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Category Archive: Resumes

Oct 31

Interview Basics for Jobseekers

I’ve written previously about the need to prepare for interviews. Many jobseekers throw themselves into the beginning part of the job search – preparing a resume, writing cover letters, searching job sites for potential jobs, and the savvy ones, networking to open doors.

Often when the news comes that you have an interview you are so excited to have made it to the next stage that you forget to adequately prepare. As with many things, preparation is the key to your success and it doesn’t just mean the big things.

I know first-hand from my recruiting days, and from my contacts in the industry I regularly hear that it’s the little things that let jobseekers down badly at interview.

Recently I surveyed a group of recruiters who interview jobseekers every day across a range of sectors, and asked them what were the main mistakes they had observed?

From their responses I have compiled a list of Interview Basics for landing a new job.

  • Dress professionally, irrespective of the role you are applying for – neat and tidy hair, clothes, shoes and don’t forget the finger nails!
  • Don’t be late – arrive at your destination with plenty of time to spare and use the time to go over your resume.
  • Don’t forget to be nice to everyone – especially the receptionist!
  • Greet your interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake.
  • Don’t take your parents, partner or a friend along for moral support.
  • Make eye contact with your interviewer.
  • Watch your body language – sit up straight, unfold your arms and give the interviewer your full attention.
  • Listen carefully to questions and if you don’t understand ask for more information.
  • Turn off your mobile phone!
  • Don’t bring takeaway coffee with you.
  • Don’t bad mouth former employers or co-workers – it makes you look unprofessional.
  • Answer questions using the STAR technique if asked for an example eg, ‘Tell me about a time when …’
  • Don’t ramble – stay on track and answer directly, keeping it concise.
  • Make sure you have prepared a list of questions for the interview – don’t say ‘You already answered my questions’.
  • Know your resume inside out and back to front – questions will come from the resume.
  • Be prepared to provide referees – have their contact information ready so you don’t have to troll through your phone to find their numbers.
  • Take copies of tickets, licenses, qualifications, etc. in case you are asked to provide them.
  • Know what the company does, makes or sells – do your research – it is expected.
  • Don’t be negative – your job search journey may not have been an easy one but you’ve got an interview; don’t blow it by complaining.
  • Be honest – don’t misrepresent yourself – it is simply not worth it if you are found out.
  • Be prepared – you should have rehearsed answers to common interview questions and be ready to express yourself clearly.

If you’ve been guilty of any of these, here’s your chance to correct it before the next interview. If not, don’t forget the basics for each and every interview.

Get these little things right – they will boost your confidence so that you present well.

 
This article is written by Michelle Lopez and is posted on her website- http://www.one2oneresumes.com.au © Michelle Lopez, Owner/Career Consultant
 
Thanks 

Jappreet Sethi

2 comments

Sep 30

9 Biggest Mistakes To Avoid In Your Resume

Here are 9 of the biggest mistakes to avoid In Your resume , not correcting them will instantly make your resume appear antiquated:

The One Page Rule

Don’t spend countless hours trying to squeeze a decade or two of valuable experience onto a single sheet of paper. The worst thing you can do is try to make the font smaller or eliminate space between lines. If you do, your resume is too hard to read.The best way to gain extra space is to decrease the margins. Use 1/2 an inch instead of an inch. The good news is that the one-page resume no longer rules, as today’s hiring manager is more likely to be scrolling down on a screen than flipping to the next page.In fact, for experienced professionals a two-page resume is the most common format. There are obvious exceptions, such as recent graduates and entry-level applicants who can easily fit all of their experience on one page without sacrifice. For seasoned pros, however, even three- and four-page resumes are not uncommon and are acceptable today.Printing double sided will get you two pages for the price of one, and can impress companies who are environmental oriented.

Using Ancient Fonts

A “font” is the style and shape of the words on your resume. The right fonts are modern and easy to read. The wrong fonts are ancient and difficult to read. The right fonts are Arial and Helvetica. The wrong fonts are Times New Roman and anything else too fancy.If you have your resume in Times New Roman font, like many of us do, change it to Arial. You’ll be amazed at how much cleaner, modern and more professional it looks.

Writing in Paragraphs instead of Bullet Points

Your resume is an outline, not a novel. Use bullet points to highlight your experience and education, with short sentences or phrases.Don’t write in long block paragraphs that tell a story. It makes your resume much harder for a human to “scan” quickly, and is likely to cause your resume to be thrown into the rejected pile.

Using a Street Address

Including a City and State is fine, but there is no reason to include your actual Street Address. The employer isn’t going to be notifying you of an interview by snail mail.Skipping the street address is good for you for two reasons. It helps prevent both identity theft and junk mail. Since many job ads are from companies that choose not to reveal their names, you never know who you’re sending your resume to, so skip the street address and keep yourself protected.

Not Including an Email Address

Yes, you may have emailed your resume to the recruiter, but it’s still important to have your email address on your resume, as well as your phone number.Listing an email is not just a matter of convenience. It says, “Yes, I am part of the modern world, please hire me.”

