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  • Perfecting the Art of the Job Interview

    Perfecting the Art of the Job Interview

    Ah, the job search. Endless applications, emailing resumes…it seems like a never-ending process! However, scoring an interview is just a matter of time and being patient. When you finally do get the call to come in for an interview, you need to be prepared – often you will be called in on short notice.

    And who am I to give advice you ask? Well, I am currently a recruiter for a marketing company and have done full-cycle recruitment for various companies. You’d be surprised at the strange things I hear when I am interviewing potential candidates! Based on this experience, I want to offer you some of my interview “do’s and don’ts”.

    Don’t # 1:
    The most common mistake I find in job interviews is candidates mentioning that they applied to so many jobs that they don’t remember applying to this one. As a recruiter, the first question I usually ask is, “Have you heard of our company before?” Saying that you haven’t because you have applied to so many jobs shows me that you don’t really care about this position, so why should I even continue the interview? By then I’m already turned off.
    Do:
    Do your research! I can’t emphasize this enough. It’s so important and requires little time. There’s really no excuse not to. It’s a matter of Googling a company name and just remembering at least three points about the company that you can talk about. Doing your research will ensure that you appear knowledgeable and it shows that you are actually interested in the position and being a part of the company. In addition, keep track of all the jobs that you apply to. That way, you can easily refer to it when an employer calls you.

    Don’t # 2:
    Don’t be too honest. I’m not saying you should lie in your job interview, but when I ask a candidate, “Why are you interested in this position?” don’t reply back saying that you just need a job, you need to support your family, you need to pay your way through school. This is too much information and shows me as an employer that you are just interested in making money and not interested in the job itself.
    Do:
    So how should you answer that question? Start by explaining why you want that position. Maybe it fits your skill set, you feel you can excel in the job environment, you can hone your sales skills, etc. Name anything that tells me why I should hire you and why you would be good fit for the company. Remember you are trying to sell yourself and trying to show the employer that you are actually interested in the position.

    Don’t #3:
    Don’t dress casually. Jeans, t-shirts and running shoes are definite no-no’s. You are not going for a walk in the park, it’s a job interview! So take it seriously. First impressions are everything and dressing casually shows that you don’t care about this position and, as an employer, I wouldn’t want you to represent my company.
    Do:
    Dress professionally. Suit and tie for men, blazers and business pants for women. Image is everything and an appropriate business look shows that you would be a great representative of the company. Most importantly, you will be taken seriously.

    My final tip: Be patient. You applied to a job and are now waiting for a call from the employer. Do not call the employer that same day to follow-up. In fact, some employers do not like phone calls at all. Be mindful of the fact that employers are very busy – think about how many resumes they receive in one day. There are many people out there in the same boat as you who are looking for work, so patience is key. Consider sending a follow-up email within a week to see if the position has been filled.

    These are only a few do’s and don’ts for job interviewing. Remember, sometimes it’s just a matter of practice. The more you go to interviews, the more comfortable you get. In a matter of time, you will perfect the art of the job interview. I wish you the best of luck! Happy interviewing!

  • Why Do Employers Hire Recent Grads?

    Why Do Employers Hire Recent Grads?

    Often one of the most frustrating things for high school and university/college students is finding a job. We fill out so many applications and go for so many interviews but sometimes we still don’t get a call back. You may be racking your brain wondering if you could have done something better, if you bombed the interview, or if the interviewer didn’t like you. However, one of the reasons you may not be getting called back may have nothing to do with any of these reasons and more to do with the stage of education you are in. It is a well-known fact that employers often prefer hiring recent graduates.  There are a number of reasons why they do this. When you are searching for jobs you may see the term “entry level.” This means that an employer is looking for someone who has completed a program and is trying to enter the job market.

