Resume Checklist

How many interviews has your resume gotten you? If you're hearing crickets chirping, it might be time to take a step back and read it like it doesn't belong to you. Here's a checklist - how's yours looking?
The Résumé Checklist:




□ Two pages or less.



□ Formatting is standard and easily readable. Uses only standard fonts (Times New Roman, Ariel, or Century Gothic etc.) No colored text, graphics or other non-professional flourishes. Is saved in the standard Microsoft Word format – .doc (not .docx or .pdf.)



□ Contact information is up front and easy to spot. Email address sounds professional.



□ Clearly says in top third of first page what industry you are in, and what profession and job function you’ve had, and what you want to do next.



□ Chronological format (as opposed to “Functional.”) Lists the most recent and relevant companies you’ve worked for, what positions you held and the dates you worked at each place. Has brief one-line descriptions of the companies. Has bullets that show what skills were used and what you accomplished at each place.



□ Showcases critical background, experience, education, and skills directly tied to your work objectives.



□ Highlights your most marketable skills.



□ Contains all the various keywords and buzzwords common in your industry, and typically found on job descriptions for positions you match. (Create separate modified versions for specific jobs you are applying to, using the language found in the job descriptions.)



□ Contains quantifiable results, accomplishments and achievements using numbers, dollars, percentages, names of any awards you’ve won, etc. Provides concrete, measurable data whenever possible.



□ Makes liberal use of “action” words (e.g. “created,” “completed,” “built,” “developed,” etc.) to trumpet your accomplishments.



□ Avoids using the “I” word.



□ Answers the question: “Why should someone hire you?”



□ Does NOT include a list of your professional references. (Save them for when they are requested.)



□ Avoids personal details that have no connection to your professional profile (e.g. hobbies, family information, non-work related activities, etc.)



□ Contains no typos, spelling or grammatical errors.

What "brand" are you?

Everywhere I look on the internet, the buzzword it "BRANDING". Personally I can't wait for it to fade and something else take over, but when it comes to job hunting it's the keyword that you need to think about especially to win interviews.Think about it. Why do companies have interviews? Is it so they can add you to their collection of employees? Nah. They want to know what YOU can do for THEM.

"Sure," you say, "everybody knows that!" But are you really prepared to sell yourself as a profitable investment for an employer?

When you think about it YOU are a product that you have to market; you have to sell them on buying YOU. Each and every question that is asked is an opportunity for you to sell your best features and give examples of how you did that. It doesn't matter if you're being interviewed for Head Fry Guy or CEO of Kajillionaire Corporation, you have to prove how you can improve productivity or profits for a potential employer. Your resume should give teasers with numbers and percentages and that hooks you an interview. Once you get the interview, though, the real pressure is on. How many other people is the company interviewing? What is the company looking for? Why are they hiring? (Is this a new job because the company is expanding? Did the last person get fired for not being the right fit? Is it a maternity leave position and you'd be filling the shoes of Ms. Dynamo? Try to adjust your answers once you get that information if you can get it before the interview; if not, use that question as one of yours when they ask if you have any questions - you know, the part where your mind goes blank because they pretty much told you everything you wanted to know already.)

Look at anything around you that you bought - why did you buy that product or brand? What were the advantages of you investing your money in that product? A company is going to make an investment when they add to their staff - if you are the one they need to hire, you have to prove it to them.

There is an old writers adage "show, don't tell" and it holds especially true for your resume and interview. If you improved customer service, how did you do that? If profits for your department went up 800% while you were there, what was your part in it?

You hooked them with your resume, now reel them in with your fabulous interviewing techniques. Show them the advantages you brought to others and how you can bring those same incredible results to this new company.

If you're having problems trying to word potential answers or want to get ahead by preparing for possible questions, have a look at one of these books. Don't forget to do your company research first so you can weave what you know about your future employer into your answers!

Unethical Recruiters, Unethical Companies

One of the things that I'm reading over and over these days are the unethical practices that recruiters and companies are putting jobseekers through. This has been rampant forever, it's just more prevalent now with the internet making all kinds of reporting avenues open.

