Job Interview Follow-Up Do’s and Don’ts

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Source:
http://www.quintcareers.com/interview_follow-up-dos-donts.html

Job-seekers must remember that your work is not done once you finish the job interview. If you want the job, you can’t just sit back and wait for the job offer, so consider these key rules, guidelines, and strategies for following-up your job interviews.

• Do ask at the end of the interview when the employer expects to make the hiring decision.
• Do be proactive and consider follow-up a strategic part of your job search process. Follow-up can give you just the edge you need to get the job offer over others who interviewed for the position.
• Do use these follow-up techniques to continue to show your enthusiasm and desire for the position, but don’t make it seem as though you are desperate.
• Do obtain the correct titles and names of all the people who interviewed you. (Ideally, do get each person’s business card.)
• Do write individual thank you notes or letters to each person who interviewed you — within two business days. Each letter can be essentially the same, but try to vary each a bit in case recipients compare notes. Don’t ever fail to send a thank you — even if you are sure the job is not for you. And do write thank you notes after every interview.
• Don’t worry so much about hand-written versus typed thank you letters, but don’t make a mistake by sending it through the wrong medium; make sure you know the best method of reaching the employer, whether by postal mail, email, or fax.
• In your thank you letter, do show appreciation for the employer’s interest in you and do remind the employer about why you are the perfect person for the position. See some sample interview thank you letters.
• Don’t ever have any errors (misspellings or typos) in your thank you letters.
• Do alert your references — if you have not done so already — that they may be getting a phone call from the employer.
• Don’t stop job-hunting, even if you feel confident that you will get a job offer. Do continue to interview and attempt to find other opportunities.
• Do follow-up with a telephone call to the employer within a week to ten days (or sooner, if the employer had a shorter timetable) to ask about the position. And do continue to build rapport and sell your strengths during the phone call.
• Do be patient. The hiring process often takes longer than the employer expects.
• Do continue following-up, especially if the employer asks you to. Remember the adage about the squeaky wheel getting the oil. Just don’t go overboard and annoy or bother the employer.
• Don’t place too much importance on one job or one interview; there will be other opportunities for you.
• Do use other job offers as leverage in your follow-up — to get the offer you really want.
• Don’t burn any bridges if you do not get a job offer. And do try and turn the situation into a positive by bringing the interviewer(s) into your network, possibly even asking them for referrals to other contacts. Read more about the art of networking.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers, one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of Quintessential Careers Press, including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter, QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He’s often quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his personal Website or reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.

5 Underrated Tips to Acing a Job Interview

The big day is finally here. You have obviously done your part to sell the recruiter/Hiring Manager on why you should be given the opportunity to come in and make your case for why you should move on in the interview process, and potentially be there next new hire.  Pump your breaks for just a moment sparky.  The interview is as much about selling your soft skills and how you fit in as it is about selling them on how your experience can meet their needs.

Here are 5 underrated and underutilized tips to help you to perform your best in your next interview.

Look the Part.  Forget everything else you’ve heard or read.  You are judged from the minute you walk in the door and before you open your mouth.  If you want to be taken seriously as a candidate for the position, invest in a nice suit.  This doesn’t mean spending a ton of money for it.  There are some retailers that sell really nice off the rack suits at affordable prices.  Keep accessories, cologne and other fragrances to a minimum.

Stand Your Ground.  Hiring managers may try to bully you because they know you’re nervous.  They may even ask you questions to deliberately throw you off to see how you respond and if you can think on your feet.  Stay calm, slow everything down and think about what your responses are going to be.  One of the best pieces of advice that I received when I was doing interviews for the news was to speak in sound bites.

Make it All About Them.  To an extent, this interview really isn’t about you.  It’s about how you can help them.  Don’t waste their time by telling your life story.  Your mission is to prove and show them why you’re the person for the job and how you can help them solve whatever problem they are facing.

Be Yourself.  While it’s important to put your best foot forward, it is equally important to be true to who you are. If you try to be what you think the employer wants you to be, you’ll both be disappointed.

Send Follow Up/Thank You Letters. Following up after an interview is how you set yourself apart from your competition.  You would be amazed at how many people fail  to do this simple, yet vital step in the employment process.  Send an email and a hard copy note to everyone that you came in contact with thanking them for the opportunity and asking about what your next steps are.

The Horror of the Resume

This is a guest post by Howie Appel, Executive Director of ProNet Career Resources.

The three common horror stories I hear are:

1. 12 people have helped me with my resume and I’m STILL not getting interviews…what now?
2. I spent over a $1000 on my resume last month and no interviews came as a result of my meeting with a “professional”.
3. I wrote my resume because I know my self!! I had mom, dad, brother, and sister along with Uncle Joe review it and they said it was fine….how come no interviews?

People approach me all the time with these questions and I felt that it’s “high time” to give you my thoughts as to why these events are not leading to a new position.

