So You Think You Can Interview?

Take this quiz to see how you SCORE in the reality competition of interview preparedness:

1. When preparing for an interview, which of the following should you AVOID?
A. Prepare extra copies of your resume
B. Dress in a coordinated business suit
C. Research the company
D. Contact the employer to inquire about salary, benefits, and whether you will have an office with a window

2. All of the following are true about your resume EXCEPT:
A. In general, a resume should be 1 page only for an entry-level position
B. A resume should include your Facebook relationship status, interests, astrological sign, and all the pages you like
C. A resume is your opportunity to sell yourself
D. Formatting should be consistent throughout your resume

3. Which of the following is the MOST important thing you should ensure is accomplished in your cover letter:
A. Introduce yourself and your skills
B. Provide a proper greeting and salutation
C. Review the job description and outline the skills requested that you possess
D. Format appropriately
E. Explain what days you are not available to work due to animal care needs
F. A – D
G. All of the above

4. Which of the following is NOT true of a good interview:
A. Interview candidate had a firm handshake and good eye contact
B. Interview candidate answered questions directly and concisely
C. Interview candidate walked into the CEO’s office and said “I’m just checking out my future digs”
D. Interview candidate was able to provide examples of their experience

5. Which of the following tools IS NOT a good tool for researching the company?
A. LinkedIn/Facebook/Other Social Networking tools
B. Internet/Company’s Website
C. Informational Interview
D. Word of Mouth
E. USF Career Center Resource Room & Internet Resources
F. Posing as a UPS professional in order to meet with the hiring manager

Answers:
1. D
2. B
3. F
4. C
5. F

Was your SCORE not what you expected? Consider making an appointment with a Career Counselor to go over your interviewing skills or discuss your overall job search strategy. Call 813-974-2171 to make an appointment today.

Happy Job Searching!

Read Full Post »

A USF Student’s Guide to a Professional FWS Job Search

Great!  You were awarded the opportunity to seek an FWS job because you filled out your FAFSA by March 1^st, ensured your financial aid file was completed in a timely manner, and met all of the other requirements in order to qualify.  Now it’s time to start your FWS Job Search.

Where do you start?  If you haven’t done so already, you should come to the Career Center with a print-out of your “Award Overview” screen from OASIS showing you have accepted your FWS award.  When you get to the Career Center, the front desk representative will have you complete a Resume Release Form.  This will get your account started.  However, in order to view FWS jobs, you will also need to upload a resume.

Never created a resume before?  No problem!  The Career Center has a number of online resume resources and an FWS Advisor and an FWS Graduate Assistant that can help.  You can call 813-974-2171 to schedule an appointment.

The FWS program is designed to give you the experience of searching for a job.  It mimics the real world experience and the real world labor market.  As such, just like the rest of the job market right now, the FWS job market is rather competitive.  This is because there are more students looking for jobs than there are jobs.  This means you will need to put your very best foot forward!  But, don’t despair!  This only means that after participating in this experience, you will have a head-start on job search skills which will help you be successful well into your future!

Here are a few tips to keep your FWS job search professional and competitive:

1. When you complete the Resume Release Form and your resume, use your USF email address.  When job searching, it is important to always use an email address that is associated with your name.  This helps brand your name with your qualifications.  It is also especially important not to have an inappropriate email address such as:  “sexywoman4U@hotmail.com” , “myeternallove@yahoo.com” , “likesBIGtrucks@tampabay.rr.com” , etc. 
2. Review your outgoing voicemail message and in-call ring tones to ensure they are appropriate before giving out your phone number to potential employers.  For example, if your in-call ring tone plays “Rude Boy” by Rihanna, you may want to consider cancelling that feature while you are job searching!  If you answer your voicemail with a joke or casual message intended to get a laugh from your friends, you may want to consider changing it while engaged in the job search process.   
3. When searching for jobs in Career Connections, you should:
   • Apply to the most recent job postings first.
   • Follow the application instructions closely.
   • Be sure to include a well-written “Message to Employer” if the application instructions ask you to “Submit Resume” through Career Connections.
   • Make sure your spelling and grammar are accurate in all communications. 
   • Avoid using text speech (such as using “U” vs. “You”) when communicating with an employer about a job.
   • Follow-up with the contact listed in Career Connections within a week of applying for the job.
   • Dress as nicely as possible when you go to your interview.  Avoid t-shirts or shirts with writing on them, flip-flops, shorts, low-cut tops, or anything that looks too casual.  Try a polo or solid color shirt, slacks (khakis are always a good and relatively inexpensive choice), and nice, closed-toed shoes or dress shoes.  If you’d like more advice on ways you can dress nicely without having to go purchase something, you may want to consider scheduling an appointment with the FWS Advisor or her Graduate Assistant.
   • Be early to any interviews or appointments.  Be sure to factor in things that can come up in transit to the interview so that you don’t have to find yourself in that uncomfortable experience of explaining why you are late.  Being late will also likely cost you the job.
   • Bring extra copies of your resume, a copy of your FWS “Award Overview” screen from OASIS, a copy of your class schedule, and a list of references to your interview.
   • Follow-up after every interview with a personalized thank you letter.  Be sure to use your best handwriting (if handwritten) and proper spelling and grammar.
   • If you come to the FWS Job Fair on Thursday, September 2nd from 11am – 2pm in the MSC Ballroom, be sure to bring a copy of your FWS “Award Overview” (for admittance) and follow the same tips as if you were coming to an inteview (dress, copies of resume/references/class schedule, follow-up, etc.)

