18 Sep 09 Your Job interview coaching – How To Avoid The Common Mistakes
For many, the interview is the single most stressful part of the job search process. Any number of things can go wrong, and a big part of being successful is avoiding simple mistakes. The following is a list some of the most common mistakes known by job interview coaching professionals that occur during an Interview.
1. Trying to wing the interview: Practice! Review the resume, cover letter and get a list of general interview questions, a friend, a tape recorder, and a mirror and conduct an interview rehearsal. Practice until your delivery feels comfortable but not canned.
2. Not clear on what you’re interviewing for: Be familiar with the job description so you can draw on your experiences, talents, strengths and abilities to connect with company needs. Make sure if they requested a key selection criteria that you have it prepared. Highlight how you’re suited to that particular job.
3. Not listening: Focus on the question that is being asked and don’t try to anticipate the next one. It’s OK to pause and collect your thoughts before answering a question. Pay special attention to technical or work process related subjects that are unique to a given firm or organization. The interviewer may have provided information you will need to answer the question earlier in the conversation. Employers will be looking for your ability to assimilate new information, retain it, and, most importantly, recognize that information as useful to you later in the interview.
4. Not asking meaningful questions: Have at least 3-4 intelligent questions to ask the recruiter. It’s OK (it actually leaves a positive impression with the recruiter) to have them written down in advance and to reference them at the appropriate time. Interviews are an exchange of information, and not coming in with questions shows that you did not prepare for the whole interview.
5. Lack of enthusiasm: Maintain eye contact, greet the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake (not too weak, not too strong), and show common courtesy. Don’t be afraid to display your passion for the job/industry and to show confidence.
27 Aug 09 Make Sure Your Resume Looks As Professional As One By Resume Services
Here we are getting into the detail of the application procedure for your resume. A resume services would apply the following fundamental skills to attract attention. Your resume will ultimately do either of the following; sell you to the employer or turn them away so care needs to be taken to follow all steps.
Formatting
The resume should not be too fancy so take care not to have too many colors, pictures or different fonts. Stick to one well known font type such as Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana throughout the whole document.
Contact Details
1. Check that the basic contact details are correct.
2. Place them neatly in the header so it does not occupy any of the valuable reading space on your sheets. If they are impressed they will find your details in the header but the eye will go firstly to the centre of the sheet.
Titles
The resume should have titles bolded throughout (about 1-3 per page) don’t over use or the eye will filter them out and negate the impact.
Titles should be:
1.- Relevant (don’t add one just for nothing)
2.- Eye Catching
3.- Use a descriptive word for each task (power word)
4.- Capitalize the first letter of each word in the title
E.G. “Servicing Forklifts” can be changed to “Troubleshooting And Resolution Of Forklift Faults”
or
“bookeeping” can be changed to “Management Of Bookeeping Records”
See the difference? As with your cover letter ask a friend to glance over your resume in 5 seconds and tell you what skills you have. Remember, you only get a 5 sec glance and so you need to make it easy for them to spot your key skills.
The Content
The information you put into your resume needs to be informative enough to sell you but not full of irrelevant points that will cause a loss of interest. If you get past the 5 second screening, then you have about 30 seconds to sell yourself with the descriptions and skills you have written down.
Descriptions under Job Titles
1. Firstly, keep it brief and powerful
2. Use numbers to attract attention
3. Use words related to the position
E.G. – Kept records for accounts and paid invoices Could be changed to “Managed over 500 accounts receivable accounts working directly with the Financial Manager”
A review of the description of this one task reveals the following:
1. Here I used a number (to attract attention)
2. Used reinforcement that I can liaise and relate to managers
3. Used power words suited to the role in management (by using managed over …..)
As you can see the revised description displays as more qualified, able to relate with upper management and worthy of responsibility whereas the original description didn’t say a lot behind the words.
