SWAG: Video Games and Violence

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Every Wednesday afternoon, I gather with a bunch of faculty and graduate students at the University of Illinois to discuss a journal article about social psychology, and to eat a snack. This blog post reflects the discussion we had during this week's seminar affectionately called Social Wednesdays and Grub (SWAG). This week, SWAG was led by Jesse Preston, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois. Her summary of the SWAG discussion follows below:

Can playing violent video games cause violent behavior? After the massacre at Columbine, it was revealed that the shooters spent much of their free time playing Doom, and James Holmes, who shot 71 people in a theatre in Aurora Colorado, was also an avid gamer. High profile cases like these seem to confirm the belief many people already hold – that the simulated violence enacted in these games is projected into the real world, with real life and death consequences. Many studies in social psychology (see work by Craig Anderson and Brad Bushman) also support the conclusion that violent video games beget violent behavior. But in a 2011 case (Brown vs. Entertainment Merchants Association), the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) was not convinced. This week in SWAG, we read an article by Christopher J. Ferguson in American Psychologist, describing the SCOTUS decision and the role of social psychology research in making the case against video games.

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5 Reasons Employers Are Reluctant to Hire You

Was it my resume? Maybe the interview?

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Job search can be frustrating, no doubt about that. Often times we hear job seekers talking how they never hear back from the employer after a job interview. We agree that employers should contact each job applicant even if they are not hired, but when you have thousands of job applicants for two openings, it might be a little too hard for the company too.



There are many reasons why an employer may reject a job candidate. We explore five reasons below which shows why the employers aren’t too keen on hiring you.



1. Your Resume Sucks



Online job search is highly effective and using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. can help you land a job. However, a resume will always be required. Online resume or offline, without a resume that can highlight your experience and one that is effective, landing a job is next to impossible. Having a resume alone isn’t enough. It needs to be effective. Too often we see people using their LinkedIn profile as an online resume but everything on it seems unprofessional. If your profile image on LinkedIn shows you holding a beer can, good luck getting prospective employers interested in you. The first and foremost thing that you need to make sure is the fact that your resume doesn’t suck.



We’ve covered resume tips in the past. Below are some links that will help you guide in the right path when it comes to making sure your resume doesn’t suck :



1. If you are looking for jobs in a industry that demands you be creative, these creative resumes might be something you could draw inspiration from.

2. Writing an effective resume requires use of effective words..





3. If your resume looks like the resume of the future that we created a while back, it’s obvious you won’t get called for a job interview.

4. Ever think of lying in your resume? If you have, these are the resume lies employers usually don’t catch on to.

5. Before you throw away the junk mails, make sure you learn how to create outstanding resume using tactics used in junk mails.

6. And finally, here are a few tips on how you can write a killer resume by making the best out of your biggest screwups.



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"Do I Put My GPA on My Resume?"

The age old question about your resume

This post was written by Julie O'Malley, a Content Writer and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) at PongoResume.com.







When you're in high school, and even more so in college, your grade point average (GPA) can seem like the one-and-only measure of your success. But how important is your GPA after graduation? Should you put it on your resume? Do employers really care if you had a 2.8 or a 3.0? Can a low score ruin your chances of getting hired? The answers may surprise you.



Just so we're all clear, GPA is a cumulative average of all the grades you've earned in your four (or so) years of classes. In most cases, a perfect score is 4.0. The average score is around 2.8 (depending on variables such as grade inflation).



Yes or No?

Before I go any further, this advice is only for new grads. Once you have a few years of professional experience, your undergraduate schooling diminishes in importance. If you're still bragging about your GPA when you're 40, it might seem a little odd.



So what are the general rules of thumb?



1. Only put your GPA on your resume if it was 3.0 or higher.

2. If your total GPA was under 3.0, but the GPA in your major was higher, put THAT on your resume.

3. Relevant summer jobs or internships will strengthen your resume more than just a high GPA, so don't laser-focus on grades.



Don't forget, employers can ask for copies of your transcripts, so it’s important to be truthful about your GPA, if asked.



Do Employers Really Care?

Just how important is your GPA in the real world? A recent Harris poll conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder asked 3,147 hiring managers and human resource professionals about this topic, and you may either be heartened or disappointed to learn:



62% require no minimum GPA;

31% require a 3.0 or above; and

11% require a 3.5 or above.



I think that's actually good news for grads on both ends of the GPA spectrum. Those who worked super-hard and got a super GPA will find employers that demand nothing less. And those whose excellence manifested itself in areas other than academics can still find plenty of employers to value their contributions.



Bottom line: A high GPA is remarkable and should be emphasized on your resume. An average GPA isn't necessarily bad, it's just not particularly noteworthy. Since your resume is all about summarizing your most noteworthy accomplishments, leave out that 2.7 and focus on your other qualifications. And relax... by the time you're about five years out of college, GPA will be a non-issue.

