the DM. Near the end of the interview,
he'll probably say, "So, do you have any questions for us?" Have some
questions ready that pertain to the department or the company rather than
specific to the job. It will make you sound like a team player. Everybody
loves a team player.
Get out of this interview as quickly as you can without rushing it. The DM
is generally very busy and won't be impressed with you hanging around and
chatting. Of course, if the DM initiates the chat, play along. Whatever it
takes to make him comfortable with you.
REMEMBER: He's hiring someone to make his job easier and to make himself
look better. If you always keep that uppermost in your thoughts, you'll go a
long way toward getting that job.
