Resume writing, cover letters and interviewing
Merit
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Posts by Merit
Eight Steps: Interview Preparation
Dec 4th
From the minute you wake up on the day of your job interview, consider the interview to be in session.
Preparation is as significant as the job interview itself.
The following are some actions to take to make certain that everything you would like to occur when you walk into the room and face the hiring manager.
- Turn your thoughts to the questions and answers you’ve prepared. Review them in your head, fine-tuning your responses.
- Give yourself sufficient time to dress suitably. Choose clothing that is simple, yet professional.
- Eat a light but nourishing meal. You will want to keep your energy level high while being interviewed.
- Review your notes relating to your current or previous employment.
- Prepare yourself to talk about specific examples related to your talents and skills.
- Gather your resume, letters of reference, and other pertinent documents. When asked for evidence or credentials you will have them on hand.
- Check your car for fuel or the bus schedule if you’re taking public transportation.
- Always allow a longer period than you’ll need so you arrive without stress.
These eight steps of interview preparation are sometimes overlooked because job candidates often delay until they are sitting across from the hiring manager before they think about the true reason for the meeting and their reason behind being there-to win a return interview and ultimately the job they want.
Start your job interview before you leave home so that when you arrive you’ll be fully engaged and at your very best.
Cover Letter Tip: Simple Bullet List
Nov 27th
Writing a job search cover letter on a single page can be a challenge. There are so many items you may consider including. But, there is one powerful and easy-to-read technique for doing just that––put your best points in a bullet-ed list! Like this…
During my five years as Customer Service Manager at ABC Corporation in Any City, USA I was responsible for:
- Training new representatives
- Overseeing the customer sales department
- Handling customer complaints
- Updating our IT
- Introducing new service strategies
Therefore, I feel qualified to bring my skills and experience to your organization and would welcome an opportunity to meet you for an in-person interview. I feel I’d be a great match to carry out the requirements you’ve posted online.
Before writing your letter, jot down the things you want to include. Then condense them into short, punchy statements and list them with bullets. Your cover letter will rise to the top of the pile when you communicate in this clear and concise way. A bullet-ed list can help you stand out from the competition and land you more job interviews.
Article contributed by Amazing Cover Letter Creator
A Professional Cover Letter In Tough Times
Apr 2nd
Make no mistake! All cover letters are not the same. Some are at best, ho hum. Others are professional in every way. In these tough economic times, any old cover letter won’t cut it with the hiring manager. You can imagine which one he or she will move to the top of the pile.
There are so many people in the job search market competing for interviews that in order to be noticed you must write a professional, eye-catching cover letter—one that convinces the hiring manager of the kind of person you are—someone eager to bring his or her time, talent, and trustworthiness to the company.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Show that you’re ready to assume responsibility, deliver excellent service, and do your job with energy and enthusiasm.
Example: “I am eager to join your team of financial planners. I promise to learn and listen, as well as offer my ideas for expanding the client base, increasing company profits, and most important, living up to your mission statement—Customers Come First. Period. May I come in for an interview to discuss the details and to find out more about what you’re looking for in the persons you hire?”
When a hiring manager reads a professional cover letter that is both concise and precise, he or she will certainly take a second look. In fact, such a letter will stand out from the crowd and result in a phone call for an interview in person.
It takes an extra effort to land more quality job interviews in these tough times. Your cover letter can serve as the “sales person” that presents a professional, compelling argument as to why YOU should be scheduled for the next interview.
Visit our friends at Amazing Cover Letters for your “instant” cover letter today. “In just 3½ minutes you will have an amazing cover letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR competition like a hot knife through butter!”
Are You Shooting “PAR” on the Resume Course?
Feb 28th
Shooting PAR on a golf course is tough! Shooting “PAR” with your resume is easy if you know the P-A-R formula. Here’s a specific strategy that will impress any hiring manager and benefit you in a BIG way.
P = PROBLEM
A = ACTION
R = RESULT
When writing about your experience at your previous place of employment, state the PROBLEM you encountered, the ACTION you took to resolve the conflict, and the RESULT that occurred because of what you did. Use clear, focused wording and be brief so the hiring manager can take it in with a sweep of the eye.