Another example:
Gave work assignments to staff of entry level accounting clerks Could be changed to “Directed workflow, supervised and trained accounting staff performing posting to general ledger, accounts receivable and payable accounts.”
Identify The Stand Out (Keywords) Used In the Job Description
Next have a thorough read of the job description and highlight with a pen any stand out words the were used to specify their requirements such as manage accounts, direct floor man etc and work those “power words” into your resume.
Anticipate Needs
Next identify and write down the full range of needs each employer faces and show how you can solve those needs to put you 1 step ahead of the other applications. This is powerful as most of the applicants won’t do this step.
For example the employer may not have specified that they will need an all-rounder willing to deal effectively with other departments and research accounting problems to resolve issues. By identifying a potential need and confirming your ability this will put you in an advanced position among other applicants.
Good luck with your resume. I suggest your try these tips and if you still are not getting many contacts for an interview, then try a resume writing service.
30 Mar 09 Improve your interview technique
Okay, everyone understands that there are many stages to having a good interview and that Interview Tips can make the difference between getting a job and letting yourself down at interview. To begin with you have to ensure that you have carried out research on the businesses you are thinking about sending your CV to. In this way you can tailor the look and feel of your CV to each of the jobs applied to. You must ensure that you know what you have written on your CV because when it comes to the interview you might discover you are asked about some of the stuff you have put down in your CV. Ensure that before you go for interview that you have sorted out an outfit that shows you in the most positive light for the role, cleaned shoes, and tidy hair. If you are unsure of where the work is based, for example say the Jobs in Bournemouth its of benefit looking it up with something like Google maps to work out your route and if you can driving the route before you go for interview so that you have an idea what time the route will take and then give yourself extra time to get there. Ensure that you know who you should meet when you arrive at the interview and if possible who will be taking you for your interview. Finally before you leave your home ensure you get together all of the documents and information that they have requested in a tidy pile ready for the following day.
Once you arrive at the place where you are getting your interview, be polite and let the people you are their to talk to know that you have got there by talking to the receptionist. When your interviewer arrives stand straight and shake their hand, giving them eye contact and smiling. Ensure that you you have questions to ask about the company you are having the interview with and that you are positive about them. Talk clearly and calmly and stay focused on the questions being asked of you without getting to tense. Be honest in your interview and tell them exactly what skills you have or where you have had jobs, don’t get caught in the trap of being negative about your former employer as it will be seen as poor form. During the interview, stay bright, upright and attentive ask questions where necessary and stay focused, if there are location reasons why the job might be of benefit to make sure you make them aware why that Job in Dorset will be of benefit to you and to them. When the interview comes to a close ask the interviewer when you can expect to know about the role and ensure that if you are interested in the work that you let the interviewer know that you are very interested in being part of their team.
29 Mar 09 The best way to write a CV
Writing a [decent|good] [Curriculum Vitae|CV] is one of the most [essential|important] things that you [need to|can] do when getting in [contact|touch] with a [possible|prospective] employer for the [1st|first] time. A [Curriculum Vitae|CV] is the [initial|first] port of call in [lots of|many] [situations|instances] and is a written [presentation|representation] of what you can [provide|offer] that employer to [possibly|hopefully] interest them [to a great enough degree|enough] to [provide you with|give you] an interview. The [main part|key] to this is that the [data|information] you [write|put] down [has|makes] the person [looking at|reading] it want to [find out|know] more about you.
When [creating|writing] your [Curriculum Vitae|CV] the [1st|first] [data|information] you [should|need] to [provide|give] is your name, age, address and email address. What you have to [think about|consider] is that when you are [putting|placing] contact [data|information] onto your [Curriculum Vitae|CV], that if you [put|place] your [present|current] employers [data|information] onto the [Curriculum Vitae|CV] whether your employer will have a [poor|bad] reaction to the fact that you are [considering|looking for] other [jobs|work].
