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Tonight I watched a little talk that gives some good advice on finding jobs.  It’s kinda tech oriented but it gives some overall good advice for people looking for jobs.  It may be a lot of things you may have read or heard before but sometimes I think people need a little refresher.  Something to pop on and listen to while you do other things like laundry and dishes.

Not to long ago, a position for a tech was filled at my job.  With the current market, there were plenty of applications and resumes.  I got to look through some and sit in on a few interviews and here are some of my thoughts on some of the things that caught my eye.

1. Make your resume pop

I seemed to pay more attention to resumes that weren’t total template based and looked identical from the stacks of resumes passed to my desk from my boss.  If you couldn’t get your resume trimmed down to 1 or 2 pages, chances are I got bored or just skimmed it.  Make your resume short, sweet, and to the point.  Highlight your strong points and stop adding fluff.  Keep it oriented toward the position you are applying for.  If you are applying for a help desk position, I don’t need half a page about what you did for the grocery store you worked at while going to school.  Also use a readable font.  I saw a resume that was in 1opt or smaller (which kept the length down) and passed over it because it was to hard to read.

2. Be passionate about your field

If you don’t love what you do, get out of it.  This was one of the points hit on in the video.  There were several people that are trying to get in to the computer field without having a passion for the job.  I’m not saying you have to be a total nerd but chances are, if you aren’t tinkering at home at least some of the time, you are not a go getter that is going to stay on top of new technology.  Most careers require a little time out of the office to stay competitive and if you are doing something you love, this will be easy for you.  There were several people that interviewed that did not show interest in the field in general and we were looking for go getters.

3. Dress appropriately

Generally its good practice to over dress for the position.  Every interview I have been on, I’ve worn a suit, even when being interviewed by people wearing jeans.  Its all about presenting yourself as a professional.  Can’t afford a suit?  Khaki pants with a button down shirt and a tie.  You don’t have that either?  Well go buy it.  It takes money to make money.  Someone showed up wearing a shirt with a school logo on it which gave the impression that this person is not quite ready for a professional environment.

4. Be confident and prepared in your interview

There were plenty of people that lacked in this area.  My boss went through an entire interview with someone that hardly looked up from the table.  Make eye contact.  Smile.  Most likely the people interviewing you will be the people working with you and are not interested in someone they can’t carry on a conversation with.  As far as being prepared, bring a pad of paper and pen to take notes.  Have a list of questions for your interviewers and check them off as they are covered in the interview.  If there are any left, you are prepared for when they ask if you have any questions.  Most likely you will be nervous and will not remember things you wanted to know.  This also shows that you are detail oriented.  Bring extra copies of your resume.

5. Have good references

If your resume says you have references upon request, have several typed copies of your references with you at the interview.  I tend to send a list of references with my resume but extra copies are always good to have.  Also make sure to let your references know you are listing them as a reference and make sure that they will be a good reference.  Our position came down to references and one of the final two had a terrible list.  One of the references for the applicant not hired did not list the persons last name, just an initial.  Another when called didn’t know they were a reference and the third reference did not have a working phone number.  Not a good position to be in.

6. Contact after the interview

The interview may be over but it doesn’t stop there.  Send your potential employer an email thanking them for taking the time to meet with you.  This is not only courteous but it shows you can follow through.  If you do not hear from them in a day, call them.  Let them know you are still interested in the position and check to see if the position was filled.  Call every couple days until you are offered the position or it is filled.  Persistence pays off.