Career Essentials_The Interview

by Dale Mayer

  Be sure to write your résumé and then leave it for at least a few hours…overnight is much better. When you come back, new words may have come to you and fresh eyes will allow you to see things more clearly.

  Adjectives or adaptive words help you make your résumé as succinct as possible. You can find a list of power words here www.internationalstudent.com. Other potential sites can be found here:

  • www.youthjobs.ca/power_words.html

  • www.myfirstsalesjob.com.au/career-advice/cv-resume-tips/action-words.aspx

  • www.resumetoolbox.com/action-verbs.html

  • www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Resume-Writing/Resume-Power-Words/

  • www.careerowlresources.ca/Resumes/Res_Frame.htm?res_power.htm~right

  • www.resume-resource.com/resumeverbs.html

  Remember to use action words to start your sentences.

  Words to avoid

  There are words to use and words to avoid. Some words you need to avoid because they are overused or too vague to say anything important. You want to be as specific as you can be. Instead of a common phrase such as:

  Excellent communication skills – replace that with something specific, such as: Wrote User Guides for 14 telecom products

  Team player – get more specific: led sales team to a 22 % sales increase over previous year.

  This isn’t a definitive ‘don’t ever use’ list of words. It’s a list of words to use cautiously. They have been used so much and for so long that recruiters have become blunted to their meaning.

  Use these words sparingly:

  • Successfully

  • Responsible for

  • Aggressive

  • Professional

  • Efficient

  • Determined

  Transferable skills

  Transferable skills are another common set of skills helpful to recruiters. All too often, people use the same tired phrases over and over again. There are many skills out there but each person’s experience with that skill is unique. Show the difference in you having this experience.

  There are many; this is again just a few examples for you to consider:

  • Communication – speaking/writing/getting ideas across

  • Analyze – a situation or problem as to understand what is really going on

  • Decision making – an ability to determine the best way forward in a tough situation

  • Adaptable – to situations by learning new tasks or working with new people

  • Goal Setting – set goals and work out a way to achieve them

  • Dependable – if you say you will do something, you can be counted on to do it

  • Flexible – you can shift to take on different responsibilities at different times

  • Follow instructions – ask questions when you don’t know what to do

  • Efficient – capable of getting the job done in a timely manner

  • Trustworthy – trusted to get the job done

  There are many more, such as:

  • Writing

  • Analyzing

  • Organizing

  • Delegating

  • Public Speaking

  • Management

  • Sign Language

  • Negotiation

  • Motivating others

  • Encourage teamwork

  • Implement action plans

  • Set and follow through on goals

  • Identify and manage ethical issues

  • Assess and evaluate other people’s work

  • Manage time through prioritizing and scheduling

  For a complete list, go to the Wisconsin Job Center or do a search on the Internet as many university and job bank websites have this type of resource.

  Keep in mind that transferable skills are often broken down into different categories such as:

  • Working with people – including patient, pleasant, sensitive and supportive

  • Leadership – including team builder, directing others and risk taking

  • Creative – including music appreciation, presenting artistic ideas and being expressive

  • Skills dealing with data – including classifying data, inspecting and analyzing facts

  • Skills dealing with things – including safety conscious, repair, construct and inspect

  Writing great copy

  It’s important to understand who you are writing for before you ever start. What skills and qualifications they are looking for and why. It’s important to understand the job itself as much as you can.

  In order to attract their attention, fill the résumé with the keywords they want to see. Don’t duplicate the words throughout the résumé in an attempt to make your résumé stand out more. That won’t work. Fill the résumé with facts and accomplishments – that will make it stand out.

  Keep the language tight and concise and make sure you aren’t asking recruiters to wade through information that doesn’t pertain to your candidacy for this particular job.

  Give enough information to create interest so they want to call you in for an interview.

  7.

  The Final Check

  You’ve put all this effort into writing the perfect résumé and you’re almost there.

  Too often a great résumé is ruined because the applicant didn’t take the time to make it absolutely perfect. This is your chance to catch that recruiter’s eye – in a good way. Read your résumé one more time and ask the following questions:

  General

  • Is it unique and representative of you?

  • Is the organization clear and self-explanatory?

  • Is it two pages or less?

  • Is your contact information correct?

  • Is it error free?

  • Have you used common font and sizes, paper, and design elements?

  • Is there a lot of white space so everything isn’t crammed together?

  • Does it have standard 1 inch margins?

  • Are the section headings relevant to the information below?

  • Have you highlighted your accomplishments in a positive way?