Overall, just remember that the FWS job search requires you to put your best foot forward and is, for many of you, your very first employment experience.  On campus hiring departments are looking for student workers who present themselves professionally, who show up on time, who are dependable, and who can do the jobs that they need done.  Your goal is to show them that you are the person they need for their job and that you will be dependable during the entire course of the employment experience with them. 

Our advice is to treat every job like your dream job.  Why?  Because every job gives you the opportunity to learn valuable skills that you can take with you for the rest of your career and every job provides numerous contacts to build your employment network.  This will be key when it comes time to apply for graduate or professional school and/or conduct your full-time job search!

Best of luck and Go Bulls!

Read Full Post »

I Can Do That: Skills Part-Time Jobs Teach and Full-Time Employers Love

Part time jobs are many things to many people.  They can be anything from a necessary evil to an enjoyable hobby.  Regardless of the position and where they fall on that spectrum for you, part-time positions are all the same in the respect that they give us the ability to learn and/or hone some very important skills.  In a competitive job market, these skills can develop into resume buzzwords and interview clinchers.   

Telephone Etiquette

Americans average over 200 telephone calls a month – which means that most of us are well versed in the concept of picking up a telephone and saying hello.  Telephone conversations are so commonplace that the art of telephone etiquette is often overlooked as a professional skill necessary to learn.  Most part-time jobs entail some level of telephone responsibility, but almost all full-time jobs and careers require heavy telephone use.  Mastering this skill in the part-time arena can help you land a career and excel at it. Start with the basics like being polite and putting a smile in your voice. While these are important first steps, they are only the beginning! Other components of telephone etiquette include: being concise, the ability to take notes during a call, actively listening, and the ability to leave an efficient voicemail message.  The best way to sharpen your telephone skills is to watch and study a manager, supervisor, or tenured peer whom you feel is an effective communicator.  Listen for certain words or phrases they use, and pay close attention to those they do not use! Pay attention to the way they open and end the call – these are the first and last impressions of you and your company that the person on the other end receives.  Lastly, ask questions! Almost everyone in a supervisory position is eager to share their knowledge and experience – especially when it comes to helping develop those around them.  Someone who develops strong skills for communicating effectively via the telephone will help their organization benefit from better vendor relations, higher customer satisfaction, and increased brand appreciation – in addition to many more positive outcomes. 

Professional Independence

From a young age, we are brought up to learn, work, and grow in a group setting.  In our personal life we have families, in school we have classes, and at work we have teams.  Whether we realize it or not, most of what we accomplish every day is not done independently.  While working as part of a team is an invaluable skill, many people have more difficulty working independently – especially in a professional environment.  Once the team brainstorming and planning has been completed, members of a team often work independently towards their common goal.  This kind of professional independence requires time management, initiative, and perseverance.  All of these skills are very easily acquired through part-time positions when you apply yourself in the proper way.  The easiest way to obtain the professional independence is to start slow, and take a step by step approach:

•  
  • Make short and long term goals for yourself at the beginning of the day.  Write down your goals for the day, and set reasonable time limits for completion by the hour.
  • Challenge yourself consistently through the day.  Ask yourself questions like “What can I do right now to make the biggest impact?” or “What is one detail that I can improve on in the next five minutes?”
  • Figure out what motivates you and use it!  Some people reward themselves with a piece of chocolate, others visualize the new car their paycheck will bring – find what gets you through a difficult day.
  • Don’t sweat insignificant details!  Don’t get so obsessed that you are scheduling bathroom breaks or skipping lunch.

With practice, the key habits of professional independence will eventually become second nature.  It will also prove to form the foundation of your professional identity. 

Polished Personality

We all have personality traits that make us unique.  These are the qualities that stand out to our friends and family and make us who we are.  Oftentimes due to inexperience or just nerves, we don’t show these traits to interviewers or our employers.  Part-time jobs give us an opportunity to perfect our ability to let our true personalities shine through – even during the toughest of times.  It is important to remember that many employers seek out people with energetic and efficient personalities.  They are more inclined to hire, train, and promote individuals with these traits.  Keep in mind that you are interviewing with or employed by a company because they feel that you are a good fit for their position.  That is the biggest hurdle to overcome, and once you have, there is no reason not to let everyone see a refined and joyful person.