5 Hard Job Interview Questions

The job interview questions you need to pay attention to

This post was written by Brianna Raymond, a Content Writer and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) at PongoResume.com.



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Job interviews are tough, and so are the questions. Learn how to answer five of the toughest interview questions here:



1. "Tell me about yourself."



This is not the time to share your life story. What they're looking for is a brief overview of the aspects of your experience and background that relate to the position. Talk about some accomplishments or strengths you felt really good about, and how you think they prepared you for the position you're interviewing for.



Example: "I have six years of advertising experience, and spent the past three years as the Assistant Production Manager at This Company, overseeing production schedules, hiring, and deadlines. In that time, I streamlined the workflow so that we were able to meet the deadline for every monthly print project, and in many cases we went to print well before the actual deadlines. I saved the company two weeks worth of staff overtime and expenses. Time management is one of my greatest skills, and I'm sure it would easily transfer to the Production Manager position you're offering here."



2. "What do you think is your greatest weakness?"



The best way to answer this question is honestly—mention a real weakness that won't affect your ability to do the job, or address a skill you're just learning and want to develop. Avoid calling attention to any weakness that's one of the critical qualities the hiring manager is looking for. And don't try the old "I'm a workaholic," or "I'm a perfectionist" approach.





Example: "I'm not as strong as I'd like to be on social media, so I'm spending about three hours a week blogging on topics I'm interested in, and reading some perspectives on the business-to-business value of social media. I'm already learning some things I can bring here, and hope to find more ideas on how to use social media as a customer relationship tool."



3. "What did you like least about your last (or current) job?"



Don't vent or focus on the negative with brutally honest answers such as "My boss was a jerk," or "They just weren't giving me the opportunity to take my career to the next level." Instead, keep the emphasis on the positive, even though there are sure to be things you weren't happy about.



Example: "That's a tough question to answer. I've had lots of opportunity at This Company, and I work with some outstanding people. I guess if I had to pick one thing, it would be the occasional meeting that goes an hour longer than scheduled. I like to tackle a certain number of tasks each day and that extra hour could have let me to get back to a client more quickly."



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10 Ways to Use Social Media to Get a Job

How to use social media to land that dream job

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Traditionally it was employers who had to make themselves visible when looking to fill vacancies – posting adverts in the press, then choosing a pool of candidates from a veritable tsunami of applicants. But not any more.



There's mounting evidence that personnel specialists are now scouring social media sites and job boards for potential employees.



If you're wondering how to draw attention to yourself in the right way on social-media sites, help is at hand. We've put together a comprehensive action plan for you to follow:



10 expert tips on using social media to get the job you want:



Step 1: Set up multiple accounts



The first rule of successful professional networking is to keep business and pleasure strictly separate. Multiple social networking accounts will help you to present your best face to recruiters.



The first and easiest strategy is to use business oriented networks like LinkedIn, BrightFuse and Naymz for work while reserving MySpace and LiveJournal for mates.

FRIENDFEED: You can update and manage multiple social media accounts via FriendFeed



However, with Facebook and Twitter accounting for the lion's share of media attention and internet traffic, that approach will exclude access to a lot of influential contacts. Setting up two separate accounts for friends and business on these networks will enable you to compartmentalise your image.



To stop all these accounts getting out of control, use tools that are capable of managing more than one account. Both TweetDeck and Twhirl let you post to more than one Twitter account without the need to continuously log in and out.



Seesmic Desktop does the same job, and it handily also allows you to update your Facebook status at the same time.



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How to Make Your CV Stand Out from the Crowd

Employers usually receive hundreds of CVs for their job posts. If you’re looking to win the job search game you have to leap ahead of your competition by taking your CV writing skills to the next level. Akhtaboot provides you with some tips to ensure your CV stands out from the crowd.
 

 

How to go from a ‘nobody to somebody’ in the job market

8 job search tips that work

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Everyone knows that the recession makes the job market much more competitive, but most college graduates are not doing all they can to make themselves stand out. Employers are flooded with resumes on a daily basis and as many of them are similar, hiring decisions are difficult to make. Here are some ways to stand out from the crowd during a job search.



1. Brand yourself online



As a job seeker you can create your own personal brand online by registering a domain using your full name (.com works best). Of course, most common names are taken already, so adding on an extra word or two will solve that problem. Using titles and/or abbreviations are excellent ways to create unique URLs. It is important to use your site to blog about the industry you’d like to get into – news, trends, and your related work or academic achievements should be covered here.



2. Lights, Camera, Interview!



A mock job interview is a fantastic way to learn in a short period of time because you can pick up on interview mistakes you make that are unique to you as a person, rather than learning about general interview mistakes that everyone makes.