Number 1: relates to both biases and opinions. These 12 people…what are their backgrounds? Have they done recruiting? Have they reviewed and revamped resumes for a long time? Have they “read up” on the latest trends in resume construction? I have read article after article on peoples’ attitudes toward resumes. In all honesty, the only ones that make sense are those who have engaged in the actual work of recruiting. If all of these people have been in this field, then chances are, most of their suggestions should be similar.

Number 2: relates to those, again, who claim to be “close” to Human Resource recruiters. They may, indeed, have their credentials and feel that the time they spent and the monies they spent to get their certifications enables them to justifiably charge this type of money. That’s a hard “pill to swallow” in this economy. Many resume writers are coming down in their prices. Some even do it for free. Bear in mind the old saying, “you get what you pay for”. I’ll cover that in the next paragraph.

Number 3: finally, relates to having a resume reviewed and revamped for free. It’s not costing you anything, so why not? Again, the concept is simple, if the person with whom you’re dealing is knowledgeable in the current practices and what should and should not be on a resume and they opt to rewrite yours for free….then good luck….my guess is that they will help you by ensuring there are no typos or other “red flags”. They have no “stake” in your future, they are just trying to help…..and that is completely understandable. Many come to me and say, after much frustration, my spouse looked at this and said it was fine. I went line by line, only to find various “red flags” which were pointed out.

Bottom line

This is your resume. It needs to portray you. One typographical error could separate you from your peer who opted to spend some money and have a professional review it. What does it take? It takes the formulation of phrases, it takes a first and second draft. It also takes open-mindedness on your part. It takes accepting the fact that some terms are old and should not be used. One should never give a resume to a writer and say”do your stuff and then get back to me”. Collaboration is the key here. If you do not have MAJOR input into the making and building of your personal portfolio, then it is not yours but that of the writer.

In the interview, you will be tested on every word on the resume. If you felt comfortable that the writer knows what they’re talking about, then good….but is he/she coming to the interview with you? Horrible things can happen if you leave out vital information that could lead to your being a “notch” higher than your competition.

Resumes must be chronological in that the reviewer wants to know where, when, what, and how. They want to see quantitative information. They want to see action verbs. Finally, they want to test your memory and your knowledge of yourself. Does that sound weird? No, it is just that you must tell the recruiter/hiring manager about yourself using short, succinct and action phrases that will make him want to know more.

How long should your resume be? Obviously, it depends on YOU!! Here are some general rules of “thumb”: Recent college graduates need only assemble one page. College graduates with 10 years experience need a 2 page resume. Have a Masters degree? You will probably short circuit yourself with a 2 page resume. Font should always be 12 font….I don’t want to take out a magnifying glass and then a microscope to read the resume….I’ll just pass and move onto the next one.

Don’t Miss:  A Month by Month Guide to Your Career in 2012

Howie Appel

Howie is the Executive Director of ProNet Career Resources, Inc.  He has been a corporate and agency recruiter for 25 years.  A member of the CFEC Resume Critiquing Team at their Job Fairs, he is also an expert resume writer with a passion for helping succeed in their search for the position they desire..

Source:
http://jobtrakr.com/2012/02/01/guest-post-the-horror-of-the-resume/

5 Questions You Should be Asking Your Interviewer

By Maro Onokpise

The part of the interview that could determine whether or not you’re going to move on in the process or not is when the interviewer asks you if you have any questions.  I’ve been hearing from a lot of hiring managers and recruiters that they are amazed at the amount of people that don’t have any questions.

This is the opportune time to make one final impression on a potential employer. Unfortunately, a lot of job seekers aren’t taking advantage of the last 5-10 minutes of the interview to stand out.  The key to a great interview isn’t always about how well you answered questions, a lot also has to do with the questions you ask.

I have to draw a distinction between asking relevant questions and asking questions just for the sake of asking them.  You may not get the opportunity to ask as many questions as you would like, so it’s a great idea to have some questions prepared that you can refer to once that time comes.  To get clarity around the role that you’re interviewing for, and to give you the best chance at success, you’ll want to get answers to the following questions:

Why is the role open?

Is this a newly created role or has someone left or been promoted.  It’s always interesting to hear why a role has become available.  If it’s due to someone moving up within the company, that’s a great sign of what could be for you.  If the previous employee left the company all together, you probably should find out why so you have a better idea as to what you’re getting yourself into

What challenges does the interviewer see in the role?

It’s a good idea to get the interviewer to talk about the challenges versus the problems with a position.  It shows that you are looking at things with a positive lens.  Some challenges may be structural, while others may have to do with a gap in abilities and the responsibilities of the position.  Either way, it’s best to find out which if you plan on succeeding.

What are the firms expectations

If these haven’t been covered during the course of your interview, ask this question directly.  In addition to the long term success of the role, you want to find out what the firm plans on doing to stay ahead of the competition.  I’ve worked at places where we relied on our name alone and stood by while our biggest competitors innovated and ultimately took market share.

