2). Take Initiative
It’s easy to criticize, but taking action will make worklife more interesting and easier.  Can you participate in activities or committees?  Engage your co-workers and managers.  The worst ideas are brilliant ones that no one acts on.  Take action where you can, write
a memo or attempt to influence those around you in conversation. Encourage others to help your organization.

3). Diversify
Inside and outside of work, the more you know, the more interest a person you are.  Keep up with changes in computers and social networking or anything else that might apply to your company. Volunteer to help out in other areas.  The more people you know in
your organization, the wider your support base if you need assistance, and also the more valuable you are to the company.

4). Document
Keep a record of your activities.  If at all possible, attempt to quantify results.  A record will help keep you on track, document your progress and allow you on short notice to demonstrate your value.  Write down anything you did beyond your regular job responsibilities.  Keep a log in your desk and try to add something to it daily.  This will
also help you if you need to create a resume.

5). Communicate
Ask for a meeting with a supervisor or manager.  Prepare carefully what you would like to say.  Explain that you have taken the initiative to assist the company and ask them if there are projects which might increase your contributions.  Every manager has a list of things that they would like done, but haven’t gotten around to. Few people are laid off during the middle of an important project.

The suggestions above will lead to a more interesting and exciting work day.  They will help your company and improve its chances of survival and solidify your position in the workplace.

1. 10 seconds to sell or say so long

Unless your resume catches the interviewer’s eye in 10 seconds it’s over, you’re done. So the big question is how do I catch the interviewer’s eye? Here comes the best advice on how to get a job interview you’ll ever get. Cater your resume to the job description!!! I can’t stress this point enough. It’s imperative that you cater your resume to each position you apply for. And I mean taking each line on the job description and writing a line on your resume to reflect your experience with regard to that line.

Yes, it takes more time than sending the same resume to 100′s of jobs, but you’re far better off applying to a fraction of those jobs with a resume specifically written for each job. Put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. Their job is to hire the most qualified candidate. They’ve been given a set of qualifications to look for: aka the job description, and that’s exactly what they’re after, so give it to them!

2. Be on time

There is no excuse for it, none! You don’t want a pissed off person interviewing you. Leave extra early, do whatever it takes. Blaming it on traffic or anything else doesn’t matter (even if it’s true.

3. Cell phone off

Obvious but easily forgotten, at least it was with 2 of the people interviewed. Double and triple check to make sure your cell phone ringer is turned off.

4. Know the company, and why you want to work there

Google the company you’re interviewing for. Learn as much as you can about the company’s mission, objectives, goals, and future plans. If you’re asked why you want to work for the company, you best answer something better then, “I like the company’s location”, which was said.

5. Bring resumes

Your interviewer(s) will likely have a copy of your resume but bring spares. It shows you’re prepared and serious about getting the job.

6. Bring a notepad

Very few people bring a notepad with them to a job interview. It’s a very subtle thing that makes you stand out. Take notes when appropriate.

7. Dress in a clean conservative manner

Make sure you go into a job interview having showered and wearing clean clothes. If you like wearing cologne or perfume, don’t wear any on the day of the interview. What’s subtle smelling to you may be overwhelming to your interviewer.

8. Profiles to private

If you don’t think interviewers Google you or look you up on Facebook or MySpace, you’re crazy. Hiring managers I’ve talked to all do this, as one put it, “to weed out people who wouldn’t be a good fit in the company’s culture.” Don’t give them ammo to not like you, set your profiles to private.

9. Don’t make jokes

Too many people think they are funny when in reality they’re not. A job interview isn’t the place to test your material. Be friendly and outgoing, save the jokes.

10. Don’t babble

When answering a question, answer the question. Don’t start out answering a question and then veer off to talk about something else. Make sure your answer directly reflects the question being asked.

11. Don’t badmouth a boss

Bad mouthing a previous boss in a job interview is a huge negative. They may have been the worst boss in the world but expressing that in a job interview is a huge mistake.

