"No-No's" and "Yes-Yes's" for the interview

So hopefully your cover letter and resume rose to the top of the pile. Wonderful news!

Now it's time to prepare for the interview. No, I don't mean brush your teeth. I mean prepare. No chess player goes out to challenge their opponent and plans to crush them without prepping. Ok, you don't want to crush your opponent, and the interviewer isn't your opponent. Often it may be a 'gatekeeper' to stop the flow of people who eased through the qualification process because their resume really did glow, only to be put on the spot and have some glaring omissions all reveal themselves in a few short minutes. Many times it will be the person who will oversee you - regardless, if you go in thinking you'll ace it on a whim, then you may be surprised to hear that's not entirely likely. It's more than brushing your hair back, putting on a tie or ironing a shirt that gets you a job. However, those are very important.

For some of the No-no's, this is a good list as any. 15 ways to annoy your job interviewer. Yep, that just about sums it up! It should be thorough though, it was written by the well known 'Working Girl' Karen Burns.

Now, on to what you should do, by a fairly well written list on the sometimes overly rudimentary, but very useful if you need that sort of thing, website eHow entitled, quite properly, How to impress at a job interview!

On a side note, when you hear people say 'maintain eye contact' it doesn't mean you want to have a staring contest and loudly proclaim, 'I win! Does that mean I get the job?' if you force them to blink or look away. It means don't focus on how crooked your laces are, stare at the odd broken fingernail on your left hand or look out the window the entire time. Just make sure that you are focusing on them a good majority of the time. Another piece of advice I'll add directly is that you'll want to talk about the job as if it is yours, don't preface every response with, 'If I got the job I would...' or 'When you hire me I would...' Just state how you, a qualified candidate, would deal with the difficult situations they present you with.

By the way, if you have to ask,'Does that mean I get the job?', then you probably didn't.

Happy Hunting!

As the legally challenged call it - Case the joint

Going to a Job Fair in the near future? Don't go in empty handed, go to the web site of the Job Fair. While there - match your skills & interests to the companies that will be there, and that you know you would like to work with, before hand. Research those companies, and others if possible, to make sure you know at least some of what they do.

Do you have a Job Fair strategy for your Career?

If you don't, here are two I'm sure you can borrow, Valerie and Tina have some suggestions. Learn what to do after you come home from any conference with this post.

You'll likely see some commonalities between all three, but there are some very diverse ideas as well. What works? The options they all mention, and the others that feel most natural for you, are a good place to start - though it's always good to go outside of your comfort zone from time to time!

Happy Hunting!

Now you can know what they're thinking!

I wanted to let you know about this great article. It's and one you absolutely should read! 9 Things The Seal The Deal for Hiring Managers

It gives you a unique perspective from the hiring managers about why they hired who they hired - giving you the opportunity to see if you're doing many things right, and just get tripped up on a detail, or if you are just stacking the deal breakers on the table.

If you like that, you should also follow this lady on Twitter! Who interactively answers your questions!

Happy Job Hunting

How to offer up your services to big businesses!

If you are a small business, and you're looking to sell yourself to BIG businesses, then take the time out to read this article over at Open Forum. If you're not familiar with Open Forum, and you offer services, you should be. They were started by American Express as a way for small businesses to connect with each other. It's full of great ideas for any consultants, contractors and other small businesses too.

If you have 'but I'm a small business' syndrome - then read this article too. In today's Digital World you can not only turn your perspective around, you can (and should) change how others perceive you by Creating a Big Online Brand.

Happy Hunting!

Ok, list time

I'm not big into lists, but here's one. If you're looking to get some basic resources, maybe these places can help:

If you just need some hourly or part time work to die you through go here - Snag A Job

Lots of well known national companies use this site to get the word out - Job Shouts

Sort and Search Twitter job postings in another way - Twit Hire

It might be a ploy to help you buy a book, or may be a valuable tool to learn where you should be - Strong Life Test for Women

And to quote the Human Resources Recruiter who sent this to me, "This is a classic book for anyone who wants help with their career..." Job Hunter's Bible

Happy Hunting!

Step 2, 'Don't make simple mistakes' or 'Do I even need a new job?'

Ok, so you think you're ready to get out there, start sending out your cover letters and resumes to employers. Congratulations. There are a few things you really should consider. Is my cover letter and resume up to snuff? Good questions. Thankfully, Yahoo! posted some great tips just the other day that you should check out, it's called '10 Resume Red Flags' and you should read it. Yes, you need to do the resume first. Why? Because it's going to go out to more people, and it will be modified less than a cover letter. For some real simple tips on writing a cover letter, I found Advanced Resume Concepts - and they include some real simple steps for cover letters (and more too). Not sure what should be in a cover letter? Well, Virginia Tech's Career Services Department posted some examples that might help you. Just about any college actually has similar information (ok, so it's meant to be available for their current and former students) that is ripe for the picking.

The next thing to ask yourself before you hit that send button is, 'Do I need a new job?' See, many people think the job is the issue and, let's be frank here, often it's the attitude and the expectations about the job that can be faulty. To make sure you're making the right decision, and since we're giving Yahoo! some love already, check out the story they recently ran called 'Loving Your Day Job and Your Life'.

And that about wraps it up for today, Happy Job Hunting!

Step 1, 'How to find a job' or 'Is your way working'?

Ok, so you're looking for a way to find a job, well - I hope I can help you. One of the great tools out there is Twitter, but where to start? Well, like many things - there's someone out there who has already done it. The good thing is, they can help you get to where you need to be. One of the instant ways to find a job is through Twitter! To see more, go check out this blog post!