How to Get the job you really want!

Job Resume and You?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 19:20:00 +0000

Before trying out some of the professional well-known writing services as mentioned on this site, It would be a good idea to visit one of your career services offered at your university. IF you are not a student than you need to crawl around the internet to find out more about these services. The thing with career services people is that they will be quite professional enough to give you those Triggering words in your resume. Remember, its all about how you market and sell yourself to the job market. So it is very crucial to get your hands on a resume writing and make one ready to go whenever you make your foot to the door!
One thing I have seen wandering over the net these days is that the following site will let you if you really need this professional writing services. Sometimes, it happens that even after having a well (image courtesy: alamy.com) written resume by self doesn't make it to get the attention of the Big guys, because of the fact that the resume might lack some mind kicking words like diligent, committed, Awarded, top10, certified etc. of course you can work that out and give out some punch words which can get their eyes zeroed on. I would like to direct you to following free questionnaires that can help you decide for yourself.

The last one will help you extract some facts and put it right on. It also answers some generally confused questions which are generally taken for granted.

Don't go through that clutter for scratching your resume skeleton.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 20:03:00 +0000

Most of the people who enter into their senior year college or graduating semester are haunted by the very idea of preparing their resume. It seems like a tons of loads of work before to get a well prepared resume. It is a daunting thing to do for some of the students and maybe thats why there are professional services making their living just by preparing professional looking resume for them. But believe me I would be lying to you if I said I was daunted too while scratching my first pen mark on the paper while preparing my own resume. It is actually a very easy task to do and I believe that you are the best person who can actually make a better copy of resume than others can, for a simple reason that you know yourself better than anyone has known you, be it anybody. Why I say this is because you will need to dig into yourself to put down all that you have on that piece of paper. Remember, the harder you work on that, the better you tell your prospective employer that what you got and not much people are successful in doing so. Surprisingly, I am not going to tell you what exactly you need to do but just that what the professional resume looks like and the elements that needs to be there to give out a professional image.

Definitely, you don't need to go through that clutter of papers and pen to conclude which components your resume will have, I have written it down here for you to get started. First an foremost let me highlight the components as follows:

Heading (This includes your full name with address and contact information including phone number, this is very vital)
Objective
Education
Work Experience
Projects
Skills
Technical Skills (if you are a tech person)
Computer Literacy skills
Achievements
Awards and Honors
Extra Curricular Activities

These are the major blocks which should include what you got to say regarding yourself to the world. While it is difficult to say which block is most important, in my opinion definitely work experience and education will give them enough information to get their eyes on you. It depends from case by case scenario , some companies are more interested into seeing your GPA while some are more inclined towards work experience. My best guess is give all these blocks your best effort and you will be amazed to know that you really are worth a world.

Heard of Resume Development services? No? Read on.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 21:06:00 +0000

If you are lazy about making your resume from scratch or don't have any orientation with regards to what should a professional resume should look like then this is the service for you. What this service does is they will not only prepare your resume from scratch but also will include a professional written cover letter that you can use for forwarding it while the companies come to your campus for recruitment drive or online otherwise.

First of all they will have you fill in a brief survey so as to assess your skills and than a expert writer will contact you personally. No matter if you are a starting candidate or already experienced candidate with loads of experience in the field you are seeking job. One of the sites I have heard of their services being good is Monster Resume Writing Services. They have been in this resume writing industry for more than 20 years.

One thing i like about this services is that you are sure for one fact that your resume will be prepared by experts and not amateurs, so you don't have to worry about it not being professional or not up to the mark of industry standards. Take advantage of these services if you got some spare change in your pocket and lazy enough to write it. After all the steps, you will have your resume emailed to you. Also they will store your prepared resume in their center and if in case in future you need some changes to your resume they will do it for you for a discounted price.

