Career Expert Quintessential Career & Job Tips -- #6

Q-Tips: Career Expert Quintessential Career & Job Tips -- #6

These tips have been gathered from individual interviews with career, college, and job experts, part of our Q&A with Career Experts series.

Worried about starting your first post-college job? Career advisor Sharon Brown understands. "During your first week on the job you may feel overwhelmed by the realization of what the job really requires besides the diploma," Brown said in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "You realize that you're not as prepared as you thought you were. In college you were the expert, and now you're back at the beginner level. It's school-smarts versus life-skills-smarts. How does it all go in the world of work? Ways to deal with your angst:

Learn as much as possible in the days ahead
Be open minded and deal effectively with stress
Be a good team player
Ask for advice. Find the office 'old gray dog' and stick with that person.
Be professional, organized, and on time
Smile! Laugh! Breathe! Tell yourself "How hard can it be?"
Remember, they wouldn't have hired you if they didn't think you could do it.

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Career counselor Amy E. Ertel has special career advice for women. "My advice is simple," Ertel said in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "Your career is an important part of your life. But equally as important is your personal life. Your friends, significant other, family, colleagues, or a combination of them all are your support system. They are essential in helping you effectively coping with the trials and tribulations of both your working and personal life. I have found that scheduling a regular time to get together with my friends has greatly improved my overall happiness. Whether it's the huge project that I completed an hour or so before that needs to be celebrated over a martini or a much needed venting-of-frustration session about my boyfriend's weird pet peeves during dinner at a sushi bar, my 'friend nights,' as I call them, are unbelievably refreshing. No matter what you do or how you do it, find a way to connect with your support system."

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The single biggest myth about job hunting is that it is a dreadful experience, one to be avoided at all costs. That was the view of career coach and resume writer Tracy Laswell Williams in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "I say it can be a wonderful, even life-changing experience. Here's why: When in job-search mode, you can take time to determine what's really important to you, both personally and professionally. You can create a life that is elegant and comfortable in its simplicity. You can take great care of yourself so that you look, feel, and sound your best. You can learn new skills and overcome old hang-ups. You can meet lots of great new people and find out just how special old friends can be. You can learn how to create a vision, believe in it, and have faith. You can find a new job that is personally, professionally, and financially rewarding. The economic climate of the information age means you will change jobs more frequently than ever. It's wise to consider job search skills and resources as important as the professional skills and resources you use on the job."

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Marketing success means knowing what you want and knowing what the employer wants and how you meet the company's needs over the competition, noted career advisor Sharon Brown in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "Many students think their job is done once they've established some contacts or sent out their resume. They are often surprised when I ask them what they have done to follow up. Follow-up is where the personal touch comes in. As an employer, who are you going to remember? Probably the person who took the time to research the company, remember your name, follow up after applying, knows what you want and how they fit the bill, and who sent you a thank you note after the interview. Take the time to personalize your job search. Demonstrate that you are sincere and have thought about what's needed to succeed, and the job offers will come. Remember that every job has something valuable to offer; use it as a steppingstone toward achieving your future career goals."

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When it comes to researching employers, career counselor Peter Fox notes that "the more time you spend researching, the better information you receive." In the Q&A interview Fox did with Quintessential Careers, Fox said: "When you are short on time start with the company's Web site, which will talk about the firm's performance, its team, products, services, clients, and sometimes about its culture and other employment info. If you don't like what you see, move on to the next site. When you are on the company's Web site, start with the products and services section and follow up with the client section, if applicable. If a company specializes in manufacturing a product or service you have no interest in, you are less likely to enjoy working there. If you like the product and use it at home or in your current job you are not only more likely to enjoy the work but you'll relate to the people in the market research studies. If you are still on the company's page after reading this section, go to the client section. Most vendor selection processes will be pretty grueling, these are the other companies that said 'I want to do business with your firm.' That should say something. Keep an open mind when looking at the client list. You never know the level of services provided. Job searching is something like the stock market. People don't like making decisions using bad or little information, so use as many sources (previous employers, third-party Web sites, vendors, clients) as possible before making that life changing decision to accept a new job."

