Job Search Revealed

Network now!!!

2009-04-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, sitting on your f@t @ss won't get you anywhere in this world, just like trying to get a job without sending out some resumes.

1) Attend job fairs
First off, it's excellent to practice your 90 second intro and get used to pitching to people the great things you bring to the table of any employer. Secondly, you can start passing around your resume and business cards, so at least people will know you're actively seeking employment. Just make sure you don't have any major typos or other major no-no's on your resume. Have a professional recruiter like the ones from ResumeGuru give it a look-see and triage it for keywords, visual appeal, trendy skills to have and above all else, make your business value very apparent.

2) Start blogging
Talk. A lot. Let people know you're smart. So smart in fact that you can write novels on what you know.

3) Hang out with sociable yet employed people
Start mingling! Didn't you even notice how the rich and powerful are always out, martini in hand, with other yuppies? Well, they're all making the most of their entourage. Get out there and mingle!

The importance of internships

2009-04-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

You're young, vibrant and full of energy. You're also in school, kinda broke and have no work experience. What's a student to do?

Get out there and work!! The question is, how?

Having run out and received 2 (yes 2) completely unrelated degrees, I can tell you the secret to success is getting the experience before you officially graduate from school.

The market is completely and utterly saturated with smart and experience individual. Without even a hint of experience on your belt, you may not stand a chance. Your best bet while you're still in school is to get an internship. Your college or university may have a cooperative education program waiting for you to tap. These programs are excellent because you have the continuous update of fresh information from your classes as well as a means of supplementing your income. Co-ops also usually have resources such as job boards, job coaches and a set of employers who regularly visit the school for acquiring talent as part of their co-op fees. Job coaches usually help with straightening out your resume and cover letter but are generally just administrative staff who may not have direct experience in your field. However, they can still do some mock interviews for you to practice, that's much better than no support at all.

For better assistance, it is more useful to find a real recruiter to spruce up your resume and provide additional coaching, especially since as a new-comer to the industry, you may not know what employers are really looking for. An inexpensive solution is having your resume fixed up by ResumeGuru, a set of ex-Fortune 500 HR specialists and recruiters (http://resumeguru.us).

The best thing about co-ops is that your experience even goes on your permanent education record! Unlike 75% of young graduates, you will have definitive proof of your experience right after graduation, and that is invaluable when securing your very first full-time permanent position.

So given that your experience is on your transcript, do you care whether or not you're being paid? No, payment and salary should NOT be an issue. By simply having the right experience, your return on investment will come when you get that first real job in the world. In this economy, real experience far outweighs your finances. If you're as talented as you say you are, don't worry, a well-funded employer will come to woo you with a salary and benefits.

What to do when you're unemployed

2009-04-12T01:27:00.000-07:00

So you've been hit by the layoff bug, huh? Not to worry. Here's a handy checklist of things to do:

1) Don't panic. Most people (understandably) go through a complete mental meltdown when they get their pink slip. It's not the end of the world. It's just a sucky situation.

2) Gather your finances. Hopefully, you have passive income from investments in stocks, bonds and money market funds. If not, take a look at your debt situation. If you have debt that you can easily pay off with money to spare, do it. If you have lots of debt and still no cash in sight, you may want to swap over credit card debt for line of credit debt. The interest is lower so you'll have a little more time to spare. Check out your books. Is there anywhere you can trim back on expenses?
Try:
- switching car/home/renter's insurance
- moving to a smaller apartment or renting out a room in your home
- using more public transit or biking
- shopping at a cheaper grocery store (e.g. Winco, if you live in Washington state)
- downgrading your internet to a slower speed
- downgrading your cell phone to pay as you go
- using your local library for books instead of buying books
- giving up certain social liberties (e.g. cutting back of drinking, smoking and eating out)
- switching to movie rentals instead of going out to a movie theatre
- turning off lights and water when you aren't using them
- only doing full loads of laundry and dishes when a machine is involved
- air drying your laundry instead of putting it in a dryer
- donating old items to charity for a tax write-off with receipt
- selling old stuff online through a free posting system like craigslist or to your local thrift store
- switch to energy efficient bulbs
- use a timer switch to turn off lights in your home based on the time of day
- cutting back on junk food purchases and bottled water
- turning off water while soaping up in the shower and only turning water back on once you're ready to rinse

Doing all of the above can save a 2-person family about $670+ per month alone!