Be careful how you pose this question.  The interviewer may not know the answer, and you don’t want to scare them off.  Use this opportunity to see how the company defines success and what success in this role means to them.

What are the priorities?

You need to have a firm understanding of what your priorities are.  If anything major is going to go wrong, it’ll probably go wrong within the first 90 days on the job.  Get an idea as to what their onboarding process is and if you will have to travel for any initial training.

Are you the right person for the job

If you feel that that the interview is going really well, this the question that you want the answer to!  Don’t ask this question too directly.  If you ask too directly, you could get a vague answer.  You need to express your interest and enthusiasm about the opportunity and ask if there are any reasons that would prevent them from moving forward with you.  Hopefully there aren’t any, but if there are any reservations, you want the opportunity to show the interviewer that you are more than capable of doing the job.

Source:
http://jobtrakr.com/2012/01/25/5-questions-you-should-be-asking-your-interviewer/

From Job Search to Employment in 10 Easy Steps

This is a guest post by Vanessa Merit Nornberg, owner of  Inc 500 Company, Metal Mafia.

As an employer, I often see many candidates who are not the right fit for my company. Many times the actions they take in the application process prevent them from even getting to the interview stage and often, even if they do make it that far, they have not truly considered whether the job is the right fit for them.

In an effort to help the right candidates find the right positions, I put together ten tips to help people searching better understand what prospective employers are looking for.

1. Look for a job you will love.  Anything can pay the bills, but not everything can make you look forward to showing up for work every day.  When you begin your search, decide you are going to apply only for the jobs that truly interest you.  Employers know when you are just looking for a job just to get a paycheck, and most do not want to waste their resources on someone who will not stay.
2. Learn about the companies you consider applying to. Once you have narrowed down the type of job you would like, take the time to look up the company proposing the job you are thinking about applying for—BEFORE YOU APPLY.  Is this the kind of place you want to work? Is their product something you feel excited about?
3. Tailor your resume to interest the hiring manager reading it. If the job sounds great, show the company why you are a great fit by highlighting the skills you possess which match those required for the job.  For example,  if you are applying for a job in telephone sales,  but all your experience has been in retail, point out how everything you did on the retail floor was about sales.
4. Write a cover letter explaining the value you could bring to the company. With your tailored resume, send a well-written cover letter—NOT COPIED FROM A BOOK OR WEBSITE—further explaining why you think you could be a great asset to the company to which you are applying.  Be specific.  Saying that you are a team player or a people person is empty. Explain how your ability to cooperate with others or your ease with people will serve you in the specific job you are seeking.
5. Make sure your email address conveys professionalism. When you are ready to submit your cover letter and resume, do so from an email account that shows professionalism.  Email accounts are free, so sending your application from one which uses your name instead of something like xxxlove69@hotmail.com will make the right impression instead of the wrong one.
6. Follow up. Mark your calendar to call or email the company to follow up on your application three days after submitting your application. When you contact the company,  let them know you are very interested in the position and provide a specific reason why.  Confirm that they have received your application.  Ask them when they think they will begin the interview process, note the date in your calendar and thank them for considering you.
7. Follow up again. If you have not yet heard from the company two days after the scheduled interview start date, follow up with another email letting the company know you are still very interested, and highlighting a specific reason why you would be of value to their team.  Tell them you hope to hear from them soon to schedule an interview.
8. Do your homework. If you are granted an interview,  PREPARE for it. Spend time looking at the company’s website in detail.  Pay attention to their products and services, and be able to discuss them in depth. Search articles about the company for more information on how it operates, and finally, see if you can find any reviews or customer input about the company.  Write down any questions your search generates. These are great questions to ask during the interview to show that you have studied the company and are looking to understand the business so that you can help grow it.
9. Use good interview etiquette. When you go to the interview, you need to Arrive 15 minutes early for the interview, not more, not less. Before you enter the offices,  get rid of your gum,  turn off and stow your cell phone, and dispose of any beverage cups you have. Give a solid handshake and introduce yourself to each person you meet–from the receptionist to the interviewer.
10. Conduct yourself thoughtfully during the interview. The interview is your moment to demonstrate who you are and how you can add value to the company,  but also the time to find out if the job will really make you happy. Listen carefully, ask specific questions, and be both curious and honest—the interviewer should get to know you, not just hear the answers you think she is looking for. Your interests and the company’s interests should align, or it is not the right fit. If they do, you will get the job—and probably love it.

Vanessa Merit Nornberg

In 2004, Vanessa opened Metal Mafia, a wholesale body and costume jewelry company that sells to more than 5,000 specialty shops and retail chains in 23 countries. Metal Mafia was an Inc. 500 company in 2009. Fluent in Spanish and French (as well as English), Vanessa has also worked abroad in communications and business development in the video game and jewelry industries.

Source:
http://jobtrakr.com/2012/01/24/from-job-search-to-employment-in-10-easy-steps/