We’ve gone over a few of the most common interview questions, but there are bound to be more that you may not have studied or shown up to the interview prepared for.  So how do you go about answering interview questions that you didn’t expect?

There are just a few key pointers to keep in mind that will make answering interview questions a breeze.

1. Stick to relevant facts.

If an interviewer asks you to tell them a little about yourself, they usually don’t want to hear about how you like long walks on the beach and prefer your coffee black.  Answering interview questions is about sticking to the subject- which is that great job you’re after, so keep your answers related to your skills and work experience.  You can talk about a few personal things here and there, but try to keep it to a minimum.

2. Stay up on current events.

It might sound like a silly piece of advice- what does this have to do with answering interview questions?  Well, you don’t want to appear to be an airhead if the interviewer conversationally brings up a current event.  Also, you want to make sure that you’re aware of any recent developments in the particular field you’re interviewing in or with a particular company.  Not knowing this stuff is going to make you look more clueless than Jessica Simpson while she’s snacking on tuna.  And although a lot of employers (usually of the male variety) would want to hire her because of her hot factor, they probably wouldn’t trust her to run a division of their company.

3. Stay positive.

Sometimes you’ll get a little confused answering interview questions because they’ll throw something at you that you don’t expect.  If you’re asked about what you didn’t like about your last job, for instance, don’t fall for the trick.  Those wiley coyotes are most likely just trying to gauge your reaction.  Answering interview questions like this with something short and sweet like “I actually rather enjoyed my job, there just wasn’t a lot of opportunity for advancement within the company,” or even “It was just too far from home, unlike this job,” will keep you in a positive light.  The last thing you want to do is trash talk an old boss, co-workers, or the job itself.  You’re probably applying for the same kind of job anyway, and even if you’re not, you could convey that you’re the problem, not the job.

4. Use proper grammar and professional lingo.

Of course you’re probably not planning on answering interview questions with phrases such as “Like, totally,” but you never know what might pop out of your mouth when you’re nervous.  Just make sure you speak correctly, and use any professional terms that are relevant to the job.  Answering interview questions with confidence and like a pro will score you brownie points for sure.

5. Try to act like you’re talking to your best friend.

Don’t be stupid, here.  Of course I’m not saying to start answering interview questions as if you’re old drinking buddies (and especially not like you’re drunk right there in the interview) but you want to stay relaxed and try to keep it sort of conversational.  Don’t forget what I said about being grammatically correct and using proper verbiage though.  Sometimes just answering interview questions casually, acting like you’re practicing in front of your mirror instead of staring your potential future boss in the face will help you exude a confidence that you didn’t know you could.

Follow these tips for answering interview questions and you’re sure to be able to come up with the answer to anything on the spot.  Above all though, take your time.  Don’t sit there for an hour thinking up a good answer, but don’t just stammer something out really quick either.  Think your answers to interview questions through, then apply these pointers, and you’ll be HIRED..

It seems that most employers ask you the same questions (even if they are worded differently- a wolf in sheep’s clothing is still a wolf) so it’s really a lot easier than you think to show up at an interview prepared to answer those general questions for interviews that you’ll most likely be asked.

Here are a few of the top questions for interviews that employers usually go with and some guidance to help you produce killer answers so that you can really WOW them.

What’s your greatest strength and your greatest weakness?

This is when you have to kind of flip the truth around a little.  Being that this is one of the top questions for interviews, you can think about this beforehand so you answer it the right way.  Your greatest strength is easy- something like “I’m extremely organized” or “I work well under pressure” works just fine, but they are substandard answers, so if you’re able to spice them up a little, you’ll impress the employer more.

As for your greatest weakness, turn a negative into a positive.  “I might pay a little too much attention to detail because I want to make sure everything is perfect,” will probably raise an eyebrow or two but hey, you’re just being honest, right?

Tell me about a challenge that you had with a previous job- how did you overcome it?

There is usually almost always one of these types of questions for interviews used by an employer.  When I was asked this question on my first interview out of college, I froze up.  I didn’t have any office jobs or anything that resembled the type of professional environment I was breaking in to so I mumbled something about a serving job that I held in college.  Luckily, I still got the job but this question can completely break you if you’re not careful.  Stick with something that sounds realistic, even if it isn’t completely true (I’m not telling you to lie, exactly, but a little exaggeration is sometimes necessary.)  Maybe talk about a time that you were going to lose a customer or client but that you went over the company objectives and goals and won them back over with your charm.  Anything that says that you contributed to company growth or improvement will score you points.

Do you prefer to work alone or as part of a team?

This is one of those questions for interviews where they’re almost trying to trick you.  You may have no idea if the position you’re applying for requires more independent work or more teamwork, so you have to proceed with caution when answering this question.  It’s best to say that you work equally well both ways.  “I work well on my own, but I also am comfortable sharing work with others- sometimes putting a few heads together shows better results,” is a great answer.

Where do you see yourself in five years? (or ten, or a few, etc.)

Stick to work-related goals with these types of questions for interviews.  Don’t talk about how you’re getting married, planning on expanding your family or buying a house.  Talk about how you’re hoping to learn and grow within the company and further expand upon your skills and knowledge.  That’s really what they want to hear, and if you go anywhere else with this question you might end up sounding like a clueless Miss America contestant.  “In five years I hope to see world peace.”  Huh?

What are your salary requirements?

Be careful how you answer any questions for interviews that relate to salary.  You don’t want to ask for too much, or too little, of course.  Do a little research before your interview to see what the typical salary is for similar positions.  Then, adjust it a little if needed according to your skill level.  If the average salary is $40,000 and you have no experience in a particular field, it’s probably best not to go about $42,000.  If you have a lot of experience though, it might be ok to go as high as $55,000…..  Salary is usually commensurate with experience, so just be realistic in what you’re asking for.  And always let them know that you’re open to negotiation, in case the number is too high for them.  You don’t want to not get a job because you asked for 55k a year and they top out at 53k.

Of course these are just a few common questions for interviews to get you started, but the odds are pretty high that you will be asked at least one of these.  Brush up on your answers and you’ll appear to be an interview pro!

Do you prefer blondes or brunettes?  What’s your shoe size?  How about your favorite color?

If you haven’t guessed yet, these are interview questions for employers that you probably don’t want to ask.  Some raised eyebrows and eye rolls are probably all that you’ll get in response, not to mention that you’ll basically convey that you’re not taking an interview or a job opportunity very seriously.

We’ve all been there- that awkward stage of the interview where the interviewer asks you if you have any questions.

Most of the interview questions for employers that we’d like to ask, such as “How many hot girls/ guys work here?” or “How much calling off in a six month period is acceptable?” are not the ones that we actually can.  So how about asking some questions that will give you some answers that you can use as well as make you appear to be a great job candidate?

What will my duties be?

This is a given, but when you’re applying for a job, they don’t always put all of the responsibilities that an employee will have.  This is one of the best interview questions for employers because you’ll make sure you get the 411 on exactly what you’ll be doing if you get the job.  You also might find out some things that you might need to brush up on… of course you probably don’t want to let the interviewer know if you’re a little rusty in a certain area, just smile, nod and then go home and study up or practice.

I love this type of work so much; the sky is the limit for me once I’ve expanded further upon my skills.  What types of opportunities for advancement within the company will there be in the future?

This is one of those interview questions for employers that you have to proceed with caution on.  You don’t want the interviewer to feel threatened or like you want to steal their job, even though ultimately that might be the seat you want to be in, but you want to convey that you’re eager to learn and grow within the company.  It’s probably not a good idea to mention anything like “This is just a stepping stone for me to gain the skills I really need to go somewhere else and have the career I really want.”  Unless your goal is NOT to get the job.

Who will I be working closely with and what are their functions, and who is my direct supervisor?

You need to understand how you fall into the company hierarchy in order to know how to not only do your job but also so you know how to approach everyone you work with.  And chances are that one of your interviewers will be your boss, but they’ll probably still be impressed that you asked.  It’s a common sense interview question for employers, but too many times people leave an interview wondering if they’d even like the job they’re trying to get.  Save yourself the trouble and worry.

Please tell me a little bit about the company and your experience- what keeps you coming to work every day?  It seems like a great place to work!

Honestly, I’ve asked these types of interview questions for employers often because it’s good to know if people typically find the company a decent place to work.  Also, overall job satisfaction is important as well.  Sometimes it works just to ask about what the turn over rate is like.  If they don’t hold on to people long, you might want to reconsider if you actually want the job that bad.  If people don’t stay for long, there’s probably a reason.

What are some overall goals of the company over the next 12 months and how can I help contribute to reaching those goals in my position?

This is an interview question for employers that most of them probably don’t hear that often, and it not only says that you care about helping the company succeed but that you really want to excel at the job.  You might as well go home and wait for the phone to ring, because you’ll impress with this question, especially if you react with the right amount of excitement when they give you the answer.

Of course these are just a few of the many interview questions for employers that you can ask, but in my opinion they’re the best.  They’re going to get you the most information while conveying an “I really care” attitude to your interviewer.

Now all you need to do is make sure you go to the interview prepared with a list of questions… and make sure you don’t ask anything that they’ve already told you.  Not listening in an interview could blow the whole thing.

Good luck, and happy interviewing, you interview know it all!

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Some people think that filling in the blank spots on their resume with keywords describing the desired skills for a job will help manipulate Applicant Tracking Systems to their advantage, and in some cases, it does.  However, you have proceed with caution with white font because you could end up making yourself look the opposite of what you’re going for.  Often times if this strategy is used, suddenly, experienced and knowledgeable becomes exaggerated and falsified.

When White Font Can Work Against You

Don’t think you’re a sly fox just because you figured out how to use white font on your resume.  Most recruiters are on the lookout for this now- you’re not a step ahead of anyone.  All they have to do if they want to check a resume for white font is highlight it and suddenly, all of the sneaky keywords that you included on your resume will magically appear.  You may be able to fool the machine, but you can’t fool a human.

Actually, some of the Applicant Tracking Systems that are used can tell if white font was used on a resume.  This could hurt you too, because they sometimes weed out and then eliminate those resumes.  Some employers look at this kind of manipulation as deceitful, and in those cases, it will definitely hurt you.

Another common mistake that people make when using white font is that they tell little white lies.  For instance, they’ll use keywords that they know are relevant to the job in white font on the margins of their resume, but when you look at the actual resume those skills are not present anywhere.  If you’re going to try to outsmart employers, at least do it right and don’t make yourself look like an idiot.  Putting “creative” on your resume in white font but then having a list of boring jobs that don’t ask for any creativeness at all is going to not only raise some eyebrows, but also put you in the “no thanks” pile.

Why White Font Isn’t a Good Idea

Some employers won’t mind white font if it’s discovered on your resume, but most are going to wonder what you’re up to or why you’d go to such extremes.  Your resume should speak for itself- you shouldn’t have to trick people into noticing you.  If you just use keywords to get yourself noticed but don’t have the skills to back them up, you just look like a big fat liar.  As much as everyone wants one of those working for them… oh wait, this is who they definitely don’t want working for them!

Rather than focusing on how to trick ATS machines and even humans into reading your resume, how about honing in on your great skills and experience and making sure that your resume accurately reflects that?

Incorporate the essential keywords that you would have used white font for into your resume itself.  That way, it still gets picked up and there is no fabrication or deceit on your part.

You don’t need tricky methods like white font when you’re actually qualified for a job

Making a resume that will cause employers to want to hire you is a lot like making love.  You want to take your time, do it right, get some pleasure out of it, maybe even sweat a little.  Hopefully not in the literal sense, but hey, if that’s what it takes!

Making a resume that rocks is all about making sure you have the right words on paper to say all that you want to.  No, I’m not saying to write a biography about your exciting (or less than exciting in some of our cases, let’s face it!) life or to babble on and on about how much you want the job, but you should be able to get all of your job related skills and experience on your resume without making it look cluttered or losing your focus.

First of all, making a resume that includes the “right” words just means making sure your resume is geared toward the position you’re after.  In most cases, you should of course list all work experience, but in some cases you might just want to list related experience so that it’s the focus of your resume.

For example, making a resume for a job in education doesn’t really require you to include the job that you had when you were 16 waiting tables.  If you don’t have a lot of work experience and want to include it to give your resume more meat, you can… just make sure you make it sound related.  I know it may not really be true that being a server you were able to talk about the things you were learning in school and teach customers valuable things they didn’t know… but somehow working this in to a resume for teaching if you’re going to include that particular job will work to your advantage.

That being said, one of the biggest NO NO’s is to include exaggerations which some might say are flat out lies on your resume.  Making a rockin resume means making something that’s real and honest, a true representation of who you are.  So glamorizing an old job that may not look so good on paper may seem like a good idea at the time that you’re making a resume, but there’s a huge change it could backfire on you, so don’t do it.

If you were a stripper, calling yourself a “trained ballet dancer” is probably not a good idea.  Actually, I wouldn’t go around advertising that kind of work experience at all, but to each their own.  Also, blatant elaboration such as a job that you held as a secretary, but then saying that you were promoted to president of the company within 6 months is an obvious lie and definitely not conducive to making a resume that is going to get you an interview.

The most important tip, I think anyways, for making a resume that rocks is to make sure it’s grammatically correct.  There’s no point in showcasing your awesome skills if you can’t even spell or speak correctly.  No one wants to hire someone who doesn’t pay attention to detail or doesn’t use proper grammar.  If your resume shows these negatives, chances are you’re going to suck at the job too, so employers won’t bother taking a second look.  “I did my job real good,” might get a laugh out of someone, but it’s not going to score you an interview, which is what making a resume is all about.

You’ve found the job of your dreams. The only problem is you’re probably not the only one who wants the job and feels the exact same way. Short of tracking down every applicant and clawing their eyes out so that they can no longer compete against you for the job that was made for you, there’s not a whole lot you can do to ensure that you get hired.

Or is there? If you know how to write a good resume, or in some cases, create a good resume, you might be able to kill off the rest of the competition with ease. You just have to know how to go about doing this!

With these tips on how to write a good resume, you’ll be one step closer to that dream job or career. Just make sure that you are tactful and that your resume pertains to the job you’re after. You want to make an employer say “Wow” not “What an Idiot!”

Be Bold and Artistic

Sometimes knowing how to write a good resume isn’t all that you need to do. If you are going for an artsy or artistic job, or even just want to show that you blow the rest of the competition out of the water, you’ll want to think about your presentation.

You know what they say about looking good on paper… Including a picture of yourself in a bikini or Speedo, unfortunately won’t bode well in a professional environment. You’ll probably turn on a few employers, but they won’t call you for an interview if all you do is get them hot and bothered. Well, some of them might, but you probably won’t want to work for a pervert anyways.

Knowing how to write a good resume using word play though, or a creative, fancy design sometimes does work. So often you see resume writing advice saying to keep it simple, stick to a template and use black ink on white paper. Blah blah blah… BORING!

Use Photoshop or another design program to include some pics or cool examples of your work. For instance, if your field is website design, how cool would it be to make your resume look like a web page? Bright, vivid pictures, bold type and text boxes full of different information about you are going to draw the eye. How to write a good resume is just to make the employer want to read more, or perhaps put a face to this creative approach that you’ve dared to try.

Break the rules

Sometimes knowing how to write a good resume is about doing something that potential employers have never seen before. It’s a little unconventional, but one way to do this is with a video resume. Some people criticize this quickly growing form of resume sharing, but I think it’s gold.

I’m not telling you to make a soft core porn video a la Heidi Montag (I’m not knocking her looks- she paid good money for them, but her talent is lacking so much that she has to hump everything in sight on camera), but appearing interesting, talented, maybe even a little sexy or risqué on video is another thing that will definitely make you stand out and lead to an interview. Just keep it geared towards the job you’re after.

For instance, if you’re going for a sales gig, (sure, because we all dream of being in sales- excuse my examples, please!) include a clip of you with a client or a mock-client doing your thing. Impress your future employer with your mad skills and show them what they’re missing!

Make sure you dress the part too. But highlighting your best attribute, such as some pants that are tight in all the right places to show off a great ass (while still maintaining a professional appearance, of course!) doesn’t hurt. Studies do show that people that are physically attractive do tend to get the job over those that aren’t so much. So work what your momma gave you as you show off your job-related skills on camera.

Another unconventional how to write a good resume tip is to make a brochure highlighting your skills and attributes to really show you trying to sell yourself, or a PowerPoint presentation that makes your resume POP.

Other tips on how to write a good resume (or film one if that’s your plan) include being professional yet conversational, maybe being a little funny and really trying to show off your personality and the wide range of skills you have that pertain to the job. You want to stand out and show that you would not only be a good fit, but that you’re the only one that will be a good fit.

No matter how you choose to do it, as long as you’re willing to overstep boundaries a little bit (don’t break out the lingerie or anything, but the little tidbits mentioned here will do!) you’re sure to learn how to write a good resume that makes employers say, “I want to hire this person,” in no time at all.

The interview is over.  You feel like you must have done a good job because no one chased you out of the room yet and they haven’t crumpled up your resume and thrown it in your face.  And now the question, seemingly so innocent: “Do you have any questions for us?”

Hmmmm…nice try, asshole, but I’m onto you.  This is a loaded question if there ever was one.  If you don’t believe me, give them the typical lame response about how they did such a good job of covering everything already, or better yet, ask if it’s okay to come in still half drunk on Monday mornings.

