A few of you have asked about my covering letter and resume. And MP also suggested some really good 1st interview questions, as well as asked about the job description for the position.
A lot of this is information I'm not really willing to give up for a number of reasons.
My covering letter and resume have both gone through extensive editing and tweaking from colleagues and mentors. Not that I don't trust most of my readers, but I would hate for someone to come surfing along and just poach what I've written.
What I would suggest for any of you who are in the process of writing or updating your covering letter and resume, is to have people in the industry look at it. My mom does a lot of hiring for professional positions, so I always make sure she has a quick peek at what I've written. I also am on good terms with a few key people within my field of work, so I do send them updates on my resume to see what they think.
I've had potential employers tell me that I got an interview based solely on how well-written my covering letter was. And also, in the covering letter and throughout the resume, I make sure to pepper everything with keywords found in the job description. That helps too - oh, and my resume is pretty. It is black with one colour, and I find having that one simple colour makes it a lot more eye catching. I also designed it in InDesign, rather than Word. I find it's easier and more productive to do print layout in InDesign, even if it just for a resume - and then output it to PDF.
As for the job description, I know for a fact that some of you who read my blog actually work for the organization I have the interview ... so ... I don't feel comfortable divulging any of that information. :) It'd be pretty easy to track down the actual job posting, and that kind of frightens me.
And for the interview questions MP left me, again, I really don't feel comfortable answering those types of questions on my blog. I will definitely take those questions and practice my answers though. I have a notebook of all the interview questions I have had in the past, and my answers for them ... and I make sure to always practice my answers in my head - especially for difficult questions. I also have a list of standard questions to ask employers during the interview process, and I make sure to review all of the applicable questions/answers before my actual interview.
Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Actually, I wasn't helpful at all, seeing as I didn't answer a single question asked of me.
Labels: job
I agree with you on this one. Too much personal info. I think you do a great job giving people an insight into your life as it is.
oops! I forgot to note that once I sent my resume to a friend as an example and soon found out they had basically edited the darn thing and sent it out. Not only that it was to some of the same companies as me!!!
That makes a lot of sense not to want to share this information. But here's a side question for you: you mentioned you have an interview next Monday. If it's during office hours, what information did you give your current workplace in order to get time off for the interview? Are you comfortable letting them know that you're searching for something else? Best of luck!
I don't see any reason why you should answer all those questions on your blog, any more than I think you should post a Google map with your house highlighted on it.
There's being open and there's TMI, especially when former, current or potential co-workers may be reading.
K -
It is always up to you to decide how transparent you want to be and how much you want to post on your blog.
I offered the suggestion based upon years of experience - both as a job seeker and as a hiring manager. This interview on Monday could be very important for your career - the kind of interview where it may matter in 25 years if you succeed or not.
The more prepared you are with well thoughtout and clearly articulated answers that are positive and forward focused, the better the result. I would anticipate your being faced with a few really difficult questions given others interviewing for the job will likely have already earned 4-year degrees and have much stronger workplace/job histories with two or three years of continuous employment with the same employer.
Good luck.