    Although having an academic background is a great thing to have under your belt, employers sometimes view students as having a very busy schedule. Between homework, assignments and exams, students may have to take time off work in order to balance their busy academic schedules. If employers feel like they can’t rely on you or that you don’t have a flexible schedule for them to work with, they may not hire you. Employers often want to hire people with open availability rather than limited availability. Also important to note is that employers sometimes want to wait until these students are no longer students and have completed their programs before hiring them. This could be because they will have less of an academic responsibility and can therefore work more hours.

    Another reason employers like hiring recent grads is because they have developed a skill set through their academic programs. They learn skills and gain knowledge that will help them become better employees. Through school, students learn how to manage their time and become more responsible. They also become better communicators both in written and oral forms. They also won’t have to spend as much time training you because you will have gained a lot of skills and knowledge about that particular field from your program. These are all things that employers look for and want in ideal candidates.

    This does not mean that someone who hasn’t graduated yet has a zero chance of being hired. What it means is that graduates tend to have a better chance because they have completed their education and employers appreciate that. They like to see that you have taken initiative to further your education and expand your skill set. So be patient and instead of getting frustrated try to understand why employers may hire recent grads.

  • Resume Writing Tips

    Resume Writing Tips

    Whenever you are writing your resume, you want to be sure to have five important points accounted for. 1) Include relevant information,  2) Always have up-to-date information, 3) Stay consistent with your formatting, 4) Never put references right on your resume and,  5) Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for.

    1) Start with recounting your work and volunteer experience. You want to be sure to have bullet points outlining what skills you learned from the job and what responsibilities you had at the job/volunteer activity. On your master copy, keep the skills you learned fairly general, and you can tailor the skills to the particular job you are applying to on a subsequent copy (see number 5). When you have nailed down your past experience in terms of volunteering and working, create a section about your education, going back as far as you think is relevant (putting in a line in about which daycare you went to is going back too far). Include a skills and interests section, trying to cover skills that are useful in most jobs. These will be adapted for each of the jobs you apply for. Your interests can include anything that you feel is worthwhile to put down, often choosing something that you want to talk more about is a good idea as employers may use this to see how you spend your time outside of work.

    2) Always have up-to-date information. This means that the name and address, telephone number and email that you have as the very first piece of information on your resume will be up-to-date, not your address from three years ago. You want to be sure that an employer will have no trouble reaching you. Also, try to avoid having unprofessional email addresses (like sexy_chick@hotmail.com). You want to project an image of responsibility and trustworthiness, so you want to avoid having an unprofessional email address. Simply create a new account if you need to.

    3) Staying consistent with your formatting is especially important for facilitating information gathering by the employer. If they are so distracted by the fancy bullet points you have, or the changing styles of font that you added for extra style, they won’t be able to see how you are the right candidate for the job. You want to be sure to pick a style and stick to it. Choosing a generic style is also recommended to avoid any distractions from your suitability for the job. This means regular margins, size 12 font, regular bullet points and the same style of indentation the whole way through the resume. Also, be sure to have a consistent way of documenting the year and the location of your work or volunteer experience. Your goal is to create an easy to read resume where the employer can get the information they want quickly.

    4) Never put references right on your resume. This is especially important because you don’t want to clutter up your resume or have too much information. Hopefully the employer will want to contact your references, but when you are handing in a resume you are not quite there yet. Avoid having that information right on your resume. You can put a line like “references available upon request”, as a way of indicating that you do have references (which you should get now if you don’t have any already).

    5) Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for. This is the most important thing that you can do to secure yourself a job. In the same line of reasoning as keeping your resume consistent, you want to be sure that the employer can read your resume quickly and easily, so they are able to see that you are the right candidate for the job right away. Avoid having one generic copy of your resume or handing out your master copy. Read the job posting and identify what it is that the employer is looking for. Highlight any skills or work experience that they require, any certifications or education, and create a section at the top of your resume outlining exactly how you fit their requirements. You can title this section “Qualifications” or “Professional Qualifications” . This section comes first before listing off your work and volunteer experience, skills and even education.

    Good luck!