If you’d rather not be a complete idiot, here are 5 smart interview questions to ask that will get better results:

1.  “What do you want to see accomplished in your team department or company in the next three to six months?”

Now you’re thinking.  This one is great.  This shows that you are not just thinking about yourself but are thinking about getting them results in a measured amount of time and that you are actually putting thought (imagine that) into how you will achieve this or if it is possible.

2.  “What would be the ideal outcome?”

This one is similar in that it shows you care about their results and are trying to get a glimpse at what they’re hoping for.  It is also valuable to you because you can use it later in your follow-up letter to hit some of those hot buttons after they forgot what they told you.

3.  “How will you measure success?”

Interview questions to ask such as these shows that you are trying to get an understanding of what success means to them, and it also gives you an idea about how you will be judged in your role in the company.

4.  “How will the position specifically support that goal?”  “How does this position impact the organization overall?”

Interview questions to ask like this can show that you know you’re not a lone ranger, that you have a role in something bigger and that you are a part of a team.  This is a great display of a healthy working attitude and a propensity for teamwork.

5.  “I’d like to know what it takes to be successful in this company. What kind of efforts and hours do top performers put in?”

This gives the message that you want to be one of the best and subconsciously links you to those who really stand out in the company already.  Very powerful subconscious trick, and again, it really delivers some nuggets for that thank you letter.

6.  “I have appreciated hearing about the goals of this position. What stands out between where the project situation is today and where you want to be?”

A declaration that you understand they are hiring you as an investment.  You are showing that you realize they are for some reason not where they want to be and gives that subconscious message that you intend to be such a force in their company that you will bring change.  These types of interview questions to ask shows you are ready to take responsibility for past shortcomings that didn’t even have anything to do with you.

7.  “Looking down the road for the next several years what do you see as key challenges the person in this position will face?”

This question displays that you are not only trying to get a realistic idea of the position but that you understand it will not be a walk in the park and are unintimidated by challenges.  Too many employees these days are just there for a paycheck.  You are showing that you are ready to carry your weight as well as more.

Having intelligent, thoughtful interview questions to ask shows a lot about who you are as a person and what kind of employee you will be.  This step in the interview process will not be overlooked.  Trust me.  Just make sure your questions aren’t self-centered—about profits and benefits—make them about what you can do for the company and the role you will play.  Choose some above, and you really can’t go wrong.

What are your thoughts? Do you know some other great interview questions to ask  that you feel should be included?  Feel free to contribute.

Psychology actually reveals some really helpful job interview tips.

Did you know that a potential employer forms an opinion about you within the first 15 seconds of meeting you?  You’re so nervous as you prepare for interviews- worrying about what to wear, what to say when asked this or that and making sure that you’re able to  prove what a catch you are that you often neglect the most IMPORTANT part of the interview process and fail to brush up on helpful job interview tips that matter.

In order to get an interview, you have to show them a good resume.  Resume wizards are helpful tools to get you started, but they’re so blah and boring and they’re not going to make someone say “WOW, I need to hire this person NOW!”

If you don’t make the right first impression with your resume, you’re not even going to be asked to come in for an interview so you need to make sure that you know what you’re saying with your resume as well as brushing up on job interview tips that are psychologically based.

Ultimately, your resume needs to say what you can’t since you’re not sitting on the employer’s desk singing your own praises.  At least I hope not… ha ha!

More importantly, you have to know what job interview tips work when trying to impress potential employers.

When it comes to finding the best job interview tips, first impressions are everything.  A 2009 Oregon University study delved into the topic of first impressions and proved that they really do mean everything when it comes to landing a job- and your resume may be the most important first impression you will ever make.  It doesn’t matter if you follow all of the best job interview tips in the book because if you’re resume sucks, you’re not going to get an interview anyways.

The study showed that after only a few seconds, we all take what the professor who oversaw the study, Professor  Bernieri, calls a “thin slice” impression of everyone we meet.  In an intial interview, you want to makes you’re sending the right signals and have honed in on the best job interview tips so you give a great first, “think slice” impression.  This also applies to resumes because after skimming through one, an employer gets a “thin slice” of who you are as a potential job candidate.

You know those times when you just get a gut feeling about someone?  You shouldn’t be surprised when you later find out that your first impression is right- you were just using the “thin slice” impression that Bernieri is talking about.  You take in everything that you notice in the first few seconds and come to a quick conclusion based on what you see.  I think we can all relate to that.

Most of the time you already know if you’re going to like someone or not before they even open their mouth to speak.  That’s why one of the best job interview tips is to keeps that thin slice perception in mind right from the get-go.

Sometimes you even let your initial assumptions about someone make you more apt to notice things about them that support your theories.  For example, if you sense before your friend’s new girlfriend even opens her mouth to speak that she’s kind of a ditz, you’re going to be on the lookout for signs of her acting like an airhead.  So when she asks you for the time, you’re going to think she doesn’t even know how to tell time rather than noticing the fact that she doesn’t wear a watch.  We look for things to support our initial impressions, even if they aren’t always right.

That’s why it’s so important to make sure that your resume is going to give potential employers the right first impression about you and that you’re following smart job interview tips during the interview.

If you say even one wrong thing, it could form the basis of the employer’s opinion about you, so you want to make sure you say everything right.

There was another study that took place at Tufts University in Massachusetts where the Professor, Nalini Ambady, asked her students to fill out an evaluation form of their first lecturer.  They had to tell her if they liked him, thought he was open and what their initial impressions were.

Two years later, after being tutored by the lecturer the entire time, Professor Ambady surveyed her students again.  It was no surprise to her that those initial impressions from two years earlier hadn’t changed at all.  They’d already pre-judged and had their minds made up before the tutoring even began, all based on the first time they met.  One of the most neglected job interview tips is to remember that the first time the employer lays eyes on you, they’re sizing you up and you need to be on top of your game.

These are non-conscious decisions that we all make- employers obviously do too.  It’s the human reaction.  If you start to think about it when you’re making these snap judgments, you’re less likely to make them, however an employer isn’t going to be thinking about that when they’re perusing your resume.  You’ve got one piece of paper to convince them of what type of worker you’re going to be, so you better make it good.  And you’ve got one opportunity to put these job interview tips into action, so you better make the most of it.

There is another study that demonstrates how sometimes our initial impressions can be wrong, but it’s much less likely that they will be.  Participants in this tried and true study are shown a short movie of a woman returning from work.  In one version of the movie she was labeled as a waitress, while in another she was labeled a librarian- even though she looked the same in each presentation.  People recalled things about her associated with the job title she was given even if it wasn’t true.  For example, those that saw the librarian video said that she was wearing glasses, even though she wasn’t.  It’s not that they were hallucinating, this just demonstrates how the thin slice first impression theory works.

You want to make sure that you’re not giving off the wrong impression with your resume and choosing job interview tips to follow along these same lines.  For example, don’t be remembered for the wrong reasons on your resume.  If it stands out because you spilled coffee on it, the initial impression the employer is going to get is that you’re messy.

So even if you do still have a decent resume and get called in for an interview, they may think your appearance is sloppy, even if it’s not.  Every shirt wrinkle could be shouting at them and you wouldn’t even see it coming.  It’s one of the best psychological job interview tips you could ever follow to make sure that you’re neat and tidy in appearance.

Believe it or not, you can control the way people perceive you.  If you come across as bubbly, energetic and friendly, they’re most likely going to like you.  This is why people who smile a lot, talk with their hands, and always seem upbeat are so well liked, while people who speak more mellow and don’t make a lot of facial expressions are usually not.  It’s common sense that following job interview tips that tell you to be friendly, open and happy are going to have a positive psychological impact on employers.

If you do fail to make a good impression on someone by choosing the right resume and job interview tips, it’s not necessarily too late.  We all know someone who we used to despise who we later find out is all right, but think about how long it probably took them to convince you of that.

So think about your job searching experience.  Have you sent out dozens of resumes and not received a single call back?  Your resume is most likely not giving out the right first impression about you.  Make the RIGHT statement with your resume- your livelihood depends on it.

Think of it as an introduction to a story.

The story is the interview and you have to preface your audience, or employer, so that they know what to expect when they meet you.  Don’t steer them wrong and you’ll guarantee yourself the job you want- it’s a scientific fact as proven in some of the studies mentioned above that the first impression you give is going to act as a guide to who you are on the job.  So make it a good one and put these job interview tips into motion.

As you have probably figured out, getting your resume out there is not enough.  Job competition has gotten fierce, and you want to master good resume writing that can get yours to the top of the stack and keep it there.  Here are 3 simple tricks for doing just that:

1.  Do Some Research

While research is important for when you talk to the employer in an actual interview so that you can show you have prepared, it is also crucial in order to find out what buttons to push both in the job resume and in the interview should you get that far.  Zero in on what the employer needs by reviewing position postings in local newspapers or online.  Realize that postings on different platforms may have varying amounts of information, and you can dig up some real nuggets by doing some searching around.

Networking with people who know about the company or the industry can also do wonders, or you can speak with people who currently work at the company without revealing that you are applying for a position, or at least without revealing exactly who you are.  You can also get informative interviews ahead of time or just do good old fashioned research about the company and industry in general, this will actually lead you to good resume writing.

2.  Strategically Position Your Information

Good resume writing is laid out with the realization in mind that no one is going to pick up your resume intending to read it from start to finish.  Not at all.  Experts have shown that screeners and hiring managers scan the resumes instead, looking mostly for disqualifiers but also for stuff that jumps out at them.

You can minimize the risk of obvious disqualifiers by paying attention to the details, but you can also maximize the chance of them catching goodies by placing them all in the top third of your resume document.  Good organization and use of bullet points and headings can also make your selling points jump off the paper.

3.  Don’t Hide Behind Your Resume

Never forget that the resume is not playing a supporting role in your hunt for that dream career; it is not the star of the job search show.  Some people mistakenly think of the job process as a numbers game, convinced that if they send out enough resumes a job will materialize from their efforts.

The truth is that the resume is one small part, and you must combine good resume writing with good networking skills.  It’s appropriate to email a resume or post it on a website for a company that takes online posting, but if you don’t back up these moves with some extreme networking tactics, you are going to keep rolling and rolling the dice with no guarantee anything will ever land in your favor.

It is humans that make hiring decisions.  Get face to face with them, show them you are human as well, and communicate how your skills can add great value to their company through good resume writing.

Any other good ideas on standing out in this job climate or about good resume writing skills that can help you showcase your strengths in a subtle yet powerful way?  Post a comment and fill us in.

Times have changed, and competition in the job market is fierce.  It’s time for you step up your game, and that game starts with your cover letter.  For those of you who think a cover letter is unnecessary, pull your head out of…um…that book you’re reading right now, and realize it is a necessity.  Here are 5 high impact cover letter tips for recent grads:

1.  Highlight your Social Media Skills

Believe it or not, there are a lot of corporate positions out there now that require social media skills and a certain number of Twitter followers.  Information technology skills are a HUGE asset to college grads these days since many baby boomers don’t even have a clue what a “tweet” is…

In an age where you’re competing with your grandparents, who have been around just a little longer than you, it’s time to break out all the tricks.  They want your media skills—so make them clear in your cover letter and get it out on the table from the get-go.

2.  Highlight Leadership Skills

Mine your college experiences for demonstrations of leadership.  These days, savvy employers want potential leaders, not people who just want to cut a check and skip out the door.  One of the most important cover letter tips is to use any kind of experience you had with clubs, groups, team sports, etc, to send a subconscious message that you are a leader.  To an employer this equals less headache as you can be expected to take initiative instead of waiting for orders…Sir, yes sir.

3.  Translate Past Experiences Into “Professional” Skills

This may be one of the most relevant of cover letter tips for recent grads.  You might not have much actual work experience, but you can still pump up that cover letter by relating your non-professional experiences to the professional world.  Team building, for instance, is one of those skills that really matters to employers, and you can highlight this by discussing team projects in school, communicating your knowledge of how to get results in a team environment.

4.  Highlight Industry Involvement

Employers love a candidate who has extensive knowledge and interest in their industry—i.e. a receptionist who knows a lot about the porn industry rather than a receptionist who just so happens to be applying for a company that produces high-quality porn.  Make sure to mention any memberships in well-recognized industry associations…

Not in any associations?  Sign up for one today and pay the student price!  Then “name drop it” in the cover letter.  There are all sorts of creative way to get industry specific on their asses.

5.  Make Your Skills Relevant

It’s one thing to rattle off about what makes your skills so great, but it’s even better to sit down and weed through your skills determining which can be reframed in order to best relate to the employer’s needs and which should just be left out.  This includes skills, experience, and interests.

Bear in mind these cover letter tips and look at what they’re asking for, then take the time to personalize your cover letter to match.  We’ve got a keeper.

Set yourself apart by incorporating all these cover letter tips.  For recent grads, it can be a little intimidating to go up against seasoned professionals, but with some creative wordsmithing and sitting down to identify what an employer wants, you can still stand out.

What do you think about these tips?  Do you think that they are enough to set a grad’s cover letter ahead of the pack?  Feel free to contribute your own cover letter tips for recent grads by commenting below.

Categories in your resume give you a way to format and organize so that information is presented in a visually appealing and accessible manner.  A lot of people, however, not knowing how to write resumes just grab a resume template and use the given categories as a guideline.  Remember that you are the author of your resume, and how to write resumes is really up to you.  So I challenge you to get creative and think how you can best organize the document to serve your needs.

Here are 4 tips about how to write resumes in a creative manner by rethinking categories.

1.  Limit the Total Number

A lot of job-hunters who learn how to write resumes from in-college career centers use templates to write their cv, and often these templates include a list of categories that if were all used could add up to a book, or at the very least, a 2 page document.

You never want your resume to exceed more than 1 page, but you also do not want to cram a bunch of categories into that small space.  So pick and choose wisely, liming the number of categories for optimum visual appeal.

2.  Choose Categories Wisely

Knowing how to write resumes is knowing how to plan well, and choose categories that will best showcase your experience.  Realize the categories you choose will decide how you write your resume and set the framework, so think of this ahead of time.  For instance, a recent grad might be better off skipping the Work Experience category and choosing Skills or Affiliations instead.  This would give them a chance to use the real estate to showcase their strengths in the best way possible.

3.  Zero in On the Employer’s Needs

Even though you want to plan your categories to best represent yourself, you also want to think about which ones will offer the best opportunity to speak to the employer’s and address what they re looking for.  Get to the bottom of what triggers would help appeal to what they want, and then keep that in mind when planning your categories, setting up a structure that will give opportunity to do so.

4.  Endorsements or Customer Comments Category

This is a creative category trick that rarely gets used but can be very powerful.  Nothing speaks so loud as third party commentary, and just like testimonials help sell products, your endorsements can help sell you.  Consider collecting statements from old employers or clients to strengthen your case.

Do you see how a little creative thinking can turn this seemingly trivial aspect of resume writing into a marketing tool?  Just realize that by accepting an online template, or a template from anywhere, you’ve already decided to put yourself into a box and limit what you can communicate and how.  It’s cool to look at examples for inspiration, but I’m giving you the freedom now to decide how to write resumes for yourself.  Make your own template.

Do you have good ideas on how to write resumes and how you can use categories to sell yourself in your resume?  Let’s hear them.

Recent studies have shown that job recruiters, interviewers, and employers have very similar pet peeves about cover letter writing, and there are certain things that may alienate you and ruin your chances of getting an interview—or even getting someone to look at your resume for that matter. 

As you could imagine, it’s probably a good idea to keep these peeves in mind when fleshing out your cover letter writing.

Here are 5 cover letter writing mistakes that drive recruiters crazy.

1.  Letters Longer than 1 Page

Not only does is this a waste of a recruiter’s time, but it also might come across as a show of arrogance or maybe even an attempt to overcompensate.  Who are you to think you are entitled to send in a 2 page letter when everyone else just sent in the one?  Keep it short and to the point.  Some employers might throw out your cover letter simply for the reason that you didn’t have the discipline and common sense to keep it shorter.

2.  Wordy Letters

By this, I mean letters jam-packed with words and little space.  This can be a chore to read and looks disorganized and sloppy.  It comes across as unprofessional and cluttered.  The easier you make a cover letter to read, the more of a chance they will pick up what you’re putting down.

3.  Cookie-Cutter Letters

It can also irritate the hell out of someone who is staring at cover letters all day to see the same basic templates coming across their desk.  In some cases, this is an obvious case of everyone downloading the same lame resumes from the Internet and editing them.  In other cases, it’s just a lack of originality.

4.  Letters Without a Resume

Some cover letter writing “experts” actually recommend sending the cover letter in all by itself.  The supposed logic is that it acts as only as a “Teaser.”  A teaser?  Give me a break; you’re not trying to get into someone’s pants at the bar—employers don’t have time for games.

This is all business, and if you think they are going to go out of their way to contact you to get the rest of what is typically expected, you can pretty much expect not to get a phone call.  Don’t be a tease—aim to please.

5.  “Cute” Letters

While original can be nice, trying to be funny or cute can alienate a lot of employers, especially the ultra conservative “old school” types you find in some industries.  So save the lovey dovey talk for your boyfriend or girlfriend.

Some people just don’t want “fresh” and funny cover letters, so unless you have some kind of inside scoop or they gave the go ahead for outrageous originality, use your accomplishments to stand out instead of throwing your funny bone out on the table.