Need more job search tools?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 20:37:00 +0000

I have been looking for now for more job search tools with some requirements in head. This tool that I came across will not only have you right in front of the face of recruiting director/person but also help you send out a professional image. I believe in getting the foot in the door immensely! Once the employer knows that you are out there raising your hand in the market and are looking for job which obviously relates to the field expertise of yours, data miner analyst for a data mining company for example, it is sure going to raise an eyebrow on their head and will definitely take you into consideration.
This tool is very specific and it allows to forward your resume and cover letter as well for a one time fee. Some of the the sites that offer these services are jobbankusa which i used while my job search. This site offers a service which they call it as resume broadcaster. For your reference I have attached a screen shot. The amazing thing with this service is that after giving your resume and your personal information, you will be taken to a screen where you can send your resume targeting to a particular state. I send my resume to State of New-York and State of Texas. you can send to as many states as many you would like but they will charge more 5$ for every state thereafter but not bad. The basic service should cost no more than $40.00.

Also, You can send a customized email if you would like along with your resume forwarding. This is your chance to tell the employer what is the edge you got over others and that you really stand out from the crowd. Try and make an effort in making a very diligent looking letter showing that you have good working quality like hard worker, quick learner etc. Include all you think you possess and will help them prefer you for the job position in competition with others. In conclusion, not much job seekers use this service, so by doing this you really are going that extra mile and showing you professionalism and your dedication towards job search. Last but not the least, this services will send your resume to more than 15,000 employers to the locations you select, isn't that impressive? So, the more states you select the more employers see your resume. good luck!

I Missed a call today! is it going to be ok?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 04:50:00 +0000

Don't worry dear if you have missed a call and you think it must be a potential employer. It happened with me too. Most of the times they will leave a message but not all companies go ahead and take strain to leave a graceful message for you. I don't know why but I think they don't have much time for all this and are very active in pursuing candidates who respond immediately maybe because they want to hire immediately. But there are things you can do to do research more about the number you missed

Here are the things you can do before you get back to them because you might not be interested in them after you get to know that they are some company on your "Not Interested" List like when I was actively pursuing job-search I was initially not interested in working with consulting companies although nothing wrong with them but just my preference:

Google the phone number you missed. Most probably if it is a land line number registered by the company to a phone company, it should show up. If not then keep reading.
Yahoo the phone number. Sometimes Google might not be able to show the owner of phone number but yahoo might.

If both of them fail to show any information than it means it is somebodies cellphone number since cell numbers are not registered and are held with private companies like cingular, t-mobile etc. In this case you have no option but to call them up if you are really desperate about the job.

Here is one more hint, most of the consulting firms don't give up and I have seen a trend with their calling. They keep calling you until you respond, also some call at a specific time interval only everyday like 9-10 am for example.

No reply from them after the phone interview, my gosh what should I do...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:22:00 +0000

There are fair chances that if your are interviewed by a big-size or small-size company, they haven't responded yet. Most of the big sized companies are so very busy interviewing candidates for the same job that you are pursuing and forget your candidacy status. They are so lazy to track everybody and just track very promising candidates. So it is possible that someone has been hired in that position and has already started working! oh my gosh?? Don't worry, just think they don't deserve you or maybe it was not your destiny, something better is waiting in your way for you. I know it is very depressing but when companies don't respond to prospective employees it only means that they are not interested in pursuing you. Even if you call them up, they would be surprised to even hear your name as if they are hearing it for the first time. "Ma'am I am Mr. XYZ and was interviewed a couple of weeks ago. I haven't heard anything yet..." and you hear them "oh, OK really? oh my gosh I think we just got you slipped through, we are sorry. We would surely have a word for you before end of the day". And you sit with a relaxed mind that you will hear something by this evening. And you keep wondering and keep wondering your whole life, why? because they will never bother to contact you. Isn't that embarrassing?

So, after 3-4 weeks if you don't get any reply from the employer, don't sit there without doing nothing and hoping that someday they will contact you. NO! it will never happen because you contacted them to remind them, thats enough, if they were ever interested in pursuing you further, this reminder call was more than enough for them to take an action. So keep applying for other decent employers out there without the least bit of depression.

Submitting resume made easy!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:55:00 +0000

One of the questions that I asked my career counselors was that "which are the sites where i can post my resume for FREE and have it exposed to potential employer in no time?". I was naive at that time and some of the advertisements that we see on TV were not very prominent. So finding a good site which was reliable and had good exposure was a tough job. What I mean by reliable is that some of the job site(s) sell your information since it is coming from a genuine job seeker and make money out of it. Although, it is never guaranteed with a website that you subscribe to, it is always a concern among individuals.

