1. Tell me about yourself:
The most often asked question in interviews. You need to have a short statement prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit it to work-related items unless instructed otherwise. Talk about things you have done and jobs you have held that relate to the position you are interviewing for. Start with the item farthest back and work up to the present.
2.Do you consider yourself successful?
You should always answer yes and briefly explain why. A good explanation is that you have set goals, and you have met some and are on track to achieve the others.
3. What do you know about this organization?
This question is one reason to do some research on the organization before the interview. Find out where they have been and where they are going. What are the current issues and who are the major players?
4. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
Try to include improvement activities that relate to the job. A wide variety of activities can be mentioned as positive self-improvement. Have some good ones handy to mention.
5. Are you applying for other jobs?
Be honest but do not spend a lot of time in this area. Keep the focus on this job and what you can do for this organization. Anything else is a distraction.
6. Why do you want to work for this organization?
This may take some thought and certainly, should be based on the research you have done on the organization. Sincerity is extremely important here and will easily be sensed. Relate it to your long-term career goals.
7. Do you know anyone who works for us?
Be aware of the policy on relatives working for the organization. This can affect your answer even though they asked about friends not relatives. Be careful to mention a friend only if they are well thought of.
8. What kind of salary do you need?
A loaded question. A nasty little game that you will probably lose if you answer first. So, do not answer it. Instead, say something like, That's a tough question. Can you tell me the range for this position? In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. If not, say that it can depend on the details of the job. Then give a wide range.
9. Are you a team player?
You are, of course, a team player. Be sure to have examples ready. Specifics that show you often perform for the good of the team rather than for yourself are good evidence of your team attitude. Do not brag, just say it in a matter-of-fact tone. This is a key point.
10. How long would you expect to work for us if hired?
Specifics here are not good. Something like this should work: I'd like it to be a long time. Or As long as we both feel I'm doing a good job.
11. What is your philosophy towards work?
The interviewer is not looking for a long or flowery dissertation here. Do you have strong feelings that the job gets done? Yes. That's the type of answer that works best here. Short and positive, showing a benefit to the organization.
12. Have you ever been asked to leave a position?
If you have not, say no. If you have, be honest, brief and avoid saying negative things about the people or organization involved.
13. Explain how you would be an asset to this organization.
You should be anxious for this question. It gives you a chance to highlight your best points as they relate to the position being discussed. Give a little advance thought to this relationship.
14. Why should we hire you?
Point out how your assets meet what the organization needs. Do not mention any other candidates to make a comparison.
15. Tell me about a suggestion you have made.
Have a good one ready. Be sure and use a suggestion that was accepted and was then considered successful. One related to the type of work applied for is a real plus.
16. What irritates you about co-workers?
This is a trap question. Think real hard but fail to come up with anything that irritates you. A short statement that you seem to get along with folks is great.
17. What is your greatest strength?
Numerous answers are good, just stay positive. A few good examples: Your ability to prioritize, Your problem-solving skills, Your ability to work under pressure, Your ability to focus on projects, Your professional expertise, Your leadership skills, Your positive attitude
18. Tell me about your dream job.
Stay away from a specific job. You cannot win. If you say the job you are contending for is it, you strain credibility. If you say another job is it, you plant the suspicion that you will be dissatisfied with this position if hired. The best is to stay genetic and say something like: A job where I love the work, like the people, can contribute and can't wait to get to work.
19. Why do you think you would do well at this job?
Give several reasons and include skills, experience and interest.
20. What are you looking for in a job?
See answer # 23
21. What kind of person would you refuse to work with?
Do not be trivial. It would take disloyalty to the organization, violence or lawbreaking to get you to object. Minor objections will label you as a whiner.
22. What is more important to you: the money or the work?
Money is always important, but the work is the most important. There is no better answer.
23. What has disappointed you about a job?
Don't get trivial or negative. Safe areas are few but can include:
Not enough of a challenge. You were laid off in a reduction Company did not win a contract, which would have given you more responsibility.
24. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.
You may say that you thrive under certain types of pressure. Give an example that relates to the type of position applied for.
25. Do your skills match this job or another job more closely?
Probably this one. Do not give fuel to the suspicion that you may want another job more than this one.
26. What motivates you to do your best on the job?
This is a personal trait that only you can say, but good examples are: Challenge, Achievement, Recognition
27. Are you willing to work overtime? Nights? Weekends?
This is up to you. Be totally honest.
28. Would you be willing to relocate if required?
You should be clear on this with your family prior to the interview if you think there is a chance it may come up. Do not say yes just to get the job if the real answer is no. This can create a lot of problems later on in your career. Be honest at this point and save yourself uture grief.
29. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead of your own?
This is a straight loyalty and dedication question. Do not worry about the deep ethical and philosophical implications. Just say yes.
30. Describe your management style.
Try to avoid labels. Some of the more common labels, like progressive, salesman or consensus, can have several meanings or descriptions depending on which management expert you listen to. The situational style is safe, because it says you will manage according to the situation, instead of one size fits all.
31. What have you learned from mistakes on the job?
Here you have to come up with something or you strain credibility. Make it small, well intentioned mistake with a positive lesson learned. An example would be working too far ahead of colleagues on a project and thus throwing coordination off.
32. Do you have any blind spots?
Trick question. If you know about blind spots, they are no longer blind spots. Do not reveal any personal areas of concern here. Let them do their own discovery on your bad points. Do not hand it to them.
33. If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?
Be careful to mention traits that are needed and that you have.
34. Do you think you are overqualified for this position?
Regardless of your qualifications, state that you are very well qualified for the position.
35. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?
First, if you have experience that the interviewer does not know about, bring that up: Then, point out (if true) that you are a hard working quick learner.
36. What qualities do you look for in a boss?
Be generic and positive. Safe qualities are knowledgeable, a sense of humor, fair, loyal to subordinates and holder of high standards. All bosses think they have these traits.
37. Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute between others.
Pick a specific incident. Concentrate on your problem solving technique and not the dispute you settled.
38. What position do you prefer on a team working on a project?
Be honest. If you are comfortable in different roles, point that out.
39. Describe your work ethic.
Emphasize benefits to the organization. Things like, determination to get the job done and work hard but enjoy your work are good.