12. Don’t flirt with the interviewer

Common sense but apparently needs to be stated.

13. Don’t play with your face/hair

Interviews can be a nervous experience but rubbing your chin, twirling your hair, or anything else along those lines makes you look like you’re lying or lacking confidence, both not good.

14. Less is more

Sometimes certain details of your life are better left unsaid.

15. Have good eye contact

Staring at the floor, ceiling, or wall when speaking or listening makes you appear disinterested. Again, simple and obvious but happens way more then you’d think.

16. Have goals

Maybe you don’t have any idea where you want to be in a few years professionally but figure out something to say. If you don’t and you’re asked, you appear un-ambitious, which leads an interviewer to think you’d be a lazy employee.

17. Have accomplishments

Be prepared to talk about something that you’re proud of accomplishing, whether professionally or personally (or a failure and what you learned from it.

18. Have passion

Be able to express why you want to work in that field/industry and what you do to further your knowledge (books, blogs you read). The more intelligent or informed you are the more impressive you’ll look.

19. Ask Questions

At the end of the job interview make sure you have some questions to ask. If the interviewer doesn’t offer you a chance, ask to ask. Again, it reinforces your strong interest in the job.

20. Send a thank you note

It’s easy to send an email but take the extra effort to mail your interviewer a hand written thank you note. It reinforces your interest in the job. It doesn’t need to be long, just make it sincere.

There you have it. The best job interview tips you’ll ever get. Stick to them and you’ll be on your way to getting hired!

Below are questions you may want to ask the Interviewer:

1. Why is this position open?

2. How often has it been filled in the past five years? What were the main reasons?

3. What would you like done differently by the next person who fills this position?

4. What are some of the objectives you would like to see accomplished in this job?

5. What is most pressing? What would you like to have done in the next 3 months?

6. What are some of the long term objectives you would like to see completed?

7. What are some of the more difficult problems one would have to face in this position?

8. How do you think these could best be handled?

9. What type of support does this position receive in terms of people, finances. etc?

10. What freedom would I have in determining my own work objectives, deadlines, and methods of measurement?

11. What advancement opportunities are available for the person who is successful in this position, and within what time frame?

12. In what ways has this organization been most successful in terms of products and services over the years?

13. What significant changes do you foresee in the near future?

14. How is one evaluated in this position?

15. What accounts for success within the company?

16. These questions are presented only as interviewing guidelines. They are meant to help you prepare for the interview. Some questions may or may not be appropriate for your interviewing situation.

17. By practicing your responses to some of these questions, hopefully you will not be taken off guard if asked one of them. Most importantly, relax, go with the flow, and before you know it, you’ll be in your next job.

Interview Preparation Area

Below are questions you may be asked in the interview:

Tell me about yourself?(try to hold your response to 2 minutes)

What do you know about our company?

Why should we hire you?

What can you do for us that someone else can’t?

What do you look for in a job?

What skills and qualifications are essential for success in the position of ______?

How long would it take for you to make a meaningful contribution?

How does this assignment fit into your overall career plan?

Describe your management style.

What do you believe is the most difficult part of being a supervisor of people?

Why are you looking for a new career?

How would your colleagues describe you?

How would your boss describe you?

How would you describe yourself?

What do you think of your present or past boss?

What were the five most significant accomplishments in your last assignment?

What were the five most significant accomplishments in your career so far?

Can you work well under deadlines or pressure?

How much do you expect if we offer you this position?

Why do you want to work for us?

What other positions are you considering?

Have you kept up in your field with additional training?

What are your career goals?

What are your strong points?

What are your weak points?

How did you do in school?

What position do you expect to have in 2 to 5 years?

If you took the job what would you accomplish in the first year?

What was wrong with your current or last position?

What kind of hours are you used to working or would like to work?

Do you have your reference list with you? <i>(Remember don’t give it out unless it is asked for).

Can you explain your salary history?