The major reason I went into business for myself is because of an unethical small operation recruiting company I worked with. When I met the owner, a guy about a decade younger than myself, he told me he owned the company and worked with a best friend who'd taken off to the Grand Caymans to work. This guy didn't know whether or not his friend was coming back and was looking to expand his recruiting biz into my area. I could work from home, I wasn't supposed to call any of his buddy's established clients unless a definite job needed to be filled and I should get my own business number to declare taxes with. If candidates I put into the system got hired on someody else's job, I'd get a cut. If I filled a job of my own with my own candidates I got 60% of the fee. Seeing as I was the only one in this area, they were 200 miles away in a bigger city, I thought it would be a good thing, no pressure, lots of opportunity, so I agreed to work with him. I hit the ground running. I was getting and filling new job orders within weeks - this guy was making thousands off of my work.

Suddenly buddy came back and hit walls when he started up again. I started noticing that in the internal system where I'd upload all my new candidates into their system the ownership was being changed - this meant less money for me if the candidates I'd uploaded were placed. When I got job orders, mysteriously the owner would "help" and only the candidates with his or his buddy's name (conveniently changed, right?!) would be on the shortlist. Then I got emails from the buddy asking if it bothered me that he contact the companies I'd gotten for them. He'd ask how I was finding all the new companies I was working to put in the system. The friend was a completely jealous, unethical Shmo.Then I got calls from my companies asking me why Shmo was calling them, didn't we have a system where a company shouldn't be contacted more than once by more than one recruiter? Uh huh.

The owner guy put up a Spring and Fall challenge with cash and a hotel weekend which I easily won but never actually received. That pissed off Shmo even more, when I called the owner to address all this he told me flat out that Shmo was not bringing in any money and was jealous that I was beating his ass. Guess Shmo should've stayed in the Caymans.

I placed people left, right and centre. Owner guy wasn't doing anything about his "friend" so I got smarter than these "smart" guys; I took owner guy's advice and got my own business name registered so that I could recruit people through my own email and prove what underhanded bullshit was going on. I got a call from the buddy one day saying they'd cut me out of the system because I'd caught on to them. I'm out about $20,000 because of their unethical ways but ahead because I ended up sticking with my own company.

With my own company I was hired by a private specialized "cheese" company to find a needle in a haystack licensed cheesemaker. Nobody trusted the company, as I found out from the cheesemakers and the governement agencies that I spoke with, and they warned me about dealing with the company. I had a contract and wanted to finish the job so I kept going. I found a cheesemaker who went behind my back and organized a short term"contract" with the jokers who owned the cheese company, as I found out directly from the unethical cheesemaker guy.

Once the cheesemaker's contract was up they went behind my back and hired another cheesemaker from the resumes I'd sent them, and the first guy trained the second guy in that particular kind of process. The company then refused to pay me the $18,000 they owed me because the contract they'd signed with me was for a permanent cheesemaker.

The first cheesey contract guy spilled his guts telling me what a dump the company was operating, the fact that the on-site religious representative had quit and the company was producing regardless of the fact that they weren't providing a blessed product, the fact that the people who worked there were banding together to sue the company - all kinds of neat information. The yahoo thought his confessions were going to soften me up and get him another job elsewhere which will never happen. I won't get into the fact that the one owner was emailing me wanting to meet me in a hotel for "a shower." Yeah, he was married and yeah he had girlfriends on the side. No, I never met this jackass or his jackass partner in person. I hope their company is wildly successful and the wife, when she gets the smarts to leave, takes him for every penny she can - if she hasn't already dumped his ass.

What did I learn? Trust nobody. That's a good one. Religious cheese doesn't mean the cheesemakers adhere to their religious tenents, that's another point. Mostly I learned how to be more ruthless in my business dealings. My contracts are rock solid. I also firmly believe in Karma for lawyers as well.

Ethics are important in all aspects of life, especially business, the object is to check out all aspects, phone references on the people you're dealing with and find out as much information as you can about them. And when somebody tells you a religious cheese company's cheese "tastes like ass", trust that opinion rather than wondering how the person came to that conclusion. If they're turning out a crap product, how can they pay their creditors or their employees?

I rock as a recruiter. I take care of both my candidates and my clients - I have that experience in employment counselling and recruiting plus the fact that I upgrade my recruiting skills regularly to keep on top of employment law, recruiting practices, resume & interview changes etc..

When I read complaints about people not getting calls back, I know there are shitheads like the smart asses I worked with. I can't do anything about those bad experiences, I can only make sure that I take care of my own people and I train my internal recruiters to do the same.

