The Secrets to Job Hunting Success

The Secrets to Job Hunting Success

Sunday, February 21, 2010
By Tracey Read

Bob Gandee estimates that half the resumes he sees in his Mentor recruitment operation are poorly done.

"There is no excuse for that," said Gandee, president of Recruiting Solutions International.

Gandee is also president of Mentor-based BackTrack employment background check company, which was named one of the nation's fastest-growing companies by Inc. magazine.

Gandee spoke recently with The News-Herald about what techniques offer the best chances of landing a job in today's challenging market.

The News-Herald: What types of mistakes do you see job seekers make most often?
Gandee: I think most people have little experience in interviewing and writing resumes. I think many job seekers are laboring with a lot of misconceptions about how to interview and market themselves.

For example, on resumes we'll see misspellings, typos and extraneous information, like, 'I love to play golf.'

That's the kiss of death. I've heard sales managers say, 'Well, are they gonna be out on the golf course during the day or out pounding the pavement?'

Or they might indicate some allegiance to one political party or the other. If you're a Democrat interviewing with a conservative Republican, you've already got a strike against you. Or many times, they'll put a career goal on their resume and their career goal might be in conflict with the job they're interviewing for.

Everything starts with going back and putting together an effective resume.

People should look at a resume like a car manufacturer looks at their brochures — it's an advertising piece that is going to be the document in many cases that will determine whether or not you're even interviewed. Have people you respect critique your resume.

N-H: After the resume is fixed, what next?
Gandee: We encourage people to explore all avenues for job listings. On the Internet, post your resume on monster and careerbuilder. People should certainly be on LinkedIn. That has gotten to be a tremendous networking site that employers and recruiters utilize.

Also, take note of what skills you have to offer and put together a list of companies that might be interested in your skills. And then put together a mini-marketing program about how you might sell your services to those companies. For example, e-mail your resume to the person who would most likely be the person who would hire you. Then follow up with a phone call a few days later.

Contact recruitment companies and send your resume to them. Recruiters try to find people that have the skills that companies are looking for. Oftentimes, we'll find the person's resume on the Internet or recruit someone who isn't actively looking for work.

The people who are aggressively promoting themselves by posting their resumes on various job boards and marketing themselves directly to companies are more likely to find some openings that aren't being advertised.

N-H: Besides careless errors and too much personal information, what are some other examples of things you should never do on a resume?
Gandee: Don't lie. A lot of people are eliminated unnecessarily because they took liberties on their resumes. Employers don't look kindly on this. Probably 60 to 70 percent of employers now contract with screening companies like ours to do background checks before you're even offered the job. The No. 1 thing people lie about are their education credentials. The second biggest thing are exaggerations of their previous employment — their responsibilities and achievements.

N-H: Are there old job hunting techniques that just don't hold up in today's market?
Gandee: I've been in the industry for 35 years, and the same dynamics that worked 35 years ago still work today. It's just the technology that's different. People hire who they like. So when you're interviewing, you need to be likable.

N-H: What one simple thing should job seekers do right now?
Gandee: Go out and get this book (by Martin Yate) titled, "Knock 'em Dead." It was on the New York Times Bestseller lists a number of years ago. It's probably the best book I've ever seen regarding how to write a resume, how to interview and how to market yourself. We have been known to send the book out to some of our candidates, but it got to be kind of expensive.

Top 10 interview bloopers
-Poor handshake. The "dead fish" gives the impression of disinterest or - weakness.
-Talking too much. The impression: The candidate is covering something up or is outright lying.
-Talking negatively about current or past employers/managers: Even if your last boss was Attila the Hun, never state your ill feelings about him or her.
-Showing up late or too early. Always arrive on time, but never more than 10 minutes early.
-Treating the receptionist rudely: Don't mistake low rank for low input.
-Asking about benefits, vacation time or salary: What if a car salesman asked to see your credit report before allowing you to test drive the cars?
-Not preparing for the interview.
-Verbal tics: "Ummm," "like," "you know."
-Not enough/too much eye contact.
-Failure to match communication styles: Mirror the way the interviewer treats you.

Source: quintcareers.com.
URL: http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/02/21/life/nh1979351.prt
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