january resume newsletter logo


January 05: Vol 2, Issue 0
Brought to you by Powerful-Sample-Resume-Formats.com
Kathi MacNaughton, Editor

Tips & advice for anyone wanting to earn a job interview through writing a powerful resume!


"The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible."... Anonymous

in this issue

from the editor

Well, for those few of you who were here for our first issue back in November, I apologize for missing December. You see, I became a mentor in the Nitro Incubator Program in October & we had a huge onslaught of new students in December, so I pretty much lost that whole month, especially with the holidays and all. By the way, this site was made with the Nitro Incubator mentoring program. You can read all about it on my About Us page . But, anyway, I hope you enjoy this issue. I made it just for you!) :-)

Please feel free to tell your friends about this eZine… just send them to the URL below to subscribe:

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job news

Here are some recent headlines about the great job hunt and the employment market:

  • Europeans Prefer Employment to Going It Alone— According to a recent article on Scotsman.com, only 45% of Europeans want to be their own boss – 41% in the UK – compared with 61% in the US who see themselves as the next Bill Gates.


  • U.S. Labor Department Publishes Youth Employment Rules— According to the CommunityDispatch.com, the new rules expand protections for youth working in restaurant cooking, roofing, and driving, among other changes. The new rules were published in the Federal Register.

You can get updates on employment news around the US any time, as well as other tips and advice on career searches at my blog, Career Search Fast Lane. Subscribe here...

feature article

How and Why to Research an Employer

In the ideal situation, the interviewer and the interviewee are equally interested in finding a perfect fit. Look out for yourself. Ask hard questions about work conditions, drawbacks, and low points. If asked tactfully and backed up with research, well-directed questions of this sort won't offend a responsible interviewer. After all, a happy employee is going to be more productive than someone who hates his job.

But if you choose unwisely the first time, don't worry — jobs are no longer forever. People change careers nowadays about as often as their hairstyles. Chances are, even the person who interviews you, if he or she hasn't been living in a cave with blind fish, will understand that you probably won't be with the company for life. Gone are the days of the 1950s "company man" who signed up after college and stayed on until he retired. Nevertheless, choosing a job and career right the first time saves a lot of time and angst.

Vault.com offers insider company research on thousands of top employers. You can also fill out an employer survey on Vault and quality to win $500.

The following are some questions you'll want to answer, either by yourself prior to the interview or during the interview, to avoid ending up in the wrong position:

What are the hours?

If your research hasn't revealed this already, you should ask if a job advertised as 40 hours a week really takes 50 or 60 hours a week, or more. You have a right to know how much you'll be working and should protect yourself by asking in the interview whether or not this is truly a 40-hour-a-week job. Interviewers should be honest with you about this; it's information you need to know in order to make a good decision. If you're going to be slammed with work from nine to nine every day, it might not be worth it for you.

Pay?

Be aware that overeagerness to ask about salary can make you look unprofessional. Asking about salary while calling up to schedule an interview is a bad idea. The best time to ask about salary is after you've gotten the job, but before you've accepted. Even if money is your prime motivation, wait till late in the interview to ask money questions.

Still, salary and other benefits are important. Before you go in for an interview, think about how much you need to make to live comfortably, and how much you think you deserve to make, given the responsibilities and your qualifications. You can find pay information at specific companies with Vault company research.

What type of work will I be doing?

Before you go in for an interview, think about which type of work environment suits you best. As we saw earlier, different corporations develop different attitudes. The atmosphere on the floor of the New York Stock exchange is very different from a public library in a small town. Some jobs require you to work with a team in order to produce a final product, while you'll work in solitude in others. It's your responsibility to find the environment that best suits you.

How long will I be here?

Before the interview, you'll also wish to think about your commitment to the job. The interviewer will be concerned about how long you will be able to stay with them. Are you looking for summer employment between school terms, for a six-month experience, a three-month internship, or a lifelong career path? In establishing a career, consider that anything under a year does not constitute a valid work experience to some employers. In many jobs it takes six months just to get up to speed.