If you've had a negative experience with a recruiter or company, I can only say do what I do - don't take it personally, keep going and doing things right. It pays off in the end - the bastards who are unethical eventually fry themselves; be glad you're above them, I know I am!

The 10 Types of Crappy Interviewees

http://theoatmeal.com

Human Resources?

Human Resources is a dirty word to recruiters. They are generally difficult to deal with and change frequently. Trying to establish a relationship depends on the day, the weather and the stock market plus whatever they had for breakfast. Today's rant is advice - if you are actively seeking a new job then let's build on the thought "pick your top 10 companies where you'd like to work" and go a level up - never deal with 'em.
If you've been lucky enough to be called by an HR person who says "we'd like to discuss your resume", do whatever it takes to talk to the Hiring Manager first, even if it means calling the company and asking or crawling the internet to find out.

I read alot of blogs, I read alot of boards where job hunters whine and cry and pat each other on the back. That's ok for about 5 minutes but it's not going to take you to the next level.

Most job hunters make the job hunt their job. They email their resume out to everything that's out there - that's like shooting a gun in the air hoping you'll hit a duck. If you're a real job hunter, you've hunkered down to do exactly what I'm suggesting - focusing and honing in on that JOB.

Have you ever had a look at what Human Resources studies before they got their certification? Check it out sometime. See if what they study to do their job has anything to do with what you've studied and what you do - and they're in charge of hiring?

Another problem - the "I'm God" confusion that HR types tend to take on. Oooh the power of it all! They hold all the cards, so they think. They think wrong. The hiring manager is looking to find someone to make their headaches go away, that is YOU. Your job is to connect with the hiring manager and convince them that you are the magician who knows exactly what to do - not with lying or over embellishing or being obnoxious. HR knows zip to nil and doesn't have the smarts to question what you know about doing the job, so they're going to zip you through what they DO know - personality tests, behavior tests, tricky questions, watching your body language blahblahblah. That's crap. We all have worked with someone who squeaked through the interview, landed a job (probably at the desk beside you and made your life complete hell...I know mine did) and can do jack squat at the job.
Bypass the 3 ring circus and constant rejection. Focus on the job you want and figure out who to talk to. You need HR after you get hired for training or benefits information or maybe just signing that new contract!
Have you made that list yet? Have you researched that company's chain of command to see who to approach? You have control over it all, you really do.

Upgrading skills FREE? Online? Yale, Harvard & more?

One of the worst things about being out of work for an extended period of time is trying to  validate that block of unemployment on your resume. In this fast-paced millenium where we can be outdated and outmoded overnight, this email I got with employment information was a welcome surprise. Check this out:

"Employers are starting to hire again and we know for a fact that they’re going to hire individuals who can contribute. Employers see each of us as a unique mix of education, talents, skills, and experiences – and it’s up to us to continually nurture and fine-tune who we are and what we have to offer.
Never stop educating yourself. If you have access to a computer and the Internet you can give yourself a first rate education. Leading universities like Yale, MIT, Princeton, and Harvard are offering their courses for FREE online. This really levels the playing field, allowing everyone access to instruction from some of the world’s greatest scholars. One organization we recently heard about, Academic Earth, has brought the best courses from some of the most respected colleges and universities together in one place. Academic Earth was founded with the goal of giving everyone on earth access to a world-class education and they are working hard to achieve that goal. Their site includes video lecture clips, lecture notes, practice problems, exams, and other resources.
So start hitting those ‘virtual’ books and keep learning. Acquire the knowledge you need to get that next great job. There's nothing holding you back!:

How cool is that? In the comfort of our own home, in our pajamas and close to the edge of the depths of despair, quality free online education can get us dressed, keep our skills current and actually lead us to a great job with some top-of-the-line upgrading!

For the Zoomers and Boomers out there, this is especially vunderbar. In an economy where hires need to have a loaded bag of tricks, these upgrades plus the knowledge and maturity that have come with your years of experience make you all the more appealing and valuable.

While I'm not as enthusiastic as the email author that "employers are hiring again" (Which employers, where and how many? I haven't seen any real indication of a big hiring swing yet ) - I know that it definitely is starting to simmer out there. They're coming, those jobs, and let's all be prepared for them - a little Ivy League upgrading would look great on a resume, don't you agree? It can't hurt to check out what they're offering and how you can benefit.

Roundhouse kick to the head Resumes

Forewarned is forearmed! (See information on how to create e-z to scan, success-filled resumes at the bottom of the article.)

