Two-for-One Sale: Get Your Interview Tips Now!

I sent out a HARO request the other day asking for input on resume do's and dont's. I was flooded with so many good suggestions I couldn't use them all for my Gannett News Service and USAToday.com column, so I'm offering you a great deal today: Super resume advice at no cost to you! (I think I'm spending too much time reading the retailer ads that bombard my e-mail every day.)

Anyway, I'll let these people tell you in their own words what you can do to help you in your job search:

"One of my pet peeves is extremely vague objective (resume)statements. These are statements like "Objective: A position with a strong, stable company where I can use my skills and expertise to contribute to growth and advance my career." No kidding. This applies to every employee, everywhere. No one sends me a resume that says, "I'm looking to work for a financially shaky firm, in a dead-end role, at a lower salary, doing tasks that I have no knowledge of or experience with." -- Anne Howard, Lynn Hazan & Associates

"When you write the cover letter and tailor the resume, be sure to reference the job posting and be specific in your response to what they’re seeking. If you don’t have actual job experience, explain how you obtained the skills needed. If you have actually done a particular task, make sure they can easily determine when and where." -- Minde Frederick,OBERON, LLC

"I once got a resume with a picture of a banana on it and a sidebar that read, "I'm ripening...". It definitely caught my attention but for all the wrong reasons. Bold moves are not required. Give me clean, clear and concise any day." -- Caroline Ceniza-Levine, SixFigureStart Career Coaching

"With the influx of applicants returning from military duty, most hiring managers in private sector organizations don't understand military job titles or levels and have no idea what duties or responsibilities are associated with those positions. Therefore, I recommend that individuals with military experience rewrite their resume to show what they did such as the number of individuals supervised or led, financial experience relative to budgets, project goals and how they were met, etc." -- Q VanBenschoten, North America for Intertek

"I particularly do not appreciate people who use 'non-words' such as 'like' or 'umm' or 'uh' throughout their sentences. This has become a significant communications problem particularly among those just entering the workplace. Whether a person works on the factory floor, in an office environment or on the road, the manner in which the information is conveyed is important to understanding the message." -- Douglas Duncan, Your HR Solutions

"We'd like to see more people include links to additional content available on them - a link to their blog, or white papers and articles they may have written. Anything that helps reinforce and demonstrate what they've stated in their resume." -- Mark Rouse, IQ PARTNERS Inc.

"Turnoffs: weird or inappropriate email addresses (sexygirl18@alo.com, for example), strange 'personal interests,' and anything that is disparaging to a former employer." -- Gretchen Neels,Neels & Company, Inc.

"Spelling errors will get you thrown out. In addition, I only look at the work history, the cover letter, and most of the body are generally junk. With 100's of resumes to read you have to focus on what is important." -- Michael D. Hayes, Momentum Specialized Staffing

Any other advice that job seekers should follow?



Lijit Search

Does Your Career Tell The Right Story?

Let's say someone held a taser to your chest right this minute and said: "Tell me the story of your career." Could you do it? I'm not sure I could -- being zapped by a taser is bound to make me a bit nervous and the most I might be able to do is give my name and e-mail address.

But more and more, people want you to tell them career stories. They want to know of a time when you handled a problem at work, when you dealt with a difficult customer or when you led an important project. Oh, yeah, and this story has got to be quick, concise, compelling, riveting and memorable.

I found it interesting that one of the commenters on this blog noted that when I wrote about the "Seven Random (and Sorta Weird) Facts About Me," he said he "can never think of the simple things who make us who we are."

That got me to thinking about how difficult it sometimes is to come up with stories that illustrate our career. I think part of the problem is that we're so busy with our jobs and everything that goes along with it (answering e-mails, phone calls, Twittering, checking Facebook) that we just don't get the time we need to think about what makes us "who we are" on the job.

So, as this year winds down, I think it's a good time to stop and reflect on what we know about ourselves and our career. What really makes us unique? What is something we have brought to a job that makes us valuable? What stories can we tell to others that will make us memorable?

At a time when everyone fears for their job, when we may be facing an important job interview or performance evaluation, let's look at some ways to shape our career stories.

1. Keep if professional. Try to avoid a lot of references to your family and friends. Those are certainly great stories, but you want the listener to see you in the primary role, to have a vision of how you impacted a particular situation.

2. Showcase your ingenuity. I've interviewed many management experts over the last several months, and the one thing they all agree on is that the companies that will survive are the ones who will come up with new and innovative ideas. Think of times you showed you could roll with the punches and still come up with a creative or innovative solution. This not only shows you can handle adversity, but are adaptable as well.

3. Be truthful. I love Aesop's Fables as much as the next person, but anytime you tell a career story, make sure it is true. And believable -- try not to embellish too much.

