The terrible job advice parents give to their millennial kids

By Corinne Purtill

This article originally appear on Quartz at Work. Click here to read.

Parents: the advice you’re doling out on how to seek and secure a job is bad. It’s really bad. It’s outdated and counterproductive. If you love your adult offspring and would like to see them succeed, you must cease and desist immediately.

Alison Green, a consultant who writes the popular blog Ask a Manager, has heard cringingly bad stories from adult children of misguided (but well-intentioned!) parents who don’t realize that some tactics that worked decades ago are likely to backfire now. Quartz At Work talked with Green to learn the most common pieces of advice that job seekers can (and should) ignore.

Regarding that resume

Parent says: You know what you should do? Get some nice paper, print out your resume, and have it sent overnight. Or just go in there and hand it to the boss yourself!

Green says: “It used to be an impressive move, but it’s no longer true that you should “pound the pavement” and show up in person to apply for jobs.

“First, nearly all applications are electronic these days. Many employers have no easy way to get hard copy materials (resume and cover letter) into their electronic application processing systems; they’d have to scan them in, and they don’t want to do that for you. They want you to apply online using their system there. So showing up to hand someone your resume comes across as out of touch. (There are some exceptions to this, like restaurants, but for the most part this is all done online these days.)

“Second, job openings on average get far more applicants these days than they used to. That’s probably a function of how much easier it to apply for jobs online now that you don’t have to mail out resumes individually. And since employers are fielding hundreds of applicants for each position, they really don’t want to deal with random applicants showing up in person and expecting to talk to someone; it would end up being hugely time-consuming. Employers have a system for screening applications, and they don’t want you to circumvent it.”

Following up

Parent says: Did you call to follow up? Well, call them again!

Green says: “This idea that you should show “gumption” to impress a hiring manager—things like call every few days to ask about your application or try to buy the hiring manager coffee—that stuff doesn’t work. To the contrary, it alienates most hiring managers—and it can be really frustrating to be on the receiving end of that advice from insistent parents.”

Carving a path

Parent says: You’re making how much? As an assistant? Don’t you know how many loans you have?

Green says: “There’s a particular misunderstanding these days of how hard it can be for newer grads to find work in their field, and how so often you have to start at the bottom and work your way in however you can. Parents see their kids doing low-paying entry-level jobs and because they don’t realize that will eventually lead to much better positions in the field the kid wants to work in, they sometimes panic and try to push them in a totally different direction.

“I also hear about a lot of parents doing a hard-sell on grad school, figuring that the kid will come out significantly more marketable—and not realizing that in a lot of cases, grad school will make the job search harder, if the field the kid is in doesn’t place particular value on graduate degrees.”

So then what?

Parent says: Fine, I’ll butt out. But what’s your plan?

Green says: “Really, the best way to show enthusiasm and fit for a job is by having a resume that shows a track record of achievement in things relevant to what the employer is looking for, and writing a personalized, engaging cover letter that truly speaks to why you’d excel at the job (i.e., not one that just repeats the contents of your resume). It’s a boring answer, but it’s really the one that works the best, at least with good employers.”

5 things you definitely don’t want to do during your job search in 2018

We came across this article on theladders.com. It’s insightful.

By Jane Burnet

With the new year come plenty of opportunities to get your job search right.

This is what you shouldn’t do during your job search in 2018.

Allude to your age

Don’t give anyone a reason to doubt your skills.

Peter Economy, a ghostwriter and author, writes in Inc. that you should not include “age identifiers” on your resume or LinkedIn page.

“Don’t list those positions you had a long time ago, and leave off graduation dates,” he writes. “Age discrimination does exist, and you at least want to get your foot in the door for an interview so they can see how awesome you are at creating age-irrelevance.”

Fail to be your own champion

Marcello Barros, author of The International Advantage: Get Noticed. Get Hired!, writes about this in The Muse.

“Some people spend precious emotional energy assuring themselves that the hunt is taking as long as it is because they simply aren’t good enough,” he writes. “And when you stop believing in yourself, you’re in trouble. Don’t rush into a decision like taking a position you feel uneasy about or heading back to school simply out of fear. Instead remind yourself of all the reasons you might not be getting a call back that have nothing to do with you (like if you’ve been applying to roles you truly aren’t qualified for).”