Follow this [data|information] with a [small|short] profile [information|description] of yourself [stating|saying] why you would be [excellent|good] for the [job|role] and what [values|strengths] you [actually|personally] have that would [be of use to|benefit] the position. Try not to use [statements|words] that are finite such as Hate, Don’t and Only as this will [show|represent] you in [a bad|the wrong] [way|light]. For example “I work well in a team, but hate working by myself” is a [poor|negative] statement saying “I work well in my Jobs Dorset in a team, and take the challenge of working by myself in my stride”.
Next the [individuals|people] that are [looking at|reading] your [Curriculum Vitae|CV] need to [see|know] what your most recent qualifications are and then [end|finish] with any [extra|additional]/vocational qualifications that you [think|feel] would be [appropriate|relevant] to the [work|job] [gone|applied] for not swimming awards (unless of course your job is water related) etc.
The [4th|fourth] thing to [write down|look at] is your [job|employment] history showing the [firm|person] you are at [the moment|present] working for if applicable followed by a history of [individuals|people] you have 5 Jobs Bournemouth%[worked for|been employed by] in the past, its [of benefit|best] to give a [beginning|start] and [finish|end] date for [every|each] job and if there are any [gaps|breaks] between [work|jobs] letting the [individual|person] reading your [Curriculum Vitae|CV] know very [succinctly|briefly] what your reason for not being [employed|in employment] were (this [could|might] be [because of|due to] retraining, travel or sickness).
(5th|Fifth] its [of value|worth] [noting|writing] down any hobbies or interests that you [think|feel] might [empathise with|reflect well on] the [place|position] you are [going|applying] for. This [helps|lets] the employer [see|know] that you have [a|an active] life outside of [business|work].
Have [an area|a section] for references but [put down|write] that they are available on request this [stops|prevents] you [providing|giving away] to much [data|information] [initially|straight away]. It also [ensures|means] that if you are [an employee|working for one] of the [individuals|people] that is going to be [providing|giving] you a reference that the [work|job] you have [spoken to|applied for] doesn’t contact them before you are ready for them to do so.
A covering [note|letter] allows you to [present|introduce] why you have [got in touch with|contacted] that [particular|specific] [company|business] and to [bring up|highlight] points about yourself that [talk about|address] why you would be good for that [position|role]. In a covering [note|letter] you can [talk about|address] [areas|points] that were [discussed|brought up] in the advert or job description of the role.
It [often|normally] looks a [great deal|lot] more professional if you [present|type] your [Curriculum Vitae|CV] on a [PC|computer], if you don’t have your own its [of value|worth] [speaking|talking] to [people|friends] that do or [going|popping] into your [area|local] Library or Internet Cafe and using there [computers|facilities] to [input|type up] what you [want|need]. [Discover|Find] out what [removable disc|drive] the [PC|computer] has so that [as soon as|once] you have [finished|completed] the [job|work] you can [store|save] the [data|information] to disc. Use the Arial font on your [Curriculum Vitae|CV] as it is [pretty|fairly] business standard and will [show|present] your [Curriculum Vitae|CV] [well|clearly]. Speak to employment agencies for CV Help or advice or look online for information that might make your CV stand out.
24 Mar 09 Writing Articles – Two Aspects Of The Surge
Writing articles for publication on the Internet is, at the time I write this, every Internet marketer’s favourite way to get free publicity for his website. If you are an Internet marketer and haven’t heard the buzz that’s going around about writing articles, where have you been? No, forget I asked, there can’t be a single Internet marketer hasn’t heard that writing articles is an essential part of website promotion. Refer to reading skills for more information.
Suddenly everyone wants to be writing articles. Hundreds of wannabe authors are writing articles and flooding the article directories with items they have specially written for publicity purposes. Many Internet marketers are writing articles to a high standard but there are plenty of others who are churning out poorly written articles or ones that are no more than thinly disguised advertisements for their affiliate programme. I recently saw an article that claimed to be original but where the “author” had taken someone else’s article and added a paragraph or two before putting his own copyright on it. It got published with the result that there are additional links back to his website and that’s all he cares about. Prosecution for copyright infringement is unlikely as this article will quickly get lost in the growing crowd.