4. Don't be offensive. Your story loses its power when you use profanities, racial or gender stereotypes or otherwise show you need diversity training. Never tell a story that would embarrass someone else.

5. Keep is short. A story should never be more than a couple of minutes long. If it's a great story, look for ways to shorten it and just highlight the key points.

6. Be interesting. While you should know your stories well enough that you could tell them even if you're nervous (envision that taser), you don't want to sound like you're reciting the Gettysburg Address for a fifth-grade teacher. Tape record yourself, or ask someone else to listen to you tell your story. Does your voice have good inflection? Do you pause for effect? Do you sound and look confident?

7. Do you sound sane? I've heard career stories before that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. While the tellers of these tales thought the stories made them sound tough, or forceful or innovative, I just thought it made them sound a bit deranged. You want to make sure that your stories are logical. They should show that you understood a problem or issue, thought of an appropriate response and then acted professionally.

What are some other tips for telling career stories?



Lijit Search

The Idiotic Things People Say in Interviews

"Welcome, Ms. Jones. Thank you for coming in for an interview today. I'd like to spend some time talking with you about your application and past work history."

"Oh, thank you for calling me. I'd be very happy to answer any questions you might have."

"OK, well let's start with an obvious one: Why do you want to work here?"

"Well, I just think it's a great company. You have such a great reputation, and I think my skills would be of great benefit to you. I'd work really hard."

"How nice. Well, can you be more specific about --"

"Oh, and it would be so nice to work with people who are educated. I mean, some of the people I work with now. Well, let's just say they're not the sharpest tools in the shed...."

"Uh. OK. Well, let's talk about this project you mention on your resume where you headed up the team that brought in a very lucrative project."

"You bet. We got that contract because I kicked ass and wouldn't take any crap from anyone. I didn't want to hear a bunch of whining about sick kids or lung transplants. I mean, we were there to make money, and I made sure we did that."

"I see. So...."

"You know, I just want to be clear here. If you hire me, I'm going to pull my weight and then some. When my parents kicked me out when I was 17, I didn't sit around and complain about poor little me. I did what I had to do, and sometimes it wasn't pretty. But it got the job done. And that's what I'll do for you."

"Ms. Jones, you certainly have given me a lot to think about. We have several other candidates to interview, so I appreciate you coming in."

"Sure thing. I can't wait to get out of this suit, anyway. These pantyhose are cutting off my air, and my feet are killing me in these stupid shoes. I'll wait to get your call."

(Ms. Jones leaves. Hiring manager wads resume into a tight ball and lobs it into the trash can.)

I'll bet there's been a time in your life where you've regretted something you said. Maybe it was a harsh word to a friend or a criticism of a loved one. You may have gone back and apologized, or tried to make it up in some other way.

But the problem with saying the wrong thing in a job interview is that you probably won't get another chance. If you're annoying, unprofessional or just plain weird, chances are you're not going to hear from that potential employer again.

So, here's a list. Memorize it. Recite it as a mantra. Text yourself. Just don't forget to:

1. Stay positive: Interviewees may try and explain why they want to leave their old job, or why getting laid off hasn't been such a bad thing. But instead of saying they're looking for a new opportunity, they talk about how Bill in IT was a dork and the boss was a real a**hole. This is an immediate turnoff for interviewers -- if you talk trash they know you may do the same about a new employer.

2. Clean up your mouth: While swearing may seem like a minor thing to some people, to some people it is a very big deal. And how do you know the interviewer isn't one of the latter?

3. Keep confidences. Don't reveal personal details about others. "Ted is a great guy but more than once I had to take his car keys after some company party. He just doesn't know his limits." Interviewers have to wonder if you'd blab company secrets or personnel confidences if they employed you.

4. Be a grown-up. Whining and complaining about people or events, talking about what a bad temper you have or how you suffer from low self-esteem will not get you hired. Hiring managers will see you as a boatload of anxiety or trouble that they don't need.

5. Keep your personal life personal. While some interviewers may try and lead you to talk about yourself in order to understand you better, it's best to steer clear of comments that put you in a negative light. For example, don't talk about how you used to be a "wild child" or "rebel" or "party girl." It's also best to refrain from saying "I'm a typical Irish guy" or "my religion is very important" or "during baseball season I'm a maniac." You want the interviewer to focus on your professional skills, not your personal life that they may feel will interfere with your ability to do the job.

Finally, remember that it's the interviewer's job to make you feel comfortable so that he or she can really get to know you and your strengths and weaknesses. It's your job not to let your guard down so much that you think you're chatting with your best friend and say things you will come to regret.

How else can a job candidate prepare for an interview?


Lijit Search