Be too narrow in your job search

You may not even realize that you’re limiting your options.

A FlexJobs post says that “job searching only by job title” is not the way to go.

“While you may identify with a specific title, each employer can have a different title for the same job duties. When you focus only on job titles, you narrow your search too closely and may miss opportunities that would be a perfect match for your experience. Instead of focusing on the job title, consider searching by industry and desired flexibility. You can also use keywords or search by company,” it says.

Fail to do your homework

You’ll want to know as much as possible.

Lillian Childress writes on Glassdoor that “skipping your research” is not a good idea.

“A well-informed candidate is always preferable to the alternative. Asking questions about your specific interests in the company, and even just asking general questions about what the company does, are some of the most common interview questions out there. If you haven’t done your research, it’s ultimately a waste — not only of the recruiter’s time, but also of your own,” she writes.

Not get back in touch after an interview

Alison Doyle, a career expert, author, and founder and CEO of CareerToolBelt.com, writes in The Balance that you shouldn’t be “forgetting to follow up.”

“Following up after a job interview gives you one more chance to make a good impression,” she writes. “People like to be appreciated and a quick thank you note, email or phone call is a good way to show you appreciate the time and the opportunity. Following up also gives you a chance to mention anything you wish you had said during the interview.”

This is the scariest job interview question — and how to answer it

By Anita Hamilton

Mic.com

There’s nothing quite like the spine-tingling jolt of getting called in for a job interview after weeks of sending out your resume, crossing your fingers and mostly getting a bunch of canned emails thanking you for submitting your application in response. But that initial excitement can quickly turn to anxiety if you’re not prepared once you finally walk in the door.

As it turns out, interviewing in person is the most intimidating part of the job search process, according to a survey of 570 undergraduates and recent college grads by career site WayUp. The fear factor doesn’t end there either.

Once you sit down face-to-face with your interviewer, what’s the “scariest” question you could get asked? For nearly 41% of current undergraduates and 35% of recent grads who replied to the online survey conducted in October, it was: “Out of all the other candidates, why should we hire you?”

That question beat out four other choices, including, “What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?” and “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Students and recent grads alike said they were most intimidated by by being put on the spot about why an employer should hire them in particular.Source: WayUp/WayUp

 

How to answer the toughest question

“Basically the entire interview boils down to this question,” Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster, said in a phone interview. Thankfully, making a case for why you’re the best fit for the job isn’t all that hard — so long as you’ve got your answer figured out in advance. “You need to be convincing and honest, but also have your talking points ready to go,” she added.

The best kind of answer achieves two goals: It demonstrates what you bring to the job, and it conveys your respect for and understanding of their business. The more precisely you can quantify your answers the better.

Here are a couple of sample answers you might give:

“Your company is a leader in industry X, and that is an area I excel in as well, as you can see from the fact that I have been the top sales person on a 10-person team also doing X for the last two years.”

“I’m a great fit for this position because it requires excellent project management skills, and I led the rollout of products X, Y and Z at my last job, which boosted revenue by 30% over the last year.”

If you’re new to the job market and don’t have hard numbers to quantify your skills, you can go with a softer approach, such as:

“You mentioned that attention to detail is a key aspect of this job. In my last job [or internship] at company Y, I got top marks for this in my reviews by doing A, B and C, which saved the company both time and money.”

And if the interviewer asks you about a skill you don’t have, you can get around that by using an example that shows you are a self-starter:

“I haven’t done that before, but I’m a quick learner. For example, in my last job at company Y, I learned the billing system in 2 days, compared to the full week it typically took new hires.”

The key here is to “know your unique value proposition,” which should be tailored to the job and the company, career expert Heather Huhman said: “If you don’t know it, you’re never going to be able to sell yourself to an employer.”

Click here to read the original article.

8 Do’s And Don’ts When You Apply For A Job Online

By James Hu, Next Avenue Contributor

Job board sites like Indeed or SimplyHired make it seem easy to apply for a job online. They have a system that keeps your resumé in tow to readily submit. And many offer One Click Application services, auto-filling your personal information in the designated areas. However, I’m willing to bet you’ve never even received a response from one of these applications.