Are there walls?

When you go in for the interview, be alert to the work environment, both physical and human. Pay attention to the way the company gets its work done. Imagine yourself coming into that building every day. Do people in the office wear Armani or Levis, DKNY or Dickies? Do they crowd into cubicles or kick back in plush, well-ferned offices? Is there a backslapping, good-ol'-boy, "see the game last night, Joe?" feel to the place? Do the workers seem happy or do they wander round the office like zombies? Are there stains on the carpet, interesting art on the walls? If you look at the interview experience as an opportunity to gather as much information as you can about the company, you'll have plenty of factors to sift through when it's time to make a decision.

Big fish in small pond or cog in machine?

How big a company do you want to work for? Will you be more comfortable as a prominent player in an office where everyone knows one another, or as a single, relatively unnoticed cog in a massive corporate machine? Smaller companies are more likely to offer flexible hours and vacation policies, and they may offer more opportunities for immediate, diverse, and substantive involvement. In addition, a smaller company may be a growing company. It can be exciting to ride a company as it grows, to watch and participate in the formation of its culture and lingo. Smaller companies also tend to suffer less from bothersome bureaucracies, so your ideas have a better chance of immediate implementation.

By the same token, it's difficult to hide in a small company. Everyone will soon realize if you're not producing. It may be more difficult for you to take vacation, or even a long lunch. Small companies also tend to pay less and can't offer the benefits of a larger firm. And especially in these consolidation-crazy times, they're somewhat more susceptible to buy-outs and bankruptcy than a big, established operation. Fortune 500 companies, on the other hand, can usually afford higher salaries than smaller places can. They also offer more comprehensive benefits, and may offer a wider variety of potential places to live.

In the interview process, employees at small companies understand that they don't have the name recognition of bigger places and won't expect you to know as much about them. This is why it's an especially good idea when interviewing with a smaller place, to find out who they are and what they do. Make sure you thoroughly check their web site, if they have one. At least research the industry in which the company's involved if you can't find anything more specific. Also, Vault.com's company research provides insights into workplace culture at major employers.

survey of the month

Which Part of the Resume Do You Find to Be the Hardest?  This month's survey looks at the biggest stumbling blocks in writing a resume. Tell us what you struggle with and we may dedicate a future issue of our eZine to helping you solve it!

Fill out the survey & see all of the results

question of the month

Question: How to send both the resume and cover letter simultaneously while making online resume posting to different companies? Answer: The procedure will vary depending on which online service you are using, but many will allow you to cut & paste in a cover letter within their form. Or, you may be able to submit via an email. In this case, your email message serves as your cover letter. Best of luck to you in your job hunt!

If you're looking to write a killer cover letter, start here for advice and tips:

Resume Cover Letter Help

Sorry I am unable to be more specific. It's hard to respond not knowing which online service you are using. Most reputable resume distribution sites will have a support email you can contact, however. You might give them a try.

See other questions here

Ask a question of your own here

support our sponsors

CareerBuilder.com —At this multi-functional website, you can post your resume, find jobs, register for email job alerts, and even discover advice and resources that will make the difference in your job search. I've always found this site to be extremely easy to use and it provides high quality results.

Dream Jobs to Go — I highly recommend the "Dream Jobs to Go" line of eBooks if you're looking to get into a new career.

You can get instant business and career smarts by downloading and reading a few of these handy little eBooks from the folks at Intellectua.com.

I think that’s enough for this month! Look for your next issue in another month or so, as I have enough to fill an issue.

Happy job hunting,
Kathi MacNaughton
kathiATpowerful-sample-resume-formatsDOTcom

© Copyright 2005 Powerful-Sample-Resume-Formats.com. All rights reserved worldwide. Reprint only with permission from kathiATpowerful-sample-resume-formatsDOTcom. All contents are provided as is. No expressed or implied income claims are made herein. Your job hunting success is always dependent on many factors, including your own abilities. Advertisers are solely responsible for ad contents.

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