Interview Preparation: Dress for Success Part 4

How to Dress for Success Dressing for success requires understanding why your appearance matters and then using that information to best market yourself as a candidate.  As part 4 of our 4 part guide we will publish how to be prepared for that important interview. Grooming     * Make sure your general appearance is neat and clean.     * Make sure your hair is neatly combed and you have shaved.     * If you have a beard, make sure it is well kept.     * If you wear makeup, keep...

Interview Preparation: Dress for Success Part 3

How to Dress for Success Dressing for success requires understanding why your appearance matters and then using that information to best market yourself as a candidate.  As part 3 of our 4 part guide we will publish how to be prepared for that important interview. How do I determine what is appropriate to wear? If you have no idea what to wear to a particular interview, ask your friends or your employment placement counselor. If you are still unsure, do some pre-interview reconnoitering. Visit the company prior to your interview to see...

Interview Preparation: Dress For Success Part 2

How to Dress for Success Dressing for success requires understanding why your appearance matters and then using that information to best market yourself as a candidate.  As part 2 of our 4 part guide we will publish how to be prepared for that important interview. What should I wear to an interview? Dress for the job you want and not the job you have. On one hand, do not dress too casually, and on the other, do not dress too formally for the interview. Also, be sure not to wear uncomfortable clothes or shoes, since discomfort often makes...

Interview Preparation: How to Dress for Success Part 1

How to Dress for Success Dressing for success requires understanding why your appearance matters and then using that information to best market yourself as a candidate.  As part 1 of our 4 part guide we will publish how to be prepared for that important interview. Why should it matter what I wear? A common question asked by job candidates is: “My résumé and Gild Certifications speak for themselves, I am an engineer, not a fashion model – why does it matter what I wear to an interview?” Like it or not, empirical studies show that interviewers...

Why the Cover Letter Matters Part 2

Why the Cover Letter Matters The cover letter is your electronic look in the eye and handshake announcing you to a prospective employer, marketing you as the best candidate for the job. Your cover letter must get the recruiter or hiring manager to be interested enough in you to read your résumé. Recruiters look over hundreds of cover letters each and this is no easy task. Now, let’s review the steps of writing a cover letter that will help you stand out from the crowd. How to Write the Best Traditional Cover Letter FORMAT When writing a conventional...

Why the Cover Letter Matters Part 1

Why the Cover Letter Matters The cover letter is your electronic look in the eye and handshake announcing you to a prospective employer, marketing you as the best candidate for the job. Your cover letter must get the recruiter or hiring manager to be interested enough in you to read your résumé. Recruiters look over hundreds of cover letters each and this is no easy task. Now, let’s review the steps of writing a cover letter that will help you stand out from the crowd. How To Prepare to Write the Best Conventional Cover Letter RESEARCH. RESEARCH....

How to Write Great Résumés Part 3

As a general rule, include your work experience of the last 10 years and avoid work period gaps whenever possible. Experience older than 10 years is usually too remote and outdated—especially given how fast and relentlessly IT and relevant skill sets constantly evolve. Include any work experience you have had, whether you were paid for it or not. If you completed the work as an intern, volunteer, or teacher’s assistant, include that information if it is relevant to the job for which you are applying. To properly list your experience, you should...

How to Stand Out in a Phone Interview

More employers are using phone interviews as screening mechanisms to narrow down their applicant pool. These calls can range from short and perfunctory to long and in-depth, but either way, it's crucial to be prepared for them. Here are 10 tips to help you become a phone interview ninja:1. Ask ahead of time how much time to allot for the call.This can tell you what type of interview to expect. If you're told it'll take 10 to 15 minutes, it's just going to be a simple screening to check your basic match-up with the job. But if you're told to...

When to Talk About Salary

Bringing up salary too early with a potential employer might cost you the chance of landing the job. Wait too long and you might not get to negotiate. Let's look at when to talk about salary in two scenarios: working with a recruiter and working with the company hiring manager.When Working with a Third-Party RecruiterDiscussing your salary expectations with a recruiter early in the your relations will help her present you with the most appropriate opportunities. Remember that a recruiter wants to make the opportunity work for her client...

5 Questions to Ask on Your Next Interview

When it comes to job interview prep, much emphasis is put on having the right answers. But while you're struggling to come up with responses to queries on your biggest weakness and why you should be hired, don't forget to craft some smart questions, too.You will be judged, after all, by what you ask (or fail to ask)."Candidates should always have questions prepared to ask during the interview," says Tom Gimbel of the Chicago-based staffing firm The LaSalle Network. "A lack of questions demonstrates a disinterest in the position and lack of preparation...

Three Clues You’re About to Lose Your Job

The firing process is God awful. (No matter how gleefully Mitt Romney extolled its virtues on the campaign trail.) People hate to cause pain, so there's major stress involved with letting someone go for underperformance. Of course this doesn't even come close to the anguish of the person beingfired. Can't this whole process be avoided?Both sides may wonder how it ever came to this. Managers question why people don't see the writing on the wall and voluntarily exit a company. Employees feel blindsided.I was in this exact conversation...

10 Ways to Ruin a Job Interview

You can have the perfect resume and a compelling cover letter and show up for the job interviewready to impress, but get ready to forgo the job offer if you make one of these stumbles.1. Being late. Arriving late to a job interview is often an instant deal-breaker. Hiring managers assume that you're on your best behavior while interviewing, so if you're late, they'll assume you'll be unreliable once on the job. Always allow more time than you'll need to get to your interview, so that you have a buffer in case something goes wrong. Click...