All sorts of liberties are being taken in the name of writing articles, but does it matter? I am sorry to say the answer is no: as far as writing articles is concerned, anything goes. If you are writing articles to advertise your website, you can get away with poor spelling, bad grammar and boring subject matter. You can get away with plagiarism and even with cheating by having a robot writing articles for you. About the only thing you are not allowed to do when writing articles is use obscenities or incite people to violence. The torture of the English language is, however, widely condoned.
This situation makes me sad because I love reading and I just can’t help writing. I am not alone in writing articles because of an inner compulsion. If you have read John Colanzi’s article, My Magnificent Obsession, where he says, “It didn’t matter who read my writings. I was doing it for me. I had to keep writing”, you will realise that I am not the only writing junkie on the Internet. If you have never read this article, you can find it at my website; John Colanzi is one of my favourite Internet writers (one reason for this being that he is does not take himself too seriously). Go to writing skills for more information.
The idea of writing articles for the sole purpose of advertising depresses me, it makes me feel that writing is being devalued. Please don’t think I’m saying the fact that I can’t help writing articles makes me superior, I don’t feel that way at all. Being a word addict is no more a matter of talent or education than being a drug addict or an alcoholic. An Internet marketer who is writing articles with his mind more on his resource box than his topic has just as much right to have his work published as anyone else. What I am saying is that this great stampede to be writing articles is causing our standards to be lowered so that we now accept spelling and grammatical errors as the norm and cheating at writing articles as acceptable business practice. Our unresisting acceptance of the lowest common denominator as our benchmark is the aspect of the writing articles craze that I detest.
This lowering of standards in regard to writing articles does, however, have a positive effect in that a level playing field is being established for Internet marketers who are writing articles for publication. Lack of writing skills or the fact that English is not their first language need no longer deter Internet marketers from writing articles. If the current craze continues perhaps the article writing practise will result in an improvement to writing skills which would not otherwise have happened. Maybe writing articles will turn out to be the antidote to txt type spelling and that is definitely a good thing.
When writing articles offline, the author’s intention will be to communicate with potential readers but when writing articles for the Internet, the author’s aim is to attract the attention of the search engines. Writing articles for Internet publicity purposes is tackled in an entirely different way from writing articles for offline use. When you are writing articles for the Internet, the most important thing is to include hot keywords in your article. The best way to start is to identify a popular keyword or two and build an article around them. As long as you choose your keywords wisely and repeat them frequently enough, the quality of the prose surrounding them is of little importance. Writing articles for Internet publicity is more of a mathematical exercise than anything to do with language skills. This is not as strange as it might at first seem: after all, Googlebot is a robot, not a literary critic. Visit reading and writing skills for more information.
24 Dec 08 Looking For A Reliable Career? Need Help Finding Cfo Jobs?
Has it ever occurred to you what it must be like to be the CEO of a company, in charge of many people and responsible for making key decisions? Most people at one time or another strive to be the boss of a business – but what is it really like to hold one of the most powerful positions and be responsible for the operations of a company? CE Jobs, CFO jobs and CIO Jobs are all very powerful positions to hold in a company but they also come with a lot of responsibility to those who hold them.
The person that has that responsibility for company operations and making the necessary day-to-day executive decisions is the CE, or Chief Executive. Chief Executives are the ones that make major decisions affecting how their company conducts business and operations. By contrast, you may be more interested in a (Chief Financial Officer) position, making financial decisions on behalf of your company and looking out for the company’s financial well being. If your interests lie more in information technology, such as hardware and software, you are probably most suited to CFO Jobs (CIO) position. Whenever there’s a vital piece of information that needs to be shared with the whole company, or outside the company such as with the media, the CIO usually takes responsibility for that, as well.