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Mentors can be especially important for women. "You need only ask a professional who has had a mentor about the wealth of learning experiences working with a mentor can bring to professional life," said career counselor Amy Ertel in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "This is the person who tells you honestly what suit looks best on you before your next big job interview. Your mentor gives you advice about how to handle that personality conflict at work that has now become a huge problem. If you do not have someone that you can call a mentor, find someone. A mentor can be a colleague, a former or current professor or supervisor -- basically anyone whom you feel comfortable talking with on a professional level. Many successful women I know have mentors throughout their lives. Their mentors provide a constant source of support and encouragement to them in their professional endeavors."

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The most common job-search mistakes? There are four of them, according to career coach and resume writer Tracy Laswell Williams, who listed them in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers:

Not focusing on a targeted career
Not creating an organized job-search plan
Not contacting enough employers
Not following up

"To be effective throughout your job search, you have to be focused, which means you know what you want to do, AND you're crisp, perky, and articulate about it in all your written and verbal communications," Williams said. "It takes a lot of contacts to find the right job, which means getting organized! You need to compile 30-40 leads per week, keeping notes on all of your contacts with a given company. (Hint: use the telephone to quickly determine whether or not to write a letter and send a resume, as well as to gather information that will help you make the best possible impression). Don't be meek and don't give up. Follow up with all your contacts until you get an interview or a job offer."

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The biggest mistake job-seekers make is in not having the right attitude about their job search, observed career advisor Sharon Brown in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "You have to treat looking for a job as a job in itself and not underestimate the power of personal contact. A lot of students I have worked with have forgotten to take the time to research every aspect of what's involved with getting that perfect job. Or they know what's involved but don't really believe the process will work for them or that they need to put in the effort. They've assumed that because they have the diploma/degree, they will have a lock on any interview. Then after three months, they're wondering why they don't have a job! Attitude is everything in job search. If you don't make a sincere effort based on a combination of your research and marketing yourself to employers, you won't get anywhere."

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Job-seekers, college students in particular, have more opportunities today than they have in years, asserts career counselor Peter Fox. "Even in a down job market, companies are still coming to college campuses nationwide to hire students," Fox observed in the Q&A interview he did with Quintessential Careers. "Companies that weren't the 'employers of choice' in the past are recognizing their weaknesses and shaping up their acts to make their opportunities more attractive by raising salaries and offering big perks (like company cars, and relocation packages). Employers are also recognizing the changing needs of Generation Y workers and shifting their organizational practices to accommodate this different group of employees. But the disturbing trend is that the students are the ones who are not recognizing these changes. These redefined companies storm campuses to interview students, and their schedules aren't even filled. Some of the most underrated (by popular opinion) companies can provide the best opportunities for students, if the students just gave them a chance. Students aren't passing over these opportunities for other opportunities either; they are just letting them slip away based on outdated stereotypes of the company or the old roles. It all goes back to researching companies. If you are using old information (stereotypes especially) you can't make good decisions."

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When sending out a cover letter and resume, it is always best to send it to a specific person even though the ad might not identify a person. So advised career counselor Amy Ertel in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "By sending a cover letter and resume out to a specific person, you are increasing the likelihood that it will be put in the right person's hands and handled appropriately," Ertel said. "If an ad does not indicate a specific person, the best thing to do is call the place of business and ask the secretary who the cover letter and resume should be sent to and the means by which they would prefer the documents to be sent. Find out if the employer would prefer it faxed, mailed, or emailed. Always follow-up in a reasonable period of time to make sure that the information is in the right hands and clarify the employer has received all of the essential documents. This basic step helps the job search run smoothly."

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Don't let the hype about tough economic times get you down. That was the advice of career coach and resume writer Tracy Laswell Williams in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "The media love to report massive layoffs and dot-com debacles, since these are hard facts and figures they can report. I've talked to some people who seem to be preparing for the next Depression! The media, however, don't have the resources to say how many people are finding great jobs every single day. Remember that a focused, positive, perseverant approach always pays off, but stressing out about "how bad it is out there" won't get you anywhere."