There you have it—5 little screw-ups you want to avoid like broken condoms.  The aim of cover letter writing is to state your case and ask for an interview—not annoy the hell out of them and have them slamming the door before you even reach for the knob.

You have any stories about idiotic moves in cover letter writing you pulled in a move to impress?  Break em out and give us all a chance to laugh at you (I mean with you).  Leave your comments below.

It’s difficult to find help writing a resume.  Well, to be more precise, it’s difficult to find good help writing a resume.  There is plenty of information out there, from career centers to online websites, but the fact of the matter is that a lot of it is out-dated crap.  Students are downloading the same worthless resume templates and all making the same mistakes (not to mention turning in a cookie cutter resume).

Here are 5 tips for finding help writing a resume:

1.  Your Teachers Are Not Experts

First off, it is important to realize that your professors are not necessarily the best people to go to for help writing a resume.  Sure, it never hurts to get an opinion, but don’t forget that this is all it is.

Unless they are some proven expert in the field, there is no reason to think they know more than anyone else, and in act they may know less because teachers tend to stay with the industry for a long time and do not do much job searching.

2.  Your Career Center May Not be Qualified Either

On a similar note, for too many people, the college career center has proven to be a dead end.  Someone once told me they found their unemployed neighbor working in their career center.

And many will send you away with nothing more than a stack of standardized forms and a resume handout that will give birth to an ugly 5 page document that will send an employer running.  Their intentions are good, but too many of these places are not caught up with the times.

3.  Have 3 People Look it Over

I don’t want to discourage you about getting help though.  You should definitely have at least 3 responsible friends look it over and get their opinion.  Most of all, they should be looking for spelling and grammar mistakes, which can be detrimental.

4.  Network with Managers

One great resource for help with writing resumes are people who work in executive positions and have been on that side of the hiring process before.  If you know people like this, do not be afraid to get their opinion—it may be the best resource you have.  And who knows, maybe someone in their network is hiring.

5.  Ask for Help from Successful Friends

One more possible place to find qualified help is friends with proven results at getting hired to big companies, especially if their resumes landed them a lot of interviews while they were searching.  Ask them to look over what you have got and give some tips.  Or maybe you can even see the one they used.

Don’t be discouraged by the lack of good resources for help writing a resume.  There are plenty of articles here to help you out as well as a wide range of other resources like you won’t find anywhere else. 

Do you have any resources you have used for getting help writing a resume in the past?  Or would you like to just ask some questions here that you need answered?  Please use the comment box below.

When it’s time to sit down and create a cover letter, it helps to have a plan before you get started.  Contrary to popular (yet misguided) opinion, there is a direct purpose and a set of goals for this essential part of your first contact with the prospective employer.  Here are 6 quick and easy steps to create a cover letter that employers will love:

1.  Identify Your Key Selling Points

Before you even get started, you need to sit down and do a little soul-searching and take a marketing view of your job experience or anything that has happened in your life.  Figure out what your key selling points are going to be before you even consider how they will be communicated.  Write these down.

2.  Formulate a Blueprint

Pre-planning is the key to success, and you want to sit down and write out a structured outline to follow.  This is where you will decide what you’re going to say and where.

3.  Write the Opening Paragraph

Now it’s time to create a cover letter you can be proud of.  The opening paragraph should be like any introduction and should compel the reader to read the entire letter.  You should have a strong benefit statement that encapsulates what you have to offer and include it in the opening paragraph.

Just like any part of the interviewing process, the cover letter will act like a screen and not everyone will get through.  Don’t make them search for a reason why they should ready your resume and invite you to interview—put it right where they will look first.

4.  Write the Body

Now is the time to flesh out the body of the letter by outlining your accomplishments.  Use bullet points and specific benefits to keep the letter organized, easy to read, and communicate exactly what your strong points are.

5.  Write the Closing

The closing, or conclusion, should always include a direct call to action.  Telling people what to do next is very powerful subconsciously and a fine display of assertiveness and confidence.  Tell them to pick up the phone and call you.

6.  Polish, Proofread, Finalize

When you create a cover letter, never, ever fail to proofread several times to check for inconsistencies, weak language, poor grammar, and spelling mistakes.  In fact, you should always have someone else look it over for you.  Detail-oriented people are a valuable commodity in this world, and not paying attention to these things in something as vital as a cover letter can completely destroy your credibility.

Details, details, details…

Create a Cover Letter Feedbacks

Check out some of our other articles to get some good tips before you create a cover letter, but this is a good guide to get you started and give you framework for the process.  Let me know your comments—is there anything that has worked for you in the planning process that you would like to share?

Knowing how to write a good cv resume is an important skill to have, especially with the job market the way it is these days, but what you don’t do can be as valuable as what you do.   Are you confused yet?  What I mean is that knowing how to talk yourself up is an essential skill for getting hired, but you have to be sure not to walk into a trap also.

Here are 4 tips on how to write a good cv resume without putting your foot in your mouth.

1.  Make it Targeted

It’s great you got in there and turned in a resume, and if they’re really hiring, they at least you know you were competent enough to know.  But show them it was more than blind luck in a widespread resume-handing out spree by targeting the resume specifically to them.

A lot of would-be employees make one blanket resume that covers all the different companies and positions.  Big mistake.

In how to write a good CV resume, make a different resume for each company you apply to, even if that means nothing more than making a few changes here and there and printing again.  Customize as much as possible to the particular company’s needs and the specifics of the position in question.  Even your skills and experience can be tailored exactly to what they are looking for using some good research.

Also, try to find out who the hiring manager is so you can address them in your cover letter, and never apply for more than one position or “any position available.”  Target the ideal position and if they really like you they may suggest starting you in another, but leave that suggestion to them so you don’t look like you’re at there for any job you can find.

2.  KISS

You know what they say – keep it simple stupid. Don’t go blabbing on about your social life, the names, of all your boyfriends or girlfriends, or your favorite flavor of condom. That’s now how to write a good cv resume. The point is they don’t need an autobiography – keep it to the information that they need, or to be more precise, the information that they want. Use white space liberally for visual appeal and reading ease, and hit all the main points without overdoing it.

3.  Be Honest

One way to really put your foot in your mouth is to sit down at the computer to type your resume and start lying your ass off.  It’s ok to put a good spin on your experiences and to market yourself, but it is never okay to lie, and the chances are that you will be caught out, even if they never make any mention of the fact.

It is most likely going to come up in the interview or the job.  Not a good way to make an impression.

4.  Back Your Claims With Proof

On a similar note, while in a court of law you might be innocent until proven guilty, it is likely the other way around when it comes to whether or not you can be believed about everything you write in your resume.  Employers have seen some bullshitters in their time and take everything with a grain of salt.

Eliminate doubt by backing all your claims with evidence or, at the very least, with numbers.  This is also a great way to make an original cv that stands out and pleads your case in high fashion.

Do you have any stories to share about your you walked yourself into a trap and screwed up your chances of getting hired? We’d love to make fun of you and learn how to write a good cv resume from your mistakes. Please do share.

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that teachers and professors know something about how to get a career.  Yeah, maybe a teaching career.  But if you’re aiming for something a little different, you need to try a little harder.  Here are 6 essential job interview skills your teachers never taught you…not because they wanted yet another reason to make you suffer but because they didn’t know some job interview skills to begin with.

1. Marketing

The number one skill to have when working to get hired for top notch companies is marketing.  You need to learn to market yourself, and in fact this is one of the best skills to have in modern society, period.

It’s about knowing how to communicate what you are all about without just saying it.  Ever heard the expression show don’t tell?  Proper marketing will plead your case for you.

2.  Sales

Not to be confused with marketing, sales is a little more direct.  While marketing covers every part of what you do, sales is actually sitting down and telling.  Selling yourself.  It really comes in handy during negotiation time, and just like on a used car lot, the guy or gal that is that natural salesman is likely to pull it off.

3.  Body Language

In any human interaction, body language plays a major role, and while this is no different in the interviewing process, most people just don’t think about it.  Mastering body language is an art that can speak volumes regardless of what your mouth is saying and may be essential for landing the best jobs out there which is one of the most important job interview skills.

4.  Psychology

Psychology is another one of the vastly underrated job interview skills.  People like to fool themselves by pretending the professional world is able to step around basic human psychology, but the truth of the matter is that we are as much slaves to our twisted little psychological quirks in this situation as ever.  Learning to master subliminal messages and understand basic psychology can truly give you power in the professional world.

5.  Persuasion Via Print

Having all the best credentials in the world means nothing if you don’t know how to put it down on paper and persuade someone to hire you.  The art of persuasion is what will get you in the door.  Learn it, and learn it well.

6.  Charisma

Finally, this last overriding quality is something that people have struggled for centuries to put their finger on, but it is a powerful component to every step of the interviewing process.  Charismatic people tend to do well in any social situation.  Don’t think charisma cannot be learned; it can, and you should make it a priority.  It truly can make your life better.

These six job interview skills might not be discussed in the traditional circles of interviewing information, but if you want better than traditional results, you should make it a point to master them and start working on it now.

Do you have any stories about when one of these traits had exceptional results for you?  Some people catch on to them on their own and will just take 1 and make it the cornerstone of everything they do.  Feel free to share your stories and your job interview skills.

You might be asking yourself, “Self, how do I write a resume that not only makes me look professional and fills expectations but is irresistible on its own?”  Great question, and that’s exactly the mentality you should be taking to the resume writing process.  Getting this document in their hands is not enough; you need to grab attention, hold it, and secure an interview.

How do I write a resume that’s irresistable? Here are 3 great tips to get you started.

1.  Go for Visual Appeal

Yep, we are a bunch of shallow creature, us humans, and one thing that appeals to use more than anything is visual appeal.  This is why attractive people often have a better fighting chance in an interview (don’t worry, if you look like Gollum, learning about attraction psychology can still get you more dates than Hugh Heffner), and the same applies to getting hired.

Your resume can be made attractive as well.  No one’s going to start making out with it and offering to give it a better future, but a visually appealing resume is more likely to get read and more likely to be taken seriously.  In your ‘How do I write a resume’ concerns, visual aspects to keep in mind are a limited number of fonts, good organization, and liberal use of white space.

2.  Put Selling Points Front and Center

If you still have that how do I write a resume problem, another trick to creating a good resume is putting all the biggest points right where the eyes naturally fall, and this is right in the center of the document.  You want to make it as easy as possible for the employer to see your message, and the trick to doing this is setting it up so that a scan will pick up the key points.

A resume layout should draw the reader in—catching their attention with that valuable info so that they pause and take a closer look.  Also, use bullets with short headings in order to communicate the main benefits, with this, your how do I write a resume concerns would be perfectly answered.

3.  Provide Hardcore Supporting Info With Proof

Any jackass can walk in and say they are the best damn film producer this side of their own imagination, but nothing speaks louder in a resume than proof.  Back up your claims whenever possible and show that you are the real deal.  They expect you to talk yourself up, and any candidate worth their salt will, but evidence takes the guesswork out of your claims and sets you apart.

I’m glad you’re asking yourself, “How do I write a resume that is not like all the others?’ That shows you realize there is more to this process than playing a numbers game. These 3 quick tips can give you a lot of leverage in standing out and securing the next step in the process. Check out some of our other articles about writing powerful resumes, or leave your own questions, comments, and tips below.

I know the feeling–You walk out of the interview from hell thinking there is no way to turn it around, and the idea of writing a job interview thank you letter seems pointless.  But sometimes you didn’t screw up quite as bad as you think, and you might be a little over-critical due to jumpy nerves.  Writing a good job interview thank you letter should always be a priority, no matter how you felt the interview went.  Well, if you got caught stealing paper clips or groping a current employee and were hauled off by the police, you can probably skip it, but in all other cases….

Here are 5 reasons why even crappy interview needs a follow-up through a job interview thank you letter.

1.  Reinforce Points from the Interview

You likely made SOME good points in the interview, right?  It couldn’t’ have all been bad.  Writing a good job interview thank you letter gives you the opportunity to turn the attention back towards the good stuff.  That doesn’t mean you should be giving excuses for the bad—“So, I just wanted to say the reason I took those paper clips was…”  That won’t do at all.  Leave the negative stuff back where it belongs—over and done with.

2.  Share New Information

A lot of times when you really screw up and come across as incompetent in an interview it’s because you forgot what you were going to say—or maybe you even forgot what you were going to say because you couldn’t stop thinking about how much of an idiot you looked like.

In these cases, it might help to throw those lost gold nuggets out there in the job interview thank you letter, while you’ve got the interviewers attention again and aren’t there personally to screw it up.  “Hey, did I mention can tie cherry stems with my tongue?”

3.  Confront Objections

If some issues were raised in the interview that may have really damaged your chances of getting hired or brought up some objections in the interviewer’s mind, this is probably the best chance you’ll have to confront those concerns, especially if the interviewer voiced those concerns at the time but you were unable to give an adequate rebuttal.

This could have a tremendous impact.  Highlight and defuse those obstacles in a tactful manner.

4.  A Display of Professionalism

Hey, it’s admirable when someone farts in the middle of a speech, smiles, and keeps on talking rather than running from the room with tears streaming down their face.  The point is that in the professional world, we realize people are sometimes just human, but the ability to act like a pro regardless of shortcomings and mistakes goes a long way.

The fact that you went in there and humiliated yourself but still sat down to thank them by sending a job interview thank you letter for their time and state your case yet again says a lot about your character.

5.  Set Yourself Apart

Due to the fact that so many grads skip this idea, whether out of laziness or because they don’t understand the importance, the simple fact of writing it already sets yourself ahead of the curve.  But you can go even further to stand out by customizing your letter and paying attention to the details.

A hand-written job interview thank you letter is a great way to show you put some time into it.  Also, buy some off-white, heavy-weight stationary.

How else can you spruce up your image by writing a good job interview thank you letter and defusing the bomb you left behind when you walked out the door? This is really an issue that takes some creative thinking. Is there something that saved you from sabotaging yourself in the past?

Put your comments below and share some of your thoughts on how to write a job interview thank you letter.

When writing a good resume, you need to see what other prospects don’t see and use strategies and tactics that they never even considered.

I know, I know… this sounds easier than it really is.

But trust me, all it takes is for you to look at writing a good resume from a completely different perspective—a new paradigm, if you will—and the results of looking at them from this paradigm can be life-changing.

Here are 3 savvy tricks for writing a good resume that the vast majority of candidates never thought of:

1.  Use Keywords

If you are familiar with internet marketing and search engine optimization, this tip on writing a good resume might have you scratching your head a little bit.  If not, I won’t get into the logistics of selling porn online and how phrasing your web content can equal reaching more eager customers, but basically, keywords are words that directly relate to the job and position you are applying for, or even to the benefits derived from said employee.

These keywords can and should be worked through your resume when describing your skills and experience.  Put them anywhere in the resume you can.

There are several reasons for this.  For one, if your resume is online, this will make it more likely to get picked up when employers or online recruiters are searching on the web.  Also, if the resume is in a computer database and the employer is searching using a software program, it will make it easier to find it there as well.

Finally, even human readers pick up on keywords.  The scanning of a resume can be likened to a computer search in that the brain is preparing itself and searching for certain keywords that signal a likely candidate.  The keywords will jump out at them and warrant a more extensive look at the resume.

Not to mention the subconscious power of linking your name to these words.  Keywords are critical for resumes, and most candidates would not think of this in a million years.

2.  Use Advertising and Marketing Strategies

It is essential that you get used to think of getting hired as a marketing campaign and keep this in mind for writing a good resume.  Start learning about successful strategies used by top marketers and advertisers.  Read marketing books. Learn to think like these people.

It will not only help you learn writing a good resume that has an impact but will help you in your entire career and indeed every aspect of your life.

3.  Write Great Copy

When it comes to high impact marketing skills, writing copy is perhaps the most valuable any marketer can have, and it is not hard to see how this plays into writing a good resume.  Valuable copy sells in a way that does not seem to be trying and pulls the subconscious triggers that spark curiosity and create attraction.  While writing a good resume will not land you a job, powerful copy will certainly help it achieve its goal of landing you an interview.

Do you see how thinking outside of the box can teach you about writing a good resume that puts you in a completely different league than the competition? If you’ve ever seen how powerful this type of mindset can be, you know what I’m talking about.

Tell us about your experience with writing a good resume in the comments below.

Sending a thank you note after interview is one of those things that a lot of college students assume is akin to asking a one-night stand for their phone number—a meaningless transfer of information that no one takes seriously.  You better check that assumption because this could be the one thing that sets you apart from the other guy or gal.

Check and make sure your thank you note after interview includes the 5 following points:

1.  Performance and Specific Results

Take this time to reiterate the strengths you communicated in the interview, especially focusing on specifics. In the interview you should have talked about how you delivered value to companies you worked for in the past, and ideally, you did this in a way that was quantifiable.

Now that you’ve gone home, believe it or not, the prospective employers didn’t shut down the office, call off the rest of the interviews, and call it a day at the office on account of coming across the best damn candidate ever.  Not at all.  They likely waded through more interviews, left the office wishing they never had to do it again, drank a few beers at the local pub, and went home to argue with their spouse.

Too make a short story long, they probably don’t remember a word you said.  That might be little cynical (you think), but it certainly doesn’t hurt to highlight your key selling points once again and remind them though sending a thank you note after interview.