You can get started on this by:



• Gathering ten commonly-asked interview questions and then preparing some answers for them

• Getting a friend or family member to be the interviewer and making sure you’re both dressed up. The interview should be done in a quiet, clean room, with no distractions (this will help recreate that typical tense interview environment)

• Setting up a camera to film the mock interview

• Watching the film and noting the mistakes made (body language is key here)



3. Where’s the evidence?



Networking events and job interviews are great opportunities for a college graduate to showcase their skills and background. The problem is that simply talking about your skills or accomplishments isn’t enough to make you stand out as a job seeker, you must somehow show them. Here are some examples:



• If you were an online marketing intern and increased a company’s website traffic substantially, bring some printed analytical data

• If you increased a retail store’s sales because you have great communication or sales skills, bring some weekly/monthly sales reports and your contribution

• Did you hold a position at a student organization? What are some key success points of that organization and how did you contribute? Be sure to bring proof regarding your work and how it contributed to the organization’s success.



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KA-BOOM! A Dozen Dynamite Online Job Hunting Tips!

From the job hunt to the resume, here's some tips to keep in mind

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Twenty years ago, if you wanted a job you spent days perfecting and typing your resume on heavy-weight business paper. You either mailed a cover letter and resume to employers or dressed your best and walked right in their front door. If it worked and the employer was interested, you’d get a call for an interview. And the interview was everything. In fact, two or three interviews wasn’t unheard of. Your interview was what got you the job.



Today, while interviews are an important part of the hiring process, it’s the portion of the job hunt before the interview that has completely evolved: the introduction. Walking in the front door with a resume in your hand is actually one of the biggest no-no’s in present day job hunting. Today’s game begins right where you are now: online.





Searching for jobs online is a time-consuming, tedious, and often discouraging process. There are thousands of job listings – everything from the typical newspaper site listings to “Employment” or “Careers” links on the employers’ own Web sites. There are massive, all-industry search engines and career-specific sites. Where to begin? My advice is to decide what you’re looking for, very specifically, before you even turn on the computer. The more narrow your search, the easier it will be to pinpoint where to look. I was a “professional” internet job searcher for three years after college – I was continually employed, but constantly looking online for something better. Here’s what I found:



Tips for Online Job Hunting



1. Begin by searching your chosen location for employment. Use Google to find the Web sites of the local newspapers, which almost always have an employment section that you can search by category. Next, search for regional or state-specific search engines – most cities and states have a Web site dedicated to local job listings.



2. Organize your findings. As you discover Web sites that you would like to continue checking, make a folder in your browser’s Bookmarks, so that you can easily get back to any site.



3. Search by your career field. Next, you’ll want to look for Web sites that are specific to your chosen career. Again, use Google to search: “jobs in information technology” or “IT job listings” for example. Vary your keyword searches to find a variety of different sites. Browse through them, and bookmark the ones that seem the most relevant or populated.



4. Watch out for the top placements in Google. I’ve found that often the worst job search engines come up first in Google, surprisingly. Usually, the larger the site, the less useful its content. Many times gigantic search engines become bloated with get-rich-quick or pyramid schemes, military listings, or national listings, where competition is obscene. While I still chose to bookmark and check major search engines, I often found jobs to apply for on smaller, more specific job search Web sites.



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5 Ways Gratitude Can Backfire

Gratitude is good. Good for your health and well-being. Good for your relationships. In fact, I've written about the benefits of gratitude here, here, here, and here. But is gratitude alwaysgood? No. Although a focus on appreciating what you have instead of lamenting what you have-not is generally good advice, gratitude is not a panacea. Here are a few ways in which gratitude may be the wrong prescription:

1.       Overdosing on gratitude. When it comes to keeping track of your gratitude, the adage “more is better” doesn’t necessarily apply. If you set too high of a goal for your gratitude, you may find yourself falling short, which paradoxically could leave you feeling less grateful and happy than if you hadn’t tracked your gratitude at all. In a study of gratitude journaling, people who tracked their gratitude once per week were happier after six weeks, whereas those who wrote tracked their gratitude three times per week were not. If you find yourself hesitating when putting pen to paper, you may begin to think your life isn’t that good or you don’t have that much to be grateful for. If that is the case, take a step back and focus on quality over quantity.

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Job Interview ANTICS: What HR Is Really Asking

Job interview secrets you don't know

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OK, you’ve made it past the initial resume screening and now have a job interview. It could be in person or on the phone. (More and more interviews are on the phone now, and I’ve heard of Skype interviews also – better dress up for that one!)



The point of an interview is to explore two main things:



1. Do you really know what you’re doing, or “is that stuff on the resume real?”



There’s a lot of BS in some resumes and interviewers will ask pointed questions to determine if you actually have the skills and experience you claim to have.



Questions about this could be:



• Tell me about this accomplishment. How did you do it?

