The Behavioral Interview

Tell me about yourself.
Why are you looking to leave your job?
Why do you want to work for our company?
Tell me about a professional conflict you've had.

These are all very common questions asked by recruiters and hiring managers that every job seeker should be ready for. What exactly are employers looking for when they ask you behavioral questions that aren't necessarily related to your skills or the role?

Employers are looking to see if they'd want to work with you and if they'd like having you on their team.

When listening to your answer, employers are evaluating you on a few core areas.
1) Is this person excited about this position at this company or do they just need a job?
2) Can this person play well with others and solve problems or could they disrupt the current team dynamic?
3) Is this person aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and will they take criticism well?

The best way to prepare for a behavioral interview, in addition to doing mock interviews, is to do some soul searching. Have your resume in front of you and take notes about each job you've had, specifically what did you like/dislike about the job, what did you do well/accomplish, what did you learn, and how did you work with others. Being aware of these factors will help you understand what responsibilities you don't like, and more importantly what duties and roles you do like.

After you've analyzed your work history and are more aware of what you're looking for in a career move, it's important to come up with examples and stories that can be used in an interview. If you have a handful of specific examples with detailed stories at hand, you can use them for a wide range of questions. The types of examples you want to have should address the following:

• An accomplishment/success
• What are you proud of? Have you won any awards or received a promotion?
• Conflict resolution
• How do you work with difficult people? What would you change about your manager? When have you disagreed with a colleague?
• Challenges
• What has been the most difficult responsibility or project you've tackled? Have you spearheaded a new project/program? How did you successfully complete it? Did you exceed expectations?

Job searching, again? What now?

By: Marché Howell

For one reason or another you’ve come to the point where it is time to look for another job. Let’s be honest. Searching for another job is quite comparable to dating after being in a long-term (or sometimes short-term) relationship. You find yourself asking questions like ‘how do I update my resume?’ and ‘where should I search?” You’re questioning the value of LinkedIn or even rethinking going back to school or getting that certification renewed.  Whatever the case may be, you are looking to advance yourself to the next level in your career – or looking to start one altogether.

Here are a few things to consider when placing yourself on (or back on) the job market.

Invest in a quality resume.

Your resume is the first thing a hiring manager, employer, or recruiter sees and you want it to reflect you in a positive light.

Find the role you that you want and add the qualities of an individual that works in that role to your resume.Now, use discretion here, of course. You want to be honest, yet purposeful in the things that you highlight within your resume. So, if you are looking for a role in customer service, be sure that ‘customer service – like’ skills are within your resume. Lookup key words or buzzwords that coincide with the role that you want and find a way to incorporate that into what you are currently doing.

Not sure how to improve your resume? Utilize a professional resource like Inside Recruiter to get a revision consultation and other tips on things to do when job hunting.

Use sites like LinkedIn to display your resume as well as job hunt.

According to a recent study on LinkedIn usage, LinkedIn has over 433 million users with 128 million residing in the US alone.

Facing the facts, we live in a digital age where everything is done electronically and digitally. Social and grassroots media has taken over by storm and changed the way we do every day things – including looking for a job and sourcing for employees. Employers are using LinkedIn to post positions; and recruiters and HR managers are going there to recruit talent. Wouldn’t you want your information to be seen by employers? How are you supposed to get noticed by that hiring manager, director, partner, etc., if you don’t put yourself out there? Use your resources!

Practice your interview etiquette!

To the more seasoned job seekers, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve being doing ‘x’ for so long and shouldn’t have to practice…but that’s not the case at all. You’d be surprised by how difficult it is to tell an individual who didn’t work along side you what you did, how you did it and the impact or affect it yielded your department/team. These are things to practice telling a friend who works in a different industry, to be sure they understand you and can repeat back to you what you’ve said. Simple things like articulating your strengths can make or break your interview and either make you look sharp to a potential employer or unprepared.

  

It seems like a full-time job in itself to look for a new job, project to join, or next career move, so the more that you can do to be prepared, the better. Doing the little things like updating your marketing materials, investing in a quality resume, and practicing communicating your strengths are the very things that will make you stand out to employers and prove how serious you are about advancing yourself professionally. 

Just remember, employers want to know what YOU can bring to the table, so TELL THEM! Be confident and diligent in your search and that next position is yours!

Happy Job Hunting!