That’s why I’m offering eight Do’s and Don’ts to effectively guide you through the process of applying for jobs online:

1. DO check out the company’s website before you apply. This one is two-fold.

First, recruiters want to see that you have a special interest in their company. They’re more likely to pursue a candidate who has a history with the company or industry and a story about why they’re applying now. Take the time to learn its mission and values. Then, incorporate those into your job history and cover letter. This will help you stand out among other applicants who applied without doing their homework.

Second, checking out the company’s website helps you see if the firm is one where you’d want to work. Isn’t it better to know before you fill out an application that the business doesn’t match your values or is further than you’d like to commute? Save yourself and the recruiter time and only fill out applications for places where you would be happy working.

2. DO tailor your resumé keywords for each job you’ll apply for online. The tendency when applying to jobs online is to quickly submit your resumé and cover letter and move forward. That’s a mistake,

The reason? When applying for a job online, there is a high chance your application will go right into an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to be reviewed by a recruiter. Applicant Tracking Systems parse and sort resumés by topics or keywords, like education or managing a budget.

Credit: Shutterstock

In order to optimize your resumé for ATS, you should match the keywords in it to the job description the company provides. Online tools (shameless plug: ones such as my company’s Jobscan.co) can help you identify the right keywords by copy and pasting your resumé and the job description into the site.

3. DO add your up-to-date LinkedIn profile. More and more companies now request you include a link to your LinkedIn profile in their job applications. Having an active LinkedIn profile helps show a recruiter that you’re serious about your job search and career. Many recruiters will search for it anyway, so making their job easier goes a long way toward making yourself a worthy candidate.

You can include more information about your background and skills on LinkedIn than through a normal job application, so take advantage of this opportunity.

Before you link to it, though, make sure your LinkedIn profile is job-search ready. Add a great picture, show some of your recent projects and make sure you’re active in relevant LinkedIn networks. For more insights on getting your LinkedIn profile recruiter ready, check out this great post from The Muse: “The 31 Best LinkedIn Profile Tips for Jobseekers.”

4. DO write a cover letter. Although a cover letter is sometimes optional for an online job application, you should always submit one. A cover letter is a great way to talk more about yourself and your experience and to incorporate the company’s values and mission statement into your application.

Including a cover letter also has a more tactical advantage. Many Applicant Tracking Systems will account for a cover letter when recruiters search by keywords.

5. DO make sure the application on the company site is the same as the one on the job board. This is especially important with job-board features such as “one click apply” or “quick apply.” The company site may ask for something specific, like a salary requirement, or request you email someone your resumé and cover letter. If you apply without looking at the instructions and miss something, it will look like you can’t follow directions.

 

3 Things Not to Do When You Apply for a Job Online

1. DON’T type lazily or in shorthand. Sometimes, our online habits win out without us even realizing it. I occasionally receive applications where the candidate’s name is all lowercase. Not taking the time to capitalize the first letters of your name tells me three things: 1) You lack attention to detail; 2) You are lazy and 3) Working here is not important to you. You don’t want a recruiter to think any of those!

Many people also associate writing online with informality. But when you apply for a job online, you want to look professional and that means writing more formally. For example, for a cover letter, fill a page and use a formal heading.

2. DON’T use auto-fill to apply for positions. Sure, this makes things easier, but you’ll be trading results for ease. If you have ever looked back at the information loaded into your application when using auto-fill, you may have seen that it didn’t align correctly. Your “Position” answer might instead say which college you attended. Or prior employment dates might just show start dates

Auto-fill may also format the details of your job history in a strange or confusing way. Instead of leaving this to chance, fill in the details one at a time, double-checking as you go.

3. DON’T leave sections incomplete. It can feel redundant to upload your resumé and then type in your work history manually, so the temptation can be to leave that section blank. Don’t!

On many Applicant Tracking Systems, the information typed in for job history is more visible than the resumé, which someone would have to click to view.

Don’t forget to tailor these sections in the same way you would tailor your resumé to match the necessary keywords to really optimize your resumé.

Click here to read the original piece published on Forbes.com.

 

 

5 misconceptions about the staffing industry

Perception versus reality.

