Chapter 15 Getting the Job

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Chapter 15 Getting the Job

• Applications
• Most employers see your application before they
  see you
• Your application must make an outstanding
  impression
• Employers may review 3,000 or more applications a
  month
• Smudged, illegible, or incomplete applications
  are tossed

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Applications

• Attitude, stability, and motivation can be
  communicated from your application or resume

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Applications

• Employers often request that you fill out the
  application form at their office
• Dont forget to take a pen with black ink and
  print clearly
• Get a copy of a standard form at an office supply
  store and practice filling it out
• Know what you are going to say (spelling)
• Write NA if question doesnt apply
• Do not misspell words, cross out words, or leave
  empty spaces

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Gather Application Information

• Have addresses, phone numbers, and information
  needed for filling out the form
• Dont forget to sign the form
• Be positive
• Do not talk about a former employer in a negative
  tone

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Your Past

• The most important part of the application form
  is the section that asks for previous work
  experience
• List only those jobs that relate to your present
  application
• Do not expose long gaps in your employment
  history

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Your Past

• No work experience?
• List part-time, summer, volunteer jobs
• Paper delivery, baby sitting, anything that will
  show that you have worked

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Action Verbs

• Use action verbs or buzz words to describe your
  experience
• Study the handout and check all the words that
  are related to your past experiences
• Express yourself clearly and concisely

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Your Past

• An auto mechanic could say
• I repaired cars
• But,
• I fine-tuned transmissions, repaired carburetors,
  prepared cost estimates, etc. is more impressive
  and provides the employer with more detailed
  information about your skills

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Unusual Questions

• Do not have to be answered
• If an application asks
• What are your childcare arrangements?
• Answer
• Arrangements have been made
• Dont make a big deal that it isnt appropriate
  to ask that question
• Never falsify information on an application

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Hard to Answer Questions

• Most applications will ask why you left your
  former job
• Give serious thought to this question
• Dont write
• Didnt like the hours
• My manager threatened to kill me
• Refrain from negative answers

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Hard to Answer Questions

• Avoid terms such as
• Fired, terminated, dissatisfied, failed, or
  couldnt get along with those awful people
• Present a positive image
• My company went through a reorganization
• I am looking for better job opportunities
• I returned to school to better my career choices

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References

• Most companies will call your former employer, so
• Be honest
• Be positive
• Do not lie about past experiences
• But you do not have to state all

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Buzz Words and Reasons for leaving

• Company bankruptcy
• Business ownership change
• Company closed, downsized, reorganized
• Contract completion
• Overseas relocation
• Reduction of force
• Seasonal work
• To seek other employment
• To look for a more interesting or challenging
  position

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Gaps in Work History

• May pose problems on the application
• May prevent you from getting the interview
• Justify not working by showing what you have been
  doing
• Travel can be described as broadening your
  knowledge
• School is self explanatory
• Holding many different jobs can be described as
  career exploration or financial survival

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Salary

• Best to state Open
• Discuss during interview
• Remember
• You must first get the interview
• You dont want to price yourself out of the job
• You dont want to understate your worth

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When can you start work?

• Be realistic
• Two weeks if you dont have a job and two weeks
  if you do
• Two weeks will give you time to get ready for the
  job and if working, will give your present
  employer notice
• Check your companys policies. They may require
  longer than two weeks

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References

• List people who like you
• Tell your references that you are giving a
  prospective employer their name and number
• Then give the reference a copy of your resume

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Applications

• Make lists (take them with you)
• Of things that interest you or of your natural
  talents
• Details of your work experience
• Skills required to do the job
• Education, dates of graduation
• What you excelled in
• References (names, addresses, phone no)

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Applications

• If you havent had much or any work experience
• Your resume or application can emphasize skills
  you have learned in school, volunteer work, life
  experiences, additional language skills
• Emphasize your qualities

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Resume

• Resume is a tool you use to sell yourself
• An advertisement
• Summary of your experience and skills
• It is a list of the reasons why an employer
  should hire you
• Resume is the key to the interview because it
  sparks the employers interest

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Resume

• Make your resume easy to read and no more than
  two pages
• Employers receive hundreds (sometimes thousands)
  of resumes for each job
• Must sift through them all and perhaps choose ten
  people to interview
• Employers have a list of criteria that a
  perspective employee must meet
• Check the criteria for the job before sending
  your resume
• Make your resume stand out

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Resume

• The primary function of the resume is to get an
  interview
• Resumes must be tailored to the job
• Obtain a job description or list of requirements
  and duties of the job you are seeking (call the
  company)
• Emphasize the things you have done that match the
  job description