40. Do you have any questions for me?
Always have some questions prepared. Questions prepared where you will be an asset to the organization are good. How soon will I be able to be productive? and What type of projects will I be able to assist on? are examples.
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Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Job Interview Mistakes
Job Interview Mistakes - Don't Do This
You may have heard the horror stories--job hunters who take phone calls or text during an interview, or bring out a sandwich and start chomping, or brush their hair, or worse. You wouldn't do any of those things, would you? Of course not.
But there are tons of other job interview no-no's you may not have thought of. Or that you've forgotten. The job hunting trail is long and arduous, and a little refresher course can't hurt. So for your edification and enjoyment, here are 50 (yes, 50!) of the worst and most common job interview mistakes:
1. Arriving late.
2. Arriving too early.
3. Lighting up a cigarette, or smelling like a cigarette.
4. Bad-mouthing your last boss.
5. Lying about your skills/experience/knowledge.
6. Wearing the wrong (for this workplace!) clothes.
7. Forgetting the name of the person you're interviewing with.
8. Wearing a ton of perfume or aftershave.
9. Wearing sunglasses.
10. Wearing a Bluetooth earpiece.
11. Failing to research the employer in advance.
12. Failing to demonstrate enthusiasm.
13. Inquiring about benefits too soon.
14. Talking about salary requirements too soon.
15. Being unable to explain how your strengths and abilities apply to the job in question.
16. Failing to make a strong case for why you are the best person for this job.
17. Forgetting to bring a copy of your resume and/or portfolio.
18. Failing to remember what you wrote on your own resume.
19. Asking too many questions.
20. Asking no questions at all.
21. Being unprepared to answer the standard questions.
22. Failing to listen carefully to what the interviewer is saying.
23. Talking more than half the time.
24. Interrupting your interviewer.
25. Neglecting to match the communication style of your interviewer.
26. Yawning.
27. Slouching.
28. Bringing along a friend, or your mother.
29. Chewing gum, tobacco, your pen, your hair.
30. Laughing, giggling, whistling, humming, lip-smacking.
31. Saying "you know," "like," "I guess," and "um."
32. Name-dropping or bragging or sounding like a know-it-all.
33. Asking to use the bathroom.
34. Being falsely or exaggeratedly modest.
35. Shaking hands too weakly, or too firmly.
36. Failing to make eye contact (or making continuous eye contact).
37. Taking a seat before your interviewer does.
38. Becoming angry or defensive.
39. Complaining that you were kept waiting.
40. Complaining about anything!
41. Speaking rudely to the receptionist.
42. Letting your nervousness show.
43. Overexplaining why you lost your last job.
44. Being too familiar and jokey.
45. Sounding desperate.
46. Checking the time.
47. Oversharing.
48. Sounding rehearsed.
49. Leaving your cell phone on.
50. Failing to ask for the job.
You may have heard the horror stories--job hunters who take phone calls or text during an interview, or bring out a sandwich and start chomping, or brush their hair, or worse. You wouldn't do any of those things, would you? Of course not.
But there are tons of other job interview no-no's you may not have thought of. Or that you've forgotten. The job hunting trail is long and arduous, and a little refresher course can't hurt. So for your edification and enjoyment, here are 50 (yes, 50!) of the worst and most common job interview mistakes:
1. Arriving late.
2. Arriving too early.
3. Lighting up a cigarette, or smelling like a cigarette.
4. Bad-mouthing your last boss.
5. Lying about your skills/experience/knowledge.
6. Wearing the wrong (for this workplace!) clothes.
7. Forgetting the name of the person you're interviewing with.
8. Wearing a ton of perfume or aftershave.
9. Wearing sunglasses.
10. Wearing a Bluetooth earpiece.
11. Failing to research the employer in advance.
12. Failing to demonstrate enthusiasm.
13. Inquiring about benefits too soon.
14. Talking about salary requirements too soon.
15. Being unable to explain how your strengths and abilities apply to the job in question.
16. Failing to make a strong case for why you are the best person for this job.
17. Forgetting to bring a copy of your resume and/or portfolio.
18. Failing to remember what you wrote on your own resume.
19. Asking too many questions.
20. Asking no questions at all.
21. Being unprepared to answer the standard questions.
22. Failing to listen carefully to what the interviewer is saying.
23. Talking more than half the time.
24. Interrupting your interviewer.
25. Neglecting to match the communication style of your interviewer.
26. Yawning.
27. Slouching.
28. Bringing along a friend, or your mother.
29. Chewing gum, tobacco, your pen, your hair.
30. Laughing, giggling, whistling, humming, lip-smacking.
31. Saying "you know," "like," "I guess," and "um."
32. Name-dropping or bragging or sounding like a know-it-all.
33. Asking to use the bathroom.
34. Being falsely or exaggeratedly modest.
35. Shaking hands too weakly, or too firmly.
36. Failing to make eye contact (or making continuous eye contact).
37. Taking a seat before your interviewer does.
38. Becoming angry or defensive.
39. Complaining that you were kept waiting.
40. Complaining about anything!
41. Speaking rudely to the receptionist.
42. Letting your nervousness show.
43. Overexplaining why you lost your last job.
44. Being too familiar and jokey.
45. Sounding desperate.
46. Checking the time.
47. Oversharing.
48. Sounding rehearsed.
49. Leaving your cell phone on.
50. Failing to ask for the job.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Top Ten Pitfalls of a Resume
1. Too long. Most new graduates should restrict their resumes to one page. If you have trouble condensing, get help from a technical or business writer or a career center professional.
2. Typographical, grammatical or spelling errors. These errors suggest carelessness, poor education and/or lack of intelligence. Have at least two people proofread your resume. Don't rely on a computer's spell-checkers or grammar-checkers.
3. Hard to read. A poorly typed or copied resume looks unprofessional. Use a computer. Use a plain typeface, no smaller than a 12-point font. Asterisks, bullets, underlining, boldface type and italics should be used only to make the document easier to read, not fancier. Again, ask a professional's opinion.
4. Too verbose (using too many words to say too little). Do not use complete sentences or paragraphs. Say as much as possible with as few words as possible. A, an and the can almost always be left out. Be careful in your use of jargon and avoid slang.