Remember, though, that even though these jobs sound like they’re ideal- lots of power, freedom and responsibility- bad comes with the good; and CFO’s, CIO’s and CEO’s often have to take on unpleasant tasks such as deciding who will be laid off and which offices will be closed in difficult financial times. Some people won’t be bothered by that, knowing in advance that those kinds of responsibilities are part of the job and already being prepared. The good thing about these kinds of jobs is that you’re usually given enough freedom to make decisions that feel right to you personally, at least while the company is doing well!
The job market for these executive types of jobs is relatively small, but steady- companies always need people to run them. Typically, executive jobs require an advanced degree, such as an MBA, however; you may be promoted to such a position within your company after demonstrating a high degree of loyalty and competence. If you have always dreamed of being the boss of a company, there are opportunities like these available to you in lead positions.
20 Nov 08 Need To Learn How To Write A Good Resume?
They say that for you to prove to employers that you are the right man for the job, you need to write an impressive and convincing cover letter and they are right. That’s exactly what you’re going to do but that doesn’t mean that you have to ignore the importance of your CV or curriculum vitae or commonly known as the “resume”. Your resume is as important as your cover letter. The cover letter is your ticket and your resume is the entire show that employers need to watch and enjoy. Now, what will happen if both of your documents don’t stand a chance to their expectations? Off it will go to the trash can and you wouldn’t want that to happen now, would you? So, once you have learned the art of writing cover letters, do find some time to learn how to write a good resume and the reliable and effective tips can all be found in this e-book called “Expert Resume Writing”.
14 Oct 08 In Need Of Accounting Jobs? Start Here For A Great Career Opportunity!
I’m going to shake things up a bit today, and post an article for employers, rather than one for job seekers. This should still be valuable to job seekers, though, as a “through the looking glass” view of how employers view you. The topic today is niche job boards- any board that ends in jobs.com, really, and why you, as an employer, should be using them as part of your recruiting strategy for Accountant Jobs.
Get the competitive edge with your recruiting strategy… start using Niche job boards!
Finding a job using the internet is a pretty stressful task, even for a qualified and experienced job seeker. As someone in the recruiting industry, you likely have an intimate knowledge of how many job boards are popping up on the web every single day. Chances are you probably understand how hard it is to know which of your recruiting strategies add value, and which are wastes of time. For that reason, it’s important that you choose job boards that can track your results- in other words; they need to be able to show you what kind of return on investment (ROI) posting on their board is giving you, so that you can focus on posting to boards that are producing quality candidates for your Accounting Jobs openings.
There are many strategies you can use to drive qualified candidates to your company. For example, if you can find the niches on the web where they are hanging out, rather than just using large quantity, national job boards, you are showing them that you are both technically savvy, and attuned to their needs. It’s important to make the “buyer”- in this case, the job seeker- feel as if you want them and care about them. Tracking them down is one way to show that.
Need additional reasons why you need to post on niche job boards? Here are a few reasons to consider:
1. Niche job boards make the task easier for the job seeker. Big generic boards require candidates to “learn their system” to cut down on the signal-to noise ratio and eliminate jobs that aren’t appropriate to the job seeker. On a smaller board, it’s much easier for a candidate to find your position, regardless of how long it has been posted.
2. Resume mining on niche job boards is much easier than it is on big boards- the quantity of course won’t be as great, but you’ll be getting much better quality, and much more highly focused résumés
3. Most niche and association job boards have either no fee, or relatively small fees for posting jobs. This helps your bottom line!
It shouldn’t be too difficult to find niche job boards to post to by doing a simple web search. A good idea would be to look for associations related to your industry- they are as targeted as job boards come, usually don’t charge high fees, and in general have good pools of candidates. Always be on the lookout for good boards that end in jobs.com and you should have a resource stockpile in no time! Good luck, and hopefully this niche board strategy for filling Actuarial Jobs will pay off for you as it has for me!