  • Time to Communicate

    Time to Communicate

    What would the world be like if we couldn’t communicate with each other? That means no talking, no emailing, and dare I say it, no texting! What a different world we would live in. As social beings, communication is one of our most important tools. Whether it is verbal communication, hand gestures or written communication, all of these types of communication are used as forms of expression. These forms of expression can help us share our ideas and feelings and also help us to understand the ideas and feelings of others.

    Throughout school and even beyond, communication skills are very important. When trying to express yourself to your teachers and your peers it is your ability to communicate that will make or break you. There is a lot to be said for people who are able to use their written communication skills to write clear, concise essays and your grades will reflect this. Being able to communicate on a small scale, like discussing ideas with a peer or even publicly by doing a presentation in front of the class, are times when having good communication skills will make you stand out.

    Even in the work force, communication skills are one of the first skills employers look for in candidates. Your interview with them indicates how well you can communicate and what kind of skills you can bring to the table. Employers want to know that you can communicate effectively with co-workers and clients. Whether it’s a presentation in school or a business presentation for your career, developing these skills is very beneficial.

    Here are some tips to help you improve your communication skills:

    1)      Be a good listener – in order to successfully communicate with others you need to really listen to what they are saying so that you can respond effectively.

    2)      Be aware of your body language – sometimes your body is telling people one thing while your mouth is telling them another. Being aware of your body language will send people the right message.

    3)      Be engaging – raise your pitch so that you don’t sound monotone.  In addition to this, enhance your communication by maintaining eye contact. Also, use an appropriate volume so that your audience can hear you.

    4)      Slow down – talking too fast is a tell-tale sign that you’re nervous. Slow down your speech in order to sound more confident in what you are saying.

  • Volunteering with Work in Mind

    Volunteering with Work in Mind

    Volunteering thoughtfully is the way to break free from the “no work experience” trap. In high school, students do community service hours and they learn that volunteering is something we have to do selflessly to help contribute to the community we call home.

    While I think it is important to give back to your community, there are many ways to give back outside of the strict volunteer setting – some ways you don’t even intend as giving but your actions simply benefit others as a by-product (look up Adam Smith’s concept of “invisible hand” if this interests you). Formal volunteering, then, you should frame as an exchange. Your time and skills are valuable – try to match them to a job where you will be appreciated and where you can truly give a lot. In other words, chose a volunteering position that works with your schedule and lines up with your skills. Remember, it’s an exchange.

    When choosing a volunteer position, consider how you will grow, learn and gain experience in each position, not just how the company or organization will benefit. This is not selfish and it doesn’t contradict the meaning of volunteering. Think of the actions you want to take in your life and your career: most likely you want to do something that will benefit others and you. Anything else is not sustaining; you would burn out from a lack of fulfilment or a lack of caring for yourself. So, volunteering is giving back to your community and planet in a regenerative way for both you and the receiver.

    Here are some often overlooked ways that volunteering can benefit you: First, think about this position and its impact on potential job interviews. A surprising piece of information is that most job interviews now are example-based. In an interview, you can say that you are “reliable and punctual” but this will mean little to your interviewer until you pull out an example of your previous volunteer position in which you arrived at the fair-trade shop at 7am every Sunday morning to assist your supervisor in opening the shop.

    Next, get a letter of recommendation from your volunteering supervisor. One or two of these and all of a sudden you’re not the only one rooting for your great work habits and abilities in an interview. Letters of recommendation make an employer much more likely to believe all the positive things you say about yourself, because they have a second or third opinion. If you are volunteering for a set duration, ask for a letter near the end of the term. Give your supervisor at least a week’s notice before you need the letter, and she or he will likely be glad to write it for you. If you’ve already completed a volunteering term you can certainly still contact your supervisor now and ask for a letter of recommendation.

    Finally, don’t feel obliged to stay in one volunteer position if it isn’t working for you. The main asset of volunteering is that you get to explore many different career routes without the commitment and stress of a paid job. If your position isn’t giving you anything back – joy or experience or knowledge — give a fair week’s notice of your departure and leave politely, thanking them very much for the opportunity.

