A Resume is Not Enough - by Holly Paul

This is such an excellent blog, that I thought I'd share it. The weblink is http://www.thetowerlight.com/2010/11/a-resume-is-not-enough/

A Resumé is Not Enough
18 November 2010 By Holly Paul, US Recruiting Leader, PwC LLP No Comments

Perhaps you’ve heard about LinkedIn, the professional social network, but you’re not sure exactly what it is. Or you’ve set up a LinkedIn profile, but you don’t really know what to do with it.

For students who are accustomed to Facebook, LinkedIn can feel like a foreign land — a bit uncomfortable and a bit intimidating. It’s true that LinkedIn is a different world from more socially-minded online networks; however, it is a world where students need to be. If you are a student or recent grad who is looking to build your career prospects, setting up a professional profile and becoming active on LinkedIn are absolute musts. Here are the key reasons why.

Important people are Googling you.

First and foremost, LinkedIn is about professional visibility. When a networking contact, grad school admissions officer or prospective employer types your name into a search engine, you want that person to find something more than your Facebook profile or an article from your college newspaper quoting your opinion about what band should play at spring fling.

By having a LinkedIn profile, you’ll guarantee that at least one search result is providing information about your professional accomplishments and goals. LinkedIn profiles rank very highly in search results (almost always on the first page), so having a LinkedIn profile is like a business having a listing in the Yellow Pages: it shows that you are proactively taking part in the professional community. Just as you build your professional visibility by showing up at a company information session, industry association conference or networking event, you need to “show up” online as well. LinkedIn is the place to do that.

A resume is no longer enough.

In today’s ultra-competitive job market, a good resume is not the only tool required to land a position. Online portfolios, blogs, Twitter feeds and other virtual tools are helping people present their credentials in new ways. Smart students know this and manage the online representations of their credentials as carefully as they craft their resumes and cover letters.

LinkedIn profiles can supplement the contents of your traditional one page resume in several ways, even if you don’t have much paid work experience. On your profile you can include volunteer positions, extracurricular experience, Web links to examples of your work and recommendations from people who can vouch for your skills and talents. To make sure that people find of all this supplemental information, be sure to include a link to your LinkedIn profile on your resumes, business cards and in your email signature.

Relationships are crucial to your career success.

We all know that success is not just about what you know, but whom you know. Another important reason for students to have professional online profiles is to use social networks to build and maintain professional relationships. A LinkedIn presence facilitates networking, and the earlier you begin to network, the more robust your professional relationships will be throughout your career.

“I don’t know anyone!” Many students will protest this advice, but this is another important reason to join LinkedIn. By uploading your online address book to LinkedIn, you will discover that you know more professionals than you might think. This includes family, friends, neighbors, former teachers, professionals, work and internship colleagues and many others. And all of these people can potentially lead to connections with hundreds of other people and opportunities. Remember that people are in a different mindset when they are in the professional environment of LinkedIn, so even people you see every day will interact with you in a different, more professionally focused way on the site.

LinkedIn also helps you maintain your relationships over time. It can be difficult to keep in touch with the various people you meet in your career; however, when you have a strong online network, you can have small, frequent interactions — like commenting on someone’s status update or answering a question in a group discussion — that keep your relationships strong.

Building a global profile

Finally, a professional online profile is an essential step toward a global presence and a global network. In nearly every professional field, international relationships are a valuable asset and can lead to exciting opportunities. Almost half of LinkedIn users are outside the United States, representing over 200 countries, so it’s the perfect place to keep in touch with friends you have met while studying abroad, international classmates and alumni and new connections from across the globe.

If you don’t have many global relationships, you can make a few on LinkedIn by joining an internationally focused group or participating in some discussions on international issues. Within LinkedIn, there are countless opportunities to forge new relationships and learn about different perspectives from around the world. Of course, none of that can happen unless you sign up and join the conversation!

In the end, building a professional presence and growing your professional network on LinkedIn are great ways to declare to the world that you are here, you are ready to contribute and you are eager to make your mark on the world — the online world and the real one.

Holly Paul is the US Recruiting Leader for PwC LLP (PwC). PwC employs 30,000 people in the United States and is one of the top recruiters of college students in the country.

Interview Questions NOT to Ask

This is too good not to re-post! Original link is http://bit.ly/avB6el

All-Time Deal-Killing Questions to Ask on Your Interview
10 Questions Guaranteed to Keep You Unemployed



By John Kador, Monster Contributing Writer

Whenever I meet people who routinely interview job candidates, I always ask them to tell me the worst question they were ever asked by an applicant. I’m constantly startled by what some applicants apparently believe is in their interests to ask. Here are 10 of the worst, most self-limiting questions that applicants have actually asked and the (usually unexpressed) comments of the recruiters who fielded them:

1. How many warnings do you get before you’re fired?

The better question is: How many warnings do you get before you’re hired? The answer is one. Thanks for providing it.

2. Is job sharing a possibility?

Possibly, but does this mean you can’t give us a commitment for full-time work?

3. Can you tell me whether you’ve considered the incredible benefits of telecommuting for this position?

Why do you want to get out of the office before you’ve even seen it?

4. Is relocation a necessary part of the job?

The very question raises doubts about your willingness to relocate. Even if the person selected for the position is not on a relocation track, the negativity of the question makes me wonder whether you’re resistant in other areas as well.