5. Too sparse. Give more than the bare essentials, especially when describing related work experience, skills, accomplishments, activities, interests and club memberships that will give employers desired information. Including membership in the Society of Women Engineers, for example, would be helpful to employers who wish to hire more women, yet cannot ask for that information.
6. Irrelevant information. Customize each resume to each position you seek (when possible). Of course, include all education and work experience, but emphasize only relevant experience, skills, accomplishments, activities and hobbies. Do not include marital status, age, sex, children, height, weight, health, church membership, etc.
7. Obviously generic. Too many resumes scream, "I need a job—any job!" The employer needs to feel that you are interested in that position with that company.
8. Too snazzy. Of course, use good quality bond paper, but avoid exotic types, colored paper, photographs, binders and graphics. More and more companies are scanning resumes into a database, so use white paper, black ink, plain type, and avoid symbols, underlining or italics.
9. Boring. Make your resume as dynamic as possible. Begin every statement with an action verb. Use active verbs, describing what you accomplished on the job. Don't write what someone else told you to do; write what you did. Take advantage of your rich vocabulary and avoid repeating words, especially the first word in a section.
10. Too modest. The resume showcases your qualifications in competition with the other applicants. Put your best foot forward without misrepresentation, falsification or arrogance.
2. Typographical, grammatical or spelling errors. These errors suggest carelessness, poor education and/or lack of intelligence. Have at least two people proofread your resume. Don't rely on a computer's spell-checkers or grammar-checkers.
3. Hard to read. A poorly typed or copied resume looks unprofessional. Use a computer. Use a plain typeface, no smaller than a 12-point font. Asterisks, bullets, underlining, boldface type and italics should be used only to make the document easier to read, not fancier. Again, ask a professional's opinion.
4. Too verbose (using too many words to say too little). Do not use complete sentences or paragraphs. Say as much as possible with as few words as possible. A, an and the can almost always be left out. Be careful in your use of jargon and avoid slang.
5. Too sparse. Give more than the bare essentials, especially when describing related work experience, skills, accomplishments, activities, interests and club memberships that will give employers desired information. Including membership in the Society of Women Engineers, for example, would be helpful to employers who wish to hire more women, yet cannot ask for that information.
6. Irrelevant information. Customize each resume to each position you seek (when possible). Of course, include all education and work experience, but emphasize only relevant experience, skills, accomplishments, activities and hobbies. Do not include marital status, age, sex, children, height, weight, health, church membership, etc.
7. Obviously generic. Too many resumes scream, "I need a job—any job!" The employer needs to feel that you are interested in that position with that company.
8. Too snazzy. Of course, use good quality bond paper, but avoid exotic types, colored paper, photographs, binders and graphics. More and more companies are scanning resumes into a database, so use white paper, black ink, plain type, and avoid symbols, underlining or italics.
9. Boring. Make your resume as dynamic as possible. Begin every statement with an action verb. Use active verbs, describing what you accomplished on the job. Don't write what someone else told you to do; write what you did. Take advantage of your rich vocabulary and avoid repeating words, especially the first word in a section.
10. Too modest. The resume showcases your qualifications in competition with the other applicants. Put your best foot forward without misrepresentation, falsification or arrogance.
The Three R's of Resume Writing
Research The Company
Read whatever literature the company has placed in the career library. For additional information, try the Internet or, even more directly, call the company. Ask for any literature it may have, find out how the company is structured, and ask what qualities the company generally looks for in its employees. Ask if there are openings in your area, and find out the name of the department head and give him or her a call. Explain that you are trying to decide whether to apply to their company, and ask for their recommendation for next steps. Thank that person for the information, and ask to whom your resume should be directed.
Research the position.
The more you know about the position, the better able you will be to sell yourself and to target the resume to that position. If possible, interview someone who does that same job. In addition to finding out the duties, ask if there is on-the-job training, whether they value education over experience (or vice versa), and what kind of turnover the department experiences. Ask what they like about the position and the company; more important, ask what they don't like about it.
Research yourself.
Your goal is not just to get a job. Your goal is to get a job that you will enjoy. After you find out all you can about the company and the position, ask yourself honestly whether this is what you really want to do and where you really want to be. The odds are overwhelming that you will not hold this position for more than two or three years, so it's not a lifetime commitment; however, this first job will be the base of your lifetime career. You must start successfully so that future recommendations will always be positive. Furthermore, three years is a long time to spend doing something you don't like, working in a position that isn't challenging, or living somewhere you don't want to live.
Once you have done this research, you will sell yourself more effectively. Most employers devote an average of 15 to 30 seconds to each one, so it is your responsibility to make it attractive, readable and informational. One last word of advice: Before you go to the interview, review the version of your resume that you submitted to this employer. The resume can only get you the interview; the interview gets you the job.
Read whatever literature the company has placed in the career library. For additional information, try the Internet or, even more directly, call the company. Ask for any literature it may have, find out how the company is structured, and ask what qualities the company generally looks for in its employees. Ask if there are openings in your area, and find out the name of the department head and give him or her a call. Explain that you are trying to decide whether to apply to their company, and ask for their recommendation for next steps. Thank that person for the information, and ask to whom your resume should be directed.
Research the position.
The more you know about the position, the better able you will be to sell yourself and to target the resume to that position. If possible, interview someone who does that same job. In addition to finding out the duties, ask if there is on-the-job training, whether they value education over experience (or vice versa), and what kind of turnover the department experiences. Ask what they like about the position and the company; more important, ask what they don't like about it.
Research yourself.
Your goal is not just to get a job. Your goal is to get a job that you will enjoy. After you find out all you can about the company and the position, ask yourself honestly whether this is what you really want to do and where you really want to be. The odds are overwhelming that you will not hold this position for more than two or three years, so it's not a lifetime commitment; however, this first job will be the base of your lifetime career. You must start successfully so that future recommendations will always be positive. Furthermore, three years is a long time to spend doing something you don't like, working in a position that isn't challenging, or living somewhere you don't want to live.
Once you have done this research, you will sell yourself more effectively. Most employers devote an average of 15 to 30 seconds to each one, so it is your responsibility to make it attractive, readable and informational. One last word of advice: Before you go to the interview, review the version of your resume that you submitted to this employer. The resume can only get you the interview; the interview gets you the job.