Business owners often seek to control the perception of their companies so that they accurately reflect reality. This is easier said than done. Perceptions are like habits – they tend to die hard. The staffing business has long battled a sometimes lackluster perception. At BARRYSTAFF, here are the most common misconceptions we run into … and how we set the record straight.

“Temporary” employees are nothing more than short-term fixes. In truth, the term “temp” is outdated. We no longer refer to ourselves as a “temp agency,” but rather as a “staffing company.” There’s a significant difference. Gone are the days when folks would show up to the local agency each morning and collect a paycheck for a single job later that afternoon. In reality, what we’re doing is probably much different than what people are prone to imagining.

We give companies employees to try out on a limited basis. If an employee is working out then companies may extend a permanent job offer after 90 days. We handle everything until that job offer is extended. This process allows the company – and the employee – to feel each other out. One of the key analytics we study is our retention rate. In other words, we want our companies and employees to stick together. That’s our goal.

We only staff for one industry. While it’s true that staffing companies have specializations (BARRYSTAFF’s is manufacturing), many agencies are capable of recruiting for many, many fields. At BARRYSTAFF, we have placed architects, engineers and chemists. We have an entire team solely dedicated to filling clerical positions. So while manufacturing is our wheelhouse, we’ll never turn away someone looking for a communications position. Or graphic design. Or IT. We can help them too.

Job seekers have to pay to use our service. Job seekers pay nothing. Zero. Zilch. That’s not how we make money. Instead, the companies we partner with pay us to help them find quality employees. No job seeker will ever need to pay a dime to a company like BARRYSTAFF.

We only offer dead end jobs. The fact of the matter is that there is plenty of room for advancement in the jobs we hire for. Many of our placements have gone on to management positions.

We only work with struggling companies (Why else would they need a staffing company?) This is one we have to push back against fairly often. We work with big companies and small companies. Some are international. Others are hyper local. They use us because it is time-consuming to search, interview and drug screen candidates. It’s expensive. It cuts down on production. Advertising alone can run up a hefty tab. And these days, the job search is changing drastically from year to year. We live in a fast-paced digital world now, and our clients need to stay focused on what they’re doing. More of them are trusting experts like BARRYSTAFF to handle this work. It’s a specialized service during a time of rapid change.

And our services don’t stop at staffing. We often find ourselves working as a fully- functional HR branch for companies. It’s just another amenity we’re proud to offer.

 

 

9 things people think are terrible for their careers that actually aren’t

By Rachel Gillett

Via Business Insider

Speaking up about problems

“No one likes to work with a whiner, but the occasional gripe emanating from someone who ordinarily doesn’t complain holds weight,” says Vicky Oliver, author of “301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions.” “The key is to kvetch in moderation.”

Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder, tells Business Insider that you need to embrace the idea of having difficult conversations to get what you need. “Instead of backing off in fear, you’ll learn to handle tough problems while treating people with dignity and respect,” she says.

A bad performance review

Oliver says that a lackluster performance review isn’t always a career-ender, as long you take the opportunity to fix what’s wrong. “You must show you can take the feedback and respond proactively to it,” Oliver says.

Taking time off

Most Americans are leaving vacation time on the table — in fact, Americans didn’t take 658 million vacation days in 2015 and lost 222 million of them entirely because they couldn’t be rolled over, paid out, or banked for any other benefit. That adds up to about $61.4 billion in lost benefits.

“Workers are often celebrated for wearing multiple hats and logging numerous hours,” Haefner says. “But working without letup is a bad habit that can jeopardize business, health, and the life you’re supposedly working toward.”

Studies suggest that not taking enough vacation time is bad for your health, happiness, relationships, productivity, and prospects for a promotion.

Making a lateral move

Just because you’re not moving up doesn’t mean you’re making the wrong move. Vicki Salemi, a career expert for Monster, suggests making a lateral move when you’re immersed in a dead-end job, working for a toxic boss, or need a change of scenery.

“When you work for a new employer, even if your title and responsibilities, as well as salary, are pretty similar to your former one, think of it as temporary,” she says. “Once you’re in a better environment, one in which you can flourish and grow, that’s not so terrible after all.”

Faking it ’til you make it

This advice can certainly backfire, especially when you’re taking on major debt to appear more successful or you’re ignoring the signs that it’s time to move on.

