Free Resume Advice For Job Seekers

Here’s an interesting, very funny and unbelievable read that I’d like to share with you all. This article was featured in HR Leader’s e-newsletter in November 2009 (source: http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/D0/0C0651D0.asp?Type=61&Category=873)in).

What’s the most unusual thing a candidate did in a job interview? Fall asleep? Disappear? Bring his/her mom? A CareerBuilder.com survey of the most outrageous interview mistakes candidates have made, according to more than 3000 hiring managers and HR professionals in the US, listed the top ten job interview blunders as:

1. Candidate answered cell phone and asked the interviewer to leave her own office because it was a “private” conversation.

2. Candidate told the interviewer he wouldn’t be able to stay with the job long because he thought he might get an inheritance if his uncle died - and his uncle wasn’t “looking too good”.

3. Candidate asked the interviewer for a ride home after the interview.

4. Candidate smelled his armpits on the way to the interview room.

5. Candidate said she could not provide a writing sample because all of her writing had been for the CIA and it was “classified”.

6. Candidate told the interviewer he was fired for beating up his last boss.

7. When applicant was offered food before the interview, he declined saying he didn’t want to line his stomach with grease before going out drinking.

8. A candidate for an accounting position said she was a “people person” not a “numbers person”.

9. Candidate flushed the toilet while talking to interviewer during phone interview.

10. Candidate took out a hair brush and brushed her hair.

In addition to the most unusual blunders, employers were also asked about the most common and detrimental mistakes candidates have made during an interview. More than half (51 per cent) of hiring managers cited dressing inappropriately as the most detrimental mistake a candidate can make in an interview. Speaking negatively about a current or previous employer came in second at 49 per cent and appearing disinterested ranked third at 48 per cent. Other mistakes included appearing arrogant (44 per cent), not providing specific answers (30 per cent) and not asking good questions (29 per cent).

Cheers,

Annie Cerone

As reported by 153 companies surveyed by Frank S. Endicott, Director of Placement, Northwestern University (USA), 100 Human Resource Directors and Managers were surveyed and came up with the following most important points:

1.

Interviewers attach great importance to good grooming and appropriate dress: No matter how qualified you are, you may be doing yourself a great disservice if you do not pay adequate attention to your personal appearance or if your clothes fail to show a businesslike demeanor. First impressions are important.

2.

Interviewers like candidates who are enthusiastic and responsible: Let them know you are genuinely interested in the job. If you are non-attentive, withdrawn or passive during the interview, the assumption can easily be made that your ‘on-the-job’ performance will reflect the same negative qualities.

3.

Ask questions about the job: If you do not show your serious interest in the duties and

responsibilities of the position, the interviewer will probably stop thinking of you as a

serious candidate. It is important you thoroughly prepare for each interview and ask

specific questions.

4.

Do not ask direct questions about salary or fringe benefits: If you do, you’ll give the appearance of being more interested in what the company can do for you than in providing good reasons for hiring you in the first place. Reserve talk about $s until the second interview or if the employer initiates talk in this area in the initial interview.

5.

Do not be desperate: Even if you need the job desperately, don’t convey it. According to this survey, candidates who call attention to their dire straits are less likely to be hired. A sound hiring decision should be based on ability, experience and attitude.

6.

Do not exaggerate your skills or accomplishments: Stretching the truth is usually detectable and deals a severe blow to your chances of employment.

7.

Watch your body language: Interviewers are more favourably impressed by candidates who look them in the eye, but do not stare them down. The usual perception is that people who avoid eye contact either have something to hide or lack conviction and self-confidence. Also, remember to stand, walk and sit tall – height projects confidence. Read my previous blog on ‘Job Interview Techniques – The power of non verbal communication’ which outlines how important and how much more important it is over verbal communication.

8.

Do your homework on the company prior to the interview: You cannot be too convincing when claiming you really want to work for a particular company when it is obvious you do not know the first thing about them. Do your research, check out the company’s website and other available resources.

9.

Overconfident or self-assured candidates are much more likely to favourably impress interviewers than those who act shy: However, there is a vast difference between being self-assured and coming across as arrogant, boastful or smug.

Finally and importantly, employers say personal qualities and a good attitude towards work are often as important or more important than experience and education factors, providing that the applicant meets the minimum requirements and standards for the position.

It’s all about marketing you!

Cheers,

Annie Cerone

Keep the following three rules in mind during the job interview process. These rules have been researched and statistically validated.

1. Apply the ‘50/50’ rule: Listen for 50% of the time and talk for the rest. Research has shown that applicants who apply this rule have been the most successful in getting to the next stage of the interview process or being offered the position.

2. Apply the ‘2-minute’ rule: Talk for only 2 minutes at any one time. The key when talking and answering questions during the job interview is to keep your answers concise and to the point. Try not to waffle or go off on a tangent. When providing examples of what you have done in the past or what you would do in the future when faced with a certain situation, give one, at the most two clearly defined examples.

3. Apply the ‘now-focused’ rule: Stay present oriented, do not think about the future or past. It is easy to be thinking about what might happen – the ‘what if’ thoughts that enter your mind that have not happened. It is pointless to be thinking about anything else but the present moment you are in. Ironically, if you are thinking about ‘what if’ thoughts, your subconscious will bring you those things you are thinking about. Interrupting your negative thought patterns is one of the most powerful secrets used by highly successful people. Staying in the ‘now’ during the interview will help your mindset stay positive.

Remember, it’s all about marketing you!

Cheers,

Annie cerone