Research shows that only one interview is granted for every 200 resumes received by the average employer. Research also tells us that your resume will be quickly scanned, rather than read – the reader takes from 3 to 8 seconds. This is all the time you have to impress a hiring manager to read pursue your resume further. What this means is that the decision to interview a candidate is usually based on an overall first impression of the resume, a quick screening that so impresses the reader and convinces them of the candidate’s qualifications that an interview results. As a result, the top half of the first page of your resume will either make you or break you. By the time they have read the first few lines, you have either caught their interest, or your resume has failed. That is why we say that your resume is an ad. You hope it will have the same result as a well-written ad: to get the reader to respond.

To write an winning resume, you have to learn how to tell a prospective employer what you can do for them while pointing out what qualifications you have that match the job description. The new resume doesn’t follow the old standards – it grabs the reader’s attention and gets you put in the “yes” pile.

By starting with your current resume and some effort, you can make a resume that you’re confident that shows who you are and what you can do.

Each advertised position gets a ton of resume responses from those who are underqualified but hopeful to overqualified and close to perfection. All of these resumes are your competition. The hiring manager has to read all of these unless they have an assistant who will prescreen them first.

With a job description in front of them, someone is going to scan your resume starting with the email subject. For information about emailing etiquette, read our article. They may or may not know what all of the job necessities are or mean, so they’re looking for a resume that matches up quickly with the job description. This is your starting point:

THE OBJECTIVE/SUMMARY

A powerful objective that really tells what you’re looking for versus the standard “seeking a position as” that is 50 words or less is going to get the reader’s attention. Bolding any words that match the qualifcations from the job ad is easy on the eye and jumps out especially to someone unfamiliar with your occupation. This may be the only section fully read by the employer, so it should be very strong and convincing.

PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

This is the part where you demonstrate what you can bring to the employer by proving what you’ve accomplished in the past. You tell which skills you used that match the ones mentioned in the job ad or description and THEN you show your accomplishments that set you apart from the rest of the herd. The basic formula is:

1. Problem/ Challenge
2. The actions you took 
3. The outcome

In the combination objective/summary, you gave an overview. Now you tell the rest of the best of your story. Let them know what results you produced, what happened as a result of your efforts, what you are especially gifted or experienced at doing. Make sure that you are validating the most important highlights from your objective/summary.

EDUCATION

Be sure to keep the education section concise and clean. If you won any awards or published articles, list them seperately. Putting a grade point average is a personal choice but not necessarily needed especially if you won awards that will indicate your scholastic brilliance in a different section.

DO’s AND DON’Ts

DO spell and grammar check your resume

DO keep it to 2 pages or less if you can

DO apply this to any position – you’re selling yourself and listing previous job accomplishments is going to tell the employer they need you

DO make a different resume for each different job title that you’re applying for – “general” resumes don’t get interviews, they get “kept on file”.

DO include if your degree is from overseas and has been equivalency assessed by a North American certified institution such as WES

DO separate relevant work experience from non-relevant work experience

DON’T lie on your resume

DON’T add your photo

DON’T put personal information ie: marital status, Social Insurance Numbers, number of children, political or religious affiliation information on your resume

DON’T save your resume as “resume” – save it with your name and which position/job that it applies to

DON’T send wpd or obscure formats – send .doc or .pdf so that they can easily be opened or parsed by the reader. If you were the person reading 1000 resumes, you wouldn’t search for an program to read a resume, you’d delete it too, wouldn’t you?

Check out the resume sample before and after – apply this to your own resume. Get noticed and get the job with a winning resume!

 Before: Boring, average, unimpressive.

AFTER: WOW! Look how much money this guy could make us/save us! Impressive!

See original article at http://platinumstaffingsolutions.ca/articles-for-job-hunters/writing-a-winning-resume

THIS is the book that can show you how to turn your successes into numbers that win the interviews AND the jobs!

9 Deal Makers or Breakers from Hiring Managers

I'm came across this great article today - there's some great advice from the pros in here.

Hiring managers speak out: 9 things that seal the deal

One thing about the hiring process is true: it leaves much room for speculation. Whether you got the job -- or you didn't -- most job seekers want to know why. Why were you chosen over the next guy? Or, better yet, why weren't you? Was it your experience, your attitude, your interview answers, your outfit?