• Why did you decide to go into this field?

• How did you make the transition from this job to the next?

• What is your greatest strength?

• How do you manage people?

• Tell me about a project you managed/a plan you developed and implemented/a team you worked on/a goal you achieved.



Be prepared with stories about what you’ve done in the past, to illustrate a key message you want to deliver about the reasons you are successful, the skills you have and want to use again, the way you work with others, and the value you will bring to your next employer.



2. Will you be the “right fit” for our culture and can you really help us reach our company goals?



Interviewers want to know how you think, how you approach and solve problems, and your attitudes toward colleagues and customers – internal and external.



Job interview questions about this will focus on your behavior and attitudes, and attempt to discover your values and work ethic. Sample questions could be:



• Here’s a scenario or problem we face at this organization…how you would go about dealing with it.

• Tell me about your greatest challenge at work and how you addressed it successfully.

• How would you deal with someone on your team who isn’t pulling their weight?

• What failures have you had and how did you deal with them?

• Tell me what you would do in your first 90 days here and why.

• What do you like to do in your off-time and why?



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9 Reasons You Didn't Get The Job

Job seekers - the real reasons you didn't get the job

This post was originally written by Nick Stuart and has been reprinted with permission from Ricochet.com.



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People who write job advice columns for a living make their living by writing job advice columns. Consequently paying their rent requires them to grind out a never-ending series of columns with chipper titles like “8 ½ Secrets Of Job Hunting Success," "How To Chose Between Multiple Job Offers," and "Secrets Of Negotiating A Really High Salary." Usually these are only tenuously connected to reality (especially the multiple job offer and salary negotiation ones). Columns on why you didn’t get hired usually include nifty factoids like “because you stuck a pencil in the hiring manager’s eye.”



Not really helpful because they discuss job hunting faux pas that you are highly unlikely to make like “don’t show up for the interview naked”.



It’s high time for the real reasons you didn’t get hired to come out. This will help you make sense of the fact that after months-and-months of job hunting, and numerous interviews for jobs you were perfect for, you’re still looking.



The Hiring Manager Already Made The Decision



Often the hiring manager already knows who he or she wants for the job, and has it wired up. They’re just going through the posting and interview Kabuki theater because their HR department requires due diligence. HR may or may not be in on the scam, but either way nobody has the moral courage or even the common decency to tell you that the whole exercise is a complete waste of your time because the decision was made before the job was even posted.



HAL Didn’t Like Your Resume



HAL 9000 (the fictional computer villain in the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey), is now in charge of screening most resumes and online applications, and he definitely didn’t like yours. So he didn’t pass it through to the next step. HAL uses completely random criteria that nobody knows what they are so there’s no point asking or trying to figure it out, besides the HR people like their secrets (it makes them feel important). And once HAL rejects you for a particular job opening, he makes an indelible note to himself to never pass you along for any other job.



"Open the Interview Room Doors HAL."



"I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that."



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Pros & Cons Of Taking A Year Off After Graduation

A college grad conundrum

By Lauren Joffe from The Real College Guide



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Thinking of taking a year off after graduation and before heading into the workplace or grad school? No, we're not talking about a break to slouch on the couch. We're talking about a gap year: Europeans do it all the time, taking some well-spent time for themselves after receiving a degree. While gap years are less common in the United States, more and more students are carving out time to travel, volunteer, teach -- anything to reboot before entering the "real world." Here, we get the pros and cons from recent grads who've done it.



The Pros of Taking a Gap Year



Pro No. 1: It puts the world in your hands.

Should you choose to take a post-graduation gap year, there are infinite opportunities that will take you anywhere in the world:



Travel: Opting to tour Prague, Hungary, Poland and Vienna is an inexpensive way to see Eastern European sites -- without breaking the bank. The exchange rates are more tolerable than that of the Euro.



Teach Abroad: If teaching English abroad is more your speed, American grads travel all around the globe to instruct international youngsters. If you'd prefer to stay on U.S. soil, teaching programs such as Teach for America place applicants in low-income schools around the country.



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10 LinkedIn Mistakes You Shouldn't Make

Reprinted with permission from http://windmillnetworking.com/



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LinkedIn is the place to not only find others but also to be found as a job seeker. And that is why you need a LinkedIn Profile that not only helps you get found but also will entice people to contact you once they view your profile. I see many people making fundamental mistakes as job seekers that actually work against them in this aspect. If you’re going to spend time putting together a LinkedIn profile, I assume you want to maximize your chances of being contacted by the right people, right?



With that in mind, I have created an easy-to-understand list of a few things to check for with my reasoning. Just like any website owner, you want your LinkedIn profile to stick out and be found! As a job applicant, you want the same thing, so read on.



Enjoy my LinkedIn Profile Tips!