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Career advisor Sharon Brown observes that sometimes the biggest surprise in the first few months of one's first job is that the learning never stops. In the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers, Brown said "How many times have we heard someone say, 'I'll never have to take another course again!' Then you get your first job in your field and realize that lifelong learning is the cornerstone of professional success. Use it or lose it! The people who get laid off first are usually the ones who didn't take this philosophy to heart! Keep trying to make yourself more valuable. Continue to grow professionally by upgrading your skills, taking on new challenges, and staying open to change. Make sure this process involves staying current with industry changes and innovations. Enhance your job performance by maintaining a varied personal and professional life."

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Should employer research be conducted entirely on the Internet, or are libraries still useful? "Walking into a library, most people will get frustrated to find literature that is not written after the year 2000," said career counselor Peter Fox in the Q&A interview he did with Quintessential Careers. "If the last newspaper you read was on September 10, 2001, would it accurately describe what was happening in the world? NO. Whether the research you use is online or offline, you still want to get the most up-to-date information, regardless of the topic. Luckily most of the information that is printed is also published online. Easy access to the Web means that those resources are available to the public -- most times for free. Some books are worth their weight, but rarely will you get your hands on a version that stays up to speed in such turbulent markets. The online editions of the good books are usually edited more frequently to take major developments into account. The publishers who revise their books every year are great because they follow the activity of a whole year and can most often show how that activity translates into trends or cycles. My favorites are those that offer annual publications with Websites that support new information between publishing dates."

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The biggest surprise that new professionals experience is in the realm of "workplace culture." So said career counselor Amy Ertel in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "Many people like their job," Ertel said. "The parts of the job that many people do not like are the cultural variables they have to contend with in daily working life. Good offices are able to work as a team. That can be difficult because teamwork is often a product of how well individual personalities complement one another. If personalities clash, problems with efficiency and the overall comfort of the office will begin to occur. It is this variable that I think job searchers need to pay very close attention to during job interviews. How well do the colleagues relate to one another? What is the office environment like? Is there laughing and joking in the halls? Is it super-quiet with all the doors to the offices closed? Could you see yourself working with the professionals that you met during your interview? The answers to these types of questions all point in the direction of office culture." See our article, Uncovering a Company's Corporate Culture is a Critical Task for Job-Seekers.

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Writing a functional resume can be tricky business. "Most functional resume-writers do themselves a serious disservice by belaboring key points, being redundant, or making a convoluted mess of their resumes," said career coach and resume writer Tracy Laswell Williams in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "Beyond choice of resume style, there are numerous 'tricks of the trade' that professional resume writers use to overcome likely employer objections. The resumes I prepare combine elements of the functional and chronological styles as suits the needs of my clients. For clients whose careers are characterized by highly repetitive positions lacking in remarkable attributes (for example, a blackjack dealer who has worked for five Las Vegas casinos or a dental hygienist who has been employed by seven similar dental practices), I find that a more functional resume helps us to be brief yet persuasive."

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In job interviews, asserted career advisor Sharon Brown in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers, employers are trying to learn about, and assess in more detail, is your level of commitment, credibility, and interest; how well do you get along with others, and will you fit in with the rest of the crew; and how open you are to change and learning new things. Here are some ways Brown says will tell employers what they need to know to make a favorable hiring decision:

Be your best self! Demonstrate a positive, upbeat attitude. Be honest and sincere at all times. Make sure your body language sends the same message.
Deal with challenges to your credibility by clearly communicating your thoughts on the business issues, related skills and personal style required in this position and how you fit in.
Surprise your interviewers with the research you did on the company before the interview and the way in which you've matched your strengths to the organization's needs.
Tell "STAR" stories about yourself that are relevant to what the employer is looking for. Your stories and answers should reflect your enthusiasm and willingness to learn, your spirit of cooperation, and your respect for others. (Note: Read more about the STAR technique of responding to interview questions.)
Maintain a sense of humor and openness during the interview.
Ask great questions that show you care.
Send a thank-you letter after the interview. Tell the interviewer how much you enjoyed meeting with him or her, how excited you are about this opportunity and that you are looking forward to hearing a hiring decision. Going the extra mile here can often be one of the key deciding factors in your favor.

