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One Chance to Make a First Impression
Preparation
Focus On Affective Communication
Rehearse
Directions & Transportation
Interview
Arrive Early
Be Polite
Remember to Listen
Express a Genuine Interest and Passion
Confidentiality
Follow up
Personal Presentation
Appropriate Dress
Writing a résumé
First Impression
Identification
Formats
Descriptive Titles
Professional Experience
Education
Employment Highlights
Other Information
Reading with Ease
One Chance to Make a First Impression
Preparation
Research the company and the position - Learn as much as possible
about the position and business drivers of a potential employer
from their website. You should be able to talk chapter and verse
about the company's mission, culture, and business goals and successes
as well as some challenges. Review the job description provided
by your recruiter. Ask your recruiter for the interview schedule,
specifying the names and titles of the people you will meet, and
any other inside information available.
Focus On Affective Communication
Describe your experience and projects in a way that will catch your
listener's interest so that they will relate to and be influenced
by your presentation. Communicate in a manner that will let them
know specifically what it is about your experience that provides
a solution to the challenges they are facing. Speak at a level appropriate
to your listener's understanding. For example don't ask the CIO
or CEO where they bought the office furniture. Show how you have
made or saved your current/previous company money in either numbers
or percentages. Measurable accomplishments are always critical.
This is especially important for the same types of business/industry.
Early in the meeting, if appropriate, ask your interviewer what
it was about your résumé that made them want to meet you (caught
their interest). Then be quiet and listen! Their answer will usually
provide a good roadmap for you to follow so you can circle back
and highlight that area of your experience.
Rehearse
Ask family or friends whose opinion you trust to listen to your
presentation and tell you how you can improve. Let them ask questions
they would want to know about someone interviewing based on what
you tell them about the role.
Directions & Transportation
Review the directions provided from your recruiter. Find the location
of the parking and find out if you need a parking permit. If flying
to an interview ask your recruiter or potential employer if you
will be picked up at the airport or if you should plan your own
transportation by renting a car or taking a taxi. Ask the recruiter
or potential employer if they can buy or FedEx the ticket in advance
or if you should pick up an e-ticket at the airport. Prepare your
schedule and yourself accordingly if the weather forecast predicts
extreme weather.
Interview
Arrive Early
Arrive at your appointment 15-30 minutes early. You may have difficulty
finding the address, parking or office and traffic is unpredictable.
Consider the weather conditions and the time needed to re-groom
yourself. Wait to announce your arrival to the security desk and
receptionist until 5-10 minutes prior to your appointment.
Be Polite
Make friends throughout the interviewing process. Be polite and
pleasant to the receptionist and parking attendants. Say "please"
and "thank you".
Remember to Listen
Keep a balance between talking and listening. Do not control the
conversation, over explain, or lecture your listeners. Learn about
the people and how you can meet their needs. Ask open-ended questions
to involve them in the conversation. Learn about them while they
learn about you.
Express a Genuine Interest and Passion
Laugh, smile, and always make eye contact. Be comfortable with your
surroundings and the people interviewing you. Don't be afraid to
be energetic and expressive. Ask questions about the company and
position. Find out the purpose for the position you are interviewing
for. Show passion for your industry. If you are interested in the
position always say you are interested. Be enthusiastic and ask
about the next steps. Your chemistry with the team is one of the
most important criteria by which you are evaluated. Be prepared
to discuss your personal life and hobbies (movies, music, sports,
etc.) especially if you are interviewing for the day or going out
to lunch. If asked about salary and you give them a range, be sure
it is the same range you gave the recruiter.
Confidentiality
Keep confidential information about previous employers and projects
CONFIDENTIAL.
Follow up
Contact your recruiter immediately after an interview and give feedback
and your impressions. Get business cards of the people you interviewed
with. Send thank you notes to everyone you met.
Personal Presentation
ˇ Take a shower or bath, use deodorant.
ˇ Brush your teeth - Carry mints or breath spray if needed before
an interview.
ˇ Clean your nails.
ˇ Avoid use of after-shave or fragrance, or if you must use it,
use sparingly.
ˇ Play uplifting music or listen to positive mental attitude tapes.
Appropriate Dress
Dress so the attention is on your mind and work, not your clothes.
Ask your recruiter or the receptionist the dress code of the company.
When in doubt always wear a suit. Athletic shoes and t-shirts are
not appropriate unless told otherwise. Keep jewelry to a minimum.
