Over the course of my recruiting career, I have interviewed literally thousands of candidates. Some of the interviews were great and some were pretty dismal. The candidates who did a great job of preparing their resume and honing their interview skills were the candidates who ultimately got referred to my clients. What can you do to make sure you are one of those candidates? I have some tips for you.
Make sure your resume is one page, I don”t care how many years of experience you have. Your resume should only be one page and it should only go back 10 years. Your resume should start with your objective; this should simply be the title of the job for which you”re applying. Next list the highlights of your qualifications, three to five lines describing your highest skill levels. For instance, my first highlight is 25 years professional recruiting experience. Also, your resume should be chronological; employers want to see your career progression. Be ready to explain any gaps in your employment history. For those of you who still want to submit a longer resume think about this, for most of my career I came in every morning to a minimum of 100 resumes. Obviously, I couldn”t read every word of all those resumes so like most people I read the top third of each resume. You need to make sure your resume captures an employer”s interest immediately.
Next, brush up on your interviewing skills. Be sure you can answer basic questions that come up in many interviews. Where do you want to be in five years? Why should we hire you for this job? What is your biggest strength? What is your biggest weakness? Tell me a bit about yourself. These are just a few of the questions you should be prepared to answer. Probably the best tip I can give you is to keep this thought in the back of your mind. How do I present myself to this employer in a way that will make them choose me over my competition? Finally, make the employer understand that you really want this job and will work hard once you are hired. Do not be afraid to ask for the job.
At the end of the interview I suggest you present the interviewer with a list of your references. References are always people you have worked for or with. You should list the reference”s name, the company name where you both worked, what their title was and their phone number. Be sure you contact your references before you hand out their phone numbers and ask if they would be willing to act as a reference for you. Business references are never family members or friends although if your supervisor is not available sometimes a co-worker is a good reference as long as you identify them as a co-worker and not a boss on your reference list.
You only have seven seconds to make a first impression so make sure you know how to greet a prospective employer. Usually, they will greet you first, when they do you need to stand, look them in the eye, smile and shake their hand. Only after this greeting should you start gathering your things to follow them to the interview location. When you enter their office, stay standing until the interviewer asks you to sit down. The start of the interview is a good time to offer them your resume, make sure you bring extra copies of your resume even if you have already e-mailed them one. Dress appropriately. I once interviewed a woman who had a different island painted on each of her fingernails. To this day I have no idea what she said in that interview, I only remember those nails. Good job search and interviewing skills are learned. Make sure you practice these skills so you stand out to prospective employers.
Mary Becker is a former San Francisco business owner who now lives in Lake County. Contact her at mbnorthernlights@gmail.com.