  • Did you remember to use numbers, facts, and figures to support your claims?

  • Is everything on your résumé necessary or is some of it not pertinent to the job?

  • Did you use keywords and industry jargon?

  • Did you put in personal information that shouldn’t be there?

  • Is the message consistent throughout the résumé?

  • Does it answer the job requirements?

  • Does it highlight the benefits you offer?

  • Does it say you are a professional?

  • Is the writing style easy to understand?

  • Is it brief and succinct?

  • Does it show that you are the best person for this job?

  Identification

  • Have you placed your name in a larger font and in bold at the top?

  • Is your address clear and easy to read at the top as part of the header or in the footer?

  Career goal

  • Is it clear what kind of work you are looking for?

  • Has your goal been presented in a short and concise statement?

  • Is your goal supported by the other information?

  • If you have a career goal, have you focused it toward the job in question?

  Summary

  • Have you listed your accomplishments?

  • Do the sentences start with an action word?

  • Is it short and concise?

  Experience

  • Have you remembered to list job accomplishments instead of job duties?

  • Have your jobs been listed in reverse chronological order?

  • Is it clear where you worked and when?

  • Have you been consistent in the way you’ve presented the dates you worked?

  • If you’ve used other headings than the traditional ones, do they reinforce the focus of
the résumé?

  • Did you use facts and figures to add power to your statements?

  • Have you presented the most relevant experiences?

  Education

  • Have you used specific headings to identify and set apart specific skills?

  • Have you listed your relevant education in a logical and sequential manner that is easily understood?

  • Have you focused your education by degree and not by institution?

  • Do courses, papers, and projects appear as subheadings or has their importance been lost amongst a jumble of other education?

  • Does your specialized training or professional development show your value to the employer?

  Other headings

  • Are your headings directed toward your career goal?

  • Is the information presented relevant and supportive of the focus of the résumé?

  • Have leadership roles and accomplishments been highlighted?

  8.

  Warning

  As the Internet has brought many advantages to the job searcher, it has also opened up many dangers some job hunters never consider.

  There is a risk of identity theft when sending your résumé everywhere. Yes, you need to send it out, but you have to think about where and how.

  According to many experts, your personal information is prized by the criminal element. There are a few things you can do to minimize the problem.

  • Never put your social security number on your résumé or in an email to an employer – even one offering a job. Once you are hired, you will need to give it to the company.

  • Never post references. This is other people’s personal information.

  • Always remove your résumé from job sites after you have found a job.

  • On job sites, post your résumé privately if you can. This way your contact information and email address aren’t visible to others.

  • Don’t assume job sites are legal and fair. Some will sell your email addresses, and others are outright scams. If a site is asking for a copy of identification to prove you are who you are, don’t provide it.

  • Check the privacy policy of any site where you are contemplating posting your résumé. If you can’t delete it later, then don’t post it there in the first place.

  • Keep records of where your résumé is posted and who you have sent it to. This helps record your job search and it makes it easy to do a follow-up later.

  9.

  Conclusion

  If you have been working your way through this book from start to finish, you will have learned much about yourself and the process of analyzing your skills and abilities. This is key in creating a powerful résumé. Don’t kid yourself, you need that marketing tool to be as professional and hard-hitting as it can be to get you to the next step – the interview.

  Be sure to put the same amount of time and effort into the accompanying cover letter. If you need help, be sure to see my book Career Essentials: The Cover Letter, which will be out soon.

  Like all areas of society, change is happening in the job-hunting industry every day. Certain professions are dying even as new ones are being created. Technology has opened new doors – at the cost of shutting many others. That’s evolution on the job front. However, the world is open and available like never before. Spread your wings and fly to a new job, a new industry, and even a new country to begin the next stage of your journey. There is nothing stopping you but…you.

  Bibliography

  1. Action Word List, http://www.myfirstsalesjob.com.au/career-advice/cv-resume-tips/action-words.aspx, accessed 2.23.11

  2. Combination Résumés, BC Jobs, accessed on 2.12.11 from http://www.bcjobs.ca/content/index.cfm?objectid=D4FC752B-1372-5900-AD64613B1879C436, Accessed 2.12.11

  3. Combination Résumé Samples, Job Employment Guide http://www.job-employment-Guide.com/combination-resume-samples.html, accessed 2.20.11

  4. Eager, Heather, Ten Tips on Writing an IT résumé, Job Bank, USA, http://www.jobbankusa.com/CareerArticles/resume/ca111506h.html, accessed 2.24.11