Read Full Post »

Practice makes perfect!

I’m pretty sure many of you have heard this expression at some point in your life.  As annoying as it sounded back then, it is very applicable to the interview process.  Many recruiters indicate that they might have hired someone if they did better in the interview.  Recruiters are excited about an applicant prior to the interview.  By the way, that’s why you ended up with an interview with the company, because you impressed the recruiter with either your resume or the positive impression that you left after a networking event.  However, many recruiters are let down because the applicant doesn’t do well in the interview.

Why not apply the method of practice, to land the job that you want by composing written and verbal responses to frequently asked interview questions?   Be sure that you do not memorize your responses; simply have some talking points for your answers.  The idea is to feel confident that you have an appropriate and adequate answer for each question that you’re asked.  There’s no way to know for sure what question you will be asked but reviewing some frequently asked interview questions will allow you to feel more prepared.  Also, the Career Center offers various services such as Virtual Video Interview and Optimal Interview to assist you with practicing.

Here are a few other things to practice before showing up for your interview:

• Practice giving a firm handshake.  A good handshake can communicate confidence and make recruiters take notice.
• Practice eliminating distracting behaviors.  Listen to yourself when answering sample interview questions.  Do you use certain words like “ummm” or “like” repeatedly?  Try to limit yourself from using those words.  Also, avoid shifting around, and playing with your hair or hands.  These can be distracting to the interviewer and may cause them to not pay attention to what you have to say.
• Practice displaying good eye contact and body language.  Good eye contact and body language shows your interest in the position and/or company.
• Practice appropriate questions for the interviewer.  After an interviewer has asked you all of their questions, they will typically provide you with some time to ask them any questions you many have.  Be sure to have a couple of insightful questions that will allow you to learn more about the position or company.  Not having any questions, shows a lack of interest.   You do not have to memorize these questions.   It is appropriate to have written questions that you can read from.
• Practice driving to the interview location.  This will help you to familiarize yourself with the roads and the amount of time it takes to get to the location.   This will help you to be on time for your interview which is very important!

Want more tips to get prepared for the interview?  The Career Center also has books and DVDs in our Career Center library that can assist you for the big interview.

Good Luck!

Read Full Post »

Should You Always Say Please and Thank You?

To answer the question, yes you should always say please and thank you, it is polite and simply good manners. We are taught to be courteous from a very young age and for most people this behavior is incorporated into their job search. With this logic it follows that you should always write a thank you letter after an interview, since this would be viewed as proper interview etiquette. However, a written thank you has to be perfect or it does more harm than good.

With job competition being so fierce, you want to do everything possible to stand out and set yourself apart from the remainder of the candidates. Sending a follow up or thank you letter after the interview has the potential to do just that. The caveat is that the thank you letter can make you a star but it can also be your demise.

I have asked many recruiters that I work with their preference on thank you letters. The general consensus is that although they have the potential to be a very powerful and positive addition to the interview, candidates must be very careful when writing them. A recruiter from a top financial firm said that she has experienced many instances when a candidate has had a fabulous interview and was being seriously considered until the thank you note arrived. She said that if the thank you letter contains grammatical errors, is poorly written, is too generic, or even if it has poor tone, the candidate is immediately disqualified. She then went on to explain that a person’s writing is an extension of the quality of work you can expect them to produce if hired. If a candidate submits poorly written materials during the application process, why would a recruiter expect that their work would improve if hired?

Now that you understand just how important it is to produce a thank you letter that is free from errors, there are some additional guidelines that should be followed to ensure that your thank you letter is well received and actually enhances your chances of landing the job.

• The letter should be written promptly within 3 business days of the interview
• Ensure that the letter is personalized, being addressed to the hiring authority with whom you interviewed
•  Use the same heading for your thank you letter as you used for your resume and cover letter to maintain consistency in all of your written documents
• Keep the content brief yet specific to your interview
• Reiterate your interest in the position as well as the company
• Mention only the highlights from your interview
• Review why you are qualified for the job
• The letter can also serve as a place to mention any requirements or major job related accomplishments you may have forget to mention in the interview
• Provide any additional information that the employer may have requested during the interview
• Proofread, proofread, and proofread again to ensure that your letter is grammatically perfect and free from any errors
• The letter can be sent as a hard copy or emailed, it is really a matter of preference
• A hard copied letter sent through the mail tends to be viewed as more personal
• An emailed letter is better if time is of the essence

If you have any futher questions about the fine art of writing a Thank You Letter be sure to leave a comment and we will get back to you.

**Thank you for reading**

Read Full Post »