While you can speculate for days about all the different things that may or may not have gone your way, we decided to ask hiring managers directly: What seals the deal when you choose to hire a candidate? Why do you choose one person over another? All of their answers will give you some insight as to what you should pay attention to the next time you're up for a job.
Here's what hiring managers had to say:

"One of the big things for me is [following] up. If I'm on the fence about a candidate but they take the time to e-mail me and thank me for having them come in, it shows me that they are motivated, tactful and professional. On the other side of the coin, if I interview someone and they are using lots of banal business speak and don't give me any impression of what their personality is like, I will usually pass. I hate when I ask a candidate what their favourite thing to work on is and they say 'everything' -- it leaves me with the impression that they either have no personality or won't speak their mind." -- Keith Baumwald, interactive marketing analyst, Shoplet.com

"I know I have a good candidate for hire when they come in prepared with as many questions about the job and company as I have for the candidate -- especially when their questions go beyond just the pay rate and benefits. By showing interest in learning more about what the job opportunity actually involves, it shows that the candidate is just as concerned about this job being the right fit for them as I am." -- Angie Nelson, marketing coordinator, Les Bois, Federal Credit Union


"A quick deal-killer for me is people who are trying to answer questions the way they think I want them answered. Honesty in the interview is refreshing. I appreciate applicants who tell the truth without trying to sugar-coat things. I am not as concerned with bad things that have happened in their past as much as how they dealt with those issues. That shows their true character." -- Phil Wrzesinski, owner, Toy House and Baby Too


"Confidence is important, but there is a fine line between that and arrogance. I once had a candidate state numerous times he was the one and that no way anyone else could be better. This is not only arrogant, but demonstrates ignorance on the part of the candidate. One does not always know who they are competing with or all of their qualifications." -- Thomasina Tafur, president, Thomasina Tafur Consulting


"When interviewing candidates to join our firm, two things can be deal breakers: attitude and core values. You can't teach attitude, but you can teach skill. A positive attitude, strong work ethic and strong values should trump more experience and skill. I also make sure the candidate demonstrates our company's core values. I ask them to tell me their 'story' of their professional journey. Through their story, I get a better understanding of the decisions they made and the values they have (or don't have)." -- Michelle Roccia, senior vice president of corporate organizational development, Winter, Wyman


"When a candidate is displaying a true desire to come work for your company, they are often the one you want to hire once you are looking at the finalist pool. The fastest way to end up with a short interview and ruling yourself out from being considered is to arrive to an interview to only lack energy, give short answers and show no excitement to be there." -- James Thompson, vice president of business development, JMJ Phillip


"When I hire, I hire for 'right fit,' which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with experience or training. A 'right fit' candidate is someone who is aligned philosophically with the company, has a passion for the products or industry, and believes that the kind of work that they do is their mission, not just their livelihood. For example, when I was staffing a green business in Orange County, Calif., I didn't hire the people with the longest résumés and the most degrees, I hired the people who were passionate about the 'green' cause and had demonstrated that in some way in their personal life. What we ended up with were employees who were willing to do whatever it took to make the enterprise successful because they were driven by an inner belief, not by a pay check. They were engaged at an extremely high level from the first day they walked in the door. I hire for passion, and then train for skills, if necessary." --Barbara Farfan, management and retail consultant, Authentic Communications


"During the interview process we tend to ask oddball questions and gauge [a candidate's] reaction and the actual answers they give. This will give us an idea as how they will fit with our company and everyone else who works with us. For the upcoming semester we chose one intern over the others solely based on her answer to 'If you were a candy bar, what kind would you be?' She sat for about three seconds but didn't think we were crazy for asking it. She smiled and said 'I'd be a Caramello because they're awesome and hard to find, but when you find them you get a happy feeling inside.'" -- AmyLynn Keimach, Border7 Studios


"When having difficulty narrowing down a short list of qualified candidates based on their experience, skills, upward potential and education, I tend to put significant weight on the candidate's passion for what we do as a company and how we do it. If the employee can show evidence that they genuinely align with our company values, purpose and mission, the likelihood of success increases tremendously in my opinion." -- Matt Arrigale, vice president, human resources, Schott North America


Get daily job advice on The Work Buzz, CareerBuilder's job seeker blog. Follow CareerBuilder.ca on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CareerBuilderca.

Interview Questions - a primer

My 16 year old is going to "Baby's First Interview" tomorrow for a retail job. She asked me to prep her on typical interview questions and I thought it would be a good time to write some advice up here.