2.  Energy and Enthusiasm

Let’s try not to write a letter that says in tone but not in words, “Hey, I’m bored off my ass but felt obligated to thank you blah blah blah.”  You want to seem enthusiastic and energetic about the letter and come across high energy.  Don’t scribble stars and flowers all over it either, but show some enthusiasm.

3.  Personality

What often stands out the most social situations like job interviews is not a person’s credentials and work history but their personality.  In the end, getting hired is about creating attraction.

I don’t mean the “let’s just get this over with in the broom closet” kind of attraction, but the natural attraction that a charismatic person creates in the people around them.  The best thing you can do in an interview is have a personality that stands out, and your thank you note after interview needs to be consistent with this same personality.

4.  Interest in the Position

As always, it’s best if the employer feels like you aren’t just applying because you needed a job.  As unfair as it is to you that you have to wade through all these different interviews and sell yourself to the different companies, your odds are best if you express real interest in each one.  This comes a lot easier if you only pick positions you are actually interested in…imagine that.

Communicate this yet again in the thank you note after interview.  Reconfirm your strong interest in not only the position but the company and industry as a whole.  Show that you are ready to commit, even if you’ve been running from that same promise in the dating arena all through college.

5.  Your Value to the Company

Okay, so you’ve gone over how you’ve been directly valuable for other companies in the past.  You’ve reconfirmed your interest in an energetic, enthusiastic manner reminiscent of the personality you expressed in the interview.  Now it’s time to get down to what really matters—what’s in it for them.

Express directly how you will use your strengths to benefit their company, preferably in a quantifiable manner.  Because at the end of the day, if you don’t look like dollars, you don’t make sense.

What you should have gotten from these 5 points is that the thank you note after interview is not just about saying thanks, although you absolutely need to express gratitude for the time and energy invested in being given the opportunity, but it is also about reminding them of all the best things about you that you wanted to express in the interview.

Any other ideas? Feel free to chip in. What has worked or not worked for you in a thank you note after interview?

Are you sitting there staring at the computer screen, trying to figure out how to write a resume objective that gets the point across without sounding corny?  Like a corporate mission statement, your objective can immediately communicate to the employer (your customer) exactly what you are all about and what makes you different.  Not to mention that it comes at the very beginning of the document and immediately communicates to them what you are offering.

If you want to know how to write a resume objective that hits your point home, here are 3 components you need to include:

1. The Position You Want.

The first thing to do in mastering how to write a resume objective is by stating exactly what position you are interested in.  Never use vague statements like “I want a job in office admin” or “I’m looking to get a paycheck every month so here’s my resume.”

Stating the specific title you are pursuing not only clarifies to a gatekeeper where it should go but also eliminates confusion if more than one position is being filled.  Furthermore, it shows that you are informed and interested in a particular job rather than just casting a wide net and seeing what you can land.

2. Key Skills That Qualify

Again, the resume objective is right there in the beginning, so it’s time to quickly summarize the main selling points of the document in order to get them reading further. Knowing how to write a resume objective is to identify the 3 main skills that you bring to the job and encapsulate them in this statement.

Keep in mind that it’s not adequate to simply talk about what you are best at doing.  You don’t want to walk into a brokering firm ranting and raving about how you cook a mean cheeseburger and can down 3 Coors Lights at a time in your roommates beer bong.

Relevance is key, and sometimes establishing relevance takes a little help.  You might have skills that seem unrelated, but you can often “package” them in a way that shows employers how they apply to the position at hand. That is very important in knowing how to write a resume objective and writing a resume as a whole.

3. The Benefits or Value to an Employer

As always, you need to get into the mindset of recognizing that the employer is happy you have skills and everything, but what really matters to them is how that transfers into value for the company.  Sure, they can figure that out on their own, but it is very effective to simply spell it out for them and shows that you are on the same wavelength.  Tell them exactly how you are an asset to their company.

If you want to know how to write a resume objective, liken the process to developing a USP, or unique selling position, for a new company.  Because that is what you are really doing—selling yourself to them.  What do people want to know when they buy or invest in something?  What is its purpose, what can it do, and how does that translate into value for me? In managing and learning how to write a resume objective, you are actually adding points to your resume thus would actually give you a leverage in the position being applied for.

Do you have any examples or tips on how to write a resume objective that worked well for you in the past?  Any tips on what you think employers are looking for.  Leave a comment below.

This podcast will be giving you tips on how to write a resume that will not only double or even triple your chances of getting hired but will also persuade hiring managers to put you in their interview list. With these 5 amazing how to write a resume tips, you will learn to format your resume that would guarantee results and give you a very powerful tool in marketing yourself to potential employers. With these tips on how to write a resume, learn how to build a very attractive resume that hiring managers just cannot ignore. Once and for all, you actually get a job interview tips that work.

Having problems getting an interview or landing a job? Don’t fret. It is probably your resume giving you minus points from prospective employers and hiring managers. In today’s economy, you need to set yourself apart and stand out in a competition and get yourself resume tips that work. With these 6 resume tips and add on extras, you will definitely gain your first step in getting that job you want. Learn how to do this resume tips and help hiring managers hire an organized employee with good organizational skills who will make their lives easier – YOU!

Getting yourself to be called in for interview is no easy feat. You need to pass the elimination round and get yourself to be noticed amidst all other potential applicants. Well, since you have been included in the roster of interviewees, you might as well get the most out of it and make sure that you land the job right away! These 13 most common interview questions that you should be aware of will definitely make you walk in more confident and collected making you stand out in employers’ minds more than anyone else. How to get in your prospect employers’ perspective, how to create rapport, how to demonstrate motivation and drive and walk out a winner are just a few of what you get with these interview tips that work.

Ever said something but actually meaning the other? Body language is one of the most important channels one can send their messages across comprising 70% of a conversation. Since subliminal body language count the most, you must be very careful with your gestures as to better express yourself positively and effectively during interviews. With these 5 subliminal tricks, learn how to create the vibes people and your interviewers in particular would love, establish rapport, send temporary submissive gestures, tips on body languages with different cultures, bring an edge to an interview and make employers adore you!

Probably one of the most daunting and tricky question one will come across with and answering this question might make or break your career with a prospect company. These interview tips that work in how to answer the Why Should I Hire You Question will get you prepared for any interview that you walk into. Putting some effort and passion into answering this question with a must- know tips in this podcast and enough practice will totally make you be remembered even long after the interview.

Since the arrival of the new economy, employers in the corporate world are changing together with the way they choose and hire people. There is a need to survive in the new corporate world where hiring of employees that deliver and firing the ones who don’t is a reality to a typical employee who has not started to cultivate the habits of a navy seal entrepreneur. At interviewmastermind.com, we offer you the tools and techniques employing the most revolutionary findings in the fields of neurolinguistic programming and motivational psychology to teach you leverage your brain into a power of subconscious social interaction and establish lifelong habits for success. With these interview tips that work, you will be able to recognize things that a typical employee may not be able to grasp, seek opportunities to innovate and expand, achieve personal growth while cultivating relationships and carve out a competitive edge within your industry. So make that industry shaking changes and welcome to a new way of thinking, a new way of working and a new way of life.

Having problems with your employers? Congratulations! You’ve finally landed the job you’ve been eyeing for and working so hard to get, and just when you are about to throw a party for being successful, you suddenly become aware of the big pressure being put into your happy life and the big expectations that awaits you. Don’t panic. These simple steps using social media can get you out as fast as it got you in the corporate world. Learn great ways to be prematurely fired and get creative while you’re at it. If you want to get rid of any inconvenience and get your freedom and instant national fame, you might want to check these interview tips that work!

Unknown to many, seating positions also have a psychological influence on social dynamics. Whether contributed by your body language and the vibes that you actually send out to hiring managers and interviewers, there’s actually a lot going on in seating arrangements that can influence how hiring managers perceived of you. These 6 awesome ways to make the most out of seating options can not only make you feel confident and not cower even in a panel interview but will also help you take control and exert effort in making your interviewers at ease. So listen to this interview techniques and deal with interview situations the most easy and effective ways!

Just a few weeks ago, you thought you’d be moving out of your apartment, setting up a tent behind the liquor store, and teaching yourself the art of crumpled newspaper origami so you could trade paper hats for change; Now, you’re suddenly facing a whole new and wonderful dilemma—turning away jobs by writing a decline job letter!  While that is a huge step in the life of a struggling college graduate, a little tact is important.

Here are 5 tips for turning down a job offer with a decline job letter.

1.  Send the Decline Job Letter Promptly

The first thing you need to realize is the decline job letter should go out immediately—as prompt as possible.  This isn’t some guy or girl you met at the bar last Friday that you want to toy with a little bit before cutting loose just to satisfy your ego—respect their time and money by letting them know as soon as you make a decision.

2.  Express Thanks for the Offer

While the point of the decline job letter is to say no, remember your manners.  Keep in mind that these people wanted to give your sorry as a career.  Not only did they want to hang out with you every 5 days a week, they were going to pay you for it.  Would your friends ever do that?  I don’t think so.

You should be thankful for this, and it isn’t something we should take lightly.  A lot of people would die to have the interview skills to have multiple job offers in this economy.  Be sincere in your thanks.

3.  Don’t Mention Salary

This is not the time to talk numbers.  If you had a problem with salary or had a better offer, that should have been dealt with during negotiations, not when you decline the job with a decline job letter.  Throwing it out there at this point is a bit like taking a cheap shot in the bar at some guy while his head is turned.  Just say you thought the other company was a better fit.

4.  Keep Your Personal Reasons Private

There is no need to divulge that you just couldn’t stomach the bosses hairy palms or that your baby’s momma couldn’t let you borrow her car every day to drive that far.  As always with business, personal is personal and business is business.  Keep it professional, even if that means a white lie.

5.  Keep Communication Channels Open for Future Opportunities

Make sure you leave them in your decline job letter with contact information and permission to get in touch with you, just in case.  Because what all the other tips really come down to is just like the title says, keeping the bridge from burning.  You never know what the future holds, and this company might someday be your saving grace or a next step forward.

Any insights to contribute about how writing a decline job letter?  Maybe you see a way to relate the smooth breakup you used on your ex to letting go of a job opportunity.  Hey, we don’t discriminate on your creative sources.

Hop in and join the conversation on how YOU would write a decline job letter.

If you want to know how to write a good resume, remember that employers don’t just want to hire a good employee—they want to hire the best employee.  Even a hiring manager, who is really just an employee themselves, wants to find a 1 in a million rookie and look like a star to their boss.  So what you are doing in the interviewing process is trying to paint a picture of complete competence and high potential—you want to be the A-player that bosses wish they could find a dozen more of but have given up on doing.

When trying to gauge how to write a good resume, here are 3 things to keep in mind so that you can position yourself as the A-player.

1.  Appear Business Savvy

An A-player is not just another employee who shows up, puts in their hours, and collects a monthly salary.  Employees like that are a dime a dozen and nothing special.

Employers are impressed by a candidate who shows potential for a bright future in the company—not someone who is just going to deliver coffee for the rest of their career but someone who has a fighting chance and even likelihood to aim for positions in higher management.

2.  Indicate an Understand of the Bottom Line

You need to show that you realize the position is more than just a job.  It is an asset to the company, they expect that to translate into profits, and nothing is more refreshing than an employee how understands this.  Speak their language.  Use it in a way that demonstrates you are on the same page.

3.  Reveal a Track Record for Providing Value

Just that understanding of the bottom line really is huge, but what can even bring you better results is demonstrating a track record for producing results in other companies or achieving things in your life that would equal direct results in a corporate environment.  In other words, if you can show how your understanding of the bottom line produced results in the past, you can really set yourself aside as an A-player and get a hiring manager salivating.

One of the best ways to do this is try to communicate monetary or quantitative values that can be attached to your accomplishments (I talk about how to do this in my book).  When a manager is thinking in terms of investment and money, it is hard for them to not be impressed by numbers.

Becoming an A-player is within reach if you just know how to market yourself, and you should start cultivating the habit of how to write a good resume that do add up to the A-player mentality because they can really bring success in your career and life.  Not to mention it is much easier to sell an identity you truly identify with.

Do you have any tips on how to write a good resume that portrays yourself as the super employee?  Please contribute and drop some comments below.

We tend to think all interviews are the same.  You are sitting in a tiny chair, your sweaty hands in your lap, looking up at 3 brooding employers that seem to be taking far too much satisfaction in your suffering.  But the truth is there are plenty of different kinds of interviews, and they all share their own unique challenges.

Here is a brief job interview guide to what could be in store for you in the process that lies ahead:

1. Telephone Screening Interviews:

When an employer asks you to accept a phone interview, what they are really doing is screening you before inviting you into the office and wasting time and money for the real deal.  Your goal in a telephone interview is always to get a face-to-face interview.  Check out my article on phone job interviews to get a sense of how you can do that.

2. One-on-One Interviews:

Some employers will put you through a series of one-one-ones with various people in the company.  Treat every interview as the FIRST interview.  A lot of people make the mistake of thinking because they made it to the second they have already gained some ground, but each of those interviewers is someone completely new with all the power to stop your advance right where they sit.

3. Behavioral and Situational Interviews:

These are interviews when you will be asked to give stories of specific situations in which you used certain skills or faced challenges.  Be well prepared with SMART stories.  You do not want to take these off the top of your head, and in fact, you should prepare stories for any of these situations in this job interview guide.

4. Stress and Brain Teaser Interviews:

It’s important to keep in mind that you aren’t always expected to have the best answer or completely solve the problem put before you here, although that can help.  The important thing is to see how you react under stress and how your problem solving skills are.  So don’t freak out and start choking out another interview because you’re frustrated.

Any job interview guide would tell you to stay calm and collected.  You can ease your own stress and clarify your own thoughts by sharing the thought processes you’d like to go through to solve the problem.  Another nice thing about that trick is that if you don’t get it right, at least the employer still gets an idea of how you solve problems.

5. Top-Grading Interviews:

This is a series of detailed interviews that analyze your specific competencies and then the results from the different sessions are looked at and compared together.  In many cases, the results will follow you into the job and become the foundation for an effort to lead you to top performance.  If you’re caught off guard by the specificity of the interviewer, you will typically do much better.

6. Speed Interviews:

Quick and dirty—just how you like it.  One good thing that can be said about speed interviews is that they are quick and to the point.  No wasting words or time.  Just relax and have fun with it.

7. Panel Group and Peer Interviews:

In this situation, address every person in the interview when you are speaking.  Aside from this job interview guide, think back on your speech class and the tricks you were taught to engage the audience.  Alternate scanning eye contact with meeting the gazes and nods of listeners and engage with other interviewees.

8. Simulation Interviews:

These interviews can be fun as they are more active, and they are designed to allow you to show how well you would do the job.  It certainly helps if you have some experience in that position, but realize employers don’t expect you to get it perfect.

9. Video Conference and Web Cam Interviews:

While it may be tempting to cut some corners because you like the idea of doing an interview in your socks and boxer shorts, physical appearance is as crucial as ever, if not more, in this type of interview.  Less of your body language will be transferred, therefore, what you look like carries more weight.

10. Lunch or Dinner Interviews:

Don’t get too excited when you get invited to a meal for an interview.  Chances are the employer is picking up the tab, but that doesn’t mean you should make up for all those top ramen nights by ordering the lobster bisque and boxing up leftovers.

This isn’t about nourishment.  Order light, pay attention to your table manners, and focus solely on the interview at hand rather than the meal.

While this job interview guide paints a picture of just how varied the interview setting can be, many of the principles we draw from psychology and the art of attraction apply in all of them.  It just takes a little tweaking here and there.

Have you faced any other strange job interview guide settings that haven’t been mentioned?  Something to do with a strange doctor groping you and asking you to cough?  Okay, maybe keep that one to yourself, but anything else we’d love to hear about it.

Today I want to talk about a couple little-known secrets about creating a resume and how they can be leveraged in your job hunt.  You see, most candidates think of a resume as an end in itself, but the truth is that it is one small piece of a bigger process and must be in line with purpose that it serves.

Here are 3 ideas I want you to chew on when laying out the outline and getting around to creating a resume.

1.  A Resume is A Part of a Process

It’s tempting to think that creating a resume is a goal in itself and that the right resume will lend you a job, but that is wishful thinking.  I remember having this mindset when I was first getting started with my job hunt.

I’d turn in my resume, which looking back was not half bad, and then I’d show up at the interview and sit down with this mentality like I was there to discuss the resume rather than myself.  Any additional information I could put out there as a response to questions “about the resume” just made me feel like I was clever, but I was missing the point.

We were there to talk about ME, not the paper.  Creating a resume has about as much of a chance of getting your hired as getting someone’s phone number has to get you laid.  It’s a foot in the door—nothing more.

2. Employers and Candidates Usually View Resumes with Different Purposes

To go even further, you are looking at the resume as a qualifier, but the hiring manager sees it as a disqualifier.  In other words, they use resumes to screen you and filter out candidates that are a definite no-go; it is not a chance to introduce yourself and get an unbiased audience.  They will purpose hunt down reasons to get rid of you, and that means that the slightest mistake can carry your document to the trash can.

3.  A Resume Does Not Always Speak For Itself

Some employees are relieved to just turn in a resume and leave the ball in the employer’s court so they can wait to see what happens.  They cruise around, dropping off a small stack of them, and then sit back and wait, figuring it is a numbers game.