Ten Tips for Writing Better Resumes
About to enter the job market? Have you spruced up your resume? If not, start working on it. In fact, keep an updated copy whether or not you are looking for a job, so that you are always prepared when the right opportunity comes along. Before you begin work on your résumé, remember: its sole purpose is to get you a job interview. An excellent resume is necessary to make a good first impression. Conversely, a bad résumé will eliminate you from the race, even if you have great qualifications.
From my experience, which is corroborated by technical managers at other firms, most people tend to ignore the basics of a resume, which costs them the job interview. Also, since it is a reflection of your skills and personality, each resume is a unique document. What's common between different resumes are the basics, on which this article focuses. In addition to the information given here, you will need to work on a one-on-one basis with a professional, friend, or even your manager to fine-tune your resume. And once you have a killer résumé, don't forget to update it frequently. It is, after all, a work-in-progress document. The tips in this article were compiled from the author's extensive recruiting experiences at his company along with feedback from hiring managers at other high-tech companies.
1. USE ATTRACTIVE FORMATTING
Five minutes. That's all you have to grab the reader's attention and market yourself effectively. You can achieve this with attractive formatting.
The key is to have a good balance of white space and text. Your résumé should not look empty, nor should it overwhelm the reader with text. Keep margins of at least 1" on all sides (some companies may still keep your résumé "on file" i.e. in three-ring binders). Make the résumé readable by using a minimum of a 10-point font for text and 11-point for headings. Use, at most, three levels of formatting (normal text, bold, and italics) or else it will distract the reader. Remember, although you want to get the reader's attention, do so with communicative titles and descriptions rather than with fancy fonts and graphics.
A badly formatted résumé will look sloppy. If you submit such a document, you might as well forget about the interview.
2. COVER THE BASICS
The key point here is to not complicate matters for the reader. They should be able to obtain all pertinent information about you without moving from their chair (yes, it sounds ludicrous, but that's how it needs to be). So, make sure that your résumé contains the following information.
• Contact Information like name, address, phone/fax numbers, and email address.
• Objective. A single statement should sum up your goals.
• Education. If you've graduated recently and want to highlight it, place education before the experience and skills section and list your coursework. List GPAs only if they are good. Education should always be listed in reverse chronological order. Assuming that you have an undergraduate degree, do not list your high school education since it is irrelevant.
• Work Experience. Again, this must be listed in reverse chronological order, and must include the company title, location, timeframe of work there, responsibilities and projects. More on this later.
• Publications, Patents, and Awards. List these or anything else that is relevant to your job function in this section. If you have many publications and patents, consider listing them on a separate page and attach it to your résumé.
• Computer Skills. This section can include hardware, software, programming language, and operating system experience. It's not necessary to include everything, but do make sure you list a few critical items which can be caught by résumé tracking software.
• Other Skills and Activities. This section can be used to show that you are a well-rounded individual. It can include membership in industry-related societies. Keep it short, general, and avoid controversial hobbies or pastimes.
If you have many years of experience, you can also provide a summary of your skills before the "Experience" and "Education" sections.
I've seen many résumés where people forgot to list their phone numbers, had glaring holes in their work experience and schooling, or did not mention their objective. Such deficiencies raise questions in the mind of the reader, and make his or her life more difficult by asking them to find information. Do you really want to do that, especially when there are hundreds of people applying for the same job?
3. BE CONCISE AND COMMUNICATE RELEVANT INFORMATION
In the high-tech world, it is likely that managers who appreciate brevity will evaluate your résumé. So, keep the length in check. Follow the general rule of the thumb, one page for every eight years of experience. Also, don't repeat information.
However, do not err on the side of extreme conciseness. The goal is to communicate your experience and separate yourself from the competition. Consider the following examples of information that is too concise, appropriate, and too detailed.
"Designed a K6 motherboard for a sub-$1000 PC"
—Too concise. Does not convey details of critical components, nor does it discuss applications.
"Designed a motherboard using the K6 processor, 430TX chipset and associated peripherals. Target applications were sub-$1000 PCs. To lower cost, graphics acceleration was integrated on-board."
—Appropriate. Discusses critical components, architecture, and applications.
"Designed a motherboard using the K6 processor, 430TX chipset, Ultra-I/O controller, SDRAM, 512 KB of cache memory, clock generator, PCI and ISA slots, and a graphics accelerator with 4MB of memory on board. The system was targeted at sub-$1000 PCs being manufactured by various large computer makers in the US, Europe, and Asia."
—Too long. Details that can be discussed in the interview are presented here. The statement about computer makers is irrelevant.
4. USE ACTION AND POWER WORDS
It is important that you use action words that convey activity. In the previous examples, the sentence could just as easily have begun with "Worked on a motherboard..." However, beginning the sentence with "Designed a motherboard..." eliminates ambiguity and conveys action.
A conscious effort must be made to use action and power words in your résumé. The types of words you can use depend on the job function. If you are applying for a management position, then use words like "Managed, supervised, led," etc. If you are applying for an engineering position, then incorporate words such as "Designed, developed, debugged," etc. A list of action words can be available through online thesauruses, reference books on résumé writing, and even paper manufacturing companies. Remember, it is also important to communicate teamwork and leadership qualities, especially if you are applying for a managerial position.
I've noticed that many Indians do not use action and power words when writing résumés. This is probably a cultural trait, since we're taught to understate our achievements and write in passive tense. Eliminate this habit when writing résumés.
5. BE FAMILIAR WITH THE INFORMATION
An interviewer does not want to hear "Well, I worked on that project a long time ago and so I cannot answer your question." This is unacceptable and you have just shot yourself in the foot. If you are not familiar with the material, it conveys that either you did not do the work, or that you forget easily and cannot leverage off past experience, or that you have prepared poorly for the interview. Bottom line, either exclude such information from your résumé, or familiarize yourself with it.
6. BE CONSISTENT
It's fine to be creative, but consistency plays a far more important role. It conveys a logical and organized thought process and leaves a positive impression in the engineering-centric high-tech world. Here's an example of consistency: When providing a summary of your accomplishments, begin each line item with an action word, as shown below by the underlined text.
• Created and executed strategy to triple product line revenues in two years.
• Defined and developed four product families encompassing over 30 devices to meet revenue goals.
• Wrote all product data sheets and collateral for these 30 products.
Another example is to consistently stay in third person rather than shifting between first and third person in the document. Please refrain from using "I" in your résumé.