But it’s not always so terrible for your career. Indeed, Salemi says ‘faking it ’til you make it’ can help you overcome a common problem among working people — imposter syndrome.

As Harvard Business School professor and “Presence” author Amy Cuddy tells Harvard Business Review, faking it ’til you make it is more “about pretending to yourself that you’re confident” and framing challenges as opportunities than pretending to have skills you don’t. “Don’t think, ‘Oh no, I feel anxious.’ Think, ‘This is exciting.’ That makes it easier to get in there and engage,” she says.

Being bypassed for a promotion

“It hurts terribly when it happens, but sometimes you simply aren’t ready to handle the responsibility,” Oliver says. If you don’t get the promotion you wanted, Oliver suggests showing a brave face and dogged determination to shine so that you won’t be bypassed the next time around.

Crying at work

There’s no crying in business, at least not according to Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran. “The minute a woman cries, you’re giving away your power. You have to cry privately,” she once told an entrepreneur on the show.

But not everyone agrees. “You’re always taught to suppress emotion, but sometimes showing your upset can actually move you forward,” Oliver says. “You don’t want to wail at the top of your lungs in your cubicle, but some well-placed anger has its place.”

Political activist Gloria Steinem said that she often cries when angry, and the best way to handle it when it happens at work is to allow yourself to get angry, cry, and then keep talking through the tears, as a female executive once taught her. “She had mostly men working for her,” Steinem said. “And she would just say to them, ‘I am crying because I’m angry. You may think I’m sad. I am not sad. This is the way I get angry.'”

Sheryl Sandberg says that sharing emotions helps build deeper relationships at work, and experts say that, as long as the emotion is sincere, crying can increase people’s support and admiration for leaders. One study even found that found that expressing sadness can even help you in negotiations because it can “make recipients experience greater other-concern.”

Leaving your job without having another one lined up

In some ways, waiting to quit your job until you have another one lined up makes sense. Cutting off your income supply can be hard on your finances. You might also think getting a job would be infinitely more challenging when you’re unemployed because of stigma.

But Salemi says that if you’re miserable in your job, deflated and exhausted in a toxic work environment, and have extremely limited time and energy to find a new job, you’re probably not going to make a good impression when interviewing anyway.

She also says that whenever she’s interviewed job candidates who have quit without anything else lined up, the conversation never lingered on the topic. The conversation would go a little something like: “Why’d you leave your last job?” “I was completely burned out, getting sick, working 80-hour weeks, and my health was at risk, so I needed to make a clean break to re-energize my career!” And then on to the next question.

Taking a pay cut for a new job

“Taking a pay cut sounds counterintuitive to everything you’ve probably ever heard, right? Work hard, get recognized, get promoted, get paid more. Repeat,” Salemi says. “Well, there are many times when taking a pay cut can actually position you better for the long-term.”

“Your career, as cliché as it sounds, is a marathon, not a sprint, and sometimes it’s not a straight ladder up to the executive suite,” she says.

Just like making a lateral move can open you up to new opportunities, Salemi says that, if you’re in a toxic environment and haven’t gotten a pay increase in three years, taking a pay cut to leap to a competitor is a fair price to pay in the short term when you work for a company that will promote you and ultimately pay you more in the long run.

 

 

Employers Reveal The One Thing Someone Did During An Interview That Got Them Hired On The Spot

By

Via Tickld.com

Employers of Reddit were asked: “What is one thing someone has said or done in an interview that made you want to hire them on the spot?” These are some of the best answers.


But one guy said “Well…..I like enchiladas a lot…..and I have IBS….so I may rack up your toilet paper expenses”

Hired him on the spot, honesty and hilarity in one package. I figured in the very least he would be entertaining to work with.

MadameInternet

2. On the way to the conference room for the interview, interviewee instinctively picked up a gum wrapper off the floor and threw it in the nearest trash can. I just caught this peripherally, and he made no effort to show off his “insignificant good act.”

Honestly, I have never hired a single person on an impulse or based on something clever they said/did in an interview. It’s about qualifications and overall leaving a good impression. Trash-boy did get hired, and his simple act was really representative of him being pleasant and thoughtful. He also had several years experience in field.

