Greetings, I have recently revamped my job search for the new year and am looking for some input. I have revised some resumes and found at least 20 jobs that I would like to have (2 different jobs). I was checking to see if anyone here was involved in a hiring process and wouldn't mind going over my resume with me, developing a cover letter, and giving me a tip on securing an interview. I could repay you somehow of course, but as a poor college grad, I will take any help I can get at this point! Thanks for helping. Custer
Well I wrote plenty of them letters and got invited for a talk most of the time. First of all, what you put in them letters depend from country to country. As far as I know, its always 2 things. Your letter why you want to work there, and your resume. Both should be just 1 page. The reader is usually not interested in a waist of time, since they have to read a lot of other letters as well. Resume: there are plenty of examples on the internet that say how you should do it to your custom rules. Work experience is in my country almost as worthy as your education. I know my sister, due to total lack of experience, put in the job she did for 1 euro a day for 1 day a week. They do not need to know it's 1 day a week, working for 1 euro. Heck.. she took that "job" to actually have something on her resume. And I know for a fact that if my boss needs to pick to somebody who worked in a supermarket as a student and somebody who did not work as a student... than he would pick the person sweeping the supermarketfloor over the other one, every single time. He simply likes a person who is used to work no matter what. So it really comes down to such a little detail. If you had plenty of "real" jobs,.. than leave them out. Say if you had a good job in 2008, a crappy in 2009 and found a better one also in 2009... than leave out the crappy one. I go with a need to know thing that also gives me the edge over other people. Letter: usually the hardest thing. Google the living daylights about the company. You need to know something about what they like to read why you want to work there. My current company has 25 people, and I used to work for big multi nationals with 1000's of people. That's a big difference. And you know what, my boss is the co-owner. He is dang proud he got his own company, duh. So I can put in that short direct lines and as good as no bureaucratic system will be an absolute welcome relieve. And I think the opportunity that I could be getting a wide range of assignments is fantastic (since big companies got their teams with experts). Something like that. Just from the fact that I know that its a rather small company. And yeah... I write up what THEY would like to read, not what I actually completely agree with or honestly care about. In the end, they only are searching for a motivated person who does their job well. They really don't care if your motivation to do your job well is paying your bills when you're a socially an ok person as well. Most people I met at work (most got 1 or 2 college deg rees) ... only care about the money it pays, how long the drive to work is, and if most of your boss/colleges are nice. 4th place is the work itself. And so yeah.. they rather have a good time doing a crappy job that pays ok, than doing a fun job that pays crappy having a horrible time with colleges. So.. your motivation about why you want to work there... most people make it up. IMHO so should you. So just make why you want to work there snappy and 3 to 4 sentences max. Above that how you found them. Under the why you want to work there some 3 or 4 lines about how good you are and how you can add to the team (basically look at the why you want to work there, and answer that and combine that with what they are seeking). At the bottom regards and you hope that you get a call for an interview. When finished... mail it to your mother or best friend and ask their opinion!!! And only than sent it to the company. There is also no shame to call up the company after a week or 2 and ask. If they picked somebody else, also call up and ask why they did not pick you and learn from it. If the "rejection" came with... we picked somebody else with more experience or education than don't call since its obvious.
Be sure everything is accurate on resume and NO TYPOS. Interview as if you are seeking a profession not a job.
I have done my share of interviewing over the years Act and dress like the job matters. Dont be afraid of being nervous, thats expected and also shows you care about the outcome Think about the questions you might get asked. Try to come up with novel answers Never ever make negative comments about previous positions or managers
Well I had an interview this morning that went swimmingly well. It was for a digital marketing position for a cabinetry manufacturer. I was able to show and exemplify how I was able to perform the duties they needed done. The whole conversation went great and the interview lasted about an hour and a half. They are now asking for a portfolio and a business plan. I'm very excited. This could be a big thing for me. I like job interviews. I wasn't nervous. I was happy to talk with them. I work in sales so I've gotten pretty good about chatting something up, notably, myself and my experiences. Thanks for the all advice!
yeah. That's true.... almost all of the time. And that's weird and hard. In most cases it's a negative something about your position or manager why you leave. Also in most interviews they ask me why I left my current position. So I think I switched like 6 times to an other employer. Meaning, I make up something positive about why I left all them companies. And they were for all kinds of reasons. Some managers were just c*nts. I ones left after a dispute about the pay I received. I felt underpaid by a lot and only got a 2% pay rise. 3 weeks after I turned in my resignation (found a job similar that paid a lot more) she said I was right all along and were willing to pay me well over 20% more. Like, f*ck,... amazing they way you rape your chances. I promised to work there and I'm not going to break that before I even started. I do got some honesty unlike you. And I do feel I can never honestly tell that story in any way in an interview.
The resume template is what gets you in the door, I have a template made by a buddy from Cornell University that I can forward to you.
business plan? Have you had success with other furniture/cabinet firms with respect to sales/marketing plans? If so, then never give away free consulting, your references should be sufficient. If this is your first time, then why would they expect an inexperienced person to know the market segment aka RED FLAG
I have never worked directly with cabinetry, which they brought up in the interview, however my experience is pretty broad around inventories I have sold and maintained. I didn't give away too much in the business plan, I just told them what I would expect to do in the position and see if it matched what they were looking for. I don't think I gave away too much because most of it was picking up where their previous person left off.
As previously mentioned the resume gets you the interview. The interview is important. Check out anything on "behavioral interviewing" (I'm using the American spelling as these things tend to be country-specific).
