Happy anniversary to us! Quintessential
Careers, the parent site of QuintZine, is 5 years old
this month. Given that "Quint" comes from the Latin
word for 5, the anniversary is all the more special.
Because Quintessential Careers is all about INTERNET
JOB-HUNTING, that's the theme of this special anniversary
issue. We bring you several special features to boost
your Internet job-hunting efforts, along with promotions,
exciting new Quintessential Careers interviewing tools,
a contest, and more.
Our regular features, The Career Doctor, What's New at
Quintessential Careers, and Quintessential Site of the Issue
will return in our Nov. 26 Career Change issue.
Finally, a big thank you to our readers and visitors
to Quintessential Careers. Our success after 5 years
would be impossible without you. Please read our full
thank-you message to you.
The Practice Interviews:
Many career experts recommend composing written responses to Frequently Asked Job Interview Questions
as a way to prepare for interviews. Composing responses in writing helps you solidify effective answers in your mind so
you won't be caught off guard in the interview and will sound exceptionally prepared.
The Interview Question Database:
We have 109 typical traditional and behavioral job interview questions that employers ask of
job-seekers for both established job-seekers and college students and recent graduates.
View the entire list of questions or go through the list of questions eight at a time and view
sample excellent responses.
Go through the interview questions with sample excellent responses eight at a time.
Ad: Special Anniversary "Free" Promotion
5 is the magic number!
To celebrate the 5th anniversary of
Quintessential Careers, every 5th order
received by Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters
from now until the end of November is FREE!
MyCareerBlast.com is our latest career resource.
The site is designed to fit the special needs of
individual students and job-seekers. Because
individual people have different needs based
on their situations, this site was
created to give you easy access to the specific resources
you need for your specific life circumstances.
Feature Article: Maximize Your Internet Job Search
We frequently hear from job-seekers who are frustrated
with job-hunting on the Internet. They have posted their
resume on the major job boards or searched for and
responded to job postings -- but have heard nothing
back from employers.
Let's face it -- the sheer volume of resumes and
job postings on the major job boards like Monster.com
(about 35,000 resumes a day for Monster) make it hard
for the individual job-seeker to get an employer's
attention. When the Internet began to be widely
used in the mid-1990s, it seemed as though it
would be a magic bullet for job-hunting. And,
while the Internet makes many aspects of job-hunting
a lot easier than they used to be, it also means that
employers are being inundated with responses to their
job postings. A single job ad can attract thousands
of applicants. Add to the mix a souring economy,
and you have a lot of job-seekers who are fed up
with Internet job-hunting. Our article will help
you get the most out of job-searching on the 'Net
and make you aware of Internet job-search
techniques you may not have known about.
Are the Major Job Boards All They're Cracked Up to Be? Observers and Users Speak Out
We polled our readers about their experiences with
the major job boards such as Monster.com, HotJobs.com,
and Headhunter.com (recently bought by CareerBuilder).
Whenever you conduct an unscientific poll like this,
you usually hear more from disgruntled users than
happy ones.
Thus, we also looked at some recent media
articles about the big job boards so we could present
a more balanced view of the pros and cons, as well as some
ideas for making an Internet job-search more than
what one writer called a "post-and-pray operation."
Debra Feldman is founder of JobWhiz, creator
of the JOBWHIZQUIZ, and specialist in cyber-savvy
strategic job-search consultations.
"Most recruiters will not look at a candidate
who isn't on the Web," exhorts Debra Feldman
in our Q&A with her. "Having your resume displayed
on certain sites is critical to making sure that you
are perceived as credible and knowledgeable."
Feldman also observes that "the secret to a
successful job-search campaign is target marketing.
If you can be a marketing whiz, then you can get
yourself the job you want by
correct positioning,
clever promotion, and savvy selling propositions."
To that end, Feldman advises resumes customized
for each situation. She also lists some of her
favorite Web sites for Internet job-hunting, suggests
how much time job-seekers should spend searching on the
'Net, discusses using the Internet for networking, and
notes the importance of managing one's career.
Are you ready? Are you excited? To celebrate the
5th anniversary of Quintessential Careers,
we unveil the Quintessential Careers
Anniversary Scavenger Hunt!
The hunt tests your knowledge of our site.
Once you have answered the questions to the
best of your ability, you can send them off to us.
Between now and midnight EST, Nov. 26, 2001, we'll
award a small prize to the first five respondents each day
who submit the correct answers -- and we'll let you know
how you did.
But everyone is a winner with this scavenger hunt --
because the more time you spend at Quintessential Careers,
the more knowledgeable you become about the job search,
and the better you become at finding your ideal job.
Ready to get jump-started to your next career opportunity?
Want an edge over the competition?
Need to reduce your stress level?
JobWhiz can save you time, effort and costly mistakes. We'll strategize and design a
high return campaign to realize your next dream position. Contact us today for a free
JobWhizQuiz and details about how JobWhiz can open doors to the success you deserve.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
A new study challenges widely held perceptions
about the online behavior of job-seekers. iLogos Research,
a research and consulting firm, released the report,
Perception vs. Reality: Jobseeker Behavior Online,
which indicates that experienced candidates ARE seeking
jobs online; job boards are NOT the largest driver of online
traffic for large corporations; and online candidates WILL
answer skills-based questions.
The Perception vs. Reality: Jobseeker Behavior Online
report finds almost half of online job-seekers are
experienced, employed professionals interested in
using corporate career pages for researching and
applying for positions via the Internet. Furthermore,
three times as many candidates come to the corporate
Web site careers section from "word of mouth"
and from a home page/within-the-site link than
from job boards. The report puts to rest a common
misconception that only the jobless surf the Web
for employment. Based on the survey, 72 percent of passive
job seekers visiting the corporate Web site careers
sections are employed, while 21 percent are happily
employed. Forty percent of happily employed visitors
arrive at the careers section via links from the
corporate Web site home page or elsewhere within the site.
Overall, online job seekers are willing to devote
the time and effort necessary to apply online.
Ninety-two percent of candidates are willing to spend
more than 6 minutes applying to a job of high interest.
To read an executive summary of the report or press release
about it (or order the full report if you'd care to shell out
$295), go to: RecruitSoft - iLogos
Office Team, which deals with specialized
administrative staffing, reports that 48 percent
of employers surveyed in 2000 prefer to receive
resumes by e-mail, compared to only 4 percent in 1999.
Twenty-one percent prefer to receive them by mail, a
figure unchanged since 1999. Eleven percent want to
receive resumes via fax; 1 percent like to receive them
in person; and 19 percent have no preference (compared to
64 percent in 1999).
Similarly, career columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy
recently advised that "e-mailing your resume is a
surer shot than postal mailing or faxing it. The reason
is that clerks scan paper resumes into databases, and
the software can make mistakes."
QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* How to conduct a long-distance job search
* Home-based careers
* Career strategies for women
* How to start a job club
* How to use keywords to enhance your resume's effectiveness
* The importance of company culture
* Letters of recommendation and references
* Should you get an MBA?
* Networking timetable for college students
* The biggest myths in job-hunting
* How to resign from your job gracefully
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
the email version of QuintZine by completing our
subscription form.
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RESUMES * JOB SEARCH CORRESPONDENCE FROM TRUSTED EXPERTS * COVER LETTERS
We create resumes,
cover letters, curriculum vitae, thank-you and
follow-up letters, and list-formatted documents,
such as salary histories and reference lists.
We also can provide critiques and makeovers of
your resume or cover letter. Credit cards accepted.
Quintessential Careers also offers writing services
for those who have been asked to give a speech and
need assistance in researching and writing their
remarks.