I’ve been hiring for years, I do pick up on little things… sometimes a gum wrapper can distinguish one candidate from the others.

3lazycats

3. I never “hire on the spot”, as I always give some thought to the decision even when I’m very positive about someone.

However, I usually give screening tests to candidates. I had one young, inexperienced candidate that did not even pass the first screening question. Afterwards asked me to show him the correct answer and said something along the lines of “Thanks for showing me that I have a lot to learn.” I asked if he wanted some pointers & ended up lending him a book on the subject. A few days later I decided that that’s the attitude I’d like to hire and gave him the green light. Did not regret.

PoisonTaffy

4. One of my hiring questions is, “Tell me about a time you made a mistake doing a job. Tell me what happened and what you learned from it.” One girl said, “Well, this story is kind of gross and might not be what you want, but it’s what comes to mind right away.”

Then she told me about a time during her medical internship at a local hospital where she tried to prove herself to a skeptical doctor by taking a large dead body down to the morgue by herself, even though she had never gone down before and was supposed to take someone else with her. She was a tiny girl, but in good shape and apparently when she got down there she was supposed to move the body from the gurney to a slab (which is why she was supposed to go down with another person). She tried to move it on her own, but failed to lock the wheels on the gurney first and ended up on the floor, pinned under a large dead body for over fifteen minutes before anyone found her.

She said that from that she learned to follow procedures and to not be too cocky to ask for help when she needed it. I didn’t see how I could not hire her after that story. Because it was so genuine and atypical from the usual answers I heard for that question.

5. On a technical interview for computer stuff…

Me: if you come across a problem you’ve never seen before, how to approach it?
Soon to be new employee: I’d Google it.

This is the best answer. Most people go crying to vendors or support contracts before doing a simple Google search, and I find that offensive.

threeLetterMeyhem

6. We were hiring for a specific position and had arranged a number of interviews for it from pre-screened applicants. As we had to play with real people’s real schedules, we ended up with the strongest candidate (UC Berkeley PhD) going first. He did very well in the interview and it was kind of a given that we’d hire him.

This left us in an awkward spot with one very interesting interview of someone completely without a degree. However, there were budget restrictions so this was a long shot.

Meanwhile inside the company we had a fairly complex technical problem going on. Instead of just having a “hi… bye” interview with this other guy, we threw our complex problem at him about 24h before the interview. The [guy] solved it before the interview, and did it really quite brilliantly.

At that point I was willing to go to the ropes to get him.

Delheru

7. I was hiring for a graphic design position, and had a number of resumes on my desk. One guy had actually reached out to me personally through our website, and I just told him to email his resume to our job inbox.

We had just moved to a new office, and I posted a photo one morning to our Facebook page showing the new view off to our fans. That afternoon, he showed up at our office in a suit and tie, asked for the job, killed the interview and got it. He figured out the general area we were in from the photo, called the various office buildings to ask ahead, found us, and just showed up. 2 years later, he’s still there and doing an absolutely fantastic job.

kranzmonkey

8. I hired someone for giving me a dirty look in an interview.

Allow me to preface this by saying I really despise the interview process; I find that a person’s resume generally tells me everything I need to know and for me the interview is merely a formality to insure the applicant doesn’t have any personality or hygiene issues.

That said, I was hiring a desktop tech. I had a really stupid question that went something like “If I give you this, this and this piece of information would you be able to connect a PC to our domain?” The correct answer was yes.

Three applicants stammered and stuttered and said they figured they could but might need a little practice. The fourth applicant looked at me like I was insane but answered in the affirmative with no hesitation.

I hired her on the spot.

wizard10000

9. Post most of the interview, when we’ve turned to “Do you have any questions for us?”, the guy said, really matter-of-fact and not at all obsequiously, “Well, I’d like to know if there’s anything that we’ve talked about that has left you with doubts about me, so I can be sure you’ve got the information you need when you’re considering my fit.”

It was so simple, but so honest and effective because it was phrased as, ‘i want to help you be thorough’, but also quite self-serving because it got out in front of those doubts — we were immediately amazed that no one asks this. I’m never going to not ask it again (not that I’m looking, in case my boss has a line to the NSA).

hnice

10. Hiring for a programmer position and I decide to just Google his name. Turns out he also owns a Darth Vader outfit and puts it on to go visit sick kids in the hospital.