A general rule of the thumb is that each section of the résumé should have subsections that look very similar. For example, if your "Work Experience" section contains a paragraph on responsibilities, followed by subsections on major projects and accomplishments, it should be the same for every employer.
Different sections should resemble each other in terms of formatting, to ensure that information can be located easily.
7. DON'T LIE
You will be caught. Enough said.
8. BE BUZZWORD COMPLIANT
Since screening is routinely performed by software, you must use buzzwords on your résumé. Don't enumerate everything in your repertoire, but do list basic skills that are necessary for the job, or are currently in demand. Obviously, include these abilities only if you possess them.
9. PERFORM SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECKS
Most good interviewers do not accept more than three minor mistakes in a résumé, since it indicates your inability to perform high-quality work. Hence, after you have completed your résumé, check for spelling and grammar errors. All word processing packages include tools to do the same, so that's going to be your first level check. Additionally, have someone proof read the document to catch errors missed by the software.
Some common errors that I have see on résumés are: random double spaces between words, two periods at the end of a sentence, misspelling your University or company name, missing prepositions in a sentence, and a lack of commas in a long sentence.
10. CUSTOMIZE YOUR RESUME
One résumé does not fit all. It's okay to customize the résumé based on the job requirements. Customization sells your skills more effectively and results in more job interviews for you.
When applying for the job, don't forget the cover letter. The purpose of this document is to augment your résumé's critical sections (i.e. those that are applicable to the target job). The maximum length of a cover letter is one-half of a page, ideally separated into three paragraphs. The first tells the reader how you heard of the job, the second discusses your relevant skills, and the third tells the reader why you are a great fit. It goes without saying that a cover letter must be concise.
Since email is now very popular, a short cover letter can be written in the text of the email. However, email does raise the question of how to submit your résumé. In this case, the fundamental rules always apply: follow the company directions, and if they don't specify, ask. If you get no response, use the default, which is a text email with a Word attachment.
If you feel the need to work with a résumé professional, there are many online providers of résumé writing and reviewing services. Select one that has experience in your field of work, and understands your requirements well. But remember, only you are responsible for the contents, look, and feel of your résumé, and you should treat it with the utmost importance. This article has provided you with some basic tips on how to write better résumés, and for those of you who need more information, "additional information is available upon request."
From my experience, which is corroborated by technical managers at other firms, most people tend to ignore the basics of a resume, which costs them the job interview. Also, since it is a reflection of your skills and personality, each resume is a unique document. What's common between different resumes are the basics, on which this article focuses. In addition to the information given here, you will need to work on a one-on-one basis with a professional, friend, or even your manager to fine-tune your resume. And once you have a killer résumé, don't forget to update it frequently. It is, after all, a work-in-progress document. The tips in this article were compiled from the author's extensive recruiting experiences at his company along with feedback from hiring managers at other high-tech companies.
1. USE ATTRACTIVE FORMATTING
Five minutes. That's all you have to grab the reader's attention and market yourself effectively. You can achieve this with attractive formatting.
The key is to have a good balance of white space and text. Your résumé should not look empty, nor should it overwhelm the reader with text. Keep margins of at least 1" on all sides (some companies may still keep your résumé "on file" i.e. in three-ring binders). Make the résumé readable by using a minimum of a 10-point font for text and 11-point for headings. Use, at most, three levels of formatting (normal text, bold, and italics) or else it will distract the reader. Remember, although you want to get the reader's attention, do so with communicative titles and descriptions rather than with fancy fonts and graphics.
A badly formatted résumé will look sloppy. If you submit such a document, you might as well forget about the interview.
2. COVER THE BASICS
The key point here is to not complicate matters for the reader. They should be able to obtain all pertinent information about you without moving from their chair (yes, it sounds ludicrous, but that's how it needs to be). So, make sure that your résumé contains the following information.
• Contact Information like name, address, phone/fax numbers, and email address.
• Objective. A single statement should sum up your goals.
• Education. If you've graduated recently and want to highlight it, place education before the experience and skills section and list your coursework. List GPAs only if they are good. Education should always be listed in reverse chronological order. Assuming that you have an undergraduate degree, do not list your high school education since it is irrelevant.
• Work Experience. Again, this must be listed in reverse chronological order, and must include the company title, location, timeframe of work there, responsibilities and projects. More on this later.
• Publications, Patents, and Awards. List these or anything else that is relevant to your job function in this section. If you have many publications and patents, consider listing them on a separate page and attach it to your résumé.
• Computer Skills. This section can include hardware, software, programming language, and operating system experience. It's not necessary to include everything, but do make sure you list a few critical items which can be caught by résumé tracking software.
• Other Skills and Activities. This section can be used to show that you are a well-rounded individual. It can include membership in industry-related societies. Keep it short, general, and avoid controversial hobbies or pastimes.
If you have many years of experience, you can also provide a summary of your skills before the "Experience" and "Education" sections.
I've seen many résumés where people forgot to list their phone numbers, had glaring holes in their work experience and schooling, or did not mention their objective. Such deficiencies raise questions in the mind of the reader, and make his or her life more difficult by asking them to find information. Do you really want to do that, especially when there are hundreds of people applying for the same job?
3. BE CONCISE AND COMMUNICATE RELEVANT INFORMATION
In the high-tech world, it is likely that managers who appreciate brevity will evaluate your résumé. So, keep the length in check. Follow the general rule of the thumb, one page for every eight years of experience. Also, don't repeat information.
However, do not err on the side of extreme conciseness. The goal is to communicate your experience and separate yourself from the competition. Consider the following examples of information that is too concise, appropriate, and too detailed.
"Designed a K6 motherboard for a sub-$1000 PC"
—Too concise. Does not convey details of critical components, nor does it discuss applications.
"Designed a motherboard using the K6 processor, 430TX chipset and associated peripherals. Target applications were sub-$1000 PCs. To lower cost, graphics acceleration was integrated on-board."
—Appropriate. Discusses critical components, architecture, and applications.
"Designed a motherboard using the K6 processor, 430TX chipset, Ultra-I/O controller, SDRAM, 512 KB of cache memory, clock generator, PCI and ISA slots, and a graphics accelerator with 4MB of memory on board. The system was targeted at sub-$1000 PCs being manufactured by various large computer makers in the US, Europe, and Asia."