Related Resources: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-few-important-linkedin-stats/

Staying Positive After Interview Rejection

Rejection is hard, but it's a part of life. As a recruiter, one of the most heart breaking things is desperate and depressed candidates.  This is because they won't get hired, making it a horribly vicious and unfair cycle.  This is why your internal monologue is so important.  If you have been rejected or are having a difficult period in your life, do everything you can to find a way to stay positive and optimistic.

I saw a great YouTube video, and the message about accepting your feelings and controlling your thoughts really resonated with me.  Identify what you're feeling and allow yourself to feel it, but control your thoughts and think positively.  If you didn't get that dream job, it's ok to be upset and disappointed, but it's important to remember that there could be a million reasons you didn't get the job, most of them having nothing to do with you.  So let the emotions take their natural course in and out of your system and don't let them control your attitude or take over your life.

You are good enough!

• Don't let rejection make you feel unworthy or lesser than others, everyone gets rejected. Instead of being hard on yourself, that job just wasn't the right fit for you.  Everything happens for a reason and the right job for you will come along.

Be realistic!

• There is always room for improvement.  If you got a rejection, look at it as an opportunity for improvement.  Do you need to revise your resume? Brush up on your interview skills? You are not perfect, no one is, so take rejection as an opportunity to test your resume and practice your interviewing skills, and then adjust accordingly.

How do you stop the negative emotions from taking over your thoughts? Share your tips in the comments below! :)

Why Handshakes Matter to Your Career

One of the most important things in an interview is a good handshake.  It sets the tone for the entire interview and believe it or not, you will be judged on your handshake. Perception is reality and if you have a great handshake you are most likely perceived as confident and trustworthy, making you more likely to be hired - if you're qualified of course.  A great handshake should be firm, use your whole hand (not this finger-tip handshake similar to royal ladies of medieval times), and consist of 2-3 shakes.

To avoid sweaty palms as much as possible, watch your breathing when you're in the lobby and try to stay calm; don't let your nerves get the best of you.  If you typically have sweaty palms, place your hands on your lap while you wait, don't clasp your hands together because that will just make the situation worse.  Maybe even have a napkin in your hand that you can easily put in your pocket or purse when the interviewer comes out to get you.

First impressions really do matter and the handshake is part of that.  A strong and confident handshake won't get you the job, but it will help people have a positive first impression of you.

The Employment Gap

A lot of candidates have gaps in their employment, especially with the recent Great Recession. While this is very common, you should fill the gap if possible.  Did you volunteer or go back to school? Were you a stay at home mom/dad? Travel the world? Did you care for an ill family member? It is better to list these things on your resume than have a 1 year+ gap.

If you did freelance/contract work, be as specific as possible! If you were a freelance writer or contractor list the publications/companies you worked with and projects you worked on.  If you don't do this, employers will assume you just put that on the resume to fill the gap and didn't actually have any clients.

The cover letter is a great place to explain employment gaps.  If  you were laidoff, say so.  If you survived 3 rounds of layoffs but got let go on the 4th, say so.

Show that you made use of your time and did more than just sit at home during your gap in employment.

Do you have any helpful tips for how to pass the time when you're not working? Share them in the comment section below!

The Big Lie Colleges Tell

Get this degree or certificate and get a job no problem! 

Start making $60k+ after college! 

We'll help you find a job!

Whether you're going to a private, public, vocational, or for profit school, they always tell students these lies.  I won't go as far as saying that all counselors and professors intentionally lie, chances are they're just out of touch with reality.  However the reality is, that just having that degree or certificate won't get you very far.

As a student, you need to take your career in your own hands and utilize every resource out there. Visit your campus' career center and talk to a counselor about your career path.  Write your resume and include all your clubs and volunteer work. Go to career fairs.  Even if you're a Freshman or Sophomore, go to career fairs.  Figure out what to wear and what to say, how to present yourself to the companies that attend.

Find an internship in your field. This is the most important thing you could possibly do while in school.  This will be your experience when you graduate.  That part-time fast-food or retail job is not going to count for your professional experience. Don't get me wrong, it's good that you've done that, it shows some level of responsibility and work ethic, but it's not enough.

This applies to all industries. Recruiters don't care if you just graduated with your degree in business, marketing, communications, or nursing.  How does that separate you from the other graduates that year? How does that make you stand out? It doesn't, it only meets the basic requirement of the job.

Fun fact: for the 2013-2014 school year, US colleges and universities are anticipated to award 943,000 Associates Degrees and 1.8 million Bachelor's Degrees.