I hired him so fast it would make your head spin.

artformarket

11. He stalked me and found out my birthday was that week. Came to the interview with a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes and awkwardly sang me Happy Birthday in front of all the other interviewees.

I ended up firing him a month later for being terrible at everything.

skimble-skamble

12. I was interviewing people for a seasonal outside job, and I was doing the interviewing inside the marketing dept in an available office. This young kid with long hair, a spiked dog collar, upside-down crosses for earrings and a trench coat was my next interview and as we were walking to the office I was using, I noticed several marketing staff whispering and staring with shocked expressions at this kid. He walked with confidence and waited for me to sit down before he did, he was very polite and made excellent eye contact and gave me the best interview of the day.

When I explained that since this was a position dealing with the public and children and told him the earrings and dog collar would have to go, should he be hired, without hesitation he removed them and gave me this charming grin and I hired him on the spot and told him he was the most genuine person I had interviewed so far. He turned out to be one of my best employees and was hired full-time and stayed with me for 5 years.

astepUPfromperving

Continue reading here.

Candid candidates: The 10 weirdest interview mistakes

by The HR Specialist on January 30, 2017 10:00am
in Hiring,Human Resources

Step Brothers, Columbia Pictures 2008

It’s like Christmas in January—that most wonderful time of the year in which CareerBuilder.com releases its annual list of job interview quirks and missteps committed by candidates in the preceding year.

The employment website polled 2,600 HR pros and hiring managers late last year and whittled the interview weirdness down to the following 10 “winners” in which a candidate:

  • Called his wife to ask her if the starting salary was enough before continuing the interview
  • Brought childhood toys to the interview
  • Said her hair was perfect when asked why she should become part of the team
  • Bragged about being in the local newspaper for alleged theft
  • Ate a pizza he brought with him
  • Ate crumbs off the table
  • Asked where the nearest bar was located
  • Invited interviewer to dinner afterwards
  • Stated that if the interviewer wanted to get to heaven, she would hire him
  • Asked interviewer why her aura didn’t like her.

CareerBuilder also asked about candidate behavior that would prompt an instant “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” rejection.

Job interview deal-breakers

Being caught lying: 66%
Answering a phone call: 64%
Appearing arrogant: 59%
Dressing inappropriately: 49%
Lacking accountability: 48%

Source: CareerBuilder.com survey, January 2017

 

29 annoying words and phrases on your résumé that make hiring managers cringe

Geeky nervous businessman looking at camera on white backgroundWhile many large companies use automated résumé-screener software to cut down the initial pool of job applicants, loading your résumé with meaningless buzzwords is not the smartest way to get noticed.

“Nearly everyone is guilty of using buzzwords from time to time, but professionals are evaluated increasingly on their ability to communicate,” says Paul McDonald, senior executive director for professional-placement firm Robert Half.

Some of the major problems with using buzzwords, according to Mary Lorenz, a corporate-communications manager at CareerBuilder, are that they have become so overused that they’ve lost all meaning, and they don’t differentiate the job seeker from other candidates because they’re so generic.

Other, less jargony words and terms should be avoided when they serve little purpose to the hiring manager. All these words do is waste their time and, as a result, you lose out on the few precious seconds a recruiter spends scanning your résumé.

Instead, Lorenz says job seekers should speak in terms of accomplishments and show rather than tell.

“Avoiding overused terms can help job seekers convey their message and stand out from the crowd,” McDonald says.

Here’s what you should avoid:

1. ‘Leadership’

According to LinkedIn, “leadership” was the top buzzword on its user’s profiles. And if the word doesn’t help you stand out on your LinkedIn profile, you can bet it won’t make your résumé more eye-catching, either.

Rather than saying you have excellent leadership skills, you’d do better to highlight specific examples of when you demonstrated these skills and what kind of results you saw.

2. ‘Exceptional communicator’

Tina Nicolai, who has read more than 40,000 résumés since founding her company Résumé Writers’ Ink, previously told Business Insider that skills like being an “exceptional communicator” are “baseline expectations in today’s market.” Stating that you are really great at communication isn’t, in fact, saying very much.