—Too long. Details that can be discussed in the interview are presented here. The statement about computer makers is irrelevant.
4. USE ACTION AND POWER WORDS
It is important that you use action words that convey activity. In the previous examples, the sentence could just as easily have begun with "Worked on a motherboard..." However, beginning the sentence with "Designed a motherboard..." eliminates ambiguity and conveys action.
A conscious effort must be made to use action and power words in your résumé. The types of words you can use depend on the job function. If you are applying for a management position, then use words like "Managed, supervised, led," etc. If you are applying for an engineering position, then incorporate words such as "Designed, developed, debugged," etc. A list of action words can be available through online thesauruses, reference books on résumé writing, and even paper manufacturing companies. Remember, it is also important to communicate teamwork and leadership qualities, especially if you are applying for a managerial position.
I've noticed that many Indians do not use action and power words when writing résumés. This is probably a cultural trait, since we're taught to understate our achievements and write in passive tense. Eliminate this habit when writing résumés.
5. BE FAMILIAR WITH THE INFORMATION
An interviewer does not want to hear "Well, I worked on that project a long time ago and so I cannot answer your question." This is unacceptable and you have just shot yourself in the foot. If you are not familiar with the material, it conveys that either you did not do the work, or that you forget easily and cannot leverage off past experience, or that you have prepared poorly for the interview. Bottom line, either exclude such information from your résumé, or familiarize yourself with it.
6. BE CONSISTENT
It's fine to be creative, but consistency plays a far more important role. It conveys a logical and organized thought process and leaves a positive impression in the engineering-centric high-tech world. Here's an example of consistency: When providing a summary of your accomplishments, begin each line item with an action word, as shown below by the underlined text.
• Created and executed strategy to triple product line revenues in two years.
• Defined and developed four product families encompassing over 30 devices to meet revenue goals.
• Wrote all product data sheets and collateral for these 30 products.
Another example is to consistently stay in third person rather than shifting between first and third person in the document. Please refrain from using "I" in your résumé.
A general rule of the thumb is that each section of the résumé should have subsections that look very similar. For example, if your "Work Experience" section contains a paragraph on responsibilities, followed by subsections on major projects and accomplishments, it should be the same for every employer.
Different sections should resemble each other in terms of formatting, to ensure that information can be located easily.
7. DON'T LIE
You will be caught. Enough said.
8. BE BUZZWORD COMPLIANT
Since screening is routinely performed by software, you must use buzzwords on your résumé. Don't enumerate everything in your repertoire, but do list basic skills that are necessary for the job, or are currently in demand. Obviously, include these abilities only if you possess them.
9. PERFORM SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECKS
Most good interviewers do not accept more than three minor mistakes in a résumé, since it indicates your inability to perform high-quality work. Hence, after you have completed your résumé, check for spelling and grammar errors. All word processing packages include tools to do the same, so that's going to be your first level check. Additionally, have someone proof read the document to catch errors missed by the software.
Some common errors that I have see on résumés are: random double spaces between words, two periods at the end of a sentence, misspelling your University or company name, missing prepositions in a sentence, and a lack of commas in a long sentence.
10. CUSTOMIZE YOUR RESUME
One résumé does not fit all. It's okay to customize the résumé based on the job requirements. Customization sells your skills more effectively and results in more job interviews for you.
When applying for the job, don't forget the cover letter. The purpose of this document is to augment your résumé's critical sections (i.e. those that are applicable to the target job). The maximum length of a cover letter is one-half of a page, ideally separated into three paragraphs. The first tells the reader how you heard of the job, the second discusses your relevant skills, and the third tells the reader why you are a great fit. It goes without saying that a cover letter must be concise.
Since email is now very popular, a short cover letter can be written in the text of the email. However, email does raise the question of how to submit your résumé. In this case, the fundamental rules always apply: follow the company directions, and if they don't specify, ask. If you get no response, use the default, which is a text email with a Word attachment.
If you feel the need to work with a résumé professional, there are many online providers of résumé writing and reviewing services. Select one that has experience in your field of work, and understands your requirements well. But remember, only you are responsible for the contents, look, and feel of your résumé, and you should treat it with the utmost importance. This article has provided you with some basic tips on how to write better résumés, and for those of you who need more information, "additional information is available upon request."
Secrets of a Selling Resume
Your resume is one of your most important initial job search tools. It is the key to getting an interview and opening the door to the job you want.
Your resume is your advertisement. It promotes you by highlighting your skills, accomplishments, attributes and key capabilities in clear, concise and compelling statements. There are varying opinions among professionals as to what constitutes a persuasive resume. Although there is no one right way of creating a resume, there are some key strategies you can follow to effectively communicate your value. Doing so will convince an employer that you can make a contribution to the organization and its goals.
Successful resumes have two key elements:
They include an employer-centered objective, which gives them direction.
They show evidence that you have the necessary background to do the job.
The Objective
Your objective is a short and realistic statement of interest, and it indicates the type of position you are seeking. It can be a list of functions you wish to perform, or can be a professional title such as "Structural Engineer" or "Software Development Intern" at XYZ Company. Often, the problem with objectives is that they are either too broad or too narrow. To avoid this pitfall, develop a targeted and balanced objective; e.g., "Pursuing a research and development position in chemical engineering." Include the job title and the name of the organization if you know them; e.g., "Seeking a position as an Electronic Systems Design Engineer at The Aerospace Corporation."
You should have a variety of objectives that you can use to tailor your resume. In fact, you'll probably have several different resumes because you'll want to emphasize your skills and experience differently depending on the type of position for which you're applying. Chances are that you have the skills to work in various environments and jobs-there may be multiple industries were you could pursue job opportunities. At some point in your career, you may decide to change fields altogether. The years of work experience you have in an unrelated field can definitely apply to another field.
Skills can easily transfer from one position to the next. For example, if you have worked in retail, your communication and organizational skills are applicable in any number of positions and industries. Highlighting and including transferable skills in your resume is a great way to market your value to a potential employer.
The Body of Your Resume
Your resume should feature information that highlights your qualifications and supports your objective. Provide specific examples of your accomplishments, skills and results.