Mom and Dad don't want you to work, you need to focus on school? That's great, but a 4.0 GPA and no relevant work experience will not get you a career, and you'll stay living with mom and dad probably for a lot longer than any of you would like.  College is supposed to help prepare you for the real world.  What better way to do that than start applying what you've learned to the real world?  Still not buying it? Have them contact me.

What about all the young professionals who decide school isn't for them and don't go or end up dropping out?  How do they find jobs? Experience. They might struggle because a lot of jobs require some kind of higher education, but experience in many cases will trump the degree.

I'd love to hear from you! What are your success stories?  Tell me in the comments any internships or experience that helped you start your career or land your dream job!

Resume Tips

In honor of the Game of Thrones Season 4 premier, I'll be tweeting resume tips all weekend - Game of Thrones style ;)  

Follow me @Natasha_29. 

Negotiating Pay

Money can be such a touchy subject and is always uncomfortable. I have talked about negotiating before, in this article. Make sure you do your research, find out how much people with your job title make, and make sure it's area specific. I highly recommend using www.Glassdoor.com, www.salary.com, and Google searches.

When asked about what you're willing to make, stick to professional reasons, including the amount of experience and education you have, the requirements of the job, and average pay for this kind of role. Do NOT, under any circumstance, use your financial situation as reasoning. Your bills/debt/etc should never be discussed with your potential employer, and could easily work against you.

Its always a good idea to negotiate, and if you're consistent with the numbers you give, you won't come across as greedy. For example, in discussions, if you always say you're looking for $75-85k and they make you an offer of $70k, it's perfectly acceptable to say, "Thank you, i'm extremely interested in this position and think I can make a big impact, however, I really can't accept anything less than $75k."

If they stand firm, then you can say something like, "Well I understand, but maybe we can be creative about the $5k difference. Perhaps extra vacation time or a sign-on bonus".

It's not your place to be grateful you were made an offer, it's your place to make sure this is a mutually benefiting partnership between you and the employer.

Have you negotiated your salary before? Let me know your story in the comments!

Dates on a Resume

Dates on a resume are very important and something that EVERY employer looks at. They want to see how much experience you have and if you have any gaps in employment. This is one of the reasons why I don't like functional resumes, they don't show what position you gained your skill at and how many years of experience you have.


Graduation dates:Unless you're straight out of college and starting your career, I would typically recommend leaving graduation years off. They're a clever way for employer's to guess your age, which they don't need to know.  Another reason to include those dates would be to account for job hoping or a gap in employment while going to school.

"Degree - University Name, Year"

Employment dates:Include them, period. Months and years to and from preferably.  This should be for each position you've had and need to be consistent throughout your resume.  Don't use years for one job, and months/years for another, keep the formatting uniform.

"Title: Company Name, Location. MM/YY - MM/YY"

Shine and Graphical Resumes

While technology has grown at light speed over the past several years, resumes haven't changed much in the past several decades.  They can be boring and plain, but when you try to make yours unique and interesting, it gets rejected.  Graphical resumes and apps like Shine by Boluga, might look awesome, but they aren't generally accepted by recruiters and hiring managers.

If you are in graphic design or some kind of artist, you may be able to do a lot more than the average Administrative Assistant or Operations Manager.  However, to the average person looking for an office job: do not use graphics.  They take up room that can be used to show your skills and experience, and don't add anything of value to your resume.  And please, for all that you consider holy, do not use multiple colors on a resume.  It is distracting, tacky, and will be changed before it is ever seen by a hiring manager.  Maybe the HR/Recruiting industry will catch up to technology one day, but they are slow to do so.  For now, if you want to use graphics I would recommend one or two and sticking to black, maybe navy blue.

Let me know in the comments below what your thoughts are on graphical resumes or what ways you make your resume stand out :)

10 Commandments of Resumes

1. Thou shalt not Bold ALL
Bolding is great for headers like company and job title, but if everything is in bold, you're just yelling at me, and I don't appreciate it

2. Thou shalt not use multiple colors.
Annoying and tacky, don't do it

3. Thou shalt not use tables

Tables	A lot of templates come in tables, they're nearly impossible to edit or change formatting and usually waste a ton of free space on a resume
	They frustrate recruiters to no end.

4. Thou shalt not include a picture
Profiles, headshots, watermarks, anything, don't do it.  It's tacky, unnecessary, and recruiters will laugh at you.

5. Thou shall restrain from stating the obvious
"References available upon request"; "looking to use my skills to benefit your company". two words: NO DUH

6. Thou shalt not use meaningless buzzwords
detail oriented, hard worker, team player... these phrases don't mean anything significant on their own and are on almost every resume.  Instead, explain what you do to show these characteristics.  Do you mentor new employees, manage several tasks, volunteer for ad hoc projects?  Put these things on your resume instead.