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Resume Process

• Cover Letter or Letter of Application
• Addressed to a real person not to whom it may
  concern
• Call company and get information
• Resume
• Interview
• Thank you letter to person who interviewed you

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Resume

• Resumes are for
• Professional
• Technical
• Administrative
• Managerial

• Resumes are not for
• Unskilled labor
• Food servers
• Laborers

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Resume

• No magical format, but
• Name
• Address
• Phones (cell, work, home), fax, e-mail
• Placed at top of resume in larger letters than
  the body text
• centered or flush left or right

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Resume

• List the title or a short descriptive statement
  of the job you are seeking
• Objective Administrative position with a large
  industrial or service organization
• Objective Management position in telemarketing
  industry
• Objective Vice President of Groundhogs
  International

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Resume

• The main body of the resume presents
• Educational background
• Work experience
• Personal information
• Arrange information to suit the job
• If education is your strong point, emphasize
• If work experience is your strong point, emphasize

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Resumes

• Anything that is relevant to the job should be
  listed
• Special awards
• Scholastic achievement
• Managed inventory control
• Fed groundhogs for a year

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Resume

• Work experience is the most important part of
  your resume, but if no work experience then,
• Employer will be interested in how your education
  will enable you to do a better job
• Emphasize school work, clubs, volunteer
  organizations, etc.

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Resume

• Work experience, however unusual, is important to
  list
• Self employed applicants should describe their
  work experience as though they had been working
  for someone else
• Volunteer, part-time, or unpaid jobs are
  important for work skills

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Resume (what not to mention)

• Do not put reasons for leaving jobs
• Personal information is not needed unless
• Language fluency
• Memberships in organizations
• Travel experiences relate to job
• Hobbies, church work, personal info such as age,
  nationality, etc. not appropriate

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Resume

• Proofread your resume
• Have someone else (better to have two people)
  proofread your resume
• Actual bloopers on resumes (from Wall Street
  Journal)
• I am a rabid typist
• Hope to hear from you shorty
• Here are my qualifications for you to overlook

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Resumes (four major resume presentations)

• Several different ways to write resumes
• 1. Functional resume
• Extensive job experience. Accomplishments are
  emphasized. Omit temporary jobs
• Education listed before or after work experience
• 2. Analytical resume
• Most flexible. Emphasis on skills and
  specialized knowledge
• Good for recent graduates and a career change

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Resumes

• 3. Chronological resume
• Organizes qualifications by time and assumes the
  last job was or is the most important. Start
  with last job and work down (no more than three
  jobs)
• 4. Creative resume
• For artists (graphic design resume), architects
  (might use drafting paper), journalists (might
  format as a newsletter)
• Expressive and not appropriate for executive or
  managerial jobs. Only use when the employer will
  appreciate your creativity
• Chronological and Functional much the same

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Cover Letter or Letter of Application

• Letters are sent to request an interview or to
  introduce yourself
• Send a resume with the cover letter
• Letters explain the reason you are sending your
  resume
• Can also be sent to employers who are not
  advertising

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Cover Letter or Letter of Application

• Points that should be covered
• The reason you are writing
• I would like to schedule an appointment with you
• A brief statement of your qualifications
• If you have just graduated say so
• Referral to the organization
• Mention who referred you
• A request for an interview
• Express your appreciation for the managers
  consideration of your letter

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Cover Letter or Letter of Application

• Always find out the name of the person who will
  be hiring and address your letter to that person
• Do not write Dear Sir
• Do not write To Whom it May Concern
• Do not write To the Human Resources Department
  or Manager
• Do Write Dear Ms. Jones

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Cover Letter or Letter of Application

• Your letter should express your individuality but
  not to the point of being cute, aggressive,
  pushy, or humorous
• You are writing to someone you do not know
  (usually)
• Your letter should be businesslike, brief, clear,
  and to the point

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Follow-up

• Call to check on an application or resume that
  you sent
• Create a calling script
• Applicant Hello, is this Mr. Young?
• Employer Yes
• Applicant My name is Mary Smith. How are you
  this morning?
• Employer Fine, thank you
• Applicant Mr. Young, last week I sent you a
  resume and an application for the drafting
  position in your Ogden office and I was wondering
  whether you had a chance to review it?

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Thank you

• Always thank the manager when the conversation is
  finished (send a thank you note as well)
• Dont be discouraged if the manager refuses to
  meet with you
• Finding a job can be a numbers game the more
  people you talk to, the more likely you will be
  successful

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Job Seekers Guide to Utah

• The bulk of this information was taken from a
  booklet published by the Utah Department of
  Workforce Services, Labor Market Information
  Services
• 140 East 300 South
• PO Box 45249
• Salt Lake City, Utah 84145-0249
• (801-536-7800)