Organize your resume according to categories or headings that best reflect your level of experience and background. Here are some examples of resume headings:
1. Objective
2. Education
3. Related Course Work
4. Projects
5. Experience Skills
6. Activities
7. Awards/Honors
8. Related Experience
9. Other Employment
10. Military Experience
11. Volunteer Work
12. Community Service
13. Employment Summary
14. Accomplishments Summary of Qualifications Leadership Activities
15. Affiliations Publications
16. Presentations
17. Certification/Licensure
Note that the bold headings on the list are generally the standard choices if you are seeking internship, co-op, summer or entry-level career positions. Refer to the sample resumes on page 36 for specific examples on how to build content within various headings.
Adding Muscle to Your Resume
It is a good idea to get your resume critiqued by a career services professional before you send it to employers. This service is available through nearly every campus career office. Here are some tips recommended by career counselors:
1. Start sentences with "power verbs".
2. Use present tense action words to describe current or in-progress experiences, and past tense action words to describe completed tasks.
3. Include keywords and descriptive words. Keywords may include job titles, specific technical or non-technical skills, personal traits, academic degrees, occupational functions and so on. If specific words and skills are emphasized in the job description, be sure to include them on your resume.
4. Quantify results whenever possible. Be specific in your descriptions. For example, if you helped process efficiency by 15%, state that.
5. Tailor your resume by changing the order of your headings to emphasize or deemphasize different aspects of your education and experience.
6. Position the most relevant information near the top of your resume.
7. Limit your resume to one page. The most powerful and memorable advertisements are 30 seconds long.
8. Create accomplishment statements versus a "laundry list" of tasks. Provide results whenever possible.
9. Avoid resume killers-grammatical, punctuation and typographical errors, and excessive abbreviations.
Electronic Resume Strategies
Many organizations use electronic systems to store and access applicants' resumes. When you forward your resume via snail mail, fax, email or online application/resume template, it will most likely become a part of the organization's electronic resume bank.
At the heart of your electronic resume building strategy are keywords. These commonly used industry-specific terms will help catch the attention of resume screening software programs. To maximize your chances of being selected by the organization's "electronic eye," your resume needs a mix of keywords and skills that match various position requirements included in the employer's database.
Scanner Tips
If you know that a prospective employer will use scanning technology on your hard-copy resume, use the following guidelines: Choose a font that's easy to read and professional looking, such as Times New Roman or Arial.
Keep your font size between 11 and 14 points, and don't compress spaces between letters.
Use white, standard-sized 81/2ý x 11ý paper printed on one side only.
Do not use italic text, script, underlined passages, tab indents or resume templates.
Avoid graphics, shading and boxes.
If your scan-able resume is longer than one page, place your name as the first readable item on each page.
Make everything on the page left-justified.
Use ALL CAPS to distinguish your name or section headers.
Tips for Electronic Resume Transmittals
Many organizations specify how they prefer to receive electronic resumes-you should follow those instructions. In other words, if a company requests that applicants paste a resume into an email cover letter, do so. The safest way to send your resume via email is to save it as a plain text document. Do not attach a word-processed version of your resume to an email message-you could unknowingly have a virus on your computer and pass it along to a potential employer. You can, however, save your resume as a PDF and attach it to an emailed cover letter. The PDF format doesn't support viruses. Also, virtually every employer can open a PDF file. Here are some more tips: Emphasize key items of your resume with asterisks (*) or capital letters instead of bold type, italics or bullets. These elements don't carry over to a text document.Use a series of dashes to separate headings.Keep lines at about 65 characters to avoid line wraps.
Your resume is your advertisement. It promotes you by highlighting your skills, accomplishments, attributes and key capabilities in clear, concise and compelling statements. There are varying opinions among professionals as to what constitutes a persuasive resume. Although there is no one right way of creating a resume, there are some key strategies you can follow to effectively communicate your value. Doing so will convince an employer that you can make a contribution to the organization and its goals.
Successful resumes have two key elements:
They include an employer-centered objective, which gives them direction.
They show evidence that you have the necessary background to do the job.
The Objective
Your objective is a short and realistic statement of interest, and it indicates the type of position you are seeking. It can be a list of functions you wish to perform, or can be a professional title such as "Structural Engineer" or "Software Development Intern" at XYZ Company. Often, the problem with objectives is that they are either too broad or too narrow. To avoid this pitfall, develop a targeted and balanced objective; e.g., "Pursuing a research and development position in chemical engineering." Include the job title and the name of the organization if you know them; e.g., "Seeking a position as an Electronic Systems Design Engineer at The Aerospace Corporation."
You should have a variety of objectives that you can use to tailor your resume. In fact, you'll probably have several different resumes because you'll want to emphasize your skills and experience differently depending on the type of position for which you're applying. Chances are that you have the skills to work in various environments and jobs-there may be multiple industries were you could pursue job opportunities. At some point in your career, you may decide to change fields altogether. The years of work experience you have in an unrelated field can definitely apply to another field.
Skills can easily transfer from one position to the next. For example, if you have worked in retail, your communication and organizational skills are applicable in any number of positions and industries. Highlighting and including transferable skills in your resume is a great way to market your value to a potential employer.
The Body of Your Resume
Your resume should feature information that highlights your qualifications and supports your objective. Provide specific examples of your accomplishments, skills and results.
Organize your resume according to categories or headings that best reflect your level of experience and background. Here are some examples of resume headings:
1. Objective
2. Education
3. Related Course Work
4. Projects
5. Experience Skills
6. Activities
7. Awards/Honors
8. Related Experience
9. Other Employment
10. Military Experience
11. Volunteer Work
12. Community Service
13. Employment Summary
14. Accomplishments Summary of Qualifications Leadership Activities
15. Affiliations Publications
16. Presentations
17. Certification/Licensure
Note that the bold headings on the list are generally the standard choices if you are seeking internship, co-op, summer or entry-level career positions. Refer to the sample resumes on page 36 for specific examples on how to build content within various headings.
Adding Muscle to Your Resume
It is a good idea to get your resume critiqued by a career services professional before you send it to employers. This service is available through nearly every campus career office. Here are some tips recommended by career counselors:
1. Start sentences with "power verbs".
2. Use present tense action words to describe current or in-progress experiences, and past tense action words to describe completed tasks.