At any job interview, the object is to sell yourself, that's why having your answers and examples ready so you don't blank is great preparation. For a retail job they're going to want to see how you can give great customer service so that the people in front of you either by or buy and come back again after they buy because life was so much easier shopping there with great customer service. The employee is a liability because they have to be paid; the employee must be made into a profit, so excellent customer service is what you give (and let's face it, it's what you like to get so there's something to analyze; define great customer service when YOU are the customer and adopt those qualities to yourself.)

Here are some examples of questions that the hiring manager has been given on a sheet of paper to ask you. They may scribble answers, don't let it throw you.

Q: "So, tell me about yourself"

Personally, I hate this question. I'm a multitude of things, but what they're asking is how does this particular job pertain to me...err..you. Keep the answer between 2 to 5 sentences that are short, concise and full of information. They're supposed to be assessing your personality, communication skills, ability to think on your feet. They're also listening to your voice intonation and looking at your hair. Statistics say that the #1 thing interviewers notice first is hair. Isn't that wierd?

For now, define what you do "I'm currently" with job related over-view adjectives or "I'm currently a student" or "I'm re-entering the job force" and drop it until they ask you to elaborate.) Add to the next sentence a list of

what you do (your current or last job), your strengths (stick to job-focused skills), and then summary of what you just said linking your experience to the job you're being interviewed for.


Q: "Why did you leave your last job?"


If you haven't left a job be clear that you're hoping to make the career tranisiton to something offering more chance for advancement or more opportunity to work with people, keep it positive and tie in what you can do for the position. Maybe you are looking for something closer to home. For retail, my daughter will try to remember to say something along the lines of "I have been a customer here and love the ______ you sell. I thought I would apply because it seems like a great company to work for!' or similar. This is her first official job interview but she's worked in a convenience store so she has customer service skills down.




Q: "Why do you want to do this job / work for this company?"


If you can, do some research on the company, mention things like you admire it's committment to not testing on animals or whatever you may found out. Tie that into how you are equally committed to that cause or something else. You're kinfolk - you must convince them that you belong.



Q: "What do you think you have to offer this company?"


This is where your definition of great customer service comes in, only point by point. You point out that the store operates like this and so do you. They offer that and so do you.This is a chance to sing your own praises — concentrating on the skills you have that are required for the position.Try to remember what the job description asked for if you applied to an ad. If you don't have an ad, see if the company or store is recruiting for the same position at a different location (check the net) so you have an idea of what they're looking for. Don't forget to add that you can sell ice to penguins, you're a good team player but can work independently and people like you.
If the job requires specific skills, like working with Adobe Photoshop while you edit pictures, tell the interviewer that you're an ace with Photoshop and think that you'd be an asset to their photo-development team. That kind of thing - you're selling yourself.


Q: "What do you think this position involves?"



This is kind of a trick question - they want to know if you read the ad and did your research. Do your homework - see above.



Q: "What do you know about the company?"


Again, they want to know you did your homework. Dazzle them. Demonstrate your interest in the job by telling them your understanding of the organisation and industry. Talk about the research you did into the company's key areas of interest, its size, its main customers or current status, making reference to your source of information (their company website or a Fortune 500 Magazine article etc..)


Q: What salary range are you looking for?

Was what they're offering in the ad? What kind of position is it? Ask what they're offering, and if it's way off base politely give them the ballpark you were looking at. Depending on the job they may be able to accomodate you and were trying to save some money by down-paying...but then again you don't want to slam doors. If it's wayyyyyy low ask how soon the first pay raise would be and by how much. It's usually something you get to think about, getting hired on the spot is rare these days.






Q: "Do you have any questions you would like to ask?"


No, "what time is lunch?" or "how often do I get breaks?" are not good questions.


Always have something to ask the interviewer. If you can't think of anything because it was covered in your conversation, clarify what you talked about in question for. You can ask when they expect to make a decision, when the position starts, is there room for advancement, can you transfer to a different location if you needed to in the future, that kind of thing. If you're unclear about the job still, then clarifying questions putting the interviewer on the spot are good.



For example:


"What do you see as being the main focus of this role?"


"Am I correct in saying that the position involves mediating between A and B departments and monitoring and developing new approaches to...?"



"I'd like to ask about the organisational structure... are the publications produced on a national basis or individually by each regional office? How are budgets controlled and allocated?"