1. Not Displaying Your Personal Photo



It all really comes down to having social media credibility or not. There are too many fake profiles on LinkedIn, so you want to show that you are real. If you have taken the time to complete your LinkedIn profile, why wouldn’t you display your photo? It just raises too many potential questions. And company logos or photos of pets obviously have no value here



2. LinkedIn Profile Headline is Not Branded Enough



See that space underneath your name? That is your “Professional” or Profile Headline. It will appear in search results next to your name, as well as next to any questions you ask or answer. It is, in essence, your elevator speech in a few words. Are you just putting your title and company name here? Don’t! This is the place where you need to appeal to anyone who finds you in a search result to reach out and look at your profile. Your Profile Headline is the single most important piece of real estate on your LinkedIn Profile, and you need to brand it as such. This really ties into personal branding as a job applicant.



3. LinkedIn Status Update is Not Appealing



This is that “What are you working on?” box that I refer to as a “Status Update.” Assuming someone finds you and looks at your profile, chances are they are going to be looking at what you write here simply because that it appears just underneath your Headline Profile. What do you write here? Many people in transition note that they are looking for a job here. What do you use your LinkedIn Status Update for? It is part of your branding exercise, and it should be something appealing that will both inform the reader of your latest activities as well as hopefully add to, not subtract from, your LinkedIn Brand.



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3 False Beliefs College Grads Have

Do your thoughts affect your job search?

You better believe it!

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1. “I deserve a job because I worked hard to get my degree”



Many college grads on the job hunt believe that they are essentially entitled to employment because they worked long and hard for their degree. It is indeed true that dedication and hard work go a long way – but that guarantees a student graduation, not a job. Some students say that their excellent GPA, extra-curricular involvement, internship experience, or even their degree’s major entitles them to a good-paying entry level position at a Fortune 500 company. All of these are factors that may help you in your job search, but none are golden tickets towards employment. This kind of thinking makes a college graduate a passive job seeker which is the last thing anyone wants to be.



Instead, job seekers should write down their past experience, skills, and qualifications and see how they can best brand themselves. Then, they should use job interviews as opportunities to explain to hiring managers why they are indeed the best candidates for the position.



Stop believing: “I deserve a job because I worked hard to get my degree”

Start thinking: “How can I show companies that I am the best possible candidate for this job?”



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How to End a Bad Relationship for Good

Sometimes we find ourselves in relationships that make us miserable more than they make us happy, relationships that we know in our hearts are not right, yet still have a hold on us. If this sounds like you, or someone you care about, here are some research-based strategies you may not have considered before for ending it for good and getting on with your life.
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10 Resume Sins to Avoid

Resume blunders you should never make

Reprinted with permission from ERE Media.



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1. Using MS Word “Resume Templates” for creating the resume.



For many, the first source of resume assistance in this day and age of the Personal Computer complete with Microsoft Office Suite is usually the “Resume Templates” found within MS Word. Sadly, while these templates result in fine looking printed resumes they achieve the worst possible results for electronic resumes. Bill Gates is not who you should be relying on for creating your resume. He has never had to even interview for a job in decades. Trust us, don’t use MS Word templates and instead create the resume from scratch using the template as a guide only.



If you are planning on sending your resume as an MS Word attachment, chances are software of some sort (referred to as Applicant Tracking Software or ATS) will be scanning your resume before a human ever sees it. The excessive usage of stylesheets, formatting, tables and cells that are part and parcel of the prefabricated template … among many other problems … will almost assuredly result in your resume causing a hiccup and getting belched out of a company’s tracking system.



2. Not adhering to the traditional reverse chronological format.



What all hiring managers care most about is your current or most recent one or two positions. As one reads back into your past they become less interested about jobs you held 10 or more years ago as they are mostly interested in what you have done during the past five years or so. You should always list the most recent job first, and your very first or earliest position down at the bottom or toward the end of the resume. Functional resumes are seen as a cover-up for gaps that doesn’t fool anyone except those candidates that insist on using them.



The two main resume formats are:

- Chronological

- Functional



There’s also the European “CV” version.



- Curriculum Vitae



Vitae, also known as curricula vitae or c.v., are documents that detail your academic and professional accomplishments. Vitae are more comprehensive documents than resumes. They are most often used for academic or research positions. This format type is used mainly by PhD’s, professors, research or engineering scientists who are expected to provide pages of manuscripts, books, articles, and journal features they’ve written during their lifetime. While resumes are rarely more than one or two pages long, vitae can be many pages in length. Fewer than 10% of the population will have a C.V. type resume.



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Don't Graduate Without Good Credit

Credit building tips for new grads

This guest post was written by Go Banking Rates, where you can find the original source article "For Recent Grads, Good Credit is Gold" by Lisa Thompson, Licensed Investment Consultant.