3) Start fixing up your resume. It may have been a long time since you last poked at the resume of yours and writing styles may have changed significantly. In such a case, you should probably consult a technical writer, HR professional or recruiter in your industry so determine what the latest trends are in hiring. These individuals have far more insight into the process than you and can probably give you a few good hints to help you on your way. A great service is ResumeGuru (http://resumeguru.us) that offers a money-back guarantee. Any service that doesn't provide such a safety net is probably not worth your time.

4) Call up your friends. Let your friends know you're actively looking for a position. You may even want to throw in a monetary incentive in the case that there is a referral finder's fee for new hires.

Top 10 stupid things on a resume

2009-04-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here are the top 10 stupid and/or irrelevant things to put on a resume. If you want to get thrown out of the interview process, give these a try:

10. Your religion: Way to get profiled. This has NO place on a resume. Not ever.
9. Your political stance: You may piss off whoever's reading your resume as they may simply not agree with your views.
8. Your age: Yes, you can be too young or too old. Keep 'em guessing. Most people are biased towards hiring people between the ages of 21 and 41. If you have 0 experience, people with think you're really young or just in a new field. If you have 26 years of experience, people will generally assume you're a little older.
7. Your gender: Equality is one thing, but singling yourself out to be in the boys club or girls club is a no-no.
6. Your ethnic background: Ditto as per gender. It is none of their business. Even when they say they are an equal opportunity employer, you should NEVER reveal where you're from. If they want to guess, they'll look to see if you have a particularly ethnic last name or if you speak several foreign languages.
5. A photo of yourself (but you're not in the film and/or modeling industry): People think it's cute to show what they look like. You may get shown the door. Photos are way too subjective. Would you want these people trolling through your Facebook account? Probably not. And besides, they may not like the way you look. You should be based solely on your qualifications, not if you're hot/not. People are biased against sexy, shrimpy, overweight, ugly, stalker like people. Worst thing is, everyone has a different tolerance level. Heck, they may just hate what you're wearing in the photo.
4. Your height, weight, or other physical features: Just as bad as enclosing a photo of yourself.
3. Your GPA (if it's below 3.4): I will never understand why someone would voluntarily post to the world that their GPA is 1.95. That's just unnecessary. If you're GPA is nothing to toot a horn to, don't put it on there.
2. Your objective: Surprise! No one cares what your objective is. They care what you can do for them.
1. A reference section that says "Will furnish references upon demand": Complete space waster. Either put your references down in full or kill this section immediately.

Dressing for an Job Interview

2009-04-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Dress for success when seeking a new job! There are two valid reasons for getting dressed up for your interview. One, you’ll look like a professional and will be taken seriously. Two, you’ll feel like a professional and be more inclined to behave as such. You want your appearance to compliment the professionalism of your resume and cover letter so be equally attentive in this regard.