Q: "What do you believe are your key strengths?"


Oh, yeah. I love this one. "Where do I begin?" isn't the best way to start off. Seriously though, have a think. Look at resume books and check out their adjectives section.  Make sure they related to the requirements of the job. Try to have some examples. They love to whip in the "give me an example of a time when...." Be prepared.



Q: "What do you believe are your weaknesses?"

"What, who me?"
Yes you! This is a great question because we're all fallable and they want to know a time you may have goofed up and how you fixed it and learned from it. Make sure that the fixing it/learning from it reflects how you'd be great at this job you're applying for.

Also, things that are "flaws" can work in a company's benefit like "I tend to make sure my job is complete/ the work station is ready for the next person/ my duties for the next day are prepared and ready for the next day before I leave."



Q: "What do you enjoy most about your current / last job?"



The trick with this question is to list what you have enjoyed about work that strongly relate to the key elements of the position you're applying for, and mention that you are looking forward to expanding your experience / scope in these areas.






Q: A question requesting confidential information about a previous employer


This may be a testing of your discretion and professionalism and to see how you might talk about THEM in the future. Don't go there. Keep it positive and if you have to say "that's confidential information and I'd like to respect their privacy just as I would protect yours.




Q: "Where do you see yourself in five years time?"



They want to know if you're going to be a job hopper or plan on staying with them. Vague but satisfying answers include "Well, if I were employed here, hopefully I would have advanced in position and become a valued employee" to show company loyalty and that you're not a slug who wants to stay in the same position forever.


Q: "Do you work well under pressure?"


Answer with a 'yes', and give a specific example of a time when you were under pressure and how you rose to the challenge. You prioritized and kept your cool, asked or help or delegated as needed and smiled to keep the store/company/office running smoothly.


 Q: "Tell me about when something went wrong"

This is a good one that you can give great examples about how you made a flub, corrected it, and learned from the experience. Ideally how it positively affected the customer in the end is a great ending because, gosh darn it, great customer service is your middle name!




These are behavioural questions designed to get information about how you would be on the job, how you would make the company money and how you would fit in with the rest of the winners who work there. Be sure to have an extra copy of your resume to refer to, and sometimes even have two copies in case the interviewer pulls the old "I don't have a copy of your resume..." thing to test your preparation skills.

Don't forget to pace yourself in a nice, natural conversational tone. Breathe. Don't say "umm" or thinking words to begin your sentences. If you need to think,  do it without "umm" or "err", simply say a time-buying word like, "Yes....".


Two thumbs up - you're awesome and a Hireable Desirable. Everybody has something to offer employers. There ARE jobs out there, the choice is up to you!


These are basic questions/answers. For really intense questions/answers, check out the pros like:

Keywords are your resume's best friend

Things we know already:

*85% of jobs are NOT advertised. (Why is that?)
*Advertised jobs rarely lead to a call or an interview. (Again - why is that?)
*95% of advertised jobs get a minimum of 500 resumes during this economy - even unqualified/ underqualified people are slipping their resumes in "just in case something I'm qualified for" magically pops up. (Not much bugs resume sifters more than sifting through a fresh batch of email resumes with "Brain Surgeon Application" in the subject and "#1 McEmployee in August last year" in the first paragraph of the resume - trust me, it's a sure way to get your resume deleted if not your email address blacklisted too!)

Have you seen Up in the Air yet? Great movie, I loved it but then again any reason to see George Clooney dance or look studly in a tux is what I live for these days (he was great in Men Who Stare At Goats too.)  Why did I mention it? Well, the movie centres around this theme of taking the human contact element of things that require a human element, in that case it was firing people by a new remote program that had been developed. (I won't tell you any more except that I would love to go to a wedding with George. Really good movie - see it if you haven't.) For me, it's a coin toss whether the lack of a human element is worse than stupid human element, but that's another post. Here's what I mean:

You'll notice Big Companies out there placing ads on Big Job Boards that cost serious coin. Here you are. You do your job search on a jobsite and pull up yet another ad from The Humungous Corporation and think "well, frig, I registered and uploaded my resume last month and the month before that and they sent me a generic 'no thanks' e-letter. WTH is up with that? I was perfect for that job? Why didn't I get a call?"