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Graduating from college is a huge moment in a young adult's life. It often represents that final leap from semi-independence to being a real-life grown up. That said, the responsibilities associated with adulthood are probably furthest from most new or soon-to-be graduates' minds.



It may not be the most exhilarating topic, but your post-graduation finances need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Most importantly, you need to start building credit if you have none or improve upon what you already have. Don't expect to move in to your dream apartment or get a credit card of your own without a high score.



Since most new grads are unfamiliar with building credit, here are a few tips to help you:

• Build a budget. Begin by recording all expenses for a couple of months so you have an accurate idea of your spending habits. Budget for all of your monthly expenses, including rent, student loans etc. along with an estimate of variable expenses such as food and entertainment. Stick to your plan to avoid over-spending and incurring debt.

• Get one credit card. You may be tempted to send out applications for plastic left and right, but this can get you into trouble fast. Show creditors you are responsible by picking just one low-interest credit card and making small purchases with it. Always pay off the monthly balance in full to avoid paying interest. If you must carry a balance, however, try to keep less than 30 percent of your limit.

• Say no to retailers. It's tempting to save that extra 10 percent at the register by applying for the store's credit card. Don't! Most retailer cards come with high interest rates and annual fees.

• Pay bills on time. This may seem obvious, but late payments can have a serious detriment to your credit. This is one of the easiest ways to maintain good credit.

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How to Conduct Effective Conference Calls

In today’s age of reduced travel, conference calls have become a daily ritual. For effective calls that won’t waste your time or any of your team’s time, Akhtaboot provides you with some suggestions for making conference calls more effective and efficient.

 

 

Phone Interview Tips (Quality Over Quantity): Part I

The ultimate phone interview guide to mastery

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Got a job interview over the phone tomorrow at 9 in the
morning? That means you can just lie down in bed and wing it with a nice stack
of pancakes to your left and a hefty cup of joe to your right…right? Of course
not. The phone
interview is no joke, no time to relax and daydream or pretend you’ve
already got the job, and in fact in many cases is a do-or-die situation just
like a face-to-face job interview - so read up buddy boy, you’ve got a lot to
learn here.

I’m going to go over a ton of logistical tips for phone
interviews; that is, phone interview tips that’ll give you that extra oomph.
I’m talking quality, not quantity. The actual content of the phone interview is
a totally different thing, and you can read
on to find tips for that as well, but these are some ways you can nail the
phone interview that are essentially small tweaks in your routine.

First, let’s ask ourselves why oh why is the phone interview
often seen as something so trivial and not that big of a deal? The reason is obviously
because it’s over the phone (duh) and not in-person, but so what? Psychologically
speaking, it’s as if you have a moat, a trench, a buffer zone if you will,
between you and the interviewer so they can’t catch all your personality
quirks, mistakes, and blunders. To some people this means you don’t necessarily
have to dress up, have fantastic posture, smile, and basically give it you’re
A-game. Unfortunately, it’s this kind of thinking that leads to so many phone
interviews plummeting to failure. The phone interview normally comes before the
face-to-face job interview so if you bomb it, you won’t get the real deal.
Shocker, I know.

Now that I have awoken your phone interview spirit, let’s get
down to business here:



1. Dress The Part

This is a job interview, so no pajamas please. If you dress like you don’t care
then you will sound like you don’t care, and you care about getting that job
don’t you? Give it your best effort too, don’t settle for just a nice shirt or
a pair of dark pants either - go all out: suit and tie, blazer, nice shoes, the
whole deal. It truly is unreal how much your mindset will change once you dress
the part, believe me.

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5 Ways to Stay Motivated in Your Job Search

Tips for job seekers to stay on track

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Sit in front of laptop. Lie on couch. Eat pickles for lunch. Back to laptop.



Feel sorry for self. Feel sick of self. Tear hair out in frustration. And … back to couch.



If this is your 9-to-5 routine, you’re probably like 14 million other Americans: unemployed. And in addition to the frustration of looking for work, you might find yourself feeling a little lonely.



Sure, you chat with friends online all day. And you may have a family or significant other who comes home in the evening. But good old fashioned, face-to-face contact with another human being before dinner? Kind of rare these days.



In running my unemployment blog, I’ve received plenty of emails from readers. And although many of them were lighthearted in nature, a number of them were quite the opposite. One of the saddest read: “You’re the first person I’ve spoken to in days.”



Unemployment can make a recluse out of even the most social of butterflies. After all, you want to spend as much time as possible looking for work. And where do you look for work? Online. And where do you go online? At home.



But spending too much time alone can be detrimental, not just to your emotional well-being, but to your job search too! Staying connected with the rest of the world is not a luxury. It’s a necessity!



Work from a coffee shop.

Find a coffee shop with WiFi in your neighborhood (even better if it’s free WiFi!). Grab your laptop and go. You may not be striking up conversations with fellow coffee shop patrons, but it’s nice to be in the presence of other human beings. It’s also nice to have a change of scenery; one that doesn’t include Oprah on mute and swag from your previous employer.