What questions didn’t I ask that you expected?

Do you have any question for me?

1). Take the time to talk to potential writers. Ask them questions and listen to the answers to ensure they can assist you. Schedule a free consultation to meet them.

2). Never pay any money in advance until you have talked to a live person.

3). If you can not visit a service, make sure you have an physical address that you can verify. Make sure they are located within driving distance. If something goes wrong or you need to meet in person, you do not want to get on a plane.

4). Visit a writer in person. Make sure they are in a stable business, they seem competent and you have a chance to see examples of their work.

5). Make sure your writer is the one who will do the work rather than a salesperson who takes orders and contracts work out to home based businesses.

6). What are the writer’s credentials. How long have they been in business?

7). Ask about the writing process. What information is necessary? How is it going to be presented. Will you have a chance to review the work before it is finalized?

8). What are the update policies? How long will the resume be kept on file. What are future costs.

9). Does the business seem successful? Is it in a good location?

10). Can you make a deposit toward the work and pay once it is finalized?

These tips will help you select a resume service which will do what they say, give you what you need and launch you into your new career.

If you think about it, an objective statement is somewhat redundant. Obviously if you are applying for a position and submitting your resume for an employer to review, it’s a given that you are looking for a job. So when a prospective employer receives your resume, do you really want the first thing that they read to be something that they already know?

Instead of an objective statement, go for something that is going to tell the employer both something that they don’t already know and something that they want to hear. One way to achieve this is through a summary of qualifications. Don’t waste an employer’s time telling themwhat it is that you want from them (a job), tell them what it is that you have to offer with a summary of those attributes at the top of your resume.

A summary of qualifications is basically a brief description of your core skills and positive attributes that would make you an applicable candidate for the position you are interested in. Coming up with what to include in your summary may be easier than you think. Take a moment to visualize what are some of the things about yourself that you would want to stand out on your resume? What do you want a potential employer to know about you right off the bat? Start writing some of those ideas down, you may be surprised with what you come up with.

Regardless of the level of the position a company wants to fill, its motivation will always be this: to hire someone who will save them time and money. Your goal is to make your services so attractive that the firm has no choice but to hire you in order to save time and money. If you can demonstrate this, you will be in demand. Such a demonstration should always be based on a research of the company’s needs.

Information about companies can be obtained in a number of ways. Large or well-known companies are usually accessible through on-line or library research. Your target company, however, may not be large enough or public enough. Even in this case, there are quite a few ways to orient yourself to the company’s needs, if you are determined and persistent. There are two basic methods which can help you approach the company in a smart way: networking and informational interviewing.

Networking can work on a number of levels. If you know someone at the company, talk to her about her job, the corporate environment and the way the company operates. It’s surprising how much someone at even the least powerful levels of the corporate structure knows about the workings of a firm. If the person works for a department different from the one you would like to work for, she can still be a valuable source of information, providing you with a perspective on the company that you may not have considered. Remember, most people with a little encouragement love to talk about themselves and their jobs. Personal contacts are some of the most valuable sources in locating openings.

Another, more complex research strategy is the informational interview/sales call. You should be tactful when applying this method. You may contact the interviewer by telephone if you have an acquaintance in common. When calling, make sure you don’t bring up questions like how much different positions pay and what benefits the company offers. If you have no contact at the company, it’s better to request 10 minutes of the interviewer’s time in a brief letter accompanied by your resume. In the letter, it’s important to stress that you are seeking information and not a position at this time. You may also give the interviewer an agenda for your brief meeting, indicating the type of information you are seeking. When writing the letter, always put yourself in the place of the recipient of your letter: Are you asking for information that is confidential? Outside of the person’s area of expertise? Trivial information that you should be able to obtain through other sources, such as the library? You will realize that not everyone is willing to meet with you; however, you can increase the number of positive responses through keeping the reader’s interests in mind.

