Practical Job Application and Interview Tips
Wed, 01/06/2010 - 21:17 | 
Guest Contributor
By Alison H., MSCCN Technology Support
Over the years, I have experienced many ups and downs in my job searches and while employed, I have witnessed many interesting “teachable moments” when dealing with job applicants. Here are some practical tips from my personal experiences to help you when you apply for a job.
The job announcement states you need to apply in person.
- When applying for a job in person, be sure to dress nicely but not over-the-top. After all, you are just applying for the job; you are not at the interview stage yet. Keep your appearance clean and don’t wear too much makeup, jewelry, or perfume.
- Have a copy of your resume along with a cover letter. Keep your paperwork (resume, etc.) in a binder of some sort. Too many people just take the paperwork without thinking it will get bent or even misplaced. If you have a folder or binder to hold all your paperwork, you will likely feel more organized and the paperwork will be less likely to be damaged or wrinkled.
Tags: To Be or Not to Be a Job Hunter through the Holidays
Thu, 12/10/2009 - 23:51 | Guest Contributor
By Anne Wight, GCDF, CFLE, CCRR
Military Spouse Corporate Career Network
I’ve always considered the “holiday season” to be from mid-November to just after New Year’s Day, but Lisa Miller, Executive Director of Career Connection, writes in last year’s November-December Career Connect newsletter “The holiday season officially starts October 30 to January 15th (approximately 77 days of networking ).” Whatever holidays you celebrate or however long your holiday season is, the key thing to remember is that your job search is a full-time job in itself and should be intensified over the holidays when competition is lower and networking opportunities increase.
In researching recent advice from career professionals, I was pleased to find that the consensus of advice has remained constant over the last decade about the importance of using the holidays to expand networking and recharge a job hunt. Why has this advice stayed the same for so long? Because informed job seekers know that job openings happen year round, yet many job seekers take a break from their job search because they want to enjoy the holidays and focus on their job search after New Year’s Day. That means that competition for job openings usually declines significantly in the last quarter of the calendar year. Some employers with fiscal years starting in January may be interviewing for positions that start in their new fiscal year in January. Anyone waiting until January to compete for those openings will be too late.
You Are a Seller in a Buyer's Market: A Resume Can Be a Viable Tool to Secure an Interview
Tue, 08/25/2009 - 22:00 | Guest Contributor
By Christine Brugman, MAOM
MSCCN European Applicant & Military Installations’ Liaison
A Résumé Can Be a Viable Marketing Tool to Secure an Interview
No one likes writing their résumé. It catalogs and records what we’ve done, how we’ve done it, and what the results were from doing it, not from a purely historical perspective but rather an indicator of what we can bring to a new employer. Sound easy? Not particularly, but it can viewed as the single most important vehicle to securing your next job interview, and as such, a great opportunity for you to sell or market yourself to potential employers. To do this successfully, attention to detail is imperative when drafting and assembling your résumé as well as focusing on writing for your audience and not for yourself.
The first quarter of the first page of your résumé is the most important space in the document. This is the area that attracts the reader’s initial eye contact and interest. An individual will spend 10‐20 seconds reading this section and will eventually make a premature decision as to whether the candidate is worthy of being scheduled for an interview. Therefore, it’s essential to make yourself visible to and win the additional attention from the reader by presenting your most powerful and unique parts while also covering what a recruiter is looking for in a candidate. Make your readers’ eyes stop by giving them something that catches their attention!
If At First You Don't Succeed...REVAMP, REVAMP, REVAMP!
Mon, 08/24/2009 - 02:00 | Steph H-N New M...
by Cachet B. Prescott, MA, Applied Psychology, MA, Sociology, Adjunct Faculty Member, Park University and MSCCN Education Liaison.
From our friends at MSCCN.
For those in job search mode, the process can sometimes prove to be daunting and even downright disheartening at times. You send out what seems like a million cover letters and resumes for jobs that you know you are qualified to do but get no responses. Please realize that you are not alone. I’ve been in that place way more times than I can count, and it’s not fun.
If the job search is not going the way you hoped it would, it may be time to re-evaluate and see if there is something that may need to be tweaked on your end. Start with your cover letters and resumes. Though we put great effort into drafting these pieces, our information is not always as up to par as we may think it is. Speaking from personal experience, I have learned that you have to treat the cover letter and resume writing process as if they were research papers being submitted for a grade. I learned this lesson the hard way, and here’s my story…