Some of the resources for posting your resume are as follows:

These are some of the major sites I used while my job search life. There are some other sites also which can post resume and also have additional options like emailing to thousands of employers by one Click! But normally they are expensive and success is not guaranteed. I used it and all I got reply backs was from consulting and staffing firms. I was hoping I would get hooked up with a decent employer in no time but it didn't happen even after paying $55.00 for that service. So whether to go for it or not, I would say its a mere subjective issue and also it depends on the time. If you are still searching for a job after 6+ months with no hits, then its time to STOP applying for jobs and contact some staffing agencies or consulting firms. It is also known that since it is costing companies to have their own Human Resource department installed in their company, some of the small to mid-size companies tend to outsource the recruiting to these staffing and consulting firms. This happens because it saves time and money in recruiting employees for positions. Also, one of the reason in my intuition is that since some of the companies need employees for short duration like 4-5 months, they don't want go through the hassle every time they have to hire such short duration candidates. Also, most of the staffing and consulting firm have great presence in this market and can get you the job with mere 2-3 weeks if you show enough competency.

what should I have next to me while phone interview?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 06:11:00 +0000

It is really important that you have everything that you will probably need while the phone interview because you don't want to get nervous if don't find stuff that is required to do the problem at hand. Additionally, it also leads into wasting your and employer's time. Remember employers are on a tight schedule especially the HR managers since they will be interview bunch of candidates like you. Moreover, it sends out a negative impression seeming to be not organized and nobody likes dis-organized people thats a well known fact.

So, I would recomend to have atleast this materials before receiving the phone call:

Pen
Paper
or Notepad
Your Current resume
Any certificates you have gained (in case they ask)
Project Reports
Any presentation that you have mentioned in your resume
calculator, if possible

My recent interviewing person asked me to write down a math problem statement and I was went nervous finding a pen and paper. So I highly recommend Pen and Paper, at the least!

Should I do dress in phone interview?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 05:08:00 +0000

Ok, so now you have gone through the pain staking process of making resume, applying for jobs online and finally been contacted by the employer for an phone-interview. Well, Congratulations very much. But don't get too excited because excitement whilst the phone interview is been known to ruin the whole process. Just focus yourself on the process, everybody has to go through it remember.

Don't think that since the employer is not going to see you, you will be fine since you don't have to shave, dress or makeup yourself. You know the one of the factors that can build your confidence and one the most important one is how you dress while the interview. The research shows that since you dress yourself in the business casuals for the interview and make yourself appropriately, it adds to your confidence drastically.

So, my advice to you is to seriously think as if it were an on-site interview and dress appropriately. You will only see that you are feeling more confident in doing so. Best of luck!

What will I get paid?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 19:19:00 +0000

Are you worried about what will be my first starting salary? I would say don't because the job-market just keeps on bouncing up and down. There is no real measure of what a starter like you be paid., although you might have considered the prospective of the job market with your major in head. When I was interviewed, I was always anxious as to what will be the salary I will be getting. Before looking at anything else in the job description, my eyes would be searching for that 5-digit figure which said "compensation" or "salary".

My recommendation to you is that don't set a number for your salary expectation but you are free in setting the range. Figure out what is the minimum salary you desire to work for any company before accepting any offers $28,000, for example. And of course, I wouldn't set the max number when thinking of maximum salary. But, STOP! remember top paying salaries like anything more than $65,000 come with a warning sticker "Don't buy me" for entry level candidates. Its just for the simple reason that when company is willing to pay you that high figure, they ofcourse think you would be able to handle those big responsibilities which even you haven't seen. So when offered those higher range salaries, beware that they come with darn genuine responsibility and that you will be a lead in your area where everyone will look at you for small things. So stop for yourself and see how these responsibility you will be able to perform successfully. If not let the company officials know that you are very well willing to contribute whatever you can and also that you are self-starter and open to learn being a quick-learner. They will understand that you are an entry-level candidate and willing to learn, they will surely admire this.

