Resources

Author: BullsEyeResumes

If your resume is not getting the attention you want, maybe you are committing one of these seven deadly sins of resume writing.

Remember that recruiters and hiring managers will scan your resume for about 20-30 seconds to decide if it should be in the “keep” pile or the “no way” pile. Take 15 minutes to scan your own resume and audit for these common resume writing mistakes.

Carelessness

This goes without saying. Do not be afraid to ask for help to proofread your resume. Ask a friend, a colleague, family member, a professor or even a prior boss to help you check for errors. There are also many online resources that offer free resume critiques and will catch errors you miss.

Irrelevance

Remember that resumes are not supposed to necessarily chronicle everything you have ever done. The goal instead is to package your most relevant experience and skills to suit the specific position in which you are interested. Very few resumes need to go beyond two pages. If you find yourself going beyond two pages check for relevance.

Lack of Clarity

Does your resume make a compelling argument, is clear, concise or to the point? Can the recruiter or hiring manager tell from your resume, what you really want? Is there an objective that focuses the resume or are you wasting words on “resume speak”.

No Marketing Value

Do not forget that your resume is a calling card that represents your personal brand and will get into place when you can’t. Professional presentation with an attractive and readable layout is important. Fonts, formats and styles should enhance not detract from the marketability of your resume.

Writing Style

Avoid run-on or long sentences. Remove personalization in the form of pronouns such as ‘I” or “my”. Write in an objective voice. Be wary of professional resume writers who do not write in “your voice”. Employers can tell the minute they speak with you on the phone.

Lies or Misrepresentations

Do not lie or misrepresent your past on your resume. With today’s social networking technology and employee verification processes, lies won’t last.

No Outcomes

What is the purpose of the resume if not to speak to your accomplishments and outstanding outcomes? Too many resumes chronicle the past, but fail to actually speak to successful outcomes.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/resumes-articles/7-deadly-sins-of-resume-writing-501922.html

Author: Carole Martin, The Interview Coach

No, behavioral interviewing has been around since the 70’s when industrial psychologists developed a way of “accurately” predicting whether a person would succeed in a job. They concluded that if candidates were asked questions that requested examples of past behavior it would be an indicator of their future behavior.

So, employers began using this interviewing technique to determine whether you were a good fit for the job. The technique is of growing interest to companies who would like to choose the “right” candidate, especially in today’s market with so many candidates for them to choose from.

The types of questions that are asked using this technique are used to find out how and what you did in the past and the skill sets you used in the process - if you did it before you can do it again!

The difference between a behavioral question and other questions is what the question asks for. A behavioral question will be very specific. For example when asked, “Tell me about a time when you solved a problem,” the key words are “a time.” This answer calls for a “specific” example of a “specific” incident.

When traditional questions are asked they usually include the word “if.” When “What would you do if…” questions are asked you can use your imagination to come up with an answer. For example, “What would you do if you had a problem to solve?” The word, “if,” is the clue word that indicates the interviewer wants to hear your thought process - how you think through a problem. This question does not require a past experience example.

While preparation is important for every interview, it is essential to prepare for the behavioral interview. You must have examples or stories for anything you have claimed on your resume or that you say in an interview.

One example would be, if you claimed you were very organized on your resume. A natural question for the interviewer would be: “Tell me about a time when you organized a project.” It is now your task to let the interviewer know that you have had success when organizing a project or event. In other words, prove what you said you did by providing an example.

There are several methods and acronyms suggested for formatting your stories but the main point to remember is that any story has three key elements:

A beginning – “There was a time….”

A Middle – “The action steps I took were…”

An Ending – “The end result was…”

Stories should be interesting and full of action. Give the interviewer something to remember about you. A savvy interviewer will be able to hear skills from the stories and judge your behavior from your past actions. The more details and skills you can work into your story, the more convincing your story will be.

Preparing your stories before the interview will take the mystique out of behavioral interviewing and allow you to tell the success stories you want your interviewer to hear. Through your examples the interviewer will begin to get a clear picture of you and be able to decide whether you are the right person for the job based on your past experience and successes.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/interviews-articles/is-behaviorial-interviewing-a-new-technique-455128.html

Author: Carole Martin, The Interview Coach

You feel prepared for the interview. You are confident walking through the door to meet your interviewer. You have your positive experiences and stories ready to answer questions.

The interview is going along smoothly when all of a sudden the interviewer starts throwing “curve balls.” The interviewer begins asking for examples of negative situations - times when you failed or had problems coping with work.

You are not prepared to talk about your failures or times when you were challenged by difficult situations. You become flustered and you lose your confidence. You also lost the opportunity to get a second interview - or an offer.

Most interviewers aren’t attempting to be cruel when they ask for negative information - they are trying to find out if there are any “skeletons” in your closet – what problems you may have from past experiences.

So what do you do when you encounter those “curve balls?” You deal with them in a positive manner.

Here is an example of a question seeking negative information and how to deal with it.

Question –

“Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with someone at work and how you resolved it.”

Answer –

“I usually get along very well with almost everyone.”

“There was an incident that happened with a person who was not pulling his weight on the team and it was affecting morale. All the team members were getting disgruntled but nobody was doing anything about it.”

“I took it upon myself to have a talk with the person when the opportunity presented itself. It didn’t start out smoothly – he was defensive at first and resented my speaking to him about his work behavior. I was careful to let him know that I wasn’t judging him but rather was concerned about the team and the ability for everyone to get along.”

“Eventually he confided in me that he had some family problems at home that were affecting his energy level and patience. I listened attentively while he told me about his problems.”

“Once he became aware that his behavior was affecting other’s work he made a special effort to be more open and receptive. The team spirit improved greatly after that – as well as the productivity.”

If you look carefully at this answer you can see that it offers many positives. The answer starts out with a positive statement: “I usually get along with almost everyone.” It’s a good strategy to add something positive about yourself and how you manage to get along with people before you begin to talk about a negative situation.

The next positive phrase used is about style: “I took it upon myself….” This statement shows initiative and ability to do something about the problem while other team members were content to be disgruntled.

This example also shows a sense of caring about fellow employees – taking the time to find out what the problem was and being a real “team player.”

You can see that there is a good deal of positive information that can be emphasized in an answer - even if it is an example of a time when things were negative.

Sometimes interviewers are trying to avoid making a hiring mistake that was made in the past.

In the event that there have been problems in the past at this company you will have demonstrated that those problems won’t be an obstacle for you. You have shown the interviewer that you will do what you need to do to resolve an issue or at least to get the facts about the problem.

Turning negatives into positives is an important skill to learn. When you are asked a negative question, stop and think about how you can refocus the question to include some positive qualities.

Sample answer – excerpt from “Perfect Phrases for the Perfect Interview,” Carole Martin 2005 (McGraw-Hill)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/interviews-articles/how-to-deal-with-negative-questions-in-the-job-interview-510718.html