5. I understand that employee paychecks are electronically deposited. Can I get my paycheck the old-fashioned way?

You’re already asking for exceptions. What’s next? And are you afraid of technology?

6. I won’t have to work for someone with less education than I have, will I?

We’ll spare you that possibility. You clearly have a chip on your shoulder. Why should we take a chance that you don’t have other interpersonal issues?

7. Can I see the break room?

Sure, it’s on your way out.

8. What does this company consider a good absenteeism record?

It starts with guaranteeing your absence.

9. What is the zodiac sign of the company president?

Not sure, but his sign is opposite to yours. There will never be conjunction.

10. Is it easy to get away with stuff around here?

It would be a challenge even for someone with your credentials. Too bad we’ll never find out.

Yes, Virginia, There Really Are Dumb Questions

It’s hard to generalize about such stunningly bad interview questions, but they all are forms of “me” questions -- questions that appear to put your needs before those of the employer. The best interview questions focus on what the applicant can do for the company, not what the company can do for applicant. Remember, interviewers will be asking themselves, “Do I really want this person in the next cubicle?” Be certain that the questions you ask don’t raise barriers or cause interviewers to doubt your professionalism. Remember, your goal in the interview is to get an offer. Once you have the offer, that’s the time to ask what the company can do for you.

Rules for Asking Better Interview Questions

* Ask Open-Ended Questions: Closed-ended questions can be answered “yes” or “no” and begin with words such as “did,” “have,” “do,” “would” and “are.” Open-ended questions usually begin with “how,” “when” and “who” and create opportunities for a conversation and a much richer exchange of information.

* Avoid “Why” Questions: Queries starting with “why” often come off as confrontational and can make the interviewer defensive. Reframe using “how.”

* Avoid Long Questions: One point per question, please.

* Avoid Obvious Questions That Are Easy to Look Up: Otherwise you look lazy.

* Avoid Leading Questions: Leading questions signal the interviewer that you are looking for a specific answer or are being manipulative.

* Ask Questions the Interviewer Can Answer: Want to make interviewers defensive and uncomfortable? Ask them questions they don’t know the answer to or can’t answer because of confidentiality.

* Get to Yes: Your goal is to end the interview on an affirmation. In fact, the more “yeses” and statements of agreement you can generate, the better off you will be.

Does the Pirate Code apply to job hunting?

“... first, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so it must do nothing, and secondly you must be a pirate for the Pirate's Code to apply and you're not, and thirdly the code is more of what you call guidelines than actual rules, welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner ...” - Captain Barbosa

Funny, these are the same words that come to mind when I come across job descriptions. How many times as a recruiter have I been given a job description that really is “more of what you call guidelines than actual rules”. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it is powerful knowledge if you are aware of it. Is it a hard and fast rule that job descriptions are just guidelines?...no, but it happens more often than not.

To understand how to use this to your advantage as a job-seeker, you need to understand how most job descriptions come to pass. More importantly, as my last blog discussed, you need to understand how/why a job opening is created in the first place. New job openings are typically created by a couple of reasons:

1. It is an existing position that needs to be re-filled due to attrition or promotion.
2. It is a new opening created by a business need/purpose.
3. It is an opening similar to something else the company is already doing, but created to supplement due to an increase in workload.

Once a position is identified and recognized as needing to be filled, a job description is created. The description is typically written by either a manager or by human resources. I’ve seen that in most cases, managers don’t have a ton of free time to be sitting around writing intricate job descriptions, and many human resources professionals really don’t have a deep understanding of the position and required skills. Not pointing fingers here….just the plain truth!
In order to be efficient, most managers and or human resource personnel will find a previously used description and use it. That is a good way to start, but often the position, project, duties, and personnel around the opening have changed since it was last open. Often the time is just not available to sit down in an exit interview and have the person who is leaving or being promoted put together a “job description” and list of their day-to-day tasks. This usually results in a job description that contains a “laundry list” of skills, duties, and requirements.

As a recruiter, I have the benefit of being able to talk to the hiring manager and ask the questions like:

• What does the typical day look like for this person/position?
• Which of the skills on the job description are “nice to have” and which are “absolute necessity”?
• What were the strengths of the last person in this position? Weaknesses?
• Do you want a new employee with the same skill-set as the former employee?
• If I can’t find a person that is a 100% fit, will 90% work? 80%? 70%?
• What type of personality is going to function best in this position?

As a job seeker, you should be thinking about the same types of questions. Take some time to see if you know of anyone in the company that might be able to help you understand the need better. Most importantly, approach the job description and your resume/cover letter with a few things in mind including:

• What skills on this description match my expertise? Write your resume/cover letter highlighting those skills.
• What requirements are not as good a fit? Write your resume/cover letter to show your exposure to these technologies/skills or technologies/skills similar to those required and how you’ve used them.
• Identify the skills you do not possess. Why don’t you have these skills? Is there a way you can obtain them?...ie books, training, mentoring, etc?
• Always remember, your resume MUST be customized to each position/description. It is a way for you to get an interview, not to talk about everything you’ve ever done! Talk about your other skills and what you can bring to the company in the interview…use your resume to show them that you are either an exact or at least a very close match!

Use these tips. They will definitely help you obtain more interviews and make more valuable connections during your job search. Don’t forget, getting the right job is work….hard work. Approach your search with the same tenacity that you will approach the job once you land it.

For more tips, stay tuned.