Team up with other jobseekers.

Chances are, you know others who are unemployed. Instead of each working alone in your respective homes, why not team up? Agree to meet at someone’s house, and look for jobs together. After all, misery loves company. Not only will you have others to talk to who are in the same situation, you might just find that your jobless friends make good leads. You never know who might know of a job that isn’t quite right for them, but fits you perfectly.



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PYM Enters the Terrible Twos!

Two years ago today, this blog was born. Thanks to you, PYM readers, this once tiny blog venture has been an overwhelming success--both in terms of outreach, and I think, in terms of fun (at least for the bloggers)! Let's check out some of the PYM blog stats after the jump.

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7 Secrets to Making Employers Find You

Job hunting and being seen

Reprinted with permission from theundercoverrecruiter.com.



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The best recruiters out there pride themselves on being able to find you, not the other way around. So what if they haven’t called yet? Instead of calling them and coming across as desperate, do your best to get on their radar by following these 7 tips. These methods will obviously work for being noticed by employers as well.



1. Get Active on LinkedIn



OK, no surprise here but LinkedIn is where recruiters hang out all day and they always keep an eye on the front page feed. So set yourself up on LinkedIn, pimp your profile, get active in groups and discussions so you get noticed. Get recommendations from heavy hitters in your industry and you will get straight on the recruiter radar. Ensure that your profile communicates that you are open for suggestions.



2. Get Active on Twitter



Recruiters love Twitter as they can spray out their new roles to the market. Finding job opportunities on Twitter is very swift and takes very little effort. Follow the recruiters you know have the positions you want, by searching for your skill + recruiter + your location. Start adding value to them by doing some retweeting of their tweets, help them out with potential referrals etc. Before you know it, they will check out your online bio and see if you are keen on a new position as well. This requires you to have an employee friendly Twitter profile, clearly stating what you do and a link to your online bio somewhere.



3. Write and get read



Everyone likes to write but very few get round to it and publish anything. With the advances of technology, it’s never been easier to reach out so embrace this to the fullest. You can write an article in your favorite industry periodical, a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, a post on your company blog or your own blog. The key here is to write something that will get read by the right people (in this case recruiters). Ensure that you are credited with your name, title and company at the end of your piece to make it easy for the recruiter to look you up.



4. Speak and get heard



Next time you go to an industry event, try to secure a speaking slot either as giving a speech or just participating in an open forum, whatever it takes to get listed in the event’s directory. Recruiters are known to sneak in to these functions and to make contact with prolific people in the industry; public speaking is a brilliant way of being included on the hit list.



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How to Network Like a Pro

On-campus career help

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This week I’m re-running three of the best networking tips I’ve found recently to help you find a job faster.



These proven networking tactics get results in good times and in bad.



Which can you try today?



1) Network with the Recently Departed



David Perry, author of “Guerrilla Marketing For Job Hunters 2.0,” shares a unique way to find and connect with employers using Google.



It’s this: Find and call people who used to work where you want to work now.



“The fastest way to learn the real workings of an organization is to Google past employees and call them up. This is exactly what I do. Before I take a recruiting assignment from a company to place an executive there, I want to know if I’m walking into a hornet’s nest,” says Perry.



Here’s how to do it …



Google the name of your target employer and the word “resume.” The search results will include resumes of people who used to work there. (You may want to add the word “experience” to “resume” in your search; experiment using Google’s Advanced Search options.)



Once you find resumes, pick up the phone and call. Say: “Hi my name is _________. I’m researching XYZ Corp. and it looks like you used to work there because I found your resume online. I’m thinking of applying for a job there. May I ask you a few questions? I know this is an unusual way to do a job search …”



Most people will be impressed by your initiative, flattered to be asked for their opinion and willing to help you out.



“You want to learn about three areas: the company and its culture; the department you would work in; and the name of the manager you would report to,” says Perry.



Finish your conversation with this all-important question: “If I decide to talk with them, may I say that I spoke with you?”

“You ask this for two reasons,” advises Perry. “First, if they left on good terms, you can drop that former employee’s name when contacting the company to ask for a meeting. Second, that person may phone his old boss and tell him or her to keep an eye out for the smart person who just called — that would be you.”



If you’re hesitant about this technique, try it on a company you have no intention of applying to. Work out the bugs first, then network your way into your ideal employer.



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6 Words That Kill Your Resume

Writing a resume seems easy, but certain words can ruin yours

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Words are the name of the game when it comes to resumes and you need to be strategic in your choice of them. Job seekers often put keywords on their resumes, but how do you know which words to choose and which ones to leave out? Here is a brief list of some of the most overused words on resumes. Avoid them when possible and choose some more creative alternatives. After knowing what words to avoid you should be ready to craft an eye-catching resume.