    Volunteering is practice for your career, so go out and get the best combination of helping others and benefiting you that is possible!

  • Job Skills: Get Factual

    Have you ever seen someone who has the skills to juggle knives or walk on a tightrope? How about someone who can remember large amounts of information? The first two skills are unlikely to lead to a job, except for perhaps entertainers and circus performers. The third one, however, could lead to a job in many different areas, such as acting, teaching and working as a doctor or nurse. That’s because all of these jobs require a lot of information that people can remember in an instant. Almost any kind of ability can lead to a job, but you need to know how to translate the things you can do into skills that can help you find a job.

    When employment experts talk about job skills, they often talk about hard skills, soft skills and personal branding. Personal branding could include what people do at work or school, but also who they talk to and what they do in their spare time. Volunteer work, writing blogs and other daily activities can help develop both your personal brand and skills that will help you find work in the future.

    Soft skills are a lot like personal branding. These skills include things like an ability to get along well with people or to organize information. If you can easily get a lot of different people to work together to get projects done on time, that is a soft skill you can use in many different jobs. You could eventually manage a store or an office with a skill like this. Often these skills will help you get and keep good jobs.

    Hard skills are practical, measurable skills that people use every day at work. They could be things like an ability to type at one hundred words a minute or to use a welding torch. They could include the ability to speak French or to drive a large truck. These skills relate directly to whatever the job is about. They help people get interviews and to do the work if they get the job.

    Almost every job requires a combination of hard and soft skills. If you want to work as a teacher, you will need soft skills such as an ability to communicate with others and to lead groups. However, you will also have to know the subject matter you are teaching, whether that is English literature or addition and subtraction. When you apply for jobs, hard skills will probably be the ones you should emphasize, but they are not the only ones you should develop.

    Hard skills are important, but your soft skills might be just as necessary. If you can show how soft skills like getting to work on time will help you get the job done well, that might be all you need to land the job. Almost any skill you have can lead to work. They key is to find out what employers want and to match your hard and soft skills to the practical, everyday requirements of the job.

  • Making A Great Impression: 10 Tips For Job and Scholarship Applications

    Making A Great Impression: 10 Tips For Job and Scholarship Applications

    Are you applying for a job or scholarship? The following list of pitfalls to avoid apply to ALL aspects of the process: resumes, cover letters, essays, and even your interview and thank you note. Here are 10 tips to help you distinguish yourself from the competition!

    1. Not answering the question – If an employer or committee asks a question, be sure to answer it! They ask questions in part to hear your answers and in part to make sure you can follow instructions and stay focused. The perfect essay or interview response answers the question and shows off your key strengths and accomplishments.

    2. Exceeding the word or page limit – Your application can get thrown out if you do not comply with the word and page limits. Do not take that chance! There is no point in writing a brilliant essay if it never gets read. Would you rather write 511 words that never get read or 500 words that do? If you are having trouble staying within the word and page limits provided, work with an expert to help you concisely say everything you want to say.

    3. Pointing out why you do not qualify – Why would you highlight the reasons an employer would not want to hire you, or the reasons why someone else might be a better recipient of that scholarship? Many applicants make that very mistake. You can be sure that the people reading your application or sitting across from you in an interview already know what’s missing from your application – they have seen your resume. If they are talking to you, it means they are willing to overlook some of your weak points. Showcase your strengths so that the committee trusts you to do the job even if you don’t meet every qualification on paper.

    4. Bragging – While you do not want to speak negatively about yourself, you also do not want to brag. A caveat: Many people think they are bragging and they are not – they are just stating their accomplishments. However, sometimes an essay or interview response can sound too self-congratulatory, even to someone wanting to hear about your best. The best policy is to provide facts that demonstrate something extraordinary about your accomplishments.

    5. Making grammatical and spelling errors – Employers and committees want candidates to demonstrate attention to detail and the ability to communicate effectively. Grammatical and spelling errors demonstrate the lack of these abilities. Slow down in an interview so that you sound professional. Never submit a resume, essay or application without having an someone else review it!