3. ‘Best of breed’

When CareerBuilder surveyed more than 2,200 hiring managers, it found “best of breed” to be the most irritating term to be seen on a résumé.

The phrase offers little meaning and doesn’t help differentiate candidates. “Employers want to know what makes the job seekers unique, and how they will add value to the specific organization for which they’re applying,” Lorenz says.

4. ‘Phone’

Career coach Eli Amdur tells Business Insider that there is no reason to put the word “phone” in front of the actual number: “It’s pretty silly. They know it’s your phone number.”

The same rule applies to email.

5. ‘Results-driven’

“Instead of simply saying that you’re results-driven, write about what you did to actually drive results — and what those results were,” Lorenz suggests.

6. ‘Seasoned’

“Not only does this word conjure up images of curly fries,” says Rita Friedman, a Philadelphia-based career coach, but “it is well-recognized as a code word for ‘much, much older.'”

7. ‘Highly qualified’

McDonald says using terms like “highly qualified” or “extensive experience” won’t make you seem better suited for the job — in fact, it could have the opposite effect. Instead, he suggests you focus on the skills, accomplishments, and credentials you bring to the role.

8. ‘Responsible for’

Superfluous words like “responsible for,” “oversight of,” and “duties included” unnecessarily complicate and hide your experience, says Alyssa Gelbard, founder and president of Résumé Strategists.

“Be direct, concise, and use active verbs to describe your accomplishments,” she suggests.

Instead of writing, “Responsible for training interns …,” simply write, “Train interns …”

9. ‘NYSE’

Vicky Oliver, author of “Power Sales Words” and “301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions,” says you should spell out any acronyms first and put the initials in parentheses. For example, “NYSE” would read “New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).”

“For starters, acronyms are capitalized, and all caps are harder to read than upper and lower case,” she says. “It’s also really difficult to wade through a piece of paper that resembles alphabet soup.”

10. ‘References available by request’

This outdated phrase will unnecessarily show your age, Gelbard says: “If you progress through the interviewing process, you will be asked for personal and professional references.”

11. ‘Ambitious’

“Of course you would never say you’re ‘lazy’ either, but calling yourself ambitious doesn’t make any sense on a résumé,” Friedman says.

“It can imply that you’re targeting this job now, but will quickly be looking to move up in the company because you won’t be satisfied in the role, leaving the employer stuck with doing a new job search in the very near future.”

12. ‘Team player’

“Who doesn’t want to be a team player? If you’re not a team player, you’re probably not going to get the job,” McDonald says.

But using this term isn’t going to make you stand out from other candidates. “Instead, use an example of how you saved a company time, money, and resources on a team project or in collaboration with others.”

13. ‘Microsoft Word’

Yes, you and everyone else.

It’s assumed that you have a basic proficiency in Microsoft Office, Gelbard says. Unless you have expert proficiency, there’s no need to include it on your résumé.

14. ‘Interfaced’

“Words like this make you sound like an automaton,” Oliver says. “Most recruiters would rather meet with a human being. Keep your verbs simple and streamlined.”

15. ‘Hard worker’

It’s true that a company is less likely to consider you if you haven’t worked hard or don’t come across as someone who will put in what it takes to get the job done, but that doesn’t mean writing “hard worker” will convince hiring managers of your efforts.

“Give concrete examples of how you’ve gone the extra mile, rather than using a non-memorable cliché,” McDonald suggests.

16. ‘Hard’

Speaking of the word “hard,” using it to describe your work tasks can also have a negative effect.

ZipRecruiter hosts a database of more than 3,000,000 résumés, which small businesses, individual employers, and recruiters looking for candidates can rate on a scale of one to five stars (one being the lowest, five the highest). After ZipRecruiter analyzed these résumés and their ratings, it found a correlation between certain keywords and low ratings.

The word “hard” was found to a strong correlation with one-star reviews, with up to a 79% greater likelihood of receiving the lowest rating. It’s likely the word gives employers the impression that you’re put off by hard work.

17. ‘Punctual’

Being punctual is great, but it’s also pretty basic to holding down a job. Don’t waste the space on your résumé.

Read the full article from Business Insider by clicking here.