| Any coach will tell you that if you learn the | | | | not exaggerate and absolutely do not lie - you will be |
| fundamentals of the game, your talent will take care of | | | | caught. |
| the rest. Once you step into a job interview no one | | | | At the end of the resume, if you can manage it, put a |
| can help you with the talent part so you had better nail | | | | couple of quotes from your previous employer. "John |
| the fundamentals. | | | | helped increase our sales by over 200% in three |
| A little common sense will also help. Today we are in a | | | | years" You would be amazed at how much of a |
| serious unemployment market and those people who | | | | positive impression you can make by quoting what |
| are conducting job interviews are probably stressed | | | | others have to say about you. |
| out because of the sheer volume of job seekers. Don't | | | | 4. Bring you resume, if appropriate, and nothing else to |
| make their job harder, or alter their impression of you | | | | the interview. No cell phone or any other exotic |
| by prolonging your time in the interview with small talk. | | | | electronic device. |
| Your small talk may not amount to much but multiplied | | | | 5. When you walk into the interview, say hello, thank |
| by several hundred times a day it gets old. So forget | | | | the person for the interview and maintain eye contact |
| your comments about the local sports team, the | | | | for the rest of the time you are there. If you are |
| weather, the traffic or world events. Stay focused on | | | | nervous, a perfectly understandable state, practice |
| why you are there - to get a job offer. | | | | maintaining eye contact until you have it down cold. |
| What follows you can take as suggestions for a | | | | This is very important so don't overlook it. Also, when |
| successful interview or, better yet, rigid rules that must | | | | you shake hands, do so with a firm grip, not one that |
| be followed. If you deviate from them very much you | | | | feels like a wet fish. |
| are risking not getting an offer, in which case, you | | | | 6. Take control of the interview for the first minute or |
| might as well have stayed home. | | | | so if you can. When you first get the invitation to |
| 1. Shed your metal. If you have any body piercings that | | | | interview, practice a 60 second sales pitch with you as |
| can be seen get rid of them. If you can't understand | | | | the subject. This is your "commercial" and it needs to |
| why you may be too dumb for any job. | | | | be good. Before you get into the interview proper, ask |
| 2. Dress down, not up. Trendy attire often turns | | | | the person if you can say a few words before the |
| interviewers off so you have nothing to lose by | | | | interview starts. Most people will say yes. At that point |
| dressing conservatively. It goes without saying that | | | | you have 60 seconds to give the interviewer, in a |
| your clothes should be clean and freshly pressed. A | | | | reasoned manner, the reasons why you should be |
| good rule to follow is if the interviewer can remember | | | | hired. Practice this in front of a friend until you have it |
| how you were dressed you flunked the test. If you | | | | down pat. If you want to get the idea right, listen to a |
| don't understand this seek out the geekiest person you | | | | 30 or 60 second radio or TV commercial. You can |
| know and copy their clothes. You are not going to a | | | | convey a lot of information in that amount of time. |
| fashion show and women, more so than men, need to | | | | Imagine yourself an actor auditioning for a part, which is |
| remember this. | | | | exactly what you are doing. |
| 3. If you bring a resume, or have been asked to send | | | | 7. If you are plagued with our modern version of poor |
| one in advance, a practice that should be avoided if | | | | speech, if you throw in a "you know" or a "like" in |
| you can get away with it, restrict it to one page, a | | | | every sentence, practice until you get rid of the habit. |
| page and a half at the most. If you send it in advance | | | | There are more employers and interviewers than you |
| you always take the risk of having the resume speak | | | | suspect that will disqualify you after the second "you |
| for you, which makes it even more important. Just like | | | | know". |
| your clothing, the resume should be plain and | | | | 8. Do a little research on the company and ask |
| conservative. White paper is a must and your name, | | | | questions about the job. "Would you go a little deeper |
| address, telephone number and e-mail address if you | | | | into what you expect in this position"? or "Tell me a |
| have one should appear at the top center. Don't, as | | | | little more about this (fill in the blanks) aspect of the |
| many people do, put a paragraph at the top stating | | | | position" and one that never fails, "Can you tell me |
| your long term career goals. The interviewer has a | | | | what created the job opening"? You might learn a lot |
| position to fill and is focused on that, not your career | | | | from the answer to this last one. |
| goals. | | | | 9. If you are asked about the salary you expect |
| List your last three or four jobs, what they were, your | | | | deflect the question. "I'm much more interested in the |
| title if you had one, and the address of the company | | | | long term opportunities the job offers than the starting |
| you worked for, nothing else. If the interviewer wants | | | | salary" or "I'm sure you have a salary scale for that |
| to know your previous duties he or she will ask, | | | | position and whatever that is will be satisfactory". |
| otherwise they focus is on what you can do for their | | | | 10. When leaving the interview, thank the person again, |
| company not what you did for another company. | | | | ask for his or her card, and the next day send them a |
| The most important information on your resume should | | | | thank you note plus add anything about yourself you |
| be the skills you have developed and are now offering | | | | might have forgotten. |
| to bring to a new company. List them all. If you have | | | | Will doing all these things guarantee you a job offer? |
| computer skills list all the software you have worked | | | | Not necessarily but it will give you the satisfaction of |
| with. Pick your previous job apart. If you worked in a | | | | knowing that none of the fundamentals were |
| fast food restaurant mention order taking, customer | | | | overlooked, and that's an excellent start. |
| relations, sales, whatever is truthful and accurate. Do | | | | |