  5. Fletcher, Louise, Expert Résumés, Blue resume.com, http://www.blueresume.com/, accessed 2.15.11

  6. Fletcher, Louise, The Value-Added Résumé, Blue Sky Résumés Blog, http://www.blueskyresumesblog.com/2008/11/the-value-added.html, accessed 2.13.11

  7. Help with your résumé and CV, The Riley Guide, http://www.rileyguide.com/resprep.html, accessed 3.01.11

  8. Kennedy, Joyce Laine. (2003) Résumés for Dummies, (4th ed.) NY, USA: Wiley Publishing Inc, accessed 3.05.11

  9. Krantman, Stanley, (2001), The Résumé writer’s workbook, Albany, NY, Delmar, Thomson Learning, accessed 3.16.11

  10. Power Words, (2011), Résumé Resource, www.resume-resource.com/resumeverbs.html, accessed 3.18.11

  11. Power Words, Career Owl Resources, www.careerowlresources.ca/resumes/Res_Frame.htm?res_power.htm~right, accessed 3.18.11

  12. Résumé & CV Tips, CV Tips www.cvtips.com/resumes-and-cvs/, accessed 2.22.11

  13. Résumés, Community Employment Services, http://www.ceswoodstock.org/job_search/resumeintro.shtml, accessed 4.01.11

  14. Schuman, Nancy, (2008) Everything Résumé Book, (3rd ed.). Avon, MA, USA: Adams Media, accessed 3.25.11

  15. The Editors of VGM Career Books, Résumés for Communications Careers, (3rd ed.), (2003) VGM Career Books, McGraw-Hill Companies, Chicago, accessed 3.13.11

  16. Transferable Skills, Wisconsin Job Center, 2008, http://www.wisconsinjobcenter.org/publications/8961/8961.htm, accessed 2.28.211

  17. What will you do to stand out, Is your résumé ready?, Distinctive Documents, accessed 3.15.11 www.distinctiveweb.com

  18. Whitcomb, S. B. (2007). Résumé Magic, Trade Secrets of a Professional Résumé Writer (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN, USA: JIST Publishing, accessed 3.15.11

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading Career Essentials: The Résumé! If you enjoyed my book, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a review here.

  Dear reader,

  I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter. And if you are interested in joining my street team, here is the Facebook sign up page.

  Cheers,

  Dale Mayer

  Career Essentials: The Series

  Career Essentials: The Cover Letter

  Buy this book at Amazon.

  Today’s economy leaves little room for second chances in the job market. Hiring managers are swamped with applications. What are you doing to rise to the top of the pile and get noticed? If it isn’t creating a cover letter driven by facts and filled with punch, you aren’t doing enough.

  The cover letter is often overlooked as a key marketing tool – the perfect introduction. It can be blank and uninteresting or it can offer the potential employer exactly what they are seeking.

  At just over a hundred pages, this concise, easy to read guide is full of professional information that will make your job search take off

  Career Essentials: The Interview

  Buy this book at Amazon.

  Today’s economy is tighter and more complex than ever before. With no time or money for mistakes, companies need to find the ‘right’ person for every position quickly and efficiently.

  To have reached the interview stage is a feat in itself. Now it’s critical that you not only get through the interview but that you dominate the competition. If this is the job you want, there is no room for errors, not when there are hundreds of solid candidates lined up behind you.

  This is the 3rd book in the Career Essential series, and it covers all the ‘essential’ information you need to know about interviewing successfully and so much more. Like all the books in this series, the information presented here is concise and clearly laid out in an easily accessible style so it’s fast to read and easy to follow.

  Good luck!

  About the Auth
or

  Dale Mayer is a researcher, technical writer, ghostwriter, and author living in the beautiful Okanagan valley in British Columbia, Canada. She has several business books published on Mortgages, Résumé Writing, and Companion Gardening. As a complement to those books, she has created The Essential Series encompassing topics in Careers, and eventually Gardening, Finance, and Lifestyle.

  In fiction, she writes taut psychological suspense with romance and paranormal elements. She has recently branched out into both mystery and urban fantasy books for young adult with the occasional vampire book thrown in just for fun.

  Her award winning romantic suspense series (with paranormal elements) Tuesday’s Child is out along with book 2, Hide’n Go Seek, and book 3, Maddy’s Floor.

  Connect with Dale Mayer Online

  Dale’s Website – www.dalemayer.com

  Twitter – @DaleMayer

  Facebook – facebook.com/DaleMayer.author

  If you enjoyed this book, the second and third books in the series are also available as well as a compilation of the three books together.

  Also by Dale Mayer