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Using the Internet is a great way to get the most up-to-date information on a company, whether it is stock performance, press releases, corporate information, or other job-related research from the organization itself, noted career counselor Peter Fox in the Q&A interview he did with Quintessential Careers. "Only so much of the job search process can be done online," Fox said. "At some point before, after, or during the cycle you will have to let go of your mouse and go shake some hands and have some conversations with employers or recruiters. I wouldn't recommend that a job-seeker sit back and wait for a company to follow up, even after submitting your resume through an online service. Take the recruiting process back into your court! By doing your homework and research in advance you should know the person who will eventually receive your resume (if you haven't already sent him or her a copy of your credentials), and the job-seeker can follow up appropriately with the right person. Resumes and emails from job seekers can always be overlooked, misplaced, "accidentally" deleted. People cannot. Make the extra effort to become an individual through personal contact and relationships. Most companies utilize many methods to identify qualified candidates. The Internet has substituted for the method previously held by the Sunday help-wanted section. Many of the old rules of recruiting will still apply; the speed with which they are implemented has just sped up."

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Ever heard of a "headless resume?" In the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers, career coach and resume writer Tracy Laswell Williams said the headless resume is to be avoided. "It has been my experience that many people (especially busy, overworked recruiters and hiring managers) have a hard time summarizing information on their own," Williams said. "Without a focused and persuasive summary at the beginning of your resume, you're missing a great opportunity to sell yourself by leaving it to the reader to form an overall impression of your qualifications."

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When an employer reads a cover letter/resume or sees you in an interview; the question at the front of their minds is "Why should I interview/hire you?" So said career advisor Sharon Brown in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers. "If you want the job, answer this question. To answer it successfully, you must know the following three things: What are the employer's needs? How do your training, education, experience, skills and personal qualities meet those needs? What is your edge over the competition? Consider what makes you special. What key industry vocabulary should you be incorporating into your descriptions of yourself? If you have done your research and are clearly focused on addressing the employer's concerns, you will achieve your goal. Make the employer's job of deciding that you are the right person for the company as easy as possible."

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If you work on something you love, it isn't work. So said career counselor Peter Fox in the Q&A interview he did with Quintessential Careers. "Most people in their job search overlook their own interests and passions in life. Find what you love in life (food, music, reading, decorating, babies, pets, ice cream) and find the businesses that surround those interests. Here's an example -- if your passion in life is rock climbing, but you studied finance in school, consider applying your skills to a company in that industry. Think of all the products that go into that area (rock climbing gear, shoes, ropes, clothing, equipment, indoor gym equipment) then think of all the businesses that benefit from it (outdoor magazines, travel companies, equipment vendors), and guess what? You've got a growing list of companies that surround the industry of rock climbing. Now look on their Web sites, find out who would hire the new personnel, give them a call, and find out what opportunities are available. If nothing is available, call back in a few months. Sooner or later, you will have developed a network of people in the industry who know you are looking for a finance-related position in the rock-climbing industry. When something does come up at their company or one they might work with, there is a good chance you'll hear about it."

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Career advisor Sharon Brown offered this advice on researching employers in the Q&A interview she did with Quintessential Careers: "Target companies offering the kind of career opportunities you really want. Read ads carefully and circle key concepts and words. Make notes on how you fit the bill. Refer to the company Web site for further details on the job, company philosophy, and operating information. Think about what is important to the company. Take some time to stop by in person and get a feel for the place. Be sure to make use of this research in your interview preparation."

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Q-Tips: Career Expert Quintessential Career & Job Tips -- #6

These tips have been gathered from individual interviews with career, college, and job experts, part of our Q&A with Career Experts series.

Review all our Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips.

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.