    6. Lack of clear organization or focus – If your writing or speaking lacks organization or focus, you are almost sure to lose your audience’s attention. In a good essay, the writer is clear about the purpose of every word and every sentence. Stay focused as to what you are writing, where you are going, and why you’re saying what you’re saying. Sometimes focus is difficult to maintain on your own; after all, you understand yourself perfectly and have infinite patience for yourself! It takes trained eyes and ears to evaluate whether you’re really getting your point across.

    7. Speaking in generalities – Here’s an example of a sentence that is too general to have its intended effect: “I am a hard working, determined individual driven by success and the love for acquiring knowledge.” Without examples of this hard work, determination and love of knowledge, this sentence doesn’t say much of anything. The applicant would be better served by giving a concrete example of even one of these attributes. By describing a challenge she faced and how she handled it, she will keep the audience’s attention and make the impression she wants.

    8. Complaining or speaking negatively about past experiences – If you say anything negative about a prior position, your reader or interviewer will expect you to be complaining about your new position in short order. There are ways to give even the most negative experiences a positive spin.

    9. Using formal or stilted language in written materials – You are writing to human beings. Write to them in conversational English. Although you do not want to get too casual with your language, you also do not want to sound awkward or pretentious. We recommend reading your writing aloud before pushing the send button. You might realize things about your language – and your punctuation – that you would never have noticed by reading silently!

    10. Including extra information or attachments – Unless expressly invited to do so on an application, do not attach outside information, attachments, videos, links to websites, PDFs, etc. as supplementary materials. If you are unsure about the guidelines, there is no shame in calling the company to ask. It’s better to be safe and to follow instructions exactly.

  • Acing An Impromptu Interview

    Acing An Impromptu Interview

    You never know who you’re going to run into. You may run into a potential employer at a job fair, a networking event or even while already working. I remember countless times where I was approached by prospective employers and essentially was interviewed on the spot, although in an informal way. I met an editor of a newspaper at an on-campus job fair and he gave me an impromptu interview right there, asking me about my experience in the journalism industry. This led to an interview at his office which turned into a job as a freelance writer. Another time I was working at a liquor store promoting some alcohol brands and giving out samples. One customer came by who I gave a sample to and he asked me a lot of questions about what I do. He was so impressed with my personality and the way that I presented myself that he invited me to an interview that same day at a bar that he owned. I ended up going and was offered a position as a bartender. As you can see, potential employers can be anywhere at any time so it’s important to be prepared for an impromptu interview. There’s no need to worry! Here are some tips to help you ace the impromptu interview:

    Carry Your Resumes with You
    You never know who you’re going to run into, so it’s best if you keep a few resumes on hand with you in your purse or backpack.

    Have Business Cards
    Don’t underestimate the power of the business card! If you do run into an employer and they show interest in potentially considering you for a position, they can take your business card and easily contact you for more of a formal interview at their office. This shows that you are professional. Do remember to take their business card as well so you can follow-up with them after your initial meeting. Many printing companies offer a small run of business cards for rather inexpensive fees.

    Be Confident
    Know how to sell yourself. Give a firm handshake, speak clearly, avoid stuttering and name the key points about your experience and skills that you feel are relevant to the position that you are being considered for. To prepare for an impromptu interview, practice at home by yourself covering what you would say to a potential employer in an informal situation. Think about some main points and maybe even practice with a friend.

    Keep It Short
    In many cases, it is likely that you will meet an employer at an event such as a job fair. In these situations, the employer probably doesn’t have all the time in the world for you at that moment so you’ll want to keep it brief. Talk about your main skills, experiences and accomplishments. Try to focus on key points that are relevant to the position. Most likely, if you are successful in the impromptu interview, the employer will invite you for a more formal interview where you will have the opportunity to talk in-depth about your experience and qualifications.

    Preparation is key in acing the impromptu interview. Follow these simple tips and you can make a great impression on a potential employer and you may even land that dream job!