Women's Interview Attire
• Conservative suit
o Skirt suit:
- Make sure skirt is long enough for you to sit comfortably without being too revealing
- Make sure skirt is loose enough so that it doesn’t ride up while walking or sitting
- Make sure waistband isn’t so tight that you have “muffin top” syndrome (i.e. excess skin hanging over the top of the waistband).
- Wear solid-color tan or black hosiery (no funky prints, patterns or colors)
o Pant suit:
- Make sure pants aren’t so tight you have wrinkles in the groin or on the back of the legs
- Make sure waistband isn’t so tight that you have “muffin top” syndrome (i.e. excess skin hanging over the top of the waistband).
- Make sure pants reach 1 inch short of the floor given the shoes you are wearing (longer and you will trip, shorter and you will look like your pants shrunk in the dryer)
• Blouse or top (modest neckline, not too revealing)
• Moderate shoes (nothing overly sparkly, shiny or might resemble something worn in a nightclub, stilettos NOT recommended)
• Limited jewelry (none is preferred to cheap-looking ones)
• Neat, professional hairstyle (keep your hair clean and dandruff-free)
• Sparse make-up in natural hues (no neon-colored or sparkly makeup or excessive eyeliner/mascara)
• Little to no perfume (note: if your hair products or shower products already have fragrance, you may want to skip perfume entirely. Also, your recruiter may be allergic to your perfume)
• Manicured nails (no need for anything fancy, just make sure they are clean and smooth-edged)
• Portfolio or briefcase (don’t bring an additional purse, it will make you look like a bag lady)

Men's Interview Attire
• Conservative suit (solid color preferred, but a subtle pinstripe is ok too, nothing too flashy unless you are applying for a media or entertainment type job)
• Conservative colored long sleeve shirt (white preferred but a gentle hue that matches your suit is fine)
• Conservative tie (avoid loud prints here)
• Dark socks, dark professional shoes (do not attempt to fake professional shoes with black running shoes)
• Very limited or no jewelry
• Neat, professional hairstyle (if you have long hair, either cut it short or tie it back neatly)
• Go easy on the aftershave (note: if your hair products or shower products already have fragrance, you may want to use a fragrance-free aftershave. Also, your recruiter may be allergic to your aftershave if too strongly fragranced)
• Neatly trimmed, cleaned nails
• Portfolio or briefcase

25 Most Overused Words in a Resume

2009-04-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here are 25 of the most overused, uber-cliche words you could ever use on a resume, cover letter or job application:

Aggressive
Ambitious
Competent
Creative
Detail-oriented
Determined
Efficient
Experienced
Flexible
Goal-oriented
Hard-working
Independent
Innovative
Knowledgeable
Logical
Motivated
Meticulous
People person
Professional
Reliable
Resourceful
Self-motivated
Successful
Team player
Well-organized

Original Source: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/Careers/01/20/cb.words.hurt.resume/

These words will not only make you look like everyone else, they might even throw out your application due to plagiarism or copyright fraud! Be specific in what you write and what you bring to the company in terms of business value.

Make your online job application count!

2009-04-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how other people are making big splashes in the candidate pool?

I've interviewed many HR recruiters at a variety of employers (including Microsoft, Apple, GE, Starbucks, Goldman Sachs) for their advice on how to make an online application stand out from the pile. Here are few great tips they recommend:

- Read and follow directions carefully! It's alarming how many people don't bother reading what's on a posting. If the posting is asking for key info, and your application is the only one that doesn't answer it, you can be sure that you won't get a callback.

- Use a spell checker and have someone proof read your application prior to submission! Over 90% of applications have typographical, punctuation or grammatical errors besides having inconsistent writing styles. This can easily be avoided if you use a spell checker tool in your word processor. This is especially important if the language of your job application is not your mother tongue. You can easily have a professional HR recruiter review your resume for a nominal fee (i.e. under 50$).

-Tailor your application information to the position! If you try to save time by simply copy/pasting text from your catch-all resume, you probably won't be hitting any keywords specific to that one job posting.

- Talk the talk! Use jargon, keywords, buzz and other wording that is commonly used in that industry, especially terms that are in the job posting advertisement.

- KISS your resume! (for those of you who aren't familiar, Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Don't overdress your resume with funky font types, sizes, bold/italics or other distractions. Firstly, they may not print out the way you think they should. Secondly, it just makes it irritating to read.

- Call back the recruiter! Within 3 days of your job application, you should be calling back the recruiter to see if you've made the cut towards interviewing.