Writing résumés
A résumé is a traditional business document designed to present
your skills, experience and employment history in a clear and crisp
format. Your résumé represents you in your absence. Foreign Nationals
looking for employment in the U.S. are encouraged to follow the
format below.
First Impression
Your résumé is usually your first impression. Clarity and succinctness
are equally important. Careful writing, editing and organizing is
required.
Identification
The most successful format for you depends on the amount of variety
of information you need to include. Consider the variety of people
who will read your résumé before you begin writing. Your résumé
may be read by people ranging from the chairman of a large company
to the human resources director, a manager in the department, the
CIO, a recruiter, etc. It must provide information that people with
a variety of needs and backgrounds will be able to understand.
Formats
Keep your résumé the appropriate length for the number of years
of pertinent experience you have. Very senior people may go as long
as 3 or 4 pages. Very junior people should stick to one. Most people
should need about 2 pages. Provide the most critical information
on the first page.
Important information includes:
ˇ Your Name
ˇ Address - If you current address is temporary provide the duration
you will be staying there. Also provide a permanent address and
phone number of a person who can take a message for you.
ˇ Home, office and cell phone numbers. Distinguish daytime or office
numbers from evening, home, cellular, or message numbers. Make it
as easy as possible for the reader to reach you or to leave a message
during business hours.
ˇ Don't forget zip and area codes
Please note most calls are made during business hours to schedule
an appointment for interviews.
Descriptive Titles
To give your reader an immediate indication of what you're all about,
it's helpful to provide a descriptive title underneath your name
(example: Architect, Java Developer, CIO, Project Manager, etc.).
Follow this with a brief summary of your skills, interest, experience
and objectives. The summary/objective should have substance and
be brief, not more than 3 sentences. Don't be too specific or too
general (example: "Looking for a challenge." Everyone is looking
for a challenge). Only include a meaningful and clear summary/objective
if you have one. This can vary depending on the position and situation.
Word processing gives you flexibility.
Professional Experience
In reverse chronological order outline your professional experience
(most recent first). Include the name of employer, location, dates
of your employment (month and year), your position, and describe
your responsibilities. If you have a lot of experience, add a second
or third page with more detail about your project work and responsibilities.
Be specific in the descriptions. Describe the project and the technologies
used, how many people you supervised or how many people were working
with you on the same project, reporting relationships and what you
did. Name clients. If working as a project consultant, indicate
your status. Recent graduates should describe participation in professional
situations appropriately describing them as summer, part time, freelance
or co-op experiences. List temporary employment only if it's relevant
to the position you are seeking. Imagine yourself in the position
of the person looking to hire and tell them what they need to know
about your work experience to enhance your candidacy.
Education
In reverse chronological order list the name of the college or university,
location, major, dates of attendance, and dates of degrees, honors,
and awards received, if any. If significant to their professional
objective, recent graduates may want to include thesis subject and
description. List any courses you have taken since your degree.
Don't make any false claims. Remember, all information can be easily
checked. U.S. law prohibits prospective employers to ask questions
about race, religion, age, sex, military service, or health or marital
status before hiring. Indicate your citizenship or visa status if
there is cause for questions.
Employment Highlights
The last information to list can be anything that will interest
a prospective employer that is not included in your employment history
(example: Computer Skills, Languages, etc.). List your professional
affiliations, activity in professional organizations, awards, articles
or work published and professional certifications and licenses.
Other Information
For very experienced people, the second page of your résumé can
be used to provide more detail about your work experience. Illustrate
professional development and describe your responsibilities in detail.
Name clients you worked with and specific projects you worked on.
Include project size and budget details. Describe your reporting
relationships, team structure, the numbers and duties of people
you hired and supervised. Also describe the companies you worked
for, do not assume every one knows who they are (example: retailer,
insurance industry, manufacturing, etc). Describe the positions
according to their relative importance to your career. You do not
need to describe early positions held unless they add to the importance
of your qualifications for your current job objectives. Talk about
the job responsibilities you want to retain in a future position.
Only mention the ones you want to drop. Balance the information
if you have several responsibilities of equal importance.
Reading with Ease
Remember your résumé is a business document! Design your résumé
for easy reading and handling when printed. Do not use tiny font
sizes or unusual scripts. Use standard 8 ˝ x 11 white paper (other
colors copy poorly - duplicates will most likely be made). Use a
laser printer on no-smear paper. Résumé's are usually stored in
standard-sized folders. Small résumé's can get lost; large ones
will get folded and dog-eared.
Be sure your résumé is easy to open in all formats when e-mailed.
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