But getting hired takes a little more interaction than that and creating a resume is always more effective if you have a voice or face-to-face contact with the person doing the hiring.  Managers don’t want to hire a piece of paper—they want to hire a dynamic person.  Set the stage for the resume before delivering it, and it will be much more likely to be welcomed with open arms.

Modern-day college students have a lot of misconceptions when it comes to creating a resume, and these can make or break your efforts to get the best jobs. In essence, a resume can quickly become a liability instead of an asset.  Do you have any insights on the resume process that you think might not be common knowledge?  Share them in a comment.

Interviewing is such a social game, really.  The whole idea is to go in there and impress the hell out of someone, and that’s really the key.  You aren’t there to meet someone new.  You aren’t there to say, “Hey, can I have a job?”  You’re there to be the cool guy in the room and impress them long enough to hire you, and then hopefully you’ll live up to that impression and have a solid career for the long-run.

Here are 5 job interview tips to get you started on being that person and impressing your prospective employers.

1. Demonstrate Value

What it all really comes down to in any job interview tips is demonstrating and communicating value.  The thing that most clueless job hunters don’t realize is that this has more to do with your persona than with your credentials.

A demonstration of value is a state.  You don’t want to go in there like you desperately need a job or will take whatever you can get; you want to present yourself as if you are in your element, as if you could start the job that day and easily adapt.

The trick is to be confident, calm and centered.  Relaxed, but with a professional and sophisticated air.

2. Begin With the End in Mind

This famous piece of advice, originally presented by Stephen Covey, author of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” is just as applicable to job interview tips as anything else in life.  What do you want to communicate most in your interview?  What are your key messages, and what do you want the employer to be crystal clear about?

If you just go in there thinking you’ll just wing it and take anything they throw at you, you might pull it off if you’re a quick thinker, but you’re still going to be all over the place.  Determining your main communication goals beforehand gives you an overlying theme for your interview that will form as a foundation for any answers you give, even for completely off-the wall questions.

3. Get Clued-in

There is nothing more impressive in a job interview setting than a candidate who walks in the door knowing the company’s top issues, who key planners are, and what is going on in the industry.  This gives the interviewer a sense you are ready to get going right out of the gate.  Do extensive research beforehand, and be ready to talk like a professional.

4. Popping Out the Props

Employers love the candidate who walks in with props.  That doesn’t mean you should come in wearing a purple wig and making out with a mannequin, but come in like the super-employee with all the props that go with that role.

Bring the file you’ve collected about the company.  A notepad with questions you have brainstormed beforehand.  A couple extra copies of your resume and a portfolio.

Your portfolio can contain work samples, a writing example, a spreadsheet analysis, photographs of you in action, a specifically impressive letter of recommendation, and an “atta boy” letter from a satisfied boss or client.

Stick this all in a nice looking bag or briefcase and you have just become candidate of the year.

5. Image is Everything

Making the right choices for what gear to wear to a job interview is a finer balance than you might think.  Sure, you want to dress nice, but never dress nicer, or above, the interviewer.

That said, your clothes and appearance should be immaculate.  Take your outfit to the cleaners so your suit is crisp and spotless.  Shoes should be polished with no tatty heels. Get a fresh haircut and make sure to have a nice shave.

If you even choose to wear perfume or cologne, keep it subtle— this job interview tips is not for you to seduce someone here.  Subtlety is best for jewelry and makeup as well.

These basic job interview tips will get you started on the right foot and hopefully into a job.

Do you have any other job interview tips to share with your fellow readers?  In this economy, people can use all the help they can get.

There are still some little lost souls out there that seem to think making a resume is unnecessary.  Good luck with that one.  This is not a step of the job-searching process you can decide to sit out.

Here are 5 reasons making a resume a top priority is the only choice.

1. Protocol

Wake up for a second and take a glimpse at reality.  Making a resume has and always will be a part of the job hiring process.  Convention demands you follow suit.  If you are in job search mode, you are expected to hand in a resume.  It’s as simple as that.

2. Positioning

Your resume does not only display the fact that you have it together enough to realize it is an expected document, but if written correctly it also serves the purpose of giving you a chance to present yourself in the most professional manner possible.  This first glimpse into your world offers a chance to stand out in a way a mere application could never do.  After reading your resume, employers should have the impression that you are an A list player who knows how to deliver results and make an economic impact on the company.

3.  Process

Aside from the fact that it is expected of you, preparing your resume is a process that sharpens your abilities while at the same time giving you the confidence of seeing your accomplishments and traits laid out on paper.  It reframes your life history not just for the people you wrote it for but for you, and once you’ve done that, you have built a mental framework from which to verbalize your experiences come interview time.

4. Permanent Reminder

While your resume might not be exactly carved in stone, it is a tangible representation of you that typically stays in the office—something they can go back to again and again, unlike a phone conversation or interview.  While much of the hiring process really comes down to the basic dynamics of human attraction, hiring managers will go back to the resume to justify their reasons for hiring you to both to themselves and those in the company you haven’t yet encountered.

5. Profit

When you learn about making a resume the right way, you will find that a dynamite business resume documents your bottom line profit orientation.  In other words, skillful resume writing teaches you to not just talk about strengths and experience but to talk about what the company cares about most—and that is your potential for being a profitable investment.

A good resume is an outline of how you have done this in the past and how you intend to do it for the company.  Your ability to make them a healthier or more profitable institution, in turn gives you greater job security and ammunition for commanding a higher salary—applications don’t present that opportunity.

These are basic ideas about what not turning in making a resume can do as far as limit you in your search, but what it all comes down to is that if you really think a resume is not necessary for getting a job, think long and hard about the kind of jobs that take applications and nothing more.  Do you really see yourself in a lifelong career with a company of that caliber?

Do you have any stories where not making a resume screwed up your chances of getting hired?  Or maybe you have a story to share where your resume really impressed and ultimately led to a job.  Chip in and share.

Sometimes one of the most satisfying feelings in the world of the unemployed broke, and the surviving on ramen is when the phone rings and it’s someone ready to give you that first chance; Often, this first chance might take the form of phone job interview.  Well, this isn’t ideal, but it sure is better than nothing, and for the companies that do this it is a first crucial step.

While it may feel like less pressure because it is over the phone, there are a few ways you can screw this critical appointment up, so keep in mind these 5 hidden dangers in phone job interview.

1.  Realize it May Last 15-45 Minutes
This means if you accept phone job interview, you better have the time.  The last thing you to do is rush answers or get off the phone early because you didn’t have time to finish.

Allocate up to an hour just in case.  There’s a chance they might call you out of the blue while you’re sitting on the toilet and ask if you’re available right then and there.  It’s always better if you are able to grab the opportunity, but if you’ve only got 20 minutes, it might be just better to reschedule.

2.  You’re Being Screened for the Real Deal

What a lot of hung-over college kids don’t stop to consider is that phone job interview is really just a way to screen out the candidates they don’t want to come into the office.  Keeping that in mind, realize the aim is to find out if you fit the basic criteria for the job.

This is where your research comes in, and it’s best to have a board set up in your home or a notebook you can carry with you that lists specific information about the jobs you’re currently pursuing, what they are looking for, and how you can communicate that.  Go over this stuff before your interview and make sure you pass the screening.

3.  Consistent Answers

Another thing the phone job interview serves as is a bull-shit test.  It’s pretty easy for them to have your resume and application on hand while they’re talking to you, and they will be sure to check if the answers are consistent.  It’s best to not be a bull-shitter at all, but keep a copy of the particular resume you gave that employer on hand just in case.

4.  Enthusiasm and Interest

Your employer will also be paying attention to your level of enthusiasm about the job.  Get excited about it.  Get pumped.  It doesn’t mean you should start spazzing out and asking them to fax you an autograph, but come across as exited and determined, as if you feel the job is the right fit for you and you are the right fit for the job.  Once you have some solid interviewing skills under your belt, you shouldn’t be pursuing any jobs that aren’t your idea of a dream job, so it shouldn’t’ be a problem to be enthusiastic.

5.  Relevant Questions

As some relevant questions about the position at the end of the call.  This once again displays your enthusiasm.  It also shows that you understand the position and know what you are getting yourself into.

These tips will help you navigate phone job interview, but the overlying concept and something to keep in mind is that these are really not much more than a screening process.

The number one goal you should have in mind when in this situations is getting that face-to-face interview.  Because that’s where true attraction and personal bonding happens.

This is why doing well on a phone job interview is sooo very important.

Do you have any other tips to add?  Any awkward moments? Please share your phone job interview experiences in the comments below!

How to write a job resume is your first effort to get your foot in the door, and if you don’t make a strong impression, you might not get in there at all, at least not with this company.  Or until the next time they hire.  So unless you want to wait around for the “better man” to get shit-canned, you need to get it right the first time.  And one of the best ways to do that is stand out.

Here are 4 proven tips about how to write a job resume and stand out in the modern day job-hunting climate.

1.  Include a Portfolio with Your Resume

This underrated trick might even come across as common sense, but it amazes me how many people fail to use it.  The thing is that most job-hunters feel they do not have enough working experience or that a portfolio doesn’t apply to the industry, but this is an area where creativity can go a long way.

What better way to give an employer an idea of what you are capable of than simply showing them.  If your job is based around a special skill, consider preparing either a collection of past works or something specific for showcasing your skills and turn it in with the resume.

Not only do you stand out because you’ve done something no one else is doing, but now they have one candidate they know can produce results on one hand, and a handful of mystery candidates who they still have to analyze to even get an idea of what to expect.

2.  E-resume

If you are trying to figure out how to write a job resume in a way that it really gets out to the most employers possible, you should set up a resume on the web.  LinkedIn.com is one fantastic place to make your presence and availability known, and the social networking platform allows you to build relationships and network.

More and more employers are looking for qualified candidates on LinkedIn, and simply having a presence there can help you stumble across opportunities or make opportunities stumble across you, while you are sleeping.

3.  Audio Resume

Stand out while at the same time making the interviewer’s job easier by making an audio version of your resume.  This can inject a lot of personality into the brief presentation and is still a novel enough approach that it will not be forgotten.  You can upload the audio with your online resume or burn it to a cd and hand it in with the hard copy version.

4.  Video Resume

Video has taken the Internet and the world by storm, and everyone is an amateur filmmaker these days.  Now, savvy interviewees are capitalizing on this platform by making video resumes, and there is no better way to let your personality shine through other than lurking over their shoulder as the read your resume, which might not go over well.  Embrace technology and make your voice heard.

These 4 simple tricks offer some fresh ideas on how to write a job resume that is current and clued in.

Do you have any more ideas on how to write a job resume?  Let’s hear them.

Writing a good cover letter is SUPER important because it is a possible future boss’ first impression of you…ever…and if the impression isn’t a good one, you’re not likely to get your foot in the door.  So it’s important to get it right.  No scratching out a half-ass description of your social life on a piece of lined paper; writing a good cover letter is yet another part of the interview process you need to take extremely serious.

Here are 5 things for writing a good cover letter that an employer craves.  Get it right, or go home jobless:

1.  Their Name

You always want to do some research to find out who the letter is going to.  I don’t care if you need to make some prank phone calls, dig through the office trash, or kidnap their intern—you have to at least pretend you know who you’re dealing with.  This shows you are resourceful and are not just applying to any opening you can find.

2.  Proper Formatting and Grammar

The second thing they’ll be looking for is that you know more than basic 9^th grade English.  I know—the nerve of employers these days, right?  It doesn’t matter what kind of job you’re applying for, your ability to compose a professional document simply shows that you are able to present yourself in a professional manner.

3.  A “What’s In It For You”

Put a “what’s in it for you” statement as the opening of your cover letter.  This is crucial for a couple different reasons.  For one thing, Generation Y is already notorious for being the me-me generation, so this shows the employer that you are focused on what you can deliver them.

Also, it gives you a chance to stand out right off the bat.  Employers naturally care about, well, what is in it for them.  That’s what they are reading the cover letter for—so put it right there where it is easiest to find it.  “I will be the best investment your company has ever made because…” and give proof.

4.  Bulleted Benefits

One of the tricks to writing a good cover letter is to break down the top benefits of the “you” package into bullet points with short descriptions.  This is a great organization tactic because it gives the visual appearance that you have a lot of value to offer, it clearly states and hopefully quantifies that value, and it makes it simple for the employer to quickly scan the cover letter and get the info you want to communicate most.  That way they can get back to watching porn on their computer.

5.  Clear Statement of Contact

Don’t make them hunt, squint, and scrutinize about how to get in touch with you.  State specifically a time and day when you will get in touch with them and do it at that exact moment.  This is a solid display of professionalism and shows assertiveness.  Also, include your contact info clearly so they can get in touch with you first if needed.

There’s a lot more to writing a good cover letter, and some college grads don’t even know the point.  Trust me, there is a point, and this is not something you want to decide doesn’t matter so you can smoke a bowl and go shoot some hoops with your buddies.

Writing a good cover letter is a necessity, and these 5 simple points will give the employers what they want and need.  Have any others to share?  I’d love to hear them.

***Question From Reader***

Hey landon,
I read your book and it was a very good read, couldnt put it down. One question, what would a person wear for an interview for a trades job? I am applying for a job that Midwest Energy Coop posted for an Apprentice Lineman. I am not a person who likes to dress up much but I will if it means a job.

Thank You for trying to help those who are trying to help themselves.
Dan J.

(Name changed to initials for privacy)

>>>My Comments:

Hey Dan,

I’m glad you enjoyed my book! Thanks for the kind words, it means a lot

To get to your question, here’s what I recommend for your situation: Always dress 1 level above what everyone else wears in the company. In almost all instances I’d suggest wearing a suit & tie. You can never really be too “over dressed” for a job interview unless you’re wearing a tux. Even if you’re applying for a trades job, you need every little advantage to set you apart from your competition. If you’re afraid of looking stupid by being too “over dressed” for your industry – don’t be, because employers KNOW that its hard out there for job seekers and they’ll look favorably on you for putting the extra bit of effort that other tradesmen neglect.

(Take my word on this, I used to work in the construction industry for 3 years and I can tell you it doesn’t make a difference what industry you’re in… Employers appreciate professionalism and effort. Period.)

Keep in mind also that its not just about how you’re dressed but how you’ve demonstrated your value during the interview. And remember to “naked proof” your accomplishments. Dressing nice is only the icing on the cake. If you really want to STAND OUT, “translate your contribution” just like how you learned in my book.

Hope that helps! Let me know how your interview goes

~Landon

Did you like these job interview tips?  Because your future employer will.  There’s plenty more where this came from. Just enter your name and primary email address over on the right and sign up for my FREE “Interview Tips That Work” e-newsletter! Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you ever decide my e-newsletter is not for you, you can unsubscribe at any time.

What is YOUR job hunting story?

To celebrate my reaching 4,500 followers on Twitter, I’ve decided to have a contest for everyone in our little job seeker community :^)

Here’s what I’m going to do:

I’m going to GIVE AWAY a free copy of my Unspoken Rules of Getting Hired eBook package (worth about $170) – to the person who posts the MOST interesting story about his or her job hunting struggles… in the comments below.

As “Brain Food” I’ll list some questions you might want to answer in your “entry” below…

• How did you get to this point, tell me your story?
• What’s your biggest challenge or frustration right now? (ie resume, cover letter, going on job boards, interviewing, etc.)
• What have you tried so far, but it didn’t work?
• What have you tried so far, and it did work?
• Why should you be chosen?

Now, this fun little contest is going to draw quite a few entries. No question. In order to keep things INTERESTING, I’m going to set a few quick rules…

>Rules:

1) You must write something INTERESTING. No one-liners that say “the economy sucks” or “there are no jobs out there.” I’m not even going to APPROVE comment entries that aren’t thoughtful, interesting, and REAL.

[***Bonus Points: Upload a video to YouTube of 5 minutes or less where you describe how you’ve struggled in your job search and give specific examples. Be sure to tag your video with “imm contest” in quotation marks. Click here to see what it should look like when you are uploading your video. Then leave a comment on this post with a link to your video and a brief description of what hasn't been working for you (no need for more than 1-2 short paragraphs)***]

2) Do all of this no later than 10pm EST next Saturday, February 27th (in other words, start writing NOW).

3) I and a few secret judges will select our top favorites, and then you all will vote for the winner. I’ll also Tweet the name of the winner on Twitter, of course!

So get to it, and post a comment below telling your story about how you’ve struggled on your job search. You just might win $170 bucks worth of my best interview training!

[Follow me free on Twitter here: Twitter.com/Landon_Long]

Your carefully crafted cover letters and resumes are considered worthless if you do not have a clue where to submit them.  In the midst of this recession, you might get yourself lost and lose your path to success and these documents you spent so much time perfecting will do nothing but look pretty in the documents file of your computer.  However, behind the curtains of the economic depression, there lies wide and broad range of job openings that you can imagine are found conveniently online.  So, if you really are tough enough to pursue your dream job, here is a list of top 50 job sites and their descriptions.