Feared about the lack of job experience?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:18:00 +0000

Now you are out of college and chances are that you don't have the required job experience to take on to the job market. Don't worry nobody has it. How can you expect a freshly college graduate to have 2-3 years of job experience? Are you kidding? Ahh, give me a break! Now every newspaper ad you read asks about 2-3 years of work experience and now that has a reason of its own. Seriously speaking, this is a stratagem that most companies play these days to just retain those who have real hard working appetite. Most companies are looking for the "can-do" attitude and you should say this in the interview and tell them that you are a hard worker and would do your best to accomplish the task offered. If companies sticked to this so called requirements, half the fresh college graduates would never get the interview call!

Although, you might not have the job-relevant experience, you might still have what it takes to get the job done. So go ahead and put some work experience on your resume even if you have worked at a fast-food restaurant. Write about how you multi-tasked yourself to achieve blah blah task. Talk about your leadership skills if you were at any managing position or as a team lead etc. Also write about the projects you took at college and write that you can work in teams etc. Just brainstorm yourself and you can come up with a list of so much qualities that your employer will like and invite you for the initial interview.
Include everything you can on your resume that will qualify you to get your “foot in the door” of the interview room.

Many a times after the initial interview, the companies might send you a well written rejection letter saying that " We liked your skills very much but we are interested in pursuing more experienced candidates right now". Don't get dishearten and leave the rat race. Follow up and let them know that are something the company would miss if they didn't hire you!

Are you ready to go over it again?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:30:00 +0000

Many times the decisions made by people, let be even multi billion companies don't end up in success. Meaning, they don't go well with what the time demands and hence are in-effective not that they were wrong in first place but just that they were not made with respect to the time. Some decisions can be well good for one particular time period and some for other time period. Moreover, there is no decision that can survive the time line of lifetime. Same thing holds true for one's decision over selecting a particular major. People when selecting a particular major tend to have priorities while doing so. Some would just jump to a major based on their hobbies and some would base their major selection decision based on factors like, "would i be able to do it or not?", "what are the challenges?", "what is the level of competition?","what is the prospective of this xyz major in the job market right now and future?" etc.

No matter what your decision factors are, irrespective of what you do to get going to a major you should have that gut-twists of "hullabaloo" when you think of job market perspective every time. Applying your knowledge that you have gained through all years of schooling since childhood is often exciting, ain't it?

So, now is the time to go over your decision again and think if what you did is right or not. Because now is the right time to do what is right for you in long run. There is no other time in your life where you realize that you owe it to yourself to make a man out of you than it is now! Right here right now is the time where you can revert back if you find yourself not comfortable with the major you chose and register for classes the next semester in the major of your comfort. But, At anytime don't be shameful or feel shy about your decision making ability because from what i have experienced is that there is nothing wrong with the decision but only that it lacked enough information and timeliness to get it go.

So, Here you Are!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:01:00 +0000

So, Now you have earned yourself a so called "Diploma" after putting a lot of hard work, spending hours and hours in that library discussing through those tiresome projects all night! Surely, its a damn hard work although you will always miss those college days all your life. You are about to embark on a journey that will be most thrilling adventure of your life and also one of the greatest one ever.

You wonder if your big break will come alive and put you into the limelight of success, fame and happiness?

Remember, You are unique with your special talents and unique personality, and you have something called as mind which is been said of having miraculous powers that you will achieve whatever you put your mind to focus on. Don't worry if you have the necessary skills or not to take upon that dream job of yours.For a simple reason being that you hold a diploma and have graduated, shouts out the fact that you have finished the required course curriculum related to your major of study and that more than qualifies you to present yourself to the job market for getting offered a job. Nonetheless,You have the required education required to perform the job if not experience which we will talk about later, now it is the moment to apply that knowledge to the practical side of the job equation… the reality of the workplace!

No matter if you slept throughout your classes or you the whizkid always answering the questions posed by the instructor, you still earned it successfully! So don't worry if you would be able to perform the job duties or not, just get rid of that fear and get yourself the label of "Job Seeker" and apply for jobs and be ready to face the interviews!