7. Thou shalt not bear false witness
Do not, under any circumstance, lie on your resume.  It can, and eventually will be found out. Plus it's just bad karma

8. Thou shalt use bullet points
Paragraphs are hard to skim through and recruiters won't take the time to read through everything.  Change your formatting to bullet points so your skills and accomplishments can shine

9. Thou shalt review thy resume for spelling and grammatical errors
The fastest way to be rejected is to have tons of spelling and grammatical errors on your resume.  Your resume is your first impression with a company, and if you don't care enough to proofread it, you're probably not going to care enough to be accurate on the job, so I'll pass.

10. Thou shalt not spend hundreds of dollars on a resume writer
I got into the resume writing business because I found out that resume writers charge $200-$700 per resume.  I find it outrageous to charge people who are looking for jobs such high prices.  I charge anywhere from $89-250 to create or revise a resume and do not charge extra for additional corrections or revisions.  If you're looking for help with your resume please comment below or email me at info@insiderecruiter.com

Do you have other resume commandments or completely disagree with one of mine?  Let me know in the comments!

New Year, New Career?

The time for New Years Resolutions has come again, and one of the most popular resolutions is to find a better job/make more money/start a career.  It's a great resolution, but it often becomes one of those resolutions that die sometime between February and March.  So what do you do to make sure this resolution comes true?

Reflect.  What happened in 2013?  What do you like about your current/past job?  What do you hate? What are your biggest strengths?  Are you good with numbers, or do you prefer to talk to people?

Plan.  A popular interview question is where do you want to be in 5 years.  Most the time the answer is "I have no idea!", but if you stop and think about it, and dream big, you can find your career path.  Go on Indeed.com and search job titles that you'd like to have one day, and pay attention to the requirements.  Will you need more education for that job?  What kind of experience will you need to have in that job?  Then make it happen.

Take Action! Getting a job isn't easy, even if you're currently employed.  So increase your chances, make sure you have a strong resume and it's posted to job boards like Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, Craigslist, and eBay Classifieds.  If you're not sure about your resume, have someone else look at it (like yours truly who revises resumes and cover letters insiderecruiter629@gmail.com)

Does your profession have a forum or network website that you can post your resume on?  Are there groups or organizations you can join to network? What are the job titles you're interested in?  Are there specific companies that you would like to work for?  You can usually attend a meeting or two as a guest to see if it's the right fit for you.

Check In.  Every month, see what progress you've made.  If you've received more call backs and gone on more interviews, then you're on the right track.  If not, reassess your strategy, and keep applying.  Make 2014 the year that you take a big step in your career.

Interview Prep - Questions and Answers

Interviewing can be tricky, and it's normal to be nervous, but preparing for your interview is the most important thing you can do.  Check the company website, www.Glassdoor.com, and do a quick Google search for interview questions.  Write out the questions you might get on paper and practice your answers.

Ask a question at the end! Have some stock questions prepared in case you don't have any questions about the job:

• What are the challenges of the position/department?
• How is performance measured/what are the goals?
• What is your favorite thing about the company/department/position?

Be confident!  Its not just about what you say, but how you say it.  If you're not confident with your skills and experience, the interviewer won't be either.

Say "I" not "we"

Remove "I believe" or "I think" from your answers and just make the statement

"My strengths are communication and prioritizing." sounds better than "I think my skills are communication and prioritizing".

Resumes 101 - What to Include and What to Leave Out

Resumes are meant to give a brief overview of your experience and skills and to highlight your accomplishments.  Resumes have four basic sections: summary, skills, experience, and education.  Resume objectives are outdated and pointless, so leave them off and replace them with summary of what you bring to the table.  There are several thing that should be left off your resume, which I list in this post; and your resume experience should be in chronological order with you current or most recent job listed at the top of the page and your oldest experience listed last.

When you get into your experience you can do several things.  I recommend to list any awards you've received first, followed by your most important responsibilities like supervising other employees or growing the company's revenue. Then, you should list your other important responsibilities, BUT this should only be 5-10 bullet points at most.  Your resume is not meant to be a job description or list of every single thing you do at your job - just the highlights.  You can explain your other responsibilities in a phone screen or interview if needed.  If you're struggling to find things to include on your resume, view this post.

