Successful-Interviewing

Free Resume Help

Avoid these Six Resume Mistakes

"She's going to charge me $100 for a new resume and I'll probably have to pay for updates and changes!" 

Ouch!  Don't do it!

Check with your local library and State Employment Bureau.  Find out where you can get FREE Resume help.  

In most communities there are lots of FREE resources available to help you learn to write and update your resume yourself.

Uncomfortable with PCs and word processing?  Now is the time to learn.  Be ready to quickly prepare and send out professional looking cover letters and resumes customized for the positions you are seeking.

Check out OpenOffice.org for FREE wordprocessing software if you don't have it installed on your PC.

Explore the posts on this site, we provide a good sample resume and helpful hints that will help guide you through the process.

Seven Deadly Sins of Interviewing

Avoid these Seven Deadly Sins of Interviewing - it's an excellent list. 

You'll be surprised how often they are overlooked. They make the difference between being hired and continued unemployment.

The keys to getting hired are to prepare well for the interview: 

• Learn all you can about the company
• Express genuine enthusiasm about working there
• Don't be the first to talk about money
• Be kind, gracious and polite
• Dress professionally
• Talk about how well you will fit in the job
• Present a positive, polished, professional mental attitude

5 Questions To Ask Interviewers

RecessionWire.com has some excellent, very helpful articles.

This one Five Questions You Should Ask An Interviewer   jumped out as being helpful for almost all interviews: http://www.recessionwire.com/2009/06/04/the-5-questions-you-should-ask-an-interviewer/

Prepare carefully for your interviews - your performance determines your success.

Simple, Superb Resume

This simple resume recently landed Joe Doe a permanent position with 50% salary increase. (Click on the image to the right to see the real resume - only the names were changed to preserve privacy.)

It illustrates key points about a winning resume:

One Pertinent Page - Choose relevant experience that sells your experience and expertise for the job for which you are applying. Don't tell your life story.

Attractive & Appealing - It's easy to read, scannable, it was created in MS Word. Construct clear, powerful statements that emphasize your achievements, abilities and expertise.

Use Powerful, Positive Active Verbs - Google: active verbs resume to find listings of powerful, positive active verbs that sell your experience and accomplishments effectively. Do not use a passive sentence structure.

Efficient, Effective - Use short, powerful, succinct sentences. "Eliminate ALL Unnecessary Words!" Say: "Maintained client records" not "I have experience maintaining client records." Avoid using "I." 

List Most Compelling Achievements First - Assume readers will not read your resume completely so hook their interest early. What separates you from the competition? What makes you different, better?

Emphasize Achievements & Expertise -  Show how you excelled at your work. Did you lead, develop or improve a work process?  Were you a primary point of contact? If you saved money or increased revenue say how much and describe how you did it.

People Skills - Joe promised exceptional interpersonal skills at the end of his resume and he demonstrated them while he waited for his interview. That landed him a dream job. Be genuinely likable and attractive.

What can you do to separate yourself from the competition?That's the key to Successful Interviewing.

GOOD LUCK!

Explore HappinessInHardTimes.com and HappinessHabit.com

Need To Find A Job?

Need To Find A Job?  Stop Looking So Hard! is a Must Read.  Peter Bregman describes how to stay UP, energized and enthusiastic during a long job hunt.  Interesting, entertaining and informative.

Peter Bregman explains why volunteering can be so helpful to stay visible, active and connected. Unemployment's greatest dangers are isolation, inactivity and indifference which are often induced by disappointment. 

Seek visibility and daily opportunities for success, achievement and fun. 

Explore HappinessInHardTimes.com and HappinessHabit.com

Three Questions You Must Answer

Three questions run through experienced hiring managers minds during interviews:

• Can You Do The Job?
• Will You Do The Job?
• Do You Fit?

And then: 

• Will You Be An Asset To The Organization? 
• Will You Be Fun To Have Around? Are You Likable?
  

Can You Do The Job is usually an evaluation of your education, experience and demonstrated expertise. Can you do the job is usually the first cut and is often answered before you are asked in for an interview.

Can You Do The Job is sometimes addressed by training.  Some companies prefer to hire successful, inexperienced people and train them to do a specific job the company way. 

Knowing which is applicable helps define how to pitch your performance, abilities and expertise most effectively.

Will You Do The Job is an assessment of your motivation, ambition, dedication to excellence and your personal drive to succeed within the company.  This is where the over qualified are often dismissed as not being truly interested or challenged by the job.

Do You Fit - is the all important Cultural Compatibility question.  Are your values, beliefs, ideals, likes and dislikes consistent with the corporate culture?  Can you accept, embrace and exude the corporate culture enthusiastically and wholeheartedly?  Will they like having you as part of their team?

Do You Fit Is By Far THE MOST Important Question. By the time you get to the interview, the Can You Do The Job and Will You Do The Job questions are usually already answered. Your performance can be stellar but if there's a cultural clash neither you nor your employer will be happy.  

Is the corporate culture diverse and tolerant of differences?  Will you always feel and be treated like an outsider? If so, your success and promotions may be limited.

Think about the Can You Do The Job?, Will You Do The Job? and Do You Fit? questions as you plan and prepare for interviews.

Remember, you are interviewing the company and assessing the employment opportunity as well. You do NOT want to accept a position that will cause you problems and pain.

Explore HappinessHabit.com and HappinessBlog.com

Successful-Interviewing Begins!

Successful-Interviewing.com is being created by Happiness Habit and Happiness In Hard Times to help people struggling to find jobs in the bad economy.  We plan to eventually expand to other types of interview skills as well.  We hope you enjoy it!

Best wishes,

Michele Moore and the
Happiness Habit Team