Entry Level Job Sites:

• After College – this is specifically created for college students and recent graduate students.  This is both a job and internship site that allows job seekers to post their resume.  This site has a search engine, providing job seekers easy access to numerous job openings across different states.  For more convenience, job seekers can filter their job search by job type, area, industry, and type of career.  The site also offers information and career advice.
• CollegeGrad – currently, the number 1 entry-level job site as it provides job search service for college students and recently graduated students.  It is probably the only entry-level job site that list down the Best in Class Employers, Top Intern Employers and Top Masters Employers.  The site also offers job search advice and virtual career fair.  Furthermore, it allows resume posting, and internships searching.
• College Recruiter – a job site designed for providing entry-level job and career opportunities for college students, recent graduate students and graduates.  It also displays part time and full time job listing.
• Raytheon – offers job listings and descriptions for the current job opportunities.  It has jobs section that gives every job seeker the chance to look for the perfect job according to their field of interest, location and job type choice.  It has profile matching and internships and co-ops features to help college students and recent college students have hands-on experience.  The site also offers recruiting events specifically for North America.
• The Job Box – This job site is open to high school and college job seekers.  It brings job opportunities from seasonal and part time job to entry-level job and internships.  Job seekers can search using keywords, job category and location.  The site includes career news and resources.

International Job Sites:

• BilingualCareer.com – site dedicated to bilingual or multi-lingual job seekers.  For the sake of communication, the job seekers are required to be at least knowledgeable in the English language.  The site also allows job seekers to search by location, industry and keywords.  In addition, job seekers can search by language.  This job site also provides advice on job interviews and resume creation.  Job seekers can post their resume here.
• Indeed.com – it is a meta-search job site that aims to pull thousands of job postings from different places around the world.  It compiles together job postings from major job boards, top newspapers, professional associations and career centers.  Job seekers can browse by title, company, location and keywords.
• jobalot.com – this is one of the mega-meta job sites that use simple job search interface.  From hundreds of job sites and thousands of job listings, job seekers can simplify their job search by searching using keywords and location, and browsing by category.  In this site, job seekers can learn about job hunting process.  The site is also dedicated to providing information about continuing education opportunities.
• Jobs.NET – a job site that accommodates job seekers across the globe, allowing them to browse through thousand of jobs, post confidential online resumes and receive tips and advice about job hunting.  Job seekers can search by criteria, such as keywords, location, recent job postings, salary, job position, industry, company size and so on.
• LatPro – this site is dedicated to provide assistance to Hispanic and bilingual professionals.  It is a leader in online employment all over the world, giving job seekers the opportunity to scan through job listings from employers that are pre-screened.  It also allows job seekers to post multiple resume, create email job agent and access career resources.
• Monster.com – considered one of the oldest career sites online.  It has thousands of job listing across the globe.  The site includes career advice, relocation services and  an auction-style marketplace, perfect for independent professionals.
• Prohire.com – it includes more than 150,000 job postings from all over the world.  It is one of the free job sites with the largest database.  Job seekers can submit and post their online resumes and check out job competition and openings within their location.
• TwitterJobSearch.com – this is Twitter’s job search engine for job seekers twitter users.  Job seekers can search jobs using keywords.  The results are then displayed using tweets.
• Yahoo! HotJobs – considered one of the best resource job sites online.  It offers job search resources for job seeking professionals, free of charge.  Online users can create their own personalized career management page that provides the necessary tools for fast, convenient and safe job search.

General/Diverse Job Sites:

• Best Jobs in the USA Today – this is a job site with comprehensive resource.  It is integrated with job databases, corporate profiles, post resume feature and career resources center.
• CareerBuilder – probably it has the largest diversity of job listings.  It posts help wanted ads from the leading newspapers today at the same time provides job listings and openings from leading employers.  As its name implies, the site helps to build a job seeker’s career by providing resources such as job tips and advice.
• Careerjournal.com – allows job seekers to broaden their job search.  It has great resources of articles that guide job seekers on their job hunt.  The site is created by The Wall Street Journal.
• CareerPark.com – Posting a resume on this site is relatively easy.  Also, it brings convenience to job seekers searching for job using the Internet.  In this site, job seekers can find other helpful career and job sites online, increasing and widening their options.
• DiversityWorking.com – This site is perfect for ethnic and sexual orientation groups.  As a diversity job site, job seekers are allowed to search for jobs by posting recency.  In addition, seekers can search by location, job type, industry and keywords.  Furthermore, job seekers are given an option to either sign up or not in the site’s free newsletter.  Also, job hunters can post their resume here.
• FreshJobs.com – a site endeavors to provide the freshest job listing online.  Its database consists only of job postings not older than 7 days.  The job search can be filtered by skills, benefits, location, company and type of job.  For job matching service, job seekers are required to sign up.  Post a resume here and get a confidential mailbox.
• GOJobs.com – considered as a general job board, this site provides help to job seekers searching for job openings.  The job listing can be browsed by state, keyword and job function.  Also, it is a site dedicated to bring information to job seekers.
• Jobfox – utilizes Mutual Suitability System to match job seekers to job opportunities.  This job matching sites has an in-depth profile system to be able to learn the job seeker’s experience, wants and needs.  The job opportunities are rated based on how the job seeker matches the job description.  Also, the employers are matched the same way.  This job site has membership fees.
• JobSimply – a job site providing wide range of job opportunities from part time jobs and summer jobs to professional and executive jobs.  Job seekers can look into retail jobs, hospital jobs, restaurant jobs, teen jobs and cruise ship jobs.  They can search through industries, locations and keywords.  The site also includes resources about career tips and advice.
• Jobzerk – a job site that is socially driven, allowing its members to interact and communicate to each other.  As a community based job site, job seekers can publish and share useful information about their job search and/or hiring process.
• Juju – this is one of the best job sites for finding interesting career resources.  In this site, job seekers can look into 15 different job sites such as CareerCity, CareerMosaic, JobOptions, NationJob and so on.  Searches can be quickened using keywords.
• NationJob Network – a job search service integrated with thousands of latest job listings.  It features company profiles and it is incorporated with email job matching service, based on your qualifications and preferences.
• Net-Temps – one of the top job sites where job seekers can scan thousands of job postings and post their resume.  The job postings include contract, temporary and even permanent jobs.  The site is designed with tools and resources, including career enhancement articles.
• Realmatch.com – a job-matching site that requires job seekers to submit their qualifications and preferences and matches the information provided to the employer’s requirements.  Job seekers can use the job listings to search for job by keyword and location.
• Vault.com – this site has more than 150,000 job postings from up to 27,000 employers.  Due to its popularity, the site branched out into recruitment.  It has insider reports on different companies and it allows job seekers to search through multiple criteria, including job categories, keywords, experience, location and date posted.  The site also has email job matching service.

Local/National/Specific Job Sites:

• Careercast – One of the coolest job portals that feature niche and local jobs from all over the United States and Canada.  It gives job seekers the freedom to choose where they want to live and work.  To search for a job, job seekers can filter the job listing by title, category, and company.  There is also an advanced option to better target the right job openings for the job seekers.  Also, the portal gives job seekers the opportunity to post their resume.
• CareerSurf.com – It accommodates US and Canadian job seekers from different industries and niche.  Job seekers can search for different types of jobs using job category, location and keywords.  It also accepts resume from job seekers and posts them.
• EmploymentGuide.com – This is a good option for searching jobs locally on the United States. Currently, the site developed around 56 metropolitan areas job listings.  As a career site, job seekers can post resume and find helpful career advice on this site.  And with the integration of localized job areas listings, job seekers can now look for job position in a prospective geographic area.
• FindARecruiter.com – This is ideal for job seekers looking for recruiting or hiring professionals such as headhunters, executive search and staffing firms.  The job seekers can browse into the site’s database with more than 10,000 recruiters.  For searching option, job seekers can use the company’s name, location and specialty.
• GetTheJob.com – It is a job portal specifically designed for direct employer jobs only.  It collects different job posts from different corporate career centers of different companies.  When approximated, this site probably has at least 2 million of job openings information.  For email alerts, job seekers are required to register.
• JobCircle.com – It is considered the largest non-newspaper affiliated job board in Mid-Atlantic, operating in 10 states.  The site provides information, discussion and careers.  Job seekers can browse and search for the job they wanted and they can also post their resume.
• Jobcentral – formed by the alliance of two non-profit associations, this site has an extensive network across US.  It provides employment and career opportunities to job seekers in different industries and job category, from entry-level to chief executive job position.  Job seekers can search by company.
• Job Search Shortcuts – providing links to thousands of job listing web pages, job seekers can browse and search jobs in up to 30 metropolitan areas nationwide.  For faster search, job seekers are allowed to search by category and by city.  This site connects job seekers to their prospective employers.
• LocalHelpWanted.net – it is incorporated with numerous features and benefits for job seekers.  The site allows job seekers to view and narrow the job listings by state and major city.  The members can post different kinds of resume, including audio resume, video resume and portfolio once registered.  This site has a membership fee.  However, job seekers can still use the basic services without a cost.
• myCareerSpace – allows job seekers to search by category, region or keywords.  It accepts up to five different online resumes for applying online job openings.  The site is integrated with job hunting resources such as career expos, salary, relocation, insurance and so on.
• SnagAJob.com – it is probably the largest job site for searching part time and full time jobs.  It is built with career resources and advice and job seekers can scan the job listing by job type, and location.  It also has email alert feature upon registration.
• thingamajob.com – a free career site, allowing job searching and online resume posting.  It has job alert feature and career tools for job seekers to utilize.  Job searches can be done by job categories, location, keywords and date posted.

Professional/Niche Job Sites:

• Dice.com – this is designed specially for technology professionals.  It is great job and career site that provides more than a thousand of job openings for professionals.  The job list can be filtered for search convenience by job type, location and employer.  It securely protects confidential profile from job seekers, making job seekers’ resume safe from devious minds.  Here, job seekers can find useful career resources and they can create email job alert.
• USAJOBS – open to job seekers looking for information about jobs and employment in the United States Federal Government.  The job listing can be viewed by keyword, occupation and location.  Job seekers on this site can post their resume and register for job matching service.  The site also has resource and tips for job seekers interested in working at the government.
• VetJobs.com – designed specifically for veterans and transitioning military personnel.  It also accommodates job seekers with relation to a veteran and it allows job seekers to post resume online.  The job openings include all levels and types of jobs.  Job seekers can view job results by type, keyword and location.  The site also includes key resources for veterans.

New Concept Job Sites:

• The Interview Exchange – a job board that rates job seekers based on how closely they matched on the job position.  The job seekers can receive the job matching results via email.  Also, it permits job seekers to post their resume.
• Jobirn: Insider Referral Network – known for its uniqueness, this site has a job board, online job interview system and employee referral system, connecting job seekers to employees of their prospective companies.  The purpose of the employee referral system is to assist job seekers in getting a referral.
• JobShouts! – a job site that uses the power of social media.  It helps create connections and provides job matching results for job seekers.  As much as possible, it delivers real time job postings at the same time automated one click searching from different social media networks.
• Jobs in Pods – this is a web 2.0 job site.  It gives job seekers the opportunity to listen to their prospective employer’s jobcast.  This includes audio interviews that discuss the company’s culture, benefits and how to and where to apply.  The podcast comes with blog post for information and links about employers and job postings.
• LiveHire – one of the innovative job sites today.  Through this site, job seekers can get online interview via webcam.  However, job seekers need to submit their professional profile first and if employers are interested, they will contact prospective employees via email.  This is highly recommended for long-distance job search.
• Simply Hired – Job seekers can be updated when new jobs are listed via email, social media networks, blogs, homepage and even through mobile phone.  This is a job search engine for searching job listings using keywords.  The results will come from multiple resources.

Featured Sites:

• LinkUp – a job search engine with new and unique features.  The site has the list of more than 20 thousand jobs from company websites.  It is always updated with comprehensive job listing.  Job seekers can search by title, keyword, and by location.  The site is also built up with WorkSearch, a tool to track how long a jobseeker is searching for a job.  It also has Tabs feature where in a job seeker can keep track of his job searches.
• TweetMYJOBS – a job board that provides notification of open positions INSTANTLY via short messaging service. The site tweeted thousands of jobs within a day and at least a million in just a month. This new innovative service brings together recruiters, hiring managers and job seekers. Browse jobs by company or by location.

Lets face it – In today’s economy, you are up against a HUGE uphill battle when it comes to starting your career. Even if you figured out what you want your career to be, chances are you wouldn’t have a fighting chance at securing it because you don’t know how to promote yourself to employers.

It comes down to simply not having a lot of options to choose from in this job market. Sure there might be lots of job openings out there…but if that’s the case, why aren’t you hear anything from employers?

Well what I’m about to tell you might shock you…so put on your tough suit of armor because I’m not going to try to “save your feelings” about this. What I’m about to tell you is the TRUTH and if anyone tells you differently BITCH SLAP THEM AND RUN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!

Ok not really, but seriously…Here’s what most they aren’t telling you…

IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO PROMOTE YOURSELF TO EMPLOYERS…

YOU WONT HAVE A CAREER. PERIOD.

(Yeah I said it…)

I mean think about it… If you want to kick off your career after college you need to know how to PROMOTE yourself to hiring managers. If you want to get a raise and move up the career ladder, you need to know how to PROMOTE yourself to your supervisors.  Even the dude who got a job from one of his daddy’s golf buddies had someone “promoting him” even if he didn’t do it himself. For most of us regular peeps who don’t have all the high-level connections, we rely on our own street smarts and for some it comes easier than it does others.

So why don’t employers just hire us? Why do we have to learn how to promote ourselves to employers?

Well there’s a long list of reasons…and most of them come from the misconceived perception that college grads these days (or “Millenials” as they call us) are:

• Too entitled
• Too lazy or unmotivated
• Too social
• Hard to manage
• Not enough experience
• Not open to feedback
• Not open to self-improvement

(Just check out my Free Report, “The 10 Most Dangerous Mistakes YOU Probably Make With Employers And What To Do About It…” and I’ll break it down for you…)

And all of these reasons are rooted from the same source:

Not knowing how to promote yourself as a candidate who ISN’T one of these types of Millenials.

Are you following me?

And this is the problem that has been plaguing millions of other college grads who are struggling to find something in this crippled job market.

So here’s what I’d do if you want to have a career that others would KILL for:

Learn how to PROMOTE yourself as an A-player.

Not only that but learn how to become an A-player as well. Period.

Why? Because A-player’s have something that many of us unemployed college grads can only dream about.

They have unlimited career OPTIONS.

They are sought-after by companies in EVERY industry. And they are among the top 5% of candidates out there. They can move between industries without any problems because they know how to network, and they ARE highly networked. They know how to MARKET themselves to employers and they know how to make their PERCEIVED value higher than 95% of the population.

Bottom line, if you want a great career, learn how to become an A-Player first! Then you’ll be able to select ANY career you want from a buffet of possibilities. Choose not to become one, and you’ll be forced to “settle” for all the “scraps” that no one else wants.

Don’t let life pass you by for another second. Building yourself to be an A-player is probably one of the most important things you can do for your career and life if you want to have the freedom to experience life instead of being forced into a situation that just “pays the bills”.

If you want to learn more about how to become an A-player, I strongly recommend you check out my Free Newsletter. I’ll send you tips, tricks, and strategies to help you go from being just another “average” candidate to being a “heavily armed jobseeker” in a matter of weeks. You’ll learn about employer psychology, getting around phone interviews, building rapport with body language, negotiating salaries, and everything else that’ll help you get hired in less time.

So what are you waiting for? Go sign up for my Free Newsletter and jumpstart your job search RIGHT NOW.

Happy Hunting!

Imagine what it would be like if you could just sit down and bang out the perfect resume from scratch in no time flat… without ever having to go through the whole “staring at a blank screen for HOURS” phase…

How cool would that be?

You wouldn’t have to procrastinate your job search any more or experience that sinking feeling in your stomach every time you think about working on it.

A lot of times when I’m trying to come up with content for my resume I almost always run into writers block. My mind draws a blank and I never get past a few lines of text. It’s frustrating as hell because I can be sitting in front of my computer for an entire day and have nothing to show for it.

After studying famous copywriters and reading TONS of books on how to become a better resume writer (and writer in general), I’ve stumbled across a little gem of knowledge that’s really helped take my resume writing to the next level.

Here’s one very important concept I learned that I also mention in my book The Unspoken Rues of Getting Hired, and that is:

“Premature criticism destroys creativity”

This concept can best be explained like this… Imagine you’re in a sculpting class and there’s a barrel of clay going around from desk to desk giving each student enough clay to work on sculpting for the day.

Now the rules are simple: When the barrel comes to your desk, you have 10 seconds to grab as much clay out of the barrel as possible. As soon as your time is up, the barrel moves on to another desk and you are only allowed to work with what you were able to get in the 10 seconds you were given.

Now, what would you do?

The smart thing to do, would be to do nothing else but shovel clay out of the barrel for the 10 seconds that you have! Because if you don’t, chances are you won’t be able to make much progress on your masterpiece.

But that’s exactly what most college students (and experienced professionals) forget to do when it comes to writing content for their resumes. What they do instead is they grab a little clay and start editing, write a sentence or two, and edit some more… and they don’t get very far.

So gather clay first à then sculpt later or rather, write first –> edit later.

Turns out, the human brain can only focus on ONE thing at a time. We really do have a one track mind in that sense. I mean think about it… Can you ever really have 2 totally different thoughts at the same time? I’m not talking about being able to pat your head and rub your stomach…or watching TV while you’re doing homework… those activities don’t require THOUGHT.

What I’m talking about is being able to do your Math homework while simultaneously writing a paper… You cant!

Its impossible.

Our brains just aren’t wired that way.