Resumes can feel strange to write because people aren't used to thinking about their strengths and how to market themselves to companies.  However, if you can get over this and be confident in your abilities, you can create a resume with really strong content.  Once you have the content done, it's about formatting and making the resume easy to read and visually appealing.  Bold font for companies and job titles is great, along with italics for awards or promotions, but the majority of your resume should be in plain text and all the same font.  It's important to stay away from long paragraphs which are difficult for recruiters to skim, and instead list skills and experience in bullet points, which are much easier to read.

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• Resume
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Insider Secrets for Your Job Search

Interviewing should be a conversation, you shouldn't be rambling on for 10 minutes answering one question, and you shouldn't be give one word answers either.

Be confident, not cocky!  Interviewers aren't going to hire you if you doubt yourself or are super negative.  You're also not going to be hired if you  come across as cocky and arrogant.

Explain your responsibilities like I've never heard of that job before.  Some of what you might consider irrelevant and simple tasks can be really important and transferable, so don't leave them out.

Organization and simple formatting on your resume go a long way.  Have everything left-adjusted, use bullet points for your experience and bold the job titles and companies you've been at.  Condense what you can so there isn't a ton of blank space on your resume.

What are some tips you've heard that really resonate with you?

Skills on your Resume

The skill section of your resume is a great place to highlight your strengths and it gives you another opportunity to focus your resume.  Again, this section should be factual!  There should not be any areas of your resume that are just meaningless buzzwords.

The skill section of your resume can include software and programs that you are comfortable with, how many WPM you can type (if 50 and above, otherwise do not include), specific industry knowledge or skills (i.e. - medical terminology or reviewing budgets and revenue statements).

This section is best when it's in bullets, not paragraphs.  It should typically be at the top of your resume, under your Summary of Qualifications or Education sections.

Do Resumes Really Have to be One Page?

The answer is no, resumes do not have to be limited to one page.  However, it depends on how much experience you have.  If you're entry level, or have only had a couple jobs, then yes, your resume should be one page.  However, if you've been working for several years and have enough content in your resume to warrant two pages, then go for it.  Recruiters aren't going to toss your resume because it's two pages.

That being said, not much time will be spent screening the second page, so make sure your main highlights and most recent experience are on the first page.  Also, (this is going to sound nitpicky) if the second page is only a couple lines, rearrange things so it fits on one page.

There are some very easy ways to cut a few lines off your resume:

• Combine your phone number and email onto one line using a symbol or " | " to separate them
• Remove your full address, just leaving city and zip code
• Combine similar skills and/or responsibilities into one bullet point
• Don't include the full address or phone number of previous employers, you can put that on the application
• Include your job title on the same line as the company name
• Remove really old jobs (This is a judgement call, but it's ok to remove that fast-food job you had right after high school)
• Remove the references section, I say this all the time, it's unnecessary
• Reduce the font to 11 pt (Don't go any smaller than this)

Profile Summary for Resumes

I am a strong believer that Objective Statements on resumes are pointless, so how should you start off your resume?  Well a "summary of qualifications" or "profile summary" is always a good idea and can highlight your main strengths as well as give your resume a focus.  If you're a student or recent grad, this is a great place to include what area or industry you want to go into.

The most important thing to remember for the summary section is to keep it brief, focused, and quantitative.  Do not use this section to say how much of a team player and goal oriented person you are (those are just buzzwords anyway).  Instead, use this section to say how many years experience you have, what industry or career path you are focused in, and any skills or experience that's relevant.

For example, if you have been working in retail or the food industry and are now going to school for nursing, not only should you focus on the customer service and human interaction in your jobs, but you should make sure your summary focuses on your schooling and the skills you've learned in your classes.  Any recruiter or manager looking at your resume will know that you are focused in healthcare and nursing roles.

Guaranteed Ways to Ruin Your Interview

There are many tips on what to do in an interview, being prepared being at the top of the list. However, there are a few things you may do that tank the interview immediately. Here's what to avoid:

Saying you're not the best for the job/Talking about what you're not good at - many people feel awkward talking themselves up, and self deprecation is alive and well, but avoid it at all costs in an interview. I would never say I don't like or am not good at calling candidates, it's like saying, "Here's one of the main job duties for this role, I suck at it". If the interviewer wanted to hire you before, they don't now.  Be confident and positive about yourself and your skills.

Being Mean/Rude - its not just the interviewer that's making the hiring decision. The receptionist and/or executive assistant has a lot of say in the matter, be kind and courteous to everyone from the moment you get in your car to drive to the interview.