Interview DOs and DON'Ts

You've worked hard to get this interview! Now, make it count!

BEFORE THE INTERVIEW

• Try to learn all you can about the company and the interviewer.

There are many ways to find information about the company: the Internet, company brochures, financial statements, articles written about the company, its own employees. To find out about the interviewer may be a little tougher, but not impossible: subordinates or colleagues of the interviewer may provide valuable information, such as interviewing style, valued skills and qualities, special issues or problems being faced.

What is a Resume that Works?

A RESUME THAT WORKS is, above all else, a resume that will be read. The purpose of a resume is to help you get an interview. If, as the result of submitting your resume, you get an interview with a prospective employer, you have a resume that worked!

Resumes are mostly used to screen people out of consideration! A resume that works screens you in! A resume that works stands out from all the others. It will get you the attention you deserve.

Employers don't spend much time reading each resume. Thirty seconds is a fair estimate. Maybe as little as 15 seconds, unless you get their attention immediately, in that first glance-through.

Think of your resume as an advertisement about yourself. Your resume must be built with the same techniques that advertisers use, to give you the edge over your competition. The resume must have a strong impact on your prospective employer.

Getting Interviews

Warm calling, i.e. getting interviews through contacts, is still the best way. But there is another method which has proven successful for a great many job seekers. It is the in-person call, with a twist. Here, step by step, is how you go about it:

• Find out who makes the hiring decisions before you make your visit. Do your research and find out the full name of the hiring authority.

• Prepare your cover letter and resume in advance. Address the envelope to the hiring authority and seal it.