Posts Tagged ‘resume writing rules’

7 Cardinal Sins of Interviewing

Friday, May 14th, 2010

As the unemployment rate climbs to 9.9%, we can assume that there are over 30 million people in the United States job market, and some of them are looking for the very same job as you. While many of us focus on what to do during the interview process, few of us pay attention to what NOT to do. It is easy to get nervous and make very serious blunders that can cost you this job and many others if your interviewer is an important person in your industry. Regardless of your nerves, attitude, or terrible-horrible-no good-very bad day, you should avoid these Cardinal Sins of Interviewing, because some people will not.

1) Inappropriate Attire: Wrinkles and stains are the least of your worries.  Just because you are wearing your lucky undergarments does not mean your potential employer should have to see them. If you think that a low-cut shirt or a too-tight top will get you the job, you had better be applying for a night life job. It is disrespectful to your employer, male or female, if you wear something provocative. They will think that you do not take the company or the position seriously, and will be offended that you assumed your bare-it-all attitude would make a positive difference. Show some respect for yourself and your interviewer and dress conservatively.

2) Flirtation and Harassment: Be friendly, smile, laugh politely at their jokes, but be careful not to go too far. Anything that could be misconstrued as flirting or sexual harassment is a recipe for failure. You are a twenty-four year old man and your interviewer turns out to be the most gorgeous woman in the world-deal with it. Same goes for female interviewees. If you want to get the job, and you want to be shown daily respect, do not put yourself out there in an unprofessional way, and do not flirt just to get hired!

3) Profanity and Getting Too Comfortable: You may find that you get along really well with your interviewee, and you envision the two of you enjoying beers during happy hour. Stop. This will lead you to become far too comfortable with your interviewer, which may cause you to slip into colloquialisms and profanity. Just because you are explaining something in a lively fashion does not mean you need to drop any four letter expletives.

4) Badmouthing Past Employers: Do you get a long-term girlfriend by bad-mouthing your ex to them on the first date? An interview is very similar; bad-mouthing an ex-employer can create negative tension and make you both extremely uncomfortable. Additionally, it is always a much smaller world than you think, and they may be the college roommate of the object of your verbal-bashing. When it doubt, leave that part out.

5) Talking About Family/Pets/Personal Life: Many employers these days know that they can probably get any one they want to fill any given position. If they are going to be working with you on a daily basis, they probably want to know that the two of you will get along. Showing that you mesh with the company and driveling on about your fiancé, spouse, children, or pets are two very different things. The fact that your son goes to Harvard and your Yorkshire Terrier just had a lot of puppies is not going to help you get the job. Discuss hobbies, likes, and other wholesome topics, but try to avoid delving too far into your personal life. It can make you seem desperately dependent. If asked, either subtlety or directly, be honest. It is otherwise best to leave irrelevant personal information out.

6) Incessantly Talking: This falls in line with number 5; keep the information on point. If you are asked to describe a project, or a task, draw a picture with your words as concisely as possible, but with appropriate details.  If your interviewer can hardly get a word in edgewise, you are probably not making a very good impression.

7) One Word Answers: Answer questions fully and honestly, no matter how nervous you may be. Try to keep them short, but if you let your nervousness or uncertainty take over, you will end up responding with a lot of “yes, sirs.” The quicker the interview, the less of an impression you have made on your interviewer. Try to answer questions with information that sets you apart from other potential hires, but not in a negative way.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Interviewing, Tips | Comments Off

The Do’s and Don’ts of Resume Writing

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Developing your resume is a tedious part of the job search and is also one of the most important steps of the process.  Below is a list of do’s and don’ts to help you along the way.  Stick close to these guidelines and you can start searching for the job of your dreams.

  • DO use bullets to establish your points and organize your experiences. This makes it a thousand times easier for employers to glance over your skills, experiences, and qualifications.
  • DON’T list everything with bullet points. You want the important information to stick out, not blend in with the rest of the details. Use bullets, but use them sparingly.
  • DO save your file as your name and resume if you are sending it via email. This will make it much easier to access, and avoid confusion when interview time comes around.
  • DON’T use whatever generic or default name is provided, and avoid using dates or version numbers. Employers do not need to know how many different versions of your resume you have, or how often you update it.
  • DO include all available contact information such as phone number, email address, and even home address to ensure that you can be found if they want to check references or set up an interview.
  • DON’T include personal email addresses that are not professional, such as “luvskittens@hotmail” or “dottiethehottie@yahoo.” If it is the only email address you have, you should definitely open a new account.
  • DO use high quality paper of a relatively neutral color. Something more substantial will stand out in a stack of resumes.
  • DON’T use bright colors, scented paper or pens, or standard white copy paper (if you can avoid it). These “artistic” additions are distracting and unprofessional.
  • DO use font enhancements such as bold, italics, and underline. This will make your resume look more interesting, and help the important parts stand out.
  • DON’T go overboard with these enhancements. Much like the bullet points, you should use them to drive a point home, but use them sparingly. Additionally, do not change your font style throughout the paper, and never use varying colors.
  • DO highlight your achievements and accomplishments. Show how far you advanced in various positions, and what you did.
  • DON’T focus too much on the duties you performed. Highlighting individual tasks is a waste of time since employers rarely have time to read through them. It just takes away from the more important points.
  • DO use fragmented sentences. You may not realize this, but fragments actually help to enhance a point. When employers are scanning a resume, they rarely spend more than a minute or two on it, so shorter sentences and phrases are helpful.
  • DON’T use personal pronouns. Omitting “I” and “my” will add to the fragmented sentences, but will also make your resume easier to read. Your resume is obviously about you; so don’t bother with first person pronouns.
  • DO make your resume job specific. Include information that is relevant to the job for which you are applying, and make it show that you are the missing puzzle piece to their organization.
  • DON’T submit the same generic resume to many different job openings. Though you may be applying for similar jobs, do not use the same exact resume. When employers read it they will know it is generic, and that can greatly affect your chances.

The most important thing to remember is to remain honest. It is okay to be a little bit more confident in your skills than you normally are, but only include honest information. Good luck!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Tips, Writing | 4 Comments »