I hear you, it's frustrating as heck, isn't it? There are a few reasons you're getting that e-letter, and trust me when I tell you that the headhunting and recruiting business is guilty of all of this as well (and you were right when you were cussing your suspicions into your coffee!) There are a number of possibilities but the biggies are:

1. There is no job.
Nope. No job but either Big Company is planning on expanding or recruiting for a similar position in the future, they want to keep their database full of potentials. They may or may not be trying to look busy to the competition.

2. You used your Standard Resume that you send to everybody else.
YOU knew when you applied that you had everything they were asking for in a perfect candidate - why didn't they call you? What a slap in the face! Who needs to work for them anyway? (You do. That's why you applied.) It's a great resume, maybe you spent a lot of money getting somebody to do it for you but...

This is where Hot Recruiter Mom is going to repeatedly say over and over TAILOR EACH RESUME and HAVE MORE THAN 1 RESUME. This is also where Up in the Air comes in - who exactly are you sending your resume in to?

Big Job Boards and Recruiting Companies cost money. Big money. So Big Company and the rest of them thought they'd beat the system by bypassing the Job Boards and Recruiters as much as possible. They invested in things like Taleo who are online resume processing/ database systems. Taleo is costly too, but Big Companies thought they were being wickedly self serving by indulging in their own internal database system. (NOTE: At least good recruiters not only talk to the owners of the resumes, but we guarantee our hires too - another plus for Big Companies to work with us. When we're niche & specific (like me), we're worth our weight in gold to Big Companies - we already had you in our system and could've had you in to them for 2 interviews by the time they posted and "processed" the shout out for the job!)

The thing is, that 90% of qualified people are being passed over because of these non-human database systems. It's an electronic game of match-up.The humans aren't around to puruse the resumes and see what matches. The database system has been programmed to scan for KEYWORDS. If they aren't on a resume, the resume gets stored and collects cyberdust somewhere. That's where your resumes are right now.

What you need to do is to check each and every ad and make sure those KEYWORDS are on your resume somewhere. What I used to teach in my basic resumes 101 classes was to copy/paste the job requisites and paste them in the "Summary of Qualifications" part of the resume. Somebody has carefully scripted a wishlist of qualifications, so to have an internal database pick up the resume to be looked at by a human being, a carefully re-crafted summary of qualifications will nail that part. That works for the not-so professional jobs. For anything that requires special degrees or computer programs or experience that you have, make sure that you mention exactly those terms as often as possible ie: whenever you used them on a job or got the certification.

On the other end, somebody who is going to look through those resumes is logging in and pushing a couple of buttons to tell the database system to go through all those new emails and see who qualifies. Keep in mind, whoever is doing the resume grunt-work is probably not an expert in what you do. If they're not using a database and only scanning emails or faxes, their beady little eyes are looking for whatever is on the job description they were handed. They probably have no clue or interest in any of what you do, have or did. They're just trying to play match-up.

So lets say database makes some matches. Resume Scanner Person opens it up and all of those database pre-programmed words are highlighted. Resume Scanner Person decides whether to pursue it further. You can be put into the YES pile or NO pile before your resume even gets seen by human eyes simply because of the KEYWORDS - or lack of them! How cool is that? Not, to the job searcher. (I'll rant about HR people, God love'em, some other time.)

Think of how many qualified people are going ignored because of the lack of human contact! That's unfortunately the name of the game. Now it's up to you to beat them at their own game.

For each and every resume you submit, make sure the KEYWORDS are in your resume and cover letter.

Did you really want that job? REALLY REALLY? Then phone the company politely ask for the person in charge for recruiting for that job. Talk to them. See if they saw your resume. Ask for feedback. Expect different scenarios and have the return question.They hired? Do they expect any other positions in the future? They haven't started interviewing yet? Ask to speak with the Hiring Manager. Politely. (But if you don't have the KEYWORDS in your resume, don't expect to hear much more than "you don't seem quaified".) Be nice. The person on the other end of the phone could be your new best friend!

Two thumbs up - you're awesome and a Hireable Desirable. Everybody has something to offer employers. There ARE jobs out there, the choice is up to you!







A poignant view of what's happening out there AND a look at my secret dream of kissing George Clooney on the steps in high school. *sigh*












If your library or employment centre don't have these available to use, this is a pretty good program to easily make a resume and be able to change your KEYWORDS for each resume.













You can download the first chapter on the author's website. I've just ordered this one too. It's about focus and keeping your eye on the prize. It works on jobs, relationships, and all the good stuff we want out of life.