Example #1:
I faced a disorganized, poorly managed warehouse (PROBLEM) when I went to work for XYZ Enterprises. Within six months I transformed the place into a smooth-running operation by limiting stock orders according to projected sales, letting go of three unreliable part-time employees, and automating an obsolete system of tracking sales and deliveries (ACTION), which brought about a savings for the company of $200,000 the first year (RESULT).
Example #2:
I inherited an engineering company’s outdated filing system (PROBLEM) and resolved the issues it created by introducing and training employees in the use of a simple but sophisticated functional-coding system (ACTION), which helped recover valuable, previously misplaced or lost project records, bringing about a smooth, error-free solution to a major flaw in the company’s operation.(RESULT)
Keep It Clear and Concise
Hit P-A-R each time you draft a resume by stating the Problem you faced, the Action you took, and the Result you achieved in your previous job. Such clear and concise writing will surely convince any hiring manager that you can do the same in the new position.
Remember, every company faces PROBLEMS and they are looking for their employees to take ACTION that produces bottom line RESULTS.
Social Media Muddies Waters For Jobseekers
Feb 24th
Invited to an interview, you step into the room and unload that heavy photo album you’ve been clinging to onto the conference table. In addition to a resume and brag book, you have pictures on your iPhone of your dogs and the neighbor’s cat stalking the birds enjoying your new bird feeder. The interview progresses by you opening and flipping through the pages of your album, pointing to your family and friends. You gladly draw the interviewer’s attention to those older pictures taken during your college days … and to the many of your drunk, sleeping positions your friends encapsulated forever through one click of a camera.
Eeerrrk!!!
What? Personal items presented during an interview?
Why not? Isn’t that basically what hiring companies are doing rummaging through your public social media accounts, learning more about you and your online activities?
The next few years are certainly gray, unchartered waters for jobseekers. The issue of whether a person’s personal life and involvement online should have any place in the hiring realm is definitely a topic that will be battled over for years — maybe even decades. Some might unexpectedly find themselves entangled in lawsuits, as privacy experts grow increasingly concerned that disqualifying a candidate based on information gained online can introduce certain forms of discrimination into the hiring process.
Jobseekers have every right to be concerned about protecting their online identities from prying eyes, but where should the line be drawn? Employers shouldn’t be given uninhibited access to a jobseeker’s private life, should they?
Interestingly, a recent study released at Microsoft’s 4th Annual Data Privacy Day identified that 70% of those surveyed in the US indicated they had disqualified a candidate based on online information. What was the incriminating online information that caused the disqualification? Of course this was not made public … and behind the curtain of hiring, only HR managers and recruiters seem privy to such information.
The deeper issue is whether employers should be allowed to open that flood gate by bringing social media activities into the hiring world in the first place. I’m reminded of a line from the movie Jurassic Park. When referring to scientists, Jeff Goldblum’s character says, “Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” Maybe employers poking through a jobseeker’s online activities are so preoccupied with the fact that they could that they never stopped to think whether they should.
Ahh, but hiring companies won’t find my online activities. Think again. Technology giants have only just begun leveraging the social media phenomena; and not surprisingly, for financial gain.
Microsoft announced the integration of Social Connector software, which will be released mid-2010. The add-on software is designed to let someone like me readily see the online communications from those who send me email. Microsoft’s Group Product Manager, Dev Balasubramanian, was quoted as saying: “As you communicate you can see their social activities; you can see all the folks in your social network and it updates as you are reading your e-mail.” Certainly it appears to offer great benefits to the masses, but for jobseekers, it just might leave an unpleasant sour aftertaste.
No doubt, employers will soon be given a larger spy glass — and unfortunate for jobseekers, Microsoft isn’t the only company abuzz with developing new applications that will take public social media data and translate it into something that can be researched and used, for good and evil.
Regardless, employers need to take a long look at their current hiring practices to determine whether a drunken party photo showing Joe Jobseeker has anything to do with the value Joe brings to the table professionally, and how well he performs while on the job.
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Teena Rose is a professional speaker, career coach, book author, former columnist, and top-endorsed resume writer and job strategist. She leverages job-search collateral (i.e. resume, cover letter, executive bios), applying new social networking, personal branding, online portfolios, and new technologies/tools to further benefit the careers of her clientele. She’s your first choice during a job or career change. Contact Teena Rose at (937) 325-2149 or at her website; http://www.resumebycprw.com.