1. Accomplished. Yes, we all know every job seeker is accomplished, otherwise you would be fired from every job you’ve ever had if you never accomplished anything. Instead try: Peak Performer.



2. Results-Driven. We all know that everyone’s professional resume starts out with Results-Driven (Insert your job title here). The only problem is in the job search game you don’t want to sound like everyone else. You want to stand out from the crowd. Instead try: Performance-Driven.



3. Successful. This is another overused phrase on resumes. We all want to communicate how successful we’ve been so a new employer will think highly of us, but let’s look at some alternative wording versus just coming out and saying hey there, I’m a success. Instead try: Best In Class, Award-Winning, or Top-Performer.



4. Skillful or Skilled. These are so boring. Seriously, I hate to see resumes with these words on them. I cannot even tell you how incredibly dull these words are and I am sure you can come up with something way more creative for your resume. If you can’t think of anything try my recommendations or if you don’t like them use a thesaurus. Instead try: Talented, Sharp, or Resourceful.



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Achieving Your 2013 Objectives

Take a hard look at last year’s objectives; evaluate the results and ask yourself how you’re going to improve this year. Akhtaboot provides you with some tips to follow in order to shape up to meet expectations and to achieve your annual objectives for this year.

 

11 Things HR Won't Tell You

A job interview on the phone is just as important as in person

Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC Getinterviews.com

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With all the job hunting going on right now, I get a lot of questions about how applicants can put their best foot forward and get hired.



To get the best information possible, I went to the source and surveyed a group of hiring managers. They shared the following tips — things they won’t tell you at interviews, but sure wish you knew before you came in the door.



1. Know your stuff. Before any interview, do your homework and research the company. Very few candidates do this, so if you are one of them you’ll immediately set yourself apart. Research the industry and, at the very minimum, read every page of the company website to learn more about clients, services, management and competitors. Read the company press releases to find out what their latest projects are. Utilize websites like LinkedIn or Google to learn the background of the people you’ll be meeting.



Sample comment: “I have always been astounded when I ask the question ‘Do you know what we do?’ only to get a response like ‘I sort of have an idea.’”



2. Show that you’re a good match for the job and organization. Tell the interviewer how you see yourself fitting into the company and what value you’ll be able to add quickly. Show that you’re a team member who’s willing to go to the mat, and that you’re not just in the job until something better comes along. Strong commitment and positive attitude often go further than actual skill — as long as you’re teachable, open to feedback and a quick study.



3. Don’t be late. Allow yourself enough time to get lost or delayed in traffic. Make a dry run the day before so you know exactly where you’re going, the best way to get there, and where to park. Have the phone number of the interviewer with you so if you’re unavoidably delayed you can call and see if you should still come or if another time would be better.



4. Don’t be early. If you’re really early, find a place to freshen up a little bit and wait until your appointment. You can present yourself 5 - 10 minutes before your interview time, but no earlier. The interviewer is on a schedule and doesn’t want to see you until the appointment time.



5. Dress appropriately. This sounds simple, but too many people show up for an interview with dirty, unpressed clothes, uncombed hair, and/or needing a shower.



Sample comment: “If someone wants a job in my office, they need to show me that they are capable of looking the part. If you would wear it to the gym or the grocery store late at night, it’s probably not good for an interview.”



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How a New Grad Can Research an Employer

A job hunt - detective style

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Companies check out job seekers prior to hiring them, and you should be checking out companies prior to applying for employment–or, at the very least, before accepting a job offer.



At Your Fingertips



Years ago, researching a potential employer required a trip to the library. Today, library information and more are available online.



But where do you start?



The first destination is the employer’s website. It doesn’t matter if an employer is large or small; most organizations have an online presence.



Visit search engine Google, www.google.com, key in the company or organization name, and hit enter. This should return the website address you seek.



Once at the employer’s website, it’s time to assume the role of Sherlock Holmes.



What You’re Seeking



What exactly are you looking for when at a potential employer’s website? Begin at the beginning.



Operations overview of the organization. If you don’t already know, you need to find out what this potential employer does, along with its business approach.



Take a look at the “About Us” section of the website. Also look at its product or service offerings. In addition, check out its list of locations. Next, explore its list of clients, if one is provided, and/or a list of business partners.



If your potential employer is a public company you may want to look at its annual report as well.



Who’s at the helm. Then look at the management team and board of directors. What kinds of backgrounds do these people have? Does your background (or aspirations) match theirs? Are there women in senior-level positions? Does the management team include people of color?



Recent achievements. What has the organization been up to lately? To find out, visit the “Company News” or “Press Releases” section of the site. Press releases that announce record profits suggest one kind of environment, while announcements about consolidating operations and closing facilities suggest another.



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