The Job Search

Whether you are looking for your first job, haven’t been in the job market for years or are a veteran job hunter, there are three critical components to a job search that you must understand and master if you are to compete effectively for a new position:

• Resume

• Interview

• Reference Checks

How well you prepare your resume, how well you interview and how strong and deep your references are will determine your success. If any of the three are not aligned and do not present a consistent message about you and your skills, your chance of getting an offer is low.

Resume

It starts with your resume. Your resume is your marketing brochure. It is what the recruiter or the hiring manager sees first and it forms their initial impression.Be punctual.

What recruiters and hiring managers are looking for in a resume are:

1. Presentation

   • Is the resume presented professionally? Is it clearly formatted, easy to follow, absent of spelling errors, inconsistencies or contradictions?

2. Does it present a clear picture of your work history?

   • Where did you work? What positions did you hold? Does it provide a brief description of your responsibilities and tenure in each position?

3. Does it list your accomplishments?

   • What results did you help achieve? Quantification is important.

4. Does it list non work-related information concisely and clearly?

   • Education, organizational membership, community activities.

5. Does it say what you want it to say to show that your credentials are an excellent fit for the position?

Does your resume serve as a compelling marketing brochure for you and your accomplishments? While it may seem unfair that some hiring managers do not spend hours reviewing and studying your resume – looking beyond the superficiality of presentation, a few spelling errors and other distractions – the point is, they don’t. Nevertheless, the time spent preparing a professional, quality resume that speaks to your accomplishments absolutely is worth both your time and your effort.

There is an old adage that says: you do not get a second chance to make a first impression. Your resume is your chance to make a first impression. Make it a good one.

Interview

Once you pass the initial screen, you will be invited for an interview. Your initial interview may be conducted by telephone or it may be an in-person interview. Regardless of the initial interviewformat, it is important to prepare and practice for the interview.

Prospective employers vary in their interviewing sophistication and skills. Some are very focused and experienced, while others are less prepared. What most prospective employers do, however, is use the information presented on your resume as the basis for their interview questions. Be prepared to speak to each entry on your resume. If there are gaps in your employment history, be able to explain why. If you list a major accomplishment, be prepared to discuss the details, the outcome and your role in achieving the outcome. Remember very few major accomplishments are done by one person. Don’t make it sound like you single handedly achieved major organization wide initiatives. You may have, but give credit to others and demonstrate that you are a team player.

The interview is your time to engage with the people with whom you will be working. In Preparing for the Interview, we discuss the power of telling stories. Stories are a way to convert your accomplishments from a list of things done to a dialog on not only what you did, but how you did it, what you learned and barriers you overcame.

While the organization wants to assess your fit for them, the interview is the time for you to assess the organization’s fit for you. Remember, an interview is bi-directional: they are interviewing you and you are interviewing them. Be prepared to ask well thought out questions; questions show you have an interest in the organization. Most of all prepare and practice.

Reference Checks

The final stage in the process is the reference check. What prospective employers are looking for when they check references are:

1. Verification of information.

2. Learning about the candidate’s successes and failures, work habits, strengths, weaknesses and other information that often cannot be gleaned from the resume or from interviews.

Remember that while most candidates give names of colleagues who will speak highly of them, nearly all hiring authorities prefer references of past or present supervisors. It is important that you ask these people if they will serve as a reference. Tell them about the job and why you are interested in it because you want them to speak intelligently and eloquently about you and your fit for the position. They can only do this if they know what you are applying for and why. Do not give the name of a reference who you have not contacted in advance. An uninformed reference will reflect poorly on you.

Don’t assume, however, that the organization will stop at calling only the names you provided. While most will, some dig deeper and may call individuals they know who may know you, or they may ask your references for the names of others who know you and who can speak to your work, skills and accomplishments.

Competing effectively for a job requires not only knowing the process but mastering it.

Copyright 2006 – Navin Group, Inc.