A week after you send your letter, follow up with a telephone call requesting an interview. If you are granted an interview, arm yourself with as much knowledge from other sources as you can beforehand. This will save limited interview time and make your discussion more fruitful. Regardless of how successful you think your interview was, always send a thank you note to the interviewer who spent time to help you.

Research strategies outlined above may be the most effective methods in gathering information about the company. If cleverly pursued, these research skills combined with adequate persuasive skills will distinguish you from other job applicants.

By Mike Mara

Finding a job may not always be easy but it certainly isn’t hopeless. A common misconception among job seekers is that there just isn’t enough employment out there right now to go around. However, the jobs are out there, and new positions continue to open up every day.

For many individuals who think they cannot find employment, the reality is that the work is out there, they just don’t have the right approach. The job search process is very similar to a marketing campaign. After all, you are trying to sell your skills and qualifications to the company you want to work for. The first step to improving one’s job search is not to think of themselves as a lost soul desperate for the first job that comes along, but as a marketing representative promoting the hottest product to hit the market.

The first way to go about this is by figuring out what it is that you excel at. What skills do you have that separate you from the rest of the pack? Once you have that, the next step is to find companies looking for those core skills. While conducting research on potential employers may not be the most glamorous aspect of the job search, it can be a great motivational tool to know you have what these companies are looking for.

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, searching for a specific type of job has never been easier. A couple of keywords in any search engine can provide you with countless potential opportunities right at your fingertips. Once you identify the companies you consider to be a good fit, the next step is to get their attention.

Persistence is the key to success. Everyone has heard this phrase or one similar to it at some point in their lives, but not everyone has implemented it into their job search. With the ever-increasing number of individuals in this country looking for employment, simply posting your resume on a job search site and calling it a day doesn’t cut it. The same can be said for applying to a position and then doing nothing but impatiently waiting for a phone call or e-mail requesting an interview.

Think of how many other people there are right now that are looking at and applying for jobs they find online, the very same jobs you may be interested in. You may or may not be the most qualified for the position, but if your application is just another piece of paper in a large stack on an employer’s desk, you will never get the opportunity to find out.

I recommend keeping a record of every company that you apply to, along with the date you applied and the contact information for the company representative reviewing the applications. If you haven’t heard anything back about a position after a week, submit a follow up letter to the company. A follow-up basically lets them know that you are serious about getting the job. If you can reach the representative by phone, do so. Give them a call to let them know that you are still interested in the position.

The same can be said for after a job interview. Even though you may feel that you just aced that last interview, it isn’t time to celebrate just yet. Send the employer a thank you letter to reiterate what was discussed during the interview. Take the time to remind the interviewer how your specific skills and qualifications would serve as a positive contribution to the business. Always end the letter by thanking the interviewer for their time and restating your interest in the position. You may feel like you are being borderline annoying but what the interviewer will see is someone who is passionate about getting the job.

When it comes to marketing yourself during a job search, it can actually be helpful to brag a little. A resume that simply lists your past work experience, job duties and educational background probably isn’t going to turn too many heads. This is why its critical that you point out what made you shine in your past positions.

“I have clients come in all the time who have received numerous achievements at a job, be it an Employee of the Month Award or a promotion, but they originally don’t want to put that information in their resume because they feel that it would be considered show-boating,” says Mara. “But what good are those highlights to them moving forward in their career if no one knows about them?”

Perhaps in a previous position you were awarded a gift card for selling the largest amount of a certain product one month. While that may only appear as a free gift card to you, to a potential employer, it shows that you are someone with a proven ability to increase sales. The same goes for college students/graduates. Were you on the dean’s list a semester? Did you graduate with honors? Were you a member of any college organizations? All that information should go into your resume.

When conducting a job search the most important message that you want to convey to potential employers is that you are the right person for a specific job and why, over and over again.

Mike Mara is a senior writer and career development consultant for A Better Resume Service, Inc., www.betterresumes.com. He can be reached at (708) 730-1888.