The next time you sit down to work on creating new content for your resume, pay attention to what’s going on. What you’ll notice is that you’ll look at what you’re writing on the screen and you’ll go back and fix all the little typos as they happen.

STOP!

This is what’s screwing you over…

What just happened was your brain went from being in a creative state to analytical / editing state. Instead of maintaining momentum in creating and getting into the “flow” state, you slammed on the brakes and robbed yourself of gaining any real ground… this is what causes most beginning writers to  take up an entire day to come up with material.

But its not YOUR FAULT that this happens! Its just how our brain is wired. This is all going on subconsciously and AUTOMATICALLY and almost no one knows its going on as its happening!

So in terms of writing our resumes, what I’ve discovered is that our brains can only be in 1) creation mode or 2) editing mode in any given moment. What most of us tend to do is we write a little bit in our resume then analyze the hell out of it and we write a little more then analyze it again and it turns into this orgy of writing and editing that never really gets us anywhere.

Eventually we give up, and say things like, ”Fuck this… I’ll just wait till spring quarter and then worry about sending out resumes.” Which if you’ve read my Opportunity Cost of Senioritis Article, you’d know that’s not the best idea when it comes to finding success in life after college.

What we need to do is focus ONLY on creation for a period of time and ONLY on editing for a period of time. That’s the secret to eliminating Resume writer’s block and being able write MORE content in LESS time.

And here’s are my resume tips for how to do that…

STEP 1) Open MS Word so that you have a blank screen

STEP 2) Close all other programs on your PC or MAC so that no “pop ups” will come up

STEP 3) Turn down the brightness of your screen till its BLACK (or turn off your monitor so that you don’t see ANYTHING on your screen). By doing this, you’re making the creation state INEVITABLE by eliminating ALL chances of distraction or impulses to edit.

STEP 4) Setup a digital timer or Google an online countdown timer and set it for ONE HOUR

STEP 5) Write and DON’T STOP WRITING UNTIL THE TIMER GOES OFF!

Keep in mind, as you’re writing you WILL make mistakes. Its bound to happen and its OK. Just go back and edit what you’ve written later. That way you’ll at least be able to have some content to sculpt instead of staring at a blank screen for hours and getting distracted by facebook or email, etc.

So now that you know how to get over your writer’s block, I want you to sit down and pick 1 previous work experience and write for one hour using this method. Then in the comments area below, let everyone know how you did. If you know of any other tricks, go ahead and leave them on here as well and maybe we can all create a nice collection to share.

Happy hunting!

Have you ever wondered how to apply for jobs that are related to your major but don’t have anything to do with your previous work experience?

If so, you’re not alone. I’m going to teach you a concept that’ll not only help you gain more control and popularity in your job interviews, but it will also help you avoid looking like every other clueless candidate that walks in through their door.

I call this concept, “Experience Alignment”.

So first things first, what is Alignment anyway? If you visit Wikipedia.org, it’ll define Alignment as the adjustment of an object in relation with other objects. So in other words Alignment means to “line up”.

Well in the context of interviewing and getting hired, “Experience Alignment” means to align your previous work experience with the kind of relevant experience that your prospective employer is looking for.

For example, if you want to work for a marketing firm, and your studying sales and marketing in college, but the only kind of experience you have is a part-time job being an insurance intern for 2 years, what do you think would be going on in the head of the hiring manager who’s interviewing you?

Do you think they’re going to see you as being very aligned with wanting to be in the marketing industry? What do you think you’d ideally like to see from a candidate?

Maybe someone who’s had some work experience in the field of marketing perhaps? Even if the position was an unpaid volunteer position for a non-profit marketing organization, wouldn’t you think that would look better than having work experience in a totally unrelated field? Or even worse, no experience at all?

“So how can I get my experience Aligned?

STEP 1: Take a look at your past experience and ask yourself, “Is there anything I can salvage from my already existing work experience?”

So if we take the example above, and lets say you happened to help your insurance employer hand out some flyers to unsuspecting people at a busy intersection to build a little local brand awareness. On your resume, you may want to consider putting an emphasis on the ”marketing” experience you gained instead of talking about answering phones or pushing insurance papers…

Are you following me?

You want to stay in alignment. Once you’ve broken down all of your existing previous work experience, and sucked all of your relevant experience dry, you’ll want to move on to the next step…

STEP 2: Focus on GETTING MORE EXPERIENCE… in your field of study.

I know. Painfully obvious isn’t it? But why don’t people ever do anything about this? Well for one, people will always gravitate towards the path of least resistance. Its just human nature. On one hand it might SEEM like it requires a lot of effort. But in reality its not all that difficult. It just requires a little WILL POWER and MOTIVATION.

I remember a few years ago, I had a friend in college who I gave this advice to and he was like, “Yeah, but that sounds like a lot of work… Maybe I’ll get to it someday in the future…” And low and behold, a few house parties later, he had completely drank away any memory about this advice and never did anything different. He just continued on with his life, totally unaware that his experience wasn’t aligned, and he dug himself deeper and deeper until one day he found out he’d have to move back in with his parents and give up his freedom for an entire year all because he didn’t have any relevant experience regardless of his major.

So if you don’t want that kind of future for yourself, ask yourself this, “What can I do to start getting more relevant experience?”

If you’re drawing a blank, how about switching part-time jobs if you’re currently employed? There’s some food for thought… Other things you might want to try are volunteering at industry-held charities or attending an event held by industry associations.

Think for a moment and try to come up with a list of some of your own ideas.

Once you’ve made your list, you can move onto the final step…

STEP 3: Get off your butt and TAKE ACTION.

Depending on how bad you want the job…  this can be a walk in the park, or it can be like pulling teeth with pliers if you’re not 100% committed to getting a job RIGHT NOW.  My advice? Get outside of your comfort zone and implement at least 1 item from your list TODAY! If you start CHANGING YOUR BEHAVIORS by actually doing something different than what you’ve been doing in the past, I guarantee you’ll start seeing result IMMEDIATELY.

So in the comments area below, let everyone know what YOUR experience has been, and maybe we can all help each other get some Alignment on our job search.

Happy hunting!

Scene 1 (Setting is a typical interview):

Hiring Manager: “Why should I hire you?”

You: “Why shouldn’t you hire me? Pssh… cause I’m better than all the other idiots out there…duh!”

Ok.. maybe you shouldn’t use that kind of approach on your next job interview… but really lets take a closer look at this typical interview question and see what’s REALLY going on behind the curtain… Have you ever asked yourself why employers ask this typical interview question in the first place? Could it be that that they’re really just trying to get under your skin? To see if you’ll crack? Or do you think its to see what you’d come up with on the spot? See how you do under pressure?

You know what? It could be all of the above in my opinion.  It’s obviously a typical interview question, but how you answer it can really say a lot about you.  Sometimes it’s what you don’t say that stands out.

But if there’s one key takeaway you should learn from this post, if nothing else, it would be no matter what your answer is to this typical interview question, it should ALWAYS be in employer’s best interest…. In other words, “WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM”… And it really helps when you actually put some forethought in this (since it is a typical interview question you’ll be asked time and time again) ahead of time instead of spouting out a bunch of “overdone” responses like, “I’m a hard worker, I’m good with people, I’ll do a good job for you…blah, blah, blah”

You think this is the first time they’ve heard anyone say that before? Yeah right! You’re probably the 1034^th person to walk in through that door with the EXACT same rehashed bologna and employers can see right through it! Don’t settle for the lazy way out… Put some effort into it… some passion… REALLY.

Here’s a clue for what I would do on a typical interview…

[WARNING: This approach is definitely not for everyone. But with enough practice, I can guarantee you one thing: They’ll remember you long after the interview is over and it will be remembered as more than just a typical interview!]

Step 1: Study their job posting and figure out exactly what they want

Step 2: Cater your answer to the “Why should I hire you?” question to match every single one of the requirements on the job posting.

For example:

Let’s say a job posting is for an administrative position and says, “Must be organized and be able to multi-task.”

Ok… so what could you say as a response to “Why should I hire you?”

How about… “You should hire me because I’ve proven time and time again for my previous employers that I have an exceptional ability to keep my projects organized and efficient. And as I’ve mentioned in my resume, I was able to keep our office and project files organized while simultaneously being able to help my direct supervisor establish a filing system, distribute press kits, [insert task], [insert task], etc (you get the idea). So if you’re still looking to hire someone who can be exceptional at multi-tasking while being able to keep your office organized… you just need to ask yourself one question… and that is: “Would hiring anyone else OTHER THAN me be a good business decision? [pause for effect]

Like I said, this approach might be a bit more “aggressive” to a typical interview answer for most people out there who are currently stuck in their “I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing even though it’s not working” mentality… but if you don’t want to continue to be broke and unemployed… you just gotta ask yourself one thing…

How bad do YOU want this job?

Hope this entry helps. Now do me a favor and leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

Happy hunting!  And have fun creating a unique, tailored answer to this typical interview inquiry!

Everyone knows that our economy is in shambles. Jobs are scarce and everyone is worried about money. As a college student it can be even scarier because not only do you face all the same challenges as everyone else, but you also have to deal with not having any real world experience which can really be a major pain in the ass when it comes down to figuring out how to write a resume.

After years of studying the hiring process and learning how to become successful with interviewing and landing jobs consistently, I’ve discovered that the first step in getting hired ultimately comes down to being able to GET THE INTERVIEW IN THE FIRST PLACE. And this can be done by learning how to write a resume.

But not just any resume… A resume that will AUTOMATICALLY attract employers and hiring managers and literally force them to want to interview you.

So what can you do to start learning how to write a resume?

Here are my 5 “Hidden Secrets” on how to write a resume:

1) Learn How Hiring Managers Think – How will you persuade employers to interview you? How can you make yourself look good enough on paper so that hiring managers will be convinced that you are worthy enough to bring in for a job interview? That is probably the most challenging assignment there is when it comes to creating a resume. Take Sun Tzu’s advice from The Art of War,  “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Study hiring psychology. Study the hiring process. Figure out what employers are REALLY looking for.

2) Write With Their Needs In Mind – If you give employers what they want, they’ll listen to you. What does every employer want in your resume? That’s hard to say, because  every employer has a different job that needs to be filled. Its your job to figure out what they want and deliver on those needs in your resume. Hiring managers generally ask themselves a few questions when they pick a resume to read. Here they are:

1. “Who cares?”
2. “So what?”
3. “What’s in it for me?”

When you think about it, hiring managers are looking over your resume for their reasons, not yours. They don’t care what you want. They care about what they want. Every employer, every hiring manager, is the same. Can you provide the answers? If you cant, your employers—well, you wont have any employers. Consider this step a part of your research phase in how to write a resume. Its an essential step in how to write a resume that will nail your future employer’s eyes to the page.

That’s what you want, isn’t it?

3) Select The Format That Gets RESULTS – I get this question a lot from my clients, “How should I format my resume?” And do you know what I tell them? Use whatever format that does the job and gets you the interview. Period.

Now it turns out, there have been some formats that have been statistically proven to drive the best results and some formats that have been proven to drive the worst results. Based on my research, I’d recommend using the accomplishment based resume format and I would never EVER use the skills based (or functional) resume format.

4) Learn How To “Word-Smith” Your Accomplishments – This is where most of us “non-writers” get stuck in the resume writing process. “How do can I make my responsibilities sound really good?” The answer: Learn how to write a resume with hypnotic text. Learn how to build desire. Emotion. Learn how to let your words paint a picture and tell the story of your previous successes. Reel them in with benefits and curiosity. And give them reasons or logic for why they should interview you. Think about the hiring manager’s emotional concerns, and talk to them in a way they cant ignore. If you do, you’ll create a resume that is both persuasive and hypnotic. For example:

Before

“Typed, performed data entry, answered phones, receptionist duties”

After

“Performed data entry for 16 regional hearing officers as member of eight person office team. Assisted with email responses, distribution, report generation, and payroll input. Helped purge backlog of 1,000 obsolete files.”

Are you beginning to see why its important to learn how to MARKET yourself to employers?

5) Learn Resume Design Principles – Did you know studies of resume screeners have shown that “pretty” resumes are more likely to get into the interview pile than an “average” looking resume? Its true. This fact has been proven countless times. Having a resume design that is both simple and professional is crucial if you want to be able to stand out among the masses. The key is to make your resume look inviting and easy to read. You have to ask yourself, “If I were forced to read through thousands of resumes as my job, which ones would I naturally be biased towards before ever reading a single word?”

Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and wide margins. If you pick up a resume and  it’s a solid block of text, would you want to read it? Probably not. It’s not inviting. It looks like work. Instead make your resume attractive. How you lay out your resume is a key factor in how to write a resume which can make people like it before they even read it.

As you can imagine, how you use those secrets is up to you. Go through your resume—go through the entire document—with these pointers in mind. Look for places to rewrite, reformat, or in any other way grab and hold your reader’s attention. And as you absorb this information, you’ll see that a resume is not merely a piece of paper used to convey your work experience. Its actually a marketing tool used to PROMOTE you as someone worthy of a job interview.

See the difference?

So in the comments below, let me know which one of these 5 secrets interests you the most…If I get a lot of good feedback, I might just post more detailed tips on “How To Write A Resume”. Trust me, there’s a lot more funk where this came from!

If you want to stop feeling powerless during your interviews, and start having more control over the outcomes of your job search, one of the most important things you can do is start learning powerful, tested, GUARANTEED methods to influencing your prospective employers.

And I’m going to give you a simple, 3-step formula for learning how to do this. If you do these three things, you WILL get more job offers, period.

Use these steps to get more interviews and land the kind of job offers you want.

1) Start with the inner game FIRST

In this new economy, experience and technical skills alone will not get you hired. Success with getting hired starts with what’s inside of YOU… and the single most important thing you will ever do is to learn how to build a “rock-solid” foundation of confidence and power inside of you.

When you develop this unshakable feeling of self-confidence you’ll notice some very interesting things happen in your job search…

Hiring managers that you meet will all of a sudden become VERY interested in getting to know you… even to the point of pursuing you… just to find out what you’re all about.

Unfortunately, this isn’t something you can just “decide” to have.

It takes a lot of hard work…

Fortunately through my own struggles I’ve developed some almost “magical” techniques for overcoming fear and boosting your self-confidence FAST, but I won’t have time to go over all of them with you right now. Just trust me, when you get your inner game handled, you’ll be AMAZED at how everything else just seems to fall into place.

And best of all, you’ll never have to worry about not having income or being unemployed ever again.

2) Learn lots of tested techniques that WORK

Ever get frustrated with not knowing who to address your cover letter to because almost every job posting you come across wont include a contact name?

Or have you ever been confused with not knowing which way is the best way to format your resume… but you didn’t have any CREDIBLE professionals to ask for advice?

These situations happen all the time… and all too often college grads end up missing out on opportunities because they don’t know “what to do”.

I’ve found that the key to avoiding missed opportunities is to have at least one “default” thing to do in every situation… whether it is finding the contact info for who you should be addressing your cover letter to, how to format your resume, or knowing what to say on your first phone interview… and everything else up to “negotiating salaries” and beyond…

Do you see where I’m going here?

When you have an arsenal of powerful, tested techniques that work, you can take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself… and never worry about things not ending up “your way”.

And after you spend a day or two learning them, you’ll spend the rest of your life using them to get any job that you want.

3) Build and participate in a “MasterMind”

Possibly the most important action you can take right now to create success in your job search is to build and participate in a “MasterMind”.

What is a MasterMind, you ask?

A MasterMind is a group of people who have common interests and goals, who get together on a regular basis to support each other in growth and development toward actualizing those interests and goals. Traditionally, masterminds were used by high-level business owners and wealthy people to get support and feedback in their ventures. It was and still is used by people who understand that the power of the “group mind” is exponentially more powerful than the sum of the individual minds from which the group is composed.

For the sake of your job search, lets just say your MasterMind should be a dedicated group of people who are actively searching for jobs in the same industry if possible.

If you want to learn more about this, I’d recommend Napolean Hill’s book “Think And Grow Rich”.

Hill said that no individual can achieve great power with out a MasterMind. My experience (and the experience of every powerful person I’ve ever researched) confirms this idea.

Now do me a favor and tell me what you’ve learned in the comment area below. Enjoy!

I am going to give you one of the BEST Resume strategies that I have ever learned… and I actually picked it up from a book written by a psychologist by the name of Robert Cialdini called Influence which is a NY Times, USA Today, & Wall Street Journal Best Seller.

And what I am going to deliver to you is what I believe to be the STRONGEST resume strategy that I’ve ever used…

Now before I do, I’d like to talk about how I came across this little secret of mine…

The resume actually has multiple purposes but for this training video, we’ll talk about its primary purpose aside from making YOU stand out… and that is to convert JOB POSTINGS into INTERVIEWS.

I used to have friends and teachers who would tell me getting hired is just a numbers game… just keep on going on interviews and eventually someone will hire you…

So for about a month, I went home, sat down in front of my computer and applied to probably 50-60 jobs and I would maybe get 1 or 2 call backs at best. Which really frustrated the hell out of me! I always said to myself, "There’s gotta be a better way to do this! How can I go on more interviews if no one ever calls me back??"

So I made it my goal to get really good at using my resume as a vehicle to convert job postings into interviews by using a whole new approach that I learned from Robert Cialdini’s book Influence…

In his book, he talks about a concept called Social proof.

