How to Prepare for an Interview (By Neha Bawa – BestLogic Staffing)

The Pre-Interview stage

Preparing for an interview begins with good research. You sent out your resume, you received and interview call, but there’s still a long walk to getting the job. Showing up unprepared for a job interview is not a good idea because you can shortchange yourself despite having all the required skills for the posted job description.

Remember to recount your stories of success at work. Did you ever lead a special project? Or negotiate a tough sale? Were you able to resolve an issue between coworkers without awkwardness? Did you meet a deadline despite continuous challenges at the work place? Keep all the stories handy – they prove how well you’re able to meet and resolve challenges instead of succumbing to them.

Before you walk in, make sure you’ve tried to find everything you possibly could about the company’s goals and objectives, their mission, their successes and their presence in their field.

Tip: - Always bring extra copies of your resume with you.

Professional experience

When you’re being interviewed, the information on your resume has to corroborate with the information you’re providing the interviewer. Are your technical skills true or have they been embellished? Did you really work on 5 different projects at the same time? Can you answer the questions about the Accounting software that you’ve mentioned in your resume? In other words, you have to be in person who you say you are on paper.

Talking about yourself

Most interviewers will ask you to tell them a little about yourself. Some people may feel stuck at providing the right answer, or they may stumble their way through. Or, they may even begin rambling. Remember that if you’re asked this question, this is an opportunity for you to reinforce the idea of your skills and professionalism – not a gap to fill with a miniature biography of your own life. Leave the personal details at home.

Your personal appearance at the interview

While the company may have a “casual Friday” dress code, showing up in your jeans and a t-shirt to your interview is definitely not a good idea. Not only does it negate the corporate standard, casual dressing also reflects poorly on your preparedness and interest in the position that you’ve applied for.

Your attitude

The person, or people, interviewing you will try to determine whether you’re a good fit for the job or not, and sometimes, the conclusion has to do with more than professional experience and technical skills or certifications.

Do you exude positivity and a “can do” attitude? Or do you only see obstacles instead of opportunities?

According to the blog, How to Prepare for an Interview, hiring managers look for a person who: -
1. Has good communication skills, especially listening.
2. Is optimistic and believes that he/she can make a difference.
3. Conveys honesty and openness.
4. Is a logical intelligent person who doesn’t “shoot from the hip”.
5. Can make a commitment and take responsibility.
6. Appears healthy, attractive and tasteful in dress.
7. Has compassion for others and is not egocentric.
8. On the whole is an interesting enthusiastic person who people want to associate with.

A lot of the times the interviewer will conduct background checks to understand whether you’re a “team player” or not, which means that at your interview, you need to find as much as you can about the culture of the company.

www.bestlogicstaffing.com & www.assemblemyresume.com

Resume Writing Tips

Resume Writing Tips
All right – so you’ve picked up your credits, done your time in school and you’re ready to begin working. But you’re worried that you don’t have enough experience to put down on your resume. Or you’re worried that you don’t have a good resume. In fact, you may not even have an actual resume at all.
But that’s all right. Because identifying the problem is the first step. Doing something about it is the second one.

The Anatomy of a Resume
Field of work notwithstanding, all resumes need to have a few key elements: -
- An Objective: Describe your career objective in 1-2 sentences.
- Education: List any degrees completed, in progress or relevant certification and course work.
- Experience: Beginning with most recent position, list your past employers, internships and/or major projects that relate to the position you’re applying for.

How do I write mine?
By keeping active keywords at the forefront of your mind. Employers search their databases using certain keywords, so it’s important that you include these keywords when you submit your resume. Most times, you’ll be able to find the words you need in the job description, e.g., job titles and skill headings.
All it means for you is that you tweak your resume slightly for every job that you apply for.
Moreover, using numbers to describe your achievements and responsibilities can greatly expand and elevate your image. Using numbers and quantifying creates vivid images in our mind when we read them, whereas general statements are easy to skip over or forget.

Typically, the more specific you can be in describing your duties, the better.

How long does it need to be?
Long enough that it covers the length of your relevant experience but short enough that it doesn’t put prospective employers to sleep. Sometimes a single-page resume just doesn’t have enough space to cover all the information you need to convey.
How do I get it out there?
Use the power of networking and the Internet to aid your job search. While job boards are a good source, use your online and on ground social network.
Consider posting your resume on a personal web site or social networking sites like LinkedIn.

The First Impression
Common sense helps when you’re out applying for work. Before you submit your resume, take the time to: -
- Spell check. Misspelled words and grammatical errors don’t help.
- Get a second set of eyes. Ask someone – a teacher, a supervisor, a tough friend - to give your resume a quick look to make sure you’ve done every thing right. Don’t ask your mom.