3. Include keywords and descriptive words. Keywords may include job titles, specific technical or non-technical skills, personal traits, academic degrees, occupational functions and so on. If specific words and skills are emphasized in the job description, be sure to include them on your resume.
4. Quantify results whenever possible. Be specific in your descriptions. For example, if you helped process efficiency by 15%, state that.
5. Tailor your resume by changing the order of your headings to emphasize or deemphasize different aspects of your education and experience.
6. Position the most relevant information near the top of your resume.
7. Limit your resume to one page. The most powerful and memorable advertisements are 30 seconds long.
8. Create accomplishment statements versus a "laundry list" of tasks. Provide results whenever possible.
9. Avoid resume killers-grammatical, punctuation and typographical errors, and excessive abbreviations.
Electronic Resume Strategies
Many organizations use electronic systems to store and access applicants' resumes. When you forward your resume via snail mail, fax, email or online application/resume template, it will most likely become a part of the organization's electronic resume bank.
At the heart of your electronic resume building strategy are keywords. These commonly used industry-specific terms will help catch the attention of resume screening software programs. To maximize your chances of being selected by the organization's "electronic eye," your resume needs a mix of keywords and skills that match various position requirements included in the employer's database.
Scanner Tips
If you know that a prospective employer will use scanning technology on your hard-copy resume, use the following guidelines: Choose a font that's easy to read and professional looking, such as Times New Roman or Arial.
Keep your font size between 11 and 14 points, and don't compress spaces between letters.
Use white, standard-sized 81/2ý x 11ý paper printed on one side only.
Do not use italic text, script, underlined passages, tab indents or resume templates.
Avoid graphics, shading and boxes.
If your scan-able resume is longer than one page, place your name as the first readable item on each page.
Make everything on the page left-justified.
Use ALL CAPS to distinguish your name or section headers.
Tips for Electronic Resume Transmittals
Many organizations specify how they prefer to receive electronic resumes-you should follow those instructions. In other words, if a company requests that applicants paste a resume into an email cover letter, do so. The safest way to send your resume via email is to save it as a plain text document. Do not attach a word-processed version of your resume to an email message-you could unknowingly have a virus on your computer and pass it along to a potential employer. You can, however, save your resume as a PDF and attach it to an emailed cover letter. The PDF format doesn't support viruses. Also, virtually every employer can open a PDF file. Here are some more tips: Emphasize key items of your resume with asterisks (*) or capital letters instead of bold type, italics or bullets. These elements don't carry over to a text document.Use a series of dashes to separate headings.Keep lines at about 65 characters to avoid line wraps.
Resume
Resume Tips
Resume is a very important document. The HR will have only your resume to understand your skills. Whatever pre screening happens will be at the resume level itself. Now a days no HR has the time to invite all the applicants to identify the skill set personally. So the Resume becomes vital.
1: Prepare your own Resume: This will enable you to understand what you have mentioned in the resume. You will have more confidence to answer the questions.
2: Mention only what ever you are totally confident about. The HR will identify any one topic in your resume and ask you the full details on the same topic.
3:If you have mentioned any project details in your resume, take enough time to understand your strength on the methodology involved in the project from the scratch to the finish.
4: Do not forget to mention the full details of your academics from High school to the last qualification with all details like year, subjects, division and percentage of marks.
5: Do not hesitate to mention any additional information which may not be relevant to the academics.Somethings like NCC, study trips sports etc.
6: It is very important to have good hobbies. Even if you don’t, better late than never. Start cultivating good hobbies like reading, journals relating to IT AND ITES, Internet browsing in terms of getting updated with current affairs of IT companies, reading good English novels to improve English speaking skills etc. Because, your hobbies reflect your time management skills, your approach towards career and life and your tastes in life.
7: Prepare your resume as and when you need it. Do not prepare a common resume for all the companies. If you have varied skills in different technologies, Prioritize the respective company’s requirement first.
8: Before you apply to a company go to their web site and understand full information available.
DONTS
1. Do not mention a telephone number to which you don’t have an access or which is Not working
2. Do not mention a mail id which is not working.
3. Do not fake your experience. If you are a fresher, wait for the companies to look for Freshers and hit the bull’s eye. There are lot of companies which look for freshers.
Covering letter.
Write the covering letter first and then the resume. Because, you must prepare a letter in such a way that the reader gets curious about you and in such a way that generates some interest about you.
In the covering letter you must address to HR, Name of the company correct address and the post applied for in the right field.In the matter you give a brief introduction
Resume is a very important document. The HR will have only your resume to understand your skills. Whatever pre screening happens will be at the resume level itself. Now a days no HR has the time to invite all the applicants to identify the skill set personally. So the Resume becomes vital.
1: Prepare your own Resume: This will enable you to understand what you have mentioned in the resume. You will have more confidence to answer the questions.
2: Mention only what ever you are totally confident about. The HR will identify any one topic in your resume and ask you the full details on the same topic.
3:If you have mentioned any project details in your resume, take enough time to understand your strength on the methodology involved in the project from the scratch to the finish.
4: Do not forget to mention the full details of your academics from High school to the last qualification with all details like year, subjects, division and percentage of marks.
5: Do not hesitate to mention any additional information which may not be relevant to the academics.Somethings like NCC, study trips sports etc.
6: It is very important to have good hobbies. Even if you don’t, better late than never. Start cultivating good hobbies like reading, journals relating to IT AND ITES, Internet browsing in terms of getting updated with current affairs of IT companies, reading good English novels to improve English speaking skills etc. Because, your hobbies reflect your time management skills, your approach towards career and life and your tastes in life.
7: Prepare your resume as and when you need it. Do not prepare a common resume for all the companies. If you have varied skills in different technologies, Prioritize the respective company’s requirement first.
8: Before you apply to a company go to their web site and understand full information available.
DONTS
1. Do not mention a telephone number to which you don’t have an access or which is Not working
2. Do not mention a mail id which is not working.
3. Do not fake your experience. If you are a fresher, wait for the companies to look for Freshers and hit the bull’s eye. There are lot of companies which look for freshers.
Covering letter.
Write the covering letter first and then the resume. Because, you must prepare a letter in such a way that the reader gets curious about you and in such a way that generates some interest about you.
In the covering letter you must address to HR, Name of the company correct address and the post applied for in the right field.In the matter you give a brief introduction
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