If you’ve never heard of this concept before, Social Proof is basically the idea that whenever we’re in situations where we don’t know what to do, our brains will default to relying on the behaviors of others to determine what course of action to take…

In our everyday life, we see this in the form of word of mouth and friend referrals.

I mean think about it… When you want to buy a book on Amazon or rent a DVD on Netflix what is one of the biggest factors that would influence your decision on which book or dvd you want to take home?

It’s the feedback or testimonials that were written based on the experience of real people.

If you see a book or dvd that has zero ratings on it, you’re less likely to take the leap and get it when compared to a book or dvd that has 5 stars or even 1 star on it.

Now then, how can we use social proof on our resumes and get more job interviews faster?

Include testimonials on your resume!

You see we can use the same strategy on our own resumes. After all if it works for multi-multi-million dollar companies like Amazon and Netflix, then it can work for us as well.

Most employers, when they look at your resume they see only what YOU say about yourself, so its hard for them to trust you since most of the time people embellish what they have on their resumes anyway.

This isn’t new for most Employers… (and is also the reason why all the GOOD companies make you go through the really intense interviews to see if your for real or not)

And another thing: There’s allot of psychology that goes on behind the scenes as well. Thanks to businesses like Amazon and Netflix who’ve already trained their customers to respond positively to testimonials, people AUTOMATICALLY feel more trust when they see it. Sure there might be some skeptics out there who say testimonials are fake or they never trust testimonials or whatever, but if you’re really in the market to make a big purchase… choosing a product that has already been proven to work by others could only to be your advantage when compared to the alternative of taking a gamble on something that no one has ever heard about.

Are you starting to see how powerful it can be to have social proof in the form of testimonials on your resume?

OK, good…

So piggyback off of people’s pre-programmed behavior and use this technique to your advantage!

Now leave me a comment below and tell me your thoughts…

-Landon

So how do employers go about selecting who they want to interview?

I want to introduce you to a concept I’ve learned from a BRILLIANT entrepreneur by the name of Eben Pagan. And that is the idea that most people can be categorized as Givers and Takers.

In life, the "Givers" tend to give more than they "Take" and the "Takers" tend to take more than they "Give"… now this is obviously a gross generalization but there is some truth to this concept.

One of the biggest challenges employers face when they get hundreds of resumes and applications is that it’s hard to decipher the "givers" from the "takers". Let me give you some examples.

Givers

• Give as much value as possible no matter where they go.

• They put in extra hours to get the job done or meet a deadline

• They don’t have "expectations" or feel entitled in anyway

• They’re aware of the needs of employers and their supervisors and they do everything in their power to find a way to have those needs met

• They motivate team members and are optimistic and they help others create as much value as possible as well

• Basically they are value producers instead of value consumers.

Takers

• Take as much value as possible wherever they go

• They clock in at exactly 8 and clock out at exactly 5…they’re just "there" to collect a paycheck

• They feel entitled to get paid allot of money with all the benefits while putting in as little effort as possible

• They don’t care about the needs of employers and their supervisors and they don’t take responsibility for driving the project to completion

• In team environments, they act as an emotional drain by being cynical or pessimistic. They find more joy in gossiping and playing office politics than they do in looking out for what’s best for the team.

• Essentially they are always consuming value and looking out for #1 instead of contributing value and making life easier for others.

So what’s the lesson here? Be a Giver not a Taker when you sell yourself in your next job interview.

Now do me a favor and leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts…

I’ve been getting allot of e-mails from frustrated college students who don’t know what went wrong during their job interviews and would like to know why. So, I thought I’d share with you one of my best techniques for doing this.

But first, I’d like to talk a little about WHY figuring out what went wrong or well during your job interview should be considered a high priority…

And it can really be summed up into one sentence: Getting feedback from your interviews is very important because it allows you to actually learn from your mistakes. PERIOD.

Think about it…

What if you went to school every quarter (or semester) and you didn’t have to do any of the homework assignments…

Wouldn’t that be awesome?

But here’s the catch- In order to pass the class, you’re required to pass an incredibly difficult final at the end of the quarter… What do you think would happen if this were reality?

Now, unless your one of those brainiac geniuses who are capable of acing tests without studying for them… I’m pretty sure you’d do pretty poorly on it. Either that or you’d have to get pretty good at not procrastinating, right?

It’s not a very hard concept to understand-If you don’t get any feedback from your professors on whether or not you’ve learned the material correctly throughout the quarter… you will fail the final. Game over.

The same thing is true with our job search and job interviews. If you are able to figure out what you’re doing wrong in your interviews, you will become more confident as a result of the success you’ll be able to achieve from the feedback you gather.

You’ll feel empowered because your answers will be so impactful that employers will begin to sell their companies to you since they won’t want to lose you to another competitor… not to mention it could very well tip the scale in your favor when it comes time to making the final decision for who the employer would like to hire.

On the other hand…

If you are NOT able to learn from your initial mistakes and you continue to make them over and over again, you will continue to have no impact on employers.

Just like passing your class at the end of the quarter would be left purely up to chance, achieving success in getting a job would be left to chance as well and soon you’ll find yourself living back home with your parents wondering why no companies want to hire you…

…and you’ll slowly creep into a feeling of hopelessness and into a "feel sorry for yourself" kind of depression, while all your other friends are out pursuing their dreams…

So if you want to avoid this kind of future, listen up because I’m about to share with you a VERY powerful technique for figuring out what went wrong during your interview…

I call it "Self-Injected Feedback"

It involves taking responsibility for capturing the interview and taking the initiative yourself in getting someone who’s CREDIBLE to give you feedback.

And here are the action steps for you:

1. Pick up or borrow some sort of voice recorder or Tunetalk & iPod (many cell phones have a recorder function that could work as well…)

2. Bring it with you to your next job interview and secretly hide it inside one of your suit jacket pockets before you enter into the office building where the interview is going to take place.

3. Right before you’re about to be called in for your interview, secretly go to the bathroom or covertly turn on your voice recorder to START recording…

4. During your interview, act normal and try to focus on the needs of the employer instead of focusing on the microphone that’s in your pocket. (Be careful not to obstruct the microphone piece or to move around too much while you’re answering questions because you will get allot of static noise when you play it back).

5. After the interview, STOP the recording and save the audio file in a safe place. (Tip: Other than checking to make sure it recorded, do not listen to your recording right away. Go home and take a load off)

6. The next day, listen to your interview and make some notes on your performance.

7. Take your recording to a CREDIBLE professional who you trust (preferably someone who is pretty high up in the corporate ladder or even better is a CREDIBLE interview expert/guru) and get feedback from them on how you could’ve done better and TAKE NOTES! (Tip: Make sure you create a list of things TO DO and things TO AVOID)

8. Lastly-Before your next job interview, review your notes carefully and focus on incorporating what you’ve learned proactively putting into ACTION the recommendations that were given to you. (Note: The amount of success you get from using this technique will be directly proportional to the QUALITY of feedback you get from the professional you asked)

In the long run, you will end up with more awareness regarding the mistakes that you’re currently making, and it will significantly increase your chances of being able to consistently get a job offer with every interview that you go on.

This is just the beginning.

If you want more techniques like this, subscribe to my "Interview Tips" newsletter by visiting http://www.interviewmastermind.com/ or download a FREE trial of my new compelling eBook called The Unspoken Rules of Getting Hired: Recession-Proof Secrets That Employers DO NOT Want You To Know…

Go wild in the comments – I appreciate it!

I used to have no idea if I was doing well in a job interview as a college student.

I could be sitting there while the hiring manager was wrapping up the interview and I’d be thinking to myself "Hmm-I wonder if I did well during this interview or not…" but I didn’t know what signs to look for. This would often leave me worried and anxious for DAYS, and many times WEEKS, as I didn’t want to over step my boundaries and flat out ask them what they thought of me.

Here’s what I recommend for my clients to do now:

When the hiring manager asks if I have any questions at the end of the interview, I’ll go through my normal routine of questions while saving the best for last…

"So what steps should we take to continue this conversation?"

(Tip: Don’t worry so much about WHAT the interviewer says as much as HOW they say it…)

So, after I ask them this question I’ll make sure to laser in on their eyes and lips for any signs of interest or disinterest. If a person’s eyes dart from side to side, it might appear as though they’re looking to see what else is going on in the room. (PAY ATTENTION HERE…because this is where you can use a "Cool Psychology Trick" to tell if the hiring manager likes you…)

…But if you do some research behind what’s really driving this kind of behavior, you’ll discover the reality is that the human brain is actually searching for an escape route.

Think about it…

When you’re with someone who can literally bore you to tears, your natural urge is to look away for an escape route. But because most of us have learned by now that looking away while another person is talking is rude, what we end up doing instead is looking even more at the boring individual and we unconsciously use a tight-lipped smile (as opposed to a sincere smile) to pretend that we’re interested.

So, the first place to check to see if the hiring manager is interested in you is the area around the eyes. Natural, sincere smiles are generated automatically by a person’s unconscious brain and as a result, they produce wrinkle lines beside the eyes that reveal the true feelings of a person, whereas, insincere people smile only with their mouths.

By using "The Wrinkle Test," I now have a SUBTLE way of knowing if the hiring manager is interested in me that NEVER puts me at risk of over-stepping my boundaries-and I know within 5 seconds what it used to take me days or weeks to figure out… (That is, only if the employer decides to contact me… which as we all know, rarely ever happens)

I’m sure you’ve heard the same tired-old "cover letter tips" as I have…

"Send a customized cover letter, Target your cover letter, Write simply and clearly,

Personalize your letter, etc."

And if you’re like me, you’ve already tried all of these "tips" and they really didn’t help you all that much in landing that interview you really wanted. Well what I’m about to share with you is probably one of the MOST important lessons I’ve learned when writing a cover letter to prospective employers.

This lesson has taken me several YEARS to figure out, and I want you to have it because I know what it’s like to put yourself in the line of fire-feeling incredibly depressed, completely demoralized, and de-motivated because no employers will call you back for an interview.

So, do me a favor…

I want you to imagine for a moment that you’re looking to buy a flat screen TV. You see a good-looking 52″ TV ad in the store window and you walk in to check it out. The most important questions in your mind are:

• Will the picture hurt your eyes?

• Can you mount it yourself?

• And of course, How much does it cost?

Now lets say a sales clerk approaches you and says, "The TV was designed by John Baird…Its DT Certified…I feel like it would look real nice in your living room…Would you like to buy it?" Wouldn’t you think there was something wrong with this dude?

After all, you want to know what the quality of the picture is, if it’s easy to mount on a wall, and how much it costs. Why would you care to learn about the history of the Television? And don’t you think it would be a little presumptuous for the clerk to assume it would look nice in your living room? Shouldn’t this guy at least acknowledge what YOUR interests are before making all these claims?

Yet this is the same approach we take when we write our cover letters. And it happens-ALL THE TIME.

And what happens as a result of this?

We create BORING cover letters.

We talk about how, "During my college career, I attained a strong academic background in [insert degree]." We say things like, "I feel that I could apply my education and experience to your company." And finally, we finish our letter with something like, "I look forward to your reply to this application."

…And we wonder why employers barely skim over our "masterpieces" before they toss them aside. I swear I’ve seen hundreds of cover letters that literally was a variation of what you just read. Hell, when I was in college, my cover letter read the same way so I’m right there with you.

So How Do We Fix This So You can Start Landing More Interviews?

Glad you asked…

(To be continued…)

I used to have no idea if I was asking the right questions after a job interview.

I could be sitting there while the interviewer asked me if I had any questions, and I’d be thinking to myself "What should I ask, that’ll really make me look smart and prepared?" But I didn’t know what to do, so I’d always depend on my Google supplied ‘interview questions to ask employers’ list as a crutch. This would often leave me sounding stilted-like every other college student, and many times I’d be at home wondering why I didn’t get the job, as I didn’t get a second chance.

Here’s what I do now:

When the interviewer asks if I have any questions at the end of the interview, I’ll ask…

"Who would you point to as a top performer in this position?"

(After they’ve given me the person’s name, I’d hit them with my next question…)

"What traits make him or her stand out?"

(I’d make sure to listen very carefully and take detailed notes on the specific traits that this interviewer values. Lastly, I’d ask my final question…)

"What specific actions or behaviors make him or her so successful?

(This one is CRITICAL. I’d be sure to capture ALL of the interviewer’s thoughts on what THEY think makes this top performer so successful in my notes…)

When the interview is over, I would go home IMMEDIATELY and write a killer follow up letter to each of the interviewers I met with. But not just any "generic" follow up letter that anyone could find online… Instead, I’d come up with a personal or professional success story that displayed the same attributes as the top performer based on the notes I had taken during the interview. Then I’d simply weave it into my follow up letter and send it out.

By using "The Maverick Follow Up Technique" I sound genuinely curious about the interviewer’s top performers, but by being very SUBTLE about it, I haven’t given them any hint at what I’m really after. I now have a way of knowing what the interviewer is really looking for in a candidate without asking them directly-and I know within 5 minutes what used to take me hours or days to try to figure out…

So what is YOUR dirty little secret question you like to ask employers?

Leave your best question ideas in the comments below, and let’s create a great collection to share!

Lets face it. Its pretty much common knowledge that if you screw up your first impression before the interview, it’ll be an uphill battle for you in closing any position. That’s why many so called "interview experts" hammer in the importance of putting your best foot forward and making a fantastic first impression. Well in my opinion, aside from getting dressed and looking all fancy for your interviews, the hands down best way to make an unforgettable first impression is knowing more about the company and its VALUES than your competition does. Knowledge is power after all.

So what’s the best way to increase your knowledge about the company you’re about to go on an interview with? Why not get it straight from the source? …by calling the employees of the company and ASKING.

"But what if I mess up?" "What if I make a bad first impression?" "I dont want to RISK screwing up my chances with them."

These are all valid questions and worries that most college students have. Which is all the more reason why you’ll be able to stand out… because you’ll know something that they don’t. Most college students don’t get the juicy information that they need to succeed because the majority of the population prefers to follow the same antiquated strategies that our parents used when they were our age. Think about it, if you use the same strategies as everyone else? How is it possible to even have a chance at standing out and getting the job that you want? I say we need a different approach. One that has never been used by anyone in the past and is fit for the high demands of today’s high paced society.

If you follow my "Secret", Jedi Mind Trick technique I can promise you that you will feel like you’re in more control during your interviews instead of the other way around when you’re asked a tough question. Instead of tongue-tied or regretting that you should’ve spent more time researching the company, you’ll be confident, collected, and in control of your thoughts and emotions.

You’ll be able to walk away from the interview knowing that you gave one of the best responses out of all your competition because of the information you collected and organized from this technique. But if you choose to ignore this technique and fail to implement it, you’ll lose your one shot at making a good impression.

So how do we get around looking stupid?

Good question.

I’d like to introduce you to a concept I like to call Suicide Calling. Suicide Calling is where you partner up with one of your friends, preferably someone you know and trust who is known for being very charming over the phone, and you have them 3-way call (with you on the other line) one of your prospective employers as a potential candidate expressing interest in the position that you’re applying for.

Give your friend a list of questions to probe for in which you can use for your interview (company health in current economy, names of hiring managers, dept. heads, associations or charities that the company supports, etc.). There will need to be some preparation and coordinating done on the front end before making the call, and you success will be directly correlated with the quality of your questions.

What I love about this technique is that your friend (the suicide caller) does not have to lie about his name or where he goes to school or any of his background. In other words, he doesn’t have to get into "character" or be deceiving or any of that junk. Your friend can totally be the charismatic person he/she naturally is (which is what you want them to be because the technique works better that way).

The biggest benefit to this technique is that your friend literally has the license to crash and burn and everything would be cool because its not you that’s making the call. No risk. Plenty of reward.

Often times I’ll encounter a friend who is skeptical and hesitant about volunteering their services for this tactic. What I recommend you do is be the suicide caller for them FIRST and let them see for themselves how the process works. Sometimes people just need to understand the process before they’ll want to commit to it… and that’s O.K. Once you’ve succeeded in finding some valuable information for your friend to use in their job search, you’ll be surprised at how willing they’ll be in returning the favor to you.

Once you are able to retrieve the juicy information that you need, you’ll be able to connect with your interviewers at an entirely new level. You’ll start noticing everyone from across the table all of a sudden hanging onto your every word. The hiring managers will be eager to hire you because you’ll be able to demonstrate that you already know more about their company than any other candidate whose sat across from them, which means less training time in getting you familiar with the company and more time and money saved. On the other hand if you dont get the inside information you need, your interviewers will be bored with you because you won’t be any different from any of your competitors. They will end the interview earlier and send you on your way so they can go back to interviewing REAL prospects, and stop wasting their time with you.

Its important to remember that not all suicide callers are going to be as charming as you’d like them to be and not all "gate keepers" will be willing to spoon feed you valuable information. Persistence is key. If you can get just one gold nugget of a piece of information to use in your resume or interview, it’ll be well worth the effort.

So there you have it. Now do everyone a favor, and leave your best ideas for getting a leg up on the competition in the comments below. Please don’t just write "good post" or "I like that"… instead, add some value and contribute to this conversation with an insight, a practice, or a resource that we can all use to have a better shot at getting hired in this economy. Thank you!

Take a minute and explain your biggest challenge when it comes to interviewing as a college student. I want to make sure I’ve covered every question and every aspect of getting a job in my new program.

Use the form below to submit your comment, and thank you for your help!