 Using an Objective instead of a Summary

Objectives are out and Summaries are in. The reason is an Objective tells the employer what you want. A Summary tells the employer who you are and what you can do for them.Your Summary should be about 2 or 3 sentences that state what job you are applying for, and a brief explanation of your career highlights. You should be able to read your summary section out loud in 30 seconds or less.


Ignoring Keywords

Resumes are scanned by computers as often as they are read by humans. The software is designed to scan resumes for the keywords chosen by the employer. If you don’t have the right keywords, your resume never gets selected to be read by a real human.There are two ways to manage keywords. The easy way is to simply include a keyword section (don’t call it that, call it “Core Competency”).The harder but better way of using keywords is to place them throughout your resume in the descriptions of your work and school experience. It’s more natural, and will score better with the actual human recruiter.The secret to knowing the right keywords is that they are usually in the job ad. If you see a list of skills required, a certain educational degree, or specific licenses or other qualifications, those are all keywords. Any unique words could be keywords, but things like “strong work ethic” are never keywords.

Stating Obvious Computer Skills

Don’t list common technology on your resume. We all know how to use Microsoft Word, Windows, Internet Explorer, Twitter and Facebook. We all know how to use an email program. For upper-level applicants, it is already inferred that you possess the entry-level technical skills that were needed to successfully rise through the ranks. Listing them would unnecessarily lend your overall presentation a lower-level feel, which you would obviously want to avoid.

References Available Upon Request

Of course they are. References were more important before the internet became everybody’s reference. Google is always willing to give you a reference, for better or worse. It goes without saying that you are going to provide references if a prospective employer you want to hire you requests them.

 

This post was previously published on Doostang.com ,Founded in 2005 at Harvard, Stanford and MIT, Doostang was created with one goal in mind: to successfully advance ambitious young professionals in their careers. 

Thanks 

Jappreet Sethi

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Jul 03

20 Ways to Kill Your Job Application!

We spend a great deal of time talking to recruiters, employers and human resource staff every week. I recently sent an email asking some of them what they would list as their top 3 peeves when it came to receiving resumes and short-listing candidates. You should have seen my inbox fill up with responses! Many were repeated, so I thought I would share a list of the top 20.

Straight from the mouths of the people reading your resumes:

  1. Rambling! I wish people would get to the point. I haven’t got time to read a novel.
  2. Resumes that are a straight list of duties. Tell us what you did differently, what you did well.
  3. I want people to tell me how they meet my need. If not, I move on to the next resume. Simple.
  4. People who don’t meet the criteria for the role. If you don’t have the essential skills required, then don’t apply. Essential and desirable criteria are listed for a reason.
  5. Career Objectives. OMG, these are so annoying. I don’t want to know what you want. I want to know what you can do for me!
  6. Incorrect contact details. If an email bounces or the wrong phone number has been given, I won’t search for them, I’ll just move on to the next application.
  7. Poor grammar and spelling mistakes. It amazes me how many people apply for a role where written business communication is a major component of the role and send me a resume riddled with errors. These people usually claim they pay attention to detail as well!
  8. An application addressed to someone else. Its obvious they use the same application for every job and haven’t changed the salutation. These usually hit the shredder.
  9. Clutter. Personally, I can’t stand looking at resumes that are jammed so tight and written using the smallest font to get as much information on the page as possible. They are too hard to read and very unappealing.
  10. A cover letter that repeats, verbatim, what is in the resume. Why bother? You’ve wasted my time and yours.
  11. Long resumes. Resumes longer than 3 pages lose me.
  12. When you call a candidate about a job application and they say something along the lines of “Sorry, what job is this about again?” Keep track of your applications.
  13. Resumes without dates for each position. My first thought is “What are you trying to hide?”
  14. I’m sick of reading that everyone is a team player, has attention to detail and can see the big picture. Really? Prove it.
  15. When I ask about salary expectations and get the “What is this role offering?” question in return. You should have an expectation and be prepared to discuss it.
  16. Candidates who can’t make the time for an interview. I spent close to 20mins on the phone the other day with a woman who couldn’t seem to lock in a time to meet. It interfered with soccer practice, music practice, a monthly ‘girls’ movie night, and of course, her current role. If you’re serious about job hunting – make the time to be available for the interview.
  17. Template driven resumes. One day recently I saw 4 resumes, the exact same format, and in some sections, the exact same wording! Write it yourself or get a reputable writer to do it for you.
  18. Resumes that are not in chronological order. It is too hard to follow resumes that jump all over the place.
  19. Trying to figure out locations of positions. People who have worked internationally or nationally need to include this information – I am not an atlas!
  20. Gaps in employment that haven’t been explained. I know you will have a reason for it, but try telling me, I’m not a psychic.

So there you have it …. 20 ways in which to kill your application and lose an opportunity. I hope by sharing these, you will be able to avoid some of these pitfalls in your job search.

This article is contributed by Michelle Lopez of One2One Resumes.

E: [email protected]

W: www.one2oneresumes.com.au

© Michelle Lopez, Owner/Career Consultant

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

2 comments